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bratshaws · 1 year

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through the hourglass 24. brb x oc

a/n: Im trying.......to calm down.....because of future chapters. I SWEAR I AM OKAY. BUT NEXT ONE WILL BE NICE OK? OK

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: rooster is whipped (shocker), bea has really good friends, mention of e r i c

goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)

chapter

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23

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He was spoiled.

That’s what it was, he was definitely spoiled. Because the only way that Lt.Bradley Bradshaw managed to sleep the very first night away from his wife was holding the little scent pouch in his hand and keeping it close to his nose, and honestly he slept so good he woke up invigorated the very next day.

He kept the little pouch inside his bag mostly, only taking it out when he was going to sleep. If Fanboy saw anything he didn’t voice it, if he did voice it thought it wasn’t to Rooster. The first few days were fine, the pouch she sent with him was more than enough to help him sleep but he felt the little worm inside of him, the one that often craved for Beatrice’s affection gnaw at his heart every once in a while.

And he put on a brave face, he clenched his jaw tight and remembered that he was going to see her again, soon, in four months and all he had to do was be careful at what he does. That’s all that was.

Phoenix, who honestly needed a new hobby instead of giving him the amused looks by the corner of her eye, appeared by his side when they were all having lunch like a ninja without a smoke bomb. Rooster slowed his chewing, then turned his head to where the female pilot was, “What?” he questions, then repeats it when she just smiles more at him.

“Say,Rooster,” she drapes her arm over his shoulders when she sits down next to him, “There’s a bet going on.”

“Okay?”

“About you and Bea-”

“Jesus Christ.”

Phoenix laughs with a toss of her head, “No,no, hear me out, hear me out, we are all thinking how you are going to react during the week you’ll be able to talk to Beatrice.” she explains, “Half of us think you’ll be snappy and grumpy but others think you’ll be just too anxious to do so and will pace around like a mother hen circling her nest.”

Rooster’s unimpressed stare didn’t help the situation and he just shoved the spoonful inside his mouth instead of replying, which makes Phoenix tsk, “Come on, don’t you want to add in your bet?”

“You guys always bet on us-”

“We actually bet mainly on you.”

He narrows his eyes at his friend, who just shrugs innocently with the same know it all smile, “Listen, maybe I won’t have any of those reactions.” he says, “Maybe that’s not going to happen, maybe you guys won’t even see me before I talk to Bea.”

Phoenix blinks twice, “Uh-huh,” she says clearly not believing him, “Because you managed to do that before, didn’t you?”

The constant teasing from his friends ever since he demonstrated interest in Beatrice never stopped, in fact it got worse when he started dating her and even more when they got married. He understood it was all in good fun, but there were others with relationships in the squad like Jake and Bob and they never teased them about it.

But he knew if he asked they’d just say it was because Rooster wore his heart on a sleeve every time Beatrice was mentioned.

“Anyway, how’s been going since you are here mister married man?”

“I’m fine.” he misses Beatrice a lot but it’s doable, but Phoenix doesn’t need to know that, “Could be worse.” but the feeling of something happening comes up every now and again, he doesn’t know what it was, he can’t pinpoint if it’s something good or bad but he feels deep within his soul that there will be something different when he talks to her again.

His mind trails back to the anonymous accounts from months back and he fears they’ll show up one more time but with more vengeance. No one could find out who it was, nor what they wanted besides lurking in Beatrice’s profile. His brain still sent signals that the person could very well be Eric, or some of his lackeys because even if Beatrice did beautifully punch him on her birthday last year he doesn’t know Eric like she does, honestly he wanted to introduce his fist to the guy’s face when he was able more than anything.

But maybe he was just having these thoughts because of a post-matrimonial haze, maybe that’s why, Beatrice wasn’t alone and she could always ask Michael to spend the night at the house if need be. And Jolene…who barked only once during their night walk that time but she could be pretty scary, especially now that she was going to have puppies.

“Could be worse? Rooster.” Phoenix elbows his bicep, “Come on, you cannot wait to talk to Beatrice again.”

“Well,it’s true but I’m managing it.” his mouth curls into a smirk when he turns to Nat, “How about you and Umberto,huh? How’s that going?”

It was her turn to look annoyed and avoid his gaze, shoving such a big spoonful of food in her mouth it almost made her cheeks burst, “I don’t know why you haven’t told anyone about it yet, I mean it’s obvious you two are together.” another glare, “What? I am right, Bea knows it too, what are you waiting for?”

Natasha finally swallows the immense ball of food she had in her mouth with a gasp, then licks her lips, “I want to meet his parents first,” she says, “It’s not that simple, okay? We have to check or schedules and everything and…you know, maybe when I come back this time I can go to Italy and meet them.”

“Hm…I think Roberto will like you a lot.” he says, “That’s Umberto’s father.”

“What about his mother?”

“She seemed fine, a bit annoyed that her husband bought a yacht but, you know.” his phone buzzes and the conversation cuts short because his focus was on something else right now, “And that’s my cue to leave.”

“Rooster-”

“Sorry, gotta go,” he waves his phone up, “I think you’ll have to figure out how to deal with his parents by yourself, Nat. See ya!” and he walks away, leaving a stupefied Natasha sitting down, looking almost annoyed that he dared to do that. Once his laughter falters enough and he’s far away from everyone else, he sees that the message - obviously - is from Beatrice.

It’s a picture of herself and Jolene, the pittie with her pink - and round now - stomach up, both of them lying on their patio and Beatrice grinning at the camera. She looked extremely relaxed and considering the time zone they were both in she probably took this picture hours ago before going to work.

Bea (11:30)

Took her to the vet earlier today :) she’s doing fine, I’m preparing the house for when the puppies come. I’ll keep you updated, okay?

Roos (11:34)

You both look really happy. I’m glad she’s okay gorgeous. How about you? Are you okay?

Bea (11:36)

I’m fine! Long day at work and it’ll be even longer tomorrow because it’s the halloween party at the Hard Deck, but me and the girls are going hiking this weekend! :) I’m so excited!

Roos (11:38)

Babe that’s great! Take pictures if you can okay?

Bea (11:40)

Okay! How about you? How are you holding up?

Roos (11:43)

I’m fine all things considered, it’s been a bit intense but nothing we can’t handle. We are all fine and safe though. I miss you a lot.

Bea (11:44)

I miss you too Roos. I’ve been sleeping on your side of the bed since you left. It smells a lot like you.

He felt like he got shot in the heart by that sentence, having to hold back the pained expression from the other pilots walking by or else people would think he was having some sort of issue. Bradley inhaled, regaining his bearings and smiled back at the phone, typing a response.

Roos (11:48)

Aw, babe, you are too cute. Honestly your little scent pouch has been helping me sleep a lot too, it’s like having you here without you being here.

They don’t talk too much after that because he could see that Beatrice’s writing was getting choppy and missing words, undoubtedly she was already falling asleep, she was just trying to let him know everything that happened in one single message and failing every time. So, even though he wanted to keep talking to her, he just told her to go to bed and they’d talk again soon and to not worry…and that he missed her, again.

Beatrice’s reply was just a ‘<3’ because she fell asleep minutes later. He looked down at the screen with a fond smile, zooming on the picture with his thumb and index finger to focus on her smile. It was so bright and infectious even if she wasn’t there right by his side, she was so wonderful and so-

“I think I’m going to win this bet.”

He jumped in place when he heard Maverick’s voice come from behind him, almost dropping his phone, “Jesus Christ- what?”

“You are going to make me win this bet.” he repeats with a grin, “I told everyone you’d just almost float to wherever it was to talk to Beatrice and have that look on your face.”

“Look?”

“Yeah,” Pete smiles, pointing at his nephew, “That one, with the soft smile and heart in your eyes. That specific one.”

Bradley’s brows immediately lowered and he turned off his phone with a huff, “I’m not that fault that she’s great.” he mutters, cheeks flushing because yeah, he really was that obvious when it came to Beatrice, he couldn’t even deny it anymore now, “Plus, hearing from her is always good.”

“I know Rooster. Is she okay?”

“She’s fine,” the younger pilot says leaning against a wall, ‘Been taking care of Jolene so that’s why she sent me a message, she took her to the vet to check on the puppies.”

Mav nods with his smile still present, “You still got that…” he gestures to his chest, “Feeling?”

“Sometimes, it comes and goes. But hearing that she’s okay helps get rid of the worst thoughts.” Rooster says after a while even if his brows are furrowed when he does so, “She’ll be fine…now, how much money are you guys betting on me…again?”

“Oh we doubled this time.” his nephew’s shocked expression was enough to make a chuckle fall out of Mav’s lips, “If I win I’ll share with you, how’s that?” and he pats the taller pilot on the back as the two walk away from the secluded spot Bradley went to check his messages.

Good news was, she no longer had a stomach bug! It passed by the end of the week but she stopped drinking alcohol for a while thinking that was the main cause of it. She told no one, not even her therapist because she didn’t want anyone to worry too much about her and she also considered this was just her anxiety acting up as well.

Maybe it was just her brain missing Rooster and such it made her feel sick, even if it didn’t happen before, it was only because they got married. And of course, worrying about Jolene! It had to be that as well!

But there was something in the back of her mind that whispered, like a little gleeful fae trying to trick her into stepping into a fairy ring: what if she was pregnant?

It crossed through her mind for a little bit, but she was counting the days and there was no way it was that. She knew it, she had everything written down! So, right now, all she wanted to worry about was to enjoy Penny’s Halloween party! It was weird to not have the Dagger Squad or Mav there when it happened, but they make do. And this year, she was wearing the flapper costume Shells got for her alongside the…other one…that was no longer usable because of the giant rip between her thighs.

Just remembering about it was enough to make her shiver, thankful that she was hidden behind the counter, crouched down to pick up extra straws so no one would see her. When she stood back up, she noticed that Shells was looking outside the bar with her brows furrowed, something that made the brunette tilt her head in the same direction, “Shells?” the blonde blinks since she was snapped out of her focused stare, then turns to Beatrice, “Everything okay?”

It takes a few minutes for Shells to reply, something that never happened before, “Yeah.” and Beatrice gave her friend a confused glance, “I thought I saw someone.”

“Oh…okay?” Shells didn’t look really happy after that statement, so she walked away from Bea after grabbing the refilled mugs from Penny’s hand. Penny, who was dressed as Sarah Connor - because of course she would - gave her niece an eyebrow raise but got nothing else from her. “...is Shells okay? I’ve never seen her like that before.”

“She’s probably tired.” Penny says, but she does look outside as well, “Tell you what, why don’t you two take a break together in a few? I can handle things here for a little while.”

Beatrice blinks at Penny in shock, “Are you sure?” the other brunette nods with a small smile, letting Beatrice know that it wouldn’t be a problem at all.

It doesn’t take too long for that to happen, Shells being so strangely silent that Beatrice feels that there’s something else besides the tiredness Penny talked about. She stood out of the bar watching Shells look so furious it was like she’d melt the concrete “Shells? What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“...Well,If you don’t want to talk about it then–”

“I thought I saw Eric,” she immediately cuts Beatrice off, which the brunette knew it’d happen since Shells hated keeping things in for too long, “Outside, right now,I thought I saw him.”

Beatrice parts her lips to speak, then looks around the parking lot. The thought that Eric, after having his nose broken and avoiding her at the reunion would suddenly show up at her work wasn’t really helpful, “...are you sure?”

“Fuck no,but if it was I’d probably lunge at him.” Shells growls, crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall, “Man, what the fuck does he still wants with you? If it was him, is he stupid? Does he not know you are married? Or did he forget that Rooster was right behind you when you beat the shit out of him?”

Beatrice licks her lips, her eyes still on the parking lot. “You don’t even know if it was him.”

“Well whoever it was had a big fucking head and was looking suspicious.” she snaps, “...I’m going to sleep at your place tonight.”

“Shells–”

“I am going to. We’re going to watch horror movies and get pizza, but you won’t be alone, not when Rooster isn’t here too.”

“What’s happening?”

The voice that apparently came out of nowhere made the two women yelp out in surprise, with Shells almost losing her balance and falling face first to the ground. “Jesus fuck Evelyn!” the blonde shouts, doing a double take at her friend’s costume, “Oh for fuck’s sake. You just have to humiliate us, don’t you?” Evelyn was really dressed like Leeloo, with the orange hair and the blonde roots, the stomach tattoo exposed because of the white crop top and low rise pants.

“I like your costume too Shells.” she looks at the blonde’s getup with her brow up seeing she was just wearing a green full bodysuit with springy antennas on her head, “Anyway, what was going on, why are you staying at Bea’s?” the blonde hesitated for a few seconds, then blurted out the explanation, with a few other expletives amongst them, why she’d do that. Evelyn’s eyebrows furrow, moving from Shells to Beatrice,worry written all over her face, “Do you think he knows you work here?”

“No? I don’t think so, at least.” Beatrice shrugs, “W-We don’t even know if it was really him, there’s no need to be worried like that.”

Evelyn hums, “Your aunt still has the cameras outside, right?” Shells nods, “Do you think we can see it? Maybe we can figure out if it was him or not.”

Shells ‘oooh’s and nods, “I can grab the pen drive to check, I usually do it anyway, she hates dealing with it.”

Beatrice feels like they are…understandably, worried. But the chances of that happening would be less than minimal, right? It wasn’t like him to do that, he was creepy and misogynistic and gross but he wasn’t a stalker. She scared him off! He wouldn’t dare stalk her when his family’s name is so well known around California like that, “I just think it was someone who looked like him at best.” Beatrice mutters, “I just…I…” she inhales shakily, tenting her hands over her eyes, “Guys,I don’t want to get…worried about this, not now? You know, it’s…I…Rooster isn’t here, he won’t come back in four months and if I have that in my head I’ll probably lose sleep.”

“Good idea I’ll be sleeping over then.” Shells smiles, “Oh come on, even if it isn’t him it’d still be fun. We can have a sleepover of sorts. Evelyn can come too, right Ev?”

“I’d need to feed Wiley but I could spend the night.”

Beatrice, while extremely appreciative of her friends, felt like this would only trigger her anxiety and paranoia and probably bring back that stomachache from before. The two women looked at her expectantly, waiting for her positive response…and after a gentle sigh, Beatrice nodded her head, “Okay…we can have a sleepover.” she smiles, “But…let’s just see the videos and then independent of what it shows, don’t talk about it again okay?”

The other two looked at each other, then smiled, “Deal.”

#bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x oc #top gun maverick #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw x female reader #bradley bradshaw x named reader

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bluewhale52 · 2 years

Text

Almost

Summary: Yoongi almost didn't meet you. Yoongi almost let you go. Yoongi almost gave up. A little background story of my favorite domestic couple.

Pairing: Yoongi x wife OC

Rating: R, SFW

Genre: established relationship, idol!au, fluff

WC: 1.9k

Warning: pregnancy outside of marriage, some swear words, friends with benefits situation

A/N: I have been thinking about the background story of this couple for a while, and then @thebtswritersclub has the perfect prompt this February for to get my writing juices started! (prompt: almost) - Part of the Domestic Yoongi series -

Yoongi almost didn’t meet you.

After he had bought his first ever apartment in Seoul, he hired an interior designer to decorate it. His busy schedule unfortunately prevented him from being more hands on; so, he left his mother in charge of everything.

Until the designer herself insisted that he needed to be present at handover, and his mother refused to stand in for him anymore.

“You need to see how I’ve spent your money, or your father and I will never step foot into that apartment again.” His mother threatened after he kept telling her he trusted her and her taste.

So, Yoongi finally agreed. After squeezing in an extended break time on the day of the handover, and with Namjoon and Seokjin tagging along, he made his way to the appointment. He scrunched his eyebrows when it was not the designer that was waiting for him, but rather, you.

“My boss had an emergency. I’m her assistant.” You explained.

“She’s been nagging me to meet her and now she’s bailed on me.” Yoongi grumbled.

“I’ll be sure to tell the baby in her belly to be more mindful of her schedule.”

Seokjin snorted in amusement at your response.

“Oh,” Yoongi stumbled, “I hope everything goes smoothly for her.”

You simply nodded, then started explaining what had been done to the apartment. You effortlessly showed them all the custom furniture, all the imported light fixtures, all the smart home appliances. With every word leaving your mouth Yoongi found himself feeling more interested in you and less in his apartment.

You answered Namjoon’s questions about sustainable hardwood furniture and about the design philosophy behind it. You tackled Seokjin’s lame dad jokes with a dry sense of humor, even managing to make him blush all the way to his ears once.

And in that short period of time Yoongi spent with you, he almost asked for your number.

But he didn’t. Because Namjoon had beaten him to it.

Yoongi almost missed his chance.

Yoongi knew Namjoon had gone on three dates with you, that he had even commissioned you to make a custom table for his new studio. Yoongi knew he should not get annoyed when Namjoon kept talking about you.

So when Yoongi asked for your number from Namjoon, and called you on the pretense that something was not working right, he should feel guilty. But he did not. Not when you were on your knees, dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, with a small toolbox by your feet, as you inspected the joinery in the walk-in wardrobe.

“Yoongi-ssi,” you stood up, “the glass door is fine. But if you find something else not working right, just let us know. We’ll come to check it out.”

Yoongi nodded.

“Is that it? I’ll show myself ou-”

“Are you dating Namjoon?”

You blinked, and Yoongi thought a tinge of pink appeared on your cheeks. “I, uh, no, I’m not.”

Yoongi felt flutterings in his stomach. “I thought things were going well.”

You cleared your throat. “Well, it’s really none of your business.”

“He’s my friend.”

“Then you ask him.”

You stared at him as you replied. He stared back, not willing to look away, but his heart skipped a beat when your eyes moved, ever so briefly, down from his eyes to his mouth. He saw you swallow, and the pink in your cheeks deepened.

He should not, he really should not. There was a code. He could not possibly put his own selfish needs before his friendship with Namjoon.

Yoongi took a deep breath, preparing himself for the question he was about to ask and the conversation he would have to have with Namjoon later that night.

“Do you want to have ramyeon with me?”

Yoongi almost let you go.

To Yoongi’s relief, Namjoon was cool with him seeing you; he felt you weren’t that into him anyway. So Yoongi started seeing you with a clear conscience.

Only, he wasn’t sure what it was he had with you. One, he barely had any time. Two, you were not clingy or needy, which Yoongi should be grateful for, but still it left a bitter taste in his mouth. Three, Yoongi spent more time fucking you than actually dating you. Four, you did not seem to mind that whatever you had with him was leading more and more to the friends with benefits territory. Five, Yoongi hated it.

Yoongi knew you deserved better. You deserved to be taken out on dates, to have your hand held in public, to be able to see him anytime you wanted to. But he could not give any of that. Meeting you had to be either at the dorm or at his apartment, and that was when he could find a sliver of breathing room in his schedule. He had to keep you a secret, and the worst thing was, you did not seem to mind at all. In your acceptance and understanding of his idol life, he felt you held yourself back to prevent your heart from getting in too deep. And it made Yoongi feel like shit.

One night, a mere month into the world tour, as he stared at his equipment all laid out in his hotel room, he started missing you like crazy. His invitation to fly you out to America or somewhere closer in Asia was still left unanswered. The darker side of his mind told him it was a sign you wanted out, and frankly, he couldn’t blame you. Maybe it was better that he ended everything with you. He couldn’t give you what you needed, not at this time in his life, at least.

The ringing of his phone brought him out of his meandering thoughts. He saw your name. Taking a deep breath, he pressed the green answer button, convincing himself that it was for the best, that you deserved a whole lot better than him.

Yoongi almost let you go, but he didn’t.

Because the first words you said to him were, “Yoongi, I’m pregnant.”

Yoongi almost gave up.

He knew the right thing to do was to marry you, but you kept turning him down.

Granted, the first time he proposed was downright terrible. After talking to Namjoon and their managers, accompanied by a bottle of whiskey, he ended up drunk calling you, telling you that he’d marry you, before throwing up half his stomach into a strategically situated dustbin by his bed.

The second time he proposed, he was much more sober, but not any less stupid. In one phone call he managed to inform you of a mountain of paperwork from the agency coming your way and then ended it with a marriage proposal. He was not surprised when your answer was, “We’ll talk about it when you’re home.”

The third time was when he was finally back in Seoul. Yoongi carried Soojin for the first time in his arms, and he sat in the corner of your studio apartment, fighting back tears of joy for his daughter but also full of remorse and regret that he had not been around to support you through your pregnancy and labour.

“We should get married,” he said softly as he watched his daughter sleep.

“Why?”

Yoongi raised his eyebrow at your reply, “Well, because we have a daughter.”

“I don’t want to get married just because we have a kid together. I know it’s the right thing for her, but is it for us?”

Well, shit. You got a point there.

The fourth time was a proposal of a different kind. He wanted to spend more time with you and Soojin; whatever free time he had was precious, so he made his case to you on why you both should just move into his apartment. When you agreed, he was hopeful. After a few weeks, he wanted to ask you again to marry him but somehow he felt he was being too greedy. You and Soojin were living with him, he should be content for the time being.

The fifth time was on the eve of the start of another world tour. Yoongi was feeling especially melancholic leaving you and Soojin behind for nine months, especially as your relationship had grown exponentially. Since you had moved in, he got to see the real you, the vulnerable you, but also the strong and resilient you. He grew to respect you and he realised he had started to love you as well.

With Soojin fast asleep in her room, and your lips swollen and your breathing ragged from his kisses, Yoongi asked you. His heart sank when you simply stared back in response and moved yourself from under him.

“Still no?” Yoongi asked dejectedly.

“I don’t know, Yoon,” you whispered, voice shaky. “I love you, but I don’t want to be made to feel I have to marry you.”

He dropped his head onto his pillow, frustrated. He ended up arguing with you that night, and left the next day with just a brief and tense peck on your cheek. He felt like shit.

The sixth time he proposed, it was in New York. You and Soojin had visited with his and the other members’ parents, so you both took the rare opportunity to have a date night- which was simply a room service dinner in his room.

The dark thoughts were returning, hanging by the periphery of Yoongi’s mind. And combined with the memories of the fight before he left for tour, his insecurities threatened to rear their ugly heads.

“Yoon, I love you, you know that, right?”

“I know,” he replied, reaching for your hand to link his fingers with yours. You smiled at him, and the haze in his mind immediately started to clear.

“I just want to make sure we’re doing the right thing for ourselves.”

He nodded. “I know.”

He reached into the pocket of his sweatpants. You narrowed your eyes at him.

“Hobi took me to a jewelry designer in Chicago. May or may not have gotten something.”

“Min Yoongi…”

He tried to hold back his laughter at the way you were squirming. “I can only show you what it is if you say yes, though.”

You rolled your eyes at his teasing.

“So, do you want to marry me?”

“No!” You playfully smacked his arm. “I’ve made you wait this long, you can wait a bit longer!”

Yoongi laughed at your annoyed tone. But you were right, he was willing to wait for you.

It was during the band’s long awaited vacation that Yoongi thought of letting go of the idea of marriage altogether. He and you were going strong, Soojin was thriving, and he started to wonder if there really was a need to be married at all. It was not like you would love him any more or any less with a ring on your finger.

But the jewelry he had bought in Chicago continued to burn a hole in his pocket. He contemplated if he should give it one more try. The dinner date in New York many months before gave him some hope, so perhaps it was worth another shot.

“_______,” he murmured your name as you were reading in bed.

You looked up from your book, and he sat next to you.

“Let’s do it?” He asked for the seventh and last time, the final proposal.

You blinked at him a couple of times, before you realised what he meant. You took a deep breath, and he prepared himself.

“Okay.”

Yoongi almost gave up, but he should have known. Seven was the magic number.

Yoongi comes home just in time for dinner. Walking into his house, he finds Soojin reading about a sleepy wombat to her brother, Joowon. She pauses for a moment, tilting her head as she tries to read an unfamiliar word. She turns to her left, asking her invisible friend for help, then proceeds to reading the very word she was struggling with a moment ago flawlessly.

Yoongi sighs. Then, his attention is caught by the movement of two chubby legs kicking from a baby bouncer in front of his daughter. He smiles fondly as Soojin coos at Joowon.

He moves to the kitchen, where he finds you, ladle in one hand and your phone in the other, stirring the stew on the stove as you talk to- Yoongi assumes- your business partner about the rising costs of exporting your custom furnitures.

Yoongi leans back and watches you, with the sounds of his children in the background.

His home, his children, his wife- all the almosts in his life that led him to one definite certainty: love.

Please reblog if you enjoyed reading this fic!

Published 26022022. Crossposted to my AO3.

#thebtswritersclub #btscreatorscorner #bts fanfic #bts fluff #yoongi fluff #yoongi x you #yoongi x reader #domestic yoongi #yoongi fic #min yoongi

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yanderecandystore · 3 years

Note

can we get the bullies with a male slasher s/o?

I swear like-

I swear I already did something like this?? But maybe no??¿? XD

So anyway- Alright boo, let me see what I can do- Sorry but I decided to take liberty and… Make this one be very stupid XD

TW/Tags: killer reader :3 // mentions of death // mentions of h o r n i n e s s // I have no like- Idea how to make this work so- Let's just go with it lol // low-key based on dbd, although I never played the game I know only a bit about it- // REALLY silly :P

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

Horror Movies Cliches [Yandere!Bully OCS x M!Slasher!Reader - Headcanon]:

🎇 Let me set the stage for a quick sec!🎇

Let's just create a bit of context- Imagine the most over the top horror movie cliche you can think off- Some teens, hanging around a haunted place, everyone is organizing a creepy party while also trying to prank one another. The twins are part of this party because duh- They're popular? Rich? Pretty af? Everyone wants a piece of them tonight, especially you.

Although technically, not in the same way the horny bastards around here want to. While some are trying to impress them, and others try to prank them and humiliate them for at least once in their lives- You're looking for something more, well, important. You were done with being the one left behind, always ridiculed by the twins and their mob of "friends".

You wanted nothing more than sweet revenge tonight, and it didn't matter which rich asshole's blood would be spilled tonight- And even if your plan wasn't exactly foolproof, you were still going to go down and smash their skulls.

With a mask covering your face, gloves to cover your fingerprints and a baseball bat- You were ready for your first hunt tonight. What could ever stop you if not God itself?

Maybe you didn't calculate all possibilities of what could go wrong today, perhaps you should have considered that you weren't the only one bloodlusty in this party.

→ Adrien Coldwell:

Adrien is not really a- Adrien is-

What can I say about Adrien? Adrien is not the best at survival, or trying to survive, or wanting to survive-

Adrien is too lazy for this- He doesn't really put an effort in trying to hide himself, since he is sold 100% that this is just another prank. The only thing stopping you from finding him and smashing his bones is his natural luck which is conveniently protecting himself from being found.

God, this party is boring.

You would probably find Adrien by accident, just- Eating some snacks as all the other participants of the party were already dead. However- You weren't so lucky when you tried killing him right there, he ran away before you could grab him.

Now noticing how real the situation was, he was ready to find any means of communication to call for help, but it seems like all possible means of easy and quick communication has been cut off.

Adrien can either hide and pray for someone to come help him, or try to fight you off and stop you from hunting him. And of course he ain't fucking attacking you, what do you take him for?? Insane?? Dumb?? Nah bitch, he is hiding.

Up until this point, Adrien had no idea you were the one behind the mask. He thought you were a random creep that went insane and decided to take his anger out on some rich people- Which could mean he is half right and half wrong!

But honestly though, you're the last person that he imagined being capable of killing so many people in one night! He didn't even know you were invited to this party, which makes this so unfortunate to him, he could be wearing a cuter outfit if he knew you would be here!

One would assume that after showing their true identities to their victims before their death would cause their victims to become even more frightened and beg for mercy!- In your case though? Nah, that ain't happening.

Adrien is treating this situation with much seriousness as one would imagine he would- With none. Knowing that you're the one killing everyone with a bat is kinda pathetic if not hilarious to him.

After all, it's just "you". What evil can you do? Honestly, you came all the way to this place to make him "pay for his actions"?? Don't you have anything better to do on a Saturday night, honey?

To be fair- He kinda digs the "unhinged maniac" look you have going on, blood suits you so well. Hell! He bet it would suit him just as well too.

Your night was supposed to be one of pure gore and carnage, revenge against those that have harmed you- Yet here you are, being flirted with by Adrien, who is getting a little too into the "killer x victim" dynamic going on.

Ugh, you don't feel in the mood anymore… It feels so wrong when he keeps flirting about it.

In the end, you two have inverted the roles in a way. You were trying to get away from Adrien who was chasing you and making you embarrassed with as much flirting as possible.

Such an unfortunate night.

→ Alexandra Coldwell:

Alexandra would think this is all an elaborate spooky prank, yet she would be lying if she said she didn't find this all…. A bit too much.

No, s-she isn't scared! Just frustrated that this party sucks! It's so immature to just- Try to humiliate her by making her scared! Is such a low move.

Alexandra wouldn't do much effort into hiding since she doesn't think there is any danger nearby. You would have found her very early on, and you can imagine how frustrating it was to see her escaping from your grasp- You have forgotten how athletic Alexandra is, of course she would have ran away faster than you could snatch her.

Now noticing how real the situation was, she was ready to find any means of communication to call for help, but it seems like all possible means of easy and quick communication has been cut off.

Alexandra can either hide and pray for someone to come help her, or try to fight you off and stop you from hunting her. And of course she'll be fighting you- Pfft, what? You think she'll chicken out?? You literally made her break her nail- You psycho!

Up until this point, Alexandra didn't know you were- Well, you! She thought you were some random ass psycho trying to ruin some teens party for some "revenge" bs. So maybe she was half right, and half wrong!

Alexandra would have never ever imagined that you were the killer! Were you even invited to the party?? Why has nobody told her? She could have chosen something more cute for you, damnit!

Alexandra just laughs it off and treats it like every school day- Belittling you while all's giving mix signals of affection.

She isn't afraid anymore, why would she? You're just a little wimp who thinks that getting a wooden bat and dark clothes makes you scary. Dearest, you have forgotten who is the bigger dog around here-

You wasted your whole night just to make her terrified? Honestly, you need a better hobby- Obsessing over your bully is such a loser move on your part, although she would be lying if she said she doesn't appreciate the fact you care so much about her.

Alexandra was getting a little too interested into this "roleplay" going on- Wanting to be your final girl, after all it didn't sound half as bad. Maybe she has been a little too into those slasher fanfics she has been finding around- But damn, you look almost acceptable while drenched in blood.

Her lack of care or empathy towards those who have been brutally killed, while also drooling over you, reminds you that- Honestly? Fuck this. You should have expected a Coldwell to be a morally fucked up person- Why are you surprised?

You've been trying your best to go back home, but being constantly followed by an overly affectionate Alexandra is just as bad as being humiliated by an overly sadistic Alexandra. You got no rest that day.

Such an unfortunate night.

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

#yandere #sheep's stuff #yandere oc #yandere x reader #yandere twins #yandere oc x reader #yandere oc headcanon #yandere x male reader #yandere bully #yandere bully x male reader #yandere bully x reader #yandere bully x killer reader #killer reader #male reader #special delivery headcanons #special delivery request

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fenristheorem · 3 years

Text

Asks/Headcanons/Stories

Rules, Details and Other Important Information

Updated May 22nd, 2021

Status: Currently NOT accepting requests / asks

See my Masterlist here!

***The ask box will be closed within a couple days of the updated post date (April 30th). It will be closed for a couple of weeks while I bring my request count down (it’s reached over 30 requests) and due to my schedule limiting how much time I can spend writing. Any new asks I receive will be immediately posted stating the box is closed (although I’m still open to receiving comments and other questions via ask box).

How long for an answer: About a month depending on how much work will go into it, my askbox is quiet as of late but I have many that I’m working on currently. I have almost 20 drafts and a nearly equal amount of untouched requests in my ask box.

(Rules under the cut)

Hello! If you’ve reached this post you may be interested in asking/requesting something - go ahead and do so! Just make sure you keep in mind the information I list here because if an ask/request is outside my rules I probably won’t write it (there may be some exceptions heavily depending on certain factors). Therefore, please read everything (even if it’s just skimming) so you get a basic idea of what to expect from me.

The only fandom I write for is Eldarya, if you couldn’t tell by my posts lol.

Who do I write for? (Romantically)

Primarily Lance, he’s the only route I follow on my two accounts and I’ve spent a lot of personal time nit-picking and analyzing his character so I’d say I have a thorough understanding of who he is and how to write him.

I'm second most comfortable writing Valkyon, he was my route in Origins. Even though Origins is past now, I'm still happy to write about him

I’m not very interested in the other routes, but I have a general idea of what they’re like, so I’ll write for Leiftan and Nevra, too (although what I write differs. I’ll always write friendly or fluffy relationship stuff, but I draw the line around in-depth, intimate asks. I don’t know them too well so I don’t mind writing semi-vague things about them, but they won’t be very specific). I’m more comfortable writing Leiftan than Nevra overall.

I won’t write for Mathieu as I don’t know him well enough, he seems to be a pretty basic character but I doubt that’s the case so I don’t want to write something I know will likely be nowhere near relevant to who he is.

I may write for Koori, but not as of right now; I’ll update this if I decide to do so later when I know her better.

Other than what’s detailed here, I won’t write romantically for any other characters.

Have a request that’s not romantic? Awesome, I’ll write general headcanons for any of the characters.

General headcanons basically means anything not too intimate (or an ask that covers many different topics, but that's besides the point right now), I’ll write friendly requests, but not romantic ones. Have a request that seems to walk the fine line between friendship and a platonic / fluffy relationship? Go ahead and ask anyways, I may write it and even it I don’t, it helps provide an example of what I will or won’t write.

I'm happy to write any characters as Origins instead of New Era, just be sure to specify in your ask.

What do I write? (I will add warnings for NSFW and certain angst or violence prompts and how heavy it is in the writing)

Nearly anything, really

Romance

NSFW

Friendships/friendly fun stuff

Angst

Violence

A lot of others

There may be some things I’m not thinking of currently, but again, I’ll write pretty much anything (and I’ll keep updating this list in time)

That being said, I’m comfortable writing some genres with some characters and others not so much. But again, if unsure, ask anyways.

What DON’T I write?

Non-con (no consent)

Yandere

Suicide (I’ll write how it effects others, but I won’t write the specifics on how an actual character does it)

How to specify your ask:

So I’m a very specific person, and I can go on very long rants; just take this headcanon and this second one as an example. However, I know some people prefer small and short, so I’m asking that in your request/ask you specify which type of writing you want so I’m not constantly thinking ‘oh try and keep it short - but maybe one more bullet - oh god how did this get so long? - m a y b e I s h o u l d j u s t w r i t e t h i s a s a s c e n a r i o - did they want headcanons or a scenario/short story?’ Don’t care about how long my response to your ask is? Cool, don’t worry about specifying length, just send your ask (but seriously, be prepared for something close to a novel lol).

In order of shortest to longest:

Mini-headcanons - Usually the fastest to write - Not as ‘mini’ as you may think. It’s not entirely short, I’ll still put in my fair share of thoughts, but I won’t go on major rants about one thing during the ask. It’s a very straightforward / to the point ask. Not interested in possibly reading an essay on why I think this is this and how I feel this effected this person? This is pretty good for you then.

Normal headcanons / headcanons (otherwise known as medium or long headcanons) - Writing time can differ based on how much I rant, but will usually take longer than mini-headcanons - Are you ok if you end up reading a small novella or a post with so many words it rivals a dictionary? Awesome, this is the type for you! Depending on the ask, I can’t promise that I’ll go on major rants that take centuries to write, but it gives me the freedom to specify and clarify things, while also adding in a few of personal comments. This type of ask really allows me to be creative and provide examples or special situations with the characters.

Scenarios / short stories - Will most likely take longer than both types of headcanons - This type of response doesn’t take place in bullets. It’s exactly as it says - a story. I won’t include my personal opinions / theories in this as stories are a narrative, not an analysis for me. This type is a bit restrictive for me as I will press myself to stay as close to canon as possible, improvising my own theories / headcanons only when necessary to bridge aspects within the story (unless otherwise specified in the ask), but other than that I don’t like to intrude my own thoughts / theories in a story. Good for readers who want drama, descriptions, scenarios, or who feel headcanons just won’t fit the ask this time. These are typically a couple hundred words long for me.

Like mentioned above - if you don’t care about how it’s formatted, don’t worry about specifying anything or just add in the ask that you’re flexible to any format. In this case, I’ll choose what format to write in based on what I feel can fit best the ask while being written well. My default is usually headcanons, though.

Other important information:

This’ll be updated more in time

Have any specific details you want about the ask? Be sure to mention it!

I’m fine with writing asks with gender-neutral characters and such. Writing the S/O’s and reader-inserts are female by default for me, but I have nothing against writing different gender alignments

Writing takes time, especially since I try my best to write quality on every ask. It will usually take me no longer than 5 days to a week to write nearly anything, however, if my ask box is busy or there’s a particularly long request that I’m writing, it could take me within 2 to 3 weeks to write some things. I’ll try to keep it first-come-first-serve, but as some asks may be shorter than others, or I’m feeling a bit more productive on certain asks than others, response time may change a bit. I’ll keep a general idea on how long to expect a response post underneath the status listed at the top of this post

I will write for OC's (original characters)! If you're comfortable with it, I would recommend you send these asks not anonymously; I'll probably DM you to get more information. Otherwise, be sure to DM me saying what your ask was so I can connect the details you give me with the specific ask. I don't mind receiving some details via Anon ask, but it would greatly restrict me if I can't clarify some things so I can write better. That being said; if you would like your ask to be anonymous but need to DM me for details, I promise I'll keep your identity a secret. It's none of my business why you wanted to send anonymously, so I won't go revealing anything.

I have a tendency to swear, but only to stress points humorously or sexually. It’s really only to add to the tone of the story. However, if you’d like to request no swearing specifically then I’ll honor that.

With that: go ahead and ask! I always look forward to writing my next request!

Over all, I’ll write nearly anything, and if you’re unsure, just ask anyways and I’ll clarify if I’ll write it or not. And the more specific you are in your ask; the better I can write it (with reason, of course. Too much limitation will hinder).

Have a request? Ask them here!

Submissions are open! Just click on me!

#Don't be afraid #I don't bite #I'll happily write characters who do though #fenristheorem writing #askfenris

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alirhi · 3 years

Text

jfc FINALLY

Ugh. I have been fighting with my muse to get this done for two months. And I was actually going to stretch it to line up more or less with the movie's timeline, but honestly... I'm just so burnt 😂 So this is what you get.

Title: Monday Chapter: Oneshot Fandom: Monday Rating: R/NC17 (I mean, have you seenthe movie?) Pairing: Mickey/OC Summary: What if, instead of Chloe, Mickey met a woman that night who was actually good for him and whom he was compatible with? WARNINGS: swearing, sex (not explicit; I rarely if ever write smut, but still) Notes: I hate Chloe. Omfg I hate her so much. So I fixed it XD Yes, I literally rewrote the entire movie with a different love interest. Well... most of it lol. I get bored, okay? Lol. Oh, and the girl is actually a character I yanked from one of my original stories lol. I didn't make her up on the spot for this (I'm too lazy for that XD). Tweaking her to fit the setting was kind of a bitch, as she's from a fantasy series, so if she seems kind of Mary Sue-ish...sorry.

“You have a nose for American cheese!”

Mickey rolled his eyes. “Come on, that girl looks insane!”

“What?” Looking surprised, Argyris turned and looked where his friend was pointing, and then laughed. “Not her, you idiot! The ginger-snap over there!”

The girl in question, a lithe, pretty thing with a wild mass of red hair that she constantly shoved impatiently out of her face was dancing alone a few feet away from the angry-looking blonde Mickey had thought he'd been talking about. She was gorgeous, he had to admit.

“Go and talk to her, man!”

He pointed to the turntables in front of him, impatiently reminding Argyris, “No, I'm working!”

“Come on,” the other man taunted, “I know your playlist inside-out! It's the same R&B shit, and then a little bit of disco!”

“It's not R&B, and it's not disco!”

“This song is twenty fuckin' minutes long! Come on!”

“Hey!” Mickey grimaced, hastily yanking his headphones off and setting them down as he was dragged off toward the redhead. “Fuck!”

All puffed up with pride – and way too much to drink – Argyris pushed Mickey when they drew close to the girl, so that he slammed right into her. Laughing, he patted her shoulder, but his mirth was short-lived. She grabbed his hand and twisted his arm up behind his back.

“Put your hands on a girl you don't know again. I dare you.”

Mickey covered his mouth with one hand to hide his laughter as his friend writhed in the deceptively delicate-looking girl's grip.

“Alright, alright! I'm sorry!” Laughing as he was released, Argyris went to put a hand on each of their shoulders, took one look at the girl, and just hung off of Mickey's shoulder, instead. “You're an American... You're an American! You're a man, you're a woman! There you go!”

“Yeah, crazy kismet,” she snapped, rolling her eyes. “Two Americans out of their natural deep-fried, flag-waving habitat at the same time! Imagine!”

Undaunted, the drunk Greek simply shrugged and flounced off with a flippant, “Whatever. Have fun!”

“Sorry about him,” Mickey said immediately, smiling when she turned and smiled at him. At least she didn't seem to be judging him by the company he kept.

“Friend of yours?”

“Argyris? Yeah.” He grinned. “He's kind of an idiot, but he's a good guy.”

She laughed. “I'll take your word for it. Aren't you the DJ? Should you be over here?”

“No,” he admitted with a laugh, “but I'm fine for a few minutes. You wanna dance?”

“I'd love to.”

She was tall, he realized as he spun her around; in the little barely-there heels she was wearing, they stood eye to eye. Clearly drunk, though, she lost her balance every few seconds and crashed into him with a laugh, occasionally giving up on righting herself and just resting her head on his shoulder.

Mickey grimaced as he heard the song beginning to wind down, but the girl hanging off of him only smiled and patted his chest. “Go on! Get back to work. I'll be here when you're done.”

“Any chance I could convince you to come around the other side?” He gave her his most charming grin, and felt a little warm inside when she laughed.

“Why, so you can stare down my top the whole time?”

With a shrug, he admitted, “I've been doing that anyway, so why not?”

“Honesty!” She grinned and kissed his cheek. “I like it. Alright, you gorgeous lech! Get back up there. We'll see what I can do about your view.”

He only made it another hour or so, with the girl coming up to him every few minutes with another drink, and occasionally flashing him from the spot she'd found in front of him. Queuing up enough songs to play through the end of the party, he hopped down off the podium and ran over to her, tugging her close for the kiss he'd been dying for since Argyris had first pulled him over to her. “You wanna get out of here?”

“You sure? What about-”

Mickey shook his head, smiling. “It'll run til they all pass out. No one'll touch my stuff, not here. Come on!”

“Okay, yeah.” She shrugged and laughed, allowing him to pull her through the throng of dancing people and away from the party. “Fuck it. Let's go!”

The next morning, naked, hungover, and covered in sand, they were nudged awake by a police officer while an angry lady yelled about their indecency. The officer waited for them to scramble back into their clothes and then cuffed them both, ushering them into the back of a cruiser.

Despite the situation, Mickey couldn't keep the silly smile off of his face. At least the cops had been kind enough to cuff their hands in front of them, allowing him to hold his out to the girl beside him. “Hi. I'm Mickey.”

She laughed, the realization that they'd never introduced themselves clearly dawning in her bright green eyes. “Beck.”

“Nice to meet you.” He shook her hand, but couldn't hide his slight confusion. “That a first name or a last name?”

“It's short for my first name.” She was still smiling, but there was a dangerous glint in her eyes as she added, “Call me 'Becky' once and I'll be facing real prison time at the end of this ride, and you'll be missing body parts.”

With a slightly nervous laugh, he nodded. “Alright, noted. Beck it is!”

“And, nice to meet you, too.”

There was the briefest of conversations at the police station, the sandy couple signed themselves out, and then Mickey persuaded one of the officers to give them a lift back to the beach.

“You want a ride?”

Beck grinned, one ruddy eyebrow arching up. “I still need to clean up from the 'ride' last night.”

Laughing, Mickey shook his head. “I'll never say 'no' to more of that, but that's not what I meant.”

“I know.” She shrugged, snarky grin turning into an almost bashful smile. “And yeah, I'd love a ride. Thanks.”

He loaned her his helmet and, after getting directions from her, drove her to her hotel. It seemed like that would be the end of it... and he hated that thought. “So, what're you doing tonight?”

“Packing and sleeping,” she told him with a laugh, leaning against the building. “I gotta be on a plane Monday morning, and I hate leaving things to the last minute.”

“You're leaving?”

With a grin and a snarky air kiss, she teased, “Missing me already, lover boy?”

Mickey shrugged, grinning. “Maybe I am. I like you, is that so bad?” He beckoned, and was somewhat surprised when she walked right over to him. Still smiling like a fool, he grabbed her by the waistband of her shorts and pulled her close for a kiss. “Come with me tonight, for a proper sendoff.”

“Come with you where?”

“I'm DJing on an island.” Thumb sliding under her clothes to slide over her hip, he wheedled, “Come on. Come with me.”

“I need to shower. I'm all sandy and sticky from last night.” Beck gave him just long enough to deflate, and then she smirked and nipped his jaw. “Care to join me?”

“Fuck yes!” He was off his moped in a flash, following the laughing redhead as she took his hand and tugged him into the hotel. Giggling like hyenas, the pair made their way up to Beck's room, stopping every few steps for one to yank the other close for another kiss. Mickey was on cloud nine. This girl was fun, she was sassy and wild, and he couldn't get enough.

It seemed she couldn't get enough, either. They'd barely stepped into the shower before Beck was on her knees in front of him, her hand on his ass and his hand tangled in her hair as she sucked him off. He leaned back against the wall, tugging lightly on her hair and shuddering as he felt her moan around him.

“Fuck... oh, fuck, you're good at that! Holy shit... Stop. Stopstopstop!” With a little half-smile at her look of confusion, he tugged her back to her feet and kissed her. “You're fucking amazing. God damn, you are good with that mouth! But that's not what I want.”

Beck grinned, a playful glint in her bright green eyes that made him weak in the knees. “That's not a good idea.”

“Oh, no?” He backed her up against the wall, nuzzling her neck as his hand drifted down between her legs. “Funny... You don't seem to really believe that.”

“I definitely want you to fuck me til I can't move,” she assured him, shaking as she tried desperately not to laugh. “But it's not a good idea-” Her words turned into a startled whimper as Mickey hoisted her up by her thighs and slid into her to the hilt.

“I think it's a great idea,” he purred, biting her shoulder. Then he almost dropped her, and they both cracked up.

“The wall's slippery! This isn't smart.”

“No, it's definitely not smart,” he agreed, turning so that he was holding her up in mid-air instead of bracing her against the wall. “But that doesn't make it not a good idea.”

Beck laughed, clinging to him for dear life. “You're just gonna hold me up?”

“Yep.”

“The whole time?”

“You don't think I can do it?” Mickey grinned, bouncing her a few times just to prove her wrong. “You weight nothing, baby girl. I got this.” She was surprisingly light... but she was also a grown woman almost the same height as him. His pride would never let him admit it aloud, but there was no way he was going to be able to fuck her like this for long.

Just as he was wracking his somewhat foggy brain for a solution, he saw light dawning in Beck's eyes and waited. “Counter!” She nodded toward the sink, and only then did he realize they hadn't even closed the shower curtain, and the bathroom floor was getting soaked. “Put me on the counter.”

“I thought we were supposed to be getting cleaned up.” Even as he teased her, he was carefully stepping out of the tub, blessing her foresight when she grabbed a towel and threw it down just before he set his foot down, and carrying her across the bathroom.

Beck snickered and kissed him. “No point getting clean until we're done getting dirty. Shut up and fuck me.”

“Yes, ma'am!”

A little while later, they stumbled across another logistical issue Mickey hadn't considered.

“You are not putting dirty clothes on a clean body!” Beck insisted, prying his – pretty nasty at this point, he had to admit – clothes from his hands. “That's disgusting!”

“Well, what the fuck else am I supposed to wear? Clearly, I can't just run around naked. We got arrested for that this morning!”

“Pity,” she teased, eyeing him in a way that made him wonder if they were ever actually going to leave her hotel room. “You're the best view in Athens.”

“Maybe they arrested us out of jealousy, then.” Mickey shook his head, though he couldn't help chuckling a little, despite his frustration. “Either way, I'm kinda stuck. It's either be gross, or don't go anywhere.”

“As much as the thought of keeping you trapped here as my sex slave appeals to me...” With another mocking grin, Beck turned and started going through her dresser drawers. “I think I can help you out.”

“I'm not wearing your clothes.”

“They're less flamboyant than what you do wear.”

“They won't fit!”

She tossed him a tee shirt and a pair of cargo shorts that proved him very wrong. They were huge. At his questioning stare, she shrugged.

“I always pack a couple of cute outfits when I travel, and the rest is super baggy; at least three sizes too big. I like to be comfortable.”

“Convenient.” He stared at the shorts in his hands, and then at the belt she handed him a few seconds later. “Am I supposed to wear your underwear, too?”

Beck snorted and walked away, patting his shoulder as she passed him. “I don't wear underwear.”

“Then I guess I kind of am wearing yours.” Even as the joke was tumbling out of his mouth, he knew it was lame, but they still both laughed. Then he glanced at his watch and winced. “Shit, we gotta go.”

“What?”

He waited for the dress she was pulling on to settle into place and then wrapped his arms around her, tugging her back against his chest. “We gotta go. If we don't catch the next ferry, we're gonna be late.”

She flinched. “Okay, two seconds.” The girl moved like lightning. Mystified, Mickey watched as she yanked on a pair of canvas sneakers, grabbed her wallet and cell phone – which she then stuffed in the pockets of the shorts he was wearing – grabbed a hair tie, and ran for the door. In no time, she'd strangled her wild red curls into submission in a low ponytail. They hadn't even reached the elevator yet.

“How did you do that?”

“Do what?”

Handing her his helmet, Mickey shook his head. “I think you got dressed faster than I did! I thought girls always take forever to get ready.”

Laughing, Beck rolled her eyes. As she settled on the back of the moped and tucked her skirt around her legs for decency, she told him, “I spent two years in the jungle with nothing but what I could fit in a backpack. Low maintenance is kinda my thing. The fewer steps to getting ready, the less time it takes.”

“That explains so much.” He stared at her for a moment, and then shook his head and grumbled as he slid into place in front of her and started the moped, “And raises so many more questions!”

“Full disclosure: I will probably answer none of them, as I'm very likely never going to see you again after tonight.”

Well, that was a depressing dose of reality he wasn't ready for. Not one to dwell on things, though, Mickey simply decided to have as much fun as he could with this girl while she was around, and treasure the steamy memories.

They made it to the ferry just in time. Making sure there was no one else around, Mickey smirked and tugged Beck into his lap, one hand sliding up her thigh. He moved slowly, giving her plenty of time to push him away if she wanted; she simply arched an eyebrow at his questioning look and grabbed his wrist, tugging his hand closer.

“Why do you think I'm wearing a dress?”

Fuck, he loved this girl!

They were pretty much attached at the hip the whole day – literally, when they could steal a few minutes alone. While he was DJing, she was dancing like a lunatic, front and center. Those piercing green eyes never strayed from him; he knew, because he couldn't look away from her, either. Once he was free, they danced together for a little while, but it didn't take long for Beck to grow bored and yank him down the beach, away from the party. They found a dark, hidden nook to be alone, spent the night hopelessly wrapped up in each other, and then cuddled as they watched the sun come up.

“Gods, this place is so beautiful!”

Mickey chuckled at the plural, but didn't ask about it. He had a more important question for her: “You really gonna leave all this behind?”

“I have to.” She didn't sound any happier about leaving than he was about letting her leave. “I gotta get home.”

“Where's home?”

“Boston. You?”

He grinned and nudged her. “Athens, baby. Been here seven years!”

“Okay, but where before here?” she prodded with a laugh. “You're obviously not Greek; you don't even speak it!”

“Do you?”

Beck sat up a little straighter, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “Nai.”

“Showoff.”

“One word is being a showoff?” Beck laughed, shaking her head. “You've been here seven years, and you don't know a single word of the language?”

Mickey scowled, feeling defensive. “Everybody speaks English!”

“Wow.” She wasn't smiling anymore. She actually looked and sounded pretty pissed off. “That is astoundingly arrogant. And completely American, so clearly your obnoxious friend with no boundaries was right; it's not just a funny accent, you actually are American.”

“You're an American, too!”

“By birth,” she snapped, “not by choice. And I fucking hope not by attitude. I don't go stomping around foreign countries with absolutely no respect for their language or customs, expecting everyone around me to cater to my laziness.”

He rolled his eyes, scooting away from her. “Give me a break! Learning another language is hard!”

“Impossible, if you don't even try.”

“Yeah? How many languages do you speak?”

“Fluently?” She held up her hands, ticking each one off on her fingers as she listed them. “English, obviously. Korean, Irish Gaelic, Italian, and German. Passably? Japanese – I can speak it fluently, but I have trouble reading it; the kanji is a nightmare – Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, and Swedish. I can read Latin and Old Norse, and I'm learning Mandarin, but I admit I'm struggling with that one. Mostly for the same reason I can't read Japanese; the writing system.”

Gaping at her, Mickey couldn't formulate a response for a long moment. When his brain finally started working again, all he could think to say was, “Jesus, what the fuck are you, a robot?!”

“I'm an archaeologist,” she told him flatly, still looking irritated. “And I've been traveling since I was seventeen. Been studying at least one language other than English since I was ten. I definitely had an advantage, starting when I still had a little kid's spongy brain, but it's not impossible to learn at any age, if you actually care enough to try.”

“You sound like my ex.” Hoping to distract her from that comment he hadn't meant to make, he hastily asked, “If you love to travel so much, why're you in such a rush to get home?”

Beck sighed, turning to stare out over the water. “I promised my daughter I'd be home in time for her birthday.”

Huh. They had more in common that he'd thought. “You have a kid?”

She nodded. “Two. Two girls.”

“How old?”

“Alice is five,” she murmured, pulling her knees up to her chest and crossing her arms over them. Head pillowed on her arms, she added, “And Madeline's about to turn fourteen.”

“How the hell old are you?!” He hadn't meant to ask so bluntly, but he was so stunned by her daughters' ages that the question just kind of blurted itself out.

Mercifully, Beck laughed a little. “I'm thirty-three. I'll spare you some math – I was nineteen when I had Maddie.”

Mickey shook his head, not sure how to react. In all honesty, she didn't look much older than that now. There was a shadow behind her eyes that he was dying to ask about, but even as thoughtless as he could be, he knew when to just not go there. Instead, he told her softly, “My son is six.”

“What's his name?”

He smiled. As much as the situation with his ex sucked, he loved his son, and thinking about him always brought a little smile to Mickey's face. “Hector.”

The look on Beck's pretty face as she watched him like a hawk made him blush, though he wasn't sure why. There was just something about that direct green gaze that made him feel like she could read his mind. “He's the real reason you don't want to leave Greece, isn't he?” A spot-on guess like that certainly did nothing to dispel the notion.

He nodded. “Yeah. Yep. His mom hates my guts, but I don't care. There's nothing I wouldn't do to stay in his life. I actually, um... I have a room for him, at my place. If she'll ever let me take him, you know, just for a weekend or whatever... His room is ready and waiting for him.”

“All you can do is keep trying. Put in the work, be the best dad you can be, and hope for the best.”

Unsure what to say to that, Mickey changed the subject with an awkward smile. “So... Alice? She blonde, like Alice in Wonderland?”

Beck snorted, shaking her head. “No, she has black hair, like her dad.” She paused and then shook her head again with a bemused smirk on her face. “Actually, both of my girls look like their dads – dark hair, big blue eyes.” Smirk turning into a grin, she nudged him. “Guess I've got a type.”

“'Dads,' huh?” He grinned, too, and nudged her right back. “Plural?”

“You gonna get all judgy on me, now?” Her tone was light and teasing, but her eyes promised a whole lot of pain if he answered wrong.

Mickey just laughed. “Nope, no judgment. I think you've seen enough of what I'm like this weekend to know I wouldn't have the right.”

“Good answer.”

“I don't want you to leave.” He watched her go rigid and sighed, shaking his head. “I'm not gonna try to stop you. If you were leaving for literally any other reason, I might, but I'd never dream of trying to keep a mom away from her kid. I just... I really like you, and I wish you didn't have to go.”

She shrugged a little, staring out over the water again. “To be honest, I don't wanna go, either. I mean, I'm dying to see my girls again, being away from them is always painful, but... This place is so beautiful. I would love to stay a little longer.”

Not a single word about whether or not she liked him. That stung, but he did his best to ignore it. “Why don't you bring them with you when you travel?”

“I used to,” she admitted. “When it was just Maddie, I brought her everywhere with me and tutored her myself. I tried to keep it going after Alice was born, but it was rough. They got tired of always being on the road and not having kids their age to play with, so now I leave them with my sister when I'm away.”

“Wait, you taught her yourself?” He laughed, shaking his head in dismay. “Are you sure you're not a robot?”

Beck laughed, too, rolling her eyes. “I'm sure. There's more down time than you think in archaeology; plenty of time to keep an already smart girl from falling behind in her schooling.”

“They must take after their mom. I mean, you speak a zillion languages, so you gotta be pretty damn smart.” She was so reckless and carefree, it was hard to picture this woman digging in the dirt for broken clay pots, or wrangling two children to teach them math. From what he'd seen, it felt like Beck was describing a completely different person. He didn't want to offend her, so he refrained from pointing out that she came across less brilliant, multilingual career woman in her thirties and more Girls Gone Wild: Athens.

“Cheapann tú gur leathcheann mé.” He had no idea what the hell she'd just said, but he could tell from the look on her face that he hadn't been as good at keeping his thoughts to himself as he'd hoped. She looked both offended and darkly amused. “Pensi che una ragazza non possa essere intelligente e libera? Eísai vlákas, Mickey.”

He didn't bother asking for a translation; her tone told him he didn't want to know. “How many languages was that?”

Beck grinned. “Three. Gaelic, Italian, and Greek. I sometimes mix a few in the same sentence – I constantly mix Japanese and Korean at home; it makes my girls laugh – but I figured I'd be nice.”

Mickey opened his mouth to say he wouldn't have noticed the difference, and then stopped. He had noticed the difference; the lilt of her voice changed dramatically with each language. That was how he'd realized that she'd been speaking more than one in the first place. “I kinda wanna hear that mix, now. Are the languages that similar?”

“No.” She laughed. “Not at all. They share some slang thanks to pop culture, and both borrowed a lot from China, but they're structured differently, and the way they're spoken is different.”

“Then how do you mix them?”

“I speak them both,” she said with a shrug and another laugh. “If you speak more than one language well enough, they don't have to be similar to still flow. Like...” She smirked, leaning against him and batting her eyes. “Kimi wa baboya, demo... mada jowayo.”

“Showoff.”

“Yes.” Cracking up, she pulled him back to lie on the warm sand with her and cuddled close. “That time, absolutely.”

“Do you think you'll ever come back?” He'd been trying so hard to avoid the subject, but he just couldn't get his mind to budge from the fact that he didn't want her to leave.

With a fond smile, she kissed him before teasing lightly, “You gonna miss me, honey?”

Mickey grinned, hoping she couldn't see that he was feeling more melancholy than amused. “I think mostly I'll miss the sex. It's hard to find a woman who can keep up with me.”

“Oh, is that so?” She laughed and tickled him, making him squirm. Then she stopped, a warm, almost wistful smile on her face. “I'm gonna miss you, too, you know.”

Forced playful grin turning into a soft, genuine smile, he pulled her closer and kissed her. “I was beginning to worry you didn't like me.”

Beck grinned and nuzzled his neck. “The past twenty-four hours wouldn't have happened if I didn't like you.”

Feigning shock, Mickey gasped. “You mean you don't fuck strange men all over Greece indiscriminately?”

“No, that I do all the time,” she joked, hand sliding up one leg of his borrowed shorts. “But I only let the really special ones wear my clothes.”

He laughed, glancing down at himself; he'd forgotten for a second that they were hers. “Right. We should stop at my place so I can change and give these back before I take you back to your hotel.”

Beck sighed, snatching her hand back as if he'd burned her. “Right. Yeah, we should get going.”

Though he still hated that she had to leave, he kept his word and didn't try to stop her. Argyris tried to convince him to make some grand gesture at the airport, but Mickey shut him down with a grumpy, “It's her kid's birthday. I'm not that much of a selfish asshole.”

“I can't believe you're in love with this girl!” Hooting with laughter, Argyris slapped his back. “I'm a fuckin' matchmaker! Who knew?”

“Fuck off, Cupid!” Mickey grinned and shoved him away, hoping the other man couldn't see how shitty he really felt. He moped for a couple of days, barely paying attention to the world around him, just missing the crazy girl with the temper as fiery as her hair.

Then he answered an unexpected knock at his door and was baffled by the sight of a cute, petite brunette with huge blue eyes staring up at him. “Um... Can I help you?”

“Huh.” One dark eyebrow arching up, she called back over her shoulder, “You really do have a type.”

A familiar laugh made Mickey freeze in shock as Beck stepped into view behind the girl, another one in her arms. “I made the mistake of telling Maddie that I met this awesome DJ in Greece-”

“And since I have no friends anyway,” the girl, who he finally realized was Beck's older daughter, Madeline, cut in, “I figured there'd be no problem moving my 'party' somewhere more fun than my aunt's house. For the third year in a row.”

“Jesus, you might look like your dad, but you sound just like your mom!” The words slipped out before he could stop himself. While Madeline rolled her eyes, the little girl in her mother's arms – Alice, he figured – giggled.

“Yeah,” Beck agreed with a grin, moving closer and leaning past her daughters to kiss him. “She's got my snarky attitude. Gods help me. Thankfully, this one's still innocent.” She squeezed Alice tighter against her side, making her giggle again.

“Mommy! You're squishing me!”

“Her? Innocent? Did auntie tell you what she did to my stereo?!”

“It was an accident!”

“My butt it was!”

Wincing, Beck glanced at Mickey and mouthed, 'I'm sorry.' “Girls, enough. What have I told you about bickering in front of strangers?”

“I mean, you also tell us not to spread our legs for strangers, and yet...”

“Madeline Fiona O'Brien!”

“What?!” Eyes wide and looking frustrated, Madeline gestured to Mickey. “I'm kinda right!”

He couldn't hold it in anymore. Leaning on the door frame to stay upright, Mickey burst out laughing. God help this woman, he thought as he struggled to get his breath back. Her daughter's exactly like her!

Face even redder than her hair, Beck grumbled, “I did not tell her we slept together.”

“You couldn't shut up about him and your clothes smelled like dude. Doesn't take a genius.”

“Maddie, couldja stop? I kinda wanna see more of Greece than two buildings. If mom drags us home early cuz you're being a jerk, I will kick your seat the whole way back to Boston!”

“I'll let her.”

Mickey had just about gotten his laughter under control. Still chuckling, he yanked Beck into his arms and gave her a long, slow kiss. “You are dreaming if you think I'm letting you leave again.”

“That doesn't sound kidnappy at all!”

Laughing again, he released the blushing redhead only to trap Madeline in his arms and tickle her until she squeaked. “And you, little miss Queen of Sarcasm!” With a grin, he kissed the top of her head and released her, pleased to see that she was smiling. “Happy birthday.”

“Thanks.”

As he stepped aside to let them in, it finally dawned on him that he'd never actually worked a child's party before. He was used to crowds of rowdy drunk Greeks, not two innocent little girls. He didn't even know any kids, besides his own! He glanced helplessly at Beck, who snickered and kissed his jaw.

“Just do whatever; I can keep an eye on them. Maddie was more interested in the change of scenery than an actual party.”

“Does she really have no friends?”

She shrugged, turning to watch her daughters awkwardly settle on the couch and begin nudging and poking each other repeatedly. “She's never been the most social kid in the world. Around their own age groups, Liss is the bubbly extrovert and Maddie can't be bothered; she wanted to hang with kids her own age until she realized they annoy the hell out of her.”

“Argyris might know some people with kids...” He rolled his eyes. “He'll think I'm nuts, trying to hunt down teenagers, though.”

Beck laughed and shook her head. “No, really, don't worry about it. We don't even have to actually throw a party-”

Cutting her off with a kiss, Mickey insisted, “Oh, she's getting a party. When is her birthday, anyway?”

“Today, actually.”

He flinched, glancing at the clock, and then relaxed. It was still pretty early. “She's getting a party,” he repeated firmly. “She's fourteen! That... has no special significance in any culture I've heard of, but the kid still deserves some fun on her damn birthday. Especially if the last few have been disappointing.”

“The day after is pretty significant in our culture,” she murmured, so softly he almost didn't catch it.

“Is it?” Wasn't she American? He seemed to recall a whole conversation that almost turned into an argument about it. “Since when?”

Beck blushed again, looking uncomfortable. “Never mind.”

“...Girls, make yourselves at home. I need to talk to your mom for a minute.”

“You're talking now.”

He almost wrote that off as another snarky response, until he realized it had come from Alice. Looking innocently confused, she stared at him with almost comically large blue eyes, and he smiled. “In private,” he clarified as gently as he could as he grabbed Beck's wrist and tugged her down the hall toward his bedroom.

“Door open at all times!”

With a huff, Beck dug her heels in and spun around to glare at Madeline. “Who's the mom, here?”

“Sometimes I wonder.”

“Madeline.” Wrenching free of Mickey's grasp, she crossed her arms over her chest and stared her defiant offspring down. “Who's the mom?”

Glowering right back, Madeline mirrored her pose and grudgingly admitted, “You are.”

“Good. Now that we've got that cleared up, how about you show our host a little respect?”

Madeline's face was red as a tomato, but she still looked more angry and resentful than contrite, until she took a deep breath and turned to Mickey. With a surprising note of sincerity, she grumbled, “Sorry, Mickey.”

“Jet lag gets the best of all of us. Maybe you two should take a nap while your mom and I talk.” He didn't know what the hell else to say. He couldn't say 'it's okay' and undermine her mother, and 'you're forgiven' sounded kind of dickish. With an awkward smile, he waved and resumed dragging Beck down the hall.

As soon as the bedroom door was closed behind them, Beck sighed and leaned against it, looking worn out. “I'm so sorry about her. She's been so bitchy lately; my sister said she was even copping an attitude with her, which she almost never does.”

“She's probably just tired and been missing her mom.” In truth, he thought Madeline's sass was funny as hell, but he wasn't about to step into the middle of a mother-daughter war. Instead, he focused on his own curiosity. “What 'culture' celebrates the day after a birthday?”

She winced. “It's nothing, Mickey. Forget it.”

Weird. “What's the big deal? I'm just curious.”

“Alright, fine.” Looking and sounding resigned, she muttered, “If you're gonna judge or laugh, might as well get it out of the way – I'm a witch.”

Mickey stared at her. Whatever he'd been expecting her to say, it wasn't that. “...A witch?”

“I don't ride a broomstick and I can't turn you into a toad.” Oof. Defensive. Judging by her tone, she'd had this conversation before, and it hadn't gone well. “My sister's a witch, too, and so are my girls. There's an old tradition in the craft; at thirteen we find our deity, if we're meant to serve one, and a year and a day later, we pledge to their service.”

Light dawned. “Oh, that's why you always say 'Gods' instead of 'God'! That makes sense.” Who was he to judge? He wasn't particularly religious, but was any one religion really any weirder than the next? Curiosity abated, he brushed it off and tugged her into his arms. “My very own Sabrina.”

Beck snorted and dropped her head onto his shoulder. “Sometimes I feel more like Sarah Sanderson.”

“You really want me to throw a rager for your fourteen-year-old?” He didn't know what to say about her Hocus Pocus reference – 'horny and ditzy? Sounds about right' was...probably not the right thing – so he decided to just jump back to the original topic.

She shrugged. “I honestly don't know what to do for her. Coming back here was her idea, but I kinda doubt it had much to do with her birthday. She wasn't kidding about wondering which one of us is the parent; that kid's been trying to take care of me since she was little.”

“Why?”

Sighing, she stepped back out of his arms. She looked so sad and broken suddenly that he wished he'd never asked. “I would love to say that it's just who she is – and it is, to a point. Some people are just natural caregivers, and Maddie's definitely one of them. But I was a mess before Liss was born. Maddie's had to deal with a lot of bullshit, and it made her grow up too fast.”

That settled it in Mickey's mind. As he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket with one hand and opened the bedroom door with the other, he told her again, “She's getting a fucking party.”

Three hours and a lot of yelling at Agryris to get him to stop laughing later, he was setting up speakers in front of his apartment building, surrounded by what looked like every kid in Athens between twelve and sixteen, along with their parents. It definitely wasn't his usual crowd, to say the least, but they were friendly enough. Most importantly, Madeline was already smiling and laughing.

Remembering the posters he'd seen around town, he pulled his phone out again and called a number he hadn't used in quite a while. “Well, well. So you're in Athens. What do you know? I have a favor to ask you...”

“OHMYGOD! BASTIAN!”

Mickey grinned. Clearly, he'd made the right call, and it was earning him hugs galore. For the first time all day, Madeline was acting like a teenage girl, bouncing up and down and screeching with joy as Bastian made her way through the party. With a bright smile, she hugged the birthday girl and smoothed her dark curls back off of her face before approaching Mickey and hugging him. The second she moved back, Madeline launched herself at him, squeezing so tightly he thought she might crack a few ribs. And then her laughing mother replaced her, and he'd never felt so popular.

“Hell of a dad move,” Beck teased, grinning at him as she stepped aside and Maddie barreled into him again.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!”

Laughing, Mickey lifted her up and kissed the top of her head. “Happy birthday.” She was too light; idly, he made a mental note to ask what the hell Beck and her sister were feeding these kids, or failing to feed them. Then he realized he sort of was acting like Maddie's dad and he blushed, setting her down.

As she ran off to dance with her little sister, he pulled Bastian up onto the platform and picked up the mic. “First of all – let's hear it for the birthday girl!” He pointed, and grinned when the revelers around him cheered, making the brunette blush. “Maddie O'Brien! You said you have no friends back in the States-” Boos echoed around them, and her color deepened. “-So I thought, what could make a better birthday present than a couple hundred Greek friends?”

The crowd cheered again, and a few “YEAH, MADDIE” shouts made the girl in question laugh, covering her face with the hand not holding tight to Alice's little wrist. Mickey noticed that she did that a lot; whenever the younger girl wasn't in her mother's arms, she was in her sister's tight, protective grip.

“What do you guys think?” He shouted into the mic. “This girl's really cool, right? You wanna be Maddie's friends, and show her how much better everything is here in Greece?”

The cheers were deafening. Mickey was grinning like a fool, and was pleased to see that so was Madeline. Big blue eyes shining, she stared up at him like he was her hero, and for a minute, life was pretty damn good. He'd die before admitting it aloud, at least so soon, but he could easily see a bright, happy future where he was stepdad to these two beautiful little girls, and they doted over their step-brother Hector, the way Maddie doted over Alice. He glanced at their mother, and couldn't help getting just a little choked up when he saw an identical look of joy and appreciation on her beautiful face. Man, it was nice to be the hero.

Before he could get too emotional and ruin the party, he pointed to Bastian. “You guys know who this is, right?” Another enthusiastic roar; he was a little jealous this time, but shoved it down and smiled. “Well, she's gonna take over for a little while, so make sure you give her some love, alright?”

Yanking her into one more tight hug, he handed the reins over to Bastian and hopped down. Beck immediately threw her arms around him and kissed him. “You are amazing, you know that? I descend on you unannounced with a grouchy teenager in tow, and you give her the best fucking night of her life!”

“All in a day's work,” he joked, squeezing her. “She seems like a great kid; they both do. I couldn't just do nothing and let her be miserable.”

“Hector is lucky.” She was grinning so wide, her face hurt; Mickey only knew because he was doing the same. “He's got a really great dad. If you'd do something like this for a kid you've never even met before, I can only imagine the lengths you'd go to for your own.”

“Think you can pass that praise on to my ex? Maybe she'll actually let me see him.”

Smile fading, she gripped his head with both hands and pulled him down to press their foreheads together. “If you want me to, I'll help you fight for him. You deserve to see your son, and he deserves to know his dad.”

“How long are you staying this time?” He didn't want to talk about Hector suddenly; not at a party surrounded by strangers and their children.

Seeming to sense his mood, Beck smiled and glanced at her giggling daughters. They were hopping around like lunatics to the music, surrounded by kids Maddie's age. She looked like she was having the time of her life. “From the looks of things now? Forever.” Mickey thought she was joking, but the look on her face stopped him from laughing it off. “I've never seen her so happy. Athens might just become home.”

“I hope so.” He shrugged, forcing a chipper smile to hide the desperately hopeful one he couldn't quite keep in. “It did for me!”

“We'll see.”

Unlike most of the parties he'd worked, this one started winding down fairly early as kids hugged Maddie, wished her a happy birthday, and were ushered home by their tired parents. Alice was asleep in Mickey's arms, her tiny body limp as a rag doll and her silky black curls tickling his nose. As the last of her party guests wished her well and left, Madeline hurried over to him and cuddled up to the side not currently occupied by the dead weight of her sister.

“Thank you, Mickey.”

“Did you have fun?” She nodded, and he smiled softly, stroking her dark hair. “Good. Let's get inside and get the little one into bed, shall we?”

She glanced around, frowning a little. “Where's mom?”

“Already upstairs.” Grinning, he watched her for a reaction and added casually, “With Bastian.”

Bright blue eyes widening, she gaped at him. “She's staying?”

Mickey laughed. “For tonight, at least, yeah. Come on.”

As they trudged through the door of his apartment a few minutes later, Mickey found himself wishing he'd stayed outside.

“No way!” Beck whipped around to gape at him while Bastian laughed. “You didn't tell me you were in a band!”

“Oh lord,” Madeline grumbled under her breath. “Get something pierced and she'll propose to you by midnight, I swear.”

Choking on a startled laugh, he lowered Alice into her sister's waiting arms. “Put her in Hector's bed. You and your mom can take mine tonight.” As she obediently wandered down the hall to tuck the younger girl in, Mickey flopped down on the couch beside Beck and tugged her into his arms. “That was a long time ago. Then she got her big break and got all famous, and she didn't need losers like me anymore.”

“Oh, that is such bullshit!” Laughing, Bastian stretched out to kick him. “We got a break. We got a deal. You were every bit a part of all that!”

“Oh, please!” Mickey rolled his eyes. “You never needed me. It was the Bastian Show, and we were just-”

“No! No, what happened was...”

They bickered for a while, going back and forth over who was to blame for Saint Claude's ultimate demise. After a few minutes, Beck excused herself and left the room, leaving the two old friends to catch up. When the argument showed no signs of ending, Mickey huffed and stood up, muttering something about getting a drink as he walked away. He loved Bastian, but damn she could be stubborn!

“What the fuck are you doing?” A glass in each hand, he stared at her as she laid out lines of cocaine on her phone's screen.

“What the fuck does it look like I'm doing?”

“Oh, god.” He grimaced, glancing toward the bedrooms. All quiet, but he didn't know if Beck and Maddie were asleep, or just hiding from the debate. “Come on, let's go in the bathroom.”

“The Brat Pack's asleep. Don't worry about it!”

“You don't know that,” he hissed. “Come on.”

Bastian rolled her eyes, but she allowed him to usher her into the bathroom. “You're paranoid. You barely even know these people! What do you care what they think?”

“I care,” he snapped, though he didn't refuse when she offered him a line. He'd just finished, was still hunched over the phone, when the door opened and he was faced with, basically, his worst nightmare: Madeline was standing in the doorway, hand on the knob.

They both froze, staring at her like deer in headlights. Face completely expressionless, Maddie looked at each of them, then at the line of cocaine still on the phone, and then straight at Mickey. "I just wanted to thank you again for today." Without another word, she calmly turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Shit." Ignoring Bastian's drug-fueled giggle fit, Mickey was on his feet and chasing after the teen in a flash. "Maddie!"

Though her face was still a stony mask, there were tears in her eyes when she whirled around to face him. "I need to talk to you. Now."

"Okay." He gestured to the couch, but she shook her head.

"Outside. I don't wanna wake up mom or Alice."

Nodding, he followed her without another word. At first he'd thought she meant out in the hall, but she didn't stop until they were outside the building. "Maddie, listen-"

"Let her go." Mickey's heart broke when she turned to face him again. Tears running down her cheeks and lower lip trembling, she stared up at him with those huge blue eyes and he almost started crying with her. "You have to let her go. Mom's loyal even when she shouldn't be. She'll never break it off."

"Maddie, I don't want-"

"I only exist because my dad drugged and raped her!" Wiping furiously at her face while he shrank back in horror, she continued more calmly, "She doesn't know I know that, or that he tried to kidnap me a bunch of times when I was little. Auntie told me. She still stayed with him for almost a year. Will hit her, Owen was a toxic psycho, Alex was a racist jerk... Alice's dad was always really nice to us all when he came around, but he almost never did. And I don't know what he did, but he's in jail for life now." With a bitter grimace, she spat, "And you're a druggie."

Maddie's had to deal with a lot of bullshit, and it made her grow up too fast.

Beck's soft voice, so full of pain and regret, echoed in his head as Mickey sank down to sit on the steps and tugged Madeline into his arms. "I'm not a druggie," he assured her as she clung to him and broke down sobbing. "One time thing, kiddo, I promise."

"Like you'd say anything else!"

The little whimper that escaped her as she scooted up his leg to get closer and dropped her head onto his shoulder very nearly made him start crying with her. For all that she insisted he get the hell out of her life, he could tell that she was desperate for someone decent to stay. This poor kid was fourteen going on forty after watching her mom date a string of losers; no wonder she had no faith in men, or in her mother's ability to make sound decisions. He squeezed her a little tighter, not sure what to do or say.

"Mickey, I'm tired," she croaked, making his heart ache for her even more. He knew she didn't mean sleepy; she was tired of being the mature one, and he couldn't say he blamed her. "I'm so tired..."

"Shhh, it's okay, baby," he whispered, rubbing her back. "You can rest now. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. You're my little girl now, okay? And I won't let anything happen to you, or your sister, or your mom. You don't have to take care of her anymore, honey. I will. You just take a breath and be a kid while you can."

"How can I trust you?"

Well, that hurt, but he got where she was coming from. Pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head, he murmured, "I gotta earn that." He pried her loose and pushed her back a little, just enough to be able to look her in the eye. "Do you think you can give me a chance to?"

After a pause that felt like an eternity, Maddie sniffled and nodded. "Okay. But if you hurt her, I'll kick your nuts back up inside."

Laughing, Mickey nodded and smoothed her hair back. "Noted.” A thought occurred to him and he frowned. “Why did you aunt tell you all that? Putting that weight on a kid... That's cruel.”

“I asked,” she admitted with a shrug. “I asked why mom was such a mess, and why I didn't have a dad. So she told me.”

I'd have made some shit up, damn. Even high, he was smart enough not to say that. He chose not to say anything at all, and just held her for a while as the cool night air soothed their frayed nerves and her breathing slowly returned to normal.

“Mickey?”

“Hm?”

Voice a small, timid whisper, she asked, “Do you really wanna be my dad?”

Smiling softly, he kissed her head again and hugged her just a bit tighter. “I am your dad.” When she tensed and let out a frustrated huff, he explained, “I'm in love with your mom, kiddo. And I already love you and your sister. We're family now, and I'm not going anywhere. I promise.”

“You're weird.” He could hear her teasing smile in her voice, and he smiled, too, relieved. “You don't even know us.”

“I know enough. Come on.” Though all he wanted was to sit there and cuddle with her all night, he gently pushed her off his lap and stood. “It's getting late. You should get to bed.”

Sending her off down the hall to his bedroom when they got back upstairs, he collapsed on the couch and sighed. He'd known when he met her that Beck would make his life more interesting... he just had no idea how interesting.

A laugh beside him reminded him of his other guest and he reluctantly opened his eyes. Judging from the way she was twitching and snickering, Bastian had finished the rest of the coke. “That was intense!”

Mickey closed his eyes again. “If it's not already gone, get that shit out of my house.”

“Oh, come on!” She shoved him, grinning impishly. “Don't try to act all virtuous now! You were right there with me, until that kid walked in.”

“'That kid'?” Annoyed now, he sat up and glared at her. “My kid.”

“Not really, though.” Confused, she twisted to glance down the hall, and then back to stare at him. “...Right? I mean, shit, she does kinda look like you...”

He shook his head. “No. Biologically, no, but I don't care. I'm not gonna add my name to the list of guys who've hurt her.”

Bastian snorted, rolling her eyes. “Mickey, you can't just decide to play daddy to this random kid on a whim just because your ex won't let you see your own. She's not yours, and changing your whole life and personality isn't going to change that.”

“I haven't touched that shit in years. I'm not changing on a whim; you just don't know me anymore.”

“Enough,” she challenged, settling back in her seat and staring down her nose at him. “I know you well enough to know this is never gonna work.”

“What isn't?”

“This!” Bastian gestured vaguely around them. “This whole self-domestication shit. You're not some house husband and stepdad – you're a musician. You belong on the road, Mickey! Not shut up in some old lady's apartment playing House with some crazy chick and her walking, talking reminders of past mistakes.”

“Beck,” he snapped, glaring at her. “'That chick's' name is Beck, and her gorgeous daughters are Maddie and Alice. They're not mistakes. Alice is adorable and so smart, and Maddie is fucking awesome and she's been through Hell. I haven't seen you in years and you think you're gonna sit here in my house and tell me who I am and what I want? I don't fucking think so, Bastian.”

“Alright, alright!” She held up her hands in surrender, eyes wide. “Chill. I just miss you, okay? I want you to come on tour with me, like the old days, not sit here and rot away in some mediocre domestic life. You could have so much more!”

Mickey sighed, staring off into space for a moment. Some part of him was drawn to her offer, but that wasn't him anymore. He didn't actually want to tour with her, he just hated feeling settled; at some point in his wild youth, stability had begun to feel like stagnation, and now he found himself often desperate to avoid it, even if it came with everything he truly wanted.

He thought about Beck, and her bright smile and her two beautiful, lonely daughters, and he thought about Hector. Beck had been spot-on; as much as he did love Greece, Mickey had really only stayed this long because of his son. He wanted to be in Hector's life. Now he wanted to be in Maddie and Alice's lives, too. He wanted a family.

And for the first time, he was willing to fight for that family.

“You're right,” he admitted slowly. “You're right, I've been hiding here, just floating around aimlessly.” Before she could get all triumphant, he stood and growled, “But that's not what I'm doing now. Now, I'm finally seeing a life that I want, and I'll be damned if I'll let anyone take it away from me.”

That said, he walked away without giving Bastian a chance to argue. He peeked into his son's room to check on Alice, smiled when he saw the way she was sprawled, half hanging off the bed, and he quietly closed the door and headed to his own room. Hopefully Maddie wouldn't mind; he'd originally intended to crash on the couch, but he couldn't stand to be in the same room as Bastian, and couldn't quite bring himself to kick her out, either. Moving slowly, so as to avoid waking either of the bed's other two occupants, he slid in next to Beck.

She immediately rolled over and cuddled close to him. At first he thought she was just fidgeting in her sleep, but then she whispered, “Don't let anyone change you or tell you who you are. Not even me.”

“I won't.” He tried to smile, couldn't quite manage it, and kissed her, instead. “Goodnight.”

“Night.”

It wasn't quite a seamless transition. Mickey's place was too small for a family of four, and he didn't exactly love the idea of moving a bunch of heavy audio equipment down those winding stairs. Though he wanted to jump right into living together, he didn't put up much of a fight when Beck started looking for her own place.

It helped that she didn't spend a lot of time at home. Once the girls were enrolled in school, their mother started dropping them off and then going straight to Mickey's place. She helped Argyris translate for Mickey and his clients, which both men had thought was a terrible idea... until they saw her in action. The short fuse he'd become so familiar with in their first couple of days together was nowhere to be found. Around even his most difficult clients, Beck was the embodiment of charm and professional courtesy. Mickey quickly found that while Argyris was better for direct translation, he was no match for Beck when it came to diplomacy and deescalating a heated argument.

“You haven't seen 'difficult',” she teased, “until you've been a woman in a male-dominated field arguing for funding. This is nothing.”

Mickey laughed, yanking her into his arms. “Where have you been all my life?”

She flinched, closing her eyes and pressing her fingertips to her mouth for a second. It was the briefest of moments, and then she was smiling again and joking, “On my knees in the dirt, mostly,” but he refused to ignore it.

“You okay?”

With a little shrug and a nod, she admitted, “Been a little queasy and lightheaded lately, but I'm fine. It never lasts long.”

“You are so American.” She glared at him and he grinned, pleased that he knew how to get her attention. “You're not in Dystopia anymore – go to a doctor.”

“Did you not hear me? I'm fi-”

“I heard 'lately,'” he countered, poking her side and immediately regretting it when she cringed. Right; queasy. Maybe don't mess with her stomach, Mickey. “'Lately' means this is not normal. It means you're sick, so go to a doctor.”

She shook her head, winced, and dropped it onto his shoulder. “I don't need a doctor.”

“You can't even move without turning green.”

“I'm fine. I don't need a doctor.”

“Why are you being so stubborn? You're supposed to help me with stubborn people, not be the Queen of them!”

“Am I your girlfriend or your lawyer?”

“That's not what I meant and you know it. Don't change the subject.” Rubbing her back, he insisted as gently as he could, “Please just go get checked out.”

“I don't need to. I'm fine.”

“Look, even if it's minor, do you wanna suffer or find out what's wrong and get better?”

“I don't need a doctor to tell me what I already know!”

What she already knew? He frowned, more confused than ever. “Is it some kind of chronic-”

“Mickey, I'm not sick – I'm pregnant!”

He froze, gaping at her in shock. She started to pull away, but he tightened his grip on her waist before she could stand up. “You're what?”

Looking nervous and uncomfortable, she mumbled, “I was trying to find the right time to tell you; we've just been so busy with that 'make it more Greek' asshat...”

“You're really pregnant?” When she slowly and carefully nodded, Mickey grinned and hugged her as tight as he dared. “That's fantastic!” He finally let her up, only to stand with her and frame her face with both hands. Between frantic kisses all over her face, he gushed, “That's incredible! Have you told the girls yet? Oh, Alice is gonna be so excited to be a big sister! And Hector! I can't wait for Hector to meet his little brother or sister!”

“Mickey...”

He glanced around, smile dimming just a bit. “Damn, we gotta get a bigger place.”

“Mickey.”

“I wonder if Agryris' grandmother had-”

“Mickey!” Shoving his hands away, Beck got a tight grip on his hair and forced him to turn back to face her. “Do you really think we can do this?”

He blinked, taken aback by that. “Don't you?”

“Three kids, and fighting for joint custody of a fourth?” She shook her head, looking at him like he was an idiot. “The thought that we might be in over our heads crossed my mind, yeah. I was struggling with just two!”

“Well, now you have me.” His cheeky grin didn't seem to comfort her as much as he'd hoped it would. “You were struggling 'cause you were alone; now you're not.”

“A single mom with two kids really isn't all that different from two parents with four,” she pointed out, releasing his hair and crossing her arms over her chest. Seeing the hurt he tried to mask, she sighed. “Look, I'm glad you're excited, I am. And whether we're ready or not, the kid's on the way, I just... I just wish I shared your optimism. I'm not excited, Mickey; I'm scared to death.”

“Well, get excited,” he jokingly commanded, pulling her close for another hug. “We'll be fine. Besides, it's not like Aspa's ever gonna give me full custody, so it's not really two to four. Maddie's old enough that she doesn't need constant hyper-vigilance from us, so it's really just two to two-and-a-half.”

Finally, finally, Beck laughed. It was quiet and weak, but a laugh nonetheless. “Jesus, you're like sunshine in human form. Does anything ever get you down?”

He shrugged. “Sure, but I try not to let it for long. And I see a new baby as something to celebrate, not freak the hell out over.”

“See, you get to see it that way because you don't have to push it out,” she teased. “It's not so perfectly sunny from where I'm standing.”

“No one said life is perfect.” Still smiling like a fool, he kissed her. “Whatever you need, I'm here. You're not doing everything alone anymore. We got this.”

“I love you.”

It didn't seem possible, but somehow his smile got even wider. “I love you, too.”

“Speaking of Aspa, though...”

“Oh, god, what?”

With a laugh and an apologetic smile, Beck ventured, “I don't think you should come today.”

“What?”

Her smile immediately faded; apparently, he was really bad at hiding it when he was confused and offended. “Baby, you're chaos incarnate. It's one of the things I love about you, but it's not exactly conducive to a civilized conversation with a woman who probably kind of hates you.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“I just think I might have better luck getting through to her, single mom to single mom.” She looked like she was waiting for him to hit her, which only made him feel worse. “I know how hard it is, and how, whether we mean to or not, we tend to villainize our exes-”

He snorted, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, well, with the stellar guys you've dated, it makes sense. It's not really villainizing if he's already a villain.”

“Exactly how much did Madeline tell you?”

Uh-oh. She was mad. Knowing he was in trouble no matter what and refusing to drag his stepdaughter down with him, Mickey hastily changed the subject. “Do you really think I'll fuck things up that badly if I go?” Why was he even asking? Offended or not, he knew she was right; Aspa hated his guts.

Thankfully, Beck let the dig about her exes drop and her steely expression melted back into one of gentle sympathy. “I just want you to have the best chance possible of getting to be an active part of Hector's life. I want him to know you, to sleep in that bed you bought him before he outgrows it, to meet his new sisters. And I think your feelings towards Aspa, and hers toward you, are probably too raw and volatile right now for a face-to-face meeting to be a good idea.”

“Alright.” Forcing a faint smile, he nodded. “Alright, go. You've got a point.”

“I'll tell you all about it when I get back, okay?” She promised with an equally strained smile, kissing his cheek.

“Can't wait.”

When she came back a little while later, she was laughing. Mickey's hopes that it meant things had gone better than expected were dashed, though, when she managed to gasp out, “She really hates you!”

“Yeah, thanks.” He shook his head. “I knew that much.”

“I'm sorry.” Still giggling, Beck wound her arms around his waist. “She was just such a bitch. I kinda respect the hell out of her.”

“What did she say?”

“That you're a baby,” she dutifully recited, “and you're irresponsible, unreliable...”

“Why is this funny?!”

“Because, Mickey... Mickey, honey...” Framing his face like he had to her earlier, she told him, “It's nothing I didn't already know. You're flighty and you're a big kid; this isn't news. She was floored that I love you anyway, and my god, the look on her face when I went off about how that childishness is what makes you such a good dad, and you're great with the girls... I haven't been able to stop laughing since! Pretty sure she hates me now, too.”

“Great!” Failing to see the humor, Mickey jerked free of her light grasp and moved away, beginning to pace the room. “So instead of helping, you just alienated her from us both!”

“We're going to see him on Saturday.”

“What?” He spun to stare at her; she wasn't laughing anymore. “Are you serious?”

Looking rather proud of herself, she nodded. “Supervised by Aspa, of course, but yep. You get to spend time with your son, and I finally get to meet him. It doesn't matter what she thinks of either of us, as long as she can see that you give a shit; that we're safe to be around Hector, and can be trusted to think of him first. Show her how much you love him, that even childish and flaky you can be reliable, that you want to be reliable, and a supervised visit might turn into father-son weekends, without your ex underfoot.”

“I... wha... how...?”

She shrugged, smiling faintly. “Mother to mother. We came to an understanding.”

Overwhelmed by emotions he couldn't even identify, Mickey closed the distance between them and lifted her up. “I fucking love you, you know that?”

Beaming as he set her down, Beck leaned in for a kiss. “I love you, too, baby.”

“That's not cute anymore.” Despite his protests, he was grinning as he backed her toward the bedroom. “Now I just feel like you're calling me a baby. That sucks. Don't do that.”

“I'll call you what I want,” she teased, pulling him down for another kiss. “And you can't stop me!”

With a hand on her belly, he joked, “How about you call me 'daddy'?”

“No.” She laughed and shook her head. “I physically cannot do that. I'll puke.”

“Well, morning sickness is pretty common.”

“No, this is pure disgust.”

They were both laughing now as they reached the bed; he almost playfully shoved her back, but then remembered the baby and thought better of it. Instead, he flopped across it himself and beckoned for her to join him. “We're gonna be okay, you know.”

Beck winced as she settled gingerly on the edge of the bed. “It's just such bad timing. I don't...”

“Hey.” He tugged at her arm until she stretched out beside him, and wound his arms around her. “It's all gonna be okay. No matter what life throws at us, we'll deal with it together, okay? I want this baby. I know you want this baby. The rest is just details.”

“Pretty big fucking details. I was supposed to go to Mongolia next month.”

“Then go.” God, he didn't want her to, but he was determined to show her that they could be together, be a family, without completely derailing her life. When she looked at him like he'd lost it, he gave her a bland 'are you kidding' look right back. “You're not really gonna try to convince me that you weren't still going on digs when you were pregnant with Alice, are you?”

She blushed. “My team didn't know...”

“So don't tell them this time, either.”

“Mickey...” Pushing his arms away, she sat up. “You really have no idea how physically demanding my work is, do you? I almost lost Alice.”

For a second, he floundered, wondering what the hell to do or say. Then he brightened and sat up, as well. “You speak a million languages; just work as a translator until you're safe to go back out into the field.”

“...I do love it,” she conceded, making him perk up. “And maybe I can finally teach you some Greek so you can talk to your son more easily.”

Mickey chuckled. “I'm not getting out of that, am I?”

“Nope.” She grinned and settled back against his chest as he leaned against the headboard. “Not until we're both fluent.”

“Alright, I'm in.” He smiled, kissing her jaw and lacing their fingers together. “New home for us, new job for you, learning a new language...”

“New baby on the way.”

“New baby on the way,” he parroted, pressing their linked hands to her belly. “New chapter.”

“Here's to a new life.”

Mickey nodded and leaned down for a proper kiss, murmuring against her lips, “Together.”

#monday 2021 #monday movie #fanfiction #fix it fic #mickey henry #mickey/oc #i really really hate chloe #so much #omfg

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vampiresuns · 3 years

Text

Birds Of A Feather

✴︎ BIRDS OF A FEATHER ✴︎

1.1k words. In which Anatole looks for, and finds, a new personal assistant.

Dani is @apprenticealec‘s new OC. This is mostly a how she gets hired, and less of a establishing dynamics. This is an auteur’s kitchen.

Anyway I love us, and I love the janiverse.

Portia makes an appearance too, as does one of my R-C NPCs, Medea.

Anatole was leaning back on his chair, head tilted back over the edge as a loud groan escaped from his lips.

“Medea, I love you with everything I’ve got, but I swear if I meet one more prospect who tries to change my routine, defenestration will be the next thing in my schedule — whether it’s done onto me, onto something, or onto the applicant is completely irrelevant to me.”

“Isn’t attempted murder a little bit dramatic for the occasion?”

“Probably, most likely… but I need someone who works with me, not someone who has a deep, unfulfilled desire to micromanage people.”

Medea snorted. “Or has a delusion of grandeur about being the Consul’s right hand?”

Anatole looked at her, head still hanging. “You get it. I swear the personnel division of the Palace staff has very interesting concepts of what I might or might not need.”

“I think they just go off with Valerius’ standard.”

“Yes, because I am the type to go ‘take this out of my sight and come back when it’s solved’.”

Medea levelled him a look, and Anatole sat upright again. “Alright, but I only do that with smaller things.”

“Well, you’ve always been bordering on obsessive with your job,” Medea said with the cheeky familiarity one has with those people one has known for years.

“I prefer passionate.”

“That you sure are, Nana. Should I call the next one in?”

Anatole agreed with a dismissive gesture, and as the next hour and a half rolled around, interview after interview, he wondered what he would ever do without Medea and her never ending people’s abilities. Medea Pryce, Vesuvian born and half raised, worked in the Vesuvian Court, coordinating its different offices, somewhat of an equivalent to Portia’s duties as handmaiden and head of staff, but for the political coming and goings of the Court. They had met in Prakra as they both attended the exact same lecture program in university, albeit with different ends in mind. Then, they had both decided to study for a period of time in Balkovia and eventually make their return to Vesuvia together, having begun to work in the Palace at a similar time.

Needless to say she was one of the people he trusted the most in this world. So when the inevitable had happened, and Anatole caved into the admittance that he did need an assistant, Medea was the person he wanted next to him to do the interviews. Portia had also helped, but she had done so with the pre-selection and would help with the definitive selection later too.

“Alright, we have to do two more, and then we’re done.”

“Oh, thank fuck,” Anatole said, pacing around the room. He had had too much of sitting down, and stood up two interviews ago in fear he would zone out completely; on the brightside, moving around in interviews ended up working in his favour in more than one way — it was easy to tell people who were put off by his need to fidget, or move around.

Swaying slightly from side to side, leaning against an open window he made a non committal hand gesture for the next applicant to be called in.

She must have been around his height without heels, perhaps a little shorter. Glasses framed her brown eyes and slightly raised eyebrows as she walked in. She looked confused for a second, looking back and forth between Medea and Anatole by the window.

“Did I come at the wrong time, I thought I was called?”

“You were called,” Anatole said, extending his hand to shake hers, “I’m Consul Aelius Radošević, this is one of the Court’s head coordinators, Medea Pryce, personal friend of mine as well.”

“Your name is Danielle Phandoum, correct?” Medea asked.

“Yes! Well, Dani, Danielle. People call me Dani.”

“Then so shall we, as long as that is alright with you.”

“It is, Miss Pryce.”

“Just Medea is fine.”

“And you may address me as Consul or ‘sir’, if you’re not comfortable using my name,” Anatole had begun to fidget with his fingers, making ladders with them, joining his thumb and his index together, one above the other. “Some people like to make up titular forms to call me, and it gets under my skin. You don’t mind me standing here, do you?”

“No, not at all sir.”

Anatole smiled. “Good. Do make yourself equally comfortable.”

The interview was simple and followed the same structure as the rest of them did: personal details, motivators, previous work experience, and cross referrals. Medea carried the most of the bureaucratic part of it, Anatole waiting for his turn to ask questions.

When the time came, he detailed his routine, put her in a couple of hypothetical scenarios, wanting to know how she’d solve them. They bounced ideas on and off, to the point Medea was happy to sit back and watch them bounce situations on and off.

Yet, it wouldn’t be until the three of them were sitting at Portia’s cottage, drinking something warm and sharing some honey bread, that Anatole would realise Dani was one of the few applicants who worked with him, following the grain of Anatole’s own routine, making due in the places he couldn’t reach or was stretching himself too thin — an hypothetical reinforcement, instead of a new structure that was unfamiliar to him.

“I like her. I like these other two as well, but I like her. She thinks—“

“Like us?” Portia interjected.

“She does. She’s also good with multitasking, by the sound of it.”

“True,” Medea said after taking a sip of her tea, “you offered her scenarios and she gave actually helpful replies.”

“And she cracked a joke about my packed schedule.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, asked how did my spine hold up managing all that weight.”

“So, she’s the one? Nana, you’ve talked almost of no one else.”

“Portia’s right. Besides, I think one of your applicants would work better in my department.”

Anatole hummed, absorbed in his thoughts until he sighed, setting his cup down. Something inside him told him Portia and Medea were right, that he had found the person he was looking for. “Well,” he said at last, “all I can do is try.”

Medea rolled her eyes. “You always do that when you have a hunch.”

“It’s called silently diving into. It’s all here,” he said as he tapped his temple.

“If anything, your Leon will be the happiest about it.”

“Oh, Gods,” Anatole rah his hands through his face, “Lee sure will. I’m sure it was a matter of time before he barricaded the bedroom door and didn’t let me out.”

“I have a feeling he wouldn’t do that,” Medea smiled to herself, “Lee seems like the kind of person who is too aware you’d escape through the window.”

Portia’s laugh was bright and bubbly as she echoed the sentiment. “She’s right,” she laughed, “he’d sit on you instead.”

#the arcana #the arcana oc #aelius anatole #medea #dani janiverse #my writing #portia #coincidence lovers

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suncatchr · 3 years

Note

Heyo if u wanna talk abt ur ocs can u tell me abt the newest ones (or at least the ones that r new to me which is all of them on the last pic of ur oc post I think?) :3

omggg thank you for asking :3 this is long sorry i haven’t organised my thoughts about them yet ahjfklsa but here we go

before i can talk abt rain n evie i have to explain the universe with kes, amaya, and rio. im sure you remember them :3 but umm you said they were based on pacific rim and i don’t know anything abt pacific rim fhjlafnj sooo i made a bunch of stuff up. soooo there’s a parallel universe/alternate dimension full of people and like, monsters. the alt. universe people r testing ways to break into our dimension and open the door permanently so that both dimensions are their domain. the... city...? that the story is set in is like a capitalists’s dream, split harshly between rich and poor with no middle class. the poor faction of the city that will be named soon is the one responsible for keeping the other-dimension-ers out of our dimension, most if not all of them are responsible in some way for keeping their area safe from those tears in the ozone layer. they in return are given technology, money, and supplies from the rich faction. those guys do next to nothing, they operate like any other city where everyone has jobs and pays their dues to the government. they are very strict about who they let into the city; they don’t want outsiders to know about their dimension problem lest they stop the warriors from doing their jobs or do something to make the tear bigger etc etc. they also don’t want poor people in the city, even if they’re responsible for everyone’s safety. I’m thinking of making the story a really obvious allegory similar to older-fashioned dystopian novels like animal farm and brave new world because i’m obsessed with those in concept. so i think supporting characters will be one-dimensional caricatures of types of people in society, and only the MCs will have nuance. this also makes it easier for me to write side characters ;3

so kestrel and amaya are siblings mostly born and raised into monster-fighting. you know when there’s a factory or whatever in town that most people in that city work at? there’s one of those but it’s like... a firehouse for monster fighting. they mostly live and sleep there, they’re fed and clothed here for free so long as they fight and they’re both content with that. I’m not sure what happened to their parents yet but they’re probably dead. not everyone’s parents are dead, some people have families that they live with at the... compound, these two are just tragic and whatnot. families are encouraged to fight together in duos or trios so that loyalty makes them fight smarter and harder to protect each other. when they’re not at the compound, like if they have shifts off or whatever, they live in an abandoned subway station and steal power from the government who’s unaware that that track is unused 😌

so as far as them as individuals, i kept the planets that u based them off of :3 kestrel is based off mars and mars is the planet of action, energy, motivation, temper. kestrel is moody and temperamental, but their choices are never made without careful consideration. they’re a quick thinker and that makes them confident, so they never back down from a challenge. they have a hard time masking their emotions and it’s easy to see what’s going on in their head. they’re hard to embarrass, though, and they’re very confident in most of their assertions. they’re impatient and crabby, but they aren’t at all shy.

amaya is based off venus, so she’s more emotionally rounded than her sibling and more interested in the poetry of life. she’s very expressive and polite, and she has a thing abt maintaining her image. she’s a bit materialistic and self-centred, focused on her looks and her space, but she’s realistic in her material n sensual desires because al things considered she lives in a subway station. she knows what to expect from life, or at least she thinks she does, and is just as confident in her own assertions as kestrel. she’s stubborn and argumentative for that reason, but her confidence makes her a natural leader and people flock to her for advice and assistance. she loves this.

and adrion, based off earth, comes into their lives later. rio used to live on the rich side of town until a second dimension creature escapes the notice of the warriors (i swear they won’t actually be called “warriors” forever 😭) and destroys his part of the city. his family is alright, but the destruction makes him feel like he could do a better job than whoever’s currently there. he leaves his family to join up with the. the compound, and when asked to find a partner to fight with, chooses amaya and kestrel because they’re a top-of-their-class team who are always talking about how things could be better. at first, they don’t want him bc they’re lone wolves and they do not like to be told what to do. but he’s a tough fighter and he’s got the motivation to be good, so they let him stay on the team. as far as personality, rio is really chill and understanding, often willing to let other people’s faults slide. as long as he’s allowed to do what he wants to do, other people can have their way. he’s cheerier than the other two but he’s quieter and more in-the-background. his strong will makes him sensitive and he refuses to change his mind often because he’s quite naive and gullible, making him easy to trick and take advantage of which makes him insecure. this makes him prone to snapping when people put pressure on him.

now for rain and evie. i originally created them as prototypes for their own narrative but the story seemed really similar to my other stuff so i scrapped it BUT i thought the characters themselves worked in this story instead so i kept them :3. rain and evie are brothers who were initially raised in a fighting ring. they live on the poor side of town but they never worked for the compound. they make a living by gladiator fighting, people pay to come in and bet on them and obviously they’re paid for winning fights. rain is an extremely adept fighter and usually manages to beat opponents with brute strength. evie is smaller and less physical and usually fights by using the opponent’s strength against them. they’re simultaneously popular and unpopular in their neighbourhood as they’re like. cool for being good in the ring but they’re really weird otherwise. they’re aggressive, angry and irrational, they act like they’re always in the ring. rain is more sociable and capable than evie, who tends to be reactive and angry. he doesn’t want to be here, but rain is more content in his abilities, so he handles mostly everything so that evie doesn’t have to be responsible for anything. they end up moving on from the ring after evie takes on an opponent that rain tried to tell everyone that he could never beat. evie takes a violent blow to the head that leaves him comatose, and rain spends a huge chunk of money for a piece of technology that replaces the damaged areas of evie’s head and functions in its place. no one tells rain, though, that the thing he put in evie’s head is technology from the other dimension. after the two leave the ring, they decide to make themselves useful and fight the monsters that forced them into this life in the first place.

personality-wise, rain is a laid-back, go-with-the-flow kind of guy. he likes to let things take their course and he isn’t much concerned with proceedings outside of himself and evie. he purposefully denies himself negative emotion and usually tries to fake that everything is good all the time. despite this, he’s emotional and reactive and extremely defensive. he doesn’t like to be challenged or made unhappy and in his dream world he and evie are always just hanging out doing what they want and not having to answer to anyone. people often find him charming bc he’s able to finagle most situations into him getting his way, he’s exceptional with people but he doesn’t like them.

evie is more sullen and droopy. he almost always lets rain do all the talking and he usually appears unconcerned with most goings-on because he’s letting rain evaluate the situation. he’s usually inside his own head, daydreaming or fussing. most of his interactions with others are verbal or physical fights bc he’s unsure how to manage himself without rain around and is often willing to fight for whatever he thinks rain would want. he’s independent outside of that, doesn’t like to be told what to do or how to act. not even rain can calm him down when he’s on his soapbox because he truly believes that if he had to grow up a fighting dog he should be allowed to do whatever the fuck he wants. in downtime he’s usually a little bit more uppity than rain but still similarly laid-back and willing to act like things are okay.

the five of these characters r in the same universe and they go on missions together often, though kes and amaya don’t really get along with rain and evie because they’re all so stubborn.

next are niko and andre, who i got from sammy! we got urban fantasy going on here, and i’m thinking of setting it in like. the mid 1800-s. i’m feeling spicy. umm so i think the key thing about this universe is that “hunters” are a species of humanoid monster. this world is spinning with vampires, werewolves, faeries, demons, etc. pretending to be human in order to survive, and hunters are a mimic species that look human but just... aren’t. they have an insatiable desire to hunt and kill (used to be for food but humans make food more easily accessible), but killing humans makes them vulnerable to being found out. killing other monsters is the perfect substitute, plus humans praise them for it. they’re onto each other but they can’t make scenes in human society so they have to dance around each other to do all of their killing in secret.

andre is a hunter living in the shadow of his older sister, angel. she’s a better, more ruthless hunter than he is, with stronger instincts and a greater prey drive. she’s popular with people in town and generally just more charismatic. he really wants to be like her, but he’s klutzy and insecure and his instincts are poor cuz he overthinks them. one day he comes across niko in a bar and, perceiving him to be human bc he has 0 instincts, they get their flirt on. until niko says something that makes andre realise he’s a vampire. embarrassed and ashamed of his attraction, andre tries to turn his feeling of betrayal into murderous instinct, and he can turn that anger into his first solo kill. niko keeps chasing after andre trying to catch his non-murderous attention because he actually really likes him and doesn’t want to let what they are get in their way.

personality wise, niko is a noisy little wisecracker who likes to be popular. he’s a genuinely nice guy and is famous wherever he goes for being wise and helpful. he’s usually pretty optimistic and very charming, especially in bigger crowds where he can fit in. he can be purposefully oblivious and is very good at disguising his feelings and intentions. he’s witty and sarcastic, often masking negativity for the sake of keeping it light.

andre is a straightforward intellectual type who likes to work and create and achieve. he’s intelligent and steadfast and always strives to do his best (which is why being terrible at hunting is upsetting for him). making achievements kind of replaces his understanding of himself, and not being good at things really digs at his self-worth. he’s not much of a people person but he’s not really shy, either. he’s polite and good-natured, though his feelings are quite fragile.

next generation, same universe, next is honour (whose name HAS to be spelled with the u), journey, and solace. resident throuple. honour and solace are hunters, and journey is human. honour was raised in a big home with lots of hunters under the iron fist of like, the mean nursemaid from annie. they hunt monsters as an organised group, but its a violent institution that doesn’t believe in autonomy nor the worth of human lives. humans exist as something to blend into while they exterminate all other monsters. honour stops believing this when she gets older, mostly due to meeting journey. she assumes journey is just going to be vapid and goofy bc he’s a human, but he ends up being a really cool dude who’s just as in-depth as her and she begins to realise how terrible the lessons she was raised on are.

journey’s family were aware that they were often surrounded by monsters and as such were very protective of him and his siblings. journey never gets to go out and do things, and being stuck in the stuffy comfort of his home is not what he wants to do with his life when he knows there are monsters out there. when he and honour hit it off, they decide to run away together, deciding to shed their upbringings entirely by changing their names to the things they want most.

i set this in the 1800s JUST so that i could have honour and journey use the train to run away. not nice public transit trains, i mean they are riding the dirty rusty rails to seek a better life. they intend to ride a long time to make sure that they’re never recognised. on one of the trains they catch to head north, they come across solace, helping him onto the train as he got there a split second too late to catch it. despite his initial gratitude, solace is unpleasant to ride with. turns out he’s been on the run for most of his life and is just trying to find a place to stay where no one will care that he’s a hunter. in human-only societies hunters are known as mimics and are heavily discriminated against if you’re suspected of being one and straight up killed if you are. after living an uncomfortable life and seeing his father killed, solace decides to go from town to town until he finds a place that’s mostly hunters. when honour reveals they’re looking for the same thing, solace decides to go with them. he’s hesitant to give up his name because it was given to him by his parents, but ultimately he wants to leave that life behind and embody comfort and. yk. solace.

haven’t quite figured these three out personality-wise bc i only finished their designs and names in time for posting the art, rip

and lastly my warriors ocs! I decided to make regular fanclans as opposed to using my existing ocs in an au mostly because i didn’t wanna add in random npcs (as it were) to fill the nursery and elder’s den even tho those r important to clan life. so, i made separate ocs, they live in the arctic! summitclan in the mountains, tundraclan in the plains, and glacierclan by the. glacier. the story so far is a murder mystery, cats of all clans are being killed and going missing and no one knows why. while most warriors assume there’s a bear or fox hanging around the territories, the apprentices saw something while they were hanging out that made them decide to investigate deeper...

our mc is snowpaw, a repurposed rp oc fjdkfjld;af. he’s a summitclan cat and he’s known to be strange and standoffish. he seems cold and apathetic about almost everything and it’s hard to see what he enjoys and dislikes. his secretiveness makes it easy for him to investigate the murders, no one ever questions where snowpaw is going or what he’s doing. with his friends and family snowpaw is a little more jovial, he has very dry humour and is also always trying to help

crowpaw is a tundraclan cat. he’s stuck up and big-mouthed, very arrogant little know it all. don’t ever tell him that, though, bc he’s very sensitive and he will cry. he likes to be seen as the best at everything so he dedicates excess time to learning and is actually a very curious and adventurous cat underneath.

swiftpaw is a glacierclan cat. he’s very mature and is often rumoured to be a great deputy choice when he’s old enough. he’s calm and level-headed, a quick-thinking problem solver with a bit of a superiority complex but not one that anyone in his life would be aware of bc he’s so darn polite. the warrior code is important to him and so are rules of daily clan life that reduce conflict in any way.

teapaw is also a glacierclan cat. she, like snowpaw, is a little bit quiet and secretive, the kind of person (..?) that kinda lurks in the back of important things going on rather than offering her voice. she’s a healer’s apprentice and takes a lot of pride in being effective and efficient with all her duties. she’s curious and observant, and shes good friends with her clan’s seer, deadhawk (i split the medicine cat position into two for these clans, healers do doctor stuff, seers talk to starclan), so she tends to be up to date w what starclan says, which helps her and her friends w their mystery.

and finally, breezepaw! he’s a summitclan cat and snowpaw’s bff. he’s kinda clueless and distractable, very much a follower personality as he likes others to decide what’s important for him to do. he’s a quiet cat, but he’s not afraid to speak his mind when the time comes. kinda a goofy jokester dude, but he knows how to read a room and keep quiet when he doesn’t know what to contribute and jokes won’t help. he likes snowpaw because snowpaw’s always confident in what he’s doing and never clowns on breezepaw for not knowing wtf is going on

#this took me so long to type out all the way jfdkslfjd sorry abt that #maybe its been a week and a half who are you to judge #anyway thankie again for asking it was great to tupe out stuff abt them for the first time :D #type* -_-#oc ask #edit: ive just decided that hunters feed off life energy but only as it escapes #that's what drives their desire to kill

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youngwings-writes · 4 years

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Infinitely Ordinary

Lee Felix x OC

Summary: "𝕀 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕀 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟"

Busy. Busy worrying, working, just trying to survive. That was the daily life of Jordan Johnson. The world never seemed to slow down; not for her...not for anyone. Finally deciding to take matters into her own hands and get some much needed R&R, she jets off on a trip to South Korea. While there, she unexpectedly meets her soulmate. Will they be able to find happiness together, or will his status get in the way?

Genre: Fluff

Length: 1.5k

Chapter 3: Dream Boy

Buckle up kiddos, the story is gonna pick up in this chapter! We also may or may not be meeting a certain someone this chapter ;) Now, let's get into it!!

So maybe lying down on my bed after an insanely long flight wasn't my brightest idea. I was so sure the day I landed would also be spent exploring, but my body had other plans for me. After flopping uncerimoniously on the bed in my hotel room, the exhaustion caught up to me and lulled me to sleep. For 14 hours.

When I finally woke up from my unintentional hibernation, it was 6 AM.

Lovely.

With my body refusing to go back to sleep, I dragged myself out of bed and began getting ready for the day.

Knowing how early it was definitely put my mind at ease and let me take my time in the shower. I let the hot water cascade down my back as I hummed a little tune to myself. Most of my shower was spent taking in the warmth if I'm being entirely honest. Oh the perks of not having to pay a water bill.

When the water started to run lukewarm, I turned off the faucet and got out. I made my way to my bags that I had left near the door the day before. Grabbing one and heaving it up onto the bed, I ruffled through my clothes and chose an outfit: frayed black shorts, a cropped maroon and white striped shirt, and some Dr. Martens.

Returning to the bathroom, I got dressed, did my hair, and brushed my teeth. Giving myself a once-over, I gave myself a small smile and nod in satisfaction.

Sitting down on the bed, I grabbed my phone off the nightstand. The screen read 7:45 AM along with a few notifications. I responded to the few texts I had received from close friends and family assuring them that I arrived safely. I then quickly checked the other random notification that were primarily from social media. Satisfied with the lack of notifications, I turned my phone off, unplugged it, grabbed my backpack, and made my way out the door.

While there were many places I wanted to visit in Seoul, my stomach decided that breakfast was a necessity before I visited any of them. Unlike my hometown, there were many cafes around, so finding one using navigation and calling a cab was unnecessary. Instead, I opted to just walk around for a bit until I found a cafe that seemed interesting to me.

It didn't take long for me to find a cafe that I wanted to go to. The moment I stepped into the cafe, I was greeted a hoard of dogs. There were so many different breeds scattered about the building.

Coffee, pasteries, and dogs. I was in heaven.

I quickly paid the server my entrance fee and was lead to a table in the far right corner.

Placing a menu on the table in front of me, my server smiled and bowed politely before making their way back up to the counter. I picked up the menu, scanning through the various snacks and beverages. While there were some decent cafes back home, I don't think I had ever seen one with such an extensive menu.

And the dogs; you can't forget the dogs.

Picking something to drink and something to snack on took me much longer than I had originally anticipated. It also may or may not have ended up being more than just one drink and one snack...only sorry to my bank account on that one.

Waiting for my order to come out, I took a good look around the cafe. Everything about it was so different from the cafes I went to back home. Most of the ones I had been to before had a very rustic or very modern design. This cafe was definitely modern and minimalistic, but it was also very homey. The entire vibe of it made me very relaxed.

Mindlessly petting one of the lovely pups next to me, I began fiddling with my phone. Social media was always a good distraction from my unbearable impatience regarding food. Plus, it gave me the time to message some friends and family to tell them I'm safe and out having a good time.

I was soon brought out of my trance by a gentle buzz emitting from the coaster coaster I was given; my order was finally ready. I made my way to the counter and swapped my buzzer for a tray with way more sugar than I needed on it. I could almost cry just looking at everything I bought.

Sitting back down in my corner, I gently placed the tray on the table. I first made sure to photograph everything I had ordered. Typically I wouldn't do this when I went out for food or drinks, but I wanted to make sure I had memories to look back on from this trip. After all of my items had been properly documented, I went straight for the Oreo roll cake and Cookies N Cream milkshake.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for sweets.

I was so engrossed in all the sugary snacks and beverages in front of me that I didn't hear the bell above the door ring. The presence of another customer vaguely registered when he began ordering. I was still very much focused on what was in front of me, the patron's deep Korean becoming background noise. It wasn't until the man took a seat at the adjacent table that I was actually aware there was another person in the cafe.

From what I could tell, the man wasn't terribly tall or short, was roughly the same age as me, and oddly familiar. I couldn't clearly see his face because he was bent over in his seat petting a Golden Retriever, but something about him screamed that I knew him.

Ignoring the itching in the back of my mind, I focused on my food again. I was once again completely enchanted by the copious amounts of sugar... or at least I was until the man's buzzer went off and he made his way past me to get his order. It was in that moment that I got a decent glance at his face.

Freckles. Lots of freckles.

Holy shit. It's Lee Felix.

My heart was racing, pounding so loud I'm sure others could hear it. My cheeks were definitely the color of strawberries, my pale skin never failing to show internal emotions. My right forearm burned.

Wait, why is my forearm burning?

Feeling beyond flustered at the fact that my ultimate bias is sitting less than 10 feet away from me, I tried to distract myself. First I acted like there was something really interesting on my phone; that didn't work for long. I turned my attention to my forearm instead, which had now turned from a burning to just being oddly warm.

My eyes widened.

There, on my previously empty skin, was a tattoo of a sun.

No. Fucking. Way.

It seemed I wasn't the only one experiencing this sensation, as when I looked up I locked eyes with the freckly boy.

I froze.

Sitting there doing nothing obviously wasn't going to do either of us any good. I think Felix realized I wasn'tt going to make the first move, so he slowly got up and made his way towards me. Gently, he grabbed my arm, examining the new ink. I glanced at the arm grasping mine.

There was a crescent moon.

Taking a deep breath, I looked up to meet his eyes once again. His gaze was warm yet firm, doing nothing to calm the butterflies running rampant in my stomach.

"Well shit," I breathed out before I could stop myself. I quickly slapped my hand over my mouth, cursing myself for being so stupid.

Apparently my thoughtlessness was enough to lighten the situation a bit, Felix letting out a little chuckle.

"I'm so sorry! My mind is running a mile a minute right now. I'm not sure what I was expecting to happen today, but this definitely wasn't it," I say, letting out a nervous laugh.

"Don't worry, you're totally fine! I can definitely say this isn't something I expected either," he smiled at me.

I finally found the courage to move, standing on wobbly legs. I hope I didn't look as unsteady as I felt. I swear if someone breathed on me I would collapse. Nonetheless, I powered through and leaned back on the table slightly for support.

"I'm Jordan," I mustered, sticking out my hand and offering a shy smile.

"Felix," he replied while reciprocating my actions.

Dropping hands, things grew slightly awkward once again.

"So... I guess we're soulmates?"

A/N: AAANNNDDD that's where I'm gonna leave this chapter :) Our two main characters have finally met, so things should start picking up here soon! Thanks again for reading!! See you guys in the next chapter :) ~youngwings-writes

#lee felix #lee yongbok #felix lee #stray kids #stray kids imagines #stray kids drabbles #stray kids felix #felix stray kids #kpop #kpop imagines #kpop drabbles #skz #youngwings-writes

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crossbows-and-moonshine · 5 years

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Let The Flames Begin

So I’d really love feedback on this one. The ideas been bouncing around in my noggin for a while, but lately its nagging at me so I need to get it out. I want feedback cause I‘m contemplating making more chapters. No idea how many as of yet, but I have that many Daryl fics I’m in the middle of, that I wanna know if this is worth making into something.

I asked on Tumblr about making this in Daryl's POV and people were interested but I changed it a little. It's still third person and we still know a little of what's going on in the characters heads, but it's focused heavily on Daryl's internal monologue. So it's kind of his POV and still in third person. I really don't like the whole ‘Me, I’ etc for this one. I did try it but it didn't work, and sometimes its good to know what's going on with my OC too. But it will focus more on what Daryl's thinking and stuff. I hope that makes sense.

It’s set before Daryl and Merle join the group.

Also, I mean...show of hands who would be interested in an Alpha wolf Daryl fic...cause I mean...its hot… *side eyes* lololololool

Kill me now :’)

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“Come on sugartits, ain’t no use fightin’ it,” Merle grinned lasciviously at her, but she pointedly ignored him, not even acknowledging his existence.

“Be a good way to pass the time,” Merle smirked obnoxiously, clearly unphased by the girl's refusal to talk to him, he was used to it by now. Charlene huffed in annoyance and rolled her eyes as she turned to the other Dixon brother, the one who rarely said a word and who was currently shaking his head as he looked at his brother like he wanted to throttle him. She idly wondered if they weren't blood, if the man would shoot Merle through the head.

“If ya want we could always have a three-way, sure my little brother here would be into that!” Merle cackled, causing Daryl to growl as he looked down, the tips of his ears turning pink. Charlene turned her eyes to the younger Dixon and paid no mind to him blushing, it was hard to see in the dark.

“Daryl, I swear to God, muzzle him or something before I fucking shove my knife up his ass,” she growled exasperated.

“Shit, a pretty little thing like you, I’d let ya do whatever ya wanted to my ass,” Merle snorted loudly. Daryl looked at him incredulously as the man just continued to laugh. Daryl didn't know whether to laugh or cry, being stuck in here when his brother was clearly high, harassing the poor girl. They knew Charlene somewhat from before the turn. Daryl hadn't ever really spoke to her but he had heard about her. Her father was a preacher, but when his wife died, he became a drunk. Charlene had to take on numerous jobs to pay for everything and it felt like he saw her no matter where he went. The 20-year-old was at the convenience store, the very one they were currently holed up in. He wouldn't say a thing to her, just plonking his shit down and paying for it before he left. Then he’d see her at the diner, he would gruffly order his food and she would serve him, that was that. He'd even seen her serving at the bar a few times despite the fact she was underage. It seemed he couldn’t escape the pretty girl with the chestnut hair and the bright green eyes.

Still, he barely spoke to her, but when Merle was with him, well Merle would be his usual self. Flirting to the point of harassing, saying all kinds of shit that would leave Daryl ashamed of being around him, wondering what she must think of him too. She was always polite though, giving his brother a sickly sweet smile no matter how crude he was. But it became pretty clear since they found her here, if she wasn’t being paid to tolerate Merle, she wasn't gracing him with any of those smiles or putting up with his shit. Daryl couldn't really blame her, he was half expecting her to turn around and shiv his brother the moment his back was turned.

They had come to the store hoping to find some food. The world had gone to shit and they had been hiding out at their run-down house, but they needed to move. They saw her peaking through the window and as soon as Merle spotted her, that was it. He wouldn't leave until she let them in. She had looked at them warily through the glass at first and Daryl wasn't surprised, but in the end, she had relented, letting them in, and that’s where they had been now for over two weeks. Merle was high all the time, he somehow had a never-ending stash of drugs with him and it was starting to grate on everyone having to put up with his bullshit. Daryl was used to dealing with his brother, but being locked in close quarters with him when he harassed the pretty girl in front of him was really starting to rub his nerves raw.

“Cut it the fuck out Merle,” he huffed, glaring at his brother who was still laughing, off his fucking face. Merle lay down, chuckling still before he started snoring obnoxiously. That they could deal with, it was better than him being awake. Daryl saw Charlene relax visibly the moment his brother fell asleep and he felt bad that she felt so tense around them.

“Sorry ‘bout him,” he said softly as he twirled a bolt in his hand. There was fuck all to do here and it was driving him crazy. Charlene looked at him, blinking her big green eyes at him. He always seemed to be apologising for the shit his brother did.

“You don't have to be sorry Daryl, it wasn't you,” she sighed, she felt like they had this conversation a billion times a day, yet he continued to say sorry anyway each time his brother was a dick. A silence fell around them but it was comfortable. Daryl had quickly learnt she wasn't much of a talker and he was relieved. Neither was he and it was bad enough when Merle wouldn't stop running his damn mouth.

Daryl glanced about, the shelves were practically empty now and they were running low on anything, they'd have to move out soon and he found his eyes flitting to the girl who was hugging her knees. Would she go with them? He didn't feel right leaving her behind, he was sure she didn't have a weapon, whilst he had his bow and both he and his brother had hunting knives. Part of him thought she wouldn't want to come, he wouldn't blame her with Merle being the way he was. But the thought of leaving her behind left a weird feeling in his stomach.

“Gonna have to head out soon. Nothin’ left here,” he said, his gruff voice carrying in the small store. He watched her warily for her reaction, seeing how her eyes looked around just like his had. Her shoulders slumped a little and she sighed.

“Where would we go?” she asked, looking over at him in the dark. His heart beat a little faster. We. she wanted to come with them. He didn't know why that made his body flood with relief. He hardly even spoke to the girl unless he was saying sorry for his worthless brother.

“Dunno, need to find some food. Me and Merle can hunt if we need to,” he shrugged, trying to put a plan together in his mind. He knew his brother was too high to come up with anything so he had to take the lead on this one. He wondered about the woods. He would be able to track and hunt easy, maybe even find a little cabin they could reinforce. That would be perfect in his eyes. On their way here he had seen the carnage that the world had turned into, it was a mess. She was watching him intently even through the dark and Daryl lowered his gaze, feeling strange under her eyes. The way she looked at him, like he held all the answers.

He had always felt a little awkward around her. Whenever he saw her in her places of work, if he passed her in the street, she would always give him this little smile. It wasn't the same fake one she would give Merle until he left, it was a real smile and it unnerved him. Everyone around here knew about the Dixons, he didn't know why she wasn't looking at him with the same disdain every other fucker did. She was pretty, it was in a kind of understated way. She wasn't like the usual bitches he was used to at the bar with his brother. The ones who would wear too much make up and barely any clothes. The ones he would fuck in the alley behind the bar after he had drunk too much and his brother had goaded him. She was small, cute even.

He shook his head with a frown, wondering why he was thinking about it so much. She was there, that was that. There was no way in hell she would be interested in his hick ass, especially when his brother was there to make her feel uncomfortable.

“Ya should sleep, I’ll take first watch,” he rasped, making her squint at him.

“You say that every night and you never wake me up,” she huffed. He chewed the inside of his cheek, she was right, he didn't wake her for watch. He took both their shifts because he felt bad having to wake her. He wanted to watch over her, to keep her safe. She didn't need to lose sleep keeping an eye out, that was his job.

“Just get some sleep girl,” he said a little harshly. She just heaved sigh though. There had been a few times he had snapped at her, not because she had done anything wrong, but simply the tension of the situation and his temper. She never seemed phased though, not like she was with Merle. She would just act like he hadn't snapped at her and do as she was told.

Like always, she lay down, getting comfortable as she lay her head on her jacket that she had balled up. She blinked at him tiredly through the darkness, wondering why he never let her take watch. She wondered if he didn't trust her. Her stomach twisted when she thought about them leaving her stranded here on her own. He wanted to leave, he had said as much, what if she woke up and they were gone? She knew she couldn't defend herself. She had no weapons and it wasn't like she had ever used them. Her skills were serving food or customers in the store, she wasn't really equipped for something like the end of the world. She forced herself to close her eyes, hoping Daryl had some compassion, that he wouldn't just leave her.

“When you leave...Am I coming with you?” she asked, unable to quell the question in her mind. Her soft voice reached his ears and his hand stilled on his bolt as he looked over at her form lay down. He considered asking her if she wanted to, but the idea of letting her have a choice in the matter and her picking the option he didn't like weighed heavy on him.

“Yeah,” he said firmly, holding his breath for a minute like he was waiting for her to argue with him. His eyes bore into her, not that she could see, lay there in complete darkness now.

“Good,” she whispered, a ghost of a smile on her lips, pleased he didn't have any intentions of leaving her defenceless. Daryl's lips tugged into a half smile as he looked away, he couldn't even help himself. He wanted to keep protecting her, to make sure she was safe. She was on her own here, she didn't have anyone. He decided right then she didn't need anyone else, he would be the one to watch over her and keep her safe.

Taglist; @risingphoenix761 @daryldixonandfrogs @arlaina28 @divadinag @keeperofwonderlandus

#daryl dixon #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon imagine #daryl dixon writing #twd #twd imagine #twd fanfiction #The Walking Dead #the walking dead fanfic #the walking dead imagine

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valkyrieofsmut · 5 years

Text

Starting with an accidental encounter part 15

Kurt Wagner x Non mutant! OC

Types: Smut. All smut. Romance, too. Maybe some angst?

Overall series warnings: Smut. Always smut. Anxiety, panic attacks, bit of violence, swearing, sexual harassment in one chap, German (translations provided, but I have bad grammar… Sorry native speakers…) (can’t remember any more at the moment)

A/n- Sad, soft, hopeful... angst... Oh, and a furry con, Furave; Fur rave, but they combined the r so it’s Furave. I have no idea if this is a real convention, but I intended to make it up.

Series masterlist Masterlist

Story!

Lacy laid in her bed, huddled under the blankets. She tried to read, but she couldn’t focus. The memory of Kurt accusing her of cheating kept replaying when she closed her eyes. She felt the trembling in her lip start again and pulled the pillow close as the tears came.

She hated feeling this vulnerable. Hated it with a fiery passion that burned in her chest. She’d developed the hatred growing up in the foster system, having to get tough quick to keep up with the kids who had been in tough situations, getting into fights, having to defend herself. Crying or showing emotions only got you beat up more.

The toughest part was that she had let the walls down, even if it was just a little, and he’d turned on her.

… … …

Kurt stood outside Kitty’s door, hesitating a moment before knocking.

Kitty opened the door and looked out at him. “Kurt, I don’t know if I can handle being polite right now,” she warned him.

“Kitty- I just… I need your help,” he told her sadly.

“Well, you do need help, but I’m not a psychology major. You should visit the Professor.”

“No, Kitty… I need technical help; finding Lacy’s phone number…” She looked at him silently, waiting for him to continue. “I vant to call her… She von’t let me in…”

“Gee, I wonder why,” she said sarcastically. “And why should I help you find her number?”

“Because, I vant to tell her I’m sorry, zhat I’m an idiot- Kitty, please help me, you’re my only hope…”

Kitty glared at him through narrowed eyes for a moment. “You are an idiot. But you’re also my friend. I guess I’ll help you,” she said with a sigh.

… … …

Lacy opened the door and threw her bag onto her chair gently, not wanting to damage the dvds she’d bought.

She went to the fridge and pulled out a soda, walking past the phone, not noticing at first that the light was blinking, but stopped and stepped back looking at it in confusion. No one ever left her a message. She didn’t know that many people, it was true, and almost none of them called her.

She picked up the phone and pushed the button for the message, expecting a sales call.

“Lacy, I- it’s Kurt, I-”

Lacy pulled the phone from her ear and stared at it in shock. She hung up and put it back in the cradle. “I don’t care,” she told herself. “I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care,” she chanted, trying to push away the tears waiting to come out.

She went to her closet, pulling out a box in the corner and digging in it until she found a half empty bag of old Valentine's laffy taffy, the one she’d bought herself after her last boyfriend had broken up with her. She pulled one out and opened it, chewing hard on the stiff candy.

The sudden, loud ringing of the phone surprised her and she looked at it, standing and slowly walking to the thing, finally picking it up as she wondered who would be calling her. “Hello?” she asked uncertainly.

Kurt’s voice filled her ear. “Lacy, I’m so glad I-”

Lacy’s eyes slammed closed and she hung up the phone. A moment later the phone rang again, but Lacy didn’t answer it. Unfortunately, the machine did, out loud so she could hear.

“Lacy, I’m sorry, bitte… I understand zhat you are mad at me, I do, really; I vas such an idiot. Lacy, bitte, pick up-”

Lacy couldn’t stand to hear his voice, so she grabbed her bag of laundry and quickly left her apartment, still chewing on the taffy in her hand.

The answering machine hung up on Kurt and he stared down at the phone sadly.

“Are you really surprised?” Kitty asked.

Kurt closed his eyes, feeling the pain radiate through him. “No,” he whispered.

Kitty could hear the pain in his voice and relented a little. “Well… Maybe she just needs some time to cool off,” she suggested.

“It’s been a veek…” he said mournfully.

“Maybe she needs more,” she told him. “What you did was-”

“I know, Kitty,” he interrupted, looking up at her. “I know vhat I did vas stupid, und terrible, und unforgivable, but I zhink I- I zhink I might… Kitty, it hurts to know zhat I hurt her so badly…”

Kitty looked at him trying to guess at what he’d been about to say. “You think you might… Wait, you think you might-!” Her eyes widened. “Kurt, seriously?!” He looked away, shame still covering his face. “Then how could you do that?!”

“I don’t know, Kitty… Zhat’s vhat I’ve been vondering for zhe last veek…” He admitted. “How could I be such a terrible person…”

Kitty shook her head. “Kurt…”

… … …

Lacy opened her door, looking around as though making sure no one was going to attack her. She sat on the ottoman, looking around, still.

As she opened her laptop and started on work, the phone rang. She looked at it, knowing it was Kurt again. She dug into the bag she’d set down next to her, pulling out her headphones and plugging them in, starting the transcription file where she’d left off, concentrating on what was being said, closing her eyes and typing. She finished the file and opened another one, working through that one for another while until she couldn’t concentrate.

When she checked her phone, she had five new messages since that morning from Kurt. She sighed and pushed play.

“Lacy, I just vant to talk to you, bitte-”

Delete.

“Lacy, bitte, listen, I know I vas an idiot-”

Delete.

“Lacy, please, please, please-”

Delete.

“I- Lacy, I have to talk to you-”

Delete.

“Lacy, Kitty says zhat you are probably just deleting zhese messages, but, please listen,” Kurt’s voice begged.

Lacy paused, her finger hovering over the delete button.

“I vant to say I’m sorry, for being so stupid, and for even zhinking anyzhing I said, or zhought, I- I know zhat you vouldn’t- Lacy…”

It was silent for a moment, and Lacy felt tears pushing at her eyes from how much pain was communicated by the dead air.

“Lacy, I- I can’t say vhat I vant to over zhe phone, I have to see you, I vant to tell you in person, because I know vhat vill happen vhen I say zhe vords. Bitte, Lacy-”

The machine cut him off and Lacy stood frozen with the phone to her ear. Most of what he had said was nonsense, just begging for forgiveness, but it still hurt her to hear his voice. She blinked, realizing that she was crying. “Stupid,” she cursed, rubbing her eyes.

The phone rang in her hand and she looked at the number, recognizing it as the blocked one Kurt was using.

She hit the answer button quickly followed by the end call button. “Liar,” she whispered blandly. “They always lie. They always say things; I’m sorry... I don’t want to hurt you… I love you… It’s not you, it’s me…” She wiped her eyes again. “Well it’s not me! It’s you!” She cried out, throwing the phone at her bed.

She went into the bathroom and washed her face, seeing how red and puffy it was getting. There was a knock at the door and she cautiously went to answer it, wondering if Kurt had somehow gotten into the building. She looked out the peephole and saw Doug. She opened the door, wiping at her face again. “Hi, Doug,” she said.

“Hi, Lacy,” he said shyly, looking up to her. “Still having trouble?” She shrugged, looking away. “Well, I wanted to check on you… I know, I’m headed out in a little bit, come with me,” he said.

She looked up. “I don’t think so, sorry…”

Doug took a breath, putting his shoulders back and standing straight to look at her. She looked at him in confusion. She knew he was shy, only able to be confident in his fur suit, but he was looking almost that confident now, with not even a scrap of fur on. “Lacy, I’m not going to let you sit up here and mope. You’ve been locked away for weeks, I haven’t even seen you going to work,” he said.

“Yeah, I work at home now,” she told him.

“What? I thought you liked going to an office to work?”

“Yeah, until something happened there…” she looked away.

“Oh, well…” He drew himself up again. “Lacy, I’m not taking no for an answer. Get ready to go with me.”

“Doug, I look like Hell,” she said, gesturing to her face.

“But you’ll be wearing a mask… Lacy, I told you, I’m not taking no for an answer, so… Get your tail and stuff now and get ready to go!” He told her forcefully, looking nervous and making her eyes widen.

… … …

Kurt sighed, feeling the pain in his heart. “Lacy, bitte, warum willst du nicht auf mich hören?” He asked himself in frustration. {please, why won’t you listen to me}

Kitty stopped next to Kurt where he was sitting outside. “Still won’t answer?” She asked.

“Oh, she answered,” he said morosely. “And hung up before I could say anyzhing…” Kitty put her hand on his back. “I- I zhink I have to try again- to see her in person…”

“Well, I can’t say I know what you should do, but I don't know if that’s a good a plan,” she told him as concern filled her face.

“I have to try,” he said, standing and going into the mansion. He showered and put on something that wasn’t dirty before walking out, glad that it was dark enough that he could take the fast way to Lacy’s apartment.

He was on the building next to hers when he saw Lacy leaving the building with a small bag, almost being dragged by another man who was carrying a large bag. They walked down the street and Kurt followed them, interested in what was going on.

They started running, seeing the bus approaching, and Kurt hurried to catch up with them. The bus left the stop with them on it, and Kurt followed, jumping and lightly landing on the bus so he didn’t have to waste all of his energy to not lose it.

He laid flat to remain unseen, and finally the bus stopped and they walked off. Kurt turned on his inducer and slid from the bus, letting the two get ahead of him before he started after them. He looked up at the building they’d stopped at. “Ein hotel?” He questioned, nervous that Lacy was trying to get him out of her system by finding a rebound bed partner.

Oh God, he hoped not.

He knew she’d had a lot of problems with sex before, but now, maybe she was feeling confident enough to try.

He shook his head. She wasn’t that kind of woman, he was just thinking of worst case scenarios…

He hoped.

Kurt quickly walked into the building, seeing a few people meandering in the entryway. He went to the desk and the clerk looked up. “Um, excuse me, have you seen a voman, about zhis tall, black hair, blue eyes, vizh a man, about zhis tall, brown hair…” He asked hopefully.

The clerk looked at the ceiling, moving her mouth around her face. “Hmmm… Oh! Yeah, I think so, I think they went down that way, probably headed to the event,” she answered.

“Oh, zhank you,” he said gratefully, turning and following her pointed finger.

He saw arrows pointing in a path to where the event was, but when he got there, the room was empty. He back traced his steps to the hall, finding that that event had been over for an hour, and found another sign, following that one to a conference that looked like an AA meeting. He poked his head in, and the people looked back at him. “Ah, sorry,” he apologized. “Just trying to find somevone.” He hurried back to the hall and was trying to find his way back to the front desk when he heard loud music coming from another room.

He walked forward seeing a sign. “Vhat is fu rave?” He asked himself quietly. “Furave. Fur ave? Fu rave…” He opened the door and peeked in, seeing the dark room filled with colorful lights flashing and spinning as the loud music played.

The door closed behind him and someone passed him, bumping into him and apologizing. He watched in shock as the painted and scantily clothed body moved around him, sporting a pair of cat ears matching the tail that passed.

He looked around, now paying attention to the people around him. They were all wearing something like the person before; having ears, tails, or fur somewhere, if not wearing mascot like outfits, covered head to toe in the stuff.

He couldn’t get rid of the stunned look from his face as he moved through the room. He would have never thought in a million years, in fact probably would have bet the farm on it not happening, that he would be the only normal looking human in a room so full of people they almost touched.

He stepped through another knot of people and saw a familiar body. Kurt paused to get a good look, taking in the black high heels, almost thigh high black and grey striped socks and matching tail, short black skirt, tight black tank top, grey and black striped arm warmers, and ears nearly hidden in her pulled up hair. She turned and he saw a black mask, one of the ones that only covered around your eyes.

Lacy swung around, linking arms with Doug. She had to admit; the loud music and friendly faces were helping her feel better. She leaned in close to Doug’s face, telling him loudly, “thanks for dragging me along. You’re a good friend.” He pulled back from her gesturing to his head. “I know you know,” she told him, laughing and turning in a circle next to him, shaking so that her tail swung back and forth.

A hand rested on her shoulder and she jumped in surprise, turning around. Kurt stood before her, looking out of place in his image inducer. Lacy gasped and stepped back, pulling away and turning her head. “Lacy!” He called to her over the music.

Doug turned and saw her looking upset and stepped in front of her, raising his hand to the man, warning him to stop.

Lacy caught her breath and looked back, seeing Doug pushing Kurt back, but Kurt was fighting him, telling him to stop, insisting that he needed to speak with her. Lacy stepped closer to Doug, putting her hand on his side and grabbing Kurt’s hand, starting to pull him to the door. She stopped next to it and told him, “you should go.” She turned and started on her way back to Doug, but he caught her hand, refusing to let her get away so easily.

A couple of people by them took notice and put their hands on Lacy’s shoulders and back, seeming to glare at Kurt, though the mascot type heads smiled. Lacy waved her free hand, telling them that it was ok, and they turned back to what they were doing, some still glancing to make sure she was ok. “What are you doing here, Kurt?” She asked.

“I- I vent to see you, and saw you leaving- I had to see you, Lacy,” he told her. She looked away, not saying anything. “Vhat is going on here, vhy are zhey all dressed like animals?” Kurt asked.

“They’re furries, they feel more comfortable dressed like that,” she told him.

“Vhy are zhey all staring at me?”

“Because you have that stupid thing on,” she answered. “You’d fit in better if you had it off. I have to go, and you should, too.” She turned again, but his hand tightened on hers, pulling her back to him. She turned and looked up to see that he’d turned the image inducer off and felt tears prickling in her eyes.

“Vhy are you dressed like a raccoon?” He asked.

Lacy fought the tears starting to pool in the corners of her eyes. “B-because I felt like it,” she told him. He pulled her even closer, and she blinked, fighting the feeling of tears discretely leaking under the edges of her mask.

Kurt stared into her eyes as he held her close, and she tried to stay away, leaning back over his arm a little. “I vould have chosen a much more beautiful animal for you,” he told her as his lips captured hers.

Lacy felt the electricity shoot through her, followed by the heat that always filled her when he kissed her. She tried to resist the feeling, but Kurt pulled her even tighter against him, one hand on the back of her head, holding her lips against his as he nearly pulled her breath from her, his other just above her hip, keeping her skin tight against him.

The kiss was seeming to last forever, Kurt’s tongue moved along the roof of her mouth, making her knees weak and her lip quiver, then it moved around hers, pulling back until he wasn’t kissing her anymore, speaking into her ear, begging. “Lacy, bitte, bitte... verzeihen Sie mir, ich bin so dumm, ich weiß, ich verdiene es nicht… Aber, bitte…” {please, please... forgive me, I'm so stupid, I know I don't deserve it… but, please...}

She could hear that he was near tears as well, but she closed her eyes and tried not to care, failing badly. Kurt pulled back, his hand on her cheek now as he tried to stare into her eyes. “Lacy… I- I don’t zhink…” She opened her eyes to see the pain in his. “I don’t zhink I’ll ever be happy again if you say no…” Lacy felt the tingling in her stomach and the tears running down her face. “Lacy…” he asked, unsure of her silence. Lacy blinked again, closing her eyes and turning her head to the ground. Kurt felt his stomach in a moment of panic.

“Then… I won’t say no…” Kurt’s face lifted, a smile breaking out over his mouth. “But… I won’t say yes…” His smile dropped a little.

“But, you’re not saying no,” he confirmed, his hands tightening on her. She nodded and he pulled her close, burying his nose in her shoulder. “Zhank you, danke, oh, danke… I know it’s not a yes, aber, I’m just so happy it’s not a no, liebling,” he told her. She stiffened in his arms, her eyes widening and shooting to him. “I know, I know I said it, liebling, but I can’t stop, I- I’m so happy,” he pulled her against him. “Just breazh,” he told her. “I’ll try not to say it again…” He pulled back, his hand stroking her cheek as she held onto his arms. “And, zhink, who vould have ever zhought zhat I vould be able to kiss you, looking like zhis in a room full of people vizhout zhem pulling me avay and taking me to zhe senator, ja?” He smiled at her, listening as her breathing started to slow a little. “Zhat’s it, just breazh, everyzhing is going to be ok,” he told her, leaning closer and lightly kissing her on the lips. ‘As long as I have you,’ he thought to himself.

Lacy gently pulled herself from his arms. "Kurt, you should-”

Kurt cut her off, knowing that she was going to tell him to leave. “Vhat is a furry?”

Lacy paused, but she pointed around. “The animals that they’re dressed as, that’s how they feel about themselves, it’s a part of themselves they only feel safe to express here.”

“Zhey feel like zhey are zhat animal?”

“More or less, at least part of them,” she answered.

“Zhen, vhy in zhe Hell are you a raccoon and not a,” he paused as he searched his mind for the most beautiful animal he could think of. “Svan? Neine, not beautiful enough-”

“Kurt, it’s just something that was easy to throw together. Besides, how could I be something beautiful,” she muttered to herself.

Kurt put his hand on her arm, staring into her eyes. “Because you are zhe most beautiful voman in zhe vorld,” he told her. She stepped back and he let her arm go, but continued looking into her eyes despite the untrusting look she was giving him. “I’ve been a lot of places in zhe vorld, and you are zhe most beautiful vone I’ve found,” he told her.

Lacy looked away and told him, “I think you should go.”

Kurt took a breath and stepped closer to her. “Ok, I vill… to give you space… li- Lacy, may I- kiss you good night?” He asked. She was silent as the pounding music bounced around the room, but finally leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek. “Nein, eine echte,” he said in her ear as she hesitated to pull back, his lips turning to catch hers again, his hand wrapping around her and holding her close as he slowly devoured her mouth. {no, a real one}

After the flux in time that seemed to contain days but only last seconds, he pulled back, seeing her eyes still closed and her lips parted. He smiled, his hand stroking down her face. “Good night, Lacy,” he told her. “Have a good time, I hope I vill get to see you again soon.” He stepped back and turned on his image inducer before leaving the room and going home.

Kurt climbed the stairs and went into his room, but shortly after he closed the door there was a knock. He opened it and looked out.

“So?” Kitty asked. “You’re back kinda early…”

Kurt smiled as he looked at her, turning and going into the room to his entertainment center, her following him. “I saw her as she vas leaving.”

“Is that a good thing?” Kitty asked, wondering why he was smiling.

“Vell, I followed her, and I zhink it vas Doug vizh her.” Her eyes widened. “Zhey vent to a hotel.”

“Oh my God,” Kitty whispered in shock.

Kurt turned and looked at her. “Oh, no, zhey vere going to an event zhere, a fu rave? Or, I’m still not sure how to say es, but it vas people dressed as animals dancing,” he told her.

She nodded, her hands falling from her face slowly as her brows drew together. “And, what happened?”

Kurt turned back to his shelves, finding a movie to watch. “Vell, I saw her dancing, and I- vell I suppose it vas a little more zhan asking,” he muttered to himself. “I asked her to forgive me… I told her I vould never be able to be happy again if she didn’t…”

“What did she say?” He looked at her.

“She said she vouldn’t say no…”

“So she forgave you?”

Kurt shook his head softly, confusing her. “She said she vouldn’t say yes, eizher…”

“So she didn’t forgive you, but she’s not mad at you?” Kitty asked.

“I’m sure she’s still mad at me,” he answered. “But at least she doesn’t hate me and hasn’t told me to get out of her life.”

“Well, I guess that’s something,” Kitty comforted.

.. … …

Lacy sat next to Doug on the bus, both hot, but him drying from being drenched in sweat. “So… That was Kurt?” He asked in their silence.

“Yeah…”

“He… didn’t seem too rude- I mean, at least he wasn’t calling me a fur-fucker or any other slurs…”

“He didn’t even know what a furry is,” she told him.

“Oh… So that was the first time he’s seen a party like that, or any one in a fursuit?” She nodded. “What did he say when you took him to the door?” Lacy looked at him defensively. “I-it’s just that you were gone for a while, I figured that you guys must have been talking,” he told her.

She looked away and shrugged. “Not much,” she answered as the bus stopped and they climbed off. “He was just asking me to forgive him…”

“Are you going to?” Doug asked.

“I don’t know. I want to say no, but I don’t know…”

“Well, come on, what did he even do that made you mad?”

She looked away. “He…” She sighed. “He said some stupid things. And did some stupid things…”

Doug rolled his eyes, still feeling some of the confidence from being in his fur suit all night. “You know, it was dark in there, but I do believe that I saw that he was a man?” Lacy shot him a look and he nodded. “I thought so. And do you know what men’s speciality is?” He paused, but not long enough for her to speak. “Saying and doing stupid stuff! Seriously! That’s about eighty-five percent of the stuff we do- no, maybe seventy, the other thirty is filled with eating and sleeping,” he said.

Lacy looked over at him, feeling irritated that he was siding with Kurt. “But it was really stupid. It hurt…”

“Lacy, again, he’s a man-”

“Doug!” She snapped. “He accused me of cheating on him! With you! While he was-” she lowered her voice. “While we were… in bed…”

Doug raised an eyebrow. “In bed, or during bed time activities?”

“The second one,” she mumbled.

Doug looked away, shaking his head and thinking. “Wow… That is stupid… Seriously, who would jeopardize sex… While you’re already having it…” Lacy smacked his arm. “What? I’m just thinking out loud. But how did he even think of me?”

Lacy shrugged. “I guess one of the people he lives with saw us at your parent’s restaurant and mistook my panic attack for cuddling.”

Doug looked over at her. “Well… Weird.”

… … …

Lacy laid on her bed, reading, when the phone rang. She looked over at it, wondering who it was until the answering machine picked up.

“Lacy… I ah, just vanted to talk, about last night…” She turned and sat up, looking at the phone where it stood in its cradle, silent during his long pauses. “I vas hoping I’d get to talk to you and- I guess ask if you’ve given any more zhought about us… I-” Lacy heard him groan. “I zhink zhe machine is going to cut me off before I can finish vhat I'm trying to say... I’m going to call back and say it on zhe next message, bitte, please, please, please listen to zhe next-” the machine cut him off and Lacy cocked her head, waiting for the next message.

The phone rang, but she still didn’t answer it, waiting to hear his words despite being able to hear them sooner and longer if she picked up the phone.

“Lacy, I vant to tell you- Agh, vhy is zhis so hard to say over zhe phone?” He paused and Lacy leaned forward, wondering if he’d continue. “Lacy I vanted to tell you zhat I really- I mean really- like you… I’m sorry I vas so dumb, zhat I let Scott’s stupid vords get into my head, zhat I zhought any of zhat…” He sighed, his breath blowing past the phone. “I… I zhink zhe machine is going to hang up again… but I vant you to know it’s not me,” he told her. “Only goodnight, never goodbye, right, Lacy?” After a moment the machine ended the message, leaving Lacy wide eyed.

She stood and looked at the phone, picking it up and replaying the message again. “Only good night, never goodbye, right, Lacy?” His voice asked again.

He was referring to when she’d told him she hated goodbyes because she’d heard it too often. He’d said goodnight instead, but was in the habit of saying goodbye when he left, so he told her that when he said it it was really goodnight, never goodbye.

He put his fingers on her chin and tilted it up, kissing the sour look on her nervous lips. “I didn’t mean zhat, it’s just too much of a habit. I’m not saying goodbye to you. Only goodnight.” She turned away, but he turned her chin back to him. “Only goodnight, never goodbye, right, Lacy?” He asked, kissing her again until she agreed.

Lacy put the phone back down and laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

Kurt sighed and put the phone back down stairs, making his way out of the front doors. He sat and looked up at the clouds and tried to think of something better, what he should have said instead of that fumbling he’d just done.

… … …

Lacy laid back on the bed as Kurt kissed down her stomach, his lips trailing across her skin and making goosebumps raise behind them. He looked up at her and moved to her lips. “Lacy, you taste delicious, have I told you that before?” He asked.

She didn’t answer, just moaned and arched to him.

He nipped her collarbone and she felt something touch her, slipping between her thighs and pushing them apart. She couldn’t tell if it was his tail or his hand, but it was starting to make her skin tingle. His hands ran down her sides, pausing at her hips to squeeze them before he pulled her closer. Her eyes opened as she gasped, looking up at him, her eyes full of longing.

Why had she waited so long? He was a god, he always made her feel amazing, even if she hurt or was nervous.

“Lacy,” he whispered in her ear. “You feel so good,” he told her, making her gasp and arch as she lost herself in the feeling. He ran his tongue up her neck, nibbling at her jaw before he stopped at her ear again. “I can’t wait to get inside of you and make you mine,” he whispered and shivers of pleasure ran through her stomach.

Lacy’s hands ran down the back of his shoulders, pressing deep to feel the muscles hidden under the soft fur. “Kurt,” she moaned to him. “Oh, Kurt…” Her panting was covering the rest of what she was trying to say, but he seemed to know what she wanted, sliding into her as his hands moved over her chest, teasing and tormenting her breasts, taunting and flicking her nipples into peaks of desire.

Lacy’s breath caught in her throat, she couldn’t take the torment any longer, and she felt herself tighten as she moaned.

Lacy’s eyes shot open and she looked around as the waves of amazing pleasure rolled through her body. She was in bed, had been asleep, and she was so pleasantly tingly…

“Oh,” she sighed as she laid back, realizing that she’d just orgasmed in her sleep. “Oh,” she said a little stiffer as her face reddened. “Been awhile since that happened,” she mumbled as she turned over, trying not to think that her dreams were insanely accurate to how good Kurt was.

… … …

Kurt turned in his bed, his face going to the pillow Lacy had laid on when she’d been there. His hand moved up and smoothed across it a little as he thought about her.

His eyes turned to the ceiling as he tried to curb the enthusiasm his body was trying to show for the thought.

The image of Lacy laying under him, trying not to scream as she came, again, filled his mind, fueling his thoughts.

His tail moved to his erection unconsciously, brushing against it and making him jump. He realized what was going on and pushed his tail away, but it soon came back.

He wrapped his hands around his tail and looked at it, softly stroking it, running his fingers up and down it, imagining it was Lacy’s fingers instead of his softly tickling his fur.

She was amazing, maybe the best thing that had happened to him, even including joining the X-Men…

He closed his eyes, turning to the side with his arm under his head and his nose in the pillow, wishing it still smelled like her, but she’d hardly spent any time on it.

He choked back the emotions as his hand moved down his bare skin to his hardness, needing the release, hoping it would make him feel a little better, even if it was only for a little bit.

His hand stroked, up and down, but in his imagination he was with Lacy, kissing her neck, thrusting into her and telling her all the sweet nothings he couldn’t without causing a panic attack.

“Ah, Lacy… Liebling... Ich liebe dich,” he whispered against her throat, kissing and nuzzling, making her moan and pull at him, trying to get him closer, begging for more as he poured his heart out. His teeth gently gripped the skin on his arm as he thought about nipping Lacy, but it fell from his mouth as he started whispering in German again. “ Bitte… Sie hassen Sie nicht mich... Bitte liebe mich auch… Lacy,” he groaned as he felt himself shooting, spilling cum in a puddle as the bitter feelings took hold and he realized the tears in the corner of his eyes weren’t just in the corners anymore. “Lacy…” He whispered, trying to hold back the pain from the sob. {Lacy… darling… I love you. Please… don’t hate me… please love me too}

Tag List!

Let me know if you want to be added to any of my tag lists! Or find me on Ao3! (Slowly moving stuff there)

@racheo91 @screeching-student-unknown @lilypalmer1987 @pingu89 @tephi101 @gifsbysimplysonia @omnomsauruswrites @mybloodtypeiscoffee @randomfandompenguin @keldachick @a-book-pressed-rose @avacadobutthole @mannls @badassbaker

#Kurt Wagner #Nightcrawler x oc #Kurt Wagner x oc #kurt wagner smut #nightcrawler #nightcrawler smut #smut #love #romance #angst #multi part story #X-Men #Marvel

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stopforamoment · 6 years

Text

Part Six: Not Your Dad(dy) (Series 12, Part 6 of 15)

Series Twelve: Putting the Children First (15 Parts) Part Six: Not Your Dad(dy) (Series 12, Part 6 of 15)

Masterlist

Book: The Royal Romance (After Book Three)

Pairing: Bastien Lykel x OC Rinda Parks Word Count: 3,157 Rating: R for Language and a Child’s Violent Reaction while Dealing with Grief and a Confusing Situation TRIGGERS: The next few chapters will have discussions about the loss of a parent, a child acting out violently because of grief and fear, and some physical violence.

Author’s Note: Obligatory disclaimer that Pixelberry Studios owns the TRR characters and my pocketbook with those darn diamond scenes. OFC with all of her quirks is all mine. My apologies if Tumblr or I do something stupid when I try to post this. The keep reading link shows up on my laptop but not my phone. Ugh.

Thank you @asherella-is-a-dork-3 for always being my sounding board! Thank you @liam-rhys-deactivated20180927 @silviasutton1989 @bobasheebaby for still being a part of the journey!

Series Summary: We’re wrapping up week six and moving into week seven, the week of October 21st. Putting children first is the priority in this series. Rinda and Laura advocate for more social workers and psychologists in Cordonian schools, and the Cordonian Safety Response Program keeps moving forward. Vivian Trakas still isn’t prioritizing her own children, and Henry deals with his own struggles with losing his dad.

Chapter Summary: Vivian Trakas is still being a right wagon, and this time it impacts Henry’s relationships with other people and his reaction is to lash out.

Not Your Dad(dy) Wednesday after School Henry never liked Stephan Trakas. Mom made sure Henry was polite to everyone and respected them, but she didn’t expect him to be friends with everyone. And he definitely wasn’t friends with Stephan. Mom tried to explain that he was a good kid who was just going through some stuff, so it was extra important to be patient with him. Henry should understand that, right? But Stephan was a dick. He was a bully to Alex Dimitrious at the start of the school year, he was mean to his little sisters, and he bragged to everyone that his family was rich. Just because Stephan’s parents were getting a divorce and they didn’t spend much time with him didn’t mean he could come to school and be a dick, and then get him in trouble because he wasn’t being polite to Stephan. He fucking hated being a teacher’s kid. Mom totally understood and let him vent and swear when he got home. She vented too, although he had to promise to never tell anyone or else she’d get in big trouble. But mom got it. But still, he was Mrs. Parks’ kid and everyone expected more from him and he had to set a good example. Fucking Stephan Trak-ASS. He ruined everything. And even though Henry knew it was his fault, he still wanted to blame Trak-ass for starting it. . . . . . Henry liked Mr. Lykel a lot, and he knew his mom liked Mr. Lykel a lot too. They all spent a lot of time together outside of school, but Henry knew he was always “Mr. Lykel” and they had to be professional at school, no matter how silly and fun Mr. Lykel was when it was just them. Henry knew there were boundaries. He was “Mr. Lykel,” even when they weren’t at school. But Drake was “Uncle Drake.” There was a difference, and Henry knew better than to ask Mr. Lykel if he could call him “Uncle Bastien.” Drake, Julian, and Theo told Henry they could call them “Uncle,” but Mr. Lykel never did. Henry knew there were boundaries. So it really hurt him to think that Mr. Lykel thought he crossed a boundary. Because he really liked Mr. Lykel, and he really liked how Mr. Lykel was so nice to him and his mom. So Henry never wanted to mess that up. But he must have crossed that boundary, somehow. . . . . . Henry was playing outside with Phillip, Alex, and Alex’s older sister Maria. Maria was older and went to the nearby secondary school, but sometimes she walked to Alex’s school so it would be easier for their mom to pick them up or for Mrs. Parks to take them home. Phillip was Henry’s best friend because they were neighbors. Alex was becoming their other best friend because he stayed late after school a lot and he was fun to play with. They knew Maria was part of the deal, so they tried to include her as much as possible. But Stephan Track-ass was there too with his little sisters. Henry, Phillip, Alex, and Maria were supposed to be there. They were waiting for Henry’s mom to take them home. But Track-ass and his sisters were only there because their mom was talking to Mr. Lykel. Again. Henry rolled his eyes. He and Uncle Drake had been laughing about that a lot. He told some great stories about stupid things Mr. Lykel did to get girls to like him back in the day and he said Mr. Lykel was a dumpster fire when it came to dating. Or at least he used to be. But Drake always made it clear to Henry that no, Mr. Lykel and Ms. Trackas were NOT dating. Mr. Lykel didn’t think of her that way, and Mr. Lykel definitely preferred to spend his time with Henry and his mom. Normally Henry was good natured. He could laugh things off. Walk away. Just not give a shit. But when someone tried to hurt one of his friends, or when he had been pushed too far, he lashed out. He was too much like his mom that way. He was nice . . . until he wasn’t nice anymore. . . . . .

Stephan ran crying into the school to find his mom. Alex, Henry and Phillip were close behind him trying to get a chance to tell their side of the story before Bitch Baby Stephan told his mom what happened. Maria and Stephan’s sisters, Jenna and Gracie, were close behind.

Bastien and Rinda were in Drake’s office going through some information with him. They had the door closed because it was a confidential meeting—and because they knew Vivian was lurking. She was convinced she could persuade Bastien and Drake to tell CPS to give her the benefit of the doubt, but Rinda knew that it was in Vivian’s best interest to steer clear of Bastien and Drake when it came to their opinion of her as a mother. However, when they heard the commotion in the hallway Rinda quickly opened the door to see what was happening.

Stephan got there first. “Mom, Henry pushed me to the ground.” Vivian glared at Rinda. “What happened, Stephan? Why did he do that?”

Stephan pouted. “I was just talking to him, and then he got mad and pushed me.”

Alex quickly chimed in. “You were being mean to the girls and I told you to stop, but you wouldn’t. You shouldn’t treat your sisters like that.” He turned to Rinda. He knew she would understand. “Maria kicked him. She was defending herself, and Jenna and Gracie, and we all started laughing because that’s what got him to finally stop.” Rinda tried not to smirk. She admired the girls who didn’t take shit from a bully, and she wasn’t going to punish anyone for sticking up for themselves. But she nodded and let Alex continue. “Stephan got mad because we were laughing, and then he started saying mean things to Henry.” Alex turned to Stephan. “Henry asked you to stop. And he even tried to walk away. But you kept following him and you wouldn’t stop talking. And YOU pushed Henry first, and that’s when he defended himself. You never stop when people ask you to. That’s why we don’t ask you to play very often, and that’s why my sister kicked you. That’s the only way we can get you to stop and leave us alone. Why are you even telling on Henry when it’s your fault?”

Phillip laughed and muttered under his breath “Snitches get stitches.” It was meant as a joke—something Jameson told Henry once when he was sick of Henry tattling on his friends. And it just stuck. Rinda and Jameson would say it whenever Henry came in to complain about something trivial, so Henry learned to figure out the smaller disagreements on his own. And Henry taught that phrase to his friends. They thought it was a funny way to say “don’t be a tattle tale” when another friend wanted to run home to whine instead of figuring out a way to make it work so they could still play together. But Phillip said it out of context, and that just incensed Vivian even more. Drake was grinning. He thought Stephan was a little shit and the whole thing was pretty funny. Especially that a girl kicked him. Of course, Mr. Walker had to look serious when Mrs. Parks glared at him.

Rinda patiently listened before firmly interrupting Alex. “Okay Alex, thank you for sharing your side of the story. Henry, what happened?”

Henry shrugged.

Snitches get stitches

He could fight his own battles, and he could protect himself and his friends if necessary. And his mom.

Rinda was getting annoyed. “Did you push Stephan to the ground? Was it part of a self-defense move?”

Henry shrugged again and Rinda raised her voice. “Answer me. Now.”

“I simply directed Stephan to the ground and into a prone position.”

Drake turned around to hide his smirk, but Bastien just stared at Henry. It was a law enforcement phrase, and Henry was snarky enough to misuse it in this context. Rinda’s jaw clenched. That snark was so Jameson. So her. Rinda hated it when she saw the worst of both of them in Henry.

“Then why does Stephan have a scrape on the palm of his hand?” Stephan triumphantly held out his hand, proof that he was wronged.

Henry rolled his eyes. “I asked him to stop saying mean things, and he didn’t stop. I tried to walk away, but he ran after me and grabbed me. I tried to do a block that I was taught to get free of him, but Stephan was moving. Dad said that’s called ‘dynamic application of a trained technique’ I did the move that I was taught, and it should have simply made Stephan let me go. But he was shoving me as I did it, and I ended up pushing him down on the ground. I was trying to avoid a fight, not start one.” It was actually one of the moves Bastien showed him, but he wasn’t going to get Mr. Lykel in trouble.

Phillip chimed in. “It’s true, Mrs. Parks. Henry showed us how to do it, and you don’t end up on the ground when you’re standing still.” Drake was mumbling something under his breath while running his hand through his hair, staring a hole into the floor so he wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone and start laughing. Bastien’s stare was getting more intense, and Rinda’s eyes were turning golden topaz as she glared at Phillip, and then Henry. But Phillip kept rambling himself into a hole. “And the stuff Stephan was saying wasn’t true. He was just being mean.”

Alex joined in. “Yeah, Henry knows Mr. Ly . . .” Henry hissed at his friend, and Alex immediately shut up. Bastien cleared his throat and looked at the boys, and Henry held his gaze before deliberately turning away. Alex looked down in embarrassment.

Rinda was torn between being Henry’s mom and being Mrs. Parks right now. Plus she didn’t want to upset Ms. Trakas and put Bastien and Henry in the middle of it.

Fuck.

“Okay, Ms. Trakas, I’m just going to handle this like a mom right now, not a teacher, because it’s after school and none of us were supervising the kids. However, you are welcome to discuss this with the principal tomorrow if you feel that is necessary. I also take responsibility for Phillip, Alex, and Maria because I’m the one who is taking them home tonight.” She turned to Henry. “I’m glad that you first chose to walk away, even though that didn’t turn out as planned. What was Stephan saying that you felt you needed to walk away?”

Henry pursed his lips shut and stared defiantly at Rinda, then Bastien, and then back to Rinda.

This is bullshit, mom.

Rinda tried staring him down, but he didn’t flinch.

This is bullshit, Henry. I need to look like the adult in charge right now.

“Okay, Ms. Trakas. I’m going to talk with Henry at home and get this figured out, and I will talk to you tomorrow. And you are welcome to call me at home if you need to.”

“Wait, please.” It was Bastien and his voice was calm, but authoritative. “Stephan, please tell me what you said to Henry.”

Stephan looked at Bastien with wide, innocent eyes. “The truth.”

“And what is that?” Still composed. Still patient.

Stephan smirked. “That you’re never going to be Henry’s dad. My mom said so. But she said you can be her daddy any time you want.”

Suddenly Henry stepped forward and moved in front of Stephan, only inches away from him. He kept his hands to himself, but his voice was shaking with the rage he was trying to contain. “NO ONE is going to be my dad. My dad is dead.” Stephan’s eyes widened in shock, but Henry was only getting started. He was only ten, and even though Rinda made sure he kept going to therapy appointments, and even though Rinda, Drake, and Bastien tried to keep an open dialogue so Henry could talk about his feelings, he still had a long way to go.

Henry turned to Bastien and he saw that Henry’s eyes weren’t their normal blue. They were grey, the color of the sky as a storm unleashes its fury. He locked eyes with Bastien, staring up into Bastien’s calm grey eyes, challenging him. But Bastien didn’t say anything.

“I NEVER said you were going to be my dad. I like you a lot, Mr. Lykel. And I was hoping it would be okay for me to call you Uncle Bastien. But not dad. And my mom doesn’t need you to be my dad, either. I can take care of us without your help. Stephan and Ms. Trakas can have you.” Henry started to turn around to leave, but he wasn’t finished. Instead, he turned to Ms. Trakas. “Alex, Phillip, and I know better than to talk about you and all of your boyfriends. Our moms all told us that wasn’t our business and to stop talking about it. But Stephan talks about it all the time and how lots of your boyfriends buy him presents, and now you want Mr. Lykel too. How many boyfriends do you need? We hear you talk to other moms at pick up, and they say you post everything on social media. We’re not stupid, you know. And we all see how mean Stephan is to Gracie and Jenna, and he says that’s okay because you don’t care. He can do what he wants.�� Henry stormed off to stand by Phillip and Alex, purposely turning his back on everyone else.

Rinda was horrified. On so many levels. She knew Henry lashed out at Bastien because he was embarrassed, and it was Henry’s way of protecting himself. But it was unacceptable for him to treat Bastien that way. And what he said to Ms. Trakas was pretty much true, but he had no right talking to an adult like that. She was so ashamed of Henry’s behavior. But she was also proud of him for trying to defend her, and himself, even though he shouldn’t have to do that. He was too young to understand how all of that should even work, and even though he purposely tried to hurt Bastien, he also didn’t realize just how hateful those words were after everything Bastien did for them. And because of how much he cared for them. And yes, Rinda thought Ms. Trakas was a bitchy pain in the ass and her son was a little dick, even though he was just a kid who was in a shitty situation. But after Henry’s reaction, Rinda remembered that she was in no position to judge other children and mothers who were going through their own shit.

Right now Henry was at fault for his behavior and a long slew of apologies were necessary. And she knew from past experience that Henry wouldn’t give them. He would simply refuse. He refused to say something he didn’t mean, and he refused to apologize when he didn’t think he was in the wrong. He was so much like her and Jameson.

Rinda took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice steady, even though she knew it was shaking. “I know Henry owes a lot of apologies, but please give me 24 hours so I can talk to him and give him time to cool down. I think there’s been a lot of miscommunication, and as the adults we need to step in and explain things to our children and fix any misunderstandings. Ms. Trakas, I’ll contact the principal tonight to explain what happened and to tell him he can expect you to contact him about this incident. Mr. Lykel, I think Henry needs a One Sleep, but if you could talk to him in the near future I’d appreciate that.”

Drake had been silently watching the interaction, and he was impressed with how Henry told off Stephan and how he stood up to Bastien. Even Drake didn’t have the balls to stand up to Bastien when he was a kid. Henry was definitely something else. He was also grinning at Stephan’s phrase “be her daddy.” Fuck, from the mouths of babes. Ms. Trakas should be the one who was embarrassed.

But when he saw Rinda trying to remain calm as she diffused the situation he knew he needed to step in. “Rinda, I’ll take the kids home. Henry, we’re going to have a talk when we get you home. Okay everyone. Grab your backpacks!” He looked at Rinda, purposely avoiding eye contact with Bastien. “Take your time to finish up here. I’ll see you when you get home, okay?”

Rinda nodded and gently squeezed his hand to thank him.

When Drake ushered the other children outside Rinda walked over to Stephan. “Stephan, thank you for being honest about what you said. I want you to know that I never intended to have Mr. Lykel replace Henry’s dad. But he is someone very special to me and Henry, and he does have an important place in Henry’s life. And mine. I also want you to know that I hope you have a good night and I’m looking forward to seeing you at school tomorrow, okay?” Then Rinda turned to his sisters. “Thank you for being so respectful while we had this conversation. I know it was scary when Henry lost his temper, and I’ll explain to him why that wasn’t acceptable. And I’ll also ask him to talk to both of you about that, okay?” The girls nodded, and Rinda gave both of them a hug. “I want you to have a good night too, and I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? I love you both.” She gently caressed the girls’ faces and kissed the tops of their heads before finally turning to Bastien and Vivian.

“Bastien? I’m going home so I can talk to Henry. “Would you be okay staying a little longer to see if the Trakas children have any questions and to make sure the school is locked up?”

“Of course, Tria.” He walked over to Rinda and pulled her close to kiss her. It wasn’t an inappropriate kiss for the children to see, but it also wasn’t a chaste kiss between friends. “I love you, and I’ll talk to you later.”

“I love you too, Tiger.”

Rinda already said goodnight to the children, so she simply turned around and left without saying another word.

If Vivian thought seducing Bastien was a game, he just made it perfectly clear that she lost.

#bastien lykel #choices trr #rinda parks ofc #long post

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