will never get over the fact that no matter what, law will ALWAYS show up battered and bruised. I’m convinced oda does it just to feed the ravenous law simps. thank you father we appreciate it 🙏🏼

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Fair Game Week 2020: Day 2 - Date / Domestic

Read it on AO3 here.

Against his better judgement, he told Ruby, who then got Yang, Weiss, and Blake involved, that he was going on a date with Clover. He ended up spending the latter half of a day with them at what seemed like a million different shops. It was torture, but had to admit it was nice to spend some time with them outside of a life or death situation. He could once again see that his nieces had more … unique tastes. Ruby kept recommending outfits that were pretty cool, but were also too much for a date. Yang had her father’s fashion sense, of course, but unlike her father, she could pull it off. This meant that her choices weren’t particularly good for a date either. Qrow considers it a miracle Tai ever got any dates. Weiss and Blake fared much better in helping Qrow. Blake recommended more sensible outfits that he found more agreeable. Weiss’ recommendations were a bit more eccentric than Blake’s, but were still appropriate for a date.  Sure, it was all a lot of fuss for what wasn’t even their first date, but Qrow did have fun, and the girls did get some new clothes too.

Qrow ended up getting a new pair of black slacks, a simple red and black leather vest, and a dark gray long sleeved shirt to wear under. While it wasn’t their first date, it was their first one to an actual restaurant and not the cafeteria or one of their rooms. Having the girls approve of the new outfit helped him feel more confident about what was probably their first real date. When Weiss asked what restaurant they were going to, he told her it was some place called “The City of Commerce”, which, according to Clover, was “nothing too fancy.” However, seeing her jaw drop when he told her made him concerned.

“Uhh, Weiss?” Ruby asked, trying to break her out of her stupor. She did shae herself out of it after a moment.

“Nothing fancy!? What does he do, eat with the gods everyday?! Forgive me,” she said, regaining her composure, “it’s just that it’s literally the most difficult restaurant to get into in Atlas. My father was on the waitlist for a year before he could make a reservation. My father. Head of the Schnee Dust Company. A year! We’ve only been here a few months!” Her expression shifted from crazed to that of someone who realized something. “Oh my gods were sending you dressed like that.”

“Come on Weiss, his outfit isn’t that bad.” said Yang. “Vests and slacks are fancy clothes, right?”

“No, Yang, you don’t get it. My coat was made from the fur of an extinct animal. My dress had cost more than what your dad will probably make in his lifetime, and that was just me. They almost didn’t let Winter in because they said her earrings didn’t match her outfit. They were purple diamonds from our mother that were cut to look like the Schnee logo and had a solid gold outline. They cost more than everything we have on us.” They all could only stare at Weiss in disbelief, and then at Qrow with concern. By that time, they were already back at the academy and all the shops were bound to be closed, and Qrow certainly didn’t have the time to get a fitted suit made. He considered asking James, but the man was built like a truck, so anything he had would be too big. He couldn’t call Clover because the man had a sleep schedule that he rigidly followed, and Qrow couldn’t bring himself to wake him up. Even worse, their reservation was in the morning, just as the place opened.

“I think it’ll be fine. If Clover had any concerns, he probably would have told you, right?” Blake said, breaking the dreadful silence, only to be met with more silence. “... Right?”

“I mean, she has a point. It’s Clover we’re talking about, the leader of the Ace Ops, General Ironwood’s right hand man, the man who will be hurt very badly if he breaks our uncle’s heart! He’s not gonna mess this up.” There were murmurs of agreement by the girls. Yang laid a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. “You’ll be fine Uncle Qrow.”

“Yeah, I guess I will Firecracker.” He gave her a little smile, which she returned in full.

“That’s what I like to hear!”

“I’d like to hear the sound of my head hitting a pillow if you ask me.” They laughed at his little joke.

“Alright, alright, we’ll get going. Good night Uncle Qrow.” said Yang.

“Good night Uncle Qrow!” said the rest of them as they went their way. Hearing Weiss and Blake call him that still seemed so surreal. Even Nora, Ren, and Jaune had started calling him that a while back too. At first, he would tell them to knock it off, and that he could hardly qualify as their uncle. Despite this, they persisted and he eventually gave up on getting them to stop, even though he still felt that it made no sense for them to be calling him such. Only recently did he see why they did think of him as their Uncle Qrow, and that was thanks to Clover. Clover helped him see that he did do a lot of good for those kids, and that they cared for him. Not to mention that Ren and Nora were orphans most of their life, so Qrow was probably one of the few adults to really care for them. The only adult, as far as he knew, that really cared for Weiss was Winter, but she could only be with Weiss for so long because of her job. He had a good feeling that Blake was gonna be his future niece-in-law, so he would probably have to get used to it eventually. As for Jaune, he couldn’t really think of any reason he could call him Uncle Qrow, save for the fact that was common among all the kids: they all cared for Qrow, just as he cared for them. At least now, he could accept that he wasn’t so undeserving of such love.

As Qrow laid down in bed, hair still somewhat moist from a shower, he hoped that the morning would turn out alright. Despite his talk with the kids earlier, there was still a nagging feeling of dread. It was fortunate that he was slowly but surely learning to ignore that irrational voice. Qrow knew that he was loved, and was deserving of love. He knew that Clover wouldn’t get something like this wrong either. Soon, he fell asleep, hopeful that tomorrow would be alright.

-

Qrow awoke early in the morning to get ready. It had been some time since he had been on a real date, and even longer he had been on one sober. It was exciting, but still very terrifying to him. He just didn’t want to mess things up, which he had felt he was prone to do because of his semblance. While Qrow had been making progress in controlling his semblance, which he was training with Clover to do, his control was not yet where he would like it to be. But, any sort of control was better than none, so Qrow wasn’t going to complain. If anything, he felt a bit proud of that growth, and that was in part because Clover was genuinely proud of him too. Qrow remembers the first time he showed some control over his semblance, and Clover congratulated him with his bright smile and a pat on the back. It was at that moment that Qrow realized that he was in love with the man. Coincidentally, Clover confessed to him a few days after and they had been dating since.

Before leaving his room, Qrow looked at himself in the mirror. His clothes that needed to be ironed were freshly ironed, free of any wrinkles, and fit his body rather well. His hair was gelled and styled nicely. Ever since Clover expressed how much he liked his gray hairs, Qrow had felt more confident about it. He could understand where Clover was coming from, since he found Clover’s gray hairs to be pretty hot too. He had also applied some eyeliner that Blake recommended. He mentally noted that he should stock up on some of that brand. Over all, Qrow was very pleased with how he looked. If there was anything he was ever confident about, it was his looks and fashion sense, and felt that the outfit really made him look good, especially since it displayed all his best assets well. As a last minute addition, he tied a green handkerchief around his neck. He checked himself out in the mirror one last time and left his room feeling very good and satisfied, and made his way down to the front of the academy where Clover had texted him a taxi would be waiting.

Qrow was the first to arrive and waited just inside of the Academy for Clover. It was too cold to be waiting outside, especially in the morning. Qrow was too eager to be doing much else, so he stared at the elevator, waiting for his date to pop out, which happened soon after he sat down. With a ding, the elevator doors opened and revealed Clover. He was wearing light grey pants that were tucked into black boots, and a green sweater vest that was textured with an interweaving pattern. The sweater vest, which had his signature pin tacked on, was a surprise, but the real kicker was that Clover only wore a white collared tank top underneath, with the collar flipped up and open, rather than folded flat and closed. And of course, this left his arms showing, with his red handkerchief showing on one arm.

Qrow wasn’t sure what he expected Clover to wear, but it wasn’t an outfit like that. The pants and boots were normal enough, but the top was just questionable. Normally, he would have been heavily judging the outfit, but Clover somehow made it work. Qrow had almost felt ashamed for finding it hot. If Summer were here, she would have had to hold back a laugh because the outfit was ridiculous and Qrow was ridiculous for finding the simple outfit hot.

“Hey there hot stuff.” said Clover as he exited the elevator. All Qrow could do was stare at Clover, his mind dissonant because he couldn’t decide if he liked the outfit or not. But, the more he looked, the more he liked it, though that just could have been because Clover was wearing the outfit. Oh the things people do for love. “Based on your reaction, I guess I’m hot stuff too.” Clover gave Qrow a kiss on the cheek, which managed to bring Qrow back to reality.

“Sorry, I just realized that it's my first time seeing you in a normal outfit. It looks pretty good on you. Besides, its definitely a lot better than the outfit of some snobby Atlesian.”

“Ha! At least someone can appreciate my fashion sense.” Clover told him half jokingly, with his arm around Qrow’s as they walked to the taxi. “Seriously, you have no idea how often I get told I have a terrible sense of fashion.” As they got to the taxi, Clover opened the door for Qrow with an “After you.” and bow. Clover could see a light blush rising in his love’s face.

“You know just how to make a guy feel special, don't you?”

“Only for the best.” Of course, Clover winked. As he was getting in, he noticed that Qrow’s lap looked very enticing. He could see himself  sitting in Qrow’s lap, one leg over the other and his arms wrapped around Qrow who would be adorably flustered. But, decided that a car probably wasn’t the best place to do that.

“Clover? Can I talk to you, from one ten to another?” Qrow asked once they settled down.

“You’re an eleven, but yes, you can.” Qrow wondered how Clover could possibly be so smooth.

“Okay, we're both hot, and I’m at least conventionally fashionable, right?”

“Right.” Clover responded.

“So, I’m curious, why that outfit?”

“Hmm… If I’m being honest, its the most formal clothing I have, besides my uniform. A sweater vest is the most formal I can get while still not wearing sleeves. Ugh.”

“What do you have against sleeves, lucky charm?” Qrow made sure to put emphasis on his sleeves. Seeing Clover laugh at the display made him laugh as well.

“If you must know my dark history with sleeves, its that I find them too constricting.”

“Damn, I wonder why.” He noticed that Qrow was looking at his arms.

“Don't patronize them Qrow. They've got a sleeve count higher than your grimm count. Before the end of my first week in the academy, none of my shirts had sleeves.” Clover gave a jokingly wistful look, as if he mourned the sleeves. Qrow hates Atlas, and couldn’t have been paid to attend its academy, but if he were forced to, he imagines it would have at least been somewhat tolerable if he were with Clover.

“And here I thought my fashion mishap during my first week at Beacon was bad.” Qrow silently cursed the can of worms he had opened, and by the look on Clover’s face, his expression had shown his regret. For a moment, they were silent.

“... So, you gonna tell me what it was?” Clover asked. Qrow kept his head facing forward, cause he knew that if he turned to face Clover, he could not resist giving in. However, Clover was too strong, and Qrow gave in, looked at his cute face, and sighed.

“Alright, alright, you win. My sister tricked me into thinking that skirts were a part of the uniform for everyone, so I was stuck with only skirts to wear for my first week.” Qrow expects to hear a laugh, but doesn’t.

“That must have been quite the sight. Makes me wish I went to Beacon instead.” And of course, Qrow noticed Clover eyeing his legs, though Qrow certainly didn't mind. Before they could continue their conversation, the vehicle came to a stop and their driver alerted them that they reached their destination. Qrow quickly got out as Clover got out his wallet to give the driver a tip. He appeared on the other side of the car and opened the door for Clover.

“You know just how to make a guy feel special, don't you?”

“Only for the best.” said Qrow with a wink of his own. It warmed his heart to make Clover blush and laugh a little. Arm in arm, they walked towards the entrance of the restaurant. Once inside, Qrow remembered all the stuff Weiss had told him, and he was filled with dread. Clover immediately picked up on this and asked what was wrong.

“Weiss told me about this place, and it sounded harsh.” Qrow could feel himself beginning to sweat.

“Oh, about the dress code and wait list and all that? Yeah, I don't have to worry about that. I saved the owner’s children from a grimm some time ago. They let me make a reservation the day before and bypass the dress code. I also get fifty percent off the food. Lucky me huh? Oh, and don’t worry about being in all … that.” he said, motioning to all the snobbish Atlesians. “I got us a private booth.”

“Ooo, lucky us.” They both laughed.

“Reservation for Ebi, Clover.” he told the receptionist.

“Ah, yes. You again.” His words held the slightest bit of disgust. “Please take a seat, we will call you shortly.” Clover, ignoring the receptionist's distaste, noticed that there was only one seat available, and immediately hatched a clever play.

“You can take the chair Qrow.”

“What about you?” Qrow asked, unaware of the other man’s plan.

“I’ll be fine. If I’m lucky, a seat will open up soon for me.” Qrow only gave a chuckle as he took the seat. A moment after he sat, Clover said “Found one.” and proceeded to sit right in Qrow’s lap. Just as planned, Qrow short-circuited into a blushing mess. He was quick to recover his mind, but there was nothing he could do about the blush. “Oh! I’m sorry. Is this seat taken?” He asked as he patted one of Qrow’s thighs as if it were an empty seat.

“I was saving it for my boyfriend, but I guess you’ll do.” Qrow replied, trying to hide his embarrassment but unable to.

“You have a boyfriend? He must be a very lucky guy to have a man like you.”

“You could say that.”

“Your table is ready, sirs.” the receptionist made no effort to hide how done he was. They both got up.

“Looks like my date isn’t here yet. Wanna join me instead baby?” And in an act of revenge, he winked. Now it was Clover’s turn to try to hide a blush. Qrow was out for blood, and his weapon was pet names. Regardless, Clover tried to still act cool as they followed their waiter to their table.

“How could I say no no a face like that. I feel bad for the unlucky guy that didn’t show up.” He managed to get Qrow to laugh again. He wouldn’t trade the little moments like those for the world. As they walked and talked, they noticed people turning their heads to stare at the two men who stood out so much.  Soon, they were at the back of the dimly lit restaurant where there was a booth that had a thick purple silk curtain for privacy. Inside was a decently sized round table with a lit candle in the center that gave off an almost divine scent. The curved seating allowed them to sit next to each other. The waiter left them with their menus and gave them a device to notify the waiter when they were ready.

“So, Clover, you’ve been here before. What’s good?”

“Literally everything Qrow. This place is six out of five stars. They even serve just about anything, as long its classy or exotic. That’s why this place is called The City of Commerce. They have all kinds of foods from all over Remnant, though the embargo has made things a bit tougher to get, this place manages somehow. I think they stockpile stuff, or grow it all themselves somewhere around here.”

“Or maybe they smuggle it.”

“That’s a possibility.”

“What do you usually get?”

“Fish, though I try to try a different kind each time.”

“Hmm, I think I’ll try the … I can't even pronounce this, but It looks good.”

“Oh gods I’m not even going to try either. It does look good though.” They both continued to search and read through their menu, showing each other some mouth-watering food that looked like it was made by the gods. Eventually, Qrow reached the desserts, and was left in awe of a certain dish.

“By the brothers...”

“What is it?” Clover questioned, intrigued by what could prompt such a response.

“Is it bad if I have dessert for breakfast?” Qrow asked, still staring at the menu in awe.

“I’m not gonna judge you. I would come alone to the most expensive restaurant in the world just to have some fish. Besides, it’s our day off. We should have some fun.” Qrow still hadn’t looked up from the menu. “You know what?” Clover shut his menu. “I’ll have what you're having.” Clover activated the device and gave the waiter, who appeared almost instantly, their order “What is it anyways?” Qrow flipped his menu, which the waiter let them keep in case they wanted anything more, over to show him. It looked kind of like a fancy layered dark chocolate cake and nothing more.  

“It’s made from a rare plant that’s only in season for a few months every few years. It’s not like anything you’ve ever tasted before. I think you’ll like it.”

“Color me intrigued. It certainly looks good.” Cloer hoped that he would like it. It was rare to see Qrow so excited over something, so he didn’t want to disappoint him

“Oh, you're gonna love it. If there’s anything good that came out of that tribe, it’s that dessert.”

“And you.” Clover reminded him. If someone had told Clover that he was going to fall in love with the greatest huntsman alive and go on an actual date with him, he would tell that person that he wasn’t that lucky. Yet, here he was, and Clover couldn’t be more grateful to be loved by the great Qrow Branwen.

“Alright, and me.” Qrow had to admit that Clover’s constant insisting that he was a great man was working on him. He did feel really good. After chatting, laughing, sipping on their drinks, and eating the complementary biscuits, their order finally arrived.

“It looks even better in person.”

“It’ll taste even better than it looks. Take a bite! I wanna see your face when you try it!” Qrow was visibly excited to share one of the few good parts of his past with Clover.

“Don’t worry, I am.” Clover got his fork and took a piece of the moist slice. Immediately, his eyes widened. He swallowed the piece and told Qrow “Oh my gods this is so good.” He immediately took another bite, savoring the flavor and texture this time. He looked at Qrow as he took his first bite of the slice of cake. “Is it as good as you remember?” he asked.

“Oh yeah, definitely. Maybe even better.”

“Lucky you, huh?” Qrow replied with a small laugh. They continued to enjoy being in each other’s presence as they ate. However, Clover noticed a wistful look on Qrow’s face. “What’s wrong Qrow?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing. This old bird is just being sentimental.” Qrow said as he looked down at the cake slice.

“Want to talk about it?” Clover asked as he took another bite.

“I was just thinking about when I was in the tribe. Looking back, it was pretty bad, but it wasn’t all bad, you know. I guess I just miss the small things like this, back when me and Raven were younger and close. But, that’s all in the past. I’ve got better things now, like the kids, you, … this cake.”

“Aww, Qrow.” Clover knew that he shouldn't be surprised that Qrow thought so well of him, all things considered, but he was still caught off guard. Sure, he had received tons of compliments before, but they were superficial more often than not. However, this complement was very genuine, and from the man he could say with confidence that he loved.

“Don’t be going soft on me now Lucky Charm.”

“I think I can afford to be a little soft when I’m on a date with my boyfriend.”

“Hmph, if you say so.” Qrow replied, his own expression also soft.

“But, speaking of cake, how about we see if we can get a full cake to take back with us. We can share it with the kids, and make some new memories.”

“That … sounds nice. I’d like that.” Qrow noticed that Clover was lovingly gazing at him, obviously enamored. Qrow knew that he wasn’t a lucky man, but if the universe had ever given him any compensation for his bad luck, he knew that it was Clover. “Hey, Clover?”

“Yes?” he responded. His head on one of his hands as he still stared lovingly at his boyfriend.

“I just want to say thanks. For all these past months. You’ve helped me out a lot, and stuff. So, uh, thanks. Again.” Before Clover could respond, Qrow moved in for a kiss on the lips. It was not a short kiss, nor a long one, but it was still intimate nonetheless. “Love you.” Qrow could see that Clover was somewhat surprised. “I’m not the best with words, so-” He was cut off by Clover gently pulling him in closer for a slower, longer, and passionate kiss.

“I love you too Qrow.”

Accident (Tales From The Heart)

Fandom: One Piece Rating: Gen Warnings: Implied animal experimentation Characters: Bepo, Law, Penguin, Shachi

One of Bepo's favourite things was to watch; to lay back in the open air on the deck of the Polar Tang, and simply watch his human nakama's antics on those occasions they had surfaced and raised the sail to glide on the waves rather than under them.

Law, of course, would protest at the implication that he was getting up to 'antics' and the immaturity that implied, but as Bepo was careful to never say the world aloud, and also offered himself up as a comfortable pillow whenever Law sought one, that was rendered a non-issue. (Penguin and Shachi most certainly got up to antics, and hijinks, and pranks, and whatever other childish terminology Law would come up with, usually with a small fond smile playing at his lips, but that was hardly a surprise to anyone that knew them).

What Bepo privately termed Law's own antics, in the safety of his own mind (because Law couldn't read minds, no matter how much he liked to pretend he could sometimes), could also be called experimenting. The abilities of the Ope Ope no Mi were numerous, and even years after he'd eaten the fruit he was still finding new ways to use it.

One occasion in particular would always sick in Bepo's mind with fondness. At the time it had been terrifying, all four of them fearful that irreversible events had occurred (none of them dared call it damage, because how could they when nothing was actually broken), but hindsight offered a new lens through which to view the events, and Bepo had heard Penguin and Shachi loudly recounting it to new nakama as if it hadn't been one of the most unnerving things they'd ever experienced.

It had been like any other day out on deck; the sun was shining, the wind was a calm breeze – enough to caress Bepo's fur in a soothing manner, but not enough to threaten the security of hats on human heads – and Law was using Bepo as a willing backrest while he poured over documents pinned down with old bottles that once housed tablets but had since been repurposed as paperweights.

Penguin and Shachi were lounging around, keeping half an eye on their sail and all but ignoring the fishing rods they'd set up to try and bolster their food supplies as Penguin good-naturedly teased Shachi about his inability to tan, shrugging the shoulder of his tank top down to show a very definite tan line. Shachi was scowling half-heartedly as he prodded at the sunburn he'd gained on his own bare shoulder after attempting to gain some colour to his skin (Bepo wasn't entirely sure what he had against being so pale, but he'd long since discovered that humans had some very un-Mink-like views on many subjects). Law had plastered the burns with ointment earlier before barking out an order to keep the area covered if he wanted to stay out on deck with the rest of them.

"Cover up or go inside," their captain muttered, shifting some papers around without looking up. The ginger's scowl morphed into a pout before he sighed and shifted his clothes around so they returned to Law's specifications. "If you do that once more I'm forcing you inside," Law threatened, holding one hand up in the semi-clawed position that indicated a Room.

"I'm done! I'm covered up again, see!" Shachi spluttered, leaning into Law's personal space to gesticulate wildly at the part of his body in question. Law held out his other hand, palm up, still focusing his gaze solidly on the papers in front of him. "Eh? What's that supposed to mean?"

"The fish," Law said bluntly. "And the crab. Give them here."

Bepo looked over at the bucket by the reclining Penguin. Despite only half-watching their rods, the other two had accumulated some catches, two of which a very confused Shachi fetched for his captain. Curious, Penguin followed him and the pair of them squatted down by the aquatic creatures, watching the poor fish flop around limply on the deck as the crab tried to scuttle away. Law caught it and dumped it on its back to stop it escaping. Bepo winced slightly at the sight. He wished Law didn't play with their food sometimes, although he understood that it was better to use unknown and unrefined techniques on their food rather than each other. Did they still have to be alive, though?

A twist of Law's fingers inside the Room that covered half the deck, and… nothing happened.

The fish still flopped helplessly, and the crab still struggled to right itself in order to flee. Bepo saw Law frown, and deduced that whatever he'd been trying to do hadn't worked.

"Ow, my arm!" Shachi whined, reaching up with one hand to subconsciously touch the fabric over the sunburnt area.

"That's what sunburns do," Law snapped, the failure leaving him on edge as they often did. He prodded at the fish moodily, only succeeding in making it flail more desperately.

"But Shachi's the one that's sunburnt, not me!" Shachi complained. Bepo felt rather than saw Law freeze.

"Yeah, but whatever Law did, I like it because my arm doesn't hurt anymore," Penguin said, sounding far too smug.

"…Shachi?" Law asked, raising his head away from the poor hapless sea creatures for the first time since they'd been presented to him.

"What?" Penguin asked, or as Bepo realised, Penguin's voice asked.

"Penguin?" Law continued, as if no-one had answered.

"Yes?" Shachi's voice responded.

There was a moment of stunned silence, before a single expletive slipped from Law's mouth, shattering the suspense.

"What the hell?" both older humans yelled at the same time, leaping backwards and pointing at each other aggressively. "Who the hell are you?" Bepo saw Law place his head in his hands despondently.

"Captain?" he asked tentatively, shifting his position slightly so he could place a gentle paw on the other's shoulder.

"Fuck," Law bit out again, his fingers clenching in his hair. Penguin and Shachi – or was it Shachi and Penguin now – paused to look at him in concern.

"What's up?" they asked in unison. That hadn't changed.

"It was supposed to swap the fish and the crab," Law bemoaned. "I only know the theory, I wanted to test it to see how it worked before I tried it on humans." The unspoken on you hung in the air. Once Law knew his newly researched abilities didn't kill or irreversibly harm the animal test subjects, he'd taken to using a usually willing Penguin and Shachi to trial them on humans.

"You swapped our bodies?" Penguin yelped – or was it Shachi? Bepo wasn't sure which was which any more. That was more of a Shachi reaction, so he decided to assume it was Shachi, even if the hat on the man's head clearly said 'Penguin'.

"Is that even possible?" Penguin-in-Shachi's-body asked, frowning. He poked at his shades, lifting them slightly before pulling them back down with a hiss of pain. "Okay, that was snow blindness. Not my eyes."

"Don't just take my shades off like that!" Shachi-in-Penguin's-body complained. Penguin-in-Shachi's-body flapped a hand at him in what Bepo understood was supposed to be a pacifying gesture. The currently-not-ginger-ginger was not pacified at all, from the way his (or rather, Penguin's) chest puffed out and he crossed his arms.

"Look-"

"Can you two stop?" Law asked, sounding miserable enough to incite automatic obedience.

"Law?" the pair asked, crouching down beside him.

"I don't know how to fix this," the youngest human admitted, his hands curling into fists. Penguin and Shachi took hold of them and unfurled them gently.

"Hey," Shachi-Penguin said gently.

"It'll be okay," Penguin-Shachi told him. "You'll work it out."

"I can live in this guy's body for a few days," Shachi-Penguin grinned. "No sunburn and I can get a tan now!" Penguin-Shachi shoved him lightly.

"I'll take better care of Shachi's sunburn than he would, you know," he told Law. "It's going to be fine. Don't stress yourself."

"But-" Law started, only for the two humans to simultaneously press their fingers to his lips, indicating that he should stop talking.

"It'll be fine," they repeated. "We trust you."

Law still fidgeted, until Bepo heaved himself fully into a sitting position and enveloped all three of them in a massive bear hug.

"Don't worry," he told them, watching his frail-looking nakama sag slightly in his hold. "I'll keep everyone safe, Captain."

He couldn't help Law switch them back, and he couldn't help them adjust to each others' bodies. But they couldn't fight properly like that, and if there was one thing Bepo had always been able to do, it was fight.

Just as the silence after his words got too heavy to bear, he nuzzled them all affectionately, refusing to let them squirm away until he was certain the tension had defused.

Panic would do none of them any good at all. Law would fix it, and Bepo would have their backs like he always did.

The Not-So-French Mistake

Chapter 1: Angelic Abductions 

Sydney woke to an unfamiliar ceiling. She stood, eyeing the room, hands outstretched in a protective circle. The setting sun beamed in through the yawning windows and their golden rays glared over her face. Feverish, sweltering heat crashed down and sweat trickled off her forehead. It was the occasional, rickety hotel room with thin, decorative curtains and typical furniture. Yet a threat lingered in the air. 

Her apparent amnesia heightened her fear. However, with the lack of visible threats, she allowed her rigid shoulders to drop an inch. Nothing was off, per se, besides the apparent fact that she hadn’t recalled purchasing a hotel room; and for reasons unknown, her senses were warning her that she wasn’t alone: like a hidden, buzzing alarm somewhere in her conscience.

On cue, a gentle, cool draft blew in the room, and there a man stood at the foot of the doorway. He entered the room, his stare stoic and concentrated with a calm expression shaping his intense features. The khaki-colored trench coat embracing his shoulders fluttered with the breeze while his stark-blue tie politely waved.

Her eyes betrayed her. She dug her nails into the sweat of her palms, forming anxious fists that would dubiously protect her from whatever evil lay before her. An ocean of questions flooded her brain in a panicked moment, and she cowered fearfully. Her elbows tucked into her ribs, palms out in surrender like a frightened animal.

The man blinked benignly. Curiously, he took a step onto the lip of the carpet. He spoke honestly: “My name is Castiel.”

With a set jaw and a wary mind, she regarded the man. He appeared harmless: his ruffled dark hair and clear blue eyes dampened her nerves significantly. Continuing to gape like a fish, she struggled to form intelligible sentences. She finally demanded, “Where am I?”

Castiel neared cautiously to avoid alarming her. “A place you do not belong.“ He extended his arm toward her face, two fingers caressing her temple in a gentle profession.

A wave of bliss shot through her, blessing her muscles into a restful state. The darkest corners of her mind eased and folded under the grace’s fluid power, and she folded into unconsciousness as her eyes fluttered shut. She went limp and steady hands caught her before she descended onto the tile floor.

Castiel supported her deadweight and unfurled his wings. Then, with a confident rush of wind, the humid prison of a deserted hotel was behind them. The angel observed his new surroundings, while he gingerly assured the girl’s safety within his arms. Castiel pushed past a startled Bobby and grunted as he set her on the couch.

Bobby’s face wrinkled his brow in confusion and then raised them again, ready for a thorough explanation. “So, who’s the girl?”

Castiel narrowed his eyes, although his expression remained passive. He revealed three gleaming angel blades hidden in his trench coat and displayed them on the table. “Angels had locked her within an abandoned hotel not far from here.” His tone was soft and concerned. Regretful.

Dean and Sam both looked exhausted: the bruised raccoon eyes from lack of sleep and the slouched mannerisms proved their late-night research and hunting.

They had chosen their stance throughout Bobby’s country home: Castiel stood with his hands in his trench coat pockets while watching over the girl, Sam and Dean were both inclined up against the antique table, and Bobby had situated himself in a wooden seat.

Dean raised an eyebrow at the girl splayed on the couch. Her auburn locks fell onto her shoulders in chocolate waves. A snugly fit jean jacket enveloped her, the sleeves’ ends frayed and torn with age and worriment, while a plain black tank top fit her middle. Black leggings clung to her knees in wrinkles, but, oddly enough, no shoes were present. Dean immediately remarked, “Can she even drive yet?” For someone associated with angels, she was awfully young.

Castiel paused, considering it literally, and before he could embarrass himself by answering, and Dean stopped the angel. The hunter chuckled and rephrased his question, “Cas, what I mean is: Why do the angels care so much about a teenager? Is she human?”

Castiel looked regretful when he replied, “Yes. She has a human soul. Whatever the angels are searching for, it is foolish.” The angel blades along the table clattered as he nudged their handles, recalling their owners apologetically. The angel huffed, reluctant to tell as they waited patiently for him to explain. He owed them one, however. After all the favors the Winchesters had given, they at least deserved answers. “They stole her from a… variance of our dimension.”

Dean pouted a lip. “So, what? They went all, Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe on her? Yanked her out of the professor’s magic wardrobe?”

The angel watched, lost as Dean made references, so he merely continued explaining without acknowledging them. “No, Dean. She doesn’t exist here. That’s what makes this extremely dangerous.”

“Like… Aslan kind of dangerous?” Dean smirked.

“Aslan? The Turkish word for… lion?” he said, looking bewildered until he had decoded Dean’s phrase as a casual joke. He huffed, “No- no, Dean. This level of interference could cause catastrophic damage to our universe. This could disrupt time itself if we don’t prevent it. This could alter fate.” Castiel sought to prove how world-altering this could become.

Dean shrugged. “Another chance that our world may be royally screwed. Why am I not surprised? You know, sometimes I feel like the world is just begging for attention.” He took a calm sip of his half-empty glass. “So how do we get her… back?”

Castiel shook his head. “I don’t know if we can. There are infinite realities out there, Dean. Finding the correct universe would be like searching for a specific atom in an entire galaxy. It’s… unrealistic. Even to our standards, ” he said.

The hunter sent a silent impressed look. It wasn’t like they were defying the laws of nature on a daily basis or anything, but he couldn’t argue.

Sam froze. “Hey, wait. Is this related to that alternate reality we were thrown into by Balthazar? The one with our lives as a television show with no mojo? I remember now. Our names were, eh, Jared and Jensen?” He remembered that day. A world where supernatural, demons, and angels didn’t exist. Nothing of the sort had ever walked among anyone. It was a blessing, really. Plus, Sam and Dean had been ridiculously rich. He didn’t have a bad memory of the place, besides the angel Virgil pouncing on their tails.

He remembered how Cas had been. Or mostly, how he hadn’t been. Misha Collins, he recalled vaguely, the sweater-wearing variant of their angel friend. His voice had been higher-pitched, too: less gravelly and low. Misha had been rather vulnerable as a human. From the homeless man’s descriptive details, Sam had pieced together that Misha had blubbered and squealed blatantly as the blade of Virgil’s knife had pinched threateningly at his neck. Nobody could blame the guy: he had been an innocent, inexperienced variant of their mid-war Castiel. Although, now that the angel was here in the flesh while Sam speculated, he couldn’t help contrast Castiel’s and Misha’s polarity.

Castiel nodded. “Yes. A similar one.”

Sam made an abundance of facial expressions when he was thinking. His eyebrows would draw crinkles along his forehead and his teeth would grind together in thought. His eyes remained steady and sure. “Then couldn’t we use that symbol we used the last time? The one that glowed red on the window we jumped through?”

“No.” The angel answered sadly. “Not that simple. We knew about your location.”

Sam leaned back further against the table at Cas’s response. It never was that easy, was it? “So that’s it? We… let her stay?”

Without hesitance, the angel replied, “No. That could altogether upset the natural order. I suggest we find the angel responsible.”

All three hunters eyed the angel in anticipation. When he didn’t respond, Bobby spoke up, “Who, then?”

Cas fidgeted. “I don’t know yet.”

It was quiet after that. A whistle of hot wind trickling in from a loose window and danced throughout the house, filling in the silence the group left. In all seasons, nature’s sounds were talkative at this end of the country. The cicadas chirped enthusiastically when the stars blinked above, and the mosquitoes nipped when summer sweat pooled in their shoes. It differed completely from the city. There was no whining of engines besides their own, and the air smelled of sweet ponderosa pine: a soft, blended aroma of vanilla and butterscotch. The Singer Salvage Yard was a rusty home for the hunters, but it was home.

Dean couldn’t shake the instinct within him that told him to question the scenario, so he spoke up, headstrong. “Okay, but is this even a bad thing?”

“Of course, it’s a bad thing-!” Bobby barked incredulously.

“Yeah, yeah, but Cas said it could alter fate. So what if this could improve things around here? I mean, if we recruited her, think of the hunter she would-”

“That was not meant to encourage you, Dean.” Castiel disagreed. “You know too well how this turns out. Becoming vain over ‘good intentions’ backfire. They always do. Of all people, you should have learned this lesson by now.” He pivoted to take a glance at the comatose teenager on the couch cushions. She seemed at peace now, but once she woke, it would be worse than at the hotel. “She was petrified when I retrieved her. Imagine if she learned what lurked in the darkness. It could break her, Dean.”

Castiel had a point.

Dean shifted uncomfortably,  recollecting old memories that started with the phrase: ‘good intentions’. Sam’s par against demon blood and had spiraled into the upbringing of the devil himself and the apocalypse along with him. The time Castiel had been juiced up on souls and transformed into ‘God’ was also an example of ‘good intentions’ gone wrong. 

Dean could additionally add the constant sacrifice of his life for Sam’s as another example of where he could officially state he had literally been forming deals with death. Wearing Death’s ring and impersonating him for an entire day just to bring Sam’s soul back from Lucifer’s cage was a rather personal issue of his. Protective was a light term.

Cas sensed the hunter’s change of attitude and figured it best to drop the topic while they were still civil and level-headed. “I suggest you all sleep. I’ll take watch.” The angel shuffled into a comfortable position, preparing to stand silently for the rest of the night as the chirrups and warbles of birds outside hushed.

So, the idle room roused, itching for its inhabitants to sleep as the stars sat above them.

Bobby was first to act, and he migrated from his seat to settle for the night. The stairs gave a distinct thwap thwap of socks against the wood to indicate he was heading off to bed and leaving the boys to their own business.

Sam rose from his corner of the table, stretching and lumbering off to the car to rest like a defeated moose. The couch was occupied, so he was making do.

Dean raised an eyebrow, trotting off to grab another drink. Nobody bothered to protest against his habits because, unfortunately, this was Dean’s way of coping with the obstacles life threw at him. Eventually, Dean would settle; however, the rattle of a fridge shutting proved it would not be for a while. He returned to the living room, glass now refilled with alcohol. He sat at the desk chair Bobby had abandoned and swayed pleasantly to the hum of crickets sounding through crevices in the walls.

Dean flashed an amused look towards Castiel. “You know, you don’t need to stand over her like a hawk. You carved the sigils into her ribs, right?”

Castiel was, indeed, hovering over the teenager. He blinked, realizing his mind had gone blank with fatigue. Faltering, he swapped his attention to the hunter. “Yes… I suppose I did,” he said, giving a weary, brief look to the couch once more before sitting on the floor with his hands rested on his knees.

“Then she should be fine.” Dean expressed his interest with an inquisitorial gaze. “What’s got you worried, Cas?”

His friend was unusually uptight. “If angels deliberately brought her here from another dimension, she must be valuable to them. If we lose her once…” he trailed off.

“We won’t,” Dean stated with confidence.

Castiel frowned pensively. “I know.” He looked to the floor, pulling at the sleeves of his trench coat. “I’m draining, Dean. My grace is fading, and by the day humanity is prodding at the floodgates for cracks and fissures. I fear one day I’ll wake up as a human.”

Dean paused at the words ‘wake up as a human’ and carefully said, “But… you don’t sleep.”

“Exactly,” Castiel muttered. He rested his forehead along his palm, finding it heavy. “I’m finding it difficult to avoid the temptation of sleep.” The angel exhaled, closing his eyes and succumbing to his exhaustion.

Dean ceased to stir his drink and instead planted it on the desk. He threw a blanket over Castiel’s resting form with a soft smile. Resting his elbows on his thighs, he absorbed the night. He browsed Sam’s laptop for data on dimensional travel, but results proved frustrating. In periods of boredom, he would rise from his seat and amble around, occasionally refilling his glass. This was what Dean accomplished when he was restless. It was just another night of nothing.

Eventually, after hours of repeating this process, the hunter drifted away as dawn illuminated the house with a tame gold. He sunk into the chair, his head lolling until it sagged against the wall.

Fortunately, it was a dreamless slumber.

A Whole New World - a Shadowhunters fanfic

Chapter 4: Fools Off Their Guards 'A fool off his guard could fall, and fall hard' - Arabian Nights, Aladdin In which Alec makes his second wish, and Magnus makes good on a promise.

Read it from the beginning on AO3

Read Chapter 4 on AO3, or alternatively, read it below!

~oOo~

Magnus rematerializes in the living room, a little surprised to hear Alexander’s voice still coming from his bedroom. He’s been on the phone with his mother for at least an hour, since before Magnus briefly returned to the lamp to tend his garden. He frowns as he realises that Alexander isn’t speaking with his usual, easy cadence – his voice is animated, spiking in volume and pitch. Magnus finds himself wanting to go check on him; but he reminds himself that it isn’t his place, and he should give Alexander his privacy.

But when he hears a crash, all of that goes out the window, and he sprints to the open bedroom doorway. ‘Alexander, are you all right?’

A quick glance around the room reveals the source of the crash – everything on Alexander’s desk, including the potted plant and the desk lamp, has been strewn across the floor. Alexander turns to face Magnus, and Magnus’ breath catches at the blaze of righteous fury in his expression. He looks powerful and deadly, like an avenging angel, a world away from the kind, reserved man Magnus has been getting to know for the past ten days. When their eyes meet, Alexander visibly tries to calm himself, taking a deep, shuddering breath and running his hands through his hair. ‘Yeah,’ he says quietly. ‘Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry about that.’ ‘No need to be sorry,’ Magnus says, taking a step into the room. ‘Do you want to tell me what happened?’ Alexander tosses his phone – still clenched tightly in his hand until now – onto the bed with a little more force than necessary. ‘My mom,’ he says. ‘She… she found some letters. Between my dad and another woman.’ He laughs bitterly. ‘Actual, honest-to-God letters, can you believe that? Like he’s some sort of Victorian suitor. She confronted him, and apparently, the bastard didn’t even deny it. So she walked out. They’re done.’ 

His voice breaks right at the end of that sentence, and Magnus’ heart twists painfully as Alexander’s eyes fill with tears. He steps forward, closing the distance between them, and gently pulls his friend close, one arm around his waist, the other hand guiding Alexander’s head down to Magnus’ shoulder. ‘I’m so sorry,’ he murmurs. Alexander returns the embrace, then laughs again, his voice thick with tears. ‘It’s stupid, you know? I mean, obviously I’m pissed on her behalf, but it’s not… I’m not some middle-schooler whose parents are fighting downstairs, you know? I’m an adult, and I live all the way across the country. There’s no need for all of this.’ Alexander’s hand lifts briefly from Magnus’ back, as if he’s gesturing – at himself, or the room, or the general situation, Magnus doesn’t know. But he doesn’t have to, because his answer would be the same anyway. ‘It’s not stupid,’ he says gently, but firmly. He waves a hand as he talks, reassembling the plant pot and the lightbulb, moving the mess on the floor back into a neat arrangement on the desk. ‘He betrayed your trust and hurt someone you care about. You’re allowed to be upset about that, Alexander.’ A few moments pass in still quiet, before he says, ‘You know, you still have two wishes. Want me to turn him into a frog?’

He’s expecting a chuckle, and when he doesn’t get one, he pulls back, frowning a little. ‘Ah – Alexander, not that it’s not possible, but I don’t actually think it’s a good idea to-‘ Alexander shakes his head, lips twitching into a quick half-smile as he wipes his tears away. ‘No, it’s not that. I knew you were kidding, I just…’ He sits down on the bed, and Magnus sits beside him, waiting for him to collect his thoughts enough to speak again. ‘It made me think of something. Something that Mom said. She’s in a motel at the moment, and I said she could come stay here for a while instead. She told me that she wants some distance from Dad, but she can’t leave L.A. – her job’s there, and apparently no-one’s hiring through regular applications at the moment. The only chance she has to find something else is being head-hunted.’

Magnus smiles. ‘Okay. So, you’re thinking that perhaps we can arrange for her to find a job opportunity in New York?’ ‘Actually, I was thinking Colorado.’ At Magnus’ confused look, Alexander explains, ‘Mom lived out there when she was younger, and she always talks about going back some day. Plus, Max just started college in Wyoming, and after… all this, Mom’ll probably want him to have someone else close by.’

Someone besides Dad, Magnus hears. ‘Ah, I see. In that case, just to be sure I have everything clear – your second wish is for your mother to find a fresh start, an opportunity, in Colorado?’ Alexander nods, and the wheels start turning in Magnus’ head. ‘All right. Consider it done.’

***

Magnus strolls through the corridors of Yelloway & Stein, catching the odd glimpse of himself in an internal window. Suit-and-tie isn’t usually his thing, but maybe he should make an exception to that rule more often. He feels very professional.

He knocks on the door to Human Resources and opens it, giving the clerk a smile – though he dials down from his usual radiance, keeping things casual, unsuspicious. ‘Hi. Recruitment want the resumes we have on file for new talent. Where can I find ‘em?’ The clerk gestures over to a green out-tray on top of a filing cabinet, returning to their computer screen. To Magnus’ eyes, the mouse movements look a little more suited to playing solitaire than administrative work – but he’s hardly one to judge secretive practices in this particular office, and on this particular day, is he? He brushes that thought aside, gathering the resumes. ‘Thanks,’ he says, unsurprised when he receives no acknowledgement from the clerk. Ordinarily, he’d be annoyed at the utter lack of good manners, but today, any decrease in attention is a boon.

Alone in the elevator, he produces one more resume to add to the pile – the one Maryse Lightwood keeps hosted on an online recruitment site. He waves his fingers over it lightly, infusing it with a subtle magic; it won’t change what they think of her qualifications, but it’ll compel them to at least read the resume before throwing it out.

No one bats an eye as he strides into the Recruitment office, dumping the pile of papers on an in-tray marked SCOUTED. He turns on his heel and leaves, putting on the air of someone far too busy to stop for chit-chat. In a way, that part’s not even a deception. Yelloway & Stein is the fourth most prestigious law firm in the state, meaning that he still has numbers five through twelve to go.

***

Six days after Magnus’ excursion to Colorado, Alec is starting to get nervous. Magnus can go anywhere in the world in the blink of an eye – yet here he is, hanging around in a tiny New York apartment, with probably one of the top twenty most boring men on the planet. ‘You know,’ he says hesitantly, as they tuck into the leftover Chinese food they saved for lunch, ‘you don’t have to stick around. I’m sure what you did in Colorado worked – I can move on to my third wish, if you need to get going.’ Magnus shakes his head, gesturing with his chopsticks as he finishes his mouthful before speaking. He handles them more elegantly than Alec could ever hope to – centuries of experience combined with some sort of natural grace, Alec supposes. ‘Like I said, I can stick around a while. After all, I want to make sure all three of your wishes are properly granted.’ He pauses, meeting Alec’s gaze more directly. ‘Of course, if you… if I’m interrupting your routine too much, I can always find another place to keep my lamp.’ ‘No,’ Alec says, knowing his answer was too quick but hoping Magnus hasn’t noticed. ‘No, not at all.’ Truth be told, much as he likes the independence of living alone, he forgot how nice it is to have another presence in the home – a friend, a roommate, someone to talk to and laugh with and sit next to on the couch.

Magnus’ serious expression lightens a little. ‘Okay. But please, do let me know if I’m outstaying my welcome. I’m eight hundred years old, time passes a little differently for me,’ he jokes. Alec rolls his eyes. ‘Yeah, sure, because I’m gonna complain about a magic houseguest who’s literally only sticking around to make my dreams come true.’ He looks back down at his food, not quite meeting Magnus’ eyes as he says, ‘No, don’t worry about any of that. I like having you here.’ It’s too earnest, too honest to be said with eye contact. But it doesn’t matter, because he feels his stomach swoop anyway just remembering that beautiful, warm smile; the one that Magnus wears whenever Alec shares something from even remotely near his heart.

***

Three days later, Alec comes home with a small parcel, hastily wrapped in a suitably tiny gift bag. ‘Magnus?’ he calls. ‘In here,’ comes the reply from the living room, and Alec walks in to see Magnus banish a plush-looking yoga mat, snapping his fingers to change from his black tank top and sweatpants back into a regular outfit as he smiles at him. ‘Good day?’ ‘Yeah, it was okay,’ Alec says. He manages to stop thinking about what it would have been like to come home ten minutes earlier, but only because he’s struck by a sudden wave of fondness at how quickly they’ve settled into this routine of theirs. He shakes himself, producing the gift bag from his pocket. ‘Here, I got you something.’ Up until now, Alec didn’t think Magnus could look this taken aback. ‘Me?’ ‘Yes, you,’ he says – but as he hands it over, his phone buzzes in his pocket. ‘Ah – one moment.’ He pulls his phone out, a thrill of excitement and nervousness thrumming through him as he sees who it is. ‘Hi, Mom.’ ‘Hi, sweetheart, you’ll never guess what happened – I got a call from a big legal firm in Colorado. They want me to join the senior team in their family law department!’ ‘What? Wow, Mom, that’s amazing!’ Alec easily translates the happiness he’s feeling into false surprise, even as he looks up at Magnus and gives a thumbs-up. Magnus responds with a dazzling grin that sparks something even brighter in his golden eyes, silently clapping his hands in a gesture of triumph and joy.

Alec talks with his mom for a few more minutes, listening to the details of her new job, how they just called out of the blue, how she’d almost forgotten about putting her resume out there on that old recruitment site. ‘I’m really happy for you, Mom,’ he says softly. ‘Thank you, sweetheart. Listen, I’ve got to go – there’s a lot to sort out here, they want me to start as soon as possible – but I just wanted to let you know, I know how you worry. Talk soon, okay? I love you.’ ‘Yeah, I love you too, Mom. Bye.’ He hangs up, sinking into an armchair and basking in the happiness for a moment. ‘Well,’ Magnus says, taking the seat next to him. ‘Two wishes granted, and both for someone else’s sake. Honestly, Alexander, I’m half-expecting you to ask me to cure world hunger next.’

That startles Alec out of his reverie, and he looks sharply at Magnus. He’s been so preoccupied with the issues close to home, he never thought - Magnus seems to understand his alarm, reaching out a hand to rest it reassuringly on Alec’s arm. ‘You’re a kind man, Alexander, and no, you haven’t missed a huge, altruistic opportunity,’ he says, his tone teasing but his expression gentle. ‘If you’d asked me for something like that, I would have said no. Believe me, I understand the temptation to use magic to solve the world’s biggest problems, but wish-granting is… subtle, by nature. If you go too big with it, you wind up causing more problems than you solved. People get suspicious of large, anonymous donations, and the finances of a charity are shut down for six months while it’s investigated. An island hit by a hurricane is fixed overnight, and the next time one strikes – when there’s no genie around – humanitarian aid isn’t considered a priority anymore, because it was okay last time, wasn’t it?’

Alec gives a hmm of understanding. ‘I see your point. It must be frustrating – knowing you have all this power, but that snapping your fingers can’t just…’ ‘…Fix everything?’ Magnus supplied. ‘You’re right, it is frustrating – especially during the first hundred years, when every experience is so new and exciting, and every time you help someone it feels like an adventure.’ He smiles. ‘But most of us do what we can, behind the scenes. We can make a sizeable difference, even if we can’t eradicate the biggest problems. For example, my dear friend Catarina spends half her time as a medic with the Red Cross, guiding people to ‘miraculous’ recoveries.’ His eyes soften as he looks into the middle distance for a moment, before his focus comes back to Alec. ‘My advice?’ he says, softly, waiting for Alec to nod before he continues. ‘Use your last wish for yourself, Alexander. Do what I’m sure you’ve only done a handful of times before, and be as selfish as you like. I assure you, you’re more capable of good deeds by paying your luck forwards later, rather than trying to fix something big with unruly magic and a half-baked plan. There’s no shame in taking this opportunity just for you – in fact, in terms of making a positive impact, it’s probably the best option.’

Alec smiles. ‘Okay. I get it.’ His eyes alight on the tiny gift bag, forgotten on the coffee table. ‘Speaking of things that are just for you, open your gift! I need to know if I got the right one.’

Magnus takes the bag and gently lifts out the present, the wrappings disappearing mid-air as he throws them haphazardly over his shoulder. He blinks at the small piece of metal in its inordinately large plastic envelope, a small furrow of confusion gathering on his brow. ‘What’s this?’ ‘It’s a hinge,’ Alec says, rather obviously. He knows it’s a hinge, you idiot. ‘It’s for your lamp,’ he continues hurriedly. ‘The lid. So you don’t have to seal it up with wax again, and you won’t get stuck, but it’ll still be attached.’

And… okay, wow. If Alec thought that that smile had set his heart racing, it was surely nothing compared to the expression on Magnus’ face now. His mouth is slightly open, lax, as if in shock, his eyes are slightly wide and sparkling as he blinks, and his brows are still pulled together almost imperceptibly. Abruptly, he gets up, striding over to the lamp. He removes the hinge from packaging which once again blinks out of existence before it hits the ground, and there’s a flash of green light. He turns around with the lamp in his hands, and Alec sees that the hinge is now fused to the lamp, allowing the lid to tilt smoothly away from the main opening and then settle back into it snugly. Alec quickly discovers that he was wrong before. Nothing compares to that smile, and he knows that for certain because Magnus is looking at him with it right now, and Alec doesn’t want to ever look away even though a whole colony of butterflies has apparently just moved into his stomach. ‘It’s perfect, Alexander,’ Magnus says. ‘Thank you so much.’ Alec shrugs, trying to control his own pleased grin. ‘It’s nothing, really.’ ‘No,’ Magnus says vehemently. ‘It is certainly not.’ He looks down at the lamp. ‘I don’t remember the last time someone got me a gift,’ he murmurs. ‘Let alone such a thoughtful one.’

A part of Alec wants to ask Magnus how that can be true, when he spends so much of his time making others happy. Who wouldn’t want to thank him for that? But he’s not entirely sure that those last few words were meant to be spoken aloud. And he’s not entirely sure that if he starts talking about how grateful he is for Magnus – for all his help – he’ll be able to stop.

So instead, he changes the topic. ‘So, tell me – what’s the plan, after I make my third wish? What’s next for you? You planning on staying in New York a while, seeing the sights?’

Magnus’ attention seems to return to the here and now, and he places the lamp back on the mantelpiece with reverent care. ‘No, I don’t think so,’ he says. ‘After all, with such an innovative solution to my lid problems, the world is once again my oyster, hm?’ He winks, and Alec smiles, trying to return the playful tone and mask his foolish disappointment. Of course he isn’t sticking around. He’s been waiting on you long enough already.

But in that case, Alec’s going to take his advice, and he’s going to be selfish for once – he’s going to spend tonight in Magnus’ bright, reassuring company, and he’s not even going to think about his third wish until tomorrow. Just tonight, he tells himself. I’ll just ask him for tonight – no more, no less. He can always say no. Although of course, Alec’s fervently hoping that he doesn’t.

He turns and grabs his coat, winding his scarf around his neck. ‘Well, in that case,’ he says, ‘there’s something you really ought to see before you go.’ ‘Oh?’ Magnus asks. ‘And what might that be?’ He snaps his fingers, and a long, dapper coat appears over his own shoulders, a vibrant blue neckerchief peeping out from where it’s tucked warmly around his throat. His eyes darken to a rich brown, disguising their golden magic. They leave, and as Alec’s locking the door behind them, he says, ‘It’s this one path in Central Park. It’s fairly out of the way, pretty quiet – but it’s beautiful this time of year, because all the leaves have turned. It’s like something out of a fairytale.’ ‘Well,’ Magnus says with a smile, gesturing for Alec to go first, ‘I do like a fairytale. Lead on, Alexander.’

***

Magnus loses himself in easy conversation with Alexander on their way back from the park, and tries not to think of the third and final wish looming on the horizon.

He’s surprised himself, these last few weeks. He’s spent more one-on-one time with Alexander than he has with anyone else in the last hundred years, bar Catarina and a handful of lovers, and he’s found himself surprisingly… attached. He put it down to loneliness, at first – two years of house arrest would do that to anyone – and then he tried to pass it off as just flirting with a handsome guy, a way to pass the time while he waited to repay a favour. But somehow, without him noticing, he seems nice had turned into he’s my friend. He’s fun to flirt with had turned into I adore his company. I can afford to stick around for a while had turned into gods, I’m really going to miss him. Magnus hasn’t missed anyone in a long, long time, and he’s dreading it.

But it’s for the best, he reminds himself. Alexander’s a nice, regular mortal, who doesn’t need his life turned upside down by a sentimental old genie who doesn’t know when it’s time to move along. He’s polite, and thoughtful, and kind – far, far too kind to ever tell Magnus that it’s time for him to get back to his real life, to come down from the clouds bearing a fleeting whimsy of magic wishes and touch down in steady reality again. Magnus knows all of this. But knowing something and being happy about it are worlds apart, sometimes. Just like him and Alexander.

He tunes back in as his companion starts telling an anecdote of the time Jace convinced Max to climb to the very top of a tree, to throw down a frisbee that was stuck up there. Unfortunately, the seven-year-old had gotten stuck right alongside the frisbee, and had started sobbing – which had meant that Alexander (as the oldest, and tallest, and the one with the longest arms) was drafted into a perilous rescue mission, whilst Jace and Isabelle crowded the base of the tree, hoping to break any falls. There’s a fierce, fond love in Alexander’s eyes as he laughs at the memory, and he’s waving his hands in an impression of Isabelle as he recounts how she was yelling at Jace, calling him a reckless, irresponsible disaster of a human being –

Alexander suddenly starts toppling, his foot sliding out of control on a thin layer of evening frost, a gasp of faint surprise on his lips as he falls away from the sidewalk and towards the road. Magnus moves before he can consciously register it. His magic sticks his own feet to the floor as he reaches out with both hands, grabbing ahold of Alexander’s coat and pulling with all his might.

Alexander lurches forward, coming to rest with his torso pressed against Magnus’, his weight supported by the arm Magnus has thrown around his waist as well as the hand that’s still fisted in the front of his coat. A car zooms past them, right where Alexander’s head was a moment ago. They stand there for a few seconds, their stunned silence broken only by the noise of the traffic and their heavy breathing. ‘Are you all right?’ Magnus murmurs, his heart still pounding. Alexander blinks a few times, his tongue darting over his lips briefly before he can form the words. ‘Y-yeah. Thanks,’ he breathes.

A faint pink appears in his cheeks, growing beyond the already-present glow of the cold air, and it snaps Magnus out his trance as he realises the kind of tableau they must be making right now. He lets out a slightly breathless laugh, hearing how it comes out half-nervous, half-relieved, and absolutely zero percent casual. ‘Think nothing of it,’ he says, stepping back, steadying Alexander before removing his hands. He takes a deep breath, just managing to find a veneer of confident charm and an easy smile. ‘See, I told you,’ he says. ‘Didn’t I say that if I had a chance to save your life, I wouldn’t make you waste a wish on it?’ Alexander laughs, and the tension between them breaks. They walk home, comfortable in each other’s company – albeit a few inches further apart.

~oOo~

unrighteousness | t. holland | part 5 |

Not My Gif

summary: a perfect angel isn’t as perfect as she’s lead to believe, and there’s no other angel who knows more about imperfection than the one who fell

warnings: hell, religion, fire and dogs

note: this ones a bit longer but i love it!!

Your first “lesson” was easy enough. Katie taught you about the different parts of Hell, the creation and the logistics. You learned a lot about Tom along the way, how he was treated and dealt with while in Heaven. You read a few journal entries from when Hell as it is now, was being created. When Tom disagreed with Father or God as everyone called him down here, there was almost a war. Angels put against each other all because God must be right at all times. Anyone with a different opinion sentenced to suffer. They threw him out of Hell and into a Lake of Fire, which is the center of Hell. He managed to crawl out of the Lake and helped the other Angels who had been kicked out with him. Their wings never grew back as Toms did. They built the castle and as time went on, they begin to get humans. They only tortured the truly evil people. This who were damned to Hell because they didn’t believe or had forsaken God, simply lived in the town. Those who broke minor laws of society and were just mean spend most of their time in The Pit, which was the black tar pit you’d seen upon your arrival. The truly evil people, the rapists and abusers and unjustified killers and racists and those who hated and harmed others for their own greed and rich people who had indirectly caused masses of people to suffer, they all spent eternity being tortured. Some whipped all day until the skin in their back was gone, and then grew back over night just for the cycle to begin again. Some tied to rocks and allowed hungry animals to feast on their entrails.

“Does everything make sense so far?” Katie asks you.

“Perfectly” You speak looking at her. You were amazed at all the knowledge the Demons had, you’d been taught they were uncivilized and uneducated, only knew pain and hate.

“Good. Now let’s take a break, Tom wants you to train to fight with the Twins” She says, picking up a stack of black clothes.

“Who are the Twins?” You question as she begins to untie your dress.

“They were a few of the demons who survived The Falling. It was Tom, Harrison, Harry and Sam, Patrick, and Jacob. Tom, Harry, Sam and Patrick are actually all brothers, they were Higher Angels but Harrison and Jacob are their best friends. The Twins are Toms battle strategists, they are fairly mischievous so don’t believe everything they tell you.” She finishes as you put on the shorts and tank top you’re given. Katie smiles at you and walks you to a room. It’s large and two men are standing there, with weapons all around them.

“Sam and Harry, this is Y/n. I’ll be back for her in 1 hour and 30 minutes. Take care of her” Katie curtsies before leaving and closing the door behind her.

“I’m Sam” The boy with curly hair sticking out from all directions says. He shakes your hand.

“Harry” The other one says. His hair is long as well but only on top.

“You ever fought before?” Sam asks you. You shake your head no. He nods and moves to grab something and wraps it around his fingers.

He teaches you to block first, he teaches you to use your wings, which are much stronger than you thought. Then he shows you how to use weapons, he lets you choose which one you want to use, you decide on a long sword and a small mace for your other hand. He teaches you how to swing them to cause the most damage and protect yourself. The whole time, Harry comments on your movements and speed, showing you how to increase your agility without becoming tired. He corrects your footwork and reminds you to keep your eyes on everything at once. After an hour of fighting and training, you take a break, talking to the twins about what Katie was teaching you. They tell you their experience and how it happened in their eyes. They also tease you about your innocence and laugh every time you look shocked when they use a curse word. They begin asking you questions about living in Heaven and being an Angel, was it the same, have things changed. You all joke around for a while more before Katie comes for you, taking you to eat something.

As you’re eating lunch, Tom and Harrison pass through the room, he’s talking to another demon but stops when he sees you.

“How’s it going angel? D’you meet the twins?” He asks smiling as you swallow.

“I’ve learned a lot and i can fight now” You grin widely, causing Tom to chuckle.

“Good, I’ll see you tonight before you go to bed okay?” He says cupping your chin. You nod and look down at your food.

“Thank you Katie” Tom smiles at the girl, before going back to talking to Harrison and the other demon and moving out of the room.

“You know, before I came here, I’d only ever had bread, water and wine? It’s amazing that you guys have all these foods. The fruits are my favorite, there are so many, but the meat is different but still good, but a different kind of good” You giggle taking another bite of the chicken thigh.

“We call it savory. My favorite food is lamb. We eat it every few weeks and it’s delicious. Now come on, you have one more training session. It’s with Jacob and Patrick” Katie says cleaning up your plate.

You walk back down to a room similar to the one the twins were in, except it’s a bit darker. There’s a large man and a little boy talking.

“Sir Jacob and Sir Patrick, this y/n. I’ll be back in 45 minutes for her.” She says waving bye at the boys and leaving.

“Hey, I’m Jacob and this is Paddy. Tom wants me to help both of you with your powers” The large one says shaking your hand. You move to stand near where Paddy is standing.

“May I ask you a possibly rude question?” You ask looking down at Paddy.

“Sure can, you’re new here so i’m sure you’ve got lots of questions” He speaks smiling at you, his freckles distracting you from his eyes.

“If you fell when Tom did, why are you still young looking?”

“I age much slower down here, i’ve actually grown a few inches since The Falling. Tom says not worry and that i’ll grow big and strong someday soon” He smiles proudly. You nod and smile back before turning to Jacob.

“Now, Y/n, you’ve got some hidden powers and i’m gonna help you control them. It may be a bit scary at first, but this isn’t our only lesson so you’ll get used to it. Nothing in this room can hurt you. Tom was smart and made the rooms so that you can’t be harmed in here.” You nod and take a look around. “We’ll start with fire wielding. Pads, show y/n.” You oook towards Paddy as he closes his eyes and holds out his hands. Suddenly a flame grows from his hands, his hand looks like it’s on fire but he doesn’t seem to be in pain. The fire moves with his hands as he forms a ball and tosses it up in the air before staring at his hands and the fire dies out. You stare in shock.

“I-I can’t do that” You whisper looking at Jacob with concern.

“Yea you can, you’ve just never done it before. It’s not that hard you just have to think about it” Paddy says from beside you.

“Go ahead, give it a try. Think about the fire, controlling it, what it looks like, what it feels like. Don’t think about it hurting cause it won’t. Concentrate on creating the fire” Jacob says walking right in front of you.

You nod and hold your hands in front of you. You close your eyes and think. The beautiful colors of fire, how when it’s on wood it crackles and whips around things. How you’d never gotten to see fire in heaven. It’d always been fascinating to you. You feel a warmth over your heart and it burns until it’s nice and toasty. You open your eyes and see a much smaller flame then Paddy’s but it was something. The bottom was blue and the tip was orange you smiled and it grew a bit bigger before going out, causing you to pout.

“Don’t worry, it’s your first time. You did great, this time, focus on how angry heaven made you.” Jacob says. You feel your chest tighten. Heaven didn’t make you angry did it? Sure you could never do what you wanted and you were constricted to the impossibly strict rules enforced by everyone but you had been happy there right? You scan your brain for a time you’d been happy, but your heart falls at the fact that you’d never been happy. You’d been miserable, depressed even. Nothing made you happy except the sunset and rise. You clench your jaw at the memories of your hopeless life, they said Heaven was the happiest place but you’d never smiled more than you had in the last couple of days. God never checked up on you and the higher angels only policed where you went. The fire you felt earlier burned hotter now, if you were anyone else you were sure this would be cooking your soul.

You look down at your hands to see them engulfed in blue and red flames, up to your wrists. You thought about the flames a bit more and they cooled to orange but still very lively. You smiled and looked at the boys for validation that you were doing it right. Paddy looked amazed at your hands and clapped, while Jacob looked proud.

“Amazing y/n. Perfect. Let’s move on to some other stuff” Your flames went out and you kept staring at your hands, that remained unaffected by the flames that were covering them just seconds ago.

Jacob also taught you how to increase your hearing ability and how to move items with your mind. Paddy had to help you with that one because you couldn’t seem to only focus on the thing you wanted to move. You only made a cup move a foot but it was progress in their books. By the end of the lesson the boys were capturing you in a hug causing you to laugh. You all play caught using the techniques the Twins taught you. You were running around laughing when Tom came in.

“Looks like you lot are having heaps of fun” He interrupts with a smirk on his face.

“I think she’s cooler than you Tommy” Pads says as you ruffle his hair. Tom rolls his eyes before pulling the bit into a light choke hold.

“Alright angel, come on. I’ve managed to get out of my duties early. I wanna talk to you” He smiles, sticking his arm out for you. You take it and walk through the castle until you get to a bedroom next to his.

“This is your room, I hope you like it.” He speaks showing you all of it. It’s just a large as his and looks very similar but with less personal items and furniture. Your window has a small balcony on it and your bed has more pillows but looks comfortable all the same.

“I love it. Thank you” You go and sit at the vanity area.

“So, how was all your training?” He asks plopping on your bed and resting his hands behind his head.

“Interesting. I did things i never thought possible. Did you know I can see in the dark? And make fire? And that my wings are 15 times stronger than I am and I’m super strong, stronger than a human?” You look at him as you take your hair out of the ponytail it been in all day.

“I did yes, but you do know you can do more. We’ll let the lessons rest for a bit since i’m sure you’ll be sore tomorrow but I want to spend more time with you. I don’t know a lot about you and your personality. That’s what I want to know most about. So tell me, what are your favorite things?” He asks turning towards you. You relax in the plush chair and think hard.

“Well, I’ve always enjoyed sunsets and rises. The night sky is pretty too. I’d never seen it before but your window has a great view. The stars are gorgeous, I used to hear prayers about the constellations but I know nothing about them. I also love the fruits here! They’re so delicious and all your fancy words for things, like savory! Meat is savory and it’s so good. I do like music but all the music in heaven is kind of boring. I’ve heard some people singing down here and it’s so nice. I also like animals, like dogs they may be my favorite. Dogs or Snakes, i’m not supposed to like those in heaven. They’re unholy creatures because you ‘tarnished’ them but they’re so cute. I do like reading as well, i’ve only read the bible but I know there’s a lot of books written by humans” You sigh thinking of all things you’ve had to push aside your whole life.

“Angel, when you’re here, you can have all of that and more. Speaking of, you like dogs, i think there’s someone you’d like to meet.” Tom stands and open the door and whistles into the hallway. You hear a bark and the patter of feet. Tom opens the door wide and a large grey dog runs in the door, sliding on the hard wood but falling on the rug in your room. Your eyes widen at the dog.

“This is Tessa, found her on Earth being abused so I brought her here and now she’s a hell hound. Everyone says they’re mean and evil but she’s a total sweetheart.” He speaks plying with her ears. He beckons you over and you slowly walk to the dog. He sits near you and allows the dog to sniff you. She looks at you for a moment before jumping on you and licking all over your face causing you to laugh. You pet her and talk to her as mothers talk to their babies.

“Hello Ms Tessa. I’m y/n. You are so precious aren’t you? The cutest doggy ever? Yes you are” You play with her as she pants and allows you to pet her.

“You wanna sleep with her tonight? She’ll protect you.” Tom says scratching her head. You nod and hug the dog and then Tom.

“So what about you?” You ask as Tessa relaxes and lays down, her head in your lap as you scratch lightly behind her ears.

“Id love to sleep with you tonight” He winks at you. Your face heats up and you look down.

“I meant what’s your favorite stuff” You speak biting back a smile.

“Oh, yea. Well there’s a lot. Dogs for starters. I like to golf, I like reading as well. I love helping people and I love making things right. My favorite color is black and I love AC/DC, they’re a band who makes music. I also love earth. Mostly though, I love my friends and brothers.” He speaks looking in your eyes. His brown orbs hold so much sincerity you feel your heart beat a little faster.

“Tell me more.” You whisper. You and Tom spend the rest of your day talking and learning more about each other. After hours of nothing but talking, he tells you he has some last minute stuff he has to check on before bed. He leaves and lets you know Katie will be in soon to help with your bath. Tessa trots and hops up on your bed and lays down.

After your bath, Katie helps braid your hair. She also hands you a book of all the constellations and stars in the sky. You hug her tight before crawling in the bed with Tessa. Katie blows out your lamps and bids you goodnight. You fall asleep almost as quickly as the door is shut, falling into a deep sleep, thinking off all the kindness one beautiful devil as shown you.

taglist: @loxbbg @laucontrerasv @vintageroses1014516

Hot to the Touch - 2/?

A/N: I love this fic. lol. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter as much as I do! There will probably be at least two more to go.

For @iriswestallenhuh for our fics-for-icons arrangement. :P

*Many thanks to @valeriemperez for beta’ing.

...

Synopsis: College!AU - Of all the places Iris expected to meet the love of her life, she never imagined it would be the erotica section at the back of her favorite bookstore. 

...

Chapter 2 -

His heart was still pounding when he rounded the corner and found himself across the street from his dorm. The walk had only been a couple blocks, but it felt like he’d been walking for miles, power-walking, trying to erase the image of a beautiful woman inconspicuously getting herself off in the back aisle of a bookstore he didn’t even know existed.

Truth was, he didn’t really want to get the image out of his head, but it felt like such an invasion of privacy that he’d walked in on her like that. It made him feel guilty for wanting to see more.

And he’d tried – he’d tried – to tell himself that she hadn’t really been doing anything other than innocently reading a book and getting engrossed in it. But he’d seen the sign for Erotica clear as day just two aisles before he got to her and no other sign in that space. And he’d been shocked to see her there – to see anyone really, because the bookstore in and of itself felt like a hidden treasure – but there was no mistaking the hazy look in her eyes, her teeth biting her bottom lip, and her legs rubbing against each other in a provocative motion. And when she’d registered him standing there, he could’ve sworn she was a little flustered herself, even in her shock.

No, he hadn’t imagined it. She’d been getting herself off. And he had interrupted her.

And then ran out of there as fast as his legs could carry him, because…how mortifying.

And really, he needed something to take the edge off that wasn’t masturbating to the memory of her doing the same. Because then he’d never get her out of his head, which would be problematic since he’d never see her again. And if he did, it’d be equally embarrassing for both of them.

He regretted everything and nothing. He needed to confess what he’d witnessed, but only to Cisco. He trusted no one else with this knowledge.

He was so agitated, he crossed the street in a hurry, ignorant of the cars honking at him, since the light had just turned green. Once inside and in front of their door, he found he couldn’t find the right key. Cisco had told him so many times there was no need for so many keys on one ring when he only really used their dorm key a majority of the time, but Barry had insisted it was better to keep them all in one place because, ‘You never know when you might need one! Better to be prepared.’ ‘Okay, boy scout,’ Cisco had rolled his eyes, and that had been the end of that.

In this particular instance, Barry wished he had listened.

His fingers were so slippery with sweat against the metal, and they were shaking, and he was breathing so heavily that finally the door swung open, revealing a stressed-looking Cisco on the other side, and he realized he must have heard him.

Oh, no, Barry thought. We can’t both be stressed.

“What is going on?” Cisco demanded.

Barry swallowed hard, trying to get himself under control.

“I saw a girl.” He pushed past his roommate into the room and started to pace, running his fingers through his hair nervously.

Slowly, Cisco closed the door behind him and turned around.

“What do you mean, you saw a girl?”

“I mean,” he paused dramatically. “I saw a girl.”

Cisco walked in front of Barry, who stopped and narrowed his eyebrows.

“What is that code for?”

“I-” His mouth ran dry. He gulped. “I saw her doing something.”

“Doing something,” Cisco repeated flatly.

“Mhmm.” Barry nodded, eyes wide.

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific, man. What is the something she was doing?”

“She was doing-” He sucked in a breath of air, seemingly unable to get another word out.

Cisco rolled his eyes, then guided his roommate to the couch in their little living room.

“Okay, how about you sit down. I’ll get you some water, and then you can tell me what happened.”

Barry breathed deeply and sat, sinking back into the couch.

“O-Okay.”

A few moments later, Cisco was back in front of him handing him a glass of water.

“Thanks.”

He waited for him to take a few sips and set it down on the coffee table.

“Feel better?”

“A little.”

“Okay then. Tell me what happened.”

Barry took a deep breath, and then-

A sound that reminded him an awful lot of either a sheep or a goat interrupted them from behind Cisco’s bedroom door.

“Cisco-”

“Don’t-”

But it was no use. Barry pushed the door open, and out walked a baby goat, bleating as it went and stopping right in front of Cisco’s feet. The latter sighed. Barry’s lips twitched.

“What are you doing with a goat, Cisco?”

“No, no, no, don’t make this about me now.” He walked straight up to Barry, pointing his finger accusingly. The baby goat followed after him, making it impossible for Barry to take his roommate seriously. “We were talking about you.”

Barry laughed and took a seat back on the couch.

“No, I think this is much more interesting. How did you come to have a goat in your possession?”

Cisco grumbled, admitting defeat as he ran a hand over his face and sat beside his best friend. The goat attempted to jump onto the couch, but Cisco ordered it to sit, and obediently, it did.

“The guest you assumed I had last night?”

“She turned into a goat?” Barry asked, amused.

“Ha.” Cisco glared. “No. And I didn’t get lucky, either. I thought I was going to, but apparently she just needed a place to crash and fell asleep the second she made it in to the couch. I set some water out and went to bed. When I woke up, she was gone and this goat was sitting at the foot of my bed. I don’t have a number for her, and all I’ve got is a first name to go by. I’m not even sure this animal is hers, but I can’t imagine who else it could belong to.” He sighed.

“Well, we can’t keep it, Cisco.”

“Obviously!” He fell back against the couch. “I’m open to suggestions.” He glanced over at Barry, interrupting him just as he was opening his mouth to potentially give him one. “After you tell me about what happened with the girl. I’m guessing she was pretty.”

Resigned, Barry sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”

“What’d she look like?” Cisco asked, suddenly sounding as eager as a school girl for some gossip.

Barry ignored that, because really, he needed to confess this.

He shrugged. “Petite. Dark skin, dark hair, dark eyes…”

“You saw her eyes?”

A vision of when he’d been caught red-handed flashed before his eyes.

“Yeah.” He gulped. “For a second.”

“Okay. Enough beating around the bush, Allen. What was she doing that’s got you so flustered and blushing like-” He paused, the blinding realization hitting him suddenly. “Oh, God. You caught her in a private moment?” Barry nodded sheepishly. “With herself?” Barry didn’t say anything, but he turned a bright red. To be fair, even Cisco’s cheeks warmed up.

“Well.” Cisco cleared his throat. “No wonder.” His brows furrowed a moment later. “You’ve been with girls before, though, Barry. At least twice. This can’t be the first time you’ve seen-”

“She wasn’t naked, Cisco.” His voice squeaked. “It’s the fact that I don’t know her. She’s a stranger and she was doing something I shouldn’t have been allowed to see. It’s embarrassing, and I feel so…guilty. I invaded her privacy.”

He sounded so scandalized Cisco almost had to laugh, but he held it in.

“It sounds like it was an honest mistake, Barry. And like you didn’t stick around to see what would happen.”

“No.” Barry shook his head rapidly. “I got out of there as fast as I could.”

“Oh, boy.”

Cisco squeezed his shoulder.

“Look, I really think you’re making this a bigger thing than it needs to be, but if you’re having trouble getting the incident out of your head, why don’t we go out tonight? Get drunk at some party?”

Barry glared. “We’re underage, Cisco.”

“I think you need it, Barry.” Barry opened his mouth to protest, but Cisco interrupted him again. “You said Ralph was pestering you before. What was it about?”

Barry sighed but inevitably caved.

“He wants me to go to a party with him, but I know it’s just to be his designated driver because he plans on getting drunk. I said I’d think about picking him up if he called.”

“What if we both go to the party?”

“Cisco-”

“I’ll be the designated driver, so if you decide to break the law and drink your trauma away, I can drive both of you fools home.”

Barry glared.

“I won’t take no for an answer,” he said in a sing-song voice.

“What about the goat?”

The animal bleated at the mention of its existence. Cisco looked down into its cute, innocent face.

“I think Caitlin owes me a favor.”

…

Linda walked into the doorway of Iris’ bedroom at the exact moment Iris was tugging her lacy, black push-up bra up and her snug-fitting coral tank down. She was further amused when she yanked the black leather mini-skirt she’d chosen farther up her waist, so the hem would reach mid-thigh at best and just below her ass when she bent down to adjust the straps on her glistening high heels. She was just reaching for the jewelry on the top of her dresser when her eyes locked with Linda’s, a smile tugging at the corner of her best friend’s lips.

“Caught red-handed, West.”

Iris felt heat warm her cheeks, but she cleared her throat and brought the sparkly choker to her neck anyway.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, adjusting her long locks over her shoulders just before leaning towards the mirror to apply her make-up.

Linda laughed and walked past her, plopping herself down on her bed.

“You’re a liar.”

Iris sighed after puckering her lips and setting down the pretty shade she’d chosen to complement her clothes and her complexion.

“So, I’m dressing up a little. It’s a party.”

“That you didn’t want to go to.”

“I still don’t.” She propped a hand on her hip.

Linda raised her eyebrows, silently waiting.

“I just figured…I should look the part of a hostess.”

“Co-hostess,” Linda corrected.

“Yes, of course.” She smiled politely.

Linda swung her leg over her knee and drummed her fingers.

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain someone potentially showing up tonight, would it?”

Iris bristled. “You wouldn’t invite him.”

“I didn’t!” she insisted, holding her hands in the air in surrender. “But, uh…I didn’t say invites-only either, and I spread the news far and wide. He goes to CCU. Chances are he heard of it.”

Iris pursed her lips, contemplating the possible dilemma.

“Well, who cares?”

Linda raised her eyebrows again, further amused.

“Are you hoping he’ll be there? So he can… see what he’s been missing?”

Iris grinned. “Well, I hadn’t thought of that. But now that you say it, yes.”

“He’ll prob have a skank or two on his arms.” She rolled her eyes. “They prob will only be slightly more revealing than you are, I might add.”

Iris’ eyes narrowed. “The difference is I have style.”

“That’s true,” Linda allowed.

“Besides,” Iris tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I’m not looking for a hook-up.” She met her eyes. “If that’s what you’re implying.”

Linda eyed her, suspicious. “You’re not?”

“No! Of course not!” She scoffed. “The fact that you even have to ask me that is-”

“I didn’t say with Eddie.”

She frowned.

“You’re not dressing up – or down – for him.” She got to her feet and approached her best friend mischievously. “So, who are you dressing for?”

“I – uh – n-no one!” She pushed past her, looking for something to distract herself with.

“You’re blushing!”

She spun around. “You can’t tell that!”

Linda rolled her eyes. “You sound like you’re blushing.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“You’re flustered, then.” Iris opened her mouth to defend herself, but Linda kept going. “You stuttered and ran away from me.” Iris sighed, her shoulders hunching in defeat. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Iris avoided her gaze as she came closer.

“Did you meet someone?” Iris said nothing. “Where? When?” She paused. “At the bookstore? Today?”

Iris’ eyes flashed to hers, her mouth hanging open.

“How do you do that?”

Linda grinned and shrugged. “It’s a gift.” She continued when Iris was apparently rendered speechless. “So…are you gonna tell me about him? Is he hot?” She asked, going to sit back on her bed again. “Will I want him?” She winked when Iris’ head whipped up to look at her. “Kidding.” She laughed. “Finders keepers, he’s all yours.”

She sighed and came to sit next to her.

“He probably won’t be here, and it’s not like I want a relationship. I’m not ready for that.”

“So, you do want a hook-up,” she declared triumphantly.

Iris groaned. “Lindaaa.”

She laughed. “There’s no shame in that. You deserve to get some, and there are lots of bedrooms at the mansion.”

“In the house you grew up in?!” she asked, scandalized.

“It’s not like you have to do it in my bedroom.” She paused. “Or my parents’.” She licked her lips and started to grin. “Though theirs does have the biggest bed, and the view from their balcony is truly romantic.” She glanced over at her friend, who was currently glaring at her. “But I forgot, you don’t want romance.”

“I don’t,” she said stubbornly.

“Well, fine then. You’re certainly not dressed for it.”

“Linda,” she warned.

“Relax, Iris.” She rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms soothingly. “It’ll be a good time even if you don’t get your hook-up tonight, or even if you don’t get it with the guy you like. You deserve to get laid. It’s been too long. I’d have died already if I was you.”

Iris snorted. “Does that mean you’re going to end up in one of the bedrooms?”

Linda sighed. “Unfortunately not. As the hostess, I should prob have my wits about me and not some jock’s face between my thighs.”

Iris shook her head. “You’re incredible, you know that?”

“I love you, too, darling,” she said, pressing a quick kiss to her best friend’s face. “Now let’s get the hell out of here. We’ve got two hours to set up, and you know people will start showing up in one.”

Iris blew some locks out of her face.

“All right then. Let’s get this show on the road.”

Iris grabbed her clutch, a light jacket and the keys for the apartment, then followed her roommate out into the living room and out the door.

She’d been in denial about wanting to see the guy at the bookstore again, especially given the way they’d met, but since she’d been unable to envision any guy in her books as anyone but him the rest of the time she’d been there, she figured maybe a hook-up would get him out of her system and she could go back to envisioning total body-building hunks like the ones on the covers of the books she read.

Maybe.

…

Barry leaned back against the wall and glanced into the red plastic cup Cisco had deposited in his hand an hour ago, still debating whether he could trust the liquid that was inside it.

“It’s punch, dude,” Cisco had said when Barry first looked at with serious skepticism.

“Is it spiked punch?” he accused, glaring.

Cisco laughed. “No!” He took a sip from his own cup of ‘punch’, then licked his lips. “I don’t think so at least.”

“Ugh. Take it.” Barry tried to force his cup back into his best friend’s hand, but it was rejected.

“No. No. Even if it is spiked, it can’t be much if I’m not even sure if I can taste it. And if you don’t start having fun soon, you may want a little innocent extra kick.”

Barry sighed. “Why are you so determined to break the rules? Did Ralph put you up to this?”

Amused, Cisco turned and pointed at a very drunk Ralph in the corner with two blondes sprawled over him and three empty beer cans sitting near him on the floor.

“I really don’t think Ralph cares whether you get drunk or not.”

Barry shook his head, disgusted.

Cisco laughed again. “Okay, look, I’m going to try my hand at introducing myself to the pretty girl sitting all by her lonesome on the edge of the pool.”

Barry looked past him to see the girl in question.

“Kendra Saunders?”

“She’s in my bio class, and I think she might like me.”

“Shouldn’t you be looking for the girl whose goat you still have?”

Irritated, Cisco threw up his hands.

“For all I know, that girl turned into the goat!”

Barry scoffed. “Cisco.”

“You suggested it!”

“I was joking.”

“Either way.” He cleared his throat. “I’m not going to worry about it tonight.”

“You’re gonna owe Caitlin one though after tonight. I mean, pretending to be sick so she’d have a good enough excuse to give Ronnie instead of ‘I need to watch my friend’s goat’?”

“Shush!” Cisco held up his finger. “I’ll make it up to her later.” He straightened his shirt. “Even if I have to explain it to Ronnie myself. But for now…”

“Yeah, yeah, go.” Barry brushed him off.

Cisco hadn’t needed any more encouragement than that, and within fifteen minutes he and Kendra had disappeared into another room. It occurred to Barry that maybe his best friend had more game than he’d originally concluded, more game than himself.

After another five minutes, Barry decided he wasn’t going to take any chances. That suspiciously normal-looking cup of punch was not going to make it to his mouth at any point. He noticed a few garbage bags lying in corners around the room but knew it would probably make somewhat of a mess if he dumped a full cup into one. After a little asking around and getting lost a few times, he managed to make it to the kitchen where the hostess of the party, Linda Park, looked to be stirring together a new batch of punch.

“It’s spiked, isn’t it?” he said flatly.

She smiled brilliantly, and he knew his answer.

He walked over to the large sink and dumped his cupful in, then tossed the cup into the nearest trash bag.

“What are you doing?” she asked, mildly scandalized.

“I don’t want to get drunk,” he said, annoyed.

She snorted, amused. “Then why did you come to a party?”

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “I have no idea.”

She laughed. “Okay, look. If you’re not gonna loosen up, maybe you can help us gather some of the empty cups out there so it’s not as big of a hassle to clean everything up once everyone’s out of here.”

He debated that for a moment. “Yeah, I could do that.”

“My hero.”

He shifted a little awkwardly at that, but she was clearly unaffected and handed him a bag.

“Only empty cups, nothing yanked from people’s hands. If anybody says they’re not finished, don’t take it. And if you spot vomit anywhere, let me know and I’ll give you the supplies to clean it up.”

“Great,” he drawled, sarcastically.

Once again, she was unmoved. So, clutching the bag, he set out of the kitchen, trying not to sigh too loudly.

“Iris should be by the windows in the first room,” Linda said from behind him.

 “Iris?” He asked, not giving it much thought.

“My co-hostess,” she explained. “She’s about my height and is wearing a coral top. You can’t miss her.”

He nodded and headed out, muttering the description to himself, so he’d remember.

“Her height, coral top, her height, coral top, her height, coral to-”

And then he saw her, and the breath was stolen from him.

“Iris?” he croaked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Yeah?” she asked before turning around, oblivious to his voice or the fact that she’d briefly heard it before – earlier that day in fact. “What is it?”

And then she was frozen to the spot, her mouth hanging open and glad a majority of the people in that room had moved to the pool area.

“You.”

“You.” His eyes widened.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, heat flooding her cheeks as she approached him.

“Cleaning,” he squeaked, his face turning pink very quickly.

She blinked, then looked down at the empty trash bag in his hands and connected the dots.

“Did you know I’d be here?”

“What?! No!” He paused, his voice going deeper. “No.”

Her lips twitched. “You came to a party just to clean?” she teased, pulling the bag free from his hands.

“I…uh, don’t want to get drunk,” he explained, his eyes flickering to hers for just a moment before he tried to figure out what to do with his hands now that there was nothing in them.

“I see.” She smirked.

Setting down the two bags along the wall, she took one of his sweaty hands and pulled him with her.

“Come with me.”

“Where are we going?” he asked, his heart racing a mile a minute in his chest.

“You’ll see.”

“I’m really sorry, by the way,” he said as they stopped by multiple rooms, stopping for her to see if someone was inside and then continuing down the hall when there was.

“For what?” she said, oblivious again – or sounding that way at least.

“For this afternoon,” he said, as if it were obvious.

He tried very, very hard not to squeak his answer. To his credit, it was less squeaky than the previous time.

“I did not know you were gonna be there,” he said adamantly. “Much less that you would be…”

She paused, knocking on the last door at the end of the hall, smiling brilliantly when she looked inside and found it empty.

“Getting myself off?”

He gasped, his mind going blank as she pulled him into the room, closed and locked it behind them and pulled him down for a kiss.

Time stopped.

Anything outside the room no longer mattered.

All that existed for Barry Allen was Iris’ hands on his face and her lips on his as she urged him to kiss her back.

“W-W-Wait,” he said, pulling away just as his lips had started to respond.

“What? You don’t want to?” she asked, grumpily hurt by the rejection.

“No-no-no, of course, I want to,” he hurried to assure her. “It’s just…” He licked his lips. “You’re not mad?”

She laughed. “About this afternoon?”

He nodded timidly.

“No. Why would I be? It’s not like you were stalking me.” She pulled him down to her again and sealed their lips with a kiss. “Were you?” she teasingly whispered.

“No, ma’am,” he murmured into the kiss, and she smiled.

“If you’re feeling guilty, though, I have a solution,” she said, starting to unbutton his shirt as she kissed his neck.

“What’s that?” he asked, his mind dizzy with sensation.

She kissed him a while longer, driving him mad with the feel of her lips on his and their tongues tangling as she pressed her body to his and brought his hands to all the curves she wanted touched after so long.

“You could fuck me,” she said, her tongue swirling around one of his nipples as she finally peeled his shirt off.

“Huh?”

“Fuck me.” She grinned, unbuckling his belt. “Or have you not been imagining it as much as I have all afternoon?”

He could hardly breathe. He should’ve known she was bold, given what she’d been doing where and with what, and he was feeling just as motivated. When Cisco had gone out to hand off the goat to Caitlin, he’d hightailed it to his bedroom and gotten off twice – first to the vision of Iris masturbating and then to the idea of them fucking against the bookcase that miraculously wasn’t knocked over in the process. Things were perfect like that in fantasies.

But for how badly he wanted this, and he did want it, it just felt a little too…fast. And a little like if he gave in to it, he’d never see her again and she’d pretend it had never happened.

“I have.” He swallowed.

“Thought so.”

She stuck her hand in his boxers and squeezed his already semi-hard cock.

“Iris.” He shuddered.

“Bed’s over there.” She urged him backwards, and unable to think clearly once again, he let her for a few steps.

“W-Wait.” He sucked in a breath. “Stop.”

“What is it?” she whined, then laughed, indulging him. “There are condoms in the bedside table, if that’s what you’re worried about. Linda and I stocked up.”

He snorted. “That’s not what…”

“Then what?”

“Aren’t we moving a little too fast?” he asked, holding his breath that she wouldn’t react negatively to the question.

Of course, he was not so lucky.

“How much slower should we be moving for a one-night stand?” she asked, sounding amused but the thread of impatience and irritation was clear in her voice, as much as she tried to stifle it.

He went cold, a chill ripping down his spine, though in the back of his mind he knew he should’ve expected it. Someone as stunning as Iris would probably never give him a second glance when actually considering a serious relationship.

Sometimes he wished he was capable of wanting one-night stands, but they always made him feel guilty. And he always wanted more. Probably why neither of his two girlfriends had lasted very long. His need for an emotional connection was fast and apparent even in the early stages.

“Is that all this is to you?” he asked softly.

Her arms dropped from around his neck, and he knew the mood was broken. He’d killed it.

“Yeah.” She blew hair out of her eyes. “That’s all it was going to be.”

She took a step back, straightened out her outfit and headed for the door.

“Wait, Iris-”

“Too late, book boy. I’m emotionally unavailable.”

And with that, she scoffed, left the room, and left him half-undressed and already heartbroken.

Which was ridiculous, since he hardly knew her.

...

*Also posted on AO3 and FFnet.

I've finally done it. I've finished my Trollsona. Me as a Troll. This took much more effort than I thought it would be tbh. Anyway this is gonna be a long post tbh. Also if you wanna like draw my trollsona pls do

Name: Scmare Ttieer [Seh-mar Tear] Origin of her name is unknown.

Age: 7.85 Alternian Sweeps [17 Human Earth Years]

Height: 5'6 feet tall. [Not including horns which are around a foot long]

Eyes: |See picture 5|

Gender: Female

BloodColour: Sapphire Blue |See picture 2|

Theme: Space

Quote From Her: "id rather StAy NEUTRAL on thE SituAtion. lEss ChAnCE of ConfRontAtion."

Symbol: |See picture 6|

Lusus: She didn't fully know what it was. It was a strange creature, not related to any of her interest or any creatures located on Alternia. She cared for it all the same.

Weapon: Double ended scythe |See picture 4| [Weapon is around 4 feet long]

Clothing: Black tank top coated in small white specs (represents stars), her symbol on the shirt in her blood colour. Sapphire blue button up over shirt. Black mid thigh shorts. Black boots.

Hair: Thick black hair. Rests just on her shoulders. Usually up in a high ponytail with a Sapphire blue bow.

Interest: Fiduspawn, singing, reading, drawing, crafting, astronomy and dancing

Dislikes: Confrontation, large groups of people, loud noises, herself

Face: Round in shape. Scar across the bridge of her nose. Square thick glasses covering her eyes. Only make up being some black eye liner |See in picture 5|

Body: Chubby body. Muffin top stomach with thick thighs and arms. Stretch marks on stomach and thighs. Weight is probably around 195 pounds.

Horns: |See picture 3|

Teeth: |See picture 1|

Powers: Aura reading, The ability to perceive energy fields surrounding people, places and things. If she focuses hard enough on person she can see colours surrounding their body. These colours can mean multiple things, from how they're feeling to if that person is inherently evil or good.

Troll Tag: dysfunctionalCosmos

Typing Quirk: Capitalizes letters that are in her first name (except when she types her actual name). But when it comes to the word "Neutral" she caps the whole word. Uses & instead of the word 'And' [Sample of a message she has sent. To whom is unknown:

gREEtingS & SAlutAtionS, My nAME iS Scmare Ttieer. It'S niCE to MEEt you. So uM...i dont hAvE MuCh tiME i nEEd to go finiSh SoME tRAining todAy. My LuSuS will SquAwk At ME if i dont, MAinly bEcAuSE i fEEd hiM AftER & will foRgEt to if i dont tRAin. I hopE wE cAn MEEt AgAin... ]

Hemoloyalty: She does not treat trolls of lower blood caste any worse than she would treat a troll of a high blood caste. Though, she does understand her place on the hemospectrum and that unless she wants to get culled she needs to show respect to highbloods. Describes it as being neutral, even though she doesnt approve of the way low bloods are viewed.

Hive: A very simple Hive, even if a bit futuristic looking.. Made of metal, the whole hive in a circular shape. An observatory located right in the middle of the building on the roof. Used for her interest in studying space.

Respiteblock: Messy room with clothes and tools on the floor. Posters of movies and videogames on the walls, along with some of her shitty drawings. Husktop located on a desk in the back of the room. Recuperacoon is located in a far right corner by a window.

Quadrants: None of hers are filled [Unless you count my self shipping, which can be explained elsewhere]

Ancestor: WIP |Will add link when she is finished|

Dancestor: WIP |Will add link when she is finished|

Basic Personality: [For this I have answered 20 questions to help you understand her personality. Hopefully this helps everyone get a clear grasp on what she's like. Since she is me anyway]

1: Is the character generally approachable or does she keep to herself? Why? A: She usually keeps to herself though she's not completely unapproachable. She finds approaching others to be difficult and usually waits for someone else to make the first move.

2: Is the character a hard-worker, or does she take it easy? Does this nature vary for any particular activity? A: Despite being a blueblood she more of a take it easy kinda troll. Though when she puts her mind to something she can work hard and get it done. Of course if she likes the activity, she is more likely to finish it quickly.

3: Does the character give plain answers to others or is she mysterious? A: Plain answers. She prefers to get to the point of what she means.

4: How does the character feel about pets? How about wild animals? Does she have a favorite animal/pet? A: She loves animals. Though she's afraid to go around them due to her strength. Being a blue blood she had a great amount of strength and hasn't learned to control it well. She worries she will hurt the animals and admires them from afar. She doesn't have a favourite as of now.

5: What is the character's religion? Is the character very religious? How does she show it/observe his religion? A: She is questioning her religious beliefs. She cant decide if she believes in a higher being, or if she thinks that too far fetched.

6: How does the character feel about the local ruler? A: She prefers not to take a stance, she doesn't love or hate them.

7: Does the character have any off-putting habits? A: She has a habit of biting her nails as well as biting skin off her lip. Only does this when nervous or bored.

8: What does the character do to relax? A: To relax she will read or sing. These activities calm her nerves the most.

9: Does the character have any unusual voice or speech pattern? A: Besides her typing quirk she doesn't have much trouble speaking clearly. Sometimes she can be too loud when excited about something, or too quiet when upset. She also tends to ramble when talking online and in person.

10: Why was the character given the name she has? A: She doesn't know where her name comes from or what it means. She believes there is no definition for her name, and that it is just a name unlike how other trolls names have meaning. She quit looking for a answer to it long ago.

11: Does the character have a nickname? What is the source of the nickname? Is it flattering or not? How does she react to it? A: Not being the most social Troll in public, she doesn't have many friends to give her nicknames. She was once called Krem online before and found it cute. So if she were to want to be called anything besides her name it would be Krem.

12: Has the character had issues with the law? A: She has never gone against the law. She doesn't like confrontation. Though she might end up having to.

13: Was there something unusual about her childhood? A: Besides her strange Lusus nothing was too weird for her at least.

14: Does the character have a mentor? A: She would consider her mentor her Lusus.

15: Does the character have a scar or some mark? What was the cause? A: The most obvious scar Is the one she has across the bridge of her nose. She got it when she built her first robot that ended up attacking her and cutting her nose. Smaller scars litter her body from accidents when building.

16: What does she consider her greatest achievement? A: Even though the robot attacked her, she considered it her greatest achievement. It was strong, hard to destroy and packed a punch. She was young when she made it, 4 sweeps, and to build something so sturdy at a young age surprised her.

17: Is she able to kill? Under what circumstances does she find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable? A: She is very much able to kill. But she only sees it fit if it is in self defense. She will not attack unless attacked first.

18: Does she believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love? A: She does, she believes even the most evil people have one.

19: How honest is she about her thoughts and feelings A: She tries to keep a lot of her feelings to herself in fear of being judged. Opening up emotionally like that is hard for her.

20: Does she care what others think of her? A: She does, she finds herself getting nervous out in public. Thinking other Trolls are judging her.

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The next part is a story the explains her background leading to present time.  Backstory Time.

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[BS] You: Be the strange girls Trollsona  ======>

 You are now, Scmare Ttieer

You enjoy SINGING, DANCING, ASTRONOMY, CRAFTING, READING, DRAWING and a Alternia game called FIDUSPAWN. You are a quiet Troll, even if sometimes you enjoy BREAKING things loudly, who keeps your nose in your own business but opening up when you become close friends with someone. Close enough to fill the Moirail quadrant at the least.

You were hatched on the 9th bilunar perigee of the 1st dark season. Skipping your blurry wiggler days, you were chosen by a strange Lusus after passing your trials. You and your custodian then proceeded to build a secluded hive made of metal in a circular shape.

 You spent most of your younger days learning to build and studying outer space. Your fascination with planets and beings outside of your world was never disturbed by your Lusus, so you learned quickly that there was other life forms out there besides Trolls. You vaguely know of a Alien species called 'Humans' but have not gotten far in your studies.

 Next to that, You tried to learn how to control your strength and violent thoughts. As a blue blood, you has a incredible amount of strength even if your body doesn't look like it. You once busted a hole in the wall of your Hive that took you days to fix (your repair skill were still in development). Being in your blood caste, these things were expected of you, you were to become a solider after all.

 You don't know if you wants that though.

 You always had a strange opinion on the hemospecturm. After studying the history of your Dancestor and Ancestor you learned of the ways they reacted to it. You try to incorporate both of their ways into you view, in hopes of doing what they failed at, which was not dying because you have a opinion. Because of this you remain what you call 'Neutral'

 This means you are trying not to pick a side, in hopes of avoiding confrontation which could end in death on either side. You don't like treating low bloods like they are lesser than you, you never even called another troll a low blood. You also understands that going against a high blood could end in a culling, so you don't speak against them.

 The whole thing is confusing, even for you. Why can't you just make up your mind and fight for what you believe in! Well that's the thing you don't want to fight. Maybe one day you'll figure it all out, you are only 7 sweeps old after all.

  At  4 sweeps though, you made a robot. Your first one. You don't remember what its exact purpose was, but it definitely wasn't to attack you like it did. Which is how you got the scar across your nose. You had won the fight with a bit of damage, your Lusii didn't seem Impressed though.

 That was basically all of your past, building, training to control violent tendencies, doing activities you liked. Your Lusus was your only friend for a while, before you got into the online world one sweep ago. Talking to other Trolls is a lot easier when your behind a husktop. You mainly just play games and maybe have a conversation or two with some others playing with you.

 Even gained the nickname 'Krem' from someone you once talked with. You can't remember who it was or where the name came from, but ...you liked it.

 Now a days you haven't been online much. You'll be a adult soon, become a solider like your supposed you. You might skip out on that though.

 In case of the inevitable to try to go out more, to make friends but its not working. Its not just that you're shy and have anxiety (it mainly is though), its also becase of your Aura reading abilities. Because of this hard to explain power you can tell if a person if bad or good. Angry or happy. You tend to stay away from the Trolls with bad auras.

 Its also takes a lot of focus (since you have trouble focusing on anything for a long time in the first place) to see someone's Aura. So when they catch you starring at them its hard to talk to them after wards and explain why you were looking at them like you were trying not to explode.

 Anyway that's all there really is to say about you. Not too special you see. You live a simple life which is what you wanted. You hope it can stay simple.

 [BS] You: Quit being the Trollsona and go back to scrolling

One Problem At A Time Ch.3

MURPHY'S LAW PT. 1

Murphy’s Law: Anything that can possibly go wrong, will.

They stood at the bay door, tense and on edge. Mitch pushed his glasses up on his nose for what felt like the thousandth time; fear had slicked him with a cold sweat and he shifted his feet impatiently, feeling a cold trickle run down his back as Jamie tapped at the plane's navigational tablet. "I'm setting the timer on the bay door to close five seconds after it opens," she explained, not missing his fretful agitation as she stowed the tablet in her jacket, "When we come back we don't want the plane overrun with hybrids."

"Good thinking," Mitch replied tersely, "Snakes on a Plane was bad enough, Dinos on a Plane would just be ridiculous."

The ramp started to drop, hot afternoon sun beaming through the cracks as it descended. Jamie flipped the switch on the backpack supplying her flamethrower and ignited it; as the gap opened further she lowered protective goggles over her eyes. She could see several razorbacks turning to look at the plane and when three of them broke off and came towards her, fangs dripping as they snarled, she stepped off the edge of the ramp, squeezing the trigger until a spray of liquid fire erupted from the end of her gun, engulfing the charging hybrids in flames. They fell screaming, thrashing madly in agony. Mitch was at her side, rifle ready, but most of the creatures seemed disinclined to attack, instead running through the broken down doors of the interior, where the infirmary - and Clem and the others - had been.

The last hybrid vanished through the doors, only the corpses of the three burned razorbacks remained, smoking gruesomely on the ground around the plane. The ramp had already raised itself, Jamie noted, and she sheathed the flamethrower in the rack on the canister backpack, raised her goggles up on her forehead and pulled her pistol, flicking the safety off and checking the clip. "Ugh," Mitch said as they ran toward the doors, "It's smells like someone's barbecuing gym socks. Reminds me of college."

They reached the entrance to the interior of what had been Barrier Command- just a few short hours ago they had been celebrating in there, patting themselves on the back for a victory they hadn't actually won. Jamie's voice echoed in Mitch's ear, something she had said to him months ago - years ago? He was never really sure about his own timeline anymore- but she had been talking about losing to Reiden Global again after thinking they had found the cure and saved the world and she said, bitter and angry, "I was blisteringly naive, and it won't happen again." But it had, they had let down their guard, taken too many chances drunk on their own hubris and Abigail had used their mistakes to destroy them. Frustrated fury made his hands shake as Jamie motioned for him to flank the other side of the entrance; he moved where she wanted but he was detached, robotic - darkness be damned, he was going to exact retribution from Abigail Westbrook one day. Maybe not death, death was too easy and he was a scientist - he could come up with a much more horrible fate than just death.

"Mitch!" Jamie barked sharply at him and he shook himself back to the present; she was looking at him with questioning concern as she said, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, fine, sorry," he said, swinging his rifle up and aiming it down the apparently deserted hallway. "The infirmary is down at the end, through double doors."

It was wide enough to drive a truck through and it stretched for fifty feet with offices and restrooms and storage closets every ten feet or so on both sides of the hall. At the end of the long corridor the hallway turned left in front of a set of double doors which appeared to be splattered with something dark and blood-like, making Mitch's stomach flip-flop with anxiety. Jamie sidled cautiously inside, passing a IADG golf cart with a extra long bed that was loaded with boxes of what looked like various medical supplies, a large black canvas bag and a man-sized bundle wrapped in a blue IADG infirmary blanket. Mitch peered cautiously over the edge of the bed, noted the bag and bundle and said, "This must be the cart they had loaded Sam on, because I think that blanket is my dead soldier and the bag is my new pet hybrid."

"So they weren't in the infirmary," Jamie said, "and they abandoned the cart so they couldn't have gone far with Sam, where are they? What happened here?"

Mitch shook his head. He was barely keeping his panic under control. He'd only come to terms with the fact that he was an emotional being a few months before his "death", but in that short span of time he'd been subjected to losing Jamie (and finding her), losing the cure, losing Chloe, almost losing Clementine again and a hundred other moments that plucked at his sensitive heart; and while the others had all experienced the last ten years, had felt the time pass day by day, week by week, month by month, he'd been in stasis alone, experiencing his dreams and his memories. He'd only been post-tank Mitch for a few weeks, everything that happened ten years ago for everyone else was still fresh for him, still raw and new. And suddenly he had a grown daughter, and grandchild and an alter ego and Max was dead and there was Jamie (but not-Jamie) - it was a lot for someone who just started to allow himself to feel again to process.

A door down the hall to their left opened, startling them both; they swiveled their guns up as Clem stuck her head out, sighing a great sob of relief when she saw her father and Jamie. "Dad!" she cried, looking out into the hall before running to them and letting her father grab her in a fierce hug. "We were so worried about you two!"

"Yeah," Mitch said hoarsely, reluctantly letting go of his daughter. "You had us a little worried too. What happened here? The last thing we heard was you were being attacked-"

"Come inside, more may be coming," Clem said, leading them into the room she had left and closing the door behind her. It was a nice office that had probably belonged to one of the IADG upper level staff; tasteful brown carpet and comfortable chairs around a huge mahogany desk; though at the moment Sam Parker/Connor Oz was leaking blood onto the very nice desk. He looked strained and tired and in pain but awake and lucid, which was a good sign. Jackson sat beside him, though not touching his son, and Mitch wondered vaguely if Jackson had told him the truth and then the idea struck him that he and Jackson were now grandfathers together and he choked down a snort at the thought. Tessa was by Jackson's side, eyes narrowed at Jamie as if she expected her to attack him again; she took a protective step closer to him as Jamie rolled her eyes and smirked back at her. Abe and Dariela stood by the door, smiling with relief as Jamie asked, "What happened here? Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah," Dariela said, motioning to Abe who had a large gash across his leg, "the hybrids attacked but just enough to get us out of the way. They didn't come after us once we shut ourselves up in here."

As she said it there was noise outside the door; Jamie and Mitch immediately raised their weapons but Abe stopped them, shaking his head. "They will pass in a moment," he whispered over the sound of hundreds of claws tapping on tile flooring. "This is the third group that has moved through, the first is what attacked us. I was loading Sam into the cart when they came, but only two of them came after us, the rest just padded down the hallway, past the infirmary."

"What about the blood?" Jamie asked.

"I heard Abe yell," Dariela explained, "So I came running out and one of them charged me. I shot it but it ran down the hallway and disappeared with the rest."

Abe added, "They didn't really try to come after me, it was like they were distracting me while the others fled."

Tessa spoke up. "There's an exit down that hallway," she said. "To the outside. That must be where they're going."

The unsuspecting outside world was about to be overrun with vicious, murderous hybrids because of Jackson. The unspoken accusation hung in the air like a lead balloon, and Mitch, who could sympathize with the mental miasma Jackson was dealing with did his best to let the air out but Dariela spoke first. "I'm glad everyone is okay," she said, "But we can finish the family reunion later. We have a baby to find in less than two hours, and I am pretty sure those aren't going to be the last hybrids that come through here and the next batch may not be so easy going."

Jamie exited the room first, pistol at the ready, Mitch at her back with the assault rifle. Mitch insisted that Clem stay next to him, at least until they got to the cart; Abe and Jackson were carrying Sam on a stretcher and once they got him loaded on top of the various boxes of supplies she was going to ride in the back to protect him for the short and hopefully uneventful ride to the plane. They manhandled him on the cart and Clem climbed on the back, balancing herself on the blanketed bundle as she asked, "What exactly am I sitting on?"

Abe smiled at her apologetically. "Your father wanted the soldier, Troy, who was killed by his own dog after it turned into a hybrid. I am sorry, I had nowhere else to put it. Him.”

Clem made a face but sat herself gingerly on the bundle.

Tessa clambered into the drivers seat, Jackson at her side. His eye was blackening nicely, and Tessa grinned and said, "Well, Dylan Green, I think we have had quite enough spice for a while."

Jackson smiled back, his eyes flickering to his son, who was being tended to by Clementine. "I agree. I'm ready to sit by a fireside and spin yarns to my grandson about how we survived the animal apocalypse."

Tessa leaned her forehead against his. “Do we survive?"

Jackson kissed her quickly. “Of course we do.”

They were ready to go. One hour and forty five minutes left. Jamie pulled out her tablet as Dariela said, “Jamie is going to open the bay door and as soon as it starts to move so do we," she said, "We have the flamethrower and so far the hybrids haven't been very aggressive so this shouldn’t be too difficult." She hesitated, looking at each one of them in turn. "I know it's only thirty yards and that doesn't seem like much but if anything goes wrong that ninety feet is going to feel like forever, so...be ready. Abe and I will flank the cart, and Mitch and Jackson, stay with Clementine and Sam." Jamie pulled her protective goggles back on and kicked on the flamethrower as the ramp on the plane started to descend.

Letter From The Deadly Urges Killer Phillip Jablonski

August 7th 2018 Dearest______, Received your more than welcome unexpected letter. I believe we will have fun writing each other and learning about each other. Have a personal questionnaire for you in my letter. I have no problem with you being a _______. I am also a artist and love to draw I do portraits but not very good. But I try I drew most portraits of serial killers. Most are done only for a (not sure what he says here). I love writing people. I am 71 years old I am very honest and open with my pen pals. You mailed your letter on the 14th of July. I received your letter on August 3rd 2018 so you see mail can be slow reaching me. Question can you remember what website you got my name off of? I was raised an alcoholic father. When I was 5 years old I was molested by two male cousins. When I told my dad we confronted them. They denied it happened (not sure what he says here) received punishment by Dad for lying. Then by my cousin for telling my dad. I never open my mouth and done what they told me they used me to bondage and Mild torture. They passed me around to their close friends for sexual pleasure. They had me until I was 7. After that I was at pleasure of older men and boys in the neighborhood. The men got hold of me from (not sure what he says here). They teach me about fuck stick. How to deepthroat any size dick they used me bad (not sure what he says here) bring me back to consciousness. It first time I sleep with a man first experience a threesome and be gangbanged they made me call to them and lick feet and legs then ball sack then lick their dick and kiss the head and suck it. I was 9 years old when they had me for sexual pleasure. The (not sure what he says here) men and older boy. My dad owned apartments he rented an apartment to a high-school teacher. I was having problems with my school work so he hired him to tutor me. During our tutoring session. He tutor me in his bed. He told me your dad rent fuck his son. I was 12 years old when he tutored me in his bed he tutored me in his bed first then in my class work always totally nude. Then he tutored me to be a boy prostitute. I got comfortable to bondage and torture and doing whatever he requested from me. A John suggested I would look gorgeous dressed as a girl. So teach me to dress like a girl wearing panties, bra with different size plastic insert in bra and makeup and a dress. He pimped me until I was 15. I pimped myself and let boys seduce me. (I’m not sure what he says here) I was running errands for her. I (not sure what he says here) near the truck I didn’t know he was checking out my butt cheeks. Fantasy about sodomy me. I agree to go to bed with him he used me for is poker chips during Friday night poker game. He own a cabin take me there and he made pornographic film with me and his friend for 5 months. Two brothers I know try to seduce me not knowing I was gay when we played tag football they would pinch my butt cheek and squeeze my butt cheek act like it was an accident. When we wrestled they pinch my butt cheeks and squeeze them to. I was getting horny. Their parent (not sure what he says here) one night their parents we’re going to a party really late so they give them permission for me to stay the night giving their sons the opportunity to use me for their sexual pleasure soon their parents left. They said Philip we would like to talk to you. I knew they wanted to talk to me to put dick up in my anal hole. I went into their bedroom got nude got on the bed and put a pillow under my stomach putting my butt cheeks in the air. Making it easy to sodomy me. When they came in I said I am gay who first to sodomy me. They wore my butthole out. They gangbanged me all night and for the next two months sodomy every opportunity they got. At age 16 I pimp myself twice I am working as a caddy one day a golfer I was caddying for wanted to know if I knew where he could pick up a male prostitute. I told him I am a prostitute we had agreed to make some pornographic videos and do bondage and Mild torture. Anything goes I told him I was a prostitute I sucked him and let him sample the merchandise. We went to a motel when we got in the room there was five other men present. I (not sure what he says here) they didn’t waste anytime using me. He paid me $400. One day I was walking home from the golf course A car pulled up beside me he (not sure what he says here) me. He said he would pay me $20 to suck his dick. I agreed to suck him. He solicited me to sleep with him he pay me $50 to sleep with him I take him (not sure what he says here). I am a rapist and pedophile and child molester and serial killer. I raped my two young sister’s pussy old we were lovers until she was 15. I raped my youngest sister at 5 she helped me to seduce the neighbors 9 year old daughter. I also raped my sister-in-law’s niece then later raped my sister-in-law. Raped my own mother. And best male friend. I teach him sexual feeling he was gay when I raped him. Also raped my sister’s best male friend (not sure what he says here) I pimp both of them. When I was in high school I was in photography class. I was a (not sure what he says here) my parents bedroom into a dark room. I sleep with some seller to get some equipment for my dark room my teacher loaned me a camera to take family portraits in the 60s the biggest thing is mothers having their infants or toddlers photographed nude on a Bearskin rug. I love seeing the infant’s Toddlers then watch them strip out of the diapers then lay on their stomach. The palm of hand ran all over there sweet bodies. I was almost drooling to lick them starting feet then their petite sweet butt cheeks and lick their tight butthole out. If a girl her pussy out real good if it was a male lick his petite dick and bite it. The first infant and toddler I had the opportunity to molest. A mother wanted have photographs of her infant daughter 4 month old and her son a toddler 1 years old she left them with me in the room in their diapers. She want photograph side by side. I took photos of them in their diapers. Then I stripped them nude I took photographs of them the way the mother requested me to then I molested them. I took exotic pose and tied them with string. Next I molested two brother 1 and 2 years old. The mother want photographs nude bathtub I took pictures exotic pose of them and tied them up. I have been a pimp the youngest I have pimped was 3 months old nigger female infant and a one month male infant. Also pimp my wife’s best friend who was in the (not sure what he says here) I seduced her 14 year old son she had a 19 year old fanboy (not sure what he says here). I am a great animal lover I have been around dogs, cats and horses all my life. The first unusual pet I had what is a 3 paw Red Tail Fox. I helped nurse him back to health the fox belonged to two gorgeous young Mexican girls one was 11 years old. She liked to flirt. And for some reason to flaunt her body. She had nice small firm tits with large nipples. She 4 cut-off jeans just below her knee showing her long legs she also like to wear tank tops and mini skirts and had a string bikini. She just wore them to test her ability to attract boys. She got my attraction (not sure what he says here) I was almost drooling wanting to use my tongue up her long legs then to her sweet petite butt cheek and lick her butthole out. Then lick her pussy out real good. I want to rape and sodomy her then pimp her. Her eight-year-old sister was real fine to she wears short dresses most of the time expose her long legs but not as long as her sisters. The girls were enrolled in a (something) School. Their parents were going up to Northern California to pick fruit. They give me the opportunity to rape their daughters (not sure what he says here) so hard to read the day they drop their off I show them their rooms and walked them to (not sure what he says here). The girls get comfortable in their rooms. They weren’t going to be virgins much longer. And soon I would train my new prostitutes. (I don’t know what he says here) and strip nude. Then I called the girls is the living room the 11 year old best and a tank top and cut-off jeans showing off her sexy long legs. Her sister was wearing a normal short dress she wouldn’t be in her clothes long I had the eight-year-old come to me and she got between my legs. I turned her around so I can unzip her dress. After unzipping her dress I slip it over her head. Then I put her across my lap on her stomach. Slowly pull her panties a nice petite gorgeous View. I had my palm of my hand her medium long legs then her sweet butt cheeks then squeeze and slap her butt cheeks until they turn pink. She asked her sister why she was nude she said you fool he’s going to molest us. He is going to rape us. I told her sister to hand me my belt I tied her sister’s arm behind her back then told her give me a slow strip tease for me. When her tank top come off her small tits come into view boy did she have some large nipples. Then she removed her jeans I pulled her sister over pulling on her back. She had great surprise size tits then I slowly removed her pants I squeeze her sister’s tits. Then I told the 11 year old to go on the bed boy did her petite body move so fine. I want to sodomy that fine butt cheeks. I told her to lay on her stomach. I put her sister down her in the closet before I left the room I told her don’t move or I’ll kill you. I get my buck knife find some rope I keep in the house I am to tie her spread eagle to the bed. When I got to the bed I tied her spread eagle her gorgeous butt and squeeze it I take her sister out of the closet take her to my bedroom time to teach her about adult games. I laid her on the bed on her stomach I put her butt in the air to make it easy to fuck her tight virgin butthole. I went and got my Polaroid camera and came back paragraphs nude with her hands tied then untie her hand and put my Polaroid on the nightstand later I would take some nice nude petite poses. I put my fingers in there tight butthole I put it as deep as I could get then rotate my fingers inside her I can only get my first three fingers in her tight butthole. Then I laid down next to her her pussy over my mouth and eat her out when her pussy juice flowed into my mouth it tastes like sweet nectar. Then I laid her on her back and spread her legs and I could only get my first two fingers in her pussy hole. Then I photo her nude exotic photographing her. I found some small objects to put up her butthole. I laid her on her stomach I found a medium ink pen and slid it up her butthole then flipped her over and did the same thing to her pussy now it’s time for her to learn the molesting game. I would put my big dick up her tight butthole then in her pussy. I walked into the bedroom and photograph nudes and tie up. I untied her legs and slid a pillow under her stomach. Putting her fine but in the air I started licking her butt hole out good for her. Then I spread her butt cheeks take my hand to penetrate her sweet butthole I took my four fingers and put it in her butt it made her whole body jump. Then took them out and lay down beside her and put her pussy over my mouth and eat her out when pussy juice fill my mouth she push her pussy down my mouth it was like she was trying to suffocate me with her sweet pussy hole. Then I take more Newton exotic poses I tortured them and trained them well I teach them how to flirt and flaunt their body in front of men. I had a housekeeper she had a three year old toddler. She wore pull up diapers when I got (not sure what he says here) daughter adopted has her pet call him dog. I would see her dress ride up. Send me a good view of diaper and legs. Her mother couldn’t keep her daughter in her dress. So her daughter ran around in her diapers I would fantasize be like to use her sweet innocent body and give her body a nice tongue bath. I was looking for the right opportunity to molest her daughter and make her daughter a willing prostitute the opportunity came unexpectedly. Usually when she would go to town to get grocery shop or pay bill. But I was working in my upholestry shop backseat of a car. When come in my shop she had daughter with her. She said I know you’re working but would you mind babysitting my daughter her daughter was wearing a dress I don’t want her daughter and her dress or diaper. Her mother left the shop she was on the way to her car. I didn’t waste no time I pick her up sit down on back seat I was upholstering pull her dress over her head I slowly pulled it off her then pulled off her diaper I gave her a nice slow tongue bath. I had her laying across my lap I beat her butt cheeks bright red was enjoying it I spread her butt cheeks I can only get half a finger into her butthole. Then stand up and put her pussy over my mouth and eat her pussy out she was wiggling laughing and I laid her on her back lick her butthole again. Then I put the tip of my finger in her pussy. I wouldn’t let her remain a virgin. I got a thin pencil and shove it up her ass. I put her on her knees and made her suck my dick. Took pictures of her nude and exotic poses. I told her if she told her mother she couldnt play with fellow. She didn’t tell her mother. One night she asked if she could sleep with my silly cat. She sleep on the bed with me. I would ask her she said okay. I would being molester her daughter most of the night her sleep with me (I don’t know what he says here) she would make me crazy when I see her young body and her diapers. My next unusual pet was a raven. When the raven find me. I named him Ralph. I also had family parrots I had two macaws the male was completely red the mate was completely blue. I also had a cockatoo completely white name lady. Lady didn’t like males she love my mother I also had an African grey parrot he loves to talk on the phone he can mimic my voice perfectly. Ralph join my bird family and cause chaos. He went to pester the parrots ralph would steal the parrots food. But he couldn’t outsmart Holly she wouldn’t let ralph steal her food. I would let Ralph sample my food that I cooked but I had to be careful what I let Ralph sample because Ravens are (something). Ralph and my mother had a game she would tell Ralph he was a bird and bird would eat bird seed. But ralph never eat bird seed. Ralph love to eat fruit and veggies and hot dogs and sausages and french fries no salt salt would hurt Ralph. I had cats a Russian blue Siamese in a heavy rainstorm I named her psycho cat. When I was in the main part of the prison I was tattoo artist I tattooed gay and bisexual and transsexual and heterosexuals. I would tattoo their fine ass cheeks when I complete the tattoo I get some benefits I take my cock and put it in their anal hole even when I tattoo straight ass cheeks. I take my big dick in their tight virgin assholes. I had one straight guy I raped. After I enjoyed his butthole I pimped him. I let other tattoo artist fuck his butt to.

Now for some personal questions 1. Where are you seduced on rape the first time you were sodomy? 2. At what age where you first sodomy? And suck your first dick? 3. Do you swallow cum? And do you deep throat a male dick? 4. Do you like big dick, small dick, medium dick, fat dick, or skinny dick. 5. Do you like bondage and torture? 6. Do you have a lover? If so how old? 7. Have you ever been photographed in the nude? Or an exotic poses? 8. Have you been sodomy on your hands and knees bent over like a horse? 9. When did your parents find out their son is gay? 10. What is the longest relationship you have been in? 11. What’s the longest sex you had? Well my friend I’ll close for now love, Philip

a belated birthday drabble for roxy 💗💞💗💞💗💞💗💞

the “this is your house I’m not making you sleep on the couch” “yeah but you’re the guest you take the bed” conversation between ur otp right before they share the bed reblog if u agree #NO I INSIST IT WOULDN’T BE RIGHT#WELL THIS BED LOOKS BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US#SO THAT WE BOTH CAN BE COMFORTABLE#AND WILL IN NO WAY MIGRATE TOWARDS EACH OTHER#AND ATTEMPT TO BECOME ONE ENTITY WHILE WE SLEEP

“This is your house.  I’m not making you sleep on the couch.”

He really should have seen that one coming.  How could he not have?  It’s not like he hadn’t known her since she was ten fucking years old.  Pain in his ass even back then.

“Yeah, but you’re the guest.  You take the bed.  That’s how it goes.”

Arya glares at him.  It’s funny--the curve of her jaw is exactly the same as it had been when he’d been her freaking camp counselor and she’s refusing point blank to do things that are scheduled for her, even if she’s ten, until you’d convinced her that it’s the right way to proceed.

Gendry does not envy his past self having had to handle that task on a regular basis.  Not, of course, that that matters: he’s there now all over again.

“Will you even fit on the couch?” Arya asks, glancing at him and then at the couch.  

“Yes,” Gendry lies.  “I fall asleep on it all the time while watching TV.”

“Look, a nap on a Sunday is one thing.  Sleeping all night on a thing that’s not designed for your body is a whole different thing.”  She’s got her arms crossed over her chest and everything, and Gendry narrows his eyes.  

“How do you know I don’t sleep with my knees raised?”  Lommy had done that once on the beach.  Gendry remembers it clearly because Hot Pie and Arya had covered him in sand and had made jokes about how his legs were now mountains poking out of the sand.  

“Unless you’ve changed since the last time we had this argument...”

The last time they’d had this argument had been when Arya had still been in college.  He’d been roadtripping north with some friends and had stopped by Winterfell.  It had been forever since he’d seen that scrap of a kid who’d oddly been one of his closest friends at camp, but she’d seen him use the check-in feature on on his faces app and had sent him about twelve messages and insisted that he’d come and drink with her.  He attributed the fact that he’d ended up sleeping in the bed in her dorm room with Arya on the couch to his being drunk and the fact that she had an extra-long college-issued mattress.  No one ever had extra-long mattresses, and Gendry sometimes felt like he’d never stopped growing.

Gendry glares at her now.  She’s winning and she knows it, he can tell from the way that curve in her jaw is turning into a slight smirk.  

“Look, this is all stupid,” he says, changing tactics.  “The bed’s big enough for both of us.  We can both sleep in it.”

“I won’t catch cooties?” Arya snorts, and Gendry rolls his eyes.  

The bed is, in fact, more than big enough for both of them.  Arya’s smaller than Gendry (everyone’s smaller than Gendry) and it’s not as though he’s not had girls over before who’ve ended up staying the night.  This is, of course, different than that, because he’s known Arya forever and is not interested in fucking her, but that should make it even safer, right? And besides, what the fuck kind of puritanical nonsense was it that you could only share a bed with someone you were having sex with, but not with one of your oldest friends?  That was bullshit.

Once the bed situation is decided upon, they both seem to relax.  Arya’s looking at law schools in the capital before deciding where she wants to end up.  (“I probably won’t go to King’s Landing.  They’re all vying to be president or on the supreme court or something, and it’s super competitive, and I don’t know...that’s not me.  But at the same time they’re--belatedly, I might add--adding this new immigration rights workshop that just seems so cool so I can’t exactly write it off.”) Her sister is getting married in the spring; she has a new nephew (Arya shows off videos of him playing with a baby piano on her phone while he makes baby noises); she doesn’t much like her brother’s new girlfriend but she is trying to be generous and assume it’s something she’ll get over.  She chats away while helping Gendry clean the dishes from dinner (his dishwasher’s broken and he keeps forgetting to call someone to fix it).

It’s fun having her around.  Easy.  Oddly homey.  She understands him better than most of his friends these days do.  His mother used to talk about the difference between good friends and old friends, and Arya is, has been, both.

It’s not fun having her around at all when they’re getting ready for bed.  He’s used to seeing her in jeans and an ill-fitting t-shirt and is thoroughly unprepared for the tank-top with spaghetti straps and the boxers that she wears as they brush their teeth.  He’s thoroughly unprepared for the way he notices how tight that tank top fits around her waist, the way the wrinkles sit on what is undeniably a curve between her hips and ribcage--a curve that hadn’t been there at all when he’d been younger.  It’s not fun at all noticing the way his eyes slip down to her ass as though she’s anyone but Arya, the way his eyes take in details like how he’s sure he can determine the size of her nipples not because the tank top is see-through but because the way that it seems to sit over her skin changes at the front of her breasts.

Suddenly, he wishes he’d held his ground better about sleeping on the couch.  When she slides into the bed next to him, and curls up into a ball and buries her face into one of his pillows, he’s all too aware of her breathing, of the way she smells, of the fact that they’re so close--so very close.

It’s not puritanical.  It’s fucking smart, Gendry curses his hubris.  He usually sleeps on his right side, but that would be facing Arya.  Arya is sleeping on her left side, so Gendry tries it, but within about thirty seconds his arm is shooting pins and needles and he twists back to lie on his back, determined not to look at her as he does so.  But then, he remembers that he’s not a back sleeper, because his lower back starts to ache and, much to his own amused frustration, he bends his knees, resting his feet flat on the mattress to ease his back a bit.  

“You don’t have to prove your point, you know,” Arya says.  She sounds amused.  

“Nah, my lower back is doing a thing,” Gendry lies, trying not to sound defensive.  “Getting old sucks.”

“Well, that was stupid of you, getting old,” she teases sleepily.  “You should have stayed young forever.”

So should you, he thinks desperately.  He tries to remember how she’d looked--uneven short haircut because she’d taken scissors to her ponytail, much to the dismay of her bunk counselor, wearing a bright yellow life jacket that was only just too big for her.  But he can’t.  He can only see Arya’s hips on those boxer shorts, and the way her breasts looked in that tank top.

“More fool me,” he manages at last.  Arya chuckles and shifts in her sleep.  She’s always been a cuddler.  He remembers that from...from when?  He’d never cuddled with her when she’d been a kid.  He’d had to help Jeyne think of how she was going to stay in her bed during naptime since she never wanted to.  Had it been something from the last time he’d seen her?  Or...

He feels her nose against his arm and he doesn’t pull away.  It’s startling, but he’s never been one to jolt back like a frightened animal.  He’s always prided himself on his steadiness.  “You and me both, I suppose,” she sighs.  Her breath is warm against his skin.

This is unbearable.

He’s the worst friend on the planet.  

“I suppose you always did have a way of following me into trouble, didn’t you?”

“Look--just because you were too stupid to hide properly during color wars does not mean I followed you.  I rescued you.  You’d have still been behind the mountain even today if it weren’t for me.”

“That’s not true,” Gendry snorts.

“It is,” Arya says huffily.  She’s sitting up on her elbows now, he can see the outline of her face in the dark, and her eyes are shining fiercely somehow.  “It is and you know it.”

“We still lost, though,” Gendry said.  It had been a sore loss that one, outfoxed at the last minute.  

“Because you didn’t stick to the plan,” she says and her face is too close to his he can smell her toothpaste in the air, can taste it...

She doesn’t pull away from him, though she does let out a surprised sound in the back of his throat.  Her hand comes to rest on his shoulder very tentatively and when they pause for air she doesn’t look away, doesn’t pull away.

“Why did you do that?” she asks quietly.  Her voice sounds small, as though she’s nervous and he’s such a fool such a fucking fool he should have just slept on the damn couch.

“I couldn’t not,” he hears himself whisper.  

Arya swallows, then pulls her bottom lip between her teeth.  From any other girl, he’d have assumed she was trying to seduce him, but Arya always chewed her lip when she was nervous and he had made her nervous.

“Look,” he says and he sits up.  “I’ll go sleep on the couch, all right.  I shouldn’t have done that.”

“No,” Arya says quickly and she is grabbing his arm.  “No.  No, I want you to...I want you to stay.”

So he does.  He does because he can’t not, because he’s never been able to deny her anything, and when she presses her lips to his again, he holds her close and lets all thoughts of everything else slip away.

Takeshi in Burlow Part 1

This is an original story by me. Please do not reblog without giving credit. If you have questions or suggestions, let me know!

Warnings: Mentions of death, cursing, mild violence

“...Occurred last night on Southern Boulevard. A man who has not yet been identified was found dead in the street beside a car that was broken into. The man’s head has been severed. Police do not yet know who was involved in the murder, but if you have any knowledge regarding these events, please contact the police department immediately.”

The radio behind the counter was barely audible over the low din in Dave’s. The diner was a popular meal spot in the small town of Burlow. The food wasn’t outstanding, but the restaurant was welcoming and people enjoyed the classic cartoons on the televisions and hand-made milkshakes. Behind the counter, Dave himself chuckled darkly. 

“Man, you cain’t go a day in this town without hearing about some murder or another.” 

Takeshi Ito shrugged, sipping his coffee. Burlow was a very small southern town In North Carolina, consisting of just over 9,000 people. Though small, historical, and even picturesque in some parts, Burlow wasn’t exactly safe. Shootings and other crimes occurred daily in the town, and the residents had grown numb to it. Takeshi set down his mug. “Yeah, that’s the truth. You’re pretty close with Sheriff Nolan, right? Any idea what happened last night?” He rolled his shoulders back before once again slouching on the counter.

“None,” Dave shook his head. “I mean, it was probably something drug-related, though. The guy they found had a shit-ton of substances in his system, and in his bag, from what I heard. Still, something like this on Southern? A bit unusual. It’s one of the safer streets.”

Takeshi nodded in agreement, his silver eyes glancing back up to the TV. “It is.” 

“Anyway,” Dave’s tone lightened a bit, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand as he poured more coffee for Takeshi, “How’s your dad, kid? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“Oh, he’s alright. I mean, you know, the usual. On another business trip or whatever. Alabama, I think he said.” Takeshi stirred more creamer into his coffee and made a face when he realized he hadn’t put enough in.

“Damn, son, I’m sorry to hear that. I know it cain’t be easy.” 

“It’s alright. Honestly, whenever he’s home we just argue and he drinks.” He gave a half-hearted smile. “At least when he’s gone I don’t have to deal with it.”

Dave gave a sympathetic smile and a low sigh. “Don’t let him and his mistakes get you down. You’re a good kid, Takeshi.” 

“Thanks, Dave.” 

Takeshi finally stood, payed, and started down North Main Street. The tallest building in Burlow was on North Main Street, and it was a five-story law firm. The building itself was in serious need of a clean up, and the alleyway behind it was one of the worst in the town. Beside Industry Law was the post office, a huge marble building with four columns, echoing halls and chilly drafts. Takeshi could remember the first time he went into the post office, when he and his father moved to Burlow. He hated it, and he’d hated how the town didn’t have individual mail boxes at the time. Really, Takeshi hated everything about the town from the moment he moved there at fourteen. Ten years later, he still despised it. The small southern town was full of people who disliked everything from his name to his roots. It was made painfully clear that he and his father weren’t welcome in Burlow, nor would they ever be. Unfortunately, like most everyone else in Burlow, Takeshi Ito and his father, Kai Kelekolio, couldn’t afford to leave. They were stuck in the same tiny trailer house that they’d bought ten years earlier, and Takeshi figured it would stay that way until the end of their days.

Living in Burlow was like walking through tar. It was dark, sticky, and impossible to move forward. Everyone was trudging through the same old shit, and yet none of them seemed to realize that they were glued in place. Those who were born in Burlow and had lived there for their entire lives adored the place. To them, no town was nicer and big cities were for hooligans and punks. And really, almost ninety percent of the town had been there for generations upon generations, so everyone adored the southern hellhole. A few people in Burlow came from very old money, older than the town itself. Those people owned mansions and farms and practically owned the residents themselves. They didn’t like outsiders, either. Takeshi was born and raised in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and he missed it terribly.

As Takeshi was brooding, he nearly ran straight into a man nearly as tall as he was, who was wearing a flannel shirt and a stetson. 

“Sorry, didn’t see you.”

The man smiled and shrugged. “Naw, ‘sall righ’. I wasn’t payin’ attention.” 

Takeshi was barely able to respond. The man’s glistening white smile was formed by teeth that were sharp and canine. The man started to walk on. “You take care, now.”

“I…” Takeshi blinked. “Yeah. You too.”

He could think of nothing but how inhuman the man’s teeth were as he turned off North Main and onto East Eddard Avenue, passing the gas station with the flickering sign and the hardware store that Russel’s Auto Repair, the mechanic shop where Takeshi worked, got their parts in exchange for free tune-ups and repairs. Finally, he turned onto Lark Street and made it to his front door. 

He removed his shoes before he went inside and closed the door behind him. 

The living room was empty and barren. An old chair sat in front of an ancient television, which sat on an old bookcase that held travel guides and Hawaiian history books. A yellowed lamp stood in the corner, but bulb was old and barely lit the room. He passed through to the kitchen and sat in a rickety chair, leaning on the old table. The bills he had left there that morning seemed to have multiplied. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair and shaking his head. 

The rest of the day passed as a complete blur to Takeshi. He took a nap, cleaned the kitchen, and finally convinced himself to go grocery shopping that evening.

It had turned to night as he walked down East Eddard Avenue. Carrying two paper bags, Takeshi felt empty and blank. No one passed him; people either had cars or they were already home. A homeless man was slumped in the alleyway behind the Moonlight Diner adjacent to Russel’s. Empty and broken bottles surrounded the man, who watched Takeshi with such intensity that Takeshi wanted to run. He reminded himself, for what seemed like the thousandth time, that Burlow was not a place where he could walk at night and fear nothing. Soon, he was trudging up Lark Street, constantly checking over his shoulder, and onto the small porch of the trailer house. The light above was off. He opened the door silently, a looming feeling that something was wrong hanging over him.

As soon as he stepped through the door, his stomach dropped. A light spilled from his room, even though he had left it off. Takeshi had no weapon that he could think of; except for the keys he held between his fingers. He silently crept towards his door. 

“... a bit much, even for us.” A woman’s voice spoke, her accent something northern.

“Don’ worry, darlin’. We’re jus’ trying to find him. Maybe we can get some answers from the son an’ this’ll all be over soon. We cain’t keep lettin’ these people die.” This time, a man spoke, in the low Southern drawl that many people had in Burlow. 

Takeshi’s knuckles whitened around his keys, and he could barely keep his hands from shaking. Just as he was about to move closer, a third voice spoke. 

“He’s in the house.” This voice was also male, but much quieter than the other two. There was a darkness to it that sent a chill down Takeshi’s spine. This man’s accent was European, but Takeshi couldn’t say exactly where he was from. There was a creaking from his room; someone had been sitting on his bed and then stood. 

A man almost as tall as Takeshi stepped into the hallway. He was very tan, wore a Stetson, had brown hair that fell past his ears and a heavy stubble on his jaw. Eyes as black as night sparkled from the shadow of his hat, and blinding white teeth grinned from under his lips. They were canine and sharp. “Hey, now, Takeshi.” 

“What the fuck?!” Without thinking, Takeshi lunged for the man, brandishing his keys in his fist. The man simply stepped aside and Takeshi hit a wall, stumbling to the ground. The other two people stood in his doorway. 

“Easy now,” said the man with the hat. “We don’ mean no harm. We jus’ wanna talk, is all.”

“Who the hell are you?! What are you doing in my house?!” Takeshi was panting, his heart racing and his eyes darting between the man in the hall and the two in his room. He felt like a caged animal, and he was sure he looked like one, too.

“Now, now,” said the man in the hall, “Don’ get all ruffled. I’m Rusty Delgado, an’ this here is Henri Townsend an’ Ellie Moss.” He smiled easily, as if this made everything better. Ellie was a small woman with wavy hair that was dyed platinum, dark cinnamon skin, and hard green eyes. Dark freckles covered her face, but a large, deep scar ran from the top of her right cheek to just above her left collarbone. Her arms were folded, and like the rest of her body, they were lined with muscle and old scars. Henri, whose name Rusty had pronounced “On-REE,” was taller than both Takeshi and Rusty. Everything about him was pale. He had pale blue eyes, pale skin, and pale, dull blonde hair. He was muscular, just like Ellie and Rusty, but he was also thin. His long hair fell into his face a bit. Odd symbols and runes tattooed his arms and the chest that poked through his tank top. He seemed like the type of person that everyone would notice, but soon forget afterwards. In fact, Takeshi was fairly certain that Henri owned a garden store somewhere on Southern Boulevard. All three people were attractive, in their own ways.

Takeshi couldn’t think of anything to say except, “What the hell do you want?!” He meant for it to sound intimidating, but it came out stuttering and weak. He suddenly became extremely aware that he was still on the floor.

“For one,” Ellie started, “we want to know why your dad has been killing non-humans. He’s had five victims in the past three months.” 

“Excuse me?!”

Ellie raised an eyebrow. “Do you not know?”

Chuckling, Rusty put a gentle hand on Ellie’s shoulder. “Now, El, he may not know his dad’s doin’ it. Y’know how tricky humans can be. Now, him bein’ a half-breed himself… Tha’s another question.” 

“Excuse me?!” Takeshi repeated; he had been teased for being Pacific Islander and Japanese in Burlow’s high school, but no one had ever called him a half-breed.

Ellie answered Rusty as if she hadn’t heard Takeshi. “How can he not know? His dad is one of the most prolific killers around. He’s hunting Jez.”

Rusty shrugged. “Many ways a person can keep a secret.” 

“What about him being a half-breed? Kai would’ve killed him if he knew.”

Henri’s quiet voice cut through Rusty and Ellie’s. “Perhaps Kai is keeping him as an attack dog.”

Takeshi, Ellie and Rusty stared at him, but Henri simply gave a small shrug.

Before Ellie and Rusty could start up again, Takeshi interjected loudly, “What the fuck are you talking about?! What do you mean, ‘non-human’ and ‘half-breed’ and all that shit?! My dad isn’t a murderer!”

“Huh? Oh, he is. He’s had what, fifty or so victims?” Rusty looked to Ellie for confirmation. “He don’t kill humans though, if that’s what worries you.” The man said this as casually as if he was stating the current weather.

“You’re fucking insane. You’re saying I’m not human?! What am I, a fucking alien?!” 

Surprised, Rusty rubbed the back of his head, biting his lip. “Well, yeah. Your mother won’t human. So, by extension, neither are you, ‘least, not fully. Yer ma was an Okuri-Inu, a type of Japanese spirit. It’s kinda… well… ah, truth is, I ain’t so sure myself. Henri, you wanna take this one?” 

“Fine,” Henri looked less than thrilled, his ghostly eyes surveying Takeshi with obvious distaste. “But we’re going to my place. Grubby will start to tear things up if I’m gone too long.” 

At this point, Takeshi stood. “No. No, I’m not going anywhere. You’re all insane. My dad isn’t a murderer, my mom wasn’t a Shiba-Inu, and I’m not an alien!”

Giving that easy, infuriating smile, Rusty drawled, “You’ll come with us one way or another.” His hand only slightly brushed the hem of his flannel, but it was enough to reveal the .45 Colt strapped to his waist. “Now, we really best be getting to Henri’s place. He’s meaner than a wet panther when he gets impatient.” Rusty smiled as if he were sharing an inside joke with Takeshi. He had a charm about him that made him easy to like and easy to trust. This only made Takeshi more angry. He couldn’t do much, though. Somehow, he knew that Rusty wouldn’t hesitate to use the gun, and he knew that if he tried calling for help he’d be shot.

After several minutes of silence and tension, Takeshi silently stood and allowed Ellie and Rusty to walk him out the door. Henri had already left, but when, Takeshi couldn’t say. They found him standing in front of an old, red Ford pickup with an extended cab. At least, Takeshi thought the truck was red; the paint was extremely rusted and faded. Old spades and bags of plant soil sat in the bed, along with two heavy shovels. Henri was already in the driver’s seat, and Rusty ushered Takeshi into the back, following him. Afterwards, Ellie sat in the passenger seat, the scar on her face seeming deeper in the moonlight. 

To Be Continued.

SCUBA Diving! 02/28/17-03/19/17

After teaching my third EMR course to Z-Rescue in Myawaddy I traveled to Yangon to apply for a tourist visa at the Thai embassy. I had to do this because of a new Thai law prohibiting more than two tourist visas to be automatically approved at a border crossing in a calendar year (and I’ve already used my two freebies). Well I went in ready to pay for my visa and found out that due to a low tourist census in Thailand the embassy was authorized to offer a promotion of free visa applications and today was the last day to apply for it!

My visa came in two days later so on that evening I took the night bus back to the border and crossed into Thailand on March 2.

Even though I live right next door to Thailand I’m too busy to hardly ever get away for a visit so I was looking forward to making the most out of this trip!

The main reason I was traveling to Thailand was because our team had been offered an opportunity to attend a rescue and recovery SCUBA diver class that is being taught by a rescue diver foundation we’ve worked with in Thailand in the past.

First thing I did after clearing immigration was catch a motorbike taxi to a great little Thai restaurant for breakfast, then because SCUBA classes don’t start for several days I walked to the songtau station and took a songtau to Sunshine Orchard Children’s Home and school for a few days.

School had just been let out for the season and all of the students who had families had gone home to visit them so the campus was a lot quieter than usual!

I played in the river with the children who stayed behind, read countless stories to them in the hammock, and we picked up trash around all the buildings and burned a bamboo house that had developed an unacceptably high termite to house ratio.

Early morning on the 5th I hitched a ride back to MaeSot and purchased a seat on a passenger van to take me to the bus terminal in Tak. After arriving I went to the ticket counter to get a bus ticket to Kanchanaburi and found out that the next bus wouldn’t leave until 9:30 that night!

After a tedious 11 hours (the bus was a little over an hour late) spent reading the medical book I had with me, wandering around looking at the shops, and buying a meal at one of them mainly because they had a place to charge my phone, the bus finally arrived.

The next morning the bus arrived in Kanchanaburi and after breakfast and a cup of coffee my team picked me up in our Thai ambulance that was also crammed full of diving equipment, and we went straight to the Royal Thai Air Force base which has a giant training pool that we had obtained permission to use for our diving class.

At 0800 our instructors from the Thai rescue and recovery SCUBA diver foundation arrived and training was kicked off!

After a brief and rather sporadic introduction to basic diving and the names and functions of the equipment we would be using, our instructor had us each choose a set of gear and prepare to go into the water for the first time.

I happened to choose the buoyancy control device with the air leak in it which was exciting since our first time in the water was jumping off the deep end!

The other main instructor that ended up teaching most of the course was a lot more thorough and meticulous and went over more of the theory and basics before we went in again (at the shallow end this time).

I had been worried that I wouldn’t be able to certify because I’ve always had a terribly hard time equalizing my ears when swimming or flying. But after practicing all that first day I was able to dive all the way down and even lay on the bottom!

I thought it was quite a surreal experience to be that far away from my natural habitat and still be semi self sufficient, after long enough below the surface you start to feel like you can stay down forever! Then your tank starts getting low on air or you have to pee or you want to tell someone something besides “I’m ok”, “shark”, “I’m out of air”, or another of the hand signals we learned.

Because there were too many of us to all fit in the ambulance unless we wanted to ride Thai style we commuted back and forth between the military base and the school property we have for sale in Kanchanaburi both in the ambulance and a passenger van.

While we were staying at the school going to class the villagers decided it was the right time of year to burn the jungle. This is a pointless and destructive practice (purely subjective obviously) that kills many stands of bamboo, trees, and small jungle inhabitants. The smoke was so thick that my eyes burned and I could taste it in the back of my throat.

The night after the fires were lit I went outside to see what I could see. Across the lake from me on the other side of the small valley I could see a giant half circle of angry red fire smoldering down the mountain towards me with another fire that I could only see the red glow from coming down the mountain our property is on.

In the jungle -even in the dry season- the humidity is so high that a fire can’t travel very fast and only burns the understory layer, so the villagers light the tops of the mountains and the fire just burns its way downhill unsupervised.

The next day we lit backfires where our property meets the jungle just to make sure all the buildings and orchards would stay safe.

The second day of dive class we learned how to buddy breath, clear the water out of our masks while under water, take off all our equipment under water to squeeze through an obstacle course and then put it back on, and not panic when the instructor or one of the other students would rip off our mask and pull out our regulator.

On the third day of class we learned underwater search and rescue techniques, rope signals, different ways to set up a search grid, and body recovery.

One night I was walking from my room to take a shower when I heard a rustling noise coming from behind the netting we have shrouding the doorway of the bathroom (there’s no door) like a spider web to help deter bats from flying in. Peering through I saw a large and colorful Tokay gecko staring back at me. Tokay geckos are the second largest species of gecko in the world and are considered a delicacy in Thai and Indonesian cuisine. They are also prized for their supposed healing qualities in traditional medicine and their distinct call makes them one of the loudest animals in the jungle (or house), but it’s ok because they eat huge quantities of mosquitos and cockroaches. Even though it was 1130 at night and I was exhausted I decided it would be a good idea to catch him for a picture.

I was able to shoo him into the shower room and after giving me an impressive runaround I finally threw a towel over his head and got ahold of him.

I don’t think he appreciated that very much because kept holding his mouth open and snapping at me like a baby alligator. He probably thought I wanted to eat him! I didn’t think too much about it at the time but I found out later that this species of reptile is not recommended for beginner exotic pet owners because of its powerful bite!

While I was trying to keep all my fingers intact, find my camera and get him in position for a picture a scorpion suddenly came running into the room pell mell straight for my flip flop protected feet! This is not normal behavior for a scorpion to attack like that but I was significantly distracted by the very angry gecko I was holding so I just shooed the scorpion back out the door. After standing stock still for a several seconds he frantically started running down the veranda away from me. Just as I was going back to the gecko I saw something else just outside the door in the semi dark running in the same direction. At first I thought it was a snake, but then I realized it was a massive centipede hunting the scorpion! I would have liked to follow them both and see what happened but the gecko was a more pressing matter and by the time I was finished photographing him (he actually made a startling noise and I dropped him) the pair was nowhere to be found.

After completing the rescue and recovery SCUBA diver course and receiving a Thai certification at an underwater ceremony I decided that I really like diving and at some point I am going to get more training!

Since I was so close already I wanted to visit my aunt and uncle who had just returned from visiting the US. Given the situation I had experienced during my last bus journey I said I would try to make it but I couldn’t guarantee anything!

After getting dropped off at the bus station in Kanchanaburi I took a van into Bangkok where I could get a bus the rest of the way to Ayutthaya.

The day before, one of my friends from Texas had let me know that he was in Thailand teaching a TCCC instructor course and we had agreed to meet up for lunch as I traveled through Bangkok.

Accordingly after I arrived at the Bangkok bus terminal I grabbed a motorbike taxi and took it 8 km through the city to our meeting point. My friend had was already there and so we had a great time talking and catching up.

That night it was too late to continue on so I stayed in a hotel and found a bus going to Ayutthaya the next morning. Since they were so busy trying to get caught up from being gone it was a pretty hectic weekend with my aunt and uncle. Then I had to say goodbye and was back on the bus headed to MaeSot.

After another brief visit to Sunshine Orchard I crossed back into Myanmar on Sunday the 19th, just in time to ride back to Yangon with some teammates who had just finished packing our newly completed ambulance full of medical supplies and hired a driver to take it north to our operations area!

After I crossed the border, my phone had a malfunction and I couldn’t use it to contact anyone from my team to let them know I was back. I wasn’t sure what to do so I just walked to the bus stop and there I found one of them! She was guarding the back seat that used to be in the ambulance, tools, and a bunch of other stuff going back to our headquarters in Yangon waiting for the bus to arrive. Needless to say, I was relieved!