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sofasoap · 1 year

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Thank you for everything.

Pairing: König x f!Reader ( OC aka "Mini" MacTavish ) + Simon " Ghost" Riley + John " Soap " Mactavish

Summary: Time for Mini to introduce her new boyfriend to the family. Breaking Ghost's heart a little bit. and new found family for him.

Warning: M To E rated. mention of sexy time! Safe sex people! swearing, fluff? angsty in places? any geography and facts are made up a bit regarding to Scotland etc. For fictional purposes.

A/N : Character of Mini MacTavish is from @saltofmercury fic “ “The Favorite MacTavish” ” which she graciously let me borrow and write bit more expanded universe. Please go read her wonderful story to get bit of background.

“masterlist” for more stories to this Mini MacTavish expanded verse.

Note: I have FINALLY found my beautiful König

By the amazing artist @egg-ball. This is my perfect image of König. * cry *

Also this is my drool worthy Ghost “Simon/Ghost” - Credit to : @shkretart

" What you doing here. "

" What are YOU doing here, this is my parent's house of course I am here!"

" Your mum invited me to come."

" Since when are you good friend with my Ma? "

" Since a while ago."

Soap sighed. Don't think he is going to get anymore information out from Ghost's mouth, he let him in.

" Hi Simon! welcome welcome. " Mrs MacTavish rushed up to him as he walks through the front door of their estate.

".. Hello Mrs MacTavish."

" Johnny, be a nice boy and show Simon the guest bedroom."

Rolling his eyes, " Come on. this way. " Soap reluctantly lead Ghost towards the bedroom quarter of his parent's house.

MacTavish farm has been around for few centuries, famous for quality crops and recently as one of the big investors for up and coming Speyside Whisky. Although Ghost is more of a bourbon whiskey guy, but he wouldn't say no to a good quality alcohol.

"Where is Mini."

" She's gone to the airport and picking her boyfriend up. Should be back within an hour or so."

" .. Do you know who this guy is." Ghost ask as he put down his duff bag in the corner of the room.

"No idea. But he better be decent." Soap puffed.

Soap seen you smiling like a dork few times while texting, when he ask you about it you always wave him off and tell him to mind his own business. Makes him even more suspicious that you are trying to hide something from him.

"Ma! Da! I'm home!' Soap and Simon can hear from the back of the house as you yell. Hearing another muffled male voice greeting, Soap and Ghost look at each other, and walk back towards the front door.

A very tall figure was awkwardly bending down giving Mrs MacTavish hug and turn to MacTavish senior a handshake, both Ghost and Soap froze as they suddenly recognise who the mysterious man was.

König.

Chewing your lip, you typed and deleted and typed and deleted, before you decided to press sent.

--- Hello my teddy bear, are you free in April?

Few minutes later, you her a DING as the message sent through

-- I should be free, unless we get deployed again, is there something you need, Liebling?

-- I told my Ma and Da about you.. and they would love to meet you in person, they are inviting you to spend Easter this year at the family farm up in Scotland.

An hour. No reply from him. You heart dropped. Have you pushed a bit too far?

--- ONLY if you are comfortable with it! I can decline if you are not up to it or if you are planning something with your family!

You quickly typed up.

... Still nothing.

After the Piccadilly Circus incident, you and König got even closer. He came and visited you in the hospital day after the incident. Bringing you flowers and some Kaiserschmarrn.

" Wow, König, where did you get this from?"

" I.. I made it."

"... YOU made it?" This man really surprises you, he can carve like a professional, and now he can bake like a pro? What can't this man do????

" I rang my Mama last night and ask for recipe.. I borrow the kitchen at the Emergency centre to make it..." he replied shyly.

Trying to imaging a big tall Austrian man baking in a tiny little kitchen makes you giggle. You took a bite of the pancake and moaned. It is GOOD. Probably one of the best sweet you ever tasted in your life.

"I hope it's to your taste.." König wrangle his hand nervously.

" OH GOSH You better make this everyday.. It's SO DELICIOUS."

" I .. I can make you other stuffs too."

" Do you plan to open a dessert shop after your life in military König? If you do, I will be your most loyal customer."

König look down on the floor, twiddling his thumb, said nothing.

Due to his work commitment, you two only get to see each other when he is in London. But both of you communicate as much as possible through text, and in some occasions through phone or video calls.

It's a slow courtship. But you don't mind. Good things takes time, you remind yourself.

You can really see him making a real effort to slowly slip out from his comfort zone. Bringing you little gifts each time, little carving he made himself, desserts he made, little hand crafts his Mama and his Oma made especially for you.

You also can't resist teasing your boyfriend from time to time.

“ And MAYBE you can show me later how good you are at… RAMMING into people. My big teddy bear.”

" You know, I miss my big teddy bear in winter, no one to keep me warm in bed."

Everytime you tease him with these hidden innuendos, you swear you can see the imaginary steams coming out from his ears.

He is always hesitant to hold your hand, those big callous hand. Wrap around yours, making you feel safe.

First time he initiated a hug was when you two were walking down the street, in freezing cold weather, he saw you shivering. Silently he open his trench coat, look at you asking for permission, and proceed to pull you in and wrap you up. He is like a human furnace. You inhale. Smell of his cologne mixed with gunpowder. This is home.

You realise you are slowly falling in love with this big , gentle man.

First time you saw his face, and first kiss, without the mask, was when you two * FINALLY* spend a night together. ( The Holy trinity, you dubbed it later on when you recall the event to Emma. )

Emma was away visiting her family for her long overdue holiday.

" GO ON Mini, invite him to stay over, MAKE A MOVE, push that boy into bed!" She urged you after she told you about her holiday plan. " You can make a much as noise as you want with him and I won't be here to yell at you!"

You smack your good friend on the arm, " EMMA!!!"

" What, I am telling the truth, besides, ' she pointed at you ' how long you guys been going out for? over a year. yet you still haven't kiss him properly, let alone seeing his face in full."

You know she's right, at same time you don't want to push him too much. As if by chance, König rang you the next day informing you he is coming over for the long weekend.

"Have you book your accommodation yet? If not... Um. Emma is away at her family for the week.. Um. Do you want to... stay over at my place?"

You heard him choking, coughing and someone else in the background asking him if he is OK.

" I .. I ... I..."

" Yes or no König."

"... Yes."

" Right! that's sorted. I'll see you then!"

You feel like a teenager, all giddy and nervous. For fucks sake, you are an adult! it's normal to ask your boyfriend to stay over. You convince yourself.

He showed up at your doorsteps few weeks later, and you two go on your usual routine. Out for a nice walk, go out to local bistro and have a good meal, window shopping.

Slowly you two stroll home. You two took turn taking shower. You brew some nice herbal tea and sat in front of the TV, winding down.

You lean over and put your head on his shoulder. You feel him lifting up his arm, starting to stroke your hair, gently.

you shuffle into his space bit more. He stiffens. Thinking you made him uncomfortable, you pulled away slightly. He immediately pulled you back in.

You look up at him, searching for something in his eyes. Lifting one hand up, silently seeking for permission, his eyes drop down and look back up at you, you slowly pull his black mask off.

And there he is.

You smiled, " There's my handsome teddy bear." You whispered. With tears in your eyes, you trying to take his features in. The scar across his nose, across his cheek. the little imperfections. Tracing his features with both of your hand, König close his eyes and sighed.

Feeling bold, you swung leg across, straddling him. Tilting your face up towards him, he look down with dark hooded eyes, and close the final gap. Shy and tentative at first, it soon become heated.

You moan into his mouth as grabbed your backside, pulling you closer to him. You can feel his arousal. Grinding against his lap, you heard him taking in a sharp breath, and broke the kiss.

" ... Are you sure."

You nodded your head, totally out of breath to reply.

As if a switch has been flipped, he lift you up, like you weigh nothing, you hook your other leg across his hip, he marched towards the bedroom.

Despite both of you are inexperienced ( Hell, you never went past second base with the boys you were seeing in the past thanks to Soap, your cockblocking brother!), everything seems to progress naturally. He certainly make up for it .. somewhere else. and oh BOY. It was GOOD. You know you going to be very sore the next day.

He was an excellent lover. Gentle after care. He turned back into the shy König after the deed was done. " Did I hurt you Liebling? I am sorry if I was too rough... OH der Scheiß, YOU ARE BLEEDING!" He quickly jumped off the bed. You pull his arm to stop him.

" Hey love, calm down. It's normal.... after um.. the.. first time.."

" Still... I hurt you.. " He shook his head. He left the room, and came back few minutes later with warm towel, gently wipe you down.

Afterwards, he pull you into his chest, him being the big spoon, the warmth enveloped you as he whispered into your ears.

"Ich liebe dich"

Back to the present. You were still waiting for his reply two days later, when you begin to think its a very bad idea. One big step forward, rolling back down to the bottom of the hill, you think to yourself.

You finally got a reply after a week. He apologising but didn't give a reason for his late reply, and ask you for the details. You let out a big sigh and proceed to give him the dates and travel details.

Quiet chit chat as everyone sit around the dining table. Your Ma and Pa politely asking him question about his family and how he comes to know Ghost and Soap.

Ghost and Soap just stares at König as he answer the questions quitely, with you smiling at him.

" What is your intention with my sister König." Soap asked all of sudden.

You shot Johnny a look, Jesus fucken hell, does he have to make the atmosphere so awkward?

König gave your hand slight squeeze underneath the table.

" I will not hurt her. I love her very much. In fact, I am here today to ask for permission for marriage in the future."

Your look at your boyfriend with disbelieve, Is this the socially anxious König that you know? And what is this about marriage? Ah?

Soap was about to stand but Ghost press him down by the shoulder, shaking his head.

Everything was slightly blur after that. You vaguely remember your Ma and Pa gave both you and König a hug, welcome him into the family, even Johnny and Simon shook his hand , begrudgingly.

You suddenly thought, why is Simon here anyway?????

" I am sorry Liebling.. I should have ask you first.. " König apologised profusely after everyone retired for the night. You smiled at him and pat his chest, comfort him,

" It's ok.. took me out by surprise... " jabbing him a little, " I expect you to make up for it later." You chuckled. He grabbed your hand and nodded.

3am, you toss and turned, with König lightly snoring away beside you. You decided to go into kitchen to get a glass of water.

You jumped slightly when you saw a figure standing by the window.

" SHIT Simon... you really gave me a fright."

" sorry. "

Walking over to the fridge you pour yourself a glass of cold water, looking at Simon, he shook his head as you silently ask him if he want some water too.

Taping on the glass, you decided to ask.

" Why are you here anyway Simon? Not that we don't want you here.. you are welcome any time.. "

" Your Mum invited me.'

" Since when are you good friend with my Ma... "

" Since a while ago."

You rolled your eyes. You took another sip of water. Simon turned towards you, looking at you. You can see there's sadness in his eyes.

Putting the glass down. You walk over to him, pull him into a tight hug. Burying your head in his chest, you mumbled.

" I am sorry Simon.'

Ghost's heart ached You knew. That little bit of feeling that he is trying to hide away deep down, and it shattered when he saw you looking at König lovingly during dinner. The way you smiled at him, the way he take care of you. He knows he had no chance. You only love him as a big brother.

".. You are like a brother to me and Johnny.This will always be your home. I want us to stay as friend. I am so sorry."

He wrap his arm around you. Tight. Gave you a light kiss on the top of your head.

"You have nothing to apologise for." He murmured.

" I know... but.. "

" It's ok. I'll get over it." he sighed.

" Johnny can take you out and introduce you to some ladies?" You suggested timidly.

" I seriously wouldn't trust him."

You laughed.

Giving you a pat on the head, he left your embrace.

" I am happy for you Mini... I truly am."

" OH! I know this lady doctor at work.. She use to be in the military .. she's from New Zealand... "

" No sis... Don't trust YOU either to set me up with anyone." Ghost huffed.

You giggled as he called you sis. It will take time. but that's a start.

"My Ma and Pa really loves you as an adopted son you know.. maybe they will introduce my cousins to you."

" Mini MacTavish. Please no."

Poor Ghost got his heart broken. it's ok. he will have someone in near future that suits him. I just want to give him a family he deserves.

#könig x reader #könig x y/n #könig imagine #könig x you #könig x oc #könig call of duty #simon riley #simon ghost riley #ghost cod #john soap mactavish #johnny soap mactavish #soap mactavish #oc #john mactavish #konig call of duty #konig x reader #konig x y/n #konig x you #cod mw2

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gnrbitch · 10 months

Text

Grunge Days pt.6 - Back in the Saddle

Warnings: Smoking, Drug Usage, Profanity, SMUT!

Y/ns outfit

Book one/ earlier parts

————

New Year’s Eve, 1990/1991, Los Angeles

Alice In Chains had gotten home from touring a few days ago, feeling like completely new people.

The tour had gone great for the band, gaining more exposure to the world and gaining new fans.

Alice in Chains were now international.

And yes, Y/n did call Duff the most she could, telling him what was going on while she was on the road.

And when she got home, Susan had told her to ‘get all the stuff she got’ out of the garage, Y/n was confused at that cause she had zero money. So how the hell could she buy shit.

But when she walked into the garage, there was some amps, and guitars sitting in there. With a note from Eddie that just had his name signed on it.

“I couldn’t fucken believe it Duff” Y/n said as she told Duff about what she discovered in that garage.

“That’s- That’s fucken sick Y/n” Duff hiccups through the phone, “Jesus now i can’t remember why i called you in the first place”.

“You said something about something happening at your place” Y/n said, holding the phone.

“Oh right! Yea i’m throwing a Party tonight, you and the guys should come- scratch that you guys have to come” Duff said

“Cool, yea i’ll be there” Y/n said, “I’ll call the guys and tell them- what time is it?”

“One a’clock” Duff said

“No dumbass the time of the party” Y/n laughed

“Oh right!” Duff laughed “Late. Just get here before 12”

“Alright cool, see you later Duff” Y/n said

“BYEEEE!” Duff said through the phone, hanging up.

Y/n smiled as she shook her head to herself, calling Sean, then Layne to tell them about the party. Jerry was with her throughout the phone call so she didn’t have to tell him.

“You think Slash is gonna be there?” Y/n asked Jerry

“Of course he is dude! But just avoid him- there’s gonna be plenty of more people to talk to” Jerry said, cigarette in his mouth.

“Yea your r-” Y/n said as the phone rang again.

“Hello?” Y/n spoke through the phone

“Hey! It’s Fru” John said.

“Oh shit- Hey” Y/n smiled at hearing the boys voice.

That time in San Diego was the only time something had happened between the two, well lie, they hooked up as soon as they came back from SD, but! that was the last, last time. They did hung out though, and it was nice. Finally someone to get high with, judgement free.

“How’s recording going?” Y/n asked, holing the phone between her shoulder and ear (hopefully yk what i’m talking about).

“It’s pretty cool, apparently the house were in is like haunted or some shit” John said, a small laugh slipping out.

“Haunted? That’s fucken weird” Y/n said, lightly smacking Jerry’s head, the man had been making kissing noises since she picked up the phone.

“Super, haven’t seen any paranormal shit though” He said, and she could hear him blowing out smoke from his mouth.

“Yea well, the next time i see you, you better not be on some demonic shit” Y/n joked

John sarcastically scoffed, “Wow, and here i thought you were gonna perform my exorcism!”

Y/n let out a laugh “Never in a million years Fru”

“Offended, but understandable. Well i gotta go now, just wanted to call you and see if you were back in LA”

“Alright cool- goodluck on the album, see you soon” Y/n said, hanging up the phone.

“So you guys a thing now?” Jerry asked her, smirk on his face.

Y/n shook her head, “God no, I can’t imagine myself dating right now”

“What about Slash?” Jerry asked, watching her as she got up and went to the kitchen

“Slash” Y/n mumbled “What do you mean what about Slash?”

“It’s so obvious he’s not over you Y/n” Jerry said, putting his feet up on the table that was in front of the couch. “Coming from a man, aka me, no dude is gonna get upset over the shit that happened with you and John”. “Unless they have some kinda feelings towards you”

Y/n turned back to look at him, thinking mad hard about what Jerry had just said. “I don’t fucken know Jerry, it’s him that’s the issue, not me”

“Well have you tried talking to him?”

Y/n scoffed and rolled her eyes, “Talk to him- he’s a fucken man child!”

Jerry laughed “Okay well- let’s just put this out now, how do you feel about him?”

Y/n furrowed her eyebrows, “Well i don’t know- i mean i thought this stupid shit was gonna be done, like it’s been years since i last saw him” Y/n sighed “And it’s just so annoying that now everything is just repeating itself”

“That didn’t answer my question Y/n” Jerry said, lazily turning his head back to the television.

Y/n groaned “I don’t know Jerry! I don’t fucken know anything!” She whined, going over to sit next to him.

“There there Y/n, don’t be stupid” Jerry rubbed her back.

“Fuck you” Y/n said, her voice being muffled by her hands.

“Love you too Mckagan” Jerry laughed

****

“There they are!” Duff yelled out through the music.

“Hey man” Jerry smiled at him, cigarette in his mouth as he let out a little “humph”when Duff suddenly hugged him.

He did that to the rest of the boys, all of them being very shocked with how strong Duff is.

“Heyy little rockstar” Duff smiled at her

“Hey Duff” Y/n said, hugging her brother tightly.

“Sister I’ve missed you” Duff spoke as he hugged her back.

Y/n grabbed him by the shoulders and looked at him “I have too” she laughed, looking around “There’s so many people here”

“I know right! Isn’t that fun”

“Definitely, i see you’ve invited many ladies” She said, looking back at her brother.

“Hell yea I did!” Duff laughed “Go have fun Y/n! Cause i definitely am” He said as he looked over to a girl walking past them.

“Ew Duff, don’t size up a girl when you’re talking to me” Y/n furrowed her eyebrows at him, “Go to her Duff, I’m gonna go get drunk”

“Not too Drunk!” He laughed

“Oh yea, I don’t think I could ever be on your level” Y/n smiled at him, rolling her eyes.

Y/n found herself mainly hanging out with Layne, the two of them taking shots, and doing a few lines of coke.

But Layne ended up leaving after a bit, saying something about his girlfriend not wanting him to be out so late, so he left.

And now Y/n was alone. She found her self walking over to Duffs kitchen and pouring herself another drink.

“You know you could just talk to me instead of staring” Y/n spoke to the person behind her, obviously it being Slash (well not so obvious, she only knew it was him cause she saw his reflection on the bottle next to her). “Or are you still playing the ignore Y/n game”

“I wasn’t ignoring you” Slash said

Y/n turned around, “You were-” she said, moving back as someone passed between them “And i know exactly why”

Slash looked into her eyes, “I don’t think this is a conversation we should be having here”

Y/n shrugged, “Alright then, let’s just not have this conversation” she said, walking away from him, purposely hitting her shoulder on his.

“You gotta fucken relax” Slash said, grabbing her harshly from her wrist.

Their faces, close as fuck, “No, I don’t think I do” She said, looking him straight into his soul. “I know you’re mad cause i fucked Fru” She laughed at him.

She saw Slash’s face turn angry, harshly dragging her into a room.

“You better watch your fucken mouth Y/n” Slash heaved.

Y/n walked up to him “Or what? What are you gonna do Slash?”

Slash grabbed her face, their faces once again inches apart.

Y/n cockily smiled at him “I know the fact you haven’t fucked me is killing you Slash” “You and I both know you want me so badly”

“You don’t know shit” Slash said

“I know more than you do” She said, licking his lips “I know you don’t have the balls to fuck me” she said, her eyes locking with his.

Slash slammed his lips to hers, Y/n smiling into the kiss.

She never realized how much she missed his lips.

They moved back until the back of Y/n’s knees hit the edge of the bed.

Y/n didn’t even realize there was a bed in here.

Slash pulled himself away from her, taking off her shirt and undoing her bra, he then turned her around and pushed her head down to the bed.

Y/n used her elbows to prop herself up, her back arching as her ass pressed against Slash’s dick, which was still coved up by his jeans.

She felt Slash move himself away, hearing him remove his jeans she got onto the bed, still in the same position as before.

With no warning, she felt Slash’s fingers rub through her pussy.

She let out a small groan as she felt his thumb play with her clit.

Slash looked his body over hers, speaking into her ear he said, “And i’m the one who wants it”.

Y/n turned back to look at him, “Shut the fuck up and fuck me”

She felt the bed move as Slash got on the bed, more specifically he was on his knees.

He rubbed her ass, “After this you’re not gonna wanna fuck anyone else”

“We’ll see ab-” Y/n said, choking on her own words as Slash slowly eased himself into her.

“Fuck” Y/n moaned out as she put her head down.

Slash quickly began to move faster, letting out a groan, “Fucken- shit Y/n”

Slash grabbed Y/n by her hair, pulling her up, he grabbed her by her waist. “I hate- I hate the fact you know me so fucken well” He panted as he thrusted deeper and deeper into Y/n.

“Slash” Y/n whined out letting her head fall into his shoulders.

Slash licked her neck, leaving a trail of kisses as he moved one of his hands to her breast, pinching her nipple. Making Y/n moan out louder, moving her hand into his hair as she pushed his head towards her lips.

He was right, Y/n couldn’t even fathom the fact she would want anyone else to fuck her but Slash.

They continued to kiss each other as they let out moans and groans into each others mouths.

Slash moved his hand down to her clit, pressing it down as he began to rub it.

“Please Slash” Y/n cried out

“What? what the fuck do you want” Slash heaved out

“I’m gonna cum” Y/n breathlessly moaned.

Slash gave her more kisses on her neck, and the side of her face as he whispered into her ear “Go ahead baby”

Y/n let out a mantra of his name as she reached her peak, her eyes closed shut.

“God you’re so fucken beautiful” Slash said, now reaching his peace as now Y/n was the one to leave a trail of kisses on the side of his face.

They now laid on the bed silently, Slash’s arm wrapped around her body.

Slash took a minute to look at Y/ns face staring up at the ceiling, she turned to face him, giving him a small smile.

Slash thought about that night in San Diego, he thought about how much Y/n hurt him when she didn’t wanna stay in LA with him back in 86’. Upset, he decided he already got the chance to fuck her, so now it’s time to move the fuck on.

He pushed away Y/ns hand from his arm, then removed his arm from her body. He scooted away from her as he felt her sit up and look at him.

Y/n felt her heart drop, she got up and began looking for her clothes, the room eerily silently as she put them back on.

Slash screwed his eyes shut as he heard Y/n let out a small sniffle as she put her shirt back on, “You don’t have to leave”

“I fucken want to” Y/n snapped at him, anger filling her eyes.

“Y/nn-” Slash sighed out, now also getting up

“Don’t fucken worry Slash, i get the memo” Y/n felt her lip quiver, her head shooting at the window infront of her as she heard everyone chanting “3…2…1! Happy New Years!”. Then the glow of all the fire works they were being set off.

Slash looked at the way the light from the fireworks illuminated on her face, her hair messy, her face full of hurt.

Her eyes snapped back to him, Y/n felt her lip quiver, “Bet you don’t even treat the fucken groupies this way” She said, walking towards the door, roughly slamming it shut.

Slash rubbed his face as he got up, quickly putting his clothes back on in hopes he could catch up to her.

Y/n was right, he didn’t treat the groupies this way, he silently cursed to himself, immediately regretting the way he treated her.

Someone should just hand him the dumbass of the year award.

He practically ran out the room, his eyes looking everywhere for her, but now the house was just empty, everyone else was outside, and Y/n wasn’t here.

He once again, practically ran outside, his head moving towards every direction. And she was nowhere to be seen.

He didn’t know which way to go, so he went back inside and poured himself a drink.

He always had to fuck everything up.

————

FINALLYYYYY THEY SMASHED OMG!!! I hope the smut wasn’t bad omg i’m still not used to writing it 😭😭 but i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter LAUV U ALL!!!!

Tagged: @deeznutsworld @hoodiesandicedcoffee @eddiiiieeee

Also, some of the people who’ve asked me to tag them on this fic, i’m super sorry i haven’t, it’s just that when i enter some of ur users nothing comes out!! I’m really sorry and i’m not sure how to fix this issue.

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musings-of-a-rose · 2 years

Note

As a far girl I would absolutely love a smutty part two to that Benny story ! Literally almost teared up reading it because I literally grew up as the Duff or the fat funny friend. The one who never gets the guy or that people hang out with just so they look better.

Also, if you’re up for it could you do one where say, Frankie chooses the chubby girl over her smokin hot friend ? And I don’t want any animosity between em, I want the smoking hot friend to be like “you go girl” or something ? I used to be able to write but I haven’t written in years ! Also can be smutty of course.

How I See You

Pairing: Frankie Morales x plus size f!reader

Word Count: 2600+ (I thought this was going to be short MY BAD)

Rating: Mature - 18+ ONLY!

Warnings: Just like ao3, “creator chooses not to use warnings.” If you click Keep Reading, that means you agree that you’re the age to handle mature themes. Also by clicking Keep Reading, you understand warnings may not be complete in order to avoid spoilers for the story.

Notes: Part 2 of I’m Really Into You is COMING! I’m so sorry you had to go through that. It’s not fair on anyone and I hope you find/have found your Benny!

Thanks to @vanemando15 for being a beta and telling me I’m not losing it 🙃

**If you want to be added to the taglist, join here or let me know!

Main Masterlist

Frankie Morales Masterlist

“There! I found a clear table!” Your friend Olivia points to the far corner of the semi-crowded bar, grabbing your hand and pulling you behind her through the crowd, getting a few wolf-whistles as she did. She smirks, knowing how hot she is and and you can’t blame her - if you felt half as hot as her, you’d smirk too.

2 tall barstools are on either side of a small high table. Olivia settles into one while you take the other, setting the drinks you had ordered at the bar down on the table. The night had just started so the bar wasn’t terribly crowded, but it was still busy enough for you.

“I can’t believe I finally managed to rip you away from work!” Olive chuckles at you as she takes a sip of her drink.

“I had to celebrate that project ending. I feel like I haven’t come up for air in months.”

“I’ll drink to that!” Olivia raises her glass and you clink yours against hers, the sound of the glasses being absorbed by the sounds of the bar.

Chatting idly for a bit, you start to go into a mini rant about how much crap that work project had dumped on you, when Olivia interrupts.

“We need to get you laid, Pip.”

“Yeah if only. Going to be hard to find someone who wants this-” You gesture towards yourself “-when you-” you gesture towards Olivia “-are sitting within my vicinity.”

“Oh whatever. You’re hot!”

“Yeah that’s why I get asked out all the time.” When was the last time you had gotten laid, let alone gone on an actual date?

Olivia fixes you with a look. “I wish you would see yourself through my eyes, Pip. You’re a great person, hot, smart. You have a lot to offer.”

You nod absentmindedly, glancing towards the table in the corner where 5 men erupt into raucous, loud laughter. Heat rises to your cheeks and you look away quickly when the man in the hat glances over at you as if he felt you looking at him, tears running down his face as laughter continues to pour out of him.

“Anyway, Pip. I’m glad to at least get you out of the house. I would’ve gone nuts sitting at my computer all day. I don’t know how you did it.”

You shrug. “It’s my job.”

“Yeah that’s true. Still, it’s amazing that you-”

“Excuse me?” The man in the hat that you had locked eyes with a few minutes ago is standing at your table, glancing between you both as if asking for your permission to interrupt your conversation. He’s more handsome up close: a dark blue hat sits on his head, a logo for an oil company embroidered in, dark curls flip out from the bottom of the hat and around his ears, curling up and away from his neck. His eyes are a deep chocolate color, his nose is romanesque and beautiful, with a mustache under it, darker patchy facial hair across his cheeks and jaw. He’s broad, his shoulders look massive in the light denim shirt he wears and you can see that the shirt is stretching at the seams as he shifts under it. He tapers down to a thinner waist and hips, the slight swell of a tummy poking from behind his shirt. This man is hot and there’s no way he’s here for you.

“My name is Frankie and I was wondering-”

You put a hand up. “Say no more, Frankie? I’ll just go sit at the bar.”

“No Pip. Stay.” Your friend looks at you from across the small table.

“It’s alright, Olivia. I’ll just be-”

“Actually-” Frankie inerrupts, blushing slightly when you both turn to look at him, his large hand coming up to rub the back of his neck, an obvious nervous habit “-I was wondering if I could buy you a drink.”

Oh shit, is he looking at me?

“You mean Olivia?” You point to your friend across the table, ignoring the grin that’s spreading across her face as she looks between you and Frankie.

“No. I mean you.” His voice drops an octave on the last word and you can feel a heat growing inside you.

“M-me?”

He lets out a chuckle, looking down and back up at you as if he was nervous. “Yeah. But only if you w-want to? Have a drink? W-with me?”

“I-” You’re not used to this attention. Olivia is the one who draws people in, not you. You look to her for advice and see, to your horror, that she’s already gathering up her drink. She mouths at you “You go girl!”, gives you a wink, and then speaks.

“I’ll just go sit at the bar.” She shuffles from her seat and makes her way across the room, sitting at a barstool, tossing one more giant smile over at you, silently pointing to Frankie and making lewd gestures.

You feel the heat rising to your cheeks so you look away, finding that Frankie is already looking at you.

“I- I’m sorry, Frankie. I’m just not used to…this.” You gesture between you both.

Frankie looks shocked. “I find that hard to believe.”

You laugh and Frankie melts. “It’s been so long since I’ve been on a date-” You visibly wince at your confession, Frankie smiling at you. “I shouldn’t have told you that.”

“No, you’re fine. To be honest- may I?” He gestures to Olivia’s empty stool. You nod and gesture to her seat and Frankie sits, resuming his statement.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been on a date too.”

“Really? Someone as handsome as you?”

He blushes, a light pink color dusting across his cheeks. “I don’t know about that but yeah. It’s true…hey did your friend call you Pip?”

You nod, looking down in embarrassment before finding his eyes again. “Yeah it’s short for Pip Squeak. To be honest, I’m not even sure why. We met in kindergarten and she called me that. I think she couldn’t remember my real name so she made it up and it stuck.”

“What’s your real name?”

You tell him and he smiles. “That’s a beautiful name.”

You scoff, taking a sip of your drink as Frankie groans. “I’m sorry. Was that too cheesy? It’s been so long I don’t even know how to do this. Has it changed?”

“Don’t ask me, Frankie. I’m definitely not an expert.” You smile at him.

“Would…would you like to find out together?”

“Are…are you asking me on a date?”

“I’m trying to be slick about it.”

You chuckle. “That was so slick it’s oil..shit that was lame.” Frankie tilts his head back and laughs, gifting you a view of his neck.

“No that was perfect! But is that a yes?”

“I..yes. I’d love to.”

You chat for a bit longer, Frankie walking over to the bar to order a couple more drinks and a basket of fries for you both to share. He’s easy to talk to, has a ton of stories, fucking flies helicopters, and listens to every word you say. The fries arrive and you both grab some, taking a bite and then making faces as you chew. Frankie grabs the napkin from under his beer and spits into it.

“Ok, are those the worst fries ever?”

“They might possibly be.”

He looks up at you. “You…you wanna go on that date now? I know a great diner a few blocks away.”

You cock your head to the side studying his face. “Let’s go.”

Frankie heads back to his friends to tell them he’s leaving while you do the same with Olivia, who is now talking to one of the men from Frankie’s table, who introduces himself as Santi. Fuck does this guy have all handsome friends? Olivia smiles and hugs you, whispering in your ear to be safe as she covertly slides a condom in your pocket. You slap her arm and she laughs, watching you walk away. You meet up with Frankie and he offers you his arm and escorts you out of the now crowded bar.

“You wanna follow me over? They have a lot in the back.”

“Sure. See you in a few.”

You follow Frankie’s truck out of the parking lot and several blocks down the road, parking in the empty, dark parking lot behind the diner. Frankie escorts you in here as well, the one server inside telling you to sit anywhere as it’s empty. You sit in a booth facing each other, the old leather creaking under each of you as you slide in.

“I’m sorry I don’t have flowers for you. But I can offer you better fries?”

“That works for me!”

You spend a few minutes chatting while looking at the menu, placing your order with the server. When she walks away, Frankie asks you about your job and you tell him about it, and about the project that caused you such a headache over the last 2 months, which led you to come out drinking tonight. The server sets your food in front of you and leaves you be.

“I’m sorry the project sucked but I’m glad it did.” He winks and you smile, dropping your eyes down to the table for a moment.

“But uh, Pip. There’s something I need to tell you before we go further.”

You pause, ketchup plopping onto your plate from the glass bottle you had been banging on. “You’re married.”

“What? No. Not uh..not anymore. I’m divorced.”

“Oh. That’s not anything bad.”

“And I have a kid. A daughter.”

Oh.

“Oh? How old is she?”

Frankie watches you for a moment. “She’s 5. Love of my life.”

“As she should be.”

“My ex and I split about a year after she was born. I know kids aren’t for everyone, and if you never want to talk to me again after tonight I get it. I’ll still pay for din-”

“Why wouldn’t I want to talk to you?”

He swallows hard. “Because I’m a dad.”

“That’s fine with me. I bet you’re a great dad.”

His brown eyes go wide, looking exactly like a puppy. “It really doesn’t bother you?”

“Not me. I don’t mind.”

“It means I have to talk to my ex still.”

“I figured. Joint custody?”

He nods. “50/50.”

“Is it weird if I ask about her? Your daughter. I would never pry into your ex.”

“Yeah! Yeah no it’s not weird. My ex and I split because…well she was fucking her boss so.” He shrugs, pulling out his phone and thumbing through it to find his gallery.

“I’m sorry, Frankie.”

“It is what it is. It brought me here with you…where the fuck are my photos?” His thumb swipes across the screen, his eyebrows furrowing deeper and deeper with each swipe.

“Want some help?”

He looks up at you, sighing in defeat. “Yeah. I’m not so good with the tech shit.”

“You fly helicopters.”

“That’s different. It’s not this shit.” He goes to hand you his phone, already trusting you. But you put your hand up, sliding out of the booth and scooting in next to him. He blushes, scooting down a little more to make room for you.

“This way you can control what you show me. And also it may help your muscle memory.”

“R-right. Ok.”

You start to direct him, very much aware that your thigh is flush against his, feeling heat pass between you as you lean in closer. He smells like french fries, but also like pine with a hint of mint. He finds his gallery and thanks you, flipping to an album marked “Marisol”. He flips through the album, showing you pictures and telling you all about her. His entire body lights up as he gushes about his daughter, wearing the proud dad badge on his chest.

Before you know it, he pays and you’re scooting out of the booth, Frankie escorting you back around to the poorly-lit, deserted parking lot. You walk up to his truck, admiring it. He had explained to you how it was his grandfathers and that his dad and now him had been keeping it up over the years, replacing the engine and taking care of “her”. She had seen a lot of life and love and it was clear how well she had been taken care of. You turn to face Frankie and tell him just that, and how he should be proud of it. Maybe one day Marisol can help-

And then suddenly he’s in front of you, pushing your back gently into the side of his truck, his lips dusting across yours in a gentle kiss. He pulls back just as quick as he started, taking a step back.

“I’m so sorry, Pip. I should’ve asked. You’re just so-”

You grip his shirt and pull him towards you, completely surprising him and yourself. Your lips find his, kissing him deeply. He licks at your bottom lip and you part them with a sigh, Frankie taking advantage and sliding his tongue in your mouth, grabbing your head with both hands. Your hands come up around his neck, winding into the curls sticking out from under the hat and tugging on them. He moans into your mouth and you do it again, feeling him grip you tighter as he pulls back.

“Pip, if you keep that up, I don’t know if I’ll be able to contain myself.”

Fuck.

“What if I don’t care?” He’s so close that you can feel him through his pants.

“I-Idon’t want you to think that that’s why I asked you out.” He kisses you again, his hips slightly grinding against your leg that he was straddling.

“You could’ve hand anyone in there. Even my friend wanted to fuck you. But you chose me. Why? Why did you choose me?”

He pulls back, tracing the side of your face with his finger. “At first, because I thought you were hot as fuck. But then? Your eyes. They’re…kind. And I could use some kind in my life.”

He dips down and kisses you again and this time you moan into his mouth, your own hips starting to roll against his thigh, a burning fire rising up inside you. His hands roam down your body and you freeze as he reaches your sides. You know you’re not in shape and you’re ok with it but sometimes it makes you feel really insecure. Frankie feels you tense and he breaks the kiss.

“What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”

“I..no. No you didn’t hurt me. I just..” You try to push his hands away from your sides, but he looks down, watching you struggle and then back up, comprehension dawning on him.

“Pip, you don’t have to be worried about anything. Am I making you feel uncomfortable?” He removes his hands but stays close to you.

Tears start to well up in your eyes. “I- no. You aren’t, I just…I just…”

He pushes your chin up with his finger, his bright eyes meeting yours. “I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

You chuckle, but he doesn’t let you look away. “I mean it, Pip. You’re an amazing woman and I’ve wanted to touch you all night. But if you don’t want me to, I can wait. It’s completely up to you.”

“I just… I don’t want you to be disappointed.”

“Do I look disappointed?”

You blink away the tears, feeling his thumbs wipe them off your cheeks. When you meet his eyes you finally see it - his eyes nearly black with lust, his impossibly hard cock smashed against your thigh. Even the guys who pretended to want you just for their buddies to get with Olivia didn’t look like this. No one has ever looked at you with such want, such desire, such desperate need. And it lights you up, begging you to be with him.

“No one has ever looked at me like this before.”

He leans forward, his lips gently kissing that spot under your ear. When he speaks it’s low, raspy, and lustful.

“Then let me show you how I see you.”

—----

How I See You Part 2 >>

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skylarstark4826 · 3 months

Text

Friday Nights at the Weasleys’

He couldn’t remember ever feeling this uncomfortable. For someone who’d been turned into a ferret in front of the student body at large and whose parents had hosted Voldemort in their home on more than one occasion that was really saying something. And yet here he sat, the lone guest of the bride, while the groom’s side of the aisle seemed to overflow with well-wishers - many of them sporting ginger hair of the Weasley variety – feeling like some odd sort of insect on display.

Pansy owed him for this. She owed him big.

Weasel King (Ron, he could hear Pansy admonish him.) stood under a flowered arch with an expression that was halfway between bliss and nausea, the green-eyed savior of the wizarding world beside him. Typically, Potter’s hair stuck up at odd angles. Did the git not own a comb? He could defeat the Dark Lord, but he couldn’t master a simple cosmetic charm?

Pulled from his thoughts by the start of music, Draco turned to see the Weasley girl walking slowly down the aisle. He had to admit the emerald green, cocktail-length bridesmaid's dress worked very well for her. It accentuated the creamy glow of her skin and as she moved past him, Draco noted that her legs weren't half bad either. The bright summer sunlight was shining on her hair, revealing a variety of red shades blended in a much more fetching way than he remembered from their Hogwarts days. There wasn't any denying it. Ginny Weasley had grown into quite an attractive witch. His eyes followed her until she took her place, turning her face in the direction from which she'd just come as the music changed to signal the approach of the bride.

The guests rose as one, all focused on the vision in white moving towards the altar. Draco didn't really need to stand since there was no one to block his view, but far be it from him to buck tradition. He couldn’t help but smile at the openly content look on his best friend’s face as she took her final steps as Pansy Parkinson. As much as he would have preferred to see her with someone other than the freckle-faced git, Ron obviously made her happy and Draco would put up with him as long as that was the case. Pansy had stood by him through all his years of stupidity; he figured she was due the same sort of loyalty during hers.

He weathered the ceremony admirably, he thought. When the Weasley matriarch began boo-hooing about her baby boy, Draco made sure to turn his head before he rolled his eyes; and when a smallish red-haired boy announced rather loudly that his mummy was ‘up the duff’ again, he covered his snort with a cough. His forbearance was tested each time his attention wandered to the bridesmaid, however. Ginny Weasley seemed to take great pleasure in trying to break his control, her own laughter visible in her eyes and expression each time she caught him looking her way. Years of practice at masking his emotions paid off, however, and there was only one point at which Draco thought he might crack. And really, who could have blamed him? The girl was making fishy faces at him during her brother’s vows, for Salazar’s sake. No upbringing at all, he thought without any real condescension.

The reception was a loud and boisterous affair. After getting lost in the sea of ginger several times and dodging a number of explosives that the ones called Fred and George seemed to think appropriate for such a celebration, Draco finally managed to locate the newlyweds to offer his congratulations.

Smirking as he approached, he held his hand out to the Weasel. “Congratulations, Weasley. You’ve got the better end of this arrangement, I hope you realize.”

“I won’t argue that, Malfoy,” Ron returned evenly, taking Draco’s hand with an unnecessarily firm grip.

Watching the display with a bored expression, the bride gave a long-suffering sigh. “Are you planning to wish me well, Draco, or do I need to fetch a ruler and determine who has the biggest prick first?”

“That won’t be necessary, I wouldn’t embarrass Ron on his wedding day.” Pressing a kiss to her cheek, he looked at her with genuine affection. “I am happy for you, Pans. You deserve the best, and if Weasley’s managed to convince he’s it, I suppose that’s good enough for me.”

Her arms were around him in an instant. She spoke quietly, so only he could hear. “He’s good to me, Draco. I know you don’t see it, but I’m so glad you came today. It wouldn’t have felt right without you here.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” He pulled away gently, taking her hand and passing it to Ron. “Now go on and celebrate with your husband, Mrs. Weasley.”

As Ron led Pansy off to mingle and dance, Draco grabbed a glass of firewhisky and sat at a table far off to the side. He hadn’t lied, he was happy for Pansy. Glad that she’d found someone to be happy with. It was a bittersweet thing, though. They’d been a pair for almost as long as he could remember. Intended for one another as children, best friends when they discovered their own desires didn’t match their parents’. It was Pansy who stood by Draco when he realized the path his father had taken was the wrong one; Pansy who went with him to turn information over to the Order of the Phoenix. By the war’s end, they’d both been disowned and they were shunned by all the people they’d thought of as friends. It was a difficult adjustment, but they’d helped each other. Now she had Weasley for that.

“Sitting over there with all your friends, are you?”

Head popping up at the sound of a female voice, Draco was greeted by the sight of the mischievous bridesmaid who’d spent the ceremony trying to fluster him. “It would be more correct to say I’m sitting here with all of Pansy’s friends, as I’m just a guest at her wedding.”

“Fair enough.” Ginny flashed a grin as she came to sit with him. “You were looking awfully grave considering the occasion. You could try, I don’t know, joining in the festivities?”

Draco raised an eyebrow. “I’d thought of asking Potter to cut a rug, but I’d be crushed if he rejected me.”

“Your toes would be crushed if he accepted, more like,” she rejoined with a snort. “He might’ve defeated the most evil wizard the world has ever known, but Harry’s about as graceful as a Confunded troll. I, on the other hand, am the very picture of poise and polish.”

“I could tell that from the moment you looked at me with those charming fish lips.” Rising, Draco offered his arm. “If you’d care to dance, I’ll do my best to not to embarrass you.”

Ginny accepted with a laugh, and that was the last Draco sat until much later in the evening.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I don’t know why we needed to invite Ginny for dinner tonight,” Ron grumbled as he set four place settings around the table.

Pansy’s face was all innocence, which her husband knew meant she was up to no good.

“Don’t you want to see your sister, darling?”

Ron pointed the fork in his hand at her accusingly. “You know that’s got nothing to do with it. Why invite her the same night as you’ve invited Malfoy?”

“Draco, darling,” she replied in a warning tone.

“Fine. Why invite Draco and Ginny over the same night?”

With a roll of her eyes, Pansy shrugged. “We don’t have any other single friends. I didn’t want either of them to feel like a third wheel. Now we’re all evened up. Boy, girl, boy, girl.”

She was saved from Ron’s retort by the doorbell, and Pansy gave a smug smile as she turned to greet their first guest.

Draco stood outside the flat with the requisite bottle of wine for his hosts. He was looking forward to seeing Pansy; he’d been trying to give her time to settle into her new life, but he’d missed her. It would have been preferable to spend time with his friend on his own, but he’d endure the company of the Weasel King if he had to.

“Draco!” Pansy said warmly, embracing him tightly before stepping aside so that he could enter. “Come in. It’s so good to see you.”

“You too, Pansy,” he replied, returning her hug. Stepping inside the small flat, Draco nodded at Ron. “Weasley.” The none-too-discreet clearing of a feminine throat brought a heavy sigh. “I mean, Ron.”

“Draco,” Ron returned.

Handing Pansy the bottle of wine he’d brought, Draco spent a few awkward moments with Ron while she carried it to the kitchen. Since it didn’t appear that Weasley was going to offer up any polite conversation, Draco ventured a lame attempt. “So, what do you think of the Harpies chances this year?”

They were interrupted, thankfully, by a sharp rap on the door, and before anyone could answer it, Ginny popped her head inside. “Hello. Sorry I’m late.” Her eyes fell on Draco with surprise and she leveled a pointed look at her sister-in-law. “Oh, Pansy didn’t mention you’d be here, Draco.”

“Surprise,” he said in dry humor. Pansy hadn’t mentioned that Ginny would be coming to him, either. Not that he minded particularly, but it smacked of matchmaking. Pans had been after him to find a girlfriend ever since she’d gotten serious about Ron. She gets a Weasley and suddenly decides everyone else needs one, too.

Pansy called them to the table and Ron poured them each a glass of wine. Leaning in toward Draco, Ginny whispered, “Now we watch to see if Pansy drinks. The last three Weasley brides came back from their honeymoon pregnant.”

Draco choked and turned wide eyes to Pansy as he gasped for air. He’d just gotten used to the idea of her marrying one of the red-haired brigade, thoughts of her breeding with Ron were not something Draco was ready to consider. He watched with bated breath until she raised her glass to her lips and sipped, an audible sigh of relief escaping as she did.

“Something wrong, Draco?” Pansy asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

“No, not at all. Just enjoying my meal, Pans. Your cooking has really improved,” he teased.

Ron snorted.

Setting her glass down with a thunk, Pansy scowled at her husband. “Ron made it.”

A chorus of muffled snickers came from around the table until the glare from the most recent Mrs. Weasley silenced them.

Pansy turned her attention to Ginny and raised a brow. “Oh, you’re wearing your locket, Ginny. You like it, then? I’d hoped it would suit.”

Pink staining her cheeks, Ginny’s hand went to the silver oval that hung from her neck. “Yes, thank you. It’s perfect.”

Draco looked at the piece of jewelry. It was a pretty little charm, simple but elegant. The face had a series of intertwined vines engraved upon it, surrounding a scripted ‘G’. “It does suit you rather well. Do you have a pictures inside?”

Tightening her hand on the locket, Ginny shook her head. “No! I mean, not yet.”

They ate in relative silence for awhile, until Draco felt a poke in his side and jumped up with a rather effeminate titter. Clearing his throat, he took his seat again, shooting a level look at the young woman who’d been trying to get his attention. “Did you need something?”

Ginny didn’t even try to muffle the giggles. “I was wondering if you would pass the rolls. Sorry if I startled you.”

As Draco handed her the requested item, Pansy chimed in. “Oh, he wasn’t frightened. Draco is extremely ticklish. He can barely stand for someone to wiggle a finger at him.”

“Is that right?” Ginny asked with a mischievous smirk, waving her index finger at the man in question.

Glaring at each woman in turn, Draco scooted his chair farther from the offensive digit. “No. I’m not ticklish. Pansy just likes to tell tales.”

Pansy just smiled and took another sip of wine. “Of course, darling.”

It became a regular gathering, these Friday night dinners with Pansy, Ron and Ginny. Draco enjoyed seeing his oldest friend often, and over time he even began to like the Weasel King – a little. He discovered that his best friend’s husband was a keen strategist, and playing wizard’s chess with him was a real challenge. Ron also had a knack for pushing his sister’s buttons. Watching the two of them go after each other was highly entertaining, so long as you were quick enough to get out of the way when hexes started to fly.

Even when she wasn’t out for Ron’s blood, Ginny was fun. In her endless quest to get Draco to admit his ticklishness, she’d often try to catch him unaware, going for his side as she pretended to reach for something just beyond him or pinching his knee at the dinner table.

She could talk about anything. Ginny had quite an array of knowledge, but even when faced with a topic about which she knew nothing, she could ferret out enough information to take a position exactly opposite whoever she picked as her target for torment. Draco enjoyed sparring with her. With her quick wit and a penchant for mischief, conversation with Ginny was never dull. It was something he looked forward to.

And then one Friday, there were only three places at the dinner table.

“Isn’t Ginny coming?” Draco asked, a frown forming at the sight of the empty spot where she usually sat.

Ron and Pansy exchanged a look, and Pansy’s words were clipped when she answered. “No, she had other plans tonight.”

The news did not sit well with Draco. For months now they’d been meeting every Friday night. It was a routine. A standing engagement. How could she have other plans?

“What other plans?”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Ron shrugged, obviously uncomfortable. “Dunno exactly. She said something about meeting a bloke for dinner.”

Draco’s mouth dropped open. “She’s on a date?” Brow creased in agitation, he added stupidly, “But it’s Friday night!”

“Generally thought of as a good time for such things, darling,” Pansy retorted in a bored tone. “What are you so concerned about anyway? It’s not as though you’re dating her. Why should you care if someone else does?”

“I don’t care…” And then he realized that he did care. Quite a lot, in fact. He didn’t want Ginny out with some other man when she was supposed to be here with him, talking and sneaking up on him with casual touches. “Where is she?”

Ron looked mildly surprised, but Pansy had a ready answer. “I believe she mentioned a place called Dante’s. Probably one of those romantic little Italian places with drippy candles.”

He knew exactly the place she was talking about. It was romantic, and it did have drippy candles. It was an ideal place to take a date if you wanted to make a good impression. “Bloody hell,” Draco muttered, heading for the door.

“Draco? Don’t you want to stay and eat?” Pansy called after him, but it was too late. He was gone.

Wrapping an arm around his wife, Ron leaned down and kissed her hair. “You really are devious sometimes.”

Pansy’s face was a picture of satisfaction. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

Draco apparated to the restaurant and stormed past the hostess. Spotting Ginny at a table in the corner, he went straight to her, coming to a stop beside her table. She started to smile up at him, but seeing his expression, her own changed to one of confusion.

“Where’s your date?” Draco demanded.

Ginny blinked. “What?”

“Because I’m going to tell him to bugger off. It’s Friday night. Our night. The night I look forward to all week.” His head swiveled, searching for the interloper who had thrown a wrench in the works.

“But Pansy said… Draco, there’s no need to –“ she began, but he cut her off.

“No need?” he exclaimed, sinking into the chair across from her and taking her hand. “I don’t want to lose our Friday nights, Ginny. I don’t want to lose you.”

The corners of Ginny’s mouth turned upward and she pulled her hand away from Draco. Reaching behind her neck, she unclasped the locket she always wore.

Placing it in Draco’s hand, she said, “There is no other date, Draco. I was waiting for you. Pansy told me you’d meet me here.”

“Waiting for me?” he asked, confused as he turned the locket in his fingers.

“Open it.”

With a curious glance at the beautiful witch across from him, Draco opened the locket to find a picture from Pansy and Ron’s wedding reception. Ginny was in his arms as they twirled around the garden behind the Burrow in perpetual motion.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The following summer Draco stood under a flowered arch, feeling alternately blissful and nauseous. To his left was a tall, red-haired fellow with the kind of knowing expression that only men who have already been through a day such as this one can wear. The bride’s guests were packed tightly on their side of the aisle, with more than one new arrival since the last wedding took place in this spot.

There was only one person seated on the groom’s side, a pretty, brunette witch with a turned-up nose and a burgeoning belly. Draco smiled at her as the music began to play. Turning his head to watch Ginny march slowly towards him to become his wife, he decided that Pansy had paid him back very well indeed.

#drinny #draco x ginny #draco malfoy #ginny weasley #Drinny #Draco and Ginny #Draco x Ginny #Draco/Ginny #Draco Malfoy #Ginny Weasley #slytherin!draco #slytherin!ginny #Werewolf!Draco #Vampire!Ginny

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thesinglesjukebox · 4 months

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LENIN - "INTIRAYMI"

youtube

Next, from Jessica, a Peruvian house banger with layers...

[7.46]

Jessica Doyle: Don't worry about the backstory yet, there's no rush. Let's start by enjoying a party jam whose ambition shows in its structure: in an era of two-minute songs and dance tracks with no actual rhythm, "Intiraymi" has not only the required bouncy chorus that ends with "ĄEs un carnaval!" but a distinct repeated pre-chorus and a distinct bridge during which to gear up for the final dance. Also, let's face it, this is the best use of strings in a K-pop or K-pop-adjacent song since the legendary "The Ghost of Wind." Even the song's more subtle touches -- that Lenin ends the initial rounds of the chorus on a lower note, so it has more impact when he doubles himself going higher at the end -- work in its favor. Okay, now we can throw in the backstory: Lenin Tamayo Pinares is the son of an Andean folksinger and native speaker of Quecha, and not only a self-produced musician but one committed to using contemporary Andean music as an agent of collective empowerment for indigenous minorities (and hopefully getting an undergraduate thesis done on the topic while he's at it). Fun is fun, and "Intiraymi" is well-crafted, contagious fun no matter how little time you want to invest in it, but you do need a little bit of context to understand why I want this man to realize all of his ambitions and then some. [9]

Nortey Dowuona: "This is not only a positive message," he said of his music. "It's a battle." [10]

Taylor Alatorre: If I were to listen to this without looking any further into Quechua culture, I'd have to guess that the Intiraymi is basically akin to a Copa América celebration. Lenin shows more interest here in creating sounds with cross-border appeal than in putting centuries of suppressed history on display, as is fully his right. Those violin breaks act as tethers to a living past rather than dusted-off artifacts of an ancient one, more evocative of extended family gatherings than Inca and Chanka glories. The sense of forced fun is never entirely absent, but that's something it has in common with family gatherings as well. [6]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Intiraymi is a (Southern Hemisphere) Winter Solstice festival, so it feels appropriate to review "Intiraymi" as I experience the Northern Hemisphere equivalent. This is a banger for the shortest day of the year, a concentrated, poised delivery of hooks that eventually folds into a giddy, delirious fit of ecstasy. [8]

Ian Mathers: Of course, there are only so many combinations of different letters out there; when different languages share the same character sets, you're going to get some weird and/or funny overlaps. Which explains why someone going by Lenin is singing the praises of an Incan festival for the sun god. He's got an interesting background, but I don't have the context to know how significant the subject matter here is. But that's all kind of just background; I don't even need the subtitles to tell that the chorus is celebrating some sort of carnival, and infectiously so. [7]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: An ebullient little house-pop charmer. It's a bit too cheery for my tastes, but those strings are something to celebrate. [5]

Brad Shoup: LENIN's very unsweaty take on K-pop is the draw for sure, but dig that chorus: it sounds like Suede. [7]

Michelle Myers: When you're a K-Pop fan, everything starts to sound like idol music. Tate McRae? She's K-Pop. Ed Sheeran? Totally K-Pop. Nu Metal? That's just Ateez with guitars. But Lenin Tamayo is different. He's purposefully trying to make music that sounds like the Peruvian equivalent of an early 2010s Kenzie banger. [8]

Frank Kogan: This is excitement from the start, the danceable violin riff and the floor beats coming in, a melody with punch and lilt, and on from there: fiddle breaks, sensitive idol star interludes, absolutely sing-a-long-able chorus. His voice is as small as Hilary Duff's, and the wails are more gestured at than actually wailing; so he's getting by on brains more than vocal cords. That's not bad at all, if the arrangements and songwriting get the music to go where he wants it, which they emphatically do here. [7]

Kayla Beardslee: It's so hard to go wrong with a rousing piano-house banger, and this one certainly doesn't! [7]

Aaron Bergstrom: The Inca had a pretty advanced understanding of astronomy. Based on the ruins they left behind, we know they could calculate the solstices with an impressive level of precision. They knew they lived in a clockwork universe, that the days would get shorter until a calculable date, after which they would start to get longer again. And yet, despite this scientific certainty, they still devoutly observed the Inti Raymi, a nine-day festival around the winter solstice dedicated to worshipping the sun god Inti. It's possible there were a few people in those crowds who gave themselves over fully to the supernatural, who worried that they days would keep getting shorter forever unless they properly demonstrated their devotion, but I think most people knew that the sun would return no matter what. That didn't make the Inti Raymi any less important to them. The return of the sun demands celebration, regardless of how your personal cosmology explains it. Anyway, I've been playing this song a lot lately. Today is the shortest day of the year. Tomorrow will be five seconds longer. I'm not saying I caused that, but I'm also not going to stop playing the song. Praise Inti. [9]

Will Adams: How refreshing for a cry of "es un carnaval!" to actually sound like it. How crucial it is for dance-pop bangers to be a little cheesy. [7]

Katherine St Asaph: Power in cheese. [7]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

#lenin #music #peruvian music #music writing #music criticism #music reviews #the singles jukebox #Youtube

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guns-n-jovi · 2 years

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I'll Be There- Part Two

(Creative title, I know.)

Duff McKagan x Fem!Reader

Requested by: @sublies-flipphone

Request: Shawty, Hannah, what if, a part 2 of I’ll be there, where the reader is at their gig and when her and Duff finally get to speak to eachother after it’s just dumb flirty shit (and maybe some kissing to make axl mad or something who knows😦)

Notes: I feel like I once again strayed a little from the prompt! (I promise, it's nothing personal, and it's through no fault of my own. It's just one of those things I've GOT to be better about 😭.) I hope you still like it, though!

Word count: 2,100

In the helpless, hopeless bliss that hindsight was, I realized I should not have made that promise to Duff. I was never one to break promises, especially to special people such as him, but this one was not one I was sure I could keep.

I had promised him that I would go to the next Guns N’ Roses performance at one of the local clubs, but now that it was time to go, I found myself so nervous I was reluctant. I’d heard about those shows from the times my friends had gone. They described colorful scenes, shredding sounds of rock n’ roll, and the thick, hot, crowded atmosphere that smelled like spilled alcohol, cigarette smoke, and sweat. They described the band members as often being drunk, or under some sort of influence, and the shows being ones that anyone who still had a minuscule sliver of good conscience would feel uncomfortable in.

It sounded awesome.

I realized it wasn’t the setting and scenes that frightened me half as much as being in the presence of Duff again. He was so charming but intimidating that I wanted to cower under his tall height. I remembered, when all the band came over, how I had tried to be aloof and standoffish to ward off any attention I would surely get. I wanted them to be intimidated by me, rather than vise verse. But the unfiltered truth was that I was the one most likely to fall, and I was the one most likely to be frightened by them. And I knew tonight at the show, I would have no television to pretend to watch while the guys had talked about me and my attention. I would have nothing to watch but the show.

“Hurry up!” Steven pounded on my bathroom door. “We gotta leave, Y/N!”

There was a pause. He threatened, “If you’re not out of there by the count of ten, you can drive there yourself, or walk there.”

I ignored him. I stood before the mirror of my bedroom, skimming over my own looks. I wore a black top with rose-gold colored flowers. I wore black jeans. I pinned my hair back in a new way, and worn a little more makeup than I usually would. If I do say so myself, I looked impressive. But I was trying to win the heart of a member of Guns N’ Roses. Could I compete at all with the beauties they surrounded themselves with 24/7?

“Five, six…”

I drew an unsteady breath. Nearly every audience member that attended one of the band’s shows was never the same when they left? What would I be when I left, much later that night?

“Eight, nine-“

“Alright!” I grabbed my pink sweater. “Alright. I’m coming.”

I gave myself one last look. I wished the girl in the mirror luck. God knows, she’d need it.

When I opened the door, Steven’s eyes widened.

“Why are you so dolled up?” he asked.

I glared at him, saying nothing. I led the way down the hall and out the front door. Behind, he fumbled for his keys.

We got there in ten minutes.

Steven was the last one there, and it was a surprise to everyone that he had beat Axl there. By the time we arrived, it had already been an hour since the show was supposed to start. Already, so early in their career, the band was notorious for being late. It was a trademark that would last for the band’s entire career.

I disappeared into the crowd as nobody special- certainly not as the drummer’s sister. The crowd was a melting pot of all kinds of people. Smitten girls were the majority, dressed in eye-catching clothes and giggling excitedly about hoping to get “their turn”, or so they called it.

I didn’t have to be a genius to guess what that meant.

I stood on my tiptoes behind a tall, young guy in all denim. I could barely see the stage. Half of it was obscured by people standing in front of me. I navigated through the tight crowd to the side of the stage where I knew Duff would be standing. My toes got stepped on more times than I could count, I got barked at to “watch where I was going”, and I was squished between the backs of strangers, but I managed to find a tiny pocket large enough for my feet to stand without getting trampled. It was a pleasing, short distance from Duff’s side of the stage. I liked it.

But, of course, I wasn’t the only girl who had that idea. I should’ve been quicker to think of that, I chided, under my breath.

Thirty more minutes. No sign of the band.

“They’re not coming,” I said, out loud.

I meant for it to be a mumble, but a girl in front of me turned.

“Of course, they are!” she said. “They’re always late like this. But they’re coming. They always do.”

She gave me a smile that I found annoying.

“You must be new here,” she said.

I didn’t give that much of a response.

She had been right, though. The band did finally come onstage, stumbling and shoving each other in and out of place. I spotted Slash, who tossed his curls and arched his back, his dark hands poised over the guitar strings. I saw my brother grinning as he sat behind the drum set. And finally, I saw Duff.

I perked upright when I saw Duff. He was wearing a denim coat, black, leather gloves, and a headband gripped around his hairline. He was wearing silver earrings. He looked great. Better than he had that afternoon, and even that had been marvelous.

As he stood with his bass guitar, I saw him glance out over the audience, especially in my corner. It was like he was looking for someone. While I tried to tell myself he wasn’t looking for me, the small echo of my mind that was always so eerily right told me exactly what I wanted to hear.

The songs weren’t new to me. I knew them all by heart. Still, they were delightful. A fiery cover of Aerosmith’s “Mama Kin”, the sweet, endearing “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, and my personal favorite- “My Michelle.” It was a gritty, ominous biographical song about a girl named Michelle who Axl was friends with. The lyrics were brutally honest- not at all sugar-coated. But the repeating guitar riff and bass intro was the most epic I’d ever heard.

It really was no wonder Appetite For Destruction had almost instantly become one of the most revered and beloved albums of all time, I noted. But that was the only time I gave a second’s worth of thought to the music I was listening to. The rest of the time, twenty-five percent of my mind was on the setting and my fellow audience, and the other seventy-five percent of the time, it was on Duff.

The show was impressive, just as every show they’d ever played was. But I was under an unsaid impression that the band was not very happy about playing in the club. Having now played in massive arenas in front of sprawling crowds, they seemed bored with the humble roots from which they came- these clubs in Los Angeles. They seemed only half-hearted in playing. They’d outgrown the club gigs, I decided. It was to be expected.

Still, even in their slower, less energized playing, they were impressive. At this point, I realized, musical excellence was not just a goal of theirs. It was a habit. They did it mindlessly.

At the conclusion of the show, three hours later, my heart began to skip as I knew I would talk to Duff. Nervousness settled in the pit of my stomach. My hands started to shake. I scolded myself. What would he think if he knew how nervous I was to talk to him? Would he be judgmental, or understanding? The first of the two was more likely- I was under the impression Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses was not one to get nervous talking to girls. Just a hunch, though.

A small percentage of the people began to flood out, but some girls surrounding me were forcing their way backstage. I was lost in the mob of them. I wondered if I was noticeable to Duff at all. Backstage was small, dark, and crowded. It had a strong smell. In the hysteria of the girls’ voices, I heard a faint sound I could barely distinguish. It was the voice of one of the band member’s- it was his voice.

“I thought I saw her!” he said. “Do you think she left?”

“Oh, no,” Steven said. “Not Y/N. She’s no chicken.”

(That’s where he was wrong.)

“Well, forget her,” Axl said, hungrily. “Look coming here.”

The wave of young ladies was approaching them. His eyes were flickering.

Before Duff could get mobbed down, he stepped discreetly away and slid back into the club house where he could be alone. He looked out over the places where the audience had been. I noticed this, and after a breath, made my way towards him.

“Hey,” I said, softly.

He whirled, and his blue eyes widened. He looked as if he could burst into tears of relief. I saw that look on his face for a moment only, before he realized it was there. He regained his cool and stood tall. “Uh, hey, Y/N,” he said. “I didn’t see you during the show. Thought you might have forgotten or something.”

I gave him a sweet smile. “How could I forget? I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

The tips of Duff’s ears turned red. He said, “Well, I appreciate it. Did you enjoy the show?”

“Oh, yes,” I walked towards him. “It was good at always. That band of yours never ceases to amaze me. I’d say that’s true for a lot of people.”

Duff chuckled sheepishly. “We try.”

He gave me a look. Then, he beckoned me to come to the bar.

“A drink on me?” he asked.

I waved my hand. “That’s sweet of you. But I’m content to just talk to you…if that’s alright.”

Duff swallowed hard. When he sat on one of the round stools under the bar, I joined him at the one aside it.

“I guess you’re a lot more than just Stevie’s sister,” he said.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just me, really. Nobody special.”

Duff shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

A smirk tugged at his lips. “You’re more than you give yourself credit for.”

“You just met me today,” I told him.

He gave me a quick wink. “You can just tell with some people.”

I smiled. I looked down, because I was blushing. I hoped the subtle batting of my eyelashes wasn’t too noticeable.

Axl stumbled from backstage towards us. In one hand, he was holding an ill-fated glass of wine (it was later dropped and broken, which is the fate of every beautiful glass, especially ones that someone as rowdy as Axl would have in his possession). In his opposite arm was a beautiful blonde with a strong build. Her curls were snowy with golden tints.

“Axl, hurry up,” she was softly whining.

“Geez, kid,” he mumbled. Then, he looked up at Duff.

“Oh, I see your girl finally arrived,” he blushed. “You’ll be busy for a while. I was just coming to check on you n’ everything.”

“We’re fine,” said Duff. The tone in his voice told us he didn’t want to be bothered by Axl at the moment.

Axl swallowed hard. He looked right at me.

“Wanna come get in line back there, kid?”

“Axl!” Duff and Axl’s girl screamed at once.

“Alright!” Axl basically carried the girl backstage on his shoulder. “Sorry.”

But he wasn’t. Once he had gone backstage again, Duff looked at me.

“Sometimes I really don’t like him,” he said.

He glanced back over his shoulder as if to verify that Axl wasn’t there. Then, he said, “He’s jealous.”

“Oh? How come?”

Duff chuckled. “You can always tell when he’s jealous. He’s jealous of me. Because tonight, I have the prettiest girl in LA.”

I took me a minute to realize he was talking about me. When I did, my heart skipped. I couldn’t contain a smile that was probably a little too wide.

“So,” Duff cleared his throat. “Where were we?”

I restrained my grin enough barely. “Tell me about yourself.”

Tagging some other Duff girls I think might like this: @greeneyezblackheart @risingtripletaurus 🖤.

#Also hey @ the two ladies I tagged- no pressure or rush to read it #I just thought you might like it lol #Duff McKagan #Guns N' Roses #80s #80s music #80s bands #rock n roll #hard rock #gnr

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xsloanecampbell · 2 years

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MEET SLOANE KATHERINE CAMPBELL;

Age/Birthday: 34. October 28th, 1987

Zodiac: Scorpio

Gender/Pronouns: Female. She/Her.

Birthplace: Upper East Side, New York City, New York

Profession: Owner and stylist at Sloane's Beauty House.

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

Relationship Status: Divorced

Faceclaim: Hilary Duff

AESTHETICS

Warm sunrise mornings, coffee and creamer streaming together, sugar and spice, the rainbow after the rain, sunshine, the bounce of beautifully cut and healthy hair, pink lights, Malibu Barbie, toes in sand and waves crashing.

HEADCANONS

tw car accident, substance mention, miscarry mention, pregnancy.

She was born in the upper east side of New York City, but has a personal connection to Colorado, as that is where her mother was born and raised. She found herself visiting Colorado quite a lot during her childhood for that.

From the age of 10 to 22, she would come to act, model, and sing, launching herself into stardom at a very young age, and for this, she paid the price most young performers do. Falling into the wrong crowds, she’d find herself addicted to substance well out of her understanding. As well as a bad girl, who went by the name of Rosie. The relationship ended badly, when they were in a car accident, and the car flipped, injuring Sloane badly, and killing Rosie.

She would go on to rehab after this, leaving the limelight, and getting her life together as best as she could. This is also when she’d come to move to Providence Peak, Colorado, and find a new found passion in cosmology. First, hair, and would go on to get her license in said area. But then would find interest in that of make up, and nails-- in which she also studied the arts of, becoming a professional in both as well.

She is a ciswoman pansexual, and can not stand when people invalidate her sexuality.

At 27 she would come to meet the woman who would become her wife, a short 4 years of bliss would end quite unpleasantly when it’d come to be found out that she had been cheated on. Made worse by the fact that she had just gotten pregnant with the couples first child. She tried to forgive and move forward, but at 4 months, she lost their child, and was unable to forgive; filing for divorce.

Around the same age of 27, Sloane would put into motion a dream project of hers. A beauty salon. One that included all services; hair, make up, tanning, nails, and spa packages. It was truly a place where anyone could come and pamper themselves like the queen, kings or non-binary royalty they were.

The divorce recently became final, 8 weeks ago, not only would she remember that exact time line for the bittersweet ending of her marriage, but also, because she'd just find out that she is 8 weeks pregnant. Surprising for many reasons, as she had such a hard time conceiving her last pregnancy, that tragically ended 10 months ago, but also the fact, that the father of his one had been one of her closest friends, who was simply comforting her at the time.

extra little notes;

She is a published author, as she has wrote a book on her life as a child star, and behind the scenes of the industry. It was a best seller.

She also has a strong presences on social media, from youtube, to Instagram. People seem to be interested in keeping up with a favorite child star of theirs from the past. Although, Sloane is adamant on nothing returning to that level of stardom again.

She can sing, as she was a child model, actress, and singer, but she'll simply only sing for fun now.

Is an artist as well.

Has an older brother, and a younger sister. Is the middle child. She is close to her family, and they all seem to have a good bond with one another.

She modeled the name, and a good chunk of the design of her salon after Barbie's Dream house. As she was often referred to as a Barbie, and that was a nickname of hers from her grandfather.

WANTED CONNECTIONS: (I'll more then likely do a more detailed page later<3)

Friends. She's extremely friendly, and kind. Very warm to be around.

Best Friends/Extremely Close Friends. I would absolutely love to have a best friend or two for her, almost like sisters. or Siblings. She could've known them forever. She has been in and out of Colorado all her life, and she has traveled as well.

Former Fans. People who know of her career as a child star.

Clients. Her salon offers hair cuts/styling/color, nails, tanning, spa packages, and make up services. She has extremely talented staff, and it's rare for there to be an unhappy customer.

Employees.

Friends/family of her ex-wife.

The father of her child. She just recently found out she was pregnant. I envision this is a friend of hers, and she seeked comfort in him, and now she's 8 weeks along.

literally anything. EVERYTHING. I JUST LOVE PLOTS LOL

#( x. | about. )

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trinity-mia · 3 months

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a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

1.1 the enemy of my father is... also my enemy (allegedly)

warnings : cussing, monster attack (hey, there's a lot of those), allie doing something that will probably anger the gods (shocking, ik)

word count : 4.8k

1.1 Garden Gnomes are FREAKY and Anyone Who Says Otherwise is a LIAR

In some ways, it's nice to know there are Greek gods out there.

Mostly because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong.

For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck. When you're a half-blood, you understand that it's just some divine force that is really trying to fuck up your day and at the very least if it doesn't make you happier, it'll give you peace of mind because you're given a reason.

So there we were, Luke, Grover, and I, walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in our noses.

Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."

I was pretty much in shock, myself. The explosion of bus windows still rang in my ears. But Luke kept pulling us along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."

"Do you think anyone was hurt?" I worried. "What if someone got hurt?"

"Allie, Sweetheart, I get why you're upset," Luke said tensely, continuing to tug me through the trees. "But we need to focus on getting away from there. We have to keep ourselves safe first."

I bit my lip but nodded. He flashed me that smile that I really hated, the tender one that made my ears heat up even more than the infuriating, but somehow still charming, playboy one did.

"It was really brave, coming back to help us," he told me, releasing my wrist to wrap his arm around my shoulders. "You're doing all you can, I know, but focus on your safety before the others. You come first."

I gave him a weak smile in reply. "Yeah, well, you come first, too. Imagine what'd happen if the Stolls were left in charge of Cabin 11," I tried to joke. "There'd be nothing left."

He snorted and nodded, giving me a squeeze. The thunderstorm finally began to let up, and I sighed in relief, adjusting my backpack.

"Good call, getting us to keep our bags with us," I said tiredly to him. "We'd've been in trouble otherwise."

"Yeah, well. Been there, done that," he grimaced. My eyes flickered to the scar on his face.

"When you went on your quest?"

He stiffened slightly and I immediately regretted asking.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. You don't have to—" I began but he cut me off with a mild head shake.

"No, actually. When Thalia, Annabeth and I were on the run, we didn't have a lot. Thank the gods I'm a natural thief, or we'd have starved long before the monsters got to us."

I didn't reply, simply nodding. He looked glad that I hadn't said anything, so I made it my job to keep my mouth shut for a while.

"Hey, my reed pipes still work!" Grover cried. "If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!"

He puffed out a few notes, but the tune still sounded suspiciously like Hilary Duff.

Instead of finding a path, I came close to slamming into a tree and getting a nice-size knot on my head.

"Sorry!" Grover yelped as I turned my death glare on him.

"I think you're trying to get Luke killed. I think busting my head open on a tree would classify as 'me getting hurt while on this quest,' especially to Clarisse," I said, trying to lessen some of the tension that had settled over the three of us. Thankfully, it worked and we were able to laugh even with all of the awful shit going on.

"When we stop for the night we need to talk about something the Kindly Ones said back there," Luke told me after a few seconds. I frowned, but nodded. I had been a bit too busy fighting to pay attention to their shrieking. I was kind of impressed he'd been able to figure out what they'd been saying, their voices were so shrill.

After tripping and cursing and generally feeling miserable for another mile or so, I started to see light up ahead: the colors of a neon sign. I could smell food. Fried, greasy, excellent food. I realized suddenly that I was starving. I didn't know why, considering Katie, Silena, Nessa, and Clarisse had forced me to eat breakfast, so I knew I shouldn't be that hungry. The more I thought about it, the more the feeling went away.

Either way, we kept walking until I saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed-down gas station, a tattered billboard for a '90s movie, and one open business, which was the source of the neon light and the good smell.

It wasn't a fast-food restaurant like I was thinking. It was one of those weird roadside curio shops that sell lawn flamingos and wooden Indians and cement grizzly bears and random stuff like that. The main building was a long, low warehouse, surrounded by acres of statuary. The neon sign above the gate was almost impossible for me to read, because if there's anything worse for my dyslexia than regular English, it's red cursive neon English. I knew if I sat down and stared at it for a while I'd figure it out, but we didn't have that extra time.

To me, it looked like: ATNYU MES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM.

"What the hell does that say?" I asked.

"Don't ask me," Luke shrugged. He cocked his head to the side and squinted, like that would somehow help him make out the cursive.

Grover translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium."

Flanking the entrance, as advertised, were two cement garden gnomes, ugly, freaky, bearded little runts, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their picture taken.

I crossed the street, following the smell of the hamburgers. Even if the feeling of hunger had mostly gone away, we could still stock up for later.

"Hey..." Grover warned.

"The lights are on inside," Luke pointed out. "Maybe it's open."

"Snack bar. We can stock up on food for later," I said.

"Snack bar," he wistfully agreed.

"Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird."

We ignored him.

The front lot was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps.

"Bla-ha-ha!" he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!"

We stopped at the warehouse door.

"Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters."

"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," Luke dismissed him. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"

"Meat!" he said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."

Luke ignored that.

Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of us was a tall Middle Eastern woman— at least, I assumed she was Middle Eastern, because she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all I could make out. Her coffee-colored hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant, so I imagined she was a grandmother who had once been a beautiful lady.

Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too. She said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"

"They're... um..." I started to say.

"We got separated," Luke lied smoothly. "Our bus caught on fire a few miles back. We panicked and ran, but we got lost in the forest. We smelt your food and were hoping we'd found a Burger King or something."

"Oh, my dears," the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."

We thanked her and went inside.

"Good cover," I whispered to Luke.

He flashed me a smug grin. "I know," he muttered back. "I'm a genius. Oscar-worthy. You have a few don't you? But please, no autographs."

I scoffed and hit him on the arm. "You're such an ass... but yes, if you must know, I have four. And all of the others— by, like, over 20 years, I'm the youngest person to ever achieve EGOT status," I informed him as we entered the room.

"Wait, you're right, I should be the one asking you that. Then I could sell it on eBay and get a shitton of mon—" My glare cut him off. "Never mind."

The warehouse was filled with more statues— people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces. I was thinking you'd have to have a pretty huge garden to fit even one of these statues, because they were all life-size.

Go ahead, call me an idiot for being impulsive. Sue me. But, you've never smelled Aunty Em's burgers. The aroma was like laughing gas or something— it made everything else go away. I did, however, notice Grover's nervous whimpers, and the way the statues' eyes seemed to follow me, but I didn't notice the fact that Aunty Em had locked the door behind us.

And sure enough, there it was at the back of the warehouse, a fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. Everything you could want, plus a few steel picnic tables out front. Luke groaned at the sight. Grover shifted anxiously behind us.

"Please, sit down," Aunty Em said.

"Thank you for your hospitality," I said, taking the polite route, one that wasn't used very often.

"Um," Grover said reluctantly, "We don't have any money, ma'am."

Before I could interject and pull out my credit card, Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice children who have been through such a terrifying day."

"Thank you, ma'am," Luke said with a charming grin on his face.

She waved him off. "Quite alright, Luke," she replied, before she disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. My head shot up to look at her, but she wouldn't look back at me. Though, there was a weird... strain about it. Like she had to force herself to keep from looking at me.

Before we knew it, she'd brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, milkshakes, and XXL servings of French fries.

I only ate a few fries before packing up the rest. If Aunty M found this at all weird or concerning, she didn't say it. Luke was very passionate about his burger and I don't think he remembered to breathe until halfway through.

I sipped at the chocolate shake Aunty Em had given me.

Grover picked at the fries, like I had, and eyed the tray's waxed paper liner as if he might go for that, but he still looked too nervous to eat.

"What's that hissing noise?" he asked.

I listened, but didn't hear anything. Luke shook his head.

"Hissing?" Aunty Em asked. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover."

"I take vitamins. For my ears."

"That's admirable," she said. "But please, relax."

She'd said Grover's name, too, I realized. Had we said our names when we walked in? I couldn't remember for sure.

Aunty Em ate nothing. She hadn't taken off her headdress, even to cook, and now she sat forward and interlaced her fingers and watched us eat. It was a little unsettling, but since I didn't eat much it didn't make me feel as weirded out as I would've been.

"So, you sell gnomes," I said, trying to sound interested instead of uncomfortable. I was starting to get a weird vibe, or at least a vibe that started a while ago, but was only intensifying. If I could get some information out of her I might feel less... on edge.

"Oh, yes," Aunty Em nodded. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."

"You get a lot of business on this road?" I didn't mean for it to come out rude, but even to me, it sounded bratty.

"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built... most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."

My neck tingled, as if somebody else was looking at me. I turned, but it was just a statue of a young girl holding an Easter basket. The detail was incredible, much better than you see in most garden statues. But something was wrong with her face. It looked as if she were startled, or even terrified.

"Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."

"You make these statues yourself?" I asked.

I swear to the gods...

"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company."

The sadness in her voice was convincing, but not to the girl who'd been an actress all her life. It was real, but not 'oh my sisters are gone' sadness, more a 'feel sympathy for me you naive children' sadness.

... If you are who I think you are...

Even Luke had stopped eating. I sat forward and asked, "Two sisters?"

"It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Allie, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a... a boyfriend, you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually, they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."

... You trick ass bitch.

"Luke? Maybe we should go," I said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. I had to shake him in order to get his attention. "Our parents are probably looking for us."

He looked at me confused, while Grover started to chew on the wax paper. I could hear my own heart beating.

"You look so, so like my beloved," she whispered, reaching out to stroke my cheek. I flinched away before she could. She didn't seem offended, for some reason. "Cut some of that pretty hair, bulk up or just make yourself less petite and womanly and you'd look exactly like him..."

"We really should go!" I stood abruptly, trying to drag Luke along with me.

"Yes!" Grover swallowed his waxed paper and stood up. "Our parents are waiting! Right!"

But Luke didn't want to get up. He even tried pulling me back to my seat, but I kept my feet planted.

"Please, dears," Aunty Em pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?"

"A pose?" I asked warily.

"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."

I shifted my weight from foot to foot. I didn't want to go, but I felt like it was the only option. Luke wouldn't go with us, whatever she put in the food she gave us was obviously working. "I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Luke—"

"Of course we'll stay," Luke agreed. I don't think he even realized he'd spoken until the words were out of his mouth. He was snapping out of it. That was good. "It's just a photo, Allie. What's the harm? You're a model. Don't you take, like, hundreds every day?"

"Yes, Allie," the woman purred. "No harm."

I didn't like it, but I let myself get dragged to the back. Again, call me stupid all you want, I deserve it. But I thought there might be another exit back there or maybe we could find another way to escape before she turned us to stone.

Oh yeah, for those of you who haven't quite caught up with your Greek Mythology, this is Medusa. Get it? Aunty Em— Aunty 'M.'

She directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr. "Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young lady in the middle, I think, and the two young gentlemen on either side."

"Not much light for a photo," Luke remarked. I was trying to telepathically speak to him, since now he was starting to see something about this was wrong. SOS! We need to get the hell out of dodge! Now!

"Oh, enough," Aunty Em said. "Enough for us to see each other, yes?"

"Where's your camera?" Grover asked.

Medusa stepped back, as if to admire the shot. "Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"

Grover glanced at the cement satyr next to him, and mumbled, "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."

"Grover," she chastised, "look this way, dear." She still had no camera in her hands.

"Luke—" I said.

"You know ma'am, Allie and Grover are right," Luke suddenly said. "We really should be going. Our parents must be frantic by now, after all."

"I will just be a moment," Medusa said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil..."

"Oh, I really think we should go." I began to stand up.

"Why?" She said, reaching up to undo the wrap around her head. "Don't leave yet, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?"

"That is Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped.

"Look away from her!" I shouted. I managed to slip Annabeth's Yankees cap out of Luke's back pocket and onto his head and then I pushed them both to the sides. I heard one of Grover's hooves against the ground, so one of his shoes had to have fallen off, but I couldn't see Luke, so I'd succeeded in helping them.

Now I had the problem of getting myself out of trouble. Which was now very bad, considering she had no veil on and was right in front of me. I kept my eyes glued to my shoes.

Her gnarled hands grabbed me, giving me no choice but to stay there and not look at her face. She started rocking me back and forth, like a mother trying to console their child, but her grip was strong and her nails were digging into my arms.

"I didn't tell the whole of my story, dear Astraea," she said 'dear' with so much loathing I almost recoiled in fear. "You see, after I was cursed by Athena, I expected my lover to stand by me. To help me and my sisters, who had done nothing wrong. After all, I was in her temple on his request, and I was pregnant with his children. But he didn't help us," her voice grew dark.

"That's not my fault," I cried, voice strained and tears pricking at my eyes, but she only continued.

"Instead, he abandoned us to our fate, uncaring of our suffering. And we were attacked by heroes," she spat the word contemptuously. "Who sought to eliminate the monsters. My sisters were killed, as they did not share my power to turn people to stone and so could not defend themselves, and I was left alone with nothing but my statues until the accursed Perseus killed me. It's all your father's fault! He and Athena! But I cannot get revenge on him, so I will settle for—"

Think of the most impulsive thing you've ever seen someone do. Now take that and multiply it by like... I don't know... 50? They still wouldn't come close to the level of impulsiveness I had acted on.

She'd let go of one of my arms to caress my face. I don't know who gave me the thought process I had in order for me to do it, but I did it. And it was pretty badass if I do say so myself.

Just before she touched my face, I closed my eyes shut and kicked my leg out which just enough force to knock her to the ground. She let go of me and I ran. My first thought was to find Luke, get Grover, and book it out of there, but then Luke found me first. Medusa let out a cry of outrage at the same time I almost screamed a lung out of my body.

Still invisible, Luke had grabbed me and pulled me behind a few stone statues, pressing me up against the wall and putting his hand over my mouth to keep the scream contained. As soon as we were out of her line of sight, Luke took the cap off and let me go.

"You have to cut her head off."

"What? Why can't we just get the hell out of here?"

"Medusa is a menace. She's evil. We can't let her continue to live, turning innocent people into stone for her own amusement. I'd kill her myself, but you have the better weapon. Weapons."

I bit my lip but nodded in acceptance. Luke was right. If we didn't stop Medusa, she'd just keep killing people. My heart clenched as I glanced at a body (I couldn't think of them as statues anymore. It seemed too disrespectful to her victims). It was a young girl scout with her mother. The little girl was missing one of her front teeth.

"Okay," I agreed, voice barely a whimper. "But how will I see her? None of us have shields."

Luke grabbed a green gazing ball from a nearby pedestal. "Use this," he ordered me. "It's not as good as a polished shield, but it'll do."

"You know!" Medusa screamed out in her rage as she finally got up. "I'd hate destroying a pretty face like your's, Allie, but what better way to get revenge? I turn you to stone and destroy your statue. Kill daddy's little princess twice over. A pretty face for a pretty face! How does that sound?"

Then Grover also took a slice of the impulsive cake.

There was a wild battle cry and I glanced at another of the reflective sphere things. The sight shocked me. Grover, holding a tree branch the size of a baseball bat, was racing for Medusa. His eyes were shut tight, his head twitched from side to side. He was navigating by his ears and nose alone.

"I'll get her!" He yelled. I let out a moan of horror, making to run and join the fight. Knowing Grover, I was sure he'd miss Medusa and knock himself out.

Thwack!

At first I figured it was the sound of Grover hitting a tree. Then Medusa roared with rage.

"You miserable satyr," she snarled. "I'll add you to my collection!"

"That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover yelled back.

I scrambled away and hid behind another person to peek carefully at the scene while Grover ran in for another pass.

Ker-whack!

"Go, Grover," I muttered.

"Arrgh!" Medusa yelled, her snake-hair hissing and spitting.

"Hey, guys!" Grover yelled somewhere near us. "I think she's unconscious!"

"Roooaaarrr!"

"Maybe not," Grover corrected. He went in for another pass with the tree branch.

I pressed the diamond of my necklace and turned it into Riptide. Thank the gods it didn't make a noise, otherwise, I'd have been pretty screwed.

Then I followed the hissing and spitting sounds of Medusa's hair. I kept my eyes locked on the gazing ball so I could only glimpse Medusa's reflection, not the real thing. Then, in the green-tinted glass, I saw her.

Grover was coming in for another turn at bat, but this time he swung a little too low. Medusa grabbed the stick and threw him roughly away from her with unnatural strength. He tumbled through the air and crashed into the arms of a stone grizzly bear with a painful "Ummphh!"

Medusa was about to lunge at him when I yelled a panicked, "Hey!"

I advanced on her, which wasn't easy, holding a sword and a glass ball. If she charged, I'd have a hard time defending myself. But she let me approach— twenty feet, ten feet.

"You wouldn't harm an old woman, Allie," she crooned. "I know you wouldn't. What would Mommy think of such behavior?"

I hesitated, fascinated by the face I saw reflected in the glass— the eyes that seemed to burn straight through the green tint, making my arms go weak. But then I got an idea. Let her think she has the upper hand.

From the cement grizzly, Grover moaned, "Allie, don't listen to her!"

Medusa cackled. "Too late."

She lunged at me with her talons. I slashed up with my sword, heard a sickening shlock! then a hiss like wind rushing out of a cavern— the sound of a monster disintegrating. Something fell to the ground next to my foot. I jumped away, just in time to keep my shoes from getting permanently destroyed.

"Oh, yuck," Grover said. His eyes were still tightly closed, but I guess he could hear the thing gurgling and steaming. "Mega-yuck."

Luke came up next to me, his eyes fixed on the sky. He was holding Medusa's black veil. "Don't move," he instructed me.

"I know."

Very, very carefully, without looking down, he knelt and draped the monster's head in black cloth, then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice.

"I knew you could do it," he grinned at me. "I trained you after all."

I scoffed. "Oh, please. That was pure, natural talent. You trained me for a few days. You don't get the credit." I glanced at the covered head with a grimace. I felt queasy looking at it. "Why didn't the head evaporate?"

"Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war," he explained. "Same as your Minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you."

"Right," I breathed. Grover trotted up to us, a large red knot forming in the middle of his forehead. "Good work, G," I told him appreciatively. "You were definitely more useful than that one over there." I jerked my thumb at Luke, who gave me a look of mocking offense.

"That hurts Angel, it really does," he pouted jokingly. "Here I was trying to give you some real-life experience, and you mock me." He shook his head sadly and I chuckled.

"That really was not fun, though," Grover announced. "Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun. But crashing into a concrete bear? Not fun."

"You didn't enjoy crashing into solid stone?" I deadpanned. "Shocking. What do we do with the head?"

"Let me check the office," Luke decided. "See if I find some inspiration." I sat down tiredly, letting him go and search. He came out a few minutes later, with two more paper bags, a box, some tape, extra drachmas and, best of all, a slip of paper with an address on it in Ancient Greek. DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California. The Underworld's billing address.

"Awesome," I breathed, taking it from him. "Luke, I could literally kiss you right now."

He brightened, suddenly in my personal space. "I'll take you up on that," he declared.

My eyes narrowed before I grabbed his collar and pulled him down to my level. Then I briefly skimmed my lips across his cheek. Grover choked in the background as I pulled back before Luke managed to do anything.

"Never let it be said that I don't do what I say," I whispered in his ear before stepping away and starting to wrap the head up more securely. Luke gaped at me, looking bewildered as I taped the box shut, head double-wrapped inside.

Then I scribbled on the top of it.

Now, remember earlier when I said I did the most impulsive thing anyone's ever done? Yeah, that situation's about to happen again.

But I was mad and furious at being called a thief and this experience did not make me feel much better.

Lord Zeus,

Mount Olympus,

600th Floor,

Empire State Building,

New York, NY,

With best wishes,

Astraea Jackson

P.S. I was in Philly while your bolt was getting stolen. Lucky for you, I'm a nice person and am willing to find it and return it to you.

If you could kindly hop off my ass, that'd be great. Have a nice day :)

"He's not going to like that," Grover warned. "He'll think you're impertinent."

I poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as I closed it, there was a sound like a cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared with a pop!

"Yeah, well, I am impertinent," I told them both, crossing my arms over my chest. Luke was still gaping at me, but now it was because of two impulsive things I'd done. "Come on," I ordered. "We need a new plan."

* * *

previous | next

SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

#asaeato #a story as endless as the ocean #alliejackson #female percy jackson #lukecastellan #lullie #trinitymia

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irislabslive · 1 year

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So Much (For) Stardust

It's 2am and I am listening to the new Fall Out Boy album for the second time. Last week I had the luxury of attending one of their album-listening parties.

Fall Out Boy has always been one of those bands for me, one of my bands. I've made so many friends through my adventures for them. The first time I saw them live 12 hours prior I was on a flight home from Mexico and begged my dad as soon as I got home to let me go to the show. It was a radio station show 30 minutes from my house. He ended up bringing me - I weaseled my 14-year-old self to the GA barricade and screamed my heart out that night.

Soon after that Monumentour was announced and I got to see two of my bands together that summer. By the end of 2014, I had made so many friends through this band and even started seeing them outside the internet.

In December 2014, I went to NYC for the first time by myself to see Patrick Stump give a GarageBand masterclass at the Apple Store in Soho with my friends.

January came around and so did the release of American Beauty/American Psycho and on release day, they played The Today Show. Ironically enough, my first-ever concert was Hilary Duff on The Today Show. But this January day was different, my friends and I got on a midnight train to the city and were ready to see my favorite band the day their new album came out. We waited hours in just hoodies in Rockefeller Center. It's one of my favorite stories. When it was time for the performance there was a small crowd of us and we got let into the studio to watch. After the set, they all came up to us and talked with us a little bit, and thanked us for coming.

The next month they played the NBA All-Star show and I remember my friends getting my ticket for me while sitting in English class. This show was so special. Hell, Shaq was there handing out cake. That was my first time in Hammerstein Ballroom and also the closest I ever got to be in one of their pits. I remember screaming my heart out and Pete Wentz loving my energy.

I was 16, so concerts were at my parent's discretion. I didn't get to see them again after that until 2016, my 17th birthday gift was seeing Fall Out Boy at Madison Square Garden. 17-year-old me never would've thought I'd end up working there years later. That show was truly an experience, Wintour had one of my favorite productions I have ever seen. Plus, one of my dear friends from those days went with me and we had the time of our lives seeing our band.

When the next album cycle came around, I was away at college so a big tour wasn't really on the agenda. But here we are again. I'll be seeing Fall Out Boy again in August. I'm lucky this time though, I'll be going to two dates. I'm returning to the same venue I saw them at on Monumentour with great seats, and finally getting a real Fall Out Boy pit experience because I'm so lucky they are playing my job. It's so crazy to say Fall Out Boy is playing my job. (Like I didn't just reveal I worked at one of the biggest venues in the world.)

It took me the whole album to write this little love note to Fall Out Boy. I can't wait to scream these new songs with friends old and new. Over 10 years later and this band still has the same chokehold on me as they did on that little kid that wore their Fall Out Boy hoodie every single day of school. This was the album I needed for this point in my life, and I am so grateful for this band always having me when I needed it.

So Much (For) Stardust. AOTY.

#fall out boy

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thescrapbookingscientist · 1 year

Photo

Biweekly Media Roundup

- Trigun (Anime) - Ah yes a new hyper fixation for the month, I’ve been watching both the OG series and Stampede after being enticed by spoilers of some alien activity, something I had completely forgotten about from when I originally watched it back in middle school. I like both for different reasons, and desperately want to do a comparison of what aspects do and don’t work for each adaptation given the themes each is trying to convey. For a quick thought I would say that OG does a great job of fleshing out it’s world and central cast as interesting/likable concepts while Stampede is doing a good job expanding upon the stories philosophical arguments and humanizing (haha) the main villain. At the moment I do prefer the original, both for it’s more likeable world and how that lends itself to the “All people deserve a chance as people will improve when offered kindness” message, but to be fair to Stampede it’s far from a finished product and it’s most recent episode has been it’s most solid yet, so we’ll see where it goes. Really hope the theory that Roberto is Milly’s father comes true, I miss her.

- Sense 8 (TV) - Finally finished Sense 8, debating on whether I’ll write up a full review ranking each characters storyline from best to worst. It definitely had it’s issues but I’m glad I watched it, the sci-fi concept was pretty unique, the various international locations and fun framing made it quite nice to look at, I appreciated the focus on the wide spectrum of sexualities, races, and identity, and in general it just had a fun cast of characters with various interesting plotlines. That being said, the main thing I’ll remember about it for awhile is how in the finale, my sister commented how surprising it was that the 2.5 hour special hadn’t featured a single sex scene in a series notorious for them, only for it to end with a 10-minute-long sex scene featuring every major character in the show intercut to look like one giant orgy, with the final shot of the entire series being a pan over to a used dildo. Wow. No notes, what a fitting end.

- Next In Fashion (TV) - “Watching” is strong word for what I’m doing with this, which is fast forwarding through to see the completed outfits at the end. Still, I do enjoy seeing what kinds of fashion people create when given specific prompts, it’s fun. I basically never agree with the judges though.

- Ranking of Kings (Anime) - Hey boy it’s me the haunted mirror from your childhood. Drink this potion made from your liquified dead father boy, It will grant you magical powers, believe me boy I would never lie to you.

- Gintama (Anime) - Yup.

- Welcome to Demon School! (Anime) - Weekly dose of wholesome fun, does a great job at making me love every single character.

- Last Week Tonight (TV) - We’re back! The story on AI awareness about killed me, I think more company's should employ robots that try to convince customers to leave their wives for them.

- The S Classes That I Raised (Webcomic) - Yup.

- Persona 5 Royal (Video Game) - Very funny to me that no less than 5 of the ladies confident storylines revolve around rekindling their connection with a close female friend. It’s like the writers were like hmm, so what is something women love in which they’ll base their entire lives around? I got it. Other women. Like based my dude but there are other women-centric stories out there. Also, if you’re gonna feed me all these wlw you gotta stop cockblocking me in my attempts to date Yusuke.

As usual I’m also keeping up with The Greatest Estate Developer, Land of the Lustrous, The Vampire Dies In No Time, and Buddy Daddies.

Listening to: I Really Want To Stay At Your House cover by Lunity, Brutal by Olivia Rodrigo, TOMBI by Kvi Baba, My Kind by Hilary Duff, This Is Not a Party by The Wombats, Odds Are by Barenaked Ladies, Nothing is Going Right by Meiyo, Snakes by PVRIS, The Sound by The 1975, Rule #4 by Fish in a Birdcage, They’re Only Human cover by Annapantsu, Kiss Me, Son of God by They Might Be Giants, Still Feel by Half-Alive, My Eyes by Neil Patrick Harris

#weekly roundup #My posts

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gnrbitch · 11 months

Text

Summer Break Pt.11 - Sanitarium

Warnings: lol the usual

Guys also i kindaaaaa forgot to mention that Y/n and John agreed to just be friends oops sorry but now you know!!!

Y/Ns outfit: https://www.tumblr.com/gnrbitch/719360471671734272/yns-outfit-for-pt11?source=share

----

Pt2 of Day 12, 1986

It was currently 11:10 of the night as Y/n and John walked their way to this party John had been non stop talking about.

To her surprise, Duff and Mandy never came back home. So Y/n left a note for her brother, telling him she was ‘sleeping over’ at Johns, which wasn’t really a lie, she was gonna crash at his place after the party anyways.

“You keep talking about this party, what’s so special about it?“ Y/n asked John.

She looked around to where they were heading, and they were getting frighteningly close to the hell house, Y/n prayed that this party wasn’t gonna be there.

“Its a metal mania party, a band named Metallica” John said

“Metallica? Holy shit I know them!” Y/n exclaimed as she turned to look at him.

John turned to look at her, surprised “You know them?”

Y/n corrected herself, “No not like i know them know them, but i know their music, they’re fucken sick”

John hummed, “Oh right, hey look we’re here!”

Y/n looked to the house John was motioning to, almost shitting herself as she saw that it was two houses down from the Hell House. She could only hope the guys wouldn’t be there.

John took her by the hand as he guided her into the house, heavy music blasting through her ears, the smell of beer filling her nose. I wonder what else they have in here, she wondered.

She quickly lost sight of John, internally cursing him out for leaving her alone.

Y/n tried to be as sneaky as she can, scanning the room to see if she could catch a glimpse of any of the five men she was trying to avoid. Specifically Slash and Duff, no explanation needed.

She finally felt safe enough to go wander around, maybe she could find the girl with the blue pills, then her night would go much smoother.

She roughly made her way to the kitchen, grabbing a beer from a concerningly dirty cooler and practically chugged it. The girl repeated this motion with three more beers.

Hearing one of her favorite songs come on, she bopped her head and mumbled to herself “Fucken love rem”

“Me too” said a voice next to her

Caught off guard, she looked to the person standing next to her, the girl smiled and responded “They’re a great fucken band. Surprised to hear them playing here”

The long haired man chuckled “Almost had to fight someone to play them”

Y/n laughed and raised her eyebrows “Jesus you must love them”

And when she said that, she realized who the fuck she was talking to, Cliff fucken Burton. Okay, she thought, keep it cool.

“Hell yea I do” Cliff smiled, “Plus this is my party, I could play whatever I want!”

Y/n laughed once again, “You’re in the band right?” she asked

“Well yes I am” He drunkenly said, his smile remaining on his face

“I fucken love your band dude, Ride The Lightning is my shit” Y/n said as she cracked open a beer, offering it to him.

“Why thank you, for the compliment and the beer” He said

“Well of course my good sir” She answered as she was now opening herself a beer.

“You’re pretty cool girl with no name” Cliff said smiling at her

“Thank you, Cliff” She looked at him, putting a little emphasis on his name, “My name is Y/n by the way, though girl with no name sounds sick”

Cliff laughed at her comment “Wow, look at me, already being recognized” He joked as he pretended to wipe away a tear.

Y/n smiled and rolled her eyes, “Seems like your song is over, Cliff, what's next on the menu?”

And just as Cliff could answer, Iron Maiden started to blast through the house, Cliff widened his eyes and laughed, “Well I guess that”

Y/n laughed as she heard a familiar voice in the distance, looking over her shoulder, she saw her brothers gold locks heading towards the kitchen. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. She thought.

Looking back at Cliff, she asked “Do you wanna go sit down or something?”

Cliff smiled “I’m so glad you said that, my fucken legs hurt”

“Alright then, lets go” she said as she grabbed her beer and walked out of the kitchen, turning her head to see Cliff following closely behind.

They sat down on a couch which was quite literally in the middle of the room, and Y/n hoped that with as many people as there were, she wouldn’t be spotted by her brother.

As they sat down, she saw John and some dude talking (they were also sitting on the couch).

John noticed her and smiled, “Lars, this is my friend Y/n” he said pointing at her, Lars turning around to look at her.

“I’m Lars, You guys know each other? Wait are you guys dating?” Lars said with his little danish accent. He spoke very quickly, Y/n noted.

“No not dating, just friends” Y/n said

Lars smirked at her, “Well in that case-”

“Don’t start pulling your moves on Y/n Lars” Cliff said as he looked back to the girl “I’m saving you, he’s a bit of a fucken chatterbox”

“Hey- Cliff! I heard that! Why are you always trying to-” Lars started as John cut him off

“Lars what was it that you were telling me about? Some chick you met in New York?” John said, giving Y/n a ‘Thank me later’ look as Lars put his attention back on John.

Y/n smiled at him as she turned her attention back to Cliff, “How was opening for Ozzy?” She asked, feeling a bit drunk

“It was so fucken cool, greatest time of my life” Cliff said as he smiled, laying back on the couch.

Y/n smiled along with him, she really couldn’t believe that she was right here, talking to Cliff on this old dirty couch, what fucken luck.

She turned her head to look at the crowd, and right when she was going to turn back to Cliff, she had to do a double take to see if her mind was fucking with her. But it wasn’t, Slash was staring at her as he stood behind Steven (Stevens back was facing Y/n, just for a little clarity), his eyes burning as they looked back and forth to her and Cliff.

“Shit” Y/n said aloud

“Whats wrong?” Cliff asked her, his eyes following to where Y/n was looking.

The pair on the couch looked at eachother again

“Boyfriend?” Cliff asked

Y/n sighed “Nope”

“Ex boyfriend?“

“Nope”

“I don’t believe you” Cliff sang to her as he smiled

Y/n smiled and rolled her eyes “You should, theres nothing going on”

“So why is he coming over?” Cliff told her, nodding her head towards the curly headed man approaching them.

Y/n looked ahead, seeing Slash walking over to her and Cliff. Shit the girl thought.

Cliff smiled at her before looking at Slash, “Hey man”

Slash nodded his head at him before looking at Y/n, “The fuck are you doing here?” He asked

Y/n rolled her eyes “Don’t start Slash”

Slash looked at Cliff and smirked, “Don’t waste your time on her, she not worth it”

“Well i wasn-” Cliff said, being cut off by Y/n scoffing and walking away.

Y/n pushed her way through the crowd, her frustration flowing through her body as she felt her throat closing up.

Making it to the hallway, she felt someone roughly grab her arm and pull her into a room. Hearing the sound of the door close, this someone turned on the lights.

Y/n’s face turned angry at the sight of the curly head in front of her.

“Fuck you Slash” Y/n said to him, turning around to leave. But Slash quickly closed the door back up.

Y/n scoffed as she looked to him “What? What the fuck do you want” she said, impatiently.

Slash stared at her, no words coming out of his mouth.

“You drag me in here and say fucking nothing” Y/n said, narrowing her eyes at him.

“I fucken hate you Slash” Y/n said “Why can’t you just leave me alone? Stop fucken tormenting me”

“Is that really how you feel?” Slash said, smirk on his face.

“Yea, it is. I don’t know what kind of sickly obsession you have over me, but you have to leave me the fuck alone.” Y/n said, staring right into his eyes

Slash could laugh, “I don’t really think thats what you want me to do”

Y/n could slap him, anger rushing through her body she said, “It is. Leave me alone. Everything you and I did meant nothing to me.” And Y/n meant it, this was just supposed to be some fun little thing between her and Slash, but he turned it into something fucken ugly.

“What the fuck do you mean it meant nothing?” Now Slash was the one becoming angry.

“Figure it out yourself dumbass” Y/n said as she finally made her way out the bathroom, walking to the living room.

She stopped at the couch she was on earlier, seeing John she spoke up, “Hey, I’m leaving”

“You’re leaving? Do you want me to go with you?” John asked her

“No its cool, its not far” Y/n said as she hugged him, “I’ll catch you later alright? Call me when you get home”

“Okay, get home safe” He said, sending her a little smile.

Y/n returned the smile, walking out of the house she came across Cliff.

“Leaving already?” He asked her

“Yea, gotta get home, it was cool meeting you” She smiled at him

Cliff drunkly smiled at her “It was cool meeting you too” He said as he bought her into a hug.

Y/ns smile remained on her face as their embrace ended, “Bye Cliff” she said as she finally left the premises (they were outside, like on the lawn or something).

The girls smile faded as she made her way home, tears filling her eyes at the anger she felt towards Slash. Fucken asshole.

She sniffled and wiped her eyes as she walked down the streets of Sunset Blvd, wanting to get to Duffs place already.

Y/n felt someone following her, her head turned to look over her shoulder. She sighed and closed her eyes as she continued to walk, recognizing the silhouette behind her.

“Y/n” The man called, Y/n gave no response as she began to walk faster.

“Y/n i swear to god” The voice called to her again. And again, Y/n didn’t say anything.

Y/n was close to her destination, if she could get to Duffs place fast enough, she could lock the doors.

And Y/n almost ran to get to the door, and just before she closed it, Slash’s hand slammed against it, opening it back up. He made his way inside and closed the door as Y/n walked towards their room.

“Y/n” He said

“I don’t wanna talk to you Slash” The girl said as she began to take her jacket off, looking for her pajamas.

Slash sighed, “Look im sorry”

Y/n scoffed, “Like thats gonna fix anything”

“I know its not, but i really am sorry” Slash said, his voice becoming gental

“Okay” Y/n said, pushing him away as she tried to make her way into her bathroom.

“Y/n comon just hear me out, look we can make this work” He said

“Make what work?” She asked, turning back around to look at him

“This” he motioned between them

“I- I don’t know. Slash” The girl sighed

“Just give it a chance, look I’ll take you out on a date tomorrow” He desperately said

“I can’t tomorrow, i’m already hanging with Duff” She said, trying to make an excuse

“Lets go during the night” He quickly responded

“Fine.” The girl said, turning around and walking to the bathroom, closing the door.

“Yes!” she heard Slash say from outside the bathroom, the walls were very thin here.

“Better be a good fucken date Slash” Y/n mumbled to herself.

-----

LOL i feel like this chapter isnt good.

Anyways I literallyyyyy forgot Y/n was supposed to be 16 LMFAO omg 😭. But im changing her age shes now freshly 18 yasss. Gonna go back and change her age in the other chapters LOL. Hope you guys enjoyed though!!!! till next time xxgnrbitch

Tagged: @hoodiesandicedcoffee

#slash gnr #gnr fanfiction #gnr fic #slash fanfiction #slash fic #slashfanfic #slashgnrfic #guns n roses fanfic #guns n roses fic #guns n roses imagine #guns n' roses #gnr #axlrosefic #gnr x reader #slash x reader

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nwdsc · 2 years

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(▶︎ DUO | Claudia Acuñaから)

DUO by Claudia Acuña

Reflection and re-dedication are steady themes in the life and work of Claudia Acuña. Following her dynamic debut on the NY scene in the 1990’s she recorded five albums as a leader, and then stepped away for a decade to raise her son and restore her power. Returning refreshed and reborn in 2019, Acuna delivered the Latin Grammy nominated album Turning Pages, representing reclamation, recovery, and documenting a major creative leap. As 2020 rocked the world we all experienced our own version of such a journey, asking ourselves important questions of intent and purpose. Claudia returned to a long time desire - to record a duets album of songs from her homeland, Chile. As the world slowed to a crawl, Acuna took this time to remember the past, to find the core of her dedication and the power of music. The result is DUO, 9 songs recorded with some of the finest musicians in the world. Entering the studio with the likes of Fred Hersch, Christian McBride, and Kenny Barron for an intimate recording put her in a vulnerable spot, but the ease and comfort of the experience set the tone. The simplicity of just two, feeling the music and letting it flow through them, brought her to a new place as a singer. Seven of the songs on DUO come from composers hailing from Chile, Cuba, Argentina, and Mexico, and one from the great Chick Corea. The final track is Acuña’s sole original composition, and speaks of her relationship with Mother Earth. ‘…at the end of the day we all walk alone, and we can discover our beauty when we see Earth and us as one’ Born July 3, 1971 in Santiago and raised in Concepcion, Acuña established herself on the Chilean jazz scene in her early 20s. When she arrived in New York City in 1995, Acuña quickly gained recognition as a leading voice on a scene rapidly being transformed by a wave of brilliant Latin American musicians. Part of the roiling scene centered on Small’s, she plunged into collaborations with masters such as Jason Lindner, Harry Whitaker, Arturo O'Farrill, Guillermo Klein, Avishai Cohen, Branford Marsalis, George Benson, Louie Vega, Danilo Perez, and Tom Harrill. Her five albums as a leader established Acuña as a creative force, from 2002’s Rhythm of Life (Verve) and 2004’s Luna (MaxJazz) though 2008’s In These Shoes (Zoho Music) and 2009’s strikingly beautiful En Este Momento (Marsalis Music). Whether putting her stamp on popular Latin American ballads, reimagining jazz standards from a South American perspective, or bringing infusing Afro-Caribbean material with a wide rhythmic sensibility, Acuña stands out as a passionate and emotionally incisive singer with a gleaming, burnished bronze tone. For much of the past decade she’s put her recording career on the back-burner to focus on raising her son. Instead of touring, she’s stayed closer to home, where her keen intelligence and intrepid spirit has made her the vocalist of choice for many of jazz’s most creative figures. クレジット2022年9月23日リリース 1. Medianoche Piano: Kenny Barron by: Patricio Manns & Horacio Salinas 2. Eclipse de Luna Bass: Christian McBride by: Margarida Lecuona 3. Razón de Vivir Piano: Carolina Calvache by: Victor Heredia 4. Jurame Piano : Fred Hersch by: Maria Grever 5. Manifiesto Violin: Regina Carter by: Victor Jara 6. Verdade Amarga Guitar: Russell Malone by: Agustin Lara 7. Piensa en Mi Piano: Arturo O'Farrill by: Agustin Lara 8. Crystal Silence Acapella/voice solo by: Chick Corea 9. Yo Bombo Lehuero: Claudia Acuña Voice: Claudia Acuna by: Claudia Acuna Producer's : Claudia Acuña & Marc Urselli Executive Producer : Kabir Sehgal Recorded & Mixed by Marc Urselli at EastSide Sound Additional Recording by Duff Harris Kenny Barron appears courtesy of Steinway & Son Fred Hersh appears courtesy of Steinway Piano & Palmetto Russell Malone appears courtesy of High Note Christian McBride appears courtesy of Mack Avenue Records / Brother Mister Productions Photo cover, art : Hollis King Clothing: Jahnkoy Hair and Makeup : Calwell Assistants : Izac Sissoko , Leslie Jean Bart Photo in the studio by : Tracey Yarard Thank you to all the amazing people who helped and encouraged me to make this album possible . You know who you are Gracias a todos los que me ayudaron a hacer este maravilloso álbum , ustedes saben quienes son .

#JZ #2209

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thesmokingguns · 3 years

Text

It’s 3AM and I love you

Word count: 848

A/N: I can’t believe 3AM is over. I’ve had so much fun writing it. I really hope you enjoy this last bit. it’s been an emotional ride so I tried to end it on a fluffy note!

Taglist: @littlemisscare-all @ayablackwood @thenobodies-inc @dannasixxworld @val-sixx @nikkisqueenofsleaze @rocknrollsoul76 @aggressive-slytherin @aligsilva00 @agroupiewhore @leatherandheels

It’s 3AM and I love you

I love the way you smell like lavender and clean skin. Taking deep breaths in of you calms me and makes my heart soar.

I love the way that your hand wraps around mine, like I’m the safest place in the world. You lay in my arms letting me hold you, cuddle you, and keep you safe.

My heart is full of you. Everything I wanted and even more.

You almost weren’t here with me. I didn’t even know that you were growing in your Mama’s belly until I woke up, hungover and found her curled in my arms. My hand had found its way under the shirt she was wearing and onto the warmth of her skin, and you.

I’d like to say that I reacted calmly and collected. That it was this joyous moment where our lives fell together but that’s not what had happened.

I had yelled and your mother had cried.

And not the tears she gets now but I fill out sobbing. The type of crying I’m supposed to take her in my arms for and protect her from. No, I caused her tears.

I was so mad.

I felt betrayed that she had gotten pregnant. How could she judge me so badly when she had gotten knocked up.

And then she screamed between sobs the words that changed it all.

“It’s yours Duff. It’s your baby.” And we stood there, me shaking with rage and anxiety and her sobbing these big deep sobs. A bed between us as the information was dropped on me like a cold bucket of water.

“What?”

There was silence in the room except for the sniffing and sobs she was trying to get under control. Her eyes finally landed on me, sad broken eyes that were so different from the ones that used to light up with laughter.

“I found out a month or so after I left. I didn’t know what to do so I went to a clinic to….” Her eyes went downcast and I knew what the next statement would be. She wiped at her eyes, the hurt in them as she swallowed, “But she was a part of you and it’s selfish that I couldn’t let you go but I needed her. I needed-.” She swallowed.

Me. She needed me.

And I need her.

So our love story was rocky and unexpected. The twists and turns were unexpected to us but we had you.

A baby girl. Our baby girl.

You. With your chubby cheeks and silly smiles. The big eyes like your mama. Hopefully you’d be a lot like your mama.

Her heart was big enough to love me after I broken it. And it made me love her even more fiercely.

“Duff?” Her soft voice, the padding of feet and there she was, baby girl. Your mama.

Even in her sleep deprived state, my shirt hanging around her and her hair a mess of bed head she was still the most beautiful woman in the world.

“Hello Mrs. McKagan.” The blush of her cheeks and she touched her face, walking over to me, laying a kiss on your sweet baby head before cuddling up beside me.

My wife.

Married three months after our little Angel was born. A small ceremony in the backyard of my parents house in Seattle. She wore this lace dress that she found in some thrift store and wore a crown of flowers. She was barefoot in the grass and the most beautiful person I had ever met.

And you were their cooing in my mothers arms until your mama gave me that look and grabbed you, holding you between us.

Because we loved you. And you were part of this.

“It’s 3am, put her down and come to bed with me.” She whispered as I looked down. Sleeping softly, an image of peace and beauty.

So we laid her in the crib and I was guiding you back to bed.

Because it’s 3AM and the quiet night sounds better when the sound of her in my ears. Telling me how she loves me as her body does the same.

The feeling of her body under mine and on top of mine and all the places as we literally rolled in the sheets consuming each other like starving fiends.

Lips and teeth and words all mixed together in a potion of love. Me and here. Forever.

Our hands interlocking, the feeling of her wedding ring cold on my skin. Mine.

My wife. My love. My world.

My daughter's mother. The two girls who made my life like a summer's day, warm sun and splashing in the pool. Laughter and happiness. And the long days and warm nights.

With them I had everything. The whole world seemed to be in the palm of my hand.

Holding her in my arms, her hair in my fingers as I ease her to bed. Silence broke by small mews of a sleeping one year old.

It’s 3am and I love them. And they love me.

#duff mckagan #duff mckagan headcanon #duff gnr #duff mckagan fan fiction #duff mckagan imagine #duff mckagan fanfic #duff mckagan x reader #duff McKagan GNr

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guns-n-jovi · 1 year

Text

The Date

(Creative title, I know, but I could LITERALLY think of nothing else 😂).

Requested by: @sublies-flipphone

Request: Duff X a punk reader going on a date to a bar to watch some band play, and on the walk back she gets to wear his jacket, and when they get back axl is just there looking at them really confused

Notes: It's shorter than I had hoped it would be, but I did the best I could with this prompt! (Not to diss the prompt or anything- it was a good one and super cute, and I did enjoy writing it.) Also, just a reminder for everyone- requests ARE closed. I made a post about it, and now I can't find that post. Lovely. I'll probably start them up again at some point, but for now, they are closed. 🙏

Word count: 1,147

Warnings: None!

On our walk down the strip, we drifted in a cloud of cigarette smoke under the fading colors of the setting sun. We hadn’t said very much to each other, Duff and I- except for my embarrassingly giddy greeting followed by his attractive but hollow chuckle. Of course, I had no reason not to talk to my date, except for something I considered too trivial even to call attention to. But, I’d forgotten Duff was a keen observer. I’d noticed that about him. So even if I was in a fine mood, he’d notice if I wasn’t talking. Finally, he stretched his arms out and frowned.

“Hey, to be goin’ out on a date with me, you sure don’t seem very happy,” he said.

I looked at him. “I’m perfectly happy,” I said. “I’m excited for our date and the night is beautiful. I just hope I enjoy the band we’re seeing. There’s no way they’re as good as Guns.”

Duff blushed. Grinning, he sheepishly muttered, “Oh, you flatter me too much.”

My eyes twinkled. “You know it’s true.”

The band we saw play at the bar that night was a decent one- a typical one of that era. Young, good-looking young men with inflated clouds of hair stamped on stage to the sounds of electric guitar shreds and harsh drum beats. But they were not Guns N’ Roses. Ever since the night I’d watched my date’s band perform as a relatively unknown group on the strip, I’d been spoiled for any other band. Their dark, gritty songs and attractive looks had me thinking they were the greatest band to ever exist already, even before they skyrocketed into fame.

I had the same sort of idea when I thought of Duff. During our date, I would glance over at him, the glow of the red-blinking lights on his smooth, fair face. I found myself smiling. When I studied his light, silky hair, dark eyebrows and blue eyes, I thought surely he was the most attractive man who’d ever lived and that no one else could ever compare. Though I hadn’t known him for very long, and this was one of our first dates still, I had a feeling about him I didn’t know it was possible to have. A strong feeling- one I could not carry to him with the fallible strength of words. So I said nothing, hoping the twinkle of my eyes and vague smile on my burgundy lips would do the talking for me.

“That was pretty sick,” Duff was raving, as we walked down the sidewalk a few hours later. “Wasn’t that just the coolest thing you’ve ever seen, Y/N?”

I smiled. “I did enjoy it. But truth be told, I’m enjoying the walk back to the apartment now, too. So I’m glad it’s over, in a way.”

Duff was grinning stupidly as we talked. Finally, he said, “Okay.”

Still, I sensed feelings in him that were as strong as my own. And that they were why he struggled for words now.

Unlike the walk to the bar, I now had a good reason to be upset. I’d come to the show wearing all black, with my pride and joy in that outfit being a gorgeous, expensive black leather jacket. It was shiny and cool to the touch, with shiny, slick fabric on the interior side. The night had been about as chilly as a night could get in Los Angeles in the middle of fall, and I was now without that cherished coat. It had been stolen in the mob-like crowd that was screaming around the small stage. That crowd had been so large in comparison to the stage it looked as if it would swallow the stage whole, and my jacket had been lost in it when I’d taken it off. I was sure it would be sold for money that would be used on booze or other forms of mischief. Now, a coolness was coating my arms and I found my hands running up and down them for warmth. Duff noticed.

“You cold?” He asked me.

“Not cold,” I replied. “Just a little chilly. Of course, I’ll be fine once we get to the apartment-”

I paused. Duff had stopped on the sidewalk and was now shedding his large, light-colored denim coat. Once it was in his gloved hands, he set in heavily down on my shoulders. It was so big it weighed my shoulders down at first touch. When I straightened, my heart skipped a beat. It was warm and smelled like his cologne, but faintly smelled of sweat, spilled alcohol and cigarette smoke. I liked it. I smiled shyly.

“Thanks, Duff,” I slipped my arms in the gaping sleeves and pulled it together over my chest. It felt like he was hugging me.

“Don’t mention it,” Duff blushed. “You need it more than I do.”

I batted my eyelashes, and then looked down. My cheeks were hot- I knew I was blushing.

When we entered the apartment, the scene we came back to was not very surprising. The other guys were walking around the apartment with alcohol bottles swinging in their hands. Four girls were seated on the sofa, their red lips puckered as their bright eyes followed them. Their legs were crossed and their hands were folded, and they were completely still, as if posing for a portrait. They were perfectly arranged there.

Axl walked into the room. He grinned and winked a quick eye at one of the girls who was blonde and had rosy, round cheeks framed by a sharp, blonde haircut.

“I’ll be right with ya’, hon’,” he snickered. “Thanks for being patient-“

He stopped. He stared at me for the longest time. He looked stunned to see me, but surely, Duff bringing back dates was not unusual. I glanced up at Duff. Axl’s eyes followed mine up to Duff. Finally, he released a little puff from his mouth and flung his hand in my direction. “Is that Duff’s jacket?” he gruffly asked.

Without missing even half a beat, Duff said, “Is that my vintage Stones shirt?”

He pointed to the black T-shirt Axl was wearing that bore the Rolling Stones’ iconic emblem. Axl blushed faintly.

“You shouldn’t leave your stuff just lyin’ around,” he said. “And you shouldn’t be giving your jacket to a girl who wasn’t responsible enough to bring one of her own.”

His eyes lingered on me. The girls seated in matching positions on the sofa darted their eyes in sync to Axl, peering over his thin shoulder for his face.

“You’d do the same,” Duff said. “Who knows? You might even be jealous of me.”

Duff put his arm around me and led me to the fridge, where he cracked open an aluminum can of beer. Behind him, Axl stood, his eyes still lowered. But he wasn’t mad.

Tagging some other Duff girls so they can see it before it gets lost! @greeneyezblackheart and @risingtripletaurus. Only if you all would like to read it- no pressure, of course! 🖤

#Duff McKagan #Guns N' Roses

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