#*cracks knuckles* OK let's tag everyone
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I recently watched Gargoyles for the first time, and I immediately knew I had to draw them because every single gargoyle design on this show kicks ass.
#gargoyles#disney gargoyles#disney's gargoyles#gargoyles disney#(I don't know which tag to use!)#fanart#*cracks knuckles* OK let's tag everyone#goliath#demona#angela#lexington#brooklyn#broadway#hudson#bronx#Though I'm a 90s kid I never saw it back then because it didn't air here in Sweden#I can only assume it was deemed unmarketable for kids lmao#I had such a fun time with this show so now I'm super sad that it's over#However... now seems to be the perfect time to be getting into Gargoyles#as they're currently publishing a canonical continuation in the form of comics đ#I for one can't wait to get into the extended universe of a 30 year old cartoon
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PLEASE. Ignore my spelling errors Iâm so tired.
*cracks knuckles* Alright, some people on Instagram asked for this and so now I will share. (Angst warning pssshhh)
My timeline for my F!Donnie (starting just before CJ was introduced):
- Over the years, Donnie would join in battles, mostly providing long range defense, all the while blasting his tunes on full blast
- But that changed when he got Krangâd right to his head, Mikey was able to remove the infection, but this caused Donâs eyesight to become quite poor (and for him to not trust himself in combat afterwards.)
- After that incident, Donnie became absolutely fascinated with Krang tech and biology, subconsciously wondering if he could replicate that raw âpowerâ heâd felt when the Krang was infecting him, and if he could control it, understand it.
- He didnât like that, but over time he felt it was necessary to beating the Krang. âKeep your friends close, and keep your enemies closerâ type deal
- So Donnie becomes âthe guy in the chairâ (oh yeah he also rebuilt Shelldon. Finally. </3)
- Cj was born, Cassandra had fallen in battle only a few months later, leaving the turtles and April to fully take care of CJ
- While Leo, being the leader, took on most of the responsibility, Donnie got to spend more time with CJ as a result of staying at their base more
- Donnie LOVED being around CJ, he would teach CJ everything he knew, even if CJ didnât quite understand him yet. He even let CJ hang around in his lab, (as long as he touched NOTHING.) Donnie even upgraded Cassandraâs hockey stick and mask then gave them to CJ
- only a few years later had Raph fallen as well
- Donnie felt as if it was partially his fault Raph couldnât get out alive, and so he begrudgingly quit his role as âthe guy in the chair,â dedicating all of his time to his inventions
- He became MUCH more reclusive, leaving everyone in the dark about what (and how) he was doing. To CJ, he was more of a âpresenceâ rather than an uncle now
- He then revealed his new invention, the Raph mech (Don has the shittiest coping skills known to man)
- Another couple years pass, Don still using all of his time to conduct his âexperimentsâ
- Around this time, Leo had lost his arm. Donnie reconfigured one of his Raph mechâs arms to fit Leo to use as a prosthetic, the Raph mech was later decommissioned
- One day, Donnie oddly insisted on tagging along on a mission with Leo and Mikey
- HOLY MOLY LONG STORY SHORT, they get caught by a Krang soldier on their mission. But instead of taking cover, Donnie charges straight for the Krang mech
- Mikey and Leo watch in astonishment as Donnie manages to swiftly climb up onto the Krang mech and mount himself on its back, using his battle shellâs limbs for support
- To their horror, Donnie rips off his gloves and reveals his robotic arms, and starts tearing into the back of the mech, digging into the inside of it
- He deploys the wires and his own Krang biomass from his robotic arms, and shoves it all into the back of the Krang mech
- For a few moments, he struggles. Then, with purple glowing markings, his expression suddenly changes and the opening where the Krang soldier was mounted closed up, crushing the Krang inside
-ok so longer story shorter- through all of the struggle, the Krang heâd trapped in his prosthetic arms had been creeping onto him and was soon to make contact with his skin. And the building they were all in starts to collapse, (and when I say âbuildingâ I mean a giant NY style skyscraper,) and in an effort to save Mikey and Leo from being crushed, Donnie holds up what rubble he can with the now possessed mech, getting himself crushed, unable to hold up all the weight forever.
(But not before an epic and heartfelt monologue and musical number.)
Good god Iâm so EMBARRASSING
I wish. I could wright fanfiction.
Goodbye now đđš
#art#my art#my artwork#sketch#sketches#sketch dump#rise of the tmnt au#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles#rise of the tmnt fanart#rise of the tmnt#rottmnt fan art#rottmnt au#rottmnt
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I got tagged by @kuroashims (aaaah!! you're so cool- you could be one of Straw Hat Pirates!) , @moonfromearth (you're adorable and don't change your favorite outfit- I always have overalls like a giant toddler on my Picrews...lol), and @eljeebee (you are the cutestđž- whatchu listening to on the headphones??)- all very awesome people! Kuroashims's edits of Luffy and Sanji and Zoro and the rest of the crew are amazeballs, mouth-dropping awesome. Moonfromearth has a simblr you can get lost in between poppin' CAS edits, reblogs you have not seen on your dash, and good posts and articles. Eljeebee has really interesting stories with lots of heart- there is world building, humor, and fun intrigue (and a certain couple that has reconciled and are equal measures adorable AND HAWT). I HAVE TEH COOLEST MOOTS. Thank you for the tag, friends! â€ïž
It's TAG TIME! *Cracks knuckles* OK! This is for everyone who'd like to do this AAAAND @hamasutaa (oh, noes, you can't get rid of me!), @smok3inm1rrors, @lynzishell, @merrymomo, @crabbeychick, @alinelie, and @stargazer-sims, and let's see how far I can try @greighish's patience (MWAHAHA! please don't block me)!!!! This is optional, extra credit in life. â€ïž
the picrew
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*cracks knuckles* alright lads(gn) let's get into it. hello my name is namoda and this is my dissertation on tumblr user shibaraki's "if the tides could speak (they'd call you home)".
ok starting off the tag âlove as a choiceâ already got me teary eyed bc damn!!! it really is!! choosing to love someone over everyone else, choosing how they make you laugh and smile and cry and even how they make u mad but u choose to love them bc even after all that they are everything to u!!! wow !!!!!! wiping away tears as we speak.
âA man that called himself king yet acted anything but kingly. Lord only in name. He speared your pod mate and took you, dirty calloused fingers sinking into your flesh, violently tearing the pelt from your back. Nausea churns in your stomach as you recall his grin, eyeing you greedily, desiring servitude that was not his to have.â
^ gnawing on my fist!!!!!!!!!! biting my knuckles !!!!!!!! oh god !!!!! the vivid horror of this passageâeven tho we donât see it in its entiretyâis horrible and visceral /pos !!!!!
âWith or without your pelt you are a selkie, and the ocean always welcomes her children home. ⊠Eyes squeezed shut, you tip into the oncoming depths trusting your mother will catch you. â
^ this made me tear up too!! both with readerâs desperation to get back to the sea!! mother as the sea!! sea as the mother! oof ouch!! mothers and daughters and how they intertwine!! wow!!! and oh my god!!! can i just say it was such a treat and such a pleasant surprise to have elements of other fantasy bnha characters!! dragon kiri was SUCH a wonderful surprise!
and then moving on from that, bakugou and readerâs first meeting was just so /gnaws on fist/ itâs like. heïżœïżœs rough and gruff around the edges but the way he reassured reader he didnât want to hurt them!! oh god. and he knows heâs intimidating but he holds a hand out to them as an act of trust!! and then reader takes his hand and oh lawrd ⊠/pos
i donât believe in love at first sight but i DO believe in the chemistry between reader and bakugou in this fic đ«¶đ«¶
âHeâs built like a warrior, tall enough to swallow most of the doorway, yet you feel no true fear when you look at him. Something innate in your gut tells you this is a kindred spirit. Energies aligned, you think he must be a shifter of some kind too. He locks onto you first, his alarmed expression smoothing into a wide toothed grin.â
^ KIRISHIMAAAAAAAAAAA. thatâs it thatâs the note <3
âA litany of emotions weave through Bakugoâs face as you speak. Disbelief, anger, regret. âSick bastards,â he mutters heatedly from behind gritted teeth.â
^ sick im sick to my stomach IM MMMMM SICK AND ONLY THIS FIC CAN HEAL ME SHAKING SCREAMING CRYING !!!!!! even though bkg didnât know it he saved reader and even tho reader didnât know it they were so close to being saved!!!! and even tho kirishima caught them bakugou was the one to see them and omlâŠ. omllll hold me.
âYou bathe, scrub away the blood and grime until youâre a flesh wound. The temperature is cold by the time youâve turned focus to your fingernails, neurotically picking away the flecks of blood dried beneath them. Drain the murky water, refill, repeat. No matter how harshly you pinch and pull, the feeling of being dirty does not go away, but you stay in the water at least until you feel like yourself again.â
^ hyperventilating. this passage was just so. sooooooo. ⊠. soooooooo⊠reader trying to reclaim themselves after being a prisoner and believing their pelt is gone. trying to clean despite feeling perpetually dirty and doing what they can with what they have to feel normal. im sane abt this <3 haha. unless�
and then after. after. oh my god <3 ooooouhhh.. bakugou handling their pelt w obvious care, not even letting kaminari come near it. oh shit. fuck. BAKUGOU SMOOTHING A HAND OVER IT AND READER FEELING IT!!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK GOING INSANE /POS!!!!!!!!!! and the feeling the FEELING of that bond forming when reader takes it from bakugou. because of course he gave it back to them personally. of course he made sure they got it in the best condition it could be in. wow throwing up screaming crying oh jesus hold me /pos
AND THE FACT THAT IT WAS ACCIDENTAL!!!! BUT. BUT⊠SNIFFSNIFF BUT THEY FELT IT!!!! SHIT!!! and omg deku protecting reader!!! whattttt theee fuck!!! ohhhh this fic isnt abt him LOL but him offering reader the silent comfort of his hands!! oh!! eating him!! ok back to regularly scheduled bakugou. i donât know if heâs smart or an idiot LMFAOOOO WYM U DONT LISTEN TO FAIRYTALES UR IN ONE!!!!! THERES DRAGONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LMFAOOOOOOOO get accidentally married idiot <3
âHe is surprisingly patient with you now. Youâve faced young whales and sharks yet still you feel dwarfed by the sheer size of the dragon, heart all pitter patter behind your ribs. It is the prey animal in you.â
^ bakugou being patient đ„ș bakugou being kind. đ„ș bakugou being bakugouđ„ș oh fuck. shit fuck. oh my god. hmmmmmmm. AND HEâS PROUD OF READER FOR NOT BEING SCARED. PRAISING THEM. OH SHIT. GOD. these two bitches were made for each other wtfffff ooaaaaahhhgghhhhh
and the banter between everyone <333 they feel so human and alive and it just sucks you right into the fic. it all just keeps you there and squeezes and omggg⊠bakugou and co. obviously caring about each other so much !!! its abt the found family!!!!! weeping!!!
âYour inner voice sings whenever he brings you foodâ begrudgingly, he throws it into your lap and grunts like the barbarian he isâ or hangs his cloak over your head without a word as though you were a rack. Itâs a little more charged every time you interact, and you found you liked being taken care of in those subtle ways that did not undermine your independence.â
^ bakugou taking care of reader in his own ways!! ways that donât make them feel looked down upon but supported and just !!! wow!!!!! this is making me so insane i love it so much i adore it im eating it. that fits bkg so much too. like he's not gonna overtake someone he's not gonna tell someone they're only whole when he's with them!! he's not gonna take away someone's individuality!!
the scenes of them in drinking and having so much fun⊠*see previous note sdjhfjsdhâŠ* its abt caring for ur friends. ride or die. giving them shit but lovingly. knowing when u fuck up but not holding it against each other and moving on. hold on i need a minute hold on i need hold on i hold onâŠ
âYou stay a little longer but find your mood dampening. Katsukiâs absence makes known an ache usually quelled by the weight of your pelt, almost as though his presence had placated that innate yearning for home. The thought leaves you dizzy.â
^ HOME !!!!!!!! YEARNING FOR HOME FOR BAKUGOU FOR THIS INNATE LOVE THAT THEY FELT BEFORE HE HANDED BACK THEIR PELT!!! OH GOD SICK TO MY STOMADCH /POS
also reader is so real for this lmao. sometimes when the person we like isnât around things r not as enjoyable </3 not because we donât care abt the other ppl but bc being with them makes us feel whole <3333
âKatsuki tears off the face towel before youâve any time to process it. The water thrashes. You darenât look away. His stare has a certain ferality, pupils dilated, fair lashes damp from the steam and clumped into little spikes; it pins you in place like prey.â
^ hahahah im normal abt this whole section <333 i am sooooo normal ohhhh u dont even know how normal i am <333 and then bkg fucks it all up ugh what a loser /j it makes me think that. not that he didnât want reader, but because he assumes they want to go home, that they WANT this bond to be broken, and heâs not letting himself fall deeper than he already has bc despite how he comes across he IS selfless he IS kind what the fuck. ohhh my godâŠ. and pls this made me cry real tears like ohhhh the rejection the comfort mina gives . oh my god mina asking if smth happened and reader dissolving into tears that was me too!!! meee !!!! oh god!!! i love mina!!!! kaminari too :((( teasing but pulling back when itâs obvious smths wrong. man. wtf. man. maaaaaan.
'âYou married a selkie by accident?â Uraraka blanched, her volume rousing you from your haze. âYou know, Bakugo, for someone so smart your ignorance is truly astoundingâ.'
^ MADE ME LAUGH I WONT EVEN LIE. GIVE IT TO HIM STRAIGHT URARAKA LMAOOOOO
âThe thought comes unbidden, a sudden clarity that overcomes you. At that point he would have no room to question your will. âIâm sure,â you say, still breathless with the realisation. âYou can go ahead with it, Urarakaâ.'
^ THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS RIGHT HERE THIS LOVING SOMEONE AS A CHOICE THIS READER REALIZING THAT IF IT WORKS THEN MAYBE THEY CAN DO IT OVER THEY CAN DO IT RIGHT THEY DONT HAVE TO SEPARATE THEIR FEELINGS FOREVER THEY DONT HAVE TO FORGET HIM LOVE IS A CHOICE LOVE IS A CHOICE!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
âEverything that remains the same yet is somehow more drab, lacking colour and difficult to look at. Your friends, clinging to each other. Your Katsuki, staring back at you.â
^ monty u are so insane for this u are sooooo insane. YOUR KATSUKI!!!! YOUURRRR KATSUKIIIIIII WHAT THE FUCKKKKKKK AAAAAAAAGGHGHHHHHHH WWAAAAAAAAAA oh my god im ill im sick im ill im sick im sick im i need a minute /pos
your katsuki. YOUR katsuki. holy fuck. hooleeeeee fuckkk holyyyyy fuck. omg. ok. yeah <3 im normal <33333
also reader fucking . BOOKING it to the ocean LMFAOOOO and katsuki chasing them. everyone else wanting to say goodbye and oh my god. babyâs first tantrum <3333. oh god he thot reader would be happy but they are so torn and so is he!!!!! dies!!!!!!
'âIâm not happy,â you lamented. âIâm going to miss you. You are an impossible man, Katsuki. Impossible to forget. I wish youâd believe thatâ.'
^ IM EATING U FOR THIS MONTY REEEEEEEEEEEEEEE /POS oh my god. im soooo insane.
AND MINA STARTING THE GROUP HUG WHAT IF I CRIED SCREAMED SOBBED!!!!! REEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD SICK!! IM SICK !!!!!!!!! /POS
AND THE END. THE ENNDDDD . THE END!!!!!! from the beginning. the sea is readerâs home. but now bakugou is readerâs home!!! and u can have both, but bakugou!!! oh god !!! bakugou is readerâs home and reader returned to him like they tried to return to the ocean at the beginning of the fic. holy fuck.
'âThis better be you and not some random fuckinâ seal Iâm talking to,â he mutters, embarrassed.â
^ i did laugh at this LMFAOOOOOO lmao get punkâd <3333
and then they boinked <3333 bakugou going back to their room. THEIR ROOM!!! WHAT A LOSER IM CRYING /POS
ohhhhhhhh hhhhhh ooooouugghhhhh head in my hands. HEAD IN MY HANDS!!!!! WEEPING!!!! him guiding readerâs breathing was sooooooo. im normal <3333 i am so normal <3333 i will not be feral i am polite :) :3 politeoda and man. i love them. maaaaan. MAAAAAN.
'âBefore you go, could you pass me my pelt?â Your heart races when he reflexively goes to do so, only for him to halt halfway. His eyes narrow, lips thinning into a smirk: âReal fuckinâ funnyâ.'
^ YES IT IS LMAOOOOO I DID LAUGH ALOUD AT THIS TOO.
omg monty this fic was SUCH a delight i have no right words for how this fic made me feel. i laughed and cried and pined and itâs living in my head rent free. RENT FREE!!!!! weeps head in my hands it was such a pleasure to see you working on this and an even bigger pleasure to read it. i hope u are proud of the hard work uâve put into this because IM proud and i am full of so much love and tenderness for u and this fic. smooches u đ„șđ„șđ„șđ„șwhat a wonderful way to start off mermay
IF TIDES COULD SPEAK (THEYâD CALL YOU HOME) â BAKUGO KATSUKI
synopsis: an unlikely hero comes in the form of a barbarian. your stolen pelt is returned by his handâ but for a selkie that is more than simple kindness. it is a proposal.
tags: AFAB reader (referred to as 'wife' + 'baby' a few times), fantasy au, barbarian bakugo (+ the squad), selkie reader, brief non graphic suicide attempt, minor injuries, previous forced marriage + captivity, strangers to friends to lovers, accidental marriage + bond, magic elements, bathing together, sharing a bed, miscommunication, love as a choice, getting together, shapeshifters, angst + fluff, eventual smut, bakugo carries reader (heâs strong!!), oral + fingering (reader receiving), unprotected vaginal sex
wc: 25K+
âł for the mermay collab hosted by the teahouse server â°
The battle rages on behind as your bare feet carry you frantically toward the cliff side, incognisant to the uneven earth and jagged rocks cutting under your heels.Â
A magnificent orange glow is cast across the land. Blistering heat radiates at your back and seeps through the thin robes pulled across your shoulders. Fire eats away at the canopy above, at the dry grass in the gardens, at the place you deign to call home.Â
It is a sight you wish you had more time to savour. A draconic clan hailing from the north had descended upon the land and sought to reap the riches for themselves. The anguished screams of your once wretched husband still echo in your heart, dancing through its chambers like wind through chimes.Â
You fled with only one destination in mind.Â
Many, many moons ago, you had been stolen away by greed. A man that called himself king yet acted anything but kingly. Lord only in name. He speared your pod mate and took you, dirty calloused fingers sinking into your flesh, violently tearing the pelt from your back. Nausea churns in your stomach as you recall his grin, eyeing you greedily, desiring servitude that was not his to have.Â
âYou are to be my wife,â he said, drunk on tales of rare creatures who would keep a hearth burning and bear his children if only he stole their hide. âNow you belong to meâ.Â
Your pelt remained locked away in an armoured vault along with his other opulent treasuresâ goods that would now be burning, turned to ash. He had finally taken from the wrong people and must reap the consequences.Â
You are so relieved to be free of his clutches that there is no time to grieve the loss. This is your chance. With or without your pelt you are a selkie, and the ocean always welcomes her children home.Â
Guided by the tides' tumultuous song you sprint through the woods, treeline funnelling out on a plateau to reveal the edge of the cliff. You take a staggered breath, wincing at the pain in your chest. Now your momentum has slowed to a stop, the fatigue catches up with you. An ache seeps through your legs and your knees threaten to buckle as you shiver.Â
This is it, you think. You watch the waves below roll like dark ribbon. Steeling your resolve you spread your arms as far as they go, until the sinew holding your back pulls taut. Something acrid sinks in your gut and you feel distinctly ill. It takes all of your willpower to deny the fear pounding in your body as you step forward.Â
The wind billowed around you, swaying your human form towards the edge. Faux wings spread and a roar pushed to the limits of your small voice, sound whipped from your mouth and cast far asea. Eyes squeezed shut, you tip into the oncoming depths trusting your mother will catch you.Â
The sound is cacophonous. Not even your pulse can be heard over the waves; elemental fingers apply sharp pressure to the north and south of your body, shaping flesh until you're nothing but a pebble caught in gravity's path.
If you should concentrate youâd hear a frantic shout through the white noise. And between the milliseconds left before bone collides with the tide, a large clawed foot encircles your forearm. A rush of air swells in your lungs as you try to scream, the abrupt disruption of your freefall forcing your shoulder from its socket, talons tearing through capillaries as if your skin were wet paper.Â
Suddenly, youâre a sail without a mast, rippling over the open ocean. Dark and cloudless, not a speck on the surface. The spray is icy against your ankles, a million papercut kisses. In the mirage, you can see fleeting reflections. The silhouette of a dragon mid-flight.Â
Youâve no memory of hitting the sand or being carried along the shoreline. Your consciousness dips and peaks. The few times you come to are when your body is being jostled, a blurred figure looming above and unrecognisable. In one breath they are washing your wounds with water poured from a wineskin, the next you are flinching away from salve covered fingers as they poke and prod to stem the bleeding.
Warmth is the first thing on your mind as you wake. With a sudden gasp for air, all the exhilaration and adrenaline hits you as if your soul had been caught, suspended in that moment. Phantom touches skim the length of your spine and all at once you are overwhelmingly aware of your body.Â
The sharp noise startles a figure in your periphery.Â
âBack in the land of the living, huh?âÂ
A broad, bare chested man sits at your bedside with his arms crossed tight and pillowed in his lap. Thereâs a single delicate braid by his ear, longer than his short-spiked hair and dangled loosely beneath his jaw. Youâd find him beautiful if not for the searing glare.Â
âThat was a fucking stupid thing you did back there,â he snarls. Brusque and overfamiliar. When you donât respond he continues, âWhatâve you got to say for yourself?â
You shrink back.Â
Thereâs an awful pinch in his brow. Concern seems to be superseding what was a show of honest anger. Dimly lit by a few oil lamps, from what you can ascertain there is no one else in the room but you two. Inhaling the residuals of healing magic you find that your throat is unbearably dry, tongue stuck to the back of your teeth. How long have you been asleep?
You couldnât find a voice to ask, exhaling a pathetic whine. The silence provides a window of opportunity for him to further scold you yet he doesnât take it, fuming as he recedes into his chair. âDonât need to act so fucking skittish. Mânot here to hurt you,â he exhales hard through his nose, reaches out and leaves his hand upturned on the edge of the bed. âAlright?âÂ
Something draws you to this stranger. Inexorable, like the pull of the tide. You accept his proffered palm and it feels unsettlingly familiar. The skin is rough, battle worn and hot. Slowly, your fingers intertwine, and you see fair hair on the back of his knuckles.Â
Disorientation, loss and anxiety err on the edge of your consciousness. The lamp above his head gives him a warm hued crown, highlighting strands of gold. You can feel sleep weighing on your eyelids but you donât yet want to look away. âWhatever,â his mouth sets into a frown. âGet some more rest or Iâll knock you out myselfâ.
When you come to the sun has risen and filters into the room in thin streams of light. Dust fairies dance around the bed. You squint as your vision sharpens, a dull throb reverberating through your skull.Â
You look at your body first, arm well bandaged and the rest of you bruised tender like an old peach. The wounds throb in time with your pulse when you shift, reminding you that theyâre there as your thin clothing brushes against them with little movement. All you can remember is falling. How the waves had careened up the cliff side to catch you, only to have you snatched out of reach once again.Â
Wherever you are now it is obviously far from your Lordâs grasp. He has never bothered to take you to a healer. You are in a private office, tucked into a bed with soft blue sheets. The shelves are stocked with various medicines, salves, and analgesics. Herbs and chopped petals are stuffed in glass jars labelled with messy penmanship you canât decipher. A metronome sits on the nearby wooden desk, ticking back and forth, filling the silence until the door is pushed open.Â
Whoever enters is trying to be careful. You can tell by how slowly they turn the handle and pause at every little complaint the hinges give. Their hair is green, richer than the later weeks in spring, with loose waves that bounce as they move. You watch wearily while they move through the space, humming under their breath and picking up a notebook from one of the desk drawers.Â
The healer, you presume, pinches the end ball on the metronome and brings it to a stand still. He hushes it as though it were an unruly child before turning on his heels toward youâ
And immediately screeching as your eyes meet.Â
Loud enough for the entire country to hear, his abrupt shout seems to alert others in the building, causing a gaggle of people to burst their way into the room. A metallic tang fills your senses; magic ready, the man that sat brutish yet kind at your bedside wields explosive sparks in the palm of his hands, adorning chains with carved talons and beads and asymmetrical armour strapped to his left bicep beneath a red fur lined cloak.Â
âWhat is it, Deku?!âÂ
You offer wordless gratitude to the final dregs of sedatives in your system. You barely flinch at the hostility in his voice, time seemingly slowed as your gaze drags to the companions at his back. First a woman doused in pink. And like the sun, her face glows the rich ochre of dawn, framed by silky salmon toned curls. There are horns protruding from the top of her head, bending like the junction of a tree branch.Â
Beside her is a large man. Red, red, red. Bright eyes split with a reptilian slitted pupil. Crimson hair styled into sharp spikes. Heâs built like a warrior, tall enough to swallow most of the doorway, yet you feel no true fear when you look at him. Something innate in your gut tells you this is a kindred spirit. Energies aligned, you think he must be a shifter of some kind too. He locks onto you first, his alarmed expression smoothing into a wide toothed grin.Â
Last are two men who have managed to tumble to the floor amidst their rush to get into the room. Distinct gold bangs with a symbol of lightning, pale faced, an undercurrent of electricity thrumming below his skin. Dark shoulder length hair, white spools of rope wrapped around the crook of his elbow, grappling hook in hand and ready to strike.Â
âSorry, Kacchan!â the healer, Deku, spluttered. He holds his hands up in surrender, shaking them in a placating motion. âNothing, itâs nothing! All of you please calm down!âÂ
Deku is quite the unfortunate name, you think. At his insistence the group lower their defenses and slump forward, relieved. All but âKacchanâ, who only raises his hackles further.Â
âDonât fuckinâ scream like that if itâs nothing,â his upper lip curls to bear his teeth, moving fluidly as his group slinks past him to stand by your bed. âI damn near blew up the buildingâ.Â
Distantly, âI couldnât help itâŠ!â
The frame jostles, mattress dipping as it takes on the weight of another. Head turned into the pillow you blink dazedly at the sharp toothed shifter. Propping his chin in his hand, his elbows are braced next to your thigh. âHi. Iâm Kirishima,â he chirped, unmoving as his friends wrapped themselves around him to get a look at you, all repeating his jovial greeting with introductions of their own.Â
ââŠHello,â you rasp. The word grates the inside of your throat and tears well in your eyes as you fight the urge to cough. âWhere amâŠ?â
âBack up, losers,â âKacchanâ forces his way to your bedside, shoving the group aside. Thereâs that odd sensation again as you stare up at him. Strong jaw clenched with eyes narrowed and blazing; sliding to where you lay, waning briefly. âHave some mannersâ.Â
âSince when have you cared about manners,â the pink woman, Mina, bemoans.Â
âShut it!âÂ
Dekuâs nervous disposition dissipates quickly and he ambles to the opposite side of your bed, his notebook flipped open to a page covered in incomprehensible scrawl. While the others squabble he leans forward and flashes a trembly smile.Â
âHi! Iâm Midoriya Izuku, the one that fixed you up,â Midoriyaânot Dekuâlowers his voice into a more soothing tone. âItâs good to see you awake. Do you think you could tell me your name?â
You remember your name. Yours. The one given to you before human hands stole your hide. Midroiyaâs pen scratches at the parchment as you recite it, his lips silently repeating it. âGreat! Thank you. Now can I ask, how are you feeling?â he asks, eyes darting across your face, your body, scanning the bandages wrapped around your arm. âAny pain? Nausea? Loss of vision? Numbness in your limbs? Hallucinations?â
âSlow down, nerd,â Bakugo grunts.Â
Midoriya immediately appears sheepish, âIâm sorryâ.Â
âItâs okay,â you say. âMy mouth is dry and my arm hurts but Iâmâ okay, I thinkâ.Â
âThatâs my bad,â Kirishima speaks up from his place next to Bakugo, lifting a hand. Despite their difference in stature it was clear who led the charge and who fell in line. âI was rushing so I wasnât very careful when I caught youâ.Â
Your first thought is that he must have been the dragon. Your second thought is, ah, right. You had tried to fling yourself off the cliff.Â
As though heâd read your mind, Bakugo scoffs. âNot much choice when youâre saving someone thatâs trying to kill themselvesâ.Â
Overlapping objections ring loud in your ears. âBro, not cool,â Kirishima groans, similar sentiments sent loud and fast from the rest of his group.Â
âI wasnât trying toââ your half lie is halted by the seething look Bakugo turns to you. Same as before, beneath it all is worry and confusion, unblinking as though you might disappear between the seconds. âI just wanted to go home,â you confess weakly, tethered by the restless twisting of your fingers into the linen.Â
âHome?â the electric blonde, Kaminari, murmurs.Â
Tension returns to your limbs, instinctively bracing for the greed you have learned to expect. You may get away with evading questions now, but the healerâif heâs worth his saltâwould already know what you are.Â
âIâm a selkie,â hesitance bleeds into your tone, the confession coming quiet and small. Your chin dips as you swallow, canines sinking into your inner cheek. âThe Lord whose castle you raided stole my pelt and kept me hostage for months. I figured it was long gone, so as soon as the attack gave me an opening I ranâ.
The atmosphere is stifling. Silence befalls the group, equally stunned. Midoriya is the only one that does not react, kind eyes closely observing you.
A litany of emotions weave through Bakugoâs face as you speak. Disbelief, anger, regret. âSick bastards,â he mutters heatedly from behind gritted teeth.Â
A head of pink hair rests by your knee. Youâre taken aback by how informally they all behave towards you. âYou still would have died though,â she says, bottom lip jutted, sadness colouring her features.Â
âI would have become seafoam,â you rectify passively. âIt doesnât mean death, not to my kind. Itâs a sort of rebirth. My pelt is with the ashes now. I thought⊠it was my only optionâ.Â
âWait. It got burned up in the fire?!â Kirishima straightens worriedly, eyes wide and apologetic. His fingers twitch as though he wanted to reach for you but thinks the better of it.Â
âSurely. I mean, I assume it was,â your mouth thins into a strained, rueful smile. âHe kept it in the vault with all his other treasures. I watched his quarters go up in flamesâ.Â
Recognition passes over Bakugoâs expression but Midoriya is already stepping forward with his outstretched hands waving dismissively. âOkay, guys! No more stressing my, uh⊠patient,â he says, allowing some strength into his instruction. âGive us some space. You can ask more questions later. Please?â
Your new guests surrender with a chorus of groans. Bakugo squints pointedly at you over his shoulder as Sero ushers him out into the hallway. You feel rooted by its significance somehow. An unspoken instruction that you canât decipher.Â
âAre you really feeling okay? No wooziness?â
Drawn to the gentle cadence your gaze meets Midoriyaâs. He has set the notebook back onto his desk and rolled up his cuffs. âIâm okay,â you reply after a moment of consideration. âThank you. You fixed me up, right?âÂ
Rubbing at his nape, Midoriya shoots you a sheepish grin. âTo the best of my ability, yeah,â he says. âIâm just a researcher and I donât have an affinity for healing magic, but Kacchan insisted that I helpâ.Â
âYouâre not a healer?â itâs then that you notice how untraditional his dress is for a doctor. A bishop sleeved shirt, six buttoned green waistcoat and dark pants. Thereâs a belt strapped tight around his hips, small satchels hooked into the leather, and an empty waist sheath clearly meant for a sword. âAh. You really arenât a healer,â you repeat blithely.Â
Midoriya giggles, nervous. âNoâ I mean, this is my office! And I guess I am an apothecary of sorts, but thatâs only a small part of what I do,â he explains, gesturing to his various shelves and cabinets. âKacchan couldâve taken you to the next town over on Kirishimaâs back but I think he was panickingâ oh, please donât tell him I said that. He just doesnât trust other people much. So you got shafted with meâ.Â
When he leans down to untuck your bedsheets you bend your unharmed arm, propping your upper body onto your elbow and working in sync with him as he fluffs the pillows behind your back. Sat upright you hold your bandages out to him. âThank you,â he mumbles, delicate as he slides his hand around your forearm, patting around his belt and satchels with the other.Â
Finding a small pair of scissors he tucks it beneath the top of the bandage and carefully cuts down the length of your arm. Your chest constricts as the inflamed skin is slowly revealed to the tepid air. There are ribbons of sutures running from your inner elbow to your wrist, puckered but thin and largely healed, sinew clumsily fused together.Â
âSorry about my poor suturing,â Midoriya says as he overturns your arm in his palm, checking from root to stem. âEverything looks good, though. No infection or fever,â he continues muttering, thumb pressed to the shadow beneath his lip. âYour immune response was pretty quick. I wonder if it has something to do with your selkie bloodâŠâ
You barely register his apology, stuck on the jagged scar tissue decorating his own hand. The cautious call of your name breaks your reverie. Midoriyaâs brow is furrowed, eyes wide in genuine concern that wanes when you try to smile at him. âGot lost in my head there, sorryâ.Â
âI get it,â he breathes, glancing over to the largest cabinet in the room. Reaching the ceiling, stained dark wood, and looks slightly out of place alongside his other furniture. Misaligned, you realise. It is on four small wheels and placed an inch away from the wall. Odd.Â
You watch Midoriya stroll over with a bounce in his step. His biceps strain under the pale sleeve fabric as he grabs either side of his cabinet and pulls. The wheels squeak and it rolls away with some exertion to uncover a hidden door. Dust cascades through the air; he coughs into his shoulder, shaking out his hair.Â
âIâve got a private washroom through here if youâd like to use it,â he explains after catching your questioning frown. The room is barely bigger than a closet. Thereâs a toilet, a tiny sink, and a tub that, given the width and depth, would require you to sit with your knees beneath your chin. A mere speck compared to home. If you closed your eyes and concentrated, maybe you could pretend you were resting in a tide pool along the shallows of a beach.Â
You stand for the first time in who knows how long. An uncomfortable prickling sensation crawls the length of your legs as the phantom turns solid and blood rushes to your toes. You grip at your bare thighs where the hem of your robe falls, flesh bursting through the gaps between your fingers, and you gasp through the pain. Itâs as if youâre growing a new limb all together.Â
âCareful,â Midoriya murmurs kindly, hovering at your side in case you need assistance. You hobble over to the washroom, each step like treading on seaglass. He moves away once he is happy with your progress.Â
âItâll take a while to warm up,â he warns. âBut there are various medicinal soaps and salts under the sink that Iâve made, so youâre free to use themâ.Â
The door is closed behind you.Â
Left to your own devices the first thing you do is fill the tub with water. You find that the bathroom has no lamp, illuminated only by the cool light flooding in from the main room. His warning had not been exaggeration â fingertips touching the bottom of the basin, the water comes slowly and remains cold up until your second knuckle. Then it warms, warmer than the sea, and with no salt at all.Â
Bare knees against the floor and skin pimpling under the thin robes, your breaths come quick, stumbling over the erratic jumping of your diaphragm. Indentations between each tile press uncomfortably into your skin, the initial pain dulling into numbness as you sit back on your heels. Beneath the sink behind you are the medicinal soaps and salts. You delicately take a small pot, squinting to decipher the handwritten labels in the dark.Â
Pulling back one of the lids youâre overwhelmed by an unfamiliar floral aroma. Inside are rocksâ tiny, tiny pink rocks, with dried white petals. You pinch some with your already damp fingers, feeling as they immediately dissolve in the moisture, and sprinkle them into your bathwater.Â
Once full enough, you strip yourself of the robe and fold it neatly, left by the closed doorway. The cold air prickles, your nipples pebbling and the soft hair across your body standing on end, but the water is hot.Â
You dip your foot in and breathe a sigh of relief as the temperature suffused through your skin, swaddling you in warmth. You submerge yourself completely. As suspected the space is remarkably cramped. Your legs are bent, tucked against your chest with knees below your chin, arms folded around your shins to keep yourself together.Â
Enclosed in four walls again, shrouded in little to no light, you feel lonely. The type of quiet that makes you whisper. Your mind drifts to the stranger that had saved you, wondering where you mightâve met him before. You smile ruefully, cupping the scented water between your hands. Heâs strong for a human. Imposing, you muse, staring back at the reflection held in your palms. Not only in his stature, but even his presence is difficult to ignore.Â
You bathe, scrub away the blood and grime until youâre a flesh wound. The temperature is cold by the time youâve turned focus to your fingernails, neurotically picking away the flecks of blood dried beneath them. Drain the murky water, refill, repeat. No matter how harshly you pinch and pull, the feeling of being dirty does not go away, but you stay in the water at least until you feel like yourself again.
The towel you find is coarse to the touch. Sitting in the heated water has tended well to the knots in your muscles. Ungainly as you re-enter Midoriyaâs empty office, you flop back onto the freshly made sheets with little guilt. You sit there for a while and let the air dry your body.Â
There is a pile of spare clothes on the end of the bed; neatly folded shirts, tunics, skirts and pants. You throw on a sleeved shirt and come across a simple beige kirtle as you parse through, the skirt falling just above the ankle, delicately sewn buttons lining the back. The fabric is very soft, though fitting and naturally cutting at the waist.Â
After putting on some thick knitted socks and a pair of hardy brown boots left by the desk you run both hands down your sides and spin on your heel, causing the free flowing skirt to plume. Satisfied, you slip out the door and creep toward the gathering voices at the far end of the hall. Phantom fingertips walk the length of your spine. Odd, but you put it down to the apprehension churning in your stomach. Gradually you are able to make out what theyâre saying.Â
âGet your filthy hands off it,â Bakugo growls venomously.Â
âI just wanna feel,â another whines. You recognise it to be Kaminari. âWhy is Kacchan the only one allowed to touch it?â
âStop calling me that, fucker!â
You round the corner and the bickering halts with a harsh shushing sound. Theyâre all in the centre of a cramped lobby, few chairs lining the walls, woven tapestry hung from the ceilings. Kirishima stands in front of you wearing a pleased grin, comically large. The armoured plates on his naked shoulders clink as he moves. âHey! You clean up nice,â he tells you. âFeeling better?âÂ
âMuch better,â you affirm, perking up at his sincerity. âIâm grateful to you all for watching over meâ.Â
âOur Bakugo did most of the work, really. Got a little protective,â Mina, the one kissed by dusk, leans into your space with her plump mouth curled into a smile. The thin gold jewellery hung from her lobe to ear cuff glints in the late afternoon light. âBarely let us in the roomâ.Â
âCause you idiots are too loud,â Bakugo grumbles, stepping forward holding a shiny garb. The fond undertones belied his annoyance, and everyone heard it loud and clear. Your skin prickled as he drags his eyes over your clothed body, evoking a sense of insecurity that is foreign to you. You arenât sure what, but you wanted him to see something in you worth coveting.Â
Then your gaze falls to the fabrics folded over his forearm. Your heartbeat ricochets through your ribcage. A tide of emotion wells at the base of your throat. He handles the pelt with purposeful care. Shivers break out across your skin as he smooths a hand over it. Holding it out, he says your name as if it was the simplest thing in the world.Â
âHere,â he thrusts the pelt into your arms. You scramble and clutch it to your front. Something deep inside you shifts. âThis is yours, right? We took it during the raidâ.Â
Youâre frozen to the spot, mouth gaping around words that wonât come. Bakugo frowns, the group members behind him glancing at each other and shrugging when they find no answer to your silence.Â
âWell?â he demands, embarrassment staining his ears pink.Â
âYes,â you choke, bringing the hide up to your face and rubbing your cheek against it. So warm and alive. Brine fills your senses, overwhelmed by the smell of home. The relief is short lived. âThank you for returning it, butâŠâ
Losing strength, you try to convince yourself that he neednât knowâ that the old ritual would not be binding if done with a human. If the Gods were merciful there would be no condition that tied you together for the rest of your lives. Yet you felt it the moment your pelt was handed back to you. Youâve been feeling his touch all this time, even before the bond had solidified. Heat rose to your cheeks at the realisation; such an intimate act, and it had been accidental.Â
From one prison to another. Maybe things wouldnât be so bad. Bakugo seemed good, in his own rugged way, and he was handsome even by faerie standards.Â
You wet your lips, breath shaken. âBakugo. Do you understand the significance of what you just did?âÂ
Bakugoâs expression darkens and he becomes rigid. You get the impression he hates being left in the dark. âWhat is it?âÂ
âToâŠâ your nails sink into the short velvety fur. âTo a selkie their pelt is like an extension of their soul. In our culture, to find and return it is viewed as aâŠmarriage proposalâ.Â
Sero catches Kaminari and Mina as they grapple one another in a dramatic fashion, swaying on their feet. Kirishima puts a hesitant hand on his friendâs shoulder, eyes flickering between the barbarian and your slouched form. âBro⊠donât do anything hasty,â he faltered.Â
âBakugo is married now?â Mina shrilled, promptly shut up by the hand covering her mouth. Sero sends you an apologetic grimace.Â
âLike hell I amâ.Â
Hackles raised, voice sharp and commanding, Bakugo is staring you down like an enemy. Your knees threaten to buckle but you stand your ground, shielding your body with your thick hide. His hands remain by his hips, sparking as the tang of magic bleeds into the air. Despite making no move to attack you still feel his rejection strike you.Â
âBreak whatever vow I just made,â he demanded. âNowâ.Â
âI canât,â you admit helplessly. âItâs more than a legal contract or a declaration of love. Weâveâ it binds us togetherâ.
The barbarian starts forward, upper lip curled into a beastly snarl, held back by the dragon shifterâs grip. Stumbling as you dodge, two familiar scarred arms catch you before your fall. âKacchan, what are youâ?!â Bakugo darts out to grab you and Midoriya immediately pushes you behind his back, shielding you with his body. âStop it!âÂ
âMidoriya,â Kaminari wheezes, tears beading along his lash line. âKacchan accidentally got married. Can you believe it?âÂ
Midoriya observes their exchange with a look of confusion. In the seconds that follow you see his eyes fall to the pelt folded against your chest, eyes brightening in understanding. Incognisant to this, Bakugo continues his verbal barrage. âOi, Deku. Youâve got brain cells. Figure out a way to fix thisâ.Â
Mouth gaping like a fish out of water, Midoriya pins Bakugo with a pleading look. âKacchan. Please tell me you didnât personally give back the selkie peltâ.Â
âYou knew and didnât think to say anything?!â
âWhy would I?â Midoriya returns, equally irritated. You press your face into the space between his shoulder blades, feeling the vibrations of his voice as they argue. âItâs common folklore!â
âYou know I donât listen to fucking fairytales, Izukuâ.Â
Midoriya reaches back to brush your wrist and offer a comforting touch. You knock your knuckles to his own, grateful for his consideration but unneeding of it. While Bakugoâs furious refusal hurts, and his volume is harsh on the ears, you arenât truly scared of him. More than anything your body remembers those warm palmsâ how he had held your hand, even as a stranger, and how he meticulously groomed your hide only knowing that it was of importance to you.Â
âThereâs nothing I can do to fix this,â lowering his tone into something more apologetic, Midoriyaâs shoulders slump in defeat. You step to the side, coming into view. Head bowed, weight shifting between each foot. You refuse to be subservient any longer but cannot ignore the guilt that churns in your stomach.Â
Bakugo sees you. Something flickers in his features; a brief glance, a rough exhale, it flies across his face like the shadow of an albatross and disappears, equally fleeting. Never taking his vermilion eyes off you he argued, âWhat about cheeks?âÂ
The golden hour spreads her hands all over the room, air cooling when his spitting frustration dwindles to uncertainty.Â
âUraraka?â Midoriya mused aloud. His softer countenance tempers your anxiety. âItâs possible she could do something⊠Let me go see if I have her recent coordinates written somewhereâŠâ
Midoriya scurries back down the hallway, leaving you defenseless. Without thinking you ask the group, âUh. Whoâs Uraraka?âÂ
Everyoneâs attention falls to you and you resist the reflexive urge to cower. âSheâs a witch,â Kaminari supplies happily, arms wrapped around Seroâs neck like a scarf. âAn old friend of ours, but sheâs pretty hard to find now. I heard her place is always movingâ.Â
A building that could move with magic. The human world never ceased to be fascinating.Â
Mina nudges her elbow into his side and a shock of electricity sparks from his crown. âThatâs outdated, dummy! Youâre supposed to say occultistâ.Â
Kaminari whines, rubbing at his ribs. âTo-may-toe, to-mah-toe,â he enunciated, pouting. âSame thingâ.Â
Bakugo growls, ignoring their exchange in favour of pacing the room. Your pelt is a comforting weight as you follow the back and forth motions, taking the chance to really look at him. The fur lined cloak across his shoulders billows obnoxiously as he turns, jewels and talons strung around his neck knocking against his clavicle. Doused in sunlight, the markings painted across his bare chest are highlighted, and you notice the uneven skin beneath themâ more scars.Â
He combs his fingers aggressively through his hair and his arm bulges beneath the armour strapped to his bicep. Kirishima tires of watching and cuts into his path, hands open in surrender.Â
âStressing wonât do you any good, man,â the shifter reasoned. âWeâve all got your back. Iâm sure Uraraka will know what to doâ.Â
Bakugo huffs. You think there should be steam coming out of his nose. âI know, shithead. I just,â he takes a quick look at where you are awkwardly standing. âI donât like thisâ.Â
Thereâs an abrupt yelp in the distance. Midoriyaâs cry is followed by a crash, the sound of books tumbling from shelves onto the wooden floor. He stumbles out into the hallway slightly dishevelled, patting off the dust on his waistcoat and proffering a sheet of paper. Tucked under his arm is a rolled up map.Â
âKacchan,â comes his breathless chime. âHereâs where she was last. But I remembered that she was planning on taking a short trip to the valleys near the coast to find more idiran leaves since theyâre in season now. I mapped out all the areas where they usually grow, in case youââ
Bakugo snatches the coordinates and the map without ceremony. âThanks,â he grunts, turning on his heel and making for the exit. âCome on, losers. We only got a few hours until itâs too dark to flyâ.Â
The group works in perfect synchrony. Sero reaches under one of the nearby chairs and drags out a large bag, hoisting it over his shoulder. Mina does the same, pulling back the draping tapestry by the doorway and taking back a concealed sack. You watch as they walk leisurely behind Bakugo, in no real rush despite his demands, Kaminari lamenting how little they trusted him with their cargo.Â
Kirishima lingers behind, clapping Midoriya soundly on the back. âThanks for everything as usual, man. We appreciate it,â he emphasised his gratitude with a strong squeeze.Â
âIâm always happy to see you,â youâre impressed by Midoriyaâs reaction; a smile from ear to ear, sturdy and unaffected by Kirishimaâs obvious force, his smaller frame belying his strength. âJust promise not to shift too close to the building. I donât have time to re-thatch my roofâ.Â
âI promise!â Kirishima traces a cross over his heart with his fingers. Their focus turns to you. You tense, feeling entirely out of place. âSure youâre feeling alright? Have you ever flown before?â
âNo,â you admit, needlessly smoothing the fabric of your kirtle down. âIâve probably never been this far inland, nevermind flyingâ.Â
Midoriyaâs eyes widened, though not unkindly. Theyâre sparkling, as if he were excited on your behalf. âThen youâre in for a real treat,â he beams, the intensity dimming within the next breath, sadness hemming his smile. âJust know youâre in good hands. Kacchan is a little abrasive but he means wellâ.Â
âAnd I swear Iâll fly carefully,â Kirishima interjects. Itâs funny, a man so large exuding such gentility. âIâm a dragon shifter, if you hadnât already guessedâ.Â
You had sensed it immediately. Shifter energies were palpable and animated things. They hung in the air like a humid fog. Despite your similarities you are still so uniquely different. While you were tied to the pelt in your arms, Kirishima had no such restriction. You envied his freedom.Â
âYou caught meâŠ?â you say. He nods at your words. âThank you, then. Againâ.Â
âThat was all Bakubro. He saw you before anyone else did,â as though on cue, Bakugoâs voice penetrated impatiently through the walls, demanding that you both get outside. Kirishimaâs lips uptick affectionately.Â
âIf I donât get to see you again, wellâŠâ Midoriya begins to corral the pair of you to the door as he speaks. âI hope you make it home. And Iâm really happy I could meet youâ.Â
Surrounding Midoriyaâs residence is a dense forest. The trees are tall, older than any youâve seen, their branches reaching out and intertwining with one another to conceal your group under a canopy shrouded in gold. Further ahead it thins out onto a winding road. Built on a steep hill it dips in the distance, opening up to the many plots of land below.Â
The earth is soft under your boots. There are wildflowers at your feet. You try to step around each one carefully while Kirishima advances forward to the group with vigour.Â
Bakugo is saying something but you barely hear it, lost in your thoughts, besotted by the vast canvas around you; a sense of harmony as the pigments blend together. It is like a dream in which you canât tell one side of the veil from the other, and nothing like the dreary castle you were once stowed away in.Â
Your moment in lucidity is soon interrupted. You instinctively pull the pelt closer to your chest before realising who had approached. âYou listening or what?â Bakugo calls quietly, an attempt at being reposeful. Amidst your daydreaming Kirishima has disappeared into the overgrowth and the others are watching your interaction with poorly veiled interest.Â
âUh, sure,â you blurt uselessly. He raises a brow and you feel ridiculous.Â
âKirishima said itâs your first time,â he pauses and you nod in affirmation. A hand comes to rest on your back, breath caught in your throat, pressure pulling you close to his side. âThen youâll sit up front with meâ.Â
Your head bobs again, unrolling the pelt and knotting it tight to your waist, skin prickling under his close scrutiny. Bakugo brings his fingers to his lips and whistles, âRed!â
âRedâ answered the call with a low room and a rustle of wings. The dragonâs head lifts, towering above the treeline, his body following as he steps out into the open. Amber eyes gleamed in the early evening light as he bobbed his head on a serpentine neck. His deep red scales shimmered with a faint golden sheen as he flashed his teeth in greeting.Â
You err on the side of reticence while Mina and Kaminari sprint toward the dragon whooping excitedly. Various lines of thick rope trails behind them and Sero picks up the slack, looping it thrice through their bags. He spins the cut end, undulating as the momentum builds, and throws it over Kirishimaâs back to be caught by Kaminari and pulled taut.Â
âCâmon,â Bakugo leads you forward. He is surprisingly patient with you now. Youâve faced young whales and sharks yet still you feel dwarfed by the sheer size of the dragon, heart all pitter patter behind your ribs. It is the prey animal in you.Â
Kirishima snorts, lowering to the ground. The earth trembles, a gust of wind dancing through the grass. Another rope is flung around his neck, threaded through the horns protruding from his skull like a set of reins, dropping in front of you.Â
The hand by your hip slides further at your abrupt flinch, arm securing around your waist. âOn three I want you to climb,â he commands, giving you no time to think. âOne⊠twoâŠâ
Bakugo takes the weight like itâs nothing, lifting you higher so you can grab the rope. Molten heat. You pull yourself up, scrambling to straddle Kirishimaâs upper back. The others are further down his spine, playing around at the base of his tail without a care in the world, as though they were not about to be thousands of feet in the air. Kirishimaâs lungs expand for breath and you cling to a spike protruding from the dragonâs nape, grip flexing at the warmth that settles behind you.Â
Bakugo frames your body with his thighs, thick by the skirt bunching above your knees, and pulls the rest of the rope up to wrap it around your pelt. In an instant you are all too conscious of him as a man, the proximity plucking at your centre of gravity, a cold sensation spreading throughout your chest. âSorry,â he mutters unprompted, so quiet you arenât sure you were meant to hear it. You get the impression he doesnât say it often. âFor dragging you into more shitâ.Â
You mull the words over as you relax into his hold. With that one sentence you think you understand him a little more than before.
Seroâs voice travels through the silence, âGood to go!â
Fastening his arm across your middle, solid and steady, Bakugo brings his boot hard down onto Kirishimaâs shoulder. âGet moving, Red!â he roars.Â
The dragonâs movements are heavy, slow. Aligned with the winding road, he builds up speed. As though heâd shaken off his own mass Kirishima is suddenly quick on his feet and breaking into a run; forced back in the momentum your stomach swoops, upheld by inertia as your body follows the broad bounding movements.Â
Leathery wings snap open into the clearing. Your hands clutch at Bakugoâs forearm and he digs his fingers in harder, his lips warm against your temple. âIâve got you,â he whispered, but all you can hear is the thundering wind and the blood rushing in your ears. You watch the steep edge approach and take a reflexive breath as it abruptly disappears.Â
Air pours into your lungs and then out again in a ragged, exhilarated gasp. The ground fallsâand then you are gliding. Â
The cool air whips against your cheeks. Smooth and steady as a horseâs canter, Kirishima soars through the open skies, his magnificent wingspan bearing the weight of five riders. Below, the fields coalesce into one land. Towns and villages become an inscrutable speck. Incredulous laughter bursts from your throat, nerves evolving into excitement in the climb towards the clouds.Â
Bakugo mellows by the second, tension ironed down by gravity. Thereâs a particular satisfaction to his expression, contentment youâve only ever experienced in the oceanâs depths, and yet, as he squeezes around you intermittently to remind you he is there, you can feel it too.Â
âYou with me?â he shouts. âNot scared?â
You lock eyes and try to show him a tremulous smile, answering at the top of your lungs, âIâm goodâ.Â
Then he bares his teeth, grinning proudly. Over you comes the sense of being praised. Your smile widens.
Time moves differently in the skies. Closer to the sun, you thought perhaps things naturally moved slower. Change is always less apparent when you are walking alongside it. Instead, you measure the hour by the shadows cast chasing Kirishimaâs tail, and eventually the skies darken.Â
Lowering his head, tilting a wing to swing out in a broad arc, Kirishima angles toward the earth. Bakugo raises up a battle worn hand, the lineaments of his face irradiated by streams of dim light threading through his fingers. He makes a specific gesture, signalling to the others of the incoming descent. Like the sun, you canât look away from his raw brilliance.Â
Kirishima lands at the base of a mountain valley. It sends a gust of wind across the clearing. Through the dark you make out a familiar reflection of light in the distance. The lake is hardly an ocean, but youâre extremely comforted to be by a body of water.Â
Chest pressed flat to your back Bakugoâs natural heat spreads through your shirt. Helped down much in the same way you were boosted up, he seems determined to keep you near. You canât say you mind itâ a quiet attraction comes and goes as he steadies you on your feet. He clicks his tongue, muttering clipped insults that he doesnât mean.Â
Itâs decided youâll remain there for the night. âYou can bet your ass weâre having an early start,â Bakugo says, pointing at each of you with stubborn intent, squinted glare lingering on the less than enthusiastic members. Kaminari slumps forward dramatically and you worry his knees might buckle.Â
Kirishima leaves again, briefly, to circle the area in his full form while Bakugo starts on the pit. Itâs lit by a whisper of fire from the returning dragonâs mouth, setting the tinder ablaze over the nest of branches; the dry, withered pine slowly releases years of energy soaked up from the sun, the air, and the ground, keeping the camp brightly lit.Â
Smoke swirls above and dissipates into the atmosphere. You are far enough from any large human settlement that you see the night sky in all its clarity. Around you now are the soft voices of acquaintances filtered between conversations; none you could hear properly, but the sounds were still soothing, coming in hushed tones that add to the intimate atmosphere.Â
Flames dance on their cheeks, illuminating the prominent parts of their faces. Youâre sitting beside the waterâs edge with your pelt strewn across your lap, close enough to feel the warmth as it crackles and spits, watching the way they love each other.Â
Kaminari has fished out a big bottle from his bag, dramatically popping the cork, and is steadily passing it around. Alcohol, you guessed. Sero took a heavy swig without flinching. Mina had tried to do the same and now has her head pillowed by Kirishimaâs thigh, thick and sturdy as a human, and his fingers stroked through the curly by her temple aimlessly as he lost himself in discussion. Sensing your gaze, she meets your eyes and smiles dazedly, lids fluttering.Â
You look away, take a breath and notice the air tastes like sake and smoke. Darkness covers the lake. Under the waxing moon your face stares back at you, swimming among minnows and echoes of stars. It ripples where you dip your fingertips, mind empty, anaesthetised by the chill. Â
âYou idiots never pace yourselves,â Bakugoâs voice rumbled over the flames and rolled over your skin. He is sitting closest to you, legs loosely crossed in the dirt . âIf you throw up on Red tomorrow Iâm not cleaning it upâ.Â
Kaminari shakes the bottle in his direction. The bubbles fizz upward, some spilling out. âSuch a stick in the mud, Kacchan. We gotta celebrate your marriage somehow!âÂ
Sero cackles as the other two chime in agreement. You stroke your pelt, restless at the mention of your union, and it soaks up the water from your fingers. Surprisingly, Bakugo lets it slide, though not before scooping the loose earth into his hand and throwing it at an oncoming Kaminari.Â
Eyes of amber briefly flicker over your form in his approach. Kaminari drops into the empty space beside you and pulls the bottle from his mouth with a resounding pop, leaving behind a wet sheen, and tilts it forward. âYou too,â he grinned. âCongrats. Our boy is quite the catch, yâknowâ.Â
âSo I can see,â you smile, letting the gloom be pulled right out of you, your fingers wrapping around the bottle's neck. They grazing his own and spark static. Neither of you comment on it, his squinted stare fixed curiously on your expression as you bring the finish to your lips.Â
The aroma is rich, sweet like overly ripe bananas. You tip back, feeling it dry and bitter on your tongue. There are hints of vanilla and brown sugar, a sting to your throat that begs you to cough. You hear a quiet laugh.Â
âToo strong?â Sero teases lightheartedly from across the campfire.Â
Your expression twists, âItâs good. But it burns. Is that normal?â
âThatâs why itâs good,â Kaminari snickers. You clear your throat, handing the bottle back, attention drawn back to the lake in a beat of comfortable silence. âOh, hey. I did want to sayâ you can swim if you need to, yâknowâ.Â
âHm?â
âKiri has all sorts of weird urges if he doesnât shift for a while. Gets all restless and snappy,â Kaminari gives a knowing look to the man in question. Kirishima nods at you, his features taut with sincerity. âSo if you want to swim for a while or something we totally get itâ.Â
Youâre flustered by their earnestness, gripping at your pelt, all too aware of it. Slipping into your other form feels far too personal; well meaning as they are, theyâre still strangers to you. âThatâsâ Iâm alright,â you politely decline, âmy needs as a seal arenât really felt while Iâm like thisâ.Â
A surprised noise resonates from Kirishima, Mina unmoving from her place in his lap but watching with rapt curiosity. âYouâre practically human right now, then?â he asks.Â
âPractically,â you give a self conscious shrug. Somehow admitting it felt like stripping yourself. Confessing to a weakness. Unsettled, you deflect the subject back. âDo you keep your dragon traits as a human?â
âNah, not while Iâm in this form. I donât even have my hydrogen glandsâ look,â Kirishima hooks his fingers into his cheeks to spread them wider. You lean in for a closer look. The glow from the campfire illuminates the back of his throatâ barely, and ironically. His tongue wiggles as he tries to lay it flat. Youâre not sure what heâs trying to show you. Youâve never seen a dragonâs maw before, but aside from the shark-like teeth his mouth really does seem the same as any other manâs.Â
âPretty boring, right?â his words come garbled around his fingers and so he pulls them out, wiping the spit on his pants. âBut even though I canât breathe fire right now, I can do this!â
You stare in surprise as the skin along his forearm hardens into tough scales. He holds it out to you in permission to touch; they feel jagged under your fingertips, tough like the bark of an ancient tree. âThatâs amazing. You have your own shield,â you breathe, awed.Â
âDamn right,â Bakugo interjects. Thereâs that unfettered pride again. Kirishimaâs cheeks redden and you sympathise with him. In your short time with them you knew receiving praise from Bakugo felt like standing under the sun. âShouldâve seen him as a kid,â he continues, eyes alight and mirthful. âHad scales like wet paper. Even cried when he first shiftedâ.Â
âDâyou have to bring that up,â Kirishima groans, though not upset by it. He shares in the amusement, uplifted by the sound of his friends' laughter, and pouts playfully in your direction. âIt was scary!âÂ
Mina giggles. Her movements are sluggish and dopey as she waves her arm in Kaminariâs direction, who then stretches around the pit to Sero, who then passes it off to her. She takes a quick sip, free hand pinching Kirishimaâs cheek. âWasn't your first time an accident, too? Thatâs so cuteâ.Â
âHe sneezed actually,â Sero supplies, smirk crooked, foot tapping Kirishimaâs ankle in a preemptive apology. âDestroyed half his houseâ.Â
Kaminari slaps his knee, âMan, you were stumbling around like a newborn foal. It was hilariousâ.Â
Bakugo grinned as the others bickered, a fond, radiant thing that lit up his whole face. Heâs softer like this, drenched in warmth. Cloak tucked behind his shoulders you are given the view of his broad chest. And when he finally looks at you, his half lidded gaze has been softened by his third swig; though he remained considerably sober compared to his companions.Â
âWhatâre you starinâ at?â he mutters.
âNothing,â you answer quickly, then, quieter, âItâs just nice that youâve all been together for so longâ.Â
âSince we were snot-nosed brats. We hail from the same clan. Deku too,â he replies, elbow propped on his knee, chin cupped in his palm. âGetting sick of seeing their faces at every turnâ.Â
âLiar,â you hum amusedly. âWhat do humans call itâŠ? Emotionally constipatedâ.Â
His eyes slide over you, brow quirked. With his friends distracted he is more emboldened giving you attention. âGot some liquor down your neck and suddenly youâre givinâ me cheek?âÂ
âGuess so,â you feel yourself endeared by your not-husband. The pleasant honeyed sensation shrouding your body mustâve loosened your tongue. âAnyone can see theyâre like family to youâ.Â
The barbarian kisses his teeth and shifts himself toward you, an ugly look on his face. You catch his peek at your pelt. âWhat about you?â
âMe?â
Bakugo grunts. âYeah. You got family?âÂ
If not for the alcohol that question mightâve sucked all the joy from the air. You settle on a sad smile, dragging your fingertip through the dirt to draw a vague seal shape. âThatâs hard to answer,â you intoned gently, barely audible over the crackling fire. âMy memories of them are vague. The longer I stay human the more I forgetâ. He frowns, but you continue, unperturbed, âUsually it would be the same thing in reverse, if we werenât bonded I would likely forget all of thisâ.Â
âAnd youâre okay with that?â he says, some edge to his tone. âYouâre okay with being stuck here?âÂ
The âwith meâ goes unspoken but you hear it, and you fall silent. Because you have no answer. Youâd had months to reconcile a pallid futureâ at one point you thought you would never again see the ocean, least of all your family. It was probable that theyâd already moved on without you.Â
âI donât feel stuck,â you admit. His actions and his words, albeit harsh, proved that to be true. Aside from the obvious differences from your previous capture, the biggest is that you are equally in possession of Bakugoâs individual libertyâ youâre married, you mentally amend, not in possession. While it is true you wouldnât be able to stray far from him with the bond established, you held your pelt, independence, control.Â
A near imperceptible tension seeps from him at your answer. âWhat about you?â
He scoffs, stretching out his legs. The soles of his boots drag in the dirt. âDo I look fuckinâ stuck?âÂ
âNo,â you murmur with amusement, turning to gaze at the flickering pyre. âA man that can fly hundreds of miles on dragonback in a single day certainly isnât stuckâ.Â
âNow youâre getting itâ.
The other conversation has worn into soft murmurings. Kirishima drunkenly hands off the last of the alcohol to Bakugo, gesturing to the three whoâve surrounded him and fallen asleep. As the dragon shifter repositions himself to join them, curled together like a pack of seal pups, Bakugo takes a sip.Â
Thereâs probably only a mouthful left and you accept it when he offers. âYou should sleep, tooâ.Â
You heed his instruction and lie down on your side, your pelt pillowed under your head. The smell of home swaddles you. âEarly rise, right?â he nods, leaning back onto his arms. âHow long do you think itâll take to find theâuh, occultist?âÂ
âA week if sheâs where sheâs supposed to be,â he scowls. Youâre not sure what draws the heat to your face; the drink or his voice, now gravelly with fatigue. âThree at mostâ.Â
âOkay,â you exhale, eyes fluttering closed. âThank you, Bakugoâ.Â
A soft breeze dances through the brush. Your skin pebbles, shivers slipping down your spine. Something heavy drapes over you and encases you in a warm cocoon. Fluff tickles at your nose. Your fingers curl into the familiar red fabric of Bakugoâs cloak. He has pointedly angled away from you, ready to ignore any attempt at interrogation. The gruff act of kindness makes your heartbeat faster. Fondness settles in your chest, so big that it aches. His natural scent mixes with yours and itâs like being laid on the shoreline, stitching sea and land together.Â
âDonât fuckinâ thank me yet,â the muscles in his back ripple as he tends to the dwindling fire, declaring with conviction, âJust follow me. Iâll fix this and get you homeâ.Â
You lick your lips, mouth dry from the alcohol. In that very moment you want to tell him that the ocean and the sky are like a two way mirror; that when you were up there with him, strangely, your body thought it was at home.Â
Instead, you close your eyes and watch the embers paint yellow and orange kaleidoscopes behind your eyelids.Â
Instead, you sleep.Â
The weeks that follow are arduous. Uraraka is nowhere to be found, and your group resorted to searching the areas of iridian growth Midoriya circled.Â
You werenât used to hiking up mountainous lands, navigating forests or scaling dragons, not in the beginning. Rising with the sun, enduring unpredictable changes in weather, wincing through the ache that grew in your weaker human muscles, Bakugo found your crankiness amusing and irritating all at once; never missing an opportunity to comment on your lack of stamina, then using it as an excuse to assist where assistance is not truly needed.Â
But you saw through him, and let him. You did not need help climbing, yet your hands weaved together so he could pull you up. Youâre soon practiced in saddling Kirishima, yet you always wait for Bakugo to put his arm around your lower back every ride. Your inner voice sings whenever he brings you foodâ begrudgingly, he throws it into your lap and grunts like the barbarian he isâ or hangs his cloak over your head without a word as though you were a rack. Itâs a little more charged every time you interact, and you found you liked being taken care of in those subtle ways that did not undermine your independence.Â
The others noticed and teased accordingly. They call him a dutiful husband and his aggravated explosions saw you driven out of two small settlements for startling livestock. You become closer to each of them. Their patchwork family makes room for you quicker than you know what to do with. And you enjoy it; learning about the people around you, peeling back the rind of their lives piece by piece with mundane questions, seeing what theyâre made up of.
You learn Kaminari enjoys literature, dramatically reciting love tales in the night, referencing poems youâve never heard. Heâs charming but never with actual intention. It is somehow more endearing that he doesnât know his own allure, finding comfort in the role of a jester. Mina is pure joy wrapped in flesh. Apologetically overbearing and well meaning. Like an older sister she showed you how to securely fashion your peltâover one shoulder, a belt fastened around the waist, keeping it in placeâ and let you use her combs. She speaks fast when sheâs happy, hits hard when she laughs and gossips avidly, picking up new information wherever she goes.Â
Kirishima looked at you with kindness and iron surety in his eyes from the start. Good natured and feelingâ he has a heart so big that he apologises to a flower bed after he steps on it. Thereâs a natural fraternal air about him that sets you at ease and the groupâs clear affection and appreciation for him diminished any worry about your own treatment as a shifter.
But of everyone else in the group you found Sero the most easygoing. Conversation came fluidly and your initial diffidence was thrown by how naturally you were able to fall into place with him. He lends an ear to any questions you have, practised in the art of human interaction; a man capable of adapting to any one person he comes into contact with. As such, he is the member sent to negotiate, collect information, and make arrangements.Â
When you make it to the last destination on the map you are drenched in a time-steeped sunset. Sero trudges back through the brush, returning from the nearby port town. Landing at such a late hour Sero had been tasked with finding the local tavern to buy a few rooms for the night, and the lazy thumbs up he waves from a distance is proof he accomplished his goal.
âThey donât get too many travellers passing through here so I swiped up three rooms,â he huffs, coming to a stop and brushing the dirt off his pants. âTheyâve got a bathhouse, tooâ.Â
Bakugo makes a noise of approval, lifting a bag over his shoulder while Kirishima carries the rest under his arms and flashes a toothy smile. âGlad it went smoothly, manâ.Â
âThank the Gods,â Kaminari cheers, clapping his friend on the back. âYouâre a lifesaver. I canât wait to sleep on an actual bed againâ.Â
âUh huh. Two twin rooms for us lowly minions,â Sero continues, his grin curling into something more sly. You get a sense of foreboding. âAnd of course, a double room for the newlywedsâ.Â
Mina whistles, slipping her hand into yours and tugging. You freeze, heart in your throat, and force yourself to relax, not yet used to how tactile they can be. Sheâs too invested in Bakugoâs response to notice. Your eyes flicker over to find him red faced and incensed, knuckles white with the pressure he has around the drawstrings of his bag.Â
Sharing a room with Bakugo. Alone. Thus far youâd all been together. Either under the stars or in caves, or packed into cramped quarters stuffed with wattle and daub if a villager felt kind enough.Â
âYou've got exactly five seconds to explain why you thought that was a good ideaâ.
Sero quickly put his palms up in surrender. âYou gave me a budget, Bakugo. They offered to lower the price as a wedding gift. I figured it would be okay for one nightâ.Â
Bakugo jerks his head in your direction, his steely glare unmoving. The tips of his ears are pink, too, frustration unfolding across his skin. âYou donât get to decide that,â he chided, tone harsh like a hiss.Â
Suddenly, Sero looks rather ashamed of himself. âShit, Iâm sorry. Shouldâve asked,â he says to you, rubbing at his neck as his head lowers. Itâs unlike him to be so wiltedâ and all because of your potential discomfort.Â
You meet Bakugoâs eyes, gleaming intensely, already trying to scrutinise your reaction. Mina hums quietly. She tightens grip on your hand again in reassurance, the other running along your bicep. âIf you want I can swap with youâ.Â
Bakugo snorts at that, as if the idea was ridiculous, but he doesnât shoot it down despite his clear aversion to sharing with Mina. You understood his disbelief. They behaved much like siblings, squabbling and poking at one another. Itâd rouse suspicion and you didnât fancy being chased out of town for swindling the keepers for a discount.Â
âThank you guys. But itâs alright,â you reassured, mouth lifting into a small smile and reciprocating Minaâs gentle squeeze. âI donât mind sleeping with Bakugoâ.Â
A few beats of silence. You see Bakugoâs expression slip, jaw loose and eyes wide for a brief moment before it twists. He turns away from the group as a chorus of suggestive crowing erupts.Â
Understanding your mistake almost immediately hot mortification comes over you, stifling beneath the pelt on your shoulder. âShut up, you useless fuckinâ perverts,â Bakugo snaps, flustered and wild, swatting at the nearest victim. Kirishima feigns a wounded noise.Â
âHey, I didnât do anything!â
âJust get moving,â the barbarian marches onward, tearing his way through the overgrowth and heading for the tavern. âAnd walk behind me!â
His choleric mutters continue, heard even at a distance. Tucking your chin to your chest, you hide your laughter in your silken pelt as you follow after him, mouth filling with a comforting briney scent. You think Bakugo undeniably cute when heâs embarrassed; a sight youâve had the pleasure of seeing more than once on account of his pod. That feeling from the campfire returns, fills your chest, pulsing through to your fingertips, tempting you to reach out, to touch him.Â
More and more youâre inundated with the need to be close. You quell the urge and tighten your grip on Mina, her cheek squished to your shoulder, loose curls the colour of blossom tickling your throat. âDonât worry. Heâs not really mad,â she tells you furtively, as if it were a big secret.Â
âI know,â gaze lingering on Bakugoâs back, covered by that thick red cloak, you wonder if your scent still clings to it. Contentedly, âIâm getting used to itâ.Â
The town is beautiful. Bursting with flora and fauna, accentuated by the dusk, ocean curling around the village in a way that reminds you of mother. Nature's cradle. You cling protectively to your pelt, scenting the salt in the air and hovering closer to Bakugo. If anybody could identify a selkie skin it would be fishermen. Stray drunken locals stumble by, arm in arm with boisterous cheer. Youâre greeted like a long lost friend, neither person recognising your true identity. Humans really can be hearty and genuine at their core. Life before had been so desolate in comparison, so lacking in love and colour.Â
âOi,â Bakugo beckons you to his side. When you donât fall in line he grabs your wrist, pulling you close. His natural body heat lingers like a brand. âMake sure you call me Katsuki from now on,â he instructs under his breath.Â
You blink at the unexpected request. The muscles in his face are tight, twitching, and his nose flares the longer you stare. Given names are important to humans in this region. Sharing them is an intimate thing, a sign of your close relationship. âAre you sure?âÂ
âWouldnât say it if I wasnât sure,â he punishes your questioning with the fleeting tightening of his grip. You canât help it. Heâs pink again and you like it. âIâm your husband, yeah? So call me by my fuckinâ nameâ.Â
The keeper waits surreptitiously by a sheltered stairwell leading to the inn above her tavern. A small Elven woman, uncloaked, the lantern overhead creating a halo of light to circle her ginger crown. She perks up when Sero hands over a small velvet sack, the drawstrings pulled tight. âFor the rooms,â he emphasises, coins chiming dully against one another as he shakes it. The woman takes it and cradles the payment to her breast, exchanging the gold for three keys.Â
Youâre guided up the stairwell and into the building, presented with a narrow corridor. There are numerous doors, decorative runes carved into the frames, a coloured piece of string hung from each handle corresponding to the colour of the keys. âItâs good to see some youngins pass through. We only ever get the same old geezers around here,â she says, âMakes for a mundane lifeâ.Â
The crows' feet wrinkle by her eyes when she smiles, laughter lines framing her mouth. She hands out the keys to your pod who all rush in childish excitement to see their rooms. At last she turns to where you stand stiffly beside Katsuki.Â
Youâre handed a key. The stem is long and thin and made with copper, the key wards in the bit uniquely shaped to your door. Threaded through the bow is a lavender string. âIt isnât much but I hope you will be comfortable for the night,â with a wink, she adds, âCongratulations to you bothâ.Â
âThank you. We will be in your care,â your reply is tremulous, undecided whether to be pleased with the sincere acknowledgement of your marriage or nervous to be seen through. At your side, the large barbarian grunts.Â
It is uncharacteristic of him; always very respectful of his elders. You lean against him, just a nudge. His attention snaps to you and you smile innocently. âBe polite, Katsukiâ.Â
Like it was meant to be spoken only by you, Katsukiâs name sits right in your mouth, lips shaping around the characters softened by warm intonation. The reaction is instantaneous. His jaw ticks. His faint blush returns. His stoic expression wanes as he looks to the keeper, who is observing the interaction with mirthful eyes. Lowering his head he mutters, âWe appreciate your hospitality, maâamâ.Â
âYouâre quite darlinâ together, arenât you,â she comments heartily, mostly to herself, as if airing her thoughts. âWe got good food and drinks downstairs, do come if youâre hungry! Blessings be upon youâ.Â
On her departure you enter the room. Spangles of light dusted the air. While it clearly isnât lived in, it is homely. You canvas the space. Two square-headed windows facing the street are covered by thin cloth. There is an old, tattered tapestry strung across the wall to cover up a fist sized hole, a patterned glass vase and various other unique tchotchke adorning the shelves. You drag your fingers across the brick fireplace opposite a wide double bed, mattress made of wool but compensated by the many feather pillows and blankets.Â
âThis is good,â you say, âhomelyâ. Though there is an animal hide on the floor, which you find rather⊠untoward. A soothing musky smell with overtones of caramel and vanilla rising through the cracks in the floorboards from the tavern below. You breathe it in deeply.Â
âItâll do,â Katsuki voices his agreement and drops his bag with a conclusive thud. âLet me hide our stuff and we can meet with the others for food downstairs. You havenât eaten in hoursâ.Â
The small consideration makes your heart flutter. âAh. Iâll be there soon,â you tell him. He squints at you, attempting to mentally pry the answers out of you. âIâm okay, Katsuki. I just need a minuteâ.Â
Pausing in the centre of the room, Katsuki scrutinises you. You fidget under his intense appraisal, undecided whether it pleases you or not. It is strange to want something that often leaves you feeling excruciatingly⊠exposed.Â
You wait apprehensively and wonder if heâll comment on your use of his nameâ needless, this time. After all there are no ears or eyes in these walls. Youâre not sure what youâll do if he asks you to stop.Â
âAre you sure?â you nod, mouth strained in a thin smile. Bakugo frowns but ultimately gives you your space. âMake sure you catch up. If youâre not down in ten minutes Iâm coming backâ.Â
âI will,â you land heavily on the edge of the bed, wrinkling the sheets as you unclip your pelt. The collar of your ill-fitted shirt slips forward with the motion to reveal cleavage, and Bakugo immediately averts his gaze.Â
âWhatever,â he rasps, unexpectedly shy. The door slams as he leaves. You right the collar, tugging it back up, lips pressed thin to repress the laughter that bubbles in your chest. Aimless and left to your own devices you take a solitary moment to groom the pelt in your lap, marbled and downy-soft. Brushing through the coat, fingertips trace the rings of black and brown.
Things are so different. Being a person is more overwhelming than you imagined. Being locked away had kept you in a state of inertia, suffocating in numb misery, but now you were left to grapple with the immense spectrum of human emotion. Urges and wants that you had never experienced before meeting Katsuki.Â
You swallow, staring at the spaces between your fingers. Spaces filled with short tan fur. Selkie marriages were simultaneously complicated and simple. Rather, they were so simple that they bore unnecessary complications.Â
A stolen pelt creates a one sided bond but upon return it is consummated. Between two selkies in courting pelts were exchanged, solidifying their promise to one another, deeply unified by their magic. Elder podmates said that it meant they belonged to only one another. Abandoning the tides, in a way.Â
Since being a pup the voice of the sea was a ceaseless whisper you were always aware of. Yet since Katsuki held your seal skin, unknowingly cradled your very being and returned it to you with only sincere intention, that voice had gradually been ebbing away.Â
Would there come a day that you no longer recalled your identity as a selkieâ? No. You quickly smother the thought. The immaterial, chimerical magic that made up your very being could never be forgotten. And deep down, you knew Katsuki would not let you. Indeed, you can only picture his surly retaliation if you ever woke up and could not recall your lineage.Â
With that you get to your feet. Ten minutes would soon pass and his probable wrath was enough motivation. You consider the pelt in your grasp and give a surreptitious glance around the room for somewhere to hide it. Taking it into a tavern full of drunken strangers and mariners seemed like a much worse idea.Â
After rolling it up tight you stuff it behind the pillows at the head of the bed, further pulling over the coverlets. The hallway is quiet when you step out. You lock the door, tensing at the loud click. You can hear muffled laughter rising through the floors.Â
It grows in volume when you step out into the evening air. Slurred conversation and bickering pour through the tavern windows. At front is a large, arched door, overshadowed by a dark blue awning. The wood panels are weatherworn and rustic, covered in rivets. You reach for the brass handle. Itâs heavy in your palm as you turn it, using your full strength to push forward.Â
First, you are met with a crescendo of boisterous cheers. Stepping inside, your eyes are drawn to the green dyed sailcloths hung from the rafters above the bar. The establishment is modestly sized, enough that there is a longtable set up in the centre of the room and a fair few smaller roundtables dotted with stools.Â
Across the far end of the tavern is a line of small booths, separated by wooden screens decorated with mosaic carvings. Oil lamps are hooked on the walls, casting a warm sepia hue that seems to cohesively bring everything together. It felt welcoming, and intimate, like approaching a friend by the fire.Â
You try to seek out a familiar head of blonde hair. The place is busy but nobody bats an eyelid at your entrance, lively enough that you cannot hear clearly above the overlapping voices around you, intermingling with the low playing of music.Â
âLost, stranger?â
You startle.Â
She finds you easily, like sheâd been waiting. Mina curls an arm around your back, pressure light as if she was suddenly worried about being too familiar. It tightens when you lean into her and she smiles with more vigour.Â
âCâmon. Letâs get you something to eatâ.Â
The distance between you and them is barely that of a crevice, but it is daunting, yawning like a trench. Over in the far left booth, both secluded and closest to the bar, is a group of friends. Directly beneath a lantern strung onto a hook, Katsuki is bathed in orange and nursing a drink. The others are tucked away in the booth, cups and plates lining the table top. Their laughter slows as you approach and you battle the urge to recoil from everyoneâs eye. Mina, sensing the discomfort, begins to rub her hand along your back.Â
âAll of you scoot up,â she asserted, wiggling her pointer finger. âMake some space for us!â
They move around on the long, curved seat to make space. You end up on Katsukiâs right, sandwiched in by Sero who smiles, though awkward, earlier remorse persisting as you take your place beside him. âWhatâs the verdict, are you happy with your room? Best I got from Bakugo is a gruntâ.Â
âYeah, I like it. You did good picking this place. Itâs cosy,â you glance over toward Katsuki. âBeats a cave. The fireplace is nice. I wonder if it worksâŠâ
Mina tucks into Kirishimaâs side where he sits across from you. Most of the plates are piled up in front of him, food aplenty to sate his dragon-sized appetite. His chin dimples as his bottom lip juts forward, âYou guys get a fireplace? Thatâs so unfairâ.Â
âCâmon, Kiri. The fireplace is there forâŠââKaminari leans in, suggestively lowering his voice and nudging Katsukiâs left armâââŠambianceâ.Â
You feel a gentle nudge. Katsuki, ignoring his friend's harmless influx of innuendos, slides a glass across the table toward you. âWhat is it?â you ask, bringing it to your lips. The liquid is dark, red like fresh blood, but it smells fruity. Before he can tell you, youâve taken a sip.Â
It is weighty on your tongue, unlike anything youâve tasted before. Cherries and jam and oddly well paired notes of spicy tobacco. The corner of his mouth curls into a barely there smile, pleased at the immediate delighted sound. He brings forward a large opened bottle and presents it to you.Â
âBarmaid gave us this to share,â Katsuki taps at the calligraphy on the label. âItâs wine. Expensive too, usuallyâ.Â
âGuess marriage does have benefits,â Sero gibed, raising a glass of amber liquid you assume to be beer. Expression open in sincere merriment, he declares, âTo the happy couple!âÂ
Six glasses come together, toasting to your accidental bond, alcohol spilling over your hands. Katsukiâs cup is there too, his monotonous voice blending into their hurrahs. A hand slides from the back of the booth to rest upon your shoulders and you lean into it, heat prickling over your skull at the feel of his bare skin. Blood thinning, belly full, inhibitions lost to bliss.Â
Mina brings her hands together in a succinct clap, weaving her fingers. âAnother round!â she beams, and the enthusiasm stirs once more.Â
The evening crawls on. Your modest group barely puts a dent into the chaotic din but it sure can eat. Youâre made to swallow your fill under Katsukiâs directionâwatching you closer than he did anyone elseâand savour the dishes, heady and complimented by your flavoursome wine.Â
Stories pass through loosened lips, new and old. You donât mention it when Kaminari repeats himself twice overâ nobody else does, either. You all sink into the balmy atmosphere, sharing food and conversation, relaxing entirely for what felt like the first time in months.Â
Sero chokes on his drink as Kirishima recounts the story of when he and Katsuki first became friends. How the tiny blonde barbarian would sneak up on him through the bushes, throw rocks at his tender head, and challenge him to battle all in pursuit of friendship.Â
Your shoulders shake, burrowing into Katsukiâs side to sap his warmth. Bare skin pebbles as your fingertips skim his ribs, poking near his armpit. âWould it kill you to communicate like a normal person?â
Trembling mouth pressed firmly together, Katsuki refuses to give anyone the satisfaction of making him laugh. You see through it plain as day. âShut up,â he grumbles. Â
âDidnât even flinch when ma threatened to eat him if I came home with any more teeth missing,â Kirishima continued, sighing happily. âMy bro is so manlyâ.Â
Steadily the energy begins to dwindle into a pleasant hum. Youâre together, drunk on wine and laughter and a sense of harmony. Being with them is startlingly effortless. It feels like family.Â
In the recesses of your mind you think, I donât want to let go.Â
âHey,â Katsuki says, sharper when nobody hears him. âHey, shitheadsâ. You lift your head from where it had come to rest on his shoulder, cheek slightly numb. âThink Iâm going to head upâ.
You hear a chorus of sluggish objections with no real heat behind them. While heâs fighting off their interrogation you simply watch him, awkwardly angled and ignoring the twinge in your neck. The bead in his braid glints in the low light.Â
Sensing your stare, Katsuki looks down at you, dappled by lamp light. The flames dance in his irises, gaze unbearably soft, as it had been that first night by the campfire. You hold your breath when he sets his thumb with his tongue and uses it to wipe a crumb from your cheek. The touch is like a spark to flint. A fleeting sort of hope stirs in your chest, like this is all youâd been waiting for, that the universe was finally making things right for you.Â
Then he snatches his hand back, as though waking up to what he was doing.Â
âIâm going to bed. You idiots better behave,â he groused, returning his focus to the group. You mourn his attention. âIf we get kicked out early Iâll kill youâ.Â
âYou love us too much,â Mina tucks her drunken smirk into the cradle of her palm, arm almost slipping with the weight. Cloudy eyes follow Katsuki as he forces his way out of the booth like a bull. âAdmit it!âÂ
Bending at the waist he meets her stare head on and deadpans, âDieâ. Mina merely laughs and plants a kiss on his forehead that he aggressively rubs away as he leaves.Â
You stay a little longer but find your mood dampening. Katsukiâs absence makes known an ache usually quelled by the weight of your pelt, almost as though his presence had placated that innate yearning for home. The thought leaves you dizzy.Â
âI think Iâm going to go, too,â you announce out of the blue.Â
Expressions fall, concerned. Kaminari tilts into your space. You barely even blink at the proximity now. âEverything alright? Yâdont feel sick or anything, do you?âÂ
âNo, not at allââ he frowns at you, unconvinced, ââI just feel like going for a soak before bed. Sero, you said there was a bathhouse?âÂ
Sero perks up at his name and nods loosely, head barely held by his neck. âYeah! Theyâre around the back, apparently. Just walk beyond the stairwell,â he shoots you a thumbs up. âTheyâre mixed but only guests can use âem, so donât worry about it being crowdedâ.Â
Thatâs comforting to know. If luck was on your side it would be empty. You duck out of the tavern with a final wave and a promise to see them in the morning. Thankfully the boisterous chatter grows dull as you step into the night air, stopping to look up the stairwell. You hope Katsuki can sleep through it.Â
Heeding Seroâs instructions you follow the beaten path around the back of the tavern. There you discover another building, smaller, but with a steeped tile roof and shuttered windows. Curious, you gently lift the green dyed curtain hung in the doorway and enter the earthen-floored threshold.Â
You are led to what you guess is a small changing area. Cabinets left open, again each handle corresponding the key colours. You find a lavender ribbon and peer around the empty space, contemplating getting undressed.Â
Gathering courage you pull the strings in your shirt slack, slipping your arms from the sleeves and pulling it over your head. Tepid air breathes over your skin as you push down your pants, stepping out of them where they pool at your feet. Your clothes are folded and left on the shelf, boots lined neatly by the doorway.Â
Further in is an open space covered in tiles of smooth green. There are low stools and basins with natural running water, washcloths and soaps. While unpracticed you are at least somewhat familiar with bathhouse etiquette. Sitting hesitantly, hissing as your bare thighs meet the cool wood, you dip one of the cloths to soak and begin to scrub at your body.Â
The knots in your muscles become undone with the repetitive motions, again and again until youâre lathered in bubbles. You breathe in, feeling the humidity cling to your lungs, and rinse away the soaps.Â
Eventually you dub yourself clean enough to enter the baths. The seafoam tiles soon taper to stone that borders the baths. You take in the tall ceiling with beautiful carvings along the walls and high placed glass windows allowing the moon to shine in easily. The patterns are comfortingly familiar. Shells, waves, gulls, rock formations and arches. Though the bathhouse is much warmer, hot tendrils of steam rising from the bubbling water.Â
Penumbral light glinted on the water's surface. It held a distinct earthy scent, rolling in from the nearby springs. Again, you are reminded of a tide pool, but deeper. Clear and clean and natural. What immediately seizes your attention is the familiar man sitting close by, a head of wet golden hair still somehow holding its shape, the loose strands that typically make up his braid now tucked behind his ear.Â
Katsuki tips back to rest on the bath's edge. A thin white towel is laid across his face. Your gaze follows the slope of his shoulders, roving over his defined chest, skin pink with the heat. Rivulets run between his pecs to his sternum, lower body distorted below the water but patently bare, same as you. You exhale a breath you hadnât known you were holding and quickly look away from his lap.Â
Time spent with Katsuki taught you that he hated being treated delicately. Tip toeing around this was not an option. You would join him in the baths and behave as normal. Butâ
Humans were fickle about nakedness. Where should you sit? What is an appropriate distance? Straying too far could make him defensive, yet getting too close mightâ
âAre you going to stand there all night?âÂ
Startled, the soles of your feet almost slip on the smoothed stone. âYou knew it was me?âÂ
Katsuki scoffs. The towel remains over his eyes, obstructing his view, that which you were grateful for. Your previous indifference had so abruptly burgeoned into apprehension. Just the thought that he might see you this glaringly bare and skinless, a body without boundaries, made your stomach swoop. It is a peculiar sensation; you wanted him to look and you didnât.Â
âNobody else thinks that loud. Unless youâre Deku,â you can imagine his eyes rolling, the exasperation clear in his voice, though not unkind. The corded muscles in his shoulders shift beautifully as his arm stretches across the bathâs edge, wrist limp to allow his fingertips to breach the surface. He flicks the water in your direction, creating capillary waves. âJustâ fuckinâ get in alreadyâ. Â
âRight,â you laugh quietly under your breath, descending the steps into the baths. The heated water is soothing, climbing the length of your lengths, eventually coming to rest above your hips.Â
You sink near to him and pointedly keep your eyes above his collar. Katsuki neither twitches nor acknowledges your approach. In fact, you arenât sure he is even breathing. It occurs to you that he too could be nervous, tempted to look but refraining. The possibility of being wanted by him brings a sudden sharp sort of awareness that slides through you and heightens your senses.Â
Outstretched fingertips brush featherlight between your shoulder blades where you lean back against the wall. You sit with your knees close to your breast, relieved to be covered. âI thought you were heading to bed,â you comment quietly.Â
âSaw the path and followed it,â he replies, stiff shoulder jerking as he shrugs. âWanted some quietâ.Â
A deep pink flush is spreading across his collarbones, clawing up the column of his throat. Your rational mind knows it is caused by the steam, yet the greedy part of you, the part so distinctly human, wants to know if you affect him as much as he affects you.Â
These feelings had gradually been accumulating since the very beginning. Youâve no idea where to put them. The voice in your hindbrain all but panics at the idea of leaving. Youâve spent a lifetime listening to your instincts and theyâre telling you to keep your place at his side.Â
You inhale until the pressure in your chest is smothered by your lungs and your heart beat slows. Exhale. The water shifts in sync with your subtle movement. Emboldened by the wine in your veins you slide closer. The soft hair on your legs prickles, everything in you gravitating toward him. Katsuki doesnât acknowledge it.Â
âAlways staring,â a flustered growl snaps you back to reality. âYou got something to say to me?âÂ
âNo,â you answer too quickly.Â
âGood,â his upper body sinking lower. After a length of silence it must get to him. Voice pitched low, as though afraid to disturb the atmosphere, he mutters, âEver had a bath this big, back at that shitty castle?âÂ
You snort. He turns at the sound and the surface ripples as you quickly smother it with your wet palm. Itâs easy to picture the searing glare beneath the face towel. âSorry. Itâs just,â your mouth pulls into a tipsy grin. âAll things considered, this place is pretty small to meâ.Â
âDumbass. You know what I meant,â he huffs, not bothering to hide his fond exasperation. âThe sea doesnât countâ.Â
Humans are cute, you concluded. Trying to emulate the ocean in their warm wooden structures. âIt counts,â you insist, moving closer still. Youâre giddy in the water, with him. Like youâre sharing some special part of yourself in a strange way. âHave you been?â
A rough hum, âWhere?âÂ
âThe seaâ.Â
âWhich one?âÂ
The steam must be making you light headed. Youâre tucked to his side again. Thigh to thigh. Skin against skin. You are acutely aware of your shared nakedness. His arm has slipped over the bath's edge to drape around your shoulders. âThe closest, obviously. Or any of them,â you knock your knees together. âItâs not like you to be purposefully obtuseâ.Â
âBig attitude for a little fish,â he mutters, free hand reaching for the towel, sliding it up to his hairline and revealing a crooked grin. Your heart squeezes. âCourse Iâve been in the ocean. Flown over it on Red a few times tooâ.Â
You want to do that, too. To bear witness to the wind driving the currents from above, feel the sea salt spray sharp on your cheeks, touch the unreachable seam where your two worlds become indistinguishable.
âNever bathed in it, though?âÂ
âNo,â he drawled, an impatient edge to his tone. âI donât plan on giving the finfolk an eyeful of my dick anytime soonâ.Â
You laugh, âLike you are now, you mean?â
Katsuki tears off the face towel before youâve any time to process it. The water thrashes. You darenât look away. His stare has a certain ferality, pupils dilated, fair lashes damp from the steam and clumped into little spikes; it pins you in place like prey.Â
The blush across his chest is matched in his cheeks. A droplet slides down the delicate slope of his nose. You feel the surface of the water calm and settle just above your breast. You watch his gaze flicker reflexively to them, then to the ceiling, then clamping shut with a growl. Apprehension pulses through you and your thighs clench.Â
âYouââ he inhales sharply, gathering his thoughts. You track the movement of his tongue as it swipes across his lips. Thickly, Katsuki asks, âWhat are you trying to do here, exactly?âÂ
A sense of dejection comes over you and your immediate response is to feign innocence. âSoak with you,â which is no more than a half truth. You attempt to create some distance and his arm coils around your waist. Any effort to twist away from him proves futile; a snake that constricts the more you struggle. He doesnât allow you to slip away, hand hot at your hip.Â
âYeah?â but thereâs no real bite, no vitriol as he drags you closer. âSoaking, sâthat what you call this? Rubbing up against me, practically climbing into my lap?â
You might feel demeaned if not for the lust hemming his words. His grip is bruising, fingers kneading soft flesh. You can see this for what it isâ a choice, a question. Heâs confused, and wanting. Presenting an opportunity for you to change your mind in the face of his callousness. Katsuki is kind, in his own way.Â
Your palms come to rest over his sternum, pushing with no real effort, an accomplice in whatever cat and mouse game he was trying to play. His breathing picks up, abdomen clenching. You stare where bodies meet, low light reflecting off the wet sheen. Beneath your touch his heartbeat ricochets around his ribs.Â
Katsuki calls you. Your name is barely above a whisper. Peering up through your lashes as his hand comes to cup your nape, the other massages simple shapes into your hip, his fingers splayed across your navel. You exhale shakily as his pinky fits into the crease of your thigh.Â
He cradles your nape, guides you into his magnetism, and then youâre tiltingâ your world with itâ into a careful kiss. Static blankets your thoughts. Katsukiâs lips slot over your own, a gentle press that quickly grows feverish as your tongue traces the seam of his mouth.Â
Exhaling harshly through his nose he drags you over his lap, the bath water splashing onto the stone tiles, holding you to his front in a way that makes it difficult to discern where you end and he begins. You have all of him now. Half hard under you and tense like he was exerting effort not to do anything about it. Hands wandering, mapping out the topography of your body, clutching greedily at your thighs. Smoke fills your throat, a tang of explosive magic lingering in the grooves of your teeth.Â
Minutes passed imperceptibly. You leave it feeling as though all the sinew in your body had unravelled, undone in his embrace like loose skeins of yarn. Katsuki doesnât appear any more composed than you are; staring at you, slack with hunger, jaw relaxed the way a beast would do to taste the air. Palms cupping his cheeks, thumbs moving in idle back and forth motions under his eyes, you smileâ
âKatsuki,â you murmur reverently. For reasons you canât understand, it wakes him up. Snaps him out of his stupor. Panic flits over his features and youâre being pushed away, deposited back into the water. It rocks with the abrupt movement, waves breaking against your chest as he brusquely wades toward the steps with the small towel barely covering his modesty.Â
Echoing louder now, âKatsuki?âÂ
And he was gone.Â
You stare at the entrance to the baths for a long time, willing him to return. You stare until your eyes sting and youâre forced to blink. All thatâs left is the soft sound of the running springs, your shallow breath, and the muffled chanting of a few drunken men.Â
An emptiness makes home in your chest. Bereft, you follow in his steps, exiting the baths and heading to the changing room. You pat yourself down, rough towel absorbing the moisture, and pull on your clothes.Â
A hopeful spark catches when a figure ducks in under the curtain. Snuffed out, then, when Mina greets you cheerily. She seems to have sobered up for the most part, more coherent than youâd last seen her.Â
âYou took a dip too?â she bounces on the balls of her feet as she undoes her shirt buttons, oblivious to your somber disposition. âI saw Bakugo come from this way too. Looked a little constipated if you ask me. I thought hot baths were supposed to relax you, notââ
Finally, she looks at you. Her voice stops as her brows pinch into a frown. You offer a brittle smile and endure the scrutiny. âDid something happen?â she asks worriedly.Â
Your throat closes up. Your teeth sink into your cheek and lower your gaze to the tiled floor, cracks overlapping as your vision blurs. Mina reaches for you. She halts in your periphery, thoughts and actions misaligned. A flash of hesitance, and then determination. She strides across the threshold to pull you into an embrace. Her arms slip around your shoulders, crossing over one another at your nape, tightening.Â
The tension begins to soften. Your body slumps, sinking into her kindhearted warmth as the rigidity weakens with your resolve. Bowing into the crook of her neck, you inhale her gentle scent. A soliflore smell, a flower you donât know the name of, earthy undertones and hints of sakĂ©.Â
Your eyes are wet. Tears cling to your lashes as you blink. The moths dancing in the lamp light blurs, small specks of white stretching and flickering like pallid butterflies. Breathing shuttered, thereâs a thickness in your throat that squeezes your voice into a frail whisper.Â
âThank youâ.Â
She hums, rubbing a comforting hand along the top of your spine. Her natural heat seeps through the thin fabric of your shirt. Though her arms are muscled they are also supple, like her chest, like her waist. You havenât been held like this since you last saw your podmates.Â
After a few beats she asks, âDo you want to talk about it?âÂ
You shake your head, grasping your bearings, âNoâ. Itâs best left between you and Katsuki.Â
âIf youâre sure,â Mina gives a final crushing hug before releasing you. âIâm bunking with Sero tonight. Knock if you need anythingâ.Â
âI will,â you say on the end of a shuddering exhale. âIâll see you in the morningâ.Â
She hums, watching apprehensively as you make your way through the changing rooms. The retention of her heat clings to your clothing when you step into the cold night air. Your boots rub at the sore skin around your ankles, fitting loose, having foregone tying the laces. They encumber your steps, obtrusively loud and ungainly on your journey up the stairwell.Â
A closed door should not be so daunting. Your hand hovers over the handle, steadily turning it, flinching as the locks click open. Low light floods in from the hallway and your eyes adjust to the darkness between blinks, the shape of a figure under the covers sharpening into view. Katsuki is laid on his back, hand disappearing under the pillow beneath his head where your bunched up pelt resides.Â
Hesitant, you shut the door and kick off your dirty shoes. You tiptoe around the frame and climb into bed. You try to alleviate your weight, balanced between your hands and knees so the mattress wonât dip, yet it is futile. âIâm sorry, Katsuki,â you whisper, feeling fragile as you lower into the linens. Heâs awake, you can tell despite his efforts to appear otherwise, because you feel him stroking your sealskin between his thumb and forefinger.Â
ââŠShouldnât have done that,â his cadence is unsettlingly calm; gently sheathing the sharp words. âWeâve been getting too comfortable, letting shit influence us. It was just the magic talkingâ.Â
What?Â
âItâs notââ
âGo to sleep,â the volume raises in momentary frustration, but as quick as it came, anger dissipating. Dropping his head into the pillows he looks as defeated as you feel. He closes his eyes. âI wonât fuckinâ do anything to you so just. Sleepâ.Â
You try, fitfully. The atmosphere is unbearable, keeping you glued to the far side of the bed lest you accidentally touch one another. Pressing your fingertips to your lips, you remember. You ache. You stare into the shadows and wonder at what point did the intentions become so crossed.Â
Katsuki valued the right to choose above all else. You liked that about him. He respected and surrounded himself with people who steered their own destiny, marching to the beat of his own drum; a rhythm you had fortuitously interrupted. In his mind heâd given into a temptation, and that act of indulgence was somehow the same as losing in battle.Â
Katsuki viewed your relationship as an infliction he needed to fight against.Â
That knowledge hurts you in ways you hadnât expected. The words âweâre getting too comfortableâ reverberated around your skull. Perhaps he was right. Somewhere along the lines you forgot that these truly were temporary circumstances, childishly wishing that maybe heâd come to love you, that you could simply accept this reality and grow into each other like a child into new shoes.Â
You blink. Linens rise and fall with his shallow breath. Katsukiâs mouth is open, the corner of his mouth wet with drool. His lips smack together as he bundles you closer. Unconscious, yet still seeking you out. Heâs devastating even when heâs not trying to be.Â
Sleep feels impossible.Â
Then you wake.Â
Morning spills her dewy light throughout the room. Katsukiâs side of the bed is emptyâ made up and tucked at the corners. Cold. You are suddenly a distance apart and scrambling to make it all better again.
You push up into a sitting position. The bedsheets shift and pool around your hips, creasing the perfect slate Katsuki left. You rummage for the pelt hidden behind the pillows, dragging it out and around your shoulders, ducking your nose into the dark fur for comfort before tying it to your midriff.Â
Judging by the sunâs position you would guess it is still quite early. Sluggish movement can be heard through the thin walls, indicating that others are awake. Knowing Katsuki he would want to set off early to find Uraraka, especially after last night.
Another figure joins you in the hallway. Kaminari remains unaware of your presence as he fiddles clumsily with the key, squawking when it almost slips between his fingers. Heâs dishevelled, shirt half tucked into his belt, cuffs undone and hung off his wrists; thereâs still an impression of his pillow printed on his left cheek.Â
Having finally turned the lock, Kaminari spins on his heel with a happy hum. The tune escalates into a shriek as he notices you standing a few feet away. âHolyâ! Warn a guy, would ya?â he clutches at his chest, exhaling harshly. âI think my heart just stoppedâ.Â
âSorry Kaminari,â amused by his shrill intonation and melodramatics, you smile for the first time that morning. It exaggerates the bags under your eyes. âDid you sleep well?â
âLike a baby,â he falls into step with you, knocking your elbows together on your way out into the stairwell. âI donât think you can say the same, though,â his mouth twists into a smirk, âdid Kacchan keep you up all night?âÂ
Normally the teasing wouldnât bother you. In many ways you saw it as a sign of acceptance into the group. Now you wince like somebody had carelessly pressed a bruise on your body. Kaminari, for all his obliviousness, knows when to drop the masquerade.Â
Your smile tightens uncomfortably as his fingers circle your wrist. In daylight you are left feeling exposed, unable to temper the regret written so plainly across your face. His mouth opens and shuts, searching fruitlessly for the right words, only to be interrupted by a callous shout from below.Â
Katsukiâs voice is incredibly distinct. Heâs yelling, which is nothing new, but now it is with genuine frustration. Kirishima, Mina and Sero are there alongside him, speaking in low tones as you would to an untamed animal.Â
Kaminari tugs at your sleeve and gives you a meaningful glance, gently coaxing you to the bottom of the stairs. He mustâve at least connected Katsukiâs poor mood with your own. âKacchan, my man. It is too early for all this shouting,â he implored, settling back into his jovial self.Â
You collect yourself, trying to retain shape and rationality as Kaminari draws Katsukiâs ire. Those vermillion eyes rove over you, head to toe, before flickering to the man on your right. Fast, like heâs afraid to look too long. Nostrils flare. The warm puff of air from his nose is visible in the cool air.Â
âItâs late enough. What took you so long?â Katsuki snarled, poking a finger harshly between Kaminariâs eyebrows. âThe keep told me cheeks is planning on leaving today, so all of you get movingâ.Â
Kaminari pouts, rubbing at the spot. The pale skin turns slightly pink. Unheeding of the wary scrutiny he is receiving, Katsuki charges onwards in expectation that everyone will follow. Kirishima raises a brow at his shape verbiage but doesnât comment. He takes you under his arm in a half hug, sharing a look of understanding with Mina and the others.Â
Sero recounts their findings. According to the townspeople, Uraraka, the occultist, landed her abode miles outside of their bounds and set up wards in the valley to confuse strangers. It steered them in opposing directions and sent them in circles, practically making her impossible to find. Youâre worried clear up until your group crests the precipice of a steep hill several hours later.
You take in the gentle undulations of earth and fauna. Grass tall enough to brush your shoulders, wildflowers and weeds hugging the barely worn path, sparingly tended nature left to flourish. The magic becomes apparent with proximity. It hangs in the air like humidity, an unnatural sheen muddying your vision. Katsuki continued with brass-bound determination; weaving skilfully through the runes, barrier fracturing under the pressure of his explosive palms.Â
Thereâs a quaint cottage in the middle of the glen, done up with a sweet ivy on the walls, latticed strips of wood around the windows, and a cobbled chimney towering from the pink tiled roof. Each windowsill appeared to have a different unidentifiable herb growing on it. A small, circular stained glass window in the door refracted the afternoon light, a knocker below it. Hanging by the door frame is a wind chime, shells tied to strings producing delicate crisp sounds in the breeze; in the effort to knock, Katsuki shoulders it carelessly, and the tune turns sour.Â
His fist comes down with hard momentum, stopped midway by another. âBe careful,â Kirishima gently chides. Katsuki shoves his hand off, sparing him an incredulous glare, which the shifter subjugates with a pointed reminder: âShe won't help you if you bust her door down, bro. Play niceâ.Â
Katsuki grunted his understanding, jaw clenched. He raps his knuckles on the wood. The sound is dull, and you stare down at your scuffed boots as an unpleasant pang of anxiety knocks around your chest. A voice shouts from inside, somebody scurrying around, then the door is pulled open.Â
âCan IâBakugo?!â
âUraraka,â Katsuki greets bluntly, giving a short nod. It is the first time youâve ever heard him say her name. His hands flex at his sides, restless. Through gritted teeth he adds, âDeku sent me. I need your help with somethingâ.Â
âOh,â Uraraka exhales in disbelief. She steps back, pink slippered feet in your periphery. âCome in, then. I havenât seen you guys in foreverâŠâ
Their voices fade into the background. All at once subconscious acts like breathing and blinking become tiresome. Hearing him let go of his pride felt so final. You fall away, stuck in a cold fog. Your gait is uneven as you remind yourself to put one foot in front of the other, incognisant to the worried looks thrown your way.Â
You remember being seated on a plush feather-pillowed sofa. Hands running over your shoulders, grounding you. You reach for your pelt, sinking fingers into the downy fur, and find no comfort in it. Now youâre here it feels more like a husk, leaden and hollow, ready for you to be stuffed into.Â
âYou married a selkie by accident?â Uraraka blanched, her volume rousing you from your haze. âYou know, Bakugo, for someone so smart your ignorance is truly astoundingâ.Â
âCan you fucking reverse it or not?âÂ
âReverse it. Are you kidding? Youâre not. Gods, Bakugoâbreaking a soul bond isnât common,â Uraraka snaps, rubbing roughly at her eyelids as she loses patience. You feel a pang of guilt, that which worsens as it unearths the hope that perhaps she wouldnât be able to separate you from him. âMost of the methods are based on myth. You realise it will be incredibly painful, and possibly for nothing?â
You take in the surroundings while they continue to bicker. The cottage is modest. A small foyer leads to the living space, rugs of various shapes and colours laid to insulate a path through the house, runes and scrawls carved into the hardwood walls. Logs presumably for fuelling the hearth monopolise much of the space, spilling out from the nook in which theyâre stacked. There is nothing particularly otherworldly, at least not where you can see it. Uraraka obviously lives within her means, a humble and frugal person despite wielding magic of her calibre.Â
âI do have something I can try, â she sighs with a sidelong glance. The skin on her lip breaks between her teeth. Your prolonged silence has likely done nothing to reassure her. You try to feign interest, to smile and express gratitude, but she grimaces.Â
âWhat do we have to do?â
âEssentially I can sever the bond at the stem but not the root,â the group is quiet, tense as they listen. Minaâs grip is bruising, as though making sure you were still there. âThe dissolution of your marriage will only be complete when the selkie returns to the sea. Within a day or two theyâll⊠forget youâ. Â
You sense the atmosphere darken. Katsuki shifts his weight in your periphery. Neither one of you can look at the other. Whether heâs threatened by your feelings or ashamed of them you canât be sure, but what you know is that they are real, sown and tended in the weeks you spent together.Â
Kirishima exhales a shuddered breath. His big body crouches before you, warm hand resting on your knee. Kaminari and Sero linger on either side, watching over the scene, wearing grief plainly on their faces. A broken part of you wants to laugh. They are acting as if this is your wake.Â
âAre you sure about this?â he implores, discreet and unintentionally cruel. If you were to say no, what of you then? Nothing to do but follow them on their journey, dragging along like the hide of some shorn animal. Stuck waiting for Katsuki to resent you over an incredibly frustrating and misplaced presumption that he played a part in fabricating your thoughts and feelings. Â
Urarakaâs method may well cleave the ties created in your accidental matrimony. You trust in her capabilities because Katsuki clearly respects them. Youâll say yes. And after it all, when your soul has been excavated, when youâve gone home crying to your mother, rocked to sleep in her gentle undertow, you will still stubbornly want him.Â
The thought comes unbidden, a sudden clarity that overcomes you. At that point he would have no room to question your will. âIâm sure,â you say, still breathless with the realisation. âYou can go ahead with it, Urarakaâ.Â
Hesitating in her movement, Uraraka considers you for a moment longer before disappearing down the hall. When she returns she pulls seven tear shaped crystals from a velvet satchel. Dread churns in your stomach, sensing the energy emanating from them.Â
She begins to recite machinations beyond your comprehension. Opalescent rays of light burst from within her enclosed fist where it pressed against her mouth, dappling sentient shadows across her face, now taut with concentration. Her features ripple and distort, not unlike a reflection on the ocean's surface, then fades into obscurity as the spell settles into its conduit.Â
Uraraka hands the lustre of the stone to you, knuckles pale as she squeezes the magic out into your cupped palms. As a pup you would try to drink sunlight, specks chased across the seabed as the clouds shifted, caught like a cat to a mouse only to remain empty handed. Light was not made up of solid matterâ it was intangible. To be felt, seen, but not touched.Â
Yet it is swirling in your hands like that lovely warm wine from the night before, slipping through the thin cracks in your fingers. âDrink it,â she coaxes gently.Â
You look at Katsuki. His eyes flicker up to meet your own. Thereâs an awful urgency coursing through your body, frozen like a fawn, something inside willing you to stop. Begging him to speak up. He lowers his gaze, expression pinched and inwardly furious.Â
Heel to chin, you tip your head back as if drinking from a cup. Her magic is entirely flavourless, waning with your own imagination as if it were allowing you to choose the taste yourself. The consistency is like steam; inhaled rather than swallowed, and hot on the roof of your mouth.Â
Elemental magic was external in the way it bursts forth from the user, often causing flesh wounds or dramatic change in the terrain. You think of Katsuki, the calamity at his fingertips, juxtaposed by the tender manner in which he would always touch you, cauterising your fear. Urarakaâs magic is unforgiving and uniquely invasive. It is so much worse than being burned.Â
It spreads through your sinuses like searing wildfire, pressure balloons behind your eye sockets, undoing the seams that make up the very fabric of your being. Waves of nausea engulf you, throat tight and constricted. Breathing laboured and irregular, you fight against the urge to retch it all up.Â
Itâs too much. The incorporeal spell pierces through your mind, tearing at the bond, more overwhelming than anything youâve ever been dealt. Knife-like pain persists after her chanting stops. You wince and cradle your head, weeping as it passes. Left in its wake is a muted soreness throbbing across your brain.Â
âHi,â Uraraka is before you, ducking to examine for any injury. Careful, her fingers encircle your wrists and pry your hands away. âYouâre okay. Can you look at me?â
You squint, reluctant to blink and irritate the soreness around your eyes. âHowâs your vision?â she asked, sotto voce. Her touch is deliberate and gentle, slightly pulling down your bottom eyelids, petting over your jaw and down the nape of your neck, feeling for something. âDoes anything feel wrong, or out of place?â
Wrong? your mind echoes. Out of place? Cold is creeping into your muscles, gritty and dense like wet sand. Youâre unnerved by the veil of apathy that settles around you. âI donât think Iâm injured. The light is more intense. Hurts,â you admit, voice breaking.Â
Everything that remains the same yet is somehow more drab, lacking colour and difficult to look at. Your friends, clinging to each other. Your Katsuki, staring back at you. âBut I can still see everythingâ.Â
âGood,â she breathes, relief entirely palpable. If this is success then you wonder what the worst outcome mightâve been. âThatâs good. If you reach for the bond, is it there?âÂ
Youâre not sure what she means. Seeking connection you clutch your sealskin to your front, kneading at the familiar fur. Itâs minor but itâs backâ the voice belonging to the tide, beckoning you to shift again. âI donât think so,â you reply.Â
âThen thereâs only one thing left to do,â Uraraka smiles and covers your hands with her own. You sense the tips of her fingers ever so slightly across your collar where they brush the pelt bunched in your fists. âYouâre free now. You can go back homeâ.Â
Her soothing countenance might as well be dry grass to your precipitous anger. âRight,â you deadpan, voice entirely devoid of emotion. Best kept that way, lest you release all your bubbling frustrations onto a woman that only wanted to help you; in her eyesâand the restâyou were just another trapped, useless selkie.Â
That anger carries you to your feet. You want to cry but the tears donât come. When you exit the cottage with a curt bow and a âthank youâ you find yourself in the lead for once, marching ahead of the group. They remain a few feet behind, muttering amongst each other. Without the view of Katsukiâs back you feel lonely. Even so you keep your hurried pace, too afraid to turn around and be inundated with questions.Â
The journey back passes in a blur. Hours, surely, because youâre ready to pass out from the exertion. Loose dirt and geosmin clings to your clothes. Shadows stretch across the emptying streets as dark cloud cover canopies the town, sparse instances of light rainfall that stick to your skin. There's a chill in the air now, a bite to it that rattles your bones and quickens your breath. Itâs damp, imbued with the scent of sea salt.Â
You donât stop, not when the desperate calls of your name begin. Further up the dock is lit golden, lanterns lining cobbled roads and emitting a warm orange glow. You trudge through the quieting bustle, workers scurrying to shelter, while enduring a pervasive sense of wrongness.Â
You donât know what to do with this freedom, this precipice, so joyless and empty. Slowing to descend weather-worn steps onto the beach thereâs a presence at your heel. âShit. Would you slowâ!â Katsuki moves to stop you. His fingers flex, start to close around your wrist. Then they hesitate and fall away, clenching at his side until all the blood recedes from his knuckles. âYou donât need to immediately run off into the damn waterâ.Â
âItâs easier this way,â and quicker, you think.Â
âWhat?â
Listening to the sea sings an ancient litany, you let your anger wash away with the oncoming tide. The whiplash is intense. Your lips tremble, pulling into a tearful smile, laughter bubbling up through your chest, choked by the swell in your throat. âI think I understand why youâre always yelling now,â cumulus clouds pass overhead and bring with them a curtain of rain. âBeing human is very melodramaticâ.Â
Katsuki clearly hadnât expected that, of all things. His expression softens in his surprise. The short hairs by his temples are laid flat, braid swinging in the breeze, the fur around his cloak dark and saturated. âThatâs what this is? Babyâs first tantrum?â his tone is mean, and your hackles would rise if he were not visibly deflating. Katsuki reacts to vulnerability like a wounded dog. He laughs despite himself and scratches at his neck, âFuck. I thought youâd be happy, or something close to itâ.Â
Standing a few feet behind him, Kirishima, Sero, Mina and Kaminari are linked together, waiting to approach. They remain in your line of sight as you consider the barbarian in front of you. A cold shock billows through his cloak, a wave crashing onto the shore. He shivers, but remains stubbornly rooted to the steps.Â
âIâm not happy,â you lamented. âIâm going to miss you. You are an impossible man, Katsuki. Impossible to forget. I wish youâd believe thatâ.Â
Katsukiâs mouth opens and shuts. Silence falls once again, and he canât find the words to fill it. Your fingers work at the belt keeping your hide secure, tugging it loose and letting the sealskin unfurl, blanketing the length of your body.Â
Mina takes this as an indication that you are leaving. She rushes ahead, stumbling past a stunned Katsuki, gathering you into her arms. The pelt is trapped between your bodies as you curl into the embrace. You feel yourself warm up, the wet winds rolling off the sea obstructed by three larger figures trailing right behind her, encasing you in a group hug.Â
Constricted from all sides, the arms around your waist tighten. Minaâs nails dig in, and she shakes you gently in an attempt to scold you, âDonât go leaving us without a proper goodbyeâ.Â
Kirishima is at your back. He must be. The height, the rough skin, the hard spikes in his hair poking at your nape where he inhales deeply, memorising your scent. Sero flanks your left, resting his head on the shifter's shoulder as dark eyes watch you. Kaminari bears down his weight, slumping against your right, a sour metallic taste at the back of your throat as the grip on his magic loosens with emotion.Â
It feels wrong without Katsuki. You crane your neck and look for him. The sight of him dithering off to the side, alone and wearing a visage of muted guilt, makes your insides twist. Your hand bursts through a crevice in the huddle, coaxing him over.Â
He comes. Mina drags him into the middle without fanfare, and enclose around you in a last ditch effort to keep you together. âThis is the worst,â Kaminari snivelled. âItâs like my parents are divorcing all over againâ.Â
Katsuki weakens to it. Gives a quiet, choked laugh and it blows warm across your temple. Youâd know his hands anywhere. Hesitant, they rest on your hips. You close your eyes and centre yourself in the present, tilting your head to rest on his collar. The motion drags your lips up to his jugular and you kiss the words against the damp skin, thicker than intended, âIâmâreally, so happy I met you allâ.Â
The briny air greets you when they finally step away. Mina rubs harshly at her eyes as your feet sink into the sand. There are stragglers by the port but nobody along the beach, so they trail after you to the shore, equal parts unwilling to leave and curious about your selkie form. Â
Youâre pointedly aware of their presence as you shake out your fur. You hold it to your face for a moment, blocking out the wind, the light and the rain with how insulated it is, before setting it on the sand. Kaminari coughs, the group spinning on their heels when you begin to undress. Katsuki does not.Â
Kicking off your boots as you fiddle with your shirt strings, you consider the barbarian, impressing his appearance behind your eyes for a final time. âWhat will you do after this?âÂ
Broad shoulders rise and fall as he sighs. Looks up to the sky, frowning, a blush on his cheeks. âGo further inland to one of the bigger cities to find something to pay back Deku, I guess. Circle around, head back, and then homeâ.Â
Shirt discarded, you unbutton your pants, letting them fall down your thighs, and step out of them. âHow long will you be in the city?â
Shrugging, he grunts, âA week at mostâ.Â
Thatâs good. Long enough to wait out the final stages and prove his place in your memory. You nod, spine straightening with determination. âWhen you circle back I want you to stop here again. Just for a dayâ.Â
That half lidded gaze slides over to you, squinting. Pointedly kept above the shoulders. Searching. âWhy?âÂ
The tide crawls further ashore. A wave breaks around your ankles. Your toes wiggle in the sand, sinking as it is displaced, a small smile curling at your lips. You bend to grab the pelt and slide it around your shoulders like a coat. Itâs comforting, familiar. Energy thrums at the surface of your skin, ready to pull. But you wait.Â
âIn a week. Promise me?â you say without explanation.Â
Katsuki swallows. Eyes boring into yours. His jaw shifts. Then he nods, tersely. Reassured by this you hold the coat tighter, chin tucked as you steady your breathing. Consciously, you reach inward, drawing upon the pelt.
And you change. Falling to your knees, cold water biting at your thighs, you crumple in the sand, body shrinking as flesh and fur meld together. Itâs painful after so long, unsettling to be snapped back abruptly into your hindbrain, but the discomfort eases quickly, like stretching a muscle.Â
You lift your upper body, nose flat and wide and twitching, scenting the air. The sand sifts under bootstrapped feet. A human approaches, beautiful and familiar, lowering into a crouch as you freeze. Forearms resting on his knees, he holds out his fingers. Faintly smoky, a mix of spice and earth.Â
The way in which this man appraises your form is uncomfortably solemn. Vacuous expression betrayed by the gentle light in his eyes. He smiles ruefully and readies himself to speak. Alight with a bitterness that is vaguely accusatory in the oncoming darkness he says, âAlready forgot us, didnât you?â
It steals the breath right from your lungs. Recognition strikes through you. Bakugo Katsuki. The thought is alarmingly fleeting, almost evading your grasp. Nostrils flaring, you drag your body forward to wipe the look of self-deprecation from his face. You nudge your snout into his hand, not shying away from the fierce elemental energy radiating from his palms. You unhinge your jaw, canines gently indenting the heel, as if to scold him.Â
He laughs, disbelief bleeding into the sound. It beckons his pod, more humansâ one not so human. âDonât fuckinâ scare them,â Katsuki calls over his shoulder. Not once do his eyes stray from you.Â
A thick tang of draconic magic overwhelms your senses as the largest in the group mirrors Katsuki, making himself impossibly small, aware of his magnitude and the imbalance between your species. âWowâŠâ the shifter, Kirishima, breathes in awe, genuine rather than tainted with greed. âSo cuteâ.Â
More people come closer. Their faces filter through your memories in bits and pieces, stitching together into a patchwork timeline. âYeahâŠâ Mina echoes the sentiment. She gets on her knees, doesnât care when the waves drench her skirt. âYouâre beautiful like this too,â holding her hand an inch away from your skin, she asks, âCan we pet you?âÂ
Five fingers to your scruff, one hard pull and you could be torn from your rudimentary shell. Human hands are dangerous but not these ones. You give a short tonal whine and hope she interprets it as permission. They do, taking turns tracing the marbled fur and clawed flippers, murmuring awe filled words.Â
The tides are high, wrapping around and coaxing you into their arms. You look toward the horizon and the itch grows. A seamless vista of clouded sky. Warm mouths litter the top of your head with kisses, their blunt human teeth behind soft lips, juxtaposed by rough, barely decipherable mutterings of something that sounds mournful.Â
Mina sniffles as Kirishima helps her to her feet and they wade backwards toward the port. Katsuki cups your muzzle in his palms, searing where his thumbs swoop beneath your cheekbones, brushing over the whiskers by your nose. âStay safe out there, yeah? Donât get eaten by a shark or whatever,â he bends, bringing your foreheads together as if to impress his thoughts onto you. âI won't wait around for a weaklingâ.Â
You can only hope he saw the promise held in your eyes as you stare at his retreating back. The swelling waves pull you into the current, submerged until only your head is above the surface. In the distance your pod breaks into cheers. They line up on the beach, jumping high as their legs will allow, waving their long arms in the air.Â
A descending chorus of trills build in your own throat, mellifluous and loud enough to cut through the wind and the waves. Noise becomes muffled as youâre submerged into the dense water. Wrapped up in brine the ambience fills your head. It pushes out rational thought, drawing only instinct to the forefront.Â
Your vision adjusts quickly to the dark the further you swim. Stretch your flippers and sweep them down like a dragon's wing, flying through the depths until you tire. Coming to an ocean shelf, there you rest. Cradled by a moving, ever evolving element. Creatures big and small pass by. Fish with vermillion scales haloing wide faces dart in and out of your dreams, shimmering under weak streams of sunlight.Â
The shifting tide keeps you cognisant. You linger close to the surface to monitor the sun. Days pass and you are unbearably alone. It is harrowing; this unending, sombre ache. You think of Katsuki. Repeat his name until it sounds foreign. You recall his handsome face, the way his eyes always seemed brighter in the early dawn, how his nose would wrinkle if you stared too long, like heâd tasted something bitter. You miss him.Â
Come the weekâs end youâve become something else, something new. Irrevocably changed by loveâs hand. You recognise that you exist in two worlds: as a selkie, tethered to the seabed and embraced by buoyancy, and as a human, struggling against the currents, compelled back to landâ
To Katsuki.Â
You glide through the waves, riding them as they swell and break onto the shore. Undulating your body, the hitching motion pulls you forward, wriggling up into a cluster of rock pools, safe from any onlookers. You wait there, chin propped on the shoulder of a jagged stone to observe the beach.Â
He finds you there beneath an almost oppressive dusk. The approaching footfalls command attention, announcing his arrival. You slink into the shadows for a moment, detailing the subtleties in Katsukiâs expression on his march along the sand, pinching more and more as he casts he searches the beach. The breeze ripples through the notorious red cloak, fur collar tickling his cheeks. Shirtless, wearing his scars proudly. His pants sit low on his hips, adorning various belts and jewels. Warmth curls up in your chest at the sight of him. Giddy. You remember him.Â
You lift your head. His focus immediately latches onto the movement. A croon rumbles in your throat as he approaches. He climbs up onto the rock, towering over you, his body obstructing the evening sun. It halos around his golden hair. The braid by his ear falls forward as his head tilts, squinting to get a good look at you.Â
The laughter lines by his eyes deepen, brow creasing. Almost slipping as he climbs down, Katsuki frowns at the lack of traction on the surface. You laugh and it comes out like a rough snort. The shallow pools splash loudly under his boots upon landing. He curls his upper lip at you, âLaugh at me and Iâll kill youâ.Â
You do so again, more deliberate this time. He senses your sarcasm and flicks water at you. Your whiskers twitch, subtly tasting the air. He slumps hard on one of the flatter ridges and clicks his tongue. âThis better be you and not some random fuckinâ seal Iâm talking to,â he mutters, embarrassed.Â
Unwilling to prolong your reunion any longer, you shed your pelt. Joints slot into place, the sealskin receding, your human form unearthing as it loosens and pools around your naked lap. Katsuki watches the air bite at your skin, nipples pebbling as you shiver.Â
âKatsuki,â you rest your cheek on his thigh, knelt between his legs. You let him take it all in. Satisfied with his assessment of you his fiery eyes meet yours.Â
âAlmost didnât come. Figured you wouldnât be here,â he intoned gruffly, chin dimpling as he juts his bottom lip. âYou were supposed to forget about everythingâ.Â
You nod, mouth curling into a helpless smile. Your fingers flex and you feel the muscles jump underneath, âI knowâ.
Katsuki exhales a long breath, fists clenched tight in his lap with obvious restraint. âWhy didnât you?â his eyes track the movements of your hands. âIt worked, I know it did. Cheeks doesnât do shit halfway. I felt when⊠So what the hell are you doing back here?â
You pause when his words register, suddenly off kilter. There it is again, the displeased wrinkle on the bridge of his nose. You had never considered that he, too, wouldâve experienced the connection. Admittedly a naive oversight on your partâbut he never mentioned it. You figured it was just a selkie thing. Perhaps, all that time, he had been contending with his own feelings as well as yours. Wondering if he could trust himself, if they were true.Â
Vows dissolved, he still chose to come back for you. To bet on that slim chance. Just as you did.Â
The knowledge compels you to touch him more, to reassure, to lean further into the clutch of his thighs. The intrusion forces his legs wider and when you reach to cradle either side of his taut jaw he lowers to close the distance.Â
âI felt it, you know. Before you offered me my pelt I felt you touching it,â you begin, watching how his expression splits open as your eyes meet. âI knew it was safe with youâ.Â
âThatâs stupid,â he utters, though you can hear that he doesnât mean it. Embarrassment slowly stains his cheeks pink. You can feel him twitch, smothering the instinctive urge to snap at whatever made him feel so intensely.Â
âMaybe,â you pull back a hair's breadth to lightly knock your heads together. âMy point is, I was drawn to you before all that, in such a short window. I think⊠I didnât forget you because those feelings grew naturallyâ.Â
The more you speak he progressively gets pinker, flustered and mad about it. It births an odd, primal urge to sink your teeth into something. To bite his cheek white, watch the blood retreat under the skin. Instead, you slide your hand lower to rest on his neck and his own cuff your wrists.Â
âThat first day, you apologised to me because I never had a choice,â thereâs a soft grunt in acknowledgment. His pulse dances under your palm. âIâm making one now of my free will. And youâcan say no, if you want,â you stutter, then, suddenly realising the real possibility of him rejecting your request altogether. âBut I want to be here with youâ.Â
The last rays of sun stretch across the land, cosseted behind soft clouds as it sheaths. Katsuki considers you quietly. Thereâs a soft sort of intent in his eyes, wearing the revelry of dusk. You kneel in the rock pool, literally and figuratively bare, heart pounding in your throat as he readies himself to respond.Â
âBack at the bathhouseâŠâ he hesitates, promptly clears his throat and struggles to look at you.Â
âNothing was influencing me that night. Except maybe the wine,â you admit timidly, abashed at his sudden demurity. âIâm sorryâ.Â
That garners a reaction from him. In true Katsuki fashion his tongue clicks behind gritted teeth and applies pressure to your wrists, pulling you up. âCome here,â he tells you. You uncurl your legs and begin to stand moving with all the grace of a newborn fawn. âOi, donâtâ!â jerking his head to the side, he averts his gaze from your naked lower half, glaring at the shoreline. The sea-scented air prickles your skin, heat gathering where he has you held. âExpose yourself to everyone in the fuckinâ country, wonât you? Come here,â and then heâs hooking behind your knees, making them bend, gathering you into his lap in bridal fashion.Â
âWhatâs the problem?â you mutter. Heat creeps up your neck, feeling defensive and distinctly embarrassed by his behaviour. âI donât see how my nakedness is any different here than it is in the public bathhouseâ.Â
He holds you closer, voice vibrating through his chest as he roughly insists, âItâs differentâ.Â
Your pout softens into a small pleased smile, letting him manhandle you until heâs satisfied with his grip. He bends, incidentally baring his throat stretching for the pelt discarded by the rocks. Tucking your nose to the underside of his jaw you revel in how his arm tightens around your lower back.Â
Katsuki draws the pelt into your lap, covering your modesty. You laugh at how sweet and boyish it seems. âLaughinâ at me again, huh?â two fingers pinch at your cheek, pulling until you whine. âGot a death wish?â
Kneading at the sealskin coat your affections roar into existence once more with an intensity. âYou wouldnât hurt me,â you grin, and he abandons the pinch to stretch his big hand across your face. Thumb on your left cheek, fingers on your right, he squeezes together until your mouth is misshapen and pursed.Â
âSure about that?â he warns, tone steeped in fondness. It is exhilarating to have him touch you again, more freely than he ever had before; it is as close to âI believe youâ as you think youâll get.Â
You smile with your eyes, locked with his. Close enough to count every fine eyelash. Your words come garbled as you say, âYou still havenât given me an answerâ.Â
Katsuki exhales shallowly through his nose. His throat contracts as he swallows. The pressure releases. His hand cups your face, flexing with uncertainty. You shudder when he dips to press your lips together. Youâre kissed without hurry, besotted by his firm but cautious movements. He relaxes as you lean into the rhythm, humming proudly. The soft, wet sounds of your mouths meeting again and again echo over the crawling waves.Â
Katsuki pulls away first, eyes still closed but smiling to himself. He licks his lips and rasps, âI guess you can come along with us,â as though that was all the answer he needed to give.Â
Alight with excitement you squirm in his lap, earning a quick slap to your hip. Katsuki ignored your grumbling and set to covering your body entirely. âHold onto the corners,â he says, draping the hide over your shoulders, comforting warmth enveloping you as you obediently take the corners. âPut your arms around my neck. Do not drop itâ.Â
You do, curtaining both of your bodies with the pelt in the process, fingers interlocking at Katsukiâs nape. Your faces remain a whisper away. It feeds a skin hunger that plagued you for days. Satisfied, he then unties his cloak to slide it over-top, layering the two to keep you covered.Â
Your stomach swoops as Katsuki pushes to his feet, carrying you in his arms with no sign of exertion and much better balance than before. His bicep bulges, fingers flexing under your thighs. âWhere are we going?âÂ
Sand and broken shells crunch under his boots, gait leaden like wading through mud. Mariners whistle suggestively in your direction as he climbs the steps to the dock, making his teeth grind. âTaking you back to our room,â he grunts. Â
You flush with heat at the implication. âYou still have the keyâŠ?âÂ
Without disrupting his pace, Katsukiâs nose nudges along your temple to press a kiss there. âSaid my shitty wife left something behind,â you feel his mouth pull into a smirk, âso they gave me it to go take a lookâ.Â
A pleasant sensation erupts in your stomach. Fluttering like butterflies. âAnd the others?â
Darkness covers you when he ducks into a narrow alley. Katsuki meanders along the winding path with unfettered confidence. âI sent them on ahead. Said Iâd catch up on foot,â he explains, eyes darting over the surroundings, striding back out into a familiar road leading to the tavern. âWanted to be aloneâ.Â
Youâre carried up the stairwell despite the stern assertion that you would be just fine on your feet. In that same vein, Katsuki is clearly just fine taking all of your weightâ proud of it, you think. Unwilling to put you down. Â
He shoulders into the room and kicks the door shut. It is as you remember. Dim and homely, accented by a lamp that casts a soft yellow glow over the bed. Heavy footsteps take you forward, and you are swiftly deposited on the mattress. You bounce a fraction, losing purchase on the pelt and cloak. Both layers peel away, rumpled under your back, leaving you splayed out and bare.Â
Katsuki stands next to the bed, watching the rise and fall of your chest. His features are tender in the light, smoothing his hard edges. It flickers in his irises. Gaze hungry, restless.Â
Your body canât help but react to Katsukiâs silent observation. The ardent stroke of his eyes across every part of you like it were his hands themselves. Heat races through you and coils between your legs. Feeling exposed, you try to close your thighs.Â
Thereâs a hand on your knee, stopping the movement, firm but gentle as he pries them back open. Katsuki moves closer and kicks off his boots. The mattress dips under his weight. One knee on the bed, your legs part further to make space for the intrusion, wrapping around his waist without second thought.Â
âThis okay?â he murmurs, barely above a whisper. You exhale shakily, hands roving along the thick of his arms to clutch at his shoulders. The buckles on his pants bite into the back of your thighs. You can feel his arousal swelling through the fabric.Â
Rocking your hips, your feet cross at his lower back. âYeah. I wantâŠâ his eyes flutter, almost rolling up into his skull, pupils dilated. You chase the phantom feeling of his lips with your tongue and he tracks the movement. âKiss me againâ.Â
âThank fuck,â Katsuki groaned, the sound dwindling into a low chuckle. His forearms settle either side of your head, pressing all his weight down, pinning you to the bed. Taking up your vision until only he is in your orbit. The braid by his ear hangs loosely, the bead cold where it brushes your jaw. You tremble, fingers threading into his hair to scratch gently at his scalp.Â
Your mouths slot together and he kisses you full, nibbling your lips until they part. Pushing deeper, tongues sliding over teeth, stealing the breath from your lungs. He handles you with indecision. Careful kisses followed by rough ones; grabbing at the soft parts of your body a little too hard, smoothing the flesh with his thumb in apology.Â
Itâs overwhelming how much he wants you. And you try to return the fervour, arms sliding around his back to keep him close, undulating your hips to feel the tremors wrack through him.Â
The talons strung around his neck graze over your chest as he descends. Kisses left on the corner of your mouth, cheek, jugular. He takes your pulse between his jaws and you whine, clenching at his waist. Katsuki moves away, laving his tongue along your throat.Â
âWanna touch you,â he says. Goosebumps break out across your skin as he blows cool air over the wet stripe left behind. âSâall I could think about. Youâre fucking distractingâ.Â
âYes. Please,â your eyelids flutter, leaning back to hear your throat. âPleaseâ.Â
âNeedy,â he mumbles, a satisfied lilt to his tone. His hand slides down to your ass, grabbing one cheek and filling his palm with it as he spreads you open. âBeinâ too quiet. I like it when you say my name,â he rasps. âGonna let me hear it?âÂ
Fingertips brush against your sex. Heat flushes under your skin, anticipation and understanding unfurled within you. âKatsuki,â you sigh into his mouth.Â
Katsuki flashes a predatory grin. Pleased, and pink all the way to his ears. Breath puffing over your lips he says, âAgainâ.Â
âKatsukâah,â his thumb circles over your swollen clit, sparks zipping up your spine. Your breath hitches. You chase the touch, his four fingers splayed low on your navel; the other cups the back of your knee to keep you spread as he descends from throat to chest, forging a path of wet kisses, stopping intermittently to softly suck at the flesh and coax blood to the surface.Â
Youâre wet. Wet enough, warm enough, that the still air feels cold on your skin. His lips wrap around your nipple and you arch up into the sensation as he slowly sinks a finger inside of you. You take him to the knuckle, and he waits, gradually pulling out until youâre clenching around a fingertip.Â
Again and again he fucks you on his fingers, adding another, curling them up mid stroke to brush the most sensitive part of you, spreading them to work you open. You mewl, steeped in pleasure as it diffuses through your belly, pooling between your thighs.Â
Katsuki watches you, peering up through heavy eyes, mouth full of your breast. He flicks his tongue over the pert nipple, coming up and switching to the other, lavishing you in attention. You exhale, tremors wracking your body. Cradle the back of his head, grip tightening reflexively when he hits that sweet spot, and the groan rumbling in his throat prickles under your skin.Â
Satisfied, he continues lower. Throws your legs over his broad shoulders, laid flat along the bed. The mattress jerks when he ruts into the sheets, still confined in his pants. You hold his gaze as his cheeks hollow. Saliva pools into his mouth and he tucks his chin, spitting it on your clit, massaging it over with his thumb.Â
You shudder, hips canting. âShit, look at you,â he pants, voice so thick and supple you want to wrap yourself in it. âKeep your eyes on me, yeah?â he litters kisses across your inner thigh, pressing praise into the sensitive skin there. Your heels dig into the thick muscle at his back when he dips to kiss your clit, licking in and around his fingers. âI wanna see your face when you cumâ.
Youâre pulsing around him, frantically chasing the feeling. Itâsâ overwhelming, like you canât breathe through it, and every string in your body has been pulled taut, wavering on the precipice. You reach to grasp his forearm. The muscles flex under your palms, pave unrelenting, and tears begin to sting behind your eyes.Â
âFuck, Katsuki,â you gasp, breathlessness abated by the sudden rush of air to your lungs. âFeels so good, I canât⊠Katsuki I canâtââ
A broken sound reverberates throughout the room the moment he stops, pulling back and leaving you empty. You can barely believe that it came from you, squeezing your eyes shut in shame. But then heâs right there, crowding into your space, caging your body with his own. âOi,â he softly takes your jaw, âWhat did I say? Look at meâ.Â
You squint up at him. You take in his swollen lips, lidded stare, the sheen of sweat on his brow, hair matted to his forehead, arousal and spit coating his chin. For the first time you think you might understand, just a fraction, the greed of those who kept you. Because now you desire to be the one to take. To keep. To stow away his shamelessness and be the only one to see it.Â
âYou hurt?âÂ
âNo,â you whisper, blinking away the haze. Katsuki tucks his knees up higher against your middle, tops of his thighs shelving your splayed legs. You feel yourself clenching around nothing, empty. âIâm sorryâ.Â
âDonât fuckinâ apologise,â he tucks his nose against your temple, indifferent to the sheen of sweat. You inhale his musky scent and slide your arms around his shoulders. âGot too in your head, huh?â
His cock twitches in his pants, still hard and pressed to your thigh. Gathering your bearings you subtly rock your hips into his lap. You shiver at the sharp hiss by your ear, the drag of his soft lips over the shell. He nips at it in warning.Â
âYou want to keep going?âÂ
You nod, playing with the thin hair at his nape. He rumbles and it feels like a purr, pushing up only to pull at the belt buckles around his waist. Impatient, you reach to help, pulling the leather out from the loops, fingers trembling.Â
Katsuki frees his hands and lets you work at the buttons. He wears a small, crooked smile on his face as he watches, chest rising and falling with every anticipatory breath. You pull them down his hips, a trail of light hair leading from his bellybutton to his cock. He shifts, hooking into the waistband and pushing them down his legs, kicking them off the bed.Â
In your impatience your fingers wrap around his length, playing with the soft skin. You circle the blushing tip, smearing pre with your thumb. He throbs, abdomen clenching with a guttural moan that shoots straight to your own.Â
âSo impatient,â he cups your jaw and forcing you to meet his eyes. âGet me nice and wet?â
âYeah,â you rasp, detailing how his pupils expand as you slide his cock through your folds. The corner of his mouth twitches. He grins as he dips to kiss you. It is more chaste than the last, a kiss for the sake of kissing.Â
Then the grip on your jaw tightens. Firm and unyielding. Katsukiâs big hand engulfs yours, squeezing his dick, teasing the tip at your entrance. âGonna make you cum on my cock. But youâve got to listen to me and relax. Okay?âÂ
You desperately want to dig your heels into his lower back, to drag him inside and fill up that awful emptiness, to take him to the hilt and keep him there. Instead you acquiesce, forcing yourself pliant; rewarded with a soft kiss, he presses his forehead to yours.Â
âTake a deep breath for me,â he tells you. You inhale, ribs expanding as your lungs bloat. Slowly, Katsuki pushes his tip past your entrance, and begins to sink his cock into you. His expression shutters, eyes rolling shut as his face scrunches up. Strained, he says, âBreathe out, baby. Slowâ.Â
You exhale, ending on a long moan as skin meets skin. He settles in the cradle of your hips. âGood,â his voice is gravelly, strained. His nails bite at your waist, âAnd inâ.Â
Repeating the motions your muscles clench around him as he pulls out, as though your body couldnât be without him. He huffs through his nose and you feel it hot on your cheek. It continues like that. He fucks you slow and deliberate, pinned to the bed like a butterfly, guiding your breathing. You cannot look away from him. Heâs devastating. Heâs yours. Wild spikes are tousled around a flushed face, mouth kiss-bitten and slack with awe. âKatsuki,â you whisper, each more frantic than the last.Â
The earlier intensity does not return, rather, it accumulates inside of you with every inhale, suffusing through you like a warm, pleasant fog. The pressure has you bursting at the seams, undone by the indelible drag of his cock, how his pelvis pressed so perfectly against your clit, little incantations of your name murmured into your hair.Â
âAh, fuck. Katsuki, Iâmââ your thighs seize either side of his waist, toes curling as the words catch in your throat. âMâgonnaâŠâ
âIâve got you,â he fucks you a little deeper, gritting his teeth. The muscles in his neck flex with exertion. âIn and out, baby. Iâve got youâ.Â
Those practised breaths quickly stagger into uneven whines as youâre tipped over the edge. Ley lines erupt behind your eyelids. You arch back into the sheetsâpelt and cloak rumpled beneathâas the pleasure quakes through you.Â
Katsuki fucks you into your orgasm and then beyond it. You cradle him to your chest when his rhythm stutters, releasing a long groan as he spills into you.Â
Together you collapse back on the mattress, rolling onto your sides. He slides his arm beneath your head and hooks your knee over his hip, keeping himself nestled inside you for a while longer. You lie there until the fog recedes, leaving a sated contentment in its wake.Â
In that instance you can no longer tell where the line of your own body ends and where Katsukiâs begins. You feel warm, comfortable against him. All the fears and hypotheticals that sought to fill the hole in your chest have faded. You realise in those intimate few minutes that home is what you choose it to be. A place, a concept, a person. Home is the ocean, said to cover more than half of the earth, fissuring inland and stretching further than the eye can see; it is a current that will always run in your veins. But humans, too, are made of the sea. Water, minerals and tissue. Home is in the blood that rushes to Katsukiâs cheeks when you kiss him.Â
This is where you belong.Â
Eventually Katsuki decides he needs to get up. Your objections go ignored, silenced when he returns dressed with a damp cloth to wipe you down. Once he's done he pulls up the bed covers and manhandles you under them, declaring that he needs to go downstairs and pay âthat womanâ for the room.Â
âWonât be long. Donât even think about getting up. Iâll need to buy you some clothes tomorrowâŠâ
Grin hidden under the blankets, you call out to him before he goes. He stops in the doorway, softened by the lamp light. Feigning innocence, you jokingly ask, âBefore you go, could you pass me my pelt?âÂ
Your heart races when he reflexively goes to do so, only for him to halt halfway. His eyes narrow, lips thinning into a smirk:
âReal fuckinâ funnyâ.Â
#writer: shibaraki#bakugo katsuki x reader#boku no hero academia fic#i think this starter off coherent and then it dissolved into screaming#but umm... smooches u <33333333#this is the kind of fic where i could really go paragraph by paragraph#but tldr if u like bkg pls read this <3333#not safe for minors
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Mom & Dad | s.h.
summary: in which you and steve talk about what the future holds for the two of you
steve harrington x fem!reader
warnings/tags: established relationship, FLUFF, i just wanted to write a really fluffy fluff piece ok ok, talk about babies like reader and steve cheesy go in depth about babies and their life ok, picture that one convo where steve is talking about his future 6 little nuggets but itâs with someone who wants that too, no bad things happened everyone is alive and well and no one is unalived my house my rules everybody, the reader is kind of golden retriever-esque and yeah, CASUAL DOMINANCE from steve bc uh have yâall seen him ik you have
wc: 1325ish
âąâąâą
steve harrington hummed as he rubbed his cheek against the top of your hand, a faint smile curved on his cheek. he peppered a couple of kisses on your knuckles, before you squealed as he nipped at one of your rings.
âyouâre gonna crack a tooth!â you whined, leaning to jab at his side with your freed hand. steve let out a huff, before he pressed a soft kiss to your ring, and then dropping your joined hands to rest against your leg âstevie? âm love you.â
âi love you, pretty girl.â steve leaned across the center console of his car to press a soft kiss to your forehead, before he took to tapping on your knee. âwas thinking about you today, when i took the gremlins to school this morning.â
âyeah?â you turned, eyes bright as you batted your eyelashes toward your boyfriend. âthinking of how pretty i am? how i so deserve a neopolitan milkshake?â
âyou want to go to bennyâs later donât you?â steve quirked his brow, and you nodded with a grin as he let out a laugh. steve continued to laugh as he pulled out of your driveway. âgod youâre so lucky you are ridiculously adorable.â
steve watched from the corner of his eye as you playfully huffed, dropping his hand and crossing your arms over your chest. it was only for a bit though, as you perked up seeing a yellow labrador retriever being walked along the sidewalk. steve came to a stop at the stop light, barely biting his smile back as you craned your neck behind you to keep an eye on the dog.
âcan we get one when we live together?â your question fell so easily from your lips, that steve barely felt his heart skip. a car honking made steve move again, and he pressed back onto the gas as he started driving again.
âwhat, you want a lab?â steve questioned, and you nodded quickly, shyly smiling. âsurprised you donât want a golden retriever.â
âwant one of those too.â you giggled, and steve watched from his peripheral as you folded one of your knees to your chest.
âput that down, not safe.â steve pressed his left hand firmly to the steering wheel, before flicking his thumb and pointer against your knee. âif we got into a wreck thatâd hurt you, put your pretty leg down.â
you listened almost instantly, and instead grappled for steveâs hand, entwining his fingers with your own.
âfigured maybe when we moved into a house, yâknow?â you explained, tapping a finger against steveâs hand. âlittle yard, white picket fence that way our dogs could run around.â
âthought about this a lot, huh?â steve teased, and you nodded as he pulled into the parking lot of hawkins high school.
âyeah.â you shrugged, fiddling with the sleeve of the sweater steve had let you borrow. âfigured weâd get settled down, i mean one day thisâll be us.â
you gestured around you, smiling as you looked to the middle school and high school buildings.
âweâll be ugly brick buildings?â steve teased, and he grinned as he listened to you groan and throw your head against the headrest with a small thud.
âno!â you whined, waving your hands around in front of you. âone day weâll have kids, yâknow?â
âoh.â steve swallowed, before he sent you a faint smile. âand whatâll these kids be like?â
âoh my god- so, theyâll honestly be such nerds it wonât even be funny.â you giggled, eyes wide as you unrolled steveâs passenger side window. âbut itâll be okay because they might be little jocks- i mean theyâll be ours so theyâll be good, yâknow?â
âlike the party?â steve asked softly, and steve just watched as you let out a fond little sigh.
âof course like the party!â you grinned, an ear to ear thing that made steveâs heart ache. âtheyâll be such smart asses, but our little smart asses! and theyâll have your hair-â
âbut your eyes.â steve smoothly cut in, and he turned in his seat to be able to face you more.
âmy eyes?â you repeated, and steve grinned wide as he propped his elbow on his center console so he could watch you. âreally?â
âoh yeah.â steve leaned forward and pinched your nose playfully, reveling in the shy way you dipped your chin and batted your eyes at him. âand weâll have a shitty camper van, travel every summer when theyâre out of school and see the world.â
âhow many?â you squealed, eyes wide, turning even more in your seat, barely noticing that steve undid your seatbelt so it wouldnât bite into your neck. âlike three boys and-â
âthree girls.â steve grinned, leaning closer to you. âyou, me, all of them loaded into a camper. drive around and see the rockies and the grand canyon, maybe even yellowstone.â
âend up in california!â you added, squealing as you grinned widely up at steve. steve hummed, a fond smile spread on his face as he wiggled his fingers into your side so youâd laugh again. âall of us harringtons could end up in a little beach-side town, learn how to surf and catch sand dollars.â
âyes!â steve grinned, leaning his head against his headrest so he could still look at you. âus and our little brood of harringtons.â
âiâd like that.â you nodded, tapping your fingertips against the back of steveâs hand. âoh my god us being on the pta and doing scouts!â
âyou just want an excuse to keep boxes of girl scout cookies in the freezer.â steve teased, and he laughed when you didnât make a move to deny it.
âoh my god, and weâd have a dog-â you grinned, thinking for a moment. âprobably a fish.â
âa fish our kids begged us to get, but we end up taking care of.â steve joked and you nodded, a wide smile on your face. âand weâd gripe about us having to take care of it, but we really wouldnât mind.â
âand weâd pay the neighborâs kids to go and take care of them when weâre out of town.â you added, voice shy as you blinked up toward steve. âyeah?â
steve hummed leaning forward to curl one of his hands against your cheek. his thumb soothed gently across your cheekbone, following the swell of it as he nodded. he used his fingers to tilt your face up, his eyes focused on yours.
steve said nothing as he leaned forward and let out a soft sigh, before he brushed his lips across yours. you tasted sweet, like the bubblegum he kept specifically for you in his center console. you keened into his kiss, and steve couldnât help the chuckle that escaped as he slid his free hand up so it could rest against the nape of your neck.
when you both pulled away, steve couldnât help but smile at your kiss swollen pout. he leaned forward again and planted a softer kiss against your mouth, just in time to hear the school bell ring. you smiled shyly, pulling away from steve as you flipped the sun visor down. steve watched fondly as you used the mirror to right your hair, sliding a thumb under your lip to wipe away any smudged chapstick.
steve flipped the radio on, and sent you a wide smile as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. he smiled even wider somehow when you entwined the fingers of one of your hands with his, and he couldnât help but pepper a couple more kisses along your knuckles.
yeah, he could see himself having a whole brood of harringtons.
ones with his hair, your eyes.
them calling you, mom and him, dad.
steve shook his head, unlocking the car as the party came into view. he listened to your squeal as you leaned out the carâs window- waving at the group of high school students frantically with your free hand.
yeah, he could definitely imagine that.
#babyrunsforfanfic#steve harrington#steve harrington imagine#steve harrington fanfic#steve harrington fic#steve harrington fluff#steve harrington one shot#steve harrington x reader#steve harrington x y/n#steve harrington x you#read steveâs shirt it says âboyfriend materialâ#steve harrington is boyfriend#stranger things blurb#stranger things fanfic#stranger things x reader#stranger things fanfiction#stranger things#stranger things ff#steve harrington ff#steve harrington x fem!reader#steve harrington brainrot
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i need something with king and the collector in his physical form, maybe a game or something like that
Ah! Yes! I can do this! After that finale I feel like we could all use some fluff, and I LOVE The Collector!! So I hope you enjoy!
SPOILERS FOR KINGS TIDE AHEAD
King was curled up in the new Owl Houseâs couch. After Luz and everyone had gotten back, and The Collector had fixed the damage he caused, things had been pretty relaxed. He was happy that his family was back together, it had even gotten bigger with the additions of The C.A.Ts, Hunter, Camilla, Vee, and The Collector! Things were finally going well for them, and King couldnât be happier. âHeeeeey King!â The Collector called, appearing next to King, but the titan baby didnât flinch. Heâd gotten used to the star child appearing and disappearing at will. âOh! Hey Collector buddy! Heh, good to see ya.â King greeted, stretching and yawning as he looked at his friend. The Collector floated around King, holding his feet in his hands, âIâm boooooored, I wanna play! All anybody seems to want to play here is boring old ânormalâ games. Iâm sick of hide and seek and tag. Thereâs gotta be moooore! You know other games right?â King stood, âWell⊠thereâs board games? Or card games?â
âBoriiiing!â he groaned, falling back into a flip in the air. âI want something fuuuuuuun!â
âSomething fun, huh?â King hummed, tapping his skull and looking out. â...Well⊠there are some games I like to play with Luz and Eda. But⊠I donât even know if you can play them.â âWhat games?â he asked, flipping in front of Kingâs face. âI can play! Iâm sure I can! Oh pleeeease can we play?â King rubbed the back of his skull, âWell⊠I just donât know, I mean⊠you can feel stuff, right?â
âFeel?â The Collector asked, before he giggled, âOf course I can feel! I can feel anything I want to! I can feel pain, or cold, or hot, what do I need to feel for this? I can do it!â
âCan you feel⊠ticklish?â
âCan I feel what now?â
King blinked, did they not⊠âDo you not know what that is?â The Collector shrugged and floated upside down, âNever heard of it. How do you feel it?â âUh⊠well, itâs when someone tickles you somewhere, and it makes you laugh! A lot! Luz and Eda tickle me all the time! Itâs like a⊠tingly kind of feeling? Itâs silly, and you canât not laugh when you're being tickled!â King tried to explain, âAnd there are lots of games you can play when youâre ticklish! Youâd definitely like it! A lot of them are rhyming games!â A gasp from the child, âRhyming!?â He laughed and spun up into the air throwing out his arm and legs in glee, âI love rhyming!â he quickly zoomed back in front of King with pleading eyes. âOh please, please tell me how to play!â âOk ok! Well⊠come here, Iâll show you how Eda does it!â King chuckled, cracking his knuckles in preparation.. He quickly knelt in front of King, bouncing excitedly. âSo, what do I do?â âYou lay down on your back and donât move.â he instructed, waiting for the cosmic boy to follow the instructions before he began. âOk⊠One, two, three.â he tapped on his knee, âTickle babies knee!â he gently wiggled his claws under The Collectors knee, looking at the boy for a reaction. One that he definitely got. The kid let out a squeal and zoomed up onto the ceiling, âW-what was that!?â âD-did it hurt?!â âNo! It felt⊠weird!â King giggled and waved him back down, âThen it tickled! Thatâs a good thing! It means you have ticklish knees!â âTicklish knees⊠I love ticklish knees!â The little star boy cheered, zooming in a circle in the air before going back down, and laying flat for King. âDo it again! Do it again!â âOh! But donât you wanna see where else you could be ticklish?â King asked, crossing his arms with a playfully smug look. The Collector gasped and sat up with starry eyes, âThere can be other ticklish places?!â âYeah! There can be lots! Knees, feet, your tummy, I mean⊠I think people can be ticklish just about anywhere!â he shrugged, âI guess weâll have to find all of your ticklish spots!â The Collector grinned, and curled up, floating up into the air and kicking and punching the air in joy. âYes yes yes! I wanna find all the ticklish places! Then we can keep playing and having fun! Right?â âOf course! Tickle games are some of my favorites!â King laughed, tail wagging excitedly. âAnd we can even mix and match games with tickles! Like⊠tickle tag, where if you get taught you get tickled! Or tickle hide and seek! Oh! Oh! Eda plays this one with Luz and I all the time! She calls it âtickle bugsâ, itâs where sheâll pretend there's a bug on us and sheâll have to get it off, but really itâs just her tickling us!â The Collector was bouncing faster and faster, grin getting wider and wider with every word King spoke. Their freckles were even glowing till they finally burst, little stars and sparkles shooting off them in their excitement. âYes! Yes yes yes! I wanna play them all! They sound like so much FUN!â King hopped up excitedly, âThen letâs go! Which one first?â âWell, I wanna finish the rhyming game! Then tickle bugs! Oooooh! I can make REAL tickle bugs!â He giggled, squeaking excitedly. King let out a nervous âWeh.â Actual tickle bugs? Oh geez⊠Sometimes he forgot that The Collector was basically all powerful. âWell⊠alright! Letâs finish the rhyming game first!â He nodded and laid back down, grinning excitedly at King, âWell? What are you waiting for?â âOne, two, three!â tapping on his knee, which already had the star child giggling. âTickle baby's knee!â wiggling fingers under his knee once more. âEehehehehehe!â he giggled, covering their mouth as little stars shot off him. âFour, five, six!â now tapping on his tummy, making them gasp and squeal. âPick up sticks!â scribble at his tummy. âAHAHAHAHA! TIHIHIHINGLY! EHEHEHEHE!â they squealed, squeaking happily at the tickles. âSeven, eight, nine!â he tapped The Collectors chin, âYouâre all mine!â He then pulled the kid into a hug, though he still tickled at his sides.
The Collector squeaked and giggled, hugging King back. âEheheheh! I lohohohove this new gahahahame!â
King booped his nose with a giggle, âWe can play them all the time then! Tickle games are the best games in my opinion!â
âThen letâs play more! I wanna use the tickle bugs!â they grinned, floating up into the air.
King gulp. âWeh.â
#bean writes#requests#toh spoilers#the owl house spoilers#toh tickle#the owl house tickle#Lee!Collector#Ler!King#tickle fic#tickles#tickling#tickle#thanks for the request!
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Eddie Brock x Reader
summary : Eddie's thoughts were becoming more and more destructive. Yet a night with you, a familiar bartender, it gives him hope he majorly needed
main tags : angst with comfort of a sort , female reader
notes : venom's entire presences isn't known to anyone yet
The room was quiet, even though there were countless others chatting the night away.
The soothing jazz, the appealing décor, it's no wonder why this bar was so popular when it came to the people in the city.
Yet for an unfortunate man, the comforting atmosphere was just not enough to calm him and his stress. With the recent lost of his relationship and job, Eddie couldn't keep his head up for once, something he did towards to many people.
The music was barely reaching to him, he was losing himself in the unforeseen void that was eating him away. He felt his paranoia grow as the distant chatter formed into laughter. Mocking him for how much of a fool he was and how he truly fucked up.
Any moment now he would break. Eddie knew that one more crack would be the thing that does him in, the thing that will forever ruin him.
"Eddie? You ok?"
Eddie flew his head up to his name, in front of him stood you, who was casually cleaning out a beer glass while facing and looking back at him.
Y/n, a well-loved bartender who enjoys her job. She was the chipper one in the group, making witty jokes, and always managed to help the workers look more forward towards their shift. Yet despite how favored she was, almost no one seemingly knew anything else about her.
If you were to ask, everyone's memories of her consisted of running jokes she came up with that person specifically, not many could recall anything else the overall jokes when it came to Y/n. No one knows what she feels behind her bright smile, and everyone was too distracted by her cheerful acts to dig deeper into it.
"Ah... Yeah, yeah, I'm doin' fine." Eddie attempted to casually brush off the concern, he felt like Y/n may not be the best when it comes to being the person someone would complain their heart out to.
"... You seem too troubled to be 'doin' fine.'" Y/n casually commented, her response made Eddie freeze for a second. She stopped cleaning the glass cup and placed it in its proper place, waiting to be picked up again when the next guy comes in shouting how he wanted Budweiser, or whatever beer was popular for tonight.
While being at a closer distance, Y/n grabbed a chair and took a seat, still looking away and focusing on what was on the T.V.
"You caught me. I ain't doin' the best right now... But what's got you so invested?" Y/n slowly turned her head to Eddie before giving him a big grin, it made her thought process unpredictable almost.
She rested her head down on the table, using her arms as some sort of pillow. "Nothing in particular, just couldn't help myself for asking. So, in any case, what's got you down?"
Childish, is what Y/n was almost all the time. Yet in a moment like now, she showed sparks of being the adult she actual was. Maybe it was a moment of desperation to let out his feelings, or maybe it was because she managed to give off such a pleasing figure right now. Either way, Eddie could barely catch himself as he casually gets the weight off his chest with Y/n.
"Have you... Has there ever been a time in your life where it all just seems meaningless? Hopeless?" There was a moment of pecking silence, Eddie looked at Y/n waiting for a response. Her eyes were closed and Eddie could've sworn she had passed out on him right then and there if she hadn't opened one eye as she stared back.
"Yeah. It's enviable basically. Why, did you have a recent epiphany?" The question felt more of a targeted callout, a reminder of all the events that went down. Eddie took a deep exhale before responding.
"Yep. Lost it all in the matter of a few days, now I just.. Don't know what to do anymore." In the back of Eddie's mind, he took a grip on himself. 'Why am I telling her this? I barely know her.'
He was barely able to snap back and hear the next words that came out of Y/n, "I mean yeah, honestly, I'd lose my shit if that all happened personally... I believe every adult is on the verge of cracking, and to have that happen? Lose everything I had worked so hard for? I'm surprised you aren't on the news, being on the wanted list 'cause that would've been my final push." Y/n swiftly swings her head back to look at the television.
Out of everyone in here who would have such an introspect like that, the last person Eddie would believe to have it would be Y/n. "What do you know about being on the low side? Hell, you're nothing but the opposite honestly."
In the eerie pause of silence, Eddie felt disturbed as Y/n sat back up and slowly locked eyes with him while carrying a smile that was a bit too big for the type of conversation they were having.
"I'm an adult too Eddie, please don't be like everyone else and forget that."
Even with the silence broken, the air still felt disturbing as he took in her words, but before he could respond, Y/n got out of her chair and took a stretch. "Well, the usual loud crowd should be here any minute now."
She popped her knuckles in kiddy exaggeration. A mere 180° from what she was a mere moment ago. "I liked our talk, should do it more. I mean, even the ditz can be tired of themselves, y'know?"
She soon pats Eddie on the shoulder lightly, "Hang in there for me soldier, I don't wanna have these types of conversations with nothing but your dead corpse one day." The joke was caught, but for a situation like this, it did nothing but make Y/n's figure even more ambiguous.
Before he could respond, a loud outburst came from the entrance and caught Eddie's attention. It was a group of men, entering the bar, laughing and disturbing the peaceful atmosphere.
Eddie looked back at Y/n one last time, who was irritated and rolled her eyes to the sight. She did the same to Eddie as they locked eyes one last time before she walked off into the back room.
It felt short, but the talk the both of them shared tonight gave Eddie multiple feelings. He felt reassured and comforted, yet clueless in a way as he had many questions for Y/n that never got a chance to be asked.
Either way, Eddie was definitely planning on making a return for the next few nights. Y/n's strange mannerisms managed to puzzle and captivate him.
She was a book, and he wanted to read and understand her. Especially after tonight.
#eddie brock x reader#eddie brock imagine#eddie brock#venom x reader#venom imagine#venom movie#venom#female reader#marvel fanfic
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Best Friends
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đ°đšđ«đ đđšđźđ§đ : 2.7k
[ âïž ] Â angst
đ đđ§đ«đ : unrequited feelings :â( really brief mention of sex (not nsfw tho!) & also (underage?????) alcohol consumption!Â
đđąđš : On your last night in the dorms, Shouto realizes he has feelings for you, his best friend.Â
đđźđđĄđšđ«'đŹ đ§đšđđ : idk honestly i started writing this last night and was gonna abandon it... but then val tagged me in an angst ficrec and i was like ok well! this is a sign to post bc then i will have at least one sho angst on my masterlist lolll oops :o
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onight was the last night in the dorms. Three long years had come and went, and now everyoneâs belongings were cleaned out and secured away with cardboard and tape, leaving an empty wing that was currently filled with bodies, neon lights, and red solo cups. Music was pounding through the hallways, reaching every room and allowing no one total escape from the celebration.
You had been occupying the dance floor with Mina and Tsuyu for the last half hour, and now that you had sweat off the latest drink of the night, it was time for you to set off and find your more moderate-tempered companion. The pink-skinned girl wiggled her eyebrows at you when you alerted them of where you were heading off to, Tsuyu planting a love tap on your ass as you made your way from the swarm of people. The frog girl wasnât usually so loose, but the alcohol that pumped through everyoneâs veins had left only a select few unaffected. Tsu, just like you, was one of the ones that was happily allowing the weight of daily student life slip from her shoulders.
There were plenties of warm bodies swaying with the heavy bass rattling the hallways, shadows of couples and interested singles leaning against the walls, whispers and rowdy laughs echoing as the entire graduating class of UA partied the night away. Skimming by the line outside the bathroom, your feet found their way toward the end of the hall easily enough, taking the path you had so many times before.
A creak sounded as you pushed the cracked door open, the sight of the open shoji screen allowing moonlight to stream onto the bamboo mat floor which crunched quietly underneath your tentative steps.
âShouto?â you whispered his name, eyes taking in the silhouettes of the packed boxes against the walls before you turned and saw a shadow sitting on the mattress beside the door.
-ËËââââââââââââââ
Your voice jolted Shouto from his wandering thoughts, his attention turning to you right away. He seemed surprised to see you standing there, and he peered up at you from his slightly hunched position on the couch. He acknowledged you with your name, his voice low and steady. By the sound of it, you wondered briefly if he had even had a drop to drink tonight.
Blinking at him a few times, you tried to adjust your eyes to the contrast between the bright moonlight and dark shadows. When you could finally see the planes of his handsome, somber face, you spoke, trying your best not to slur. âWhat are you doing over here all by yourself?â
He paused, lagging for a second before the corners of his mouth curled and his eyes crinkled at the sight of you. âJust thinking,â he answered, examining you in that intrigued way he always did. After a moment he must have reached the conclusion that you were some level of smashed, for he patted the empty space next to him on the bed with a smirk and said, âCome sit with me.â
For a moment you wondered why he was alone, but then your brain caught up with you, and you realized that his other friends were probably busy with their own issues or endeavors. Ever since Midoriya finally grew a pair and asked Uraraka out, the two had been going at it like rabbits every spare second they had. And you could only imagine how busy Iida was as class rep, trying to keep the party at least a little bit under control. Momo was definitely helping him, and you had seen Bakugou begrudgingly holding Kaminari up with Kirishima under his other arm when youâd passed by them in the hall⊠Leaving only you to come and rouse the half and half hero from his solitude.
âWell thatâs not allowed tonight!â You exclaimed, fist slapping against the side of your thigh. You wouldâve used both hands for emphasis had the other not been occupied with a half-full plastic cup. Your legs felt like jello as you moved toward him, his cool hand wrapping around your arm to offer his support and steer you into the spot beside him. You almost fell but he held you up with the one arm, chuckling as your butt finally met the safety of the duvet.
âThinkingâs forbidden?â he laughed at your insistence, the sound rich and deep as his hand lingered on your wrist.
âYes,â you nodded vehemently, pulling your hand away from his to cradle your precious cup and shooting him a playful, sideways glare. Â âBrain turned off for the night. Itâs in the fine print of the party rules, of course.â
Shouto gave you a funny look, eying you from the side. He repositioned himself, sitting upright and closing his eyes. It was hard for him to remain stoic when the quiet sound of your amused giggles tickled his ears, but he managed a nod before his eyes settled on you again. âOkay, I think itâs off.â
Conversation was always natural between the two of you, he never had to struggle to keep it flowing. And he liked talking with you, being in your presence. Which was the only reason why he was still entertaining this ridiculous charade.
âHow do you feel?â you inquired, a goofy grin on your lips.
There was a twinkle in your eyes as you teased him, but Shouto held no qualms with your playfulness. Most people were still afraid to joke with him, believing that he was too obtuse to understand humor. Sure, he had struggled with the transition to school life in the beginning of their first year, but after you had transferred into their class second year, he found himself opening up even more than he already had.
âI feel⊠the same.â The grin on his lips remained, his eyes settled on your drunken form. His gaze flicked to your smile, shining in the moonlight and making something twinge in his stomach. He cleared his throat, pushing down the feeling that haunted him every time he looked at you too long. âThis doesnât really work, does it?â
You pretended to entertain the thought for a moment, eyes rolling as you considered it animatedly before your lips broke into a beautiful smile again. âNo,â you giggled, shoulders shrugging in your cute, drunken fit. âBut itâs easier when youâre not sober!â
He turned, faux surprise hung from his brow. âYouâre drunk?â Sarcasm dripped from his voice and splashed onto you where his jean-clad thigh brushed against yours.
âShut up!â You punched at his shoulder and pushed him away from you, shuffling yourself in the process.
Your hair swished with the movement and suddenly the soft, sweet scent of you was crashing over him. He breathed it in shamelessly, allowing himself to indulge in the warm feeling that suddenly emanated through his chest.
âYou could try it, if you wanted. It really does help,â you offered your cup to him, shrugging.
Shouto eyed the red plastic cup, hesitant. He really wasnât one to drink, but then again, neither were you. Tonight was about celebrating your graduation from UA, opening the next chapter of your lives. The thing was, he wasnât sure if he was ready to move on when it meant leaving all his relationships either behind him or pushed to the side. Okay, maybe he was kidding himself⊠there was only one person he would miss having in his daily life, and that person was sitting right beside himâ the same one who was the source of his conflicted feelings.
âOr not!â your hand retreated and you took a little sip, the sweet jungle juice washing down your throat easily. âNo pressure. Itâs your choice, Sho.â
He nearly groaned at the nickname, the one he only allowed you to call him. Grabbing the cup from you, his calloused fingers brushed over your soft knuckles. He smirked at the excitement that surfaced in your gaze as he brought the lip of the cup to his mouth, emptying the contents in one long go. The liquid was sickly sweet, masking the bitter poison that entered his body alongside it.
âThat was⊠truly disgusting.â
âWhaaat?â You balked, grabbing for the cup in dismay. He kept it out of reach, even though it was empty, setting it on the far table instead. âItâs good, I dunno what youâre on. Itâs really, really good. Heheh, just like meâŠâ
Shouto blushed at the innocent innuendo, looking at you as you closed your eyes and let out a noise between a sigh and a laugh. He gulped, realizing that the alcohol was already taking effect and he was beginning to slip under its influence. Your method of âturning your brain offâ was proving to be much more effective with the alcoholâs aid, but that was a whole other issue which he failed to foresee.Â
He usually preferred to keep his brain on and fully functioning, especially when he was alone, with you. That way, when you roused the butterflies in his stomach and pulled on his heartstrings, he could tell himself to just ignore it and focus on how important your friendship was to him. But now, his defenses were failing him, and there was nothing he could do to stop his heart from beating faster, palms getting clammier. Â
âYouâre good?â he reiterated quietly, watching the way your tongue swiped across your lips, enchanted by it.
You chortled, finding the thought entertaining, apparently. âYes! I feel really good right now.â
âAh,â he murmured, sitting back and allowing the pillow he had propped up to sink around his form. âI feel... kinda good, too.â
A mix between a laugh and a scoff escaped you at his confession. âYou feel something already, Sho? Wow, thatâs so efficient.â
Shouto didnât really know what you meant by that, but he only smiled softly at the happy look on your face. He closed his eyes and listened to the fast rush of blood in his ears, the feeling of warmth prickling at his skin. He wasnât drunk, per se, but he felt a little lighter than usual.
You had said that drinking would turn his brain off, but it seemed only part of it wasnât functioning. The other side of his mind was working overtime, much to his chagrin.Â
He was suddenly aware that this would be one of his last moments with you before everything would change. You were going to an internship not too far from his, only an hour away by train. But seeing you wouldnât be nearly as easy as walking down the hallway⊠and it could only happen if the both of you found a time that worked and had the motivation to travel the distance to meet one another. He wasnât sure if you wanted to do all that, just to see him.The realization hit him hard.Â
No more sneaking to one anotherâs room and having whispered, midnight conversations. No more studying together and simply being in your presence. No more opportunities to let his gaze linger on you longingly, nor chances for him to grab your hand when your knuckles brushed against his in the middle of your walks.Â
He felt sick at the thought of living without you. Maybe⊠maybe it was time for him to face his feelings head on. He had spent so long denying the recognition of them, the acceptance of them. The loss of you was imminent, unless he could finally force himself to say something, and it had to be soon.
As if you had picked up on his distress, you hummed quietly and shuffled closer to his side. His quirk spiked at the sudden proximity, heat flaring up as your head came to rest on his shoulder.
âIâm a sappy drunk, so I apologize for what Iâm about to say,â you mumbled into his t-shirt, his skin prickling as your warm breath wandered through the seams and onto his skin.Â
He huffed out a laugh to ease your worries, but he stayed absolutely still, unwilling to move a muscle in case it would somehow scare your body off of his.Â
Then you whispered, âMâso lucky to have met you, Sho.â
Shouto choked on thin air, subtly wiping the moisture on his palms across the tops of his denim-covered thighs. Your scent surrounded him, and he couldnât resist resting his head on top of yours, slowly breathing between your locks. âI⊠I feel the same, Y/nâŠâ
It was quiet for another moment, his mind playing out a hundred ways to confess, trying to find the right words. Meanwhile, you were simply enjoying his reciprocation and the peacefulness of the quiet away from the party, completely unaware of his inner turmoil.
You sighed and he shivered as your breath scattered across his collarbone again, almost jumping when your fingers landed softly over his. How you remained so soft with their vigorous training, he had no clue. But your fingers felt so warm, so right lacing with his. His throat was thick with apprehension, a lump forming there as the seconds ticked by. It wasnât often the two of you were sitting so close together, and he wondered if he was a piece of shit for thanking whatever God there was out there for you being kind of inebriated and so touchy right now.Â
Slowly, he turned to look at you, eyes wide and conflicted, taking in how truly astonishing your beauty was up close. You lifted your head from your perch on his shoulder, gaze locking with his before your lips curled into a meek smile. Digits tightening around his, you squeezed his hand and rubbed your thumb across his knuckles.
He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, screaming at him to do somethingâ anythingâ whatever it took for him to just form the words and tell you that he was in love withâ
âThank you for being my best friend.â
âyou⊠He blinked, the words registering.Â
You continued. âI know weâre moving away from each other, but I never wanna lose you. I cherish our friendship too much for that to happen, Shouto.â
Your words cut him.Â
Friends. Friendship.Â
His blood felt like it had frozen in his veins and he had become a statue, stock still as you carried on thoughtlessly, eyes now flickering over to the moon hung low in the indigo night sky.Â
âPlease promise me that we'll never change. We might grow as people, but⊠our friendship will stay intact, right? I donât wanna grow apart.â
It hurt.Â
Time had stopped and his lungs shriveled up, his body aching as if you had just lodged your knee straight into his ribs. His tongue tasted bitter suddenly, and he could almost hear the sound of his heart cracking.
But Shouto was good at hiding his emotions, years of compartmentalizing them giving him an edge that no one else he knew had. He kept his face neutral, even if it felt like he was withering and dying inside.
âI just⊠donât ever wanna lose you.â
It was almost impossible to force his lips into a thin, hollow smile. But he managed, even if it felt like prying iron with a crowbar. He looked into your eyes and nodded.
He understood. To some extent, he truly understood.Â
âI donât want to lose you either, Y/n... Donât worry,â he took a deep breath, forcing the next words out even if he felt like he was about to be sick.
He cherished his bond with you too much to risk chancing it, confessing to you, and throwing it all away after your certain rejection. Â He loved you too much to ever hurt you, and he was too selfish to let go of you, too. The only one that would suffer from this was him, and he was alarmingly alright with that.
If it meant that he got to hold onto you, even for just a little bit longer.Â
If it meant that you would be happy... Even if he wasnât.
âWeâll always be friends... I promise.â
  âââ ă»Â°* ïŸâ§:* âą ïœĄïŸ:*âœïœ„*: ïœĄïŸâą*:⧠ïŸ*°㻠âââ
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afJSNKJKDKJ WRITING ANGST FOR MY BABY IS SO HARD AHH I LOVE U SHO PLS... reader is so dumb to see u only as a friend i hate that dumb bitch  ughhh (TЎT)
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#shouto todoroki fic#shouto todoroki x reader#shouto todoroki angst#mha angst#bnha angst#shouto fic#shouto x reader#shouto angst#todoroki fic#todoroki x reader#todoroki angst#mha fic#bnha fic#mha x reader#bnha x reader#shoto fic#shoto angst#shoto x reader#shoto todoroki fic#shoto todoroki angst#shoto todoroki x reader
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THE RIGHT MOMENT
Summary: Y/n and George had been crushing on each other for too long, but neither of them said anything. They both were waiting for the right moment to do it, but with a war upon them, was there really such thing as 'the right moment'?
Pairing: George Weasley x Reader
Genre: angst-fluff
Tags:
George Weasley: âââ
Permanent taglist: @elia-the-bibliophile @randomparanoid @karlthecat15722 @thebutchersdaughtersblog
Warnings: injuries, blood, implicit beating
A/N: (dis bish long lmao) Idk what is this, I just wanted to do something for George. Bill and Fleur's wedding came to my mind and I was like, ok but what happened after the death eaters arrived? And this came out, so enjoy <3
Rogue-durin-16 masterlist
I wasn't expecting to see her.
I had heard my mother mention her name whilst talking about the Order, and I knew she had befriended Fleur at the Triwizard Tournament, but seeing her apparate in our yard was... Well, surprising.
"Son, snap out of it!" My father called me out and I corrected my wand movement; I had almost messed up the canopy, and I blamed the way her dress and hair flew with the wind as she approached our home's entrance.
Fred walked to me the moment we had secured everything, glancing at the house before questioning, "am I delirious or that was Y/n?" with a knowing grin and an intent eyebrow wiggle.
As if taking a cue, we saw the girl coming out, now with a borrowed jacket on, making a beeline to us. "I'm... Pretty sure it's her." I replied, giving the girl a smile when she waved. "Morning, lady."
"Morning, gentlemen." Fred then turned around and stepped to her in order to give her a hug. "Long time no see, huh?"
"Indeed." I agreed, following my brother's lead and hugging Y/n; her arms were quick to wrap around my neck and shoulders and squeeze me tight; I would have sworn she let out a relieved sigh. "Fleur invited you?"
"Your mom, actually." Her reply left me puzzled. "I heard your night was... Eventful." She pointed at the bandages covering my ear with a worried look. "How are you feeling?"
"Better than last night." I replied, scratching the back of my neck.
"You sure, Georgie?" It was then that I remembered we weren't alone. "Last night he was feeling Saint-like." Y/n frowned in confusion. "Because he's holey." Fred pointed at his ear just like I had done the night before and I could feel my cheeks burning. "Get it?"
"Oh, no! it's sooo bad!" She laughed at the joke and a smile tugged the corners of my lips. "I think that's the lamest joke you've cracked." She pointed out.
"I know! I told him."
"Okay, I was bleeding out." I defended myself. "I think I'm allowed to crack a lame joke."
"Dunno, George, it was really bad." I threw my head back with a groan at Y/n's teasing. She waved at Fred, who said something about having things to do inside, and when my eyes landed on him over Y/n's shoulder, he mouthed a clear 'go for it'. "Tonks told me about Mad-Eye." She spoke again in a more serious note.
"You said it," the smile vanishing from my face. "Last night was eventful."
"When your mother told me you got hurt, I just... I got really scared." Her anxious words took me aback. "I went straight into the house to see you." The wind made her hair flow again, and I had to put my hands in my pockets to stop myself from tucking that bloody strand that kept getting in her face back behind her ear. "I was so happy you were out preparing stuff and not in there, unconscious in a bed."
"Well, I'm very happy to see you." I replied, my eyes digging into hers to make sure she knew how much I meant that. "Missed tons that smile of yours."
"I missed your lame jokes." I rolled my eyes at her response. Right after, she stepped forward and gently pulled me down; one of her hands holding onto my forearm, steadying her, while the other one cupped one of my cheeks so she could press a kiss to the other. "See you." And with that, she was off to greet the rest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Do it."
"She's talking with Luna."
"Excuses." I puffed tired at Fred's reproach before taking a sip of my drink. "C'mon, you got absolutely nothing to lose."
"My dignity?"
"She fancies you!" I shook my head no. "How many times are you gonna have the opportunity to dance with her, Georgie? Stop being a twit."
"Not yet."
"Oi, have you seen Y/n?" Ron approached us, taking a seat by my side.
"It's the only thing he's seen." I pinched the bridge of my nose, unable to deny what my twin had just said. "Just do it." I groaned. "Okay, I'll do it."
"No!" I jumped up and tugged Fred down in the process. "Alright, I'll go."
READER'S P. O. V.
"Yeah, I was about toâ"
I involuntarily let out a squeal when a hand tickled my side. "Hello, ladies." I spun my head to see George behind me. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but may I have this dance?"
Luna replied before I could. "You see, I was wondering how much time it'd take you to ask her." I turned as red as a beetroot; my only comfort was that the towering ginger's face was the colour of his hair. "I think I'm odd man out." She waved us goodbye and headed to see Harry.
"I reckon Luna is way too observant." He spoke, tugging my hand.
"Were you ogling me, Weasley?"
"Maybe." He came to a stop in the middle of the dancefloor and pulled me close. "Couldn't take my eyes off you." He confessed quietly.
As we swayed, I let my forehead land on his chest, savouring what I dreaded would be one of the last precious moments before everything went down.
"George?" He hummed, raising his brows as a prompt for me to talk. I took a deep breath and told myself that what I was going to say mattered little compared to whatever was looming over us. "I've been wanting to tell you this, but I just... Didn't find the right time." Our faces were mere inches away. "But I don't think I'll ever find the right time at this point soâ"
I jolted, holding onto George, when a blue volute plunged into the tent; a Patronus.
It was not until Shacklebolt message was ending that I realized George's arms were around me, pulling me flush against his chest.
Both our hearts were hammering violently, and I was sure he could feel mine as clearly as I felt his.
When the Patronus vanished, panic began to spread. I noticed how my own breathing picked up. "Y/n." This time it was George the one calling my name; his whisper sounded so clear compared to everyone else's screams and cries. "If I don't say this out loud, I'll combustâ"
"Y/N! GET DOWN!" Tonks's shouts snapped us out of it. We obeyed just in time to see a red hex flying over us, being stopped by Tonks herself.
George and I grabbed our wands and pulled each other back to our feet before joining the Order.
"FREDDIE!"
"LUNA!"
We parted ways, George making his way to reach his twin while I ran to a moderately tipsy Luna, who seemed to be struggling to find her father.
As soon as I made sure she was out of the picture, I jogged to help the twins, casting protection spells against two death eaters.
"STUPEFY!" I managed to take out the one attacking George, and he was quick to stun the one duelling his brother.
"Leave!" George tugged my hand, attempting to get me out of the canopy, his brother quickly rushing to their little sister.
"I'm not leaving!"
"Y/nâ" I moved him out of the way to shield us from another hex. "Pleaseâ Flipendo!!" I saw another death eater flying away from us. "Shit!" George's hand gripped mine for dear life, making me back off with him to get back in when he realized it was too late for me to leave.
Soon enough it was just the Weasleys, Fleur and her family, Tonks, Lupin and me inside the tent, all back-to-back, surrounded by death eaters.
Corban Yaxley stepped out. "My apologies to disrupt the celebrations." he offered a fake apology to the newlyweds which was equally disgusting and scary. "Let's try by fair means." I knew my knuckles had gone white, given the strength with which I was gripping George's hand. "Where is Harry Potter?" He knew no one would speak. "Aight, by foul it'll be."
I looked around and I saw Molly and Arthur shielding Ginny; Bill and Fleur held onto each other; Lupin and Tonks pulled Fleur's sister and parents behind them; Fred gave a quick look at his twin before moving closer to us.
"Take them inside and register the house."
Soon we were being pushed into the Burrow, a bunch of death eaters before us ready to put all upside down.
We stayed quiet meanwhile, leaving out an occasional 'don't touch that' or a 'there's no need to break that' from Molly and Arthur.
"I reckon you won't find Harry in my grandma's glass cabinet, smart arse." We all turned to Fred, his mother giving him a pleading look.
"Maybe he's between the plates, Freddie," George jumped in, attempting to draw the attention off his brother. "You'll want to check the cutlery too, in case he's now a teaspoon." He suggested to Yaxley with a challenging look.
The death eater tilted his head to the side, as if he had noticed something worth of interest in George. "What happened to you?"
Everyone went livid.
"I fell downstairs." George replied through gritted teeth. His tone was full of what could be easily passed as anger, but by the way his hand was shaking, I reckoned it was fear.
Yaxley seemed to think for a second before turning to two of his mates. "Start with him, then the twin and we'll move on toâ"
Before I knew what I was doing, my wand was out and hexing one of the guys that had tried to remove George from us.
"Take their BLOODY WANDS!" Yaxley stalked to me and grabbed my arm, pulling me away. "We'll start with you, miss."
"No! Wait, she doesn't know anything!" George tried in vain to persuade them, pushing through the death eaters in an attempt to get to me. I looked at him and shook my head no, already psyching myself up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were rather quick, and not half as bad as I thought they would be. I was thrown back into the living room with only a shiner and the promise of bruised wrists.
It was enough for George to jump up; not to check on me, though, but to do something as stupid as my impulsive hexing.
"Okay, crippled," three death eaters grabbed him before he could do anything and dragged to the bathroom they had gotten me in. "your turn."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
He looked bad.
Molly was about to throw hands when we saw George leaving the bathroom; a cut on the cheek, a bloody nose, a black eye and by the way he flinched while walking, probably an injured rib.
But the worst was the red pooling the bandage around his head, and the way he was struggling to keep his hand off it.
"C'mon, blabber." It wasn't surprising when Fred willingly approached Yaxley and punched him strong enough to throw him down. "You know-â He got up, motioning at his minions so they would get Fred in. âthat just made it worse."
I spared Molly an enquiring look, to which she replied with a nod; in an instant, I was gently pulling George to the settee. "Let me see..." I pursed my lips, tilting his head to the side so I could check his wound. A sigh left my lips, suddenly realizing I couldn't really take off the bandage in front of them. "Can you sit it up?" I whispered only for him to hear.
He nodded, his hand travelling up to mine, which rested on his cheek, to give it a reassuring squeeze. I didn't think twice about how wrong the timing was before leaning in and placing a kiss on his lips.
GEORGE'S P. O. V.
My body moved forward by itself when she pulled back, attempting to chase her lips. I managed to stop myself when I remembered we were surrounded by death eaters and my family was right behind Y/n.
She then gave me a small smile and moved to grab a fresh towel from the kitchen. I caught a glimpse of my family's looks before she came back, ready to clean the blood on my face.
She aided Fred along with my mom; he bore the burnt along with me.
The sun was rising when Yaxley decided to leave. My father rushed to send a Patronus to the trio, and everyone felt a bit of relief and finally scattered through the Burrow. Ginny claimed she would take care of Fred, and she took my twin to our room.
"Now, let's check that." Y/n spoke, standing up so she could remove the damp bandage. "What happened?"
"He threw a punch andâ" I hissed when the bandage left my ear, earning a concerned âsorryâ from Y/n. "The wound opened. It began to bleed, and they decided to stop." She only nodded, grabbing again the towel, now mildly red due to the blood it had cleaned. "That kiss was too short." I didn't even know how I managed to let that out.
She stopped, her eyes going up and down my body before inquiring, "want another one?"
"Please." She didn't need anything else for her soft lips to return to mines. This time it was one hell of a kiss, but my mouth chased them again when Y/n pulled away, only that this time her lips did return to mines for another short kiss. "Should I ask you on a date?"
"I doubt we'll be able to go on a proper date." We both chuckled; as sad as it sounded, it was true. "You can make me a coffee after I fix this, though."
"Gladly." I replied, my thumb caressing her cheek before bringing her to my lips one more time.
"FINALLY!" We both jumped at Fred's yelling. "It was about fucking time, really."
"Do you wanna get beaten up again?" Y/n harmlessly shoved my shoulder, hiding a laugh. "I just realized," I signalled my black eye and then hers. "We're matching."
"What a lovely way to match, is it not?" She replied, shaking her head with a smile on her face. âCome,â she caressed my cheek before carefully pulling me up. âI saw clean bandages over the sink.â
âYes maâam.âÂ
âY/l/n,â her eyes travelled to my brother. âdonât you snog my brother in the lavatory where we just got beaten up.â
âPiss off, Fred.â She responded indifferent, pulling me with her into the bathroom, leaving the door completely open; she probably feared my mother would burst it open at the possibility of us doing inappropriate things in there.
âYeah, piss off.â I agreed, siting down on the toilet so she could clean the wound. âShe can snog me wherever she wants.â I added, muffling a laugh when Y/n cursed us both under her breath. âIâm sorry, love.â
âNo, youâre not.âÂ
âNo, Iâm not.â I confessed with an amused grin.
âWhy do I even fancy you?â She questioned, faking disappointment in herself.
âIâm very handsome?â I casually suggested, tilting my head for her to wrap the bandage without much difficulty.Â
âMust be.â She agreed, leaning on to peck my lips. âNow whereâs that coffee, sir?â
I got up, leading Y/n to the kitchen and instantly preparing the coffee pot. âItâs gonna be the best coffee youâll ever taste.â I stated, as if it was a scientifical fact.
âConfident, are we?â she laughed, sitting on the counter besides me.
âWell, my four-year-long crush just kissed me.â I confessed. âSo yeah, very.â
âFredâs right.â I hummed, looking at her with an eyebrow raised as I handed her the coffee. âIt was about fucking time.â We smiled at each other, way too widely for two people who had just gotten roughed up. We stayed next to one another in silence, looking through the window; I found the customary landscape particularly beautiful.Â
#george weasley#george weasley x y/n#george wealsey imagine#george wealsey x reader#george weasley x ravenclaw!reader#george weasley x hufflepuff!reader#george weasley x reader#george weasley x slytherin!reader#george weasley x you#george x you#george weasley x muggle!reader#george weasley x malfoy!reader#george weasley fanfiction#george weasley fic#george weasley fluff#george x reader#george x angelina#fred and george#harry potter fanfiction#deathly hallows#george weasley icons#george weasley angst
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Please feel free to go into a full on Legend of Zelda rant because I don't know much about it but also it has always seemed extremely cool to me and would love to hear you info dump about it (from the tags on this post)
Alright >cracks knuckles<
Legend of Zelda is slightly bonkers, probably because it started out without a ton of planned lore and has been running for 35 years. Because of this, a lot of generalizations have the âall except this gameâ note with them.
Letâs start off with Link, the main guy, who usually wears green and has a weird hat. Fun fact: theyâre not all the same person. For I while I thought that Link was just some really traumatized person, but nope, turns out thereâs just a lot of really traumatized people named Link.
Ok, so thereâs different Links. So do they know each other?
Nope!
Theyâre all thousands of years apart in the timeline, so the previous Links are nothing but legend by the time the next Link shows up.
And speaking of the timeline.
Do you see this spaghetti. This is not a timeline. This is a time fork.
Everything starts out with Skyward Sword, where Link gets a magic talking sword that eventually becomes the Master Sword that he uses to fight the god of evil to save his girlfriend Zelda who is also a god.
After Skyward Sword, a couple hundred years pass and then we get Minsh Cap, where a different Link uses a magic talking hat that lets him shrink to power up a different sword called the Four Sword, which then gets used in Four Swords to defeat the bad guy when he gets resurrected again.
So it all seems pretty normal so far right?
But then we get Ocarina of Time. In Ocarina of Time, Link is vibing, being a normal child being raised in the woods by the fae, when he starts getting visions of Ganondorf taking over. So he goes and finds the Master Sword, and when he tries to pull it, it goes âwtf youâre 9â and seals him in the sacred realm for 7 years. He wakes up as an adult, and Hyrule is in ruins because Ganondorf managed to get all 3 pieces of the Triforce (basically the Infinity Stones of the Zelda series). Link rescues all of the sages, Ganondorf gets sealed in the sacred realm, and Zelda sends Link back in time to be a child again.
Link then presumably defeats Ganondorf again as a child before he has time to rise to power, and then goes and ends up in a parallel world called Termina, where he uses a 3 day time loop and masks containing the spirits of dead people to stop everyone from getting crushed by the moon.
Then he presumably is done, hypothetically spends some time playing smash and fighting in the non-canonical Hyrule Warriors time war before dying at some point in the couple hundered years between Majoraâs Mask and Twilight Princess.
In Twilight Princess, Link gets turned into a wolf by twilight magic, and teams up with the queen of the Twilight Realm, to defeat Ganon(dorf?) and also some other guy who works for him.
So thatâs one part of the timeline. But how do we get to the rest of the nonsense?
Well, if you remember at the end of Ocarina of Time, Link gets sent back to be a kid. But the timeline he gets sent back from continues to exist. After a few hundred years, Ganondorf escapes the sacred realm and since thereâs no Link around, the Goddesses flood Hyrule in order to stop him.
So a couple hundred years after THAT, this kid, who just so HAPPENS to be named Link, sees his sister get kidnapped by a giant bird who works for Ganondorf and then goes on a journey with the aid of a talking boat and also some pirates to rescue her and kills Ganondorf.
Anyway then Phantom Hourglass happens and then Link and Tetra go and found new Hyrule. And then a few hundred years later we get a new Link who is railway engineer and a new Zelda whoâs a ghost and some other bad guy whoâs not Ganon(dorf) this time because Windwaker Link stabbed Ganondorf in the head so heâs very dead in this timeline.
So that takes care of two timelines. But thereâs still a third one. The third one is the downfall timeline, and itâs the timeline where Ocarina of Time Link FAILS. So Ganon has free reign over Hyrule and and also the sacred real which I think becomes the dark realm, and everything kinda sucks until A Link to the Past happens, where Link manages to seal Ganon back away.
Then after that Link goes on a nice boat ride and it wrecks and he ends up on a beautiful island except it all ended up being a dream. Cue angst.
Then we have Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons where Link gets a flute and a stick respectively that allow him to control time and the weather.
Anyway, Hyrule is pretty stable now. Ganon has been gone for a while, we got the triforce to help look over the land, everything is nice. So nice in fact that the mirror dimension of Hyrule, called Lorule (not to be confused with the Dark World from ALttP or the Twilight Realm from TP) takes notice and tries to steal Hyruleâs Triforce because they destroyed theirs long ago because people kept fighting over it. So the royal hit man turns Link into a painting but heâs able to escape because of a bracelet given to him by his Lorule doppleganger, which also allows him to travel between the two worlds (hence the title, A Link Between Worlds). Anyway, several dungeons later, they get the Triforce back, and Link and Zelda wish for Loruleâs Triforce to be restored.
Then we get the original Legend of Zelda, where Hyrule has fallen into decline, so Zelda splits the Triforce of Wisdom into 8 pieces and then hides them so Link immediately has to go retrieve them to keep Ganon from being resurrected.
Then immediately after that, the Hyrule royal family is like âuh we actually lost another Triforce a little while back can you go find that too,â which is The Adventure of Link
And so thatâs almost everything. Thereâs just one game left.
Breath of the Wild.
Link has to go exorcise some magic robots before going to fight Calamity Ganon, who apparently is different from normal Ganon? I think itâs cause heâs a gas this time?
But where does Breath of the Wild go? Adult timeline? Child Timeline? Downfall timeline?
Well. It goes in all 3. Itâs got elements from all 3 timelines, and takes place unreasonably long after the rest of the games in the series that we have no idea what happened to join the 3 timelines together.
So yeah. Zelda is unreasonably weird and I now know so much information about it.
#mine#ask#thanks for the ask!#I hope this is coherent lol#I could do a whole seperate post on the main stuff Iâve been reblogging#which is from an au called linked universe where a bunch of different links from different points in the timeline go on an adventure#itâs amazing and also thereâs a pretty deticated fanbase to the point that weâve been trending number 1 for a short time after the last#few updates
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Habits
Tsukishima Kei x Reader
tags; exlovers, hate sex, dwi, smut, degrading, fluff, ok they fuck
Part 2
Masterlist
Itâs becoming a habit.
You shoot your shot at the most basic ass man you can find. A man at the club who found your Instagram on the clubâs tag. You figure, hell, heâs boring.
He canât possibly be the one whoâs going to screw you over at the end of the night.
He canât possibly be the one whoâs going to later get your Snapchat and spend those hours of getting to know you, just to get your nudes and ghost you after you tell him youâre not down to fuck.
Of course not.
Heâs going to be the shame you in front of his friends when he asks to chill and you stupidly agree.
Heâs going to call you a whore because you sent him the pictures he asked for not like he has four other girls in his DMs.
Because itâs your fault heâs a shitty person.
Because itâs your fault you fell for his tricks.
âCan I come over?â Your voice cracks as you wipe a tear, acting like you totally werenât crying over some jerk.
âItâs 2AM.â
âThat never stopped you before.â
The line is silent, and you could have sworn he hung up.
âTsuki... please.â You beg, knowing the sound of your voice being manipulated that way makes him hard.
He sighs and you know heâs going to let you have your way.
âHow long?â He clears his throat and you stumble to your car.
âOne point five.â Your vision his hazy, the alcohol having less of a toll on your vision than your emotional state. âIâll be there before sunrise.â
âYou better not be driving.â He growls.
âFuck you, Tsukki, youâre not the boss of me.â You turn the keys in the ignition. âIâm not drunk.â
âHmmph.â You know heâs rolling his eyes. âWeâll see about that.â
The smirk on his lips is contagious, infecting yours that are smeared with the dark lipstick.
âLet me know when youâre close.â
âAlways.â
There was nothing new about you driving to the dorms in the middle of the night. College life was something you embraced when you never fully cut the ties to your doting ex boyfriend who is always down to fuck.
He lived in an apartment off campus, not being able to live under the RAâs rules, but everyone neighboring was also enrolled in the school.
Early morning or late night, whatever you want to call it, you show up. His apartment, the one with the glowing window, indicates heâs awake.
You slam the door shut harder than you anticipate, stomping up the stairs to his apartment.
â2C.â You try the door knob but itâs locked. âTsukishima. Open up!â You bang on the door and he quickly opens. He nearly rips your limb from your body in order to get you inside his home.
âWill you shut the fuck up?â He has one hand around your throat and the other grasping your arm, pinning you to the wall.
You smirk at the thought of him pinning you against the wall and begin biting your lower lip.
âSplit me apart, Tsuki. Iâm begging you.â
He rolls his eyes, gripping your neck tighter.
âWhat is wrong with you, Stupid Girl? Do you have any idea what time it is?â
âI donât care what time it is. I want you to tear me apart.â Your dazed eyes roll back to his honey colored one with a dare heâs not willing to turn down.
His large fingers tear at the thin fabric of your dress and tugs it down your arm.
âYou always wear the sluttiest things.â He stares at you, your body slowly being exposed with each piece he tears off. âYou reek. Did they reject you again?â He leans into your neck, teeth sinking into the arch of your bones. âTell me. Whatâs his name?â He bites into your skin as you attempt to reply, your gasp ruining you. âHm? Who did you try to replace me with this time?â His hot breath coats the lobe of your ear, his fingers gripping the messy strands of your hair to the opposite side exposing you completely.
The other hand you were concerned with reappears between your legs, fingers dipping against the damp fabric clinging to your heat.
âHmm doesnât matter. Because he didnât want you. Did he not?â
You ignore his question, focusing on the two fingers that tease you from below, light touches caressing you until youâre suffering with that welcoming ache.
You feel yourself tighten, the kegel trying to hold in the wetness between your folds.
âMmm what is it? Youâre so tense.â He stops petting you. âHe didnât want you, did he?â
He steps back, the hand that had you mesmerized leaves your heat throbbing -begging for attention- and relocates to your bottom lip.
âAnswer me.â He demands, the finger dragging your taste against your plump lip.
âNo.â
âNo what?â
âNo he didn-â Tsukishima cuts you off with his finger burrowing back through your lips and inside your mouth.
âIâve heard enough.â He smirks, him adding another finger to your mouth. âYouâve always talked too much anyway.â His eyes roll, his head shaking with a devilish smirk across his face.
No glasses, no shirt, messy hair, this is the Tsuki no one else knew. This is the Tsuki you knew who would fuck you aggressively until sunrise.
He presses himself against your lower half, his hard cock rubbing against your naked body through his tight briefs.
He scoffs, taking the fingers from your mouth, so wet glistening with your saliva and runs it across the only part still clothed between your legs.
âWhatâs going to stop me fucking you right now? No one knows where you are. I could fuck you...â He returns to your neck with open mouth kisses sucking on your skin. âFor hours. Days if I wanted to. No one is going to stop me from fucking your tight, slutty cunt.â
His fingers graze the fabric once more, pushing it to the side.
His eyes meet yours, his fingers returning to his mouth for wetness, then back to your sensitive, sobbing hole.
His finger to slowly stretch into your body, his eyes never leaving you. He watches your moan, how your lips part, your eyes rolling, your chest rises as he has one hundred percent control of your body.
âMmm you like that. Look how tight she clings to me.â His free hand caresses your neck, slowly moving to your breast. Goosebumps follow his touch, the warmth of his fingers resting on the bar between your nipple. âI think she missed me.â
He slides his fingers upward, pumping your famished hole for your juice.
âYou dirty whore.â He smirks feeling you drip to his knuckle.
Tsuki brings his lips to your ring, lips tongue flicking against your silver barbell.
âI remember when you got these done. Prancing around like some fucking slut with your tits out.â He brings it in with his mouth, sucking the bar for your new found sensitive tips. âMmm so sexy.â He looks up to you, panting with your head thrown back. âMy girl is enjoying herself.â He comes back up, still twisting your ring as he continues to fuck you with his fingers. His thumb caresses your clit briefly for the sake of reaction.
Your body jolts and he smirks, bringing you into him.
âDo you want me to fuck you, Baby Girl?â He whispers and you nod unable to catch your breath.
He pulls out from you, his fingers soggy from your wetness.
âThen clean it.â He holds his fingers to your mouth, watching you lick from his knuckle to the tip. âYouâre so pretty when youâre wet.â He moans watching you lick his fingers, he grabbing his cock through his tight briefs, it filling perfectly where it should.
Hard, he releases it to his hands, reflexing in your direction.
âIf you want me to fuck you, show me how bad you want it.â
He pumps his cock a few times before you smack his hands away, pinning them in between your fingers.
âShut the fuck up, Tsuki. Youâre so annoying.â You scoff taking his shaft between your free hand and your tongue. He moans letting his head roll back, he looking at the ceiling.
Up and down you run your lips along him, his hands tangling with your hair.
âStop playing with it.â He warns grabbing your face by the jaw. âDo it right.â
It was your time it smirk, taking him whole, him bucking his hips.
You gag against him making Tsuki jolt his cock against your throat again.
âYes Baby, gag on me. Fuck you feel so good.â He pulls your hair back out from your face.
You watch him, doe eyes watching him relax with pleasure.
âFuck Baby.â He pulls out from your mouth. âYouâre going to waste me like that.â He pulls you to your feet. âGet your ass on my bed.â He points to his bedroom, watching you obediently oblige, his palm smacking your ass on the way in.
âOw, fuck Tsuki. That hurt!â You rub your enflamed cheek and he meets you in the edge.
âShut the fuck up.â He smirks. âAll fours. Now.â
âFine fine. Shut up.â You position yourself ready for him when he pushes you forward, your stomach against the sheet.
âYou think youâre just gonna get whatever you want.â His hand collides with your cheek again. âHell no. Shut your bratty mouth and take my cock like a good girl.â
He inserts a finger into your swollen hole, taking it out to his lips. âFuck Baby.â He grips your hips, bending over to line up. He presses his lips against your cheek then the other, letting his tongue reappear at your clit, letting your body buckle with your moan.
âMmm just how I remember you.â He leaves a long strip to your entrance, with his index fucking your hole. âYou fucking slut. I own you.â He slurps. âIâm going to tear you up.â
He bites your ass, realigning his cock with your core.
Painfully slow, he lets himself into you, bottoming his cock into your body. You both groan as he stays completely still.
âFuck Tsukki. Move.â You gasp trying to adjust your hips however he has you pinned. âFuck, youâre big. Move.â Youâre breathless as he begins to adjust himself along your tight walls.
âBeing nice now isnât going to make me go easy on your tight pussy.â He slides out, barely leaving the tip in. âBeg for me. Tell me how badly you want me to use you.â He leans forward, his breath on your skin. âTell me. Whoâs gonna touch you like me?â
âN-no one.â
âHmm? Tell me, Y/n, tell me whoâs gonna fuck you like me?â
âNo one Tsu- fuck.â He smashes his hips into yours, thrusting harder than he had ever before.
âThatâs right. You slut.â Heâs thrusting, both hands on your hips keeping him, steady. âYou crave me. No one can satisfy you like me.â He bottoms into you, catching your breath with his cock.
âToo deep.â He smirks at your complaint.
âNo those boys canât fill your tight cunt like I can.â
âThis is the- the last time Tsuki.â
âYou damn liar. You depend on me. You need me.â
He shoves your head into the pillow muffling your moans while he pounds into you. His hand grazes across your ass restlessly, until he pulls out flipping you. His hands pin you down against the bed, his forehead resting against yours.
âI want to watch you cum on my cock.â He grunts, reinserting himself. âYouâre so damn gorgeous, you maniac.â
You press your lips against his, your legs pulling him in deep. âFuck you, Tsuki.â
He smirks into your lips, feeling your walls grip around his cock. Your moans grow louder and heâs pounding harder than ever, wanting you to finish on him.
âWhoâs making you cum?â He pants, close himself.
âFuck. Tsukishima.â You grip the back of his head, feeling yourself release on him, he cumming short after with the throbs of his cock twitching inside of you. His body, wet and covered in sweat, collapses on top of you his breathing matching yours as he lessens in size.
âFuck.â He says pulling out. âFuck.â
âDonât worry about it.â You roll over to your side, feeling him sit up in the bed against the wall.
Moments pass and things begin to calm down, the post nut clarity. The downfall.
âIt doesnât get better than this, does it Tsuki?â Your sad reality hits you as you adjust yourself with a hand under his pillow, still not facing the blond but the wall instead. His covers hide your sweat glazed body and insecurities.
âWhat do you mean?â
âItâs an endless cycle. I get my heart broken and come crying back to my ex to fuck me because at least I know heâs not going to break me again because heâs already done that.â
You stare at the wall, feeling him shift beside you.
Then you feel his hand graze your hips, resting on the highest point.
âWell. Is that what you want? Do you want the endless cycle of me fucking you until you hate yourself?â
âNo. Yes? I donât know.â
âWould you rather just want to fuck me?â
âLike friends with benefits?â You turn on your side catching him rolling his eyes.
âWe will never be friends.â He bluntly says searching for his glasses. You nod and he sighs. âItâs obvious you still have feelings for me, Y/n.â
You rest on your stomach, propping yourself up on your elbows.
âWhatever, Tsuki.â
âDonât deny it. You wouldnât keep coming back to me unless you wanted something.â
âI wanted to get laid.â
âAnd youâre a terrible liar.â He runs hand through his drenched curls.
âYou donât know what youâre talking about.â
âNo normal person would drive two hours in the middle of the night to fuck someone, Y/n. Itâs not worth it.â
You sit up grabbing the sheet to cover yourself.
âIâm not here for you to shove your opinions at me, Tsuki.â
âYouâre right, Y/n.â He grabs your hand pulling you into him. âYouâre here because you still have feelings. Youâre here because you canât accept that youâre not over our relationship. Youâre here because you keep throwing yourself at random losers to substitute the feelings you have for me because you canât admit it to yourself that you never wanted our relationship to end.â
He calls you out leaving you stunned. Not one word can come to your lips because deep down, you know heâs right.
Deep down, you keep going back to Tsuki because you know he wonât let you down. You know, that deep deep down in your chest, the beating organ is still beating for Tsuki but like him, youâre too stubborn to admit it.
âI just want to hear you say it.â
âSay what, Tsukishima?â
âSay that you miss me. Say that you still want me.â His lips brush against yours, his whisper barely audible. Those hands he cuffed around your wrists flip you on your back and heâs hovering over you. âSay you still want me. Say that us breaking up was a mistake and say you still want me. Just admit it.â
âTsu-â before you could say another word, his lips silence you, the pressure of his naked body atop of yours, but inches away from joining with each other. âIâm a terrible liar.â
âThen tell me the truth.â He whispers his lips closing in on yours.
âI love you, Kei.â
#tsukishima fluff#tsukishima kei#tsukishima x reader#tsuki#tsukishima hcs#tsukishima smut#tsukishima scenarios#tsukishima x y/n#tsukishima haikyuu
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Ok so Yata when we was told he was going to be an older brother took it very seriously (still left like he didnât belong) and learned everything that a good older âshouldâ do. One thing could be learning how to fix hair so he could help his little sister out whenever she asked snd him being an unexpected master at hair, need this complicated braid done, need this half up do with flowers done, need a trim done,etc. Along with that heâs also pretty skilled at make up (from that one AU). So anytime his sister or Anna need help they always go to him.
Cut to some hair emergency with Seri (like she was on a strain call) and something happens to her hair and she needs to be presentable for a ball or something fancy. Thereâs no time for her to run to the salon and the Blue alphabet boys are trying to throw suggestions when Fushimi is like⊠âgive me ten minutesâ and just walks off. Everyone is super confused and then in walks Fushimi with Yata carrying all his hair equipment he uses to do his little sisters hair. And is like letâs do this. Yata gets to work on doing her hair snd make up. Cutting here or there, curling and twisting, right down till Seri has to leave to get changed and when heâs done you can hardly see any damage and she looks fabulous⊠XD
Somehow I really like this, imagine Yata showing up holding a curler the way he normally holds his bat XD Like say when he found out his mom was pregnant with a girl he kinda freaked out a little, like he has no idea how to handle a little sister. He wants to be a good big brother though and help his mom out, her hands are already full with Minoru and Yata's determined to show how grown up he is by helping take care of his sister. He tries to think of stuff a big brother should know and decides that well girls have long hair and like makeup right, so he needs to learn about that. Yata turns out to be a pretty quick study with this and maybe he even helps his mom do her hair as practice so he learns quickly. For a while only Fushimi knows Yata's 'secret,' having seen him do Megumi's hair while visiting Yata's house, but then after Anna joins Homra Yata's skills turn out to be unexpectedly valuable. Imagine Totsuka and Kusanagi discussing one day that they need to learn how to do hair or take Anna to a proper hairdresser and Yata just sheepishly raises his hand like 'um, so, about that...'. Kusanagi's impressed that a rough guy like Yata who normally can't even talk to girls is somehow so good with hair and Yata says he helped his sister a lot and he knows it's not like a cool hobby or anything but it comes in handy.
So then one day post-ROK say there's one of those Strain issues where someone has to infiltrate a fancy party and this time it's Awashima again. However at the last minute the intended hairdresser backed out and Scepter 4 is scrambling to finish getting her made up, they need her hair to look fancy so she won't be recognizable. None of the squad know much about doing hair, even Benzai who has a little sister himself only has limited knowledge. Finally Fushimi sighs and he's like 'I'll be right back.' Everyone's wondering what Fushimi's plan is, like maybe Fushimi-san is going to learn how to do hair in ten minutes. They're all even more surprised though when Fushimi finally returns and Yata's tagging along behind him, dragging this bag full of cosmetics and hairdresser equipment. Yata cracks his knuckles like okay where do you guys need me and the squad are all exchanging glances like this was Fushimi-san's plan, how could a person from Homra be helpful in this kind of situation.
Cue everyone staring wide-eyed as Yata proceeds to just work magic on Awashima's hair, like doing all kinds of fancy hair tricks, curling and pinning and brushing it all out. Even Awashima herself almost can't believe it, watching as she gets the best hair appointment of her life from a guy in an oversized sweatshirt and a beanie. Fushimi's just hanging in the back with a small smile, like he was expecting things to go this way and he's not at all worried about how Yata's doing, this is one thing he can trust Misaki to complete perfectly.
#Yata Misaki#Talking K#I like this as Yata's secret hobby XD#imagine the only time he can talk to girls is when he's doing hair#like before and after the appointment he's all red and stuttering#but put some scissors and a curling iron in his hands and he's suddenly totally calm#maybe he's a little embarrassed so most of Homra doesn't know#just the man trio and Anna and maybe Kamamoto
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Letâs Start the Game...
[Buffalo, New York City, Two Days Later...]
HELLOOOOOO NEW YOORK!
Heheh...Youâve been waiting this entire trip to say that, havenât you?
Sure have!
Shame that Hiro wasnât here to say it with me.
...
*Byakuya pats her on the shoulder.
We find this 404 guy, and we may be one step closer to getting him back.
Stay strong Hina. Weâll get through this.
Yeah...yeah, youâre right.
Ok, so...where do we start?
It might be ideal for us to split up into groups of two or three to cover as much ground as possible. According to Chihiroâs info, this is around where the ERR0RM3SS4GE graffiti was.Â
So this is where we search. If weâre going in groups, then Maya and I will go together.
That makes sense to me.
Toko and Komaru are probably gonna go together so...Iâll go with Byakuya.
I accept these terms.
Yeah, I mean...weâll get this done faster if we go with people weâre familiar with.
We should take Akeru with us too. Are you two gonna go together then? If so, what about Kuripa?
Well Kuripa? Would you like to come with us?
Actually, I think Iâm gonna go solo on this one.
Huh?
I can get stuff done fine on my own. You go with your wife.
A-Are you sure?
You can come with Four and me if you donât wanna go with them.
I still need time to think about things. Iâll drag you down if I tag along.
But...I really must insist-
Who the hell do you think you are...? I can take care of myself...!
...!
Youâre my boss...
Stop trying to be my Dad...
...Sorry.
Donât worry, Iâll be FINE. Iâll call you if anything comes up.
You broke your phone, didnât you?
Oh yeah...
Alright, well, Iâll just come straight back to the van with anything I find.
Stay safe, ok?
I will, I will...
*Everyone starts to disperse.
...
...?
...
*Kuripa catches Akeru giving him a weird glance before she trails behind her parents.
...
*True to his word, Kuripa starts wandering and searching on his own, however, unlike the rest of the group, he has his sights set on a certain place.
(Boss relayed the story to me with what happened to Akane Taira here...She said she visited some internet cafĂ©, which is where she got threatened...â
*He stands out the front of one particular internet café.
(Letâs see if Iâm worth threatening too...)
*He enters the café looks for the booths. Most of them are already full.
...Well, I donât have my phone, and itâs not like I brought a laptop or some shit with me...Only one thing for it...
*He suddenly enters one of the occupied booths.
Customer: Ah-!?
You look like a reasonably smart man! Listen, I donât have time to explain, but Iâm on a mission. Give me your laptop.
Customer: A-Are you crazy!? Get out of my booth you weirdo, Iâm in the middle of something!
...
*Kuripa suddenly grasps the customer by his head.
That wasnât a request...
*WHAM!*
Customer: AAUGH! Uuugh......
*Kuripa slams the customers head into the desk, instantly knocking him out. He drags his body and leans it in a recovery position against the wall behind him.
Sorry, official Future Foundation business.
*He cracks his knuckles and starts typing into the laptop. He goes straight to ERR0RM3SS4GES website.
âRumor has it if you say ERR0RM3SS4GES name 3 times in the mirror, 404 materializes behind you and calls you a bitch...â
But why do that when you can just offer yourself up as a sacrifice? When 404 finds out how many juicy secrets IâM hiding, heâs not gonna be able to resist the urge.
*Kuripa browses the website, and then after a few minutes.
...
Ooooooh...Either this is some flashy pop-up ad, or aliens are contacting me!
Psh...Who am I, Hagakure?
Close, but no cigar...Kuripa Kurafto, yes?
Ah, so you know my name?
...!
*Unsure of whether heâs being watched, Kuripa pokes his head up over the booth and peeks around the cafe. When he doesnât spot anyone suspicious, he ducks back down again.
I know more about you than just a name you know. ERR0RM3SS4GE knows almost everything about everyone.
Oh yeah? Letâs test that.
Whatâs my fetish?
ENF and public humiliation.
Big boobs or small boobs?
You like small boobs.
I once wrote an erotic fanfiction on WattPad, True or False?
False. You wrote an erotic fanfiction on AO3 though.
Shit man, you ARE good.
Is that really all you want to know? There are many others parts of your history that are suitably...colorful.
Ah-Let me stop you right there pal.
I certainly have a lot of deep dark secrets that I donât want anyone knowing, but the reason isnât because Iâm trying to protect myself.
If they find out what Iâve done or who I am, they wonât feel safe around me anymore...They wonât trust me and...itâll break Bossâs heart.
So if you really are an agent of societal justice like I am, youâll keep what you know to yourself. Understand?
...
Also, donât talk tough shit. Uchui probably told you all of that stuff about me, didnât he?
No actually. Uchui endeavored to keep your secrets for you. It seems the sense of companionship between you remains even though you fight on opposing sides.
Uh-huh...
And what side are YOU on?
...
You donât seem inherently hostile, and I have heard rumors about the big bad brutes of society you shut down. I can get behind that cause.
But you also helped Uchui betray me and get into cahoots with Organization Zetsubou. What kind of plot are you cooking here.
...
If you donât wanna answer, fine, at least answer me THIS.
ERR0RM3SS4GE are based in Japan, or so they say. What are you doing here in the USA?
...Iâm on a mission.
Ah he speaks...! Interesting...what kind of mission?
Actually, thatâs what I wanted to talk to you and the Future Foundation about. Youâre the first Iâve been able to get in contact with, but...I need help.
...Help huh? Give me one second...
*Kuripa starts navigating through the customers laptop, and luckily, he finds a recording function. He activates it and it starts recording the screen.
So...you need help with this âmissionâ of yours...Letâs say, hypothetically, that we agree to help you with whatever youâre up against. What do WE get out of this?
Future Foundation are used to helping people without direct compensation, but unfortunately, morally ambiguous hacker organizations arenât exactly on our help list.
Hahahah...Your sense of humor definitely adds levity to this situation. But whether you think weâre good or bad, all weâre trying to do is make a difference.
...
Help me...and Iâll send you the location of Organization Zetsubouâs base.
Wait...you know where theyâre hiding...!?
If you want me to be perfectly honest, no, I donât. However, I currently have a plan in the works involving getting that information. Help me, and as soon as I get it, itâs all yours.
Then...the reason you helped Uchui...!? It was so you could use him to find Zetsubou...!?
We can discuss that later. But on top of information, youâll get all my connections and all my assets to use as you please. If you play nice...maybe Iâll even lend you some gear to destroy Organization Zetsubou once and for all.
...
An enticing offer, but what exactly is it that you need us to do for you?
Unfortunately, I canât say that directly. I need to know if youâre well and truly up to the task. Not just in terms of abilities, but in terms of how far youâre willing to go.
Well, Iâm willing to do whatever it takes to rescue those kids that got taken at the camp. But I canât say the same for my cohorts. THEY have standards.
Exactly. If you want to know what I know, then I suggest you make your way to a place called the Walkie-Talkie.
The Walkie-Talkie?
Yes. Itâs placed at the top of a high-rise flat, and serves as a social gathering hub. People come and go and make business deals and also friends there. However, others tend to use it as a front for illicit dealings and otherwise.
I see...so your target is that place?
No...My target is something much bigger...
Huh?
But it is true that place is hiding some secrets. More will be revealed there. Iâve just uploaded the necessary data to this PC, so do with that what you will. Iâll be going now. 404 out.
Wha-Hey!
*Before Kuripa can stop him, 404 disappears from the screen.
Piss!
*He stops the recording, swipes the laptop and hurries back to the camper.
#danganronpa survivor#danganronpa#oc#danganronpa 1#dr1#hyper danganronpa h2o#hdrh2o#danganronpa ultra despair girls#drae#danganronpa blowback#drb#kuripa kurafto#makoto naegi#kyoko kirigiri#byakuya togami#toko fukawa#akeru yozora#komaru naegi#aoi asahina#maya canzanilla#four kaiden#the monster in me arc#???
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More Then a Woman | Frank Woods x Fem!Reader | Chapter 7 - Finale
Summary:
It all comes down to this. Will Frank be able to make things right?
Tags: Slow burn, fluff, age difference, angst
Tag requests: @direwolfspostsrandomshit
Chpt 1 | Chpt 2 | Chpt 3 | Chpt 4 | Chpt 5 | Chpt 6 Warnings: strong language, age difference, and references to depression like symptoms and past childhood trauma
Another hour passes. Another beer down.
The television drones on in the background while he stares right through it. Why is he even watching this? He hates TV.
He should be training today, maybe the gym or the firing range, but⊠He just doesnât feel like it.
His stomach growls. He looks at the clock. He should get something to eat, but⊠He doesnât feel like that either.
At last the cramping moves him to action, and sluggishly he gets up and wanders to the kitchen. He grabs his go-to as of late, a bag of chocolate chips for baking. His dietâs been such shit lately, and he knows itâs not helping. He hates that. And he loves it. Because right now heâll do anything just to get even a flicker of feeling.
Good. Bad. He doesnât care.
He just wants to feel.
Itâs been a couple weeks since he last saw you, out back behind the CIA gym, and heâs been numb ever since. Masonâs been trying to bring him out of it all this time.
âYou did the right thingâ, he says. âSheâs just a kid, she doesnât know what sheâs doingâ, and then, âIf anything, you did her a favor. She doesnât really want to get caught up like that with an old guy, right?â, he laughs.
He eats another handful of chocolate and looks down at himself. âShe doesnât want to...â Is he really that repulsive? He runs a hand over his belly. Itâs been feeling more rounded than usual.
Fuck.
For a moment, that same old burning, consuming flare of fury heâs so used to getting rises up. He grips the plastic bag so tightly, his knuckles turn white.
His discipline has been getting looser and his belt has been getting tighter, the polar fucking opposite of how things should be. His nostrils flare and lips draw back to reveal tightly clenched teeth, like a dog readying for an attack. Every muscle in his body tenses as he bores holes into nothing in particular. He starts to cock his arm back.
Throwing something will help him feel better.
Right?
He aims for the wall and winds up for an all star pitch, and thenâŠ
and thenâŠ
He canât even muster the motivation for that.
As quickly as it came, the anger leaves, and as he lets out the breath he hadnât realized heâd been holding, his entire body relaxes once more. What the fuck is wrong with him anyway?
What, mommy and daddy didnât love him enough, so now he throws little tantrums whenever the fuck he feels like it? He mocks himself, feeling almost ashamed suddenly of all his outbursts, but when he thinks about itâŠ
Yeah.
Maybe that...
He sighs, suddenly feeling extremely defeated and very alone. Maybe he shouldn't be surprised you left him. Everyone else who ever loved him did.
Woods drops the bag of chocolate from his limply hanging arm and watches the pieces scatter and roll all over the floor.
Whatever. Heâll eat something else.
This is how itâs been for weeks and this how itâll be for the foreseeable future. He lazes around, completely numb to the outside world, grazing his pantry and doing anything to distract himself from his thoughts. If only any of it worked. Then at night heâll lay awake well past midnight, until either regular exhaustion or exertion from shedding tears sends him to sleep.
But it wasnât always like this.
After the first few days since he chased you off, he tried to make up for it.
He called.
He tried to see you at work.
He even sent you some fucking flowers and a letter.
Not a word back.
Well, aside from the âGet the fuck out of here, and donât you fucking dare come backâ he got when he came to your office. After that oneâŠ
He hasnât cried that hard over a woman in⊠Well⊠Ever.
And thatâs what really gets to him, isnât it? Just a woman. Youâre just a fucking woman. Thereâs billions of others out there⊠And yet, he canât manage to land even one, can he?
This message plays back in his mind over, and over, and over again.
Even now, as a slow stream of tears leak from his eyes to his pillowcase. He looks over just a few inches away to the empty half of his bed. Frank sniffs and swipes at his nose before gently plopping his hand on the pillow beside his. The fabric is icy cold against his skin.
You know, Alex told him once that heâll lay in his wife's spot on the bed to warm up the sheets for her at night.
She hates the cold, and Alaskan nights are no joke. Would you like that? He wonders. He heard once that women are always fucking cold. Heâd warm up your sheets for you, you know. Or maybe, youâd like a blanket? Heâd get you one. A nice one! Fresh and new, not any of the tattered shit he keeps in his linen closet.
Or, maybe, youâd like it more if he just⊠Held you? He could keep you warm all by himself if you wanted him to. Would you even like him to?
Would that make you happy?
Would he make you happy?
A fresh round of tears breaks over him.
He closes his eyes and curls in on himself as he lets the sobs take over him. Damn it, he promised himself he wouldnât do this again⊠He thinks about you far too much. All the time, really. And where does it get him? Somewhere about like he is now, he supposes.
He stews in his own wretchedness like this for quite some time, and itâs not until a few days later that anything changes.
Mason pounds on the door of the dingy little house, âFrank?â, he calls, âFrank, open up you bastard, I know youâre in there!â
Truthfully, heâs only in town on some work related business, but⊠He canât just stand by and let his friend suffer like this.
So, he waits and waits, and pounds and pounds until he's sure the door is about to come off the hinges. Mason cups his hands to the crack of the door, shouting into it as loud as he dare, âIâm not leaving until you come out here asshole!â
At last, a quiet voice comes from the other side, âWhat do you want?â
For a moment, Mason is rather dumbfounded. Never before has he ever heard his friend sound so soulless. So⊠broken. He shakes his head, and pulls himself out of it, âFrank will you open up? Iâm here to check on you man!â
Woods sighs, âDonât waste your timeâ, the voice trails off as though heâs walking away.
âHey!â, Mason pounds on the door again, âSon of a bitch, get back here!â
The door swings open abruptly, and Mason nearly falls over as the doorâs taken out from him. He stumbles a moment, then catches himself as he stands up straight.
Mason locks eyes with his old friend, and Woods says nothing. Alex takes in the sight of him. His stubble is out of control, the bags under his eyes are dark and purple, and the undershirt heâs wearing couldâve used a wash about a week ago.
âJesusâŠYou look like shitâ
âThanksâ, Woods replies flatly, âNow go awayâ
He makes to close the door, but Mason stops him, âWait wait wait⊠Ok, Iâm sorry, I just⊠Wow, um⊠Can I come in at least? Letâs talk about thisâ, Alex motions to Woods in his entirety.
âDo I have a choice?â
Mason pushes the door all the way open, letting himself in and taking his friend by the shoulders as he leads him further into the house, âNo, weâre having a fucking interventionâ
He leads him to the living room and clears a pile of clothes and trash off the cushions so they can sit down. Alex commands his friend to take a seat, then follows suit. Once theyâre both settled, Mason grows serious but maintains a cautious, sympathetic veneer.
Mason rubs his hands together and gives it to him straight, âLook, I know you feel like you fucked up. I know youâre feeling lonely and itâs got you in the dumps. But⊠Come on man, look whatâs been going on with you!â, He gestures to the living space around them.
Dirty laundry and neglected trash sit in little piles all around in a room that smells of old must with a faint, queasy scent of booze. âThis is no way to live, buddy!â
Frank says nothing. Instead, he sits and listens without even attempting to make eye contact, like a child receiving a tiresome lecture.
Alex grits his teeth and tries to keep his temper in check. âSo⊠What Iâm trying to say isâŠ. Maybe you need to get out of here, you know? Go to a game, take a vacation, something!â, he scoots a bit closer, taking on a more personal tone with his old friend, âI donât want to see you destroy yourself like this FrankâŠâ
Woods recoils at that, snapping to life as though heâd just now entered the conversation, âIâm not! I just⊠I need some time to get over this, alright!â
Mason casts an exaggeratedly doubtful look at the other man. Frank jumps to defend himself once more, but Alex cuts him off, âOk ok! How about this, letâs you and me go out for a little bit huh? Have some beers, some guy time! I just want you to get out of this place for a little while, is that so bad?â
Frank grumbles a bit, but somewhere in there is an agreement. Mason cheers, "That's the spirit!", and drags his friend upstairs to clean up. He pushes him off to shave and shower before going downstairs to help himself to the kitchen.
It takes far longer than he anticipated, but Alex doesnât go up to pressure the old Sargent even once. At last, the staircase creaks softly as Woods descends. He looks like a new man. Clean clothes, shaped up beard, and a gentle wafting of clean, musky shampoo emanating from him.
Woods walks up without much fanfare for himself, but Alex offers him a smile and a firm pat on the back, âThere, now isnât that better? You look great!â
Frank grunts and perhaps even mutters a thank you, but Mason is too busy trying to keep the momentum up. Once more, he drags his friend along and out to the car. The sun is starting to set and options for places to go are beginning to dwindle. Woods wonders where theyâre going, and yet as the streets race by, he finds himself caring less and less.
By the time the car comes to a stop, heâs nearly fallen asleep.
Mason turns off the engine and shakes him awake, âHey donât fall asleep on me now, weâre just getting started!â
Woods snaps awake, but has to shield his eyes immediately. It seems impossibly bright out considering how late it is. He blinks a few times and rubs his eyes. Once they're fully adjusted, he finds that what he sees does nearly nothing to alleviate his confusion.
Before him stands the front of a pulsating night club. Blue and purple neon blaze in the dusky twilight. He can only imagine how they must look in the dead of night. A pounding beat comes from somewhere within, no doubt the drum track to some popular, modern song. Small clusters of younger people and a handful of adults hang around the doors pregaming for what they must be anticipating to be a long, wild night.
The pair get out of the car, but Woods is bewildered all the while. When Alex finally comes around to him, he canât keep silent any longer, âWhat the fuck did you bring me here for?â
Mason seems almost taken aback, âFor some fun? Come on, I know this isnât really your scene but maybe thatâs exactly what you need! Something new and fun, right?â, he doesnât wait for a response, instead he pushes his friend along as they head towards the entrance.
The air seems thick and hazy around him, a fact only highlighted by the glowing miasma created by the neon interior. If Alex wasnât pulling him along, heâs sure heâd get lost.
Alex takes him over to a table buried back in the corner. They take a seat and despite being right across from each other, Mason nearly has to shout to be heard over all the noise, âWant a drink?â
Woods thinks about it for a moment, still taking in the environment as he does so. Heâs trying to find the bar, and when he does he figures itâs impossible to miss. A huge back wall of glass bottles, all lit up by a halo of purple neon and cool fluorescent lights stands bright as a beacon behind a solid bar top and array of stools and customers.
âSure, I can get my ownâ
âGreat! Hey, grab my usual would ya? Iâm gonna take a leak real quickâ, he points over his shoulder and excuses himself as he makes for the restrooms.
This⊠is not at all what he wanted.
Suddenly, Woods feels trapped and alone again, no better than he was back in his own home. Except now heâs surrounded by the heat, noise, and stench of over a hundred other people.
The lights feel heavy and blinding, the pulsating pop music, deafening. He trudges up to the bar slowly yet surely, but with every step he comes closer to committing to his plan of escaping back to Alexâs car.
He never shouldâve went along with this⊠he was just fine at home, damn it.
Lost in his thoughts and half blinded by the smoke and lights, he runs smack into another person. With a dampened thud, they hit the ground hard. Wood swears under his breath and figures he can at least offer a hand. He bends down to help up the fallen individual, only to seeâŠ
You.
Suddenly, itâs as if all the haze and fog has cleared from his eyes. He can see you clear as day down here, and the noise and smells of the crowd all fade away. A soft blue glow highlights your features, and an electric magenta bounces off your hair. The sparkling, sequined little dress you wear glitters in the halo of light descending around you, and a thousand flecks of light reflect back onto his worn, tired face.
Woods' hand hangs in mid air, half way through itâs journey to assist you. He whispers your name, quietly and fondly, as though he never thought heâd see you again.
For the first time in what must have been days, a smile breaks free from his stern glower.
But all you see is the asshole who teased you along for weeks, only to give you the highest embarrassment by sending you off like a misbehaving child after you were at your most vulnerable with him.
You were ready to give him your very body, and he only felt up what he wanted and sent you off.
With a sneer, you slap his hand away and hop up on your own. You donât even bother to spare him a word. Instead, you stare daggers into him and walk off.
For a moment. For a second time⊠He watches you go.
He should let you walk away.
After what he did, you deserve at least the privacy. And thatâs aside from the fact that youâre clearly pissed.
But he canât. Not again.
âHey, wait!â, he dashes after you, shoving his way through the crowd. A little too roughly, he grabs your upper arm and spins you around. You yank yourself free from his grip and glare right through him. Even through all the rageâŠ
You look so beautiful in this light.
âI⊠I- uh. Heyâ
âHey?â, your blood is boiling. Is that all he has to say for himself?
The venom in your voice makes him recoil, shrinking back into himself. But still⊠âI uh, I just⊠H-how are you⊠I didnât think youâd be in a place like this, hehâŠâ
Out of pure manners, you respond, âFine. What are you doing here?â, you cross your arms, defensive, but genuinely curious.
Woods looks over his shoulder then all round, searching for any sign of Mason. Nothing. He snaps his attention back to you, trying to come up with any reason at all to explain himself. Frank stutters for an answer, but you end your indulgent lapse before he can say anything coherent and turn to walk away.
âWait! I⊠I-I miss you...â
You whip around, seething with anger. Then, very seriously, you ask, âAre you following me?â
âWhat? No! Fuck no! I just⊠I miss you, thatâs all!â
You scoff, âWell maybe you shouldâve fucking thought of that firstâ
â...Youâre rightâ
That stops you dead. This is nothing like the Woods you know⊠You canât recall a single time heâs had the humility, let alone the balls, to admit that heâs wrong.
âOh, yeah?â
âYeahâŠâ, he sighs, and even in the darkness of the club you can see a glimpse of just how much pain heâs in, âLook⊠I shouldnât have done that, back there behind the gym. You trusted me and I fucked it up. I know. Itâs just⊠I was scaredâ
A biting edge creeps back into your voice. You donât buy that. âScared? Of what, getting caught?â
âWhat? No! I was scared⊠that I was taking advantage of you, alright?â
You blink, and suddenly all the rage leaves you, as though the hot air was deflated right out of you. âWh-what do you mean?â
âWell I mean⊠You know⊠Y-youâre just a kid, and Iâm⊠not. I just- It didnât feel right. Hell, I didnât even get a chance to ask if you really wanted all that, I just⊠went for itâ
You take a little step closer, your hard gaze softening just a touch, âWell⊠Itâs not like I was saying noâ, you chuckle
âYeah, but thatâs not the fucking same, you know?â
You look away, âYeahâŠâ
âSo⊠Anyway⊠Iâm sorry, alright?â
At last, you turn back and smile at him, âAlright. I forgive you, and⊠thanks. For saying thatâ
Woods nods and accepts your thanks. The two of you share a little smile and a short pause of uncertain silence until he breaks the silence, âSo⊠What now?â
You look him up and down. Heâs wearing jeans and a tightly fitting flannel, a stark contrast to all the trendy, flashy fashion of the rest of the clubbers, and yet itâs so⊠him. You trace a finger down his limp, tattooed arm, stopping at his fingers to intertwine them with yours.
âHow about a dance?â, you tug his hand gently, then nod towards the dance floor.
A feeling like euphoria washes over him, and time seems slow as he floats along while you tug him through the crowd. Somewhere in the beautiful, prismatic show of lights, he hears himself agree. You lead him to a cramped, but vacant spot on the glowing dance floor and turn an ear to the music, âHey, I love this songâŠâ
Woods perks up to listen, just in time to catch the start of More Than A Woman, muffled slightly by all the noise and bustle of the crowd.
Itâs like itâs playing from within a dream.
You rest your hands on his chest, letting them slide down so that the heels of your palms sit where the curve of his stomach begins to swell out. Frank has his hands on your waist, swaying in time with you slowly to the music. He clears his throat and looks away from your sparkling, gorgeous eyes, a nervous blush creeping up his neck.
He knows youâve been over this before, but⊠âYeah, uh⊠so, you know, Iâve been thinking I should lose some weight... You know, while youâve been⊠goneâ, he moves your hands up from his belly to clasp behind his neck.
You quirk up your brow, a confused smile on your lips, âWhy?â
âUh, I donât know⊠I think it makes me look old, I guessâ
You laugh and come a little closer, your bodies nearly touching, âWell, if it means anything... I donât think soâ, You inch up and kiss his cheek, bringing one hand down to rest on his softened pect. He huffs a nervous laugh and masks the flattered embarrassment with a timid smile as he covers your hand with his, holding it there just a little while more.
He's never forgotten how amazing your touch alone feels.
He clears his throat and re-establishes eye contact. A whole kaleidoscope of color plays inside your eyes. He could get lost in them for the rest of his life. âYou uh⊠wow. You- you look beautiful tonight...â, he steals a quick glance as your little, sparkly dress and the neon rainbow refracting off the thousands of tiny sequins, âNearly gave this old man a heart attack when I first saw youâ, he laughs.
âOh?â, you smirk and lead him into a turn, â In that case, you should see me take it offâ
His heart pounds underneath your palm, but his face looks frozen with surprise. He doesnât hear women say that kind of stuff to him oftenâŠ
âD-do you⊠Do you mean that?â
âWell, I mean⊠Maybe after this, Iâd love t-â
âNo, not that. I mean⊠Me. D-do you really feel that way about me?â
You stop dancing for a moment.
His words cut deeply with the quiver of hope they carry, as though it had never crossed his mind that someone would want to be with him.
âOf course I do. But⊠I want you more then just for that you knowâ, you chuckle.
His cheeks go pink, âOh. Damn, so you like that kind of st-?â
You place a single finger to his lips, shushing him. âI meant⊠I love youâ
Your words echo back to him in slow motion, as though reality and time itself are breaking all around him to unveil a haven of euphoria. His heart is beating in his ears, and yet it sounds slow and calm, just like the wild crowd and the blaring music all around him.
Everything grows quieter and softer until it all fades away, leaving behind just you and him.
He wracks his brain, trying to remember the last time he heard those words, only to come up empty handed. Itâs been so long⊠He canât even remember.
Frank looks back at you, a little neon angel clinging to his beat up old shirt. Gorgeous. Thatâs all he can think of when he sees you. He almost feels like he shouldn't even have the privilege to do so. You bat long lashes up at him and a slow smile draws across your soft, glossy lips.
More than a womanâŠ
Slowly, you come up to meet your lips to his. Youâve kissed before, but this⊠It feels like the first kiss of his entire life.
He presses back gently, sucking softly as he draws you close. You smell like dark cherry and amber, some combination of perfume and lip gloss. The faint smell of whisky and musk radiating off of him mingles with the divine scent of you.
He can taste it all on his tongue, even as he slides it over to flick across yours.
More than a woman to meâŠ
At long last you part, breathing softly as your eyes drift up to meet one another's. And when he looks down into those deep, glittering pools, he wonders how he never saw all the love and warmth they hold for him. The love they always had.
âI love you tooâŠâ, he whispers, tears stinging at his eyes and voice, before he leans in to press a kiss to your forehead.
And now? The love they always will.
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keep your enemies close
chapter 1 of 3(?)
karl heisenberg/ethan winters; reluctant allies to lovers; canon divergence - ethan takes the deal; someone lives/not everyone dies; re village spoilers (obviously). 2403 words.
a/n: hough ok. nervous 2 post this but here goes.
after seeing so many other writers try their hand at the what if of ethan taking the deal, i wanted to. toss my hat into the ring. after having really bad writers block and anxiety about writing for a.. long while, tbh, after writing for rp stuff i. think iâm gonna be ok to post stuff again. which, im so glad for. ive missed it - and what better way to come back with my current brainworms of the week, eh? lmao
likes < reblogs, any comments in the tags are appreciated!
ao3 mirror in the reblogs!
Ethan played with his hands. Like, a lot.
It wasnât the first thing Heisenberg noticed about him, but it was certainly one of his more prominent traits. He rubbed his wrists as if they were aching, cracked his knuckles along the deep purple bruises that went down to the bone, pressed his thumb into his palm and up between his middle and ring finger of a non-bandaged hand and across a scar that was already starting to heal. Was it to try and restrain himself from another half-panicked half-angry rant, or simply just to check they were still there?Â
Ethan took the deal. He still didnât know why. When he was sat in that chair, inches away from a pit with death, the father looked like death of a different kind - dead man walking, was the phrase that came to mind - and talked like it, too, voice tired and strained but still pushing the words out from the back of his throat with a ferocity and hatred that wasnât unexpected, but still hurt, if only a little. There were bags under his eyes, his body shook as if it was about to shut itself down like a faulty machine. And when Heisenberg hung him over that pit as a threat, he almost let go without intending it, bringing his other arm up to grip onto the manâs coat with the three fingers he still had left. It probably would have been easier, to let him fall then and there, have his army deal with him⊠but things would never have been that simple. Ethan Winters simply didnât⊠die. So when he huffed out an exhausted âfineâ, Heisenberg had pulled him to his feet, and shut the hatch behind him.
And now, here they were. Nowhere near friends, but somewhat closer to allies. Theyâd gone back and forth with a plan, at opposing forces for a majority of it - Ethan was a good father, and Heisenberg cursed him for that fact. Ethan didnât want to use his daughter as a weapon, and Heisenberg had called him stupid. Ethan said he wasnât going to die so easily, and, despite another insult on the tip of his tongue, Heisenberg believed him. So theyâd agree that whatever the kid was, she was a last resort first and foremost. So it was just the two of them, and a mindless metal army. Things were still in their favor, but it was going to be a bit more difficult without the kid. Whatever kept Ethan on his side, though.Â
That fidgeting was getting annoying, though.
The man glanced over, watching the way Ethan started to shake his bandaged hand, as if it had gone numb from the wrist, before moving to rub the back of it in rhythmic motions with no beat. Had he not been doing this for the past half an hour as they sat in silence, it would have been almost charming. âAre you nervous, Winters?â
âWhat?â He raised his head, pausing the coaxing of phantom pains to give the man a look - though he tried to remain neutral, there was something behind the eyes that had never left him since heâd arrived, since that very first trial. Fear. âI- fuck, I mean, yes? I guess thatâs the word, other than âterrified and sick to my stomach that Iâll never see my child againâ-â
â-which you will, by the way.â
âGee, thanks, guy whoâs tried to kill me a handful of times.â
âOnly twice, really. Would have been more if you were a little stupider.â Heisenberg corrected him pointedly, smiling at the glare that was thrown his way, as he propped his feet up on the work table just in front of him, knocking things away with heavy boots. Ethan was fun to mess with, but wasnât to be underestimated - a few wrong buttons pushed, and heâd be on the right side of a shotgun, again. Loyalty to a deal flew in the face of fatherly love, and of family.Â
The glare persisted for a moment, before the man spoke again, firm. âYouâre insane.â
âAnd so are you, for humouring me.â
He paused, eyes flickering away for a moment before he conceded to the point. âYeah, maybe.â
There was a moment of silence between them, before Heisenberg kicked his feet down again, pushing the work table away with a heavy clatter, enough to make the man in front of him flinch. He leaned forward a little. âWhat will it take to get you to trust me?â
Ethan scoffed. âA fucking miracle.â
A smile played on his lips at that. âOh? Well, I can work with that.â
He looked confused for a moment, before yanking his hand back as Heisenberg reached to grab his bandaged hand. âWhat- no, get fucked, youâve already done enough!â
âAnd Iâm going to fix it, you big baby. Hand it over.â
âFix it?! Iâm not one of your machines.â
âIâve got a prosthetics mold, asshole.â
That made him stop. The arm he was holding protectively to his chest with a good hand fell slightly, looking down.
âWe canât have you killing Miranda in 20 different pieces, can we?â Heisenberg continued, carefully watching the consideration wash over his face. âItâll be easy, almost painless, and then as soon as weâre done, weâre gonna send that bitch to boom town and get your girl back.â
There were a couple more moments of silence, before Ethan sighed a tired sigh, and gave his hand to the man with a huff.
Though his hands were rough and calloused from decades of factory work, Heisenbergâs touch was gentle as his fingers moved up the bandages, trying to find an end to them to unwrap his hand. He didnât look back up, but he knew the man was staring at him, eyes burning into him, watching for any sense of betrayal of trust. There wouldnât be any of course - sure, he was a monster made in Mirandaâs design, but he wasnât going to conform to the role fully. He found the pin with a quiet âahâ escaping him, and pulled it out, placing it on the side with one hand and taking hold of Ethanâs wrist with the other. The blood had dried, for the most part. But the wound was still fresh, both in body and mind - he could tell that much from the way he tensed at his touch against the skin.
âRelax,â And for once, Heisenbergâs voice was quiet, though still firm - less of a reassurance, and more of a command, out of habit. âIâm not gonna take another bite. Thatâs not my job.â
Ethan huffed out a half-hearted laugh though his nose. âRight. Leave that to your fairytale army.â
He bent the manâs good fingers into his hands, turning his wrist to face the palm upwards, though he didn't look up, even still. âYou sure do hold grudges well.â
âYeah, just a bit.â His voice was dripping with sarcasm. A familiar sound. âItâs kept me alive for this long, and I wonât stop now.â
A quiet hum escaped him. Couldnât argue with that. âI suppose telling you Iâm always good with my business partners wonât help things?â
âNot at all.â
âHa, thought so. It was worth a try.âÂ
Ethan clicked his tongue as he shook his head and looked away, trying not to wince with the way fresh wounds were being played with, seeming to flinch every so often. He was a brave one, and a man of many strengths, but he was still only human.
(He didnât seem to notice when Heisenberg removed his wedding ring, and left it on the side of the work bench without a word.)
They continued in silence, aside from the occasional whistle of a long forgotten tune or mutter from Heisenberg as he worked, or when he would tell Ethan to stop either bouncing his leg or playing with his other hand (flicking each intact finger out from under his thumb, in rapid succession). While the damage was severe, and the skin had already begun to repair - impressive, yes, but also curious - it wasnât so much so that he couldnât interrupt the process. Letting his hand fall, he pushed his chair back with a terrible screech against the metal floor, moving to stand and grab the mold left to cool from the back of the workbench.
It was then he heard a laugh. âYou were saving those?â
âHm?â He looked up as he popped out two lifeless appendages, the gesture somehow both rough and soft. âMaybe. Just something to hang over your head if you were stupid enough to turn me down.â
Despite himself, Ethan chuckled - though it certainly wasnât a relaxed laugh, it was certainly the most amused heâd been since he got there (he tried not to make note of that). âAh. Yes, the be-all-and-end-all of the deal, two fingers.â
Heisenberg scoffed, holding the fingers tight in one fist, as he moved to grab the chair and turn it backwards, sitting on it as such as he gestured. âHand, smartass.â
He still smirked, shaking his head as he, surprisingly, did as he was told, handing over a now unbandaged three-fingered hand for him to hold by the wrist. He did not flinch as it was held, this time.
It was a surprisingly easy process, though he did yelp and curse as the metal dug into flesh and threatened to touch bone. And as Ethan spewed off another profanity, he paused at the way his hand bent in a gesture - how all five fingers bent in a gesture. Looking down, he stared, watching the way the two missing fingers moved in turn with each finger like a wave of movement.
âWhat theâŠâ He trailed off, turning his hand over, as if to check there weren't any strings making the damn things move. But no, no strings attached, not in the literal sense.
There was a sudden tingle down to his bones, with the way the fingers had connected with his nerves, a gentle surge of electricity forcing his hand to move upwards as he watched in mild horror, eyes refocusing on the man behind his hand, as Heisenberg puppeteered it with dancing fingers and a sly smile. Of course it wasnât made out of a polymer composite - less durable, for one, and he wouldnât be able to mess with Ethan that way. He wore his scowl well as the man that had once been his enemy simply grinned winder, continuing to lift his hand before holding it in place, moving his own to interlock their fingers and pull him closer.
âAnd howâs this for fine craftsmanship, hm?â
âAsshole.â was the singular response he received, in a half-hearted growl.
That was enough to make Heisenberg laugh, short and loud, before he tugged at Ethan to make him trip where he stood, ignoring the way he quietly cursed as he inspected his work. Metal used to create and nurture, rather than destroy⊠Well, theyâd be using them to destroy Miranda, but that bitch never counted for anything, so she wasnât taken into account as part of those calculations.
The man tried to pull his hand away, but that tingle persisted, making his fingers curl tightly itâs Heisenbergâs hand to keep him in place while he continued to inspect his handiwork. It was dark metal, lightweight and durable, decorated with delicate golden motifs like the barrel of an old pepperbox from westerns he remembered vaguely from a time before the village. He muttered to himself, âAbsolutely stunning, isnât it?â
âYeah, great, continue gloating, stroke your ego some more,â Ethan was still trying to pull his hand away, enough to make the other man grab his wrist firmly.
âKnock it off,â His voice reverted to that gruff, dangerous growl he was known for at this point, looking up finally from over his glasses. âYouâll tear the nerves again. And then thisâll be worth less than shit.â
âThen let go of me.â There wasnât a moment of hesitation to match the tone - he wasnât easily intimidated anymore, after everything heâd been through.Â
Heisenberg stared. The tingling stopped, and Ethanâs hand fell suddenly, so suddenly that he felt the need to catch it and stare at it in disbelief.
He flexed his fingers, watching the way they moved before he gave a breathless laugh and met the manâs eyes again, as he simply gave a modest shrug.Â
Ethan was messing with his hands again, but with eyes full of wonder rather than ones struck with fear. Fingers ran along the ridges where joints would be, a thumbnail scratching along the back of the prosthetic, gentle touches where the metal welded with the skin. And all the while, he was just⊠shaking his head and laughing to himself, in disbelief, as Heisenberg leaned back, resting his arm over the back of the chair he sat on.
âWhatâs so funny, Winters?â He asked, despite thinking he already knew the answer (he didnât).
The man flexed his fingers a few more times, before he swallowed. âI⊠I donât know. I guess I just⊠never expected to get them back, from you of all people. Itâs nice⊠to not be killed on sight, I mean. So, uh⊠thanks.â
It was the way that he looked up that caught him off guard - that look in his eyes had changed again, to match the warmth of his words, despite how tired he was. He tried, and failed, not to stare for a moment too long, before he coughed with a fist covering his hands and fixed his posture. âWell! Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, why donât we put those fingers to good use, hm?â
ââŠRight. Yeah, right.â It was almost as if heâd forgotten why they were here, caught up in the euphoria of being able to use his appendages again, by some miracle.Â
There was a beat of silence again, before Heisenberg stood up, pushing his chair back with a horrific screech of metal against a metal floor, before extending a hand down.
Ethan looked up, raising an eyebrow, before taking the hand offered to him with a newly fixed one, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet, but not letting go quite yet. âI still donât trust you.â
âI know.â The response was almost immediate. He still hadnât tried to pull his hand away. âNow letâs go kill that psycho bitch.â
#resident evil 8#resident evil village#wintersberg#karl heisenberg#ethan winters#re village spoilers#resident evil tag#dahl.doc
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All it takes is one moment (Atsumu x reader)
A/N: uhhh sorry for dropping off the face of the earth!! I have a million WIPs Iâll hopefully be posting here shortly! I was reading a bunch of cheesy hurt/comfort fics last night and decided to make my own hehe, tbh it got me thinking of doing another one but no comfort and it turning into a slow burn with another character :0 Please read the warnings, this is Post-Timeskip, so spoilers for occupations. Everyone is probably like 25ish here? Also I apologize in advance for their accents, I tried in a few spots, Iâm still getting used to it. (also @spiritofthescarletwoods I know you wanted to be tagged in the midoriya angst I promised a million years ago, but hereâs some tsumu angst for now!)
Genre: Hurt/comfort or Angst with a happy ending
Pairing: Miya Atsumu x reader (uhmm pronouns I believe are gn but I do not proof read as we all know)
Word Count: 4.?k
Warnings: Mentions of past abusive relationships, insinuation of cheating, slight misogynistic vibes for a moment, crude language, Atsumu is mean :( (Probably OOC Osamu and Atsumu), Post-time skip ((Let me know if I need to add something!)
_
You and Atsumu have been together for about 3 years now, and it was great. The two of you were very much in love, supported each other, and rarely fought, as you tried to be as open and communicate as much as possible. The last relationship you were in was toxic and abusive, it took a long time for you to be yourself again, and Atsumu had supported you along the way, he knew what had happened, and he swore to never make you feel like that again. And he stuck by that, until today.
Even though you rarely fought, when you did, it was resolved quickly, but this time was not the same. It had started off small. You had an important event coming up for work, you would be presenting on your year long research project, having made big findings in your field work. It was a huge deal for you, but when you brought it up at dinner, Atsumu did not have the same opinion.
âWhat do you mean you canât make it? Everything Iâve been working on had led up to this, this is a career changing presentation, and you donât want to go?â Hurt was clearly evident in your voice, as was frustration. Atsumu sighed, heâd had a horrible week, there was a big game coming up with the Adlerâs and he needed to be prepared. âLike I said, I have practice that night, You can tell me all about it when you get home. I donât see why youâre making a big fuss âbout it, âs just a presentation babe.â You furrowed your eyebrows looking at him incredulously.
âDid you not listen to anything I just said? Itâs not just a presentation, this is my career Atsumu. I consistently put my own work aside to support you, why canât you do the same for me? Itâs not like Iâm asking you to miss a game, itâs a practice.â Â You could tell he was getting frustrated, but so were you, you made it a point to make every single game of his, missing out on work opportunities to come support him, him refusing to come to something so important was hurtful, and made you feel like you were less important than him, but before you could voice your feelings Atsumu spoke.
âThis isnât jusâ any practice. We have a big game cominâ up, it's important Iâm there, âm the setter. Let's be real here, we both know which of us is the bread-maker in this household. This is basically a little hobby of yours, you can come back to it at any time. Iâm a professional athlete hun, thereâs only so much time I have before retirement.â He spoke in a condescending manner that baffled you. Heâs never spoken to you like that before, is that how he really felt about your work? You scoffed, rising from the dinner table.
âAre you fucking kidding me, do you know condescending and frankly, misogynistic that was?â He sighed and rolled his eyes as he followed you with his plate, dinner half eaten and cold much like yours. âHere you go againâ He muttered, though loud enough for you to hear. You dropped your plate in the sink and you looked at him, eyes wide, and furious.
âWhat did you just say to me? Here I go again? What the fuck does that mean Atsumu?â He set his plate on the counter, looking at you from across the island as he gripped the countertop. âWhat I mean is that yer always playing the victim, we get it, you last relationship was shitty, but that doesnât mean you have to act like this all the time, I thought you got over it?â
You balked at him, was he serious right now? âOh my god really? Are you seriously asking me if I got over an abusive relationship, after everything Iâve told you about it? After everything I had to do to get where I am now? We are supposed to support each other, I didnât realize it was one sided.â Atsumu sighed, growing more frustrated, he tried to interrupt you, but you kept going,Â
âAll I wanted was for you to come to one dinner, after the years weâve been together I havenât asked you to miss any games or practices for my work, you know my coworkers have asked if Iâm single? They didnât believe me when I told them I was in a relationship, and you know what? I donât blame them, I wouldnât believe me either, since theyâve never seen you, and I take all this time off to travel and support you, all of your team know who I am, why is it so hard for you to do the same?â
As you kept going, his anger only grew, he tried interrupting you again, but it was like you werenât paying attention to him, just spouting off whatever came to your head, and he was tired of it.Â
He slammed his hand on the counter, the sound reverberating throughout the apartment. You flinched, hard, but Atsumu didnât seem to notice. âCan you just shut up for one moment? God, all you do is go on and on nagging on how what I do isnât enough, I pay the bills here, why isnât that enough for you? I could care less about whatâs going on at your job, I have absolutely no interest in it at all, when will you get that through your fucking skull? I. donât. care.â By the time he was done his knuckles were white from how hard he was gripping the counter, and you had tears in your eyes. You sucked in a breath, steeling yourself.
âOk, Iâm going to remove myself from the situation, Iâll be at your brothers, you can come get me when you pull your head out of your ass.â He rolled his eyes as you strode past him, getting your purse from the hook and going to slip on your shoes. âYeah go ahead, you gonna wet his dick for âim too? âm sure heâll love that.â You stiffened for a moment, putting your shoes on before looking at him, tears making your vision blurry.
âYâknow I tell myself that this isnât like last time, that youâre not him, but at times like this-â Your voice cracked as a sob bubbled into your throat and you shook your head, turning and heading out the door. Atsumu flinched at your words and the soft click of the door latching, he wouldâve preferred to hear it slam.
Your walk to the elevator was blurry but you knew the way by heart after living there for so long. You wiped at your eyes as you pulled out your phone, tapping on the contact before bringing the phone to your ear. It rang once before it picked up, a tired âhello?â coming from the other end. You let out a quiet sob as you loaded the elevator, trying to get the words to come out. Upon hearing you, Osamu spoke again, â(Y/N)? Are you crying? Whatâs wrong.â You cleared your throat and took a deep breath before speaking, your voice tight. âHey âsamu, can, can I come to your place? âtsumu and I- we-'' you broke out into another sob, and you could hear Osamu close a door.
âWhere are you? Iâll pick you up, Iâm just leaving the restaurant Iâm close.â After telling him where you were, you stayed on the phone, walking in the direction of the restaurant. Not long you see Osamuâs car pull up, he quickly gets out and looks you over and sighed as he brings you in for a hug. You sob into his jacket for a moment while he rubbed your back gently. He knew about your past as well, and figured it must have been bad for you to leave in tears. He leads you to the car and makes sure youâre strapped in before heading to the drivers side and getting in, double checking your seatbelt before driving towards his apartment.
The drive was short, though to you it felt like it lasted hours. You tried to quiet your sobs, not wanting to bother him. He looked over at you every so often, worry evident in his gaze as he tried to figure out just what his stupid brother did.
After arriving at his apartment, he sat you down on the couch, wrapping a blanket around you and giving you a box of tissues before sitting next to you, gently asking what happened. You try not to cry as you retell the events of the evening, though it got harder and harder as you told him what Atsumu said to you. By the time you were finished you were crying again, and Osamu was furious.
âI-I just donât understand âsamu, the things he said, did he really m-mean them? And-and when he slammed his hand on the counter, the look on his face, it, it was like I was back there all over again, like I never left. I-I know heâd never hurt me,â You sobbed out, throat getting tighter as you go on, âBut at that moment, all I could think was that he was gonna hit me, and I, I had to leave, and what he said before I left,â You hiccupped and cried into your hands, not able to finish.
Osamu rubbed your back as you cried before getting up to make some tea. While the water was boiling he went into the other room, trying to calm himself down before calling his brother. The line rang three times before it was picked up, a frustrated âwhat do you want?â coming from the other end. It was enough to dwindle Osamuâs patience into nothing. He tried to keep his voice down, not wanting to distress you further.
âWhat do I want? Do you know how badly you fucked up? (Y/N) is here crying on my couch right now, do you know what she told me âtsumu? She told me she thought you were going to hit her. Are you fucking kidding me? Did you even think before you spoke, because from what she told me, it sounds like you didnât. How dumb are you, after everything sheâs gone through, the first big fight you have you send her running? Over a dinner? Really Atsumu?â
Atsumu groaned on the other line, âExactly âsamu, itâs a dinner, I have practice for the game against the Adlerâs you know how big that is. Sheâll have plenty of dinners for me to go to in the future. I donât see why she got so upset over it. And she knows I didnât mean the things I said, I was just frustrated.â
Osamu scoffed into the phone, âDid you even hear what I said, are you hearing yourself? She is the best thing that has happened to you, the least you could do is support her, this is a big deal for her Atsumu, even I know that. Honestly I donât know why she is still with you after the shit you just pulled, did you hear me? She was scared of you, yâknow like that last relationship she had? Where she was sent to the hospital multiple times, she thought she was right back there, that you were just like him. Do you know how bad you have to fuck up for that to happen, after all the counseling sheâs done? You know how much trust you just broke? I wouldnât be surprised if she never wanted to hear from you again, and Iâd agree with her. God I have half a mind to tell Ma what you did, You need to sit and stew on what you just lost. And I mean it, I donât want to see you here tonight, she needs a safe space right now. Iâll let her stay for as long as she wants, but Iâm not gonna stop her if she leaves so you better get your fucking head on straight and get on your knees begging for forgiveness you donât deserve.â
With that Osamu hung up the phone, exhaling as he pinched the bridge of his nose, was his brother really that stupid? He shook his head and headed out of his room, only to open the door to see you standing there, eyes holding an emotion he couldnât quite place. âIs he coming?â Osamu sighed and led you back to the couch before finishing the tea he forgot about. He placed your cup on the end table next to you and took a seat with his own. âNo, I told him to stay at your guyâs tonight. You need a safe space right now to calm down and sort your thoughts. You can stay here as long as youâd like, but I donât want you to feel trapped, you can leave whenever, if you want to go to your folkâs, hell even our Maâs place, Iâll drive you there. You just need to focus on you right now ya hear me? And if you donât ever wanna see my ugly brother again, Iâll help you get a new identity.â You giggled slightly at the last part before you took a sip of your tea, shoulders relaxing. You turned to Osamu and smiled.
âThank you âsamu, I really appreciate it. Iâm a little more calm right now, I think Iâll go home tomorrow, apologize and get us back on track.â You did a little nod as you said it, but Osamu just furrowed his eyebrows. âApologize? There is nothing you need to apologize for doll, You were completely justified in your frustration, Atsumu is the one who needs to apologize, not you. Donât settle just so things will go back to normal, because they wonât.â You sighed sadly, he was right and you knew it. You were falling back to old coping tactics. Your therapist would not be happy with you right now.
âSorry, youâre right. Iâm still gonna go back, hopefully after weâve both had some sleep we can work it out.â You smiled again, feeling more like yourself. Osamu nodded in agreement and helped you set up in the guest bedroom before turning in. You sighed as you laid in the bed, not used to sleeping by yourself, but the events from the night took its toll, and it didnât take long for you to fall asleep.
Back in your apartment, Atsumu was having the opposite problem. He laid in your shared bed, staring at the ceiling, did you actually think he was going to hit you, that he meant the things he said? To him, it didnât seem like a big deal, he was loud when he was angry, and sometimes said things he didnât mean, which should be obvious, since you knew how much he loved youâŠright? He grabbed his phone from the nightstand, looking up the museum you worked at. Honestly he wasnât really paying attention when you told him about the event, he knew it had something to do with your research, which he knew a little about from the nights youâd info dump your findings to him. His eyes widened when he looked at the upcoming events, when he clicked on the date it was scheduled for he winced.
It really was a big deal, curators from all over the country were coming to hear you give a presentation on your recent fieldwork findings, youâd been at this site for the majority, if not all, of your relationship only now having a big discovery others spent their entire lives chasing. There were going to be donors, curators, archaeologists and other anthropologists from all over Japan and other countries as well. You were right, this was a career changer, no, this was a life changing presentation.
Guilt started to seep into his bones as he thought again about what he had said, how he had brushed you off and then got mad at you for voicing your feelings, something that took months for you to be able to do with him. He thought back to when he slammed his hand on the table, the way you flinched, the look in your eyes right before you left. His stomach felt like it dropped out of his body, chest constricting as the guilt flooded him as he kept thinking back to every expression you made, how you were crying when you left, that you were scared of him. He pushed his palms against his eyes as he groaned, how could he be so horrible to you? Osamu was right, about everything. You were the best thing thatâs happened to him, and he broke your trust, trust that took so long to build, over missing a practice. He rolled onto his side, pulling one of your pillows against his chest. He inhaled, the scent of your conditioner still lingering, as he tried to think of how he could possibly make it right.
```
The next morning, after a relaxing shower and breakfast, you were ready. Osamu grabbed his keys, ready to drive you back, when there was a knock at the door. You had a feeling on who it was, so you set down your purse and went to sit on the couch, taking a deep breath. After a few moments Osamu came to the doorway, followed by Atsumu, who stood awkwardly for a moment before Osamu spoke to you.
âI need to be at the restaurant, thereâs a key on the counter, if you could lock up if you leave thatâd be great. Call me if you need anything.â He turned and left, and when you heard the door close you finally met Atsumuâs gaze, smiling slightly in greeting. Neither of you were sure what to say, but after a minute of silence he comes over and sits on the other end of the couch, obviously trying to gauge your reaction to his proximity.
You sighed through your nose, gaze turned to the floor as you fiddled with your hands, trying to sort out your thoughts. You wanted to just apologize and move on, but you knew you had to talk it out, this wasnât something you could just pretend didnât happen. You needed to work through this if you wanted this to work. You bit your lip, thoughts running a mile a minute. You were so deep in thought you didnât realize Atsumu had moved until you felt his hand rest on your forearm. You jumped slightly, startled at the sudden touch and when you looked at Atsumu, who had moved to the place next to you and hovered his hand over you before bringing it back to his lap, guilt evident in his features, eyes raw with emotion.
â(Y/N), I donât even know where to begin, I fucked everything up and I am so sorry. Sorry for not listening, for brushing you and your achievements off, for making you feel lesser and unimportant, for scaring you, please, you have to know, I would never lay a hand on you, I never meant a single thing I said last night, I was frustrated and let the week get to me, which is no excuse for the way I treated you. I broke your trust, and Iâll spend forever and a month trying to earn it back. You are without a doubt the best thing that has happened to me, and the way I treated you after everything thatâs happened, it- it makes me sick. I love you so much, and Iâll do whatever it takes to prove it to you. But I understand if you donât want to see me anymore, Iâll leave you alone if thatâs what you want, I-I just- I need you to know that I love you, and that I never meant it, Iâd never mean it.â His voice cracked at the end, and he wiped his eyes before looking up to meet your gaze. You were crying, biting your lip to keep it in but failing as you took a shuddering breath that turned into a half-sob. His heart broke even more seeing you like this, and he reached out to comfort you before stopping, hand curling back into his chest.
âCan, Can I touch you?â He asked shakily, scared of the answer, shoulders slumping with relief when you nodded and he quickly gathered you into his arms, pulling you into his lap and holding you tight, like if he let you go youâd disappear. You were crying louder now, hands fisted into his sweatshirt. He nuzzled his face into your hair, quietly apologizing over and over, tears starting to fall from his eyes as well, kissing the side of your head.
The two of you stayed like that for what seemed like hours, though in reality it was about 10 minutes. Your sobs had died down, you were just sniffing occasionally, and Atsumuâs eyes had cleared, no longer obstructed by the water wall of tears. He pulled you away from his chest slightly, cupping your cheeks, wiping at the tear tracks staining your face.
ââM sorry, âm so sorry. Iâll say it for the rest of my life darlinâ, I love you so much and I am so proud of everything you do. I hope that one day you can forgive me, but I understand if you canât, if you wonât. You mean thâ world tâ me angel, I want nothing more than for you to be happy, for you to feel safe and loved. I promise I will support you better from now on, no matter what. Iâll make good on my promises from all those years ago, I swear.â You nodded at his words, hands coming up to cup his own before one of his moved to the back of your neck, pulling you in for a kiss, stopping right before your lips met, breath mixing as he looked at you for signs of hesitance, of fear.
âIs this okay?â Instead of verbally confirming you closed the short distance, hands gripping his shoulders as your lips moved against his slowly, taking time to enjoy each other. He pulled away after a few moments before kissing your forehead, hugging you tightly once again. âLetâs go home.â You said quietly into his shirt, squeezing his shoulders before standing on shaky legs. He nodded, getting up after you, lacing your fingers together.
Weeks later~~
 You smiled nervously at Atsumu as you rose out of your chair, giving him a quick kiss before heading to the stage. You squinted briefly at the bright lights, exhaling and smoothing out your clothes before smiling at the audience as you introduced yourself. You tried to keep your gaze evenly over the crowd, but your eyes kept finding themselves locked with Atsumu, who grinned brightly and gave a thumbs up whenever you did. Your smile grew, nerves slowly dissipating as you lost yourself in your presentation.
Afterwards you answered a few questions from the crowd, thanking them again before heading back to your table. You shook hands with the host as they walked past to continue to the next topic and thanked your tablemates who congratulated you. You snorted at Tsukishima, who said it was a little boring, like he didnât have a page of notes from the presentation in front of him.
You turned to your boyfriend, smiling as you laced your fingers together. âWow babe that was amazing! I donât know what half those words meant but you did great, Iâm so proud of you.â You flushed at his praise, squeezing his hand while you kissed his cheek before turning back to the host, who was announcing the next speaker. You donât know what wouldâve happened if you didnât work things out, and frankly you donât want to think about it, the two of you are slowly building this back to where they were, but this time your relationship is stronger. Youâre happier than youâve ever been, and thatâs what matters.
#My writing#haikyuu!!#haikyuu#haikyu#haikyuu x reader#haikyuu x you#haikyuu x y/n#atsumu x you#miya atsumu#miya atsumu x you#miya atsumu x reader#miya atsumu x y/n#atsumu miya#atsumu x reader#haikyuu imagines
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