undergrounds | cross your heart && hope to die

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cross your heart && hope to die

[An August catch-all! Please note that Nancy has been cursed to compelled to tell the truth. This curse lasts until she reveals 3 things that she never would have otherwise, or until the next full moon (Aug 29). Please mention if a thread occurs AFTER the 29th as for now, she's defaulting to cursed.

Lots of fun. Please see these lovely starters, and check the comment section for a few starters. Want something specific? you know where to find me (

sheakespeare).]

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Option A
The day after Lammas, Nancy woke up like any other day. She fed her cat, had some coffee and cooked up a bit of bacon to keep her hangover at bay. Today was supposed to be like any other day, grab a few bottles of Blood Replenisher to give to Cooper, more VT for her, and maybe stop by a local cafe to read for a while. And everything was going just great.

At least, until she got to the apothecary. When she was asked how she was doing, instead of just saying 'alright' and moving on like any normal person would do, she found herself looking at him and saying, "I'm bloody hungover and I don't know what just happened." But she'd said those words, even if they weren't the ones she wanted to. Blinking, she tried again, but the results were the same. Even after a third time.

"Fine, just ring me up I can tell you're impatient and think I'm crazy." He gave her a look, but rang up her purchases. Nancy was only too glad to get out of there.

Once on the street, that's where she was able to take stock of herself. Putting her bags down, she leaned against the wall. "Alright, Nancy. What's going on with you? This isn't like you." And that was the first of many incidents that day, where she thought one thing, and wound up saying something entirely else. Something, she found, that was true, and only occurred when she was lying.

Someone had cursed her. And she still had to run errands.

Option B

Nancy was determined not to let this curse keep her from working. So here she was, another night, another bar, dolled up. Whenever she approached men, however, she still couldn't, try as she might, even dance around telling the truth.

She sounded desperate, awful, and her game was at an all-time-low. At this rate, she'd have to ask Fagin for money, and he was notoriously tight with his purse strings. The only thing worse than that would be asking someone like Killian to help her out. Completely unacceptable.

Another failed solicitation, and the bartender finally nodded to the bouncer. said bouncer, who had once happily checked Nancy's ID, marched over to the petite girl and promptly informed her that this bar had no room for prostitutes, and she was therefore banned from the establishment for the rest of forever.

Shoulders sagging forward, Nancy trekked through London, trying to keep her tears at bay. Tonight, she decided, she was just going to walk home. Usually, she'd find herself at Fagin's, pouring herself a drink of gin on nights like tonight. But seeing the old man would only be a disaster tonight. Besides, she needed some time to think to herself.

Option C

If anyone has cared to notice, it's been a few days since Nancy'd been seen around London, or even responded to any sort of texts or anything. Her phone is off, and she's more than happy to spend her time right now sitting on the couch with her cat in her lap and read. Reading would lead to drinking and watching television, or even practicing videogaming but all the same, the fact remained she was lonely. Lonely and bored. First July kept her in the house for the Hunt, and now August had her nearly unable to open her mouth at all to have any sort of normal human interaction.

And, when it was feeling like it was going to be impossible to ever lift the curse, she started researching. She had a few books hidden away from when she lived at the Den, and poured over them, attempting to find a solution to her problem.

Option D
Wild Card. Make your own prompt.

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He had a small amount of anger built up, still resenting her for tricking him in the first place. It all fizzled out like water being poured on smoldering embers when Nancy said that she had been terrified. She was his friend and he had nearly crossed a line into something that never could have been taken back. "I wouldn't have killed you." The words sounded feeble even to his ears. He'd been out of control and knew it.

He sighed, dropping his arms back to his sides. "I shouldn't be getting mad at you. There's not many that would take in an old drugged-out vampire 'n let him stay as long as he liked to dry out." Maybe it was time for him to take off. He was nowhere near back on his feet, but if this is the way she felt, staying didn't really seem right.

"You can't promise that," her jaw was set, as she tried not to yell. "Not when you had me against the wall, swearing you'd pay later." She swallowed, tears shining through clenched teeth. "I'm sorry- I can't be yelling." She pushes her hair out of her eyes, echoing Cooper's sigh.

"You have every right to be mad at me. It's insulting. I took you in as a friend. You're still my friend." Friend. Customer. Attacker.

"Ahhh, I really fecked things up." He looked down at his bare feet, curling his toes inward, unable to meet Nancy's eyes. He wasn't used to sticking around for the aftermath when things got bad. His M.O. was running off and going as far away as he could. "I'm over two-hundred years old 'n still can't keep my shit together for more than a few years at a time."

He patted a spot on the couch next to him. "Sit down. I think I've got some explaining to do."

Again, his accent rose, and despite everything, she smiled at it. Just a little. The admittance of his age, however vague it was, was noted, but she said nothing about it. It was just nice to know her theory was valid.

Carefully, she took a seat next to him, stiffly. "You know you can tell me anything. Your secrets are safe with me." Unless this damn curse fucked her up for him. Then, then she was really screwed.

"We haven't really had a chance to talk about why I was actin' the way I was." He took a deep breath in. He wasn't used to talking about his past. Living in the present was a coping mechanism to keep from going crazy. "It's not easy t'explain what it's like inside me. The hunger's a beast that I try control. It's dark and never satisfied. I wasn't always good at it. Back in the old days, I was like what you saw all the time." He gave a shudder. "These days, I'm better at it."

He finally turned to look at her. "The reason I was hyped up on fae blood was because I was searching for a newborn vampire 'n ran inta some hunters who were on his trail. There was a fight. I thought I would teach them a lesson by feedin' off of them. I didn't realize one of them was a fae. That's what set this whole thing off. I was a fool. A damn fool who should have known better."

Instinctively, she knew what he was telling her was important, something he didn't tell many people. She angled towards him, her bottom lip jutting forward in a pensive frown. She knew the basics- he'd fed off of a fae, thinking he was a human. And fae blood messes you up.

Carefully, she leans forward, placing a hand on his knee comfortingly. "No- you're not a fool. You did what you thought was right. Maybe you shouldn't have fed off of them at all, but you couldn't have known, Cooper. How could you have?" She offers a sympathetic smile, their knees touching as she removed her hand and instead, opted to place her arm around Cooper's shoulders, pulling him towards her in a one-armed hug.

She should be making tea.

With her free hand, she pointed behind her, towards her kitchen. The electric kettle always had water in it, and it didn't take much concentration to flick it on. With any luck, she'd be able to get them both a cup without leaving Cooper on his own. Even if it was just to the kitchen, she didn't want to leave him. Not now when he was so vulnerable.

With the kettle on, she placed that hand on one of Cooper's.

"It's not your fault."

Cooper leans into Nancy's touch, rubbing the pad of his thumb against her skin. It's something he desperately needs. Right now, he doesn't even have the instinct to suck her blood, his desire to have someone comfort and coddle him overriding everything else. Good thing Nancy is fantastic at doing both.

"Maybe it wasn't." He doesn't sound like he believes that for an instant. His guilt is something he likes to keep close at hand. At this point, why give it up." "But it's not the first time somethin' like this has happened to me." He rubs his free hand over his head. Might as well lay another of his secrets out on the table while he's at it.

"I lived in America afore I came back t'London. I was second-in-command of a small nest over there for several years. But it all went bad one night." He sighs, eyes far away to a night over four years ago. "There was a spirit ravaging the town unchecked. The other vamps 'n I were doin' crowd control. The others left when they couldn't handle it anymore. I didn't. Pushed myself to the limit. Then I snapped. Drained a teenage girl 'n her father almost to the point of death. I couldn't stay after that, seein' what I had almost done."

He turns to look at Nancy. He's trusting her an awful lot here, more than he has shown to just about anyone else in this city. "So there you have it. It keeps happenin' t'me. When it does, I tend t'run as far away as I can. Never can outrun meself."

She shifts them a little, seeing how he reacted to the touch, pulling him against her so she's holding him more, letting him rest his head on her chest. (Kenzi had done it numerous times and always cheerily reported they were the best pillows known to man.)

Then, she let him talk, never flinching away. She was here for him, rubbing his back slightly. To her, the gesture had nothing sexual about it to it, just her trying to give her friend some much needed care. How long had it been, she wondered, since he'd been able to do something like this.

Nancy nods, listening to his tale of woe. Gently, she presses her lips to the top of his head. "Cooper- You can't keep running from yourself." She puts her head down so it was more level with his, looking into his eyes. "It's never going to work. Listen- curse be fucking damned, I would never lie to you about this." She's holding his head in her hands, thumbs on his cheek. It's all done to comfort, to be that source of care that had long ago dried up for him. For her. "But you need to stop running. It happened. It was a mistake. You learn from it, and move on. Everyone does things they regret. You didn't kill them. It could have been worse. So much worse."

Cooper leans into her touch like a drowning man reaching out for a life preserver. He hasn't been touched like this for a long time. The simple act of comfort is doing as much for his recovery as sobering up has done in the past few days. His eyes cast downwards, unable to meet Nancy's gaze.

"You don't know what I've done. The way I was before--" He's already told her so much already. Telling her anymore would feel more like burdening her with his past instead of sharing more of himself, so he falls silent. There's enough skeletons in his closet to let them rest. He'll bring them out another time when he's feeling emotionally vulnerable.

His eyes dart back up to Nancy's. One hand comes up and covers her own. "I'm not going t'run this time. There's too much I care about here in this city." The ghost of a smile flickers over his lips, barely there before it's gone again. "'Sides, I'm not likely t'find friends like the ones I have here anywhere else."

Nancy shook her head firmly. "No. I don't care who you were before. That man isn't the man in front of me today. I refuse to believe you've lived 200 years and not changed in the slightest. Everyone's made mistakes in the past, Cooper. You've just got to try to be a better person now, and learn from your mistakes." She runs her thumbs along his cheekbones softly.

Her lips followed his, twitching upward in the smallest of smiles. He had too much going for him here. Her, and her friendship, for one, his words clearly told her. With that, she widened her smile in a sad sort of way and leaned forward, tipping his head down just slightly so she could press her lips against his forehead. What more words could she offer that would convey her feelings on the subject than that?

"There's the part I've always been terrible at. It's so easy t'fall into bad habits when you remain constantly the same." He closed his eyes when her lips touched his forehead, blinking back a few tears. He wondered how many people ever got to see this side of her, who got a chance to look past the sex appeal and self-possessed air to the the softer side that lay beneath the surface. Not many, he surmised.

He pulled back just a little bit, taking a moment to compose himself. "I owe you a lot for this, sweet-pea. You ever need anythin', just say the word 'n I'll be there." Cooper always paid his debts. It was how he proved his loyalty to his friends.

Nancy knew what to do when boys cried. It was part of growing up the way she had, surrounded by them. Don't make fun, don't draw attention to it, just allow it, and be there. Still, that didn't stop her from using her thumbs to wipe his tears.

He was right, though. Not many got to see this part of her. This side was reserved for those she was closest to. Kenzi had had her crying into her chest just days ago. Kenzi didn't know her in the same way Cooper did. The same way her clients did. Or even just random people she interacted with. It was a different shade for every person.

"You don't owe me a damn thing, Cooper," she promised him. That was who Nancy was, the type of girl who would open her vein and her home to you, and in this case, at the same time. She reached over and took one of his hands in hers. "I'm always here for you, alright? You know it's the truth because I'm saying it now." Fucking curse. Silently, she brought their hands up to her mouth and gentle kissed his knuckles.

All she really had to do was do what she knew she would have wanted in this situation. "I love you, alright? So don't forget it." And though she loved many, she didn't say it often.

Cooper sniffed, the last of his tears having been wiped away by Nancy's thumb. Irregardless of what she said, he'd find a way to pay her back for the kindness she'd shown him. There was precious few in the world who had ever done what she was willing to do for him. He met maybe one friend every couple of decades that he could rely on in such a manner. Hence, he tended to try and keep them close by proving his loyalty to them.

Her admission of love made a flush come to his pale skin. Now there were some words he hadn't heard under any circumstances in a long, long while. "I think I love you too." He immediately smacked a hand to his face. Think? What kind of a fool said think after being told something like that?

What he hadn't failed to notice during this conversation was that he was improving a whole lot more in terms of his health. Nancy acted just like a tonic on him.

Think Nancy raised an eyebrow just as Cooper facepalmed. It was adorable, really, complete with the blushing. He was a handsome man, really. Stuck forever in the body of a seventeen-year-old (whomever had Sired him was a cruel person). But she did not pity him. She refused to pity him.

"You don't have to say it, if you don't feel it," she promised Cooper, "I won't take offense." She'd had men, in the heat of the moment, whisper those words to her, and she ignored it, laughing it off. But here she was with Cooper, and maybe she did care. Maybe just a little. But it was good to know she did have people here who cared for her and loved her. People that weren't Fagin (whom said he loved her, but the things he had done to her did not speak of love). Her own people. That she'd chosen.

Nancy ran her long fingers through his hair, scratching at his scalp with one hand, offering him a lop-sided smile. "I'm sorry I told you I don't trust you." It didn't make it less true, though. Not when he was detoxing so miserably.

"No, no. I do. It's just..." He paused, gathering his words together. It was a rarity for him to think before speaking. Marvels never did cease. ".... My life's been defined more by a lack of love then by presence of it. Sometimes, I forget what it feels like 'till it comes 'round again." Hundreds of years old and he could still be as clueless as any other teenager when it came to his emotions.

He smiled, eyes crinkling up at the corners as she scratched his head. "All is forgiven, so long as you keep on scratching my head like that."

"I'll keep doing it as long as you want," she said, not even bothering to react to the easy truth. She knew how many men crumbled before a well-placed head-scratch. She'd even fluff his hair some. Aren't you just the luckiest, Cooper?

She offered a tender smile. "No one's life should be defined by lack of love." Even she knew what love was, felt it deeply for those she cared for. Once, she'd felt it even for Fagin. Though it was long gone now, despite the connection she would never be able to sever.

"Just remember you've got me for the rest of my life. And that's a promise."

"That's a vampire's life for you, sweetheart." He shrugged philosophically. "Looks all glamorous on the outside, but on the inside, it's a lonely sort of life."

Cooper just sort of flopped over so that his head was in her lap. His eyes closed and he sighed contentedly. He could fall straight to sleep with her playing around with his hair. "Good. I expect you to live t'be a hundred-and-two at the very least. Promise?" He pointed his pinkie upwards, looking quite solemn as he did so.

Cooper could flop all over her however he wanted. She situated herself a bit better, but allowed him to keep his head on her lap, her painted nails threading through his hair naturally.

Soft, she realized. It was nice.

"Promise," Nancy said, wrapping his pinkie in hers. "But you're going to have to stick around until then, y'got it?" It was an interesting thought, really. She'd never expected to live much longer than twenty, truth be told. Not with the sort of life she was in, how much danger she put herself in every day. Every night.

"If I ever have a family, though, you'll have to make sure they're doing well for the rest of forever, alright?" It was only fair. She doubted she'd have a family, but she'd wanted one. A good, handsome husband, beautiful children. Only if she got them away from Fagin. Only then.

"I will. If I've lived this long, chances are I'll live another two-hundred years. Maybe even longer if hunters stay as dumb as they are." He was supremely confident in his ability to stay alive. If he had survived his early years when he was so young and foolish, he was practically immortal at this point. His voice had gone a little muzzy as he went closer to the edge towards sleep. He was completely relaxed now.

"Alright. You can count on ol' Cooper t'be watching over them till the end of forever. But I make no promises about not flirting with your granddaughters if they turn out to be as pretty as you." He grinned impishly.

"Let's hope, so long as you don't drain any more fae, yeah?" She closed her eyes and exhaled for a moment at the words. "And I'll do what I can t'keep you safe while I'm around." She moved from his hair down to his brows, gently massaging his forehead with her thumbs.

"Oh, shush, you!" Nancy gasped, giving him a little shove on his shoulder. "I'm sure that'll go over great, when you tell 'em you're grandmum's friend." She shook her head. "I'll warn 'em to watch out for you, when they get old enough."

The contented look on his face fell away in favor of a more serious one. "I'll try not to." No jokes or flippant words there. He was done with fae blood, though privately, he worried that it wasn't quite done with him. He'd have to be on guard for the rest of his life, always on the lookout for a relapse.

"I could tell 'em I was the divvil's nephew and they wouldn't care if I gave 'em a wink 'n a smile. Works on you, don't it?" He opened his eyes and gives a demonstration, actively working to turn on the charm as he smiled up at his friend.

"I'm always here," she muttered, looking down over him so her hair pooled around them both creating a ginger, curly curtain of sorts.

"Oi- you forget I'm the devil's daughter, so you best rethink that." She wrinkled her nose a little at him. Fagin was, as far as she was concerned, the devil himself. The wrinkles only intensified as she blushed, a small dimple visible on her left cheek and the lightest smattering of freckles.

"You're bloody awful."

He curled a finger around a red strand of hair, tweaking it slightly. "I know. You love it, don't try t'deny it." Cooper could be charming when he put forth some effort into it. It wasn't his fault that it was just so much easier to rile some people and act like a jerk instead.

Blinking his blue eyes up at Nancy, he stifled a yawn using the back of his hand. Despite not having done anything but lie in a bed for the past few days, he was still exhausted from purging the blood from his system.

She wrinkled her nose at him again, and this time stuck her tongue out. "I'm not going to tell you, one way or another." Because two could play that game.

His yawning didn't go unnoticed. "D'you want to take a nap? You can lay down in my room for now, if you want."

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cross your heart && hope to die

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