by hook or by crook

James C. Hook, owner and proprietor of Stinky Pete Public House.

[byhook]

rosiebriars‌:

Rose was not prepared for the person staring at her. Then she realized they were looking at the flower crown she had hand crafted on the table and was placing on her head. “Do you like it? I am more than happy to make you one,” she said. “I am quite attached to this one though.”

If anyone else had said that to him, James would surely have his hook against their throat. But somehow he was unable to wipe the fond smile from his face. Things were still tense between he and Rose and he was grateful for a moment of levity. Despite his misgivings, which lingered around the pair of them at all times, he missed the way things had been. Before he’d gotten them into such a mess.

“I don’t think it’s quite my style, love, but it fits you quite well.”

[byhook]

rosiebriars‌:

Rose snorted. They both knew most of them frequented James’ bar. It was rich coming from him, though she managed to bite her tongue. “They’re harmless,” she said. Rose eyed the frat boys by the keg and rectified. “Mostly.” She sighed. “James… you really hurt me. But I still want to do this with you if you are ready for it. If not, I will do it myself. Get out of your way.” She had already told him, she didn’t want anyone in the baby’s life that didn’t want to be there.

James looked away, shaking his head. She didn’t really expect him to have this conversation here, did she? He sighed, collecting himself before looking at her again. “Rose... just come back to the bar with me. We’ll talk there. You shouldn’t be here. Not like this.”

[byhook]

rosiebriars‌:

“I’m surprised you’re concerned considering the last time we talked you actually accused this baby of not being yours,” she said. It was surprisingly vindictive of her, though the baby had been putting her through quite a few mood swings. “I haven’t been drinking. I have just been with friends, catching up. ”

James’ jaw clenched. He supposed he deserved that. That didn’t mean he had to like it, though. Some ‘friends’ they were to let a pregnant woman remain in an environment like this. Even he knew better than that. “Fine place to catch up, a bloody bacchanal swarming with shifty looking university students.”

[byhook]

rosiebriars‌:

Rose turned hearing his voice, not having time to duck when she met eyes with her boyfriend. Was he still her boyfriend? She was not sure after the scene she had made when he kept acting like a jerk about the baby. Rose sighed dramatically, stepping away from her companion.

“Stop harassing innocent bystanders. I am right here.”

James let go of the stranger and walked over to Rose. It was hardly a happy reunion. He stood in front of her, silent. He wasn’t sure what to say. God damn this woman for always leaving him so out of sorts. After a moment, James finally spoke.

“You shouldn’t be at a place like this in your state.” 

[byhook]

enchantedrcses‌:

“What? Did you lose your baby mama?” Cierra joked. “That explain what you are here. I never took you for the type to enjoy a party with a keg, much less with a bunch of rowdy college students. After all, you’ve always been such an old soul, haven’t you?” She gestured towards the counter. “Come on. I see some rum and you can tell me all about your love troubles.” 

James scowled at Cierra. He wasn’t in the mood for her jokes. Nonetheless, he accepted her offer. He would certainly need a drink to fortify himself for having to wade through the mass of drunken college students. James took a nice swig of rum before he spoke again.

“I take it you haven’t seen her, then?” James asked, sour expression still on his face. He didn’t particularly fancy telling anyone, even Cierra, the nasty little details of his relationship. “How in the bloody hell did she end up in a place like this?”

[byhook]

James surveyed the crowed. It was an eclectic group, to be sure, but if weren’t so single-minded in his mission he’d still have felt out of place. He was, as they said, too old for this shit. But when he’d gotten a drunken text from one of his bartenders about why Rose was at this party and he wasn’t, James had the sudden urge to gatecrash. 

“Oi,” James said, putting his good hand on the shoulder of an innocent passerby. “Have you seen a girl named Rose?”

[byhook]

rosiebriars‌:

“About six weeks according to the doctor.” She cleared her throat. “I went to the doctor because my stomach bug was not getting any better and they said…” Rose fiddled with her hands. “I guess it happened around the time we…” she trailed off, thinking about Valentine’s Day. Rose never thought she would be in this situation. “We have some time before the baby is born.“ Not that she was sure she would ever be ready for this.

James rubbed his hand over his face. He was a bloody idiot. Of course it’d happened then. He’d been too caught up, too jealous to even think clearly. He’d let his emotions toward Rose cloud his judgement and look where it’d landed him. The exact same place he’d been when he was seventeen. He hadn’t learned a damned thing.

“So you’re keeping it, then?” James asked in a clipped tone as the reality of the situation settled. He couldn’t look at Rose. He didn’t want to face what he’d done. What he’d done again. Somewhere out there in the world, there was a teenager with his nose or his eyes who he’d never known. Never wanted to know. A girl he’d loved forced to grow into a woman too fast, all on her own because he was too much of a coward to be a man. Lives ruined, futures destroyed. How had he let this happen again? 

[byhook]

rosiebriars‌:

“… I’m having a baby.”

James’ jaw fell to the floor. If he’d been holding anything in his hand, it’d have dropped right along with it. He felt sick, a perverse sense of deja vu overwhelming him. No. No, no. This couldn’t happen; not again. He was always so careful. How could... James’ mind raced with too many thoughts to keep up with. None of them were good. Eventually, he managed to speak.

“How....How long?”

[byhook]

rosiebriars‌:

@byhook

Rose had cancelled her date with James. Things had been tense since the incident a few weeks ago, even though they had continued to make love, he was colder than he had been. Distant. However, that was not why she had cancelled on him. Her stomach was killing her. She wondered what had given her food poisoning. Oh no, she was going to be sick again. She had not been able to keep her food down. Blue was yapping away and she laughed at his antics. She was about to make a beeline for the bathroom when she heard aggressive knocking at the door. 

James felt a sick sense of vindication twisting in his gut has he heard Rose’s laughter filter through the thin walls of her apartment. He’d known something was off when she canceled on him. He hadn’t been the most doting partner in recent weeks, but it was with good reason. Before, Rose at least had the good decency to take it. But she really must’ve felt that he was thick if she thought she could just bring another man back to her flat and have him just take it.

“Open the bloody door, Rose,” he said, still banging on the door with his good hand. “I know you’ve got someone in there.”

[byhook]

rosiebriars‌:

Every time he did this, it was hard to remember anything else. She liked the soft parts of him, but she didn’t dislike moments like this. He wasn’t good at telling her he cared, though she would have to be blind to think he didn’t feel anything after this reaction. But Rose needed to talk to him. She needed to fix this. But his mouth was setting her on fire and it was so hard to think. 

“Tell me how to make this better,” she managed to get out, finally managing to get air into her lungs. “I don’t want…” Rose did not want him to leave her. “Please.” She wasn’t sure if he knew what she was asking, was praying he could see it in her eyes. 

Her words, her eyes, tugged at his heartstrings. He felt something for a moment. Guilt, maybe. It was almost funny. She’d been with another man and yet he was the one who felt guilty. He couldn’t deny her. James pushes Rose back, not as gently as he normally would have, until she was laying on the chaise. Then he joined her, hovering over her. He stared her deep in the eyes.

“You’re mine,” he said, tone low. He said it just as much to himself as he did to Rose. “I’m gonna make you realize that, Rose, my dear. You’re gonna say it to me. Over and over again.”

He leaned down and kissed her again, just as forcefully as before. 

[byhook]

rosiebriars‌:

Rose was only partially relieved when she felt James plop her down. She was still red and her lips still swollen from what Sam had just done. She felt dirty, though it wasn’t her fault. She had just been trying to help Sam. “It wasn’t what… I swear I didn’t… Sam didn’t know what he was doing, he was drunk. I was just trying to help him.” She tried to grab his hand. “James, I would never do that to you, I swear. You have to believe me.”

“Yeah, you helped him, alright,” James let out a hard scoff and pulled his hand away. He couldn’t even look at her anymore and turned his head to the side. 

He felt foolish. Angry at himself as much as at Rose. He’d let his guard down, let himself get soft. He handed Rose an opportunity to hurt him on a silver platter and she’d run him through. It was his own damn fault. He’d not be so careless again. James looked back at Rose, his eyes blazing. He bent down, leaning over her, his good hand gripping the side of the chaise. Without warning, he crashed down on Rose, taking her lips with his own. 

He was going to make her burn.

[byhook]

rosiebriars‌:

@byhook

“James! James! Put me down.” She yelped. “Calm down! It isn’t what you think. Dammit, James.” She wasn’t sure how much he had seen, but now she was tossed over his shoulder and he was surprisingly strong with that one hand. At least she had kept him from killing Sam. “Talk to me.”

James ignored Rose’s cries for the moment. He didn’t wan’t to talk to her. Couldn’t. He didn’t trust what he’d say to her. He walked a bit longer, her still over his shoulder until he found a place fitting the description he was looking for: hidden away, dark, empty. He set Rose down, none to gently on a chaise lounge. He stared down, silent and in thought before letting out a dry laugh.

“I didn’t peg you for the type, Rose. I really didn’t.”

[byhook]

rosiebriars‌:

Rose tried not to blush as she walked in, holding James’ hand. It was a bit silly considering what they had spent the past few nights doing. There were not exactly secrets between them. Well, except for the person who had kissed her, but he hadn’t exactly asked about his name yet, so was it really a secret if he never asked? 

“I don’t know. This seems like a pretty lovely song to dance to. Reminds me of a dream I had.”

“I suppose I can bare it if iy pleases you,” James smiled at Rose. She made him surprisingly soft. Not that he’d admit it. “Fancy a dance then, love? I’m quite the dancer if I do say so myself. Very graceful.” James offered Rose his right hand, mischievous glint in his eye. 

[byhook]

lobomalvado‌:

Lobo glanced over at James. “I suppose to that pimply faced kid they call a dj. Do you think they even know what Mozart is?” 

He took a sip from his flask, not trusting the alcohol there, particularly not when he was this close to settling a deal. Normally, he would do it stone cold sober, but a few sips would hardly ruin him. Besides, it was the day of love, wasn’t it? “Now, am I going to meet the lady giving you all this trouble? I think I need to give her a job if she can manage to convince you to settle down.”

“Really, the gall of them not to have hired a band of musicians. I understand that this isn’t a cultural center, but even I could find a fiddler in N— ” James couldn’t bring himself to complete the sentence. After all that time, and he still couldn’t say the name of Neverland. James cleared his throat, secretly happy for Lobo’s change of subject.

“She’s not that kind of girl,” James said. He was surprised by how offended he was at the suggestion. “Rose has run off to the restroom, but I’m not sure if I should let her meet you. No offense meant, mate. She’s rather...innocent.” 

[byhook]

Valentine’s Day had never been James’ favorite holiday. He never had anyone to celebrate it with. Well, that wasn’t strictly accurate. There were people who wanted to spend it with him to whom the sentiment was very much not returned. So, how he ended up at a Valentine’s masquerade, he wasn’t sure. But then, he was never one to turn down a good party.

“Mmmh,” James hummed. “Now, who does a man go to request a song around here? Could do with  a few more classics.”

[byhook]

rosiebriars‌:

Rose sat up, putting some distance between her and James. She covered herself with the blanket. “What do you mean?” She didn’t understand. They had slept together. “Then why did you tell me that last night? Was it a lie?”

James was decidedly against the removal of Rose’s warmth and softness. And that strange, unfamiliar pang in his chest at the look of betrayal on her face. He felt the sudden need to backtrack. It was odd. Beyond odd. He’d never had such qualms before.

“Darling,” he cooed, moving closer to Rose. “Love. Of course not. I meant everything I said last night. I’m a man of my word.”

[byhook]

rosiebriars‌:

@byhook

Rosie opened her eyes drowsily. She looked up at James, laying next to her. Despite her blushing, she managed to get the words out. “I guess this means you’re my boyfriend now.”

James’ right hand stopped drawing lazy circles in Rosie’s skin. His eyes, which had been half lidded, shot wide open. He sputtered out a cough. “Now, Rosie, I think we might be getting a bit ahead of ourselves.”