they're so fuckign annoying

Now it's your turn :))

orchid ⇢ what’s a song you consider to be perfect?

cactus ⇢ something you’re currently learning (about)?

bamboo ⇢ do you change into a different outfit when you get home?

abelia ⇢ do you have a particular piece of jewelry you always wear or can’t part with?

daffodil ⇢ do you have siblings? if yes, in what ways do you think you’re similar to or different from them?

mahonia ⇢ what place, thing, activity inspires you most and how do you express yourself when it does?

chia ⇢ what’s an inside joke you have with someone else?

sage ⇢ what ‘medium’ of art (poetry, music, fiction, paintings, statues etc.) is the most touching to you? why do you think that is?

edelweiss ⇢ how’d you think of your url/username? what’s it associated with to you?

camellia ⇢ what were you like when you were younger? do you think you’ve changed a lot?

jasmine ⇢ do you have a movie or book you loved but will never watch/read again?

ivy ⇢ what are your ‘tells’ for your emotions and moods? how can someone tell you’re happy, annoyed, upset or tired?

chamomile ⇢ what kind of things do you like receiving as gifts?

aloe vera ⇢ what’s something (mundane) you really want to experience in life?

palm tree ⇢ do you have a fictional villain you shouldn’t like but love regardless?

nutmeg ⇢ how’s your room/home decorated? do you have a specific theme or style going on?

papyrus ⇢ if you put your ‘on repeat’ playlist on shuffle, what’s the first song that comes up? what do you like about it / associate it with?

taro ⇢ if someone called you right now to catch up, what’re the things you’d tell them about?

orchid ⇢ Oh gosh, I love sooooo many songs. A song I consider to be perfect... idk. I'll have to say Always Be My Baby by Mariah Carey because it's my current obsession lol.

cactus ⇢ The Philosophy of Love. It's so cool. The Biblical Philosophy of Desire and Knowledge, Plato's Theory of Love and Becoming, The Medieval/Arabian concept of Courtly Love. They are all sooooo cool and sooooo fascinating and I love them all dearly.

bamboo ⇢ I go to school at home so I never really leave. And when I do leave to go somewhere on the weekend or such, I take a shower when I come home.

abelia ⇢ Not really, aside from this sterling silver cross necklace I got for my birthday last year. It's really cool and I love it hehehe

daffodil ⇢ So I have 3, all sisters. I don't really think i'm that similar to my older sister. Aside from sharing the same father, we're pretty different. With my two younger sisters, I look like the older of the two, however I'm nicer like the younger one.

mahonia ⇢ I try to take inspiration from literally everything. So... anything you can imagine lol. Whenever inspriation hits me I just start talking out loud. Usually it becomes a line for a poem. And i just recite that line out loud over and over until i get more lines. And then repeat. Usually i end up with a couple stanzas, constantly editing and revising in my mind the entire time until it's perfect. Or, near perfect as it can get.

chia ⇢ Me and my baby sister (she's 8 but always the baby) will constantly recite Benedick and Beatrice's lines to each other. Especially their first conversation in the play. Much Ado About Nothing is soooooo good loll. And then with @jordie-is-definitely-sane, we have incest is wincest lol. Because I love traumatizing her hehehe

sage ⇢ haha. I can't choose either. How could anyone??? I'm an aspiring actor, poet, and author, so obviously my favorites are theatre, poetry and prose fiction. But also music, paintings, sculpting, dance, et cetera all have such splendid things to offer as well. And i would love to learn how to do them all! They're all art and they all touch somewhere hands can't: into the deepest most inner part of your being. How one can say which is individually more touching? I can't fathom.

edelweiss ⇢ It's just my name + is definitely sane. Which is definitely a lie lol. My older one's were a lot more interesting but because of that i also constantly changed them lol. This one's more basic, but i'm never changing it

camellia ⇢ I'm not sure. I was happier as a kid, I used to run around more and talk more and I had a lot more friends irl. Now? I don't really know how to hold a conversation (T-T), I definitely talk less (not because i have less to say tho lol. Trust me I could talk for hours and I do when i'm alone), I definitely don't run around as much. Tho i'm not as sad about that last one. I have started dancing in the rain again like I used to so that's good :). I still read and write, in fact I do both of those even more then when i was younger. I still find beauty in everything. I still have an incredibly idealized view of nature and childhood. I still have a deep sense of needing to be myself (who that is? idk. but i need to find it) I think deep down I'm the same person. Just, kind of mellowed. I can't think of childhood and growing up without think of Trenton Lee Stewart's Riddle of Ages; he says that he doesn’t believe we become different people as we age. No, he says he believes that we become more people. We’re still the kids we were, but we’re also the people who’ve lived all the different ages since that time. And I think that's a beautiful sentiment.

jasmine ⇢ No. Absolutely not. If I loved it, im going to watch/reread it a thousand more times.

ivy ⇢ Body language, eyes, mouth, tone, the language they use (are they talking differently then usual), hands, etc.

chamomile ⇢ Books, chocolates, sweaters/hoodies, necklaces and bracelets (i love expensive shiny stuff but also that homey handmade stuff. I eat it up), MONEY$$$$$ lol. But like seriously.

aloe vera ⇢ I just want to know and be known. Which, though it sounds really mundane to others, I think is actually one of the most special, transcendental and divine things one can do in life (can you tell I've been studying the philosophy of love lol?). I genuinely believe in the Avicenna's concept of the ennobling power of love. With all of my heart.

palm tree ⇢ I mean... I can't really think of one? I love the Percy Jackson series and I love Luke so, i guess him? I have strong thoughts about him (bbg hates the West so much but is such a western tragic hero lol), he's so fascinating as a character and even moreso as a concept lol

nutmeg ⇢ My rooms pretty basic so no lol.

papyrus ⇢ I don't have one T-T. So i just picked a random song: ICU by Coco Jones. I associate it with @mera-mann-kehne-laga. No context.

taro ⇢ I'd probably tell them that I'm writing poetry, I'm working on 2 books, and that I scored a 28 on the ACT. I'm very bad at conversation so I probably just let them talk and listen to them, ask them questions to prod them, etc.

Thank you for the ask @memory-the-unconscious <333

From Luck to Jesse

Summary: The day of their daughter's birth, Luck is confronted with fear and hesitation. Magna is there to reassure his husband though. They're fathers in this together. Genre: general, some hurt-comfort Word count: ~1000 Warning: brief mentions of abuse

..........

When it came time to cut open the blood cocoon and truly bring their new daughter into the world, Luck ran into the room before Magna. His smile stretched across his face, bright enough to rival the look he wore during their wedding. He stopped in front of the blood cocoon and stared at it for a moment.

It's time. Our little girl is ready for the world, Luck thought to himself.

Luck glanced over his shoulder to see Magna speed-walk in after him. Magna smiled, half annoyed-half amused.

"Man, someone's too excited 'round here."

"Maybe you're not excited enough! Get over here already, Magna!"

"Alrigh' alrigh'!"

Once a tub of warm water and a soft towel was prepped, Magna brought out a medical kit and a clean scalpel to cut the cocoon. The husbands shared a look before Manga pressed the blade into the cocoon's surface and glided it through.

With the seal broken, the magic blood within began to dissipate like steam. As the blood faded, a small, pink shape was revealed. A baby, their baby, their daughter. Bits of blood and other fluid clung to the infant's body. She had already begun crying and wriggling. She was alive and a fighter!

With Magna still holding the scalpel, Luck instinctively moved to pick up the baby.

Smack!

Carissa loomed over Luck, looking upon him with contempt. Her hand, hovering close to where he once stood, had been cold.

Luck saw how close his hand was to touching his daughter. He curled his fingers back before withdrawing his whole hand.

"Luck?" Magna's voice was a distant echo in his ears.

"I… I shouldn't…" Luck took a step back as he whispered those words. "Magna, I don't…"

It only took a second for Magna to change gears. He'd already set down the scalpel and wiped his hands so he picked up the baby and moved her to the tub.

Luck quietly watched his husband gently, oh so tenderly, washed their daughter off. He watched and wished he wasn't so afraid of what his own hands could do.

While Magna cleaned up their daughter, Luck shuffled to the bedroom and sat on the bed's edge.

Why did he hesitate all of a sudden? He'd never hesitated when handling children before. He wasn't Sterling's favorite but he always treated her with care. Hikari loved to roughhouse with him. Finral and Mallory's sons would gang up on him. Hell, he'd even held many of the children as babies. So then why couldn't he touch his own daughter?

The mattress shifted under the weight of another person.

"She's all clean now," Magna said in a neutral tone. "Even fell asleep while I bathed her."

Luck looked to the side. And sure enough, the babe was already sound asleep an swaddled like a newborn should've been. Her little fighter instinct was already tired out. A smile cracked Luck's somber face.

"Wanna hold her?" Magna offered with a grin.

Immediately, Luck's mood dropped. Magna saw that and sighed.

"Well, at least get a good look at her." Magna scooted closer until he and Luck were shoulder-to-shoulder. "She's got your hair." He shifted his arms a bit as he tried to point to her forehead and barely present locks. "The color's there at least. But I really hope it's as fluffy as yours too. She'll be the cutest gal in town and then we can be like 'hey, not flirting with my daughter.'"

"Mhm…"

Magna and Luck sat in silence for a while longer. Their daughter slept peacefully in Magna's arms.

"Luck, you don't gotta worry about hurting her, y'know… You love her too much for that."

At his words, Luck cringed.

"My mom loved me and yet she still…" Luck threw his head back and groaned. "She loved me, I know she did. She had to have loved me!" Luck bit his lip when he noticed how loud he was getting. He held still for a moment, watching if the baby stirred. And when she remained serene, he went on, "But that didn't stop her from hitting me… How do I know I won't end up the same?"

Magna leaned in and bonked his head against Luck's.

"There's a lot of things that'll stop you," Magna muttered. "For one, I'd skin your ass if you tried to hurt our baby. Second, the squad would crucify you. But you'd also kick your own ass if you did." He sat upright and looked Luck in the eye. "Also, look at where you are in life. You've got a stable job and home. You've got a husband and more friends than you can count to watch your back. And you've got the mind to hesitate and consider your actions towards your child. You won't hurt her, I promise."

Luck listened to Magna. How his husky voice was warm with reassurance. He watched Magna's face. How his eyes lit up at the mention of them being married and his lips were smiling with confidence. He let the words sink into him.

And Magna was right.

Luck had everything his mom lacked when she raised him. She loved him but she was so vulnerable and alone. It didn't excuse a thing. But it put into perspective her lashing out at him.

Luck looked at his daughter again. She was so small and helpless. He reached out and touched the edge of her blanket.

"Do you wanna hold her now?" Magna shifted, as if to hand the baby over. And Luck pulled his hand back before his finger could brush his daughter's cheek.

"… Not yet. She looks so comfy in your arms right now. Maybe tomorrow though."

"Heh. Let's hope she doesn't get too comfy with me before then. Or maybe she's already chosen me as her favorite dad!"

"Hah!" Luck bumped Magna with his elbow. "I won't let you win, Magna!"

The men shared a laugh before turning their eyes to their daughter again. The gift that they’d been given.

Location: Capitol cell block, day 60 @sterlingwhitvale

Cecelia hadn't moved since she had been returned to her cell after her visit with President Snow. She had curled up on the cot in the back of her cell and listened as the others had been taken and returned, to the sobs of the other captives as they grieved for more lives lost. How many losses were enough? When would President Snow decide that enough was enough?

When was she going to see her son again? Where was he right now? Was he safe? Did he still remember her and Sterling or had the Capitol followed through with their promises to make him forget them?

She was in that in-between place of being awake and asleep when she heard the voices. They were faint at first, and she thought...she thought she heard Sterling's voice, but she was sure that it was a dream. Cecelia tried to close her eyes tighter, wanting to hold onto Sterling's voice for a little while longer.

The noises got louder, though, and she forced herself to open her eyes, annoyed that Peacekeepers were coming in again. What fresh hell had they come up with this time? Hadn't they all suffered enough? She could hear shuffling in the cellblock now, and doors starting to rattle, and she felt her heart start to pound. Why were there so many footsteps? Was this it? Had Snow tired of them?

Her door swung open and she froze. Standing in the doorway was a man who looked like her husband. But it couldn't be Sterling. It was a trick, another Capitol trick. But then she saw the look in the man's eyes and she knew. Her heart started to race in her chest as she heard more snippets of conversations around them.

"Sterling?" She whispered. "Am I dreaming?"

Another Getting to Know You

Tagged by @plisuu (and @blarrghe!), ty sweet pea 💖

not tagging anyone directly since most everyone has already done it or been tagged by now :) but if you see this and would like to do it, go for it! tag me, I love seeing your responses

Nickname(s): Viper

Sign: Just Aries (I don’t astrology lol)

Height: 5’7”, 170cm

Last thing I googled: Peranakan food - I was watching some annoying food blogger show on HBO. He was in Singapore and the food looked so good. But I am so tired of the over exaggerated food eating reactions from people like that.

Song stuck in my head: hmm honestly I don’t know. Maybe 'No Way to Live' by Stick to Your Guns. But it’s less “singing along” stuck in my head and more just thinking about the vibes of the song.

Amount of Sleep: about 7.5 hours today, which is more than normal. I’ve not been sleeping well for months now, usually 4-5 hours a night.

Dream Job: Yeah, what Sterling said - I do not dream of labor. To be community focused, though, I would probably work in a very specific type of healthcare or also potentially animal welfare.

Wearing: Joggers and a band tee from the last show I saw

Movies/Books that Summarize You: what a question for someone with no sense of self lol

Favorite Song: I am not good at narrowing down stuff like this. So here’s 3 good songs from my favorite bands — “Slaughterhouse” by Motionless in White, “Wonderful Wonderful” by The Killers, and “Trade Mistakes” by Panic! at the Disco. Throwing in some normal stuff haha

Instrument: Is this favorite instrument or what we play? Because I do not play any instruments. So I’ll just put drums here because blast beats my beloved.

Aesthetic: Hmm I don’t really dress for any of the aesthetics I prefer. I really love things like yumekawaii and fairy kei.  

Favorite Author: I don’t do a lot of reading anymore. But I’ll say L.A. Meyer because his Bloody Jack books were so important to me as a young adult.

Random Fun Fact: About me? I don't know how to ride a bike and I have 4 cats.

Another general meme: rules: repost, don’t reblog. just pick a muse of yours and fill it out. [though I did get tagged]

basics

▸ is your muse tall/short/average? Canonically, Jonathan is 6'3'', or 190.5 cm, and I see no reason not to keep his canon height. So, he's definitely tall. That's mostly due to the Marfan Syndrome, but also his parents were decently tall for their ethnicities and ages.

▸ are they okay with their height? He sees no reason not to be. If he was short he'd just wear bigger shoes.

▸ what’s their hair like? A firm natural 3C, the color of hickory wood. It's peppered with Bride of Frankenstein-esque white streaks, as well as strands of silver. It's usually worn loose and down to his shoulders, though sometimes he'll tie it back or utilize hairpins. His body hair is a fine grayish-black in color, and very thin. Carpet matches the drapes and whatnot.

▸ do they spend a lot of time on their hair/with their grooming? At least an hour each morning/night on maintaining his hair, if not two. Lot of creams and powders and hot oil treatments to get that looking acceptable. When he's in prison, however, all that goes out the proverbial window. As for the rest of his body hair, he cuts and roughly shapes it every half year or so. It's slow growing and therefore low maintenance in his eyes. Does not manscape, though. He's too lazy to take a weed whacker to that apart from when it gets itchy.

▸ does your muse care about their appearance?  Aside from the hair? Not really, no. He views his hair as his best feature, that's plain enough to see. Also he has a limited amount of energy and spends most of his days unconscious now that he's crossed into the twilight of his life.

▸ does your muse care about what others think about them?  No? He's old as shit, why would he? Aside from being varying levels of annoyed when people press him to come out of retirement, that is. Then you can get bent. Preferably with a cactus.

preferences

▸ indoors or outdoors? I said in a previous meme that he's wholly indifferent, so either.

▸ rain or sunshine? Rain, no contest. He enjoys the smell, and just generally being around it soothes him.

▸ forest or beach? Forest....at least there's significantly less of a chance he accidentally eats sand, and he can't swim anyways.

▸ precious metals or gems? *Archie cries in lapidary with weird hours* Also mentioned this before! He used to do his own custom metalwork on the side, and quite enjoys how 925 sterling silver and platinum hold up. Of course, his scythe is reinforced steel coupled with meteoric iron and the claw gauntlet is various alloys.

▸ flowers or perfumes? Perfumes. He is often to be found wearing a few squirts from a [usually stolen] bottle of Viktor and Rolf's Spicebomb.

▸ personality or appearance? Appearance just for a quick fuck, personality if he really wants to get to know a person. And believe me, he'll let you know if he wants to get to know you. At his age, he sees little reason to beat around the bush.

▸ being alone or being in a crowd?  Far easier to blend in with crowds. ;)

▸ order or anarchy? Literally does not give two shits.

▸ painful truths or white lies? Depends on the truth. He may be smart enough to see through lies, but that doesn't mean the truth doesn't hurt. Sometimes it's better to lie to him, even if he won't necessarily believe it.

▸ science or magic? A man of science through and through, although like I've said on Discord if there was ever a magical chance for him to have both sets of [relatively functional] genitalia he'd take it. He's just not someone who's comfortable with one or the other simply due to how long he's lived without having bottom surgery in the first place.

▸ peace or conflict? Peace please god he is so old and so very tired.

▸ night or day?  He's always been borderline nocturnal, so night. Even if he can't see for shit.

▸ dusk or dawn? Dawn. There's something comforting about an early morning, where no one is awake to question or hurt you. Plus, morning sex lmao

▸ many acquaintances or a few close friends? A small number of close friends. Arguably, all he's ever wanted was to trust people.

▸ reading or playing a game? Reading. Again, no contest there. It's a core trait of the canon character that he's bookish.

questionnaire

▸ what are some of your muse’s bad habits? Files his nails with his scythe, cannot communicate with other people for shit as he finds expressing emotion physically painful, usually has sleep for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Chronically dehydrated as being born premature causes a misfire in his body's thirst and hunger signals.

▸ has your muse lost anyone close to them? how has it affected them? Multiple of his children. Also his father Gerasimos, but he never knew his father and will forever remain indifferent. The postpartum depression hit him hard, progressing into Complex Bereavement Disorder. He also kept his offspring in jars like the old timey circus freakshow pickled punks for a number of years [far longer than necessary].

▸ what are some fond memories your muse has? Caitlin Snow calling him "Dad" for the first time, realizing he loved Katana while the Squad was on a mission in Jakarta to gather intel regarding a new branch of the triads that had popped up there. Holding his daughter with Iceberg before she took her last breath, honestly getting knocked up in his 60's was a pleasant surprise. Hanging out with Kite-Man has also been generally pretty good for him.

▸ is it easy for your muse to kill? Physically? He's tall but he's scrawny, quite easily overpowered by those of a higher weight class or with the ability to build actual muscle. So....more trouble than it's worth, sometimes. His real strength lies in his ability to manipulate; he doesn't need any fancy chemicals to drive a man to suicide.

▸ what’s it like when your muse breaks down? Not pretty. He self-mutilates, and it's a choice of either stopping him or watching him rip and tear himself out of existence. Crying is rare, but can happen. Still, he prefers not to show weakness in front of other people.

▸ is your muse capable of trusting someone with their life? It's an honor if he does, and a sign of respect. So far, the only people who have received that honor were Floyd Lawton, my version of Hugo Strange, Charles "Chuck, Charlie" Brown, and Tatsu Toro.

Tagging:

....IDK I'm tired, if you see this and want to do it go for it?

Sticky Fingers

Vasile cel Tradat, known as the Beast of Barovia, was not one to make enemies with. The leader of the few Vistani who directly opposed Strahd (known as the Untamed), his enclave of fighters and magicians, is known for being the feisty type, always looking for a fight. Vasile got his moniker from the tales of tearing hoards of undead apart with his bare hands, his group destroying many monsters of Strahd’s creation to simply spite him. While the Count has always pardoned the Vistani as a whole due to their ancestors’ kindness, he had grown annoyed by Vasile and his band of brutes, slowly sending more and more monsters their way in order to deal with them or at least snuff the flame of rebellion. Vasile had to adapt, of course, which led them to where he stood on this day.

The Untamed had traveled beyond the mists, their armored wagons pulled by strong oxen. Vasile was on the search for greater weapons than the clans’ great axes and spells. One’s of firepower beyond the imaginings of even the strongest warriors from an ancient land.

Accompanying them was a girl, young in comparison to the seasoned fighters. She seemed recluse, quietly observing her clan from the perch of a wagon bench. She was unlike them, not adorned in armor or armed with martial weapons or spellbooks. No, she kept to her traditional Vistani curta, her mother’s necklace clasped around her neck, which she fiddled with when staring off into the distance. 

“What are you thinking about, srećo?” The gruff voice of Vasile spoke up from where he headed the very same cart that she was sitting in. 

“Nothing, ujak. I’m simply tired of traveling in this cursed wagon. Where are we even going, anyway? You said it would only be a three-day trip, and now it has been a half-moon.” The girl huffed indignantly.

Vasile’s nose crinkled a bit, chuckling at her ferocity. “Ever as your mother.” He chuckled a bit. “Cheer up, we are almost there. This man we are seeking is slippery, he is a merchant of many wonders, none the like you have ever seen. He has promised us weapons in return for ferrying him into Barovia.”

It’s her turn to wrinkle her nose. “Who would want to enter Barovia, at their own will? Does he not know he will likely die there?”

Vasile shrugs a bit, a twinkle in his violet eyes as he looks back at his adopted daughter. “He says he is looking for someone and nothing more. He is offering us a trade we cannot refuse.”

The sky was dark today, much like Barovia. Clouds hung low in the sky, obscuring the mountains in the distance a downpour raged around them. A wind was coming in from the Northern mountains, cold and unforgiving to those who did not dress properly. The girl pulled her purple shawl around her tightly. In the distance, a figure merged from the gloom, waiting beneath a great oak tree that was not far off the well-beaten road. He stood waiting, a wood crate beside him. 

The girl’s one good eye narrowed, focusing on the man standing in the distance. “Is that him?”

Vasile chuckled, pulling the oxen to a halt. “I hope so.” He dismounted from the driver’s seat of the wagon, turning toward a tall Vistani man who had been riding beside the wagon. “Keep an eye on him while we… Converse. I would hope that he is as hospitable as he was in his writing.”

Sterling checked his crate for the fifth, sixth time. Whistling softly to himself, he shuddered at the cold. The leather duster cloaking his thin, wiry frame did well to protect against most of it, and the wide-brimmed hat he wore sloughed the rain off onto his covered shoulders. In the crate were three repeating rifles and two revolvers, along with a handful of boxes of ammunition. Layered under the straw, though? That was a secret that he wouldn't be sharing with the Vistani today. He tapped his fingers on the lid of the box, adding another drumroll to the rain's cacophony. A faint wisp of smoke stemmed from an orange glow under his hat, the scent of premium tobacco permeating his vicinity. With a faint exhale, a ghostly expulsion escaped him.

A long whistle escaped the man as he takes a few steps around his crate to stand in front of it. His spurs jingle with each footfall. He rests his hands around his belt, framing the simple, elegant buckle. 

"Hey there, big fella," Sterling called out, his Anaurochi drawl muddling some of his words. He extended a hand, thin and lanky, with a particularly notable gold skull ring around his index finger. "Good t' make yer acquaintance. Sterling John Moses Winchester, at yer' service." As he looked up to face the man, an almost sinister grin on his face, framed by a thick mustache, came into view as a cigarette hung limply between his upturned lips. His eyes, a piercing green, locked on to the giant's.

Vasile smirks down at the measly excuse of a man, letting out a hearty chuckle as he takes his hand to shake it. His grip is damn near bone-crushing, his meaty paw entirely engulfing Sterling’s hand. He gives him a firm shake, nodding a bit in greeting. “Ah, a pleasure to finally meet you! I am Vasile cel Tradat, from the letters. I trust you have had a safe journey from where you come from, eh?” He smiles, releasing his hand as his eyes wander down to the crate behind the man.

The girl watches from a distance, her keen eye fixed on the stranger. She pulls her shawl up like a hood, slipping down from the seat on the wagon, her heart set on joining Vasile to learn about these “great weapons” he spoke so highly of. As she slid down, her brown boots hit the slick mud. The tall ranger on horseback looked down, tipping his head. 

“Mali miš, it is perhaps best if you do not join him. He is doing business.” The Vistana said, his dark hair soaking the sides of his lean face.

“Arrigal, I can take care of myself, I am not a little girl anymore.” She huffs, not turning to even look at him as she made her way across the road to where the two men stood.

Vasile seems to hear the footsteps, turning to look at the girl walking over. “Ah, my dear! Sterling, allow me to introduce you to my daughter, Nadia. She has accompanied me to see how business is done.” Vasile smiles kindly, putting a large hand on her shoulder. She is just shorter than Sterling, so they are almost eye-to-eye. She simply glares, almost suspicious of the man’s actions. She is a pretty little thing, with coarse, black waves of hair framing her face in a bob. She wears a slip of dyed leather to cover one eye. Vasile, not impressed by her attitude and silence, nudges her gently. “Be polite. Say hello.”

Her eyes narrow stubbornly, almost like a scolded child despite her being in her twenties. “Hello.” She huffs at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Madam." The gunslinger intoned with a polite tip of the hat. His smile shifted slightly when he addressed her, looking more... Genuine. Friendly, even, as the upturned snake-oil-salesman grin softens slightly. Turning back to Nadia's monster of a father, he patted the box. "All due respect, mister cel Tradat, had I known you were... About the size of the mountains where I'm from, I woulda' brought bigger guns." He opened the case, allowing Vasile to take in the sights. On display were three lever-action repeating rifles, with dark wood furniture and polished brass actions, and pearl-handled, long-barreled revolvers to accompany them. "A damn sight nicer than the ones I carry." Sterling muttered with a chuckle.

Vasile let out a bark of a laugh, patting Sterling on the shoulder. “A joker you are! A good one at that. No, these are not for me personally, per se. They are for my valiant warriors who are less… Blessed by the Fates in strength as I am.”

Nadia peered into the box, looking over the weaponry. “They are… so small. What are these even for?” She inquired, a bit confused that Vasile had made such a big deal over what looked like fancy walking canes and ornately decorated sextants. 

Sterling glanced at Nadia, before turning to Vasile. "I see yer' daughter seems interested in a demonstration. Yer' horses spook easily?" The gunslinger inquired.

Vasile shook his head, straightening up proudly as he looked back to the four outriders and the oxen. “No, they are used to the monsters and miscreants of Barovia enough not to bat an eye even in the most violent of storms.” 

Sterling shot a glance at the oxen. "Yeah, well, shit. Those sure ain' horses." He muttered with a dull, flat chuckle. "Right then. Cover yer' ears."

Sterling drew his duster back to reveal a fine leather gunbelt, lined with bullets, and in a holster on his hip, another pearl-handled revolver, this one in a bit poorer shape. He nudged his head in the direction of a tree, where a gnarled, isolated branch grew out from the trunk. In one swift motion, his hand shot forward, pulling the revolver out of the holster. As he pulled the trigger, his other hand slammed down on the pistol's hammer, and with a sudden CRACKCRACKCRACK, the branch exploded from the tree, having been shot to bits. Sterling, holding the pistol close to his right hip as the barrel smoked, turned to Vasile and Nadia.

The horses and oxen didn’t care, and neither did Vasile. He didn’t even blink when the shots rang out, he only gave an impressed smile. “Better than I could have imagined. There is a lot of power in those small ones. Color me surprised.” He chuckled but didn’t seem phased overall by the show.

Nadia, on the other hand, looked at the weapons with wide eyes, the one visible one shining with something indescribable. She certainly jumped at the noise it made, flinching behind the strong arm of Vasile. “Incredible.” She muttered beneath her breath, her words barely audible as her eyes wandered from the iron on his hip to the ones in the crate. “And what of the bigger ones if there is that much power in the small ones?” She was clearly interested, though trying to hide it behind a cool and indifferent exterior.

Sterling reached down to his rucksack, next to the crate, where his own repeating rifle lay. He dropped a round from his free revolver, dextrously removing the bullet from the chamber and grabbing one from the rifle's bandolier. He held them up to Nadia to indicate the significant difference in size and, presumably, powder load.

"Three to chop a branch from the six-gun." Sterling loaded the rifle round into the magazine tube and cranked the lever, aiming at another branch of similar size and gnarledness.

The thunderous KRAK of the rifle echoed even further than the pistol, and with a burst of smoke and blinding flash of light, the branch came crashing down, the small log impacting the forest floor with a crash all its own.

"Only need one bullet." The gunslinger intoned with a grin.

Nadia looked absolutely starstruck, watching as, within an instant, the bough of the tree was no longer attached to the main trunk. “Efficiency and firepower.” She mused, stepping out from behind Vasile to look into the crate. Without asking any further questions, she picked up one of the rifles, turning it over in her grip to observe.

Vasile watched with a proud grin, surprised at her willingness to take such interest in the arts of war as he had done so many years ago. “They would be useful against the flying creatures.” He hummed, speaking to Nadia as he patted her shoulder, peering into the crate as well.

Her eye mulled over what was left in the crate. Something shiny caught her eye, buried beneath the straw bedding that kept the guns from getting scratched. However, she maintained her calm exterior, filing that information away for later.

Something whispered in her ear. A honey-sweet voice laced with something metallic. “A beautiful weapon, isn’t it, my dove? But this man is untrustworthy. He is hiding something from you that makes these look like childs’ toys.” Nadia listened intently to the voice, her face showing no indication that something dark hovered at her shoulder.

“I think we have seen enough, ujak. Should we be taking him back now?” Nadia hummed, craning her neck to look up to Vasile. He nodded, turning towards Sterling.

“These will aid us far more than you know.” Vasile looked towards Sterling, nodding out of respect. “I believe she is right, we understand that you would like to make it into Barovia as soon as possible. If we leave now, we can be there by nightfall.” He gestured back towards the armored wagons. “Unless there is anything else you would like to discuss, we can begin making our way back now.”

"Aw, hell, these are nothin' against the avian sorts. You shoulda' asked me to bring a few Scatterguns." Sterling exclaimed.

"There is another matter, mister cel Tradat." Said the gunslinger with a pause. "These firearms can be fickle, if one don't know how to use or care for 'em. What's yer plan for training and caretakin'?"

Vasile raised an eyebrow at this, chuckling a bit. “We have many skilled marksmen in the clan. They are trained with bows, but your rifles seem easy enough. They seem to load almost like a crossbow. But please elaborate on how one must, well, care for one of your firearms.”

Nadia watched the two of them. She glanced down into the crate again and then up to Sterling, studying him carefully. She gave him a once-over, seeming to be looking for something but not finding it. 

Sterling reached to the back of his belt, where a small box was clasped onto it. He pulled it forth, and opened it, revealing a small bottle of solvent, a set of tinkers' tools, cloths, and a few small brushes. 

"Gotta keep the actions cleaned and lubricated. Small, individual parts gotta get cleaned as well. Pop out the cylinder of the sixguns, give 'em some good ol T-L-C. Y'know?"

He cast a glance at Nadia. "Go ahead, miss. Fire one off, see how it feels. Ammo is in the big boxes, load 'em sharp side first and crank that lever. Shoot a branch, or somethin'. Just not me or yer' pops." 

She raises an eyebrow as he addresses her. With an unsure hand, she reaches down into the crate and opens the ammo box, loading a round into the chamber before cranking it as she was told.

Vasile chuckles, looking between Nadia and the box offered by Sterling. “Good to know. We want them to last a long time before expanding the selection.” He paused. “If they work as promised.” He narrows his eyes at Sterling. Not quite an unfriendly gesture but almost a warning. Sterling had this feeling of dread hanging over him as Vasile’s eyes darkened like the clouds above. In an instant, though, that feeling was interrupted by a loud KRACK! 

The two men turned to look as Nadia stepped out into the road, allowing her to get a clear sightline into the trees opposite to them. She lifted it, bracing it to her shoulder and copying the movements Sterling had done during his demonstration of the weapon. She fired, to which the rest of them could hear a distant crack as a thick bough of a tree came down a good fifty yards away. She grinned before wincing, not used to the power of the recoil against her shoulder. She let it hang in her hands, rolling her shoulder a bit before looking back at the two of them. 

Sterling chuckled and gave Nadia a thumbs-up. He turned back to Vasile, gesturing to the pistol on his hip and the rifle at his pack. "I carry the exact same models myself, boss. Have for about fifteen years, and I do a lil' maintenance, and they still shoot true."

“Noted.” Vasile nodded, taking the small kit and tucking it into the satchel belted to his hip. “Then I do believe that that concludes our business. Come, Nadia. Get back to the wagon.” 

She nodded, looking back to Sterling with that same unreadable look on her face as she turned and headed back toward the main wagon.

He turned over his shoulder, shouting to two of the outriders. “Arrigal! Mikael! Come show our guest to his wagon.” Vasile replaced the lid of the crate, looking at Sterling. “We will unload once we arrive in Barovia. Once there, we will go our separate ways.” He smiled, hoisting the crate onto his shoulder as if it weighed nothing. “I assume until then, you would like your firearms with you?”

The two men, who you presumed were named Arrigal and Mikael, dismounted from their horses and gestured for Sterling to come over and follow them.

"Sure, I'll give your new toys a last once-over with the lubricant, keep em' nice and fresh for ya." The gunslinger said as he walked towards the two Vistani. "Y'all happen to have a map of Barovia a tourist could borrow?" He asked the two.

They looked at each other, then back to Sterling. The one with the longer hair, Arrigal, chuckled a bit. Mikael said something in Vistani, to which they both chuckled a bit. It didn’t see like they were making fun of him per say, but something to the effect of ‘he doesn’t know what he’s getting into.’ 

Arrigal spoke up after a moment. “The Vistani do not have any maps that would be useful for the likes of you. We follow stars while outside Barovia and ancestral paths while within.”

Mikael nodded in agreement. “Though there is a shopkeep in a small village not far from where we will arrive. I’m sure he will have something of use for you.”

They both turned, walking to the back of the wagon train to the last of the carts. Mikael opened the back door, it swinging open to reveal cozy living quarters within, fanciful carpets and reems of cloth draping the walls. The small room was warm and inviting, kept that way by circular lanterns that hung from the ceiling and radiated heat. Within, there were three hammocks. Mikael jerked his chin in the direction of the far one. “That one will be yours for the evening.”

"Don't hurt to ask. Worst thing you coul' say is no, right, fellas?" The short cowboy shrugged with a good-natured laugh. "Y'all need to give me the carrier pigeon address of yer' interior decorator, though. This is /gor-gee-ous,/ Reminds me of home." He whistled, impressed as he climbed in.

Taking a seat where directed, he reached into his duster for a flask. "Can I interest you gentlemen in some Anaurochi cactus wine? It's a sort of.. Shared 'greetin' drink' we offer to new acquaintances back 'ome."

The two men shared a look before shrugging, taking some of the offered drink and each tasting a bit. Mikael wrinkled his nose while Arrigal nodded appreciatively.

“It tastes like a puddle in the road.” Mikael mutters. 

Arrigal shrugs, chuckling. “It is most certainly not the worst I’ve had. There was that one woman from Vallaki who I convinced I was a prince from a far off land, now SHE tasted like-”

Vasile shadowed the two of them as he carried the crate into the cart, dropping it between the three of them on the floor beside Sterling’s hammock. “I trust you are treating our guest as one of our own?” He laughs good-naturedly, looking between them with a knowing look. They both laugh as well, nodding. 

“Of course, Vasile! Only the best for our guest.”

He nodded in approval, pulling a wineskin from his hip and offering it to Sterling. “Here. Drink as much as you wish. We will hopefully be there by nightfall.”

Sterling nodded to the men as they left him be. Resting his feet on his crate of rifles, he let his hat fall from his head, onto the box, as it fell forward as he heaved a sigh. Charlatanery and arms deals were hard work. Reaching a leather-gloved hand down his collar, he pulled out a small locket, formed from the brass endcaps of two Scattergun shells pressed together. Popping it open, he looked down, running a hand through his hair and wiping his nose as a sniffle escaped him. Damned rain. In the locket was a small photograph, a picture of Sterling himself in a nicer suit than the cowboy's clothes he wore now, and an Elven woman, pale, with long, flowing red hair. Taking a moment to extinguish the embers of his cigarette on his boot heel, he rubbed at his eyes with an ungloved hand. Taking a moment to look around the Vistani cart, he rolled his shoulders and heaved a determined breath. Taking one last look at the picture in the frame, he clasped it shut and gripped it tight to his chest. 

Taking a swig from the wineskin, he hummed approvingly of the drink, before kicking his feet up on the hammock, laying back, locket still in hand. As he settled in, he began to whisper, to no one in particular.

"Hey, hon. It's me. I dunno if you can hear me an' all that, but the priest said that it migh' help, the anger issues, violent tendencies, an' all. I.. I took the belt back up. I know I told you I was retiring, workin' in that kitchen, but when you went to see those fortune tellers, an' you disappeared with them, no note, nothing... I had no choice. I'm sorry I lied to you, Leena.. I hope you can understand."

Sterling choked out a cough, placing his hat over his eyes, to cover them from the light, no other reason.

"Once I bring you home, I promise, I'm hanging it up for good... Whatever that's worth. I really hope you can forgive me. I know you hate the gunslingin' and all that, but I don't have anythin' else...."

He trails off for a moment, reaching a hand up towards his face, whatever he did obscured by his wide-brimmed hat.

"I'm gonna find you, Leena. I promise, hon. And I swear to gods, I'm gonna kill every last one of the sons of bitches that stole you from me. Just hold on a bit longer. I'm on my way."

With that, the gunslinger drifted off into a much-needed slumber.

The cowboy was out, proven by the fact that he didn’t hear the door to the cart slowly creak back open a little while later. The group had pulled the wagons to a stop to let the horses and oxen get some water at a nearby stream, as well as allowing Nadia to stretch her legs innocently. Where to? Perhaps the destination was not so pure-of-heart.

Night had fallen on the land, the clouds snuffing out any moonlight and the torrential downpour obscuring vision further. The only break in the dark was the glow of colored lanterns hanging from the back of the wagons. Blues, greens, purples, all gently lighting up the darkness of the road and the woods surrounding it.

Nadia had slipped off the side of the wagon, slowly making her way past the outriders, who paid her no mind, as she headed to the back of the wagon train to the final cart. She pressed her ear to the door, listening intently to hear any movement that may come from inside. Nothing. 

Perfect.

She cracked the door open, peering into the mostly dark caravan. The lamps had been dimmed, and she could barely make out the form of the sleeping cowboy rocking back and forth in the hammock, as well as the shadow of the crate on the floor beside him.

As if she was made of the darkness itself, she quietly slipped into the caravan, taking a few silent steps over to the back of the wagon.

“He rests. Now is your chance.”

Her heart lept at the voice in the shell of her ear, close enough to feel the ghost of breath on the side of her cheek. She turned to glance over her shoulder quickly, but no one was there.

She shook off the awful, clammy feeling, dropping to her knees as she shimmied open the lid of the crate with a small dagger. She placed the lid beside her on the floor, looking into it. Just as before, the five firearms lay in their bed of straw. But just beyond that, in the dull light of the interior, she was able to catch the glint of metal her eye had caught before.

“Go on. It’s right there…”

Nadia let out a shaky breath, carefully sweeping aside the straw as quietly as she could. Her eyes widened as she spotted a long, silvery barrel. 

Above her, the cowboy made a snort in his sleep. She startled, scooting back a foot as if to jump into action at any moment. She sat there, frozen, as he turned his face over a bit and settled.

She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Reaching into the crate, her hand found cold metal. She pulled, inch by inch, as slowly as she could as not to jitter the rest of the items within the crate. 

From the straw emerged a folded firearm, much larger than any of the rifles Sterling had brought. Sporting two barrels sat folded over the stock of the gun, its compact design making it relatively easy to store. It was impossibly heavy in her grip, her hand running down the length of the barrel before she gently pulled, allowing it to click into its full, usable length. It was beautiful, that was for sure. Gold and silver inlay carved swirls into the dark oak of the handle, and small stones of various sizes and colors encrusted into a swirling pattern. Along the silver barrel, there were small engravings of runes and what may be words. She read as best she could, but she could only assume it was some sort of protection ward. Towards the middle of the barrel, though, there was a name scrawled in gold.

Fate’s Hand.

“This is it. Take it.” 

Nadia quickly glanced up to where Sterling slept before moving the straw to look as undisturbed as possible, replacing the lid of the crate back on top and wrapping the massive shotgun in the side of her shawl. She made her way out of the caravan and shut the door just as she heard her name called.

“Nadia? Where have you run to, we must be going.” It was Vasile, looking around the dark at the head of the train.

“I’m coming, just a moment!” She shouted back, rushing to the dark treeline toting the heavy weapon. She grinned to herself, adrenaline flooding her veins at the prospect of having taken the item so easily. Perhaps the shadow at her shoulder was right.

She notched the gun at her shoulder again, though it was much heavier than the rifle and had to be balanced differently. She glanced through the gold sight, took a deep breath in, and placed her finger over the trigger.

On her exhale, she squeezed.

But was interrupted.

“Not yet, my dove. You are nowhere ready to wield this weapon. Hide it, for now. Until the time has come.”

remus lupin x fem!reader

warning: Swearing, spelling/ grammar mistakes

summary: You and Remus have had a rivalry since the day you met, what happens when the two of you start to feel more?

word count: 3.1k

enjoy<3

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You and Remus Lupin had a… Complicated history, It wasn’t anything really bad, just a childhood nemesis, someone to always be better than. That was all it was for a couple years, a strange rivalry between two children. It all began back during first year, in your very first Defense Against the Dark Art class. You were ecstatic to begin your very first lesson. You sat right at the very front of the room and quickly brought out and organized all your parchment, quills and textbooks, patiently folding your hands onto your desk and waiting with a smile on your face for class to begin. You heard a snicker behind you, and turned to see four boys enter the class, all laughing and whispering behind their hands, you turn back around as the professor walks into the room to begin the lesson.

“Hey would you mind if I sat next to you?” you heard a small voice call from beside you as the professor scribbles something on the board. You look over to see one of the loud students who’d entered the class, a sandy-haired boy with scars littering his face. “Of course,” you say with a smile, thinking this was a chance to make a new friend, but you were proven wrong when the boy simply nodded, put his stuff down and turned to the table beside theirs, to talk to the boys from before. You hid your disappointment by turning back to the teacher.

“Welcome to your first Defense Against the Dark Arts class students!” Professor Sterling, as you learned his name was, called out, “In this class I will be teaching you about defensive spells and possible beasts you could face, to protect yourselves from the dangers of the dark arts, now!” He clapped his hands together. “Who can give me three examples of creatures that will be talked about in this class, hm?” He questions. Two hands shoot up. “Yes Miss L/n?” He points to your hand. “Boggarts, Vampires, and Werewolves.” You state confidently, “Good, 5 points to y/h. Now, what about three spells that will be used in this class?” He questions again. The same two hands shoot up. “Mr. Lupin?” He points to the boy next to you. “Flipendendo, Expelliarmus, and Verdimillious.” He replies, you drop your hand defeated. “Splendid! 5 points to gryffindor.” The boy smiles shyly. The class continues like this, the professor asking a question and the two of you racing to answer before the other. It was an unconscious thing, the two of you hadn’t realized you were competing until you felt your heart race, as a question was asked, and the feeling of anger replacing disappointment when your hand wasn’t picked. It was frustrating to say the least, you were so excited to show off your knowledge in this class and now here was this boy stealing your thunder. You could tell he felt the same though, the frustration in his face when Professor Sterling chose you gave it away.

By the end of the class you were almost seething, the only thing keeping you from hexing the boy was your common sense, and even that was running thin. You tried to keep your composure as you walked out of the class, but you were very obviously muttering curses under your breath. The only thing that got you to stop was the professor telling you on the way out of the class that you were a bright young witch, unfortunately followed by Lupin being complimented as well. You huffed.

That was how the rivalry between you and Remus began, you’d learned his name through Lily Evans, your first friend. She found it funny how competitive you were, not thinking you’d go this far on it. She spent a good chunk of her time prying books out of your hands or hearing you complain about Remus, and that happened a lot.

“I’m seriously starting to believe you fancy him, you speak about him so much!” She huffed out after a bad rant in your third year. “Me? And Lupin?” You scoffed and rolled your eyes. “I have no idea what you’re going on about.” But Lily could swear she saw a pink blush coming about on your cheeks and she knew for a fact that the warm fall air wasn’t the cause, she smiled and decided to let this play out.

For four years, four fucking years, you’d been at it with Lupin and both of you showed no sign of stopping. At any time both you and Remus could be seen reading DADA textbooks, books, and journals of famous wizards, With one goal in your mind, to beat one another. The two of you both started strong in this competition, but you had to admit you were tired of this petty rivalry and really had no problem with Remus, but for some reason you just wouldn’t let up, your competitive demeanor taking over every time you tried to resolve something with him. You decided it would be best just to slowly ease out of your tense situation with the gryffindor and try to focus on your studies instead of just beating Remus. You didn’t raise your hand at every question, spent more time socializing over studying, and didn’t make any sarcastic comments when he got an answer right, just simply continued on with the class. At first Remus thought he was victorious, that he’d finally beaten the y/h witch, deemed one of the brightest students at Hogwarts, and he was happy about it, but he felt he didn’t really care. In fact he missed the constant banter with you. He didn’t like the rivalry between you two either, but he still enjoyed playfully arguing with you over small things and seeing the competitive look in your eyes.

“L/n’s been pretty quiet recently,” James remarks, “I think you did it mate, I think you finally outsmarted her!” He laughs, clapping Remus on the back. The rest of the group looked unsure, especially Remus. Peter pipes up quietly, “I don’t know James, I saw her notebook just yesterday and she already had everything about today's lesson written down, there’s no way she could’ve been stumped.” Sirius rolls his eyes, “You guys can’t be that confused right?, y/n probably just got tired of this petty battle, they’ve been at it almost, what? Four years now? You can’t say you’re not tired, can you Moony?” Sirius rolls his eyes. Remus remains quiet, thinking it over. “I guess not, but for some reason I almost miss it, at least she talked to me then.” Remus sighs leaning back onto the couch in the common room. It was no secret to the Marauders that the shy brunette had accumulated feelings for his little rival over the years, secretly looking forward to DADA classes for the soul purpose of seeing you.

“Well you could try talking to her, y’know, normally?” James suggests with a shrug. Remus sighs “I guess, but you guys know I couldn’t, I could possibly put her in danger, or, what if I lose control and hurt her or worse-”

Sirius scoffs, “Oh sod off Moony, if this is about your, furry little problem, the last person you’d need to worry about is y/n, she’s a master in Defense Against the Dark Arts, not only would she be fine with it, but she she probably knows all about werewolves! Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if she already knew.” Sirius finishes, avoiding his friend’s shocked eyes at his small outburst, but someone had to say it. “Well- you have to admit he has a point.” Peter says turning back to Remus. “I’ve worked with y/n before for a project on werewolves bites, and she actually finds werewolves are misunderstood.” He continues.

Remus looks between his friends, and sighs, “I don’t have a choice but to give this a go, do I?” James grins, “c’mon Moony, you know, you two are practically made for each other!” He nudges his best friend, wiggling his eyebrows knowingly. “James!” Remus shoves his head into hands, a red blush coating his cheeks. “W-what should I even talk about? What if she doesn’t want to talk? Maybe she still hates me and I’d mess this all up if I talk to her!” Remus begins to ramble.

“What are you twats going on about?” A voice calls out, Lily emerges from the portrait door, oh no. “Moony’s got a crush!” James calls out. Remus shoots James a death glare, cursing the fact he was head over heels for y/n’s best friend. “Oh really? Who’s the lucky girl?” Lily laughs, walking over to the other gryffindors. Remus speaks before James can say anything else. “It doesn’t matter! Haha, how are you Lily?” He tries to steer the conversation away from his love life, but is unsuccessful. “Good..? Remus, what’s got you so nervous? I won’t tell, you know that.”

Oh, I don’t know, she's your best friend that probably hates me, that I pretended to hate for 4 years, you know, just things I talk about on the daily. Remus thinks to himself sarcastically. Lily’s mouth drops open. Oh shit he said that out loud.

“You fancy y/n?” Lily’s mouth remains agape. Remus winces, “Maybe? Is that a bad thing?” He questions, crossing his fingers for a good answer. “Well bloody hell Lupin, I did not see this coming that’s for sure!” The red-head lets out a laugh. “y/n almost never talks about her love life though so I can’t say much, just know that she’s never hated you, just got caught up y’know.” She plops down on the sofa across from the boys, Remus nods. “So, when did this happen?” Lily questions fixing her eyes on the shy boy. “W-well it’s hard to say really,” Remus furrows his brows, in thought, one memory stands out.

“One day, while I was studying, in second year I think, I noticed y/n sitting at another table scanning a textbook, and well, I felt different, she didn’t seem like the annoying girl in Defence Against The Dark Arts anymore, she was beautiful, and from there it only got worse.” Remus feels himself think back to that day, how your hair cascaded perfectly down your face, and how your lips were slightly parted while you read. He remembered his heart speeding up before he dashed out of the library, very confused. “Aw, that’s so sweet Moony.” Sirius teases making kissy faces at his friend. Remus feels his face heat up again. “Sirius quit teasing him, it’s cute!” Lily scolds the dark-haired Marauder, when suddenly her face lights up. “You know, y/n’s in the library, right now, you should go down and talk to her!” Lily suggests. James stands up and tugs on Remus’s arm to pull him to his feet. “Excellent idea my Lily flower, let’s go now!” Sirius and Peter stand and follow behind, ignoring Remus’s small attempts at objection. Lily catches up to Remus and James as they make their way out of the portrait door.

“Just be casual Remus, everything will be okay.” She reassures. It didn’t help Remus’s racing heart.

The group steps into the library and spots you at a table by a window, slowly scratching a quill against parchment. They walk closer to you and poke their heads around to look at you. You glance up at the Marauders, “Um, hi guys?” you greet awkwardly. “Good to see you y/n, hate to interrupt, but Remus wanted to talk to you.” James pushes the adorable brunette forwards before rushing off followed by Sirius, Peter and… Lily, you narrowed your eyes, what was going on? Brushing it off you look up at the gryffindor boy. “You can take a seat if you want Lupin.” You offer, picking your quill up again. “Oh, thanks y/n.” He sits in the chair right beside you. “Now how can I help you? If you need help with anything you can just ask.” You state scribbling down some notes in your notebook. “A-actually, um, I’d just like to talk to you y/n, about… You.” Remus begins to panic, did that sound right? Oh Merlin he was an idiot. You turn to him with a shocked expression.

“Me? Um- sure Lupin, ask away I guess?” You give him a small smile, “as long as we can talk about you too.” You add, feeling bold. Remus lights up, “Yeah, yeah. That sounds great! Alright, where did your love for Defense Against the Dark Arts come from?” He asks, genuinely interested. “Oh,” Your eyes light up. “My father is an Auror and throughout my childhood he’d tell me all about his adventures, and his victories fighting dark wizards and all that sort. I thought it was amazing, so I started to read all about it, wanting to be just like him once I grew up.” You grin broadly.

Your conversation continues, you talk about your childhoods, dreams, goals, ambitions and your favourite books. You learn a lot about the shy brunette boy you never really gave a chance too. You learn he has a love for chocolate, every single kind. He also loves books, enjoying muggle literature in particular, and that he also wants to become an Auror, to protect people and to help the world from dark magic. You found this very admirable and saw that little boy from your first DADA class in a different light. He wasn’t the annoying boy who stole all your thunder anymore, he was the boy that was also just trying to follow his dreams and help the people he loved. You smiled as you listened to him go on about a book he was currently reading, watching his eyes sparkle and his smile widen, it was strange thinking of Remus this way, sure you’d thought the brunette gryffindor was cute, but you’d always tried to shut yourself down when you thought of anything more, so when you found yourself hanging onto his every word and glancing down to his soft pink lips every now and again, you knew something was up. Your past self would’ve kicked you for this, but you found yourself giving into those inevitable feelings for Remus Lupin, and it just felt… Right. This change of heart left no doubt in your mind, and a light flush made its way onto your cheeks.

Remus could’ve sworn he was on cloud nine when he saw the beautiful pink blush come onto your cheeks, was he right? Did you feel the same? He was so happy to be talking to you about anything and everything that he didn’t even realize the Saturday sun turned into night and soon Madam Pince was pushing them out the door. The two of you laughed, taking a walk around the castle, neither of you wanting the conversation to end. You decided to stay in the Clocktower Courtyard for a bit, sitting next to each other on a bench. Remus watches you stare into the night sky, he sees your face relax and he smiles when he sees you close your eyes and take a deep breath of the night air. He thanked his lucky stars there wasn’t a full moon soon, or he would’ve missed this magical day with you. He lets a couple words slip out of his mouth he didn’t intend to say today. “You’re so beautiful y/n.” He sees your eyes widen and your face go pink. “Thanks Remus.” You say smiling back. Godric, his heart swelled when he heard you say his name. Not Lupin anymore, Remus. He felt himself lean in, years of yearning getting the better of him, and felt his forehead touch yours. “I’ve fancied you since second year you know?” He confessed suddenly, “that day you saw me run out of the library was the day I knew.” He saw a smile spread across your face. “Oh Remus that’s so sweet.” suddenly your eyebrows furrow. “Listen, I’m sorry about my arrogance. I was annoyed that you were just as smart as I was and I let a kid’s jealousy get in the way of really getting to know you and I want to apologize for that-” Remus cuts you off. “Darling, it’s alright, we were children, what matters is how you feel now.” Remus cups your hand in one of his, searching your eyes for any sign he should stop, “I- like you too Remus, I think I have for a while, just been to dumb to notice it.” You giggle, looking down at your interlocked hand. Remus places his fingers on your chin and lifts your face so you’re eye to eye again. He pauses, silently asking if this is alright. You nod and he grins, pressing his lips to yours, a rush of heat flows through your body and you're overwhelmed with happiness. Remus can feel he’s practically beaming into the kiss, he can’t believe it, he’s kissing you, he’s actually kissing you! The kiss is chaste at first, but you soon cup his face and pull him closer to you, reaching behind his head to run a hand through his soft curls. Remus sighs at the feeling and you take the opportunity to explore his mouth with your tongue, taking in the taste of chocolate and minty toothpaste. You pull back after a couple seconds, taking steady breaths. “Wow.” You murmur smiling at the boy in front of you. “Can we do it again?” Remus asks, still in a daze with a stupid grin on his face. You lean in again and can feel his lips brush yours before you hear whispers.

“Move over Pads, I can’t see!”

“Shove off James.”

“Ow, Peter that’s my foot!”

“Oh My Godric they kissed!”

There’s a loud crash. You look over to see Sirius, James, Peter and Lily in a pile on the ground, all sporting guilty looks on their faces. “Um- Congrats you two! We were just heading back to the common rooms!” Lily stutters out, removing herself from the pile and quickly walking off with the rest of the group hot on her tail.

You and Remus look at one another before bursting into a fit of laughter, unable to get the look on the group’s faces when they were caught out of your heads. Remus slowly stands up, offering a hand to you, “We should probably get going, love. It’s getting real dark.” You nod and take his hand. Remus pulls you close to him and you stand there for a couple more seconds, “You know, I still don’t believe this is happening, that this isn’t a dream, you’re really here in my arms.” Remus confesses nuzzling his nose to yours. You smile gently and press a kiss to his lips. “Well, you better get used to it, cuz I’m not going anywhere.” You quip gently, wrapping your arms slightly tighter around the handsome gryffindor. You can feel him tighten his arms around you as well. “There’s nothing I’d love more.” he whispers into your ear.

[blurb] — member: minho, word count: 2489, genre: e2l-esque/rockband au/female!reader/angst(?), warning: none.

note: this is a wildly out of character verison of minho so none of this is probably accurate to his actual personality. I was just tired one hand and this is how I saved myself

[11:30 pm]: “Lee Minho!” You growled. Despite the bustling energy of the dressing room before you had entered, your voice boomed over every single person within the walls limits. Those who were speaking quickly closed their mouths and others who were walking in and out slowed their hasty pace to a creeping stalk. Their eyes turned from each other to you as you stood in the doorway, hand clenched tightly around the door knob in an attempt to keep yourself calm.

Everyone could tell just by taking one glance at you that you were not here to play around as usual. The energy you exude was far too intense for anyone to even crack a smile at you. “Where is he?” You demanded, glancing around the room for the sly cat. “Where is Minho?”

“Here,” a cheery voice informed, nearly giving yourself whiplash as you turned around. There he stood right behind you, his signature black bass guitar slung over his shoulders and his mocking smile plastered against his face. Behind him stood his bandmates nervously glancing between the two of you, unsure of what exactly was going to happen next.

This scenario was something they had seen countless times before yet they still would never get used to the sight of you breathing smoke out of your nose and Minho only looking down on you with endearment. Your anger was entertaining to him, no matter how many times the out of you spat with each other.

“What? Is there something wrong?” He asked, his statement covering for his blatant ignorance, “did you not like the concert? But you had the best seat in the house?”

His condescending words easily began to fan the flame, eagerly watching as your face flickered from a look of pure bewilderment to complete wrath.

You knew Minho was doing this on purpose, yet you couldn’t resist the urge to explode. “Was there something wrong?” You questioned him, reaching out and grabbing the sterling silver chain that hung down his neck. Gasps fluttered throughout the room at your threatening demeanor as you spoke, “You really have the audacity to be asking that right now?”

“Hey, not here,” Changbin interrupted, “Not while everyone is watching. Don’t want a video of your fight to get leaked, do you?” He used his drumsticks to separate the two of you from each other, providing himself as the unprompted middle ground as he gestured toward the staff in the room.

Usually he would be all for watching you rip into Minho without a second thought, but there were too many people around to let it go unchecked. As much as he believed that the bassist deserved every inch of karma that was going to hit him, it couldn’t happen in public. They had a reputation to uphold after all.

The two of you looked around the room for yourselves, taking note of how the entire backstage room was crawling with staff members from the concert the group had held. As much as you wanted to give him a piece of your mind, you would rather not be labeled as the crazy person that barged in and caused a fight.

Begrudgingly you stepped back and away from Minho, just enough for it not to look like you weren’t going to attack him like some rabid animal. “Fine, I won’t.”

“Take it outside, somewhere private would be ideal,” Bang Chan added, whispering as lowly as possible so that any of the more... invading staff couldn’t catch him. “Oh, and don’t do anything stupid? Please? I kinda need Minho alive.”

“You heard the man,” The boy taunted, gesturing back to the band’s leader. “He needs me alive, so keep your hands to yourself this time.”

You didn’t think you could roll your eyes as hard as you did, forcing your hands to your side so that you didn’t actually harm him. The whispers and murmurs only continued to go as you led Minho outside of the dressing room, their voices drifting to your ears despite their attempts to conceal them.

“Is she some crazy fan?” “No, I heard she knows the boys personally.”

“Should we call security? What if she actually harms him!”

“I wonder what Minho did for her to act that way? Honestly, I couldn’t blame her… he’s a little patronizing and stuck up in my opinion…”

You shook off their words as the two of you walked down the corridor of the dressing rooms in silence, a stark contrast to the other staff members who were running about the halls to clean up the aftermath of the band’s concert. Every so often someone would stop to greet the two of you and ask what was going on, the sheer intensity of your auras combined quickly made them back off.

You were always the more approachable of the two but this wasn’t the right time for any of that to happen.

Soon the crowd began to thin out and for the most part, the two of you were left completely alone. The corridor you had turned down was practically a dead end so it was the perfect place for you to antagonize the bassist without running away.

“You said you’d help me with Hyunjin, to get back together with him,” you began, turning your sharp and annoyed gaze on him once again. “You said you’d get me tickets to your concert because I mentioned he was a fan of the band, so what was with that stunt you pulled on stage at the end?”

“I don’t think I understand?” The boy questioned, leaning up against the wall as he continued to feign ignorance like he had done in the dressing room with the staff. “I did exactly what you asked me to. I got you tickets, I got you the best seats in the house, I even got the other members to put his favorite song on the set list for this concert? What could have possibly gone wrong?”

“That song!” You exclaimed, “that dumb song you had created on your own but never released it for the band to play because it was about me. You played it right before the concert ended as the encore. Are you insane, seriously?”

Minho snorted at your frustration, clearly not taking the situation as serious as you were. “Are you serious? You’re mad because I played that love song without telling you? Come on Y/N, you really think he was able to tell that it was about you?”

You scoffed, almost laughing at his answer. A love song? You wouldn’t exactly label the song as a “love song”. “I understand you don’t think very highly of Hyunjin, but he knew Minho. There was no way he wouldn’t have been able to tell.”

It was so clear that Minho knew exactly what he was doing when he was on stage. As the band got ready to play their original encore song, you had caught him skipping around to stage to each member of the band. Starting discreetly with Changbin since he was the drummer in the background all the way to whispering to the lead guitarist, Jisung, near the front of the stage.

Once his words had finally reached the ears of Bang Chan, the leader gave a skeptical glance before his eyes connected to your curious one’s. He hesitated for a moment before putting on a strained smile and speaking into the microphone.

There’s been a slight change of plans in the encore, Bang Chan had announced. The entire crowd let out a wave of confusion as his dimples distracted their fans from his clear distress. I mean, who doesn’t like an unreleased song as the ending note?

The crowd let out a cheer for the change, not bothered one bit by the band switching gears to do something off script. Even Hyunjin was excited to hear the song that even he hadn’t known existed. Though both his wide smile quickly fell once the song began to play, its piercing and strong melody rang through the stadium as Minho strummed his guitar.

Minho had the most lines out of the other members of the band in that song, which was a stark contrast to his usual in the background singing. The boy was standing front and center, hands no longer glued to his guitar but clutching onto the microphone that stood before him. His voice boomed over the speakers as he sang to the crowd, yet his attention wasn’t on his adoring fans that were calling his name.

No, his attention was on you.

Minho’s eyes almost never left your figure as he zeroed you out in the crowd, his prideful smile growing on his lips as he poured his soul into the lyrics he never thought he’d sing in person. It was like he was sending a signal to you and Hyunjin, that the bond that you were trying to rekindle between the two of you would never work out in the end.

You’re mine, Minho’s lyrics conveyed, a meaning only you and Hyunjin could decipher, and I’ll never let you go to him.

“You can’t keep… you can’t keep doing this,” you struggled to convince him (or maybe you were trying to convince yourself?). “You can’t keep trying to interfere with my relationships! I’m my own person, Minho, I like other people! You can’t keep going on like this.”

“I can’t keep going on like this?” He repeated, in shock that you would even have the audacity to say that to him. Minho pushed himself off the wall as he approached you, his stereotypical vile temperament that his staff deemed him as showing through his usual cool head. “I’m not the one who keeps running back to the same person whose heart I broke every time we have a fight!”

Ouch, what a low blow. But it wasn’t like Minho was… lying? As much as you wanted to deny it, every time the two of you got into it you’d go running to Hyunjin afterward.

You needed something different from the constant fire and ice of you and the bassist's quarrels and that was exactly what Hyunjin was. He wasn’t the sheer cold of the winter storm like Minho was, just a pleasant breeze along a hot summer day. That’s why you were so drawn to him at first, that’s why you had jumped head first into a relationship with him, and that’s why you couldn’t exactly let go of him after you had broken up.

So despite Hyunjin being the better of the two, why was it that you only ran to him for comfort? As soon as he had given you what you desired you were back to trailing behind the band’s footsteps. You were back to walking and fighting with Minho.

“Do you really like him?” Minho asked, his tone a little harsher than he planned. Though he didn’t apologize for the attitude as he continued to speak, “Do you really want to be with Hyunjin again or is this an excuse to keep playing with me?”

“It’s…,” you hesitated, why must he ask this up now of all times? “It’s complicated, Minho! Not only that but it’s none of your business to pry into my relationship with Hyunjin? You’ve already done enough damage—”

“Y/N, tell me before I figure it out in a way you aren’t going to like,” he blurted out, finally snagging the words out of your mouth for good. What did he just say? “Do you really still like Hyunjin? Or are you just using him at this point, because it really feels like the latter when you keep hanging around me and not him.”

You stared back at him wide eyed, struggling to form sentences in your head and deciding to spit out whatever you could. “What are you talking about? You mean like use him to make you jealous of something? That’s petty, Minho, I—“

“One,” he began, reaching for the guitar strap on his shoulders to discard the instrument.

“How I feel about Hyunjin is none of your business,” you tried to argue. “See you’re even doing it again! Trying to force your way through when things don’t go your way. I’m supposed to be the one who is asking for answers anyway!”

“Two,” Minho continued, ignoring your rambling as he dropped the bass onto the ground without care.

“Fine, I like him. I’m in love with Hyunjin, are you happy now?” You answer, though the words feel foreign on your tongue as you bite at him. “This fights and bickering we do mean nothing to me, your stupid encore song meant absolutely nothing to me. So stop trying to press forward already.”

Minho stood in front of you quietly, his face contorting in disapproval as he tried to process your answer. “You’re so good at fighting with me but you’re so bad at lying.” He shook his head, amused disbelief donning his face as he took a hold of your shirt collar in the same motion you took his chain necklace. “Three.”

“Why are you intent on this, hm? You don’t like being the one who is toyed with instead of the other way around?” You hissed, snatching his hand off of your shirt with as much strength as you could muster. “All you do is take, take, and humiliate. Get a grip, Minho.”

The boy hesitated for a moment, hovering just inches above your face and his eyes darting around the room. He should have known that you still would have the energy to argue with him, that never ending flame in your chest that kept lighting the cigarette of your relationship.

“Y/N!” A familiar voice called, making you and Minho glance over your shoulder and down the corridor to spot a figure at the foot of it. You immediately recognized it to be the Hyunjin, the fool peering down curiously and a sheepish smile stretching across his face when he finally saw you. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I knew you were backstage. I just didn’t know how long you’d be here for. Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, of course,” you respond, your tone immediately going soft as you shoved Minho off of you. The way you spoke to Minho and Hyunjin respectively was so different from each other, one would think that you were two separate people. “Just give me one moment?”

The boy nodded, giving an awkward wave toward Minho given the fact that the last time the two had interacted was the situation during the encore. Though the bassist gave no response as you turned back to him, your original rage replenished as you finally addressed him for the last time. “Don’t ever sing that song again. Not around me, not around your bandmates, not around your fans, no one. I want every bit of its existence erased from my memory.”

It's my mom's birthday!! It has been a stressful day because dad was supposed to have surgery. So even though it got pushed off until tomorrow, we got to have all the stress today. Excellent. I hope mom still was able to find some joy in celebrating. I think we mostly did that on thanksgiving but still. I want her to feel happy, I love her so much.

I had a weird day again. I feel like I blinked and the day was over. I slept fine enough. I woke up and found James in the kitchen with very low energy. They didn't sleep great. I felt bad about that. But it was fine. I kissed on their head and tried my best to cheer them up.

I got washed and dressed. James has been leaving the little space heater in the bathroom on for me so its not so miserable getting dressed. I appreciate that so much.

I felt pretty cute today. I had sratched the mole on my chin and now I keep bumping it so i put a pimple patch on it just to stop it from getting bumped. But I still felt cute. We are at that time of the year when if I dot put powder on my face I look so shiney. I don't know why this happens in the winter but here we are.

I didn't want breakfast. I just felt. Tired. Which was probably part of not eating but I felt a little trapped in that cycle. I needed to get out of the house. I needed something to do. James had gone and taken the box springs to the dump and mailed the cards. The only thing that really needed to be done was to go get groceries. We were out of a lot of staples. So James made a list and off I went.

I had a nice time being out honestly. I felt very cute. My fluffy sweatshirt was all I needed so I didn't wear a coat. I went to giant. Looked at the chirstmas stuff at Walgreens next door before I went and attacked our list. James was very proud of all the deals I got. Lots of buy one get one free. I got things for breakfasts and stuff I could bring with me to work this week.

I brought the new ikea bag and it continues to be the best shopping bag. I fit everything in there except for the drinks I got. Turns out I can fit one and a half gallons of milk and apple cider into my leather backpack. So that's pretty cool.

I headed home. Ran into Nick. He said he was very impressed by me carrying that big bag and then piling my mail on top of it. It was nice to see him. He is moving back in upstairs while Kim goes south for a while. I shot her a text but I know she is busy figuring out the whole move.

James met me upstairs and helped me put everything away. I opened the mail. The other book I got came and the new matching bracelets I got for me and James. We went with sterling silver this time. And they are nice! All the jump rings are solder closed so you know its quality.

I made some food and did some styling. But then I was just. Cold and annoyed that I was cold. The heater had the living room so nice and warm yesterday but today it just would warm up the space. So I was just cold and tired and annoyed.

I went and laid in the studio and bundled up and was so comfy. I kept checking in with my parents about the surgery but it kept getting pushed back and back and back and now its going to be tomorrow. So that's annoying. Poor dad didn't get to eat all day. They even prepped him! But then canceled it. Annoying.

I ended up falling asleep. I don't know for how long. I didn't want to leave my warm little area. The world was cold. But I would get up for a bit. I had some food. I bothered James for a little. I mostly just wanted to be in my pod.

But I would work on a new print. I find birds so stupidly hard to make. But I am really happy with how its going so far. I needed a lot of references but I think it will be a good one. A little different from the others. I want to make more that don't have a solid rectangle boarder and try printing them on fabrics like I used to. We will see. But so far so good.

I just got a shower and I feel very nice. I have added a body oil into my routine and I think its helping my poor skin. I am wearing my robe and I feel very good. I am looking forward to work tomorrow. I hope it is a fun day. Sleep well everyone. Take care of yourselves! Goodnight!

was this a mistake | introduction (Nessian)

Summary:

Not too long after the wedding of a close friend Nesta is starting to get tired of happily ever after. Life hasn’t been so easy for her lately and having her very single status at the forefront is not helping. And so she finds herself at a bar where Nesta runs into none other than Cassian, her fellow single. After one heart to heart conversation and way more shots than anyone should ever be allowed to consume Nesta finds herself married. And just who might her new husband be? Cassian Sterling.

___

The bright light of the morning sun peaking through the curtains started to wake up Nesta. Sadly she was waking up to a pounding head and a turning stomach. This was exactly the reason she stopped drinking so much after graduation.

Groaning Nesta picks up her phone that was resting on the nightstand. The time read 10:02am which for her was a late time to be getting up. Pushing herself up in the bed Nesta was thankful to find she hadn’t stripped out of the clothes she had worn last night, but she did find a new addition.

There on her left hand, on her ring finger was a shining oval shaped diamond. It’s the most simple ring she’s seen recently but she has no idea how she ended up with it. Last night has become very much a blur to her, all Nesta can recall is the shots and dancing and--

Cassian.

She ran into Cassian last night.

Eyes widening Nesta’s head swerves to the other side of her bed where sure enough a sleeping Cassian is still knocked out cold. And on his own left hand is a silver band.

Jumping back in surprise Nesta falls out of her bed, waking up Cassian as she knocks her lamp onto the floor and shatters it.

“Shit, sweetheart are you alright?” Cassian asks in a gravely morning voice, leaning over the bed. His eyes trace over her body to make sure she’s not injured before landing on the broken lamp. “Fuck don’t move I’ll clean that up.”

Hopping off the bed Cassian rushes out of the room only to return with a broom and dust pan. Nesta is still on the floor, and only due to the fact she’s still in shock from the rings on their fingers, she watches him clean up the mess she made.

Once Cassian has swept everything up and thrown it all into the trash he helps Nesta off the floor and back onto the bed.

“What happened last night?” Nesta asks, holding her head and taking the glass of water and a bottle of Advil she hadn’t seen him grab. She shakes a few pills out of the bottle and pops them in her mouth before washing them down with water.

“You’ve noticed the rings,” Cassian states, not having to ask what she is truly questioning. “Well we did a lot of shots and decided to elope from what I’m gathering.”

“So we really did get married,” Nesta says only now realizing she had hoped this was all in her head.

“According to this we are,” Cassian says as he hands Nesta a slip of folded up paper. Opening to paper up Nesta reads over the words of the marriage license that both her and Cassian signed at the bottle.

“Fuck,” Nesta mutters as she sets the license onto her nightstand.

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly,” Cassian says in the same haunted tone and yet she doesn’t totally believe that he’s upset about this situation. He’s probably more worried about her own reaction than anything.

“What in the hell made us want to get married last night?” Nesta says thinking out loud.

“I have a feeling it had something to do with the recent weddings in our lives,” Cassian responds, recalling some of the conversation they had before coming to the conclusion that they should get hitched.

In the past year of their personal lives they’ve watched both of Nesta’s sisters marry Cassian’s two best friends. They also watched as to everyone’s surprise, Amren married her boyfriend of the past decade. Then there was Kallias, an old college friend of Cassian’s followed by his childhood friend Mor’s engagement. Her wedding to her lost love Andromache is in two months.

It’s safe to say that both Nesta and Cassian have been feeling a little lonely recently. Especially given all the annoying questions about their non-existent dates.

“This is why I never do shots,” Nesta mumbles, falling back onto her mattress.

“If you want to get this annulled we can go today,” Cassian says though it’s not what he wants.

Ever since he met Nesta three years ago he’s been slowly falling for her. Now that they are kind of stuck with each other he wants nothing more than to give this a shot. But he knows Nesta’s life hasn’t been easy recently.

First there was the loss of her father, followed by the break up with her awful ex-boyfriend, and then to make everything worse she also lost her job. Now Nesta spends her days working as a personal assistant in another law firm in hopes of getting to the top.

A drunk wedding to a man she doesn’t partially like is the last thing she needs.

“Can’t I have to be at a late meeting in an hour and need to start getting ready,” Nesta says, still laying down on the bed.

“Well I’ll get out of your way then,” Cassian says as he gets to his feet. “Just call me whenever you want to go to the courthouse and I’ll meet you there.” Grabbing his jacket Cassian makes his way to the doorway before Nesta stops him.

“Cassian,” she calls, causing him to look over his shoulder and finding her grey eyes watching him. “Thank you.”

“Whatever you need sweetheart, I’ll give you,” and with that Cassian is out the door and heading home.

If you would like to be tagged please let me know!

PB 12 Days 2020 - Day 1

Day 1 - Pine Day Specific Tags/Warnings: Modern AU, Alcohol Abuse (past/present), Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Sex for Money (but not exactly sex work as such), Implied Alfie/Other

Notes: "On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..." Yikes, a lot of angst to kick off the holiday season. And a non-holiday ficlet too! I'M SORRY.

----- 

“Have a right mess on our hands, don’t we now, boy?”

Alfie tosses his keys onto the sideboard and braces himself against the kitchen sink, head dropping between his shoulders before taking a deep breath. Cyril’s nails click across the floor, the sound driving sharp pain into Alfie’s throbbing head and causing his teeth to clench. He exhales to the count of eight and inhales to the same. The grounding exercise does little to exorcise the ghost of bright blue eyes that have haunted him for the better part of the day.

“Fuck it,” he announces.

He saved it for an occasion like this—a gift from someone who had been fucking foolish enough to cross him once and had to pay the bloody piper eventually. (There was a good deal more extracted from that encounter, wasn’t there, but this was the only thing that gave him a bit of pause). He stashed it in the home office in an impressive bit of cabinetry where he kept all manner of questionable things. So there he heads, his steps heavy and quick—Cyril’s own rushed clips following close behind—because if he lets himself overthink it, well…

Well, if he lets himself overthink it then he’ll be sensible, and Alfie’s not quite ready to be sensible just yet.

The bottle is shoved in the back where he’d left it two years ago. Cyril noses at the it and licks the dust from the neck, wet tongue swiping across Alfie’s tight grip.

“Nah, can’t let you have any of this. Poisons the mind, and you’re too smart for all that, mate.” He swings his arm around Cyril’s shoulders and pulls Cyril into his side, kissing him sloppily. “Me on the other hand? Yeah, don’t have to tell you, do I?”

Alfie drops into the office chair and kicks off his shoes, eyes the bottle of dark brown liquid like it’s about to pull one over on him. (It will—no fucking question about that). After a long moment of stillness, he works the sterling silver top off the pretty bottle quickly and puts its mouth to his own. A dangerous liaison if ever there were one.

Eight years sobriety gone, quick as that.

No sense in blaming anyone but himself, course. But if he were the type, well, he might blame Tommy. Tommy, who all those months ago heard Alfie tell his men that Jewish women were off limits, that they might consider themselves just as fucking gay as him while in London. Tommy, who said not one for secrets, eh, Mr. Solomons? with a thoughtful frown and nod of respect. Tommy, who took to taking off his jacket at their meetings to show off the curve of his arse in those bespoke trousers. Tommy, who dared to lean in against him after dinner and brush his lips against Alfie’s jaw before pulling back and saying no, this ain’t me with gin on his breath and lust in his eyes.

Alfie takes a pull of the rum, sucking it down like a hungry infant at its bottle. A waste. Was meant for sipping, not this; the notes lost on his tongue save for the nutty, fruity aftertaste that lingers between swigs. His mouth is warm with it, and he hates it—hates how he’d rather his mouth was warm with something else.

 It’s not long before he starts feeling it—his tolerance not being what it was—and the fog is a welcome thing.

“Firs’ you take a drink,” he says slowly, quietly, eyes narrowed at the bottle. “Then the…drink takes a drink, then the drink…takes you.” Alfie hums. “Fitzgerald. But y’knew tha’, Cyril. Bein’ a man o’ letters, s’right.”

He toys with the rum, rubbing the bottle between clumsy palms. Dropping it would be a kindness to himself. He’s not so far gone that he doesn’t know it. Maybe that’s why he finally sits the bottle on the desk, holding it there for a moment as if its unstable even though its quite secure.

Thick fingers reach for his mobile. After two failed attempts, he unlocks it and manages to get himself into his photos. He scrolls up to that night a few weeks back, to the photo of Tommy drunk and looking at him like he has two heads for raising the camera. The subsequent photo is of a rare smile. The video that follows captures two seconds—two seconds seared into his skull—of Tommy’s huffed laugh and annoyed expression before Tommy reaches to take the phone and Alfie evades him. It’s not even ten seconds long, yet it captures one of the most enjoyable nights of Alfie’s rather dark and tired life.

He’s not drunk enough to text Tommy, but it’s a near miss. His fingers hover over the screen, heavy with words of affection, of anger and frustration. Alfie wants to say I can’t get you out of my mind or I’m half-mad for you or the dreaded I might be in love with you. He doesn’t though. The sentiments are all true enough by his own estimation, but they’re phrases people have worn meaningless.

Instead, he calls up one of his semi-frequent lovers—one that came into the picture about a year ago now. Dark haired and fair eyed with a sharp tongue and more bravado than sense. The lover doesn’t mind playing a part—they both know that he’s not meant to be himself at all—but he does mind the short notice. Three thousand pounds is enough incentive, and to Alfie it seems like a deal.  

REGULUS BLACK is TWENTY-ONE YEARS OLD and a JUNIOR RESEARCHER in THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC RESEARCH WING at THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC. He looks remarkably like TIMOTHEE CHALAMET and considers himself aligned with THE DEATH EATERS. He is currently TAKEN. 

→ OVERVIEW:

tw: death, murder

Quiet and reserved, Regulus Black is in many ways the opposite to his elder and arguably more famous brother SIRIUS BLACK. Regulus never felt the need to question the nature of his family ideology. Like most children, Regulus simply absorbed what his parents told him because they were his parents. When his older brother asked why they couldn’t play with the children who lived on their street and their mother WALBURGA told them it was because children like them didn’t play with Muggles, Regulus simply accepted it. Muggles were terrible creatures in Regulus’ young mind, even more so than the vampires and werewolves that littered the storybooks which collected on his bedroom shelves. His mother and father believed that Muggles were beneath them and often reminded both Regulus and his brother the great importance of their lineage as one of the most noble and ancient families to grace the wizarding world. Regulus belonged to a long line of talented magical folk with a pure and traceable bloodline that could be likened to that of royalty in the Muggle world. ORION and Walburga believed that with a bloodline such as theirs they deserved to be seen and celebrated, with Muggles falling into line behind witches and wizards with families such as theirs leading the charge. 

Regulus enjoyed that idea and was doted upon by his mother who treated him with kindness and love. He was the son she had always wanted, beautiful, kind and obedient, the perfect heir to the Black family fortune and one of the great loves of her life. Being brought up in the Black family home consisted of a lot of showboating as his mother and father threw decorated dinner parties for the wealthiest families in British wizarding society. His childhood was a blur of being rotated around the room speaking the friends of his parents while his elder brother sat banished to his bedroom, looking sullenly out of the window to the world below he knew Sirius would have rather been a part of. Despite being so close in age Regulus and Sirius were not close, though in his earlier years he remembered wanting to be. Like most children Regulus idolized his older brother. Playing alone in their room he would ask him questions and they would play games which remain only a distant memory to him now. In the far corners of his mind Regulus can remember when it all abruptly ended and his mother no longer liked the answers Sirius gave him to his questions which didn’t agree with what their mother and father had taught them. 

After that Sirius became othered in his mind. A naughty child he should never aspire to be like. Regulus still loved his brother, but his duty to their mother and a small little voice in the back of his head told him not to try and convince him away from his idea and instead keep him distant. The void left by Sirius was filled instead by his cousins, BELLATRIX, ANDROMEDA and NARCISSA whom he loved as though they were his sisters. Bellatrix reminded him a lot of his mother and agreed to protect him when he arrived at Hogwarts and keep him away from Mudbloods who would plan to lead him astray. Andromeda was his kind cousin, the one who would sit and play with him the longest even when he knew she’d grown tired of him and the one he secretly loved the most. Narcissa was his best friend. She was his partner in crime and the pair were rarely seen apart during their formative years. Narcissa and Regulus had similar dispositions even as children. They knew what was expected of them and had designed their dreams around those expectations. Narcissa wanted a handsome wizard to love her she could have children with to love and adore. Regulus wanted a job at the Ministry to attend to each day and a pretty wife to kiss him as he walked through the door. 

Their dreams were simple compared to the ones most children tailored for themselves but for them it was enough. Though Regulus always held himself as a gentleman he found he could gossip to Narcissa and told her mostly everything, which she was happy to help council him on. From his first crush on Sirius’ prospective betrothal LYRA BURKE, which she advised against, to his aspiration to play Quidditch, which she approved of. The final Black to attend Hogwarts, Regulus had little contact with Sirius whilst attending school and fell into a group of fellow Slytherin students that surrounded Narcissa. Regulus greatly enjoyed the company of the older students and was quite fond of RABASTAN LESTRANGE and his sister’s best friends ELEANOR YAXLEY and her twin brother VICTOR. Elenor in particular was someone Regulus grew fairly close to quite quickly, under the careful gaze of his cousin who greatly encouraged the match. To most people Eleanor Yaxley was a fairly intolerable witch with a very high opinion of herself that Regulus admired, finding her quite spirited although in the ways his mother approved of. Though nothing quite materialised between the pair, Regulus enjoyed taking her to a number of dances during their time at school though he often found himself still distracted by Lyra which greatly annoyed his cousin. A member of the Black family sorted into Slytherin, Regulus garnered himself a similar reputation to that of his cousins rather than his brother and was both feared and respected due to his family name. 

He attracted the company of those similar to him. Studious and relatively unapproachable by most, WYATT JUGSON became his best friend. A Ravencalw who in Regulus’ opinion should have been a Slytherin, the two were firm favourites of PROFESSOR HORRACE SLUGHORN’s and enjoyed a seat at all Slug Club events due to their academic prowess and Regulus’ sterling abilities as Slytherin’s Seeker. AMIR GIBBON was not as academic as he and Wyatt, though a fellow Slytherin and a talented enough Beater to rival even Regulus’ brother, he completed their little trio well. Regulus left a decorated student, a prefect, a talented Seeker and a member of Slug Club with an almost spotless academic record Regulus was as excited as he could be to leave Hogwarts behind and enter his new life as the heir to the Black family. The night Sirius was burned off their family tapestry was ingrained in Regulus brain, though he tried to push down the dry feeling in his throat whenever he thought about the life he now was entitled to with his brother out of the picture. Regulus had an idea of the way his life was going to pan out which would begin with a research position at The Ministry of Magic, furthering his knowledge in Magical Law which was a great area of interest to him. Assisting every now and then on one of Andromeda and her boss RODOLPHUS LESTRANGE’s cases, Regulus felt content with the life he had though his family had bigger ideas for him. 

Bellatrix had become more distant from their family after she left Hogwarts, though no one in their family was quite clear as to why. Regulus’ enrolment into THE DARK LORD’s army was a slow but inevitable one, with Bellatrix slowly moulding his mind to adhere to her cause with added help from her second in command Rabastan. The two convinced Regulus his talents were worth more than a simple research job, playing on the idea his mother had instilled in him that Regulus deserved better due to his family line. Continuing his job at The Ministry, Regulus has been tasked with keeping an eye on things which may be of use to Bellatrix and Rabastan, including his cousin and Rabastan’s brother which they believe might be useful, though Regulus has someone more important in his eyeline. BARTIMUS CROUCH JR, a fellow research assistant in his department with a very powerful and distant father has stuck out to Regulus as someone worth getting a little closer to. Although they are simply colleagues, Regulus believes Barty may be someone he could potentially sway and bring back as a prize to his cousin, giving him even more standing within an army he knows he is becoming increasingly important in. Tasked with bewitching the Minister’s son HARRISON BAGNOLD to murder various creatures at The Yule Ball, Regulus was proud with what had transpired until it became clear his task had backfired. With none of the creatures dead, Harrison missing and a Sacred Twenty-Eight witch named ROSALIE FLINT somehow connected to the evening, Regulus is nervous one of his tasks has cast attention on him and his family for all the wrong reasons and is keen to find out what exactly transpired. 

→ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Blood Status → Pure-Blood

Pronouns → He/Him

Identification → Cis Male 

Sexuality  → Up to Roleplayer 

Relationship Status → Single

Previous Education →  Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Slytherin)

Societies → N/A

Family → Orion Black (father), Walburga Black (mother), Sirius Black (estranged brother/adversary), Cygnus Black (uncle), Druella Black (aunt), Bellatrix Black (cousin/mentor), Andromeda Black (cousin/colleague), Narcissa Black (cousin/best friend) 

Connections  → Wyatt Jugson (best friend), Amir Gibbon (best friend), Severus Snape (close friend), Eleanor Yaxley (friend/potential love interest), Victor Yaxley (friend), Rabastan Lestrange (friend/mentor), Jasper Avery (friend), Larkin Mulciber (friend), Lyra Burke (friend/potential love interest), Rodolphus Lestrange (colleague), Bartimus Crouch Jr. (target), Harrison Bagnold (victim), Rosalie Flint (victim)

Future Information → Eventual Traitor to The Death Eaters

REGULUS BLACK IS A LEVEL 5 WIZARD.

You suck, you should fix that | d.m (requested)

Request: yes (@ brycelahelalover)

“Hii, I'm a new follower of yours and I have a request. So the details are: my reader's name is Orchid Sterling. She has achy blonde kind of hair, green eyes. And she's a Gryffindor for the sake of the story. Draco Malfoy. Where the reader is Dumbledore's granddaughter and part of the golden trio. And she and draco go from enemies to lovers kind of thing. She never really bothered with his insults and always ignored them by rolling her eyes or something? Anyways, thank you”

World count: 2805 

Do you know the feeling when you just want to stay in bed all day long and do absolutely nothing? Well, it was one of those days for me. Most of my weekend was spent with Harry, Ron and Hermione at the library, working on a big essay for our Potions class with Professor Snape. And if all the school work wouldn’t be enough, Harry wanted to wander around the Castle because he thought he heard weird noise coming from the walls even after the Chamber was officially closed, and wanted to found out what it really was or where it came from. Of course we all went with him, and almost get detention for not being in our dorm rooms past our curfew.  We hardly had any time left to relax and have fun by the Great Lake. So when Monday rolled in, I only wanted one thing: to be done with the day.

- Don’t you look just drop dead gorgeous this fine Monday morning, sweet Orchid? – I groaned at the voice which greeted me when I stepped into the Great Hall to have breakfast with my friends.  I rolled my eyes at him when I walked past Draco and his group of fans.

- I’m so tired – Harry put his head in his hands and I was positive he was seconds away from passing out. We only slept for a couple of hours before we had to wake up to go and attend our classes – We shouldn’t have stayed awake for that long last night.

- Oh, you don’t say? – I asked, my voice filled with sarcasm. We were lucky, that we weren’t caught last night, sneaking out of our dorms once again, but this time to go to the library to find something odd about the Castle that might be an explanation for the voice Harry had been hearing – Maybe we should just sleep at night, instead of going on little adventures. Snape will literally hex us if he finds one of us outside of the Gryffindor’s Dormitory past out curfew again.

Ron and Hermione tried to stay out of the conversations, both of them being quite busy with eating or reading something. Harry thankfully dropped the subject, and instead of talking, he took a few minutes nap on the dining table. I was enjoying my morning pumpkin juice, when all of a sudden, a paper cane came flying in front of me. I slowly opened it:

“What? No witty comebacks for my lovely morning greeting? – D”

I sighed and torn apart the message. Draco and I had been enemies ever since we arrived to Hogwarts at the age of 11. It started with me talking back to him, and Malfoy not liking the fact that someone wasn’t afraid of him. There wasn’t a day without us fighting about or over something. He irritated me with his arrogant and selfish attitude, but at the same time I found something very amusing in the way he always got so angry and frustrated at something I said or did. The fact, that Dumbledore was my grandfather, didn’t really helped to develop our relationship with each other. Draco finding every possibility to come at me with this fact. In exchange, I never failed to remind him to go and tell his father about someone who talked him back. I swear to Merlin, telling his father everything and anything was his hobby.

- You know – Hermione giggled, when she figured out the reason behind my sudden annoyance and anger - Malfoy and you are the living proof that you can hate and love someone at the same time. It’s very amusing to watch how you both cannot go a day without bothering the other.

- I have no idea what you’re talking about – I drank the last of my juice and started to pick up my stuff to leave for my DADA class, when the huge doors of the Great Hall flew wide open and a rather angry Professor Dumbledore barged in. All eyes were on him.

- Orchid Sterling-Dumbledore – his voice echoed through the huge Hall. He stopped right in front of us, and his usually kind eyes now were filled with anger and worry.

- Hi, Grandpa – I smiled at him innocently, but I knew it was already a lost case when he put his hands of his waist. I looked at Hermione, who was already looking at me with a “what have you done now?” look.

- Don’t Grandpa me now – he said – You, Mr. Potter, Mr. Wesleay and Ms. Granger go to my office in this second – he ordered. Love of Merlin. We all knew why he was so pissed at us. Harry, Ron and Hermione quickly picked up their bags and followed Professor Dumbledore.

- You too, Mr. Malfoy – Dumbledore said to the smirking blond and dragged him with us by his robe. The four of us were changing confused glances between each other, not knowing why he had to come with us as well. Mentally, I was prepared for my Grandfather’s speech about the dangerous of sneaking out of the dorm rooms at night, knowing very well that Voldemort was back and tried everything to reach Harry and kill him. Along with everyone who would try to save him. All five of us were sitting silently there, watching Professor Dumbledore walking around his room, listening as he went on and off about how many times we had already broke the rules of Hogwarts, putting ourselves exposed to anyone who would try to hurt us, and disobeying our Professors and Prefects’ orders. I knew for sure I wasn’t going to hear the end of this during Christmas break.

- And not to mention – he looked at Malfoy and me – Duelling at the courtyard? You two aren’t supposed to use your wands for such activities, only if you are in danger.

- Malfoy started it – I shrugged – I was only trying to protect my nerves from him. He tends to like getting on them and…

- ENOUGH – Grandpa yelled – All five of you, detention. Harry, Ron and Hermione you are going to help Professor Snape cleaning his equipment for Potions class, and will do as he orders. Three days. And I don’t want to see any of you out of your dorms after dinner, am I clear?

- Yes, Professor – they said in union and were free to leave, leaving Malfoy and I behind.

- As for you Ms. Sterling and Mr. Malfoy – he sat down by his huge desk – You two are going to spend your detention together. In that case, you might learn how to act like civilized witches and wizards. You two are going to put away the books in the library, so you cannot scream at each other.

- Excuse me, Professor – Malfoy spoke for the first time since we had arrived – I might have zoned out a bit, but why am I getting detention?

- For the same things as Ms. Sterling over here – he gestured to me with his hand – You were in the duel as well, throwing back spells, and also left your Dorm after the curfew. I know you had the best intentions by telling Professor Snape that they sneaked out, but you followed them, and broke the rules too.

If eyes could kill, Malfoy would have been dead by the time Dumbledore dismissed us. I rushed to find my friends and tell them it was Malfoy who snitched on us to Snape, and he was the reason we got detention. In the middle of my rage, George and Fred joined us in the courtyard, and watched me with smirks on their faces.

- Young love – Fred sang and danced around alone, while George tried to stop him from bumping into something. I scoffed at them and sat down next to Ron, who was eating chocolate frogs and looked like he didn’t care at all for getting detention and him being forced to spend even more time with Snape. Of course he didn’t mind, he had Harry and Hermione with him. He didn’t have to be with his sworn enemy for a whole week.

- It’s funny how much you love each other – George added and ruffled up my hair.

- Were you even listening? – I asked them angrily – I was literally going on and on for hours who much I hate Malfoy for being an arrogant git and…

- All we heard was, you talking about him nonstop – they giggled – Like you have been doing for the last couple of months. You know Orchid, the more you hide your feelings from someone, the more you fall for them.

I glared at my friends, who found my situation rather funny. None of them tried to help me out, confirming my hatred towards the Slytherin boy. It was like, they were all on the same page.

- Alright – I sighed – Maybe I don’t hate him. Hate is quite a strong word, and he might have his reasons why he’s acting like a total jerk, but still. I’m just not necessarily excited about Draco’s existence.

- Talking about me, Princess? – an annoyed groan left my lips when I heard him from behind me. There was his usual smirk on his face, and he looked quite satisfied with himself. I checked my watch to see it was almost time for us to serve our detention at the library – Grandpa dearest wasn’t too happy about you sneaking out in the middle of the night, right?

- Don’t mess with me now, Malfoy – I hissed as I walked past him, bumping my shoulder into his. I heard his footsteps following me and soon enough he appeared in front of me, walking backwards so he could face me.

- Or what? You’ll hex me? – he laughed and bit his lower lip – You are one of a kind, aren’t you? Black sheep of the family? Always getting in trouble, talking back and so on. I wonder if you weren’t related to Dumbledore, you still would have been sorted into Gryffindor. Or you might have been a Slytherin – he stopped when we reached the entrance of the library – You know, I offered my friendship to you on the train and warned you about who you are befriending.

- Oh shut up, Malfoy – I pushed him inside. We went to find Madam Pince. She told us our first task and asked us to stay silent for the sake of the students who came to the library to actually do school work or just read. I tried everything to stay away from Malfoy, but he always find a way to join me and bother me with the most nonsense questions or just tried to make me feel uncomfortable. For some unknown reasons, I started to think about all those things the twins and Hermione had been telling me. Was it possible? Did I really had feelings for him? Even if I did, it must have been Stockholm Syndrome, cause there was no way a normal mind would fell for such an arrogant asshole. But at the same time, on days, when he was too tired or was busy with something else, I missed his attention. Him always having something to argue about, picking on me, bullying my friends or just being himself and getting on my last nerves. So on days like those, I always find something to tell him. Most of the time we ended up being pairs in classes, and even though be argued through the whole class, we always managed to be ready with a high mark on our assignments, gaining House point for Slytherin and Gryffindor.

- Thinking about be? – he suddenly appeared behind me as I was collecting a few books from the furthest table in the library. He put his hands on my sides, locking me between his body and the desk, not having any exit for me to escape. My senses were filled with the warmth of his body, and with his signature cologne and mint scent – I don’t mind at all. You haven’t left my mind for the last couple of months… – his minty breath tickled my neck, and goose bumps appeared on my arms.

- Bullshit – I rolled my eyes and tried to escape, but Draco pushed me against the desk, his body brushing against mine – What do you want now, Malfoy?

- Well, I have a few things in my mind – he whispered in my ear and his hands found their way to my hips, squeezing it lightly – But I want to know why you hate me so much.

I turned around in his embrace, and I couldn’t tell if my cheeks were red because of the boiling rage in my body or I was blushing because of his touch and sudden mood change. I looked up him, seeing that he honestly wanted to know.

- Where have you been all this time? – I raised an eyebrow at him – We have been like this ever since we first met each other. You’re an asshole, and I cannot tolerate your arrogant and selfish behaviour, and I haven’t even mention the fact that you somehow find amusement in bullying everyone who isn’t a pureblood or a Slytherin.

- Come on, Sterling – he laughed a bit – We both know this is something you had gotten over a long time ago.

- Fine – I sighed - I’m not saying I hate you. What I’m saying is that you are literally the Monday of my life. Always pissing me off, always having something to surprise me with and…

- And? – he pulled me closer to his body. Draco’s icy blue eyes were shifting from my green eyes to my lips, than back to my eyes again. His light pink tongue ran along his slightly plump bottom lip as he played with the ends of my blond hair. I could feel the tension growing second by second and I was glad we were far away from the few students who were left in the library.

- You suck, you should fix that - I pushed him away from me and picked up the long forgotten books from the desk to go and put them away. I walked to the correct section and started to put away the books, when he appeared again out of nowhere, scaring me a bit.

- You know – he leaned against the bookshelf – When I think of you, I have this weird feeling. It’s like I want to throw you off a cliff, then rush to the bottom to catch you.

I looked at him with raised eyebrows. I wanted to throw some witty comeback at him, but I was caught off guard and all I could do was rolling my eyes at him. When I turned my back at him, Draco suddenly pushed me against the bookshelf with such force, a few books fall out of their places. One of his hands were on my hip, keeping me still, so I couldn’t leave, and the other pulled my hair softly, so I was looking into his now darkened blue eyes.

- Fuck – he breathed into my face – You drive me crazy. The way you roll your eyes at me, or when you bite your lip after a good comeback – his lips were almost on mine. I could almost feel how soft they might be – Or when you get all frustrated at me. Damn, I want to drive you crazy too.

And he did. When his lips met mine we both knew we were screwed. We kissed each other like there was no tomorrow. Lips moving in sync, while our hands tried to explore each other’s bodies as much as we could. I failed to cover up one of my moans, when Draco started to leave small kisses along my neck, and sucking on one point to leave his mark. My fingers were pulling on his platinum blond hair, leaving it a hot mess.

- What happened with throwing me off a cliff? – I asked jokingly. Draco growled and bit my shoulder.

- The only place I want to throw you at is my bed, woman – he answered and pushed his toned body against mine even more – But for now – he whispered – Shut up, Sterling.

- Make… - he didn’t let me finish it and kissed me again. This time with even more passion. They were right. Young love. From that day, we were the same. We argued, picked on each other, always bothered the other with something but there was something new. We kissed and held hands. He got overprotective and jealous, for which he usually ended up in detention, but that was his way showing how serious he was about our unfolding relationship.

Leverage: The 12 Steps Job

It‘s been a while since I‘ve done one of these, but I‘m rewatching Leverage yet again (SHOW, I MISSED YOU) and here are plenty of things I love about ‚The 12 Step Job‘: I love…

… The montage of Hurley in the car and how he walks into his office. Man, that is one NEAT character introduction because when you first watch this, of course he could pass as an absolute jerk and the baddie of the week – despite the client‘s description of him as enthusiastic and sweet. But at the same time this is just how he is later on in this ep and when he returns in The Boys‘ Night Out Job: An absolute slob and a complete mess but also very congenial (how much he knows about all his co-workers? Sweet) and with his heart in the right place.

… Nate being a complete dick and so fucking in denial about his alcohol problem here. I haven‘t watched season one in a while and it‘s so interesting how his and Sophie‘s relationship is so different here (the biggest shift of course being between s2 and s3 where Nate decides to take a vacation in prison and Sophie runs the crew in the meantime – this changes things forever). But it‘s so cool how Gina‘s acting walks the thin line between being the one who is absolutely in the right here and being just that bit annoying that allows Nate to justify implying that she‘s overly dramatic

… Eliot‘s hair is ON FIRE in that episode, wow and that blue shirt *chef‘s kiss*

… how the team works together in figuring out where Hurley might be. Yes, it‘s season one and Nate is very much calling the shots – and he is the one narrowing it down here – but Eliot and Hardison specifically absolutely pitch in.

… Sophie‘s and Eliot‘s little eyeroll at Hardison‘s dropping strip club knowledge

… ‘if Billy was a drunken sex fiend’ – hahaha, Parker, spot on as always – and Eliot‘s and Hardison‘s responding expressions. Come on, boys, don‘t deny it, you‘re in love with her already.

… that look on Nate‘s face when he figures out how to find Hurley. His whole expression changes, his gaze focusses, he leans forward and that drunken haze is gone for the moment

… how Eliot and Hardison constantly share the same frame <3

… Eliot‘s little DELIGHTED smile. Okay, his and Hardison‘s delight in strip joints doesn‘t quite fit later seasons, so we all can just agree that Hardison asking for change for 100 in singles is just because they really want to tip generously for the chicken wings there or something :)

… Eliot‘s and Hardison‘s synchronized walk off

… ‘Don‘t get mad, Eliot, I may have spilled slushie in your car’ and his badly acted expression of contrition hahaha, no one is buying that, Hardison

… Eliot and Hardison being extremely sexy in sitting in Eliot’s car (and as so often, look at the perfect way that shot is lit! Hardison’s and Eliot’s faces both fricking glow)

… very smartly dressed random thugs

… the messy way the fight scene is shot – close ups and very wobbly camera moves, and how you can still tell how efficiently Eliot fights and how… well not all that efficiently Hardison is. And yes, again, it’s season one, so Hardison grabs the gun and shoots it, too, instead of just sitting back and chilling while he watches Eliot beat people up (which is way better than the strip joint idea anyway)

… Eliot being annoyed with Hardison

… ‘Is he sleeping?’ LOL, yes, Sophie, that’s why Hurley is using the air bag as a pillow

… Nate looking progressively more like the absolute mess he is as the episode progresses

… - how confusing is it that Sterling’s Theme is used and Sterling isn’t immediately around the next corner? That is SO cool because yes, he shows up later, or rather: withdrawal!Nate hallucinates him; and so his theme music this early in the episode is almost like foreshadowing

… everyone in group therapy apparently understanding Sam perfectly well aside from Nate

… Parker having to read from the cheat sheet she wrote onto her lower arm to get her three-sentence-character-intro right

… Hurley’s massive list of addiction, with the climax of “Tacos”

… “Uh-huh” - and Sophie and Nate having another fight while everyone else in the group is already tired of it. Especially Parker, if one were to judge by her VERY subtle expressions.

… Parker aggressively chewing on the meds the doctor gave her. I absolutely LOVE the way she constantly gives other people this uncensored WTF-look in season one

… Eliot being smart in the parking lot. I have so much love and respect for how that’s played here again – Eliot is the one who has to have 360 vision, it’s his job to anticipate problems in all forms and sizes

… Hardison’s bricks-on-the-seat plan. That’s so great because he might be the smartest guy Eliot knows TM, but he is fucking afraid here and panicking and that’s not conducive to coming up with super clever plans, is it?

… Hardison and Eliot working together while bitching at one another - “Yes, there are a lot of wires! It’s a Com-Pu-Ter!!”

… Hardison’s brain rebooting as he figures out that it’s a computer bomb and the system needs to be re-booted

… Eliot trusting Hardison’s knowledge, and Christian’s acting here – knowing Hardison is right, being low key annoyed by it, being just a bit unsettled (that lip quiver!) “Run that sack of bricks by me again...” - “Are you ready?” - “NO!”  and his trembling hand - he is so good at rapidly changing expressions and tones

… “I’m gonna go and freshen up a little bit. Maybe cry a little”

… Hardison thinking on his feet and that sweet Jamaican accent – Eliot thinking that is sexy, and backing him up with a bomb

… and again, Kane’s acting – that beat and that look before he says “Sure” when Hardison asks whether he’d have saved him as well

… Nate’s withdrawal. So well done. Over all, the show is SO good at showing that alcoholism is a sickness and a serious problem, even if (especially if!) Nate doesn’t acknowledge it

… HARDISON AND ELIOT’S DATE AT THE RECEPTION DESK. - So, while in the scene before, Hardison takes the lead in acting their way out of the situation, here it’s Eliot by shamelessly flirting with the receptionist. And Hardison’s FACE throughout this. Like, bro, do we have time for this? DO WE? - And then “I’m with him”. And Eliot trying so hard not to burst into laughter, especially when Hardison is doing that thing he is famous for which is shamelessly over-acting just to piss Eliot off. - The ringing of the reception bell and “Bring yo ass”. And none of that even being mentioned in the next scene. - So much quality content in this episode.

… Sophie taking over for Nate when Nate very obviously can’t, and her tone of voice changing to what we’ll get to know from season three Sophie

… Parker coming up with a believable story and selling it. Up to the point where her make believe parents found gold under their trailer…

… Nate’s withdrawal getting worse, Tim’s acting is brilliant here.

… Sophie talking differently to Nate than before. Yes, she still seems to focus on Nate and how Nate is being a dick to them and particularly her, but her voice is different and she uses the real emotion between her and Nate’s exchange to get what they need from Hurley; the list of people he wronged. Brilliant little twist here, because of course Sophie is focused on the con and on helping their client, especially now that Nate is threatening to lose his focus entirely

… that Genesis? Veeeeery subtle product placement, Leverage hahaha

… “I checked your notes - he seems like a deeply troubled man” - Thank you, doctor, yeah. Nate IS a deeply troubled man. And again: Nate’s withdrawal getting much worse, and the con threatening to get out of hand. I said it before, and I’ll say it again: It’s really great how they used this episode to focus so much on Nate’s alcoholism. It’s something so important not only for later seasons but also for the upcoming s1 finale, and we’ve watched enough episodes at this point that we understand WHY this happened to him. And this episode doesn’t offer an easy fix, nor do the following seasons. “Just give me something to do” is what Nate says here, and Sophie has to decide whether or not this is really the right thing to do

… “He is an addict, he knows how to manipulate people, my father was an addict, my grandfather was an addict, I know how these people operate” - yes, Nate, we know who you’re talking about. And so does Sophie

… Sterling as the one Nate hallucinates. Because Sterling knows him, because they used to be friends, because Sterling is as ruthless as Nate is (well, nearly), because Nate is still projecting and in denial that he is in fact talking about himself. So what does he do? He imagines his former friend who is now on the other side, chasing him. - I’m not too big a fan of Sterling in later seasons but this is such a STELLAR use of his character, and Mark’s acting is brilliant here, and so is, of course, Tim’s.

… “Knocking on heaven’s door” - ouch

… Nate’s aggression towards Hurley, first in a physical form and that is scary but also less dangerous because it’s unfocused; and then when his mind has something to focus on, that sharp sharp focus – fuck, he’s one scary dude indeed, it’s rather disconcerting that one is looking at Hurley for emotional reassurance in this scene…

… Parker’s strange walk because of her meds and the return on her focus when her thief-self kicks back in

… “If you’re doing it to help someone, doesn’t that make it okay?” Good question, Hurley. Your answer, Nate?

… Nate shoving Hurley in the hallway rather than explaining what’s going on. Funny, and sliiiightly sloppy, Mr Ford

...Tacos :)

… Eliot and Hardison sharing the same level of annoyance and then acceptance. So in tune in this episode, these two

… re-using that bomb. Everyone does their part in sustainability and careful usage of resources ;)

… the thugs thinking the bomb thing was done by the Jamaicans, aka Hardison and Eliot

… Eliot’s and Hardison’s reservations in the flashback. “Uh---why?” from Hardison and Eliot’s emphatic headshake

… the cash in the tire. Very practical choice, Hurley

… HURLEY JUST WANTS A HUG

… Hardison going the extra mile with Hurley’s new identity by getting him a gym membership

… Parker’s brilliant drawing!!!

… Parker smelling the Sharpie

… Parker running, PARKER HUGGING ELIOT AND HARDISON!!!! OT3!!!

… and that song, that is a variation of “What shall we do with the drunken sailor”, right?

Seriously, this is such a dark episode for Leverage standards because of that focus on Nate’s addiction, and yet, it’s counterbalanced by so much Hardison/Eliot fun and competence porn, by Sophie’s strength and by the fact that the villain of the week has a redemption arc. I love this show so much and this mix shows why again; such a delicate balance, so beautifully handled

DANTILLIAN STORY AU PART 1

AU: This is a continue after Dante and Killian met each other through high school in which Killian was a jock and dante the biggest nerd one can imagine. They became very close and happy together. Dante inbetween school created a robotic arm prototype as an idea for the future.. but halfway school, Killian became rather violent and so protective over Dante. It showed part of his darker side he seemed to have. As he fell out of school and started to make himself big in the underground world, becoming one of the most dangerous ones out there, dante on the other side completed his college and medical degree as well. Eventually he got himself into the agency world as just like walter, showed great intelligence and scientific skills that most didn't have. However, Joyless, always doubted his intentions. As dante has immense constant activity in his mind which they did test, it showed he could not only help the agency, but in a way also could be a threat. That always worried her, as eventually.. It would lead to consequences which was out of dante’s reach.

STORY:

“there must be something there..” Joyless said rather tiring, watching the big screens as most agents did their work. She walked back and forth through the room before thinking of a solution. For a while now there have been rather odd happenings at their base in the UK. For sterling was currently out of the picture..  “Call Dante for me.. I need to have a word with him immediately” She said with a rather deadly stare, making some of the coworkers frown. “Dante? Why-” “Don't ask any questions. Just get him for me” Joyless said quickly before one of the colleagues around started running to get what she wanted. As she watched the man go, she was already preparing what to say. She knew dante was very much advanced to notice any defaults when people would speak.. But he couldn't help it. The man was just very well trained as his mind was always active.

Dante always worked day and night. His brain never tended to stop. Hence why he loved to make way more intriguing things. Rather more daring and complicated for most couldn't follow. It was just his way of relaxing but as well working the most he could but some didn't seem to appreciate it, which slowly, started to become something that hurt him.. “Yo.. Dan?” One of dante’s colleagues called as dante sighed. “Its dante.. Not dan, and what is it?” dante sounded a bit annoyed, but turned around more soft in the end. “Joyless wants to speak with you..” He said rather quick, making Dante frown. “Me?” “Yeah.. You, you better hurry. It seems urgent” The colleague said as Dante quickly grabbed his phone before heading to the main room, being rather surprised he got called, considering joyless and him never had the most smoothest way of handling things. Usually just misunderstanding. As dante gently knocked, the doors opened for him, allowing him to enter the big room before all was closed and rather secluded. “I heard I had to come as soon as possible. Have I done something wrong?” dante said rather caring, holding his own hands while Joyless just stood at random in the room, her hands on her back. “No.. Dante you have not. I am actually here to ask you for a mission this time” Joyless started as Dante was rather surprised, trying to ask something as she was ahead of him. “I know you’ll question.. Why or what and that it may not be your department. I’ll explain” Joyless said as she grabbed her little remote control to activate the bigger screens in the room, showing exactly what she needed him for. “For a while now we’ve noticed rather odd signals coming from our base in the UK.. As far as we tried to reach out to the ones that used to work there, none of them reply. We assume something has been hacked or rather taken care off in a way we don't want to know.. But we do know the place might be used as a hideout. I am asking you with your abilities to hopefully track down what those signals are.. And if you can stop them” Joyless said. Dante frowned as he was thinking wisely. “Although you’ve said before this is not my department.. What if there are armed men or worse. I cannot defend myself against those. I’m a doctor, and somewhat scientist” dante said to cover that part. He knew joyless didn't like that. “I’m not someone made for the field or such, you can see that for yourself” Dante said as they all knew the man was slim and not strongly build either. “I am aware dante..” Joyless said as she sighed. “It are strange times.. I already lost sterling through all madness.. I would’ve asked him if I could. I have the idea with your different kind of skill that you can stop this or at least figure out whatever there may be.. I just can't think of anyone else who can help me” joyless said as Dante frowned a bit. It was the first time she ever showed this kind of appreciation, but saying no to the CEO was hard to do. “I can understand the risk is too much, but if anything, I’d appreciate you if you’d accept this and try to help. I know you always want to help” Joyless said as it was true. But it made Dante doubt a bit. Why all the sudden did she want his help as their chemistry wasn't always so perfect.. Though, sitting here and just working on things in the lab were not the easiest thing as most did not allow dante to go all out on experiments. So.. Perhaps saying yes would be best. “I suppose I have to go as soon as possible right” Dante only said, making Joyless smirk hiddenly before she’d turn to him rather serious. “I’ll give all info, but yes.. It would be best if you could leave immediately after you’ve gotten things ready”.

As joyless had given all info and made Dante get ready, it didn't take long before he had grabbed his car and drove off.. Joyless had arranged a special large plane to be able to transport dante and his car along so he could drive to the building that so happened to be close to the coast side. Joyless entered the big room again in which she kept track of any mission being done. She noticed several men being curious to why she asked dante for help.. As she had explained, they frowned.. “Isn't that a risk Joyless?” they asked, for joyless looked up at the data that passed by while she spoke. “We were planning to fire him soon anyhow.. He seems too much of a threat with what he can do. What if his intelligence might turn its back to us and use it against us..” she said as most were silent. “I figured we could make use of that brain of his one more time. Dante is one of the few with his abilities.. He might be able to give a hint of who we’re exactly dealing with” She said rather.. Emotionless, making most actually swallow or even slightly feel bad. “So you send him, to this random place which is possible hijacked.. Without any real agent strength?” One asked as another shook his head slightly. “You really are joyless.. Thats kinda dark” another said.. As Joyless snorted a bit. “You sound just like lance.. Alas. Focus on your own work” She said as most got the hint to not speak about it again.. Joyless watched how the plane she got planned was ready to take off.. And soon dante would be on his way.

Rather dangerous footsteps were made over the floor in the UK at the base Killian had managed to take over. One of the scientists from the agency that he had captured was working hard on many things. Feeling a drone constantly focused on him. Each time whenever steps were heard the scientist himself feared for his life.. And he had all rights to think that. The scientist was exhausted and made tons of mistake through time due the pressure and lack of time and sleep.. But Killian didn't take those things as an excuse. He should already be happy he was still alive.. But the work this scientist had created was bugging him immensely. As time went too fast, lags and bugs arrived in his system, making Killian feel quite the amount of pain while doing not much with his robotic arm. It started to eat him up, as his moods did not become better from it either. Already dealing with traumas from his experiences which made him lose his arm a while back.. Feeling pain on top and being reminded he had the arm wasn't the most nicest fairytale. The closer killian came to the scientist, the more he hurried. Sweat was constantly on his forehead out of stress.. But he had no other option but to listen. “I- Sir.. Almost.. I promise you.. It’ll work. I just need.. a little more time that's.. That's- all I ask” The scientist started to beg as he noticed Killian slightly move his claw to control the drone close to him. But as Killian was about to talk or take action, one of the security systems of the building detected movement.. Making him frown and focus on that after he glared at the scientist to make him hurry and work. Deciding to go to the other room where he could watch all security footage, he narrowed his eyes… It seemed a rather agent like car just started to drive up to the entrance of the building.. Funnily enough the front door was open. Killian could easily close it.. Yet, he was curious who would come this time around. It couldn't be sterling.. so.. Lets watch what would occur. Killian on purpose wouldn't let anything happen yet in terms of attack.. Until he’d see what he’s dealing with. Taking the drone away from the scientist as well.. It would seen only he would be there, for Killian awaited what would happen, and stayed in the shadows.  

Dante drove towards the entrance of the building after he drove out of the plane which immediately flew away. It seemed he was standing alone against whatever may be in the building. As the italian man took a deep breath while coming closer and closer, he indeed noticed odd signals.. Powerful signals. His car were detecting it. “thats.. More than just power..” He whispered, frowning as the building itself seemed.. fine? Though as he came closer and closer, he noticed the door was just open. Knowing this was a special secret base, was a bit strange to see the invitation was right there. Dante could literally drive in. “Almost seems too good to be true..” Dante frowned but.. Despite those signals were strong, he didn't seem to see any weapons either.. So after lots of thinking, Dante drove through the entrance, seeing barely anyone active. After another deep breath he very slowly came out of the car, taking one weapon himself, just a gun with some extras he added.. He thought it would be smart to modify the gun for himself in case necessary. He doesn't have any strength himself, so using his mind could do alot by adding special power to a regular gun. Holding it in his hand while slowly his phone as well to track wherever this signal was coming from.. It seemed almost abandoned. Dante was taking horrible risks to putting himself out in the open, but it seemed best to look through the building before checking on more. For example where he could track where the signal was coming from. After a while of very slow and attentive walking, he noticed nothing, so slowly he put the gun in the back of his pants and kept on continuing to explore. As he slowly dared to open a door, he noticed an insane view towards the water, but as well noises coming from the side.. Dante slowly was about to grab his gun again, but then he remembered the man’s face. “Jerry?” Dante frowned as the exhausted scientist got shocked by another voice, before turning to where it came from.. “D. Dante? W.. What in the world are you doing here?!” The man said a bit stressed but merely confused, making Dante frown back. “What I’m doing here? I can ask the same back at you” Dante sounded a bit annoyed, approaching him more as Jerry swallowed.  “The agency sent me here to check upon odd signals that seem to come from here” Dante said rather serious, making Jerry frown again. “Wh.. The agency? I thought they fired you” Jerry said rather surprised, as dante began to frown rather angry.. “What.. No? They send me here, specifically” Dante said as the realization hit him. “I see.. I got hints they were planning to do so.” Jerry said rather serious as dante would narrow his eyes.. “I see.. Says the person who is currently working for.. I suppose not the agency” Dante felt hit from the inside to have heard this from jerry. But now he wanted answers too from him. “W.. I- You don't understand. I have NO choice.. He’ll kill me if he knows I talk about him in the slightest” Jerry said as Dante frowned.

As killian watched a rather slim build man enter the building he frowned. He couldnt tell who it was directly, but somehow there rang a bell subconsciously in his mind. As he decided to come closer without them realizing, he took the drone with him, silently watching in the shadows. But the second the blonde haired man spoke.. It hit him. Out of all people, it was Dante.. The man he met back so many years ago at college before they went their ways. Killian was more than stunned about it, watching carefully to realize the man was sent by the agency, for his intelligence apparently struck their interest.. But what made him smirk mostly for a second was to hear the slight anger showed when Jerry told him some info. A thing Killian didn't know off either.

“So we’re not alone..” dante whispered as he looked around, but he didn't notice anything. “Why are you here in general.. You are rather exhausted from what I can tell” Dante said with a raised eyebrow. In his head the process of having heard what jerry said started to hit more.. The agency technically threw him towards this place and would see what would happen.. Considering they planned on firing him, it was a handy idea, so it didnt matter what would occur. Whether dante would get hurt or not... Joyless turned out to be more cruel than Dante expected. It made him rather angry inside, than the innocent he tends to be. As he walked through the area a bit, he noticed blueprints laying around.. Making him widen his eyes.. He rememberd these. “Those are my blueprints.. Where did you get these..” Dante said rather angry now, holding them before he glared back at Jerry. “WHERE DID YOU GET THESE” Dante called furiously, stepping towards Jerry as the man swallowed. “Like I said.. I can't speak of this.. Else he’ll-” The second Jerry tried to talk, a drone came in between them.. Which made Dante swallow to see the assassin they spoke about at the agency that was recently stolen.. Killian decided to secretly stop their conversation.. It was enough. Yet still staying in the shadows. To see such a strong weapon fly in between them made Dante so silent before he very slowly grabbed the gun from his back.. even though it technically was nothing compared to the assassin he saw in front of him. He felt like he had to have something in front of him.. “I’m not here to hurt anyone..” Dante even said all the sudden, not hearing any footsteps, just the red light shining against dante for the drone seemed to be focusing on him.. The italian man swallowed deep inside. He knew this drone could technically kill him right away. “I won't attack..” Dante even whispered.. Before he’d hear one movement from the side, making him tighten his hand around the weapon. He had no idea who could be there, but from hearing Joyless’ worry.. This person must be incredibly dangerous. “Hello?..” dante called once out of slight concern, before feeling a tiny sting in his neck.. Fired by the assassin that he didn't realize for he focused on his surroundings which were rather dark.. As he pulled it out, he felt his muscles weaken, and entire energy lessened.. He knew he was just drugged to fall asleep. Within seconds dante fell unconscious.. For his sight soon turned dark. As killian walked out of the shadows he watched dante once only with his eyes to check if the fall didn't hurt him.. All he seemed to be doing was that he was in a very deep sleep, making Killian focus on jerry.. Who indeed, had said too much. “Incredible how I thought you couldn't behave or work worse than I expected..” Killian said low, activating his claw which even hurt to make the assassin go to jerry, to pick him up and get rid of him. “WAIT. PLEASE. I DIDN'T MEAN TO” “what's done is done.. Such a shame isn't it..” Killian said before letting the man fall into the deep waters outside of the base, before closing the huge window he could control. he hissed as his arm was growing worse, but he stepped more inside again, kneeling down once to Dante to take the man’s polse, to make sure all was fine. He just had to anesthetize him. There was no other way as of now. “long time no see..” Killian just whispered seriously before taking him to another room.. Away from most things, to let him rest and hopefully sooner or later get to talk.

Few hours had passed as Dante eventually groaned of slight pain. His head was just swirling.. As he slowly pushed himself up from a bed he rubbed over his head, breathing slowly in and out.. realizing where he was. “Argh.. Shit” Dante actually barely cursed, but realizing he was drugged for a few hours made him worry. He hasn't expected such an approach, but it just happened.. As Dante tried to stand, he felt his body still being all over the place.. Making him sit back down “I wouldnt start to walk yet.. it's quite heavy stuff that the assassin can use. But I suppose with your medical degree you are more than aware on what to do” Killian said as he grabbed some water.. Making Dante groan again slightly to focus better… “And no more glasses I see..” Killian said as Dante just felt so confused for a second “How do you.. Did you search on my past etc.. There is no one that knows that much except..” Dante said as he swallowed.. Due the drug it was hard for him to think.. “Am I that easy to forget.. I wouldn't expect that Dante.. Out of all people” Killian then said.. As Dante got hit by memories and the exact way the man said his name.. He was speechless for seconds before he got the word out. “Killian?...” Dante whispered almost out of pure disbelief, making him blink before the man slowly came out of the shadows to put the glass of water next to him.. The man slowly sat down then, crossing his leg over another while not necessarily putting his robotic arm in sight. “How.. I..” dante was a bit off the grid. To meet the one person he was so close with back many years ago, in such a new phase so to say. In a different area, vibe and energy.. And to see him grown. It hit dante.. “I promised you I’d keep those blueprints safe..” Killian said all the sudden, making dante speechless once more.. “It seemed like you.. Needed them. Or did I miss something? I’m… A bit..” “Confused. I see that” Killian said rather direct to dante but he was right.. The man sighed a bit as Dante slowly crawled back mentally too. “I didn't need them beforehand but.. As faith turned its back on me, they came in handy” Killian said before he’d put his claw now on top of his own knee while sitting, letting it slowly sink for dante to see. Dante felt his strength slowly coming back, making him focus more on the fact they actually met.. again, in such circumstances. “Out of all people.. I didn't expect to.. Run back into you” dante said as he slowly stood up, breathing a bit more firm to let it sink.. “I did expect you to become either a doctor or use that brain of yours that I can remember.. Though I recall.. The agency hasn't been too kind to you either..” Killian had a hard time even saying that word because of his own past with lance.. But he wanted to use that anger now. Especially since they were not too kind to dante either. As for now, that in a way came in handy. “I cant believe they backstabbed me..” Dante whispered, before sighing. “It seemed the CEO wasnt so appreciative of my brain… And has seen me as a threat. They used me.. Sending me here without any idea what risks I could have had. I could’ve been killed. And they seemed not to care..” Dante said angrily before he’d breathe in again to try and stop the anger from growing, but it was a lot.. Killian went into it, standing up while he approached Dante. “Seems like they don't appreciate you..” Killian said deadly serious while stepping closer.. Making Dante look more angry. “No one did” He said rather pissed.. For Killian stood almost behind him. “You and me both know someone always did.. And still does” Killian said serious, his eyes focused on Dante as it made Dante turn around, looking up at the taller and way more mature man than what he knew years ago.. “Killian..” The man whispered before Killian took a deep inhale before looking down at his own arm, as he knew it would make Dante look in the exact same direction.. “I need your help Dante..” Killian said deadly serious once again, but the slight gratitude already showed that Dante did not judge him on the spot.. “the pathetic.. Ex colleague i’ll call it now for you, tried to come close with the blueprints you’ve given me.. But he failed. As you may have noticed” Killian said as the claw at random sometimes twitched, making Killian try to keep himself silent although it was horribly painful. “You should’ve come to me in the first place.. In terms of such projects” Dante said as he looked away, making Killian speak more. “I did not know what path you took after college. I know you may still be angry with me for the fact I had to leave. But there was no other option. And you know that as well” Killian said as he took the man’s head with his claw to make him look directly in killian’s eyes.. “I have my reasons for why I am doing what I’m doing.. But I need your help, Dante” Killian said almost threatening.. But more because he was afraid to lose dante again. he would never hurt the man. Dante knew too.. But Killian grew very dominant over the years.. And he had all right to do that. He saw dante had to think on this, but in combination of the backstabbing of the agency.. He knew something cracked inside.. “Do you have everything I need to help you..” Dante said rather serious back, first having looked down before looking back up, feeling how the claw let go of his head gently. “If you tell me what you need.. I’ll get it for you without hesitation” Killian said as he put the claw behind his back again, looking directly at dante who was in thoughts.. “Then we have no time to lose.. Do we..” Dante said back, making Killian look as focused as possible before planning on rebuilding the man’s claw would start.. To stop the horrendous pain Killian was going through.. But as well to have full control even better over all the thousand drones.. TO BE CONTINUED.