#[bullies] who dresses you? your MOM? (yes. probably

[cozymochi]

Riddle with 17 (spring clothes) or 18 (fall clothes) please!! (I can't decide lmao) Thank you and have a wonderful day!!!

17. Spring Clothes (i guess?)

ironically despite being part of the wonderland wackos, this dorm rings to me as the most “i am just normal.” Which makes no sense but call it an excuse for un-remarkability on my end

the meme (followers only, and for the love of god read the tags)

[luveline]

grumpy hotch x pregnant reader where he is just having an off day and the team calls reader in to deal with him and as soon she arrives in his office he just holds her and her belly as she scratches his scalp omg 🥹😭🫶🏻

You’re lounging in your husband's favourite chair with a book and an ice cold soda in your hand when your phone rings. You almost knock your tooth out pulling it up to your face without looking, wanting it to be Aaron, knowing it probably won’t be. Maternity leave can be excruciatingly boring. 

“Hello?” you ask. Your book slides down your bump. You pull it back up. 

“Hi, mom.”  

You grin to yourself. “Hi, Emily. Please tell me you’re calling because you miss me and you know I have cabin fever.” 

“I’m calling because someone misses you.” Her ire tone is unmissable and ever endearing. “I do miss you, I can’t wait for you to have your stinking baby and come back to work.” 

“That would be fun, right? We’ll get Hotch on paternity leave.” 

“It’s him I’m calling about.” 

“Is he okay?” you ask. You know if he were injured she would’ve mentioned that first. You’re not so scared of his being grumpy. 

“Moody as ever. I can’t believe I’m asking you to, but would you consider coming in for lunch? I’ll send a car, no walking, but he could really use it. He’s been biting off heads all morning.” Emily laughs down the line. “You’re the only one who can cheer him up.” 

It’s not true, but you are usually the quickest. You bid Emily goodbye with a promise to be there soon and get dressed, with no choice but to wear some maternity pants and a peplum blouse. Any excuse to see your haggard husband is one you’ll take. 

You look at your bump and you love the baby in there, but it feels weird sometimes to see yourself differently. If Aaron weren’t as nice about it as he is, you would’ve broken down by now; he’s sussed many breakdowns before they could begin, kissed fingertips and collars promising you’re just as pretty as always. And it’s reassuring, but it isn’t pretty that worries you. You’re a genuine walking beach ball right now. 

The car Emily promises is none other than Anderson himself. “He’s bullying you?” you ask him. 

He doesn’t say yes or no, but his smile is enough of a clue. You can’t get to the BAU quick enough (though you’re slower these days), pushing open the glass door with a tired sign. 

Spencer comes across you first by coincidence. “Hey!” he says, ushering you in for a hug, his cup of coffee hot behind your shoulder. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be resting.” 

“He’s in a mood,” you say. Not without fondness. 

Spencer grimaces. “Sort of.” 

Emily attacks you from the side. “Thank god you’re here! I think he just told Morgan to go fuck himself,” she says under her breath. 

She’s just saying it to make you laugh, and it works. It’s vaguely out of character, but if you know Emily, you know she has a crass, often dirty-minded side, and it’s been a while since you’ve heard her swear. You’re still giggling when the door you’d been making your way to opens. 

Aaron emerges with an expression half bemusement and half confusion. “Honey?” 

“My love,” you say, too quiet for him to properly hear, but he can read lips just fine. 

He rushes in a very gentlemanly display down the steps to help you up them, but you’d only been going up them to see him, and you stop at the foot of them with your hand raised to his elbow. “Hey, handsome.” 

“What’s wrong?” he asks. 

“Nothing. Just missed you, wanted to have dinner, and I figured you couldn’t say no. You know.” You touch your tummy. “Considering.” 

He peers suspiciously past your head. “Yeah?” 

You look where he’s looking, find Emily and Spencer not so subtly turned away. You laugh again, pleased when the sound makes him smile. “Come on. Take me to your office.” 

He puts a hand behind your shoulders and leads you upstairs to his office. There are papers strewn haphazard across the front of the desk, his briefcase open and muddled, his pen lost within the mess. You’re smug knowing he’d been knee deep in paperwork but abandoned it all when he heard you laughing, like he just couldn’t miss it. 

“Let me sit you down,” he says. 

“Woah, slow your roll. Why are you stressed?” 

He blinks at you. “There’s a lot to do?” 

“Sure, but why are you stressed about me? I can sit down by myself.” 

He must look at you for five whole seconds without saying a word, and the door’s not closed, there’s no answer to your question, and then he takes you into his arms for a hug. “I know you can,” he says. 

It’s admittedly hard to hug him with the bump between you. You worry you’re hurting him as your cheeks press together, crushing his shoulders under your hands. 

He usually asks first, but he knows by now that you’re two halves of the same heart, two sides of the same coin, his hand slipping between you both to nudge aside your shirt and feel your stomach. 

You close your eyes. 

“Rough day?” you ask. 

“A lot to do…” His face moves down into your neck. 

You know what he wants, moving your hand to the back of his head to thread your fingers into his hair. “I can fix it,” you say sympathetically, beginning a gentle scratch of your nails against his scalp. 

“How’s that?” 

“If I go into labour right now, you get a reprieve.” 

“Honey, in the most loving sense possible, you going into labour now would not be ideal.” 

“It’s gonna happen one day, babe. And you’re gonna be just as busy then. You need to take less on or–”

“No, I know.” 

His hand slides still under your shirt to your hip, encouraging you away from him, his eyes flitting up and down your figure, checking you over. You let your hand fall to his shoulder, fingertips interested in the starchy fabric of a new suit. 

“Thank you,” he says quietly, dipping down to give you a kiss. His eyes are dark, so close. “That helped. What can I get you for dinner?” 

You give a fond, pitying smile. You’re not gonna get him out of this office today, that’s for sure. “Half your sandwich, probably.” 

He kisses you again. You take it for a thank you. 

[misseviehyde]

Fitting back in

Your cousin Claire had been a total bitch when you had first met her. Selfish and vain - she'd been a mean, spoiled, brat who had even tried to seduce your husband and ruin your marriage. No one was more evil and dominant than her and she seemed to take an evil delight in using her perfect body to get whatever she wanted.

Luckily your Mom was a skilled hypnotist and she had brainwashed her niece as a favour to her sister - giving Claire a new, kinder personality. Powerful layers of hypnosis had buried Claire's wicked personality deep below the surface and made her into a different person.

Claire was now a doofus you could push around. Her memories of being mean and nasty had been entirely wiped. She was now a kind, happy girl who liked to read and listen to music. Your Mum had made her a bit of a clumsy ditz too - she was now prone to mistakes and she was very insecure and unconfident.

You enjoyed her like this - treating her like a younger sister that you could bully and push around. You liked Claire now she wasn't herself.

Your husband Richard seemed to like Claire too and now she dressed in jeans, baggy sweaters and never wore makeup - you were satisfied that his interest in her was entirely platonic.

You still remembered how he had stared at her before her mental re-write, that time she had nearly seduced him. The way his hungry eyes had devoured her body... her perfect form squeezed into the tightest latex dress you had ever seen. Back then Claire had always worn the tightest, sluttiest clothes imaginable. Her delectable body had been on show - her dominance plain as other women stared jealousy at her figure. You remembered how jealous you had felt of her.

Maybe that was why you had kept her dress. Your Mom had destroyed all of Claires other old clothes, but you'd snuck the dress into your wardrobe. It was so beautiful and evil - the outfit of a bratty princess. One day you would put it on.

First you would have to lose a little more weight... but you knew that if you kept exercising, eventually you'd be able to fit into it.

One day you fully intended to have Richard fuck you in Claire's dress. You wanted to see his hungry eyes eat you up like they had Claire on that day so long ago. You wanted to be the bitch in the dress.

Meanwhile much to your irritation, Claire was as slim as she had been when she had last worn the dress. You had hoped that her new chilled out personality would be prone to weight-gain, but it didn't seem to have happened. Some people had all the luck.

************************

The night had finally come when you knew you would finally fit into the dress. Tonight all three of you were going out for dinner and you were going to flaunt the dress. Claire probably wouldn't even know it was hers. Rubbing her face in it was going to feel good.

You'd taken the dress out of the wardrobe, admiring the shiny black shell and black mesh arms - hanging it up ready to wear. You couldn't wait to put it on. It was going to feel orgasmic.

"When Richard sees me in this, he'll want to fuck my brains out," you grinned. "Maybe it's time I started acting like a hot bitch and taking what I want."

Suddenly there was a knock at the bedroom door. It opened without you asking and Claire walked in nervously.

"Help - I spilled juice on my dress and it's the only one I have. Can I please borrow one of yours?"

You gawped at Claire as she came into the room and her eyes locked magnetically onto her old dress.

"W... wow. Is that what you're wearing tonight? It's... it's kind of evil looking."

"Yes, this is MY dress," you grinned. "Tonight I'm going to wear it and I'm going to look so fucking good. I'll lend you one of my old shabby dresses, you don't mind do you?"

Claire's eyes seemed rivetted on the dress - it was like she wasn't listening to you.

"Uggghhhh I have such a headache when I look at that dress. It looks so familiar - like I've seen it before. I.. I feel like I know it." A strange hungry light appeared in Claire's eyes and she advanced into the room.

"Hey, get back" you snapped, moving to stand in front of your dress.

Claire gripped her head and squeezed her eyes shut. "Owwwww, my head is really hurting. I... I.... I.... ugggghhhh I remember now that dress. IT'S MINE!"

Claire's head shot up. "I don't remember how, but I know it's mine. I... please let me touch it and try it on. I feel if I can just touch it, I'll remember more."

"No," you hissed in sudden panic. "Get the fuck out of here. The dress is mine."

Claire tried to advance and a sudden panic hit you. The hypnosis your Mom had implanted seemed to be wearing off. The dress was triggering Claire's original personality. You should never have kept it.

With a screech you leapt at Claire and forced her back. She gasped in shock and surprise as you shoved her against the wall with a bang.

Flailing at her to drive her back and out of the room, she quailed and retreated - but then snarling, pushed forward and knocked you out of the way. She made a dive towards the dress, but you grabbed her wrists and bore her down to the floor.

"You stupid bitch," you spat. "The dress is mine you can't have it."

Suddenly strong arms were grabbing you and hauling you backwards. "Babe, what the hell are you doing to your cousin?"

Richard had come into the room and from his perspective, he had just seen his wife attacking his cousin. The delay was all your cousin needed . Leaping up Claire reached up and grabbed the dress.

Hugging the latex to her chest, she groaned - her eyes rolling up in her head. "I... I'm remembering. I was a bitch, a totally evil brat. I... I was so mean and cruel to people. Noooooo... noooo... I don't want to turn back into that."

You felt such a relief as you realised Claire didn't want to turn back into an evil version of herself.

Then you felt Richard's hands tighten around your arms and hold you steady.

"Claire... I want you to put on the dress."

"WH... WHAT?" she gasped in shock.

"I've tried to fight it for so long, but I've always wanted you. The woman you used to be... your evil claws have been in my head for months. I lie in bed jerking off, betraying my wife - dreaming that you're doing all those wicked things you whispered into my ear that night before they brainwashed you. I want that bitch back - put on the dress and unlock your power."

"No... RICHARD," you screamed as you tried to break free. "What are you doing!"

Richard ignored you, holding you tight. "Don't you want to feel that tight latex crushing the goodness out of you Claire? Don't you want to feel manicured nails on your hands again? To wrap them around a big cock and suck it with those perfect pink lips of yours? Don't you get wet at the thought of being a spoiled Princess who gets everything she wants? Put on the dress and let your inner bitch free again."

"Noooooo," moaned Claire - but her fingers began to unzip the dress. "Uggghhhh I... ohhh fuck... I can feel her coming back. The old me. She's such a fucking bitch. She's taking over my mind. I have to put on the dress, I have to become her again."

You watched in horror as Claire began to put on the dress. She tore off her frumpy clothing and slipped the latex on. It fit her still like a glove and as she began to zip it up - it seemed to crush her figure and make her look sexier than ever.

"Ohhhh YES!" groaned Claire as she stretched and laughed triumphantly. The conditioning in her mind began to shatter and crack and as her cold lips twisted into a slutty grin you knew that your evil cousin was back.

Strutting towards you, Claire grinned nastily. "Pathetic that you thought you could ever wear my dress. Pathetic that you kept it. Thank you for doing so though, I would never have broken free of your Mom's programming otherwise."

Grabbing your arms from Richard - Claire laughed as she easily overpowered you and forcing you into a corner - tied you to a chair.

"Now... now you can watch me suck Richard's delicious dick and drain every drop of his cum."

Her tight body now fully encased in her dress, Claire sank to her knees and began to suck with a wet slurping sound.

She made you watch every minute of it.

Just like she had promised...

THE END

[waltwhitmansbeard]

Prom with Vaxleth?

26. Prom setting this in grow with the flow! buckle the FUCK UP

It starts with a social media post—Vex's, to be specific. Vax groans, his phone hovering just a few inches above his face, and Keyleth turns her head away from the business email she's been writing and rewriting for the last half hour to ask, "What is it?"

"Look." And then the phone is shoved in her face, and she's looking at—

"Is that you?"

All limbs and sharp angles, a teenage Vax in an ill-fitting tuxedo, his hair slicked back with what must be an entire container of hair gel, gives a sultry look to the camera. He's back to back with his sister, who's wearing a shimmering blue strapless gown that makes her legs look a million miles long. They each wear a snowdrop, him on his boutonniere and her on her corsage.

"Is this your prom photo?" Keyleth snatches the phone, grinning from ear to ear, to look even closer. "You two look so good!"

"We look so dorky." Vax tries to grab the phone back, but Keyleth keeps it deftly out of reach. "Apparently, today's the tenth anniversary, and Vex decided to air our dirty laundry on social media."

Keyleth scrolls down to read the comments, and since Vax is tagged, the Grow with the Flow audience is having a field day. "Oh yeah, this is fun. It's half bullying you, half asking to have a threesome with you and Vex."

"Disgusting."

Keyleth finally returns the phone. "Did you guys at least have fun?"

"Well, I hooked up with both the prom queen and the theatre teacher, so...yes."

Keyleth's jaw drops. "At the same time?"

"No." That prompts more questions than it answers, but then Vax asks, "What about you? I wanna see sexy prom photos."

She snorts. "Good luck. I didn't have a prom."

Vax sits up in bed. "For real? Why not?"

"I wasn't kidding when I said Zephrah is small. My graduating class had eleven kids in it. We just had a bonfire instead. That was the first time I successfully shotgunned a beer. There may be pictures of that somewhere!"

Vax pouts, hooking his chin on your shoulder. "So you've never gotten to dress up all pretty, make all the boys and girls go oooooh?"

"Um, well, I got a pretty nice dress for my mom's funeral."

"Oh fucking hell." Vax swings his legs out of bed and snags up his phone. He paces a line in the kitchen, dialing someone and pressing the phone to his ear.

"Who are you calling?"

"My sister. We are fixing this."

.

Honestly, Keyleth forgets about it. The podcast is really taking off, and pretty much any time not spent researching and scripting and recording and editing is spent coordinating sponsorships and doing the annoying paperwork that comes with owning a business. Vax has some project that he's working on, but he won't tell her what it is, which is fine, because she has more than enough projects on her own plate right now.

She doesn't think to question it when Vex tells her they're going shopping one weekend. Vex likes to shop—well, no. Vex likes to window-shop. Vex rarely spends actual money. Except this time, they go to a little corner boutique, one that sells gowns for weddings and galas. She doesn't know why, but Vex is insistent that she get this long-sleeved emerald green dress that hugs her curves. She tries to argue that it's a ridiculous expense, but Vex promises her they'll do a photoshoot with it for the podcast, and hey, they've been making some pretty good ad revenue these days, so she caves. It's especially hard to say no when Vex buys a dress herself, a slinky black number that makes her look like danger.

She definitely doesn't connect the dots when Vex and Pike burst in unannounced one afternoon when Vax is out, each laden with bags of makeup and hair products. Keyleth's tugged away from her editing to get dolled up, for fun, they insist. The next thing she knows, they're all dressed up, each in their own beautiful gown—Pike's poofy golden dress makes her look like the sun incarnate—and Keyleth's being shoved out the door.

She probably should have figured it out before Vex pulled her car up in front of the botanical garden, where a red carpet lined with silver and gold balloons leads inside the building, but no, it takes Vax, dressed in a sharp black suit that fits like a glove with a slim green tie that matches her dress perfectly, stepping out holding a homemade sign that reads Will you go to prom with me? that she finally fucking gets it.

Crying, she throws her arms around his neck, chastising him for keeping such a momentous secret from her, but Vex is there to scold her for ruining her hair and makeup. Her friends lead her inside, where she's shocked to find the gardens filled with people, most of whom she does not know. Vax explains that he put the call out for anyone in the city who missed out on their high school prom and wants a second chance, with all profits from ticket sales being donated to Keyleth's favorite conservation organization. Keyleth dissolves into a mess again, but Vex and Pike get her cleaned up enough for the evening to begin.

And oh, what an evening. Scanlan's band plays them through a night of dancing, drinking, and all around fun. Keyleth has never spent so much time on a dance floor in her life, but even though she takes plenty of spins with Percy and Grog and the girls, she is happy to have so many with Vax, who can go from an elegant waltz to a shockingly gymnastic twerk with a simple key change.

Some of the other prom attendees are podcast listeners, and Keyleth is so grateful to get to put faces to the numbers she spends more time than she likes to admit obsessing over. Everyone takes thousands of pictures, and she is so excited to see the #growwiththeflow hashtag come morning. The gardens are filled to the brim with people just loving life and enjoying each other's company, and Keyleth, who had never put much thought into what it meant to miss out on such an adolescent right of passage, is beyond grateful to experience this night with these people.

When the evening is winding down, and most of the revelers have either gone home or gone to another location to continue the party, Vax tugs her by the hand deeper into the gardens, far from the area set aside for the event. He boldly strides past a sign forbidding entry, saying "This is not even in the top ten most interesting places I've trespassed" when she stutters in protest.

He stops when they're surrounded by the most beautiful blossoming cherry trees Keyleth has seen since she left Zephrah. The glass ceilings of the botanical gardens let in the light of the stars above, and the entire scene is so fragrant and beautiful. "Vax...this is lovely."

"So are you." She wrinkles her nose at him, and he kisses it. "Did you have fun?"

"I don't think I've ever had so much fun in my life. I can't believe you kept this a surprise from me for so long."

"I can't believe you didn't catch on. I mean honestly, Keyleth, don't tell me I have to be the brains in this relationship, because if that's the case, we're screwed."

She punches his arm. "Jerk."

"Yeah, well, this jerk has one more surprise for you. Look over there." He points over her shoulder and she turns. She squints in the low light, but she sees nothing beyond the cherry trees except more plants.

"I don't understand, is there supposed to be—" She cuts herself off as she turns around to see Vax on one knee, a small box in hand. Her hands fly to her mouth, her eyes instantly watery.

"Keyleth, I am not a man of the gods." His voice is cracked, strained, like he's choking back tears of his own. "There is little that I have ever had faith in in this life. Until you. Until I fell in love with a girl I'd follow to the ends of the earth. Until I learned that fate did not mean that my life was a cart on a track, hurtling toward an uncertain future I couldn't avoid, but rather a certainty, a knowing that in this life, in any life, I am yours until I die and long after. And now my faith is in how much I love you, in how much I know you love me. And I may be a lovesick fool, but I have every faith that love will carry us through whatever the gods have in store for us." Keyleth is openly weeping, her breaths coming fast and sharp. "So, then, Keyleth..." He opens the ring box, revealing a pair of rings, one with a gorgeous smokey gray stone. "Will you marry me?"

She doesn't answer him, choosing instead to tackle him into a kiss that knocks him pack onto the stone pathway of the gardens. She kisses him until she can't breath, until the crying and the laughing and the hyperventilating has him sitting her upright before she passes out. Her hand trembles as he slides the rings onto her finger, and it isn't until he closes the ring box again that he pauses and asks, "Uh, wait, was that a yes?"

"Oh, you are definitely not the brains in this relationship." And she kisses her fiancé again, beneath the stars and the cherry blossoms and the eyes of the gods.

[worlds-4th-best-dad]

Takao: So, what have you been up to over the weekend? Tsubaki: Um... I downloaded Death Forest 3 off Limewire. Takao: Oh, I see. Is that a movie? I’m not familiar with the first two Death Forests. Tsubaki: It is. Takao: Right. Are you liking it so far? Tsubaki: It’s alright. Takao: Well, hopefully they could play it for the school festival, if it’s school appropriate. Tsubaki: Yes, if I’m even going. Takao: Now, you wouldn’t be having trouble fitting in, would you? Tsubaki: Excuse me? Takao: It’s just that smoking habit of your might leave a smell that could put everyone off. Tsubaki: I really don’t think it puts anyone off. Takao: Well, in any event, if you ever need to change to get the smell off, you’re always welcome to use my office. Tsubaki: Why wouldn’t I just use the locker room? Takao: The gym teachers would catch that smell and bombard you with questions. Though, in my office, it would be our little secret. Middle school can be very hard, so it helps to have an adult who really understands you. Tsubaki: Of course, yes, uh... So, is that it? Takao, with a murderous glint in his eyes: Now, you’re not trying to get rid of me, are you? Tsubaki: W-why would I ever want to do that? Takao, seemingly back to normal: Just playing around, but before I go, I just need to remind you of the school’s dress code once again. Tsubaki: What about it? Takao, while menacingly approaching Tsubaki with murderous intent: I see your top has a few infractions. Tsubaki, nervously: I-It does...? Kosaka: *kicks Yuki over* Loser! Yuki: Hey, what’s that for?? Kosaka: For playing with your little flip-phone in front of me, you fuckin’ nerd! Yuki: I already told you, it’s called my diary! Kosaka: I’m gonna call your mom and tell her “sorry” she’ll never have grandkids. Yuki: Wha- No! Don’t kick me down there! Kosaka: I don’t need to, ‘cause the more dart trivia you know, the less girls wanna date you! And you know a whole lotta dart trivia, don’t you Amano? Yuki: M-moreso the comprehensive rules and regulations of the game. Kosaka: You are gonna fuck so many kids in your 30’s. Yuki: How does playing darts and writing a diary make me a child molester, huh?! Kosaka: That’s like asking, “how does heroin make you a drug addict?” Yuki: I’m getting real tired of you picking on me! It won’t be so fun when the shoe’s on the other foot! Kosaka: Are you threatening me...? Are you threatening me while wearing two jackets?! Yuki: Well, um, uh... Kosaka: I’ll take the gun you’re saving for the popular kids and blow your fuckin’ brains out! Takao: Alright, that is quite enough, Kosaka! Kosaka: What, what’d I do?! Takao: What I’ve heard in your verbal attack on Amano is very troubling and downright heinous! Yuki: Yeah, you forgot everything they said in the bullying assembly. Kosaka: Yeah, those work. Takao: Confronted by a teacher and not even an ounce of remorse? This is how Virginia Tech happened, Kosaka. Kosaka: ...Wait, do you mean he’s doing the shooting? ‘Cause you should probably talk to him then. Takao: Go to class, Amano. I’ll deal with this troublemaker myself. Yuki: Thanks, you’ve always had the backs of us students. Takao: This is mandatory counseling, Kosaka! You will be in my office everyday for the rest of the year until you show improvement! Kosaka: Fuckin’ everyday?! For how long?? Takao: You’ll be excused from your classes for one hour. This used to be my break time, but now I’ll be seeing you in my office 9AM sharp starting tomorrow. Is that clear? Kosaka: Dude that’s so early! Takao: Is. That. Clear?! Kosaka: Sure, whatever... Takao: Now, off to class, both of you! Kosaka: How was that rest of the year punishment...?! Tsubaki: Um... What did Yukiteru do? Kosaka: Nothing. Tsubaki: Wait, then why did you-- Kosaka: You can smoke by yourself again, right? Tsubaki: ...That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me. Kosaka: ...That’s kinda sad.

[autumntouched]

WIP

It’s Wednesday! Thoughts on a peek at Talk to Me? 😉

The airport is already crowded with Thanksgiving travelers when Natasha picks Rooster up from San Francisco International airport. She still can’t believe he decided to take her mother up on the open invitation when he had to fly so far to get here.

Still, it’s good to see him strut out of the terminal, duffle bag slung over his shoulder and aviators low on his nose, ignoring the heads he turns. A year and rebuilding his relationship with Maverick have softened his hardened edges, and he carries himself with a more relaxed confidence that makes people curious about who’s waiting for him.

It’s just her, albeit in a forest green swing dress and knee high boots that Gabby practically bullied her into.

“Hey!” he greets her with a warm hug. The first few months after she’d sealed the door on any romantic hope for them had been rough on their friendship, so she holds him a little longer. When they break apart, he peers into her SUV. “Just you?”

She presses the button on her fob to open the trunk for him to stow his bag. “Hangman’s apparently allowed in a study group so we’re picking him up on the way back.”

“Oh,” he hesitates but then decides to leave it. “So how much peace and quiet do we have left?”

Natasha laughs as she hoists herself into the driver’s seat. “Thirty minutes if traffic’s not too bad on the bridge.”

She lets Bradshaw handle the aux, his music taste more refined and specific than hers. It also lets her focus on navigating the sequence of mergers on a highway whose familiarity is more nostalgic than actual. She’d barely learned to drive before she left the Bay for good.

They fall back into an easy rhythm of conversation. His commanding officer annoys him, she looks up to hers. They’ll be up for promotion soon, assured by the grapevine that they’ll be joining Hangman as lieutenant commanders.

Hangman’s waiting for them outside his apartment building.

“If I have to hear one more person lecture me on the military industrial complex,” he gripes, tossing his bag into the trunk.

Natasha shakes her head when he slams her door behind him. “It’s probably good for you, and don’t take your choices out on my car, Bagman.” Although, she feels like he could be forgiven pretty much anything with the way the drape of his collared shirt shows off his chest and the fit of his pants on his thighs.

Trying to brush off the thought, she turns to make fun of him, but the look of surprise on his face sidetracks her. “What?”

Hangman’s eyes narrow and slide back and forth between her and Rooster. “What’s the occasion?”

“Thanksgiving, dumbass,” Rooster says.

“But why are you dressed up?” he insists.

Natasha suddenly notices that instead of his usual Hawaiian print, Rooster’s wearing a well fitted, dark polo shirt. Maybe it had slipped her attention because she’s been seeing him at least try something other than vacation dad chic in some of his most recent pictures. “Yeah, why are you dressed up?”

Hangman rounds on her. “Yes him, but what about you?”

It’s Rooster’s turn to notice. “How come you’re wearing a dress?”

“Ask Gabby,” Natasha grumbles. “She wouldn’t stop giving me shit about wearing jeans and a t-shirt, so I did it to shut her up.”

Somewhat defensively, he argues, “It looks pretty on you.”

The emphasis startles her. She thought they’d left this behind.

“You didn’t even notice until I said something,” Hangman pipes up from the backseat.

“Who invited you again?” Rooster jokes.

Checking her rearview mirror, Natasha sees hurt play across Hangman’s lips. Why are either of them doing this to her, she wants to ask. “Okay, the two of you have ninety minutes to grow up before we get to my mom’s.”

The holiday traffic and a stop at the Golden Gate Bridge overlook gives them slightly longer. Natasha parks on the street, knowing her mom will probably run out at least three more times to grab something from the store. Normally, she’d go up the driveway to the kitchen entrance, but she figures her mom would prefer she brought her friends through the front door.

“I’m back!” she calls, leaning against the foyer wall to take off Gabby’s boots.

Her mother peeks her head out of the kitchen, and her face lights up. “Bradley! Jake! We’re so glad you could make it,” she exclaims, holding out her arms for a hug from each of them as she comes through the dining and living room to hug them. They swallow up Valerie’s petite form in their arms.

Gabby comes bounding down the stairs in something different than what she was wearing when Natasha left. The full length burnt orange dress has a low cut square neck and puffed, full sleeves. She’s growing out her honey blonde color and hides the more obvious delineation by wearing it half up in a bun.

“You’re here!” she practically squeals and hurries right past Natasha to hug first Hangman and then Rooster. “Let me show you your rooms.”

Gabby’s tugging Rooster’s arm toward the stairs when Natasha intervenes. “I can do it. They’re my guests.”

Her sister tosses her hair, flashing the silver hoops in her ears. “They’re our guests, Nasha. But if you want to be a baby about it, you can show Jake to his room.”

“Mom!” Natasha protests.

Valerie waves her hands. “Why don’t you let Gabby help?”

Gabby uses her distraction to pull Rooster after her so that Natasha’s left with only her mom and Hangman to hear her complain.

“Fine! This way.” She motions for him to follow.

On her heels as they climb the stairs, he says quietly, “Looks like someone didn’t have enough time to grow up on their way home.”

[dunk3n9]

BATMAN X JOKER HUMAN AU

(I don’t own the artwork I just got it off Pinterest)

Chapter 1: Who Met Who First

I was in a room laughing as I notice the blood everywhere. I see my mama when I walk forward. She looked over with this sickeningly sweet expression on her face. I felt bliss in knowing I was installing that fear. Soon after I feel the laughter, it was abrupt and angered with insanity. When I look at mother, an item in her hand throws itself at me.

I wake up, opening my eyes with quick breaths and sweat pooling on my everything. It takes a minute before my eyes stop fearfully glancing everywhere before meeting my poster of "The Riddler" a talk show host. When My breathing was stable after laying there reminding myself it wasn't real. Who was it that... No I can't think like that anymore otherwise.

"Joe! It's time to wake up, sweetie," Mother yells upstairs, she must be busy with laundry.

My name is Joe Chill. I prefer my nick name at school "Joker" and I earned it. I get called that for several reasons. My mom calls me that cause of my jokes and silly tricks that make her happy. Not to mention the tricks I've played on my peers at school.

"Joker? Joe? Ah, there you are, how did you sleep?" she spoke in a calm voice smiling when sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Fine. I guess."

I looked down still tired.

"Awww, I know Joker but, it's your first day of high school! Oh my goodness, my little man is growing up and going to school-" she smothered me in motherly words and affection.

"Okay, mom you can let go now! Haha," I spoke while chuckling.

"I'm looking forward to some good things this year," I said with mischievous glee.

Any person that knew me would know that smirk I did wasn't just for laughs.

"Oh no you don't mister! No pranks this year not even if someone bothers you, even if they may or may not deserve it, " she said with a stern tone of voice saying the last part under her breath while walking back downstairs.

"But mom!" I loudly complained following right behind, "My whole class is probably waiting for my pranks. It's traditional!"

she gave a stern look to my dramatic argument.

"No buts. Say 'yes mom' and I'll send you on your way," she spoke standing there facing me.

"Yes mom," I said jokingly in a robot tone.

"Good. Oh, that reminds me, your sister Harleen is going to be at your school, too. A grade higher than you. Also go get dressed my Son-a-tron two thousand," She had spoken so nonchalantly I didn't react till it registered.

I was shocked at this statement. My sister Harley is for lack of better words a psycho she can be rough and violent, when needed but, she present herself as put together and is smarter than she'd admit. She's embarrassed me a lot of times at school, too. I love her to death but she can be annoying at times. One time I was getting bullied and nearly got into a fight she stepped in and got in the guys face. I mean yeah she tried to help but still I could handle myself.

"Please tell me she's not-" I said not even finishing my sentence.

"Yup she's moving back here forever her dad finally took the time and decided it was best if she was with me," she squealed in joy like she hasn't seen Harley in ages... It's only been a year.

Someone knocked at the door and mom rushed to answer it. Harley jumped straight in through the door with a front hand walk over then a cartwheel. She landed in front of me with a "ta-da" she said. She hugged me tightly till I gasped for air she then let me go.

"How's my little puddin doing?" She was practically beaming with excitement.

I shrugged with a chuckle. She hasn't called me that since we were kids. I was really confused by a mark on her upper arm. Like burn marks I frowned a little.

"uh-uh-uh turn that frown upside down I'm not gonna bother you all school semester unless someone gives you trouble," she winked and walked back to the door laughing while grabbing her things.

I'm sure I wasn't imagining those marks. I'll ask when she settles in more. I became intrigued when I heard a noise outside all of a sudden.

"What the?" I whispered to myself of course.

I walked to the door passing mom and Harley in a quizzical conversation. Peeking out the open doorframe I spot the old Cobblepot residence being looked at by a family bringing in luggages inside. Oh, they're moving in.

Just like that there they were... new neighbors. Why at a time like this? It seemed odd. I saw a thin women with good physic and she looks healthy, pretty, house wife I believe by her attire. A man with a muscular physic that most men had, sturdy, business man attitude. Then there was a little boy looking around my age he looks more buff than me. I studied him his facial features he had dark eyes, he had the perfect Chin, his smile had pearly whites just like mine. He had most beautiful black hair unlike me with messy green hair, he also had a tan going on I was a tad bit pale.

I was staring for too long analyzing him and his family I didn't notice he saw me and we shared glances. I was scared. What if he tries talking to me? What if he's a bully? I don't know these people. Looking over when back to reality he was speaking to his mom, pointed at my house, she looked over, smiled, nodded yes to something, and he was suddenly walking over here. I hid against the wall. Someone wants to meet me?

"Um, hello? Green hair guy?" His caramel apple voice was so close.

I peek out the door a little. I almost laughed at the startled look when I suddenly popped up.

"Ah, I'm sorry," I tried to contain my laughter, "yes?"

He fixed his outfit and nodded I'm guessing to compose himself. He cleared his throat then spoke.

"Where is your mother?" He spoke fancy and precise.

My nerves became hyper aware that I was talking to someone. Someone new. I was suddenly nervous and anxious.

"Ummm busy. Why?" I spoke quickly avoiding eye contact.

"Please, do get her."

"Mom! Door!" I yelled while turning towards the kitchen.

"My names Bruce by the way," He spoke so suddenly.

I almost lost my composure and screamed. I just simply turned and waved before fiddling with my fingers nervously. She was at the door in a flash looking at Bruce.

"Why hello there," she spoke in a joyful but confused tone.

I walked away to get ready considering I was in my Pajamas consisting of a Black t-shirt with purple and green HAHA's on it, and black fuzzy pants. I quickly brushed my teeth and hair, got dressed, grabbed my backpack, and headed downstairs. I walked back to see the other family talking to my mom.

"I'm so happy to see new faces in the neighborhood. Don't ever hesitate to ask for help from us," she said excited as I was confused.

"Thank you very much. We've come from so far it's nice to have a fresh start. Well I'm glad it's peaceful over in these parts," the woman sounded so elegant.

"We're happy to have you, mister and miss?" Mom has always been so polite she's a people person.

"Just call us Martha and Thomas. Oh, is this your son?" Martha spoke so precise and high class.

"Why yes this is. Say hi, Joe."

Giving a simple wave I try to give my best smile that hopefully didn't show my nerves.

"He's a little shy," mom said in that motherly way of 'he's still learning' or something like that.

"That's okay most kids are to new people. If it's not too much to ask do you think you could take our son to the school? We got here without looking at where it was," Martha had spoken apologetically.

"I'd be happy to help and afterwards I can help you guys move in if you'd like? It'd give us time for some girl talk and to get to know each other," Mom said friendly.

"Thank you very much, Penny." Martha said holding moms hand.

They said there gratitude towards each other and walked away. The boy went over and grabbed I'm assuming his backpack which looked like a briefcase. I looked down apologetically. Mom gave a confused look and realized.

"Joe it's okay. Eventually you'll be able to talk to people and make a lot of friends. Just for now let's just make some high school memories," Mom spoke reassuringly.

I look up at her smiling. She always knows what to say.

"Thanks mom. Let's bring harley, too," I said happily.

"No can do kiddo I got my own set of wheels, boo yah!" She said with a light punch to my shoulder.

"Alright you two! Now how about after school we go out for Chinese food to celebrate your first days, huh? Would you both like that?" She said enthusiastically.

I nodded my head smiling as did harley.

"Great Chinese it is then. Means I don't have to cook, haha," she laughed grabbing her car keys as Bruce walked back our way.

Me and Bruce hopped into my moms car as she smothered Harley in hug and kisses. I heard harley whining through the window and it made me laugh a little.

"What's your name?" Bruce asked bluntly.

"I- uh. You. Me?" I jumbled over my words.

"Haha, yeah you? Unless the car has a name, haha" He spoke shyly trying to break the ice.

"My- my name is Joe. Joe Chill."

"I like your hair, it's fluffy," He spoke nicely.

I became a flustered mess. I'm actually talking to someone. I can't believe it.

"You ready kids? Because mama has a Coffee with her name on it,"she said jokingly.

Me and Bruce chuckled and we were off to school. Let's hope nothing happens to change this day.

[fanficfanatic000]

Eddie Munson x fem . scary how I hate you

Eddie Munson x fem Warning Enemies to lovers Bullying. Chrissy mean girl. Halloween party halloween themed 18+

part 1

:scary how i hate you :

It's October 27th Tues only four days until Halloween…. Halloween.. ugh I am not exited only because of him..and the party Steve invited me to a halloween party in the woods but stupid me, said yes before asking who was gonna be there. But of fucking course he is.. and by he I mean Eddie Munson. The guys who I tried to be friends with but then I had a crush on him until he hated me one day for no reason. Unless there is a reason…." Y/N! Are you ready? Your gonna be late for school" "Yeah one sec mom." You grab your black jacket and walked outside to the car.

School

You walk through the doors of Hawkins high just to see a skeleton decoration hung from the ceiling, paper bats on the walls, and orange streamers across the halls. "Hey Y/N color is better on me?" And then here's my best Freind Robin Buckley "earth to Y/N should i do red or blue or is there a better color?" "for what?" "Well im gonna probably go by starcourt after school to get some hairdye and a halloween costume so What color? And do you want to come with?" "Yes i would like to come and i think a dark jade green would look great on you and it matches your personality." "Okay sounds good meet you after school." And you finally made it to your locker to grab your note book and pencils when it gets slam shut. "fuck.." "hey Y/n so how should i be better then you today oh right i just act normal." "Chrissy.. what a pleasure… not really" "hm so how should i kiss eddie tonight?" You walk away to class I can't believe me and her use to be friends.

After school you met Robin and now are at starcourt mall "Okay I got the hair dye now let's go get costumes." You walk in the halloween shop And see masks, fake Weapons, costumes sexy and scary. "Yes!! Okay im gonna go try this on" she holds up a sexy Liberian costume. You search through the costumes Until you found a vampire costume You grab it and you tried it on "woah y/n you look great " "thanks " You say as you look in the mirror the red dress that clings to your curves and the black cape that hangs to your knees it's perfect "nice costume but i think it would look better on my floor" Fuck noo! It's him Eddie Munson "munson.. how's chrissy your girlfriend" "shes not my girlfriend but you could be." Your face now red of course anything to make you upset if he only knew why jokes like that make you mad because you wish it where true but it can't be "fuck you munson" "gladly" after you got changed back into your normal clothes you paid for your costume and some fake blood and red lipstick "Okay cmon y/n lets go"

4 days have passed And all you could think about is the party and eddie munson.. it's stupid how he hates me but I still have feelings for him but I guess I'm dumb

Find out next time

Wait until Part 2

[zerolune]

₊❏❜ ⋮ ⌒ Chapter 6 - horrors of the night

: ̗̀➛ Pairing : Anton × OC

Synopsis: When Seunghan, Wonmee, Anton and Gwen go for a movie, the horror movie isn't the only horror they face.

Warnings : swearing, a jerk guy.

Next, Masterlist

"Oh seriously cmon!! It's the last day of our promotions! It'll be fun!!" Wonmee exclaimed, encouraging Eunryung. "No way in hell am I paying to get heart attacks." The elder refused. "Please it isn't fun with just two people!" Wonmee urged once again.

"Yes, researches have proven that watching films with more people provides a better experience due to the adrenaline boost from the movie being balanced out by the endorphins released due to the presence of your friends." Gwen spoke almost robotically, explaining why Eunryung should join them.

"Wow-uh- you're not wrong now- but! Why me though? Why not Yuri or Miyoung?" Eunryung asked, diverting the target. "Miyoung is going for samgyeopsal with her siblings and Yuri has to choreograph for Taemin Sunbaenim." Gwen said again, very mechanically.

"What are you guys talking about?" Sungchan asked as the boys entered the practice room, pretty late. "We are trying to convince Eunryung to see the new Nun movie with us, on the last day of our promotions, would any of you like to join?" Wonmee offered.

"Horror no way, I'm out!" Wonbin and Sungchan explicitly stated. "Hmm sorry I have plans," Shotaro said. "Oh I can come! I love horror!" Seunghan said. "And based on the timings, I'm free!" Seunghan checked his phone for the show timings on some app.

"Great! So, you, me, Gwen and anyone else?" Wonmee looked around. "I have something with my family that night so probably not," Sohee pouted. "I have a meet up with friends," Eunseok said, checking some kind of calendar-schedule.

"Ah well, that's okay, three people should be fine," Seunghan grinned, going over to discuss the timings with the other two. Anton on the other hand, looked around, of course his hyungs knew that he hated anything to do with horror, and maybe the girls forgot about him (sorry Anton), but if Gwen was going- this was his chance.

"Oh I can go! It'll be great to see a horror movie!" He finally spoke up, his hyungs looking at him judgementally. Seunghan was about to say, "But don't you-" before he looked over to Gwen and a light bulb lit in his head. "Alright so four of us! Great!" The boy began walking over to Sungchan who was about to say something and immediately whispered to him, "Hyung, let the lover boy follow his heart-even if it stops during the movie." He then made Sungchan look towards Gwen.

"Ohh, I see," He laughed.

-

"Alright, soldiers, listen up, 9:30's the movie, so they gotta leave by 9:10, we have to make sure Anton looks his best, in precisely 58 minutes- we would have had a whole hour if Anton didn't argue that he was going to a HORROR movie just because he loves Gwen."

"For the last time-"

"Shut up Loverboy! Soldiers Let's get to work!" Shotaro began parading around, as the boys carried a 6 feet tall boy across the dorm. "Listen you are no way in hell wearing that ugly ass hoodie, wear this denim jacket or lose the love of your life." Wonbin began.

"And we gotta do something with your hair cuz you remind me of when my mom used to cut my hair," Eunseok began ruffling the boy's hair.

Finally they dressed him up-giving him an early 2000's teen movie makeover-not that he needed one. "Now, I know it's gonna be scary, and you will want to die, but under no circumstances will you call for your eomma, we can't let her think you have mommy issues." Shotaro gave the first advice.

"Instead, ask if you can hold hands, just make sure they aren't sweaty," Seunghan said. "What if she says no?"

"Then change your name to Amanda Williams, move to Switzerland and never return- also get a buzz cut just in case." Wonbin advised.

"But relax, she isn't like that, she's a caring person okay, she'll know if you're scared besides she helped you with your bullies, she'll help you with ghosts too, don't worry." Sungchan assured.

"How can you say that for sure though?" Eunseok raised a brow. "Because- I don't know man she feels like my sister, we have been talking quite a lot lately and it literally feels liek we're siblings," Sungchan explained.

"As long as you don't commit sweet home Alabama, Anton shouldn't feel jealous, right?" Wonbin looked towards the boy who rolled his eyes at Sungchan. "Ah don't worry Anton, I wouldn't ever think that way... but now that I think about it..." Sungchan took a dramatic pause. "Why am I helping a boy become my sister's boyfriend?!?"

"You better not do anything suspicious," He suddenly warned Anton as him and Seunghan began moving out the home. "It'd be a blessing if he could even talk to her without stuttering, you shouldn't be worried at all," Eunseok teased. "Hyung!" They heard Anton protest before the door closed.

-

"Oh Seunghan! You're here, where's Anton?" Wonmee asked as they stood near the snacks counter. "Oh he'll be here any moment," Seunghan smiled.

Anton suddenly appeared out of nowhere, dramatically walking in, making eye contact with Gwen- who was-why was she looking at her phone- goddammit the dramatic entry they planned was useless.

"Oh Hi Anton!" Gwen looked up, shooting a smile. "H-Hey!" Anton tried to look cool. "What's wrong with you today?" Gwen laughed. "Okay, so who's getting the popcorn?"

"Me and Wonmee will take care of it, you both go!" Seunghan quickly ushered the younger two towards the movie hall, a plan being plotted in his mind.

-

"Ah so I see, Anton does like her! But you know I think Gwen likes him too," Wonmee said as her and the boy were walking back to the theatre with popcorn and drinks in their hands.

"Wait really? But she person-zoned him right?" Seunghan tilted his head. "Bold of you to assume a girl would tell her feelings straight! Why are you so oblivious, don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Oh well my ex yea, she cheated on me," Seunghan sighed. "You got cheated on? You? No way-"

"Get this, with my best friend," he revealed as Wonmee couldn't believe her ears. "That's well- uh- I don't know what to say, how do you feel?"

"I guess it's just life, stuff works like that," he sighed yet again, opening the door and holding it open. "I mean it shouldn't, like you're probably the hottest guy in our group?? Maybe the hottest person I've ever seen? And not only that, you're a gentleman, you're everything? How could they?"

"Woah woah, did you just call me hot?"

"I'm only saying the truth, besides, if you weren't hot you can't be an idol,"

"Sohee's an exception, he's cute as fuck."

"There's always an exception," she smiled, heading to their seat. "Oh look they're sitting beside each other! Our plan worked letsgo!!" Seunghan smiled.

-

Seriously what the fuck. Anton was one more jumpscare away from dying, how could anyone enjoy this? He was holding everything in him to not scream, and it was only 27 minutes until now, oh how would he even manage anymore?

Unbeknownst to him however, the girl beside him could sense the fear lingering in the boy, so almost immediately, she said. "Anton, hold my hand if you're scared, it'll be alright, it's just a movie."

She didn't give him even a second to respond as before he could say anything, his left hand had already been entwined with her left. He could feel the callous on her skin- from her playing her guitar probably, but it was still somehow soft and gentle. Like an assuring feel that nothing would happen to him.

Anton's heart still raced, but now it wasn't because of fear.

-

"Please that movie was ass," Wonmee remarked as the group was walking back to the dorm, which was quite close. "I know right, like the jumpscares were cheap as shit."

"I agree, like the cinematography should've been done better to compliment the acting for god's sake."

The three (Anton didn't speak, still reminiscing holding his crush's hand) continued to talk about the movie until they began walking past a 7/11.

"Gyuri Park? Is that you?" Gwen stopped in her tracks, turning back to look at her biggest nightmare. "Ah so it is you," a boy walked over to her, turning her around, getting ahold of her right hand.

"Minjae just leave us be."

"Ah so your hand and your voice both work well now?" He smirked still not letting go. "Let go of her you asshole." Wonmee came in front, shoving him aside.

"Oh Gyuri, you now have other friends and not just that loser boy, hot friends might I add." Minjae said checking out wonmee.

"Just shut up dude," Seunghan said in anger. "Ah you still have guy friends, guess you're still a slut huh?" Minjae only looked at Gwen, who had tears welling up in her eyes.

"Aww jagi, don't cry," he mocked, caressing her cheek. "Don't touch me, you creep," Gwen managed to shout, swatting his hand away.

"Oh feisty, guess you became like this to be more like my type right?" The bully kept laughing as his two other friends joined in, much to the four's despise.

"You know what, just fuck off." Anton pushed the boy, who was shorter than him, alas, Minjae punched him back, almost toppling him to the ground.

"Don't fucking touch him ever again, you jerk," Gwen kicked his shin before taking Anton's hand and running away.

"Guys come quick!"

-

"Gwen who was that?"

...

Taglist: @seolboba (comment if you wanna be added !!)

[misslisamiray]

A little delayed, but finally, here's Chapter 6 of Down With the Rickness! Those of you who remember the excerpts I posted before I started posting actual chapters may notice this features two of them, but longer now! New chapter is below the cut.

Back on Earth, Morty was looking for a place to hide the portal gun. He thought about just putting it back in the garage, but no – that would be the first place Rick would look once he noticed it was missing. After a few minutes of thinking and realizing there really wasn’t a “good” place to hide it, he decided that under his bed was as good a place as any.

“Rick will probably be out for a while. But I think I’ll need help once he wakes up. Better find Dad.” the boy said to himself. He decided to get dressed for the day, since going back to bed was clearly not an option, then went to find Jerry.

“Dad? You here? You didn’t listen to Rick and go next door after all, did you? Dad?” he called, walking through the house and checking anywhere he thought Jerry might be. Kitchen, no. Living room, no. Mancave, no. Bedroom, no. Then Morty heard noise coming from the attic.

“A raccoon or possum or something must’ve gotten in again. Perfect day for it, too. Good thing Rick made Dad immune to rabies.” Morty sighed, heading up the stairs to the attic.

“Hey, Dad? I know you’re having fun up here with your little friends, but it has to wait. I need a hand taking care of Rick, and… what the hell are you doing up here, exactly?” he said, puzzled by the sight in front of him. Morty had expected to find his father either playing with or being attacked by a wild animal or two, depending on the temperament of whatever had gotten into the attic this time. Instead, Jerry was sitting on the floor, surrounded by boxes, some of them tipped over, and piles of disorganized anime VHS tapes.

“Oh, hi Morty. You know what Sailor Moon is, right?” was what he received as an answer.

“Ummm, yes? Classic 90’s manga and anime that’s known for popularizing the magical girl genre in the U.S. And for the old dub making the questionable-at-best choice of trying to pass off two clearly lesbian characters as cousins. Why are you asking me about Sailor Moon?” an even more confused Morty replied.

Ignoring his son’s question while he went through another pile of tapes, Jerry said, “That’s right, Morty! I loved watching it before school as a kid, but I’d forgotten all about it. Then there was this time last year when Rick disguised me as his assistant using something he called a ‘reusable Sailor Moon transformation sequence’, and you see, it brought back all the good memories I had of watching that show when I was young. Along with the bad ones of the boys who liked Dragon Ball Z instead bullying me, but I digress.”

“Uh-huh. That’s great, Dad. Well, mostly. That last part sounds like it sucked… Anyway, nevermind the walk down memory lane right now. I need you downstairs to help me with Rick.”

“Oh. Is whatever the Mimicking Disease mimicking now really bad, Morty? Am I going to come downstairs and see it’s turned all his organs visible, and we can like, see the damage being done to them in real time? If it’s that you’ll warn me, right, Morty?” Jerry worried, getting squeamish over his own made-up scenario.

“No, it’s nothing like that. Rick made up the whole Mimicking Disease thing. Well, I don’t know if he made up that it exists. It might? But he definitely made up the part about him having it.” Morty replied.

He was about to explain further, but was cut off by his father saying, “So it is something worse after all? I thought Rick sending your mom and sister away was a little odd. *GASP!* Morty, you’ve been awfully close to him this whole time, haven’t you?” He quickly backed away from Morty, scooting backwards until he crashed into another box of tapes.

Morty rolled his eyes and said, “Dad, calm down. Rick just has a cold. A pretty bad one from the looks of it, but still just a cold. The thing is, he’s not dealing with it well at all, and apparently store brand otc cold medicine is the only substance out there he has like, no tolerance for. Or hallucinating melting walls is what those internet weirdos meant by the expired medicine ‘working too well’? I don’t know. I do know he’s making this whole thing a lot more of a problem than it needs to be. And it’s probably going to get worse when he wakes up, so come help.”

“But why would Rick lie about having some weird alien disease to hide having a cold? It doesn’t make sense. Now, him lying about having one alien disease to hide having a worse one, that makes sense.” Jerry continued to worry, gulping nervously.

“I don’t know, and I don’t get it either. I’m sure there’s a reason. Probably a reason no one but Rick would understand, or maybe even he doesn’t. But it’s Rick - that’s true for almost everything he does. Please just come downstairs. I see you’ve already given up on your big plan to help to do this instead.” Morty replied wearily.

“Given up? Oh, you couldn’t be more wrong, Morty. This is all a part of my plan.” Jerry stated, starting to look through another pile of tapes. 

"Your plan to help Rick feel better is... old anime VHS tapes? I mean... okay? Maybe it would distract him or cheer him up a little. He'd probably enjoy some, maybe even most of this stuff. That's actually not a bad idea, Dad. But it's also not a priority." Morty said.

"You misunderstand. I'm not looking for something for Rick to watch. I'm looking for something I need to watch. And once I do, then I'll know exactly how to help your grandfather." Jerry replied matter of factly.

After standing there for a moment, dumbfounded and not knowing what to say to that, Morty finally asked, "So, your big, great plan is to spend the day going through these boxes, then watching Sailor Moon? And that's supposed to teach you... something relevant to our current situation?"

"It's not going to take me all day, Morty. If your mom and I had done a better job of putting these tapes away, I'd already have what I need. And it's not as if I could watch all 200 episodes and 3 movies in a single day even if I tried. No, there's just one specific episode I need to find. I know it's technically a 'filler' episode, but it's a classic. Episode 71 of the original English dub, “No Thanks, Nurse Venus!” The bad guys infect the city with a flu virus as part of their evil plan, and all of the Sailor Scouts are down with it - except one." Jerry explained, his voice taking on a singsongy tone at the last part.

"From the title, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's Sailor Venus?" Morty said, the urge to scream growing by the second.

"That's right, Morty! For some reason, she and Artemis - that's her mentor/talking cat - remain completely fine, so Mina sets out to nurse the rest of the team back to health. She's honestly terrible at it, but she means so, so well." Jerry replied fondly.

"Dad, I - where do I even start listing everything that's wrong with this 'plan' of yours?! 1, that sounds more like a magic spell than an actual virus. 2, you can't learn anything about treating an illness by watching an old anime episode, and, and..." Morty sputtered.

"Oh, Morty. It's because I told you it's a filler episode, isn't it? Or maybe because I specifically need to watch the old DiC dub? For someone with only the most basic understanding of Sailor Moon, you really don't have any business being a snobby purist. And for your information, Mister, this episode is so good that even people who normally are snobs about that sort of thing enjoy it." Jerry said, shaking his head and giving his son a disappointed look.

“Dad, of everything that’s wrong with your plan, which is EVERYTHING, that’s easily what’s the least wrong! Just because Rick told you to go be stupid upstairs, does not mean you had to take that as literally as possible! You’re not going to come downstairs and help me, are you?”

“Obviously not, Morty. Until I find that tape and watch that episode, what help could I possibly be?” Jerry replied with a shrug. He was clearly annoyed his son still didn’t seem to understand his plan, even after he’d explained it so well.

“I mean, you could go out to get more medicine. Or keep an eye on Rick while I go do that. Or maybe make food? There’s a lot of things you could do, actually. But it’s fine. Just stay up here and keep doing what you’re doing, Dad.” Morty sighed, deciding there was no point in further trying to talk any sense into his father. Jerry was already back to looking through tapes, humming the Sailor Moon opening theme.

As Morty walked back down the steps, he muttered to himself, “What else is going to help Rick get better? I know he needs to rest, and that we need to get more medicine. And obviously that I can’t let him near more than a single dose at a time. But is that like, it? Feels like there’s more I should do. Aww geez, we really don’t have to deal with normal problems like this often, do we? Kinda makes it harder when they do come up. I hope Mom and Summer get home soon.” 

A few minutes later, Morty had made his way back to Rick’s room. Expecting his grandfather to still be asleep, and not wanting to wake him, he slowly, carefully opened the door… only to discover the bed was empty.

“Rick? Are you in here?” Morty asked tentatively, stepping into the room and looking around. He checked under the bed and in the closet. No Rick.

“God dammit!!!” he yelled, kicking the nearest wall before going to search the rest of the house.

“Rick! Where are you?! You need to go back to bed! Rick!” he called, walking through the house. First he checked the bathroom. Empty.

“You in here? Rick? Come on, this isn’t funny! Are you like, hiding because you’re mad about the medicine?” He checked the living room next. Still no Rick.

“He couldn’t have gotten far. Kitchen, maybe?” As soon as Morty stepped into the kitchen, he realized that it was also empty, but there was noise coming from the garage.

“Dammit, I should have known!” 

Morty ran into the garage and was immediately taken aback by the sight in front of him. Rick was dressed in his normal clothes again, but his labcoat was crooked and sliding down his left shoulder. He had a sock and shoe on his left foot, but a slipper on his right. His belt was unbuckled, and Morty was fairly sure his shirt was on backwards. He was trying to keep his blankets - there were now three of them - wrapped around himself while he set up another experiment and had to keep pausing to adjust them.

The experiment in question? Well, it wasn't clear exactly what Rick was trying to accomplish, but he'd gathered the petri dish containing the blood sample he took earlier, a couple of empty ones, and some used tissues, and was arranging all of them on the garage floor... in front of a large ray gun on a pedestal.

"What the hell do you think you're doing now, Rick?! Whatever it is, stop!" Morty yelled, startling Rick and causing him to stumble forward and bump into the ray gun. This led to it flipping so it was facing the roof, which it immediately shot a hole through.

"Ow! Dammit, Morty! Look what you made me do!" Rick complained, rubbing his forehead where he'd hit the ray gun.

"Uh-huh. Weird way to thank me for that hole ending up in the roof and not your head." Morty said wearily.

"Okay, so this wasn't on the right setting for what I'm *Cough!* trying to do just now. But I would've figured that out on my own without your so-called help." Rick grumbled, turning a dial on the ray gun and repositioning it so it was once again aimed at the assortment of things on the floor.

"And what exactly are you trying to do?"

"Isn't it obvious? I hate to admit it, Morty, but you were right about the idea I had before being terrible. *Sniff!* Shrinking you down to microscopic size to talk to the virus? I don't, don't know what I was thinking with that." Rick admitted as he rearranged the petri dishes. The pile of blankets slid down a little, and he started shivering again.

Noticing that, Morty helped adjust them around Rick's shoulders, saying, "Glad you realized that, but you still didn't answer my question."

"Huh? Oh, *Cough!* right. As I was saying, making you or a clone or a robot germ-sized is not the right way to handle this situation at all. In fact, the way to deal with it is the exact opposite. What I need to do for this negotiation thing to work is make the germs human-sized." Rick explained matter-of-factly.

"Rick, no! Don't you see how that's even worse than your original plan?!" Morty asked, rightfully horrified. 

“Huh? How so? There was a lot that could have gone wrong with the original plan. Even though I’d send you in armed in case the little peace talk fell through, you *COUGH!* woulda been seriously outnumbered in here, Morty. And God forbid anything happened to prevent me from getting you back out. Let’s face it, I am not in peak form today. And it’s not like there’s anyone else here to help. Shit, maybe I shouldn’t have sent Summer away. Eh, I’ll make it up to her once I feel better. Anyhow, *Cough!* *Cough!* if we do it this way instead, all those risks go away. We’ll be face to face with the bastards and on an even playing field.” Rick replied, not understanding Morty’s concerns.

“No, we won’t be! Instead of just me, it’ll be the two of us vs… How many germs are in a person’s body when they have a cold? Millions? Billions? It’s at least thousands, and I’m pretty sure it’s a lot more than that! If you make them all human sized, they’ll overrun the house, then the neighborhood, and, and wouldn’t being exposed to germs that size make everyone around really sick? How are you not seeing everything that could go wrong with this idea, Rick?!” Morty yelled.Visibly annoyed, Rick answered, “Obviously I’m not going to make all the germs our size, Morty. I mean, to do that, I’d need to remove all of them from my body first. Which would require, among other things, a full blood replacement. Which I *Cough!* might not live through, and if I did, I’d already be cured once I was done. And then why would I waste my time talking to over – to a bunch of oversized *SNIFF!* germs, huh, Morty?” Morty was once again at a loss for words due to the crazy plan being explained to him – something that had already happened too many times for how early it still was.

[crazedmetalhead]

Eddie Head cannons/ character analysis

Is this gonna be me projecting onto a fictional character; yes, yes it is. This is just my opinion of what I think Eddie would be like as someone who grew up in a trailer park, with a lot of the conditions that the fandom assumes Eddie went through in his childhood. For context, there will be dark themes, don't like, don't read. THIS IS MY OPPINION (sorry if it makes no sense)

Okay so there has been some discourse in the community about whether Eddie would be a softie or a hard-ass, and I raise a middle ground. I feel like Eddie would seem like a hard-ass, hell, he'd act rough and shit around his friends, and he's loud, he wears leather and chains, I can see where you're coming from, and I also see where people get that he's a softie, from his interactions with Chrissy. I think you're both right, let me explain. "Eddie's always amped up," to me, this means that he's always on guard, he's been hurt before, this man grew up between truck stops and tin cans. The way I see it is he was always, poor, never knew any luxury. He probably grew up in a trailer with his sick mom and abusive dad, he was probably moved around a lot after his mom died, maybe his dad was a part of organized crime or something, which is why he knows how to hotwire a car. He's terrified of getting hurt again, yet expects it so he puts up a tough guy act, but deep down he wants to be good, he wants to protect those he loves. There's also the discourse about Lucas and as a Dungeon Master, I can tell you, if one of my party members last minute cancelled on us, the day of the session, especially a big one, to hang out with people who are known bullies.... I'd also be pissed off, I'd think, "Fuck he's really fraternizing with the enemy," and I would also get a substitute player. Campaigns take months to plan, that session for cult of Vecna alone probably took at least two weeks of planning and Eddie had to buy everything for it, D&D figures are not cheap either so if he planned it down to the player, which many of us do, that'd be infuriating. I think that all the supplies for that game today would run at over $120.00 which for a super senior living in his uncle's trailer and dealing drugs to get by, is a hell of a lot of money. Also, every single other person in the party agreed that that day was okay, and so did Lucas at the time, postponing would screw everyone over, it's literally how every D&D group runs, at the end of the session you all work out the next time you can meet. It's a really high-pressure hobby to be a Dungeon Master because it's not just making the game and improv, it's also managing everyone else's schedules. It can be stressful as hell. Especially with a party of that size. I feel his reaction was pretty valid as someone who has had that happen.

With Chrissy he was soft, yes, that's because he saw how scared she was, Eddie isn't the sort to kick somebody when they're down and wouldn't try and freak her out when she's already practically shaking with anxiety, and sure, he may have had a little crush on her- he has eyes. I think when she says she thought he'd be mean and scary it's not only because he's loud and wears mean looking clothes, I think there is valid reasons, as some of you say, but I think he has his reasons to act that way. He probably got into a lot of fist fights, that's just how the highschool hierarchy works, but I don't think he'd have started it. I believe Eddie is a firm believer of, "I don't start shit, but I will finish it," as well as, "Fuck around and find out," and I feel like a lot of people fucked around and had their asses handed to them. Also, being called the freak all your life is eventually grating on you and eventually you put yourself in that box before other people can, which usually includes wild hair, loud rants, hissing at people you don't like and a mean case of resting bitch face. Also, I raise to you, when I went to a new school, before I even dressed alt, people thought I'd be mean and scary simply because of my resting bitch face, so even without fist fights people would find Eddie intimidating. That being said, I feel like Eddie Munson is an onion of many layers, and if you break through those walls, he is a major softy, malleable butter in your hands. He'd at first be confused by the love you give him, suspicious that it's a prank, but when he trusts you, he trusts you with his life and it's hard to get it back if you shatter it. He definitely holds the doors for strangers, especially girls, he opens the car door and walks on the outside of the sidewalk, Wayne taught him how to treat a lady and he follows those rules. That's all, this is just my oppinion.

[purplesurveys]

1860

What store did you last buy clothes from? Landmark. I had a last-minute need for a dress for a family friend's debut, and with the One Free Time I had so close to the date, that was my best bet to find something, anything haha. I didn't find anything I was envisioning, but I got a pretty enough blue-green day dress.

Which parent are you more similar to? I am so much like both of them in many ways. I have my mom's explosive temper, uptight-yness, facial and verbal expressions; but I also got my dad's patience, liberal way of thinking, love of animals, and awareness of pop culture lol.

What are some of your favorite qualities for another person to have? I find it very cool if they have a hobby they have no shame in being a geek about. Most people (at least here) still think it's a loser thing to have encyclopedic knowledge about a niche interest – because being mainstream is the correct way to do things! /s – which is SO annoying to me.

What smell reminds you of your childhood? Brewed coffee and warm pandesal. This was my grandparents' default breakfast, and it stung to miss out on this smell when we moved + even more so when my grandpa passed.

Are you happy with who you are? I am increasingly learning to be.

Do you ever sleep with your bedroom windows open? I did that until college – pre-job, essentially, when I wasn't yet able to contribute to the family monies. Now that I'm able to help out, I have the AC on hours a day and haven't had the windows open in years lol.

Have you ever had a job where you didn’t fit in with your coworkers? Nope.

What was the last word document you typed? It was a transcription of an interview.

Have you ever gotten sick from someone else’s cooking? Yeah, I got food poisoning from a stick of barbecue at my uncle's place one time. To this day I still haven't eaten anything inihaw if it's there.

Do you crave approval and attention from others? Approval, yes, as a perfectionist; attention and affection not nearly as much.

What was the last kind of cheese you ate? Manchego.

Do you have any crazy neighbors? No but there is a toddler who wail-cries everyday which drives *me* crazy.

Have you ever abused any substance? No.

How young is too young to be sexually active? I don't think there is an age for something like this. If you are, you are.

Would you ever dye your hair silver? Probably not.

What was the last fun thing you did? Welp I hung out with Angela and Hans the other night and all we talked about were plans for their wedding lol.

Have you ever dated someone who had a child from a previous relationship? Nope.

Is there any drama currently going on with your family? Kind of but it's mostly blown over now. When it does get mentioned it's mostly in passing or just general updates of what's been going on since.

What’s your favorite kind of soup? Miso.

When was the last time you were on a university campus? I was in UP around two months ago to have late lunch and watch a softball and football game with Andi.

Do you know anyone who practices Hinduism? No.

Where’s your favorite place you’ve ever lived? This current house.

When was the last time you spoke to the first person you ever kissed? Three and a half years ago.

How many texts have you sent today? Just a couple.

What’s a political issue you have a strong opinion on? The blatant Chinese bullying of the Philippines.

What snacks do you like to get at the movie theater? Potato Corner is a Must for me, and I feel like malls understand that now because in nearly every cinema you go to you are guaranteed a Potato Corner five steps away.

Have you ever stayed in a hotel in the center of a big city? Apart from my own country where most hotels are in the center of big cities, I have done this in Shanghai, yes. It was nice, because knowing that China blacks out the internet there happened to be wi-fi in the hotel I was staying at.

Are your fingernails painted? Nope.

What was the last fruit or vegetable you chopped/sliced up? I don't think I've ever chopped a fruit or veggie before.

When you take a nap, do you nap in bed or on the couch? Either, really. I feel like I've done a share for both equally.

Do you have any plans for tomorrow? Eh, just work.

[thatdepridragon]

This is a story I wrote a while back but just found, and yes, I know there is spelling mistakes, English is not my first language, I'm sorry.

Simon (English)

The words flew through my head, while I imagined the world. Ignored all the sounds around me. The window squeaked, and the flames made small sounds. I turned the page. Then I felt something cold on my shoulder, that felt like a hand. It touched me gently. I turned to the last page. Benedicte didn’t always read as fast as me. I waited a bit, then I put my bookmark in the book and closed it.

The door opened.” Turn on some light, you’re destroying your eyes by reading in the dark.” my dad said. I got up and turned on the lights and blew out the candles.” What are you reading?” Said dad curiously.” I am reading about ghosts, and about what happens if you’re living with one.” I said quietly. Dad wasn’t happy for supernatural stuff. He meant that it was bad.” Don’t read that, it’s not good for you.” Then he walked away.

I turned around. Benedicte sat on some of my books at looked at me through her big glasses.” Don’t listen to him, he's just a little stupid.” I spoke.” Simon, I know he's stupid, but I still don’t think he should say that I know you get sad.” She looked at me and played with one of her threads on her dress.” One day we’re going to be together every day, Simon, and then we’re running around and having fun every day. Forever. And then you’re not going to worry about him.” She laughed. I also laughed. I just wanted to get away from it all. From my dad, from my class, from the neighbours and their kids.” When do you think I can do it?” I asked her quietly.” I think you mean, when are you ready to do it?” She looked over at my bookcase, then at the loose board on my floor.” What's stopping you?” She asked. I sighed.” Rose! Your school is waiting! And it is not a choice!” I heard dad yell.” Yes dad!” I turned around so I could tell it, but when I turned around again Benedicte was gone. Typical. Then I took my music sheets and took off.

When I walked into my class, they all looked at me. I was 5 minutes late. I hurried to my chair and sat down. Unfortunately, we had math in the first class. I ended up drawing the whole lesson. I drew some big glasses and a rope. I was really going into the details in the rope. I began to draw a book, when the bell rang.

I hurried out when we had a break, with my music sheets in my hand, and ran towards the music room. As always, it wasn't locked. Weird enough, sat Benedicte in there. “What are you doing in here?” I asked. She looked at me calmy, and said: “Simon, I´ve found a perfect tree. You can even do it right now. Nobody is going to see it. But you will probably wait until after school.” I shook my head. “I don’t have it with me.” Benedicte looked disappointed.

I sat down by her and began to push down on the key. After a little time, the music flew in the room. The exact same song that mom always played for me, before she died. She would have accepted me. She would call me Simon and call me he. I began to cry. Benedicte stroked my back. Her hand was cold. Then the door opened. Carl walked in. “Oh, would you look at that. It’s CryingRose. What are you doing here? Crying? Over your dead mom? How sad. Or are you crying because nobody likes you?” His eyes were cold and evil. There was nothing to do. In a moment, he would pull my hair and lock me inside of the room.

And that was also what happened. When I finally got out, we had P.E., but because I forgot my sweatsuit home, I sat down and played with some robes. I ended up practicing the knot. The one I should use.

After P.E. we had English, and we read a book. It was about a boy who was bullied, but he ended up getting revenge. It wasn’t very exciting, very predictable.

After school I walked home and took the stuff I needed. Benedicte came often with some encouraging words like: “You’re doing good.” And “In a moment, everything is okay again.” I believed her. Why would she lie?

When I was by the tree, I could see what Benedicte meant. It was perfect. I looked at my note. Then I put it on my shirt. Then I tied the robe to the tree with the knot, I learned myself. Took the knife. Cut the name Simon into it. Then I put the knife down, took a big rock, and placed it under the tree. Then I got onto the top of the stone. Then I put my head through the loop. I made sure that nothing would go wrong. I looked at the scars on my arm. Some of them are newer than others. Then I pushed the rock away with my legs. The last thing I heard was Benedicte's laughter and my fight for air. Or that was what I thought.

[omegaworld]

Wishes and Wrongs [Alpha Charlotte Perospero x omega reader] - part 2

Important to understand the context

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 - Final

Word count: 1578

Perospero had barely just landed at Whole Cake when he was told that his mother had called him and upon questioning the reason he received an answer he never expected. He was engaged to be married and had to go and meet his bride.

Although Mama married her sons for the benefit of the gang she was in the habit of not marrying her most useful sons and he being the eldest son never expected to have a bride.

...

When he first heard the story about how mates were predestined Perospero was delighted, a better half, soul mates. Who wouldn't love the idea? Unfortunately too soon he gave up on the idea due to Mama's arranged marriages.  

But giving up doesn't mean he can't dream of it, someone who could love him as he is. An omega for him to care for and be cared for. Like Katakuri, Perospero also suffered bullying because of his appearance, as an older brother he remained outwardly indifferent, but deep down he just wanted a hug and someone to disprove what had been said. As he grew up he realized that he often stopped to imagine what his mate would be like, even if he would never meet her. Even currently after long journeys and battles or just a normal day as a candy minister Perospero would arrive at an empty house and wish he had someone to greet him. Even if it was not his mate to have a wife to share his life with, even if there was no love, a friendship would be enough for him.

Although he desired her with all his might in the end he felt sorry for his mate. Who would want to be destined for him? He was a pirate and even if he was proud of that he was pretty sure she wouldn't like that. Ever since she was a child she was aware that his looks were not exactly the most desirable, besides he was sadistic, cruel and vindictive. Was there really a mate predestined for him? Probably not.

Nevertheless he was happy, Mama had chosen a bride for him. The house would no longer be empty and he would have someone to talk to, she would not love him, but he did not expect to be loved. Still one question would not leave his mind. Who would be important enough for Mama to decide to marry her eldest son?

___

'Do you like your bride?' Mama asks while laughing at Perospero's shocked look.

He was now standing before an omega, not just any omega, a beast and yet not just any beast. His beast. The moment he saw her, smelled her, there was no doubt. She was his mate. A beautiful beast with an irresistible mint scent...and it was his. He still couldn't process it and what didn't help at all was the way she was blushing and her tail wagging. Was she happy?

Still beside himself Perospero nodded 'Y-yes Mama' 'Mamamama I'm glad you like it, I expect great things from this union. Now go, I have a wedding to prepare for'

Perospero and Y/n retire from the room leaving behind a very happy Big Mom.

___

As they walked to Perospero's house it was already dark leaving only the light from the lamps to light their way. Out of the corner of his eye Perospero watched the little omega intently. Y/n in turn was wrapped in the yellow blanket using it to hide his huge blush from Perospero. He smelled so good.

'That blanket...' Perospero begins 'Big Mom gave it to me' Perospero nods, he didn't quite know what to say to the omega. 'How did Mama find it?  

___

When they get home Perospero prepares a bath for Y/n, while she washes up he decides to prepare the guest room. She probably wouldn't want to stay in the same room with the alpha she was being forced to marry.

Y/n relaxes in the hot tub, the whole house smelled like him, she had never felt safer. Finishing washing and drying herself she puts on a yellow Perospero sweater that serves as her night dress. Leaving the bathroom Y/n makes her way towards Perospero's room. She finds him lying on the bed, his nose moves visibly and upon smelling her scent he gets up.  

'Y/n' Perospero's heart skips a beat seeing her there, he gets up going over to her 'I prepared the guest room for you' 'Oh' Y/n lowers his head trying to hide his disappointment. Didn't he want to sleep with her?

Seeing Y/n's shy behavior Perospero moves away a little. He shouldn't get so close, he was probably scaring her.

With a 'Good night' Y/n turns and heads in the direction of her assigned room.

Perospero sighs as he sees her enter the room and turns back to his own letting himself fall back onto the bed. It took everything in him to let her go. He didn't want to lose her. Mama certainly wanted Y/n's battle power, but that would only happen if she loved him. Could he make her love him?

Lying on her bed Y/n thinks, she was so happy to find him everything about him made her internal omega purr. She just wanted to launch herself at him and hug him, but, he seemed to want to keep his distance. Could it be that he didn't like her? Was he disappointed? Would he love her?  

___

For a month Y/n and Perospero lived together, the house was no longer empty when Perospero arrived, Y/n was great company and he loved her conversations. From time to time Y/n would even go with him to work accompanying him and learning more about Totto Land. When he couldn't go he usually stayed at home or went to Brulee or Smoothie who had become his good friends along with Emi, a beta friend of Brulee's that Brulee introduced to him. Still of all of them Brulee was the one who had become her biggest confidante. Still she made sure she was always home on time to welcome him. He remembers the first time she made dinner for him.

He had just arrived home after a long day, an incident with some clever pirates made the day more exhausting than he could have anticipated. As he opens the door he is overcome by the intense smell of smoke and runs to its source. The kitchen. Upon entering he is surprised at the sight of his omega's attempt at cooking, a sink full of dirty dishes indicated many previous failures. Perospero can't help but laugh as Y/n sticks his ears to his head and growls as he sees yet another pot begin to pour smoke. At the sound of his laughter Y/n turned to him in shame. 'Trouble?' 'N-no! Dinner is almost ready-' Y/n is interrupted by the inner pot starting to catch fire and she growls louder 'Stupid pot' she whispers.

Perospero laughs pushing her gently behind him and putting out the fire with the power of his Pero Pero no Mi. 'I'll make sure to buy better pans, but for now I know a place where we can eat good and fast' Perospero says with a sweet smile and Y/n nods with a pout.

That night Perospero ended up taking her to a small trailer where he used to dine from time to time. They ended up having dinner in the park where Y/n ended up falling asleep on his shoulder being carried home by him. How much he wished he had taken her to his room that night, but he didn't want to scare her. She was lovely. Could it have been that night that he fell in love?

For Y/n that had been her first time cooking and she was very grateful that Perospero didn't yell or scold her for the mess she made . On the contrary, the next day when she woke up he was no longer home, but the kitchen was spotless and a delicious breakfast was waiting for her on the kitchen table. In truth, Perospero had been nothing but kind and considerate to her, even if he kept his distance most of the time it was enough to leave her hopelessly in love with the alpha. Not even in her best wishes could she ask for an alpha like Peros.

___

Perospero was now in the Chateau sitting with his hat over his face in defeat. 'What's wrong oni-san?' Brulee asks already tired of her brother's defeated state. 'Y/n' 'Y/n?' Brulee asks arching an eyebrow 'I don't understand her' 'How so oni-san?' Perospero picks up his hat to look at Brulee. 'From the beginning she didn't seem afraid of me, she even acts like she wants to be here, she didn't even try to run away once!'

Brulee looked at him in such a way that Perospero felt he had said the stupidest thing of his life. 'Oni-san what do you know about her history?' 'She is an omega, a beast then, I suppose she grew up in an omega trade and somehow Mama found her and forced her into a marriage with me'

The feeling from before came back to him instantly when Brulee knocked gave him the most skeptical look of his life and with a sigh he brought his hand to his forehead.

Had he missed something or did Brulee know something that he didn't?

[charlietheepicwriter7]

High Priest, Pt. 2

From “The Many Akumatizations of Luka Couffaine.” 

The class was, for the most part, silent.

No one knew what to feel after yesterday, Juleka included. It was… Everything was fine, they were all hanging out, and then Lila mentioned that Marinette got out of trouble for bullying her, which was horrible, and… and…

Juleka didn’t know who pushed Marinette. She just knew that someone did. No one goes from backing away from a hoard of angry teenagers to crumpled at the bottom of concrete stairs by the Seine by yourself. And then Lila had said, 

“Wow, I can’t believe she’s faking being hurt. She has a lot of nerve after pushing me down the stairs. I didn’t make such a big deal out of it.”

And they all just left her.

But Marinette wasn’t faking. She’d seen it in Luka’s face when her parents had called him, saying that Marinette was in the hospital and that he needed to come, as her boyfriend (her boyfriend, Luka was her boyfriend, when Lila had told them Marinette had bullied her because of Marinette’s jealousy over how close she and Adrien were-). And now… 

And now…

The class was silent. 

Who was the guilty one, Juleka wondered. Not Lila, she had stood at the back of the group while they accosted Marinette. Not Adrien, who hadn’t gotten involved and hadn’t defended Marinette, a true neutral that wasn’t neutral at all. Not Chloe, who wasn’t even there and chatted away with Sabrina without a care in the world, unknowing or uncaring about their hospitalized friend. But Alya, but Nino, but Kim, but anyone… 

There was a murderer among them. 

A sharp trill of their phones went off, all of them at once. The akuma alert. Alya, who already had her phone out, was the first to shout. “There’s an akuma at Arc Hospital!”

Juleka paled. (“I’m going to Arc Hospital! Tell mom not to wait for me!”)

“Apparently it can transform the environment,” Alya gushed, like her best friend wasn’t in danger. No one noticed Adrien leaving with a rushed excuse about the bathroom - they were all used to his weak bladder by now. “That’s so cool! I’ve never seen an akuma do that before!”

“There might be a sentimonster along with it,” Nino pointed out. “Maybe on the hospital itself, and that’s why it transformed.”

“Oh, that makes more sense!” Alya replied, already packing up her bag. “I’m going to head to the sight; someone has to document the akuma!”

“I’ll go with you,” Nino said. 

The two were heading out the door, nothing too different, when Lila spoke up, shakily raising her hand. “C-Can I come too?” she asked. “It’s just… I’ve been so worried about Ladybug lately; akuma’s have been getting a lot stronger, so I just thought that I could be there for her, cheer her on?”

Alya looked nervous. “Well, actually-”

“That’s a great idea!” Rose gushed, like they didn’t have a friend in that specific hospital. “I’m sure Ladybug will defeat the akuma with her best friend by her side!”

“Yeah!”

“Hey, we should go too!”

“Ladybug will certainly feel empowered if an entire class cheers her on!”

“Sure. She’ll probably end up needing Queen Bee, if the akuma is that powerful.”

We shouldn’t do that, Juleka tried to say, only for the words to get stuck in her throat. Did they see that they were putting themselves in danger, potential hostages for the akuma? But no, they were blind. Lila led them like lemmings, encouraging them, saying “Yes, of course Ladybug would love that, we should all go!”

That’s how, despite her instincts, Juleka was forced into going to ground zero. At least she wasn’t the only one disliking the situation. Both Alya and Nino looked put out for some reason, and Chloe was just unhappy in general. 

The hospital had been transformed into a temple. “Aztec,” Rose whispered as they all stared up at the pyramid. “It looks… like those pictures from that research project Luka was doing.” Juleka nodded and suddenly had a horrible feeling about who exactly the akuma was. The stone looked rough, the mica a sandy-grey. Pictographs were carved into the stone, unlike any Juleka had ever seen, with each image growing more and more graphic in violence as the class climbed the pyramid together. They all… looked like people, she noticed.

The truly concerning factor, however, was the group of people that gathered at the bottom of the pyramid as the class trekked upward. But no one else set foot on the temple. They were utterly alone. 

There was only one entrance into the temple, a wide, gaping mouth of a door. Fire flickered inside the opening. Alya gave a shaky smile as she readied her camera. “Well, I guess we’re expected, right guys?” Her attempt at a joke fell flat as the class inched into the temple. 

The inside was covered in carvings, intricate and beautiful, painted and bright. Most of them depicted a beautiful dark-haired woman with a crescent moon on her forehead being worshiped. Was she the akuma? Some woman with a god-complex that turned the hospital into… this? Torches lined the walls, throwing dark shadows across the paintings. “They look like they’re moving,” Nathaniel whispered, enthralled as the class spread out, everyone looking around the interior. 

Alix frowned. “It doesn’t look very Aztec to me.”

At the center of the room was a glass altar. Or, more accurately, as Juleka approached it, a glass coffin. The frosted glass concealed the content’s identity at a distance, but up close, Juleka realized it was… “Marinette?”

That got everyone’s attention. Shocked gasps and exclamations filled the room. Alya pushed her way to the front. “What? No, it can’t be…”

Nino looked at the coffin nervously. “She can’t be akumatized, can she?”

“Of course not!” Alya spat back, coming to the defense of her comatose best friend. “She’s too strong to-”

Lila clung to Alya, cutting her off. “She was probably so upset that I revealed she was bullying me!” She wailed, the sound grating in the echoing expanse of the hall. “Oh, it’s all my fault that Marinette finally got akumatized!” For a moment, Juleka thought Lila sounded… vindicated? What?

“Cease your lies, Defiler of this hallowed place. -A strong, male, familiar voice boomed out, seemingly from nowhere-“Lest your accursed tongue wound the ears of our slumbering Goddess.”

From the shadows immerged a blue figure, dressed like a stereotypical Aztec priest. His skin, mostly his bare chest and face, was covered in black tattoos, like the line of triangles under his left eye and over his right. He wore a large, jeweled necklace that sparkled in the fire light, and feathers, dark blue and pink, trailed out of his short hair and down his back, past the linen skirt he wore to cover his modesty. 

It was obvious at first glance that the akuma was Luka. 

What was also obvious was the large, ceremonial knife in his hand. 

“Rejoice, heretics, non-believers, and renouncers of the faith,” the akuma said, looking down on their class with cold rage. “The day has come at last to join our Goddess in everlasting peace at her side. For I, the High Priest, have been given the sacred duty of awakening the Goddess of the Moon, the Melody of all Hearts, the Ever-Resting Queen… and it is with your blood that she will live again.”

Rose trembled at Juleka’s side. “Our… blood?” she whispered.

“Correct.” He could hear them, oh no, oh no… “Either through service or sacrifice, it matters little to me. Though my Goddess may wish for you to bleed through service, I care not so long as the blood is taken.”

“You…” Alya growled, then snapped, pointing at the High Priest. “Ladybug and Chat Noir will defeat you and save Marinette, you fiend. And if you think any of us are joining you, you’ve got another thing coming!”

“So, you have chosen death.” The room grew darker, the torches dimming. The High Priest’s eyes glowed neon blue. “Then may my Goddess have mercy on your fleeting soul…

“For I will have none.”

Taglist: @larasilvestris   @vixen-uchiha    

[bookishofalder]

Night Changes [Seven]

Summary: An unexpected attack cuts the final tethers of restraint for Poe and the reader.

Warnings: Language, violence, blood, mentions of attempted assault, choking, injury description (note RED cuts to skip past uncomfortable parts if preferred), Smut—PiV, fingering, squirting, oral. W— +14K.

A/N: If there was ever a chapter I would beg for feedback/thoughts, this is it. Please tell me you like it. Oh god, soothe my worried mind.

It was tempting, the urge to roll your eyes as the man before you moved to stand too close. You smirked, waiting to see if he was serious in his attempt to corner you or if he would scamper off the moment you pulled your knife from your thigh holster where it was hidden beneath your dress.

There was a darkness in his gaze that made your hand twitch at your side, and here you had thought Canto Bight would be relatively uneventful. But it appeared you caught his eye and your disguise as just another casino patron worked because he had followed you unexpectedly into the foyer off of the main ballroom, where you had gone to wait for Poe and Temmin to return.

The three of you were here for intel promised by a very wealthy ally, so dressing the part was important for blending in with the privileged crowds. You were sure the man before you thought you weak enough to bully, a rich girl he could take advantage of.

You were annoyed, wishing you’d gone with Poe instead of Temmin, that you hadn’t offered to keep watch for any signs of your enemies because you felt you were the least suspicious of the three of you. BB8 stayed with you, but when you’d seen the man following you over your shoulder you told the droid to hide and it had zipped behind a potted plant in the corner of the foyer, beeping coyly.

You had first assumed he was a guard, perhaps about to tell you that you were in the wrong place if you were looking for a fresher, but when he stepped around you and blocked your path you quickly realized he was something else entirely. His suit, you could tell now from close up, was immensely expensive and he reeked of cologne.

There were two hallways over his shoulder, one which Poe and Temmin had gone down to meet with the contact, and the other which branched off to various parts of the greater building. Both were quiet, and so you knew not to expect any sudden interruptions that might save you the trouble of having to incapacitate the man.

But, you could easily handle one lone wolf who bit off more than he could chew.

Which was why it came as a very great surprise to you when you felt another presence behind you, but before you could do more than stiffen you felt pressure against your spine; a second man had snuck in and was pressing a knife to you. Now you understood that the first man wasn’t blocking your path; he was distracting you.

So less of a lone wolf, more of a predator with a partner. Bile rose in your throat and you glared at the man in front of you. He smirked now, taking another step toward you so that both men were almost pressed up against you, sandwiching you between them. “You’re a pretty little number.” He hissed, one hand shooting out to grab your throat.

You wanted to fight, but the knife at your back was a heavy warning of what could happen and you knew you needed to play your cards right. No pun intended. You’d been cornered before, of course, but always by First Order officers. Rich men who wanted what they couldn’t have were not on your list of experiences before this, and you wondered how best to deal with them.

“Fuck you,” You seethed, and the hand at your neck tightened fractionally. More of a threat than anything else.

His words though were a clear threat. “No, we’ll fuck you, doll.”

The way they got you onto the floor, the ease and swiftness of it, told you they’d done this together before. It sickened you, made fury rise inside of you and you wanted nothing more than to pull the knife from your holster and drive it into the hand at your throat. You made a noise, a growl, and the man with the knife finally spoke up.

“She’s a wild one, probably best to knock her out.”

You were going to kill them. Whatever happened, their blood would be soaking into this plush carpet before the end of the night. The first man moved so that he was straddling your chest, his weight on his hunches, and grinned down at you.

“Don’t worry, we’ll have our fun and be on our way. We aren’t going to hurt you so long as you don’t struggle.” He immediately contradicted himself when the hand at your throat tightened, pressing at the sides in a way that cut off airflow without completely crushing your throat. They wanted you to pass out.

You went limp, conserving your energy as you scowled up at the man. The reality of your situation was now enough to cause panic to bubble up; Poe and Temmin hadn’t been gone long. The contact would invite them for a drink, chat with them briefly before passing along the intel. They would find you here, after.

No, that couldn’t happen. It would kill Poe, and he wouldn’t be able to leave until he found the men. You whimpered, black spots started to dance in your vision and you saw, from the corner of your eye, a blur of orange and white zoom down the hallway your squadmates had ventured not long ago.

The second man was already getting excited, his free hand brushing over your face, touching your lips. Even without any air coming in, you tried to bite him. He jerked his finger back, cursing, and the man holding your throat threw his head back to laugh loudly, the pressure releasing in his distraction. You think he started to tease the other man, but everything was confusing now and instincts overtook your body, pulling in air-too much air, too quickly.

Scream.

Yes, you needed to scream. One good, long one that someone would hear, or at least loud enough to scare them off of you in case someone did come looking for the source. You kept pulling in air and it was painful your vision blurring, and you think you were about to pass out. Faces appeared in your mind. Two very distinct, very familiar faces; Charlie and Poe. Your protectors, your family, your love.

Just like that, you had what you needed to find the strength to scream.

It came out in one long, very loud wail, the sound of it echoing off of the walls and back to you before you passed out.

“POOOOOEEEEEE!”

+

The Martell family moved off, having given their words of sorrow and sympathy, and Charlie tightened the arm he had secured around his mother’s shoulders. She was the strong, silent type like him; whereas you always took after dad. He was keeping close to mom today, providing her with the support she needed and knowing that you were being well taken care of by the one person who could provide the tender love you required.

Charlie glanced around the room as mom took a sip of water, seeking you in the crowd. His eyes landed on Dad's green armchair in the corner, where you were curled up in Poe’s lap, face pressed into his neck as you shook with sobs. He could see his best friend whispering to you, his hand rubbing up at down your back, no doubt repeating words of comfort. He must have felt Charlie’s gaze, his eyes flicking up suddenly before he smiled sadly.

In many ways, it was a beautiful thing to behold the love which you and Poe had for one another. Even as young as you all were, no one could doubt or question that you were both made for one another-except, of course, for yourselves.

Charlie could almost be jealous if he hadn’t spent years around you and seen how natural it seemed to come to you both. He couldn’t be angry that his best friend loved you so deeply, that he knew what to do to comfort you, to care for you, knew when it was needed without Charlie even needing to ask. Hell, even dad had noticed, mentioned it to Charlie during that last visit...

Dad was smiling at Charlie, who sat in the chair next to his bed in the medical facility. It was a nice private room, the kind that the staff made a little homier because it was where the terminal patients came to live out their last days. Mom had taken you and Poe with her to get tea in the nearby lounge, leaving Charlie alone with dad one last time. He sighed, admitting to dad now that they were alone that it didn’t feel fair to lose his father at sixteen. And you were barely fourteen!

Dad chuckled sadly, “I want to stay more than you know, son. I have to tell you, Charlie, that I’m already more than proud of who you are and I know you’ll continue to be a remarkable person. I told your sister the same, but she’s still young, she’ll need more reminders,” Dad paused to take a breath and Charlie waited patiently, taking hold of one of his hands. “I know you’ll always take care of her, put her before anything else. Even the fight, it comes second to her. Though I expect you’ll have help. Wish I could have been around to see those two get married one day.”

Charlie grinned, “You noticed them too?” His father nodded, eyes bright despite the sickness. “How could anyone not, I suppose. Except them.” Charlie added, rolling his eyes fondly.

Dad laughed again, “They’ll realize it when they’re ready. You’re all too young for love anyway,” He joked, giving Charlie a mock stern look. “Just make sure that whatever they do, you focus on your own happiness too, son.”

He squeezed Charlie’s hand weakly, he smiled at his father, “I promise I’ll take care of her, dad. And mom, she’ll need me more.” Dad nodded, his eyes a little wet but so filled with love that Charlie could only stare at him for a few minutes before continuing. “You want me to beat him up when they do finally kiss, though?”

Another weak laugh, followed by a wink, and then Charlie spent a few more minutes talking with his dad for the last time, before eventually mom, you and Poe filtered back in.

He felt a lot of love and joy despite the fucking misery of it, until Dad's eyes slipped shut the final time and you all kissed him before stepping out to leave mom alone with the nurse. You were wrapped around Charlie, who had carried you out of the room, and he passed you over to Poe, asking his friend to take you home while he took care of mom. Poe pressed his forehead to Charlie’s before doing just that, his own eyes leaking tears.

Now, Charlie wondered if Poe had stopped touching you since that day. Perhaps he simply switched between carrying you and keeping his arm around your shoulders, anchoring you down in safety and love, letting you grieve while keeping you from falling too far into the darkness.

Poe met his eyes across the room, wordlessly asking ‘do you need me?’ And Charlie smiled back, shaking his head. Because Poe was already doing exactly what he needed him to, cooing softly in your ear as you trembled and cried quietly, protecting you while Charlie held up his mother and in turn, she held him up, thanking him for being strong, for loving so hard.

Charlie thought he could love as much as he wanted, it would still never compare to the love between Poe and you. It made him smile.

+

Poe was walking with Temmin at his side, the contact leading them through the extravagant hallways to the room where their source would pass over the intel promised to the Resistance. Intel that could help track down a man that had something the General needed. He was an ally to the Resistance, not a neutral or ‘for profit’ type but a true ally who pushed through funds for them as much as intel. Coming in person to the casino he owned, dressed to the nines in finery that felt foreign, sitting over a glass of champagne-it was the least they could do.

And Poe had to admit, the moment you’d stepped out of the fresher on the small ship Black squad had taken to come to Canto Bight, he’d become gleeful over the necessity to dress up. Because you were gorgeous, dazzlingly so in a golden, glittering dress, your legs bare, hair styled loose, a touch of make-up on your face. He thought you were so beautiful, and he wanted to tell you but didn’t trust himself to say it right, so he’d grinned before turning away and letting out a low whistle. Calling ‘looking good, sweetheart’ over his shoulder.

They were approaching a large, ornate door that the man leading them gestured toward, indicating their contact was on the other side. Poe thanked him for his help, but before he could move the final steps to the door a familiar sound suddenly entered the hall; BB8 was zooming towards him, beeping frantically.

Exchanging a curious look with Temmin, Poe dropped down to one knee as the droid rolled to a stop before him. Despite Poe’s fluency in binary, he was only catching words due to the panicked, too-fast rate at which the droid communicated. He gathered ‘attack’ and ‘knife’ and wondered if BB8 was telling him you had stabbed someone.

It wouldn’t have been the first time on a mission you’d done so.

“Buddy, slow down, I can’t understand you,” Poe hushed the droid, “Say it again, slower.”

The droid repeated itself, slowly.

Poe was moving before he finished. “Captain, go in without me. BB8, stay with him.” He ordered over his shoulder. He heard Temmin’s worried affirmative reply. And then he was running, faster than he had in his entire existence, blood roaring in his ears. Poe ran because the message was clear.

You were being attacked.

And he didn’t like how BB8 had phrased it, saying you ‘couldn’t breathe'. He didn’t know if he was about to find you with Storm Troopers or undercover First Order fighters, but regardless being unable to breathe didn’t sound like their usual treatment of suspected Rebels. It only drove him to run faster through the twisting hallway, forgetting his expensive clothing or even the importance of remaining undercover, his focus solely on you now.

You had offered to stay behind. Because it was the best option, and Canto Bight was an easy enough place to blend in. So who had made you?

Poe half expected to round the final corner up ahead and find you waiting for him with your enemy incapacitated, or otherwise in a standoff he would have to join in on the fight with.

He never expected anything like what was about to happen.

Before he reached the end of the hall, an ear-splitting shriek filled the air and Poe’s veins turned to ice, his breath catching.

“POOOOOEEEEEE!”

You had never made a sound like that before in your life, and blind, all-consuming rage overtook every facet of Poe’s being-whoever, whatever, made you scream like that was about to fucking die. He came tearing around the corner and his eyes fell on the most gut-wrenching, heart-stopping sight-you, laying still on the floor as a man straddled your chest, one hand wrapped around your throat. A second man stood next to you; both men had their backs to Poe and appeared to be watching you...

Were you dying? Dead?

They didn’t hear Poe coming, neither of them even turned around when he pulled the knife from the inner pocket of his jacket and leapt at the standing man. He slit his throat without thought, already looking toward the man still straddling you, who had released his hold on your neck to peer around curiously. He looked just in time to see his friend collapse to the floor, had enough time to jump back in fear, mouth opening in horror.

It didn’t matter, though. His futile attempt to block Poe only served to aid his aim, so that the knife he slashed out could be thrust down and into the soft flesh between his collarbone and throat. Poe snarled, slamming him back into the wall to ensure he didn’t fall onto you, before yanking the knife out and finishing him off with a firm swipe of the blade over his throat, cutting through the tendons and blinking when a spray of blood landed on him.

Stashing the knife back into his pocket and glancing up at the closed door, Poe stumbled forward and dropped to his knees next to you, adrenaline coursing through his body and keeping his hand steady as he sought out your pulse point. He could already see bruising bleeding over the soft skin of your throat, darkening it, and he felt his rage ebb away into a panic so severe that he almost missed the steady beat of your heart.

“Oh fuck,” He gasped out, a modicum of relief seeping through the panic. He scooped you up quickly, spinning around and making his way toward the hallway opposite the one he’d just come from. He groaned when he realized he wasn’t sure where to go, which door led to an exit-you had the entire place memorized. But you were breathing steadily in his arms, still passed out, and Poe needed to follow his gut on this because you’re life depended on him getting you to the safety of the ship.

He couldn’t cut through the casino, so he opted to simply try each door in the hall ahead until one of them lead to a room with a window he could climb out of. Kare was waiting on the ship, he could send her in as backup once he was out. It was the second door that he shouldered through that lead to him gasp in relief-it led onto a patio, on the ground floor. He glanced around, confirming no one was in sight before tearing off at a run, holding you tight in his arms. Everything was happening in such a blur.

He tapped on his comm, “Kare! Please tell me we have bacta shots on the ship.”

Her voice crackled through in alarm, “What’s happened? We only have spray-“

“Shit!” He growled, “I’m coming back with the Major-she was attacked, get out the medkit and prepare to head to the casino and wait outside for Temmin, he needs to have a backup-“

“You got it, Commander!” She replied swiftly before the line went dead and he knew she’d have switched over to Temmin’s channel to give him the update.

When Poe boarded the ship a few minutes later, Kare was waiting at the top of the ramp and gasped at the sight of you in his arm, passed out. She paused, eyes on Poe “Whose blood is that, Commander?”

“It’s not hers,” Poe replied, setting you down on the only bed the tiny ship had and picking up the medical kit Kare had left out for him, “I killed two men. Make sure Temmin and BB8 get back here with the intel, I’ll have the ship ready to depart.” She confirmed she heard him before running down the ramp and out of sight.

Poe set to work quickly, first tugging a rolled blanket from the end of the bed and covering you with it, then seeking out your pulse to confirm it was still beating steadily. He then uncapped the bacta spray and gently tilted your head back; exposing your heavily bruised throat, and carefully opening your mouth.

“Oh my sweet girl,” He sobbed out, first spraying into your open mouth so that the spray would drip down into your throat and reduce the swelling, then again to the outside skin. It would help, he comforted himself, “My sweet, sweet girl, I’m here. I’ve got you, please, please be okay.” He pleaded, his voice a strained whisper as he stroked your hair gently off of your face, waiting for the spray to do its work. He thinks he kept talking, while his eyes watched your face, every second torture until he saw movement behind your eyelids.

“Mmm,” You moaned out a strangled sound, your face tightening as you registered the pain. Your eyes suddenly snapped open and he saw panic flash there, a fear he’d never seen on your face before that shattered his heart right in his chest.

“Baby,” He whispered, bringing his face over yours so you could see him clearly, “It’s me, I’ve got you, sweet girl. We’re on the ship, we’re safe.” He promised you, dropping his hand to hold yours under the blanket. You gazed at him for a second, then dropped your eyes to search over him and he glanced down, realizing he was...still covered in blood.

“Ah-okay?” You wheezed, your voice was scratchy, but your brows pinched together in an expression that cleared up your meaning.

“I’m fine,” He assured you, leaning down at pressing a kiss to your forehead, “Don’t try to speak until we get you looked at, okay? Does anything else hurt?”

He drew back to watch your face, but you shook your head slightly to indicate you were okay. He cupped your cheeks then, needing to touch you, to feel you alive and warm under his now trembling fingers. You noticed his shaky hands, one of your own coming out from beneath the blanket to reach up and stroke his jaw.

A shuddering, retched sob tore out of him as you did this familiar comforting gesture, attempting to ease his pain when you were the one that had been harmed. Tears no longer threatened, but spilled from his eyes as he leaned over you, his face inches from yours, “My sweet girl, y-you scared me, there, thought I-I-“ He broke off, unable to even say the words. You kept caressing his jaw, the motion soothing to you as well, he gathered from the expression on your face. “I killed them. Both.” He admitted. You responded by merely widening your eyes slightly, then shutting them in understanding.

He watched you for a few moments, then let his own eyes shut as he lowered his head and pressed his forehead to yours, trying to reign in his emotions so that he could get the ship ready to go home. He pulled back when you attempted to speak again, your voice a little clearer thanks to the spray.

“L-love you.”

Poe ran his thumbs under your eyes to wipe away the tears that spilled, “I love you,” He replied, turning his head and pressing his lips to your hand, “So, so much, my lovely girl.”

+

When Tahla had first walked onto the ship after Temmin and Kare had successfully landed back on base at D’Qar, his expression was so fraught with concern you’d squeaked a little from your spot on the bed, wanting to tell him you were fine despite your voice box rejecting the attempt. Poe had disappeared into the cockpit with Temmin and Kare when they finally boarded the ship on Canto Bight, BB8 in tow, and you think he must have overstated your injury when he’d called into base.

“Well, that sounded extraordinarily wretched, let me take a look,” Tahla joked, his features relaxing, and he sat at your side on the bed. Poe was behind you now, his body acting as your pillow, a comforting position he’d taken up the moment the ship landed and the rest of Black team had departed to get the intel to the General. “This is going to be uncomfortable, but try not to make noise, okay?” His eyes were on Poe when he spoke at first, dropping to you when he posed the question. You nodded your understanding and decided to lose yourself in thought as he gently started feeling along your throat.

When you first came to, the only thing you had been aware of was the pain in your throat. You’d felt movement at your side and panicked, thinking you were still under attack, only when you opened your eyes you instead met the most heart-wrenching sight of your life; Poe covered in blood, looking down at you pale and panicked, his eyes wide with fear. Seeing him like that hurt worse than the pain in your throat, though that was certainly in a strong second place.

When he admitted he killed the men, you regretted only that you hadn’t been able to fight them off yourself, or at least been able to help him take them down. You didn’t want all of that to sit on his shoulders. You comforted yourself at the moment by telling him you loved him, testing the words on your tongue, despite knowing he would take them at their usual meaning and not how you truly meant them now.

But you could wait a little longer to tell him properly.

“Alright, Major. The good news is that you’re going to be okay and the spray will combat any long-term damage to your vocal cords,” Tahla was looking into your mouth now, a light shining in his hand as he inspected your throat. “Bad news is that I can’t administer a Bacta shot this far into the injury, so you’ll have to allow it to heal on its own over the next couple of days.”

“F-fuck.” You stammered, and Poe’s hands, which were clasping your shoulders, tightened fractionally in response. A silent, loving, admonishment. Tahla laughed, stowing away his light before giving you a final once over.

His eyes moved up, meeting Poe’s instead, “That’s not your blood, right?”

“No,” Poe replied, his voice quiet, “No. I killed them. BB8 found me, told me (y/n) was being attacked. They were...I didn’t hesitate.”

Fuck, he sounded so dark and haunted, you wanted to take away his worry, take away whatever memories he had now from the attack. You were tired though, your eyes beginning to droop now that you were home and safe and in the clear of any permanent damage. Tahla gave Poe a nod that suggested his approval over Poe’s handling of the men who attacked you, his eyes darkening for a moment, and then your eyes closed completely.

Poe’s hands immediately moved, adjusting you in his arms. How he was able to tell you were ready to sleep you’d never know. He was lifting you before you could even consider offering to just walk since your legs worked just fine. But you let yourself curl into his hold instead, your face pressing into his neck. He began to walk and you let the gentle motions soothe you further, lulling you towards sleep.

Tahla spoke from somewhere behind your head, where he walked next to Poe, “I’m going to give her a few days off, pull her from the field for a week minimum-I’ll check on her in five days, see if her voice is good enough for the field.”

“Listen, man, thank you for coming. I know it’s overstepping to demand a specific Healer-“

“Don’t worry about it,” Tahla interrupted, “I’m glad you did ask for me. Scared the hell out of me though, Poe.”

Poe sighed, “Sorry about that.” He didn’t elaborate even though you wanted him to explain why he’d caused Tahla to panic, what he’d said to have your friend run into the ship like he thought your head was about to fall off.

You also wanted to thank Tahla for coming, but you were too sleepy. Instead, you let the way Poe carried you to ease you closer and closer to the blissful release of sleep, not realizing until you heard a door whoosh open that the Healer was gone. Poe lowered you onto something soft and you peeked out beneath your eyelashes to find you were in his room.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you,” He murmured, pulling his blanket from where it was folded at the base of his bed to cover you, his hands still shaky. You reached for him then, grabbing hold of his hand, and Poe stilled, gazing down at you. “What is it, sweetheart?”

You cleared your throat carefully and kept your voice as low as possible when you spoke. “Sta-y with me.” You saw the words hit him, his tension releasing so quickly that you think he nearly collapsed as he joined you on the bed, laying cautiously next to you. The only part of him that touched you was where your hand had grabbed him; now, you tugged him closer and shuffled, burrowing into his side and tucking your head into his neck.

You didn’t care that he was bloody or you were both still dressed in the fancy clothing-you just wanted him close. Needed him, not only for yourself but also for him, so that he knew you weren’t upset with him in any way, so that he couldn’t lick his wounds alone and convince himself that he messed up.

You needed him to know that you still trusted him. Always would.

He shifted so that he could circle his arms around you, holding you tight against him and breathing steadily, hard enough that you knew he was fighting off tears again. Your poor, kind-hearted Poe. He took things so hard, loved so fiercely. You didn’t understand how you deserved him when you were young or now. You just felt so fucking safe now, he was all-encompassing safety and love and you wondered again how you could have thought badly of him, to ever have run away.

“Sweet girl,” He started murmuring again, whispers as he stroked one hand over your hair soothingly. You weren’t sure if he knew you were still awake, it had been so long. You remained still, hoping he would never stop speaking so sweetly to you, letting his words lull you. “My brave, beautiful girl. So strong. I’ll never let anyone hurt you ever again. I love you, maker I love you...”

You wanted to say it back, but you fell asleep to the soothing rumble of his chest as he caressed you in the night, rocking away your nightmares and keeping you every bit as safe as he promised.

+

Poe woke early, light only just filtering in his thin window because he was too warm. At first, he was confused as to why he felt so restricted, so heavy until he looked down.

Stars.

You were tangled around him as he lay on his back, your arm hugged around his waist, head resting just below his sternum, legs entwined with his own. And he was still wearing his suit, the fabric not as breathable as his flight suit, and tighter too. As he gazed down at you, still peacefully asleep, further warmth pooled in his chest and belly.

‘Stay with me.’

Maker, three words and you knocked him clean over and he was ready right then to tell you he would never leave your side again if you asked him not to. But he’d managed to reign himself in slightly before curling around you protectively, unable to keep himself from touching you in gentle, soothing motions. He’d fallen asleep faster than he’d thought he would.

Now, he realized that if you woke up you would find him still covered in the blood of the men he’d killed. He needed to get himself into his fresher and clean up. With slow movements, he was able to extract himself from your grip and climb from the bed. He covered you in the blanket so the temperature change wouldn’t go as noticed and wake you up. He watched you for a minute as you slept, then quietly grabbed a pen and piece of paper, jotting a note down in case you woke up.

‘In the shower. Don’t leave, please.’

He set it next to you on his bed, then grabbed some clean clothing and stepped into his fresher, the door closing behind him silently. He bypassed his mirror, not interested in seeing how he looked, and went straight into the shower, turning on the water and flinching at the brief burst of cold before the temperature evened out. He scrubbed himself clean and avoided looking at the floor, at the swirling blood and grime disappearing into the drain. He had enough images in his head. It wasn’t that he hadn’t killed before, because he most certainly had-both from his x-wing and in ground combat. But he had never taken a life so viciously, so intimately. And it wasn’t how quickly he’d done it that scared him, it was how okay with it all he was.

They were hurting you, at the time he’d thought they’d killed you, he had no choice. No option but to end them.

He considered working in the field with you now, what that would look like. Would he start throwing himself in front of you and breaking protocol as he had in the woods of Takodana? Like he’d gotten angry at you for doing all that time ago when you’d first come back to D’Qar and had taken out that Stormtrooper with his gun levelled at Poe’s head? Was the fight...

Maker.

Was it worth losing you for?

The answer came fast; no, no it wasn’t. And that scared him because he’d always been ready to die for the cause, for the Resistance, to abolish the tyranny of the First Order. You and Charlie and he had all grown up with that single mindset, to get old enough to join and then fight until the war ended or you died.

And now all he could think was that he would rather lose the war a thousand times over than lose you.

When he stepped out of his shower and dried off, Poe was reeling. He was going through the motions-pulling on his socks, his shorts, his favourite tee. But internally he was reminding himself of everything he’d accomplished as a Resistance fighter. Of everything you had. Even after losing Charlie, you both kept fighting without question, for him, for yourselves, for the cause.

But...wasn’t the saying in your family that family came first, then the fight, and then everything else? When had he lost sight of that and forgotten that with great love came the equally great threat of losing it? But he couldn’t just leave, would never even consider it, no and he knew you wouldn’t, not for him or anything. There was nothing in the entire galaxy that would make you stop fighting. Which left Poe with the greatest question of all-what the hell was he going to do?

He didn’t have an answer, not even a vague idea, so he tabled the internal battle he was waging and stepped out of his fresher to check on you. His heart stuttered in his chest when he found you splayed across his bed, head hidden under his pillow, one leg kicked out from under the covers. You had always looked so peaceful when you slept, and memories surface of the countless times growing up, waking in your bed and watching you sleep. He’d usually wake up before you, sometimes he’d sneak out to hang out with Charlie, other times he’d enjoy the quiet and calm of your room.

The last thing he wanted to do right now was to wake you up, and so Poe made his way to his dresser to search through options for you to wear. Even the idea of you going alone into your room to shower and change made his heart drop, his need to keep you safe and close was so great. He picked out one of his shirts, a pair of athletic shorts you could tighten the waist of, and after much debate with himself, a pair of his briefs. He’d let you decide if you were going to wear them-he just wanted you to have the option.

He went into his fresher and set the clothing on the vanity, starting a little when he emerged and found you watching him with bleary eyes. He smiled tentatively, suddenly nervous under your gaze, but after a small pause your face lit up, eyes brightening and smile wide, melting his heart in his chest.

“Good morning,” Poe sat down on the bed next to you, brushing a hand over your face to wipe away stray hairs, “Try not to speak too much, sweetheart.” He gently reminded you, his eyes dropping to your darkened throat.

You made a face, scrunching your nose, and Poe chuckled softly. He watched you yawn before pushing yourself up, moving to sit next to him and raising your hand to tentatively touch your throat. You winced before flicking your gaze up to meet his, offering a small smile, “Hi,” It was raspy and quiet, dry enough that he realized you needed some water. He leaned over and grabbed a glass bottle from his mini-fridge, handing it over to your waiting hand.

He watched you gulp the water down in small bursts, happy to see swallowing didn’t appear to cause you too much discomfort. “How do you feel?”

“M’fine,”

“You up for a shower?” Poe asked, and your eyes widened slightly in response and he started sputtering immediately, heat flushing his cheeks, “I mean-you can shower, I uh, that is, I put some clothes in there for you-and I will wait here. I showered already.”

Stars, he felt about fifteen all of the sudden, embarrassment flooding him over his unintentionally suggestive phrasing. He scrubbed a hand over the stubble on his jaw, glancing at you to find you holding in your laughter, amusement evident in your expression.

Poe rolled his eyes, recovering himself, “Very funny,” But he laughed, cheered by the smile on your face as you climbed out of his bed and made your way into his fresher. Your dress was crumpled and flat from sleeping in it, and your hair a tousled mess.

Even still, you were truly beautiful.

You looked over your shoulder at Poe before closing the door to the fresher, and he patted the bed, “I’ll be right here if you need anything.” He assured you, and a wave of relief flashed over your face as you shut the door.

Poe got out of bed, taking the time you were showering to tidy his room, including making the bed. He thought about everything that had happened and realized he wasn’t even remotely aware of whether the intel had proven as useful as the ally had claimed, having passed it off to Temmin and Kare to get into Leia’s hands. The fact that his droid hadn’t returned however told Poe that BB8 must be helping to decipher the intel, and Poe reasoned he could find out once he’d taken care of you.

When he heard the water shut off in the fresher, he started to fret over how to best do just that. He supposed it would be ideal for you to remain in the quiet space of his room, where you could avoid speaking too often or loudly. He wanted to keep you close...but then the doubt crept in and he began to question whether you would even want to stay with him, or if he was already being too overbearing. Maybe you were right now looking at the clothing he left out for you and shaking your head.

The fresher door opened a few minutes later, as Poe was tying on his boots, eager to get food from the dining hall and bring it back to the room for you both. “Anything you want from-uh...” He froze, eyes landing on you dressed in his clothing, his shirt much too large and-and you’d decided to only put on the briefs, the tighter fabric only just peeking out below the hem of his shirt.

Poe hadn’t thought of a chest band, not until this very moment when he could see your full breasts outlined against the light grey fabric. He swallowed, dropping his eyes to the floor as heat crawled up his neck.

If you noticed his reaction, you didn’t comment. You crawled back onto his bed, pulling a throw blanket over your legs before settling into the cushions happily, “Pancakes. Definitely pancakes, please.” You whispered, voice slightly improved now that you had some water.

It was entirely without thought that Poe leaned across his bed and placed a gentle kiss to your temple, before jumping up and promising to return with all the pancakes he could carry.

+

Poe sat with his drink held firm in his hand, his eyes flicking around the crowd before he sighed and settled back into his seat. The usual table, though this was the first time he’d been back to the Cantina since the funeral. Tommy and Rico had asked him a few times, of course, but he’d refused, never feeling quite ready to return.

Today though...he’d come because it was your birthday.

He’d have a drink for you. Even though he had no idea where in the fucking galaxy you’d gone.

And it wasn’t for lack of trying, but no matter who he went to, no one could or would give him your new assignment. You’d been clever and covered your tracks enough that you made sure anyone who would have helped Poe couldn’t see your assignment.

He’d never been more miserable in his life, never more angry with himself. He’d said awful shit to you and then disappeared for a few days to collect his head, thinking of how he’d apologize.

He’d wanted to tell you he loved you.

Instead, he broke your heart.

And you up and left before he could even begin to start making amends.

He was on his last possible source at this point, a person he hadn’t even wanted to go to. But Vanya had been kind to Poe, said she could try and see if anyone she was close with had the access needed. He told her he’d be here tonight, having a drink in your honour, if she wanted to stop by and let him know how she’d got along.

He just needed to find you, and then he would say everything he should have before, apologize to you and promise to make it up to you for the rest of his fucking life. He missed you so much it hurt, it hurt more than losing Charlie. You had disappeared in a way that almost made it feel like you had died as well.

He was starting to feel dead inside.

He glanced up, seeking Vanya out, and met the eyes of a woman at a nearby table, who shot him a friendly smile. He gave her what was probably more of a grimace in return, dropping his eyes to his drink. He wasn’t sure he was ready for...anything like that.

After a moment, he looked back up and saw Vanya walk in. She spotted him and waved, beginning to make her way over. As she grew closer, Poe could see the hard set to her jaw and felt his heart sink into his stomach-he could already tell she’d been unsuccessful.

When she sat down across from him, she heaved a great sigh, her eyes casting downward to look at her hands. “I’m sorry,” She looked up at him after a moment when he made no reply, “She’s smart, didn’t leave a lot to chance.”

Poe waved his hand, “It’s not your fault in the least, Vanya. I appreciate you trying.”

“I’m sure she’ll come back, once she’s grieved enough, had a chance to think things through.”

He wanted to laugh, but instead only grunted, “You didn’t get a chance to know her, but she’s more stubborn than...” He broke off and rubbed a hand over his face. Vanya’s face had fallen as the unspoken name sat between them, and he felt a surge of sadness for her-she had really loved Charlie. “I said...well, I don’t blame her for leaving. It’s already been a couple of months, she’s not coming back. I just wish one person in this fucking place could tell me more than ‘she’s alive.’.”

Vanya leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table as she bobbed her head in agreement, eyes kind, “Poe I saw you-both of you-that night when we first met here. I saw the way you looked at each other-“

Poe tried not to glare, frowning into his drink, “Yeah? And what do you think you know now?”

Vanya ignored his tone, unbothered, “I saw how in love you both were. That kind of love...it doesn’t go away. Not forever. She’ll come back.” And with that, Vanya dipped her head and let loose a wave of fresh tears as thoughts of how Charlie was never coming back sat in the air.

He reached across the table automatically and took her hand, squeezing. “I’m sorry, Vanya. Look, thank you for everything. If you ever need anything, you know where to find me, alright?”

She smiled then, her eyes misty, but remarkably already recovering from her emotional moment, just the kind of tough lady Charlie loved. With a farewell hug, Vanya departed and left Poe alone at the table again. He sat for a minute, his drink nearly finished, and thought of all the times he sat here and took for granted what he had. Silently, he wished you a happy birthday wherever you were in the universe and hoped you weren’t even half as lonely and miserable as he was.

When he finally looked up again, the pretty woman at the table not far from his caught his eye again, and this time he smiled more broadly at her, tilting his head in question. She gestured at the seat next to her and after only a brief pause, Poe decided it was time to give himself a break from the monotony of grief and pain and loneliness and just escape for a few hours.

He joined the woman, Smiling in a way that didn’t feel real at all.

+

“This is nice, me getting to talk and talk with absolutely no interruptions-“

Tahla flinched when you kicked him under the table, and you stifled a giggle. Stars, it wasn’t as painful as when you’d woken up last night, but your throat still hurt. It was stinging, scratchy sort of pain when you made too much noise, but you found you’d been able to hold a low conversation with your friend over the past hour with minimal issues. It was just the laughing that did you in.

Poe had reluctantly dropped you off to the dining hall for an early dinner after you’d spent a good ten minutes convincing him you could handle going to dinner. He’d then been called away by BB8 to see the General, and you’d watched him actually contemplate what to do. It had almost been funny, but it also made butterflies erupt in your stomach-not for the first time that day. You shooed him away with the promise that you’d seek out Tahla or Temmin so that you wouldn’t be alone.

He’d been so attentive since you woke up, setting out clothing, then by bringing you breakfast and lunch and confining you to lounge on his bed all day. Despite your injury, it had kind of been one of the best days you’d had in years. It had felt a lot like old times, curled up in bed with Poe. The silence was comfortable as you read and he typed up his mission report, though the emotions running through you were entirely new.

It was a lot, emotionally, the last twenty-four hours. As traumatizing as your attack was, you felt like you were being best-taken care of by Poe and felt a little overwhelmed at how good he made you feel. He sensed everything you needed, right down to catching you when you’d be stuck on a page for a little too long, your thoughts turning inward, and he’d press a soft kiss to your hair, run his hand over your jaw, whisper sweet words of comfort.

You wanted to comfort him, too, for having to do what he did. For having to suffer through the worry of how injured you were and if you would recover. You didn’t know how to make him feel better, exactly, but you sensed that the more he took care of you the better he felt in turn, so you allowed him to fret more than was necessary.

And every time he touched you? Well, that was the thing, now that you’d encountered darkness where, for just a few moments you thought you were going to die, you realized you needed to tell him how you felt, finally. You weren’t sure how to bring it up, though, and ended up going back and forth in your head all day trying to decide.

“Lost in your head again, kid.” Tahla’s hand came to rest over yours from across the table; you glanced up from staring into your soup to meet his gaze. He looked extraordinarily understanding considering this wasn’t the first time it had happened during this dinner.

“Sorry. I guess I-I’ve never been attacked like that before. I’ve had, you know, guys pinch my ass or whatever and had no problem kicking the shit out of them if Charlie or Poe didn’t get to them first, but this was...” You trailed off and ran a hand over your face, then sipped your water to help soothe your throat as you spoke. “This wasn’t enemy forces, this wasn’t some guy in a cantina too many drinks in with a shit moral compass. This was-“

“Attempted assault,” Tahla said bluntly, squeezing your hand again. You gulped, then nodded, unsure of what to say. “I’m sorry that you went through that, (y/n), I really am. I wish I could say something more insightful.”

You sighed heavily, waving off his concern, “The worst part is that I passed out before I could...and Poe didn’t say what he did, but I saw Temmin’s face when he was getting off the ship last night. I don’t care how he killed them, I just hate that I couldn’t help, that I couldn’t take away some of the responsibility from him.” You had another couple spoonfuls of your dinner, eyes on Tahla as he thought over your words.

“You know,” He began slowly, tapping his free hand on the table, “Poe basically said the same thing to me when he got me on comms last night. That he wished he’d prevented you from being hurt at all, that he failed in protecting you. He was so worked up, so upset, I thought you were close to death. He really loves you.”

Setting down your spoon with a clang, you sat up straighter before, quietly, replying. “Of course he does, and I love him. We’re a team, one of the best. We get the job done, always have. That’s why I’m freaking out, Tahla,” You flinched as your voice raised too high and your throat burned. You switched to a whisper, “He dropped everything mid-mission to save me, then brought me to the ship. He still...He sent in Kare, but it wasn’t exactly protocol.”

Tahla suddenly grinned at you in a bright, knowing sort of way that made you want to kick him again. Your scowl gave you away, “Don’t kick me, I’m just...I can’t believe you don’t see it. Don’t you realize-aren’t you in love with him?”

You blinked across the table; were you that obvious? If Tahla was calling you out, did that mean others, Poe, had figured you out? “Kriff, Tahla, why are you always so fucking blunt.”

“That’s not an answer.”

You glanced around wearily to ensure you wouldn’t be overheard, “I am, but I just got him back so I’m trying to time it-”

“Maker, I bet he tells himself the same thing and that’s why you’ve both been so fucking blind. You realize he cut down your attackers with his knife?” You stared at Tahla in surprise, “Then he carried you back to your ship and freaked the fuck out until he got you here, not to mention how he told the Healer on call to go to hell and only send me to look at you?”

“I-I, but-“ You gaped. You’d known some of the pieces, of course, but hadn’t realized the extent of Poe's panic.

Tahla laughed, not unkindly, “You want to know what we all used to say back home growing up?” He didn’t wait for your reply, seeming to understand from the expression on your face that words didn’t exist for you right now, “We said, ‘never mess with Poe’s girl’. Remember when Gus broke up with you, said some rude shit to you? Well, he ended up with a black eye for it. Poe’s always loved you. And since I’ve been here these past few weeks, it’s like you two are already a couple.”

You still didn’t know how to reply, so you were incredibly grateful when his pager went off and he glanced down before releasing your hand. With an apologetic smile, he began to stand, and you joined him-no longer hungry-and met him around the table. He pulled you in for a hug, his face schooled to a more neutral look when you pulled back slightly to peer up at him.

“Thanks for everything, Tahla. I’ll be sad when you leave next week.” You admitted softly, and his smile grew.

Leaning down, Tahla pressed a chaste kiss to your cheek and then turned his head slightly to whisper in your ear. “I’ll come back for the wedding, of course.”

And with that, he pulled back, winked at you, and then walked off toward the far doors of the dining hall. You had half a mind to follow him and kick him just for the hell of it, the cheeky bastard, but instead, you pushed your seat in and turned to head back to your room, hoping Poe would be done with the General and would give you an update.

When you walked into the hallway and spotted Poe coming along, a weirdly decisive sensation seemed to settle in your stomach, solidifying the moment his eyes found yours from several feet away. His face broke into a relieved, wide grin and that was it, that was the final cord snapped.

It was almost funny.

You saw a modicum of confusion knit his brows together when you suddenly marched towards him, jaw set because you were trying to reign in the intense emotions now bubbling up inside of you. “Sweetheart?” He said, frowning further when you grabbed his arm and started toward the direction of your rooms. You didn’t speak, afraid of opening your mouth and just word-vomiting every thought you’d ever had, and so you pulled him along silently.

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see him assessing you, trying to figure out what set you off, repeatedly opening and closing his mouth as he considered. When you got to the first empty hallway, you couldn’t contain yourself any longer. You halted, releasing his arm and spinning to face him straight on. Poe opened his mouth, but before he could ask you a question, it just...came out.

“I love you,” You sighed it, lower than you’d have liked to say it because of your damaged vocal cords, but he heard you. You knew because he stiffened like a board and his open mouth slackened almost comically. “I-I’m in love with you, Poe Dameron, and I always have been and I can’t hold it in any longer.”

You bit your lip to prevent yourself from babbling, holding his wide-eyed gaze steadily. Finally saying it aloud was about a million times better than it had felt to simply admit it to yourself. You felt like you could float away just for getting the truth out, though a level of anxiety began to grow the longer he stood silent before you. But you knew his eyes, every expression they’d ever held, and you could see that he was processing your words, that they grew brighter and brighter until movement caught your eye and you glanced down to see his fingers twitch, and then he was moving.

Poe reached up and caught your face gently in his hands, closing the distance between you both so that your bodies were pressed together. He gazed at you in wonder for a moment. “Oh my sweet girl,” He crooned softly, and you were melting into his touch, your heart was surely about to burst now, and then- “I have loved you in every eternity that has ever been, and will ever be. You are everything, sweetheart, everything to me. I should have...should have told you so many times before this.”

And then Poe Dameron slotted his lips over yours and kissed you deeply like he’d been waiting his whole life to do it. It was like coming home. You were rooted to the ground now, his kiss anchoring you, his gentle caress over your cheeks sending fire into your veins that conflicted with the euphoria in your mind.

Because Poe, your Poe, was kissing you. Handsome, tall, broad and strong Poe. Your best friend, your soulmate, was kissing you and you didn’t think you could ever stop now. Your lips parted for him the same moment he did for you, and then you were tasting him and Stars, did he ever taste good. Like home-warm, a smouldering fire on a rainy evening. You knew he liked what he found in kissing you when he groaned lightly, his hands settling at the back of your neck and pressing you closer against him, deepening the kiss as your tongues danced, and you whimpered in response.

With a gasp, Poe pulled back and you saw more than love and adoration on his face, now you saw desire too. Real, heated desire.

And fuck, that pollen had absolutely nothing going for it, you saw that now. Seeing just a sliver of what desire truly looked like on his face, you knew it had all been a huge illusion brought on by the poison, during that mission. You were burning under his gaze now, every cell of your body alight and happy to surrender, responding to him before he’d barely moved. His hands were still on you and you realized yours were in fists at your sides so you reached up and did something you’d always wanted to do-sinking them into his curls.

“Fuck,” He rumbled the moment you gave a slight tug, his eyes fluttering closed briefly, a twitch appearing in his jaw. When he looked at you again you swear you burst into flames. “We need to...talk. In my room.” Before you could reply, he stooped and clasped his hands to the back of your thighs, lifting, and you realized he wanted to carry you.

And you were going to fucking let him. You pressed yourself against Poe and allowed him to guide your legs to wrap around his waist, whimpering again when his hands gripped your hips tightly. You leaned forward, wanting to kiss him. You could see how determined he was to focus, to get to the privacy of his room. You nipped along his jaw as he hurried along, grateful the halls were quiet but truly you wouldn’t have cared if he bowled people over at this point. His hands flexed as you kissed him, pressed you even closer against him when you lightly sucked on a spot on his neck that tasted as delicious as it looked.

“Stars, Poe,” You whispered, playing with his hair still. “I love you so much.”

“Let m-me show you, how fucking much I love you, sweet girl.” He panted in response, stepping through the doorway to his room and laying you onto his bed. The door shut and locked at his command, sealing you into the privacy of his quarters. He pulled back to gaze down at you, eyes wide, then reached up with one hand to very lightly trace along your neck. “And no one is ever going to touch you again.”

He said it with such strength and conviction you could only nod, even though it was a tall promise to make given the lives you lived. Because you believed him; that he meant he would do anything in his power to keep you safe. When he lowered himself down over you and started to kiss you again, you relaxed entirely for probably the first time in your life.

Burning never felt so good.

+

Poe was kissing you. You were kissing Poe. It was, it had to be, a dream. But if it was a dream how could it feel so intense and real and right? How could kissing you possibly be as perfect as this? He felt like he was whole again-like his heart tripled in size the moment you told him you were in love with him and then every moment with his lips pressed to yours only continued to make it grow.

Yesterday he’d almost lost you, or at least thought he had, and now you were tangling your fingers in his hair and moaning underneath him as you kissed, your body trembling. He’d never been as hard as quickly in his fucking life, could feel himself pulsing where he was pressed against your leg. He wanted to be embarrassed but the look on your face when he’d dropped you onto the bed told him you were thinking the same thing as he was now, just as overwhelmed and needy to get as close as possible, skin to skin. To finally tear down every single barrier-mental and physical-between you and come together, be together.

Which was probably why it seemed to take no time to rip one another’s clothes off until Poe was only in his briefs and you were left in the briefs he’d given you that morning to wear.

“Oh sweetheart,” He murmured, his eyes running over your every dip and curve and swell, the smoothness of your skin calling to him. He was laving his tongue over your nipple the first time you cried out, the sound strangled and broken enough that he pulled back and looked at you closely. “You can’t be loud, sweet girl. I want you to, trust me, but you have to be a good girl. We don’t want to hurt your voice any more than it already is, okay?”

“O-okay, I’ll try.”

Poe hummed, “Tell me the moment you want to stop. We don’t have to do anything you aren’t comfortable-”

You slid one hand out of his hair and dropped it between your bodies as he was speaking, coming to grip his length over his underwear. Poe broke off with a hiss, automatically thrusting into your hold. “I’ve b-been waiting my whole life for you, Poe Dameron.” You sighed, releasing his erection and tracing your hand along the planes of his stomach and chest. “Never stop. I’m yours and I never want to stop.”

A possessive feeling, one that had always lingered in the background when Poe was with you, increased tenfold at your words, further driven by what had happened yesterday. He growled before capturing your mouth in another, more fierce kiss, his tongue exploring you as he ground his hips down a little.

When he finally pulled back, you were gasping and even more flushed, your chest heaving as you looked at him. “You’re mine,” He repeated, bracing one arm on the bed and trailing the other down to tease over your centre, dipping below the band of his briefs. “I’m yours, too, sweet girl.” And he locked eyes with you as he pushed two fingers inside of you, gasping out at the blissed-out, contained moan you allowed yourself and the feel of how tight and wet you were.

Your hips bucked when he pressed in deep and curled his fingers, playing with you until he found a spot within that made you just about shoot off of the bed. With a wicked grin, he started to tease that spot and watched your face as you came undone bit by bit for him.

It was the most vivid, raw experience of his entire life. Every single moment soaked into his mind and became a permanent, detailed memory-your little whines and pleas, the roll of your hips, the heat of your slick and how he could smell you, just the right amount of sweetness. It was all so much more than the sex you’d had during the pollen exposure. Every other sense had been cut down and pushed back during that, but now they were all operating on full levels and it felt so right. It enabled Poe to work you through to your orgasm with ease all the while just about ready to cum in his underwear as he did.

“Shit, you are fucking beautiful, sweet girl,” He moaned, adjusting the arm he was bracing himself with so that he could clamp that hand over your mouth. He sensed you were close, could feel your tight walls clenching, and wanted to protect you from harming yourself if you forgot you couldn’t scream. “Cum for me-I’ve imagined it so many times, need to see you cum for real, for me. I’ll keep you safe, go ahead, let go.”

He felt your lips part behind his hand, then your entire body went rigid and you came hard, back arching until a significant amount of wetness soaked his hand, and the bed, and you started to whine and shake from the intensity of it all. Poe growled as you came, glancing down in wonder to see more wetness pool and realizing you were squirting, and he hadn’t known you could do that.

“Fuck, baby, is that for me? You perfect little thing, you are the hottest fucking woman. Holy shit!”

You slumped into the mattress with a huge breath, the warm air hitting his hand and he moved it so that you could catch your breath. With care he slowly removed his fingers from you, looking from your blissed-out expression to your soaked underwear, to your essence all over his hand. He quickly removed your panties, then shuffled down the bed, even more turned on now.

“I just, fuck I need to taste you real quick, sweet girl.” And he dove into your folds before you could respond, taking care to avoid your sensitive nub, and licked you like it was his last meal. You tasted fucking delicious and he didn’t want to stop, pushing your legs apart he cleaned up every drop you’d leaked while you whimpered for him.

“Sh-shit,” You cried, voice low, writhing against his hold on your hips. “Poe, please. Please!”

Poe pulled back, licking his lips, and grinned up at you. “You okay, sweet girl?” You nodded and he rose, eager to get you over the edge again so that he could lick up everything you gave him. “Please what? What do you need?” He crawled back up your body, chuckling when he felt your hands pushing desperately at his briefs.

You cleared your throat, “You. Always needed you, Poe.” You whispered, your voice so filled with emotion you nearly knocked him over. He took over pushing his briefs off and then reached under you with both arms, securing your body before lifting you, changing positions so that you were sitting in his lap. His length pressed against your thigh as you settled.

Poe stroked some stray hair out of your face and kissed you softly, holding you against him and savouring the moment. He’d never been so filled with emotion and pleasure before, every woman he’d been with over the years simply could not compare to the power and love between you and Poe, and it was terrifying. Sensing his apprehension, you drew back from the kiss and stroked along his jaw soothingly and Poe took a moment to simply drink you in.

“I never knew anything could be like this,” He admitted, now running his hands all over your body, pausing to squeeze his favourite curves. You smiled at him, pupils blown wide with lust, your expression telling him you agreed. “I’ve wasted so many years, (y/n). I’m so sorry.”

“No,” You shook your head, dropping one hand to seek out his length and holding it gently in your hand, lining him up. “No, we aren’t apologizing for our mistakes anymore. It’s you and me now, Poe, you, and, m-me.” You lowered yourself, your scratchy voice breaking off into a sigh of content as you slowly sunk onto his length.

Poe had pictured being with you like this many times in his life, certainly more than he’d like the admit. But even combined, none of those fantasies could come close to how it felt to bring your bodies together, the fucking ecstasy, the sight of his cock splitting you open as you slowly took him inch by inch. Your hands tangled in his hair again as a low, continuous whine fell from your lips. Your face was slightly scrunched as you tried to relax and accommodate him, and Poe was enraptured, watching everything with his hands at your hips.

You were devastating. And you were his.

Poe hurled headfirst into oblivion as you settled fully on his lap, a groan escaping as your tight heat clenched around him, and it was all he could do to speak, to just tell you how perfect you were. “Baby, oh fuck, I love you,” He leaned back slightly, dropping one arm to brace on the bed and then gripping your hip with the other. Poe set a slow and deliberate pace with his feet pressing into the baseboard of his bed. He rolled up, then back, his cock dragging halfway out before sinking back into you as you gripped his shoulders and whimpered above him.

It was sensual, soft, each movement like a slow dance, your hips rolling down to meet his in perfect harmony with his thrusts. You were biting your lip, eyes locked on Poe’s, and he could feel you flutter around him every time he groaned; so he let himself make noise, let you hear how good you made him feel, grunting and cursing with every blissful motion.

Even though the pleasure kept mounting Poe didn't want to rush this, so he moved at the same pace for a long time. Occasionally stopping completely when he was fully inside of you and relishing the sensation until you whimpered and he would move again with a grunt. It was divine, perfection...you. It was all you.

“Poe,” You whimpered as you moved one hand from his shoulder to push into his curls, urging him toward you as you leaned down and pressed your lips to his. He kissed you slowly as well, licking into your mouth, over your lips, drinking up your moans, until eventually it wasn’t enough for you and you made a noise in your throat, a little frustrated sound that made him smirk. Made him even fucking harder.

Without warning he sat forward, brought both hands to your hips and slammed you down onto his cock, using his strength to lift and drop you. “Sweet girl,” Poe grunted as your head tilted back in a silent cry, “That’s it, cum for me, let me feel you, baby, please.” He was desperate to feel you cum on his cock, pulling out and then slamming you back down, meeting you halfway as you struggled to hold in your noises, and Poe let loose another round of groans that seemed to propel you straight over the edge.

Your body curved forward as you came, one of your hands shooting to cover your own mouth as you sobbed in pleasure. He kept moving, watching your face rapturously until a strong clench around his cock drew his gaze downward. He had a moment to recognize what was about to happen before roaring in delight as you squirted for him again, the hot wetness coating his lap. The room filled with the wet slapping sounds of your body meeting his and Poe had to actively work not to cum, setting his jaw and gripping your hips with almost bruising strength.

“Ahh,” You whimpered, your legs going limp. Before you could fully collapse into Poe, he flipped you onto your back and started to fuck you into his mattress while peppering you with soothing kisses, “Oh Poe, more!”

He was right there, nearing the edge and yet savouring every deep thrust into your tight cunt. His movements were getting sloppy now, and he wasn’t even trying to hold back his noises because you felt so fucking good and this was so perfect and he loved you so much.

“Oh baby, baby-” He slammed into you one last time, dropping most of his weight down onto you and filling you deeply as he began to cum, his hips stuttering. You were moaning for him, weakened legs hooking behind his ass to draw him closer as he filled you, “I love you, I love you, I love you-“ He couldn’t stop saying it now, his head dropping to your shoulder-careful to avoid your injured throat-he just kept repeating himself between grunts.

As he started to come down from the high, he realized you were speaking, your voice a whisper in his ear, hands stroking his hair. “I love you too, Poe, my Poe,” He was gasping now, everything that had transpired catching up to him in the clarity of post-orgasmic bliss and your words brought his emotions back to the forefront.

He made to move back, only you stopped him, keeping him close. He looked at you, “You okay, my sweet girl?” Stars, you looked fucked out in the best ways and he swore he could cum again just at the sight of you as drunk on him as he was on you.

You nodded, giving him a soft little smile, “Just stay inside me a little longer.”

Fuck, you were going to kill him, you were so hot.

As much as he liked the idea, he didn’t want to stay on top of you and crush you, so he considered carefully before rolling you both, settling himself into the bed as you lay atop him, whimpering at the movement before resting your head on his chest. He’d started to soften inside of you, but remaining in your warmth kept him semi-hard, not something he’d ever done before and yet he decided at that moment he wanted to do it all the time.

“That was...you are perfect, you know that? Dreamt of you my whole life and that was better than I ever could have imagined.” Poe beamed at you when you looked up at him, your eyes bright. He had never been so radiantly happy in his entire life.

You reached up and ran your hand along his jaw, “Says the man who made me squirt. Twice.” You gigged, and he gazed at you for a moment before responding.

“You’ve done that before, yeah?”

When you shook your head, Poe felt a mixture of both surprise and pride swell within him, and you read that in his expression. “Yes flyboy, that was all you.” Another throaty giggle, which then morphed into a full cough as you hit the limit on your poor vocal cords.

Poe was up in an instant, carefully slipping from you and hurrying to his fridge to get you water. He passed it to you and then went into his fresher to get a warm washcloth. You were gulping the water gratefully when he returned, your eyes raking over his body with a level of possessiveness that made his cock twitch. You wanted him to yourself as much as he wanted you to himself, that much was now abundantly clear.

“Alright, sweet girl, let me take care of you,” He whispered, running the washcloth gently through your folds and tidying you up. You cooed softly, relaxing into the bed. When he was satisfied, he lifted you into his arms and carried you into the fresher to set you on his toilet. “You pee, I’m going to change the sheets.” And he wiggled his brows at you, earning him another big smile that settled right down into his oversized heart.

A short while later Poe Dameron was laying in his bed with you held in his arms. This was not the first time in his life that he drifted off to sleep with you, but it was the first time you were both nude and satisfied and so wholly consumed with your love for one another.

It was the first time he would wake in the middle of the night, hard and aching, only to find you already awake and needy for him, moaning when he rocked his hips into you and fucked you slow.

It was the first time since Charlie’s funeral that Poe would sleep entirely at peace, wrapped around his soulmate.

+

If you thought making love with Poe Dameron was perfect beyond expectations, it almost made it unfair how fucking good he was at eating you out.

You’d both woken late the morning after coming together and felt ready for more-you wanted him inside of you again. Only he insisted he hadn’t gotten anywhere near his fill of tasting you last night. Now he was happily lapping between your folds with his skilled, hot tongue and absolutely wrecking you, one hand clamped over your mouth to keep you quiet because he knew how fucking good he was.

You saw it the first time he’d made you squirt and then watched it solidify when you admitted you’d never done so before. It was hot, seeing the mixture of passion and cockiness, skill and care. You fell more and more in love with him throughout the night, when you came together and fit so perfectly, and now you were about ready to beg him for his cock before he killed you with his mouth.

When you came again for him, you were spent and though you did get wetter, you didn’t squirt. He didn’t mind, eagerly drinking up what you did give him before moving to kiss your thighs, then eased your legs together and began to massage the aching muscles. “Such a good girl,” He praised, his muscular figure drawing your eyes. You hadn’t realized how talkative, how much noise he would make, and it was the hottest shit. His groans were downright sinful, were what sent you rocketing into your orgasms the night before. “I should keep you here all day, wet and ready for me.”

“Fuck,” You replied, the words shooting straight to your core even after all of the orgasms you’d had. You sat up, struggling slightly and Poe reached out and gripped your arms, lifting you in another show of his strength that made you kind of dizzy with lust. “You’re insatiable. But we’re having lunch with Tahla, remember?”

Realization flashed over his face and he glanced over at his wrist comm next to the bed, relaxing when he saw there was still time before lunch. “Shit, I forgot. He’s leaving soon though, right? So I don’t want to bail.”

“Next week,” Poe moved to sit next to you, both of your backs against the wall now. He pulled the blanket from where it had been kicked to the end of his bed to cover you both. “He said something...that sort of made me realize how stupid I was being, right before I saw you yesterday.”

Poe turned his head to face you, his arms circling your waist and tugging you close to his side, “Oh? What did our wise, filter-free friend say?”

You giggled, then cleared your achy throat, “I had said I was going to miss him when he left and he told me he’d come back for our wedding.” You thought Poe would laugh with you, or at least scoff, but instead, he’d gone quiet and his expression turned inward in a way you couldn’t read. You hesitated a moment before tilting your head into his line of sight, though his mind was clearly a million miles away, “Poe?”

He looked at you then, for what felt like the first time in your life because of how intense his expression was, filled with love and something you couldn’t get a read on.

“I’m sorry,” He began, shaking his head a little, “I just...you are the love of my life. I meant everything I said last night.”

Warmth filled you as he spoke; you weren’t sure you’d ever get used to him saying such perfect things to you. Saying he loved you. “I know, Poe, I meant everything too.” You assured him, brushing your hair over his forehead to push back some stray curls.

Poe nodded, his expression still intense, eyes bright, “We’ve lost a lot of time, sweet girl. But I don’t want to waste another minute. I-” He paused, and you were growing increasingly confused. When he suddenly pulled away standing up to cross his room, your curiosity spiked, confusion at an all-time high.

Until that is, you saw what he was doing.

He was pulling something out of the inner breast pocket of his flight suit, lifting a chain and then turning to you back at the bed. He glanced between his hand and you once, stealing himself before dropping down to one knee next to the bed.

“Maybe he won’t have to come back for our wedding,” Poe opened his palm to reveal exactly what you knew he kept in his flight suit, “Maybe he’s here just in time. Marry me, (y/n). I love you and I never want to spend another minute without you. You are my soulmate, so please marry me, sweet girl.”

Your eyes fell from the passionate look on Poe’s face to his mother’s wedding band that lay in his outstretched hand.

+

34 ABY - Aftermath of the Battle of Takodana - D’Qar

Climbing from his ship with his adrenaline running high thanks to the success on Takodana, Poe turned and gasped when saw his droid, the orange and white blur zooming over to him. “BB8 my buddy!” He cried, dropping to his knees, “It’s so good to see you!” He looked the droid over, happy to see it looked to be in good shape.

BB8 beeped, excitedly explaining what had happened to it, “What? Saved you? Where is he?” He asked, the droid responding quickly and Poe glanced up, eyes landing on the defected ex-Storm Trooper who had saved Poe. Holy shit!

Finn spotted Poe at the same time and began running forward, “Poe?” He called, and Poe rose to his feet and started towards him, still reeling in surprise that Finn was here, that he was okay.

Poe felt himself grin, “Oh no!”

“Poe Dameron, you’re alive?”

Rushing up to Finn, Poe gasped out, “Buddy!” He pulled his new friend in for a hug, “So are you!” And he looked well enough, thankfully, too. Poe had worried he’d been captured back by the First Order after he couldn’t find him on Jakku.

“What happened to you?

“What happened to me? I got thrown from the crash. Woke up at night-no you, no ship, nothing,” Poe released Finn, pointing to him and then to his droid, “Listen, BB8 says that you saved him.”

“No, no, it wasn’t just me-“

Poe stepped closer to Finn, needing the man to understand, “You completed my mission Finn, I-that’s my jacket.” His gaze dropped to the jacket-his jacket- that Finn was wearing.

Finn glanced down, “Oh,” And he started to take it off and suddenly, Poe realized he didn’t need the jacket back, that Finn needed it more.

“No, keep it,” He punched Finn’s arm affectionately, “It suits you.”

Finn stopped and straightened, his eyes roving over Poe once again, “I still can’t believe your alive, Poe.”

Poe laughed, grasping his friends' shoulders, “You’ve got no idea what I have to live for, Finn. Dying ain’t an option.”

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