#*clenches fist* we just gotta stay positive i get to have time to skill up and draw and be creative again

[akkivee]

going home✈️

btw lmao i got fired from my job bc of this trip lolololol

[smellslikemultifandomimagines]

Hi there! Can I request Dick Grayson x fem reader where they’re training and one thing leads to another and the end up having some sexy time

warnings: smut // fem!reader.

word count: 1.9k

Omg I’m so sorry this is so late!! Hopefully it’s hot enough to make it up to you!!

requests are open!

Announcement coming tomorrow (titans related)!

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:• ☾ ☼ ☽ •:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

Ever since the Titans found out that their old enemy, Dr Light, is back in town, everyone had been pretty on edge. Dick had us all training harder than before; longer hours, tougher fighting and weapon training. One thing seemed to impress him — and even calm him a little — is the persevering determination that I possess. Each time he’d walk past the training room, he’d peak his head in and see me beating up a boxing bag or throwing knifes at the wall or even working with the cross bow. I was new after all and felt that I needed to get up to speed with everyone’s training skills. 

Dick had been tense and agitated all night. Him and the Titans — excluding Jason, Rach, Gar and me, of course — were going down to the stadium to fight Dr Light. The rest of us sat around the Titan Tower. Jason was pacing around the living room, where we all sat, complaining about Dick not taking any of us seriously. Rachel, who seemed to have zoned out ages ago, was scrolling through her phone and not even bothering to look up at Jason. Which left Gar and I to converse with Jason. 

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:• ☾ ☼ ☽ •:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

“Where’s Dr. Light?” Jason snickers at Dick. 

“Jason,” Rachel warns. 

“A little stealth job on a guy who shoots what, head lamps? I mean, half the city’s on fire and still no sign of Dr. Light,” Jason scoffs as he approaches Dick.

“Not the time Jason,” Dick replies sternly, yet exhaustedly. 

“Look, I don’t take orders from you anymore, man.” Jason steps closer to Dick, both of their jaws are clenched and we all knew this wouldn’t end well. “I do what I want, when I want.” 

I roll my eyes at Jasons remark. This kid thinks he’s older and more experienced than he is. I love him, but I think he doesn’t even have the slightest clue what we’re up against. No one does. 

Jason puts a hand on Dick’s chest, stopping Dick from walking past him.

“Get out of my way,” Dick said lowly, causing Jason to sigh. 

“I think you got it all wrong. You’re in my way. Yeah, and maybe you need to see a retirement package, huh?” Jason turns away and looks at us. His knuckles crack as he balls them into a tight and angry fist. Turning back to Dick , Dick says a serious “Don’t” almost as if he was warning him. Jason ignores him and swings his fist toward Dick, but Dick takes it and thrashes him down on the ground. Jason whimpers as he hits the ground. 

“Shit. Here,” Dick reaches his hand out apologetically towards Jason, who just slaps it away angrily. Jason stands up and snarls at Dick before storming off, pushing past Dick as he does so. 

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:• ☾ ☼ ☽ •:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

“I hope you’re wearing gloves with that, don’t want you to hurt your hands before you’ve even started fighting the guy,” I joke, slowly walking towards him in the training room. Dick turns towards me. His breathing is still fast and heavy. His forehead is beaded with sweat, making the strands of hair stick to it in the hottest way. He looks me up and down discreetly, his lips turning upward into a smirk before frowning again. Dick couldn’t let me know that he was infatuated with me. He knew if I got hurt that he’d only have himself to blame. Sometimes he thinks that if he can be as detached as possible, it wouldn’t hurt. Problem is, he already is. 

“If I wanted an audience, I would’ve asked,” he snarls; his voice raspy through his panting. 

“Not here to watch. I just came to see if you were alright,” my warmth seems to cause him to drop his guard a bit. His shoulders relax and both his fists and jaw begins to unclench. 

“You know, I’ve been quite impressed with you recently. I know coming here must be hard, but you really put the work in. I’d love for you to show me sometime,” Dick smirks. “But for now, I’ve gotta blow off some steam.”

“How about we fight each other. I could do with another practice round for today,” I suggest, hoping that he’ll oblige. Dick shrugs and nods for me to come closer. 

“Grab the sword,” he instructs, as he takes a wooden sword-like weapon. “Show me what you’ve got then.”

Bringing the sword up, I position myself in a fighting stance. I squint my eyes at him, waiting to see if he’ll make the first move. After a second later, I charge at him, kicking his sword before swinging my sword down to his legs. He catches it with his weapon, pushing back and blocking every move. I round-house kick his side, causing him to be caught off guard. With my sword still clenched tightly in my hand, I break his wooden weapon in two. 

“Smart move,” Dick smirks, cocking an eyebrow in astonishment. Swinging his, now two, weapons at me, I block every move. Finally, I corner him, holding my firm stance with my sword pressing under his chin.  

“So, really,” I pant. “Are you okay?”

“It was a hectic night,” he sighs. “I didn’t handle it so well.” 

“I’ve been there, it happens to the best of us,” I reply back, before being caught off guard by his arm knocking my sword out of my hand. In my quite pathetic attempt to punch him, he grabs my arm and flips me to the floor. Letting out a small grunt, Dick mumbles out a ‘sorry’. His arm extends out to help me up, but I pull him down, causing him to fall next to me. We both erupt in a fit of laughter before I kick his wooden sword out of the way. 

“Oh, we’re still going are we?” He snickers, trapping my body under his. Dick’s hands pin mine on each side of my head. He’s so close to me that I can feel his hot breath on my face and neck. 

“What’re you gonna do now, huh?” His voice low with anticipation. I didn’t answer. We stayed like that for a few seconds before his lips smash onto mine, catching me off guard for about the millionth time this night. My heart is beating so fast I’m sure he can feel it against him too. Flipping him over, I straddle his waist and take my shirt off, flinging it across the room. Leaning down again, I plant needy kisses on his neck, feeling his hands glide up my back. Tingles spread across my body as I felt Dick unclasp my bra. Items of our clothing were flung around the room in an attempt to rid them as fast as we could. We both need each other and we both know it. 

Dick kisses up my neck while I grind on his now uncovered cock, and a whine slips through his lips. 

“ride my face,” he instructs in a low growl. Crawling up his body, I begin to feel nervous as I straddle his face. But all those nerve seem to disappear the second he touches me. There is something about Dick’s touch that just makes me feel safe. His hands reach up and grip my hips, holding me down against his mouth. I grind my clit against his tongue, letting out quiet whines while my eyes roll back in pleasure. Dick’s tongue rapidly flicks at my clit and laps up each of my folds, completely immersing himself in the taste of me. 

“Fuck, oh my god,” I moan softly, trying hard not to be too loud. I feel his tongue tease around my entrance before pushing in only slightly. Dick’s hand slaps my ass, causing me to let out a little yelp. I giggle as I lean back and press my hands against his stomach to hold myself up better. His eyes connect to mine and a tingle can be felt in my stomach. I’ve never seen such passion in his eyes before. His eyes are usually hard and cold; the anger, hurt and burdens are carried in his eyes. But right here in this very moment, they’re different. Brighter, yet dark with want. 

“Dick, I’m gonna cum,” the faintest whimper slips through my lips as I feel his tongue give my clit more attention and rapidly flick against it again. My body shakes above him and I swear I can feel him smirking against me. A small squeal escapes my lips as I cum on his tongue, feeling nothing but absolute bliss. Dick laps up every last drop, wanting nothing more than to savour every bit of taste he could get. If that alone doesn’t say something about his need and want for me, than I could never know what does. 

Shuffling down to sit on his stomach, I lean down and kiss him, not caring if his mouth is covered in my wetness. 

“do you want me to ride you too?” I tease, reaching behind me to jerk him off slowly. 

“yes,” he breathes out, closing his eyes for a moment to enjoy the feeling of my hand on him, before opening them back up again. I shuffle further down his body and line myself up. Dick’s hands snake down from my waist to my hips, giving them a gentle squeeze either as reassurance that everything here in this moment is okay, or as a reminder to himself that this might by the last time he’ll ever get to hold me like this. My hands rest themselves on his shoulders to balance myself. A groan passes through the both of us as I sink down onto him. 

I waste no time in slamming my hips into his. A smile creeps on my face as I watch his face contort with pleasure; the feeling of my pussy around his cock already has him at a loss for words. Leaning down, I press my lips against his. Almost immediately, dick wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me down further into him. It was like he was completely starved of all touch, and I were the only one to provide him with it. A giggle slips past me again as I sit back up against him. I rest my hands on his thighs, thrusting myself harder onto him. Dick sinks his teeth harshly on his bottom lip to suppress a moan, but fails. He lets out the most hottest sound I’ve ever heard; a mix between a moan and a grunt. Dick’s hands press into my hips again and grips it so tightly, I’m sure they’re gonna leave a bruise. I moan as he holds me down against him, feeling him thrust up into me roughly. 

“fuck,” I whimper, closing my eyes as he fucks me faster. Feeling myself lose balance, I lean forward and press my hands against his stomach, feeling his abs tense from the pleasure.

“are you gonna cum, babygirl?” Dick asks, his hand snaking around to my clit. I nod and bounce myself faster on his cock. Suddenly, everything just feels so intense I begin whining. Dick pulls me down and holds me against him while he thrusts up into me harder. 

“it’s okay, I got you. Let it go, baby,” he soothes, letting out a moan as he feels my walls pulse around his cock as I cum. Again, my body is almost convulsing above him from how strong and powerful the orgasm is; whines and moans are now uncontrollable, but neither of us cared. Dick came from just watching me cum, and his arms never left my body; just having me pressed against his chest, especially naked, is all he could ask for.

[thedepthsoffandomminds]

Collidescope hearts Part 11

Master list

This was it, you were coming up on the finals,

Piper vs Tory,

Sam vs Devon

Hawk vs Brucks

Robbie vs Kenny

Demetri had won the skills, so he didn't care that he was out of the rounds. You all stood around the main matt waiting for the fights to begin when you heard a commotion behind you. Turning round you saw Kyler squaring up to Demetri. Without thinking you run over and stand between them.

"Back off Park!" You snap at him.

The fight between Robbie and Kenny began.

Kyler steps up to you, looking you up and down.

"What are you going to do about it slut?" He said.

"Don't underestimate me." You looked directly into his eyes.

"Its okay y/n, you don't have to." Demetri tried to step pass you.

"Yeah come on let me at the nerd."

You couldn't be sire what happened, a cry from the main matt caught your attention for a second as Kenny fell down. A hand swept past you. Both Demetri and Kyler shouted something. A foot came flying at you. You hit the ground hard. The room went quiet, your head hit the ground. Everything was spinning.

When you finally found your bearings again Hawk was next to you and a medic was on the other side.

"Y/n, its okay stay still." Eli said stroking the side of your head. The medic checked your eyes and asked you a couple of questions. Satisfied you didn't have concussion she helped sit you up.

"You should go see your doctor, get checked up." She said pointing at your belly. You nod.

"Okay come on I'll take you." Eli said putting his arm round you.

"No, you still need to fight. Danny can take me." You say.

"Are you sure? I can't just-"

You put a hand on his face to stop him.

"Win this for me."

He nods

Hawks pov

I watched as y/n walked away with Danny. Of course I was worried for her. My eyes zeroed in on Brucks. He had been the one who hurt her, kicking her to the ground as Kyler tried to attack Demetri

As I looked at his smirking face I could feel my anger getting hold of me. I could remember how his blood had felt on my hands the first day he walked into Cobra Kai and I knew I wanted to feel it again.

"Hey, maybe she'll lose it and you won't have to pretend your the father!?" Kyler called out to me, laughing.

"Yeah, wait was he her stepdad or her baby daddy?" Brucks joined in. I went to go forward but Sensie Chozen placed a hand on my chest.

"This is not the time. Do not let your anger get the better of you Eli-san. You will best him on the matt, but do not play his game." I nodded trying to push my anger down.

"Yeah man, you gotta fight as Eli, not Hawk." Demetri agreed.

"Yeah, y/n wants me to win, so I'll do it right."

Behind us Robbie won his match against Kenny. No one was surprised the kid is too hot headed, like I used to be. Robbie came directly over to me.

"Hey, is everything okay? Is y/n alright?" He asked.

"Yeah." Was the only answer I could muster. I felt Devon's hand on my elbow.

"She's alright, just gone for some checks. This is Cobra Kai trying to get into our heads. They said they would be coming for Hawk. That was the best way to do it." She turned me to face her, "you gotta keep your focus."

I took a deep breath as the announcer called Brucks and me to the matt. Brucks had a smirk that matched Silvers. I kept my face still, clenching jaw. I didn't listen to anything they said to me as we got into our places. We bowed to the ref then to each other and I got into my fighting position. I let the oaf come towards me, his CK offence making him predictable. I blocked every move, landing the back of my fist on his chest, gaining the first point of the match. Silver called his fighter to him for a moment and I knew this would get worse. There would be no holding back from my oversized opponent.

We started again and this time he came at me faster. Every move was aiming for my leg. They knew it would be weak after the break. I tried to block and keep it away from him. Somehow I managed to land a blow to his chest again with the flat of my fist. As I turned to go and speak to Sensie I heard the cheers of the CK at the same time I felt the weight on the back of my leg and blow to the side of my head. I crumpled to the matt. As I clutched my leg I heard the announcer declaring Brucks disqualified. Several people ran over to me, but I pushed them away. I waited as the announcer named me the winner before storming out of the room. That wasn't how I wanted to win.

"You think this is over?" I heard my one time bullies behind me.

I turned to the face them.

"How's the leg?" Brucks laughed. I closed my eyes trying to calm my anger.

"Now, now lads, lets not keep him. Mr Moskawitz needs go." Kreese had appeared beside me. I didn't know where to look.

"Oh he needs to go to the hospital, lets make sure you get there the fastest way possible." Kyler came forward telegraphing a punch. Before I had a chance to block it Kreese had swept in front of me. He grabbed Kyler's arm twisting it around round to his back.

"Go to your girl, kid."

Part 12

Has Kreese changed? What's his plan? Who set the fires? Tune in later today for more updates.

Interact with this post and let me know your thoughts on this story.

@carliim @buckysdemonsimp @space-helicopter @slytherinroyalty16 @shotosgirl @hannyhoe @torynichcls @hurricanerex666 @sabrinablack1 @harulindao @sarcastically-defensive17 @peppamultifanimagines @1-fuzzy-squirrels

[m-y-fandoms]

Rantarou Amami x Ultimate Writer - FLUFF

Request: Hi! Your writing is incredible ^^ I was wondering if you could write Rantaro with an Ultimate Essay Writer s/o, maybe comforting them when they're up late writing? I hope that's okay, and thank you :D

Hey! Sure I can do this! But, I wanna make it just the Ultimate Writer. I’m an english writing major myself IRL, and I have to write essays, non-fiction, emails, resumes, letters, instructional guides, graphic novels, fiction, poetry etc. so they will definitely have essay-writing skills anyway. Ultimate Writer just makes it easier. I hope you don’t mind :) - Admin Kokichi

     "Nnnn!" You gritted your teeth in frustration, "NNNGGHH!" Your arm was stretched to its extent, reaching up with all your might. The shelf above was just out of reach. Your fingertips scraped against the spine of the thick brown book above you, but strain as you might, it wasn’t budging, firm and snug against the others on the shelf. "Gah!" You puffed in anger, clenching your fists. Why did the books you wanted from the basement library always have to be so high up? You needed this particular text as a reference for your next piece. 

     It was going to be a throwaway letter, a confession written to express your feelings then set them free by burning it later. It didn’t matter, really, what you wrote at this point. Anything to get your mind off of all of… this. In this killing game, your writing was the only thing that brought you comfort. You stayed up every night scrawling until your wrist cramped up. Your Monopad had a notes section to type in, but you much rather stick to the traditional ways. The lack of sleep and endless output of creative thought was starting to weigh on you, and now it looked like you weren’t even getting this damn book today, “Man, this blows…” You sighed deeply. "AH!" You jumped, startled when a large, ring-clad hand suddenly appeared in front of your face, bracelets jangling in your ear. Soon, you felt someone's broad chest against your back. The hand grabbed the book you wanted and brought it down. You turned around with your hand on your chest, still a little jumpy. "Oh, phew… Rantarou, it's just you."

      "Yeah,” he chuckled gently, “here ya go Y/N." There stood your crush, the rich playboy with a heart of gold. You felt your cheeks go warm. He was often in the library, and you relished every moment you got to spend glancing over your shoulder at him while we has up to his usual antics of planning traps or researching new ways to interrogate your classmates until someone was spooked into admitting their position as the mastermind. Once in a while, he would read for pleasure, and at first you felt like an asshole for being surprised by that. You judged him too early on, seeing a flawless face and a suave personality and assuming he would be the popular kid archetype you’d seen in many an awful young adult novel. The more you got to know him, the more he revealed himself to be highly intelligent, well-rounded, considerate, empathetic, and extremely attractive.

     "Thanks, Rantarou," you looked down, placing the book under your arm.

     "No problem… it's not everyday I get to do something useful for someone else here," he rubbed the back of his neck, laughing nervously. You laughed too, looking him up and down. 

      “That’s not true!” you countered. “You’re always helping us all out. You give great advice, too!”

      “Well, I try to help, but I’m sure it hasn’t escaped everyone’s notice that none of my plans have really... taken off,” he gestured, moving his hand in a soaring-upward motion. “Also, with me not rememberin’ my talent and all… I kinda have become the expendable background character, yeah?” His eyes crinkled closed with a kind smile.

      He laughed again to fill the silence of the dark, empty library. You giggled. You always thought it was cute how could be so humble, looking the way he did, sounding the way he did. He had been that way ever since you’d met him, and are far as you were concerned, it seemed genuine. You couldn’t really trust anyone in this killing game, but you trusted Rantarou. Even in the library past midnight, where no one would know if you ended up dead, you trusted Rantarou.

      "Sorry, I uh, I didn't mean to scare you," he leaned against the bookcase, arms crossed.

      "Nah, it's fine. You helped me out, so I forgive you..." You joked, playfully punching his shoulder. He smiled a bit sheepishly, an expression you didn’t see often in the confident male.

      "Yeah I… haha," He fiddled with a book nearby," I didn't think anyone would be here. I always come at night. Surprisingly, it's pretty boomin’ here during the day, so I come later on to avoid the hassle of a crowded space." You understood completely. Rantarou was always secretive about his plans.

      “I know, I see you here sometimes,” you mused.

      “Oh, really? I usually sit behind the back shelves, so I guess i didn’t notice you. You’re pretty quiet, huh? Maybe I should be watchin’ my back for you, huh?” He snickered

      "I was having the same thought, isn't that weird?" He looked at you with alarm. “I’m kidding!” To that, he relaxed a bit. "So, watcha reading?"

      "Oh, um," He gestured behind him to the aforementioned back shelf "I’m set up back there reading. It's just some old, boring, textbook information on one of the small countries I’ve visited. I thought it'd be interesting, but..."

      "Yeah, sounds like it," You looked at him with genuine interest, and he smiled in appreciation.

      "Wait, really?!"

      "Yeah, why wouldn't it be? I think it’s super cool that you’re well-traveled. I guess that’s why you and Korekiyo get along so well, huh?" His feet shuffled in silent excitement at your shared enthusiasm. He bit his lip playfully, and your eyes grew shiny in admiration. He was so adorable.

      He noticed your change in expression and coughed, frowning a little in embarrassment. You tried to change the subject, to make him comfortable again.

      "H-hey, Rantarou?"

      "Hmm?" He looked up from the ground eagerly.

      "You're gonna be up reading all night, right? Well.. I will be, too, and... it’s harder for someone to kill us with four eyes on the lookout..."

      "Yeah?"

      "So, you wanna maybe sit with me here at my table? The vents reach this side of the library better so it’s a bit warmer... haha, it's... it's kinda cold in here," You pulled your uniform’s turtleneck tighter around yourself, shaking a little. Rantarou immediately accepted. He wasn’t about to pass up an invitation from his crush.

     “Hell yeah, sounds great! I’ll go grab my stuff, but, hey, I’ve noticed I hardly ever see you in the dorms… you know you gotta sleep, right?” He had a concerned look on his face, and your heart of course fluttered at his attention to detail and knowledge of your habits, but you didn’t want him worrying about you when he had his own safety to look out for.

      “Well, I appreciate the concern, but I’d much rather spend time with you than be in my dorm alone worrying.” He seemed to blush at your words, and you thought you’d maybe gone too far, until he agreed, and rushed over to grab his reading material.

~

      You sighed deeply, a yawn slipping out once or twice. At least two hours had passed since you and Rantarou set up your little corner and there he still sat, in the wooden chair across from yours, never looking up at you from his book. A peaceful, relaxed look glazed his face. He had been that way almost the whole time, but you could sense him becoming a bit antsy. Maybe he was just tired?

      You were both fast readers, so by now you had already read the best sections of your own books and switched. He now sat reading the yellowed pages of the book you selected: an eclectic compilation of 16th century romance literature, and you were now five chapters into his text on the different ethnic groups of some far-off land.

      “Hmm… heh,” he shook his head amusedly.

      “What?” Your head shot up anxiously, fearing he was judging your choice of genre.

       “It’s just... some of this is extremely cheesy and cliche. You’d think the old masters would have done a little better.” He lifted the book in a referencing gesture.

      “Ah, yes, I noticed that as well. I was hoping for a little inspiration, but… it seems Monokuma isn’t the best curator of quality literature.” He nodded in agreement, seemingly stuck on a thought. You could see him stare into space for a second before continuing.

      “Inspiration for what… may I ask?” He pressed, waiting with bated breath for your reply. You felt your feathers start to ruffle, the borders of your comfort zone being invaded by the enemy. You didn’t know if you should answer honestly. The letter was a throwaway for a reason…

      “I was going to write a letter…” it slipped out, and you quickly regretted it. Apparently, your brain had decided to take the lead for you. You never recalled yourself being so forward or brave.

      “Why do you need sonnets and romance novels to write a letter? Planning to sweet talk Monokuma into freeing us?” He chuckled somewhat teasingly, but his haughty words slowly faded to silence upon noticing the wet shine in your nervous eyes, the way your fingers played with the corner of the book as a distraction for your discomfort.

      “No…” You coughed, clearing your throat. Rantarou looked away, running a hand through his green shaggy locks. He knew what the letter was for, of course, who it was for. He was a bit nervous, too, eager to play off the tension in the room with humor, but it wasn’t working. He was wondering why you were so apprehensive, so sullen at his inquiry. You two flirted almost every day… did you seriously need to worry about his reaction? Did you think he didn’t like you back? “I-It’s… well it was going to be a um… a confession of sorts… just to get my feelings down on paper and off my chest. Then I was gonna burn it afterward to set those feelings free!” You smiled weakly, betraying your lack of confidence.

      “Nah, you should give it to him- them!” He corrected himself, dropping the most obvious hint he could. You still didn’t look convinced, a bit oblivious.

      “Y-you think so?”

      “For sure, no doubt. Whoever that letter is meant for,” he leaned in to you, clasping his calloused hands around yours. You felt your heart skip a beat at the contact, and you were left speechless, fearing any words spoken now would come out as idiotic babbling, “they are gonna love it. Trust me.” His eyebrows rose with emphasis, and he shot you one of his iconic, heart-melting smiles.

[anon-e-miss]

Intransigence 5

Prowl listened as the roar of enforcer sirens and the wail of approaching ambulances came closer. He turned his helm. The great red mech Jazz had called Ironhide was not the only other Autobot who had arrived on the scene ahead of the first responders. As Prowl watched, mechanisms wearing the Autobot insignia set up a fence, blocking the scene from the quickly gathering crowd; he looked up at sky. The bright lights of the downtown largely obscured any trace of the stars. Every enforcer’s sirens was ever so slightly different. To an expert audial they were as identifiable as a mechanism’s voice. Garboil’s high pitch shriek was not amongst the enforcer sirens arriving upon the scene. Red and blue flashing lights bounced off the windows of the buildings lining the block. The fence did not move for them.

“This is a crime scene,” Prowl said, lamely.

He knew how the scene would look at first glance, just as he knew how it would look upon closer inspection. Prowl had shot Barricade in the back, and that was not a good look. But metaforensics would show the trajectory of his shot was downward. It would show that he had dived for his blaster and it would show that he had taken his shot from his knees. Nightstalker’s wound would show the shot had come from Barricade’s blaster. Internal affairs would clear him, provided they were even allowed to investigate. It did not appear the Autobots had any interest in allow the enforcer onto the scene.

“Or it’s a Decepticon attack,” Jazz replied. His servo never left Prowl’s chassis. Instead of being intrusive, it was grounding. Someone was tending to Barricade. Prowl was almost annoyed the mech lived, it was bloodthirsty of him. With the crisis over, his tactical systems retreated some and he felt the deep burn from the shock stick, the sharp pain in his leg and the great throb from his back. He hurt, Prowl mentally shrugged, better not to focus too much on any one injury. “One that might still be in progress. We still gotta figure out if Nightstalker was a Con, ‘n not just a dirty enforcer, same wit his buddies. We gotta figure out just what they wanted wit ya.”

“I do not know,” Prowl said.

It was the truth. He could not think of any particularly memorable encounter with Barricade in their brief time in the same precinct. To be completely fair, Prowl could not think of any encounters with Garboil or Nightstalker that could have sparked enough loathing to warrant a coordinated assault. There was another roar of sirens, and Prowl recognized one amongst the din, and he started to push himself but his shoulders scarcely left the ground before Jazz firmly, but gently pushed him down. He became distinctly more aware of the throb of his doorwings and tried to shift even a little to relieve the pressure. Sharp bolts of pain shot up his side.

Prowl hissed: “Flatfoot is inbound.”

“Ya recognize his siren?” Jazz asked.

“If you listen close enough, you can hear subtle differences.”

“Ironhide!” Jazz called his colleague over.

“EMS is a klik out,” Ironhide replied. “Ratchet’s got teams scrambled.”

“Flatfoot’s inbound. I want’m detained for questionin’.”

“Lots ‘o reporters swarming out there.”

“Wonder if he’ll be as excited ‘bout the cameras flashin’ when they catch ya haulin’m in.”

“I’ll make sure they get his good side.”

“I should be arguing against this,” Prowl said, tilting his helm to Jazz. He desperately wanted off his back. It was not the greatest of his pains, but perhaps the only one he could ameliorate. Again he tried to rise up. It was less Jazz’s servo this time that stopped him but the fiery pain that scorched his left side.

“Best case scenario, Flatfoot’s incompetent,” Jazz said. His servo flat against Prowl’s chassis. “Worse case scenario he’s dirty. He deserves a little public humiliation.”

“You are ruthless.”

“When it suits me,” Jazz agreed. “Stop, wrigglin’ mech. Ya need to stay flat ‘til a medic sees to ya.”

“I need to get off my doorwings,” Prowl argued.

“A’ight, a’ight I hear ya,” Jazz replied.

When he removed his servo, he did not leave Prowl to right himself but guided him upright, but only a little. Jazz shuffled around him and stopped to kneel behind Prowl, leaving him to rest against his lap. It was a deeply personal position, Prowl found, and he felt his cheekplates heat. He could not deny it was more comfortable than being flat on the ground. The pressure off his back only made Prowl feel the pain in his side more acutely. That shock stick had scorched more wiring than he would have thought possible. Prowl did not believe for a nanoklik that the weapon was legal, though he had never heard of a case involving one with this power before. The flashing white and red lights reflecting off the windows and the impatient wail of sirens announced the arrival of EMS teams. For them, the fence moved.

“This one’s critical,” an unfamiliar voice likely belonging to the Autobot monitoring Barricade spoke up. “And a suspected enemy combatant. We’ll escort you to base.”

“Nature of the injury?” Off riders, slight mech who transformed into motorcycles asked as they ran scans and performed immediate emergency care.

“Acid pellet round, upper back,” Jazz replied. “I neutralized it.”

A second team arrived, and Prowl resisted the urge to sigh as Jazz beckoned them over. He could not deny he needed repairs but this was more of a spectacle than he cared for. Prowl did not hiss with pain as the crew waved Jazz off and lowered him back flat to the ground, but it was a near thing. When the asked for a synopsis of his injuries, Prowl’s answers were clipped. One off rider asked him if he wanted a pain blocker, and he declined. Technically it was a lie, Prowl did want a blocker, rather badly actually, but he also wanted to think and he knew perfectly well the moment a blocker hit his processor he would be wading through tar. The crew did not appear to like his answer, but they respected it. When the stretcher came out, he shuffled himself onto it with their aid. The effort had his side screaming, and his servo tingling strangely. Again the crew asked if he wanted a blocker, and again Prowl declined it. This new tingling in his digits concerned him. Prowl made a fist to reassure himself that he could.

“Y’re in good servos, Prowl,” Jazz said. “I’ll see ya when ‘m done wit the scene.”

Why? To discuss the incident at greater length, obviously. Prowl dimmed his optics and turned inward. He wracked his processor, and tried to understand what would have motivated the trio to launch this attack. It was difficult to find focus, with each turn the ambulance made, Prowl was jostled and pain ripped him from his deliberations. One of the paramedics injected foam into the protoform surrounding the burn sight. Still, the tingling spread down Prowl’s leg, and it felt to him like someone was poking his palm with needles. This could not be good. Barricade’s shock stick may have done more harm than he had anticipated. Just some shorts, Prowl decided, nothing too severe. He took measured intakes, keeping his ventilations shallow as his left side throbbed bitterly around wound.

“Vitals are stable but the electrical impulses throughout are irregular along the left side. Check for reflexes.”

The disembodied voice of the ambulance filled the hold. Prowl winced as the paramedics seeing to his immediate care asked for him to perform some small movements. He was shaky. It was suddenly a great deal harder to move his digits. Shorts, Prowl had definitely developed a few shorts, and based on his worsening reflexes, they might even have been spreading. That tingling in his servo was starting to really burn, and Prowl clenched his denta. When the paramedic offered him a blocker again, Prowl just shook his helm. The last thing he wanted right now was to get loopy; he needed to pay attention. It was hard to pay attention as the burn seemed to be spreading up across his chassis.

As Prowl was preoccupied trying to get above his pain levels, he did not immediately realize when they had arrived. When the paramedics guided his gurney out of their colleague’s hold, Prowl was suddenly looking up at an ornately carved archway as he was pushed underneath it. His processor pinched as Prowl realized they had not taken Prowl to the medicentre, but to the Autobase, the Prime’s very palace. This was wrong. Prowl would have raised himself off the gurney if he had not been strapped in. He was helpless to resist, and resistance was almost certainly irrational. The Prime’s personal medical staff were reputedly excellent. The one that had seen to Smokescreen when he had dislocated a doorwing during a training exercise had been skilled, according to Smokescreen, and terrifying. Smokescreen had called him Hatchet. It seemed like an ominous designation for a medic.

“Status? Vitals?” A green mech of mixed ancestry stood over the medberth Prowl was quickly transferred onto. He hissed with pain. The medic... Tagonian? Perhaps a bit of Praxian?  Leaned over him and applied electrodes to Prowl’s chassis.

“Snapped cable and spiral fracture in the right leg, blaster wound,” the paramedic who had served as the ambulance exclaimed. “Electrical burn caused by a zooped up shock stick to the right side, just under the bumper. Electric shorts have been spreading from the burn sight.”

“Have you put any painblockers on board?” The medic asked.

“No. The patient refused.”

“Designation?” The medic asked and Prowl realized the question had been asked of him.

“Prowl.”

“Prowl. I’m Medic Hoist. Before I can examine your injuries I need to administer a blocker, at minimum. Do you system intolerances?”

“They make me loopy,” Prowl replied.

“We’ll start with a low dose,” Hoist said. Behind the Autobase’s high walls, Prowl supposed he was as safe as he could hope to be. He gave the barest of nods and could not help but release a vent of relief as the medic injected the blocker into the port on the left side of his neck. “Your ventilations are shallow, are you having a hard time ventilating?”

“Hurts,” he replied. “My back. My doors. It could just be pressure.”

“Reduce your sensory relays for me... Any better?”

“No.”

“I’m going to begin you exam now. Relax.”

Scanners crisscrossed his plating and Prowl sank a little into the fugue of the painblocker. Hoist pressed his digits into Prowl’s plating and it felt strange. Prickly. His plating was removed from his torso and Prowl only exhaled as the careful manipulation of his frame was enough to send pain burning through his side, even with the blocker. Prowl quickly fell back into the fugue. When he came out of it again, the ceiling above his helm had changed, and Prowl frowned. He turned his helm and looked at the equipment in the room. The tray of tools on a table near his doorwing. The OR.

“Prowl?” Hoist said. “Do you remember what I told you?”

“No,” Prowl replied. He did not remember having been told anything. With the painblockers making his processor fuzzy, he did not know which way was up.

“The shock stick strike caused a series of shorts that have been spreading through your chassis. We need to open you up and track them all down before they hit a vital system. We’re also going to clean up your leg.”

“Okay.” Prowl’s optics dimmed.

Wait. What did he okay? Before Prowl could ask Hoist what was happening, and what they had been discussing just a moment before, a powerful sedative hit Prowl’s systems and he dropped into stasis.

[smol-and-grumpy]

Touch

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Warnings: Smut, somnophilia, feelings

WC: 1649

A/N: This was a request by @dean-winchesters-bacon​ to write a drabble with the kink “somnophilia”. Well, I put in more feelings than smut so that’s a little ficlet for you.

It’s almost 3AM and Dean knows that it’s too late to show up. Especially, when he shows up unannounced.

They talked before in the evening, when she basically blew him off with an excuse of having to get up early. 

He gets it, he really does, is actually not holding a grudge. 

Yeah, well, maybe he is. Only a little. Because Eileen lives here now and the bunker’s getting too sappy for his taste, not to mention that Dean’s bored out of his mind. And, he misses her, which is really the important part of the picture here. 

He hasn’t been able to see her for over a week because he’s been on haunts with the lovebirds™. A shudder runs along Dean’s spie when he thinks at the feelings he has in his chest. Guess, the sappiness is contagious.

The evenings are the worst, he thinks. Even though the bunker’s warded, but it sure as hell isn’t warded against the noises that comes out of Sam’s bedroom.

Sammy always insists that Dean’s been hearing things, though. Insists, that they didn’t even sleep in the same bed. 

Well, sleeping was not what they’ve been doing, that much, Dean can tell.

Dean looks up to see that her apartment's unlit. Yeah, because every decent human being is alseep on weekdays at freaking 3AM, unlike him. And decent she is, got a real job and all, and Dean sometimes wonder what she sees in him. Wonders, how he got so lucky to have someone who doesn’t think that his life is fifty shades of fucked up.

Dean lets himself in, after all she gave him a key. It’s for emergencies and, he thinks, if bored out of his mind and horniness isn’t an emergency, then he doesn’t know what is.

He tries to be quiet, but the damn floor is creaking with every step he takes. He crouches down, unlaced his boots and steps out of them before he took off his jacket and hangs it up on a hook by the door. 

Carefully, he tip toes his way to her bedroom on socked feet, stopping every couple of steps and flinches when the creaking gets too loud.

The door to her bedroom stands ajar, she hates sleeping with the door closed. It’s a thing he got used to, the door ways stays open, even if it’s just a crack.

She’s lying on her side, her face buried in the pillow, her hair up in a bun and the blanket covers only half of her body. He sees enough, the moonlight spills through the holes in the blinds, thinks, it’s the prettiest thing he ever did see.

Dean takes a couple of steps closer to the bed, takes off his socks and pants, got rid of his shirt and henley. All the while, he watches her. Watches her shirtless back move evenly with every breath she takes (another habit he doesn’t really mind she has; sleeping only in panties, and sometimes his boxers, which shouldn’t really turn him on that much but it does).

His dick stirs. It has been too long and seeing her splayed on her bed like a damn fucking meal turns him on, he ain’t gonna lie. And he might be fucked up in the head because seeing her sleep and knowing that he can do whatever he wants with her, is a kink he never knew he had. He takes off his boxer briefs, too. 

The mattress dibs under his weight as he kneels on it. He goes in carefully, trying his damn best not to wake her up and moves up to lie next to her, pulling the blanket over himself and her before he pulls her close to him gently.

His hand wanders, massages her ass. It feels nice, soft, like a ripe fruit ready for picking, and picking is what he wants to do. Dean hooks his thumb in the seam of her panties and pulls it down slowly. So slow, it’s almost agonizing and his heart thumps a staccato beat in his chest.

“Sshhh…” He hushes, as he feels her stir, lowers his lips to kiss her shoulder. His one hand is still pulling her panties down while his other hand was around her hips, lifting her up so he can take them off easier. “Shhh, baby…” 

Dean wants to say more, wants to run his mouth, because that’s really his specialty and it makes him crazy when she talks dirty to him too.

He pushes the panties down and hooks his toe into it to take it off her leg. A skillful thing to have, hookable toes, and he’s proud of that.

Dean is painfully hard now and spits into his hand before he jerks himself, moaning at the first touch of his own hand around his aching cock. He pushes two fingers of the hand that is not jerking himself off into his mouth, slicks them up before he probes at and paints around her hole with fingers that are slick from saliva. 

Carefully, he pushes a finger in, past the first knuckle. Bites back a groan when he feels her tight heat surrounds his finger. He plays with her clit after, and she stirs, a soft sound escapes her lips and he stills for a moment, stops jerking off but leaves his finger on her, still drawing lazy circles on her clit. She doesn’t open her eyes. Good for him.

He adds another finger and makes a weird noise in his throat when he feels that she’s even tighter than before with two of his fingers moving inside. His other hand works on himself frantically, his leaking cock producing enough pre come to make it feel so fucking good and he loves it that she’s getting wetter by the minute.

“Fuck, baby.. I gotta..” He mumbles, more to himself because obviously, she can’t hear him. 

Dean pulls her naked back flush against his chest, makes her place her head on his arm, hopes she doesn’t wake up from how hard his heart is beating. He kisses the nape of her neck when he manhandles her into position, draping one leg back over his thigh, is awfully thankful at how flexible she is. 

He fists his cock, strokes a couple of times more, for good measure, before he positions himself to her hole. Dean bites on his tongue when he pushes in slowly, tastes copper on his tongue and squints at tight pressure. He’s gentle, working himself in, breathes steadily through his clenched teeth, hushing her again when she stirs and noses at the back of her neck.

The movement stills when he’s all the way in, has to stop to not blow right away and he works himself through the first tingle in his balls. His other arm drapes around her how, his palm on her stomach, holding her in place.

He sprays kisses on her shoulder as he starts to move. The thrusts are shallow but deep and there’s a moment where he just grinds himself against her. He likes that the most, going in as deep as he can and just fucking grinds. 

She’s panting, he can feel her heart beating faster. He knows that he can make her come just like this. Grinding inside of her, carving a room with his cock in her tight, wet heat, knows she loves it when his cockhead pokes at her cervix. And as if on cue, he feels her walls clamping down around his dick. It’s velvety and so fucking tight it makes him see stars and there’s a moan as she opens her eyes and draws her arm back, holds her palm against his face. 

“Dean..” She whispers, tilts her head back and around to look at him and he kisses nose, her cheek, working his way to her mouth. 

He wants to say something but his voice is strained, his balls are drawn up, she’s still squeezing him down there and he comes, bites down on her shoulder, leaving a mark she thankfully won’t have to explain to anyone because it’s fucking winter. 

Dean doesn’t know how much time passed until he can finally think again. She’s grinning when he opens his eyes and he kisses her cheek, her jaw, sucking and licking at the bite mark he just left her with, on her shoulder. 

“I heard you come in.” She chuckles and he blushes at that. 

“I could swear I was silent.” He drawls, kissing her neck, her throat and works his way up to her ear, swirls his tongue around her earlobe, breathes in the smell of her body lotion and sweat.

“Oh please,” She huffs out a laugh.

Dean’s brows furrowed, “You were awake the whole time?”

“I was dozing..” 

She turns her head, kissing his bicep, hands squeezing his arm and he kisses her temple.

“‘M sorry for being loud.”

He noses behind her ear, feels himself soften inside of her but he doesn’t want to pull out. Wants to stay locked like this as long as possible.

“Is it okay if I stay?” He asks and is almost ashamed of himself how whiny he sounds.

She wants to turn around but he holds her there. “No, I want to stay like this.” Dean says and she understands. She always does. He really wonders how he deserved her.

“Okay, but we need to sleep.” She nestles her head into his shoulder, it’s like the place is made for her to fit in and he couldn’t imagine someone else in her place. Doesn’t really want to imagine it, if he's honest.

Dean kisses the back of her neck. “‘M on it.” He mumbles against soft skin and he swears that he wanted to wait for her to fall asleep first, because that’s what he always does, but he’s out as soon as his eyes closed.

[leviathanswingman]

killing me softly, chapter 10: the intervention

„Lord Diavolo, this is an intervention.“

The words were echoing through the music room as everyone kept quiet for several moments.

Then, Diavolo crossed his arms in front of his chest and tilted his head. „An intervention, you say? You should have told me beforehand, I would have prepared a bit more. Who is it for?“

Satan stared at the demon prince intensely. „You have got to be kidding me,“ he murmured as he turned around to Yuuta, who was sitting next to him on the couch. „It's useless, they're both complete idiots.“ He shook his head in disbelief and Yuuta shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

Barbatos shushed them with a vague hand gesture as he approached Diavolo.

„Which is exactly why we are forced to do this,“ he added to Satan's statement. He pushed his pointer a little too hard for comfort against Diavolo's chest as he invaded his space. „We're doing this for both your and Lucifer's sake, since neither of you seem reasonable enough to put an end to this nonsense. This intervention today is for you, my lord.“

Diavolo stared at him and blinked in confusion. „Oh? And what exactly would this be about? Did I do anything that would warrant an intervention?“

Belphegor, leaning against Beelzebub's shoulder, yawned. „It's about the obvious boner you have for Luci-“ he drawled lazily, yet loud enough for the whole room to hear before Beel quickly slapped his hand over Belphie's mouth.

„Belphie!“

Belphegor pulled his brother's hand away from his mouth. „What, I'm just saying what everyone was thinking.“

Asmodeus grinned as he watched his younger brothers. „I couldn't have said it better myself!“

Mammon smacked the back of Asmo's head. „Oi, stop playing around!“

„Ow! I didn't do anything! You could've ruined my beautiful hair, you could've given me a concussion with that! Do you really want to see your cute baby brother dead so badly, you brute?!“

„Guys, now is not the time. As much as I hate to say it, we're here to help that bastard Lucifer,“ Yuuta chimed in.

Diavolo watched their conversation with cautious eyes. „You all know,“ he said, more of a statement rather than a question.

All eight pairs of eyes went straight back to Diavolo.

Asmo's head snapped back to Barbatos. „He knows?!“ he cried in disbelief.

„Yes, he knows. I caught him and Lucifer, as you would put it, in flagrante.“

„You did what?!“

„Ya caught them doing what?! Didn't think Lord Diavolo had game like that. I mean, to seduce Lucifer of all people, ya gotta have some damn good skills.“

Diavolo raised his hands in defence. „I might not know what you're trying to suggest with 'in flagrante', but I get the feeling that there's a big misunderstanding here. It is true though that I am aware of Lucifer's hanahaki. I was with him when he suddenly collapsed and started to vomit flowers. I was really worried so I carried him to my private chambers and tended to his needs.“

Levi's eyes shot up and he twiddled with the zipper of his hoodie as he approached Lord Diavolo. „I've watched a lot of anime about the hanahaki disease, so I guess you could say I'm somewhat of an expert in that department. So you were with him when it happened? Are you sure about that? I mean you could be making a mistake. Are you 100-  no, are you 1000% positive about that?“ he urged, his words picking up in both pace and volume the more he talked.

Mammon, straddling a chair as he had his arms crossed over the backrest, shook his head. „Whaddaya mean 'are ya sure'? How can ya not be sure of something like that. Ya wanna get popped too, Levi?“

“I'm asking if he was the only one present when it happened, you moron!” Levi now mustered Lord Diavolo more intensely. “No matter what I've read or watched about hanahaki, the person present during most of the attacks generally turned out to most likely be the cause for the disease,” he muttered and leaned a bit closer towards Diavolo. “It doesn't seem too impossible if you really think about it, right?”

Mammon stood up and walked over to his brother, plopping down on the couch next to him, bent over with his forearms resting on his thighs.

“Are ya implying what I think ya are? Lucifer has that damn disease because of Lord Diavolo? It's Lucifer we're talking about! Lucifer! I can't even wrap my head around the idea of him having any lovey dovey feelings for anyone to begin with!”

“Precisely. Which is why this is the only plausible conclusion, right Barbatos?” Satan questioned.

With that, Beel walked over to Diavolo and placed his hands on his shoulders, gently pushing him down onto another chair. “Maybe it's better if you sit down for this.”

Diavolo didn't protest and simply sat down, interlocking his hands as he let his elbows rest on the arm leans, a now thoughtful expression on his face. For a moment, he was quiet before turning around to Barbatos.

“I see your concern,” he started, “but I am not the solution to this problem. I want to help Lucifer just as much as every single one of you do, but even I can't just save him like that.” His eyes darkened considerably as he redirected his gaze to the ground. “No matter how much I want to,” he mumbled, barely audible.

Barbatos crossed his arms as he took in the sorry sight of his sulking lord. A sigh escaped his lips. “You are not listening, my lord. There is quite literally no other person who would come even remotely close to being a possible suspect. I found out about Lucifer's disease even before you did.  It was the night of our return to RAD, right after Lucifer welcomed us back.” As he continued talking he slowly made his way towards Diavolo's chair. “Don't you remember his strange behaviour? The way he had suddenly disappeared?”

“Well-”

“Excuse my rude interruption, but I will fill you in as to what happened. I followed him and caught him as he had a severe hanahaki attack and lost consciousness. I confronted him after he woke up again. Although I will not reveal what exactly it was that Lucifer told me, I can say as much: I was very blunt with him and he did not deny anything I accused him of. Yet also, he once again proved to be incredibly stubborn. I urged him to confess to that person, but he vehemently refused to do so.”

Diavolo sighed as he rubbed his temples. “Him and that stupid pride of his. Why didn't he say anything? If I hadn't caught him that day, I would still be none the wiser now.”

Now Asmodeus chimed in as well. “I also tried to give him advice, but all he did was rudely choke me and then later throw a flower pot after me. Point taken, I did overdo it and teased him a bit too much, but now that I think of it, he didn't correct any of my assumptions either, did he, Yuuta?”

For a moment Yuuta kept quiet as he went back to their conversation in Lucifer's study. “Yeah, he threw you around like a rag doll and yelled at us to mind our own business, but he didn't say anything else. He definitely didn't deny anything.”

Asmodeus sighed as he threw his arms around Yuuta. “And I thought him and Diavolo had already talked it out! Lord Diavolo, after you asked little old me to call Lucifer to distract him I was so certain that everything would be alright and we'd have another power couple at RAD soon! Is romance really dead nowadays?” he sulked and Yuuta petted his head.

“Speaking of,” Satan added, “when I came to talk to him, I saw a peculiar thing. I expected him to be alone but when I opened the door, I walked in on him and Diavolo sleeping together in the same bed. This really doesn't help your case now, does it Diavolo?”

The whole room filled with murmurs.

“Asleep in the same bed?? How dirty! I really didn't take you for the casanova type, Lord Diavolo!”

“Asmo, now is not the-”

Levi quickly sprung up. “I just saw him in the bathroom! For some reason he had punched a hole in the stall wall, which really reminded me of 'My heart keeps racing whenever I look at you but we are childhood friends who are cursed to stay five feet apart from each other so I couldn't possibly love you', which is a-”

Voices kept overlapping until the room was filled with a crescendo of chaos. Diavolo still sat on his chair, troubled, as the demon brothers came up with instance after instance, irrefutable evidence filling his ears bit by bit, instance after instance.

“Jesus fuck, y'all make me want to take up smoking again,” Yuuta muttered as he threw an annoyed gaze at Barbatos. “Was this really a good idea?”

For the shortest of moments Barbatos was wondering the same thing. After all, Lucifer had been this secretive to not get anyone else involved, especially not his brothers.

Then, Barbatos remembered his plan, any former doubt crushed again.

“Do not fret, everything is going according to plan,” he told Yuuta confidently.

As Lucifer's brothers were still talking over each other, Barbatos rounded the chair and faced Diavolo. “My Lord, is this finally enough proof to you?”

Finally, Diavolo lifted his head and faced Barbatos, the expression on his face unreadable. After a short moment he sighed, running his hands over his thighs in an agitated fashion.

“Silence!” his voice suddenly boomed and everyone went quiet. He stood up and started to pace the room. “I know Lucifer does not love me. I have known for a long time,” he growled. There was no use hiding his feelings anymore, after all, they had never been much of a secret to begin with.

“But-” Levi began to butt in, but was quickly shushed by Barbatos.

Diavolo continued. “As I said before, I am aware of the difference between my love for Lucifer and his devotion to me. I respect your brother, which is why I am content with the loyalty he gives me.” He stopped in his tracks and turned around to Lucifer's brothers again. “But I see your concern and I see the points you've made, which is why I will humour you this once. After all, we all have the same goal. We all want to see Lucifer get better.” He clenched his fists. “Still, I am not the culprit you are looking for. Whatever it takes, I will find them and make them take responsibility. Even if it means giving Lucifer away to someone who clearly doesn't deserve him.” Even if it means losing a little part of him, Diavolo added in his thoughts. He unclenched his fists and let out a deep breath. “Leave me alone now, I need to think.”

One after another, the brothers left, stunned by Diavolo's sudden outburst. They could still feel the pressure of Diavolo's undeniable power lingering in the air.

Eventually, everyone except for Barbatos and Diavolo had left. Quietly, Diavolo pulled on Barbatos' sleeve, trying to catch his attention.

“Yes, my lord?”

“How much time do we have left? To sort this out, I mean?” he asked and Barbatos watched him carefully. He hadn't witnessed Lord Diavolo this upset in a long time. Although outwardly, the demon prince still looked rather collected, inwardly, he was clearly upset and worried. For a moment, Barbatos saw the child in him again, saw the boy he used to tend after in an empty, lonely palace, saw a boy eagerly waiting for the return of a father who had left, only to be disappointed over and over again. That boy who used to cover his pain with boisterous laughter and bright expressions was standing before him again, just as he had been back then.

Barbatos smiled sadly. “You have three days at most. I would recommend you talk to him after the celebration as he is quite busy now. Three days are the most I can give you. I have always been one to be frank with you, Lord Diavolo. He will not make it to day four.”

Diavolo let go of Barbatos' sleeve and straightened his posture, a certain sadness in his eyes. “Thank you. I'm glad I can always count on you, Barbatos.”

“Of course, my lord.”

With that, Diavolo left the music room, making his way towards his chambers, lost in thought. Memories of Lucifer flashed through his mind, unwavering and unforgiving.

The first time they met, the undeniable pull he had felt towards him the moment those deep red eyes had focused on only him, a disgusted expression sullying Lucifer's angelic features. He had looked so different back then. Clad in white, baby blue and gold, dark locks framing his face, falling down his back, down his back to where innocent white, magnificent wings were softly swaying with the breeze.

Then there was the time after Lucifer's fall from heaven. Barbatos and him had gathered Lucifer up, had picked up all the angry pieces, offering a deal. It was a deal Lucifer had taken with such fury and passion, a deal Lucifer had made with such pride. Under Lucifer's bitter gaze, Diavolo had known, he was in trouble.

And oh, in how much trouble he was now.

No matter what it would take, no matter how much it would hurt him, Diavolo was fully committed to saving Lucifer. After all, he was his one and only, his perfect morning star.

His Lucifer.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6 , Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9,  Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13

*nsfw chapter

taglist: @el-does-photography

[j-elaine-hyde]

The Bean Chronicles: Part 8

Henry Cavill / Reader / Chris Evans

You were meeting the designer at the house and had actually convinced Henry to come with you. He helped you out of the SUV, which he told the driver to park in the driveway, and scooped you up smiling and laughing. He gave you a kiss as he carried you inside.

That was when you knew he had seen or at a minimum heard about the games Chris was playing. He decided he was sick of hiding, sick of you feeling like the bad guy, and sick of acting like this new dream home wasn’t exciting.

He wanted to change the narrative. He set you on the floor and grabbed your hand, giving it a quick squeeze as the designer rushed up to meet you.

As the two of you started gushing about chesterfields and pieces of art, Henry stood with his arms folded smiling at you. He didn’t care about any of this, only that it made you happy.

“Baby? Don’t you just love this chair? It’s gorgeous. What do you think? Come sit in it!” You wanted to include him, full knowing he couldn’t care less.

He sauntered over and sat in the chair, making a big deal about getting comfortable and liking it, just to make you happy. At least that’s what he thought he was doing, the chair was surprisingly pretty cool, and extremely comfortable.

You stood next to Henry as he sat in the chair, staring at the massive painting on the wall. The designer and you discussed the painting as Henry’s hand caressed your leg, slowly letting it slip higher and higher until it was under your skirt. He grabbed your ass firmly with his hand, giving it a good squeeze before letting his hand trail back down your leg.

After a tour of the entire house, and the absolute approval from you and Henry. Despite his initial ambivalence, the designer was finally done and gave you your keys. You knew the second she left Henry would lunge. He had been pawing at you the entire time.

Henry casually walked back into his office and took a seat at the desk. He imagined sitting there gaming and liked the aesthetic of it. You walked up next to him, placing your hand on his shoulder.

“What do you think hon? Do you like your office? If you hate it, we can completely re-do it.”

Henry glanced up at you and turned in his chair to face you. Placing his palms together he placed them between your legs and spread them. He started running his big strong hands over your legs, massaging them as he went before slowing pulling your panties down to the floor.

You couldn’t stand it any longer and sat on his desk, legs spread, as you balled your skirt in your hands.

“Daddy wants to play... doesn’t he?”

Henry growled and gave you a devilish grin. “Yes he does.”

“Well Princess wants to play too.” You leaned forward, reaching out to massage the growing bulge in his pants.

“No no Princess...” he wagged his finger at you before abruptly pulling you to the edge of the desk by your legs. “You don’t get to touch until Daddy says so.”

He leaned forward and kissed your knee, looking up at you with hungry eyes. He placed another kiss above your knee, less than a foot away from your already soaking core. His perfect lips landed another painfully slow and soft kiss further up your inner thigh. You ran your fingers through his curly locks, your eyes rolling back in your head as his strong finger tips raked down your outer thigh. You knew the ecstasy that was coming. Henry quickly bit the inside of your thigh drawing a small yelp from your mouth.

He quickly stood up, pulling his shirt up over his head, dropping it to the floor revealing his incredible chest. He smiled watching you look at his body. He gently pushed your back against the desk, lifting your legs up from the knees, opening you up to him. Running his hands down the backs of your thighs he took his seat, staring at you like you were the most mouthwatering dessert. He bit the inside of your thigh again before plunging his tongue against you, licking the length of you.

The sound that escaped your lips was purely animalistic. It was a moan of excitement, guttural, raw. His impossibly strong arms locked around your legs as his skillful tongue ravaged you. He hummed a happy tone against your clit, making you jolt.

“Does that make my Princess happy? Because it certainly makes my Princess wet.” His voice was deeper than normal.

“Yes! Daddy!” You replied through heavy breathing. He was edging you and he knew exactly what to do.

He ran one finger along you before slowly plunging it inside of you. Expertly he curled his finger and beckoned your orgasm to explode. Once his mouth joined the conquest, it was over. You came harder than you ever had. With an accomplished grin on his face he pulled you upright.

“Are you going to let Princess play too?” You asked, pouting your lips, breath ragged.

He raised an eyebrow and took a step back. “By all means Princess, Daddy is yours to play with.”

You slid off the desk and onto your knees, your fingers making quick work of undoing and dropping his pants. Your mouth watering as you saw his thick length stand and bounce at attention.

You ran both hands up his shaft, his impressive length and girth never ceasing to amaze you. You gently kissed his perfect cap, swirling your tongue around the edge, before gently wrapping your lips around him. He pet your hair as he watched you. The view from your vantage point should have been made out of marble and kept in a gallery. Every inch of him from head to toe was pure manly rugged perfection.

Having only taken him into your mouth once, he picked you up off of the floor, placing you back on the desk. “I love when you worship me Princess, but I need to be buried inside of you right now.” He leaned down kissing you, grabbing a fistful of hair and craning you’re neck. Exposing it to his lips. A low growl escaped his lips before whispering “I love you.”

His giant hand pressed against your chest as he pushed you back down onto the desk. Leaning over you, he kissed his way down your body. Lightly nipping at your breasts as he continued down your stomach. Standing up and giving you a heart racing smoldering smile he positioned himself between your legs gently running his massive erection up and down your slit before slowly thrusting it inside of you. Inch by inch, filling you entirely.

He increased his pace and force gradually, driving you crazy with each thrust. Your body shaking as your second orgasm built. His hands massaging your breasts as began pounding into you, exploding your orgasm as you clenched around him. He let out a loud moan as you came, quickly grabbing your legs and flipping you over onto your stomach, without pulling out, placing your tip toes on the floor.

Grabbing onto your hips he plowed into you, your fingers grasping aimlessly at the desk, your brain unable to function due to the incredible feeling of your love filling you. He smacked your ass before grabbing it with his hands. He slowed his pace, buried deep inside of you and ran his hands up your back, along your outstretched arms before bringing them back and pinning them behind you. With his new found hold he began slamming into you.

“Daddy wants another one Princess. Cum for me.” He growled. The deep tone of his voice giving you goosebumps.

A few more thrusts, “Yes! Daddy... I’m gonna-“ as his powerful thighs slammed into your yours, he gave you another orgasm, stronger than the last that left your legs trembling. Had you not been laying on the desk you surely would have fallen.

“Fuck Princess!” He smacked your ass again, before his body went rigid. The sounds he made and his shudders let you know he was filling you, buried hilt deep, holding on tightly as every last drop left him.

He ran his hands over your back again, worshipping the curves of your body before leaning down and whispering, “I love you.”

-

You were craddled in his arms, the two of you sitting naked in his office chair, as he stroked your back.

“I think I’m going to love this office....” he smirked.

You laughed and sighed, “Now we just have the rest of the rooms to knock out...”

He laughed deeply, shaking his head. “Don’t worry Princess, we have plenty of time to get to those.”

-

You had just gotten dressed and were walking through the house when you heard Ashley holler ‘hello’.

“In the kitchen!”

She walked in holding up the iPad. “I don’t know how long y’all have been here.... but your happy shining faces walking in together are already the hot topic of conversation. Between your insta posts and being carried inside, you’re trending.”

“That quickly?!” Henry asked.

“Yup!” She sounded just as surprised as him. “So when do we need to start moving things in?”

“Immediately!” You laughed wrapping your arms around Henry.

“Well you have a few meetings we need to get to, but after that we can start coordinating movers.”

“That’ll be an easy move aside from the gym equipment. Almost all of the furniture at my place stays.”

“Perfect.” Ash locked the iPad, the sound perfectly following her statement. “We’ve gotta get on the road girl. The drivers outside.”

“I’ll walk you out. I’m going to run home and start going through stuff.” Henry rubbed your arms and gave you a quick kiss.

-

He had walked you to the car and kissed you passionately before patting your ass as you climbed into the SUV. Before you had even reached your meeting downtown the pictures were already circulating.

You walked into the office, head held high, you weren’t going to let anyone know the negative press was affecting you.

You turned the corner and there stood Chris, standing in the doorway of his agents office, watching you come down the hall.

He stared at you with those sad puppy dog eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

You stopped dead in your tracks when you saw him, your heart jumping into your throat making it hard to breathe.

You stood there staring at him, unsure of what to say or do.

“Can we talk?” He asked, his tone breaking your heart all over again.

You couldn’t formulate words, you slowly shook your head yes, unsure if that was what you even wanted.

He nodded at the office behind him, stepping out of the way to allow you in.

As you walked into the office, looking around, his agent was nowhere to be found. He walked in and closed the door behind him, slowly leaning against it, his head down.

“You seem to be doing well.” His voice barely audible.

You sat down, your knees starting to fail you at hearing his voice.

“I could say the same for you. Seems like you’ve been busy.” Your voice colder than you had intended.

“You know none of them mattered... No one compares to you. Not even close.”

“Chris, don’t.”

“What am I supposed to say Y/n? I’m not over you. I’m still in love with you. It’s killing me to see you moving on and happy with him.”

You ducked your head down hiding your face.

“Please look at me, Y/n.”

You took a deep breath, sat up straight, and glared at him. It took every ounce of strength to look him in the face without breaking down in tears.

“Can you honestly tell me you don’t have any feelings for me anymore?” His voice trembling.

You bit your lip, “Not the kind of feelings you’re looking for...”

He slumped down against the door, “That’s fair I guess.”

He shook his head, staring at the floor. “I don’t know how we got here. This isn’t how I wanted this to go.”

You clenched your jaw, “Do you think this is how I wanted any of this to go?! Have you thought for one second how this has been for me?! Do you know what I’ve gone through?! Do you even care?!”

“Of course I do!” He shouted, staring at you with tears welling up in his eyes.

“Well you have a funny way of showing it Christopher! Instead of respecting what happened and giving me time to process everything and recover, you sent me my belongings and started publicly sleeping around!”

“What was I supposed to do?!” He yelled. “You shacked up with Cavill and left me to deal with everything on my own! You left me.”

The fire was building, scorching your throat, “Let’s think about how I found out we lost the baby for a second. You shouted it at me! I had no clue what happened, and simply asked if the other person you pushed down the stairs, your best friend by the way, was ok, trying to figure out what happened and THATS how you chose to tell me I had lost my baby!”

The tears were streaming down your face.

“I’ll never forgive myself for any of it. I’m so sorry. I was so devastated... and all you wanted was him. I was hurt. I wasn’t thinking. I know that doesn’t excuse any of it... I can’t take it back, and I wish I could, I’m so sorry.”

Your body was shaking, jolting with every harsh inhilation.

“There isn’t a day that goes by I don’t regret every minute of it. I’ll never forgive myself, and I don’t expect you to either. But I hoped that I would’ve been the one you turned to. It killed me when you chose him. He doesn’t deserve you.”

“And you do?!” You screamed at him through the tears.

“No.”

You sat there staring at him, shaking from the rage you felt as the heartbreak coursed through you.

“Henry didn’t kill our baby, your actions did. And you shouted the most devastating news of my life at me before leaving me at the hospital. He was there. He stayed with me, he took care of me. Not you.”

“I know.”

“Then act like it!” You stood up and stepped forward waiting for him to move out of the way. “You obliterated my heart that day, and any feelings I had for you. Henry was the one who stayed to pick up the pieces.”

“I’m sorry.” He couldn’t look at you.

“You should be!”

“I know I don’t deserve you, but I still love you.” He was pleading with you.

He lunged forward grabbing your face in his hands as he kissed you. For a split second you remembered how amazing kissing him was and how electric it felt. But today it felt like a shock from an electric fence.

You pushed away from him, slapping him across the face as hard as you could. Your hand stinging, his face red.

“Fuck you!” You slammed the door into him as you ran out of the office. You ran to the street trying to find your car when you were surrounded by paparazzi. Your face tear stained, hyperventilating, and frantic. Ashley rushed out behind you, fighting to get through the crowd to pull you further down the street to the car. As you were climbing into the safety of the waiting SUV, Chris ran out after you shouting your name. The media frenzy went wild as you pulled away.

Ashley stared at you completely confused what was happening. “Wha-“

“He ambushed me! Take me home. I just wanna go home.”

Moments later while stuck in LA traffic your phone started ringing. It was Henry. You shook your head and curled up against the window.

“Ohhhh nooo....” Ashley sighed. “It’s everywhere. All of it. Everything.”

You slowly turned to face her, “What is?”

“Everything. Chris must have had a meltdown to the paps. It’s all here.”

Your eyes got wide as your voice got stuck in your throat. “Take me to the airport.”

Ashley looked at you panicked and confused, “What?!”

“I have to get out of LA. Now. Go to the airport.”

[felix-eternal-sunshine-fanfic]

You can be my Fiona, I'll be your Shrek - a Changbin, Shrek Fanfiction

This is the final part! previous part: -here-

- no romance, no smut

In Shrek’s world:

‘Guys… something is definitely wrong with Alice’, Changbin began. ‘She’s-‘, he tried to continue, but Alice disappeared in front of him. ‘Where did she go?’ Donkey asked. ‘I don’t know….’ They heard a voice, suddenly. ‘I’m here now, finally. You shall visit me and meet your fate.’ ‘Is that Alice? Meet our fate?’ Changbin couldn’t figure out what was happening. ‘The voice is coming from the dimension-cut’, Shrek noticed. ‘I don’t think we’ve got any other choice than going…’ Changbin said and approached the glowing cut. ‘But isn’t it gonna turn us to dust?’ Donkey was worried. ‘It is save to pass now, trust me and don’t make me wait.’ The voice could be heard again. ‘We have to trust her’, Shrek said. Changbin touched the dimension-cut. His arm did not disintegrate, it just went into the cut. ‘Let’s go then’, Shrek said. They all went through the cut. On the other side was a wide space, filled with white light. There was a pedestal with a throne on it. ‘You’ve come. You’re here now and you will probably never leave again.’ The voice came from a tall figure, dressed in white with a lot of golden jewellery. They carried a long, slender sword and had golden shoulder plates. The dress that they were wearing was long, white and flowy. The face looked like Alice and their hair was long and black, as Alice’s once was. Those were the only factors that reminded of Alice though. ‘W-Who are you?’ Changbin asked confused. ‘You know it and yet you don’t’, answered the figure. Their voice was strong and echoing. ‘Are you Alice?’ Shrek asked. ‘No. Alice was merely a form I had taken. I was once called “Lux aeterna”₃₂ Eternal Light, by those who could once perceive me. That was a long time ago and those have vanished. You shall call me “Finis“ which could translate to “end”.’ ‘What? What are you?’ Changbin asked. ‘I’m nothing in particular, I’m not a human, but I don’t know if I could be called a god. But that is not of importance. You surely want to know what your fate is. I shall explain it, but let me talk about the origins first’, Finis began. Then they continued and told their story, ‘I used to be not alone. My sibling used to be here… but one day they disappeared. I was alone. I searched for a place to belong since then. I must admit, my methods were questionable. You might have guessed by now, but I used to trap people in the dimensions I watched over. I trapped them there and appeared in human form and approached them. I had to notice that none of them were right, so I left them trapped in the dimensions. I couldn’t have brought them back, even if I wanted to. I do not possess the power to bring them back on my own. Luckily, a few of my experiments didn’t end like that. There were people who could return to their own worlds. But enough talk for now’, after they were finished explaining they took out a second sword and said, ‘This is for you Changbin. We shall duel. If you win, I’ll try to send you back to your dimension. If I win however, you will stay with me here forever.’ Changbin went closer to Finis. He could now see a lot of details a lot clearer. Their nails were long and there was a ring on every finger. The rings were connected with chains. The most interesting thing was the belt: It was gold and there was a small clock and a small mirror hanging of it. Changbin now took the sword and said, ‘I’ve never fought with a sword before. And I’m not sure I agree to this.’ ‘You don’t have a choice. Now, I will not use my powers, this will be a battle with swords alone. Let us begin’, they answered. ‘I guess I really have no choice’, Changbin thought and hold onto his sword tightly. Finis stepped down from the pedestal and positioned themselves. ‘Shrek shall count down from 5. Our fight starts as soon as he says start “go”. The winner is, who can “checkmate” the opponent first. Start counting down now, Shrek’, they explained. ‘Well, seems like I am not forgotten after all. Good luck, Changbin’, Shrek said and started counting down. ‘5…4…3…2…1…Go!’ Finis dashed towards Changbin, who was barely able to dodge that attack. He raised

his sword and swung it at them. They dodged elegantly and said, ‘Fool! You refuse to use the power that you have!’ Changbin was confused and just thrusted his sword forward at them. They parried the attack easily and went, with full force, towards Changbin.

In the real world:

Felix woke up in a cold sweat. He had dreamed something horrible: The death of Changbin. Felix quickly went to the bathroom and threw up. Jeonghan woke up from the noises and checked on him, ‘Hey, are you alright there? Did something happen?’ Felix was done throwing up and washed his face, then he answered, ‘I had a horrible dream…’ ‘What was it about?’ ‘Changbin…. He was dead… pierced by a bunch of swords’, Felix was feeling sick again. ‘It’s alright Felix, everything’s alright’, Jeonghan went and calmed him down. He hugged him. ‘I’m lying… nothing is alright. This is a bad sign. He might be dead already, since Felix and he are closely connected through the dreams’, Jeonghan thought. ‘But here me out, go back to sleep or at least try to’, he advised him. Felix went to bed again and tried to sleep. He fell asleep surprisingly fast. Jeonghan stayed up and watched over him, just in case.

Felix’s dream:

‘Help me, please!’ Changbin’s voice pleaded. ‘How? What’s happening?’ ‘I’m losing a fight that’s deciding my fate. We’ll never see each other again if I lose.’ ‘A fight? How can I help you win a fight?’ ‘Just tell me that you believe in me. Just tell me that you’ll invite me with open arms once this is all over…’ ‘I believe in you. You’ve overcome so much already: Alone and with the rest of us. You will overcome this too. I’ll give you the biggest, nicest and warmest hug once you’re back!’ Felix cheered him on. ‘Thanks a lot, that really helps. If it weren’t for you, I would have given up long ago’, Changbin answered.

In Finis’s domain:

Changbin was lying. ‘I guess this means I won’, Finis said. ‘No…’ Changbin said. He was getting up again. ‘Oh, seems like this battle is not over yet. I hope you learned your lesson and use the skills that are given to you’, they said and raised their sword. They then turned to Shrek and demanded, ‘Count down one more time.’ So the battle started anew. Changbin could feel a new power inside him. He blocked Finis’s attack and followed up with a smooth sword swing. ‘You’ve improved’, they said and smiled a bit. The attack missed, unfortunately and Changbin held onto his sword with a firm grasp. ‘I won’t lose, you know’, he said. I know this is a very important fight right here but hold your horses. I, as the narrator, need to get some descriptive work done. I gotta earn money too, ya know. Surprisingly, Changbin was not in his Dwaekki form anymore. Finis had probably turned him to normal again, once he entered their domain. Why did they do that and why would they turn him into Dwaekki in the first place? I don’t know man, I’m just the narrator. Anyways, Changbin had gained a lot of power and he was in his human form again, so he could actually put up a decent fight!

They fought a bit, but no one seemed to be winning. Finis didn’t get exhausted of course, but Changbin did. ‘It can’t keep going like this. I have to put an end to this’, Changbin eventually thought. He threw his sword away. ‘Seems like you’ve lost your mind. Or are you just getting a little too confident?’ Finis asked. Changbin had to concentrate now, awaken his true power or something. He could hear Felix’s words in his head: ‘I believe in you’ ‘You can overcome this too’ ‘I’ll give you the biggest, nicest and warmest hugs once your back!’ Finis approached Changbin. ‘Do you intend to get up?’ They asked. Changbin was on his knees. He looked up at Finis and smiled. ‘I’m not alone, you know…’ Changbin answered. A warm glow surrounded him and faint freckles appeared on his cheeks. ‘So, you are capable of awakening a stronger power…’ Finis noted. They raised their sword and continued, ‘I will not go easy on you.’ They spread their wings and flew a bit of the ground. To his own surprise, Changbin grew shiny white angel wings too. He picked his sword up and took off. ‘This isn’t your weapon of choice, is it?’ Changbin could hear Felix’s voice in his head. As soon as he looked at his sword, it turned into a long, elegantly curved bow. ‘Just for your info: You won’t even need arrows for it!’ Felix communicated to him. ‘Come at me then!’ Finis yelled and flew towards Changbin, ready to win this right away. Changbin could dodge with ease now. He shot an arrow from a distance. The arrow was made of pure light and sparkles, it seemed. ‘Very fitting for Felix’, Changbin thought and smirked a bit. Finis was surprised, but they could fend the arrow of with their sword. Changbin didn’t hesitate any longer: He sent multiple arrows Finis’s way. Finis dodged and prepared themselves for a counterattack. ‘If I let them attack, I’m at a serious disadvantage! I’ll lose in close combat’, Changbin concluded and flew in circles around Finis. It was a bit nauseating, but Changbin had to deal with it, if he wanted to win. He shot arrows all around Finis now. ‘Dodge this!’, he yelled. Finis just flew higher and angrily threw their sword at Changbin. He wasn’t prepared for that, so he couldn’t dodge. The sword pierced one of his wings. Changbin didn’t feel the pain, but someone else did. ‘Argh!’ Felix let out a sharp cry. Changbin’s eyes widened. ‘Felix?’ He asked. ‘They’re more parts of me, than of you… So, it seems to hurt me instead of you. But I’m fine, trust me’ Felix let him know, still sounding a bit in pain. Changbin lost his temper. Finis was already approaching him, ready to put an end to this, when he screamed. Finis held on with a disgusted look on their face. Changbin clenched his fist and whispered, ‘No more. I won’t let you hurt Felix any further.’ He gathered all power he had left to him and shot a beaming ray of light at them. This knocked Finis unconscious, but Changbin fainted shortly after.

Shrek looked at Donkey and asked, ‘Well, who won?’ ‘I’d say Changbin’, Donkey answered. ‘Yeah, he knocked out Finis and fainted second anyway.’ They laid both Changbin and Finis in a more comfortable position, checked if they were injured and waited for them to wake up. ‘Ugh… what happened?’ Changbin’s head hurt terribly. ‘Your finally awake. You were trying to cross the border- Just kidding. You won, at least that’s what we think’, Shrek explained. ‘Wait, how do you know that meme… Anyways, Finis isn’t awake yet, are they?’ ‘Nah. Still unconscious, you knocked them out real hard.’ Changbin got up slowly. He was shaky on his legs. ‘I’m exhausted, I really wanna get over with this and go home’, he said and went over to Finis. ‘Wake up, I don’t have all day.’ Changbin flicked them against the forehead. ‘Huh?’ Finis awoke. ‘Ya lost by the way’, Changbin said and grinned. Finis was wide awake now. ‘I lost? Is that even possible?’ ‘Apparently it is. Now, fulfil your promise’, Changbin said, a little impatiently. ‘It appears I have lost. I will do my best to keep my promise’, Finis said and got up. ‘Like I mentioned: Some people were able to return to their home worlds. This is possible if they have a power like yours. In order for you to return to your home, the other side needs to help too.’ ‘The other side? Like Felix or something? What do they need to do?’ ‘They simply need to conduct a ritual at the time when we conduct one here. This needs to be perfectly timed and then a portal will open.’ ‘Well, tell me what kind of ritual it needs to be and I’ll communicate that all to Felix right away.’ ‘There is no specific right way. I hope they figured out something on their end.’

In Felix’s dream:

‘This is the final act if you will. We really shouldn’t mess this up, Felix’, Changbin said, dead serious. ‘I’m really not used to hearing you like that. But just know, I’ll give it all I’ve got! Just tell me what to do’, Felix answered. ‘Well, it’s a bit vague unfortunately. You need to conduct a ritual at the same time as us. We just don’t know what kind of ritual.’ ‘Well, we’ve been doing some rituals. None of them have been successful though.’ ‘They can’t succeed if we right here are not helping. It just needs to be timed perfectly.’ ‘Time moves differently though. That’s what Finis told me at least. We have to calculate it accordingly.’₃₂ ‘Thirteen days have passed here since you went missing.’ ‘Well, it’s been eight days for me.’ ‘Well, that’s almost a half. But just almost’, Felix was confused. ‘Wait a second… Finis has control over the dimensions, kind of at least. What if they can control time too? Or at least how fast time moves in each dimension?’ ‘You’re just guessing, aren’t you? Do you actually have proof that they can do it?’ ‘They wear a watch and a mirror on their belt. That’s why it seemed to make sense.’ ‘Hmm. Yeah, let’s trust that they are indeed that powerful. We are ready to conduct a ritual at 5 pm today. That’s two hours from now, so why don’t we conduct it at exactly 5 pm my time?’ Felix suggested. ‘Yeah, let’s do that!’

Changbin awoke. ‘Well, what’s the plan?’ Shrek asked. ‘They’re gonna conduct the ritual at 5 pm their time. We’ve got a problem though: Time moves differently in the different dimension. What are we gonna do about that?’ Changbin explained. ‘You knew it already, didn’t you? I can control the pace at which time moves here’, Finis said. ‘I honestly hoped you could.’ ‘I will match our time here with their time as soon as we are ready’, Finis explained. ‘Well then. What do we need to do? ‘It’s simple. You’ll lie down. Shrek, Donkey and I will stand around you. There’s a chant we need to do, I’ll tell that to Donkey and Shrek, you don’t need to do it. You just need to lie down and cultivate nice thoughts, like thinking about your home and friends. I’ll use my powers and if we did everything right, a portal will appear.’ ‘Alright then tell ‘em the chant and let them practice. We still have some time, right?’ ‘Yes.’ Changbin sat down and rested a bit, while Donkey and Shrek practiced the chant. Finis joined Changbin, ‘I’m sick of living like this. You’re the last person I’ll ever endanger like that’, they confessed. ‘I’m glad about it. I hope you find a way to not be lonely and not harm anyone at the same time, ya know. I’m not mad at you. You’re like a god, so your motives are difficult to grasp. It’s just a pity for everyone you couldn’t save, they’re dead now, aren’t they?’ ‘Yes. That was in the 18thand 19th Century, your time. They’re long dead now. And I will always carry the weight of being responsible for their deaths. But the time doesn’t stop. We must conduct the ritual now, so I can adjust the time without too much haste.’ This was the final moment. Everything relied on this. Finis held onto the little watch on their belt and concentrated. Donkey, Shrek and Changbin didn’t notice it, but the time changed to 4:55 PM. Finis ordered everyone to go to their places and she started the ritual. Changbin laid down and closed his eyes. He thought of Felix, Lino, Chan, Han, Seungmin, Hyunjin and Jeongin. He thought of the messy, but lovable dorm. He thought of many nice memories they shared with each other. He also thought of Stay, of crowds screaming his and his members names and of them showing their appreciation in so many wonderful ways: Fanart, little projects, all the posts and the praising. Changbin smiled. He couldn’t wait to get home and he couldn’t wait to perform for Stay at the upcoming concert. Finis had to concentrate and focus on their power. They would never forgive themselves if they messed this up. Donkey, Shrek and Finis chanted in unity and Finis gestured seemingly randomly. They went on like that for a few minutes before Finis suddenly opened their eyes and yelled something.

₃₂Author’s note: This is going to be interesting. I must go through the whole story and count the days that passed in the real world and in Shrek’s world. Then I have to construct a pattern around it. I have to construct a pattern around something I did pretty randomly…

In the real world:

Felix had told Jeonghan and Chan about what Changbin said to him. They had been preparing the ritual ever since then: making the ice cream, going through everything, researching some details etc. The rest of Stray Kids had noticed that of course. ‘Can you tell me what you’ve been doing?’ Han asked, visibly confused. ‘Yeah, I mean you’re allowed to do whatever you want of course, but it does interest me’, added Seungmin. ‘Well, it’s difficult to explain and I doubt you’d believe me’, Felix began. ‘Come on! Don’t start like that again. We’re family. I trusted you, so they should too’, Chan said and smiled. ‘Let me explain. Changbin has been missing, as you know. We found out that he is actual trapped in a different dimension, so we are doing our best to get him out of there. The preparations we have been doing are for the final ritual, which will be conducted at 5 pm. If we succeed, he will be here with us again’, Jeonghan said. Hyunjin, Jeongin and Minho had joined in and listened to what Jeonghan explained. ‘Wow… That sounds dumb’, Minho said. ‘I mean… it could be true?’ Han argued. ‘Chan-Hyung believes ‘em. So I’m gonna believe Jeonghan and Felix too’, Jeongin said. ‘Besides, Felix would never lie to us about something like that. I’m definitely going to believe him’, Seungmin said and smiled. ‘I’m gonna do what Minho does’, Han said. Minho sighed and said, ‘Stop. I don’t really care to be honest. Conduct your ritual if you want to.’ Hyunjin just shrugged and said, ‘Same here. I don’t really mind you doing stuff like that.’ ‘See? No one thinks your dumb or something. Of course not, you’re really too self-conscious sometimes’, Chan told Felix. ‘You’re probably right. So, everyone who wants to participate in the ritual can just turn to Jeonghan. He’ll explain everything you need to know’, Felix explained.

The preparation time went by. It was 4:50 pm now and Jeonghan, Chan, Felix, Seungmin and Jeongin were doing the final steps before the actual ritual: Ensuring the ice cream was nice and that they knew exactly what to do. Then the time came: Everyone was following Jeonghan’s instructions. Felix laid down on the floor, holding a bowl of ice cream. Everyone else kneeled around him. They all had a spoon, except Jeonghan, he had two. ‘My hands are getting kinda cold’, Felix said. ‘You don’t need to hold it for too long’, Jeonghan said. Everyone started scooping some ice cream on their spoons. Felix just closed his eyes and opened his mouth slightly. Jeonghan whispered something and they all ate some of the ice cream. Jeonghan had the extra spoon for Felix and fed him shortly after the rest had taken a bite simultaneously. The ritual was concluded, and everyone waited. Did they do it?

In Finis’s domain:

‘We- We did it!’ Donkey exclaimed after a while. Changbin sat up and Shrek opened his eyes. ‘Indeed’, Finis said. Changbin stood up and turned around. And there it was: It looked like the dimension-cut they used to get here, except it was blue. ‘That is the portal. You can return to your home world now. You will appear exactly where you disappeared’, Finis explained. ‘So, this is the goodbye, huh?’ Changbin said. He was feeling kind of sad. He had fun, despite everything. ‘Yeah’, Shrek said. ‘I’m thankful. I’m thankful towards you, Shrek. You supported me from the start, and I don’t think that they are words to truly express my gratitude. You, Donkey, lifted the mood every time we got a little sad or discouraged. I don’t know what we would have done without you. And finally, Finis or Alice, as I still would like to call you. You were full of surprises, but we couldn’t have done it without you. I’m not mad at you, you learned a life lesson through all of this, so I guess it was worth it’, Changbin said to them. He walked towards the portal. ‘I’ll miss you’, he continued, ‘Goodbye, I wish you all the best.’ Changbin walked through the portal.

In the real world:

Felix, Jeonghan, Chan, Seungmin and Jeongin stayed exactly where they are and hoped. ‘Did it not work? Did we fail?’ Felix thought. Nothing had happened. Jeonghan sighed, got up and said, ‘Well, not all hope is lost. I suggest you sleep and see if Changbin is trying to communicate with you, Felix.’ ‘Alright’, Felix said sadly. He got up and went to his room. He went to bed and fell asleep.

At the same time, Changbin appeared in the studio. Luckily, no one was there. It would have been very hard to explain. Changbin went to the door and opened it. The sun was slowly setting, but there were still a few people around. He looked for his jacket, but Chan and Han had obviously taken it home. He decided to just go to the dorm.

Jeonghan was still in the kitchen when he heard the doorbell ring. ‘Maybe I was right?’ He thought. He went to open the door. In front of him stood Changbin himself, looking a little rough: scratches, messy hair and eyebags. ‘You must be Changbin’, Jeonghan said, grinning. ‘Uh… Yeah. Have I seen you before? Why are you at our dorm anyways?’ ‘Huh… has Felix never told you about me? I’m Jeonghan, the psychic who has been helping him.’ ‘Now that you say it… he might have mentioned you.’ ‘It doesn’t really matter. Come in, there’s a bunch of people who missed you.’ Changbin went into the dorm. He was immediately greeted by Chan, Seungmin and Jeongin, who ran to the door as soon as the doorbell rang. All of them hugged Changbin. ‘I really missed you. I was worried I’d never see you again’, Chan said. ‘Man, I rarely see you like this’, Changbin joked. ‘Well, I’ll tell the rest and wake Felix up’, Jeonghan said. ‘Felix?’ Changbin asked and gently escaped from the hugs. ‘Yeah, he has been sleeping, trying to communicate with you’, Jeonghan explained. He left and Changbin went with him. They went to Han, Hyunjin and Minho first. ‘Guess who’s back?’ Jeonghan asked. Minho looked up from his phone and glared, then his eyes widened when he spotted Changbin. ‘Huh, guess you decided to come back. Neat, there’s a lot of dishes you need to wash’, Minho then said. Hyunjin and Han just looked at each other, shrugged and Hyunjin said, ‘Welcome back, I guess’, and Han added, ‘Disappearing before a concert, man… Glad you’re back though.’ Changbin answered, ‘I’m glad I’m back too.’ Jeonghan said, ‘Next is Felix. Go to look for him alone.’ Changbin nodded and went to Felix’s room. He knocked on the door. No one answered, so he opened it. ‘Felix?’ Changbin asked and went into the room. Felix was sleeping peacefully. Changbin was as quiet as possible and sat on Felix’s bed. ‘Hey, I’m back’, he said softly. Felix opened his eyes and asked, ‘Is this a dream?’ ‘No. It’s real. We did it, so now I’m back.’ Felix sat up and hugged Changbin. Changbin could feel a few bandages on Felix’s back, but that wasn’t important. It was indeed the biggest, warmest, and nicest hug Changbin had ever experienced.

The End

I had a lot of fun writing this, even tho it was kind of challenging sometimes. i'm always open towards criticism, so if there's anything on your mind, just tell me.

[razorblade180]

Twin Snowflakes pt19: Skill, Sickness, and Skirts

Four hours into the day and no incident at school. So far so good, Summer thought to herself. It was pretty weird to be at school knowing Nick wasn’t around. The two never really saw much of each other anyways, but it was weird nonetheless. Summer sat quietly in the nurse's office with papers on her lap and a text book in her hand; the typical set up. Classroom temperatures and an abundance of not so nice peers made for a very dreadful school environment most days. It wasn’t all bad. Quiet time for most of the day was nice. Nobody or no one to bug her. Until the door swung open and Veronica disrupted the vibe.

“Yo Princess.” The girl said in a good mood. Veronica actually didn’t sound insufferable right from the jump. That nickname was still annoying though. “Do I have to pay you to use my name regularly?”

“I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, I don’t care about your money. It will never influence me. Eliza said I might find you in here. I thought she was joking but I should’ve known this is totally a thing you’d do.” Veronica looked around the sterile environment, devoid of anything interesting. “I’m supposed to be nice to you, but it’s shit like this that brings my opinion of you crashing down.”

“Whatever.” Summer groaned, rolling her eyes. “It’s not like it was high to begin with. Why are you even in here?”

Veronica took a seat on the bed next to her. She reached for one of those sticks nurses pressed down on people’s tongue and started scratching her nails along the edges. “For you obviously. I gotta be around a student council member and Eliza is taking a test. PE is your next class isn’t it?” The stick finally snapped from the friction. “Might as well try and be active and see the school. Being in one room all day is boring.”

Summer didn’t like anything she just heard. The worst class with Veronica? Why was life this cruel. She was a good girl, yet a trail came day after day to test her. “Umm you should rethink that. Valerie is in my class.Plus it can get annoyingly loud.” A cheap deterrent but Summer had to try something.

Veronica shrugged. “So? I’ll just stay away from that jock. Also I’m no stranger to crowds and microphones. That’s my life too, remember? I know how to adjust accordingly.

Summer frowned as she gathered her papers. “But-” Veronica put a finger over her lips to silence her. The girl slowly removed said finger and started putting Summer’s stuff away.

“We can make this suck, or we can make it tolerable. Let’s just both try not to step on each other’s toes and get through 90 minutes together, fair?” Veronica put Summer’s thing over the petite girl’s shoulder then got her on her feet. The slightly forceful push out the door made Summer yelp? “Why are we leaving now!?”

“Because I can phase us through the locker room door and get us changed before anybody shows up.”

“W...wait, you care about things like that? But you’re so….” Summer leaned further back to press against Veronica’s boobs. “Filled out.”

Veronica hit the girl on the head. Summer couldn’t help but notice the slight blush that appeared. “Don’t be so dense.” Veronica protested. “Just because I’m hot doesn’t mean I like stripping down to my underwear in front of others. And honestly, what’s with everyone and tits!?” She ranted, clearly passionate about the subject. “Nothing is fun about back pain. I also don’t need a bunch of entitled snobs staring at my ears and tails like I’m an exotic zoo animal. Changing early avoids most of that.”

“You eventually have to change again though.”

“I don’t have any classes so I’m not in a rush. I’ll just wait for everyone to leave or change someplace else.” Veronica looked at Summer annoyed. “Can you start actually walking or am I going to have to keep pushing?” Summer leaned forward and out of the way. She wasn’t expecting Veronica to hate changing almost as much as herself. They really did share a similar annoyance towards school. For different reasons of course. Kids looked at her scars and snickered. If Veronica felt like a zoo animal, then Summer felt like a freak show at a circus. That’s what those stares felt like anyways. Summer took Veronica by the hand and sped up.

Veronica jolted. Being grabbed like that was a pet peeve.“Hey! What’s with the pulling!?” Summer looked back at her and stuck her tongue out. “Don’t be pushy if you can’t take it. We’re gonna take a shortcut. It’s not like you really know where you’re going anyways.” Veronica mumbled under her breath. Admittedly she had this coming. Veronica had no choice but to listen.

xxxx

Back at home, Weiss was having her own set of problems in the form of her overzealous son. She had just walked in on him out of bed and reaching for his sword. Granted, he was looking leagues better than he was this morning, but that’s what medicine does! It didn’t mean he was actually better! Weiss put down the tray holding his lunch and medicine. “Am I going to have to get the black wig?” She crossed her arms and gave him the infamous mom look.

Nick gulped. Bleiss wasn’t a person to bargain with. “Let’s not be hasty hehehe.” His nervous laughter made his voice crack slightly. “I’m feeling so much better and staying in bed all day is boring, so I thought some light training…”

“That’s partly why you’re sick!” His mother exclaimed. “Your body needs proper rest.” Nick pumped his fist in the air and boasts, “My body has rested! I’m an Arc after all.”

Weiss remained unconvinced, giving him a look of judgement. Nick let out a defeated sigh. “Come on mom, I have to do something. I feel like I’m right at the cusp of a breakthrough. King of the Hill is mine this year, I can feel it.” Nick looked at his hands with excitement and frustration. He wiggled each finger before clenching his fist. “I just need to push a little more. Somehow.” He looked at his mother who was still judging him.

Weiss could tell he wasn’t bluffing, and neither was that video from the physical exam. What Nick did was beyond impressive and exceeded what she was doing at his age. It was also rocky as hell. There were multiple areas in his fighting style that needed severe ironing out. “It’s moments like these I think karma is playing with me. Winter had a difficult time reeling me in whenever I wanted to train too.” Weiss laughed a little, remembering those simpler times. They weren’t all fun and games but she cherished them wholeheartedly. “If you’re going to train then I’m going to be overseeing it and you’ll follow my rules.”

Nick’s eyes lit up like fireworks. “Seriously, the two of us!? Aren’t you busy?” Weiss shook her head. “I’m here taking care of you aren’t I? If we’re doing this then you should know swordplay isn’t the focus. You sir need to pay more attention to glyphs.” She pointed at him in shock. “I can’t have a son of mine slack off in a technique that’s built into his very DNA.”

It stung a bit to hear that but that’s because she wasn’t wrong. Nick knew compared to everyone else his glyphs were lackluster, especially to Summer. Her combinations and skill made him think she was constantly going through dust ratios in her head like an encyclopedia. “Well then, that took the wind out of my sails.” He slumped over.

“Practice makes perfect. Meet me in the garden in half an hour. Eat and take your meds before then.Also wear something warm.” Weiss said as she left.

“Yes ma’am.” Nicholas flopped onto his bed. At least it was better than doing nothing at all.

Thirty minutes went by in no time at all. Nicholas approached his mother wearing warmer clothes than his pajamas. He had chosen to wear some sleeping thermals over lounging sweatpants while his upper body was warmed by a thick gray hoodie. Normally the cold wasn’t a problem, but being sick made things a little harsher. The two stood on one of the four walkways that made the giant square garden. In the middle was a decently sized hedge maze that was surrounded by tea tables and various kinds of foliage. Apparently this was his grandmother’s favorite spot. Tea wasn’t her beverage of choice though. If it was then maybe she wouldn’t have drunken herself to an early grave.

Nick shook away the depressing thoughts. Weiss was doing the same by the way she briefly zoned out until Nick moved. He clapped his hands together. “So, what’s on the agenda?”

“Your video tells a lot about you. Constructing swords is a skill you don’t need to work on. It’s clear you got that down.”

Nick smiled proudly. “I didn’t get the nickname Gilgamesh for nothing.”

“That name also tells everyone just how bad you are at long distance and anything that isn’t directly connected to swordplay.” Weiss pointed out.

His smile turned sheepish, the pride snuffed out. “So I’m guessing that’s today’s lesson?”

“You’re half right.” Weiss grabbed his blade, Mort Froide, and placed it in his left hand. She was lucky her son was ambidextrous. His passion for dual wielding was to thank for that. She positioned his left foot forward and his right foot back; adding a slight bend to his left leg. “We’re going to put your body in positions that are normally opposite to what you’re used to. Do you know why?”

“Versatility? That way I can do sword and semblance skills with either hand?”

“Not only that, but to strengthen them and let you feel the difference in performance. Naturally you’re right handed, which means casting glyphs and swordplay is inherently going to be better on that side. Casting glyphs for you usually involves your left. It’s made it well trained, but it also means you’re rarely performing them as strong as you could be. Make a wall with your right and then with your left.”

Nick extended his middle and pointer finger while flicking his wrist up. A generic glyph formed in front of them in a second that was wide enough to cover both of them. He switched to his left to try the same. The delay was about a second longer and half of Weiss’s body was exposed. Not only that, the glyph looked slightly dimmer. He had never noticed the difference.

“Woah….who knew?”

“Your sister.” Weiss jabbed at him. “Not only is the size and speed different, but I guarantee that right handed casting can take and deal more damage. A helpful tip for Valerie. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a subconscious amount of effort and aura going more into the left one too, but you’ve done it for so long that I doubt the difference is hindering you. Just something to keep in mind.”

Weiss pulled out Myrtenaster and slipped in lightning dust. “Our swords, like any other weapon, are conduits for our aura. Using our semblance with them is second nature and having both hands to perform glyphs by having them on the sword provides more power behind it. It’s not always viable unfortunately.”

“I know. Making the quantity and quality of swords around me helps when I do the stance you taught me. The one where you kneel and stab into the ground.” He twirled his sword once before taking a knee, piercing the ground as a demonstration. “I have the fundamentals understood. It’s the concentration I’m lacking I guess.”

Weiss agreed. “Believe me, it’s challenging. You can get to the level of focus, but you take too long to reach that point. Which brings us back to our lesson today. She handed him vials of lightning and fire dust. “You’re going to practice a practical technique, and an impractical one. The first one is time dilation.” Weiss could see her son’s face turn to despair, making her laugh. “Haha don’t worry, I’ll help you through it.”

“Mom we’ve been down this road before. It ended with me constantly getting shocked. I didn’t even pull it off.”

Weiss remembered that day. Nick couldn’t touch anything with static cling for hours. “Hey you’re a little older now. Asking that much of you was definitely on me. If you can learn to use it, then your swordplay automatically becomes better. Quick attacks are already your forte. Having this without Summer’s help will elevate you. Especially if you’re dual wielding.”

Nick couldn’t deny any of that. Time dilation was a move that would be perfect. Too bad he sucked! It was one of the few things he had no progress in. It was essentially the beginning of deep diving of advanced glyphs. “What’s the second lesson?”

Weiss pointed to the maze. “The infamous candle test!” She said b like an announcer almost.

It was one rough reveal after another. “No! I’m going to burn everything!” Nick wasn’t being a defeatist, but realistic.

The candle test was the epitome of a fire hazard. It was a difficult way of working on control and concentration to an obsessive degree. The objective was to light the candles set up on the inside of the maze as fast as possible by using their semblance. At novice level, a person goes through the maze lighting them one by one. That way control was the main focus. A step above that is to stand in the center and send tiny embers to each candle. That requires more concentration on directing the fire while controlling the output from the very start. A level beyond that was to do it from the balcony. That way you can see all the candles, but now you have wind to worry about. The flames needed to be strong enough to reach the candle while being perfectly on course so plants burn. Finally, there was lighting all the candles from the ground level from the outside of the maze. Nick could only get through the first two levels. Summer does the fourth option for fun…

“Mom, there’s no way you’re expecting me to do option four well, right?” He cautioned. “You’ll be putting out a lot of fires.”

“That’s fine. That’s what practice is all about. Repetition will make it easier because I’ll keep the candles in the same area I always do. Even if you get marginally better at this, then you’ve progressed more than you will realize.” Weiss rested her hand on Nick's shoulder. It was relieving to know that her child could still act his age. She probably shouldn’t be happy to see him nervous, but she was. “Think of it like this. Let’s say you can get past level three of the candle test in about three minutes. A level of control and concentration that swift will make everything you can already do faster.” Weiss put her sword down and held her hand palm up. A glyph suddenly formed then burst into a flash of light.

Nick closed his eyes briefly. Only to open them again to see a Sphinx the size of himself standing next to his mother.

“It’ll also bring you steps closer to everything you can’t do yet.” Weiss petted her creation. “That thing you did with your gigas is really impressive. It would be a tragedy if you couldn’t pull it off in intense, solo combat.”

Now he was fired up. He still wasn’t entirely sure how he pulled off what he did during the fight with the Paladin, but he did know that it would be a game changer if he could call upon it at will. If he could even be a fourth of what he was that day then he’d have a useful crutch. If getting to that point meant doing what he was bad at, then there was no time for whining. Nick placed a vial of lightning dust into the hilt of Mort Froide. “Let’s get to work then! Valerie won’t know what hit her!”

xxxx

“Why am I so bad at this!” Nicholas shouted off of the balcony. He had been doing the candle test for about two hours now. Time dilation was tricky but the basis of it was something Nick had the hang of, so they switched gears to this. A thing he couldn’t handle even if he had extra arms.

Weiss finished putting out the flames on the slightest burnt maze. At least it was warm enough outside to not need a coat. Both of them had switched to tank tops. “Give it one more good try, then we’ll take another break.” She encouraged enthusiastically. “Don’t worry about speed right now. Focus on concentration and control.”

“Okay…” Nick took a deep breath and got back into position. This time with his sword in his right hand. He raised it to the sky to make a fire glyph then brought it down in front of him.

“Might want to angle it a little higher. Have it arch through the air.” Nick followed hire instructions accordingly. He had twelve candles he needed to light . All in separate spots. The middle of the glowed brighter as a flame ignited. It grew more and more in size before the flame wrapped around itself to make a fireball. Concentration. Nick pulled his sword back and assessed his targets. He split the fireball into twelve smaller ones that went to the edge of the glyph like a clock face. This was control.

Beads of sweat ran down his from the heat and training, that was more rigorous than he thought it would be. “Aim and….” Nick thrusts his blade forward to send them flying. All twelve were on track this time thanks to Weiss’s advice, but only eight of them landed on their targets sadly. The other four fizzled out half way there. The boy groaned, irritated with his progress. Weiss could understand that. Between her family and Jaune, there wasn’t a soul around who didn’t strive for perfection in training.Nick went to raid his sword again but it was quickly pushed down by Weiss’s.

“Uh uh, break time.” She tossed him a towel for him to wipe his face, and screamed if he needed to. She did i that sometimes in moments like these. On the bright side, nothing was on fire that shouldn’t be. “I know this won’t mean much coming from your mom and all, but I think you’re doing pretty well.”

“What are you talking about?” Nick said, wiping his face clean of sweat and ash. “That means a lot. You’re the best at this mom.” He smiled which made Weiss smile. “Maybe I can ask Summer for insight when she gets home.”

“While you’re at it you should probably ask for singing practice with her since she talked you into a duet.”

Nick shuddered at the thought. “Ugh, don’t remind me. I’m not well enough to deal with the critiques of an idol that loves the stage more than breathing.” Summer was a nice girl most of the time. Not to mention reserved, but that changed drastically when it came to singing, Veronica, Shiva, and the heat of battle. Maybe it had something to do with adrenaline? She did enjoy snowboarding after all. “I think I’ll practice singing with you instead. It’ll be less trouble.”

“You’re just afraid of greatness.” Called out at Sumner from behind them. Her folks turned around in shock to see her standing there. “What? Lose track of time? Schools over.” Her attention was brought to her tired twin. Summer did not expect him to be training on a sick day, nor did it make her feel good about how she spent her time. Yet again, Nick was slowly widening the gap between them. This time it was in something she was good at. “How many candles?” She asked, mainly to boost her own ego.

“Eight. Not nearly as good as you.” He said in earnest. “Mind showing me how it’s done?” Weiss handed Summer her sword hilt first.

Great, now she felt a little guilty. Here she was happy to have a leg up on him and he praised her without reason. Summer grabbed her mother’s sword. “No offense Nick, but I can’t put how to do this into words. I just...get it.” She peeked over the edge to see the candles, then stepped back far enough to not see them at all. A fire glyph formed in front of her and with a flick of her wrist, one huge fireball shot up into the sky. It reached over the middle of the maze before bursting into twelve flames that landed right on the candle. Summer gave back her mother’s sword and walked away feeling accomplished. “Just keep at it!” She shouted.

Nick grabbed the tip of his towel and grunted into it. “No effort at all. It’s like she waved it like wand and the rest worked itself out.”

“I hope you know that you don’t have to reach that level of fluidity? Summer has a knack for glyphs the same way you have one for swordplay. Not that either of you are particularly bad at either if I do say so myself.”

“Hard to say that after today.” Nick mumbled, looking at the lit candles. “Hey? If Summer is so good at this then why can’t she summon more than a limb or two?”

“Well to put it simply, summoning requires a lot more than skill. Passion, need, you gotta put your all into it. You’ve done it before. Both of you did at the exam. What were you feeling?”

“Good question.” He sat down and crossed his arms, reflecting on the moment. “Desperate? I stopped thinking about myself and the test for a moment. All I wanted to do was make sure Valerie and Summer were safe, then poof. Next think I know I’m in armor.”

“Anything else?” Weiss was intrigued. She must’ve rewatched the final five minutes of that video at least a dozen times by now.

“Well after they were safe I wanted to end the fight as fast as possible. Huh, I wanted to win no matter what. Then I blacked out.”

Weiss has done that before. She couldn’t count how many times it’s been her vs a grimm that had hurt a teammate and all she wanted to do was strike it down. “I want you to keep that feeling in mind for awhile. Try and understand those emotions so you can use them whenever.”

“I’ll try. Who knows, maybe one day I can win a match against you.”

“Ha! Graduate from an academy first and become a pro first.” Weiss ruffled her child’s wild hair, making him laugh. “Don’t expect me to hold back either. You’re getting everything. From dragons to behemoths!”

The two kept laughing and enjoying their time together that they didn’t even notice Veronica had entered the room. A piece of her didn’t want to interrupt. Not just before seeing Nick laugh was pretty freaking adorable, but because both of them were way more in shape than she realized. Nick was still growing so that made sense, but Weiss!? Veronica wasn’t sure if she paid attention to Weiss’s arms but. They were cut! No wonder her own parents gush over her. It was hard to believe she pushed out twins. Veronica also took note of the lingering embers and fire dust in the air that surrounded the mother and sun. She’ll try to remember it for her fire and ice clothing design. Could be useful.

Veronica finally spoke up. “I take it you’re feeling better?” Her voice finally catches their attention.

Both of them look at her then gasp. Veronica stood before them wearing a white and blue cheerleader outfit. The skirt altered colors while the half shirt was white with blue stitches and Nick’s school name on the chest. The girl swayed side to side with pompoms in her hands. A smug smile spread on her face as her ears and tail bounced to her little dance.

“Sup!” Veronica sang, enjoying the reaction. Weiss and Nick looked at each other, then back at her. “I was gone for a day!” Nick exclaimed. “How did all of this happen?”

Veronica snickered, thinking about gym class. “I’ll tell you about it later.” She spun around for fun.

“Having fun?” Weiss smiled. “I guess today wasn’t like yesterday?”

“Nope!” Veronica cheered. “Are you feeling better? I can tell your breathing is still a little shaky and your heart rate is off.”

Weiss went back into mom mode. “Nick, are you still exhaust- uhh Nick?” The boy didn’t respond. He had spaced out watching Veronica. It took a minute to realize but the moment Veronica noticed that his gaze was on the swaying skirt and torso, her face got a little more smug. Not to mention red. Weiss bopped her son in the head to snap him back to reality. “Whatcha looking at?” She said with a smirk.

Nick’s brain finally started working again and noticed the faces staring at him. He immediately turned red and looked at the ground. “Sorry, I totally didn’t mean to...ya know.” Their laughter only made him redder.

“Well what do you know? The knightly prince is just like any other high school boy. Honestly if it weren’t for Valerie I’d assume you swing the other way sometimes.” Veronica joked, catching Nick off guard.

“Hey! Who would think that?”

Weiss rubbed her chin. “You do complain and avoid so many other girls.”

“Don’t agree with her! You did the same with rich boys!” He countered. Nick then remembered his mother had told him that she’s flirted with her own teammates countless times. “Actually...forget what I just said.”

“Yeah you were about to set yourself up.” If Weiss had her black wig then she wouldn’t think twice of letting certain escapades with Yang and Blake slip. Just for a good laugh. “Seriously, you okay?”

“Totally, can we keep going? I wanna try just a little longer.”

Veronica spoke up again. “Actually I was hoping to steal you away for awhile. I still need actual measurements for your clothes. If that’s not a problem. Summer already did hers.” She added for extra effect.

Weiss thought that was a good day. “I don’t mind cutting the lesson short soon. Give him like another twenty minutes. In the meantime you can unwind for school.” Veronica’s eyes got big. “Okay!” She did a backflip and phased through the floor where she should’ve landed. Suddenly it made sense how she might’ve been put on the team. Harriet lives for flare. A confident gymnast that always lands on her feet and is pretty well known would add to the tournament festivities while potentially beating out the school cheer teams.

“That woman really likes winning.” Nick thought to himself. “Alright, back to the grindstone!” He stood up with renewed vigor. Or whatever you would call a second win whenever you had a cold. He had twenty minutes so he was going to make them count. “That outfit would go to waste if I lose. Can’t have that.” There was something about the way he thought that made Weiss happy. He might be her child, but phrases like that were very Ruby like. He was just so sweet and turning into a fine young man. She couldn’t help but wrap her arms around him and hold him close. “I love you so much.”

Nick’s face was turning red again as he hugged his mother. In truth he could spend the remainder of training time like this in complete satisfaction. “I love you too.”

xxxx

Across the manor, Yang was paying her daughter a visit. Or least she intended to, but somehow she wound up peeking through the crack door of Vee’s room as the girl admires herself in the cheerleader uniform; doing generic poses and the occasional giggle. That came to an end however when Yang was caught in the mirror reflection with a cheeky smile on her face.

“Gah! Ma!!” Veronica said flustered beyond belief. Yang could only let out a hardy laugh as she entered the room. “Sorry not sorry, I couldn’t resist.” She said, hugging her embarrassed daughter. Yang was actually surprised Veronica let her hug her on the first try. Usually Yang’s arms would pass right through her.

“Well well well, somebody is in a good mood, and for obvious reasons.” Yang tugged at the uniform. “And you said nothing good would come out of school.”

Veronica playfully rolled her eyes. “Okay fine, today was pretty alright. Happy now?”

“I’m happy you’re happy.” Yang kissed her cheek and stared into the mirror with her. “We didn’t talk much after you came home yesterday or this morning. Holding up? Careful not to eat too much meat.Not that I mind, but you’ll be upset with yourself if you do.”

“Yeah I know. I’ve been pacing myself today. I’ll probably have a salad or something for dinner. Haven’t figured it out.”

Yang took it upon herself to sit at the edge of Veronica’s bed while her daughter started putting school stuff away. “You know I bet Nick would find it interesting to see the difference between starved and apex.”

The comment made Veronica cringe. She wouldn’t know how to feel if anyone saw her like that again, let alone Nick. “Let’s not test that theory. Acting like that in Atlas of all places wouldn’t do well for human and faunus relations. Speaking of which…” She pulled out her scroll and tossed it to Yang with a tab of herself on it.

Yang read the headline. “Menagerie’s Favorite Daughter Spotted in Atlas.” The picture itself wasn’t recent. It was Veronica on top of a car with a megaphone during one of many protests. Yang liked this picture a lot. Veronica had a fist raised in the air as people chanted with her and waved signs against an intense sunset. She looked powerful. “I guess they know now. Not that they wouldn’t with all the help you’re providing for the twins.”

“That’s true. I just don’t want people hassling me. I’m here to do my own thing, focus on my designs. Spend time with Nick…” she mumbled that last part. Yang heard it anyways. You would think a faunus with amazing hearing would know how to whisper. “How much does Nick know about your situation?” She asked.

“Are you referring to my physical situation, or my social one?” She hated that she had to clarify. Technically Veronica could think of three, but mentioning the third one would be a long conversation she didn’t want to have with anyone. She had it handled anyways. “Socially, I haven’t said anything much. Physically, I clarified things you told him behind my back.”

Yang had managed to forget about the part where she did that. “Oh yeah? I guess that’s a decent amount.”

“Not even going to deny that last part?”

“Nope!” Yang put her hands behind her head and walked around a bit. This always helped her think. “I’m not gonna apologize either for being concerned either. My options were your crush or the girl you’ve argued with since you were four. You don’t confide in me with everything and gods know that I couldn’t ask you to tell someone. You’d throw a fit!”

To say her options were limited was an understatement. Veronica could see that. It still felt invasive.Then again, that’s what parents are. “Point taken, even if I don’t like it.”

“Glad you can see it my way. Letting Summer know would be nice too. Friends knowing your struggles can be therapeutic.”

“We’re not friends.” Veronica aggressively stated, a slight amount of attitude came. “Being friends with a girl like her would only piss me off. I’ll be civil and nothing more!” She scoffed. Yang threw up her arms in jest. “If that’s what you want. I suppose I’ll settle for Nick knowing.” A devious thought came into her mind. “Better hope he doesn’t ask about heat.” Yang wasted no time bolting out of the room as Veronica got a deep blush and started shouting, her mind flustered.

“He doesn’t have to know about that! And you better not bring it up!!” That conversation didn’t have to exist. Those answers will be kept to herself even if it meant gluing her mouth shut. After that remark, Veronica desperately needed to cool off. Time for a shower.

xxxx

Turns out twenty minutes wasn’t that much time for Nick to make any further improvements. Disappointed, he walked down the hallway towards Veronica. He hadn’t been in that room since she showed up. He assumed it had to look like a boutique by now. Nick turned the counter and bumped into his sister unexpectedly on the way there. Summer had ditched the uniform in favor of an oversized ‘Boop!” shirt and sweatpants. Her studio headphones hung around her neck while her hands held two journals and a pencil. Nick knew this attire. Summer was in what he called, ‘Lyrical Mode.’

“Writing a new song?” He tried to peek at the journals but Summer pulled them closer to her chest. “Yes, and so much more.” She stated defensively. “Oscar thought I should try expressing more of my, let’s say inner feelings. I’m not really sure how it will be received though when it’s done. Piecing it together lyrically has been rough.” Summer looked down to read what she had and sighed. “Fortunately this one is more for me. Tournament wise I have a few ideas of previous covers people might like.”

Nick could tell Summer was deep in thought about this. She wouldn’t win awards if her choices in music weren't meticulously planned. “Well if anyone can pull off this halftime show and make it amazing, it’s you. But I hope you remember that we’re still in the tournament; can’t burn before our matches.” He reminded her as he chuckled nervously.

Summer pursed her lips and studied that chuckle. “Don’t worry, I won’t wear you down. Just get healthy and work on relaxing your jaw when you hold a note.” Summer patted his shoulder and went on her way. “Dad and I will be in the music room.”

“Hold on!” Nick shouted. “How did Veronica get a cheerleader uniform?”

Summer laughed. “Haha! I’m sure she’ll want to tell the story.” Now Nick was even more interested and sped off to the room. Summer stopped and turned around. “Wait, Veronica just got out of-” Summer didn’t speak fast enough.

Nick didn’t stop to think about knocking first. He simply walked in on Veronica wearing a shirt, only a shirt. If Nick thought the skirt was distracting then this was a full blown diversion. The purple shirt stopped right around her thighs and showed off her toned legs. Any movement could easily start showing a bit too much. The two teens said nothing; they just stared right at each other in shock. Nick slowly backed away while closing the door, then started walking away.

Summer shook her head at her idiot brother. “I know it’s our house but how’d you forget to knock?” She didn’t get an answer. He waved her off in embarrassment of his foolish screw up.

Veronica came running out of the room, black shorts appropriately around her person. “Wait!” she got down all fours and pounced once across the hallway, diving right through Nick and blocking his path. His blush was as red as her own. “I walk around like that at home, but I’m not home, so… oops.”

Nick couldn’t believe it. Why was she apologizing!? “No no, that uhh, that one’s on me.” He stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Knocking was invented for a reason. Sorry.”

“It’s cool. Well I mean it’s not cool! But you know I uhh...it’s not like I’m…” Veronica had no idea what she was saying. “Mad, I’m not mad” her tail pointed back to her room. “Anyways, ready?”

“Y-Yeah hehe.” Step by step they eventually made their way through the hall again at a good pace. Summer could only write in her other journal, then one made for her feelings.

“Journal entry number 117: Some days it feels like I’m the least awkward person in the room. A very staggering feat to say the least.”

Part 18

[keeroo92]

Be My Nightmare Chapter 17

Coming Home

~~~~Previous Chapter~~~~

Word count - 3,124

Warnings for surgical procedure, somewhat graphic. Blood and gore, minor.

_________

~~~~Nico~~~~

Nico took a deep breath and stepped forward, ducking under the yellow tape criss-crossing over the open doors of the subway. The acrid stench of death hung in the air, mixing with the signature piss and sweat of the underground. Not a pretty smell.

But the view horrified her, too. Cracked glass and smeared blood, a few bullet casings and two blue-clad bodies lying on the floor like dolls discarded by a child with a new toy. Her comrades deserved so much better.

Her heart clenched as she saw their frozen faces. It was Franklin and Taylor; she’d chatted with them by the water cooler the other day. Taylor told her that stupid joke about the zero and the eight, and Franklin… he was only just learning the ropes. His whole life ahead of him.

It made her want to scream.

She wasn’t unfamiliar with the unfairness of life. It twisted her up and spat her out more than once over the years. She’d fought tooth and claw to get where she was, struggle didn’t surprise her anymore. Misfortune had a cruel tendency to affect kind folks more than those who deserved it, but she always hoped to change that, even just a little. To leave the world better than when she entered it was all she wanted from life, despite how difficult the battle was. She could deal with the bad shit.

Still sucked to see the bad shit, though.

We gotta catch this fucker.

Balled fists held tight at her sides, she forced her eyes away from the corpses of her brothers in arms to scan the scene for any evidence that might lead to tracking down the psychopath who ended their lives. Anything would do, any thread she could tug to unravel the mystery and get to slap cuffs on the bastard. She’d never wanted to catch a criminal so badly, so deeply it kept her awake at night.

I’ll do whatever it takes. You’re going down, V.

The background check hadn’t given them much - he’d come from a middle class family, nothing remarkable about his childhood other than his fascination with art. By all accounts, while his young friends were off causing mischief, he’d be found visiting a museum or practicing his brushwork.

That is, until the shooting.

Regardless of his crimes, her heart went out to the poor bastard. Surviving a mass shooting by the sacrifice of a friend was enough to traumatize anyone. It was a damned shame (and an embarrassment to the healthcare system) that he didn’t get the help he needed afterward.

Still didn’t excuse killing folks, though.

At least they had one lead to follow - the doctor. After the dark-haired lunatic fled her apartment, it didn’t take long to get a search warrant. Techs were combing through the place, but they already had enough to put her away for at least a decade. Lobotomizing her own father, un-friggin-believable.

Tony was in shock, caught completely off guard by the doctor’s actions. His own hand-picked medical consultant, in league with the killer they hunted. A twist for the history books, he’d said. She’d never seen him so dumbfounded.

Despite being proven right about her suspicions, it turned Nico’s stomach to see the emptiness in Waras’s father’s eyes, the lack of humanity left behind. He was lucky to be alive, supposedly, but Nico had her doubts. Maybe death was a kinder fate than what the poor man endured.

He’ll never be the same. None of us will.

“I got a blood trail!”

Nico’s lips curved into a predatory smile. Franklin must’ve wounded the fucker, his last act one that could lead to the arrest of his killer. Cold comfort to his loved ones, but still. It was something.

~~~~Kotomi~~~~

The familiar click of her heels on cement vanished amidst the cries of the crowd. Enraged faces lined the entrance to Mundus Psychiatric Hospital, signs and shouts overwhelmingly oppressive. At least they weren't throwing fruit today. She’d count her blessings.

The protests first started a few days after the local news announced that V was the lead suspect in the recent killings, and that he’d escaped the historically secure facility. Citizens fearing for their safety flocked to the streets, calling for the hospital to close and the patients to go elsewhere, though nobody seemed to know where.  As long as it wasn’t here.

Nobody cares about an actual solution, just that the problem gets dumped on someone else’s lap.

Then one of the orderlies told the tale of the fire, heightening the rage and terror. Malphas still hadn’t figured out who talked, but when he did, heads were going to roll. The director’s professional reputation was irrevocably tainted, along with the entire staff (though his was the only name being slandered in the streets).

It shocked her to see normal people so furious. People who barely registered the hospital’s existence before, now vilifying it at every opportunity. It didn’t matter that the place housed mostly harmless individuals, or that the staff genuinely tried to help them heal. All the goodwill vanished in the wake of V’s rampage.

“Bitch! Don’t you care that folks are dying?!”

Kotomi flinched as a protester caught her gaze and stepped forward from the picket line, foam-flecked lips spewing vitriol. She moved faster; maybe she could get inside before it got any worse.

“How many innocent people have to get slaughtered before you fuckers close this shithole?! Give ’em all the chair, I say!”

She crossed her arms and curled her shoulders inward, her heart hammering as she tried to pass the man by. She only wanted to go to work. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone? She hadn’t done any harm.

That’s not quite true…

In a way, it was all her fault. If she hadn’t frozen up during the fire, maybe things would have turned out differently. Why did she always freeze when it mattered most?

Her thoughts stopped as the man grabbed her shoulder, his grip tight enough to bruise. His rancid breath fanned over her face as he shouted at her, the words lost in the wake of her terror. Quaking legs barely kept her upright as her body flooded with adrenaline, her pupils dilating and sweat blooming on her palms and forehead. Maybe if she stayed quiet, he’d let her go? Could she just wait it out?

What choice did she have?

And then a familiar voice called her name, a pair of worried brown eyes replacing those of the protester as Rob led her inside. Someone else coming to her rescue yet again, because she lacked the strength to save herself.

“Are you alright, Dr. Ishida?” he asked.

She forced her fingers to relax their iron grip on her purse strap. “I- I think so.”

Rob sighed and glanced back at the crowd, their shouting audible through the glass door. “They’re getting bolder. I’ll talk to Aaron again, there’s got to be something we can do.”

But they both knew there was little point. Until V was caught, nothing would quench the fury of the citizens or lessen their drive to close the facility. Maybe her mother was right, she should’ve gone into a different field. It might be time to walk away.

~~~~V~~~~

The artist grimaced as he limped along, his palm pressed against his thigh to staunch the bleeding and ease the pain. Each step he took brought another pang of agony, and he couldn’t find an exit wound- the bullet remained. He’d have to get it out and treat the wound. First, however, he needed to find a safe place to recuperate.

He leaned against a shipping container, cautiously lifting his palm to check the blood flow. It was slowing, at least. Progress. His belt proved an effective tourniquet. 

A gust of icy wind reminded him of his precarious position. The warehouse district wasn’t prone to pedestrians, which meant fewer eyes to spot him, but it also meant he stood out like a sore thumb to anyone who wandered by. He couldn’t afford to stay here long.

Keep moving. Can’t stop now.

He hobbled on, gritting his teeth against the pain. Sweat beaded on his forehead, itchy as it dripped through his hair. Aches ricocheted through his body, his muscles tired and close to quitting on him. He needed rest, a reprieve and a chance to plot his next move. Where could he go?

His friends stayed oddly silent. Did they abandon him? Unlikely, but he couldn’t discount the possibility. Either way, he had only himself to rely on.

Relying on others teaches one not to stand on their own. This is better.

Before long, his mind wandered to the worst three minutes of his life. It was inevitable after the reminders at the subway, the familiar crack of thunder as guns fired. How much pain had Nero endured that day? They said he’d been hit six times.

“Six… Six twelve Oak street…” he muttered. His vision swam and the artist faltered, shaking his head at his own foolishness.

He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten. Today was the day; he’d been looking forward to it. He’d had his doubts at first, but with each session Nero’s skill improved. The edges of his latest tattoos featured crisp definition, the whorls perfectly curved to follow the natural shape of his biceps.

The artist didn't notice the flush in his face and the dazed film in his eyes as he turned and set off in a new direction, his steps unsteady but determined. A slight smile graced his lips. What design would Nero add to the canvas of his flesh this time?  

~~~~Reader~~~~

You sprinted to your ancient car, barely noticing the absence of the undercover cop car as you forced the engine to roar to life. No doubt they’d seen V leave and given chase, which meant you didn’t have the choice of going back to your apartment. The police would search it from top to bottom.

They’re going to find the sketches…

It seemed so long ago that the artist first grasped that tiny nub of charcoal in your office, portraying your face in shades of grey. The roller coaster hadn’t stopped since that day, and it showed no signs of slowing.

But fuck it. No sense dwelling on what could’ve been, the life you could’ve had if you hadn’t requested his case. What was done was done. Time to get on with it.

You flicked on the radio as you pulled onto the main road. An aggressive guitar solo blared out and you winced as you turned the volume down, switching the channel a beat later. Social media probably had better info than the radio, but reading and driving didn’t mix.

“-unarmed but extremely dangerous. Police are advising locals to leave the area immediately. Last sighted exiting the subway station on 119th street, but current whereabouts unknown-”

The subway. Smart.

As if you’d expect anything less.

Within ten minutes, you reached 119th. Flashing lights and sirens greeted you, blue-clad officers milling around as one of them plastered crime scene tape over the railing. Mid-morning sunlight streamed down like a sick spotlight.

If V was here, he was beyond your reach.

Shit.

You turned at the next cross street. The police undoubtedly had your license plate by now, you’d need to do something about that. No sense lingering in a place chock full of them. But where to go? Where would V go?

A soft ding stole your attention; a new message. You crossed your fingers as you pulled over to check your phone.

It wasn’t far, maybe a five-minute drive. Thank the heavens, at least now you knew he hadn’t gotten arrested. Yet.

Still… the message had you worried. It lacked his usual eloquence and wit, and didn’t say whether he was physically okay. Shots fired, the TV said. You pursed your lips and pulled back into traffic, mind whirling with uncountable ways V might be injured. By the time you parked a block away from the quaint, two-story house, you could barely breathe through the anxiety.

Grabbing your backpack, you didn’t even bother locking the car as you speed walked to the yellow front door. What would you find within? If they hurt the artist, would you be able to help? What if only his corpse awaited you?

You swallowed thickly and tried the doorknob. Unlocked; you took a deep breath and entered. Nothing immediately jumped out at you. Photos of a white-haired teenager lined a nearby wall, a hall table holding mail and a dish to leave one’s keys in beneath them. No blood stained the walls, no sounds of pain echoed from another room. It was quiet.

“V? Are you here?”

No answer. Not good. You set aside your backpack and tried again, making your way through the home. Each second he didn't respond only heightened your fear, stinging your tongue with metal. He had to be seriously hurt or incapacitated somehow, and neither option helped the situation.

“V? Come on, where are you?” Your voice shuddered.

“...curse my stars…”

You spun and raced toward the voice, tearing open a door you’d missed before to find the artist, curled up on a massive bed. Blood stained the sheets, concentrated near his thigh. Sweat coated his brow and his eyes stared at nothing, unseeing in the grip of his pain and madness.

“...love so high…”

“Don’t worry, V. I’ve got you,” you murmured as you cupped his clammy cheek. Dilated eyes, sweat and warm to the touch. Most likely an infection. You shoved aside your feelings; time to get to work. Right now, he needed your medical care more than anything else you offered.

Fabric rustled as you took a seat beside him and searched for the source of the blood. Through the fabric of his jeans it was impossible to tell, so you quickly tugged them off, taking care to reapply his improvised tourniquet once the cloth was out of the way. Heart pounding, you finally found a darker spot in the tensor fasciae, close to his hip. There was no exit wound.

Oh, V… you walked here with a bullet in your leg?

At least it wasn’t too deep. Odd, but you’d take what you could get. A thin trickle of crimson oozed from the wound, but he wasn’t in danger of bleeding out yet. Assuming he hadn’t bled too much during his escape…

“I need to find supplies to treat you. I’ll be right back,” you said, stroking damp hair from his brow. His skin was on fire. He didn’t respond.

You pursed your lips and left him, searching the bathrooms and kitchen until you had what you needed. A moment more spent thoroughly washing your hands, and you returned. The artist hadn’t moved an inch.

Is he having an episode, too? Maybe that’s for the best, it’s possible he won’t notice when I take out the bullet.

The best you had was a longer than average pair of metal tweezers. If they didn’t do the job, you’d have to widen the wound. Thankfully it wasn’t close to any major arteries, so you were confident you had the skills to remove it safely. A few inches to the left, and he would’ve already been dead for an hour.

“Okay, this might hurt,” you told him, pausing for a moment before dousing his thigh with a mixture of bottled water and table salt. After a moment you turned him so the excess fluid spilled out, leaving the wound clean and ready. You gave him one last look as your fingers wrapped around your tool. The head lamp you found in the kitchen flared to life with a touch and you straddled his injured leg, keeping it as still as possible.

“Now for the really fun part…”

The artist twitched feebly as you probed the hole. For once it seemed his episodes were a blessing; if he were even remotely coherent, he surely would have screamed.

Centimeter by centimeter, you searched for the signature resistance of metal surrounded by human tissue. More blood leaked from the wound, drenching your hands and slowing your progress. Muttered verses occasionally interrupted the squelch of your work, but you paid his words no mind. A distraction surgeon never helped.

At last you found it, an unrelenting hardness amongst the fibrous muscle. You tapped around the bullet, getting a feel for its dimensions before making your move. The tweezers barely opened wide enough to take hold, but they did the job and you felt the bullet disturb the surrounding tissue as you slowly drew it out with a satisfying plop.

You sighed and set aside your prize. Another round of improvised saline later, you carefully sutured the wound closed and bandaged the area. The artist still made no indication of awareness, just lying there as you put him back together.

The moment you set down the roll of bandages, you started trembling. V’s blood covered your hands, the sour stench of sweat and chemicals hanging in the air. As pointless as it was, you couldn’t help but wonder why life had to be this difficult. The last twenty-four hours alone had your nerves begging for a break. What a sick world, where you had to remove a bullet from the man you lo-

Holy shit.

Air slipped from your gaping mouth as you fell back against the wall. A manic chuckle followed, then another. Was this what love was like? You’d never come close to it before, to this burning like fire in your soul. The thought of losing V mere hours ago had you in tears, falling apart like an infant without its mother for the first time. When you were with him, despite his murderous and unpredictable nature, you felt safe.

And the things you’d done for him - withholding medical information, lying to your boss and risking your medical license, everything you’d spent years working towards; not to mention what you did to your father.

He’d forced you to face yourself, someone you didn’t even know anymore. Changed your understanding of the world and of art, torn asunder your preconceptions and lit the way to new views. The eloquence of his speech, the grace in his movement, the curve of that smirk and the way his presence changed the atmosphere of any room…

I don’t know if this is love, but I don’t have another word that fits. Not even close. 

It was twisted; it was soaked in blood and violence, but you felt more authentic than you ever had. You smiled. Decades ago, you accepted that you might not be capable of love. 

How wonderful to be wrong.

~~~~Next Chapter~~~~

[totheendofthelinepal]

TRY ME (PART ONE)

Summary: You couldn’t stand Bucky Barnes, but as a part of the Avengers - You had no choice but to tolerate him. Until one day, mission gone ary - you realize that something else sparks between the two of you, in the most unexpected way.

Warnings: NSFW (18+), Swearing, Violence

Pairing: Reader (Y/N) x Bucky Barnes

For exactly eight months, you had been living a life what seemed outside yourself. You whole world had flipped on its head, and it’s all because of Steve Rogers. He approached you after two months of careful assessment, which you knew nothing about. You were said to be ranked highest in combat, known as a true soldier of Shield. After the highly strategic empire had fallen, leaving most Shield agents who weren’t Hydra in the dark. This is when Steve approached you. It had been after the whole mess of the accords, when he finally made his move. He explained that someone like you could do the Avengers some good. You didn’t have any superpowers, most people categorized you as normal, but you had a fire in you that lacked in today’s society. 

It had been eight long, grueling, tough months. But it was worth it. You were making a difference, you were helping those in need fight off the evils of this world. It gave you a sense of purpose, to be fighting alongside these incredibly gifted people.

There was one problem.

Bucky Barnes.

It all started when the two of you had a disagreement about some battle attic over a mission, and God did it escalate quickly. First it was disagreeing, then he began to get under your skin. Every word he spoke acted as if he knew everything there was about combat, which wasn’t true. He was skilled, clearly, but it drove you crazy. He definitely picked up on it, his harsh, sarcastic comments only driving you over the edge. The team could hardly stand it, each mission, each briefing, even fights over how the damn coffee is made. It was now the little things that would set you off, leaving the toilet seat up, not putting away food, anything you could find to start an argument, you threw it in his face. Causing the both of you to yell across the room, with biter words.

It wasn’t until one day, throwing a glass to Bucky’s head, until Steve did something about it. The only way he felt like he could solve it, was bringing it to everyone’s attention in the training room.

“Alright, so for the week we’re going to pair up and do some heavy combat training. We’ve just got some more intel, some of us will be going in deep, deeper than we’ve had before. I’m talking undercover, sting operation. It’ll only be a one day mission, but we need that hard drive of secrets, intel, this could take them out. So…I took the liberty of picking out who you’re going to pair up with for this. Nat, you’re with Clint. For obvious reasons. Wanda, you’ll pair up with Sam, All of you will be on backup duty. I’ve talked to Mr. Lang earlier today, he’ll be in on it as well if he’s needed…and last but not least….Y/N. You’re with Buck. You two need to learn to work together. Trust each other. I can’t deal with your attitudes.” He sighed at the words, almost as if he was regretting his decision.

“You’re joking, right?” You huffed.

“Can you two just try and be professional for once?” Sam quipped to you, slightly annoyed.

“Steve you can’t be serious. Don’t pair me up with her.” Bucky crossed his arms, already pushing your buttons.

“Bucky. Dont start.” Nat warned.

“Yeah you heard her.” You sarcastically chuckled.

“Oh lucky you, you’ve got yourself a little cheering squad.” Bucky sneered to you.

You began to protest loudly, but Steve stopped you.

As the others began to fan out across training facility, you stood parallel to Bucky. The blood in your veins began to heat, you couldn’t believe that Steve would do such a thing. This had to be the final straw, last effort, for you and Bucky to put aside your differences and work together. 

You raised your fists, putting yourself in combat position. Bucky smirked towards you, the low hum of his mechanical arm began as you saw pieces of metal tighten. 

“What…that supposed to scare me?” You looked to him, a grin forming on his face.

“Come and get it, sweetheart.” His hands motioned for you.

With hard force, you lunged forward, a hard hit to his flesh arm. He pulled back, his mechanical structure flying towards you, thankfully you were able to dodge his punch, but it only caused leverage on his part, his hand flew to your wrist holding you still. With blunt force, he knocked you to the mat, causing a winded grunt to fly from your lungs. Before you could bring yourself to your feet, Bucky’s thighs encased around your neck, his hold on you preventing you to move your upper half. With the force of your legs, you wrapped around his chest, pushing him backwards. His legs were snaked around your body, his muscular thighs clenching your neck. The both of you must’ve looked like a pretzel by how he was holding you down. Steve just had to put the two of you together for training sessions. Like he was saying to “Help ease the attitude” the both of you had towards each other. But he was wrong, and it only fueled the fire. He drove you mad, your skin almost on fire with hate. As you struggled to break free from his almost deathly hold, a breathless laugh escaped his lips.

“Oh I’m sorry princess, am I puttin’ a dent in that crown of yours?” His finger tips danced  behind you poking softly to your stomach, causing you to thrash against him in anger. 

“Shut the hell up, Bucky” you hissed. 

Your harsh remark only egged him on more, tightening his hold on you. You began to soften, finally giving him, but a bright idea crossed your mind. You knew you would get in trouble, but it was the only way out of this mess. You used what strength you had left, your arm snaking around his rather large thigh, pressing a hit against his crotch. It was just enough for him to release you, but not enough to cause damage. A loud grunt escaped his lips as his body freed you. A sly grin plastered on your face. 

“What the hell was that?” He heaved, holding his core. 

“Oops, my hand slipped.” You laughed, bringing yourself to you feet. 

“You’re gonna pay for that, doll.” He groaned out. 

You laughed lightly, assuming fight position,

“Bring it on, Barnes.” You were now smirking to him, knowing you had the control.

As he recovered, the two of you went at it again, hard punches and kicks were all that filled your ears. There was no way you were going to let him win. 

Two hours had passed, you realized the two of you were alone now. Beads of sweat collected on your body, and your lungs felt like they had been taken out of you. Bucky was in the same state as you, his long hair lightly drenched from the workout of keeping up with you. You knew at this moment, tomorrow you would be covered in bruises. Neither of you held back. Catching his breath, Bucky took his stance, for now the fourth time.

“Getting tired, old man?” You smiled breathlessly to him.

“Oh I could go on for hours.” He wiped his forehead.

For some reason your mind went to a place you didn’t expect, especially with how the words rolled off his tongue. It was as if he was making an sexual joke. Quickly shaking it off, you threw you body to his again, this time he caught your arm. His face was so close you could feel his hot breath over you.

“You just can’t get enough can you, so goddamn stubborn. Are you always like this?” His eyes looked over your face.

“I could go on for hours” You mimicked his earlier comment.

He let out a laugh, now blocking each hit you gave him. His soft grunts filled the room, causing you to be slightly flustered. Throwing a kick to the air, his metal arm wrapped around you ankle, trying your best to keep balance, he let out another laugh. 

“You know, you gotta lotta fire in there, Doll. Surprised some man hasn’t softened you up yet.” He quipped, smacking you lightly to your backside.

You yelped, as it came to you in surprise. You ripped your leg down, yanking his head to a headlock. 

“Touch me like that again, and i’ll make you pay for it.” You breathed

Bucky grunted, wrapping his hands around your arm. Pushing his side into you.

“That a promise, Doll?” He struggled to speak.

You pushed him backwards, the two of you ready to go at it again. You almost had him, but you heard footsteps walking across the room. 

“Guys. Come on. Give it up.” Steve sighed.

The both of you looked to him, exhausted and disheveled. 

“It’s not my fault she can’t let it go.” Bucky breathed out, putting his hands to his hips.

“Yeah..right. Like Im gonna let you win that easy.” You crossed your arms, God he got on your nerves.

“Well I’m sorry but the two of you are going to have to figure it out. You’re the best two I can send in there. I need you to do this.” Steve now looked to the both of you with pleading eyes, completely serious.

“So..what are we talking, some kinda undercover bullshit. How is that going to work? Hydra knows about the Winter soldier.” You rolled your eyes.

“Yes, but they dont know about you, Y/N. Bucky will be your eyes and ears behind the scenes. No one knows Hydra like he does, unfortunately. Y/N I need you on this. Please.” He stepped closer to you.

You said nothing, giving him a obligatory nod. You knew there was no way out of this.

“Good. At the end of this week, you’ll both be inside of Hydra. I’m going to give you a briefing tomorrow of your names, where you’ll be staying, and all the above. Just…dont kill each other before then.” He warned. 

You looked to Bucky, clenching your jaw. You knew you had to trust him, but you just couldn’t like him.

“Looks like we’re going to be partners, Doll.” He looked the ground a soft smile on his lips.

You said nothing once again, picking up your things, as well as his. As you walked past, his things in hand shoving them to his gut. He grunted, tightening his lips.

“You’re a pain in my ass.” You sighed.

He chuckled, “Bit forward, Doll.” 

“Oh dear God.” You walked out, leaving Bucky behind.

It had been a couple days since training with Bucky, each day the two of you would end in sweat and exhaustion. Steve briefed the both of you, giving you new names, new identities. Bucky, who luckily had to change nothing about his appearance, was going to be behind the scenes. You, however…. Hated the new physical set up. You were assigned to be a double agent for Hydra. This was your story, you were a highly skilled assassin, who was recruited after the Winter Soldier. You were given nothing but tight, body forming uniforms.

“Are you serious?” You looked to Steve when he handed them to you.

“Hey, Bucky said that seemed the most accurate physical description of a female Hydra agent.” He sighed.

It pissed you off, Bucky got quite the rise out of it. Feeling accomplished he got under your skin. 

When you showcased the uniform, you had very different reactions from each person of the team. You earned a grin from Nat, who commented how great you looked. As soon as the others left the room, You were left alone with Bucky.

“You really think this would’ve been funny? These tight skimpy clothes?” You sneered to him.

“Doll, if I’m going to have to be stuck with you, I gotta distract myself somehow. That big mouth of yours drives me nuts.” He laughed lightly.

You glared to him, about to explode.

“Calm down.” He laughed, clearly taking notice your expression.

He moved over behind you, getting close to your ear.

“You know having a big mouth isn’t always a bad thing…” He almost whispered.

“Seriously.” You breathed out, your voice irritated.

“Yeah…who knows what you could fit in that smart mouth of yours.” He laughed, leaving your back. 

Your mind went to that inappropriate place again. Cursing yourself mentally, this was one of the things that got you fired up. He was cocky, and he knew it affected you. 

It was now time. In just a few minutes you would be walking through the doors of Hydra. Part of you cringed at the thought. You knew agents from the falling of shield that turned on you, who actually worked for Hydra. It tugged at your heart slightly, knowing that people could break trust so easily in a business like this. It was a thought you tried not to let it surface, but it somehow slipped sometimes. This made it hard for you to trust completely. The only person at this point in time was Steve, he knew what was best for you as an agent. You walked through, various people walking in suits, and here you were in a tight black getup. You felt like you could explode again, damnit Bucky.

“Your ass looks great.” 

His voice spoke softly in your device in your ear, you wanted to rip it out right there, a loud sigh leaving your lips.

“Got you all riled up already, wow. Looks like you’re getting pissed off quicker these days.” He laughed again through the com. 

You didn’t respond to him, pretending like you couldn’t hear. You knew you could make the work if you just didn’t listen to his smart ass remarks. 

“You’re going to take a left up here, thats where you can find the hard drive. Try not to get noticed.” He finally said something professional.

You looked around you before slipping through the door. The room lit up with flashing lights of technology. You looked around to see if anything was out of ordinary.

“Over to the right, should be hooked up to the computer.” Bucky sighed.

“I dont see any computers.” You flickered your eyes across the room.

“Are you looking?” His voice spoke as if you were an idiot.

“Are you kidding me? Of course Im Looking You-“ You stopped yourself, breathing in.

“Y/N. Get out of there.” Bucky’s voice suddenly turned frantic.

“Guys we have a problem.” Natasha’s voice spoke now in your ear.

Before you could ask what the deal was, you heard loud gunshots ring through the air.

“Guys Im taken out, they found us on the roof. Wanda’s down. We’ve been compromised.” Sam’s voice spoke quickly.

“Y/N. wait there until we can get to.” Steve boomed out over the com.

“She can’t just wait there, Steve, Its too out in the open.” Bucky frantically responded to his order.

You looked around you to see any weaponry to defend yourself.

“Guys I have no cover, I dont have a gun, nothing.” You pressed in the com.

“Y/N. Wait!” Steve commanded, you could hear the struggle of fighting in his voice.

“I’m going in.” Bucky finally retorted.

“Buck, No.” Steve yelled now.

Suddenly you heard a loud hum, which clearly meant Bucky had ripped his com out. 

You stood quietly in the room, as you heard countless men yelling outside the doors. You’d be damned if you stood by like a damsel.

You opened the door, to see Bucky already in fight mode. Before thinking, You joined him. The two of you fought hard against the men before you, Bucky tossing you a knife quickly, the both of you working your combat magic. In this moment you could feel the smoothness of teamwork between the two of you. The lights began to explode across the hall as gunshots shot quickly.

“Do you have a gun?” Bucky shouted as he fought off the men before him, throwing punches effortlessly.

“No. Did you not listen to me over the com?” You hissed, throwing kicks left and right.

“I dont always listen to you, to be honest.” He breathlessly replied, kneeing a man to the ground.

Before you could reply, a man rushed behind you. You tried to fight off the man before you in time to reach behind you, But Bucky stepped in, using his metal arm to propel the man into the wall, causing it to crumble. Picking up a gun at his feet, he threw it to you. You shot the man quickly in his thigh, causing him to drop in pain. One last kick to knock him out, you realized that it was the last man that had attacked the both of you.

“You should really work on your aim.” Bucky was now on your side, breathing heavily.

You shoved the gun to his chest, causing to knock the wind out of him.

“My aim is fine. Let’s go.” You walked ahead of you, pressing the com “Steve our floor is clear.”

oddly there was no response.

“Cap, do you copy?” You spoke again.

You looked to Bucky in confusion.

Suddenly an unknown voice spoke over the device.

“If you want to see your friends alive again, I suggest you bring me that hard drive.” 

Your eyes grew wide, theres no way they could’ve been captured.

[officialleehadan]

Green Fire

 Things with Patrick were…. Well they were sort of terrible.

“It’s a game, right” he told her as they left their housing for the night. The inns in the area were welcoming to Adrienne, who spent far more time and coin on building her reputation than she really should, but less so to Patrick who, apparently, didn’t. Reputation was an often-overlooked mechanic in the game. Adrienne focused on hers because it made the high-level gear she needed much less expensive and unlocked certain merchants. Patrick only shrugged when she asked why the townsfolk were watching him so cautiously. “Maybe they’re programmed like that?”

“They seem pretty real to me,” Adriene pointed out and shrugged one shoulder. “Killing monsters felt… that felt real too.”

“But kind of fun, too, right?” Patrick said, and tossed a coin to a fruit merchant as he took a bag of dried fruit off the table. The merchant looked a the coin in his hand, and went to protest before he saw Patrick’s white necromancer robes. His mouth shut with a click, and Adrienne tilted her head, confused. “What?”

“Fruit rations are three coins,” she told him, and he stared at her until she nodded to the terrified merchant who was looking between them like they were about to leap over the stall and murder him. “Look, I spent a lot of time on my reputation. If this is just a game, I don’t want to screw it up by shorting one of the shops.”

“It’s barely a hit to your reputation score.”

“But they add up. What’s with you today? I know you have the gold.”

He sighed, and dug in his pouch before begrudgingly laying down two more coins. “Satisfied?”

“Thank you. Come on. It’s two gold. A single veteran dungeon will net you like, thirty thousand.”

“It’s the point of the thing. They’re just programs. Why do you care?”

Because she didn’t think they were programs. Not right now, anyway. How cold she, when they were here, living and laughing around her. She smiled when two little girls hurtled past her, screaming as their brother chased them with a captured lizard. “I got a ride down the river because I helped someone, and he told me all about is family. This is an end-game quest and no one’s ever beaten it. If we’ve gotta do it in real life, I want to have all the help we can get.”

“Fine fine,” he waved her off as they headed out of town. “I’ll try and treat the programs well until we’re out of here.”

“I appreciate it.”

Adrien stifled her own annoyance. What was with Yvarian today>? She couldn’t remember him ever shorting the merchants when they were running together. In fact, she thought he was going for the almost-impossible Necromancer Hero achievement that he could only get by maxing out his positive reputation.

Maybe something changed when everything became real. She couldn’t really blame him for that. She was spooked too.

“Okay, so if I’m remembering right,” she said as they crossed over the great, walled bridge that marked the edge of town, and summoned their mounts, “The first leg of the quest takes us out to the coast. There’s an abandoned Alchemist Tower out there that is supposed to have the actual quest.”

“How do you know that?”

“There was a big launch for this quest like five years ago. I looked up the trailers because I was curious, and found the tower on a different quest.”

“Good memory.”

“Thanks. Oh hey, you changed out your mount.”

Instead of the huge lizard he usually favored, he was riding a spider like her own, but instead of brass, his was made of red mist. He glanced over at her, brow furrowed. “How did you- it’s a smoother ride and it’s faster.”

Fair enough. Adrienne shrugged and fell silent as she summoned her own spider and mounted up for the first time, only a little apprehensive. She hadn’t tried riding yet, and was glad when the mechanical creature shimmered into view as it always did. When she was in the built-in seat, she discovered he was right. Eight legs did make for a comfortable ride.

They rode for nearly an hour in silence and Adrienne found herself missing the chime of the scroll at her hip. After days on the road, it was her anchor. The promise that she had one friend in this world, who had her back.

Now that he was here, in person, she found herself missing the man she knew and thought she liked.

Now she wasn’t so sure. Patrick was an ass, and they had spent years as mostly-enemies. What was she supposed to do now that he was her lifeline?

The choice was taken from her, when screams echoed out of the trees.

On instinct, she whirled and ran for the screaming. These woods were thick with bandits, and they liked to corner travelers. Gembis told her all about it on the boat.

“What are you doing?” Patrick demanded, although he did seem to be following. That was good. She would need help if someone was hurt. “Adrienne!”

“It sounds like a kid!” she yelled over her shoulder and ducked a branch as they burst into a clearing. As she feared, bandits had cornered a wagon. The merchant had his wife and two tiny daughters protected behind him, but it was a rare fighter who could take six bandits, and the merchant was clearly not that sort. Adrienne, however, was. “Hey!”

The bandits turned, and she threw herself out of the saddle, trusting the skills that she shouldn’t have and did. Her instincts were good. Two of the bandits hit the ground under her weight, and she threw a dart at a third. It shouldn’t be enough to kill him, but if this was real, she didn’t have to kill him to stop him. These weren’t like game enemies who stayed dangerous until their health bar was gone. These were real men, and an injury might convince them to run.

“Dria Shalla!” one bandit yelled, and hey, they recognized her. That was useful. Dria scrambled to her feet in time to see Patrick raise his hand, a disagreeable expression on his face. Green fire engulfed two of the standing bandits, who screamed as the fire burned through them, leaving nothing but charred bones. With a snap of his fingers, the bones pulled themselves together and stood, collecting their fallen weapons on the way.

The bandits looked at Patrick, with green fire in his palms, at Adrienne, who had her swords out, and bolted. She let her fallen two up and they paused barely long enough to grab their injured friend.

None of them made it to the trees.

Patrick clenched his fist again, a mean smile on his face, and the men died screaming as more green fire burst around them.

Adrienne closed her eyes as nausea pooled in her stomach. When she thought she had it under control, she turned to the merchant and tried for a smile. He flinched, and she tried harder putting away her swords and proffering empty hands.

“You’re safe now,” she told him gently. “My name is Dria Shalla. Do you know me?”

“Yes, Lady Dria,” he stammered, and she was pleased to see him relax at the sound of her name. “Apologies, Lady. We had heard you traveled with a necromancer, but…”

But Patrick had just murdered six men and was even now Raising their bones. Adrienne carefully didn’t look, and nodded. “Don’t mind him. Are you alright?”

“Yes. Thank you, Lady. You saved us this day.”

Adrienne traded a few more words with the merchant, accepted hugs form his daughters, and waited until they were out of sight to lean against a tree for a few long breaths.

“What’s with you?” Patrick asked disinterestedly, fiddling with a charm around his neck. Adrienne could see the magic on it, but didn’t know what it did. “We saved them.”

“They bandits were running,” she told him faintly, back to feeling sick and scared. “Why did you…”

The skeletons milled around them as they always did, but now she had seen the men they used to be and she wasn’t sure she could bear it.

“They’re just programs,” Patrick told her and snapped his fingers at his skeletons. They fell in behind his spider as Adrienne mounted up again. “Why are you torn up about it?”

“Because I don’t think they’re programs,” Adrienne said, almost to herself, and looked down to her hand, where the wedding band glowed softly. Patrick’s hands were covered in gloves, and she wondered if his was glowing too. “And everything here feels real.”

He was quiet for a while, and finally shrugged. “Come on. The sooner we get to the tower, the sooner we get out of here.”

“Yeah,” Adrienne agreed tiredly. “Okay, let’s go.”

+++

Computer Sciences 101

Adrienne is one of her server’s top players, but the game is more than a game, and she will have to face love, and betrayal, to survive.

Cyber Finals

For the Experience

A Quest Never Completed

Reorienting Home (Subscriber Only!)

Skills Already Known (Subscriber Only!) 

Finish Them! (Free on Patreon!)

Down the River Boat  (Free on Patreon!)  

Lily Shine (Subscriber Only!)

Mage-Market

+++

More Stories!

+++

[mithranqueersmusings]

Baby, You’re A Rich Man VI

Chapter: 6/28

Rating: T (Violence warning)

Summary: Ringo could never understand why that group of three boys made him feel so uncomfortable, or why the way George looked at him sent him into a panic. After a chance encounter Ringo discovers the truth and has no clue what to do with the information.

Tags: AU - Gangsters, Slow Burn, Smut, Eventual Romance, Violence, Angst

Pairings: George Harrison/Ringo Starr, John Lennon/Paul McCartney

AO3 link here / Fic masterlist here

The heavy sound of thumping against the front door echoed through the flat loudly and George immediately shot up, being a light sleeper was one of the many things he had to adapt to in his profession. He leaped over Ringo cautiously, careful not to wake the smaller man, and rushed over to the door to swing it open, finding John looking frenzied. He was fully dressed and George could see the light outline of a gun under his jacket, yet another thing he quickly had to learn to notice, but he still looked somewhat dishevelled with his tie askew and his hair ruffled.

"Get dressed, now. It's Paul." John ordered and George simply nodded, spinning around to collect his discarded coat from the floor, his knife from the table and rushing into his bedroom to pick up his gun. There was no time to panic, as soon as he allowed himself a moment to think about the severity of the situation he wouldn't be able to function. He hurried back to the door where John was struggling to keep his composure, beads of sweat collecting on his forehead. George simply nodded to him and they made their way to the stairwell as they couldn't afford to wait for the lift. George slammed the door behind him without bothering to lock it, causing Ringo to stir.

At times like this George cursed how they lived so high up in the tower, but it had been insisted that they were as close to the top as possible as though it made them somehow better than everyone else. It was all about status, his superiors used to say, to know that you were above others. John was clearly finding it difficult to keep it together as he rushed down the stairs rapidly, almost slipping on the steps at times and George began to worry; if something had already happened to Paul, how was John going to handle it? It was best not to think about it, not when they didn't have all the information. They managed to get to the lobby fairly quickly and they dashed out of the front door where they found an array of cars waiting for them, they rushed into the closest one and tried to catch their breath. In the front seat was their superior, George had never liked him much, who looked at them disapprovingly as if they kept him waiting. The cars sped off quickly before John and George could even begin to relax, this was bad... There had always been tensions with the other families and every so often someone would overstep the boundaries, but it had never been anyone George truly cared about before, and he dreaded to think the situation Paul might be in right now. When George had spoken to John last night he seemed extremely worried that Paul hadn't come home that evening which wasn't particularly rare, but it wasn't often that John didn't know where he was and it was putting John on edge with all the threats they'd been getting from this family. There had been a few isolated fights in bars between groups but nothing major and George didn't expect it to bubble up like this.

"What's the plan?" John spoke rapidly, he was gripping onto the edge of the seat desperately.

"All we know is that they've got Paul hostage. They said they have terms they want to hash out, but haven't said what." Their superior spoke facing forwards, he sounded completely calm "We wouldn't even be asking you two along, but they insisted that they spoke to you alone. I'm completely against it, but they didn't want to run the risk of Paul getting hurt. He already sounded pretty beaten up."

George took a sharp inhale when he heard the plan, they'd never done anything this high profile alone before and he had no idea if they'd be able to get Paul back safely. He looked over to John in an attempt to show a knowing look but he was just gazing out of the window, his hand still gripping tightly on the car seat. If he felt confident enough on his own he'd insist that John stayed behind, but he doubt he'd even allow it. As close as George was to Paul, John knew him better by far and the two shared an insanely close bond. They drove the remainder of the way in near silence, George fiddled with his gun in preparation and tried to compose himself. When the cars came to a halt John finally returned to reality and he took a deep breath, then passed George a sombre look to let him know that he was ready.

"We'll be here on the corner if you need us. I can't stress how important it is that you get this right, if you fuck up and leave here without Paul then I wouldn't bother coming back at all. Negotiate with them, I don't think there's a limit to how much he's willing to pay to get Paul back safe, and don't do anything stupid." Their superior spoke bluntly and it didn't help George's nerves at all.

They stepped out of the car in silence and started walking down the empty street, it was horribly cold without their coats but neither of them noticed the chill. George took another look at John who walked with clenched fists and a tight jaw, looking determinedly ahead.

"John..." George somehow managed to mask the nerves in his voice "I know how you must be feeling right now, but we really need to do this calmly... For Paul's sake."

John sighed and slowed his pace, looking at the ground "I can't stand the thought of it George. Paul all tied up and beaten, absolutely terrified and all alone. It should've been me instead."

George wasn't sure how to respond, Paul was always the one to calm him down if he got like this, he just gave John's arm a reassuring squeeze "You can't think like that. We're gonna get him back, we've just gotta be smart about it. Paul wouldn't want anyone to get hurt, even if it's for his own good."

John smiled at the thought of Paul's good nature, but the tension in his body still remained. Eventually they made their way to an abandoned warehouse where two threatening-looking men stood at the door, one was leaning on the wall and smoking a cigarette, the other looking focused with his arms across his chest. They nodded knowingly when George and John stood in front of them, giving them a surveying with their eyes, and opened the heavy door. George went first, he was feeling really nervous about the entire situation but most of all he worried that John might do something stupid. They found themselves in a dimly lit, mostly empty space which had a man positioned in every corner. In the centre was the one of the higher-ups of the Chapman family; they had been rising up the ranks at an alarming rate the past couple of years and seemed to have no issue about muscling their way to the top. Neither George nor John recognised their face but it was clear that he was the man they were here to see. He smiled at them devilishly as they entered the room and had the door shut tightly behind them.

"Such an honour to finally meet you both." His grin widened as he placed one of his hands in his pocket, no doubt fiddling with a knife "Now I'm sure you're worried sick about your good friend Paul, but rest assured he's very much alive with just a little wear and tear. You know how it is."

George began scoping the room, eyeing up each man individually and trying to gauge how many of them had guns and concluded it was the one in the furthest corner, and no doubt their gracious host was carrying too. The four men looked tough enough but George learned quickly that muscle and intimidation only went so far in this business, and his family had always valued skill and wit above all else, so he wasn't too alarmed. The central man worried George most of all, anyone who like to blab was dangerous and often unpredictable. John only stared straight ahead at the man and George wasn't even sure if he was listening, his mind seemed far more preoccupied with his bubbling anger.

"Now of course, you have no reason to believe me. You don't know me from Adam, so it's probably best if I show you." He clicked his fingers and one of the goons went into the next room, no doubt to fetch Paul.

There was nobody in the room with the hostage? These guys were amateurs, George thought, but that didn't make them any less of a threat; even if they weren't smart, they could have many tricks up their sleeve. The man returned from the room dragging Paul by the neck of his jacket, he tossed him onto the ground beside the negotiator. Paul fell down on his knees hard, he had tape over his mouth and his hands were bound together tightly with rope - George could see even from his position the red marks from where the rope had aggravated the skin, these guys were far from hospitable, and he had dark bruises on his face. The sight made George want to cry, he'd seen Paul beaten up before of course but never had he looked so defeated. John let out a grunt and his hand was twitching, eager to draw his gun, and Paul's weak gaze on him only seemed to infuriate him further.

"This should be simple. You give us the money, and we give you Paul. Mind, he doesn't come cheap and he's caused an awful amount of damage with the fuss he kicked up when he took him. We thought he'd be the calmest out of you lot, but I guess we were wrong." He took a step towards Paul who seemed to sink in his presence.

The thought of Paul fighting back against his kidnappers made George proud, they were wrong to underestimate him "How much?" He'd heard these situations go down once or twice, but he had never been the initiator of it all and be tried his best to replicate what he'd seen.

"50,000 ought to do it. After all, no price is too high for your precious Macca, right?" His tone was sinister and it made John scowl to hear Paul's nickname coming out of such a vile mouth.

"Are you mad!? 50 grand for beating the living shit out of him? He can barely fucking stand! If you don't think the consequences of this are gonna be dire, then you're wrong mate. Hand him over to us now, and we won't have to hurt you." John growled, this wasn't a good sign at all, and the man only laughed in response.

"Hurt me? Please, spare me the theatrics. You lads are full of fire, I'll give you that much. But let's not get carried away here, you wouldn't want to do something you'd regret." With this final word he pulled out his knife, it glistened in the low light of the room, and placed it slowly under Paul's chin and his eyes lit up in panic. "Would we?"

George didn't even have time to think before he heard the gunshot, he barely had time to breathe before the man's body hit the floor lifelessly. John had never killed before, but he had acted without a second thought and no sign of regret. One shot went square in the man's head and another to the man in the corner closest to them, the bullet firing into his chest and killing him where he stood. George never liked using his gun and his first instinct was to always go for his knife, so he pulled it from his pocket and extended the blade before the chaos truly began. Luckily John had shot the only other guy with a gun, whether that was intentional or pure chance George didn't know, and the three other men pounced with their knives out.

John took out his knife now, it would've been ridiculous to carry on shooting when things got hectic, luckily he remembered that even in his haze of rage. John rushed at one of the men and made quick work of getting him on his knees with a well-placed kick and a hard punch to the head. John was far stronger than he looked and the Chapman's plan of demanding some of the youngest of the family in hopes that they'd be weak and inexperienced had truly failed. John disarmed the man but took a hard punch in the stomach which winded him for a few seconds.

Meanwhile George was tackling two assailants and it wasn't easy, he ducked and dodged their knives as best he could as he had to focus hard on not being overpowered. He really hadn't anticipated this situation, and while he understood John's reaction completely he cursed him for being so impulsive.

John pushed the larger man further onto the ground, kicking him hard in the ribs a couple of times to ensure he stayed down. His head was entirely empty of thoughts, he was running on pure adrenaline and instinct. He rushed over to George's aid and managed to grab one of the men from behind, kneeing them in the back and forcing them to the ground. George had already been punched around a fair bit but he didn't look shaken, barely taking his eyes off the other man for even a second. The worst part about situations like this was not knowing how far your opponent was willing to go, most people would submit and beg for mercy eventually but there were a few groups who were truly willing to fight to the death, and George worried that these men would fall into the latter category. The man swung at George's face and knocked him backwards, he managed to avoid the next one and landed a hard punch in his stomach.

At the point George was gaining confidence that they might be able to handle it, the door was thrown open and the two guards from outside rushed in with their knives out. Distracted, George got punched in the side and stumbled backwards, he had to make peace with the fact he'd have to use his knife. The smell of blood and sweat was spreading throughout the room, the sounds of grunts and heavy breathing. George flashed John a look, he looked almost crazed. The man charged at George again, this time with his knife, but George acted faster and sunk his blade deep into the man's stomach and he pulled away with a scream. He moved his hands quickly down to his stomach, pulling them away to see them covered in warm blood.

It was three against two now, if only Paul was in a state fit for fighting the odds would be equal, but he remained tied up in the corner helplessly watching his friends. John had been pummelling the other man, pinning him down to the floor as his mercilessly punched his face again and again; he looked completely lifeless. George had to pull John away, he was getting lost in the haze of the violence. The man rolled over onto his side, his eyes puffed up, and spat a long trail of blood onto the floor. The guards helped him up to his feet and somehow he was able to stand, his shaking hand clinging to his knife. They were far larger than the two of them and George was already feeling exhausted, his chest badly bruised and his head swimming in pain. Then the other men were on them, one brandishing his blade and stabbing it sloppily into George's side, it pierced the skin but luckily wasn't too deep.

"Fuck!" George screamed out, feeling the blood quickly dampening his shirt, but he had no time to even think about the pain as he speared his knife upward into his attacker, just below his ribs and holding it there for a few seconds, then pulling it out swiftly and pushing the limp body to the ground.

The wounded man had managed to land several hard punches on John, he must've been running high on adrenaline and George winced thinking about how much pain he'd be in when it wore off. The second man was keeping John in place, grabbing his arms from behind while he got battered. George stumbled forward, his mind was getting hazy with the blood loss, and stabbed the man from behind in a last act of exertion. His grip on John slacked who was then able to pounce on the final man, knocking him to the floor once more and resuming his pummelling. The room was almost silent now, bodies littering the floor, excluding the rhythmic punches John threw on the man's bloodied face. Blood was spilling out all over the floor in pools and George struggled to avoid it as he shuffled over to John and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"John-" George huffed, but John shoved him away with his shoulder and continued his assault. "John! We need to get the fuck out of here! Grab Paul and let's go!" He wanted to sound more commanding but he just sounded weak, he needed medical attention and quickly.

John seemed deaf to George's words until he mentioned Paul, then his head lifted quickly to look at his friend who sat frightened in the corner. John rushed over and cut the restraints as carefully as he could but he was still shaking from the whole ordeal, he removed the tape from his mouth and Paul gasped for breath.

"Can you walk?" John asked, he sounded close to tears.

Paul tried to stand up, holding onto John's forearm tightly for support but when he tried to rise to his full height his knees buckled and he fell forward. John held him steadily then lifted him into his arms with ease. George finally had a moment of relief, seeing the two of them reunited, but it was short-lived with the repetitive pangs of pain shooting through his body. John looked over at George who simply nodded, he knew he was able to walk back to the car but anything further felt beyond his capabilities. And so they left the warehouse as quickly as they could, leaving behind the battered bodies.

When they were in sight of the cars multiple men piled out to help them, one taking Paul quickly and lying him in the backseat of a car to see to his injuries. The rest crowded around John and George, one helping George walk as his pace weakened, and assessing the damage. It was at this point George learned John had also been stabbed, after his jacket was thrown off there was that too-familiar red mark on the back of his shirt. He had no idea when it happened but he was stunned at how easily he powered through the pain and George wondered if John even noticed it at all in his frenzy of emotion. John seemed far more interested in watching over Paul than getting any help himself, and he refused to lie down in the back of a car so he could be seen to, and instead was treated standing up beside the car Paul was in.

George felt relieved as soon as he sat down and the exhaustion fell on him like a weight, he could barely feel the stitches going into his skin as he looked up at the night sky. It was rare that anyone was ever sent to the hospital, it was far too risky to send someone there if they'd been in a gang fight because the police were never too far behind. But there were limits to what their doctors could do, and there weren't always enough if any at all, so every so often they'd have to brave the repercussions. Luckily George had never been so unfortunate as to end up in hospital, and he prayed that his luck would continue. At some point their superior walked over to George with a face painted with disappointment, but he was far too checked out to pay him any attention and eventually he gave in and sent George home. Paul had to report to the higher-ups and John refused to let him go alone, so they went off in a separate car. George lay in the backseat of another, watching the streetlights as they drove back to his flat in silence.

It wasn't long before he began to return to the present and he began to think about the man he'd left on his sofa. He felt like shit, but the thought of being able to return home to Ringo's soft, blue eyes and wide smile made him feel just that little bit better. He only hoped that the sight of him in such a state wouldn't scare him away, he realised in that moment that he cared very much what Ringo thought about him. A weak smile spread on his face, he'd never had someone to return home to before and he hoped it would become a common occurrence.

[thedeliverygod]

alright so here’s the little one-shot I wrote as a possible idea for the sora zine to work on if I got in but since I didn’t, I’mma go ahead and post it lol. no ships, just gen. Aqua and Sora sorta discussing their similarities & working through dealing with processing everything that’s happened to them. 

Links for AO3 & ff(.)net are on my profile and I have the same username there as well since tumblr doesn’t like things with links anymore.

His eyes were glued to the horizon as he sat at his usual spot on the paopu tree, everyone’s voices from the beach below blending in with the sound of the waves. Though there did seem to be one that seemed a little louder, slowly starting to break his concentration.

“Sora?”

His shoulders lurched in surprise as Aqua’s blue hair filled his vision. “Whoa!” He leaned back and gave her a sheepish smile, “Sorry, guess I was spacing out.”

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to surprise you like that.” She smiled back, waving her hands in apology.

“Is everybody looking for me?” His smile faltered a bit and he looked down at his lap, “I just needed a breather, that’s all.”

Aqua spoke quietly after letting a brief silence pass over them, “No, actually. I just… wanted to ask you something.”

“Me?” Sora looked up and tilted his head curiously.

Aqua let out a laugh at the puzzled look on his face and nodded, “Yes, you. Would you mind taking a walk around the island with me while we talk?”

“Sure. It’s just… You said it so seriously. Are you sure you want to talk about it with me and not Riku or the King or…?” He trailed off, scratching the back of his head.

“You’re right, it is important. But yes, it’s something I specifically wanted to talk to you about.” She answered unwaveringly and Sora blinked.

“Okay. Well,” He slid off of the tree and into the sand, giving another brief smile as he hit the ground, “Let’s get going, then.” As they crossed the bridge and started down the stairs to the main level of the island, he asked, “So what’s up?”

Aqua parted her lips in surprise before she turned her head away, answering, “I don’t want anyone to overhear, so I’ll let you know when we’re a little bit farther away. It’s more of a personal matter.”

“O-oh. Okay, got it.” Sora replied a bit sheepishly, making a note to himself to keep quiet until she was ready to talk. Staring at his feet, he hardly noticed they safely made it to the other side of the island until Aqua finally blurted out her question.

“How do you manage to stay so positive?”

His head snapped upward, “Huh?”

She frowned deeply, closing her eyes and clenching her fists at her side as she continued, “I can’t forgive myself… for falling to the darkness. I know, it’s only natural, especially considering I was trapped in the realm of darkness for so long. I kept myself going for a long time, just thinking of Ven and Terra, but it wasn’t enough. And ever since, I’ve just felt so weak. I-I was ready to give up at one point, in the Keyblade Graveyard. So I just… wanted to know. How do you keep going?”

Sora blinked in surprise, taking in all of her words and letting them sink in as he considered his answer.

“I feel like we’ve been through similar things, you and I.” She continued, waving her hand between them, “But you’ve always seemed to come out stronger for it. So I just wanted to see if I could get your perspective of things.”

“I don’t know what to say, really. Because… I don’t think I’ve handled anything better or worse than you did, Aqua.” He gave a small smile, “Of course, we’re different people, so we’re going to handle things in different ways, but…” He looked away and stepped forward into the ocean, letting the small waves lap over his feet, “It’s been hard for me too.”

He heard her voice from behind him, quiet and surprised, “Really?”

“Yeah.” He nodded solemnly, “I was ready to give up in the Keyblade Graveyard too, you know. Everyone had disappeared into the darkness except for me and Riku, and I thought it was over. Even though we still had each other, I could tell Riku was struggling. And since all of you are so much stronger than I am, I thought if you guys couldn’t do it, then how could I?”

“But despite all that, Riku never gave up on me. He told me I didn’t really believe that. And I guess, deep down he was right; I was letting fear think for me. And Kairi somehow kept me together long enough so that I could give everyone another chance. They both believed in me even when I didn’t.” A few tears gathering at the corners of his eyes, Sora turned back to Aqua, “Donald and Goofy have both done the same thing, more times than I can count. I wouldn’t be here without them, without all of you. Which is why I felt so helpless when I was alone.”

He wiped at his eyes with his hand and started to walk back towards her, “So I guess what I’m trying to say is… it’s okay to feel that way. To be honest, what you’re doing is probably a lot healthier; asking for help instead of trying to hide it behind a smile.” He finished with a sheepish scratch of his head, “I’ve kind of got a bad habit of that.”

Aqua’s lips parted, but she was momentarily speechless. “I had no idea, I’m so sorry.”

Sora flashed a quick apologetic grin in return, “It’s funny, people always say I’m a bad liar. But I guess I’m pretty good at it when I don’t want to worry anyone.”

“Well, you can definitely talk to me any time.” She pulled out her gummi phone and held it out before pocketing it again, “Especially since it’s a lot easier with these.”

“Heh, yeah.” He agreed with a smile before he motioned for her to sit down, settling down into the sand himself, “And thanks, same to you. I’m definitely trying to get better at it. Kairi’s pretty, uh, what’s the word… intuitive, when it comes to reading other people’s emotions. So she’s managed to make me spit out a couple of things after catching me in a lie.”

She laughed at that, nodding, “Kairi definitely is skilled at that sort of thing. But I’m sure it’d be much better for both of you to just actually have conversations instead of her poking and prodding you for answers.”

“Like I said, it’s a work in progress.” Sora responded with an exaggerated pout, “But anyway, it has really helped to get all this off my chest so, thank you. I, uh… just hope that I actually helped you.” He looked over to her sheepishly.

“Don’t worry about that, of course you did.” She smiled sweetly in return, folding her hands in her lap, “Even if there’s no wrong or right way to react or feel about any of it, it does feel good just to have finally opened up.”

Sora tilted his head, “So you think you’ll talk to Ven or Terra about it?”

Aqua hummed before answering, “In time.”

“Guess we really are similar.” He joked and she rolled her eyes with a laugh. “Hey Aqua, can I ask you something too? It’s more of a favor.” His tone turned more serious and sincere.

“Sure, what is it?” She leaned forward a bit, staring at him curiously.

“Could you… help me train to take the mark of mastery again?” Sora’s voice got even quieter and he stared down at the sand.

She looked away as well and gave a sad smile, asking, “That still bothers you, huh? You know you’ve technically done more than enough to earn the title.”

“I know it’s stupid.” He turned his head away even more so that she could no longer see his eyes at all, “I just wanna do it the official way; like everyone else.”

“I’d be honored to.” She barely gave him the chance to explain before she answered.

Sora whipped his head around, mouth wide in surprise, “Really!?”

“Yes, really.” She nodded, “I do expect you to come to the Land of Departure, though. Destiny Islands doesn’t seem very fit for formal training.”

“Yes, yes, yes! I’ll do anything!” He came flying towards her, wrapping her into a tight hug, “You’re the best, Aqua!” Immediately, he was on his feet and running back towards the other side of the island, “I’ve gotta go tell everyone!”

She stood up and shook her head, though she laughed quietly at his antics. “Sora, you really are one of a kind.”

[forthegloryofdragons]

Trollhunters Secret Santa Gift Exchange

Hi @skrillqueen!

I really hope you enjoy this short fic I wrote for you! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! :)

AO3

The group had stopped for a short break. Walking all night, though they found shelter to rest in the day, was tiring, especially when she was the only human there. Jim got tired too, but not as easily as her. He had even been keeping his distance from her to an extent. It confused her to no end.

So when they had gotten the Trolls settled, she grabbed Jim by the hand and walked with him until she was certain the others were out of earshot. They arrived at a clearing, trees surrounding the lake before them, moonlight reflecting off the gentle waves in the water.

“It’s beautiful,” Jim said. She entwined her fingers with his. That was about as far as he would go, and she was always the one who initiated any form of contact between them now.

She sighed, breathing in the fresh air. “I’m just going to cut to the chase, okay?” She looked up at him. His blue eyes sparkled with the reflection of the full moon, but she could see the confusion. “Do you remember what I said back in Arcadia? On the rooftop?”

“Um.” He bit his lip. She waited for a response, but it never came.

“Whatever you are, I love you,” she reminded him, nudging his arm with hers. He flinched, confirming her suspicion. “I know what you’ve been doing, Jim, and I don’t like it.”

“I don’t want to hold you back,” he said, nibbling on his bottom lip.

“Hold me back from what?” Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “I chose to be here.”

“A normal life.” He peered at her from the corner of his eyes. “I can’t have that anymore, but you can, and if you want to go back, I don’t want to be the reason you stay.”

“Who said anything about going back? I like it out here. It’s different.” She grinned, hugging him around his waist. The new height difference made it slightly awkward for him, if the way he still struggled to position his hand on her own waist was any indication. “It’s nice.”

“I just don’t want to force you into anything you’re not okay with,” he insisted.

She rolled her eyes and pulled him down to her level, pressing her lips against his. She smiled as he returned the kiss. This was the Jim she knew. They stayed like that until she pulled away with a wince, and a metallic taste lingering on her tongue.

“Oh my god, Claire,” he gasped, stumbling away from her. She reached out, but he shook his head. “Your lip.”

“What?” She touched her lip and found blood on her finger. Her mouth set in a hard line as she edged closer to him. “Jim, I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.”

“I hurt you. Oh my god, Claire, I’m so sorry,” he cried. He had his knees bent, poised to jump, or make a run for it.

“It’s okay.” She was afraid. One step too far and she would lose him. She took a step forward, but he had already leapt into the trees. “Jim!”

She pressed her finger against the wound again. It was hardly bleeding anymore. She sighed, shaking her head. Any progress she had made with him tonight, gone in ten seconds. He wouldn’t go anywhere near her for a while now, if ever again.

…

They were all here. There had been much debate over where to hold their Christmas dinner, but they’d agreed that the Lake house would be the best. She and Jim would get to visit their home, and they would have a warm and cozy setting to catch up.

Barbara had welcomed her with open arms, even bringing her into the hug she shared with her son. The plan had been to visit her parents first, which they had done, before heading over to help with last-minute preparations.

She’d tried to help Jim with the cooking but he’d waved her away, saying he could handle it himself. Instead, she chose to stay by the side of the kitchen, leaning against the countertop.

She watched him as he worked, fingers moving fluidly and with practiced ease as he prepared the main course. The others were outside waiting, talking amongst each other. She should have been out there with them instead of here with him. She saw him everyday, spent every minute together with him. The polite thing to do would be to go and be with her family and other friends.

And yet she couldn’t bring herself to tear her eyes away from the skillful way he prepared each dish, like he had been doing it his entire life.

With a jolt, she realized that he had been doing it for his whole life.

“Claire?”

She looked up. “Hmm?”

“You’re staring. Is something wrong?” He had that worried look in his eyes.

She smiled reassuringly and shook her head. “Everything’s fine.”

He smiled back, albeit a little more doubtfully than she had. He still looked uncomfortable with his teeth jutting out like they currently did. Although she was totally fine with them, even finding them cute, he still carried the guilt from that one night.

She had managed to convince him that she wanted to stay with him, that she still loved him no matter what, but he still hadn’t kissed her since then.

It was just a tiny scratch, but it was more than enough to send him into a panic.

She sighed, eyes scanning the room for any sign of a sprig of mistletoe hanging above them. It was stupid, a dumb holiday tradition, but Jim was a stickler for cheesy Christmas traditions.

A round of applause and cheers broke her out of her daze. She looked out where the group was huddled around Barbara and Strickler holding each other close. Aaarrrgghh held the exact thing she was looking for right above their heads.

“Glad I missed that,” Jim said with a teasing lilt to his voice, drawing her attention back to him. He had a wistful smile on his face. “She hasn’t been this happy in so long. It’s nice to see her smile like that again.”

“Like what?”

“Like that,” he gestured to her with his spatula. “Like there’s someone there who loves her unconditionally.”

“When do you get to start calling him ‘Dad?’” She asked with a smirk of her own. He fumbled for a second to get a grip on the pan again and looked at her with wide eyes. “I’m kidding. Lighten up.”

“Only after I have the mandatory talk with him to scare him half to death. I’ll even use the Trollhunter card against him.”

“Diabolical,” she tutted.

…

Toby had been the one to supply the mistletoe. Darci was away with her family for Christmas, so it wasn’t like he had any personal use for it. Instead he’d chosen to play the wingman at their little gathering.

Doctor Lake and Strickler has been his first targets for the night. He’d handed the sprig to Aaarrrgghh who held it silently above their heads until the silence in the room made them look up. It had taken but a moment’s hesitation before they’d kissed.

He sneaked a glance at Jim as he applauded (and gave himself a pat on the back). For the most part, he seemed focused on his meal preparations, but he had turned to see what the commotion was about, turning back with a small, contented quirk of his lips.

Claire waved at him, chin resting on her clenched fist. She looked bored. Her eyes flicked upwards, above his head, and he plucked the mistletoe out of Aaarrrgghh’s giant fingers. He crept up behind Jim and climbed up on a chair, looping a string tied to the mistletoe on his best friend’s horn. Claire snorted, and he held a finger up to silence her as he stumbled back down to solid ground. He winked at her as he made his way back to the living room, where most of the guests were gathered.

If anything, this would be fun for all to watch.

…

Jim stepped out of the kitchen back into the crowd of people gathered in the living room. Claire followed and held his hand. “Dinner will be done in a few minutes.”

“Yo, Jimbo?” Toby gestured above his head. He grinned, showing off his braces. “Didn’t know you were dressing up for Christmas this year! The last time we did that, we were in middle school!”

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Blinky was avoiding his gaze. Aaarrrgghh had his eyes on his head, or rather, above his head. “Something stuck,” he said with a deep chuckle, pointing at his own horns.

Jim reached up to his horns and followed their length with his hands. His fingers touched a piece of string, and he pulled it off, finding the mistletoe attached. “What? How did…?”

“Does it matter? You gotta follow the tradition!” Toby jumped excitedly in his seat.

Claire watched his expression change from one of curiosity to guilt. He pursed his lips. The corners of her lips quirked up as she tugged on his arm. He obeyed, facing her, away from the rest of the room. “We don’t have to if you’re not okay with it, Jim.”

“No, no, it’s just,” he glanced around the room, at all the eyes staring back at them, waiting, “weird.” He lowered his voice. “And the last time we–”

“Forget the last time. It never happened.” Claire stood up on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Are we keeping up this stupid cheesy holiday tradition?”

He leaned in after some hesitation. She made the first move and lifted herself up to reach his lips. He was gentle, careful not to hurt her like he had the last time.

When they pulled apart, it was silent. Barbara had looked away from them, though the corners of her mouth were turned up, a ghost of a smile playing on her face. Everyone else was engaged in conversation once more, as if they hadn’t just kissed underneath the mistletoe in front of the entire room. Toby caught her eye and winked once more. She made a mental note to thank him later.

“Since nobody’s watching, how about we do that again?” He asked with a lopsided grin.

She tapped him on the nose and led him away from the living room back to the kitchen. “How about we finish making dinner?”

He made sure to place the mistletoe back at the entryway. With some luck, he would end up there with Claire again. He would make sure of it.