Ariesshower824 - Geekgirl

Wholly crap that was a wild ride! And I see what you did with Keith and Annalise 👀

Jackie's Bachelor Party

Welcome to a spin-off of Meeting a Magical Man, which, as the name implies, is Jackie's bachelor party! Get ready for sass, chaos, go-karts, and a cowboy bar

Meeting A Magical Man; Ao3: Link Tumblr: Link

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Jackie's Bachelor Party

“Chase, Edward, Mare, and Dark are our DDs. Designated drivers. They’re not drinking so they can drive.” Marvin explained what it meant before Mad could even ask.  

“But we didn’t drive here,” Mad said. 

“They’re staying sober so we won’t die.” Marvin changed his explanation. 

“Oh.” 

“We won’t start drinking until we get to that cowboy bar because, like hell, I trust Anti behind the wheel of a go-kart with anything but water in him.”  

“I am a graceful drunk.” Anti protested.  

“You cried about a stuffed turtle the last time we drank together.” Marvin scoffed. 

“There was that one time you cried because Dark sent you a green heart emoji,” Chase added. 

“You kept going, ‘Guys! He loves me! Guys!’" Marvin exaggerated his tone and hugged Chase’s arm.  

“I’m a little emotional when drunk, alright?” Anti huffed, crossing his arms.  

“A little is beyond an understatement,” Dark stated as he sent a text.  

“Dark! You’re supposed to be on my side!”  

“Jackie’s still not here yet,” Mad commented with a hum.  

“He’s always late.” Marvin clicked his tongue and checked his phone before looking at Chase when his went off.  

“Hey Jackie, you on your way?” Chase asked when he answered the phone. “You can see us? Where are you?”  

“He is a fairly large man; how can we not see him?” Henrik asked with a light laugh as he and the others looked down the streets. Marvin paused and was the only one who looked up, sighing when his assumption was proven correct.  

“Darling, can I borrow your phone?” Marvin asked Chase. 

“No problem.” Chase handed Marvin the phone.  

“Thank you.” Marvin smiled at Chase before putting the phone to his ear and immediately used a much harsher tone. “Jackie Boimen, get your ass off the roof before I drag you down by your hair in a way you will not enjoy!”  

“Who enjoys getting their hair pulled?” Mad asked. 

There was a pause. 

Anti suddenly broke into a loud laugh, leaning against Dark as he laughed while Dark pinched the bridge of his nose. Edward opened his mouth to say something, but Henrik elbowed his side, shook his head, and had a warning glare. Chase held up his hands in surrender and Marvin was too busy watching Jackie climb down a fire escape to notice the question. Mare sighed as he accepted his fate and whispered something into Mad’s ear. 

“Oh.” Mad held out the word. “Oh!” He repeated himself as his face went red. 

Anti started laughing even harder and Dark had to hold his arm to keep him on his feet. 

“What are you doing jumping from roofs a week before your wedding!?” Marvin scolded when Jackie reached them.  

“It was faster.” Jackie rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Faster? Faster to your death, maybe. Honey, you are so accident-prone. We’re testing luck as it is with the go-karts.” Marvin poked at Jackie’s chest. “I have half a mind to take you back home and tell Phantom that you’re doing parkour and risking limping down the aisle.” 

“I think he’s got the point.” Chase chuckled, wrapping an arm around Marvin’s waist, and walking away with him. He looked over his shoulder and gave Jackie a thumbs-up while Jackie mouthed a thank you.  

“And this is why we have several DDs to make sure you all don’t do something too stupid.” Edward joked as he started herding everyone together and walking them toward the building they had been standing in front of.  

“He won’t die because if he does and breaks my brother’s heart, I’ll bring him back and then kill him myself,” Mare said as he held open the door for Marvin and Chase to go through first.  

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” Dark said as he and Anti walked into the building. 

“He says that like I care about his opinion.” Mare popped his lips and smiled when that got Mad to chuckle.  

“Oh, snap!” Jackie snapped his fingers with his comment, smiling with pride after. “Phan taught me that.”  

“I’m so shocked.” Mare rolled his eyes while Edward ushered Jackie and Henrik through the door. “Is it too late to go home?” He asked Mad.  

“I don’t know a lot about weddings and bachelor parties, but I’m pretty sure the brother to one of the grooms can’t run off.” Mad chuckled as he pulled Mare into the building with him.  

“Y’all must be the bachelor party.” A young man greeted everyone with a big smile, face round and making him look like he had just turned eighteen. His name tag read Keith. “We got a lil’ tournament for ya. Since we got an uneven number, we got a bye set up that our groom can either use or we can pick someone by random.”  

“Let someone else have the bye.” Jackie chuckled.  

“Okie dokie, give us just a second to finish up our bracket here and then we’ll get our first round going with our groom here.” Keith shot a quick finger gun at Jackie before walking off to a young woman who appeared to be his age. Her name tag read Annalise.  

Everyone waited as the two set up the large whiteboard with black lines, writing names on the lines to create the beginning of the bracket. 

“Me and you Hen!” Jackie commented after seeing himself and Henrik in the first two spaces.  

“At least I’ll get one round in.” Henrik chuckled as Keith led away him and Jackie to the karts while everyone else was shown to the bleachers by Annalise.  

“Keith’s filling those two in but I'll let you guys know the idea, too.” Annalise played with one of the many piercings in her ears as she spoke. “Three laps, try to stay inside the padded walls, helmets and seatbelts are required, new helmets can be given upon request and most of all, have fun!” She let her ear go and perked up with the last part, which seemed to be her favorite section of the script she presented.  

By the time she had finished, Jackie and Henrik were inside their karts, helmets on, and seatbelts buckled. Jackie had his hands on the wheel and practically bouncing in his seat while Henrik had one of his hands resting on the wheel and he waved at Edward with the other.  

“When the light goes green, y’all can hit it,” Keith said to the two as he went over to stand with Annalise, pointing to the light that hung in the air in front of where the karts waited. Annalise pulled out a little remote from her pocket. “It will change in three...two...one-” He snapped his fingers while Annalise pressed a button, changing the light to green.  

Jackie and Henrik took off with squealing tires. Jackie got an early lead and maintained it throughout most of the race. 

“Go, Jackie!” Chase cheered. 

“You got this, Hen!” Marvin counter-cheered and laughed when Chase playfully bumped him with his hip. 

The race was far from close, Jackie finishing his final lap a good five seconds before Henrik. Jackie waited until Henrik finished and gave him a big hug, shouting in support and excitement. He seemed happier about him and Henrik having fun than the fact that he won.  

“Here go, Mr. Groom.” Annalise handed Jackie a golden star sticker.  

“Awesome!” Jackie perked up and immediately slapped the sticker on his chest. “Who’s next?”  

“Mare and Dark.” Keith read from the board as he added Jackie’s name to the line beside where his and Henrik’s names were.  

“Let's get this over with.” Dark sighed as he went over to the karts.   

“Good luck,” Mad said to Mare. 

“Well, now I’m definitely going to win.” Mare winked and went to the karts as well. 

“Aren’t you two so cute?” Anti teased when he saw Mad watching Mare walking away with a soft smile.   

“It’ll be even cuter when Mare kicks Dark’s ass,” Mad said without missing a beat or looking away from Mare.  

“Marvin! Your apprentice is sassing me!” Anti called out with a laugh in his voice.  

“Did the sass make sense?” Marvin called back. 

“Yes.” 

“Good job, Mad!” Marvin’s praise had Anti acting offended with a hand on his chest while Mad’s smile grew into a proud one.   

“Three...two...one-” This time Annalise did the verbal countdown while Keith pressed the button.  

Mare and Dark took off, staying evenly paced for most of the race. Sometimes one got ahead of the other, but it didn’t last long. 

“Faster, Mare, faster!” Mad cheered. 

“Go, Mare!" Edward added to the cheer. 

“Am I the only one rooting for Dark?” Anti asked. The immediate and unified yes had Anti laughing hard enough that he nearly fell off the bleachers.  

“Mare!" Mad practically screamed with excitement when Mare passed Dark and won.  

“You do know this means you’ll have to race against Mare, right?” Anti asked and his laughing returned at Mad’s face dropping in realization, but that moment passed when Mare went up to him. 

“You won!” Mad said with the brightest smile.  

“How could I not with my good luck charm?” Mare chuckled.  

“Gag me.” Anti stuck his tongue out with his joke as he and Marvin walked by, the two already seeing their turn was next. He paused when they got to where Dark was talking with Annalise, looking at his watch and likely checking what time they’d be finished. Dark politely nodded to the young woman and turned, stopping short of running into Anti. “We should have you race more often, Darky~” Anti giggled. 

“Gag me,” Marvin said and waved with his fingers when Anti glared at him. 

“I’m going to lap your ass,” Anti stated as he moved away from his flirting and went to the karts with Marvin. 

“Good luck with that, honey.” Marvin brushed his hair back with his hand before putting his helmet on.  

“You look hot, Marv!” Chase called out from the bleachers. He let out another cheer when Marvin blew him a kiss as he got into his kart.  

“So, should we expect the next wedding to be for you two?” Jackie teased, lightly nudging Chase with his elbow. Chase choked on his breath and started coughing, face red from both the coughs and a bit of a blush.  

“My money is on it being Edward and Henrik.” Mare said.  

“How did we get involved in this?” Henrik asked.  

“Just a feeling.” Mare sang. 

“My feeling is that one twin is getting married and the other will follow suit soon.” Edward grinned when Mare stiffened and then glared at him. Mad was too busy watching the race to pay attention to the conversation.  

“Go, Marvin!” Mad clapped his hands. 

“Get him, Anti!” Dark shouted his support, making Mad flinch since he wasn’t prepared for Dark to suddenly be so loud.  

“Damn Dark, blow out a man’s eardrum.” Chase laughed, rubbing his ear to add to his joke.   

“Are you blushing?” Jackie joined in on the joke and he quickly slipped away to sit on the other side of the bleachers when Dark looked like he was going to stab him. Thankfully, Dark didn’t have time to follow through on that silent threat as the race finished and most of them were cheering Marvin’s name since he won.  

“What was that about lapping my ass?” Marvin taunted Anti with almost a purr in his voice.  

“Oh, shut up.” Anti scoffed with a hint of a smile. Turning to Chase and Edward as they went to the karts. “You better win Chase so then you can beat Marvin.”  

“We’ll have to wait and see.” Chase chuckled. 

“Have some faith in me,” Edward said as Anti handed him his helmet. Anti just stuck his tongue out and went away to sit next to Dark. 

“Good luck~” Marvin kissed Chase’s cheek, put the helmet on him, and went to the bleachers as well. Chase couldn’t stop his giggle as he watched Marvin leave, he still got a flutter in his heart with those kisses, and he knew that warmth in his chest would never stop when it came to Marvin.  

“Have you ever driven one of these things?” Edward asked as he got into the kart.  

“A few times.” Chase shrugged and got into his kart.  

“You got this Edward!” Henrik followed his cheer with a shout.  

“Think I’ll still get a kiss even after I lose?” Edward laughed.  

“It’s Hen, he’ll kiss you no matter what.” Chase reached over and playfully punched his arm.  

“Y’all ready?” Keith asked.  

“All set.” Chase perked up, hands on the steering wheel and Edward followed suit.  

“Three...two...one-” Keith did the countdown and Annalise pressed the button.  

The race went fairly smoothly aside from Chase beating Edward by almost a full lap. Most of the others weren’t too shocked by this but everyone was shocked when the next race between Mad and Mare had the same outcome and Mad won.  

“I studied the layout of the track while everyone else was racing.” Mad explained to Anti from the kart he still sat in after he had rushed down and asked, ‘How the fuck did you do that’. “Calculating the angles of the turns and getting a loose estimation on how fast the karts can go and-” 

“Okay, we get it, you’re smart, damn.” Anti clicked his tongue. “We need to get you drunk the moment we’re at the bar to make me feel better about myself.”  

“I'm sorry?” Mad wasn’t sure if he had done something wrong but it was better to be safe. He hummed and tilted his head up when he felt something on his helmet, smiling when he saw Mare.  

“You did really good.” Mare said.  

“Nope. Not watching you two get all kissy-kissy. Bleh.” Anti exaggerated his tone as he walked away.  

“Coming from the man that made out with his boyfriend in Marvin’s living room,” Mare called after him. 

“Like you haven’t!” Anti called back. 

“I did when I lived there.” Mare countered.  

“Raise your hand if you haven’t made out in my living room.” Marvin joked, looking at Henrik and his eyebrows going up when Henrik’s hand didn’t. “Hen!”  

“It was one time!” Henrik protested. 

“Twice.” Edward corrected.  

“Okay, now I need all the details~” Marvin teased Henrik.  

“We’re ready for the next round,” Annalise announced and Henrik let out a sigh of relief when the attention went back to the races. 

“They changed the track,” Mad said.  

“Their site said they switch it up between rounds so it doesn’t get boring,” Jackie explained as he checked his seatbelt. 

“Shit.”  

And shit it was. Jackie ended up lapping Mad since he kept driving into the padded walls and by the time Mad was finally finished, he felt dizzy. Mad fumbled out of his kart and wasn’t shocked at Marvin and Mare being right in front of him.  

“Are you okay?” Marvin asked as he took off Mad’s helmet.  

“Did you hurt anything?” Mare asked, checking over Mad’s body.  

“I’m fine. I just wasn’t ready for the sudden change.” Mad laughed. “It was like bumper cars but more intense.”  

“Is he okay?” Jackie asked as he jogged over.  

“Would you all stop acting like I’m made of glass?” Mad rolled his eyes. 

“Oh, we just care about you, Maddy.” Jackie laughed, wrapping an arm around Mad’s neck and rubbing his knuckles against the top of his head.  

“Go back to the glass treatment.” Mad protested as he tried to squirm away from Jackie.  

“You’re lucky he has control over his fire,” Marvin said as Chase joined them for the next race. “Well, for the most part.” He added the last part as a joke and he knew that would get Jackie to let Mad go. And Jackie did, even bouncing back a little as an extra precaution.

“I swear Marvin acts more like your mom than your mentor.” Anti teased as Mad, Mare, and Jackie joined him and the others on the bleachers.  

“I’d be okay if Marvin was my parent,” Mad said.  

“At least he doesn’t have to worry about the ‘birds and the bees’ talk.” Anti nudged Mad’s arm with his hand. 

“He did. My parents didn’t want me to know what sex was, they didn’t even want me to know about kissing.” Mad stated. Anti started laughing like Mad made a joke and it slowly died off when he noticed Mad just blinked at him. 

“You’re kidding, right?” Anti asked. Mad only shook his head and looked out to the karts. “He’s-He’s kidding, he’s just pulling my leg, right?” Anti asked Mare, getting another head shake. “The fuck?”  

“Different day,” Dark whispered to Anti, that being his polite way of saying drop it. 

“If I win, you’re doing dishes for a week,” Marvin said as he got himself ready in the cart.  

“And if I win, you’re doing them without magic.” Chase winked.  

“I see how it is.” Marvin giggled. “We’re ready~” He sang to Annalise and Keith.  

“Three, two, one.” Annalise did the countdown a little faster this time and Keith pressed the button.  

“I don’t know who to cheer for,” Mad said.  

“Me neither.” Henrik agreed. 

“Fuck him up, Marvin!” Anti shouted.  

The race between Marvin and Chase went fast and smooth until the very end when Chase’s back wheel bumped into Marvin’s kart and got him to spin. Chase didn’t realize what had happened, thinking he had scraped a wall, until after he passed the finish line and looked over his shoulder to see Marvin correcting his kart.  

“Sorry!” Chase called as Marvin crossed the finish line a few moments later.  

“I can’t believe you hit me.” Marvin played up his fake pout as he took his helmet off.  

“I didn’t mean to,” Chase said.  

“You owe me now.” Marvin got out of the kart and went over to Chase.  

“I’ll make it up to you tomorrow,” Chase promised, smiling when Marvin gave him a quick kiss.  

“I’ll hold you to it.”  

“Should we go ahead and book a party for your guys’ bachelor party?” Annalise asked with a teasing grin.  

“Anna,” Keith spoke through his teeth in a warning.  

“Time for the finale!” Jackie’s cheer saved Marvin and Chase from having to react to Annalise’s comment. “The groom versus the best man!”  

“Good luck.” Marvin winked and slipped away to the bleachers.  

“Here comes the bride~” Anti sang as Marvin sat down next to him.  

“I will throw you out of the building.” Marvin threatened.  

“And ruin Jackie’s party?” Anti puffed his lower lip out.  

“He won’t notice.”  

“Rude.” 

“Three! Two! One! Go!” Annalise and Keith’s shouts echoed and the higher-pitched revving of the karts followed as Jackie and Chase took off.  

Their race was a much more exciting one than the others. The two were laughing while bumping into each other, letting one get the lead, but it wasn’t long before the other was on their tail, hitting them and taking over.  

“Woo!” Jackie shouted, throwing his arms in the air as he barely beat Chase.  

“We’ll have to do a rematch at some point.” Chase laughed.  

“You're so on!" Jackie said as he held up the trophy Keith handed him. 

“Thank God, we’re finally done.” Anti groaned. “I need a drink.”   

“Don’t forget we’re going to a cowboy bar.” Marvin reminded. 

“Damn it.” 

x~x~x 

“That's the good shit,” Anti said after putting down the empty shot glass. He had no idea how many of those he had drank but it was enough that he didn’t care anymore about anything, and he wasn’t the only one in that state of mind. 

“Ta-da~!” Mad sang, holding his arms out to show the little crowd around him the coin floating in the glass of water. 

“Dude!” Jackie said in awe while the group of equally intoxicated men shouted their approval of the trick as well.  

“That’s magic!” One of the men said. 

“Not magic, science. Now pay up.” Mad held his hands out with a giggle, swaying a bit as he was handed some cash from a handful of the bargoers who had participated in the bet.  

“A drunk Mad hustling cowboys with science was not on my bingo card.” Chase chuckled.  

“It was on mine,” Edward said.  

“I think that’s enough science bets for the night,” Mare said as Mad joined them back at the bar counter.  

“Okay.” Mad sat down on a bar stool. “Jackie went to get his free hat.” He added as he started counting his ‘earnings’. “Can I have another shot?” Mad handed one of the bills to the bartender.  

“Water.” Mare corrected. “Keep the cash, added tip for them.” He gestured to the ones in the group that were drinking.  

“Let him have a shot!” Anti called out. “I want one too!”  

“You can have a shot of water.” Dark agreed with Mare to cut them off.  

“Boo!” Anti pouted.  

“Me and Hen can get-” 

“Some water as well.” Chase finished Marvin’s sentence and chuckled when Marvin whined at him. Henrik's protest came out in German and Edward pushed away the last few sips of Henrik’s drink.  

“When you forget English, it’s time to call it a night," Edward said when Henrik protested at him more in German.  

“I think Jackie is lost.” Chase laughed at seeing Jackie going in a bit of a circle at the other end of the bar. “I got him.” He added and walked off.   

“Oh, my God,” Anti said as he and Marvin watched Chase go.  

“What?” Marvin asked. 

“Chase has a slutty waist.” Anti pointed and Marvin tilted his head.  

“Yeah, he does~” Marvin giggled. “It’s a nice slutty waist.” 

“Mine’s better.” Anti giggled with him.  

“Do I even want to know?” Dark sighed, wishing that he had something stronger to drink than his Dr. Pepper.  

“Probably not,” Mare said with a shrug as he started handing out the water bottles they were given.  

“A slutty waist?” Mad asked. “Do I have one of those?” Marvin and Anti looked at Mad, looked at each other, nodded, and then went back to looking at Mad. 

“Yes.” They answered together. Mad, still not fully sure what the two were talking about, had a sudden panic in his face and shouted. 

“Mare! I’m a slut!” Mad was still confused as Marvin and Anti laughed, Dark nearly choked on his drink, Henrik tried to comfort Mad, but was still stuck on German, Edward covered his mouth with his hand and Mare looked like he was ready to smack the ones laughing.  

“Let’s not yell that in the middle of public.” Mare went to Mad and opened the bottle of water for him. “And you’re not a slut.”  

“But they said-” Mad was cut off by the water bottle getting put into his mouth.  

“I’ll explain what it means when you’re sober. But you two.” Mare turned to Anti and Marvin, who were still laughing. “I know that you’re drunk, but could you refrain from-” 

“Maddy!” Jackie yelled as he hugged Mad, his newly gained cowboy hat sitting cooked on his head. “Maddy, we’re going to be brothers!”  

“They gave him some birthday shots with his hat,” Chase explained. “He’s gone from drunk to trashed.” 

“Sounds like we should head home soon. Phantom can handle-” 

“Mare!” Jackie continued the trend of preventing people from finishing their sentences as he practically threw himself on Mare, giving him a bear hug. “Mare! We’re going to be brothers! I went from no siblings to two! That’s so awesome!” 

“Brother-in-laws.” Mare corrected, rolling his eyes but still having a hint of a smile.  

“My family is growing!” Jackie sounded like he was on the verge of happy tears.  

“Jackie, honey, you’re going to snap him like a twig.” Marvin giggled.  

“I am not that frail.” Mare said. Although, he had to admit to himself that Jackie’s grip was strong. “You can get off me now.” 

“We have to do brotherly things! Like, wrestle and, like, gossip, and argue about silly things and-and-” Jackie turned to get more ideas from Mad but saw an empty chair. “And Mad’s missing.”  

“What are you-shit.” Mare turned as well and managed to finally get free from Jackie’s hold.  “Did anyone see where Mad went?”  

“You need to get a bell for that nerd,” Anti commented. 

“He probably went to the bathroom,” Chase suggested. “Knowing how we are, he told us and wasn’t heard 'cause we’re all loud.”  

“I still vote on getting him a bell,” Anti repeated himself as Mare left to look for Mad.  

“I think I see Mad.” Marvin slid out of his seat  

“Marv, wait.” Chase caught Marvin’s hand and walked with him.  

“Stay here, I’ll go tell Mare where Mad is,” Dark said to Anti, having seen what Marvin had. “Drink more of this.” He moved the water closer to him before walking off.  

“We gotta go help Mad!” Jackie gasped and then ran to where Marvin and Chase went.  

“Jackie!” Edward was going to fight the others for leaving him alone with three drunk men. “Anti!” He missed trying to catch Anti as he went after Jackie. “Damn it.”  

“We can help.” Henrik took Edward’s hand and tugged. 

“At least you’re sobering up enough to be speaking English again.” Edward sighed as he let himself be guided away. He really did need to work on his German lessons. 

“I’m guessing Mad’s where our group is headed?” Mare pointed as he walked with Dark.  

“They need to work on listening.” Dark groaned. 

“Where’s the fun in that?” Mare chuckled, squeezing his way through the crowd and perking up when he saw Mad. He saw that one of the patrons was trying to get Mad’s attention and grabbed his arm. 

“Don’t touch me!” Mad snapped and, doing something no one would expect, punched the man square in the jaw.  

“Mad!” Mare had a lot of conflicting thoughts but the ones that took over were ‘run’ and ‘protect’ as he booked it to where Mad was and pulled him away from the beyond pissed man.  

“The fuck was that!?” The man held his face as he yelled.  

“He weighs ten pounds soaking wet, like it hurt that much, ya fuck!” Anti said in a slurred, yet mocking voice.  

“You little-” 

“Don’t mess with my brothers!” Jackie let out a heroic cry before tackling the man, sending both of them flying to the ground.  

“Get his ass, Jackie!” Marvin’s cheer was drowned out by the ensuing chaos, the other patrons getting bumped into and causing an all-out brawl.  

“This is like one of those movies Chase showed me!” Mad said, being way too excited about it. “Wait! We're supposed to fight!” He protested at Mare throwing him over his shoulder.  

“We are not fighting,” Mare said as he kicked away someone who got too close for comfort. 

“Don’t.” Dark, following Mare’s actions, caught Anti and put him up on a shoulder as well.  

“Let me kick some ass!” Anti squirmed, giving up after a few moments. All the alcohol in his system made him tire himself out quickly. He now just hung limply and muttered in disapproval.  

“Nope, nope, nope.” Henrik grabbed the back of Marvin’s shirt and pulled him away as Edward pushed through the crowd, still holding Henrik’s hand. Mare and Dark made their way through with them 

That meant Chase was left to deal with Jackie.  

“Jackie, yo, Jackie!” Chase shouted over the chaos. Jackie was shoving people away and laughing as no one was able to hit him as he spun about. “Alright, time for the secret move.” Chase rolled his sleeves before running and jumping up on Jackie’s back. “It’s time to leave, dude!” He raised his voice to be heard.  

“Oh! Okay! Hold on!” Jackie warned and then started running, barging through the crowd like a snowplow until he was outside where the others were waiting.  

“Holy shit!” Chase cursed and clung to Jackie for dear life.

“I’m ready to go home,” Mad said from where he sat in the grass.  

“Starting a bar fight is one hell of a way to end a bachelor party.” Anti laughed, leaning heavily against Dark.  

“Thankfully, Henrik is too drunk to scold,” Chase said as he got off Jackie. “You okay, Marv?” He asked when he noticed Marvin suddenly going quiet.  

“Darling, hold my hair,” Marvin said.  

“Hold your-oh, fuck.” Chase scrambled and pulled Marvin’s hair back when he started getting sick.  

“Party foul!” Anti cackled and then his face went green before turning away and throwing up as well.  

“Now, I’m really ready to go home.” Mad covered his ears with the palms of his hands.     

“I told you not to eat those onion rings,” Dark said, rubbing Anti’s back as he stayed hunched over.  

“They tasted good.” Anti groaned. “I regret nothing.”  

“I know you don’t." Dark chuckled.  

“I think Henrik and Jackie fell asleep.” Mad’s voice was louder than usual as he tried to hear himself through his hands, gesturing with his head to the two men on the grass. Henrik was resting on his stomach, glasses askew. Jackie was sprawled out and softly snoring.  

“Phantom’s ready for his drunk fiancé,” Mare said as he shook his phone to show that he had texted his brother.  

“I’m done.” Marvin turned and flopped himself toward Chase. “Ready to go home.” His voice was muffled by Chase’s chest.  

“I think we all are.” Edward chuckled, rubbing Henrik’s back. 

“Phan said he’s got everything set in the living room for you to show up,” Mare said to Dark. “You guys still good with the rest of us crashing at your place.” He added to Chase.  

“Still good.” Chase held up a thumb.  

“Good night, everyone. Here’s hoping the next party doesn’t end as violently.” Dark said. 

“No promises.” Mare laughed, seeing Dark sigh before himself, Anti, and Jackie were gone with the snap of his fingers. In the next moment, Mare snapped his fingers as well and sent the others to the living room of Marvin and Chase’s home.  

“Up we go,” Edward grunted as he scooped Henrik up in his arms. Henrik was back to German as he mumbled something in that language while Edward carried him away. Finally, it was something Edward understood completely. “I love you, too.”  

“The bed will be a lot more comfortable than the floor,” Mare said as he hoisted Mad to his feet.  

“Yeah.” Mad agreed, hugging Mare’s arm and resting his head against it as they started walking. “Night.” He half-waved toward Chase and Marvin. 

“Night.” Chase waved back before turning all his attention to Marvin. “Want me to carry you?”  

“Can you carry me like royalty?” Marvin asked, giving Chase a soft smile as he was leaning over a bit, butt sticking out, and keeping his chin on Chase’s chest.  

“Yes, I can.” Chase chuckled and moved to lift Marvin into his arms bridal style.  

“I’m the fanciest prince.” Marvin giggled, wrapping his arms around Chase’s neck.  

“And the handsomest.” Chase used his hip to open the bedroom door. 

“Nah, that title belongs to you.” Marvin hummed as he was laid out on the bed. “I’m the fancy prince and you’re the handsome prince.”  

“I can work with that.” Chase closed the door, kicked off his shoes and jeans, and hung his hat up.  

“And Mad’s the smart prince and Mare’s the musical prince and Henrik’s the doctor prince and-” 

“Is everyone princes now?” Chase asked while he got Marvin out of his shoes and pants. 

“Yeah!” Marvin said like it was obvious.  

“We must live in one massive kingdom.” Chase tossed the clothing and shoes into piles for morning him to deal with before turning off the lights.  

“We do. The biggest one.” Marvin said, watching in the very dim lighting of the moon Chase crawling across the bed and lying down beside him. He rolled over and flopped himself on top of Chase, hair covering most of his face. “Love you.”  

“I love you, too.” Chase fixed Marvin’s hair so he could see him. “You look like you really need some sleep.” 

“Not tired.” Marvin weakly protested, eyes already closing. 

“Sure, you’re not.” Chase chuckled, lifting his head to kiss Marvin’s forehead. “Goodnight.” 

“Night.” Marvin’s word barely came out, showing he had fallen asleep in mere seconds.  

“Night,” Chase repeated and kissed Marvin’s forehead again with a smile, closing his eyes and relaxing. He’d need to wiggle free later to get his sleeping potion, but for right now he was more than happy to enjoy holding Marvin as he rested.  

Chase had a good feeling that Phantom’s bachelor party would be just as chaotic.  

It's gonna be such a funny mess when Donald Trump dies of a stroke on April 1st, 2024.

Naturally everybody will think it's fake because of the date only to lose their minds (both positively and negatively based on their opinion of trump) when realizing it's real

There will be massive celebrations in the streets and on social media and lots of predictable "don't speak ill of the dead" discourse about those celebrations

Weird evangelicals will pull some weird number trick talking about how Jesus was conceived on April 1st and that makes Trump a sort of messiah and people will make fun of that

The Republicans (after they're done with the faux-sadness and faux-outrage) will stomp over each other to be his successor but none of them will succeed. They'll tear each other apart and have no single nominee for the November elections.

There will be discourse about if Biden and the living former presidents should go to his funeral (they won't, he was a traitor insurrectionist)

The Ukraine-Russia War immediately goes in favor of Ukraine as morale in the Kremlin is reduced. China similarly backs off from its threats on Taiwan.

Ten thousand new memes are made, some sticking around for years to come.

Not a month later a bunch of unofficial biographies of Trump hit the bookshelves, many with new details about just how awful he was.

I love it! And I can't believe Night threatened Dark like that 😳

A Sweet Bribe

Here's a (Only a little late this time XD) birthday gift for @ariesshower824

A quick note that this takes place in the DemonHunter!AU

A Sweet Bribe

Host had a complicated relationship with his birthday. The complication was caused by parents using that day as an excuse to see if his skills have improved and how. They turned a day of celebration into a day of overworking a child to the point of passing out and missing the rest of it. It was now a yearly reminder that he needed to be better, faster, stronger, and he wasn’t good enough. After losing his sight that feeling of resentment returned every time it was his birthday. 

Everyone knew Host’s sensitivity to his birthday, but Dark was the only one who knew the story since his own past was similar, and he also struggled with his birthday. Most just assumed Host didn’t like knowing he was getting older, and it definitely added to it since his partner is an immortal Demon.

There was a silent rule to not verbally wish Host a happy birthday, but they could still give gifts to him. Host would never get angry or snap at anyone for wanting to give him something. He always politely smiled and thanked them, taking the gifts to his office and having them piled on the small table. The gifts would get a proper look at the next day when the sourness of his birthday was gone, and he could appreciate them more. 

Even some of the Demons got him something. Anti had run into him on his own that morning and given him a cupcake, stating that he had made extras and heard Host had a sweet tooth. Host knew that was a lie and thanked Anti with a smile, and the cupcake was the only gift used the same day. Anti was right about Host having a sweet tooth, and he couldn’t resist. 

“Host?” Night’s voice came from his office door. “May I steal some of your time?” 

“You say that as if you wouldn’t do it regardless.” Host chuckled with a loving smile.  

“What can I say? I enjoy being with you.” Night playfully hummed and went to the desk, seeing Host turn his head slightly at the sound of him placing something on the wooden surface. 

“Do I even want to know what you’ve brought?” Host asked.

“I know you’ll like it. You do have a famous sweet tooth. I already saw Anti with his cupcake, but something tells me you can’t deny a slice of homemade cake.” Night had gone behind Host as he spoke, placing his hands on Host’s shoulders and gently massaging. He hated how he could feel knots already forming despite having just taken care of those the previous day. Host really did stress himself too much with worries for everyone. Night adored Host’s courage, passion, and willingness to do what it takes, but he wished his mate would take better care of himself. 

“You made cake?” Host asked as he slowly melted into Night’s touch. For a being stronger than most of mankind combined, he sure knew how to work his hands in a firm yet delicate manner. 

“I know I don’t bake often, but when I do, it will satisfy even the most sugar-addicted person.” Night teased with a kiss to the top of Host’s head. 

“I’m not sugar-addicted.” Host protested. 

“Sure you’re not, my dear owl.” Night smiled when he worked his hands a touch deeper against Host’s shoulders and watched as Host groaned with relief and leaned more against him. “Let’s call it early. It is a special day, after all.” 

“It’s not special.” Host tried to tense up, but it was nearly impossible with Night’s hands on him. 

“I know your birthday is hard for you, and I don’t blame your sourness toward it.” Night paused his massage when Host placed his hand on top of his. 

“Dark told you?”

“He did after a lot of threats. Your past is safe with him. I just have plenty of extra cards to pull with him than the average Human or Demon.” 

“Can we just treat today like any other?” Host asked with a sigh. 

“I understand your desire to drop the birthday aspect of it.” Night gently squeezed Host’s shoulders before moving his hands and then going over to where the cake was, picking up the knife he had brought with it. “How about we change this day into an anniversary.” 

“An anniversary? For what?” Host asked. Night softly chuckled as he cut into the cake and placed a slice onto one of the two plates. 

“For the first time you tried my devil’s food cake.” Night grabbed the plate and a fork. He stood beside Host and leaned back against the desk. 

“I don’t think your cake is going to be that good.” Host teased, tilting his head and opening his mouth after Night tapped his chin. 

“Just you wait.” Night sang as he fed Host a bite. 

“Holy shit.” Host blurted out as he chewed. 

“I told you.” Night was beaming with pride as he loaded his fork with another bite. 

“How did you do that?” Host asked. “That should not be so good.” He opened his mouth again at another chin tap and happily sighed at eating more of the cake. 

“Looks like I found your weakness.” Night chuckled. “Could I use this as a bribe to get you to head home? Get you to sit by the fire and read a book? Enjoy some peace?” 

“I think you could.” Host opened his mouth once more and Night was more than willing to continue feeding Host the cake until the slice was finished. 

“I think that’ll last you until we get home.” Night sat the empty plate down and leaned over, kissing Host and then chuckling when he could taste the chocolate on his lips. “And I thought your kisses were sweet before.” 

“That one was bad, even for you.” Host softly laughed.

“I could be so much worse.”  

“I’ll hold you to it when we get home.”

“Yes, sir.” Night kissed Host’s cheek, a light purr in his throat as Host turned his head into another kiss. 

Happiest of Birthdays to the one and only @iamvegorott !!! It's been great getting to know you this past year and I hope they're many more birthdays to come! 🖤

Voxhollow

Link to Prologue

Chapter 1: Dark

Summary: A day in the life of Dark

The trolley rattled and swayed along the iron tracks, Dark sat patiently against the seat reading today’s newspaper as the vehicle made its way to the next stop. Every once in a while he catches a glimpse of someone looking in his direction. It couldn’t be helped, no matter how ordinary he dressed in public there were always people staring at him. Dark fully believes his alluring aura is a blessing and curse. There has hardly ever been a moment of peace for Dark. Since he was born, everyone around him would say what a handsome man he is, or how terrifying his presence can be when he gets upset. This made it easy to single out which ones were genuine from the boot lickers. He always detested those kinds of people. As the trolley continued forward, Dark’s eyes wandered to his surroundings; a city with a bright future ahead. For him, it was at times too overwhelming to take in all of the advancements made so far. He often wondered what his life would be like if he decided to live a life in seclusion. Far away from the bustling, noisy city. A quiet place all to himself.

He was deep in his thoughts when he felt the trolley come to a halt and the conductor shouted out the last stop of the route. He put his thoughts aside to exit off the trolley to go to his destination, Gearmore Industries LTD. A large company with a skyscraper to match, along with other major entities under the same name engraved on the sign. Dark quickly slipped into the building, making sure no one was following him. Stepping into a private elevator catered only to a handful of people in his life and pressed the button to the top floor. Entering his main office, he started to prepare his afternoon cup of coffee, unaware a certain guest had already made themself at home.

“So how did the meeting with that airship company go?” It was Wilford, one of the few close confidants he can call a friend. 

“It went about as well as you expected.” There is a hint of sarcasm in his tone of voice, one that Wil knew very well. 

“One of those meetings huh? Ah well, you can’t get them all Dark. After all there’s only so much one man can grasp.” Wilford said. In spite of Wil’s peculiar nature he does have his moments of wisdom. Something that Dark cherished from the people he trusted. 

“You really are something else you know that Wil. How are the numbers on the stock market?” Dark sat on his desk, slowly taking a sip from his mug as reads the latest reports on the Bell St stocks.

“According to the latest report, the numbers are slightly going up with you still in the lead with the most investors and the output of your companies are also increasing with the masses asking for more of the products you sell.” Wilford said. 

“Hmm.” Dark responded as he scanned through the records.“There was a headline in the newspaper about another arson case on Saturday night at a major bank, Stoneworth Bank. According to the news article I read, the latest attack has caused panic among their customers. A great number of them swarmed the building, trying to withdraw their funds yesterday morning, only to have the bank freeze their accounts today.” Dark said casually.

It was the third attack against an organization in the last two months. Each time the unknown assailant struck, they left their mark with the word ANTI in graffiti. With this recent attack, the people of Ashvale were now fearful of when and where Anti would strike next. 

“I must say, whoever this Anti fellow is, they sure know what the hell they’re doing.” Wilford said, standing up from his position on the couch.

“It is rather intriguing that the police haven’t caught this culprit. I wonder when he’ll strike again.” Dark mused.

“Now hold on, we don’t know if the criminal is a he, after all some women in the right circumstances can cause quite a bit of damage too.” Wilford said, entertaining the idea of Dark’s curiosity towards these events.

“Oh I have a strong feeling they are a he, in spite of what the public thinks of him, I find this perpetrator rather interesting.” Dark said with a slight smirk on his face.

Wilford was slightly puzzled by this statement, and he thought he was the slightly unhinged one.

“Dark, surely you’re kidding me right, aren’t you a little worried about this? Every time this delinquent strikes he gets bolder. I wouldn’t be surprised if you are his next target.” Wilford voiced with a look of his concern at Dark’s nonchalance. Dark set down his paper to look up at him.

“Wilford, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did either, hell for all we know he’s planning to blow up one of my factories right now. But, I am not relaxed about this situation, far from it actually.” Dark said, walking over to his view of the city, giving himself a moment to think. “Have you ever questioned why this person goes against these other organizations? He’s clearly trying to send a message to society. What the message is, I don't know. These events have truly piqued my interest.” Dark explained further about his appeal towards Anti.

“Maybe you’d like to meet this lunatic to ask him?” Wilford questioned, starting to think Dark is losing his mind or he’s really bored with his life. It could be both for all he knows.

“Not at all.” He chuckled. “Truthfully I’d rather avoid him. I would not want to get involved in anything unnecessary that hinders my operations. Rest assured old friend, I’m not underestimating or being ignorant about this. I'll send an alert to all of the factories to increase the security until the criminal is caught and this problem is resolved.” He says, patting Wil on the shoulder to give the extra assurance as he makes his way to the phone.

Wilford sighed. “If you say so Dark. I'm just saying to be careful about all of this. The last thing we want is to attract negative vibes from this and have it bite us in the ass, especially you.” He felt slightly better after hearing Dark would ramp up the security.

“Wilford, don’t forget I made reservations for us at the Gearitz Club after six tonight.” Dark called out from the next room.

Wilford chuckled slightly, maybe he was overthinking it. After all, what were the chances Anti is planning to blow up one of the factories at this very moment. Wilford put his worries aside to help Dark with the rest of his work. 

Meanwhile, in the shadows of the city, a figure shrouded in darkness was meticulously planning his next attack, the Gearmore Cogwheel factory. “H̷̨̘̘̦̀e̷̙̺̠̠̔̓͋ẖ̴̲̲́̆͗̒͂e̴̳̓͑͌h̴̳͖̗͗ȅ̶̖͓̰̟ͅ.̷͔̹̫̲̤̐̉̚ ̴͇̤̱͐̽̃͗̌J̵̡̓́͌u̷̟͇͑̂̈̈͘ṡ̷͕͎̼̀̿́̕t̷͔̹̞̭͂̑̾ ̷̹͐̊͝ỵ̸̻̩̹͊͛̓́͌o̴̝͑̍u̸̡͂͊̀̕͝ ̴̝͗͐̈̔͘ẘ̷͚̮̇̂̑͠ǎ̶͚̍i̷̦͒͒͛͘ͅt̷̢̺͕̍̂͑̾̕ ̷̛̭͍̮̙̈́D̵̡̩̳̀̾͆̐̑a̷̗͓͛͒̏̎r̶̥̉͋͂̓̋k̴̤̇̚.̵̹̞̬̤̕ ̸̡͚͕͙͆̾͠J̸͇̳̯͖̀͘ū̷̬̻̪͂̾̃̄s̸̮̮̭̾ṯ̷̘̱̪̃͒̈̈́̈ ̵̺̭̽̒̈́ỷ̸̫̭̜̟̽o̵̺̩̊u̴̢̨̞̳͔̽͑ ̷͇̰̆̓w̸̧̡̩̗̐a̵̩̺̽̾ȋ̵̼͚̰͂̊̈̎t̷̮̾!̴̨̼̺̯̣̓̀ ̸͇̰̳͛͊H̸̛͓͖̣̭̳̄̓̇ā̶̹̞̹̫̜̃͒̑h̵̞͂̐̌̓̚a̷̢͍͓̲̓̊̕h̸̦̰̟͌̒̀͗ä̸̧̛͚̍h̴͈̼̤̥̉̈́a̵̘͒̊́͆͜͝!̶͔̈́̾͠ "Anti said this as he threw a knife at a wall. His laughs travel throughout the alley carrying a hint of madness, a symphony of amusement tinged with the darkness that surrounds him. Each chuckle reverberates like a haunting melody, bouncing off the damp bricks and dancing through the chilly night air. To those who heard, it is an unsettling sound, frightening them into scuttling away from the echoes in the dark alley.

The stage is now close to being set and all of the players will fall into place. The questions will soon be asked, who is the monster and who is the man? Will both fall prey to their own demons? Or perhaps these two are more alike than they want to believe?

Stay tuned to find out…

Tags: @bookwormscififan @iamvegorott