gonna change gears from bothering our friends in discord about this and instead im gonna scream into the void about it here.

but jesus fuck does the duviri paradox come across as so fucking plural to us its fucking crazy.

like duviri is just a giant headspace. its literally just a supercharged headspace whos crafting components and shit is made tangible through void magic and we cannot see it any other fucking way.

the fucking cutscenes from the main story showing scenes from the operators life, originally made vague due to the drifter not knowing what the fuck is happening, the fact that duviri is so fucking dreamlike and easily changed by the mood of whatever fictive is in co-con with thrax at the time, the fact that 'tales of duviri' is a real fucking thing in universe. its a real fucking book in universe used to teach tools for emotional regulation (in the event of void exposure. which yeah makes sense if youre raising child soldiers to use void shit)

literally everything the fucking courtiers say reads as some plural fucking shit. the ways they interact with the drifter and the shit they say when giving the a job, the shit they say when they turn into orowyrms. hell the fact they each represents a specific emotion actually speaks to me personally since im basically the de facto fucking anger response of the system, so seeing a bunch of fictive ass motherfuckers consumed by one emotion is pretty fucking nice to see.

like fucking. christ its just so fucking obvious to us how plural the fucking operator is. how plural the drifter is. how plural they all fucking are.

To @kittyphoenix12-xx​  for Harringrove for Turkey!! Thank you so much for donated and a big thank you for your endless patience!! 💗

~ read on ao3 ~

• • •

Steve Harrington smelled. That was Billy’s current problem.

Because Harrington smelled good. Like the gold and amber warmth in sunlight that has soaked into a slept-in, pine-green blanket sort of way.

Billy didn’t like thinking of smells in terms of colors, but here he sat. Smelling colors while being stuck on Steve Harrington because their last names were right next to each other. Hawkins was so small that even outside of school, Billy felt like he was playing bumper cars.

And he could always find Steve. That proved to be a boon and a curse at this very moment, because Billy swung wide between feeling deliciously warm and satiated on Steve’s lap, and absolutely furious and indignant at being on four legs instead of two.

“Ow! Jesus shit, I should’ve known you were a cat,” Steve griped after a claw sliced his palm open. The smell of salty blood was gratifying, at least. Billy yowled deep in his chest as Steve picked him up like a heavy towel, dumping him onto the passenger seat. “I’ll apologize to you later. For now, try not to piss on the upholstery.”

How in gods name a party in bum fuck Hawkins had turned into Billy riding in Steve Harrington’s car…more specifically, how a piss in the woods had turned into Billy writhing in the most itchy, burning, bone-piercing ache, and then staring up at Steve…who seemed weirdly larger than Billy remembered.

Steve wasn’t larger.

Billy had turned into a cat.

And his excursion to the woods had been too successful, because he would very much like to give Steve’s car exactly what it deserves.

“Are you still Billy in there? Because you’re not speaking English right now, dude,” Steve said as he drove through the winding suburban roads. Billy stood on his passenger seat with his front paws on the window ledge. He was vaguely aware that his voice—his fucking meow—was deeper than a standard cat’s whine, but he was too overwhelmed to give a shit.

Night vision was nothing like movies made it out to be. Instead of really being able to see through shadows, his eyes snatched onto every moving detail. Hawkins had a lot more rabbits than Billy had previously noticed. And deer. Why the hell were deer strolling around backyard pools and flowerbeds?

Sound moved differently around his ears than it did for a human head. But on top of it all was Steve. All of his car. Every variation of scent that one human teenager could saturate within the interior of his stupid BMW. Behind it all, Billy could distinguish what must have been the aromas left behind by the original driver, Harrington Senior, but Steve had long since moved into this vehicle.

Billy could smell the days he landed in the car after basketball practice. The mornings he drove after a fresh shower. He could smell the moist soil on Steve’s shoes now and the salty freshness of new sweat and outdoor air on his skin—

“Jesus Christ,” Steve groaned. “I always knew you got mouthy when you were full of yourself but this is something else. Someone’s going to think I cat-napped you.”

Billy cast a silent glare at him, willing Steve’s brain to blow a fuse as Billy fumed, Worse, you gave me paws, asshole!

Almost like he had heard this, Steve sighed, “I assume you didn’t know you were able to turn into a cat, huh? We’re here.”

Billy’s smaller body sagged with the car turning into a driveway and rocking with the brakes. In record speed and agility, Billy sleuthed out of the war when Steve stepped out on his side—

“Wait a second, Billy! ” Steve shouted, and to Billy’s acute annoyance, he paused. Steve took advantage of the moment and stretched his arms out before they fell to slap against this thighs. “Where are you gonna go? I know you don’t think much of it, but Hawkins is dangerous at night. Can you at least let me take you inside and explain?”

Billy hissed, ears pinned back against his skull. In the back of his mind, he felt his earring weighing down the thin pinna of his ear. You’re not carrying me like a fucking pet.

Steve huffed tiredly. “I know you understand me. At least let me help you get back on two legs.”

Billy growled again, but even he could hear the annoyed tolerance in his yowl. Relief infused Steve’s features when he realized Billy’s slow footfalls were in the direction of the house. He pressed his thumb against his house key as he teased, “I won’t make you eat cat food—Hey!”

Billy swiped at the back of his ankle, catalyzing Steve’s pace toward the front door. Despite being a witch, Steve used his key to unlock the house and toed his shoes off on the welcome mat. Billy didn’t have clothes to remove. They were bunched up under Steve’s elbow—after Billy had zapped into a smaller body and Steve used the clothes like a burrito to wrestle Billy into the BMW.

Billy’s ears swiveled toward the sound of Steve rubbing his hands together. For a long moment, Billy processed how Steve’s fidgeting meant nervous, alongside Billy’s own desire to claw his way up Steve’s body so he wasn’t standing below knee level anymore. Considering this would result in Steve carrying him, Billy grumbled a low growl and started walking down the length of the foyer towards what he presumed would be a living room—

“Here, we’re gonna need to burn something.” Billy froze, Steve’s jogged steps making the floor tremble on his way to the sliding glass door. As soon as he looked back at Billy, he realized this and winced. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

Billy yowled on his way past Harrington’s stupidly large feet. Steve followed him out but left the door open. The backyard was…too much. The landscaping was all fragrant herbs and then there was the pool. Thankfully the saltwater was not as pungent as a chlorine pool, but Billy found himself retreating back to the carpet just inside the door. From there, he observed Steve ripping leaves off of one plant, and then flowers form another.

When he noticed Billy sitting inside, he barked, “What? Get out here.”

Billy pawed at his nose. He and Steve stared at each other until Billy chirped at him and touched his nose again. Steve’s large eyes drifted down to the herbs in his hand, before he pivoted to look at all the criminals in his smelly yard. “Oh. Okay.”

He came inside and, to Billy’s relief, shut the door. Like he was wadding up a ball of paper, Steve crushed the leaves and flowers in his hands before sprinkling them over the carpet. To Billy’s surprise and fondness, he recognized the flowers.

No wonder Harrington’s never with the weed kids behind the bleachers. He grows his own stash.

Billy filed this away for later, under the caveat of how, if this went well enough, he might hit Steve up for some of this later. Preferably free, at the expense of Steve’s guilt for getting him in this situation in the first place.

Billy’s mind infused with the familiar sour fragrance, as well as the neutral bitterness of green things. His ear twitched, making him vaguely aware of Steve going to the kitchen. Not having a pair of eyes on him helped him relax after what felt like a long night. It had only been perhaps half an hour, but Billy lowered himself over the carpet all the same, sniffing at the leaves and petals, wondering distantly what kind of spell Steve could do. Didn’t witches need cauldrons or something? Steve had just dumped everything on the floor…

The kitchen began to smell like spaghetti sauce. The telltale oven door sounds before garlic bread infused the air. Billy let his back legs flop to the side as he blinked slowly, one side of his skull drifting on sour kush, and the other tickling with the promise of spaghetti and bread…

Perhaps the pain brought his mind into clarity. Or simple hunger. Either way, Billy distinctly thought, Why the shit is Harrington cooking dinner instead of helping me? the same time he found Steve watching him over the island counter.

What’s more, Steve grinned like a teenager after experiencing his first tequila sunrise. “That was easier than I thought.”

Out of some whim of annoyance, Billy stood up—

All the way up.

Blood rushed to his head and he teetered, heavy, human feet loud and clumsy underneath him. All of a sudden, Steve’s hands were around his ribs, holding him up like a child. In other circumstances, Billy would have knocked his hands off and shoved him to the ground, but he had never faced this kind of nausea before. It was like all of his limbs had gone numb and his blood was too slow getting back to his fingertips and toes.

“Come here, sit down. I’ll get you a soda. You’ll feel better in a few minutes. I hope.”

“You’re a ray of sunshine,” Billy groaned. He couldn’t say that Steve was wrong, since with every step toward the couch, he did feel more clarity. Clear enough to notice Steve jerking the throw blanket down to spare the couch from Billy’s naked ass. “I’ll try not to be insulted by that.”

“You can wrap up in it, asshole,” Steve remarked on his way to the fridge. When he came back, he poured the ginger ale into a glass. Billy huffed at the gallantry, causing Steve to warn, “Don’t make me prefer you as a cat. Do you want food or not?”

“Oh, I’d love some. Do I get a placemat too?”

“No, but I can get you a bib,” Steve smiled.

“The faster you feed me, the less likely I am to beat your ass…unless you’ve got other tricks up your sleeve that you’ve been holding out on me.”

Something behind Steve’s eyes lit up, visibly processing that as a compliment. Billy frowned a little, since his track record over Steve was still one to zero.

Instead of answering, Steve worked on getting two heaping piles of pasta to the coffee table, with half a baguette, each, slathered with garlic butter. Billy nursed his soda, taking one, wrapped up forkful at a time. His stomach had just shrunken to the size of a cat’s, after all. And now that he thought about it…

“After drinking at the party, why haven’t I thrown up yet? My stomach has just accordion shifted between sizes.”

Steve’s eyes went wide as he worked on chewing through the lump of food in his cheek. “Wishful thinking? Please don’t barf.”

Billy’s lashes fell to half-mast. “So you don’t know anything about turning into a cat even though you forced this on me?”

“I didn’t force anything! You can turn into a cat on your own.”

“I’ve never run on four paws, Harrington,” he argued tiredly. Billy resigned himself to beat his ass tomorrow. For now, he just wanted this meal and a heavy night’s sleep.

Steve sighed and set his pasta on the table. “I take it your dad and stepmom don’t go for moonlit runs in the woods?”

Billy grimaced at him. “The hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about how you don’t know anything about this. Which means your mom is a big freaking help—”

“Don’t talk about my mom,” Billy said quietly. Like one monotone warning.

Steve took it. “Okay. I’m sorry.”

Billy pursed his lips into an impertinent line as his nostrils flared with his inhalation. “If I can turn into a cat, why haven’t I? Plenty of nights behind me to have discovered that party trick.”

The air crunched with Steve’s bite into his bread. His cheek refilled as he shoved the bite to the side and enunciated, “Well, you’re not a werewolf. If no one prompted you to change, I guess, why would you?”

“Then what were you doing in the woods, Steve?” Billy accused. “You were awfully available to scoop me up as soon as I went down.”

Steve countered, “What were you doing so close to me?”

“Taking a piss. Regular woodland activities. Last I checked, Hawkins was way too Christian to have Wiccans.”

Steve shook his head. “What are those?”

“It’s like witch religion. California’s full of them. They own half the incense stores that front for weed sales.”

Steve’s brows lifted, absorbing that with a chirped, “Huh.”

Billy’s eyes widened. “Explain, already! Don’t make me leave you bloody on the floor again.”

“Christ, okay,” Steve cursed under his breath. He rubbed his hands over his face and took a deep breath. “I’m a witch but an atheist one, I guess. All the practice but none of the…pagan stuff. We don’t needs god mojo but we still need energy for spells. The party was like a power plant.”

Billy plunged his fork back into his food, feeling like this was even enough footing for his stomach accept nourishment. Even if Steve sounded like a crackpot. “What sort of spells? Trying to get Wheeler to take you back?”

“No, we’ve been over for months.”

“New girlfriend?”

“I’m too busy getting rejected from colleges and job applying to have one right now.”

“So, what, then? A spell for good fortune? What does a rich boy like you need help with?”

Steve exhaled heavily again. His large hands rubbed over his knees, making Billy glad his heightened ears and nose were gone. “Witches don’t need Satan or gods…but familiars are real.”

“What is that? Familiar what?”

“An animal familiar,” Steve reiterated, and the light bulb went on above Billy’s head.

“You cast a spell to get a dog?”

“I cast a spell to invite a willing animal to keep me company. That’s the whole shtick about witchcraft: consent. I can’t just go into a pet store and buy one. I can put out an invitation, but that’s about it. And then you showed up.”

“I’m not a damn animal, Harrington,” Billy growled.

“I know, but unfortunately for both of us, you’re the one who answered the invitation.”

“I didn’t answer shit, but you’d be damn lucky to have me.”

A laugh sputtered out of Steve. And then of all the questions to ask, “Do you even like me? Outside of all the bullshit you throw at me, do you actually have an interest me? If you can answer honestly, I’ll make you a stronger drink.”

Billy frowned at him, staring hard enough that Steve squirmed, “What? What? ”

“Who was the one who lied to my face?”

Steve cleared his throat, having the grace to look ashamed. “Me.”

“Who was the one trying to make you suck less at basketball?”

“Your coaching needs a lot of work. I can’t tell the difference between harassment and advice from you.”

“Tommy was right there, giving you shit about Wheeler and Byers. You were an easy target, but who tried to remind you that girls don’t matter?”

Steve’s face scrunched up until he licked his lips with a popping sound. “I can’t tell the difference between a guy who hates women and a guy who’s just gay. Especially when you’re both—is that what I’m supposed to get from that?”

“I didn’t say shit about being gay,” Billy fumed. “That’s like me assuming you wanted something disgusting from those animals.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being gay,” Steve recoiled. “Relax, jesus. I mean, I don’t know a lot about it, but realizing you were the one in the woods wasn’t the worst news I’d ever gotten.”

Something diffused in the air between them. Like a coiling wire had finally relaxed and unwound. Billy’s eyes narrowed at him as he processed that. “What exactly is a familiar supposed to do?”

Steve shrugged. “Nothing, really. Just keep me company. Maybe act as a lookout and an alarm bell while I’m distracted with spells.”

“And you’d…want me to keep you company.”

For the first time tonight…not the first time in a while, though, Billy noticed how tired Steve looked. His posture was bad, and he looked like he hadn’t had any wind in his sails for a long while. Frankly, he looked lonely. Billy knew what that looked like. Every time he saw it in the mirror, he smiled at whoever stared at him the most and got them in his bed.

Steve rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. I guess I would. If you could get your head out of your ass long enough.”

“No, I’m gay, we can’t do that.”

“That’s impressive. You should put that flexibility to better use.”

Billy couldn’t help the smile warming his features. “Like what?”

“Like practicing being a cat. It’s as much a part of you as running or swimming. I’d love to hear you purr.”

“Over my dead body.”

“Or mine,” Steve huffed, and Billy grinned.

“Yeah, or that. What did you use to make me change back?”

Steve had to get another bite down before he answered, “Weed and catnip. I was trying to make you relax long enough for your body to do the rest.”

Billy shook his head. “You’re lucky I’m sore like a car wreck.”

“That’s why you should practice,” Steve chimed encouragingly.

“I’m not going to sit on your lap so you can pet my fur. Get over yourself.”

Steve shrugged, unbothered. “That’s a shame. You smell nice as a cat.”

Billy froze, and whatever grimace he wore made Steve clear a laugh out of his throat and say, “I didn’t know cats smell good. Like a clean, salty breeze. It suits you better than those awful colognes you use.”

“You know what? I’m not sore enough to hit you.”

They had a long night ahead of them. And against all odds, many nights to come.

Forgotten Fairytale

Part 2

Request: Yes or No

I'm not afraid of this series not becoming as well loved as Green Thumb and I don't expect it to be popular. I've had the idea stuck in my head for a while and I'm getting it all out.

~

You looked over the artifacts the school had stored. You gave a small scoff, shaking your head as you noticed things that didn’t belong in a school.

“They call us thieves and hoarders yet half this shit was stolen off a corpse.” You muttered, stopping in front of a glass case protecting a sword.

“I wouldn’t suggest stealing that. It’ll be obvious.” You turned towards the redhead, sighing and tilting your head as she walked towards you.

“You’re a pain in the ass.” You looked back at the sword, eyes raking over it. 

“You know what this is?” You asked. Hope stood beside you, looking down at the sword. She shook her head, pursing her lips slightly.

“A man named Lord Jameson Wraith owned this sword. He was… a hunter of sorts and specialized in killing dragons. When he stabbed this through the chest of a dragon, the sword would light up and the dragon would burn from the inside. A gruesome, slow death. We were hunted like all others but it wasn’t just to protect humans. We were hunted for our meat, our teeth, and our scales. Humans declared war on us and when we fought back, we were erased from everyone's minds and deemed fairy tales where we continue to be killed by a so-called knight.” You explained, running your finger over the glass. 

“Some dragons were able to survive Malivore but as soon as they shifted… They were taken. They disappeared and left no trace.” You turned to look at Hope. The redhead stayed silent, a frown etched on her face.

“I’m sorry you lost your father. We’re working on finding Malivore and when we do, there’s a chance you’ll be able to see your father again.” Hope said softly, gaze still trained on the sword. 

“Where’s your mother? Alaric mentioned she was a vampire.”

“I was never able to meet her but.. I believe she’s dead.” You walked around the case, looking back up at Hope. You locked eyes with her, hearing her clear her throat.

“I’m sure she would’ve wanted to be in your life.” Hope offered a small smile, nails gently tapping against the case. 

“Are you being nice to me cause you need to find out more about me?” You asked, head tilting. Hope cocked a brow, eyes rolling as she turned away from you.

“Alaric really doesn’t trust me, does he?”

“He trusts you more than I do, that’s for sure. It’s just too much of a coincidence for you, a dragon, to show up when we’re dealing with monster after monster. If it weren’t for Alaric, I would’ve already done a spell on you.” Hope said as she walked around the room, features hard and serious. 

“A little witch spell wouldn’t work on me. You haven’t been trained to deal with dragons. If I was really one of those monsters, why didn’t I burn the building down and search for whatever it is that you have?” You asked curiously. Hope didn’t answer, thinking for a moment.

“Because you’d need to know if it was hidden.”

“Alaric asked if I felt a pull to this place. I suppose that means I would feel a pull towards the artifact, right?” You slowly walked towards her, a soft chuckle leaving you.

“You can kick and scream all you want, Red. I’m here to stay, whether you like it or not.” You reached out, twirling a strand of her red hair around your finger. Hope grabbed your wrist, pushing your hand away.

“You’re up to something and I’m gonna figure out what it is.” Hope sneered, eyes narrowed. She turned around, walking towards the doors. She almost bumped into a man on her way out, quietly apologizing before moving past him. The man entered the room, clasping his hands together. 

“I’m Dorian Williams, the liberian and occasional substitute teacher.” Dorian introduced himself, finding a table and taking a seat. He motioned for you to sit across from him. You did so, taking a seat and crossing your arms as you eyed him.

“I’m gonna be honest with you, (Y/N). I do have some suspicions that you might be after the artifact but.. You’re a kid. A kid who lost their father and wants answers. I’m not here to interrogate you about your intentions.” Dorian explained, leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed. 

“Do the other students know what I am?” 

“News spread like wildfire here, especially amongst the students so.. Yes, most likely. I can assure you that you’ll be treated like any other student-”

“So, Hope goes around telling every student she’s gonna figure out what they’re up to? No wonder she’s not popular.” Dorian let out a small laugh, shaking his head.

“I promise Hope isn’t always like that. The monster problem we’ve been having has everyone on edge. Do.. Do you know anything about Malivore?” Dorian asked, sitting up and leaning forward. 

“I thought you weren’t gonna interrogate me.” You tilted your head, brow cocked. Dorian hummed softly, nodding. 

“Alright, we can talk about something else. The neck is a dragon's soft spot, right?”

“Depends.” You answered, licking your lips as you reached up to touch your necklace. 

“If a dragon is older and stronger, a hit to the neck isn’t gonna hurt them much. It might piss them off and they could lose their ability to speak or even stop them from breathing fire cause it’ll hurt to do so. We can still kill someone by stepping on them or snacking on them. We were on the top of the fucking food chain and humans just couldn’t deal with that.” 

“I’m not your enemy, (Y/N). I want to believe I can trust you. You’re a child and like all children, you need guidance. I see a lot of rage built up inside you. I can tell from the way you interacted with Hope and from what I heard. Landon and Rafael aren’t your enemies. They’re new and they have a rough past. The first dragon they met wanted to burn them into a pile of ashes so.. I’d say they’re being pretty welcoming.” Dorian held a soft yet stern gaze. It was obvious that he sympathized with you but at the same time, he wasn’t gonna deal with an attitude.

“Tell me about your father. What was he like?” Dorian asked softly. Your gaze dropped to the table, fingers squeezing around the key. 

“I’d appreciate it if everyone could stop talking about him as if he’s dead.” You breathed out, standing up abruptly as your eyes began to sting from tears.

“I don’t need to be welcomed into this school. I’ve been to high school before, I’m not some little kid whose hand needs to be held.” You walked out of the room, heading back to your dorm room. You entered the dorm, shutting the door behind you. You sniffled softly, walking towards the window and opening it. You stepped out, taking a seat on the roof. You brought your knees up to your chest, feeling the wind gently hitting your face. 

“The key to food is passion, remember that (Y/N).”

“I thought it was seasoning.” You grinned as you watched your father cook. He hummed, nodding with a chuckle.

“It is but food from a chef who feels no passion for it will taste bland and bitter. It’s the same with any other job. If you hate it, it’ll show and you’ll only hurt yourself. That’s why I always tell you to look for things you’re interested in.” (F/N) said, handing you a wooden spoon so you could help with stirring the soup.

“What was mom passionate about?”

“Your mother was.. She was a hurricane.” He began, sighing deeply. “She destroyed everything in her path and took down anyone in her way. Not many people have fond memories of her but I saw the good in her. I didn’t love her romantically but I considered her a good friend of mine. I’ll always be grateful to her for giving me the best gift a man could ever have.” You smiled widely, chuckling softly and rolling your eyes. (F/N) smiled softly, leaning over and pressing a kiss to your temple.

“No treasure could ever compare to you.” 

You bit your bottom lip, letting out a shaky sigh. You weren't used to being alone. Your father had always been there to back you up, to support you, and to provide comfort when you needed it.

“Christ, pull yourself together. You come from dragons and a psycho vampire.” You mumbled, carefully going back inside. You picked up the phone, turning it on and waiting for it to power on completely. You responded to a text, watching a call pop up. You clicked the green button and held the phone up to your ear.

“I thought you said it was stupid to be in contact.” You took a seat on the bed.

“Yeah, well, I was expecting you to be back by now. You do know your fathers return lies in your hands, right? Only I can help you get him back but I’ll only do that if you give me what I need.”

“I have a plan-”

“Speed up that plan before I change my mind, (Y/N). While you were on your way to the school, I bumped into some of your new friends. They were a redhead and an older man. I believe the girl went by the name Jessica but I doubt it was her real name.” You let out a deep sigh, head tilting upwards. Hope Mikaelson was gonna be a real pain in the ass.

“Yeah, I’ve met the redhead.” You breathed out, dropping your head and pinching the bridge of your nose. 

“I just need you to relax, Ryan. I’ve got it handled but I really don’t need you fucking things up for me. You just keep up your end of the deal and I’ll keep up mine. You might be able to save my father but I can also keep you from helping yours.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s a fact. Don’t bother me again unless it’s an emergency.” You pulled the phone away from your ear despite Ryan continuing to talk. You hung up and tossed the phone to the side, burying your face in your hands. 

“Am I paying for my mothers crimes?” You whispered. You flinched when you heard two knocks on the door, standing up and approaching it. You opened the door, staring at Josie.

“What do you want, baby face?” You asked with a frown, looking down at the ice cream tub in her hands. Josie’s brows furrowed at the nickname but she ignored it, choosing to raise the tub. 

“I.. I kind of eavesdropped on you and Dorian and saw you rush out. Ice cream always makes me feel better when I’m feeling down, so I brought you some.” Josie shrugged lightly. You blinked, opening your mouth but nothing came out. 

“If you don’t like ice cream then I could see if-”

“Thanks.” You cut her off, watching her relax and give a small smile. Josie nodded, perking up when you stepped aside so she could enter. Josie looked around the room, humming. 

“If you want, we could go shopping for some decorations tomorrow after school.” Josie said, moving one hand under her skirt as she sat down. You nodded, taking a seat beside her and subtly turning the phone off. Josie opened the lid of the tub, handing you a spoon and giving a small shy smile.

“Well, Welcome to Salvatore School. I’m pretty sure dad is still figuring out your class schedule.” 

“Dad?”

“Oh, uhm, the headmaster is my dad.” Josie shrugged, digging her spoon into the ice cream. Your brows raised, a small smile spreading across your face. 

“Really? You look nothing like him.. Which is a big compliment.” You grinned as Josie let out a soft giggle. Things were definitely starting to look up.

Lost without you - JOHN SHELBY X READER

Words: 2323

Warnings: angst, cursing

i’m back with a new one and i hope you like it 

and also, i hope tonight i will be able to post another one about Christmas. i’ll try my best!! xx

Today is an awful day. For you, at least.

You decided to stay home and not go to the betting shop, even if you know that Polly and Linda needs help. You didn't find the strength to face anyone. Especially John. He didn't came home in the last two days, but he is more than fine with fuckin Lizzie having a bloody affair.

The kids are outside with the nannies and the house is quiet.  You sink in the tub and you close your eyes, thinking and not wanting to think at all. But you don't understand what you did wrong. Why weren't you enough? Since the first day of marriage, you worshiped John and the ground he walks on, you always trusted and loved him. It was your mistake.

Back then, three years ago, he didn't loved you. He married you because that meant peace between your families, but days passed by and he started to love you. Or so you thought. You love his four kids with Martha as much as you love Mia, the only child you have together. But that wasn't fucking enough for him.

You were angry a few hours ago when you found out, but now you are just empty. And that it's worse. You keep your eyes close, trying so much to keep your calm and to not cry anymore. Your eyes are bloodshot enough.

But just a few moments later, you hear noises downstairs and you know that the nannies are not back with the kids yet; they just left. You try to ignore it until you hear his raspy voice calling you.

- [Y/N]? Where are ya love?

He keeps calling for you and you hear his voice and steps closer to the bathroom.

- Piss off, John! You scream when he try to open the bathroom door.

- What are you doin 'ere? Open the door, [Y/N]!

You don't move a finger.

- [Y/N]! He shout again and his voice was threatening.

Your heart jump off your chest when you hear a loud kick and in the next second the door was on the floor. John casually enter the room with a big proudly grin on his lips. He is bloody handsome only wearing a white shirt with the sleeves raised on his arms; he had just took of the tie and the vest. But you try not to think at that anymore cause he is a liar.

- Have you lost your fuckin mind?! You scream but you still try to keep your mouth close. Of course you can help it when he is smirking, knowing what he did.

- What's with this attitude? He simply ask and you don't answer. You don't even look at him.

- Do you think I'm a stupid-...He started his angry speech, but stopped in this tracks. Just fuckin answer when I talk to you, [Y/N].

- Can you give me my robe?

He is left speechless at your disobedience. Sometimes he loves that about you, but sometimes he just wants to fuck the stubbornness outta you. "Sometimes" meaning most of the times like right now.

- No, I can not. Stay naked.

You roll your eyes in annoyance, but you walk out of the tub anyway. You feel John's glare all over your body and your clit quickly start pulsing, but you remember the reason behind your attitude.

- Why are ya like this? Wha did I do again?

In the last months you and John argued a lot, but you always managed to figured it and ended up having angry sex and make up sex. Not this time.

- You forgot how to speak with that big mouth? He grab your hand and spin you around to face him. His face changed from angry to sad when he saw tears on your eyes and cheeks. Tell me what's wrong, love.

- You forgot you have a wife?! You scream in his face and pull your hand out of his touch.

- I had bus-...

- I do not give a fuck! You think I am stupid? You think that I don't know that you just started a war with the Changrettas? All for Lizzie? Think again, John cause I fuckin know and I am fuckin leavin for good.

John looked away from your pained face. He argued all day with Polly and Arthur because of what he did, but Tommy at least was on his side. He didn't expected you to know and he was caught up off guards.

- Of course Polly told ya.

- Ya, as a matter of facts, she fuckin did! Of course she fuckin did! If not, I would still wait home for ya lying ass!

You walk out of the bathroom with the robe on, but as soon as you enter the bedroom you start to get dress, John following you right back.

- I didn't lied to you and I didn't cheated. He says with a frown when he saw the bags on the bed.

- Then explain me. What the fuck that meant?

You can't look into his eyes, not when you can barely see cause of the tears. Your heart it's broken because of what you have to do, but you can't live with him knowing he cheated. You will miss him and the kids so fuckin much and it will hurt like hell, but...Maybe this it's not the end of the world.

- I just protected her.

- Why?! You screamed and you gesticulated with your hands, still crying.

He stay silent.

- Because you still love her. But you are so stupid, John. She is fuckin Tommy and you are right there, risking your life for a whore while I'm staying home all alone with our kids!

- She's not a-...

You glare at him with your eyes full of rage as you pointed your finger at him.

- Don't you dare, John.

You push him into his chest and you scream in his face, not wanting to keep your mouth shout anymore.

Don't you fuckin dare took her side in front of me!  

You want to push him once more, maybe even slap him, but he grab your wrists to keep you in place and you can see that he is angry as well, but you are angrier and you don't wanna behave anymore.

- I don't love her, [Y/N]. I'm not even sure I did, not the way I love you now.

- Then why did you do it, John? You whisper and you take a step back when he come closer to you.

He hesitate a few moments while looking at you. He talked again after he poured himself some whiskey.

- I guess I just didn't like the view of her with that worm.

- Jesus Christ...You don't love her, but you want her for you? Bullshit.

That's all you can say with a puff and a sad smile on your lips. You're clothes and things are already packed, so now you just have to left. But that was the hardest part. You grab the two bags, but of course he stop you by holding your arm. You are with your back at him and you turn around to face him, dropping the bags and angrily wiping the tears away from your cheeks.

- What do you want from me? You already took everything you could! My stupid innocence, my fuckin heart and soul! Now, do me a favor John and let me leave.

You cried in front of him once again, you're voice cracking at almost every sentence. John can see the youth dried off your eyes and body because of him. When he realize that, he let go of your arm a little and was now just holding on your fingers, not ready to let you leave for good.

- You want a divorce?

The words stuck into his throat, but he has to know what you wanna do. When you nod with tears in your beautiful but sad eyes, something inside of him just broke. You always had fights over stupid or not so stupid things, but you never wanted to leave until now and John never considerate it until this finale moment.

- When you marry a Shelby, you stay fuckin married [Y/N].

John speaks as you reach the door. He is pouring himself another drink, trying to look just sad at your decision, not broken as he really is inside. He only felt like this when he found out that Martha died. He glare at you and his voice sounds like a threat when he speaks, not being able to control him when he thought about you with anyone else.

- You won't be happy with another man, [Y/N]. I won't let you.

- Wha'?

You frown and you are shocked. You hear it from the first time, but you can't believe he actually said that.

- You heard it. No one's gonna touch what's mine and a divorce won't change shit.

You look away from his eyes; they make your skin burn even across the room.

- You know damn well I'm gonna have their eyes for even lookin in your direction.

- You're outta your damn minds, John.

That was the last thing you said to John one month ago. You never really saw him since that day and you don't want to. He didn't tried to talk with you once and that hurt you again.

The kids were staying at Polly's and you visited them a few times; they were fine, but they asked about you and their dad since he was never there to see them. You were furious, but you didn't showed that to the kids. You smiled at them, lying that their dad it's fine, just busy.

Back then to that day, he looked just a little sad about you wanting a divorce and that was all, he looked like he didn't care about you at all.  But that's what he wanted you to see. In fact, he was at the ground. He was in a awful state and his family started to get worried about his health. But somehow you didn't know; until one day, when Tommy told you to talk with him, to get a decision together and maybe to put him on his feet again.

So, here you are at the Charlie's dock since John was here for you don't know what reason. They were standing by the fire, drinking rum as you hear Charlie speak.

- You have to get her back, boy. Cause if not you are a dead man.

You closed your eyes and sighed. John just looked at him as he puffed on his cigar but his eyes laid on you even at this distance between you and them.

- [Y/N]? John asks with big eyes, blinking a few times to make sure he is not hallucinating from the opium.

You come closer to them and you say hello to Charlie; he says back smiling at you as he left you two alone to talk, already knowing you're coming from Tommy and Arthur. You stand by John on the log and a few moments you both are quiet until you softly speak.

- Why you didn't went at Polly's to see the kids? They miss you.

His head was falling in the front, he tried his hardest to keep his eyes open as he looked at the fire, taking with a tough voice. You never saw him this drunk before.

- Cause they would ask me about you...They love you more...Than they love me.

- That's not true, you say and sigh.

- What should I say to them? That you want a fuckin divorce, [Y/N]?

He stand up from the log and he wasn't stable on his feet. He was getting nervous as well, but you try to keep him calm. You hoped you two can talk peacefully without a fight, but it's impossible when it comes to the Shelby men.

- I do not want a divorce, not at all.

He turned to look at you, confused.

- Then?

You stand up and as you reached him, you tried to take the bottle from him. You grab his chin to make him look into your eyes and his fingers slowly let go of the bottle. His beautiful blue eyes are tired, bloodshot and troubled. You thought that he was fine with the idea by now, but you can see into his eyes in how much pain he really is.

- Then wha' do you want, [Y/N]? Cause I know I don't wanna lose you. I am...I am dead without you, I am losin myself.

His voice was raspy as he whispers, too drunk to talk without pauses, but you understand anyway and you know that he is honest about this. He is always open up to you when he is drunk.

- I spoke with Lizzie. I know you did it to protect her, but...Why you never talk with me? I wanted to hear it from you, John. Not from her.

He is trying to keep up with your words.

- I love you, John, I really do. But...Do you still love her? Cause if you do, I can't...

He stays silent and you close your eyes, scared because you don't really know what his silence means.

- No. I care...I care about her. You? You are the only one I love.

He grab your cheeks, leaning into you at the same time.

- I love you. I can't and I...I don't wanna lose you.

He softly kiss your mouth and you kiss him back, not being able to resist him. He let his forehead on yours and you were looking on each other eyes, you trying to keep him still. You smile at his words and you press a little kiss on the back of his hand.

- You won't. I'm yours.

for my lovely lovely friend, @simplytherose​​​​, who requested kastle + trepverter: a witty response or comeback you think of only after it’s too late to use, the words you come up with ‘on your way out.’ this follows the prompt if you squint reaaally hard because i am The Worst™ ughghghghghg, but i hope you like it anyways??

full angst BECAUSE I CAN.

(a very special thanks to @ninzied​​ for the brainstorming and moral support and just being a fabulously wonderful friend, ILY MUCHLY)

And tell me if somehow, some of it remained —

.

She takes a cab home from the hospital. The driver raises an eyebrow at her bare feet but doesn’t say anything, just nods when she gives him her address. She wraps her arms hard around her torso and sits like that for the whole drive, nails dug beneath her ribs. Holding herself together.  

She doesn’t make it two flights up her building’s stairwell. The railing is cool when she presses her forehead to it, and that’s when she sinks to her knees, that’s when all of it — the hospital room, those women in the morgue, Frank refusing to look at her, I don’t want to, gnashed between his teeth, I don’t want to — all of it pours out in waves, sobs that build in her gut and shudder up her sternum so hard it makes her back teeth ache.

Karen overflows, until there’s nothing left.

.

She had dried the roses once they started to wilt, cut the stems and hung them in the hallway so they were the first thing she saw when she walked through the door. It helped, somehow, knowing that small piece of him was safe.

There’s no malice in it, when she carefully takes them off the wall. She’s too numb to be angry — every inch of her feels wrung dry, skin stretched too-tight over her bones.

The thing is — the thing about Karen is that she knows how to hold on. She’s been doing it her whole goddamn life.

She throws the roses out with the trash.

.

It doesn’t take long for him to crop up. Two local gangs massacred at the docks, a sex-trafficking ring exposed, several bodies and more than fifty pounds of heroin found in a Lower East Side warehouse — Frank’s doing exactly what he said he would.

“Reading anything interesting?” Matt asks one morning as he’s dropping off her coffee.

It’s an innocent question, but Karen finds herself clicking away from the open crime beat page anyways. “Not really. World’s going up in flames, the usual.”

If Matt senses the uptick of her heartbeat, the tang of sweat on her palms, he has the grace not to mention it. “Sounds about right,” he says with a wry smile, shutting the door to her office behind him.

Karen doesn’t check the news for the rest of the week.

.

(She wants to forget. She wants to scrub every trace of Frank from her memory, like bleach to a stain. Every interaction they ever had, a kaleidoscope of moments, all of them, gone.

She remembers their conversation by the water, loneliness and finding an after and how soft his mouth had been, pressed to the hollow of her cheek. She remembers —)

The problem isn’t Frank. It’s what he left behind.

.

Time soldiers on. One week turns into two, then three. She stays busy splitting her time between the Bulletin and the newly minted Nelson, Murdock, and Page, writing and investigating and writing some more. When Marci invites her out on the weekends, Karen takes her up on it.

There’s dust gathering on her windowsill. She tries not to notice.

.

It almost works, until —

She comes home to find him sitting outside her door. There’s a split second where she thinks, she hopes, that maybe it’s someone else, someone too drunk or strung out to remember where they live — but then he looks up, and she knows. 

“You’re shitting me, right?” is the first thing that comes out of her mouth.

He pushes to his feet. “Karen—”

“Stop.” She hears her voice break, and she hates that, how weak she sounds. “You don’t get to do this, Frank, you don’t get to show up on my doorstep after months of — after you —”

She’s shaking now, the swirling mess of emotion in her chest coalescing to a sharp point. She’s not sure who she’s more angry with — him, for slinking back again after pushing her away, cornering her outside her goddamn apartment, or herself, for letting him think he could.

Karen thinks of her dusty windowsill, the bare spot on her wall.

She fumbles her phone from her coat pocket and punches 911. “You have five seconds,” she says, “to get the hell out of my building. Now, Frank, or I’m calling the police.”

He believes her. She can see it in his face, the thin line of his mouth and the way he moves away from the wall, slowly, palms open at his sides. He knows she’ll do it, and doesn’t give a shit.

The problem is, she still does.

“Just go,” she says, hovering her thumb over the call button. “Please.”

Frank glances down, and for a moment all Karen hears is the hum of the fluorescent lights overhead, the thud of her heart slamming against her rib cage, like water to a levee. 

She blinks, and he’s looking up at her. 

“There’s somethin’—” he croaks, scratchy like sandpaper. “Christ, Karen, I know you’re pissed, and you got every right to be, I just—”

Karen laughs harshly. “You’ve got it all figured out, don’t you? Well go ahead, Frank, tell me more about what you think you know. I’m all ears.”

Frank’s a lot of things, but he’s not stupid. He stops talking.

Karen lets her phone hand drop and takes a breath, all the way down to her diaphragm. “This is what I know. I have my own shit, Frank, my own life. This thing, you and me — it’s not a revolving door, anymore. I have my life, you have yours. And you made it pretty goddamn clear how you felt about my part in it. So that’s it. I’m closing the door.” She tilts her chin up and stares him down without blinking. “I’m done.”

Frank doesn’t say anything. There’s something abstract working across his face, or maybe it’s just the way he looks in this light, more shadow than skin. Whatever she thinks she sees, it’s there and gone, when she blinks.

He holds his hands up. “Permission to speak? Or are you gonna start waving that thing in my face again?”

“Frank—”

“Five seconds. That’s it, yeah? Then I’m gone.”

The fucking nerve of this man. She sighs and gives him a curt nod.

He gaze ricochets down to the floor, then back up. “You were right, yeah, everything you said at the hospital, all of it. And what I said, Karen, I didn’t —” he glances away again, bobs his head slightly like he’s trying to convince himself to keep going. When he speaks again, his voice is as soft as she’s ever heard it. “You told me to make it mean somethin’. So here I am.”

Karen’s imagined this, what he’d say to her if they ever saw each other again, what her reaction would be, but she never pictured this — a small bubble of laughter in her throat, the sound strangely flat as it breaks past her lips.

“Here you are,” she breathes. The words splinter into a giggle, and Karen pivots towards the the wall, hysteria curdling in her chest. Images flash behind her eyes, all of them Frank — the backlit shape of him in the doorway of Schoonover’s shed, her fingers ghosting over his x-ray, his hand splayed over the crown of her head. A string of moments without the string.

Karen feels it, the exact moment when her laughter turns into something else.

“I’m sorry,” Frank is saying, “shit, Karen, I’m — I’m an asshole for comin’ here, I know it, I just — I want the war, right, I want it, can’t walk away from it. Maybe ever. But you stir all that shit up, Karen, you — you get in my head. I thought I was done, yeah, tried so goddamn hard to convince myself I didn’t, I couldn’t, want anything else.”

“Say it, then.” Her voice is small, coiled tight around the words. “Say it, or go.”

He’s quiet for a beat. “You mean somethin’ to me, Karen. I should’ve — I should’ve told you, before.”

Karen presses her fingers to her cheeks, and turns to face him. “So what now?” she asks. “What now, Frank? You said it yourself, the way you live your life — that’s a part of you, now. I just don’t see how I fit into that.”

Frank digs a hand into his hair, tilts his head and darts his eyes up to hers, and the movement is so familiar, so Frank, it hollows something out inside her chest. “I don’t know, alright, I don’t — I don’t have any answers.” He’s moved closer, somehow, without her noticing — before she can protest, he’s reaching out and brushing a thumb along her jawline. “All I know is after everything we’ve been through, you deserve to know how I feel.”

Karen’s blood is very loud, pounding in her ears. “Frank—”

“Tell me,” he says. “Tell me what to do, Karen.” 

The pull of his gaze is gravity — she couldn’t look away if she wanted to. There’s a cut on his jaw, bruises littering the side of his face from cheek to temple. Hope and fear in his eyes, blurred like watercolors. All the regular landmarks, all of it familiar territory.  

She studies his face now and doesn’t recognize any of it.

I don’t want that. I don’t —

Karen closes her eyes. “Your five seconds are up.”

.

He’s gone, when she looks again.

More Than Everything

I wasn’t sure about posting the prequel to “The Witching Hour”, but I’ve got the last fic almost done, so I might as well post the ‘beginning’ before I post the end. Once again, the relationship between Lucille and Snyder is extremely toxic, and the usual triggers/content warnings still apply. Warden Snyder has his own cw tag on my blog at this point, so that can also be blacklisted. 

Fair warning, unlike with TWH, this takes place shortly after one of their “meetings,” so Snyder is actually conscious for this one. There’s a lot of coarse language and some sexual comments thrown back and forth, but nothing overtly NSFW. I have lived my entire life not writing Warden Snyder smut, and I intend to keep it that way.

“I was thinking, maybe Sunday morning we could—“ “—I can’t, you know that.” Lucille snapped through bruised lips, not even bothering to look away from pouring their drinks. The last thing she wanted to see was Snyder, half dressed and far too proud of himself. “I go to mass with my brothers.” “Mass,” he scoffed, sneering at her. “You fucking sheep—“ “—You didn’t seem to care how I worshiped when you were screaming God’s name a few minutes ago.” Lucille didn’t bother to listen to the rest of his tirade, knocking back her glass of scotch in an attempt to burn the frustration out. She heard him snarl something under his breath, pretending as if she didn’t hear him cursing her name. If he was already this bad after only a few minutes, god knew she didn’t want to remember much the next morning. “In fact, you called on the whole trinity for my sake.” “Just give me my damn drink.” Lucille handed him the glass, shooting a glance over her shoulder as Snyder downed his drink, smirking slightly before she took a few gulps straight from the bottle. “Use a glass, for God’s sake!” He snapped, snatching it away from her, some of it spilling onto the floor. Lucille laughed at his frustration, grabbing her tumbler from the coffee table. “Damn… if you get upset by my mouth being on your bottle, how do you feel about my mouth on your—“ “—Don’t be fucking crass.” Lucille raised her eyebrows at him, smirking as she knocked back the drink with new fervor. She crossed the room to look at herself in the mirror above the mantle, scrunching her nose at the bruises dotting her neck and throat. She’d be wearing her highest collar tomorrow, unless she wanted everyone at Mrs. Grospkoff’s to be talking. As Snyder lit a cigar, she did her best to fix her corset and chemise, the green dress and leather boots forgotten somewhere on the parlor floor. “What time is it?” She asked, leaning heavily on the fireplace as the room spun under her feet. She looked around for something to tell her, staggering halfway out of the room before Snyder caught her. “The hell are you looking for?” “Don’t you have a goddamn clock somewhere?” She hissed, nails cutting into his skin as she caught herself on his shoulder. “Don’t you know ladies aren’t supposed to talk like that!” Snyder snarled, shoving her towards the couch as he went to find his pocket watch. “Where the hell did you put my jacket?” “It’s on the coat rack, where else would it be?” Lucille growled, bristling at his tone as she gracelessly sat down on the couch. She’d lost track of how much she’d had to drink, most likely racking up more money in brandy than she’d make in a year at the shop— of course, Snyder had to know it, or else he wouldn’t have shown off so much. Damn son of a bitch always has to show off. “I have to say, you don’t seem to care as much about what I am until after you’ve gotten your fill. Sheep, unladylike, bitch— never until you’re drunk and satisfied.” “And you never act like a bitch until you’ve had your fill, either. Just stay there ‘til I find out the time.” Lucille stood up after a moment, wandering around the room before she noticed the phonograph by the fireplace. She went over to it, glancing through the different songs as she waited for him. “How do you work this thing?” “It’s a quarter until three.” Snyder said, returning with his jacket, pocket watch in hand. As he looked up, he noticed her trying to figure the phonograph out, rolling his eyes at how childish she could be.  “Don’t touch that!” “I didn’t ask if I could touch it, I asked how to work it.” Snyder growled under his breath, roughly yanking her aside. “If you break that, I swear I’ll—“ “— If you’re so damn worried, just show me how to make it play!” Lucille snapped, face hardening as she caught herself on the arm of the couch. “Why do you want to listen to it so damn bad?” “I’m tired of waiting around for you to decide if you still want me here or not, so I’d like to listen to some music while you act like I’m some bother— if that is okay with you, Nigel.” His only response was to angrily get the song set up, muttering to himself as she watched over his shoulder. There was something good about seeing him so annoyed, a small victory in all of the things she had no control over. She couldn’t make him leave her alone, or leave her brothers out of their fight, but she could piss him off in the meantime. As the music began to play, he turned around, suspenders hitting the wood of the stand as he glared at her. “Are you happy now?” He asked, stalking past to get his drink. “Possibly, are you?” “Christ, I don’t know why I put up with a whore like you.” Lucille’s head snapped up, smirk instantly disappearing in favor of an angry scowl. “Don’t you dare call me a whore!” She growled, standing to unsteady feet. “You’d have quite the back-payments if I was.” “You’re really going to get mad at me after how you’ve been acting all night?” “You’re the one who asked me to come, or did you forget about that?” She hissed, shaking her head as she hastily grabbed her dress off of the floor. Even with the alcohol making her feel dizzy and unstable, she easily slipped it over her head, teeth bared. “Where the fuck are you going?” He asked sharply as she started buttoning the collar, hair already pulled into a haphazard bun. “Home— if you’re gonna treat me like a whore and not pay me, it ain’t worth my time.” Lucille replied, grabbing one of her boots off of the floor, leaning against the mantle for support as she put it on. “I’ve got work tomorrow, and it’s already late. Unlike you, I gotta get up early since I don’t have a carriage to drive me around.” “You’re not going anywhere.” Snyder replied, snatching her other shoe off of the floor before she could reach it. “Give me my shoe—“ “— I told you, you’re not leaving—“ “— and I said, give it to me!” “Just sit down and shut up, Lucille.“ “Give me my goddamn shoe!” Lucille screamed, sweeping the glasses off of the coffee table with one arm. There was a new fire in her eyes, something more intense than the playful spark from before. This was not a game, it was war, and she intended to win no matter what. “If you break one more thing, I swear to god—“ “—How are you going to stop me and keep my shoe, Nigel?” She asked, laughing bitterly as she picked up a decanter. “Either give me my shit and let me leave, or I’ll break everything in this goddamn room!” There was a moment of silence as they stared each other down, the expensive glass sparkling in the firelight as she held the decanter in a vice grip. After a moment, Snyder gave in, throwing the boot at her as hard as he could, missing her head by a few inches. “You bitch.” He hissed, grabbing her jacket from the coat rack by the door and throwing it to her as well. “You goddamn, cock-sucking, bitch.” “I didn’t suck your cock, you fucked me.” Lucille snapped, giving him a sharp look as she grabbed the jacket off of the floor. “You invited me here so you could fuck me, got me drunk on expensive alcohol so you could fuck me, and then fucked me on the couch in your expensive house before treating me like shit.” She headed to the door, her hand barely on the knob before Snyder roughly grabbed her from behind, gripping her arm. “I told you that you weren’t leaving just yet!” Lucille turned on him faster than she ever had, her nails cutting into his cheek as she scratched him with all of her might. “Don’t touch me, you bastard!” She shrieked, shoving him as hard as she could. “I’m going home, and that’s it. I don’t want to stay here anymore!” She opened the door, this time making it halfway out before he lunged at her again, blood dripping down from the slashes of red across his face. She screamed as loud as she could, pulling back hard enough that he was almost dragged out the door with her. “Shut the fuck up!” “Let me leave or I’ll yell loud enough that every one of your neighbors will hear!” She yelled back at Snyder, finally forcing him to let her go. “Get out of here, you stupid whore!” He said from the doorway, motioning angrily at her as she backed down the stairs. “Go to hell, and take your goddamn phonograph and your goddamn house with you!” She stumbled down the street, swearing and crying the entire walk home, only stopping to lean on something or vomit in an alleyway as she made her way back to the tenement she shared with her brothers and uncle. It was almost four in the morning before she made it inside, the dizziness from before fading into a pounding headache. Getting dressed in the dark, she glared hatefully at the bruises on her wrist and bicep, snarling insults at Snyder under her breath. She could hear her uncle snoring as she pulled out a bowl and filled it with water, doing her best to cool herself off and sober up. Her stomach turned suddenly, the bowl tipping over as she ran to empty what was left of her drinks into the sink, swearing any time she had a break from the retching. “Lulu, is ‘zat you?” A voice called from the doorway, Morris rubbing his eyes tiredly. “You good?” “I’m fine, Mo, don’t worry.” Lucille replied after a moment, glancing tiredly over to the thirteen year old before as she shakily wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I’m okay.” “You sick or something?” “I’m fine, just a little under the weather.” Morris quietly grabbed a glass and filled it, holding the wet washcloth in his other hand as he gave it to her. “Here, just… lemme help you.” Lucille started to argue, but the taste of bile and brandy in her mouth changed her mind, sipping at the glass of water as he wiped her face. After the horrible night she had just been through, it was a refreshing moment of peace, tears filling her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him. “I love you, Morris.” She whispered, running her fingers through his hair. “You sure you’re okay?” He asked, pulling her hair out of her face. “I can tell Mrs. Gross that you ain’t feeling good tomorrow.” “I’m fine, I promise.” Lucille replied, kissing him on top of the head. “Go back to bed— it’s late.” Morris nodded, too tired to even notice how wide awake she was for the hour, yawning as he headed back to his bedroom. “Morris?” Lucille called out before he could close the door, tears still in her eyes. “I want you to know, if anything ever happens— and I mean anything— I’ll always be there to watch out for you.” “I know, Lulu.” “I mean it Morris, I’ll do anything it takes to keep you safe, because I love you best.” Morris gave her a puzzled look at the declaration, lips pursed in confusion. “Are you sure everything is okay?” “I just had a bad day... it’s fine.” She smiled after a moment, an attempt at looking more okay than she’d felt for almost a year. “I love you.” “Love you too, Lucille.” She watched him until he closed the door, a sigh of relief breaking the sudden silence as she moved to clean up the water she had spilled. There was no use going to bed if she had to get up in an hour or so, instead focusing on gathering up the laundry she had to finish. On the roof, with the basin full and smelling like lye and cotton, she watched the sun rise, a cigarette between her lips as she tried to wash away the night before. No matter what, she’d always have the rooftop of her apartment, somewhere Snyder couldn’t touch. Or, at least she hoped so.

Tell Me Now

Summary: The reader finds out some startling news about her boyfriend Dean.

Characters: Dean x tattooed!reader

Word Count: 1,920

~

Dean watches in horror as a multitude of emotions flutter across your face. It started with adorable confusion and ended on completely ripshit mixed with total heartbreak. The hurt expression you deliver before stalking away yanks his own anger to the surface. Although Dean isn’t upset with you, instead he’s beyond pissed at himself and his current situation. Racing in your direction, he manages to keep an eye on you while still keeping his distance. The last thing this shitshow needs is an argument in the middle of downtown Brooklyn. “Son of a bitch.” Dean growls under his breath, watching your perfect plump ass stomp itself right past his flatbed truck. “Y/N, where are you going?” “Wherever you’re not.” You harshly quip at your boyfriend, refusing to even lock eyes with the lying bastard. “Leave me alone.”

“Y/N…please get in the truck.” The slight panic in his rough voice makes you tense up, that’s definitely a new thing for him. “Just let me explain.”

“I can’t even look at you right now, never mind talk to you, asshole.” You scoff, barely glancing over your shoulder as you speedwalk down the street. “God damnit.” Your boyfriend huffs loudly, no doubt chasing after you with his heavy sounding work boots. “Dude, seriously…” “It’s late, Y/N.” Dean grabs a hold of your bicep, tightening his grasp as you try to break away. “It’s not safe to roam around this neighborhood by yourself. Get in the god damn truck.” The icey glare Dean gets in response makes his stomach drop, “I won’t talk to you or even look at you, ok? Just let me drive you home, sweetheart.” You start hurling insults as you rip your arm away from his strong hand, “Well it seems I don’t have a damn choice.” You snap now hightailing it towards his stupid black Tacoma truck. The tension filled drive home to your apartment is extremely uncomfortable, scratch that - it’s extremely fucking painful. You swing open the passenger side door before the truck even comes to a halt, running away from the 6’1 man calling out your name. You don’t allow yourself to look back, even though you hear Dean climb out of his truck and follow behind you. The resounding slam of your front door in his handsome face is effective, but doesn’t give you the satisfaction that you crave. “I can’t fucking believe this.” You whimper, burying your face into your hands as you sink down onto your faded blue couch. “Y/N.” Your head snaps up to reveal a distraught man standing awkwardly in the living room. “We need to…” “Give me back my friggin key and get out. Now.” Dean hesitates but doesn’t give in to your demand, “No. This is happening whether you like it or not. There’s shit we need to discuss.” You laugh humorlessly before flinging your high heels into the corner of the room, ignoring Dean’s silent pleas. You pull out a bottle of Grey Goose vodka and take a big swig straight from the bottle, pretending you’re not grossed out by the taste. “You wanna talk? Let’s fucking talk.” You sneer at him from across the room before marching right up to him. “Who are you?” “Y/N, wait…” Dean now looks visibly distressed over your simple question and it makes your insides burn. “Damn it!” You yell hitting him hard in the chest. “Answer me now!” “Baby, calm down…” “I’ve been fucking you everyday for the last year.” You snarl getting in your boyfriend’s face again. “So I’m going to ask you again…who the hell are you?!”

Dean painfully rakes over your enraged form, his eyes landing on the intricate sleeve of tattoos that he’s always loved. He’s spent so much time tracing them, kissing them and memorizing them. And now he’s beyond afraid that he’ll never see them again.

“I love you, Y/N.” Dean pleads with his eyes snapped shut. “And I will explain everything but I just need you to trust me.”

“Trust you?” Your voice cracks in disbelief. “Who’s asking? Jeff...or Dean?”

Fuck. That’s the first time Dean’s real name has slipped past your lips and it makes bile rise up in his throat. This isn’t the way you were supposed to find out, this isn’t how things are fucking supposed to be.

The internal war your boyfriend is clearly having only amplifies your anger, “Nothing to say, tough guy? Fine. Let’s talk about your buddy Benny that we just ran into. He had some interesting things to say about you...”

Dean finally locks his hazel eyes on yours, his tormented demeanor instantly changed into something colder, “Go pack a bag, Y/N. This operation has been compromised so I need to remove you.”

“Compromised?!” You squeak with wide eyes, watching him push past you towards the kitchen without a second glance.

Dean automatically ignores your shocked reaction, intending to not leave any room for discussion on this. Of course whatever the hell this is - you still have no fucking clue and it makes your heart beat so hard that it hurts.

Before your jumbled brain even registers it, your body races itself into the kitchen only to find that it’s empty. You hear rushed movements down the hall that lead you into your bedroom. Drawers are hanging open, clothes are thrown all over your bed and there’s a suitcase already half way filled.

“Will you stop?!” You screech causing Jeff or Dean or whoever the fuck he is to freeze. Taking a strangled deep breath, you suddenly feel really light headed as strong hands guide you to sit down.

Dean crouches down in front of you with concern painted all over his features, “Baby, you need to breathe ok?” He adds softly cupping your cheek with his hand.

“I’m not doing shit until I get some answers.” You mumble, making him chuckle at how stubborn you are. “Please just tell me what’s happening.”

“Y/N. I need you to...”

“No.” You growl pushing his chest away from you, he stumbles a little before standing back up and walking out of the room.

“Great.” You groan throwing your head down dramatically.

“Drink this, Y/N.” You look up to see a bottle of water held out in front of you, with an upset expression accompanying it. “You get one question. Then you get your pretty ass off that mattress and pack your shit. Got it?”

You open your mouth to argue but shake away the idea, “Fine. I want to know why...Benny...” You stutter starting to feel your anxiety creep up from the green eyes boring into you.

“Hurry up!”

“Why did Benny call you Dean when your name is Jeff?” You catch the annoyance on your boyfriend’s face, already knowing that he’ll feed you bullshit. Screw It.

“He said you’ve come a long way from being a country boy in Kansas but you’re from Pittsburgh.” You rush out ignoring his daggers. “And he said you haven’t seen each other since the academy. Which doesn’t make sense because you’re a god damn drug supplier!”

“That’s like four questions!” Dean barks out making you jolt in surprise.

“It’s three!” You defend loudly, crossing your arms over your chest with a pointed scowl. “Asshole.”

Dean’s jaw tightens, something you’ve always found sexy, as he curses under his breath, “I’m agent Dean Winchester. I work for the narcotics unit in the FBI and I’ve been undercover for the past year.”

“Oh my god.” Hot tears threaten to spill from your eyes as you see the stress and guilt written all over Dean’s face. “This is because of my dad.”

“You know what your dad does, baby. So yes it’s about him.”

“He...he’s involved in the drug thing but...” You sniffle trying and failing to form a complete sentence.

“The drug thing? He’s practically a drug lord, Y/N!” Dean roars at you. “The large scale of product that he trafficks is just insane. And he’s so fucking meticulous about it all, so surveillance from the outside wasn’t cutting it.”

“Fuck.” You whisper watching Dean pace maniacally along your bedroom’s hardwood floor.

“Your dad has so many underlings doing his dirty work...it’s taken time to collect enough evidence to link it all to him.” Dean sighs dragging a hand down his face. “There’s just so many moving parts.”

Dean pauses once he hears you crying, he moves to comfort you but it’s just all too much, “Don’t.” You rasp feeling droplets cascade down your cheeks.

“For Christ’s sake, Y/N.” Dean huffs deeply. “This wasn’t...you weren’t part of my plan ok? Falling in love was the last thing I thought would happen to me.”

“So what...you’re just gonna arrest me too?” You narrow your eyes. “I’m not even involved in any of that. Not at all!”

“I know you’re not, sweetheart. I did recon on everyone in your dad’s life and the last I knew, you were a hair stylist living in Boston. So color me fucking surprised when I saw that you were actually in Brooklyn.”

“You know my grandmother wasn’t doing well so I came here to help her out. My dad and my idiot brother obviously wouldn’t do it.” You add quietly. “I planned on going back but then I met you...”

Dean nods solemnly, “I know, Y/N. Now will you please work with me here and get going? I can’t risk anything tipping off your father. I need to alert my unit and spring shit into action as soon as possible.” He finishes making your mouth drop open.

“So I’m just supposed to let my dad and brother get burned?” You gasp jumping up from your seat. “While I get to escape?” 

“I worked hard on this case for two god damn years before I even went undercover! I’m not letting it go to hell now, Y/N.”

“I get it, Agent Winchester.” You seethe making him flinch at the name change. “I’m just a random piece of this fucked up puzzle you’ve been playing with all year.”

“You need to understand...this was going down next weekend anyways.” Dean tells you softly. “So it’s just a little early.”

“I wouldn’t even be...” You trail off with it all dawning on you. “You bought me the spa weekend. I was supposed to be away with Cindy when it all happened.”

“Yeah. And now shit’s changed.” Dean grumbles at you. “You’re still involved, Y/N. Even though you didn’t actually participate in anything. You still know about a lot of it and never reported it, which means you can still get in trouble. I’ve tried to keep you out of all my debriefs with the bureau but still...I need to get you away from this. I have to make it so this affects you as little as possible.”

“Fine.” You mutter after skipping a beat. “I pack my shit and then what happens, Dean?”

“I hide you in a safe house.”

~

1. You and Kevin come home one day to see Bonham lying on the couch with her eyes closed, a saxophone sound coming from the speaker on the table. It sounds somewhat familiar but  you can’t place it. “What are you listening to?” Kevin asks. “Jazz Mario,” Bonham responds without opening her eyes. Kevin wrinkles his nose, “That’s the dumbest shit I ever heard of.” How do you and Bonham respond?

Bons shoots straight up off the couch and goes, “It is not!”

Me: I do my homework to it. It’s great study music. 

2. Bonham is playing the Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack for you and Kevin and Rudy when the ‘Galaxy Birth’ song. Rudy says, “This is cute.” Bonham says, “I don’t know, it kinda makes me think about death.” What do you and Kevin think of it (song available on request or on youtube) and what do you say?

Me: It does kind of remind me of death. But it’s also putting me to sleep. 

I close my eyes and rest my head on Kevin. 

Kevin: Can we change the song please? I really don’t want her drooling on my shoulder at two o’clock in the afternoon.

3. You’re hanging out with Kevin and Bonham one day when Vince calls you out of nowhere. No hello or anything, the first thing out of his mouth is, “I know marriage is for better or worse but how much worse is it gonna get?” You’ve got him on speakerphone, so how do the three of you answer him?

Bonham: Much worse. Much, much, much worse

Kevin: It’s not so bad..as long as you find the right person. 

And then he looks over at me which makes Bons gag. 

Me: I mean you’ve already been married one time before you married Sharise so shouldn’t you already know?

4. Bonham’s showing you, Kevin, and Rudy a jazz record, and it’s pretty good. A nice bari sax solo comes on and Bonham kinda moans a little and says, “I’d marry a bari sax.” “A player?” Rudy asks. “No, the actual instrument.” She says, and she sounds serious. How do the three of you respond?

Rudy: I mean you could. 

Kevin: Whatever floats your boat. 

Me: As long as you don’t want to marry pizza. I don’t want to see oral sex with pizza again. *shudders* 

5. Rudy asks Kevin what his favorite song is one day, and Kevin totally blanks. “How can you forget your favorite song?” Bonham asks. “Shut up, I have jamnesia.” Kevin says. How do you and Rudy respond?

I roll my eyes, “Jamnesia isn’t a real thing, Kevin.” 

Rudy: Actually it’s a surf camp.

6. You’re sitting with Kevin and Bonham one day when she cringes at a news article. “Some guy got arrested for going around to hotels and filming himself jerking off when the housekeeping staff came in. OH SHIT and get this, one of the guys that caught him gave him a blowjob. Do people just blow each other nonchalantly, like, what the fuck?” How do you and Kevin respond?

Me: When they’re high and drunk enough they do. 

I look pointedly at Kevin. 

Kevin: WHAT?! I never did that!

Me: Uh-huh 

7. You’re at a small get-together with Bonham, Kevin, Rudy, Carlos, and Crue. At one point when you’re sitting with Bonham and Nikki, Kevin comes up to you and says in a deep British voice, “I fancy you.” Before you can say anything, Bonham asks him, “How much have you had to drink?” How do you and Nikki respond?

Me: Too much. He always gets the British accent that sounds kind of like Ozzy when he’s had one too many. And the he usually throws up in. Three...Two...One

Nikki: Aww, seriously dude. These were brand new shoes too.

8. You and Kevin are walking down the street one day when a stranger shouts, “Oh my God! You’re Kevin DuBrow!” Kevin smiles a little and says, “Yep, that’s me. Always glad to meet a fan.” The stranger looks completely awestruck and shouts, “YOU ARE A GOD.” Kevin recoils a little bit and says, “I’m not, I’m just a guy.” How do you respond and what does the stranger do?

The stranger tries to hug Kevin which makes him recoil more and then I get between them. 

Me: Ok, buddy. You’re being very rude. Take social cues and realize Kevin doesn’t want you touching him. We’ll be happy to sign something as long as you don’t act crazy.”

9. You’re at a party with Kevin, Rudy, Bonham, Carlos, and Crue. When it’s time to go, you and Bonham are collecting the boys when you come across Tommy. He’s standing in the only path through the house, dancing. “Move,” Bonham says. Tommy doesn’t even turn around and cheers, “Fuck youuuuu.” Bonham slaps him on the ass to get him to move. He turns around and just leans over, towering over her, and you can’t tell if he’s pissed or turned on. What does he do and how do you and Bonham respond?

After a bit, I realize his pupils are dilated which means he’s really turned on. Since he’s way taller than both of us and extremely drunk we don’t have odds in our favor. Bons is trying to slip past him but he won’t let her. I quickly say, “Hey Tommy, Pamela is waiting for you out by our car. Why don’t you go get her?” “Pamela! Where?!” And he sprints out to the car. 

Bonham: Quick thinking. Now let’s round up the others. Mick’s getting Nikki and Vince. 

Me: And once we get back, we’re locking Tommy in his room. 

10. You’re doing tequila shots with Bonham, Kevin, and Rudy one day. After you’ve all had a few, you’re getting playful. You lick your hand, lick off the salt, and take your shot. You’re cringing, and you say, “Where’s the lime!?” (if you want I can explain how you take a tequila shot, if you don’t already know). Kevin giggles, and sticks it out of his mouth on his tongue. “You want it, take it.” He says around the lime. What do you do and how do Rudy and Bonham respond?

Well of course I’d take it. I pull him in and kiss him to get the lime and since we’re both drunk we end up making out. 

Rudy, who’s has had the least to drink, pulls the bottle off the table and caps it before saying, “Ok, that’s enough for you guys.” 

Bons gags and goes, “At least wait till Rudy and I aren’t in the room before having sex. Christ.” 

11. Bonham gets back from work one day before a show and it’s cold. She brings her sax in from the car and says, “Bertha needs to warm up, so I brought her in while I get ready.” You don’t think anything of it, and Kevin comes downstairs as Bonham goes up. He goes into the kitchen and then comes back out and sits with you. Bonham comes rushing down the stairs and stops into the kitchen before leaving, but when she gets in there she screams. “Who put my saxophone in the oven!?” Kevin shrinks into the couch a little bit as she storms out of the kitchen. “Who put my antique saxophone in the oven and melted her!?” Kevin mumbles, “I thought that would warm it up faster.” How does Bonham respond, and what do you say? Do you defend Kevin?

Bonham: How can you be so fucking stupid?! It can’t go in the oven. It’s like if I threw your stupid iron man toy in the oven

Kevin springs up and goes, “No! Don’t throw him in the oven! I’ve had him since I was a kid! That’s genocide!

I don’t like that the two most important people in my life are fighting so I get between them and calmly go, “I’m not siding with anyone but Bons, Kevin was only trying to be helpful. And you know how stupid he can be. And Kevin, try to use the brain that god gave you.” Before I slap him upside the head. “Also you will be paying for Bertha to be fixed or you will be buying Bons a new Sax.” 

____________________

1) You come home from work one day to find your singer laying underneath the Christmas tree. You drop your stuff and go, “What are you doing?” She doesn’t even look at you and says, “I’m thinking.” You join her underneath the tree and go, “I don’t know how you find this relaxing.” She’s about to say something when you hear Kevin go, “What the fuck are you two doing?” What do you and your singer say and how do Kevin and Randy respond?

2) Your band is on tour with Crüe promoting the joint album that had just released. Baby Mal is with you because QR is on their own tour and your singer and Kevin didn’t have anyone to watch him. One night, your singer is putting Mal to bed when you get a call from Kevin. You step outside of you and your singer’s hotel room to answer and the first thing you hear is, “I’m going to kill him! How can he take my wife and child away from me like that? I’m flying to your next venue so I can beat his ass!” You pull the phone away from your ear and go, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you talking about?” “Didn’t you see the article in the latest gossip magazine?” “No, I didn’t. Hold on.” You hang up and go down to the nearest convenence store to pick up the latest gossip magazine. Sure enough, you find your singer and Tommy on the front with your singer holding Mal. The headline reads, “Breaking news! War Angel’s singer has left Kevin DuBrow to raise their son with Tommy Lee!” What do you say when you call Kevin back, do you tell your singer, and what does Kevin do when he shows up at your next concert?

3) Your band is in a slump for your new album. Your band, Kevin, and Randy are in the studio trying to figure out what to do. You all take a break to go get lunch, although your singer stays behind. When you come back, your band, Randy, and Kevin find your singer in the recording booth singing along to The Wild and the Young. She doesn’t notice you guys at first until Erik says into the mic, “Hey, that’s pretty good. Why don’t we cover that?” How does your singer respond and what do you, Daryl, Linus, Randy, and Kevin say?

4) Daryl has recently been getting on your nerves a lot more and he is being really creepy towards your singer while working on your next album. One day, You, Kevin, Linus, and Erik come back from getting lunch to find your singer pinned against the wall trying to get Daryl off her. He didn’t do anything but he was close to it. Once he’s off her, she goes, “I don’t care what we do, but I want him out. I don’t feel safe. If you don’t want him out, I’ll leave. But right now...I need to get air.” You can tell she’s holding back tears. Once she leaves the room, what do you, Kevin, Erik, and Linus say to Daryl?

5) Your singer and her and Kevin’s kids have been staying with you and Randy since Kevin hit her when he was drunk. She says she won’t move back into their house until he gets help or goes into a program for his alcohol and drug use, “I’m not raising my kids around a raging addict.” One day, you’re watching the kids while your singer is at work. You hear the doorbell and you pick up Roxanne to get the door. When you open it, you find Kevin, he looks at you and then to Roxanne. He tries to grab her from you but you pull her closer to your chest. “Please just let me see my kids and my wife. I miss them so much. Please. Can you just tell her to move back home? I need them.” How do you respond?

6) It is the day of your singer and Kevin’s wedding. You’re helping her get ready (since you’re the maid of honor) and the other bridesmaids, her sister, Ash, and Christina, are helping as well. She’s just put her veil on and she turns around to look in the mirror. The four of you gush over how beautiful she looks, but she looks nervous. She sits on a chair and goes, “I don’t know if I can do this. I love Kevin so much, but I don’t know if I can go through with this.” She’s getting cold feet. What do you, her sister, Ash, and Christina say?

7) You come home from work one day to find your singer curled up in a ball on the couch with a box of tissues. You ask her what’s wrong and she goes, “Kevin just broke up with me because he and Randy have to go on tour for the first time.” How do you respond and what do you do about Kevin?

8) You band has decided to fire Daryl after he almost raped your singer and are now trying to find a drummer to replace him before going on tour. You and your singer have been auditioning people for weeks. She’s almost give up hope finding a good replacement when a young kid comes in to audition. He’s about eight years younger than you and the rest of the band, so you and your singer are a bit skeptical. He auditions and he’s phenomenal. Once he’s finished, you go, “What’s your name?” and your singer says, “That was amazing!” He smiles sheepishly and goes, “I’m Sean. I have always been a huge fan of you guys and modeled my playing after Daryl.” Sean has just turned twenty while the rest of your band is twenty-eight and older. Do you decide to hire him as the new drummer or do you decide against it because of his age?

9) You band has been around for about eight years and on the cusp of 1990 (it’s 1989) you go on tour. You bring along a burgeoning young act from Seattle called Nirvana. When your band and Nirvana meet for the first time, your singer goes to Kurt and says, “It’s so great to meet you, Kurt,” before sticking out her hand. He takes it, but while he does he says, “War Angel is an over-bloated, over-produced band that is just in it for the money. You only make music for the money.” How do you, your singer, Linus, Erik, and new drummer Sean respond?

10) You, Kevin, and Randy are sitting at the kitchen table when your singer comes bursting through the front door. Her hands are full but she drops her bag in the living room and is having a conversation wither her mother on the phone. The three of you are staring at her and when she gets off the phone, she goes, “What?” Kevin goes, “Where did the kid come from?” “Oh, this is my cousin Weston. Bons and I have to watch him this weekend. Did I forget to mention that?” She then hands you the baby, “Here Bons, can you hold him while I go get the rest of his stuff out of the car?” How do you, Kevin, and Randy respond and how does you weekend with Weston go?

11) Since Kevin broke up with your singer several months ago, she has moved on to date Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses. You’re still dating Randy so you and your singer still see Kevin a lot. Your singer most of the time just ignores him because she’s still very hurt at what he did to her. You, Randy, your singer, Duff, and the rest of QR (Kevin included) are hanging out at a bar. Your singer and Duff are being really cute. She’s sitting on his lap and he has his head resting on her shoulder and he occasionally kisses her neck or cheek. Kevin has been quiet and will glance over at the two of them occasionally. Your singer soon stands up and goes to you, “I’ll see you back home. Duff and I are going to a movie.” Before she grabs his hand and they walk out of the bar. What does Kevin say after they leave and how do you and Randy respond?

12) You got into a bad car accident and had to go into surgery. When you come to in the hospital bed, you feel someone holding your hand and murmuring. You open your eyes to find your singer at your bedside. She’s kneeling and holding your hand in hers and she looks like she’s praying. Just then Kevin comes in and goes, “You know praying won’t help, right?” How does your singer respond and what do you say? How do your singer and Kevin react once they realize you’re awake?

@osbournebemydaddy your move, Bons :)

The week in review:

Raw 11/30 NXT 12/02 NXT UK 12/03 Smackdown 12/04 Takeover War Games 12/06 + Main Event 12/03

Raw:

...Yeah hi, what the fuck is with the doll trapped inside of the table? Is that a metaphor for Alexa??

I’m so happy for her being able to have segments with Orton. Good for her.

Alexa’s like a mere inch taller than me so she’s a nice gauge as to to how tall the men’s roster is in comparison, and Randy? Fucking tall.

So the writing was on the wall; Fiend cares about Alexa (whether the nature is abusive is irrelevant to this point) and Randy has figured out how to use Alexa as a pawn to manipulate Fiend. I was kind of hoping Fiend/Alexa were in control of the gameboard, but it seems I’ve been duped.

The only complaint I have about this is how... compliant and helpless Alexa was in this segment. She’s not only been possessed/traumatized into caring about Fiend, but furthermore she does care about him, so why wouldn’t she be fighting against Randy when she was in his arms? The writing of her character in this particular segment seemed shallow. I know she can play whatever emotion they want from her, so to not ask for any emotions at all is curious.

Also the only person who isn’t a heel here is Alexa, and I won’t really hear any argument on the manner. Fiend is a predator at best. Orton is a psychotic douchebag.

My head hurts. Imagine Becky being stuck in a tag team with Lana rather than throwing a huge fit about not being able to defend her title for fucking months.

“Sarah you wouldn’t understand, but Shayna and I are about to-- *starts smiling like a fucking idiot*” Wow I want to defend wwe’s incessant need for giving Lana a storyline but I’m so fucking tired of abysmal promos. God. I. Miss. Becky. WHY is the Raw women’s champion wrapped up in this??

“First of all... ew.” lolololol

Shayna’s hatred for Lana is fucking hilarious.

Why is it, whenever Nia and Shayna do their dual barricade ragdoll move, Nia always gets the lighter one?

Nia fucking pummeled Lana lmao.

I kind of wish this story had a live crowd, I’d like to see if all of this was actually buying Lana some goodwill from the audience.

Hilarious watching Lana sit on the bottom rope for a few seconds before climbing through onto the apron, before slinking down to a sitting position, before finally collapsing onto the floor barely peering into the ring. Tf is she doing rofl.

Now she jumped up onto the apron lacking any enthusiasm, tagged herself in, and is climbing onto the turnbuckle while seemingly sobbing. What in the fuck lmao.

God Asuka is working overtime here.

*Bonus* online exclusive: how fun, Lana and Asuka are singing and dancing together. This division is turning into a garbage fire rq.

Oh is Mandy still out with an injury in kf?

Love it when new debuts get no fucking entrance. Yikes.

Mia Yim had such a dope theme song and entrance, I can’t believe it’s been scrapped so that she can call herself “Reckoning” and hang out in some dead-end group. Shame.

Oh my god. Mia loses to Dana via rollup after taking virtually no offense. What a waste of everyone’s time. I see this going nowhere, absolutely nowhere.

*Bonus* online exclusive: lmfao the Nikki Cross interview was worth a mention. First off, Nikki looks gorgeous. Second, I feel like this is the beginning of her run of not appearing on Raw because she isn’t deemed developed enough outside of a tag team, which is sad. Third, rofl @ her giving Sarah sheep’s stomach chicken to eat, I have no words. Anyway, she should be a solid midcarder. Get it together wwe.

Highlight: Probably the Nikki Cross online exclusive

---

NXT:

They got Shotzi something that glows. Wow.

Why is there a silhouette as if Io isn’t already added to the team? Why wouldn’t she be? Shayna was in last year’s, why wouldn’t Io be in this year’s? Is this supposed to be suspenseful?? lmao plz.

Indi did not take a bullet for you, she was just an idiot. Also why does this bitch still have a neck brace on? It was an Eclipse, let’s get real for a second.

Why you acting like your team is cohesive anyway? Doesn’t Dakota hate you? Didn’t Toni just turn heel for virtually no fucking reason, after defending/consoling Shotzi and attacking Candice like a sore loser? *sigh*

I know fans are really into WarGames but I find the alliances really fucking weak every year. It’s as bad as Survivor Series, just with more weapons and brutality.

So Xia Li lost some matches and now she’s being tortured... okay. I’m gonna keep my comments on this to a minimum cuz I can tell this will be some long-term story.

Oh I really like how their respective team members are standing up in the back on balconies. I really fucking like the layout of this arena. Huge fan.

Why Shotzi vs Raquel though? Why is the team captain fighting? That’s not typical for these, is it?

Ugh failure to throw Shotzi through the ropes. There’s just... a skill gap in the division, you know? And Shotzi and Raquel are on the lower end of that gap. I don’t care if people love Shotzi, she’s MILES away from being a champion. What saves her is her risk-taking, but it’s just a matter of time before that bites her in the ass.

Shotzi’s offense is doing a minimal amount of potential damage to her opponent while taking herself out in the most convoluted way possible. She’s Sasha Banks on steroids.

You call it innovative, I call it foolish.

Raquel just standing there waiting with stairs in her hands. Beast.

Shotzi can’t have a kf leg injury, that negates 95% of her offense!

Limpy vs Gimpy

Setting up that ladder in the corner was clunky as shit.

A pure ladder stip is hard to have in a women’s singles match, but this match is a big pile of meh.

Honestly I’m not about to complain about all of these women getting involved because this is borderline boring.

AYYYEEE it’s Io! Io saved this match tbh. Love her, THAT’S my champion.

Give Shotzi’s team the advantage, I doubt they win anyway.

To be honest; you have former nxt champion Ember Moon, inaugural UK champion and former nxt champion who fought against Charlotte fucking Flair at WrestleMania Rhea Ripley, and current champion that beat Charlotte fucking Flair for the title Io Shirai. The idea of that team losing is laughable at best in kf. But they will, cuz fuck babyfaces.

*Bonus* online exclusive: What surprises could you possibly have in store aside from some random weapons? Also fuck your howl. Edit: she was talking about her stupid new tank, wasn’t she...

Highlight: Io showing up at the end of the ladder match

---

NXT UK:

Who’s this green-shirt bro and why did he run over there to break up the brawl as if there aren’t 2 dozen officials already? Men needlessly getting involved in women’s fights irritates the shit out of me.

He also got in the way of the shot for the majority of this clip. I hate him. 

I hope Jinny wins this future match.

This Aleah girl is like a cross between Kacy and Alexa, and honestly I hate it. Which is odd cuz I love them. She pisses me off though. Not sure what to make of it.

So supposedly Valkyrie is undefeated? That’s good. Let’s keep that going.

Valkyrie has nice counters and is super athletic. I say this every time I watch one of her matches but she deserves more praise.

I hate that women on UK get so little time. Send Valkyrie and KLR to nxt and send Dakota and Rhea to the MR, thanks.

I’d pay to see Valkyrie vs KLR too!

Still not a fan of Valkyrie’s finisher. Love her gear though, it looks different.

Highlight: Always a pleasure watching Valkyrie

---

Smackdown:

Lmfao Bayley “fails” to break the count before rolling back outside, so she rolls back in and fucking stomps her feet while yelling at the ref. She’s good. She’s good at the basics, good at paying attention to her surroundings, and good at improvising.

Bayley and Nattie are smooth together. They’ve never had a match, right? Other than this?

Love how Bianca has all of Bayley’s attention.

Bayley just used Nattie’s discus clothesline against her lmao. What a troll.

I remember when Bayley tapped, her entire fanbase was crying claiming she was buried. Watching it myself, she is so obviously entering into a program with Bianca. Christ 90% of her attention was on Bianca throughout the match.

*Bonus* online exclusive: Bianca just told Bayley her hair ain’t even and she looks dusty, good fucking bye.

mmmm not sure if Sasha has the admiration of the wwe universe. Look she’s a remarkable talent in the ring, but she is insanely annoying outside of it. She’s changed nothing from the time she was heel, other than no longer cheating to win. She obnoxiously cackles, she’s egotistical, she gets along with legit nobody. I’m not convinced the crowd would even cheer her, even if she’s one of the best bell to bell. Her fans can call her the number 1 babyface, but that’s a stretch if I’ve ever heard one.

“I won the first 2 women’s mitb” aaggghhhhh I hate that Carmella still claims that. Debatable. De-ba-ta-ble.

Lol “I can’t help if men are obsessed with me,” alright sure. That’s good tbh. Carmella is a notorious cheat but regardless, that’s good.

Well the reason y’all never faced one on one is because Carmella’s a Smackdown veteran and you just got here, but I digress.

So where’s the army that still runs around crying that Becky buried her when she called her the greatest woman to never be great (facts)? Where’s the outrage for Sasha demeaning Carmella and claiming she’s not in her league? Sasha fans are wild.

“With half the work I’m better than you. I held onto that Smackdown woman’s title longer than all of your title reigns combined.” omg she’s dead. Shots fired, target hit. Someone call Sasha a hearse. 

Instead of sitting there making ugly faces, Sasha really should’ve gotten up and left. Lick her wounds or something kekek.

Highlight: I’m into this Bayley/Bianca thing they’re building

---

Takeover WarGames:

I just think it’s so cool that wwe shelled out the money for a Black Sabbath song. Of course they can afford it, but for a Takeover? Points.

Nobody wants to come take out Candice rq? No? Nobody at all???

Oh hell yeah Dakota gets to start? Good for her, since she skipped out on it last year.

I don’t fucking get Ember Moon’s persona, but I like her lit gear tonight.

“Aiming it square at Team LeRae” sometimes I wonder if Vic is simply blind.

The concept of this match is fun, but it always feels a little hollow until the match actually starts.

So cool that they got Wade Barrett on commentary in nxt.

Sloppy headscissors by Ember, but Dakota sold well per usual. Not sure why they’d have Ember run the marathon.

I’d pay so much money to see the 4hw in a WarGames match.

Oh that’s cool, Raquel put her hand up to protect Ember’s face from Dakota’s kick. We appreciate a performer that protects her coworkers.

That sunset flip powerbomb by Shotzi onto Raquel off the ropes was neat.

Toni up in here just removing all the turnbuckles. I wonder if running into exposed turnbuckles actually hurts that much.

Toni barely taps Ember with a kendo stick and she acting like she’s dying.

Man that 6 woman thing was so choreographed. Even did a countdown.

Io ma’am we don’t-- we don’t need ladders... okay. Okay.

Io scaling the cage and Raquel knocking her off like in Super Mario Brothers.

I feel like WarGames is convoluted enough, but sure, let’s get into the winter of overbooked women’s matches. New season, same bullshit.

AHAHAHAHAH IO’S FUCKING SMILE. She is standing on top of the cage putting a garbage can over her head, and has the audacity to wear a shit eating grin. I cannot, this girl is crazy and I love her.

Stupid spot? Maybe. Is Io batshit insane for jumping like 10 feet down completely blind? Absolutely. Points.

CLEAN ddt by Io onto Raquel. Spiked.

Candice is dumb. Got a trash can lid standing opposite Shotzi who’s wielding a chair. Candice throws the lid, says ‘hold on’, then climbs through the ropes to grab a kendo stick while crying ‘help’. Grabs her kendo stick, goes to bat against Shotzi, gets her hand smashed lmao. Idiot.

Oh that was perfectly timed. Dakota busts Shotzi with a chair strike and barely even begins to turn around before Io missile dropkicks the chair into her from out of nowhere.

Dakota stuck a trash can over Io and then did a double stomp that impacted the trash can so badly she couldn’t slide it off lol. eesh.

Is Ember gonna attempt to Eclipse someone onto a set of upright chairs... Omg no. You’re gonna take the brunt of this, jfc don’t.

Oh good god what a fucking beautifully bad idea. I hope you’re okay bro. Man Dakota FLIPPED over. Nasty, nasty move.

That Storm Zero through a trash can was ace. Honestly I see a lot more potential for Toni here in nxt than over on UK.

This is a really good match. 

It’s not that I hate the coffin drop off the ladder onto Candice, but Candice really ruined it by preemptively grabbing a chair and holding it on top of herself. Kind of spelled out exactly how that was gonna go.

Io and Rhea make an amazing team.

Rhea and being thrown into the cage on the outside of the ropes, name a more iconic duo. I’ve heard that’s the worst part about cage matches cuz your skin legit gets dragged against the links as you slide down.

Holy shit Io just got powerbombed through a ladder. OOF.

That’s the ending?? Raquel pinned Io for the ending??? Holllllyyyy shit.

Interestingly enough, I’d have to say the 2 team captains did the least amount of notable work.

What took out Shotzi: On screen the last bump she took was her coffin drop onto Candice, which kept her from saving Io. Mess.

Some great spots for sure. Recency bias might be a thing, but I feel like I enjoyed this one more than last year’s.

Highlight: That Eclipse onto the chairs to Dakota was WICKED

---

*BONUS*

Main Event:

Main event giving people promo time? Is this typical??

Okay look. You acknowledged Alexa is brainwashed. You acknowledged that she chose him (even though she’s brainwashed so you really shouldn’t be upset). Now you’re claiming SHE came out and slapped you, as if you haven’t been relentlessly bothering her about her boyfriend that she chose because she’s brainwashed, and as if you weren’t the one who came out and confronted her. Is this not super problematic to anyone else??? Nikki this doesn’t make you a victim or even a decent person/friend lmao.

It’s a good promo though. Good delivery, very buyable.

WHY DO I GOTTA HEAR THE CAW MUSIC???

I know Lacey’s being a bitch, but it’s an awful hair style, Sarah. I’m sorry.

Lmao Lacey is so god damn funny when she has someone to play off of. I can see the appeal in her and Peyton, I can see it. I can see it. The pairing should absolutely not last long because Lord they’re abysmal in the ring together, but outside? Swell, just swell.

Lacey will always have a job solely for her character work if nothing else.

Haha Lacey running from Nikki. She’s a treat.

Really thought that spinning heel kick was gonna be the end of it.

This match is definitely Main Event(tm) worthy, but I’m glad it has some semblance of a story going into it.

Peyton’s jump kick looks dumb.

Probably for the best that Nikki loses this, even if Peyton is awful.

---

*WarGames was definitely the highlight in an otherwise really lame week of wrestling. I don’t even have a runner-up, I’m just thankful for WarGames.

neely self para

Walking up the steps to her apartment, Neely couldn’t help the almost permanent twist in her stomach. Sure, it was nice to know that Carter was going to clean their apartment and the mess wasn’t going to be around for long, and yes, she and Jamie were getting a margarita shaker, but it hadn’t all been a breeze. The text from Shadi threw her off. There’d been no further plan to keep seeing her after their drunken hookup, but it hurt somehow when Shadi had to check on her to make sure Neely hadn’t gotten the wrong idea. It was clear Shadi regretted it, despite saying so. Sleeping with Neely had been a mistake and it was likely Shadi hated her. If not before, then now.

It wasn’t even something Neely could dwell on long because when she went to make her purchases, her cards declined and she had to pay cash. She’d been short some, but the old man behind her had gotten impatient and paid the rest before ushering her off. Despite what people might have thought, Neely did get embarrassed and that was mortifying.

The entire way home she contemplated a third job. Maybe Jamie’s place could use an extra set of hands? She’d have to remember it for later though because Jamie wasn’t home. He could’ve been next door, but that wasn’t a route Neely felt like taking now. Instead, she placed the bags down and just before she could put the ice cream in the freezer, her phone rang: Quinten Grant is requesting to facetime.

Neely hesitated for a moment before answering and setting the phone down so her dad could see her while she simultaneously put groceries away. [10:17 AM] “Hey Dad!” Neely feigned a bright smile, giving a wave. “What’s up?”

“‘What’s up?’” Quinten repeated with disbelief, his mouth zoomed into the camera as he figured out a good position for him. “What’s up with you? I haven’t heard from you for months. How’s it going? What are you doing?”

“Keeping it real, sir,” Neely replied. “I just got home from the store.”

“Is that your place? It looks like a mess, do you ever clean? I can see the counters, Neely.”

Raising her arms, defensively, she halted in front of her phone. “I just had a Halloween party. We’re still working on cleaning up. Don’t worry about it. Did you call for something?” She was starting to feel the uncomfortable itch when she talked to Quinten for too long.

“Oh, so  you can throw a party, but you can’t visit me? Pia and Dot don’t even remember who you are.” Before Neely could offer her regrets about Quinten’s younger daughters, he gave a heavy sigh and kept talking. “I know, I know, I didn’t call to nag. Anyways, your mom’s been yakking about me to our mutual friends and I tried talking to her, but you know she doesn’t listen to sense. Could you talk to her for me?”

“I’m not going to do that,” Neely crossed her arms, looking just as annoyed as she felt. “She’s never listened to me about it before and I don’t know why you’re trying to drag me into your problems.” [10:18 AM] “You know what, Neely, you used to be a good kid,” He emphasize, shaking his head as it was a great tragedy lost, “But your mother never disciplined you and you’ve just been running around doing one stupid thing to another. If I’d raised you, you wouldn’t be talking back so much and you wouldn’t be working some crappy, what is it? Waitress job? A bar? Whatever. You wouldn’t be wasting your life like you are. I don’t know what your mom was thinking when she let you move to some rundown town by yourself. It’s been almost a decade and you haven’t grown up at all. You know — ”

It was one thing to let Quinten talk at her, but Neely wasn’t going to stand around and listen to his crap. Raising her own voice, she yelled over him. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about! You don’t know me! I haven’t seen you in like two years! Maybe my mom wouldn’t have had to raise me shitty if you didn’t stick your dick in some lady you met online!”

“Neely, that’s enough. Don’t raise your voice at me.” Quinten spoke sternly, his glasses lowering as he gave an imposing look. “You are so immature, Neely. You’re the one who doesn’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Okay? Calm down. Your mom’s not the only reason I called. I talked it over with Heidi and we know you can’t afford to live on your own, so we were thinking you could move in with us. You don’t have to pay rent if you go to school. We can work on, you know, straightening you out.”

There was no certain way Neely could pinpoint how she felt about the offer. Heidi and her kids were sweet from the little Neely had interacted with them, so that wasn’t the problem. Obviously, it was impossible, but even the suggestion somehow seemed ludacris and had thrown Neely for a loop. Quinten had, at best, been an acquaintance throughout her life. Was he trying to make up for it now?

As she thought over trying to respond, her arms stretched out to hold herself against the counter, he spoke again. “Listen, it’d be good for you. You go back to school, we can help you find a decent job, find a nice boy for you. You can hang out at home with your sisters. You know, help out with them a little. Heidi’s pregnant again, so we can’t put too much strain on her.”

Slipping in that tidbit of news had made Quinten’s ulterior motives perfectly clear. “Fuck no.” They wanted a live-in babysitter. “Don’t ever call me again, Quinten.” It wasn’t the first time Neely had said those words, but this time, as soon as she said them, the microwave’s circuits shorted out, making frantic beeping sounds followed by a dark smoke.

“Christ, Neely. You’re gonna live in a rundown apartment and do absolutely nothing with your life.” How badly she wanted to tell him that she’d done that to the microwave. That she could make the biggest storm New York’s ever seen. But she couldn’t. Instead, Neely gritted her teeth and ended the call.

Turning her gaze out the window, the wind was picking up. Trash and leaves flew right past. In. Out. Yael had told her to reign it in. She couldn’t have a tantrum. It took a few minutes and even though Neely was crying, the wind relaxed. The only thing she could do was call her mom because Estelle was the only one who would understand how shitty it was and how it felt.

Estelle answered on the fourth ring, still in her scrubs from work. “Mom?”

Estelle’s brows furrowed as she gave Neely her attention for a brief moment as she looked to head into somewhere more private than the physical therapy room at the hospital. “Are you crying? What’s going on?”

“Quinten just facetimed to tell me some bullshit about you talking to your friends about him and he was trying to get me to live with him so I could babysit his kids because Heidi’s pregnant and he was just such a fucking dick about it,” Neely spoke it all in one breathe, hiccupping at the end of it.

“Are you joking?” Estelle scoffed in disbelief. “How many kids could he have if he couldn’t even afford to pay for child support? That’s so stupid. I can’t believe he’s trying to use my daughter to take care of that woman’s kids.”

“Yeah! He was trying to like, say,” Neely looked up, trying to blink away the tears and wiping them from her face. “That like, he was going to support me and all this crap. That you didn’t do a good job. He wanted to make me go to school, get a better job, and to find a nice guy? Does he not like, remember that I’m gay?”

The laugh that came from Neely’s phone was piercing and sarcastic. “That man doesn’t acknowledge anything that isn’t his norm. Did he really say I’m not a good mom? He doesn’t know shit about anything I had to do to raise you. He wasn’t there! I did it on my own. I didn’t even have my dad’s help. I had to raise you in a god damn hurricane every day.”

“Right! He pisses me off so much.” Neely wiped her nose as she supported her mom. “You should come back and live with me, he would absolutely hate that. Besides, he is right. It’s not like your doing much over there. Don’t you feel weird about it, Neely? All those other people are real demigods, I don’t understand why you insist on surrounding yourself somewhere you don’t belong.”

That was an topic Neely could never properly answer her mom, but this time she could. Suddenly upbeat, Neely shook her head. “No, no. I do, I do belong! With the war going on, I sided with Ares, so Zeus gave me all the abilities of a demigod. I’m a like a demigod, now! I’m like you!”

There was no way Neely could describe the disappointment on Estelle’s face. Estelle sucked in a breath before releasing the long, exasperated sigh. “Neely, why would you do something like that? You know I didn’t want you mixed in with the war or my dad or any of the demigod stuff in the first place and now you’re telling me this?” Estelle raised a hand, emphasizing with her gestures as she pulled the phone closer to her face. “You’re gonna get yourself killed, Neely. You’ve never trained, you don’t know how to use any power. You’re just going to get in the way of people who actually know what they’re doing, okay? Is there any way Zeus will take the powers back? Gods, I’ve tried never speaking to my dad and now you’re making me do this for you.” “Don’t!” Neely yelled into the phone, feeling a surge of panic. Her mom’s own choice to distance herself from her divine heritage wasn’t going to be Neely’s mistake. “I can handle my powers fine and I’m not going to get in the way and I’m going to be a great demigod! So just! Stay out of it!”

Hanging up quickly, the tears started back up again and Neely’s heartbeat was racing. The thumping was the only thing she could hear. She was deaf to the static of the apartment, the fierce wind, and sudden harsh onslaught of rain. The lights flickered on and off before finally shutting completely, bringing some sense of awareness to Neely. “Oh fuck. Oh fuck.” Jamie was going to kill her.

Leaving everything behind — scattered groceries and dishelved apartment, Neely grabbed her phone, making way for the fire escape. If she wasn’t home and no one saw her, she didn’t do it. Jamie was going to be pissed.

Out in the ran as she clambered down the rusted metal, Neely ignored the rain pouring over her and tried running ideas through her mind. Talking about her feelings was the last thing she wanted to do. There was no way she’d try to find Rune when he already probably thought she was fucking annoying and bugged him too much even when she wasn’t covered in tears. Seamus was off limits too considering he might’ve tried to psychoanalyze her to the best of his abilities and she’s just be a guinea pig to his half-hearted consoling. He meant well, but Neely just couldn’t deal with it. There was no one else, but people she’d slept with. Did Neely have any friends she hadn’t fucked? Shadi, Carter, Jamie. Yael? It was useless.

Thunder cracked overhead. Neely had never belonged no matter how badly she tried to. She didn’t know who to go to. She didn’t know where to go. She never did.

Never say die - Chapter 5

Pairing: Axl Rose x reader Words: 1997 Summary: Reader accidentally time travels back to 1985 where Axl, Duff, Slash, Steven and Izzy find her. A/N: This one has more Steven in it too. Thank you for reading this already this far! Let me know what you think about this - again, haha. I hope you guys enjoy! I’ll try to update asap.

The next morning i woke up i was feeling a bit different than yesterday. My head hurt like hell, i couldn't breathe through my nose and my throat was on fire. I coughed a few times and it hurt so much. Did walking in the rain yesterday seriously cause all of this, i thought. I remember having a bit of headache already in the evening yesterday but that's basically it. I managed to get up from the bed and walked out of the bedroom. I went to the kitchen and searched some medicine for the headache. It took a while but finally found the pill box. I took a glass and filled it with water to help me swallow the pill down my throat. Then Axl and Steven came to the kitchen as well, they were talking about the new songs they were working with at the moment. ”Hey, Amy. How did ya sleep?” Steven asked smiling, but Axl seemed more concerned when he looked at me. ”Quite well actually. I--, uhm--” i couldn't finish my sentence when i started coughing again, covering my mouth with my hand. My voice was also a bit raspy but i could still talk. ”Jesus christ, Amy, are you alright?” Axl asked and came closer, putting his hand on my forehead. ”God, you're hot.” ”No need to flirt with God right now, i never thought you like a religious type,” i tried to joke but Axl didn't take it, he just shook his head. ”I'm serious, you're really sick,” Axl said and grabbed me by my elbow, taking me back to the bedroom. ”What the fuck are you doing?” i asked, trying to fight against but he didn't let go, just forced me to walk after him. ”I'm taking you back to the bed, you're not gonna get better if you don't rest,” he commanded. I sat on the edge of the bed. ”Thanks, Rose, but i can take care of myself,” i stated, still trying to resist. ”I gotta go back home anyway, i have things to do today.” I got up again but apparently too quickly since i almost fell on the floor. Well i would have fallen if Axl hadn't stopped it by holding me against his chest. ”Okay there, miss Adams. You're not gonna move anywhere today,” Axl ordered and forced me to lay down, which i did. He covered me up with a warm blanket and gave me tissues from the table. He sat next to me on the bed. ”So, do you want tea or hot chocolate?” I looked at him and sighed. ”Look, you don't have to--” ”But i will because i'm you're best friend, honey,” Axl chuckled. ”Now, last chance to choose. Hot chocolate or tea? Otherwise i'll bring both.” ”Fine. I'll take hot chocolate. You know i hate tea.” ”I know, i was just messing with you,” he said and winked, smiling. He left and soon came back with cup of hot chocolate. ”Aw, you even put whipped cream on it.” I took the cup from him but didn't drink it yet. I had learned that burning tongue immediately wasn't very nice. ”Look, we're heading to the studio today but i can stay at home with you if you want, since you're sick,” Axl said and held my hand. I shook my head. ”I'll be fine, really,” i chuckled. ”It's not like i will die or anything. I'll just rest here and you do your stuff.” Axl sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. ”Just promise me that you will stay in the bed the whole day and not go outside.” I rolled my eyes for that. ”Duh, i'm not stupid.” Axl was quiet for a moment until opened his mouth again. ”And when we get back, we'll definitely order pizzas,” Axl exclaimed nodding his head. I smiled. ”Sounds good.” --- For my own surprise, i actually slept couple of hours. Usually i'm bad at taking naps but it was nice. Now i went to the living room and started watching Star Wars V – The Empire Strikes Back. God, i'd really like to have some ice cream so bad right now. I got up from the couch and went to the kitchen, in a hope that there would still be even a little ice cream left. I found a box full of chocolate ice cream. My lucky day, i thought. And it was also unopened. Nah, i don't think they'll miss this icy pal, i thought, already getting a spoon and a bowl. Soon i heard someone opening the door and coming in. Were they coming back already? They shouldn't have been back in the next hour atleast. Steven came to the living room and smiled after seeing me. He came to sit on the couch next to me. ”Hi, buddy, how are you doing? Feeling any better?” Steven asked. He put the blanket better on me since it had been starting to fall off. ”I brought you some pastils to easy your throat a little.” He gave me a small packet of mynthol pastils from his pocket and i gladly took it from him. ”Thanks a lot, Stevie. You want to watch Star Wars with me or do you have any other things to do? Why are you home this early anyway?” He shook his head a little. ”I got my things done already from today. And Axl asked if i could come to see if by any chance you were still alive,” he chuckled. ”And of course i agreed, anything for my bestie!” He smiled and ruffled my head a bit, making my hair even messier than it already was. ”Hey! So not cool!” i laughed and pushed his hand away from me. My voice wasn't so bad anymore than it was in the morning, i was so thankful for that matter. Although all of sudden Steven stopped smiling and laughing, becoming more serious than in a long time. ”What is it?” i asked concerned. He looked at the ice cream bowl i was holding and pointed at it with his finger. ”Where did you get that?” he asked, i was surprised how serious he actually was. ”Well, i obviously ran to the grocery store and got myself even more sick. But that didn't stop me, i always crave for ice cream when i'm sick,” i answered sarcastically. Steven rolled his eyes. ”No i got it from the freezer, what did you expect?” ”Ooo, Izzy's so gonna kill you!” Steven said, laughing, being super amused and clapped his hands together. ”He's been waiting the whole day to get back home so he could finally eat it. It's his all time favorite.” I just scoffed. ”Well that's really unfortunate. I'm sick. I have my privileges so suck it y'all!” i stated and continued eating the ice cream. ”You should take some too to just make Izzy pissed off.” Steven thought about something for a while, staring at the tv, until got an idea. ”Yeah i'm actually feeling like having some ice cream at the moment,” he said nodding and got up from his seat to go to the kitchen. I turned to look back where he went, wondering what the hell he was going to do. I got up and walked to the kitchen as well right after him. He was taking some ice cream to his bowl and when he saw me coming offered me some more too. ”What are you exactly doing?” i asked curiously but accepted his generous offer and took more ice cream. ”Saving your ass.” We emptied the whole box but Steven didn't throw it away after that. Instead, he washed it but carefully so he wouldn't ruin the packet. After that he filled it with water and put the cover on it and eventually Steven got the box look like new. After a while i realized Steven's idea behind this and smirked. ”Now we'll just wait til Izzy comes back home. He'll come later than others anyway,” Steven said, smiling proudly and closing the freezer. I pondered it for a moment. ”I must say, quite clever, mister Adler,” i congratulated and he bowed. ”Now, let's finish the Star Wars film you started. I'm so offended how you could start it without me!” --- Duff, Slash and Axl came back about two hours after Stevie. We had just finished the movie before they came in. Izzy came about half an hour later than Duff, Slash and Axl. When he came in, he went immediately to the kitchen to get his precious ice cream. Soon we heard a surprisingly feminine scream and tried to hold our laughter. ”What the hell happened to my ice cream?!” Izzy screamed from the kitchen. ”It's just full of ice.” ”What? How can that be?” Axl asked. ”Maybe the seller didn't like you. What did you do to get them so mad?” he continued and laughed. ”Ha, ha, very funny.” ”Oh shit, you bought it from the store across the road?” Slash asked. ”Same shit happened to my ice cream once about two months ago. I went back there and complained about it and they eventually gave me a new one.” We were both, Steven and i, just sitting on the couch snickering but quiet enough so the others wouldn't hear. Although Duff managed to walk past us and figured out it was us. ”Nice,” he smirked and high fived us. --- The next day i had still fever but my condition wasn't that hopeless anymore. In the afternoon i realized that it was Friday and i had promised Scarlet and Sam to meet the mystery man on a date tonight. Shit, i thought. They'd kill me if didn't go. I was just changing my clothes to something else than the pajamas i had been wearing the last two days. I was in the bedroom still at the guys' place when the door opened and Axl came in. I had just undressed myself and was just on my bra and panties. ”Hey, do you--” ”Oh my god can't you knock?!” i shouted and threw the first thing i found, which was a pillow this time, towards him. I quickly grabbed the blanket on the bed and wrapped it around me. ”Woah you sure do throw pillows a lot at me,” Axl said. ”And it's not like i haven't seen you naked before, you don't need to hide anything from me anymore, darling,” he chuckled and winked, throwing the pillow back on the bed. I just groaned and rolled my eyes. He furrowed his brows. ”Wait, why were you changing your clothes anyway?” ”Because i need to go. I've been stuck here for two days already,” i stated, grabbed my clothes and walked towards the bathroom with the blanket around me. But Axl stopped me, blocking my way with his body. ”Nu-uh, you're not going anywhere. You still have fever,” he said shooking his head and grabbed me by my shoulders. ”What's so important that you need to leave right now? If you need stuff from your home just ask, we can get them for you.” ”No, i have a date tonight,” i told him, trying to desperately hold a sneeze, and waiting for his reaction. He just lifted his eyebrows and watched me, a surprised expression on his face. ”You've got a date? Look, you're not going. If that guy isn't a total asshole, he'll wait so you can do the date thingy some other day,” Axl said but smiled, just a bit though. ”I'm just worried okay? And right now you're being really really difficult patient,” he chuckled. I sighed. ”Fine, i'll stay.” Axl smiled and took me closer and hugged me. ”So who is this guy anyway? Wait, he isn't that short nerdy guy from the store the other day, right? He really had the shittiest pick up lines ever,” he laughed. ”Oh shut up!” i chuckled and shoftly punched him on the shoulder.