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#this took upwards of 40 hours because i REFUSE to look up how things look
groovyleviathan · 1 year
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TAD songs are so immersive and evocative both musically and lyrically that it hits that sweet spot in the brain wherein I need to paint everything out to be able to do literally anything else
[ID under the cut]
[ID: A digital painting showing a redheaded woman wearing a light flowy dress, lying on her side in the snow at the bank of a river that shows a night sky full of stars. One arm is outstretched in front of her, fingers in the palm of a hand arising from the snow. The woman is looking somewhere offscreen above her head, and a fox's pawprints can be seen leading in that direction. She is backlit by a pink and orange sunrise. \END ID]
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kimnjss · 3 years
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just hanging out | jjk
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⤑  series: cherry pickers
⤑ pairing: gamer(fuckboi)!jungkook x video vixen(virgin)!reader
⤑ genre: fluff!... some angst at the end if you squint.
⤑ rating: pg13
⤑ word count: 3.9K // unedited.
⤑ warnings: lmao second hand embarrassment probably.
⤑ A/N: hey :( love you all who have been enjoying this story nd sending your thoughts in - they really make my day. so thank youu! let me know what you think x 
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FEBRUARY 22ND, 2020 | 16:49
Casual. You're constantly reminding yourself the entire time you're getting ready. This was supposed to be casual. This was not a date. So there was no reason for you to go through the process of getting ready for a date. You didn't shave, just took a regular shower with the regular soaps. 
Spent very little time in the mirror when getting dressed, there was no need for frilly shirts or form-fitting pants. Instead, you settled for a pair of ripped jeans and a hoodie that Taehyung had lost a little while back. Minimum makeup, hair up, and out of your face.
Needed to cement it in your mind that this was not a date. Steal away any reason for you to act like it was one. No matter how much you knew you'd enjoy the whole shebang, candlelit dinner, romantic walk admiring the night sky, kiss on the doorstep – you had to ignore that.
Bottle it up and stuff it down because there were many things you didn't know about Jungkook and the bits you did know weren't great. His shitty friends being at the top of the list. So, until you were sure he wasn't like the lot of them... not dates were what you'd settle for. Because at the end of the day, you wanted to see him.
It's a thirty-minute drive from your house to Jungkook's and you spend the entire car ride agonizing on how this 'not date' was going to turn out. And then immediately scolding yourself for freaking out over something that shouldn't matter as much as you were making it out to be.
For all you knew, he probably was just waking up... barely remembering that he had plans with you. Most likely hopping in the shower just minutes before you were said to arrive. Mmh, Jungkook in the shower. Droplets of water rolling over his tone skin, following the dips and ridges until...
It's hard to shake the image of Jungkook showering out of your head once you've got it there. Even with his insistent need to wear baggy clothes, it didn't take a detective to see that the kid was ripped. No doubt spent hours in the gym working on his arms, his abs, his thighs...
Nope. Not going there. No reason to go there when you were on your way to hang out, innocently hang out with a guy that you were just barely friends with. That's all it was. Two people getting to know each other after clicking the first time they talked. God, the way you clicked with Jungkook was unbelievable. 
He made you laugh. And it was weird because you don't remember ever feeling this comfortable around someone this quickly. Jungkook was different. At least you hoped he was. Instantly, you're shushing your thoughts. Refusing to mentally put so much pressure on something that more than likely become nothing.
Getting your hopes up too early was the reason why people got hurt in the first place. So this wasn't a date. And you weren't going to expect him to treat it as such. Just hanging out to get to know each other. That was it.
That was it. Your new mantra as you shove your car into park, heading up the walkway to his front door. Knocking while repeating those four words to yourself. Casual. That was it.
You're not even waiting a full minute before the front door is being pulled open, revealing a fresh-looking Jungkook. Dark hair falling in pretty waves, on either side of his pretty face. He seems to be glowing and you feel it throughout your entire body when he smiles.
A baggy pink sweatshirt swallows his figure, paired with equally loose gray sweatpants. His house is spotless when he lets you in, obvious that he spent the duration of the morning cleaning. The smell of Lysol still lingered in the air. Even the white socks on his feet seemed oddly clean.
You can't help but smile at the effort, allowing yourself to believe that all the trouble was for you.
Once he's setting your shoes in his extremely organized coat closet, he's leading you through the house. Smiling big as he gives you a mini-tour of the first floor and you swear you're paying attention. You're trying your best at least, but it's hard to concentrate on anything that wasn't how cute he looked.
“And this is the arcade,” He's showing off both rows of teeth with his broad gesture into the room located at the end of the hall. Obviously proud of this part of the tour.
As he should be. When the kid said arcade, that's exactly what he meant. Old school game machines lined the walls, ones that you'd actually find in an arcade. Some games that you've never heard of before. All with the high score name: 'Koo'. A dramatic two-person car racing game tucked in the corner.
There's a curved 90 inch TV mounted on the wall, in front of it on a stand is every game console ever made. He has his laptop set up in the room, with two monitors and two gaming chairs in front of it. In the middle of the room is the most comfortable L shaped couch.
All you can say is, “Whoa.” And he's laughing at your reaction.
“It's my favorite room in the house. Well... aside from,” His eyes shift up, obviously gesturing to upstairs where his bedroom is.
The insinuation has a blush darkening your cheeks, but you choose to ignore it, stepping further into the room with a tiny gasp. “You have Skee-ball!?” He's right behind you as you rush across to the room to where the game is set up. A manicured nail pressing against the start button, grinning wide up at him as the balls roll down.
Bright red numbers flash on the screen, the high score followed by his name: 310...Koo. A smirk instantly settling onto your features as you reach for one of the bright-colored balls. “I'm gonna beat that,” Lifting a finger to point at the numbers on the screen.
Jungkook is letting a loud laugh leave his lips, a pretty smile settling on his features as the sound dies down. “That took me two weeks... good luck,” Drawing your hand back, you release the ball on the swing. Watching as it travels upward toward the slots, dropping right into the gutter.
It takes four throws before you're getting it right, the ball traveling up the slope and directly into the 40 point slot. You're letting out a loud whoop, arms lifting in slight victory.
Eyes wide, you're turning your head to face him. “You saw that!?” You're shocked that he's already looking at you. With this soft lovey look that you were the one to hang the stars in the sky. And it makes you wish that this was a date because if it were you'd be able to let yourself enjoy the feeling that comes with the way that he's looking at you.
But it's not a date. So you don't. Shove the fuzzy feeling away with a shake of your head, reaching for another ball from the rack and thrusting it forward. 
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FEBRUARY 22ND, 2020 | 18:08
Jungkook is scary good at games. Like scary good. If he wasn't matching your score, he was doubling it. Didn't even graze his high score in Skee-ball and every game after that was his domain. And he was having fun beating you, the smile growing on his face each time you were crossing your arms with a pout – claiming the game had to be rigged.
Foosball to Car Racing to Dance Dance Revolution (he had way more rhythm than you'd expect). You've settled down quite a bit since you first showed up at his house, finding it easy to relax around him. He was cute when he got competitive, not like you were much of a competition in these games... but it was nice to see him like this.
The scrunch of his nose as he focused on the screen. The cute dimples that popped out whenever he won. And how he mindlessly sat close to you, engulfing you in his sweet scent. There was just something about being with Jungkook that made you feel at ease, could someone who made you that comfortable really be as bad as his trash friends?
His shoulder brushes against yours as he settles further into the comfort of his couch, his thumbs moving over the controller quickly. Implementing combo after to defeat your character. In the fourth round of Mortal Kombat and you've only one once.
“Hey! You said you'd let me win,” He's laughing, not even letting your character get up before the large K.O. letters appear on the screen and his person is giving their little victory remark. A dramatic huff leaves your lips, the controller being tossed to the side to cross your arms over your chest.
All he wants to do is lean in and kiss that pout off your lips. Has wanted to kiss you since he beat you in table tennis. You're so pretty and he can't hold back from moving closer to you, guiding your movements just so he can have an excuse to touch you. And he doesn't miss the way you blush. The cute giggles that you let out when he flirts with you. Making him want to flirt with you more just so he can hear the sound.
“I tried,” He speaks through a laugh, taking in the skeptical look on your face. “I did! You're just so bad,” His eyes watch your fingers move around the controller, switching the screen to the character choice.
Gasping when his words sink in, landing dainty punches onto his shoulder. “You're mean! Rematch. I'm not bad,” Jungkook's pressing start on the game as soon as you both have picked your characters, leaning back against the couch as he instantly starts trying out combos on you.
Your whines and protests are cute. It's all he can focus on when he's supposed to be paying attention to the game. And the shout of triumph you let out when you're managing to knock his character down squeezes at his heart, he can't help but turn to look at the smile on your face.
“Look at you losing!” He's sure his health bar is at the end by now, but he can't tear his eyes away from you. In awe, because how could someone actually look like that? So effortlessly... beautiful? 
The tip of your tongue poked out the corner of your lips, brows furrowed as you work hard to take him down. So wrapped in the game, you don't even realize that he had stopped playing. It's his luck too, no telling how embarrassed he'd be if he was caught staring. Yet, he can't bring himself to look away.
Not until you're jumping up excited, clapping for yourself and your win. “Did you see that?” Your body is whipping around, forcing a surprised look on his face. Worried that you might've caught the way he had been looking at you. “I just fucking destroyed you! You can't even say that was beginners luck, either.”
You're lifting your hand for a high five, which he's happily giving to you. His smile matching yours as you flop down on the couch beside him, thighs grazing over each other and he feels it in his chest. “Do you want a chance to redeem yourself?”
Not even a minute is spared for him to answer because you're already starting up a new round. He's got his game face on now, shaking himself out of the daze. “Can you believe I just kicked your butt?” There's this taunting look on your face and all he wants to do is lean over and kiss you.
He takes for teasing you instead. Noticing your ridge posture that he had commented on in your picture. “I don't know how,” A large hand reaches over to touch your back, your body automatically leaning into his touch. “Your form is all off, it had to be luck.” Just a bit of pressure is applying to your back and you're slouching forward.
With a laugh, you're rolling your eyes – reaching a hand back to swat his away. “Watch me beat you like this too. I'll even let you pick my character,” You've been using the same girl since you started playing while he's surfed through the entire catalog. He's taking you up on the offer, picking one of the bulkier characters that don't do all the jump moves you seem to love so much.
And you still beat him.
This time distracted by the frustrated rants from you whenever your guy doesn't do what you tell him to. Time runs out and he ends up having less on his health bar and you're taking that as a proper win, lifting your hand for another high five.
Jungkook congratulates you quietly, more so trying to figure out just what was going on inside his chest. He's had girls over before. In much more intimate settings than this... but never has he felt like his heart was about to burst through his chest. This unbearable feeling to be close to you and it's quickly becoming all he can think about.
You're just so pretty. And you look oddly sexy in your sweats. But it's not just that. There's something else that he can't really place that's pulling him to you. Making it hard for him to stop thinking about stupid things like holding your hand or kissing your cheek. Imagining if days like today were the norm and after he'd grow tired of playing games, you'd let him stretch out his head in your lap – playing with his hair.
And it has to be crazy because this was only the first time the two of you were alone. The late-night texts being all he had to back up knowing you, but at the same time, he felt like he knew you. Like he's known you well. He can't describe it either, but he's almost positive that you feel the same.
“Are you hungry? Should we order a pizza?” You've already whipped your phone out, reluctantly putting a bit of space between the two of you as you scroll through your phone. Jungkook is quick to agree, fingers moving over the buttons on the controller to switch the TV.
No idea why he all of a sudden feels so nervous. “Sure,” He's managing to mumble out, but you're not listening. Already putting together a pizza for both of you. “Do you, uhm... do you wanna watch a movie? Something on Netflix?” Your thumb is stilling on the screen at the mention of Netflix.
Yoongi's playful warning ringing loudly in your mind. 'Playing video games was just Netflix and Chill with more steps,'. But there was the chance that he was actually tired of playing games and wanted to watch a movie with you. It didn't have to be that serious, you had been going at it for hours.
“Yeah, go ahead. Pick something.” His body slouches back on the cushions, scanning through the movies halfheartedly before choosing a random one with a really long title. After tapping his fingers against the screen, the neon orange lights in the room are dimming. A comfortable warmth settling around you.
Jungkook watches as you take your time putting the order together. The beginning credits playing on the screen and he's not even paying attention, too busy with his eyes glued to you. “I got meat lovers, you like that, right?” Setting your phone aside, you allow yourself to sink into the comfort of the cushions. 
“Mmh, my favorite.” Not a lie. It really was. And the fact that you had chose it without knowing just added to everything about you that made him want to kiss you. A small smile spreads across your lips as you nod, turning your attention to the screen in front of you.
The two of you sit side by side, watching the characters on the screen, but you're not listening. It's hard to hear over the pounding in your chest. The nervous bounce of his leg as if he was waiting for something. And you have no idea what because the pizza is no where near being on its way.
A pretty girl is in an argument with her male lead, something about debt and you're trying your hardest to follow the storyline. Although, you have no idea what this movie is and why he picked it. 
It's the thick yawn from beside you that catches your attention, Jungkook's arms lifting over his head in a stretch. You don't think much of it, other than the fact that he's being a little dramatic with his stretch. Until the arm closest to you is dropping down, not at his side like it had been before but around your shoulders – gently tugging your body into his side.
“Did you just do the yawn move on me?” You can't help but laugh. Even through the darkness, you can see the pink tint on his cheeks. “Shh, this is my favorite part.” You're actually positive that he's never seen this movie before, but don't put up a fight. Instead, you let yourself lean into his chest.
He's warm. And smells like flowers. His eyes don't move from the screen as he's reaching down, soft hands reaching for the outside of your knee. Slowly, he's lifting your legs onto his lap, only glancing in your direction briefly to gauge your reaction. Leaning back when there's no sign of you wanting to move.
“Your feet are so small,” Toes curling at the random attention, you're leaning over to reach for his face attempting to pull his focus. “Don't make fun of them! What the heck?” He's laughing loudly at you, allowing you to move his head. Shifting his focus from your feet to his face.
Your fingers are cold against his warm skin, but he can't keep himself from leaning into your touch. “They're cute.” Big eyes scan over your face, smiling softly when they're landing on yours. “You're cute.”
Almost instantly, the atmosphere in the room seems to shift. And you're not sure how he did it, but the way he was looking at you, the soft whisper in his voice... you can't but melt in his strong arms. Basically sat in his lap and it's nice. Jungkook takes his time with inching forward, entering your space which has your hand falling from his face.
He's quick to replace your hand with his one your cheek, tilting your head up toward his. You're sure he's going to kiss you. It's obvious with the slight pucker of his lips, the droop of his eyes, he's tapping a rhythmic beat against your knee ten times faster than the rush of your heart. He was going to kiss you.
Jungkook was going to kiss you and it felt like you couldn't breathe. Nerves on a ten because this wasn't even supposed to be a date. And now you were in this situation and you weren't the least bit unhappy about it. You wanted him to kiss you and it's a new feeling that you don't fully understand. It freaks you out.
Just inches from your lips and your face is twisting up, head jerking back before he can reach you. “What are you doing?” Instantly hating yourself for the embarrassed look on his features that slowly morphs into a puppy dog pout.
“I was going to kiss you...” Jungkook mumbles out sheepishly, dropping his arm from your body to push his hair back. Making an effort to put some space between the two of you, trying to figure out where he had gone wrong.
Because in his mind he had done everything right. Had been making you laugh all night, set some type of mood, told you that you were cute. And you seemed to be enjoying yourself... so what was he missing?
“Why would you do that? This isn't a date, Jungkook.” The mantra that you thought you had worked into your head seemed to be slipping. Not sure when you had forgotten what this was supposed to be, but now it was all rushing back to you.
The reasons you had rejected going on an actual date with him in the first place. And the realization of how stupid you were to think that this was a proper substitute for it. No matter what you decided to call it, it didn't erase the fact that this... tonight, with him... felt like a date.
And it wasn't supposed to.
“Do you kiss all the people you just hang out with?” It's wrong to put the blame on him and only him, but you can't help it. You're a mess in your head for a plethora of reasons, because it had been obvious. How he was looking at you, his arm around you, your legs in his lap... everything that you decided to ignore.
But in the same breath, he told you this wasn't a date... so why bother with all sweet shit. Turning movies on for one reason. Maybe you were reading too deep into all of this? Maybe you were overreacting. Jungkook didn't act like his friends when he was with you, maybe he was really different.
“Oh, come on, Yn... are you being serious?” He doesn't look all too embarrassed anymore, just a little bit sad from the rejection. It's fine, though. He'll live. “Dead serious, Jungkook. You got me here saying this wasn't a date. You need to stick to that,” You felt strongly on that part.
You had told him you didn't want to go on a date with him and even though this 'not date' was literally the same thing, he shouldn't act as if you had said yes to a date. Right? He should keep his word, that way things wouldn't get messy. Like right now.
Jungkook seems to put it together in his head, nodding his head in agreement – yet, the pout doesn't leave his lips. “Alright, alright. Fine. My bad,” He's tugging at the rolls of fabric on his sweats, avoiding eye contact with you. Dark hair covering his eyes, all you can really see is the pink of his lower lip.
And you feel bad, even though you know you shouldn't. It's not like you would've hated kissing him. It was just too nerve-racking to think of doing right now. You didn't quite understand it yourself, so there was no way you could go and explain it to him.
Instead, you're extending a finger. Poking the tip of your nail into his knee. “Don't pout. Come on, you'll miss the best part.” Referring to the movie that you're both watching for the first time, but it has a smile pushing onto his lips. His head lifting and gaze shifting onto the TV screen.
“Sorry,” He mumbles out after a moment, but you're not sure if he's apologizing for the almost-kiss or something else. Either way, you're flashing a genuine smile in his direction, lifting a hand to playfully shove at his shoulder. “Don't worry about it. It's fine,”
It really was.
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— known for your body and surrounded by rumors about your sex life… rumors that he doesn’t think to doubt. until he’s meeting you… forced to realize there’s much more to you then the thonged shorts and lacy costumes.
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A/N: timestamps make sense throughout the fic. if u want to be added to the tag list, send me an ask! + if you’ve asked to be on my permanent taglist, you do not need to ask to be added to this one !!
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yandere-sins · 4 years
Note
Hi!! 💖 I’m back with another request, if you’re still taking them 😗 how about 40 from the supernatural prompts with yandere Asmo? Maybe he and his darling have been friends with benefits for while, but Asmo wants something more from them now? 👀
Thanks for coming back ♥ Hope you enjoy this!!
Rated Lime for explicit topics and language
“It’s just a simple love potion! Don’t worry, in just a few hours things will be perfect.”
»»————-———— ♡ ————————-««  
Barely, you stifled the yawn that dared to come over you as you reached over to the nightstand, pulling out some tissues from the tissue box. With them, you dried off your neck, happy to get the sweat off your skin. Had you always been this indifferent and bored after conquering the sheets with Asmo? You did encounter those feelings before once your session ended, but you had never been so utterly aware of it.
“Asmo...” you called out softly, your throat felt quite dry after the height you just experienced, having made you scream enough for the next few days. Immediately, his head snapped upwards, attention shifting from his phone to you with a smile falling over his lips. He quickly took the few steps from the bath to the bed, hopping on despite the pillows and blankets being in such disarray compared to his already clean and cared for body.
“What is it~?” he grinned, looking at you like a teenage girl crushing on a star.
“I...” You stopped yourself, wondering if what you were about to do was the right thing. Something you might have forgotten in the casual, fun, and intimate time with him, Asmodeus was still the Demon of Lust. It would be no wonder if rejection wasn’t one of his strong points. But at the same time, after being with him for a long time now, you felt like maybe... he’d understand your situation. You couldn’t help a sigh, and though he’d despise the wrinkles on his forehead, he looked at you concerned, as if he expected something had happened.
“I’ve just been thinking, maybe we should... end this.” With your pointer, you waved back and forth between you two. “The sex is great, absolutly wonderful, but every time we are done, I don’t feel the same satisfaction anymore than in the beginning.”
As expected, his jaw dropped in disbelieve of what he was hearing, eyes widening. You could almost pinpoint the moment the realization hit him as he worked your words through his head, and it made you bite your lip in fearful anticipation.
But all that came from him was a chuckle, a shake of his head as he rolled over and off his bed. “You’re breaking up with me?” he asked, in bewilderment, and you vaguely shrugged your shoulders. “I mean... It’s not like we were in a relationship,” you clarified, just wanting to make sure you both were on the same page.
“Well, of course not,” he huffed. “But I just want to make sure you know what you are doing. You are breaking up--” he paused, letting go of the towel around his hips, giving you an excellent sight of what you were currently trying to leave behind you. “--with this!?”
Ah, geez, you thought, grabbing for one of the pillows to throw it at him. Even a display of his junk wouldn’t change your mind about how you were feeling, almost relieved you would leave behind such a childish display of hurt pride. “Yes,” you clearly said, getting up right when he caught the pillow, displeased by you merely looking away and ignoring the fabulous things in front of you.
“I’m breaking up with the dissatisfaction and rumors I keep hearing about us. How you go around, telling everyone proudly how you owe me and what a good fucktoy I am.” Your explanation was bitter as you slipped back on your undergarments and pants. “I ignored it for a long time, thinking it was just people talking. But honestly, the things you call me while we are going at it, Asmodeus... They almost make me believe those rumors.”
Reaching for your shirt, you were surprised to find Asmodeus on your side of the bed, just a second faster in grabbing it. “You can’t leave.” His words were clear, but without any undertone in his voice. Raising a brow at him, you just chuckled it off, going for the shirt. It was a short tug of war that you won easily as he simply gave in. “Just think of all the things left to do...” he mumbled as he watched you get dressed.
“We can go steady if you want that?”
“What?” you immediately quaked as you pushed your head through the hole in your shirt. “I don’t want to get into a relationship with you--”
“Just think about it,” he interrupted you, circling until he stood right in front of you. You weren’t prepared for his sudden advances, automatically taking a step back as he moved forward, your body simply reacting. Unfortunately, the bed cut off your way, bringing you into a stumble until you fell back down onto the mattress.
Before there was even a chance to get up again, he straddled you, pushing you down by the shoulders with him on top, hovering over you. “There’s no one I’d want more to be my official partner. You are second to none but me, Baby.”
“How many people have you told that,” you asked, almost bored by his confession.
“NO ONE!” he snapped, surprisingly offended by that comment. “You are the only one I ever wanted in my life like this!”
“Asmo...”
“I can be faithful! I can... try at least. And you don’t need anyone else but me--”
You had enough of his blabbering, spouting rubbish left and right as you grabbed him by the back of his neck, pulling him down into a kiss. Asmo melted into the gesture, arms lowering himself on top of you to make it more comfortable while his tongue conquered every open inch of your mouth. He certainly was a good kisser, but not the lover you needed in your life after all. While he was full of passion, you felt yourself sighing into the kiss. At least, it made him shut up.
As if Asmodeus could ever dedicate himself to anymore. Let alone a mortal human.
When you had enough, you were the one to push him away, his lovesick, glazed over eyes shining as if he was about to cry from your rejection of his affection. But keeping him away by your full arm length, all he could do was mildly struggle against you unable to reach back down. “No,” you firmly announced, feeling like whatever you two had was completely over by your lack of feelings for him.
“But... But I love you?” he mumbled softly, though it sounded like a question rather than a statement.
“No matter what you feel, I don’t feel the same.”
For a moment, he got very quiet. From his expression, you almost read the five stages of grief until he suddenly seemed to sober up, letting out a long sigh. “Ooookay,” he finally agreed, and you wondered what the whole show he put on just seconds ago was about when he was able to put away the rejection easily after all.
Without your help, he climbed off you again, only now getting his towel back in place properly and walking over to the minifridge he kept in his room. “Will you have a last after-sex drink with me at least?” he asked so casually, it was hard to believe how upset he was just now. The tension in your body slowly left you as you breathed out, and considering his offer, you decided there was no harm. You two weren’t exactly on bad terms, and you wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Agreeing, he brought you a very pink bottle, the label unreadable for you, but he had one for himself in his hand too. I should really polish my demonic language knowledge, you thought to yourself as you clinked your bottle with his, taking a swig. There was sweet, and there was absurdly saccharine, but the last thing you wanted to be now after the whole ordeal was unthankful and complain about the taste.
It didn’t have a distinctive taste like bubblegum or strawberry, but that was probably because the amounts of sugar in it completely overshadowed the original flavor. “I-Interesting,” you mumbled, already feeling it bubble in your stomach, knowing that meant you’d have a bellyache for the rest of the day. Demon food just wasn’t made for humans in any way.
Swallowing hard on the sweet stuff, you clinked your bottle with his again as he held it up to you, bringing it to his lips as you did the same. You were glad it was so small, barely a third of a water bottle, because more of it surely wouldn’t have gone down your throat. But while his grin grew more and more mysterious as he watched you down the last gulp, his bottle stayed filled with the sirup.
“Oh,” you noted as you looked at his bottle. The sugar was really catching up to you, your heart beating rapidly, making your vision go blurry. “You’re not thirsty?”
“Not for this,” he answered, putting the lid back on his drink while the bottle threatened to fall out of your hand soon as you couldn’t keep your grip on it. “Wha- What is it exactly?” you asked as you tried to keep your composure while the world around you began to turn in quick movements.
“It’s just a simple love potion! Don’t worry, in just a few hours things will be perfect.”  
You heard him say these words, and you remembered thinking to yourself what a bad joke that was. But after the crash of a glass bottle hitting the floor, you couldn’t hear anything anymore, losing control of your body and blacking out before you had a chance to do something against your condition.
And Asmodeus? Asmodeus was beyond ecstatic. He knew first hand just how bad those potions tasted, but you had always been too kind to refuse him. He wouldn’t have let you start now with refusing the relationship you two had. Those rumors had only been words he said as a matter of fact, after all, you did belong to him.
He could call you his little fucktoy whenever he wanted.
But he forgave you for the audacity of trying to leave. If he had to remind you of your place by his side, he’d be glad to start at the bottom again - he was a demon, he had time.
Pushing away your legs, he pulled out his fun box, searching for the sturdiest rope he owned. It was simply perfect for securing you, just in case the love potion wouldn’t work as well as it worked on other demons he tried it on before. Tensing it between his hand, Asmodeus decided that he just couldn’t risk you thinking about leaving again, even if that meant permanently restricting you from the possibility.
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majesticbrownjawn · 4 years
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The Best Man
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Things get complicated when the best man looks like him ⬆️ But probably not complicated in the way you’re thinking.
Oldie from Wattpad. ‼️Chris=Erik‼️ I ain’t feel like going thru and changing his name. Deal with it. I wrote it with Erik in mind though. Enjoy boos❤️
——————————
His hands unashamedly gripped her ass, making her jump in shock.
"We can't do this Chris..." her voice faded out in the most unconvincing way, letting him know she was enjoying the moment as much as he was. When he pressed his lips against hers, she kissed him back, forgetting where she was and focused on his tongue entering her mouth. Ms. Johnson was quickly brought back down to Earth when her phone started vibrating in her hand, reminding her it was almost time for the mother/son dance. Sanai was a stickler for things being on schedule and wanted everything to be perfect for Bryan's big day, which to her meant keeping to the strict time table she mapped out.
She finally broke away from the younger man, staring him down with a frustrated look before disappearing into the large crowd of people to find her pursuer's best friend and the groom--her son.
***
Sanai Johnson was a woman with a plan, well, at least since she had become a mother at the age of 16. She fell in love with her son's father, August, and she thought he felt the same until he disappeared six months into her pregnancy. He was from the other side of the tracks, the "right" side. His parents were wealthy and he had earned a scholarship to a prestigious university a few hours away. When he finally showed up fours years later begging for Sanai to take him back so they could be a family, it was way too little, too late. From the moment he stepped back into their lives, he proved to be a great father to Bryan, and that was all she wanted from him. He on the other hand, had just stopped confessing his love for her just over a year ago before their son's 25th birthday--when he showed up to Bryan's party with a woman who looked just a few years older than the birthday boy himself.
It was funny, after all these years of refusing him, Sanai was actually contemplating giving August another chance and then he shows up with with some young girl. Oh well, she thought. She had bigger fish to fry, like planning the wedding she never got to have. It's not that she couldn't have gotten married in the past or sometime in the future for that matter, she was still in her early 40s, but could easily pass for someone a decade younger. She'd loss count of all the times people mistook her for Bryan's sister. Her buxom figure, glowing skin and beautiful features added to her appeal, but she always fell just shy of being completely confident in her appearance.
Where she lacked confidence in the physical, she made up for it in business and street smarts. While August was doing God knows what those four years in college, she graduated from high school early and started working at a museum. Little did she know she'd fall in love with art history and would later become one of the most sought after and well paid art curators in the country. She got to where she was by working hard and staying focused, which for her didn't leave much room for romance.
The wedding weekend had finally come and the guests had started to arrive at her large estate. She planned a series of events designed to make the large 250 person guest list feel a little smaller. This first event, brunch, was purposely hosted at her home to make everyone feel a little more comfortable mingling and getting to know each other.
"Chris!" Bryan was ecstatic to see his best friend who was more like a big brother to him. He flew across the foyer and embraced Chris, who he hadn't seen in almost three years. The two met when Bryan was in the 7th grade and Chris was in the 10th grade at a basketball camp. Chris was Bryan's counselor and the youngster immediately took to the older boy, following him around and following his lead in almost anything he did, except when Chris moved to China. Ms. Johnson wasn't having that. Both men studied business at the same university and started learning Chinese in high school, continuing through college. After graduating, Chris decided to take a job in Beijing making just under seven figures at a budding tech start-up.
"It's been too long, man." Chris was just as excited to see his friend, but was always more reserved than him, being careful to save his energy for just the right time. He knew this weekend would be full of exciting and possibly emotionally draining moments, so he decided to ease his way in.
"So your mom got it like this now? No wonder she invited the wedding party to stay here. This place is massive." He looked around absolutely impressed with his surroundings.
"I know right? When's the last time you've seen her? Like right after I graduated?"
"Yea--high school, I think. Maybe when you moved into your dorm freshman year."
"Well, she's around here somewhere. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you. Let me show you where you'll be staying."
***
Sanai was the kind of woman who always had things under control, but her son's wedding had her out of sorts. She was so hell-bent on everything being perfect that she was stressing about every little detail. She did a self-check about 30 minutes ago, realizing her worries were affecting the time she was having, so she took a couple mimosas to the head to take the edge off.
After settling in, Chris made his way back downstairs and gave himself a tour of the home. Along the way, there was a woman who he couldn't stop looking at from afar as she weaved in and out of the crowd. The red dress she wore was what caught his eye first. Then as he closed in on her, her familiar smile pulled him in, making him wonder if he and Bryan went to college with her because she seemed to know a lot of people here. He approached her from behind, placing his hand on the small of her back and leaned into her, introducing himself.
"Hi, I'm Chris. Do I know you? You look so familiar." When she turned around and he finally got an up close look at her, he immediately knew who she was. "Ms. Johnson?"
She smiled and answered, "In the flesh." Instead of letting her go, he froze, still holding her close as she now faced him.
"Uh, uh--it's good to see you," he finally spoke up, his arm still holding her tight. "You haven't aged a day. You're so...beautiful," he blurted out. It was like he was seeing her for the time. In a way he was, this was his first time seeing her as a man.
"Thank you, Chris. It's good to see you too," she replied blandly, gently patting him on his chest, trying to release herself from his grip. Despite trying to get away from him, Sanai certainly noticed what a handsome man Chris had become. She was on the taller side for a woman, but he easily towered over her at 6'4". His frame was full, with just the right amount of grown man thickness she liked. The rest of brunch Sanai was slightly distracted by Chris, partly because she was so shocked at how much he'd grown up and also because she thought she caught him watching her. It was probably just her imagining things.
That night after dinner at the house with the bridal party, Sanai was cleaning up the living area when she felt a quiet presence enter the space.
"Can I help, Ms. Johnson?"
"Oh, please call me Sanai, you're grown now, Chris."
"Ok. So tell me Sanai, what's your secret?" She looked at him confused. "I meant what I said earlier. You haven't aged. It's incredible. You look incredible." He didn't try to hide the fact that his eyes couldn't stop taking her body in.
She blushed at his comment but tried her best not to act phased by his repeated mention of her looks.
"Well, you certainly have changed."
"I hope that's a good thing," he smirked. "How are you dealing with Bryan getting married? I assume it can't be easy to let go of your only child. And you're single, right? I'm sure you've thought about how lonely it may get, him not being around as much."
"Bryan has been on his own for a while now. I'll manage."
"How?"
"How what?"
"How will you manage, Ms. Johnson?" His tone seemed a bit suggestive, but she figured maybe it was the wine she drank playing tricks on her.
He was, of course being suggestive in the slightest way. His immediate attraction her earlier today threw him off initially, but that wasn't going to happen again this weekend. He decided everything else he'd say and hopefully do to her his weekend would be very deliberate.
"I mean, I'm sure you have needs, right?" He moved closer to her, so close that she had no choice but to look at him As his tilted his head sideways at her seductively.
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"I think you know exactly what I mean, Sanai." Chris' hand slowly traced up the side of her body, carefully following the curve of her hip upwards, stopping just below her bust. She watched his hand closely, allowing his touch to send a shiver up her spine.
"Your behavior is so inappropriate Chris." She said it so sternly that he momentarily forgot he was a grown ass man now who could pursue her without worrying about getting in 'trouble.'
He lifted his hands in surrender and openly watched her as she nervously cleaned up a few more things before heading upstairs. He noticed the way her breathing picked up when he touched her. The goosebumps on her arms told him she enjoyed his hands on her, despite her calling his actions "inappropriate." Chris laid in the bed that night, thinking about her and trying his best to ignore the nagging feeling of his dick hard-pressed against his shorts. The hornier and unsatisfied he was, he figured, the more persistent he'd be about getting a taste of Ms. Johnson.
***
The following afternoon, the bridal party gathered in the foyer of Sanai's home to learn the tango for the reception. After the instructor paired everyone up, Sanai noticed Chris was missing, but remembered he didn't have a partner because as the best man, it was his job to walk the grandmothers and her down the aisle.
"Looking for me?" She jumped at the sound of his voice.
"No, Chris. Why would I be?" She figured if she acted like she was uninterested in his attention that he'd leave her alone. She had another thing coming though. The more time Chris spent in her presence, the more his desire for her increased. Even if he wasn't able to see straight through her hard-to-get act, it wouldn't have stopped him from doing all he could to get her.
He bent down and bowed, lifting his hand to hers, "May I have this dance?" He grabbed her hand but she quickly yanked it away.
"Come on, don't be like that, Sanai."
"Maybe you should call me Ms. Johnson after all."
"I'll call you whatever you want. Just dance with me. Please." He was a little surprised when she took his hand and stood close to him. He took the lead, already familiar with the sensual dance. His hand rested low on her back and he used it to push her lower half into his. Front to front, Sanai could feel Chris' bulge brushing up against her as they moved across the foyer.
"You know I had a crush on you back in the day right?" He whispered closely to her face.
"Excuse me?" She cackled at his comment but he pulled her closer, feeling like she'd walk away from him at any second.
"Honestly, I wasn't even tryna be Bryan's friend at first when we were kids...I just needed an excuse to be around you," he continued. "You were just so creative and kind. I didn't know a mother could be so damn beautiful." Sanai blushed at his memory of her.
"I used to love to come over so I could see you walk around the house in those baggy t-shirts with no bra. Watching you in them little ass shorts had me on hard every time. I can't tell you how many times I had wet dreams about you, Ms. Johnson."
Sanai could feel Chris' excitement pressing up against her. Wisdom urged her to break away from him, but her body begged her to stay put. It had been so long since she allowed a man to be this close to her. And he just smelled and looked so good.
"Are you serious? Why are you telling me this now?" She shouldn't have asked, but her curiosity and her attraction to him was getting the best of her.
"Because it's the truth...and because I always fantasize about being close to you, just like this." The pair was face to face, their foreheads pressed against the other's. Lucky for them, no one would think anything of it because the tango called for that intimate positioning.
"You always fantasize? Or you used to?" She asked her question while looking him square in the eyes.
"Can I cut in?" Bryan's father looked at Chris suspiciously for a moment before taking Sanai's hand and trying to shake off the notion that his son's best friend was doing what it looked like he was doing—pushing up on Sanai. Their interaction would have looked innocent to the average person, but August recognized game when he saw it. He stayed close to Sanai the rest of the day just in case his suspicions about Chris were correct.
***
Hey, can you come downstairs for a minute please?
The text came in to Sanai's phone after 1 a.m. that night.
Who is this?
Guess 😈
I don't have time for games. Who is this?
It's Chris. I want to apologize.
Sanai made her way downstairs cautiously, as not to wake anyone in the house. When she laid eyes on him, she immediately knew she was in trouble. Chris wore a pair of silk pajama pants that left little for her to imagine about how girthy he was and the way his arms looked in the wife beater he wore was already doing things to her.
"He's Bryan's best friend..." She reminded herself as she approached him.
"Do you always talk to yourself?"
"Don't be cute, Chris."
"I hope I'm cute to you."
"I thought you want to apologize for your behavior?"
"Oh yea, I do." The pair was whispering trying not to wake anyone, especially Bryan. It would be hard to explain why they were down here whispering at this hour. Her home was large enough that no one would have heard them anyway, but that fact eluded them both in the moment. "Is there somewhere we can talk without having to whisper?" he asked.
She looked him over trying to decide if she could trust him being alone with her. He'd been so bold the last few days.
She decided she probably couldn't trust him, but still answered, "Sure, follow me."
***
So there are three, maybe four 🤔completed parts to this miniseries but the series itself isn’t completed. Hopefully posting this here will motivate me to finally finish it (it’s been like two years 🥴) I know y’all are waiting on Delicte part 4. Wrote on it some tonight and plan to have it up in the next week. Thanks for reading🖤
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annabethy · 4 years
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40 for percabeth please?? Maybe in battle or something?
#40 passionate kisses
The entire forest was crawling with monsters that had attacked during their intense game of capture the flag. As Annabeth stood behind the barrier, safe out of harm’s way, she watched more and more monsters appear, nervously chewing on her lower lip.
It was like she couldn’t ever get a break. A little over a year after the war with Gaea ended, and it never really ended. It just wasn’t fair to her. It wasn’t fair to anyone.
People in the camp ran all over the place, gathering armor to protect themselves from the creatures outside. She’s pretty sure she saw the all too familiar minotaur and a couple of cyclops, and she was not looking forwards to messing with those. If she even so much as looks at them, it’s like she’s suddenly back in Tartarus, surrounded by the horrors she has no way of escaping.
Annabeth rested her hand on her drakon bone sword that dug into the ground in a moment of weakness, staring out in the distance. The memories started to flood her mind and she didn’t have the strength to push them out, so she let them come.  She honestly isn’t sure how long she stood at the edge of the forest while a bunch of demigods ran around, preparing to fight, but at some point, someone slid their hand over her shoulder, squeezing comfortingly.
“You okay?”
Annabeth picked at the inside of her cheek with her teeth, feeling her heart rate start to slow down as Percy’s thumb rubbed soothing circles along her back. The way he handled her made her think he already knew what was bothering her. He knew her too well.
“Do you wanna talk about it?”
She shook her head slowly, trying to press down the bulge in her throat. “I’m okay.”
Percy’s head settled onto her shoulder from behind her, arms snaking around her waist. She could feel the metal of his armor pressing uncomfortably into her back.
“I just hate it,” she continued. Percy hummed behind her in acknowledgement, allowing her space to speak. “Fighting like this. I thought we were done with this shit.”
“Me too,” he said sadly. “But this shouldn’t be too hard. It’s not a prophecy we’re fighting this time.”
“No, but… It’s just not fair. We fight and fight and they just keep coming back. It feels like it’s never going to end.”
Percy kissed her cheek. “I know, but the only thing we can do is take it one day at a time.”
Annabeth would never be able to do that. She was always much too concerned with the future, fretting over it until she fell apart. She couldn’t help it. “We might not always be this lucky,” she said bitterly. “We’ve survived, but demigods aren’t known to live long. What if something happens to you?”
Percy’s laugh is a burst of air against her neck. “Is that what you’re worried about?”
“Don’t laugh at me,” she said miserably.
“I’m not laughing at you,” he defended, wrapping a strand of hair that escaped her ponytail around the base of the hair tie. “But I can take care of myself. I promise I’m always going to come back to you, so you don’t need to worry, okay?”
Still, she can’t help it. She has seen too many people go into battle and not make it out. It didn’t take a lot to kill a human, she now knew. They were fragile, like glass, and if Percy took one hit that was just too much, then—
She doesn’t even want to think about what she would do.
Percy tugged her ponytail when she refused to look at him. Eventually, her eyes found his, albeit against her will, and he looked at her warmly. “I’m right here, and I’m okay.”
“Do you promise?” she asked, pouting slightly.
Percy turned her around to face him, cupping her face and teasing her lower lip with his thumb to stop her pout. “I promise, because you remember what I said to you years ago?”
“What?”
“That I’m never getting away from you ever again. We’re building something permanent, you and I.”
“You mean that?”
“I do.”
Annabeth’s lips twitched upwards, eyes flicking towards the people beginning to gather by the protective barrier before landing on his face. She tried to burn the memory of him into her as though he wasn’t already something she could never forget.
“I love you,” she said.
“I love you too,” he said, pulling her in and slowly settling his lips over hers.
At first, it was gentle, giving them a moment to breathe each other in, to remember that they were with each other and that would never change. It was slow and sweet, them moving together as one.
Everything around them drowned out, and she felt like she had been catapulted back to when they reunited in New Rome, not caring if an asteroid hit because they were together and that was enough.
Slowly though, Annabeth was reminded that even though he says he’ll always be there with her, he has no control over whether or not that actually happens. Demigods never survive long, and it was a miracle they’d made it as far as they had. Within the next five minutes, anything could go terribly wrong and either one of them could end up dead, so they needed to do this now.
There was no waiting until after the battle to be with one another, because there might not be an after.
So she deepened the kiss, not caring who was around to see them. Percy responded with equal enthusiasm, pressing against her hard. Her hands threaded through her hair, lips parting slightly in a gasp as he bit her lower lip.
They were practically intertwined, kissing like they might not ever get to again. Annabeth became dizzy as her lungs burned, but she refused to pull away. She needed it too much, and she always would.
She leaned further into him, embracing the warmth and comfort that followed him around. He was the person she could always lean on, the person to pull her away from the terrors that only came at night.
She really loved him, and she tried her best to show him that by pouring all of herself into this moment.
Someone whistled behind them, forcing them to pull away with an embarrassing pop. When they looked around, everyone had stopped moving to stare at them, and her face wasted no time in flushing red.
Hundreds of eyes blinked back at them, and it was only then that she realized they must’ve been standing there for a while and they just hadn’t realized it, too preoccupied with the task at hand. There were little kids snickering, and then there were the older campers looking at them with approbation, one of which mouthed nice to Annabeth.
Percy’s hand was still tucked comfortably around her because even with the mortification of having just made out in front of a bunch of minors, he wasn’t ready to let go just yet.
Piper cleared her throat from somewhere to their right, thankfully drawing the attention off of them, announcing loudly to the camp, “We should probably go kill some monsters before they completely take over, yeah?”
People began to mutter in agreement, slowly stalking through the barrier, weapons at hand, leaving Percy and Annabeth with one last minute to themselves.
As Annabeth got distracted by the group slowly wandering out, Percy stepped in front of her again, blocking everything from her vision except him. She smiled weakly, her brain still going a thousand miles an hour.
“I love you,” he said softly for just the two of them, grabbing her hand.
“I know.”
“You going to be okay?”
Annabeth took a deep breath. The future was unknown, terrible things hidden behind a thin veil, and she would never be ready to blindly step into it. But sometimes, she had no other choice, and she had to accept that.
“I’ll be okay,” she said, and together, hand in hand, they stepped into the forest, and into the unknown.
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shehungthemoon · 4 years
Text
fireworks have nothing on you
Or, that first kiss, Eddie Begins coda that we all need. 
Read on ao3, and please please excuse the typos lol
His arms around Eddie were the only thing keeping him grounded. A small part of his brain pointed out that it was rather ironic that he was shaking more than the man that was just trapped under 40 feet of wet earth and rock, but he was too drained to care. All he could really pay attention to as he helps walk (drag) Eddie toward the closest ambulance was his heart racing up in his throat and a constant stream of scaredcoldEddiesafeherelove running through his head.
And of course, the feeling of Eddie’s freezing but breathing body under his hands. He starts shaking as Hen and Chim a million other paramedics gather around Eddie, prodding and checking and shouting and pushing Buck off to the side, and Bobby must have noticed because he crossed the distance between them quickly, his hands coming up and squeezing Buck’s shoulders tightly. 
Bobby turned Buck toward him just enough to where he wasn’t looking directly into the chaos, yet keeping Eddie just in Buck’s field of vision. Buck just kept shaking his head, mind and heart racing. “Breath, Buck. Look at me. Breath.”
Buck drags his eyes from the swarm of people at the foot of the ambulance, and he realized that his chest was tight and his throat hurt and that, for some reason, face felt warm, and it took everything he had to even look at Bobby, much less take in a breath.
But Bobby’s grip tightened, and it reminded him of that time in his loft with Christopher sitting smiling on his couch, Eddie standing before him with a far too gentle smile and his thumb pressing circles into Buck’s neck, and with the memory of Eddie’s touch Buck let himself exhale.
He took a few deep breaths, and as one of Bobby’s hands came up to brush something off of his face he realized why his cheeks felt warm. His hands were still shaking when he brought them up to grab tightly onto Bobby’s wrists. His voice cracked as he looked at Bobby, begging that he’d understand. “Cap, I... I...” But his lips were trembling and he couldn’t get another word out before another sob broke from his lips.
Bobby just took him in his arms, swaying them gently and whispering “I know you do. I know.”
—————— “How is he?” He asks again, nervously tugging on his cuffs and shifting he weight from side to side. “‘M fine, Buck,” Eddie mumbles from somewhere behind the flurry of people poking and prodding him, and Buck’s chest tightened at the voice.
Buck’s tears had dried not too long ago, but his hands still shook as he wrung them. Bobby had just left to deal with, well, everything, but Buck remained by the truck, refusing to drag his eyes from Eddie for even a second. Eventually it was just Hen and Chim that remained, and Buck could finally see Eddie clearly. The man’s face was streaked with mud, dirt, and blood, his shoulders were bowed and eyes stared blankly off somewhere ahead of him. Buck bit his lips, but it didn’t really help him from asking again. “Is he okay?”
Hen groaned and rolled her head back to the sky before fixing Buck with a glare. Something in his face must have softened her, because she let out a sigh and began to speak.
“We’ve got a few bruised ribs, some potential sprains, and we’re a little concerned over the inhala—“
“But he’s going to be okay?” And Buck felt his heart beating hard against his ribs, his jaw working as he held in an embarrassing noise from escaping his throat, and that stream of thoughts from earlier came racing back, scaredcoldEddiesafehereloveyouloveyouloveyouloveyou. Hen fixed him with another glare, this time it was much less cutting, but Buck didn’t notice, because he couldn’t drag his eyes away from where Eddie was looking back at him with something unreadable and heavy in his eyes. Hen’s voice was unusually soft as she said “Yes, hun. He’s going to be fine.”
And he couldn’t do anything about that sound now, because it came low and pained and relieved from his mouth and he couldn’t stop himself as he took two stumbling steps forward, cupped Eddie’s face between his hands, and slammed his lips into his. He could feel his pulse roaring in his ear, felt the barely-there stubble on Eddie’s cheek like pinpricks on his palm, Eddie’s mouth wet and mud smeared and perfect under his. And Eddie... Eddie wasn’t kissing back, so Buck pressed forward once more, putting every bit of love and warmth he had into it, before pulling back, eyes squeezed shut and ready for the worst.
He wasn’t ready for the sound that came out of Eddie then, or for the feeling of shaking fingers wiping oh so gently the tears on his cheeks away—god he didn’t even realize that he had started crying again—or for the broken “Buck” that came out of Eddie’s mouth. And now Buck opened his eyes, catching the pretty and glassy brown of Eddie’s for all but a second before he was startled into shutting them tight again as Eddie surged upward and enveloped Buck’s lips in his, hungry and biting and yet so damn soft that Buck’s knees almost gave out under him. Eddie’s hands cupped his neck as if he were something precious, and that only served to make Buck’s tears fall harder. His hands had never left Eddie’s cheeks, and he gripped them tighter as the force of Eddie’s kiss had him swaying backward. They rocked back and forth, lips melding and breaking and melding again, and Buck realized that maybe it wasn’t just fireworks that you saw when you kissed someone you loved, it was smoldering fire and rushing floods and a feeling so fucking elated that your heart might have well just burst right then and there and you’d have seldom a complaint.
Yet air, air was a thing, and Eddie had been deprived of that for too long already today. It physically hurt him to pull back—no, really, Eddie’s hands were like vices on his neck—but as he did he brushed his fingers along Eddie’s cheekbones and into his hair and over his eyelids until the man finally opened them and met Buck’s with more love in them than Buck had ever been able to fathom. And Buck figured he was way past being afraid, he was too goddammed relieved and happy and thankful, so he whispered “I love you” into Eddie’s mouth and pressed his fingers into Eddie’s pulse points, a shaky smile dancing over his lips and breath catching in his throat but this time, not from fear.
“Buck,” Eddie whispered back, his eyes darting from Buck’s eyes to his lips to each and every one of his freckles and back again, and now his cheeks were wet too, and he push a “Te amo” back into Buck’s open mouth before letting himself fall forward again onto Buck’s lips. They were both shaking and smiling too much for the kiss to last long, but even after breaking apart again they could only press their foreheads together and trade breaths, and Buck’s heart beginning to slow from racing to a slow, pattering rhythm. From where Buck’s fingers rested on Eddie’s neck, he realized that Eddie’s pulse had matched with his own, and he couldn’t help the small and choked laugh he let out, nor from smiling at Eddie’s own. Infinity passed. A second infinity would’ve gone by too, if it wasn’t for someone clearing their throat. Buck and Eddie turned their heads to look over at Chimney, who’s face was warring with a smug smile and the red blush of embarrassment. “If you two are finished,” he coughed out, the smile winning, “We really need to get Diaz here to the hospital.” Hen chimed in from their other side, “Preferably within the next hour, so...” Bobby chuckled from next to her, his eyes crinkled at the corners, and he gave a small nod to Buck as they met eyes. Buck felt his chest grow impossibly tighter.
Buck turned to Eddie again, his fingers still tracing patterns across Eddie’s face. Eddie hadn’t moved his hands either. “You good?” Buck asked.
Eddie’s thumbs found that point between Buck’s collarbone and throat again, pressing just hard enough for Buck to shiver and his smile grow ever-brighter. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.”
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kaplanwrites · 3 years
Text
02.6 Michael
Part5.Kon’s POV.
So maybe I put a little bit from Kon’s POV
maybe ‘Michael’ should be Kon’s POV actually
and post this whole part with Meyers’ Together, because let’s face it, Kon would be kinda sad during this one, maybe a little bit angry
maybe a lot
and yeah Mauling’s Terror tots would be his pov
Or probably I should make this theme song as Cleopatrick's depths? Instead of Tim's
***
Kon watched Tim, trying to figure out what changed, squinting his eyes and tilting head as if it would make the picture clearer. It wasn’t that Tim was more nervous about his work or more unforgiving in his _real_ work, he wasn’t impatient with EJ (more impatient than usual, at least) - if anything, he seemed kinda relaxed these last couple of months.
That was good, wasn’t it?
Except - at it was bugging him - he couldn’t understand what made Tim relaxed, there were no changes: they hadn’t begun to hang out, Tim still expertly managed to  turn off kid’s attempts to do something together, all three of them, still tried to balance between work at Wayne tech, favors for bats, oh so important PTA meetings, and to insert in this cocktail as much bonding with kid as possible.
Kon gets it, really, he himself had Titans and that huge-ass canvas that needed to be grounded, and a portrait order that hangs for at least two weeks now and going to deadline any minute now, and he had to get kid to park because little devil will never sleep if he won’t burn down at least tiny part of energy from him. And really, he never could comprehend Tim’s astonishing ability to bring the Kryptonian kid in two hours flat to the state in which he refused to move a muscle.
So he diverted his attention from the obvious to details, and yep, here it was, subtle stuff bats were so fond of: Tim returned cleanly shaved from work, or disappeared from office for hours (that he discovered kinda accidentally, when panicking assistant called Kon in search for Mr. Wayne who supposed to hold presentation in 40 minutes, but still didn't came back from lunch), or popped up at night only in time to patrol, smelling funny under the armor, like it was different person with different shampoo and different cologne under the very same-smelling cape.
And then, one day, about a half a year later, he left EJ with Dick, who was visiting for some huge exhibition to represent WE at it and went for patrol earlier than usually. A couple of circles around the city and one reluctant scolding of a group of street artists, he decided that day probably would be slow here and almost turned his metaphorical steps to ‘Slum, when he spotted a very familiar car, turning out from underground WayneTech parking. Figuring, that Tim probably would be home first, he dialed his number and waited. When the call was redirected to voicemail, he scanned the office underneath him for phone, wondering if Tim has forgotten it there. Redialing again, he averted eyes to Tim’s car in time to see how the phone was set on mute and dropped to back seat, and wow, that was. New? What if it wasn’t?
Peaked curiosity mixed with a bit of anxiety - was it some kind of undercover mission? - he followed the car until it disappeared in different parking - now Hotel’s.
Kon’s eyes followed Tim as he made his climb in elevator cabin to one of the upper floors, then to further end of the hall to knock on the door, which was promptly opened by a young dark-haired man. Kon took in this new guy’s look - wide shoulders, really tall, a would-be jock, if not for heavy-rimmed glasses - contemplating if he could be one of Met criminals, while Tim promptly went inside the room - fancy and modern-looking; king-sized bed, little guest area with sofa and a couple of chairs, desk in corner. Tim made his way to the desk chair and began to undress, jacket first, then tie, when he began undoing the cufflinks, the guy edging towards him with a positively sinister grin, brought hands to Tim’s throat. Kon’s TTK thrummed anticipating a fight, ready to interfere if needed, but the thing that happened next turned him flabbergasted: Tim leaned into un-jock’s arms, relaxed against his chest. Offending hands slid down Tim’s front and started to undo his slacks, while Tim worked on the button-down.
Kon watched, knocked on the head by the simple fact, that those very slacks he picked up on Friday from dry cleaning. The goddamn slacks that were abandoned for three weeks there along with Kon’s only good costume because neither of them managed to find enough time to finally pick ‘em… And now some random dude was groping his kid’s dad through those very slacks.
Is that how wronged wives feel? Kon barked a laugh, not noticing that his superhearing zeroed on the two men’s voices until Tim’s long guttural moan kicked him from stupor to discover sharp burning behind his eyes. He shut his eyes, feeling betrayed, and so angry, and started upwards, but even almost instant boom of the sound barrier around him didn’t vanish Tim’s voice from his ears.
***
...and then Kon loses it and is fucking molesting Tim, like ‘you like them dark tall and beefy, why the fuck would you look for it away from home’, and actually forcing himself to stop, but it turns out that Tim doesn’t mind really  (after discovered super boner) so if Kon’s going to deliver, he won’t stray
because they’re functional adults like that
***
And after that Kon rationalizes his anger with “you having side-dude would be bad for the kid”, and Tim laughs at his face and also at his hypocrisy.
And then they angry-fucks some more.
***
0 notes
recurring-polynya · 4 years
Note
9, 13, 19, 23 for RenRuki OTP meme!
9. Have they made each other cry?
Neither Rukia nor Renji are criers by nature, but absolutely yes.
I looked it up, and weirdly enough, Rukia does *not* cry in the manga version, but she does cry in the anime when Renji tells her to go to the Kuchiki. Regardless, I think they both had some wet face syndrome in the days following that.
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Rukia was having a pretty tough time in the Academy, and Renji was in a constant state of unconsciously rubbing it in. I bet he made her cry at least once, although she is way too stubborn to actually do it in front of him, I think she did it in private, later.
I’m not sure crying over someone is the same as them making you cry, but I believe with 100% of my being that the “fear she was trying to avoid” in the As Nodt fight was Renji-related, and even though she held it together pretty well at the time, I hope homegirl went home and had a good cathartic sob after the fact.
In the same vein, it’s very believable that Renji had at least one tearful breakdown at some point in the Soul Society Arc. I imagine he came home and puked his guts out after he had to arrest her and throw her in a holding cell and there could have been some tears that went along with that, and possibly also after he found out that Byakuya had no intention of lifting a finger to stay her execution. (I just realized this is not the first time I have headcanoned Renji puking out of grief and it’s true, I think he does, it’s great, I love my brain, thanks)
I would bet money that Renji (possibly both of them) teared up a little when Ichika was born, and/or when they found out about the pregnancy.
Also, not to ruin the vibe, but it seems highly likely that at some point in their acquaintance, probably in their Inuzuri days, Rukia kicked Renji in the nards hard enough to make tears come out of his face.
13. Name something they would never do for the other person.
Like the dealbreaker question, this one is really hard because they are both really intense people who are absolutely ride-or-die for each other (as well as everyone else they know). I am still sticking to my guns that Rukia became a shinigami in the first place for Renji’s sake, and Renji’s entire first character arc involved him binning 40 years of hard work and career ladder climbing to be with her.
That being said, though, they do maintain a fair amount of personal autonomy that I think they would stick to. Renji would never get his brow tatts removed, for example, no matter how much Rukia hates them (or conversely, I think he didn’t tell her before he got them because he knew she’d tell him not to, and he was determined to get them and wouldn’t have listened to her anyway). Likewise, if she asks, he will refrain from wearing a particular pair of extra-terrible sunglasses to a Kuchiki family picnic, but he’s not going to get rid of the sunglasses collection for her. I honestly can’t imagine her seriously asking him to do either of these things-- she’d rather just drag him for them.
I think the part in WDKALY where Rukia decides to keep “Kuchiki” as her professional name was written in a kinda stilted and dumb way, but I do not disagree with it. I am reasonably sure that this was decided at an editorial level, because if they have a Bleach continuation, they would want the character to keep her more familiar name, but then they added the fact that she took his name more generally because people are weird about women who don’t take their husbands name (and then people argue that her keeping her name is “evidence” that she doesn’t love him... so, honestly, there’s no winning either way). Personally, I didn’t like that they waited until they were actually in line at the Soul Society DMV to have this discussion (with Byakuya standing around, no less), but but otherwise, I think it’s a nice compromise, and that Rukia would want to use the names of both the men she considers her family. Renji seemed vaguely disappointed that she wasn’t taking his name entirely, and I can see that, but also, it’s her choice and he doesn’t make a stink about it, which rings true to me.
In all of these examples, the principle is that, all else being equal, each of them will take input from the other, but they would stick to their guns when it comes to decisions about themselves. That doesn’t mean they are going to die on these hills out of sheer stubbornness. I wrote a fanfic once where Byakuya died and Renji married Rukia in order to help her consolidate power in the family, and he took her name and very vehemently made everyone call him by it. 
Also, I am sure there are some household chores that Renji would like done to some particular specifications, and Rukia just will not. Like, she refuses to rinse the dishes before she puts them in the dishwasher and she won’t squeegee the glass after she showers, or whatever the Soul Society equivalents of these things are.
19. If they could each write a single line in their marriage vows, what would they be?
I cannot emphasize enough that Byakuya paid for their entire fancy Kuchiki-ass wedding and even though they are constantly on their best behavior around him, he knows how they are and he would never, ever let them write their own vows.
So, here is a dispatch from some secondary drunken, backyard wedding that they had for close-friends only (Byakuya was also there, but Isshin slipped him a pot brownie and he was feeling very at one with the universe at the time)
Who the heck writes a single line of their wedding vows?? I gave them each a paragraph.
Rukia:
People have been joking a lot, every since we started dating, how lucky you are, but the fact is, I am the lucky one. I’ve been so fortunate, in my life, to have such good friends and family, but I feel luckiest of all to have you-- you’ve always been there to cheer me on, to pick me up, to make me pickles. You’re brave and you’re handsome and you have really, really great hair, and I feel like the luckiest person in Soul Society that I get to marry you. I love you so, so much, you big dummy.
Renji:
I used to think that I would be content if I could just love you from afar. That just being able to see you and hear your voice and know that you were happy was enough for me. But I was wrong, as it turns out, because being able to touch you and kiss you and tell you I love you a hundred times a day has made me happier than I ever thought I could be. I expect that being married to you is going to make me more powerful and obnoxious than anyone here could possibly imagine and I am absolutely not sorry. I love you so, so much, you little dummy.
See, Byakuya, that wasn’t so bad! (maybe it was)
Bonus! In the dead Byakuya fanfic I mentioned above, I had them get married under Gotei authority and I wrote some (partial) shinigami wedding vows that are basically perfect for them and also I was really proud of them:
How will you meet your enemies? As one, we shall meet them, as one, we shall fight.
And how do you swear this? We swear on sword and soul.
Let it be so. With this, you are forged together, a single blade. May your battle be long, and when you fall, may you fall together.
23. Write a ~300 scene between them with no dialogue, only body language.
Wow. Dang. This felt like a personal attack. Anyway, it was really hard, and I did it, but I didn’t like it.
Here’s the scene right where Renji hauls Ichigo off to go fight Ywhach, because I am always thinking about this scene and willing it to make sense (Rukia should have gone with Ichigo, I will die on this hill!!!!), and I think it only works if there’s a bunch of unsaid subtext. It’s depressing, but it’s only 511 words, which is very much like 300 words, almost exactly the same, honestly.
~
The others don’t see it, because they are busy watching Orihime restore Ichigo’s sword, his swords, for maybe the last time, but Rukia does, because she needs an explanation.
Renji’s shoulders slump, his chin tips down, his hands are open at his sides.
He is sorry.
He better be sorry! Rukia clenches her jaw, her eyes burn at him. She is the one who should have yanked Ichigo to his feet, she is the one who should go with him to his death.
Renji’s eyes slide upward and meet hers. His jaw is set.
He is right, and she knows it.
Orihime is hurt. Her lungs are making ominous bubbling noises as Zangetsu pieces itself back together under her care. Rukia is exhausted, but she can manage the kaidou that will save her friend’s life. Renji cannot.
It is more than that, though. Rukia’s bankai is perilous. Ichibei warned her that she should use it sparingly-- that it will take many hours of practice before her body can handle the wrenching temperature shocks. She has used it too many times already in the last 48 hours. She still can’t feel all her fingers and toes since she came back from killing As Nodt. Another go at it so soon may kill her before she even has a chance to be useful. It could kill her and everyone in her blast radius, which might be helpful, but probably...not. Her hand rubs nervously at the hilt of her sword. She tries to flex the dead pinkies, but they deny her.
Renji sees the motion, and he grips Zabimaru confidently. His bankai is new to him, too, but Hihiou Zabimaru was like a weighted practice blade-- So-oh Zabimaru is familiar enough and easy in comparison. Sode no Shirayuki and Zabimaru are both temperamental blades, but Zabimaru has always been at their most dependable when the odds are stacked against them.  
Rukia reaches out and gives Orihime’s hair a gentle pat. She will stay, but she will not like it. 
The side of Renji’s mouth ticks up in a rueful half-smile, and his eyes glitter with the last bit of humor he can muster. She can beat him up all she likes when he gets back.
Rukia flings an arm around Orihime, and stuffs her face into her friend’s shoulder. None of this is fair. 
Renji’s eyes soften briefly, and his eyes are filled with so much love for her. He knows he has the easy job. There aren’t any words to thank her enough for letting him go on a suicide mission with Ichigo while she stays back to give them something worth fighting for.
Then he stiffens, and squares his shoulders once again. He jabs Ichigo impatiently with one foot and screws up his face into the same scowl he always uses to armor his heart. 
It won’t work, Rukia thinks, as Orihime finishes her task and slumps backward. She will keep Renji’s heart here with her, and Orihime will keep Ichigo’s, and no matter what, none of them will die alone.
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saiilorstars · 3 years
Text
Metamorphosis
Ch. 2: The Doctor and the Vortex Butterfly
Current Masterlist // Previous Story //
Fandom: Doctor Who
Pairing: 11th Doctor x Female OC
Taglist: @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel​
[If you would like to be added to this specific OC’s taglist, let me know!]
~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~
Chapter summary: Renata and the Doctor have 20 minutes to save the world with absolutely no equipment. It's a time where they each have to show the world who they are, although Renata is surprised that the world may already know her. In the end, when they're alone, they finally get to speak the words on their mind.
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Twelve years.
Twelve years had passed by for Amelia Pond. The more Renata thought about it, the more terrible she felt. She made a promise to that little girl that it would only take them 5 minutes to come back to her.
"O...kay…" Amelia pushed her orangey hair behind her shoulders. "You don't...you don't have to cry or anything…"
"It's been 12 years," Renata bit her lower lip, her eyes shining with genuine tears. "I have never been that late."
"It's true, she's never been late for anything in her life," the Doctor agreed. Of course Renata would feel a massive amount of guilt for something that was truly an accident. He felt guilty too but he wouldn't beat himself up over it, not when it hadn't been in his control. "And you know what? You hit me with a cricket bat."
Amelia rolled her eyes and continued to walk away. "12 years!"
The Doctor grabbed Renata's hand and followed after Amelia. "A cricket bat!"
Amelia scoffed. He thought that was bad? He only got a blip of the anger she had simmered for 12 years. "12 years and four psychiatrists."
"Four?" Renata gave her a strange look, making Amelia feel somewhat conscious about the reason behind the number.
"...I kept biting them."
"Why?"
"They said you weren't real!"
"And you thought biting them was the appropriate solution!?"
"Hey!" Amelia only stopped to point at Renata, though the abruptness nearly made her poke an eye out. "Twelve years!"
'Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated.'
They had made it to a small park in the town and now the message was blaring at them through an ice cream truck.
"No, no, no, come on…what? We're being staked out by an ice-cream van?" Amelia frowned at the perfectly normal ice cream van she visited all the time. They could not be related to anything alien.
"What's that!?" the Doctor marched over to the van where the vendor was hitting the radio the message was coming out from. "Why are you playing that?"
"It's supposed to be Claire De Lune!"
"Stop hitting it," Renata made a face as she took the radio from him, though not a second later the Doctor had snatched it out of her hands. He missed her brief glare as he listened to the message closer.
'Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated. Repeat, Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated.'
He would then notice the same message broadcasting in a jogger's mp3 player and then from a few cellphones. Little by little, the message had reached everyone via technology.
"Doctor, what's happening?" Amelia saw everyone's confused faces as they tried making sense about why their technology had stopped working. Instead of answering, the Doctor raced towards the nearest house.
"Doctor!" Renata called for him as she followed, though when he leaped over a white fence she refused to do the same. "Honestly — there's a door!"
Amelia zipped by and took Renata by the arm towards the front of the house. When they reached the house, they found the Doctor had already made himself comfortable by surfing through the television channels.
An elderly woman sat on the couch and was watching him go through every channel. "I was just about to phone. It's on every channel." She smiled upon seeing Amelia. "Hello, Amy, dear. Are you a policewoman now?"
Amelia unconsciously tugged on her skirt. "Well, sometimes."
"I thought you were a nurse."
"I can be a nurse."
"Or, actually, a nun."
"People like to kiss nuns? At parties? Why are humans so weird?" Renata crinkled her nose at the last bit. Amelia jabbed her elbow into Renata's side, making it clear that she didn't want to hear anymore of those questions.
"Amy, who are your friends?" the elder woman asked after studying the Doctor and Renata. She was sure she'd never seen them before.
"Who's Amy?" the Doctor looked away from the TV screen to see the elder woman looking at Amelia. "You were Amelia."
"Yeah, and now I'm Amy." Amy Pond was a huge step up from the little girl who'd been picked on nonstop because of who she believed in.
"Amelia Pond—that was a great name," Renata was gazing at Amy sadly, wondering if the name change had also been a result from their tardiness.
Amy brushed them both off with a roll of her eyes. "Bit fairy tale."
The elder woman had slightly pulled the Doctor back to see his face. "I know you, don't I? I've seen you somewhere before."
The Doctor shook his head. "Not me. Brand-new face…" He moved his face just to make a point. "First time on."
"You look like a child, stop that," Renata said, though she was smiling from amusement.
He smirked. "Yeah? Make me."
Renata froze for a mere second before a blush overtook her face. Oh, this him was going to be a huge flirt and far bolder. She didn't know that was possible. How she would get used to it, she had no idea.
"Why is that on the TV too?" Amy unknowingly pulled Renata out of her thoughts. She had moved around the living room to see the television. The same message was broadcasting from there too.
The Doctor left the television and went for a radio on a window table. With the sonic's help, he heard the same message there too but in different languages. "OK, so it's everywhere, in every language. They're broadcasting to the whole world." He put the radio down and opened up the window, sticking his head out to look up at the sky.
"What's up there?" Amy stepped towards him but at the last moment decided against it. What if there was some alien about to shoot them? "What are you looking for?"
The Doctor hadn't heard her questions as he was making his own calculations. Eventually, he shut the window and turned back to the room. "Okay, planet this size, two poles, your basic molten core...they're going to need a 40% fission blast."
A young man with a computer bag around his shoulders walked into the house and was of course confused to find to strangers in his home. The Doctor barely paid him attention but did acknowledge him in a rather odd manner.
"But they'll have to power up first, won't they?" He had walked up to the man who was far taller than him. Despite this, the man only blinked at the Doctor while he rambled on. "So assuming a medium-sized starship, that's 20 minutes. What do you think, 20 minutes?" the Doctor had to stand on his very tippy toes just to see the man eye to eye. "Yeah, 20 minutes. We've got 20 minutes."
"20 minutes to what?" Amy had done her best to follow everything the Doctor had said but she felt like it hadn't even been said in proper English!
Realization struck the young man suddenly. "Are you the Doctor?"
At that question, the elder woman finally got it as well. "Oh, he is, isn't he? He's the Doctor!"
Renata ignored the hullabaloo as she crossed the room to take the Doctor's arm and turn him to her. "We've got 20 minutes and zero contacts right now."
"Well, it's like you said, hasn't ever stopped us before," he smiled at her.
"Yes, but I meant you!" He was the one who always did the big, unexpected things that would solve everything. She was just along for the ride.
"I can't believe it, Amy, you were telling the truth," the elder woman was still laughing away on the couch, much to Amy's embarrassment. "It's the Raggedy Doctor. All those cartoons you did when you were little. The Raggedy Doctor, it's him."
"And that's the Butterfly Mother!" the young man pointed at Renata, now getting Renata's attention. "Never mind the Mother of Dragons - you're the Mother of Butterflies!"
"The what?" Renata unconsciously gripped the Doctor's arm. She flipped her head back to him. "He called me the what?"
"Fitting name," the Doctor said in bemusement. He took a few strands of her dark hair out of her face then bopped her nose. He headed back for the television that now had the same huge eye Amy once saw in her bedroom. "They're not talking about your house, they're talking about the planet. Somewhere up there, there's a spaceship and it's going to incinerate the planet. 20 minutes to the end of the world."
Amy nearly keeled over.
~0~
The Doctor led the way back to the town's park hopes of finding something a bit more useful than a normal house. Renata was right, they had no contacts right now and they didn't have time to waste!
"What is this place? Where are we?" he asked after making it back to the rather boring, quiet park.
"Leadworth," Any said, but she doubted either of them would recognize such a quaint town. She wouldn't blame them.
"Where's the rest of it?"
Yup, there it was. Any rolled her eyes. "This is it!"
"I like it," Renata said but Amy wasn't sure if she was saying it to be nice or if she actually meant it. Renata wasn't lying, though. She looked around the small town with a smile. It seemed so peaceful and it seemed like everyone would know everyone. She could see little shops lining the streets around the park and she had no doubt that most of them were owned by the very residents of the town. "Very homey."
"That's a word for it," Amy let her eyebrows raise upwards. She'd almost forgotten how Renata was, and even then she wasn't that sure because she'd only met Renata for like 2 hours! But at first glance, the Time Lady had seemed like a woman who could fit perfectly with one of those family shows from the olden days. Somebody very proper.
"Is there an airport?" the Doctor asked after making his own conclusions of the town.
"No."
"A nuclear power station?"
"Uh, no."
"Even a little one?"
Amy's expression asked him why they would have something like that in a small town. "No!"
"Nearest city?"
"Gloucester, half an hour by car."
"That's too long even if we called in UNIT," Renata sighed. "20 minutes!"
"Do we have a car?" the Doctor expended his last try, but once again Amy told him no. "Well, that's good! Fantastic, that is. 20 minutes to save the world and I've got a post office. And it's shut! What is that?" He had found a small pond to the left of the park and for some reason stormed towards it.
Amy couldn't understand why that would suddenly be so interesting and after checking for Renata's reaction, Amy concluded she wasn't alone. "It's a duck pond."
The Doctor had leaned very close to the pond that Renata had to grab his arm in case he lost his balance. "Why aren't there any ducks?"
"I don't know. There's never any ducks."
"Then how do you know it's a duck pond?" Renata was the one to ask this time. That bit was curious. Why name something a specific way if it didn't make sense?
Amy didn't see it that way. She folded her arms with exasperation. "It just is. Is it important, the duck pond?"
The Doctor yelped and nearly fell into the pond had Renata been holding onto his arm. She used his grip on his arm to help him sit on the ground. "I'm not ready, I'm not done yet," he groaned and clutched his chest. Like last time, he needed some time to calm his body through the regeneration process, but he was on the clock!
Renata wanted to do something to help him stand but a process like this truly was individual. She could only stand by him. She scooted closer to him, putting her hand over his hand that clutched his chest. "I'm here," she said what she thought would be useless for him but he leaned on her side for comfort. Renata was surprised but she welcomed it fast.
Suddenly, the sky started darkening up and Amy knew that it couldn't be night time already. "What's happening? Why's the sky getting dark?"
Renata and the Doctor looked up at the sky, not even having to shield their eyes from the sky. There was no sun anymore, it was behind a grey shade. It only lasted for a few seconds before the day returned to normal.
"So what's wrong with the sun?" Amy frowned and looked down at the pair on the ground.
"Nothing. You're looking at it through a force-field," the Doctor said. Renata was helping him stand up. "They've sealed off your upper atmosphere, now they're getting ready to boil the planet."
Renata sighed loudly when she noticed all the humans in the park were taking pictures and videos of the sky instead of doing the sensible thing and running home. "Oh, why are humans so…" she was about to finish the sentence with the word 'stupid' but she caught herself in time after glancing at Amy staring at the sky. "They should be home instead of going crazy on their phones."
"This isn't real, is it? This is some kind of big wind-up," Amy decided it was the only option that didn't make her feel scared out of her mind. She wouldn't give the sky another glance.
"Why would we wind you up?" the Doctor gave her a strange, almost offended glance.
"You told me you had a time machine."
"And you believed us."
"Then I grew up."
"Oh, you never want to do that," the Doctor gave a shake of his head and if he was going to add on then Renata didn't allow him. She had covered his mouth and took over in the conversation.
"It's nice to grow up but it doesn't mean you have to stop believing," Renata said. "Plus, I don't lie—" she winced at herself. That wasn't true and she knew it. "Well, I try not to lie anymore."
The Doctor pushed Renata's hand off his mouth. "Wait, hang on!" He abruptly flapped his arms so that he almost smacked Renata's head. She threw him a glare for such a messy movement but he was none the wiser. "I missed it!" He smacked his forehead enough to make Renata wonder if it would leave a mark on his skin. "I saw it and I missed it." And another smack!
Renata seized his hand and forced it to his side. "Stop that! Seriously, cricket bat and two smacks? Should I just help along and hit you too!?"
"I saw something!" he insisted and because he did, Renata grabbed his other hand in case he got the same idea.
"Then just tell us before you put yourself into a coma!"
The Doctor shut his eyes and stayed silent. There was something he knew that he missed and he just needed to think about it again. Humans were everywhere in the park, taking pictures…
There was a woman near the phone box looking up. Parents by the swing-set snapping pictures of the sky. And one nurse who following Amy's steps. His phone was on another person, never the sky.
Renata slowly let go of his hands when she was sure that he wasn't in danger of himself. She checked the clock on a nearby building and saw their time was getting shorter. Uh, Doctor, our 20 minutes?"
"20 minutes, the planet burns," the Doctor opened his eyes and looked at Amy. "Run to your loved ones and say goodbye, or stay and help me."
Amy held his stare with an expression that easily switched from stoic to anger. "No!"
That wasn't the answer that he was expecting. "I'm sorry?"
"No!" Amy grabbed him by the tie, ignoring his and Renata's cries, as she dragged the Doctor to a nearby car.
"Amy, are you out of your mind!?" Renata shouted in vain at the ginger.
Amy had slammed the Doctor's tie into the car door and made sure it stayed locked with the remote.
"Amy, I am going to need my car back," the driver of the car told her rather nervously since she looked angry as hell.
"Yes, in a bit. Now go and have coffee," Amy's response came out sharply but she was always looking at the Doctor.
"Amy, this is ridiculous!" the Doctor yelled at her but she wasn't budging.
"Who are you?" Amy yelled right back at him.
"You know who I am!"
"No, really, who are you?" Amy threw the question out for him and Renata as well.
"Oh for God's sake," Renata shook her head. "Amy, the world's about to end in 20 minutes and there are some people we are especially interested in saving!" She was sure that somewhere her best friend, Martha Jones, was going crazy trying to figure out a way to help UNIT. Captain Jack, if he was back on Earth, would surely be doing the same. And Donna? Renata's heart ached for their lost friend. She must be terrified out of her mind.
"Amy, catch!" the Doctor tossed an apple to Amy. She barely caught it but when she did, she was mighty confused to find the apple in her palm. "I'm the Doctor, that's Renata. We're time travelers. Everything we told you 12 years ago is true. We're real. What's happening in the sky is real, and if you don't let me go now, everything you've ever known is over."
Amy wouldn't look at the apple yet. She leveled the Doctor's gaze. "I don't believe you."
"Amy, please," Renata sighed as she moved beside the woman. "We didn't lie. We got it wrong, yes, but we didn't lie. Check the apple." Amy gazed at the apple briefly then back to Renata. The Time Lady sighed again. "I meant turn it over."
With eyebrows slightly furrowed, Amy brought the apple back to her eyes. She turned it over and found the butterfly carving she first saw on it when she was seven. It was still fresh as the day Renata gave it to her.
"We try to get it right," Renata insisted in a low whisper. "Please?"
Amy's eyes flickered to the Doctor who seemed just as hopeful as Renata that she would believe them. Renata's gaze was more intense than the Doctor's but at the same time, it compelled Amy to feel like everything would be okay. She didn't know why Renata had such a look but it made Amy shift.
"Fine, what do we do?" Amy unlocked the car door and the Doctor quickly scrambled away from it.
"Stop that nurse!" He ran straight towards the nurse in the park. "The sun's going out, and you're photographing a man and a dog. Why?"
The nurse was stunned to have his phone snatched, even more so when he saw Amy behind the strange man and beside a woman he didn't know. "Amy?"
"Hi! Oh, this is Rory, he's a... friend," Amy nervously looked between the aliens and completely missed Rory's indignant huff.
"Boyfriend!"
"Kind of boyfriend!"
"Amy!"
"I'm confused, how do you have a 'kind of' boyfriend?" Renata genuinely wanted to know the answer because up until now she had never heard the term. Amy, however, didn't seem interested in explaining.
The Doctor gave Rory a not-so-gentle shake from the shoulders. "Man and dog, why?"
It was then that Rory realized why Amy was around these strangers. He looked the Doctor over, especially the ruggedness of his clothes. "Oh, my God, it's him! The doctor. The Raggedy Doctor!" His eyes flickered to Renata and the flower dress on her. "You're the Mother of Butterflies!"
"Yeah, they came back," Amy sighed, trying her best not to look so embarrassed.
"But they were a story. It was a game!"
The Doctor grabbed Rory by the shirt, pulling him face to face. "Man and dog—why? Tell me now!"
Rory blinked with the harsh pull but he answered nonetheless. "Sorry. Because he can't be there. Because he's…"
"...in a hospital, in a coma," they ended up speaking in unison.
Rory wasn't sure if he should be relieved that somebody finally believed him on the matter, or if he should be afraid.
"Knew it. Multi-form, you see?" the Doctor let go of Rory and turned to the women. "Disguise itself as anything, but it needs a live feed, a psychic link with a living but dormant mind."
And at that moment, the creature - the man and dog - snarled at them.
"Prisoner Zero," Renata sucked in a breath.
Rory's eyes might as well have been dinner plates. He kept changing gazes between the man and dog then to Renata and Amy and finally to the Doctor. "What, there's a Prisoner Zero too?"
"Yes," Amy answered just before they heard an electrical buzzing in the sky.
Everyone looked up as a huge spaceship flew across the sky. It stopped right above the park and showcased its famous one eye that would swivel back and forth.
"What's it doing?" Rory asked, terrified.
The Doctor whipped out his sonic to point at the sky. "See, that ship up there is scanning this area for non-terrestrial technology. And nothing says non-terrestrial like a sonic screwdriver." He made a show of activating the sonic at the right moment and scared everyone even more when the street lights shattered, car alarms blared and sirens wailed.
Renata closed her eyes with a small sigh. That was one way to get everyone's attention. She did open her eyes when she heard a fire truck and the angry yells from firemen. They were chasing the truck that was running on its own.
"Oh, that was just going too far!" Renata turned to the Doctor, madly gesturing at the fire truck running down the street.
"I didn't mean to do that," the Doctor made a face and winced - as did everyone else - when they heard the truck crash.
Prisoner Zero barked at them but before it could move a step towards them, the Doctor redirected the sonic at a phone box nearby and made it explode. A few seconds later, the sonic itself sparked and fizzled between his fingers. The Doctor yelped and threw the sonic to the ground.
"No, no, no, don't do that!"
"Oh no," Renata watched the ship take leave without even eyeing Prisoner Zero.
"No, come back, he's here! Come back!" the Doctor called after the ship in vain. "He's here, Prisoner Zero is here. Come back, he's here! Prisoner Zero is…"
"Not so much anymore," Renata lowered his flapping arms and pointed at Prisoner Zero who was turning into pure mist.
"It just went down the drain…" Amy made a face as they all watched the remnants of the creature disappear through the ground.
"Well, of course it did," the Doctor groaned. They'd been so close and like always...so far.
"Well, what do we do now?"
"It's hiding in human form. We need to drive it into the open. No TARDIS, no screwdriver, 17 minutes! Come on, think. Think!"
"Stop!" Renata grabbed his hand just inches from his forehead. "Seriously," she lowered it between them. "Please don't hit yourself." They needed his mind completely unharmed for what was to come.
"So that thing, that hid in my house for 12 years?" Amy finally tore her gaze from the drain.
"Multi-forms can live for millennia. 12 years is a pit-stop," the Doctor explained as he took his hand back from Renata, though he had to tug twice for her to let him go.
"So how come you two show up again on the same day that lot does? The same minute?"
"Well, it's not our fault," Renata argued weakly as she brought her arms over her chest. "Yes, they followed us to get to him but...I mean...one of these days they were bound to come anyways."
"What?" Rory blinked at her.
"Now, sport, give me your phone," the Doctor held his hand out for Rory's cellphone, but Rory was too out of it to notice on the first try.
"How can they be real?" Rory was looking specifically at Amy, wondering how the hell she was so calm with everything that was going on. "They were never real."
The Doctor grew impatient and waved his hand in front of Rory's face. "Phone, now, give me!"
Rory had no idea what he wanted from it but he handed his phone over and continued going off. "They were just a game. We were kids. You made me dress up as him!"
Renata looked between the two humans with bemusement. "Really?"
Amy felt her face reddened and before Rory could say what she dressed up as, she asked the Doctor what he was looking for.
"These aren't coma patients; they're all the multi-form. Eight comas, eight disguises for Prisoner Zero!"
"But he had a dog, though. There's a dog in a coma?"
"The coma patient dreams he's walking a dog, Prisoner Zero gets a dog. Laptop! Your friend, what was his name? Not him—" the Doctor jerked a thumb at Rory, missing Rory's indignant huff, "—the good-looking one!"
"He doesn't mean that," Renata tried stepping in but Amy made it worse.
"Jeff?" she asked right on the spot.
"Oh, thanks!" Rory exclaimed.
"Doesn't mean it," Renata tried again with a nervous smile.
"He had a laptop in his bag, a laptop. Big bag, big laptop, I need Jeff's laptop!" the Doctor went on without ever noticing his rudeness. "You two—" he said for Amy and Rory, "—get to the hospital, get everyone out, clear the whole floor. Phone me when you're done." He promptly reached over for Renata's hand and yanked her away.
They returned to Jeff's home, barging inside without so much of a knock. Renata couldn't stand for that, no matter how much she tried. She skidded to a stop in the living room where Jeff's grandmother sat. "Really sorry about that."
"Hey!" Jeff cried from his room.
Renata jumped and nervously smiled at the grandmother again. "Sorry!" She ran into the room and saw the Doctor basically fighting Jeff for the laptop. "Oh Doctor, this is too much even for you!"
The Doctor won the fight and took a seat at the edge of the bed, patting the empty spot beside him. "C'mon—blimey!" He motioned Renata to stay right where she was. "Get a girlfriend, Jeff."
The door behind Renata opened up to let the grandmother in. "What are you doing?" she curiously asked the trio.
"The sun's gone wibbly, so right now, somewhere out there, there's going to be a big video conference call!" the Doctor explained in a rush while he madly typed on the laptop. "All the experts in the world panicking at once, and do you know what they need? Me."
"Being so modest, aren't we?" Renata smiled and got a smirk in return. She walked over to the bed and sat next to him just as his callers answered.
"Ah, and here they all are. All the big boys. NASA, Jodrell Bank, Tokyo Space Centre, Patrick Moore!"
"Ooh, I like Patrick Moore," Jeff's grandmother might have inched a few steps towards them.
Renata chuckled while the Doctor promised to get her his number.
"You can't just hack in on a call like that!" Jeff exclaimed as he got off his bed.
"Oh trust me, this isn't even a quarter of what he can do," Renata shook her head. She had stories beyond his dreams about the things the Doctor could do.
The Doctor was more than ready with his psychic paper to answer the initial questions of who he was and what he wanted. He had about fifteen minutes left!
"Hello. I know, you should switch me off. But before you do, watch this!" he dropped his psychic paper on Renata's lap then started to type again. "Fermat's Theorem, the proof, and I mean the real one, never seen before. Poor old Fermat, got killed in a duel before he could write it down. My fault, I slept in. Oh, and here's an oldie but a goodie - why electrons have mass. And a personal favorite of mine, faster-than-light travel with two diagrams and a joke. Look at your screens. Whoever I am, I'm a genius. Look at the sun. You need all the help you can get. Fellas, pay attention!" The Doctor knew he had them on his hook. He glanced at Renata just to make sure they were on the same page and found her staring at him instead. Initially, he was confused why she was smiling like...that. It was familiar but it took him a few seconds to remember when she smiled like that. In his defense, the last time she had a smile like that was in her first incarnation and she had a face that went red incredibly easily, even easier than this current one.
She was enthralled with him. She leaned close to him, widening her smile. She'd forgotten what it felt like to be so close to him while he did that. Whenever the Doctor got into his 'I'm a genius' mode, Renata was unashamedly attracted to him. He was just so incredibly intelligent. Renata honestly thought he was the smartest man alive. It wasn't news for her, not since the first time she saw it back on Gallifrey, but it was one thing knowing it and seeing it. She loved seeing it.
There was a tingle that started down her spine that was soon followed by the dozens of butterflies in her stomach (ironically). It made her puddy in his arms. Her last incarnation had been too worried about the Doctor finding out who she was that she barely had moments to really let herself feel things for him again. The little she allowed was always pushed away to the deepest end of her mind and hearts. And when the Doctor had found out who she was, she'd fallen ill. She was dying and she couldn't think about anything else other than saying goodbye. She didn't exactly know what they were right now, but she wouldn't fight it this time. There was a warmth in her body that brought her closer to the Doctor and she would finally let it be.
"I forgot you could do that," she said breathlessly, saving something else she wanted to do for later.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her but she didn't say anymore. His gaze lowered to her lips since she was biting her lower lip pretty hard. "Interesting…" He took notes for later when they weren't in the middle of saving the world. From now on, he would be using anything at his advantage.
~ 0 ~
Within five minutes, the Doctor had concocted a whole plan for the humans to follow. He'd gone back and forth between the laptop and Rory's cellphone whilst talking at light-speed to the humans on video call.
"Sir, what are you doing?" one of the men from the computer screen asked after the Doctor spent a significant amount of time on the cellphone.
"I'm writing a computer virus. Very clever, super-fast, and a tiny bit alive, but don't let on. Why am I writing it on a phone?" the Doctor raised a finger for a few seconds. "Never mind, you'll find out. OK, I'm sending this to all your computers. Get everyone who works for you sending this everywhere. Email, text, Facebook, Bebo, Twitter, radar dish - whatever you've got. Any questions?"
"Who was your lady friend?"
The Doctor deadpanned the man on the screen. "Patrick, behave!"
Renata laughed softly beside him while Jeff's grandmother beamed.
"What does this virus do?" another man inquired.
"It's a reset command, that's all. It resets counters, it gets in the wifi and resets every counter it can find. Clocks, calendars, anything with a chip will default at zero at exactly the same time. But, yeah, I could be lying, why should you trust me? I'll let my best man explain." The Doctor waited for Jeff to cut in but for some reason the human stayed silent and away from them.
Renata raised an eyebrow at Jeff. "Uh, Jeff, that would be you."
Jeff genuinely looked confused to learn that. "What?"
The Doctor had closed the laptop but Renata made a motion for him to stay put. She got up from the bed and moved over to Jeff. "Listen I know you're scared and I honestly would be a little concerned if you weren't but this is your your moment. It's sort of like, uh, this is a moment where you're trying to get investors. Right?"
"Uh...not...sure if that's the way I'd put it," Jeff said slowly, glancing at the Doctor and his grandmother for some clarification.
The Doctor seemed to be smiling but not at him. He was nodding at Renata, encouraging her to keep going. It was a sight watching her try to relate to humans. At least now she was trying. Her last incarnation, while helpful, didn't seem very interested in that. She'd wanted to fix the problem and then move on without making much of an attempt to get to know humans. The only time she expressed interest was the day she met Gabby. Though she was a bit rocky...she'd get it with time.
Renata was aware that her comparison didn't entirely fit with the current situation so she tried re-wording it. "I used to be somebody who would have to persuade people to invest in my foundation, so I'd have to put myself out there and give one hell of a show. That's what you need to do right now and afterwards those guys—" she made a nod at the laptop, "—will be offering you any job you want."
"How do I get them to do that?" Jeff turned another glance on the laptop, now more interested in the idea.
Renata put her hands on his shoulders and fixated a smile on the man. "You have to be magnificent. You have to make them trust you and get them working. Old news to me."
"But I've never done that…"
"Put yourself out there!" she exclaimed and turned him for the Doctor and the laptop. "This is when you fly. Today's the day you save the world."
"But why me?" Jeff asked as the Doctor sat him down on the bed and handed him his laptop.
"It's your bedroom!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Now go, go, go!" He grabbed Renata's arm and headed out the room, though stopped abruptly and turned back. "Oh, and delete your internet history!"
Renata raised an eyebrow at him when he came out of the room again. "What?"
"Nothing. Oh, and great job back there!" he pulled down the living room and out the door.
"For what? All I did was just talk!" Renata laughed out of confusion.
"Words mean everything!" the Doctor turned abruptly once they were out on the street again, making Renata bump into him.
"You certainly did that as well back there," Renata said and suddenly found her lower lip was a chewing gum. "I just...helped a bit in the end."
"You were amazing," the Doctor stepped closer to her. He couldn't help but let his gaze linger on her lips.
"Uuh...Amelia - I mean Amy, she-she's probably waiting…" Renata nervously moved around him and studied the street for any way to get around. Alright, maybe her body needed a bit more time to adjust her...feelings. She couldn't possibly revert back to her school-girl ways from her first incarnation. "We need to find a way to get to the hospital."
The Doctor rejoined her and studied the nearly empty sidewalk. "I...may have an idea…"
Renata turned her head at him to see the wide smirk on his face. "Ah, so that'll be your mischievous face. Duly noted."
The Doctor once again yanked her down the street.
~ 0 ~
When Amy called them, they were nearly to the hospital. Renata refused to accept that stealing the fire truck had been a good idea.
"It was irresponsible!"
The Doctor didn't seem to agree as he happily drove down the road. "Oh, c'mon, Gabby would have loved this!"
"Oh sure, teach her to steal why don't you!?"
"I'm not stealing, I'm borrowing! Plus, look!" he reached for a specific button beside the wheel and turned on the fire engine. "Yeah!"
Renata rolled her eyes and looked out the window, but she found it was hard not to crack a smile. She knew he was right: Gabby would love this bit.
A short moment later, Amy called them again only this time she was more distressed. Prisoner Zero had found them in the building and had chased her and Rory into a coma ward.
"Listen, which window are you?" the Doctor asked but because of the fire engine, Amy hadn't heard.
"Oh for God's sake!" Renata reached over to turn them off. "Amy, which window are you!?"
"First floor on the left, fourth from the end!" Amy managed to answer before screaming.
"Amy!?" the two aliens simultaneously called but they only heard warbled voices, one belonging to neither her nor Rory.
"It must be Prisoner Zero," Renata ended the call. "Now what?"
"We do what every human does: we text!"
"Text?" Renata crinkled her nose. "A Time Lady does not...text."
The Doctor laughed. "Just tell her to duck!"
Renata wasn't even sure how to do such a thing. She never actually paid attention to Gabby when she tried giving her lessons back on Zhe's gallery. It'd been one of the many things Gabby would try to distract her with while she battled her illness. Since Martha liked to call every now and then, Gabby thought it was a good idea to learn to text. Plus, she thought it was fairly ridiculous that such an intelligent Time Lady didn't know how to do such a basic task.
The Doctor had successfully crashed the right hospital window so that its ladder shattered the glass of it. "Out! Out! Go!" he tried ushering Renata to the ladder first but she wasn't having it.
"I'm wearing a dress!" she argued, motioning him to take the lead.
"Oi! I'm not like that!"
"Just go!"
The Doctor groaned but went ahead first. He wouldn't ever be like that but she was overly shy anyways. Why argue over something so petty? When the two climbed into the coma ward, they found Amy and Rory standing in the middle of the room while a woman with two little girls stood at the entrance.
"Right! Hello! Are we late?" the Doctor didn't exactly wait for the answer as he went on. "No, three minutes to go. So still time!"
"Time for what, Time Lord?" the woman titled her head.
"Oh, so you know things," Renata snapped. "Doesn't mean it'll get you out of this. Take your disguise off and save these humans from further despair."
"Not happening," Prisoner Zero smiled sarcastically. "The Atraxi will kill me this time. If I am to die, let there be fire."
"OK. You came to this world by opening a crack in space and time. Do it again - just leave!" the Doctor exclaimed. At this point, he would take anything because time was now running on 2 minutes.
"I did not open the crack."
"Well somebody did and I'm willing to bet we know who it was," Renata mumbled so that only the Doctor could hear. "The Master and Rassilon."
Fair guess, the Doctor thought.
But Prisoner Zero seemed to know more than what they thought. "The cracks in the skin of the universe - don't you know where they came from?" A great big smirk spread across the woman's face, teasing the pair for their lack of knowledge. "You don't, do you?"
The little girls started laughing as they chanted, "The Doctor in the TARDIS doesn't know. The Vortex Butterfly doesn't even know!"
Renata's eyebrows furrowed together at the name once used at her 'rebirth' on the Crucible. She thought after the Daleks and the Reality Bomb, she'd never hear that name again. "Hold on—"
"Doesn't know, doesn't know!" the girls laughed for another minute before the woman spoke again, much more serious.
"The universe is cracked. The Pandorica will open. Silence will fall."
The Doctor lost interest when they heard a clicking noise. His eyes flickered to the clock on the wall flashing '0:00' at them. "And we're off! Look at that. Look at that! Yeah, I know, just a clock, whatever. But do you know what's happening right now? In one little bedroom, my team is working. Jeff and the world. And do you know what they're doing? They're spreading the word all over the world, quantum fast. The word is out. And do you know what the word is? The word is zero. Now, me, if I was up in the sky in a battleship, monitoring all Earth communications, I'd take that as a hint. And if I had a whole battle fleet surrounding the planet, I'd be able track a simple old computer virus to its source in, what, under a minute?" the Doctor pulled out Rory's cell phone from his pocket, giving it a triumphant wave in the air. "The source, by the way, is right here. Oh! And I think they just found us!"
"The Atraxi are limited," Prisoner Zero said, remaining totally calm. "While I'm in this form, they'll still be unable to detect me. They've tracked a phone, not me."
"Sorry, do you think we're stupid?" Renata made a face, almost offended. "Of course we planned for that - rather Rory planned for that." She glanced back at the man in question who even pointing at himself to confirm she meant him. Renata chuckled. "Well done Rory."
The Doctor once again waved the phone in the air. "Do you know what this phone is full of? Pictures of you. Every form you've learned to take, right here. Oh, and being uploaded about now. And the final score is - no TARDIS, no screwdriver - two minutes to spare!" He cheered with his arms out, spinning around. "Who da man?"
Renata made a face at him, not even needing to say it for him to know she begged him never to do that again. She reached over to lower his arms to his sides. "Gabriella would've laughed at you."
"Yeah, she would've," he mumbled and thanked the Gods that Gabby wasn't around right now.
"Then I shall take a new form," Prisoner Zero said smugly.
"Please," Renata scoffed. "It takes months to form that kind of psychic link."
"And I've had years."
A bright light took over the woman's body at the same time Amy collapsed to the floor.
"Amy?" the Doctor called as he and Renata rushed to the woman. "You've got to hold on. Amy! Don't sleep! You've got to stay awake, please!"
"You need to let her go!" Renata glanced back at Prisoner Zero only to see a much more different disguise. "Oh dear."
"Doctor?" Rory blinked fast once he saw the new disguise.
The Doctor followed their gaze to see Prisoner Zero had turned into a young man. "Well, that's rubbish. Who's that supposed to be?"
Rory threw him an incredulous look."It's you!"
"Me?" the Doctor made a face and quickly glanced at Renata."Is that what I look like?" She gave him the confirming nod.
"You mean you don't know!?" Rory almost shouted with exasperation. How could he not know what he looked like!? What kind of crazy was that!?
"It's been a busy day," Renata supplied with the briefest explanation.
"Why me, though?" the Doctor asked with genuine confusion. "You're linked with her. Why are you copying me?"
"I'm not," Prisoner Zero answered but it hadn't been through the Doctor's mouth. Amy's seven year old self moved from behind him. "Poor Amy Pond. Still such a child inside. Dreaming of the magic Doctor she knows will return to save her. What a disappointment you've been."
"Oh hey that's not fair!: Renata scowled. "And you're one to talk considering you're a convict!"
"No, no," the Doctor gazed down at Amy. There was something else he was missing again. She could have dreamed of anything right now, probably something happier than what the situation was, but she chose him. "Oh! She's dreaming about me cos she can hear me!" he carefully cupped her face and called to her. "Amy, don't just hear me, listen. Remember the room, the room in your house you couldn't see? Remember you went inside. We tried to stop, but you did. You went in the room. You went inside. Amy…dream about what you saw."
"No! No!" Prisoner Zero started to cry out as the shifting began once again. "No!"
"Well done Amy," Renata smiled proudly of the unconscious girl. "Bet you didn't see that coming, huh?"
Prisoner Zero was immediately captured with the shining light from the window.
'Prisoner Zero is located. Prisoner Zero is restrained.'
"Silence, Doctor. Silence will fall," Prisoner Zero said his last words before disappearing.
"Oh no," Renata gritted her teeth with anger. "They are not going to pull that on us! I don't think so!" She swiped the cellphone from the Doctor's hand - he'd been about to use it again - and put her fingers to work. "You and Gabriella might just be proud of me right now!" She flashed the Doctor a quick little smile before returning her focus on the phone.
"The sun - it's back to normal, right?" Rory was relieved to the sky returning to normal through the window. And even better that Amy was waking up. "Amy? Are you OK? Are you with us?"
"What happened?" Amy asked slowly, still a bit hazed.
"They did it," Rory nodded to the pair who were suddenly very close to each other. Renata was still working the phone. "The Doctor and Renata did it!"
"Not quite yet," Renata called before asking the Doctor something in a hushed manner.
Amy and Rory both heard a 'Write in...make sure those numbers…'
"What are you doing?" Amy raised an eyebrow at them once she sat up.
"Tracking the signal back! And the Doctor's sort of filling in the gaps for me," Renata sent another quick smile at the Doctor. She knew her way around things as well but there was always a little something she hadn't come across yet. "And sorry in advance, Rory."
"For what?"
"The phone bill! Promise UNIT will reimburse you for that!" Renata winked at him before putting the phone against her ear. She cleared her throat and the next time she spoke her voice was no longer sweet and kind. It was hard and sharp. "This is Renata and you may not know me but that's okay because I know the Shadow Proclamation pretty well. Article 57, ring a bell?" She paused but of course there would be no response. "This is a fully established, level 5 planet, and you were going to burn it? The idea that you could get away with it is laughable! Get your sorry behinds back here now or so help me…" There was another pause she took, a brief one as she considered if she really wanted to say her next words. And she decided: Why the hell not? It didn't mean anything wrong because she wasn't bad. She wouldn't hurt people like other versions of her in parallel universes had. "You lot, back here now or you'll have the Vortex Butterfly on you. See you in 30 seconds and not a second more!" She promptly ended the call and tossed the phone to Rory. "Seriously, though, UNIT will reimburse you for that." She then faced the Doctor who was looking more or less fascinated with her.
He had never been more attracted to her than right now. She had just ordered an entire prison ward to come back - under a specific deadline - and she had a new authoritative voice that made him shudder. If things weren't such a crunch time, he might have kissed her there and then.
"You going to stand there or come help me put these people back in their spots?" Renata smirked. She wanted to believe she had made him feel exactly the way he had done to her earlier. "We gotta get to the roof!" She laughed and dragged him out of the room with her, leaving a mighty confused Rory and Amy behind.
"No, no, wait! We can't!" the Doctor stopped them down the hallway. Amy had scurried after them, leading Rory to do the same.
"Where are you going?" she asked the pair.
"To change!" the Doctor made a quick turn into a different hallway.
"What? Doctor!" Renata went after him with a groan. "I said 30 seconds! That went for all of you!"
"I'm quick, don't worry," he had found a changing room and was already searching through one rack. "If we're saving the world I'm going to need a decent shirt! Not fair you got your quick change!"
Renata looked down at her flower dress that, truthfully, could use a good wash now. It still smelled like chlorine water from the swimming pool mishap. Still, it would do just fine until she could get into the TARDIS. "Well, fine! Just hurry!"
"To hell with the raggedy. Time to put on a show!" he spun around trying to find something else in another rack.
"Sorry, I am so confused here," Rory rushed into the room with Amy. "You just summoned aliens back to Earth!"
"Yeah, never really done that before - quite a rush really!" Renata's face definitely said so. She giggled even, making the Doctor pause for a moment just as he was about to change shirts.
Rory didn't seem that happy about it. "But they're actual aliens! Deadly aliens, aliens of death and - now he's taking his clothes off!"
"Turn your back if it embarrasses you!"
"A door, Doctor! Seriously! Nothing bad happens if you use a door!"" Renata groaned as she turned away from him, ignoring the warmth in her face. She might have seen a bit of his back and that was enough to make her wonder what it might be like to press her hands against his skin.
"Amy, you're not going to turn around!?" Rory's incredulous question brought Renata out of her thoughts.
She blushed even more for realizing what she'd been thinking about and decided to put her attention on Amy. "Yeah, you are!" She turned the young woman around, shooting her a little look for trying that. What was Amy thinking!?
The group arrived on the rooftop in 27 seconds, but it was only because Renata forced the Doctor out before he could finalize his outfit. She compromised by letting him bring along a mess of ties around his neck. He'd choose on the way.
"On time, perfect," Renata spat at the waiting Atraxi ship at the end of the rooftop. Soon as she and the Doctor were in its vicinity, it scanned them.
"You are not of this world."
"What was your first clue?" Renata cocked her head to the side. "And the fact that we're not from Earth shouldn't be the reason you came back. You should come back because you did something wrong. You broke the law. Count your lucky stars I haven't phoned the Shadow Proclamation to shut you down."
"We took necessary measures," the Atraxi argued but only angered Renata more.
"No, you really didn't!"
"Why don't we think about it in this way?" the Doctor tossed a few ties over his shoulders, letting them hit Amy and Rory behind. "Is this world a threat to the Atraxi?" The Atraxi delayed the answer. "Well, come on. You're monitoring the whole planet. IS this world a threat?"
After projecting a series of holograms showing the Earth's history, the Atraxi finally answered. "No."
"Second question, are the peoples of this world guilty of any crime by the laws of the Atraxi?" Renata decided to add since she knew the answer would further prove their point.
"No."
"One more. Just one. Is this world protected? Because you're not the first lot to come here." The Doctor once more threw a few more ties behind him. He found one color that suited his fancy, all in the meanwhile the Atraxi went through the course of his enemies landing on Earth. "Oh, there have been so many! And what you've got to ask is...what happened to them?"
The Atraxi went through every incarnation of the Doctor as it found that he was responsible for ending every single battle.
Just as the Doctor finished putting on his new tie - a bow tie! - he noticed that at the end of the hologram, it showed Renata's previous incarnation but it had been no ordinary moment in her life. Her spectacle as the Vortex Butterfly on the Crucible had certainly gotten around because that's the moment the Atraxi chose to show.
Renata was astonished that they would include her. She'd only meant to call them back and scold them. It was what she did best. She suddenly felt the Doctor's hand slip into hers. He gave her an encouraging nod to speak out, say what she wanted to finally end all this.
Renata took in a breath as she looked at the Atraxi again. "You've seen what we can do and don't think that I would hesitate to bring the wings out if you ever try to do something like this to Earth again. I suggest run. You wouldn't want the Doctor and the Vortex Butterfly after you."
There was no need to go on, for the Atraxi ship had taken off in a second. Amy and Rory broke into laughter to see their world completely safe again!
Renata ended up laughing as well after it truly donned on her what she'd done. She turned to the Doctor, pointed at herself. "Did I just—"
"Yes, you did, and you were amazing!" the Doctor leaned closer to her but suddenly felt something burning in his pocket. He hissed and pulled away from Renata. He dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out the TARDIS key that was glowing.
"Oh, she's done," Renata gasped. She gave the Doctor a nod and the two were off on a chase for the TARDIS. Renata laughed as they hurried down the street and even across several lawns. She would never do that but she was too gleeful to stop.
They returned to Amy's backyard where the TARDIS stood. Straightaway, they could see the box had even given herself a new shade of dark blue.
"OK! What have you got for us this time?" the Doctor stopped in front of the doors, exchanging curious eyes with Renata. She was anxious to see what the TARDIS would look like now. "Ready?" he asked her.
"Mhm!"
He opened the doors for them and walked in at the same time. They were immediately blinded by the bright orange and gold exterior. It seemed more spacious than the last one since now they could see the bright staircase leading up to the second floor. The console was on a raised dais with a glass floor that allowed them to look below to the wires.
"Oh, you sexy thing! Look at you!" the Doctor laughed and wondered what Renata thought about it.
Her dark eyes were still widened but there was a grin marking her face. "I've never seen such a more...elegant console room!" The TARDIS hummed as if she was thanking Renata for the compliment. Renata laughed and made her way up to the console, because now there were even small glass steps leading up to it. "Seriously, well done!"
"Trip to the moon to stabilize her!" the Doctor reminded her as he started moving around the console, pressing the new buttons.
"And I don't see a mallet anywhere nearby," Renata genuinely went around the console searching its lower drawers for any mallet. "Guess she finally got rid of that!"
The Doctor rolled his eyes and stopped by the new lever. "So funny. Would you like to hang on?"
"I wouldn't have to if you drove correctly. You can't drive a TARDIS nor a fire truck, what am I going to do with you?"
"I can think of a few ideas," he flashed a smirk then pulled the lever.
The TARDIS rumbled as it took off.
"We should go get Gabriella," Renata said as soon as the TARDIS went still. "I think it's about time she came back permanently in the TARDIS...if that's okay with you, of course. Your TARDIS and all."
"Renée, it's ours," the Doctor said. "I've said this countless times before but I suppose we weren't really in sync in our last bodies."
Renata thought that was an understatement. "It's not like we made it easy on each other, especially me. I'm sorry."
"Stop," he said suddenly, startling her with the quickness he had said it too. "No more apologizing. You've done that over and over, as have I. I forgive you. I really do. I forgive you for keeping your identity a secret. And most importantly, that night on Gallifrey? The night that's been a nightmare for us...I understand why you said no to me."
Renata's arms couldn't seem to find the right way to move as he went on with their past mistakes. "If I could go back to that night where you asked me to run away with you...I would have."
There was a certainty that the Doctor heard and it made his hearts swell. She hadn't been sure about that in her last body. He asked her to run away with him on the eve of his wedding to another woman and when she said no, it shattered him. Even when he learned that she said no because of her blackmailing sister...it still broke him. It was single-handedly the most painful moment of his lives. Now to hear her say that she would choose him over everyone...that brought a closure that he didn't know he needed.
"You...are you sure?" He moved around the console until he stood in front of her. "I get that I asked too much of you. You had to leave your family...your foundation...your people…"
"You were my everything back then. I-I should have trusted that you could take care of yourself, that my sister couldn't actually hurt you. And I should have been braver. But you...you have never stopped being the love of my life. I am 758 years old and in all that time I never really learned to love anyone else like I loved you. And it's not like I didn't try. Elek was sweet and I did love him but our marriage never gave me the same rush I had when I was with you."
"That's exactly how I felt," the Doctor told her with a small smile. "It's funny how that works. Centuries can pass but the feelings are still there, raw as if it was still the first day I realized I loved you."
Renata matched his smile with her own. She looked down out of shyness and embarrassment. "So...so what happens now?"
"Well...I think...if you'd like...we're both at a place where we can start again?" the Doctor was thinking about it himself. There were no more lies, no more anger, no more illnesses and no more need of saving the world. Everything was good and calm. It was exactly what his last incarnation told her on the day that he had to leave her with Zhe. He wanted to be with her but at that time he was still too angry with her for lying to him. There were too many things between them that needed to be solved. But that was in the past. He didn't hold onto that anger now; all he wanted was her.
Renata raised her head at him, revealing a nervous tint in her eyes. "You think we can do that? It's been so much time, so many things happening. Do you think we could work this time?" It seemed so surreal to even think about them actually working after centuries of their first attempt.
"I will definitely put my best efforts," he chuckled, though that wouldn't distract her from his own nervousness.
"It's just...I don't really know how to do that anymore," she admitted. "I never thought that I would make it here. I didn't think I would regenerate. Plus, I thought that I wanted to die. I guess I'm just trying to say that I'm sort of rusty at this 'being in a relationship thing'."
"Darling, so am I."
Renata's scoff was hard enough to make the Doctor wince. "Please! You've snogged more people than I can count! And that was just in your last body!"
"Oi! It's not like I planned it!"
"No but you certainly didn't seem to mind!"
"Well none of that matters because the only one I want to kiss from here on out is you."
Renata blinked at him and smiled pretty fast. There was that warmth in her face again. "Really?"
"Yes. I've been wanting to kiss you all day today, especially when you made that call to the Atraxi. Talk about sexy!"
Renata's eyes widened all over again. "Doctor!" She playfully hit him on the chest while he laughed. He could see her reddened face which made it all the more funny.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her steady in front of him. "So what do you say? Shall we try again?"
Renata met his gaze slowly. The redness in her face had died down and all that was left now was a softened expression. After centuries of lies and denial, she was really getting a second chance with him? He must be mad if he truly wanted to her of all people, but then again she was just as mad for wanting him. They were polar opposites from the start! She was seen as a law abiding Time Lady and he had no idea what a law was. On the other hand, he loved travelling and he practically knew everything about the galaxies and she was still learning. Plus, he always had a way of doing things that she just didn't agree with. But that also drove her madly in love with him.
It was the same for the Doctor. He saw her as the pinnacle of what a Time Lady should be, everyone who knew her on Gallifrey thought the same. She was always elegant and graceful and so proper. She was always kind to whoever she met; she literally could not be rude to anyone. How could he not fall in love with her? Yes sometimes her law abiding trait irritated him and sometimes they did bicker over their different views on the rules, but he couldn't think of another person he'd want to bicker with. She was it for him.
"I would like to start over," Renata whispered. "I would definitely like to try again."
A huge grin took over the Doctor's face. "Run away with me?"
Renata laughed. The same question that once began their centuries-long torture was now the start of what could be their genuine happiness together. "Anywhere you want," she leaned on him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. That was the answer they should have had centuries ago. They should have been free. Better late than never.
"Our first stop is to Gabby but...there's one thing I'd like to do first," the Doctor lowered his head so that they were mere inches from each other's faces.
Renata had half an idea of what he was going to say but she was too enthralled with their closeness. I actually get to have this now, she made the realization seconds later. "What?"
"I said I've been wanting to kiss you all day today and now we're alone...in a TARDIS where interruptions are not possible…"
"Mm, that's not quite true. We have been interrupted before even when we were inside—"
The Doctor playfully rolled his eyes at her and went ahead to kiss her. She could possibly ramble on for hours about everything that could go wrong, or everything that had gone wrong before.
Renata now welcomed being cut off. She would much rather kiss him too. She'd been wanting to do that all day just like him. She brought her hands to his arms, gripping them while he pressed his hands against her back. It was like an endless loop, whenever he pressed against her back, she would grip his arms. It was impossible to be any closer but they continued to search for ways.
Renata pulled away for a moment - it really would be just for a moment because she was not done - and looked the Doctor over. She hadn't really looked at him with everything that happened.
His style had drastically changed. Suits were abandoned for something a bit more classic, at least in her opinion. She could appreciate the dark brown tweed jacket - though she knew for a fact Gabby would have a few comments about that - but she would have some questions on the bow tie.
"What is it?" the Doctor asked her after a while of watching her study him.
She raised her gaze off his clothes and met his new green eyes. "I like this you."
The Doctor laughed. "Well, that's good to know. I like you too, darling."
Renata smiled along with him. She slid her arms up and around his neck. "Did we have a midlife crisis?" She referred to the fact that now both of them wore far younger faces than their last bodies. "I've never had one before."
"I think we just wanted to start fresh," the Doctor's answer was a viable one. She would take it. "Do you want to go pick up Gabby now?"
Renata titled her head and hummed. "Yes…" the Doctor made a move towards the console but she tightened her grip around him. "But after we do more of…" She brushed her lips over his, giving him a tantalizing smile.
The Doctor's eyes widened. "Oh...right, right...I'd like that. I'd definitely like—"
Renata pressed her lips against his. She wouldn't let him get away so quick, not after all that they dealt with. Look at me being so bold, she commended herself.
The Doctor's hands once against found her back and pressed against it. The fabric of her dress was far too thin as he first noticed when they climbed out of the TARDIS in Amy's backyard. Now he had the full proof and he loved it. Eventually, one of his hands traveled up to the back of Renata's neck to keep her right against him. They were moving their lips in a sweet sync in the first minutes but after getting over it - because it had been centuries of longing - they started moving into a more rough type of kiss. They needed each other. They wouldn't realize to want extent that might be just yet but the seed was still there and it was being planted right now.
Renata gasped when the Doctor hoisted her up on the edge of the console. She laughed out of surprise, making a face that told him she'd never done anything like that, which only made him smirk. With him, she'd be able to do anything she wanted. There would be no more rules binding her.
They resumed their kiss, quickly finding their level of heat again. If they were more aware, they would've realized how easy it had been to reconnect; to re-establish the same intensity they once had centuries ago. One new thing Renata found truly pleasant was the fact she could hold onto the Doctor's hair. It was longer. She would love doing that from now on, she just hoped that the Doctor could find something about her that he liked too.
He had.
But he would keep that with him for a bit longer.
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minvaleria93 · 4 years
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EMPIRE • chapter 4 • Under New Manag
_________________________
•• DISCLAIMER ••
A part of this chapter is based off of Peaky Blinders.
_________________________
That's all," Taehyung waved his hand. Everyone in the meeting room glanced at each other in both shock and confusion. Why exactly was he leaving? And when exactly was he going to be back? And why did he appoint Marco Bizzarri in his role while he was going to be away? 
Everyone pushed back their chairs and cleared out from the room, but Esther who remained in her seat at the other end of the long table opposite Taehyung. There was a moment of silence that broke the moment the door was closed. "You didn't say why you are leaving and when exactly you are going to be back," Esther stated. 
Taehyung rested his elbows on the surface of the table and rested his chin upon his knuckles. A devilish grin danced across his face. "Will you seriously miss me that much?" He arched his brow up at her.
Esther rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair with a sigh. "I'm only asking because appointing Marco Bizzarri in your role will only interfere with my work plans."
"No need to worry about that, or work for that matter."
Esther frowned. "What do you mean?" Taehyung leaned back in his chair and rocked side to side as he looked at Esther with the same grin. 
••••
The walls were made out of brown oak and the hardwood floor was a deep brown colour. Bookshelves were stuffed in some parts of the wall just bursting with books. Some were new and some were old with dust on them. There was a massive marble fireplace on the right which had yellow and orange flames dancing wildly with a velvet black sofa and armchairs and a small coffee table in the middle. Opposite the fireplace were four tall and large French window that stretched down to the polished floor, overlooking the estate. A chandelier hung down from the tall ceiling, and lastly there was a long, polished, and ornate table in the middle of the room which looked as though it
They all sat around the table waiting patiently for Bang Si-hyuk, or as he was known by others, 'Hitman' Bang, or Bang PD. Just then, the doors swung open and a man dressed as though he had walked out from the 40's era entered the room. He had dark brown hair that was a curtain of obsidian, fair skin and brown eyes. Bang Si-hyuk's eyes eyes traveled to the seven men who stood up and bowed. He smiled proudly at them and approached the table, taking the seat at the head of the table facing Namjoon.
Bang Si-hyuk was the man that started it all. He was the one that made the boys who they were. 
                                ••• Flashback seven years ago •••
The sound of bins rattling, and cats screeching at each other, and the trains speeding played music in the air. Jungkook constantly looked over his shoulder, as well as Taehyung, but the others told them to keep looking forward and keep up. 
"Are we sure about this?" Jimin asked in a hushed tone, afraid that if he spoke any louder even the dead would hear. 
But before either of them could answer, they had reached their destination. A man, wearing a long trench coat and a hat stood leaning against the wall under a single street lamp directly next to the bridge where the trains were. 
"Jimin's right," whispered J-Hope. 
Jin clicked his tongue. "Come on," he adjusted his bomber jacket. "We thought this through enough and we're here now."
Namjoon nodded. "Exactly." The boys glanced at each other before they all marched together towards the man.
He could hear them. He could hear them muttering amongst themselves and that caused a smile to dance in the corner of his mouth. The muttering faded and he tilted his chin upward, the hat casted a dark shadow on his face, revealing just his chin and lips. 
There was a very pregnant pause that lingered in the air as they stood before the man in silence. Bang PD turned from the boys and lowered his head back down. "I sense that some of you have doubts," he said. "No?" 
"He's psychic as well?" Jungkook whispered to Taehyung who pouted with a shrug. Bang PD exhaled a deep chuckle that made Jungkook and Taehyung look at him with wide eyes. He heard them. 
"Is everything ready?" Namjoon asked. 
Bang PD pushed himself away from the wall. "Are you boys sure you want to pull this off?" He asked as well. "There is no turning back from here, you understand that? You will have to leave your lives behind. If you go through with this you will have to make it seem like you were never here during the robbery. What you are about to do is going to be one of the biggest heists ever. So..." There was a pause as he made eye contact with everyone, taking in their expressions, the way they held themselves— everything. And then he asked them again. "Are you boys sure you want to pull this off?" 
Namjoom looked at his friends with a questionable expression. If they wanted to back out, now was the time. 
Yoongi brushed his thumb across the tip of his nose and steppest forward. "Where is the car?" He held his hand out. 
Bang PD held Yoongi's gaze before he swung his hand inside the pocket of his trench coat and pulled out two keychains; one with the car keys and the other had two silver keys. Bang PD shifted his eyes from Yoongi to Jin and tossed him the car keys. "You're the driver," he said. Jin, confused only nodded. The plan was that Yoongi was going to be the driver, but this man had other plans.
"Everyone sticks to their roles as planned," said Bang PD. "Only yours," he pointed at Yoongi and Jin. "Changed."
"So what am I going to do then?" Yoongi asked. 
Bang PD took a small step forward, and everyone held their breaths. "Jin, is the driver" he said. "J-Hope, gets into the surveillance cameras and the alarms. Jungkook and Taehyung are the moles that will give you access to the casino. And you three are the robbers." 
There was a short moment of silence that filled the space between them, before he looked at Jungkook and held up the key with a round head. "This one will let them in," he said, and then he held up the key with the squad head. "And this will open the jackpot." Jungkook nodded and held his hands out and caught the keys. 
"In the boot of the car you'll find bags and a black case," he paused. "Use them." 
The boys nodded, and this made Bang PD smile as though they had already succeeded in the robbery. "You have two hours before closing time." 
                                      ••• End of Flashback •••
"Welcome," Bang PD greeted with a smile. "It's been a while since I had my boys in the same room like this." The men in the room exchanged looked with smiles under their noses. Being in the same room and hearing their ex Big Boss calling them his boys built a prideful feeling inside their chests. 
"I have met with each one of you throughout the last five years from time to time regarding some work, but now that we are all here we are going to be a family whole once again." 
"It's good to have everyone back together," said J-Hope. "Just like old time." Everyone at the table nodded.
"Right you are, J-Hope" smiled Bang PD. "I'm sure Namjoon has told you all about the next big thing, correct?" 
"Something about...how should I put this," Jungkook hummed. "Oh, a deal on the table, was it?" Namjoon shook his head with a small smile. Jungkook has grown even more cocky and confident over the years, so seeing him like this was amusing. 
Bang PD laughed. "Yes," he replied. "And the promise is so good, that we can't refuse. Casinos, powered, money— and more." Bang PD leaned back in his chair. "But first you will have gain everyone's respect on this side. You are known here and there, but you have some people who don't agree with you as well. You'll need to take care of that first. Make sure that they know who really runs these ends."
"Done," Taehyung said shortly as the others agreed. 
"Then you'll have to find a place or two where you will bribe the people with the deals. Show them what you have to offer. And also something to pass the time for you boys." Bang PD said. "Jin, you left your restaurant business and your lovely wife will get bored beging stuck home all day with nothing to do; think about that." Jin sat in his seat with a thoughtful expression on his face as those words sunk in on his. 
"J-Hope. Jimin," Bang PD turned to the two. "A gentlemen's club where they can also dance the night away, no?" Jimin and J-Hope looked at each other. They never opened a business together, but now they were considering. And if they worked together they could be huge. 
"But I'm sure you can all come up with something," Bang PD chuckled. The men at the table nodded as they all thought of how they were going to take care of their first task. 
"By the looks on your faces and your silence I take it you have something in mind?" He asked. The men glanced at each other sideways before they looked at the man sitting at the head of the table while smirking. 
Bang PD nodded. "I will make a few arrangements then." 
                                                         ••••
She pushed on the black door and stepped out into the street. Her hair was pulled up into a loose ponytail, her cheeks were tinted pink and she held her phone to her ear. "So," Se-ri began. "My best friend is back in town and she didn't think to call." 
"Oh, stop being dramatic," Isabel said. "Where are you?"
"I'm on my way to the flower shop," Se-ri replied. "I haven't visited my parents in a while." 
Isabel nodded even though Se-ri couldn't see. Se-ri's parents passed away a two years ago in an accident, but Se-ri believed that there was more to the accident. "Do you want to help me out with a few things after?" Isabel asked.
Se-ri's eyes widened. "Did you finally give into the whole thing?"
"God no!" Isabel shouted. "But I don't want to cause or start anything, like last time. So do you want to help me?"
"Is this the wine tasting we're going to?" Isabel exhaled a sigh and Se-ri knew her answer. "In that case, I'll join you happily." 
"Of course you will," said Isabel. 
There were white baskets that had flowers with butterflies dangling from the roof shelter, and there was an arch around the entrance of the shop made up of nothing but white and pink roses. The cool air condition kissed her skin making goosebumps to appear and she inhaled a sharp breath. 
The white, polished, marble floor looked smooth as a calm river. The white walls had fairy lights on them that looked like they were floating stars. There were followers all over the place. Some where in pots, some where on shelves, in boxes on tables. And there was a stairway that led to the upper floor where the till was. 
A young woman, with hair dark as the night, lips a faded shade of red and a porcelain-like face with pink cheeks placed a box of flowers down on the table and brushed the piece of hair away from her face with the back of her hand. She exhaled and smiled at Se-ri. "Can I help you?" Asked Suni.
Se-ri held up the roses she held in her hand and gave them a small wave as she smiled back at the owner of the shop. "I'd like to pay for these," she said.
                                                           ••••
They walked down the streets of Seoul. The moon hung high up in the almost night sky, which now looked as though it were a beautiful painting of colours; pink, tangerine and purple and dark blue. A couple of stars were visible here and there, but once the sky would be pitch black they would shine as though they were crystals of sugar, scattered all over black marble. 
They turned right, and came to a black building with tall windows and a set of stairs that had a red carpet that ran all the way down the corridor. The cars outside were not even parked, but sat in random spots with uniformed drivers smoking, chatting and engaging with prostitutes who waited for customers.
For a famous place, it was very dark, but filled with people. The sound of muffled music that didn't even sound like it had been rehearsed came from the closed doors around the corner of the corridor. There were men and women standing around, some talking and others in each other's faces. As the people in the corridor caught sight of who had just entered the club they all thought the same thing, the nerve of them.' 
They reached the main room. It was a circular room with tables scattered to one side and a dance floor to the other. The sound of laughter and chatter was muffled in the room by the loud music. The smell of cheap perfume from the woman, alcohol and cigarettes filled their nostrils like a deadly gas explosion. Women were dressed in clothes that blearily covered anything and they were attached to a man— or a few men who were dressed to kill.
Apart from dancing, smoking and drinking, the people were playing cards and sniffing snow off of the tables, the back of their hands, plates— anything with a straight surface. 
The look of disgust on their faces as they looked around the room, and the noise from the musicians made in their heads feels like someone was pounding on them with hammers. "What the fuck is this din?" Yoongi shouted.
Namjoon's brows shot upwards and then back down as a small smile appeared in the corner of his mouth. "This," he began. "Is what they call music, my friend."
"Jungkook," said Jin, as he watched the youngest smirking at the women passing by. "Please." 
J-Hope looked around the room, his hands in his pockets as he searched for a table large enough for the seven of them. "Hey!" He roared at the man and women with their lips attached. They quickly pulled away and looked up at him alarmed. "Take that somewhere else." The man and women jumped to their feet and rushed out from the room. 
"I got us a table," said J-Hope with a sly smile. 
Namjoon held his hand up to a waiter as he sat down next to Taehyung. "One bottle of Jack Daniel's!" He shouted.
As they waited for their bottle of whiskey to arrive, they all sat quietly just taking in the many familiar faces of people who had bad blood, but would love to see them fall. " That's Yoo Se-Joon's nephew over there," said Jungkook, gesturing to the man in a cherry-brown suit and light brown hair. 
"Christ," said Taehyung, as they all looked around the room. "Everybody in here is a fucking face." 
"It's alright, Taehyung" Jin patted him on the back. "This is a Gap in the Market." Just then a waiter with seven shots and a bottle of Jack Daniel's approached the table and placed them down. 
"Let's line them up," Jungkook rubbed his hands together. "Shall we?" They all laughed, watching the youngest set up the shot glasses before he reached for the bottle.
"Gentlemen," a man dressed in a black and white tuxedo placed a hand on Jimin's shoulder and looked down at everyone with a smile. "I'm afraid there's been a mistake. You will have to leave." 
"We just bought a bottle..." said J-Hope.
"Some of the men," began Shin. "Say they recognise you. From personal experiences." The men at the table exchanged a quick glance to one another, but didn't speak or move from their seats. Shin exhaled a soft sigh and continued. "They say you have no business here without an agreement—"
"Tell them," Taehyung cut the man off. "We are on vacation." 
Shin leaned down closer so they could hear him more clearing over the loud music. "They say this is provocation and that you are breaking the rules..." there was a pause that followed as Shin looked at each of the men sitting before him. He took a deep breath and spoke again. "They say you are Bangtan Sonyeondan."
As the words left the man's lips, Yoongi noticed a familiar face raising a full bottle of champagne and threw it across the room, aiming it at his head. Yoongi pushed his chair away from the table and the bottle flew past his face and smashed against the wall. 
And that's all it took. Namjoon grabbed the tie of the man who came at him by wrapping the tie around his hand and then raised his fist to the man's jaw. 
"Come here," hissed Jimin, as he slammed his attacker's face on the table. 
Jungkook grabbed a bottle of Spirytus Vodka and swung it at the man's head. J-Hope raised his fist to one of the waiters trying to grab him and he watched as the waiter stumbled backwards and collided with the table behind him. Jin grabbed a chair and swung it at the man approaching him. The chair broke and Jin exhaled a heavy sigh. "Oh, stop whining," he rolled his eyes at the man crying on the floor .
Taehyung held his arm up, blocking a blow from the man and head-butted him. Yoongi stroke a punch to his attacker one after the other until he had him on the floor and his knuckles were dripping with blood. 
As the fight continued the musicians began to play a song with the same rhythm as the fight. It was more upbeat and with every punch, kick, blow it was like they were hitting a beat. 
And then a gun shot went off, and immediately both the music and fight came to a stop. Jimin grabbed a silver ice bucket from a random table and threw the cold water with ice on the man lying on the floor. "Put some ice on him," he said. The man attempted to stand, but Yoongi placed his foot on his chest, forcing the man down. 
There was silence. It lingered in the air, thick and heavy, like a blanket. The dancers had all curled together in a tight crowd, there were tables tossed over, glass was on the floor and the alcoholic spilled out was enough to make someone drunk just by breathing in the air in the room. 
"Get out." Shin said, as he stood on a table while pointing his shotgun at Namjoon. 
Namjoon walked through the chaos in a drunk-like-swaying motion. He looked up at Shin for a moment and then turned to the people watching. "We came down here not to make enemies," a pause as he shook his head. "No," he whispered in a mocking tone before speaking in a more clear and loud voice. "We came here to make new friends! And make those of you who are always last as those who are on top." 
Namjoon turned back to Shin. He held the man's gaze for a moment in a silent battle before a smirk appeared in the corner of his mouth. "Come on in boys!" He called out over his shoulder.
The doors to the room were thrown open and in walked men dressed in black suits telling everyone to get up and leave. 
"What is going on?!" Shin bellowed as he watched in horror at what was going on before him. Two men, with their guns pointing at Shin forced him down from the table and took his shotgun away from him. 
J-Hope steppest up on the stage and grabbed the microphone stand. "This place is under new management," his voice echoed though the room. "By order of Bangtan Sonyeondan."
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seethekraken · 4 years
Text
No Mistletoe?
Merry Christmas @castielangeldelaguarda​ So I am your Secret Santa <33 I chose to do a Reverse AU for you. I’ll admit I patched it up a little from the main post lol I hope you like it!! Have a Wonderful Day, Lovely!!
It was always hard for Sam to return to Heaven after heavy assignments and even more so when he couldn’t tell if he’d done something right or not.
Underestimating Luc had unfortunately resulted in the fight getting bloodier than Sam hoped for. He tried his hardest to resolve things peacefully. He’d begged his assignment to come in quietly, that he wouldn’t win this one.
Maybe it was that comment that salted the wound. Maybe if he knew more about what he was meant to stop, maybe then his missions’ outcome would not end in bloodshed.
Heaven rarely gave him a reason though, wary of Sam’s ability to experience and understand human emotion.  He was ‘defective’ they’d whispered the first time it had happened on an assignment.
He ran solos now, mostly hitman like jobs: no details of what this human or that creature had done to receive judgement.
He’d think the Angels would value knowledge as power, but maybe in his hands was too terrible? As a result of nothing else to go on, it took a lot more strategy to win—if he didn’t know any better, he might think they wanted him to perish on mission. Those were the orders though and the notion of disobedience, nonexistent.
Being weak from time-travel was standard, but bundled with the exhaustion of preventing a future happening, Sam’s Grace needed time to recover. It wasn’t even an excuse, he was simply too weak to make his trip Up.
Drained of energy—Sam knew he’d get into trouble for taking a self imposed vacation, but he needed that break and the only way to get one was if he took it himself.
Dropping into a random timeline, perhaps a couple years into the future, Sam read the sign stating he was in ‘Cottage Grove’. What was with these humans and randomly selecting names for their homebase?
Angels were everywhere these days, only the smallest of towns were clear of them—the streets, shops too close together to be comfortable space for wings. Of course that applied to him too, even more so as his wingspan was wider. Not archangel wide by any means but enough for him to be aware of his bulk in more cramped places. The idea was to avoid detection from all Angels however, so it served his purpose for now.
Judging from the gaudy decor and overbearing smell of pine, Sam guessed it was December where they celebrated a “Saviour”. It wasn’t the first time he’d witnessed the ‘season to be jolly’ having been more than a little irked about the lack of angel statues with brown hair and brown wings in shops. Dean, of course, found it hilarious.
Slipping his wings into the ethereal plain, he landed in an alleyway and blended with the main crowd walking down the busy street, following the sound of loud music. These places usually had town parties and it seemed like a good place to hide and unwind before having to return to Heaven.
Gabriel was in charge now, and to everyone’s shock, was doing a fantastic job. He sent the right Angels to get orders done. Of course there were few mishaps but they were few and far between. As much as he was proud of Gabriel for being so efficient, Sam was also exhausted.
Sam let himself into the townhall where the town residents were celebrating. The only human that looked his way, was a black-haired man at the snack bar, and only briefly. — A slight breeze and the door opening pulled Castiel’s attention away from his task. The banquet hall was in full capacity, each plate and seating accounted for, and unless someone had left the party, he didn’t see any reason why a stranger would walk in.
Between refilling the water jugs and looking back, the giant had gone out of sight. Half an hour later and Cas spotted him again, looking awkward in the corner, not talking just watching the crowd with tired eyes. Snapping the attention of a waiter, Cas instructed him to serve that niche where the brunette was sitting, before seating himself a little away from the crowd.
Cas stared at him then, a truly beautiful specimen. Go figure his type would walk into a party while he was working. Glancing down at the suit he had on, Cas loosened his tie, starting to feel the humidity that came from large crowds crammed in a room together. Offering the tray of appetizers at passing guests with a put on smile, Cas curiously turned back to his eye candy.  
Shit.
Sam had a hard time not tracking the man with his eyes. There was just something, a weird pull he didn’t entirely understand, which caused time and time again for him to seek that face in the crowd.
And then it happened.
Striking blue eyes found his hazel ones with such accuracy, Sam had a suspicion the human had been observing him too. Neither looked away, in fact his gaze seemed to intensify. What was that colour? He’d seen creation come alive, knew every shade, hue, tint in existence…and yet he’d never seen this shade before, speckles of dark and light dancing around his pupils.
He looked to be some point between his late 30’s to early 40’s. Ruggedly handsome, there were bags under his eyes, a sharp scruffy jaw like he’d forgotten to shave that morning and pink lips with pleasantly tanned skin.
Sam tried not to stare. He also tried not to knock things over because despite his wings tucked in the ethereal plain, they needed to mind and he was using all his energy to simply keep him upright.
The next time he glanced at the table, Blue Eyes was gone. Baffled by his disappointment, Sam gingerly walked to a lesser crowded corner and rearranged himself comfortably. Even if he was simply human, it would be a challenging feet regardless.
Trays of food were being passed along with plates, so despite not needing to eat, Sam helped himself to some. Time passed slowly as he watched the crowd mingling with familiarity and began missing Dean. His brother was the only one who understood him, who even stood up for him despite moving up in ranks like Gabriel, though not as top-tier. Dean never made him feel like he was…less.
A heavy feeling in his heart, Sam took a walk, smiled at people politely and interjected a lie whenever appropriate. Yes, he was passing through, no he came alone, staying the night? maybe.
Weirdly, women seemed to wait for a specific moment to speak with him. Sam wasn’t fooled. He knew the tradition of mistletoe, knew a kiss was mandatory. He didn’t like the way they looked at him though, and the one he wanted to he could see now, was deliberately avoiding doing so.
Unsure how to act like he belonged there, Sam stopped at a doorway easily looking over heads, for more reclusive spots where humans would leave him alone…
“Hi,” a gravelly voice said from behind and Sam turned towards them, being snared almost immediately by two mesmerizing pools of blue. It was him. There was a soft smile on his lips and shyness in his eyes as he went to speak further.
“You are…kinda blocking the pathway,” he offered, holding a tray with both hands in front of him. Sam stared in surprise, accidentally twitching his wings in the ethereal plain, toppling some items off a nearby table. For whatever reason, they seemed to still have a physical presence in the material world but invisible to plain sight. This never happened. Maybe his control was slipping?
“I should go,” he said aloud.
“No! I mean you don’t have to leave…”
This man didn’t want him to leave but only move? Move where? Like he could read the Angel’s mind, Blue eyes put his tray down on the conveniently bare space—curtesy of Sam’s malfunctioning limbs—and walked towards him, pushing Sam a little to the side.
Sam let him.
Getting the Angel to budge was equivalent to trying to move a boulder. Despite achieving their goal, the hands stayed on his chest, like its owner had forgotten about them.
Sam looked down at the man at least four inches shorter than him, and raised his eyebrows in question. “All good?”
Blue eyes’ had yet to move so fast, like Sam was hot to the touch. “Right. Well now that you’re out of the way, I can—“ he gestured behind him where Sam was sitting only a few minutes ago, but still didn’t budge until the sound of someone clearing their throat made them both turn.
There was a blonde woman standing in front of them, giggling delightfully at the human as she pointed up upwards. — Castiel groaned internally. Even before he looked up, Cas already knew what he’s going to find. Donna had been trying to hook him up with some of the town folk, and here this stranger was caught neatly in her web.
He had a job to do. Catering was tiresome work but the Christmas party was his biggest event, so he had to do it in order to stay afloat.
Instead, Jack refused to stay with anyone but him, and he had to bring the kid to a booze approved party. On top of it, of course the *one* person he’d actually been interested in would show up in an environment where service staff and guests weren’t allowed to mingle.
“Donna,” he sighed softly. “I’m working,”
“Shut the front door, I had no idea!” his best friend jested, “You’re the boss, you don’ count..” Donna whispered, smiling widely still and pushing him gently towards the guy.
Knowing better than to argue with the Sheriff, Cas reasoned this was probably the only time he was ever going to see this man. And Donna was right, he was the owner of the company…
This reason in mind, instead of introducing himself, Castiel grabbed the lapels of the suede coloured jacket, and tugged it enough to get the man to bend to meet him in the middle. He was going to savour this moment however long it lasted, and he had every aim to drag it out.
Just when he’d determined it an appropriate time for a mistletoe kiss, mystery man leaned in closer, arm wrapped around his waist, practically smooshing him against a wall of lean muscle.
Long strands of hair fell onto his face, and Castiel briefly wondered if they would feel as soft as they looked, wrapped around his fingers.
Caving into the urge, he gently carded his fingers through this tall man’s beautiful hair. So silky and smooth, he thought as he tugged at the strands, urging the brunette to bend down some more, going on the tips of his toes to close the height difference. — Sam was more than a little shocked at the forwardness of this seemingly awkward man but melted into the kiss anyhow. The gentle caress of his hair was turning him into goo and just as he was getting into it, he felt a double tug on his feathers.
His feather still in the ethereal plain.
Surprised he hadn’t sensed them, Sam broke the kiss abruptly and spun around expecting an Angel from the garrison, not a child looking at him. No, that wasn’t right…he was looking behind Sam.
“Soft!”
Sam froze in shock but the child was caressing his dark wings in wonder. It had blonde hair and blue eyes and were it a cartoon, it would probably have stars in them.
It could see his wings? How was that even possible? If it could see his wings, then there was no guarantee this thing was actually human, and from experience he knew looking like a human and being human were two entirely different things.
The thing kept touching him, though with utter care, like a loose feather would pain him. If there was a creature of this sort here in this town, was it being watched? Guarded? Would they think Sam was there to protect it or kill it…there were so many gue—
“Jack,” the man sighed, and picked up the little boy, “I told you to sit in the corner. Are you hungry? What can I get you?”
Jack shook his head, signalling he didn’t need anything, to which the boy got set down and the human sighed gustily, turning back to Sam, “Well, this was nice…”
“Uh huh,” Sam’s eyes were still on Jack, mind racing.
“I’m Castiel. Not that you asked, but I figured it is the most I can do aft—“
“Castiel?” Sam eyebrows jumped in surprise. A quick survey and nope, still human.
“Yes, I know its the angel of Thursday,” Castiel rolled his eyes, “No, I’m not religious,”
“Uhhh…okay,” Sam gave a small laugh under his breath. “I’m Sam by the way,”
“Well Sam, this was nice. Really nice actually, but I have to get back to work, so…enjoy the party I guess,”
Sam couldn’t have him leave though. This..thing..seemed harmless enough but what was it? Did the man know the child was not a child? Was he safe? He had to find out!!
“Oh, but…do you know where I can book a room?  It’s too late in the night to leave, and I’m kind of on vacation and this place looks like a nice place to stay.” Sam gave his best form of persuasion—puppy dog eyes. It worked.
It always worked.
Castiel hesitated for about a quarter of a second and then grabbed Sam’s arm gently. “Come with me,” leading him to another guest. Quick words were exchanged and Sam heard the gist of it. The County inn was all booked up, as well as the motel at the edge of town.
“Looks like—“
“What about that big ol’ bed of yours, Cas? Think it will fit him?” — Cas sometimes wished his life was simpler.
That he did not have a cute eight year old shaped walking and talking weather and news app for a son, a gorgeous man didn’t walk into his party room hoping to find a place to sleep, and his best friend not inviting said man to sleep in his own bed.
“Donna I don’t think Sam would appreciate that,” Cas protested lightly, trying to remember if he’d even made his bed that morning. When was the last time he’d washed his sheets? When was the last time he’d cleaned the house..?
“Actually that sounds perfect!” Sam pitched in, and Cas didn’t have anything left as far as excuses went.
“And the party’s almost over anywhooo, the staff will clean up!” Donna chirped right in.
With four pairs of eyes watching him, Cas caved, “O-okay, I guess,”
Then to both Cas and Sam’s shock, little fingers reached up clasping two of Sam’s because that’s all he could reach and began pulling him toward the door. — “You can sit in the front room, I have to change the sheets. I suppose you’ll need clothes to change into something as well..let’s see what we can do..you’re not exactly small..” Castiel kept muttering, but Sam was sure it was more for himself than to inform his guest.
Sure enough, the man went up stairs the without a word, still saying things under his breath.
This human confused him. More that, he intrigued Sam. And then there was the boy who could see his true form. Which..right. Was the more pressing matter. Or at least should have been.
Sam sat in the front room as Castiel suggested with Jack, who nuzzled against his feathery side—reminding him yet again that this small human may not be human at all. He pet the kid’s soft hair absently, wondering if maybe he should do his own tests before he reported this unusual occurrence—when Jack crawled into the space his crossed legs made, and promptly fell asleep like a pup in the middle of a nest.
Sam froze not daring to move a muscle least he hurt Jack. He didn’t know how long he sat there staring at Jack blankly, but was deep enough in his head, not to detect company when Castiel came back.
“It seems he has adopted you.” Sam looked up to see Cas leaning against the doorway, watching them with a soft expression.
“Adopted me?”
“He doesn’t usually warm up to people right away. It took him more than half a year to like Donna, and she’d a literal angel! Doesn’t even cuss, that woman. But as you see, he took a real liking to you. I’ve never seen him like that with anyone else but me.”
Sam was not sure what to say to that. He couldn’t possibly explain that Jack’s fascination with him was only because of his wings. It was the only explanation. “What does sleeping in my lap got to do with anything?”
“Plenty.” Cas smiled softly as he kneeled beside Sam, gently picking up the lightly snoring boy, carrying Jack into his room. When he returned, he took up the exact same place on the floor as before.
They talked about everything and nothing as they sat by the fire roasting marshmallows. The marshmallows might as well be sponge in his mouth, but watching as Castiel tried to make him a perfectly roasted one, crowing in delight when he succeeded, well Sam would eat the entire packet if Cas wished.
After they settled back comfortably leaning against throw pillows, Cas told him about how he’d ended up adopting Jack though it wasn’t in the plans, and in turn Sam shared stories of his job helping people and how challenging it could be but also rewarding when sucessful, omitting all the supernatural aspects of course.
Cas fell asleep with his head resting on Sam and the Angel waited until he was fast asleep, before he moved Cas to the couch. He didn’t want to go to Heaven. Didn’t want another assignment but he needed to know what in the universe was that child.
“About time!” were the first words Sam heard, when he returned to the garrison. “Off in Bali?”
“Hi Dean,” he sighed. “Why would I go to Bali?”
“Sun. Scenery. What isn’t good about Bali.”
“You’ve been spending too much time with Gabriel. You do know all his ‘disgustingly sweet’—as you love to complain about—drinks come from there?” Dean grunted in reply and Sam’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “Wow. You’re in a mood…What happened?”
“Gabe called me a dickless hoe-bag,” Dean grumped.
“Well..to be fair—“
“If you want to live another century I suggest you shut up,” Dean scowled, but then his expression switched to confusion. “Hey, what’s with the wings? Why are there streaks of blue in them?”
“Wha—“ Sam took a look for himself and oh no..Dean was right. He didn’t even know Angel wings could do that, could change in design…
It was a good thing for him, that Dean was more distracted than usual. “You actually came at the perfect time. we have a Nephilim on our hands. We have to find it, and fast, before the Demons do.”
“A Nephilim? There’s no such thing De—“ Sam stopped. Jack.
It had to be Jack!
“There is now,” Dean said, not noticing Sam’s frozen expression. “We almost had it earlier and then it disappeared from the radar. The Host wants to keep it hush hush for now. I’ve got my hands full, so does Gabriel. You’re the only one we trust with this. Look, it should be a quick job. Some human is hiding it and all you have to do is eliminate them and bring the Nephilim to Heaven.”
“I—what?” Sam’s mind was running a mile a minute. Panic raised within him, he couldn’t give—and Cas he couldn’t even imagine ‘eliminating’ him!! Instead he responded with a question, “How could you lose it??”
“It’s not like you can use an EMF tracker on Earth, Sammy,” Dean growled, frowning heavily.
“Dean—“
“Just find the human and take them out. The Nephilim’s young, easily trusting. It will probably follow you even you offered it something as simple as candy.”
Dean had no idea how right he was. It would be the easiest job yet, since Sam was at Castiel’s.
He spent the entire night debating what to do, before laying down on the floor beside the couch so that was where Cas spotted him the next morning. — Snow.
Heaps of snow fell the previous night, this wasn’t even in the forecast..but so much that the front door would not budge and it stood on top of four stone steps! Cas looked out one more time before quietly sneaking past Sam who like a gentleman, slept on the floor.
Opening Jack’s door softly, Cas sat on his son’s bed. “How did you sleep last night?”
“Mr. Sam stay?”
“Well..he doesn’t have much of a choice now, does he?” Cas sighed but held Jack’s hand to let him know he wasn’t upset. “Thank you though. It was very sweet of you, Jack,”
This was their own little secret and as long as no one knew, Jack could stay with him. Jack understood that too thankfully, despite being such a young kid. Cas suspected that type of knowledge was something unusual too. “Why today?”
“You wanted him to stay…”
“…so you made it happen,” Cas finished. Kissing Jack on the forehead, Cas tucked the bedsheets against this small human who’d won his heart the moment he’d stepped into the adoption agency and said, “Come down later, okay?”
“Okay Dad,” Jack wiggled back into the pocket created and promptly fell asleep.
Walking down the stairs, Cas startled to find Sam at the bottom of them. “H-hi. How did you sleep?”
“I’m a little sore,” Sam dimpled, mischief in his eyes. Cas grinned.
“Are you hungry?”
“I could eat..” Sam replied, putting his hands in his pant pockets. Last night they had discovered none of the pyjamas Cas owned would fit him, but there was a loose sleep shirt and on Sam’s broad shoulders, were so tight it might as well have been second skin.
He looked absolutely delectable. Cas stopped when he was eye level with Sam, which meant at least two steps off the ground.
“See something you like?”
“Oh don’t even pretend you don’t know!” Cas scoffed, cupping the nape of Sam’s neck, and pressing his chapped lips against soft ones. Sam caressed his thigh before easily picking him up and Cas wrapping his legs tightly around the taller man’s waist, was carried like that into a brightly lit room that could only be the kitchen.
Set down on the counter, Sam stood between his legs, hands roaming the expanse of Cas’ back, fingers just about dipping under his shirt, when he spoke, “I could do this forever,” Sam murmured against his lips.
“Hmm..” Cas buried his fingers in Sam’s soft hair, barely breathing since he didn’t want to part from Sam, when his stomach rumbled loudly.
“I guess my body disagrees.”
“Not all of you,” Sam quipped slyly.
Cas pushed him aside playfully and hopped onto the tiled floor. “Oh by the way, you need to know…it snowed a ton last night. Tons like can’t open the front door because its packed against it.”
“Oh. The forecast said sunny skies?” Sam sounded surprised, but there was a hint of something else that Cas couldn’t place. He wasn’t overly bothered by it. Snowed in, he had Sam all to himself.
Well him and Jack, but he didn’t mind sharing. — Sam knew he was sinking deeper and deeper.
Seeing Jack trusting him so easily last night, Sam now knew it was because Jack was part Angel. That’s why he felt safe with Sam, felt protected, they were kin in a way. There was no way he’d cause harm to the pup now. Jack really was innocent…he was oblivious of the dangers of the world and introducing him to violence would tip that scale, might even destroy him. As long as that didn’t happen, Sam was sure Jack would continue to be a happy boy.
And then there was Cass. Cas who’d besides the initial hesitation—Sam realized was more embarrassment than fearful—had been open and welcoming. He didn’t put up any pretense and he had no shame expressing his attraction to the Angel, but not in a pushy manner. Cas was changing his perception and there wasn’t even a little bit where he fought it.
Instead he enjoyed his time with just Cas, flinging pancake batter on him while the human was trying to be serious and not burn whatever was on the stove. Their shenanigans continued up until Jack arrived.
They made cookies the next morning, Sam and Jack making a mess of themselves and after a lot of rolling of the eyes, Cas joined them. Later that night, Sam lay down on Cas’ bed. Donna was right in the sense of the bed being wide. Having never needing to lay down, Sam found the whole thing weird, feet still managing to stick out.
“You can tuck your feet under, you know?” Cas laughed softly beside him, spotting Sam’s expression. Sam turned to face him instead. They stared at one another just like the time in the party hall.
“You have beautiful eyes, Cas”. Sam watched as a deep blush rose in Cas’ cheeks.
“And you have beautiful hair.”
“Is that why you like playing with them so much?”
Cas smiled at him lazily, a retort quick on his tongue. “as if you don’t enjoy it.”
Sam only hummed. Cas scooted closer and kissed his nose, linking Sam’s fingers with his, in the most intimate gesture Sam was yet to experience, “I wish you didn’t have to leave…” his voice trailed off, before he fell into a deep sleep.
With the knowledge that Cas definitely wouldn’t wake Sam allowed his wings to materialize, draping them onto Cas.
The meaning of Cas’ words finally made sense the next day, when Sam glanced out. The snow had completely melted, given creating slush and a lot of puddles but other than that, if he were human, it would be safe to travel.
What this revealed however, was that Cas knew something, otherwise how would he have been able to predict the extreme switch of weather? Honestly Sam wished Jack would stop, not only because it meant he no longer had an excuse to stay with Cas, but the Angels would definitely take notice.
That still meant he had to leave though. Breakfast was a somber meal, Cas not saying much. He did hold Sam’s hand throughout, even if it made it hard for him to eat. Sam didn’t resist because he realized he needed it too. Maybe if he was built the same as other Angels, it wouldn’t be so hard.
But he wasn’t. And it was.
One of the last moments they had was when Cas pulled out his fone and suggested they exchange numbers, “Just in case” he’d said. It read more as ‘I’ll miss you, please don’t disappear on me.’
Following suit, Sam pulled out his and typed his contact space as ‘Cass’. Castiel reached over his shoulder, again standing on a higher step and reverse linked their fingers so both palms were up, so he was now holding the device and pushed the delete button once, so it read ‘Cas’ instead.
“Does it matter?” Sam asked confused.
“Trust me, it matters,” with a fond smile, Cas quickly pecked Sam on his cheek.
Cas thankfully didn’t see when Sam gave Jack one of his downy feathers. “Our little secret okay?”
“Secret.” Jack nodded, smiling so brightly, Sam felt a pang in his heart. No matter what happened, he hope Jack would retain his innocence. It was Sam’s favourite thing about him. That and how he’d crawl into Sam’s lap, as Cas looked on.
“Take care, okay? Promise me.”
“I’ll try. Okay yes, yes I will take care,” Cas amended after Sam glared at him. “And..you too.”
“Sure.” — “Cas! Cas you here?!” Sam’s panicked voice carried easily up the stairs, where Cas was getting ready to use the shower. Strange. He didn’t recall hearing the door open with a ‘ping’, but something in Sam’s tone didn’t allow him dwell on.
“Sam? What is it?” Castiel rushed down the stairs, and Sam upon seeing him, looked like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders, but he wasn’t relaxing, not completely.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I tried. I tried every which way but—the storm maybe I’m not sure—they can’t find you, Cas! I can’t please—“ Sam’s frame shook. Cas had never seen him so undone and it scared him.
“Sam what are you talking about?”
“Mr. Sam?” Jack’s sweet voice called behind them and Sam turned, dropping to his feet fluidly, practically swallowed Jack in his arms.
“Jack..oh than-k you, you’re safe,”
“Sam?”
Sam’s shoulders tightened again and it hurt Cas to see him like this. Their parting had been bittersweet, and Cas had missed Sam’s warmth for the last couple weeks. Good Lord his dimples! Cas yearned to see them again.
Sam finally stood up and took a deep breadth. “I need you to close your eyes.” Seeing Cas about to ask why, he insisted, “Please. You trust me? Please, Cas.”
Feeling slightly foolish, Cas did as was requested, when he felt that familiar sensation of wind but not wind. Then he was being enveloped in a hug, comforting and warm and…safe. He’d thought he’d dreamt this up, but this feeling felt so good.
“Now open your eyes.”
Cas blinked once. Twice. Sam’s hands were by his side..then what was…Dark brown walls the same colour as Sam’s hair had materialized and wrapped around him like a cocoon.
“I’m an Angel, Cas. I know this must be hard to digest right now, and I understand if you…” Sam bit his lip in a nervous gesture. Not knowing what to say, Cas backed up only to feel a wall of feathers at his back. Despite looking like steel, it felt—
“Soft?” His eyes widened with shock and darted towards Jack. How he’d taken so easily to Sam, how he cuddled up like a puppy, how mesmerized he seemed early on.
“Soft!” Jack clapped happily that his dad finally got it.
“He’s been able to see them this entire time?!” Sam nodded solemnly.
“I know he’s not like…everyone else. He..he knows when people are coming even before they’re on our street. He knows if something terrible is going to happen and prevents me from going out of the house. He brought rain when there was a drought—“
Something must have tipped Sam off to reply “—excessively. But the flood happened in California?”
“He was watching TV, Sam.” Cas felt a brush against his cheek. Unknowingly, he’d moved his head to rest on them, feather’s tickling his cheek. “So. He is..”
“He is not dangerous, he is in danger, Cas. So are you. I’m going to try to fight them off, but first this is going to sting,” Sam put each of his large hands on Cas and Jack’s chest and Cas felt a surge of energy pass through him. “I’ve carved sigils on your ribcage that prevent Angels from tracking you. “That should give us some time.”
This was all too much for Cas. Sam wasn’t human, he had wings—beautifully majestic wings he could appreciate later—but what they were being hunted? Why? In his confusion his tone took a sharper edge.
“Some time for what? Because I’m not leaving, Sam. This is my home.”
“It will be temporary, I promise.”
“Temporary for how long? My mom always told me it was temporary that we stayed in motels in a new town. She would promise a house, a mailbox, a permanent school. I never got that house Sam—I was relocated to another town, another motel, another “temporary”. So I ask you again. How long? And if the answer is ‘I don’t know’, then Jack and I are staying put.
“If my son is wanted by the supernatural, it means he’s powerful. If they feel threatened, he’s really powerful. We can stay. You can stay.” Cas prayed Sam knew what what he really meant.
“If I stay, I’d fall. I’d lose my wings, I’d be human..” Sam’s voice went quiet.
“Would being human really be so bad?” The words were out of his mouth before he could consider them. Cas dropped his eyes to his feet, feeling vulnerable. He hadn’t opened himself to another in a really long time. He was being selfish; he was being a hypocrite.
“I’m sorry. No, no you’re right,“ he swallowed the lump in his throat. “You should go. If th-that’s what is best for you, I und—“
“I love you too, Cas. And I’m not going anywhere without you.”
Cas felt weightless at the confession and tugged Sam to him, kissing him slowly, softly. Lovingly.
“No mistletoe?” said a small confused voice and it caused both Cas and his angel to smile into the kiss. — In the end things were pretty anticlimactic. The door was busted off its hinges as five Angels streamed through, Dean leading them.
Sam stood at the front, Cas on his left holding an Angel blade and Jack on his right, looking completely uninterested as he sat on the floor playing with plastic dinosaurs.
“I don’t want to fight you brother,” Sam said, looking solely at Dean, wings spread. “But I will, if I must.”
Dean glanced towards the human with an Angel’s name, looking unfazed at the appearance of Sam’s wings, or that Sam was shielding him from them. Narrowing his eyes, Dean realized Castiel’s eyes were the same colour as the new streaks on Sam’s wings. There was only one explanation for the change.
Dammit Sam! This was the worst ‘man walks in the bar’ joke. Except it wasn’t a joke. It was his brother in love.
He took his first good look at the Nephilim in question. It was looking right back, the delight plain in his eyes as it squealed, “Mo’ wings!” It was..it was a child. Part child anyways but Dean couldn’t sense any maliciousness coming from it.
There was no way Dean was going to take it away from its family now.
Just for the sake of reporting an interrogation, Dean said, “He caused a severe snowstorm that hit seven other states. That level of damage is hard to explain in places not known for snow!”
“Mr. Sam was leaving. Dad sad. Then Dad happy. Then Dad very happy!”
“Jack!” both Sam and Cas reprimanded him, blushing furiously. Dean smirked inwardly, okay this just got entertaining. He decided he liked the kid.
“The flood?”
“There was a drought,” Castiel added, despite Sam advising him to leave the talking to the Angels.
“And the hurricane in Africa?”
Sam frowned as did Cas, “I don’t know that one…”
“The lions wanted to eat the baby elephant. Elephants are nice. Lions were not nice.” Jack frowned disapprovingly.
“So he relocated the pack…that is kind of adorable,” said an Angel behind Dean.
To which another muttered, “I’m not arresting Sam’s son. Might relocate me too..” There were multiple muttered agreements. Cas looked over at Sam, who seemed as confused as he felt.
“Okay one last question,” Dean said, and all eyes snapped to him. “When’s the wedding?”
“DEAN!” —
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dwyguyhikes · 4 years
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King’s Peak
26.8 mile roundtrip
5,118 feet elevation gain
Link: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/kings-peak-utah-highpoint-trail
Time from trailhead to base camp at Dollar Lake: 3:50 (7.4 miles)
Time from base camp to summit: 3:45 (6 miles)
Time from summit to base camp: 3:20 (6 miles)
Time from base camp to trailhead: 3:14 (7.4 miles)
Time to finally begin this incredibly ambitious goal of summiting the highest point in every state! I decided to start with the closest one to me: King’s Peak in Utah. I’d gotten an invitation from Nick to join me, but wanted to give solo camping a whirl and see about doing this first highpoint on my own.
The trailhead was about a 3 hour drive from Salt Lake City, and it took me through southeast Wyoming. The drive there was pretty easy, except for one road block caused my some unruly sheep that refused to get out of the road. I also spent the last hour or so on a hole-ridden dirt road, and lemme tell you that a Ford Taurus was not designed for that kind of terrain.
As you’re driving, you can see King’s Peak clearly standing out from the surrounding mountains. I had a kind of minor freakout when I saw this, and I started to question if this was really a good idea to do on my own. “You’re seriously going to climb that tall ass mountain? By yourself? Are you nuts?” I quickly pushed these thoughts out with a different one: “Hell yeah I’m fucking climbing that. Because I’m the fucking man.”
I got to the trailhead and chatted with some people who were getting back. They said the weather was too bad and they had to turn back, but with the weather shifting they thought I’d have a good shot at it. I put on my backpack and started my trek to Dollar Lake where I’d set up camp for the night.
This was my first backpacking trip in about a year, and I forgot how much hiking with a full backpack SUCKED. I had also just played hockey for the first time in about 3 months, and I had kind of forgotten how much skating uses your hips. As such, the first 3 miles involved the lower half of my body crying out in pain, but I carried on.
The hike in was super peaceful, and I really enjoyed the lonely walk through the forest. I’m glad I had decided to buy a map before heading out, because Dollar Lake wasn’t clearly marked. I did some minor bushwhacking toward where I thought it would be, and after a bit of wandering around I was able to find it. I set up my tent, cooked up some dinner, and got ready for a long day ahead. I knew there wouldn’t be bears, but I still climbed a tree about 100 yards from camp to secure my backpack with food out of reach just in case.
Trying to sleep that night turned into a lost cause. It was ridiculously windy (40 mph gusts), so every few minutes it felt like my tent was blowing away. I also kept hearing footsteps outside my tent, though that could have just been my ears playing tricks on me. At around midnight a helicopter was flying around, too. To add onto all that, my joints were still killing me and I couldn’t get comfortable. I laid there all night waiting for sleep to take over, but I don’t think I got any real shut-eye until about 4 am. With my alarm going off at 6, I knew I wasn’t going to have a good time.
6 am came and I snoozed a few times before getting going. I had some oatmeal and coffee, put together my day pack (stupidly without sunscreen, bear-spray, or my med-kit… whoops) and started heading toward the summit. There were a few sketchy snow traverses, but I had no issues making a good pace and passing a few other groups. I did have some issues staying on the trail since it wasn’t clearly marked, and I think at one point I was on the shortcut called Gunsight Pass before realizing and bushwhacking back to the trail. I had read that Gunsight Pass could get sketchy, and I didn’t want to take any chances since I was by myself.
This hike was GRUELING! It was steep and wet, and there was no cover from the sun. I had to take breaks every 20 minutes, but thankfully there were plenty of places to re-fill my water. I quickly realized that checking the mileage at every break wasn’t helping me at all, and I just focused on keeping one foot in front of the other. It was oddly meditative just listening to my footsteps and my heavy breath as I carried onward and upward.
Close to the summit, the trail just stops and you have to scramble up some scree. The wind gusts were still coming, so I decided to leave my backpack (aka my water and food) and focus on my balance. Thinking I was much closer to the top than I actually was, this proved to be a mistake. That climb to the summit was probably the most difficult part of the whole hike, but that feeling of finally getting to the top… pure joy. For the time being, I was the tallest person in Utah! I felt incredibly accomplished, but I also felt incredibly vulnerable when the winds started tossing me around a bit. I stayed only for a hot second to take some pictures before making my way down.
On the way down I found a lot of snow and developed a shortcut instead of scrambling across the scree: if I run across the snow like I’m doing hockey crossovers, I could cover distance in half the time. I fell a few times but never slid very far because I had a pole to self-arrest. While I saved a ton of time, I quickly realized that I was coming down the east side of the mountain, and my backpack was on the north side… all that time saved was quickly lost when I had to go BACK up the mountain. Oh well, I got back to it and had the Snickers bar I was saving for my lowest moment and all felt right in the world.
The hike back to basecamp was largely uneventful except where I ended up off the trail a few times. The trail wasn’t well marked, and there were so many offshoots that it was easy to get sidetracked. Luckily I had enough of a mental compass to realize I was walking on trails I’d never been on before. More bushwhacking (what else is new) led me back to trail. After some thought, I figured I’d try to hike back to the car rather than stay another night in the wind here, so I ran a lot of the downhill parts to make up time.
When I finally made it back to camp, I was NOT having a good time. My feet were wet, my shirt was drenched, and I was definitely overheating. I laid down in the tent for about 2 minutes before quickly taking off most of my clothes and running to soak in the lake. That helped a ton. I also knew that another night of no sleep was only going to make things worse, so I sucked it up and packed up camp.
The hike back to the car was absolutely brutal. I had just finished 6 of the steepest uphill miles I’ve ever hiked, then ran 6 miles back, and now I was doing another 7.4 with a full backpack? My body was NOT happy. My head was throbbing and I could hear all my joints screaming out saying “boi what is u doing??!?!” Luckily my medkit had aspirin in it, so I popped that and kept pushing on. I stopped to chat with one couple who told me that the helicopter I heard last night was looking for a kid who got lost at Dollar Lake. He went missing around midnight, and his dad apparently found him at 11 am the next morning playing like nothing had happened. Kids are wild.
That hike back was mentally one of the tougher hikes of my life. I was checking the mileage way too often. Funnily enough I’ve started equating all my mileage to my runs around Baltimore: “Ok 2 miles left. That’s just from the bridge by the old Chipotle back to the house. Just gotta around the aquarium then along the harbor then the promenade. That’s nothing.”
I finally stumbled to the car around 6:30, eager to take off my pack and boots. If you haven’t backpacked before, I can assure you that finally taking off your pack is one of the BEST feelings in the world. With my trek done, I had my sights set on a Wendy’s frosty next, so booked it straight back to civilization.
All in all, this was an incredible experience, but I don’t think I’d do it again. As an introvert, I really enjoyed the alone time, but I have to admit that I got really lonely. I think these kinds of experiences (aka suffering) are best enjoyed when shared, so I don’t think I’ll be doing another solo trip for quite some time.
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rorynne · 5 years
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Time Lost (Rewrite) Ch 3
Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Reader
Summary: An accident during a mission sends you back in time to the second world war. There you enlist the help of Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers, and Bucky Barnes to find the object that can send her back.
Warnings: Boys being Dumb, otherwise nothing big that i can think of
Word count: 2.6k
A/N: This is a rewrite of an OC fic that I have been writing and been wanting to turn into a reader Fic. I'm unsure if I will be continuing the OC fic currently, I may just transfer it completely to my reader Fic. Currently 6 chapters are up of the OC fic, and I shall be posting a rewritten chapter every few days on here.
Masterlist
Prologue Ch 1 Ch 2
You flipped through the dossiers for the hundredth time that morning alone. The team, actually, wasn't all that bad. You had seen Falsworth in action just last year, no doubt he already had the majority of this training. There was a Harvard graduate, fluent in three languages, you wondered if he would be willing to learn a fourth. Next, a member of the resistance with an expertise in explosives. After that, an army ranger able to speak Japanese, and a man that, quite frankly, looked like he was trying to impersonate Teddy Roosevelt. All in all, they weren't nearly as bad as you had been expecting, and from first encounters, they all seemed enjoyable as well.
You paused when you flipped to Bucky’s dossier. The black and white photo really didn't do him justice. Not that the photo was bad, just that it really couldn't quite capture his eyes or his smile for that matter. Reading his dossier was like reading his exhibit in the Smithsonian, all cold facts and information that failed to perfectly reflect the man you had met just two days ago. It felt so surreal, knowing someone who was so full of life and knowing that they were going to die. You thought back to the exhibit, clearly, he wasn't supposed to die in Azzano, you thought that had sounded wrong. But for the life of you, you couldn't quite recall how he was supposed to die, just vaguely something about a train. You wondered if there was a way to prevent it.
If you even could.  Any time you tried to prevent anything, it never worked. Either way, you needed to stop worrying about him. As charming as he was, you had a job to do, a home to get back to.  And you weren't about to let some pretty eyes distract you. Especially, when those eyes belonged to someone from the god damned ‘40s.
A tug on your hair pulled you from your thoughts, making you jump. You looked back to see Bucky in the back of the Jeep you were waiting in, a boyish grin plastered on his face, and Steve rolling his eyes next to him. “Really Barnes? Pulling on girls' hair? What are you, ten?”
“Can’t argue with methods that work Doll.” He beamed, “We’ve been tryin’ to get your attention a few minutes now. And I thought I was Sergeant Barnes.”
“Last I checked, ten-year-olds don't get to be sergeants.” You said with a teasing look.
“Shoulda told him that when he enlisted,” Steve said with a smile, elbowing Bucky in the side.
You furrowed your brow, “Enlisted?” Bucky frowned, giving a nearly imperceptible shake of his head. “I’m not used to working with men who willingly enlisted.” You quickly lied. Clearly, Steve had no idea Bucky was drafted, and that was not something you were about to reveal yourself. “Are you and your men ready to go?”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Steve nodded, glancing behind his shoulder and then at Bucky, “We’re all present and accounted for.”
You smiled and nodded to the driver, “You heard the man. Shouldn't need me to tell you to get this show on the road.” The soldier grunted, and the Jeep moved forward with a jolt. “The camp is about half an hour out, but a warm meal should be waiting for everyone when we get there.”
“Sounds great,” Steve said, “Any idea on what this training will entail?”
“Nope,” You popped the ‘p’ for emphasis. “Haven't been planning it out all weekend of anything.” You looked back to see Steve slightly flushed. Smiling, you shifted in your seat to talk to them easier, “I’ve got what Phillips wants you to know, I’ve got what I know you guys need to know to survive alone in Germany, and then I’ve got whatever the hell it is Stark has cooked up for your ace team. I figure if you boys learn one or two things each during the next few weeks, were golden.”
“One or two things each?” Steve questioned, “Don't you think you're setting the bar low?”
You shook your head, “Absolutely not. This training facility is for training spies and saboteurs, people that need to be able to survive in a warzone completely and totally alone. Most of the recruits won't even make it the first two weeks. If I held your team to the same standard, over half of them would fail. It’s nothing wrong with them, the training is just that strict and we don’t have time to mess around. Hell, I would have failed it if I didn’t cheat a little.”
Bucky laughed, “You sure you should be telling us that Doll?”
“What are they going to do?” You asked, “Fire me? As much as Phillips hates me, he knows he can’t afford to fire me. It's a very interesting sense of job security.”
“I’m sure Col. Phillips doesn’t hate you,” Steve said, sounding entirely unsure himself. Peggy, no doubt, told him about the countless little squabbles you had gotten into with Col. Phillips.
“The entire reason I was assigned to train you is because Phillips thinks it will keep me out of his hair.” You said, looking out the jeep to the frostbitten countryside. You had no doubt Phillips didn't mind the idea of you freezing your ass off in the middle of winter either, just as long as he didn't have to deal with you.
“Speaking of trains,” Bucky spoke up, “I thought you said you were going to meet us on the trains, not picking us up from it.”
You looked at him with an eyebrow raised, “I was. Then I got tired of waiting and took the last train out on Friday. I don't like staying in one place long.”
“We were barely in London for a few days Doll.” His flirtatious smile made you bite back a smile of your own.
“What exactly is this ‘Doll’ nonsense?” You asked, locking eyes with Bucky. “Last I checked I wasn’t a doll.”
“You’re as pretty as one though,” He winked and your heart skipped. How someone could possibly be so damn charming, you had no idea.
“Wow.” You said, your lips finally curling upwards. “Bet you break a lot of hearts with that one.”
His face went stony as if you had accused him of something serious. “Never intentionally. I would never break a dame’s heart if I could help it.”
“You better be careful then,” You said softly, “Flirting like that is liable to break more than a few.” Something about how he said it, how earnest his voice sounded, made you want to believe him. However, you had no doubt in your mind that he had unintentionally broken many hearts.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He said, seriousness fading only barely. He was a good man, you decided, better than most. Which only made his fate rest even more uneasily in your mind. He didn’t deserve to die. You barely knew him and still felt with all your heart that you wanted to save him.
The rest of the ride to the camp was peacefully quiet, save for a few quips back and forth between Steve and Bucky. And, as promised, dinner awaited all of them when they arrived. The length of the trip took the majority of the day, leaving the men the evening to settle in. Tomorrow would be the start of their training, and the start of a very long two months.
The next few days proved to be interesting. The commandoes quickly fell into a daily routine, in the mornings would be general physical training and combat training, mainly trying the group trying to learn how the hell to fight with a shield. The afternoons after lunch would be far more varying, the subject would change daily, covering a wide variety of topics, from picking locks to explosives and demolition. Bucky found the routine to be strangely comforting as if he were back in basic and not training to be some elite force for Captain America. Of course, his basic training never had a pretty woman supervising over it.
It was easy for Bucky to grow fond of you in the week that he had known you thus far. Fiery and sassy, You were quick to argue with just about everyone if you felt so inclined. Frankly, you reminded him of Steve in a lot of ways. Just being around you had the ability to put Bucky in a good mood. Which was exactly why he was grinning like an idiot as he and Steve trekked down to the explosives range after lunch.
You were carrying crates from a truck with Dernier as the two men approached, early for training by at least fifteen minutes. As you lifted a particularly large crate Bucky stepped in to take it from you. “I can carry it, Sergeant.” You said, refusing to give over the crate.
He gave you a cocky smile, “Sorry doll, but if my Ma found out I didn’t help a woman carry something so heavy, she’d have my hide.” You looked at him for a moment, considering his argument, before smiling and handing over the crate.
“Take it to the pile by the tables, you too Steve,” You ordered, nodding at steve who was grabbing a crate of his own. “Once you’re there, help Jacques unpack them onto the tables.” The men nodded and followed your direction, carrying the crates to the tables. They were hardly halfway there when you passed them with an even larger crate, a devilish smirk on your face. “Come on boys, at least try to keep up!”
The men stopped in their tracks, bewildered. Steve was the first to crack, laughing so hard he nearly dropped his crate. “Careful punk,” Bucky warned. “Don’t need Captain America blowing up on us.”
“I was wondering why she gave in so easy,” Steve said, regaining his composure and continuing toward the tables where you and Dernier were now unpacking various explosive chemicals.
Bucky chuckled, “Yeah, shoulda really expected something like that, huh?” He said, setting his crate next to Steve’s. Bucky looked up at you as he opened up the box, barely paying attention to what he was doing. You really was something, just about everything you did somehow managed to play on Bucky’s mind on repeat even hours after it had happened. After all the things Bucky had seen and experienced, your presence was almost ethereal, too good to be true. “She’s funny like that, ain't she. Most gals would have loved to have someone helping them.”
“Her and Peggy are cut from the same cloth,” Steve said, setting a box of TNT onto the table.
Bucky pulled wires and fuses from his crate, tearing his attention away from you. “You think so?” Bucky really didn't know Peggy well, besides when she completely rejected him at the bar, but Steve seemed head over heels for you. Bucky was pretty sure that he’d heard more about Peggy in the last few days than he had about anyone else coming from Steve.
“I don’t think she would be friends with anyone who wasn’t,” Steve said, leaning against the table. “You seem to like her though.” Bucky rolled his eyes; as if that wasn’t the most obvious statement in the world. He had been openly flirting with you since you met. Unfortunately, despite your flirting back, you seemed perfectly content keeping Bucky at a distance.
“Steve!” you called from a different table. “Toss me a bundle of TNT please.” Steve obliged, tossing the bundle with an underhand throw directly into your arms. “Thanks!” You said with a smile and a nod before turning back to Dernier.
“Why is it you get to be Steve and I’m still ‘Sergeant Barnes’?” Bucky complained. “I’m the only one she calls by rank and last name.”
Steve shrugged, “She calls Col. Phillips by rank and last name.” he said, looking over one of the TNT bundles.
“Steve,” Bucky crossed his arms, “She hates Col. Phillips.”
Steve chuckled, “I’m pretty sure she’s doing it to fuck with you, Buck. If its really bothering you, ask her to stop.” He tossed the bundle in his hand into the air, catching it again with ease. “How big do you think the explosion would be if we blew up a whole box of these?”
Bucky stared at his friend, knowing exactly what was going through his head. A boyish smile grew on Bucky’s face “You think it’ll be anything like that Fourth of July when we were teenagers?” He asked, taking the last box of TNT from the crate.
“I was thinking more along the lines of Loony Toons.” Steve said, “Big crater in the grounds, burn marks everywhere.”
Bucky laughed, he could only imagine it. Bucky took the bundle from Steve’s hands. “Only one way to find out right? I bet you a dollar it’s like the fireworks. These things are basically giant firecrackers right?” He said, taking the box and bundle out away from the tables until he was sure it was safe. After setting the box down, he lit the bundle with his lighter and threw it into the box, before backing away to what he thought was a safe distance.
Bucky glanced back at Steve as the TNT went off. He didn't have a chance to react as the force of the blast sent him flying backward. His ears rang as he blinked away the shock. He didn't feel hurt, so that was a good sign, but damn, if he didn't expect that.
“Bucky?! Holy shit are you okay?” A frantic voice asked. Still dazed, he turned his head to see you and Steve next to him. “You could have died!” You fretted over him, checking for injuries. “I thought you would have been the responsible one after Steve tried to walk to Austria. Jesus Christ. But no, here you are, almost blowing yourself up.”
“I am the responsible one.” He argued. Steve scoffed and shook his head, but didn’t try to deny it, knowing he would be proven wrong. Bucky blinked a few more times while brushing dust out of his hair until the realization struck him. “Since when do you call me Bucky?”
You scowled, “You almost got yourself killed and you're seriously focusing on what name I call you?”
Bucky smirked, “What can I say Doll, I was expecting the blast.”
You groaned, “Next time Barnes, run twice the distance you think you need to.” You rubbed your face and sighed. “What the hell were you even thinking?”
“That that punk was gonna do it if I didn’t,” He said, gesturing to Steve. You stared at Steve, who returned your inspection with a sheepish smile as if to say that Bucky was completely right. “That had a hell of a lot more kick than the fireworks. That’s for sure.”
You rolled your eyes, “We were already going to blow it up!” You tried to continue to scold, but Bucky could see the corners of your lips twitching upwards. “Seriously, I actually will get fired if I let Captain America die on my watch.”
Bucky stood up and pulled a dollar bill from his pocket, handing it to Steve. “Trust me Doll, as long as I’m alive, I’m gonna make sure Steve is too.”
Your face clouded over, “I don’t want you to die either.” You said with a level of earnestness that threw Bucky off.
“I ain’t gonna die on ya either.” He reassured, but you didn't seem to be convinced.
You took a deep breath, “Come on, the others are almost here.” You said, pointing at the three men coming down the hill. “We’ve gotta teach you all how to blow shit up without blowing yourself up in the process.”
Taglist (If you want to be added, ask. if you don’t see your name here and you did ask, I probably tagged you in the OC version, or think you have already read up to this point in the OC story. You will still be tagged when theres a true new part) :
@henderwhore4life  
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urbancoroner · 6 years
Text
NIKE MISSILE BASE HM-40: LAUNCHER AREA
The time I tried to find an abandoned missile site but wandered into crocodile hell instead
With a vague idea of where I was going and armed only with my Nikon and claws, I set off alone for Key Largo at high noon. Seeing as this place looked pretty wilderness-y, I assumed it would be a Pineapple Paradise kind of deal where I could only find it by Google Earth coordinates and careful guesswork but damn if it didn't appear when I typed "Nike Missile Base Key Largo" into the Maps search.
I haven't been to the Keys in over 18 years and I barely saw it then so I appreciated being able to take in the scenery in silence as I drove. The Card Sound Bridge was pretty intimidating and I smiled to myself imagining how hard my mom would NOPE if she saw it approaching on the roadway ahead, cutting a thin, two-lane asphalt slice directly upwards through clear, cloudless blue skies.
I slowed down a bit once my app indicated I was approaching my destination. When I started the directions I'd noted that the little marker for my destination appeared to be a bit off the roadway in the middle of the wilderness. I'd resigned myself to having to park nearby where the marker was - but not too close seeing as I don't want to be TOO conspicuous - and walk into that patch of green where the marker sat. It took me a few passes to find the right spot but eventually I pulled off to the side and parked across the street and slightly south of where my destination was. I looked up and saw a sign proudly announcing "Crocodile Lake" between my car and the break in vegetation that would be my entrance point. Awesome.
I did a bit of on the spot recon - as much as my cell service would allow me to since it was barely hanging on to a signal. The time it took for Google Earth to load up on the tenuous connection gave me a chance to reflect on the podcasts Flowerbomb and I had been listening to lately that detailed strange disappearances in National Parks - of which I was currently in. Google Earth didn't tell me much more than I already knew. I was looking for any kind of view of buildings in relation to where I currently was, specifically the radar towers that I knew should be visible above the trees, to gauge which direction I should head off into. All I saw on the satellite picture was a barely-there path amid the endless forest in the general shape of a conversation bubble that had obviously been a road at one time. Any buildings that could be or should be along that road were hidden beneath a sea of green.
This was about as prepared as I was going to be and if I was going to get lost in the fucking forest I might as well do it while I still have at least three and a half hours of quality daylight left. With this mindset I changed from my flip flops into my flats - people who are ill-prepared for the wilderness rarely get taken - and jogged across the street, camera thrown over my shoulder and trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. I power-walked along for a ways until I felt my presence was mostly concealed from any passing cars by the mass of trees encroaching on the once-road.
As I drew further away from the road, the ambient noise of civilization quickly faded and I was struck once again by how deafening the silence is in the middle of the wilderness by yourself. Luckily the former road I was on was wide enough that I was mostly able to avoid the surrounding trees and I didn't immediately encounter any of the aforementioned crocodiles or other wildlife that would like to eat me. In fact, there were no animals around at all, with the exception of the occasional bug that buzzed harmlessly by. I was very, very alone.
This was a bit of a relief, after all no company is better than large, hungry reptiles. Mostly, though, the heavy silence and isolation were just unnerving. It didn't help that an eerie feeling hung heavy over the area as well. I came to an area where the road forked and after consulting Google Earth - which was thankfully still hanging on to my connection - I saw this was where it circled around. Both roads would eventually take me to the same place so I elected to take the direction that was not mostly blocked by a huge, old orange dumpster.
Unfortunately, that direction was a much tighter path that required me to get way more intimate with nature than I had desired or intended, especially in shoes that barely covered the tops of my feet. Most of the path required me to bend down and duck beneath low-hanging branches and spider webs I only just managed to see in time.
"Kaine's gonna be so mad when he finds out I did this alone,' I thought to myself as I did it anyway. I am stubborn and refuse to have been not-so-gently caressed by so very many branches and god knows what else for nothing and that stubbornness was the only thing preventing me from turning back now.
Once the path opened up again, the eerie feeling increased as well. The trees here were still thick, but now I had enough space to continue on without being concerned I was going to be dive-bombed by a thousand banana spiders for walking face first into their web.
I watch the killer channel enough to know that this is the exact situation people are in right before they get murdered in some weird way and go missing forever so I called Flowerbomb just so my cell phone would ping off the nearest tower and the police would have somewhere to start looking for me when I mysteriously disappear.
I told Flowerbomb as much on the phone and she immediately requested that I video chat her so she too can experience wilderness hell. Talking with her distracted me from the feeling that I was immediately about to be taken by the swamp wendigo and robbed of my shoes, even though she was awestruck by the fact that I was DEFINITELY about to become one of those podcast disappearance stories.
There wasn't much for her to see on the video chat as far as scenery, not only because the connection was weak and occasionally breaking up, but mainly because there wasn't much to see at all. I mentally orientated myself and was pretty sure I was walking around the far side of the rounded part of the path. I still hadn't found any buildings. I could see a fence running along what I assumed was once the perimeter of the area about ten feet from the path I was on and just barely visible through the brush.
As I continued on, I saw bits of wreckage here and there; the remains of what had once been buildings most likely, demolished and now nearly entirely swallowed by nature. Beyond the thick trees, on the side opposite where the fence ran toward the center of the long, rounded road I thought I saw what might be a bunker of some sort. It was a built up area that almost looked like it had been built into a hill. There was some concrete protruding from the foliage, which was the only thing that tipped me off that it was - or had been - a building in the first place. It looked like the doorway to one of the control stations in Lost, which is the main reason I assumed there was a door there. Because of the overgrowth I couldn't tell for sure - and there was also a high probability that it was actually just a storm drain or something equally useless, which is why I was unwilling to brave the heavily wooded area to find out for sure.
Still on the phone with Flowerbomb, complaining about how damn lost I was, I rounded the corner and though there was still nothing to be found but indistinguishable rubble I was relieved that there was also no hungry crocs or cryptids. The road widened here again and the forest was back in its lane - by which I mean not in my fucking face.
I rounded another corner, now theoretically heading back in the direction from which I'd come, and was disappointed that I hadn't found anything worth exploring. I saw a wider open area along this way and my hopes had revived for a moment that there might be something to actually photograph, but when I finally passed the trees that had been blocking the view I saw nothing but the foundation of a building that had obviously once stood here.
I didn't understand, had the location been demolished? Something had most definitely once been here, even if it was all rubble and remnants now. Was there nothing remaining of Nike Missile Site HM-40 but stray blocks and a lonely foundation rapidly being consumed once more by nature?
A short way past the foundation was the orange dumpster, indicating that I'd at least reached the same area I'd started from and wasn't quite as lost as I'd thought. I decided to quit while I was ahead - by which I mean not a delicious crocodile brunch - and head out the way I'd come. I didn't get anything to photograph but I also didn't get eaten so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Once I was safely back in the air conditioned comfort of my car I tried to regroup. I opened Google Earth once again to see where I'd fucked up on this. Was the location demolished and gone? Or was I just in the wrong place? In one final weird-as-hell moment when I opened Google Earth and told it to find my location, it put me across the street, still in the woods that I had just left. I tried again, assuming the app was just glitching (despite the fact that it had been working flawlessly all day, even out in the woods, and I now had enough bars back to sustain the app). Once again, it showed my location as in the woods.
I took a screenshot and sent it to Flowerbomb, telling her what was happening and her immediate response was a resounding GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE!
Ignoring the weird wendigo-ness going down on my app, I panned around the surrounding area trying to see if maybe Maps had just led me to the wrong location, even though something obviously had been there. I turned on the Maps again and searched "Nike Missile Base Kay Largo" and this time, since I was actually paying full attention to what I was doing, I noticed that the app gave me TWO results; one of which was the forest location I'd just left and the other about a mile north of my current location titled "Control Site".
Later I'd find that I was actually at the right location, just at the wrong part of it. Nike missile bases consisted of two facilities; the Launch Area where the missiles were stored, assembled and - obviously - launched, and the Integrated Fire Control (IFC) site, which was always located about a mile away from the Launch Area, which consisted of the barracks, radar tower, administration facilities, etc. Basically the IFC site was the brains and the Launch site was the muscle.
The area I had just left was the original Launch Area of the HM-40 site and had been demolished long ago and given to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, who turned it into a protected habitat and nesting ground for the endangered American crocodile. The IFC site was what I had been looking for.
This is why it pays to do more than ten minutes of half-assed research, kids. Normally I'm much more careful and coordinated than this but when I'm going out adventuring by myself I have way more of a go-with-the-flow attitude. When I have others with me, our locations are more carefully thought out, but when I'm by myself I allow myself to take more chances and see where the day takes me. Sometimes it works out and I find some really cool places. Other times I end up getting almost-lost in a crocodile infested forest because my dumb ass skipped off half-cocked into the wrong damn location.
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dansphlevels · 6 years
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Prompt idea where Phil surprises Dan with a bath because he’s been so stressed lately with YouTube and he didn’t think Phil cared and so they make out in the tub i’m a slut for this shit lmao
Tub Time
Option number 4! (Short fluffy slightly romantic/slightly sexual)
Summary: Gamingmas is a bit too much for Dan to handle and Phil decides the best way to help him is to drag him into a shared bath. Play fighting, banter, and all that mushy gushy kiss kissing ensues.
Length: 2k words
“I’m sorry, Phil, let’s just get pizza or something. I have to edit.”
Phil nodded. It was the busiest time of year for them as they mass produced gaming videos, while trying to keep up with live shows, their own channels, the business side of things, and getting ready for leaving for Christmas. They were around the 16th or 17th day of Gamingmas, and already they were behind. They needed to finish editing and release the new video by nine, which was only two hours away, and then they had the next three videos filmed that they would have to edit as well. It was no wonder Dan didn’t want to make dinner.
“I’ll order something,” Phil offered. “Or, if you’d like, I could edit the video?”
Dan shook his head. “You did the last few. I need to do my share.”
“You need to take care of yourself first,” Phil correcred, trying to be gentle. He took his boyfriend’s hands in his, squeezing them reassuringly. “I really won’t mind.”
Dan bit his lip, looking at their hands. Then he pulled away. “Thanks. But I need to do this.” He pulled out his phone from his pocket and immediately winced. “Shit, it’s already past seven. How long was the first video?”
“Less than 40 minutes, I think.”
“Shit. Shit. I’ve got to get started, we shouldn’t have filmed that last one-”
“Dan, it’ll be okay.”
“I’m going to…” Dan gestured towards his room, quickly walking to it and closing the door.
Phil sighed. Finally, he got out his phone and rang for a pizza.
——-
Dan had been editing for over an hour when the pizza came. Phil immediately put some on a plate and went to his room, knocking once before letting himself in.
Dan was completely immersed in the editing, his headphones over his ears and his eyes trained on the computer. He was humming slightly, which was a good sign.
Phil set the plate on the desk besides him and Dan pulled off one of the ears of the headphones, still looking at the screen. “Thanks.” He didn’t touch the pizza.
“Come on, take a break. Just ten minutes.”
“We only have… 49 left. Shit.”
“Dan, no one cares if we post it right on time.”
“We have to though! We can’t miss our window, it has to be directly at nine here, so that way it’s at two in America.”
“Dan, we won’t miss the window if the video is ten minutes late.” Dan didn’t respond, so Phil tried another approach. He put both hands on Dan’s shoulders, trying to massage the tension from them. “Come on. Just ten minutes. Eat with me.” Dan still didn’t do anything, so Phil bent down, pressing a small kiss underneath his ear.
“Phil, I need to focus.” Dan still didn’t look at him.
Phil straightened, pouting, and Dan immediately replaced the headphone over his ear.
———-
Phil was sitting on the couch when his phone buzzed. He opened it, and saw that it was the notification saying that a new video had been posted on DanAndPhilGames, at nine sharp.
He got up and went to Dan’s room to congratulate him. When he got there, Dan was leaning back in his chair, looking exhausted. “Thanks for doing that Dan. Come on, let’s get you out of that chair. Do you want to watch a movie?”
Dan stayed tight and unmoving, not looking at Phil. He gave a small shake of his head.
“Dan-”
“I’m going to start editing the next video. So we don’t have a repeat of this tomorrow.”
“Dan, you look exhausted.”
Finally, finally, Dan turned around and looked at him, his eye bags especially present. “I am exhausted. But there’s work to do.” He swiveled back around.
“Oh my God.” Phil marched over and grappled with Dan for the mouse, finally tearing it out of his hand. He went to the top corner and clicked the save button, then immediately powered off the computer. “Come on, get up.”
Dan looked at him, his expression blank but clearly not pleased. “What the hell, Phil.”
“I said get up. You’re making yourself miserable, and frankly, you smell. Take a shower, or a bath, or something.”
Dan didn’t even blink. “No. I don’t want to.”
But Phil didn’t care. He pulled out Dan’s chair, wheeling him towards the door while Dan protested weakly all the while. “What the fuck, Phil, what the actual fuck? Stop it, I have videos to edit!”
The desk chair didn’t want to wheel through the bathroom doorway, so Phil huffed and pulled it back. “You need to take care of yourself. Did you take your meds today?”
“Fuck you.”
Phil reached down and pulled Dan to his feet, but Dan didn’t move. Phil tried to drag him forwards, but in an act of complete stubbornness, Dan went limp in Phil’s arms.
“Dan! I need you to help me out here!”
“I refuse!”
“Dan, come on!”
“Where the fuck was my consent?”
Phil managed to haul him upwards and drag him into the bathroom, where he set him down against the wall. Dan leaned back against in in exhaustion, staring at Phil with a look of annoyance only amplified by his dark circles.
Phil went over to the tub and turned it on. “A nice hot bath. That’ll do you good, don’t you think?”
Dan didn’t respond. He looked away, his entire body still limp.
Phil went over to sit with him, taking Dan’s hand gently and intertwining their fingers together. Dan looked at their hands tiredly. “I’ll edit the videos tomorrow morning. Tonight we can go to bed early, okay? I think we both need it.”
Dan looked up at him, his lips pursed. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Phil said, even more gently. “Come on. We all need a little extra support sometimes.” He glanced behind him. “I think the bath is done. Do you want to take your clothes off while I finish getting it ready?”
Dan made a little nodding motion, which Phil considered progress. He went and turned the faucet off, making sure the water was the right temperature before pouring some soap in the water, swirling it around. “I know it’s kind of girly, but I really like this soap. You’ll have to tell me what you think.” He looked over to Dan, who almost had his shirt over his head. “Want some help there?”
Phil went over and helped Dan get his shirt off, then helped him stand and had him lean against the counter as he got to his knees. “I read that baths are good for your mental health, and are actually better for the environment than taking a long shower.”
Dan just grunted. He kept himself up as Phil undid his jeans, pulling them down Dan’s legs carefully, having to tug to get them all the way down. “Pants too?”
“No Phil, I’m going to take a bath with my pants on.”
Phil took that as a yes, please and pulled Dan’s boxers down to. Then he helped him into the tub, watching Dan’s eyes close and he sunk into the bubbles. After a moment, Dan opened just one eye. “Well? Come on, get in here.”
Phil hadn’t been planning on joining Dan, but Dan’s expression made it clear what he wanted. So Phil quickly stripped and after Dan made room for him, climbed in beside him.
“You’re making waves,” Dan grumbled.
“Oh noooo! Tsame!” Phil said as he turned over, making a wave splash Dan.
Dan almost smiled. “It’s called a tsunami, dweeb.”
“Tsunami!” Phil splashed him again.
Dan got an inch closer to smiling, his lips pursed together. “Scoot over, you’re all up in my space.”
Phil smiled back at him, trying to respect him and move over, but the bathtub was only so big.
“I hate everything,” Dan said, pouting as he drew circles on the surface of the pink bathwater. “Why did we ever think Gamingmas was a good idea?”
“Do you want to stop doing it?” Phil offered.
Dan hesitated, then shook his head. “It’s a good thing,” he decided. “Just not… /that/ good of a thing.”
“It’s a challenge,” Phil agreed.
“I don’t really want to talk anymore,” Dan admitted. “Too tired.”
“We could cuddle? I mean, we might slip, but-”
“Just…” Dan tilted Phil’s face towards him, looking him over. “We could… um…” he leaned in, awkwardly pecking Phil on the lips.
“Yeah. I like that.” Phil leaned in and kissed him, more properly, and Dan immediately responded, reaching around to grasp at the back of Phil’s head with one of his wet hands.
Phil tried to pull back a little, but Dan just took the opportunity to push on him more so that he was almost on top of Phil’s chest, the water filling in between them. Phil took the cue and opened his mouth, deepening the kiss. His hands made their way to Dan’s back, gently pressing him closer.
“Fuck Gamingmas,” Dan mumbled into the kiss. “And fuck everything else too.”
Phil pinched him lightly, murmuring “language” into the kiss, his voice deeper and huskier than normal.
“Sorry.” Dan carefully pulled away from the kiss, getting up so he wasn’t on Phil’s chest as much. “Move over a bit? More to the middle.”
Phil gave him a questioning look, but moved over.
“And sit back a bit more?”
Phil scooted back so he was sitting up more, and Dan carefully crawled over him, straddling him. “This is a risky game you’re playing, Danny,” Phil warned.
“Yeah, well let’s both just keep our own business to ourselves, okay? I’m only looking for some PG-13 action, no bathtub porn, okay?”
Phil responded by grabbing both of his thighs and pulled him closer, making both of Dan’s knees touch the side of the tub. Dan grabbed onto Phil’s shoulders to steady himself, quickly leaning in and tilting his head to the side to kiss him, rocking his body into the kiss.
Phil let his hands go back up to Dan’s back, holding him as he leaned him back, kissing more aggressively. Dan grabbed onto the back of Phil’s neck to keep himself up, but didn’t break away from the kiss. “Phil… Phil… I’m going to slip.”
Without breaking the kiss, Phil yanking Dan’s hands away from his neck and pushed him back. Dan splashed as his knees surfaced, but Phil was keeping him upright still. Dan wrapped his arms around his neck, kissing back. “We’re making such a mess,” he mumbled.
“It’s fine,” Phil reassured. “Come here.”
Phil pulled him sideways onto his lap, one arm supported Dan’s back, the other around the underneath of his knees. Dan rested against his chest, smiling up at Phil as he allowed himself to be cradled. “I love you. You know that, right?”
Phil smiled back. “Yeah. Just like you know I love you.”
“Yeah, but you don’t like, cuss me out and get annoyed at me that often. I guess I’m not that great of a boyfriend, huh?”
Phil’s smile immediately dissolved. “Don’t say that! You’re a great boyfriend. You’re just also human.”
Dan groaned, his slippery skin still pressed against Phil’s. “Ugh, why can’t I just be perfect like you.”
He leaned closer, but Phil didn’t close the gap just yet. “I’m not perfect.”
Dan’s eyes flickered between Phil’s eyes and his lips. “You are to me.”
Phil watched Dan, looking for any sign that he wasn’t being serious. He found none. “Your hair is all dirty,” he decided finally. “You need to wash it.”
Dan was about to ask what he meant when Phil tightened his grip on him, dipping him backwards into the water quickly and pulling him back up, spluttering. “Phi-il!”
Phil stuck his tongue out, giggling so hard Dan could feel it in his chest. “Don’t think you’re getting away with this Lester!” He pushed his hands off of him, crawling off of Phil and shoving him to the side, but Phil caught himself before hitting the waterline, still giggling. Dan tackled him, and this time they both went under.
They submerged, and Phil wiped the water off of his face, his hair sticking to his forehead. Dan grinned evilly, his wet curls still looking unfairly good. He squealed as Phil tackled him, their lips connecting in a kiss right as they hit the water.
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pausedby · 10 years
Text
Life in Asmat
The last and the first time I visited Asmat was on 2013. I was staying for about two weeks there, including one week in Sawaerma, one of the most remote villages. Remembering how I get there, it is actually hard for me to not missing to be there. I was on an assignment from Keuskupan Jakarta to document the people, social life, and the culture of Asmat. After several years of keeping the photograph only on my disk with only few of it has been used and published. I plan to make other stories from the unpublished photographs. 
To get to this place, I needed to get myself travelled in various mode of transportation. From Java, it took 6 hours of flight to get to the main city, Timika. From there, I needed to wait for several days for the flight by propeller plane to Ewer due to its limited schedule. After one and half hour on the modest plane, I finally arrived in Ewer, the nearest airport to Agats, Asmat district. I stretched my back for a little while then I quickly jumped to the speedboat which took us to Agats in 25 minutes through water and coastal swamp. I haven’t reached my destination yet. 
I stayed for several days in the district’s bishopric while waiting for the next trip. There were almost no signal here even to make calls. From here, our trip depended much on the rainwater in order to get the speedboat run. After few days with beautiful blessed rain, I continued another long journey to Sawaerma, 6 hours on speedboat. It takes 30 litres of gasoline to get the boat to Sawaerma, which means we need to bring 60 litres for the round-trip, back and forth.
The first thought that came to my mind is that I needed to make stories about the people in Sawaerma, the remote village which I had spent most of the day in Asmat. Until now, I still remember the routine I had there, waking up early and grab breakfast in Pastor’s house--which functions also as the school head office. The pastor is also the school headmaster. When I asked him why he stays in the same house with the office, he just answered that there’s more people staying there, there are other teachers and members to make conversation with. He refused to stay in separate place because he does not want to be considered special. It was too quiet perhaps. He wants to make social interaction with others. Well, a good reasons since the only modes of communication is having conversation. Some people owned phone, but the entertainment they could get from that maybe only the phone game, music, or the chiming ringtones which they sometimes play with, as modest music entertainment.
To get to the school office (I wouldn’t call it office since it is pretty much like a simple family house), I should to walk across the bridge over the river for about five minutes. I need to watch out of the bridge above the river since the pathways in Asmat are all on board made above the land. It sometimes becomes a joke that Asmat people never step on ground, they all walk above the wood path. The houses are also made above the land. If I look down, sometimes I see some farm animals like pig and chicken. The wet ground is the place for people to keep and feed the animals. 
In front of Pastor’s house, there are some areas on the front with plants of eatable vegetables like cucumber and string bean. It is true that Asmat soil is not good for plantation. Pastor has asked some locals to bring the soil from the jungle which he considered as a good soil to plant something. The result is not disappointing. He can start his own small plantation in front of his house, also some wider area near just behind the school. When he got one or two full container of cucumbers and string beans, he will bring it to the other small part of the village and get it sold through the food seller there. Local people are quite enthusiastic. 
The sad story was—based on the pastor—the local people do not want to get their own small plantation even the church has taught them how to grow the plant and even gave them the seeds. They prefer to buy it rather than grow it themselves. I see that the price is not dissatisfying; they could get two medium cucumbers for ten thousands rupiahs, equal to half pack of cigarettes. Considering this, I do not see why the locals do not grow or develop their own plants. If you visit Sawaerma now, in front of several local houses you might find used—or broken—small boat with few soil on it. It was used as a pot to plant. 
There are many interesting inter-cultural things here in a very remote place of Indonesia. You might find yourself get stranded in 40 years back in time. You might find yourself in a place where everything is limited. It might not easy for someone who gets used to live in a big sophisticated city like in Java. The electricity ran from diesel machine is only from 10 am to 10 pm. Considering that almost all of them love football which held mainly in western part of Indonesia at about evening or night (Western Indonesian Time), Asmat time zone (Eastern Indonesian Time) ‘force’ the locals to spare some money to buy more gasoline to get the more hour on the electricity so they can watch the match on TV at almost midnight. But, this is what brought them together. With a small TV about 16 inch wide, students and school staffs crowdedly watch the match together in one of teacher’s house in the school housing area. 
Witnessing such joy when they saw Persipura (Papuan Football Club) scored a goal, I understand that football is something that can get their spirit on fire. Their happy celebration in that small room is like echoing all over the place, leaking and sprouting out of this small house. They do love football.
On one evening I was joining a class to photographs the study and teaching, the children were quite fun, they did not get used to someone holding a camera. Then, I just put my camera and help the teacher explaining some materials for them, even mostly I helped the teacher to calm the student down, they are quite active and noisy. Me, who does not really like children, just can’t help myself. The joy was poured all over the place when I participate in the teaching.
One hour before the dawn, the students just could not wait to get out of the class and play football in the schoolyard. It is a yard made also on board above the land. The enthusiasm is high so it is able to make the teacher get them out of the class several minutes sooner. They ran outside in crowd, get the ball, and play football, no one knows their own team or the opponent team. That busy match ran about half hour, when a child told them to stop the bustling match and suggest to form several teams consist of about eight children each, one team versus another team. Those who are able to score the first goal may continue having a match against another team. 
When I was following the match and also photographing them, I see that the yard board is much damaged. There are so many holes, also the board with the nail on it, some of the board bends upward. If they are not careful enough they can get a serious injury on these football yard ‘traps’. But I see no worry on their face, they are just happy playing, happy celebrating the health the wealth. The ball falls several times into the hole and they have their own fancy way to get the ball. Together they drag down a small body child whose body fits the hole, and then with both feet he holds the ball and the other children pull him up. Sometimes this plan does not work so this small child should really drop his body down the hole and take the ball with his hands, and then the team will pull him up through the hole. This incident happened several times but it is no big problem for them. Without those holes, the ball might get dropped to the outside yard, which means that they do this every time someone kicks the ball to high outside. These matches continue for about five or six times before the sun really down. 
Even the village is surrounded by water, people might say that the clean water which you can consume—to drink, took a bath, wash clothes or dishes—depends on the rain water. Some school staffs often show their teeth to me, explaining that the rain acid has made their teeth get corroded. The Pastor explained to me that the river water is clean enough to consume, but seeing the brown muddy color of it, several newcomers decide to consume the rainwater. It is quite different when I see local kids playing in water. They really do the Indonesian phrase ‘sambil menyelam minum air’ (drinking while swimming/diving). They never really cared about the water. I quickly observe the surrounding houses. Those who had the rainwater container are just the houses in school area. I guess that it takes time to shift and adapt their traditional way of living to the new norms.
Asmat surely do have certain inter-cultural contaminations from the newcomer. When you enter Sawaerma to visit the school, you will pass the river path near the legendary Sawaerma Church. It is beautifully built on wood with many of Asmat carvings. The church is about 300 meters square with many carved wood including statue and its pillars. Inside, you will see the local interpretation of Jesus statue and Holy Maria. They are quite different with regular statue since the character is interpreted by Asmat local knowledge and wisdom. The crossed Jesus statue which was the biggest statue in the church, both of Jesus hands are not nailed on both side of the cross, it is just a regular standing pose, and the hands are down. 
The unique thing about Asmat carving is that the always portrays the phallus. So does in the statue of crucified Jesus statue inside the church. The locals are acculturating the teaching and interpret it based on their beliefs and wisdom. Another amazing Asmat works here is the Holy Maria statue which is portrayed holding her baby not in hand as we know, but it portrays her holding the baby above her shoulder, like how Asmat people always do with their kids. I took a long deep amazed sigh realizing that those great works are results of Asmat’s deep thought and contemplation.
Arif Furqan Sawaerma, Asmat, 2013
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