#BITCH YOU BETTER BE BANGING ON THAT DOOR TRYING TO BREAK IN NEXT UPDATE

[nakedinthepinkponyclub]

“I’m an idiot”

Yes you are cause why the fuck were standing there giving a lecture like your you’re DAD and not RUNNING TO YOUR BOYFRIEND WHOS FIXING TO JEKILL HIMSELF MOTHERFUCKER EXCEPT YOUR ACTUALLY NOT A MOTHERFUCKER CAUSE YOURE GAY AS HELL BUT THE POINT STILL FUCKING STANDS

[size0forhollywood]

Metafiction

Pt 10

Content Warning: 21+, held in captivity, fighting, nsfw, assault, SA, blood, vomiting, murder, forced oral, torture. Fourth wall breaks.

Taglist: @xxfaithlynxx

A/N: I just want to say again, thank you for all the likes and comments!! This one is a bit of a short update but I promise the next one will get better 🫶🏼

poor y/n.. we just can’t seem to catch a break.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“It’s time to see Sylus.”

~

The car ride was quiet except for the hum of the motor. You looked out the window, watching as you leave Linkon, to distract you from the fact that The Woman was just staring at you with her cold green eyes.

There was an uneasy atmosphere in the car and you don’t know if you should break the silence. But you decide to anyways.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

She ignores your question and tilts her head.

“What happened to your Evol? I can’t sense anything from you.” Her eyes are like daggers, her words almost angry.

“What?”

“Your Evol?” Her eyes darkened.

“I don’t know… Sylus and I did somethin-”

“Fucking Sylus.” She interrupts you.

After a moment of silence she starts laughing. The sound of her laugh just felt like ice water was getting dumped over your head. Goosebumps littered your skin.

After a while of more uncomfortable silence the car stops and you can hear the faint sounds of cheering.

“Where are we?”

Your side of the door opens and a hand roughly grabs your arm and starts pulling you out.

“Wait? What are you doing? Where’s Sylus?!”

“Silly little bird, I agreed to take you to Sylus. I didn’t say when.”

You start struggling against the hand that’s grabbed you. “You fucking bitch!”

A second hand grabs onto you and you’re yanked out of the car.

“No! Let me go!” You thrash around. Twisting and convulsing your body. Doing anything to get out of the henchman’s grip.

“Stay still!” He spat and then punched you so hard in the face you felt your head get thrown back by the force.

You cry out in pain as your cheek throbs and burn and you’re a bit dizzy from the hit but you still try and fight against him.

The sounds of cheering grows louder as he drags you to the edge of an arena.

Wanderers and humans fighting each other in a ring and an audience watches, money swinging from their hands as they yell and place bets.

Your eyes widen in horror as you watch the wanderer kill one of the humans and the crowd is in an uproar, most celebrating.

“What is this?”

“This is how we get your Evol working again.” The Woman smirks.

“No, no, no!” You scream, you start hitting the henchman.

“Don’t worry little bird. We’re going to work our way up to the ring.”

“No! Please don’t do this!” You beg. But it was falling on deaf ears.

The henchman throws you over his shoulders. You start kicking and hitting as hard as you can. You manage to kick him in the balls. You both fall to the ground and he’s let you go. You get up and start running.

Bang!

“Aahhh!” You scream in pain as you fall to the ground gripping your shoulder.

The Woman shot you. She walks over to you, gun still in hand.

“You’re a fiesty one.” She’s standing in front of you now. Gun pointed at your forehead, jade eyes cold and void of all human emotion.

You look up at her, tears staining your cheeks.

“Bitch!” You yell through clenched teeth.

She smirks and then tosses the gun aside. Your eyes don’t leave hers though.

The henchman grabs you and pulls you up to your feet, he starts taking you towards a concrete building. Your eyes still fixed on The Woman.

The building is full of cells, each holding a person captive behind solid steel doors, a tiny barred window being the only thing they can see through. The sobs and begs of the other captives echo through the building. The henchman opens a cell door and throws you inside, slamming the heavy door behind you.

You curl up on the ground, clutching your wounded shoulder and start sobbing again.

The Woman stands behind the barred window, her jade eyes fixed on you.

“Don’t think I didn’t hold true to our deal little bird.”

You don’t move.

“I’ve sent word on the grapevine that you’re back in the N109 Zone. Now we’ll just wait and see how long it takes for Sylus to find you.”

You lift your head to stare down The Woman.

“I’m going to kill you.” A determined look in your eyes.

The Woman laughs, “You’re more than welcome to try.”

You stare down The Woman until she leaves. Before curling back up on the ground. Your shoulder in immense pain. Luckily the bullet went through and wasn’t stuck in your shoulder. You can’t stay like this though. You’re going to bleed out.

You cry out as you sit up and try to peel the jumper off you. One side of your shirt underneath is soaked in blood. You take your shirt off, crying as you do and use all your strength to rip it apart into bandages. You discarded the parts of the shirt that were soaked in blood and just used the clean bits.

You bite back your crying as you try to bandage your shoulder by yourself. Using your mouth to help tighten the knots that you made. To your surprise you manage to cover the bullet wound quite well. You carefully put the hoodie back on and lie back down on the ground.

You cry out for Xavier, for Sylus. For anyone to find you. But all you’re met with are the sounds of every other prisoner here crying for the same thing.

You don’t know how much time has passed but you’ve counted five blood curdling screams as your fellow captives are dragged out of their cell, going to do god knows what.

Your shoulder is in so much pain and you feel a burn all the way down to your elbow. It’s definitely infected.

You’re sitting up against the wall staring at the ceiling, counting the cracks. Doing anything to take your mind off the pain in your shoulder.

You hear a click and your body tenses, the door to your cell swings open and you’re almost blinded by the light coming through behind the figures.

“Fix her up.” The Woman’s voice orders.

A young man wearing a doctors coat comes in and crouches down next to you.

“Can you take your jumper off?”

You shake your head, “I can’t really move my arm.”

The doctor opens his bag and pulls out scissors. He cuts off the sleeve to your jumper. You can see his face wince as he looks at your wound.

“Please help me get out of here.” You whisper to the doctor.

He looks at you with sadness in his eyes as he starts unwrapping your makeshift bandage.

“He won’t little bird.” The Woman interferes.

“In this place knowledge is power and love is a weakness that can be exploited.”

The doctor grimaces at The Woman’s words. He looks at you with a knowing look.

He wasn’t here by choice either. Someone he loves is within this monsters grasp and she’s hanging it over his head to control him.

You wince as the doctor starts cleaning your wound with antiseptic and begins to stitch the wound.

“She’s going to need about a three days course of penicillin via IV to kill the infection.” The Doctor informs The Woman.

“Lucky you little bird. You get to delay your ‘training’ for the next three days.”

She shuts the door and leaves you and the doctor alone in the cell.

“I have to stay with you to make sure you don’t rip your IV out to delay getting better.”

“Doctor please.”

“I can’t… help you in that way.”

After he’s redressed your wound with clean bandages he turns your arm out to expose your inner elbow. His fingers searching for a vein.

“What has she got over you?”

The doctor continues to set up the IV. Once he puts the needle in he uses tape to hold it in place.

“I imagine the same things she’s holding over your head..” The Doctor has to manually squeeze the penicillin bag to get the drip to work.

He looks at you with teary eyes. “My…wife. She’s got my wife in one of these cells. What about you?”

You let out a long sigh. “She made me choose..”

The doctor looked at you a bit confused and you shake your head. “I…made the mistake of loving two people. She said she could help me get to one.” A tear slid down your cheek.

“And I took her bait like a fool.”

“Like she said, love is a weakness that can be exploited…”

You look at the doctor, “what are they going to do to me here?”

The doctor avoids your gaze.

“What’s the point of fixing me up if they’re just going to hurt me again?”

“It depends on how big the fish is?”

“What?”

The doctor swaps out the now empty bag of penicillin and hooks up a bag of saline.

“She has you because you’re connected to someone powerful. That’s who her real target is. The big fish.”

Your eyes widen… it was never a trap for Xavier. But for Sylus all along. You feel like an idiot.

“So… who’s the powerful person that you love?”

You wipe away some tears with your free hand.

“S..Sylus…”

The doctor freezes.

“Sylus? Sylus is your lover?”

“I wouldn’t say that… I haven’t seen him in months.”

The Doctor is still shocked by your revelation, a flicker of hope goes through him.

“Sylus could help us all.” He whispers.

He moves closer to you and whispers in your ear.

“I’ll see what I can do on the outside. With the right people information can spread a lot faster in the N109 Zone.”

“But didn’t you just say that’s her plan? To lure him out?”

“If Sylus can get to her while her guard is down he can kill her.”

The doctor suddenly stops talking, moving, his eyes widening.

“Doctor?”

Blood starts leaking out of his eyes, nose and ears. He sounds like he’s struggling to breathe.

“Doc are you okay?”

“I’m so-”

The Doctor’s head suddenly explodes, blood sprays across you, your face and the walls.

You sit there in horror, unable to scream, unable to move. The doctor’s headless body falls in front of your feet.

“Hope is a nasty thing to have. It can get you killed here.”

You look to the barred window where The Woman is. Her eyes glowing green. Your body is trembling now.

The steel door opens and a henchman walks in and drags the body of the doctor away. Leaving a trail of blood behind him. The Woman steps into your cell and stands right in front of you. Her eyes still glowing green.

“Hmph. Even with a suppressed Evol, it still works to shield you.”

The Woman crouches down in front of you and tilts your chin up to look at her. Her eyes no longer glowing but the cold stare frightens you all the same.

“Try not to get the next doctor killed Little Bird.” She swipes her thumb down your cheek, smearing the blood as she goes.

Another man in a coat walks into the cell. His face white, fear written all over him when he noticed you covered in blood.

“Two days Little Bird.” The Woman says as she gets back up and exits the cell. A henchman closes the door behind her.

The new doctor sits next to you.

“L-let’s get you cleaned up.” His voice was shaking.

He goes into his bag and pulls out a water bottle and some clothes and starts cleaning your face and hair.

~

The next two days came and went. You didn’t talk at all to the second doctor. You couldn’t bring yourself to speak. Your mind still replaying the image of the first doctor’s head exploding in front of you. How one minute of hope killed the young man, leaving his wife a widow.

Your arm and shoulder feel better. There’s no burning pain and you can move your arm a little bit. You’re still sitting slumped against the wall. Staring at the ceiling, for if you look down you’ll see the blood that still stains the floor.

The sounds of other captives screaming and crying still surround you. You’re not numb to it yet. How could you be?

The steel door clicks and opens. The henchman that punched you in the face and threw you in here walks in. A wicked grin on his face. He closes the door behind him.

“Ready for your ‘training’ girl?”

Adrenaline sparks through you as you can see the filth he’s imagining and insinuating. You jump up and try to evade him in this tiny cell.

“Don’t come any closer!” Tears already threatening to fall down your face.

The henchman laughs, “there’s no where for you to hide, girl!”

He lunges at you, grabbing your arms. You scream in pain as he tugs at your wounded shoulder. Forcing you down to your knees.

You try and fight back but he kicks you down, knocking the wind out of you.

“Don’t! Please!” You gasp.

The henchman just continues to laugh. The evil in his eyes tells you he’s not going to stop. He’s going to do whatever he wants to you and there’s no one coming to save you. No one. He pins you down, pressing his heavy body against yours.

“Keep struggling girl, I like it when they struggle.”

You scream as loud as you can, screwing your eyes shut. Tears streaming down your face. You can feel his disgusting erection pressed against your leg.

One of his hands squeezes your cheeks.

“Too fucking loud…I think I might silence you.”

He pulls out cuffs from his back pocket and cuffs your hands together, sitting you back on your knees.

Your body trembling. Nausea brewing in your stomach as he unbuttons his pants pulling out his gross hard cock. You try to roll away but he grips your hair. Keeping you in place. On your knees. In front of him.

He squeezes your cheeks again and tugs down to force your jaw open. The sound of your sobs echoing in the cell.

“I said be quiet.” He grunts as he shoves his disgusting dick in your mouth, immediately hitting the back of your throat. Your eyes screw shut and you gag but that just feels good to him.

He starts forcing your head along his dick as he thrusts hard into your mouth.

Your cries and choking muffled by the sound of his sickening groans of pleasure.

It doesn’t take long before he cums in your mouth. Sending spurts down your throat. He pushes you down and laughs while putting his gross cock away.

“I’ll be back again tomorrow girl.”

As soon as he leaves the cell you throw up. Trying to expel every ounce of that man out of your mouth and body. You’re sobbing in between vomiting.

Hands still cuffed, jaw and throat sore. You’re crying into the floor next to the pool of your vomit.

“Sylus…” you sob out.

He can’t hear you y/n… you’re all alone.

~

Mephisto was soaring high in the sky. He blended in well with the darkness that is the N109 Zone.

His red eyes surveying the area below. The concrete building stood tall next to an open air, in-ground arena. He watched as humans and wanderers fought each other.

The screams of cheers filling the air from the humans that watched the horrific battle displayed before them.

Mephisto found a tree branch and perched himself on it. A car pulled up to a stop, a big man stepped out of the car and headed towards the back. He was trying to pull someone out of the car.

Then Mephisto heard the screams. He heard your voice. Mephisto wanted to fly down there and help you, especially when that brute of man punched you in the face.

But he couldn’t intervene. He had to watch. He couldn’t let them know he was there. Mephisto watched as you fought hard to run away only to get shot in the process. He watched The Woman with green eyes aim the gun to your head. Watched as you didn’t falter.

They took you inside the concrete building. But he saw it. He saw your eyes filled with a determination. You weren’t broken. Not completely, not yet.

Over the next couple of days Mephisto stayed close to the area. Watching and waiting. All the information he was gathering getting fed back to Sylus.

Mephisto flew around the building, assessing ways to get in. There was a hole in the roof. This would be it. He lands on the roof and hops to the hole, being cautious.

Now that he was in the roof he searched for more openings. The sound of screams was unsettling but what unsettled him the most was the sound of your gut-wrenching guttural scream. Time was running out. The black mechanical bird found another hole, his red eyes peaked through and he could see into the building now.

His eyes scanned all the cell doors, trying to pinpoint where your scream came from.

The brute that punched you came out of one of the cells and for a quick second Mephisto spotted you laying on the floor sobbing. He found you.

Mephisto waited until there was no movement. He knew his window of opportunity was a brief one.

He flew down, silent as ever and by the time he got to the barred window to your cell door he vanished into black mist.

A black feather however fell from his wings and slowly cascaded through the bars of the window.

It floated down and landed on the floor. By the door.

You snap your head up at the weird noise you just heard, worried the henchman was coming back for round two.

You saw something, at first you thought it was your eyes playing tricks on you. But as they came into focus you noticed something land on the floor.

You crawl over and there you see it.

A single black feather.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[bbrandy2002]

Fool’s Rush In

Chapter 18

Pairing: Liam x Riley

Book: TRR AU

Warnings: Language, crude talk, and the usual bad writing.

I had planned from the beginning to end this series after the next chapter and an epilogue, but call me crazy, I love it too much. So while this part of the story will end, I still plan to update with one-shots or stories from time to time. If you’re just done with it, let me know.

Also, this chapter felt a little off to me, so I apologize if it's terrible, but I think I ended on a good note.

Thanks @burnsoslow for prereading.and usage of your girl, who finally got to make her debut.

---------------------------------

"Damn it, Riley! Pick up!" Liam grumbled as he lowered the cell phone from his ear and tossed it in the seat beside him. The royal jet had been in the air for a little over four hours already, and he'd grown frustrated at getting her voice mail each time. Surely, she was home by now. 

Even though it was the middle of the night in Las Vegas, it was worth interrupting her. He had tried unsuccessfully to contact Riley since he packed his bags earlier and hastily headed for the airstrip. By this point, there must have been a dozen or so messages left on her phone without so much as a hint she'd gotten them. 

While time wasn't an issue -- he'd get to Las Vegas one way or the other -- it was the desperation to hear from his new wife and tell her he knew precisely why she left. 

And that he loved her.

Tilting his head back against the headrest, he swiveled side-to-side in his luxury chair while tightly clutching his freshly poured scotch. The security footage he watched earlier that morning replayed in his mind again. There were no doubts about what it showed: Madeleine confronted Riley outside their quarters just minutes after leaving the ball. Without sound, however, no one could ascertain specifically what was said among the two women. It was clear though,  Riley was not a willing participant in that conversation. When they saw the disk held up in the Countess' hands, and the look of sheer horror on his pussycat's face, that told Liam all he needed to know. This was a blackmail situation, plain and simple, that included assault; those flowers he found scattered on the ground when he returned to his quarters last night all made sense now. This act was deliberate and treasonous, and Liam would ensure his ex-fiancee paid handsomely for it. 

After they viewed the footage several more times, the Royal Guard was immediately summoned to Krona to find Madeleine and take her into custody. Liam knew it was a long shot whether his guards could pull that sting off, but he was working with what he had at the moment.

Despite whatever happened next, there was one thing the King was confident of: He was prepared to give up his entire Kingdom to get his girl back. Returning to Cordonia without her was not an option.

Shaking his tumbler of partially melted ice cubes, Liam leaned forward and steadily poured another bottle of scotch into his glass. As soon as he sat back and raised the fresh beverage to his lips, he was startled by the ringing of his cell phone. In a rush to answer, he hastily set the drink aside and snatched his phone up from where he tossed it earlier. 

"Hello! Love?" He answered, hopeful it was her.

"Hey, little brother. Love you too ... Say, do you know if the palace has a Spanish tickler or a breast ripper? Asking for a friend."

Liam furrowed his brows in confusion before rising from his seat, plopping a knee down on its cushioned bottom, and glancing to the back of the plane. "Leo? Why are you calling me? We're on the same damn plane. I'm looking right at you."

"Nevermind that. Listen, I figured out a way to take care of Madeleine once and for all. Behold ..." Leo held up a leather-bound book and waved it over his head while Liam squinted from the front of the plane to get a better look. "... The King Constantine Guide To Fucking Torture In The 21st Century; Father gave it to me after my investiture ceremony. The way I see it, there really is no other option here than to tie her to a tree in front of the palace, invite the public to watch for a modest fee, and do some cool shit with iron rods and spikes. I got dibs on the knee-splitter, though."

"Leo ..." Liam began to warn his brother how ridiculous that plan was before stopping himself and staring off into the distance for a moment in thought. "Wait ... is there anything about flaying in that book?"

"Hell yeah there is! And if you're interested in thumbscrews, my buddy, Pete, has a trunk full of them. He uses them for ass play, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind letting us borrow them to split Maddie's thumbs in half." Leo let out a maniacal laugh.

Liam chuckled, despite the peculiarity of the conversation. "I'm not going to lie and tell you I'm not interested -- to the contrary, actually. And while I appreciate your help in seeing that Madeleine is brought to justice, I think we better stick to more lawful means."

"Boo, you whore!" The line went dead with a click. 

Liam held the phone away from his ear, watching Leo sink down into his chair in a huff. "Really?" He called back in agitation. Met with the silent treatment and a middle finger from his disgruntled brother, Liam rolled his eyes, then slumped back down into his seat. Maybe he'd try to call Riley again.

-------------

The phone on Riley's nightstand buzzed again. She knew it was another call from Liam, and while she felt remorseful for ignoring all of his calls and texts, she couldn't bring herself to look at or answer them quite yet. The sooner all ties between them were broken, she believed, the quicker he could forget all about her and the mess she made of everything. 

But even her willpower was slipping. Riley slid her hand out from under the pillow and reached over to pick up her phone. Holding it to her chest, she contemplated for a second just reading his texts and returning his calls, but Madeleine had warned to end all contact with him. Obviously, she was curious about what he had to say, but it was too risky. I'm so sorry, Liam. 

Hitting the power button on her cell, the light on the device faded to black before she tossed it in the nightstand drawer.

Early the next morning, Riley's eyes flickered open to the sound of a banging on her front door, followed by the incessant ringing of her doorbell. Feeling exhausted from a lack of sleep, mainly because of crying and unable to think about anything other than how she hurt Liam, Riley decided to ignore it. She just wanted to be left alone, and eventually, they'd give up and leave, right?

Except they didn't.

Annoyed, she let out a sigh and then eased herself up out of bed; the pain in her back was still a problem. Tossing a robe over her body, she slowly made her way down the stairs of her townhome -- each step excruciating -- until she finally made it to the door.

Twisting the lock, she opened the entry door, before letting out a sudden gasp at the tearful person standing on the other side. 

"Oh my God, Riley! Y-You're alive! You're really alive!"

"Alyssa?" Riley's best friend from New York pulled her into a relieved hug, nearly sobbing at that point. "What're you doing here?"

"I thought something terrible happened to you, but now that I can see you're still among the living ..." she sniffled before pulling back and narrowing her blazing blue eyes at her friend. "Where have you been? I've been trying to get ahold of you ever since you texted me that you were boarding a plane in Cordonia, and that something serious happened involving Tyler. You promised me you'd call as soon as you landed--"

"I know. I'm so sorry. It was late ..."

 " -- and you didn't. Then I worried, even more, when you didn't answer any of my calls back. I had to book the first red-eye flight here to make sure you were all right." Finished with her rant, a huffing Alyssa's jaw immediately clenched. "Now, what did that shithead ex of yours do? I'll kill him if he hurt you, Ri. I might be small, but I'm scrappy like an alleycat. You know I'll claw his eyes out."

Riley let out a light chuckle; Alyssa was always overprotective of her and had a clever way with words, but quickly, that chuckle faded into a teary frown. "Oh, Lyss," she whimpered as her face fell into her hands.

Alyssa quickly wrapped her arms around Riley and pulled her into a warm embrace. "Aww, Riley. Sweetie, it's going to be okay," she soothed. 

Stepping inside, Alyssa kicked the door shut and led them both over to the sofa. Sensing Riley was in pain -- and not just emotional -- she helped lower her troubled best friend onto the couch. "I want you to start from the beginning and tell me everything that happened."

The best friends had remained in contact over the last several weeks. It was Alyssa's frantic morning phone call over a month ago that alerted Riley to the news coverage of her impromptu marriage to Liam, having saw it on the news. 

And while Alyssa was aware of everything about Cordonia and Liam, and how Riley fit into all that from their prior conversations, she listened intently while it was revealed to her the details of the incident with Madeleine and the video her ex-husband gave to the Countess.  

Grabbing a tissue from the end table, Alyssa handed it to Riley. "So this cow confronted you with that disgusting video and basically blackmailed you into leaving, or she would release it to the press?" Riley nodded somberly.."Ugh, I want this treasonous bitch thrown in the dungeon, subjected to live-streamed daily anal fistings with giant Hulk gloves ... And Tyler, I want to break every bone in his rotten body, one at a time. And I want to leave him there afterwards, dripping just enough water on his lips, so he doesn't die of dehydration, screaming in agony for the weeks it will take to die of starvation."

 Riley's face scrunched up. "God, Alyssa."

Alyssa shrugged. "What? I don't care; it's what they deserve for hurting you. Did you at least tell Liam what happened?"

This time, Riley shook her head. "No. Madeleine warned me if I told him, she would release the video, and then the council would likely force him to step down. I won't allow him to lose everything for someone like me." 

Irritated, Alyssa pressed a palm to her forehead. "Why are you like this?"

"Like, what?" Riley asked in exasperation.

"That whole, 'someone like me,' part. He wanted to stay married to you. He made you the queen of his country. You've said he couldn't keep his goddamn hands off you for two seconds. And more importantly, you told me you have never felt more loved in your life, than you do when you're with him. The fact that you still question your worthiness to him blows my mind." 

Alyssa reached for Riley's shaky hand, able to tell by the tears sliding down her cheeks and the soft whimpers that she'd touched on something. "You're his pussycat, Riley. Liam already lost everything when you left him. Tell me you know that."

Riley wiped at her face., her voice stifled, "I just wanted to protect him."

"I know." Alyssa smiled softly. "But you needed to give him the chance to decide what he wanted. You made it for him because you know he'd choose you, regardless if he lost everything else; that's how much he loves you, Ri. You can't protect someone who loves you by hurting them. Besides, he's the King; he can simply execute the council if he wants to -- Liam’s not going anywhere."

"You just HAD to add that last part in, didn't you?" Riley laughed, feeling a sense of ease as her mood lightened. It felt good to talk to someone who could help her make sense of everything and realize she hadn’t exactly made the best call by leaving and not telling Liam what happened. "But what do I do about this video? What if Madeleine releases it to the public?"

"Yeah, a video of a married woman having sex with her husband -- Oh, the shame!" she retorted. "Look, you'll be famous on Pornhub for a few weeks, and it'll fizzle out. I know that doesn't make it all better, but you have a lot of people who love you ... we'll be there for you if that happens. Besides, it's Gonzo Dick; I doubt anyone will wanna watch anyway."

Riley snorted out at the nickname she gave her ex-husband. "Stop making me laugh." 

Alyssa cracked a grin. "Nah. If I can make you laugh at that asshole's expense and his crooked dick, then it's worth it."

"Well,” she breathed, “ I suppose I should get dressed and call Liam. Tell him what happened, and hopefully, he'll … forgive .." her voice trailed off at tasting an increasing collection of bile in her throat and a familiar rumble in her stomach. 

“What’s wrong?”

Riley frowned. "Damn it, why do I keep getting sick?"  

After rushing to the bathroom with Alyssa's help, Riley came out moments later, flushed and perspiring. Alyssa, who waited outside the door to make sure she was all right, eyed her friend with grave concern. "Ri, are you sure you don't have a concussion? You said that Madeleine caused you to fall, and you complained you’ve been getting sick a lot. Is there any chance you hit your head too?"

Riley considered for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't think so. I mean, it all happened so fast I don't really remember, but my head doesn't hurt."

"OH NO! You have memory loss too, on top of the vomiting and a hurt back? Riley, you need to go to the hospital now. This is serious."

"Alyssa, I'm fine. I don't need to go to the hospital," Riley dismissed and hobbled past her friend toward the kitchen. "You always worry too much."

Alyssa followed behind her, brows bumped together in a scowl. "Because you're a stubborn ass who never listens, that's why. You need to get checked out," she insisted. Riley paid no attention as made her way to the fridge; that reaction only served to piss Alyssa off. "You can ignore me all you want, but you know as well as I do, I'll just keep annoying the hell out of you until you do it … I'll sing every Dave Matthews song ever written -- On repeat." 

Riley shut the fridge door and turned at the threat, giving her a dismayed glare. "You wouldn't." 

Alyssa tilted her chin. "You know damn well I would. I have... so much to say, so much to say, so much --"

"Please stop! I'm going."

---------

At Valley Hospital and Medical Center, Drake sat slumped down in the waiting room of the E.R;  a thawed ice pack covered his crotch. His increasingly irritated self caught sight of a nurse escorting yet another patient back for examination. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

Tired of waiting, he cast the ice pack aside and marched straddle-legged to the triage desk where a beefy nurse with a scowl sat filing her nails. "How much longer is this gonna take?" He demanded bitterly.

The nurse remained focused on her nails and answered in a careless fashion. "You'll get called back when it's your turn, Mr. Walker."

"My turn? MY TURN? I've been here for 15 fucking hours waiting for my turn. I've watched one person after the next walk right in, get treated, and leave. Whose ass do I actually have to lick to get treatment around here?"

Unimpressed with his theatrics, she folded her arms on the desk and looked up at Drake with a glower. "Look. You got kicked in the wang by a hooker. Shit happens. It's not the end of the world. Go home, have a beer, and a good laugh. You'll live." She resumed her filing.

Drake ran both hands through his rumpled hair, letting out a sardonic laugh. "I cannot fucking believe you just said that to me. I suffer trauma on my transplanted dick, and the greatest healthcare minds in the world tell me to have a beer and laugh about it?" his voice shrieked.

The nurse blew on her nails. "That's what I said."

That snarky remark sent him even further over the edge. A red-faced Drake pounded two white-knuckled fists on the desk and leaned down into her space. "Now you listen here, lady. I demand to be seen right now, or so help me, I'll tear this whole goddamn place apart brick-by-fucking-brick! Do you understand me?"

Having none of that, the nurse, who was several inches taller than a startled Drake expected, sprung for her chair and loomed over him menacingly. Drake flinched when she rammed the nail file at him and threatened, "Now, you listen.You can either sit your ass down, or I will sit you down. Do you understand me?"

He didn't understand. He would never understand.

A security guard who heard the commotion casually approached the agitated pair and placed a firm hold on Drake's elbow. "Do we have a problem here, Betty Lou?"

She shook her head, sizing Drake up. "No, just some whiny-ass Karen griping about his dick."

---------------

Several moments later, Alyssa and Riley exited an Uber and wandered into the waiting area, making their way up to the triage line -- or what they thought was a line. It was actually Drake still standing there, continuing to protest his case to anyone who would listen and demanding to speak to someone in charge.

While Riley dug through her purse to retrieve her health insurance card, Alyssa couldn't help but be taken in by the fiery debacle taking place in front of them. She inched a little closer, unable to help herself; it was good drama and sucked her right in. 

Catching a glimpse of Drake’s sour face, she cocked her head introspectively; there was something oddly familiar about the man in the denim shirt going off. Alyssa tapped her chin. Where have I seen him before?  

Before long, the realization set in, and her eyes snapped wide open. She nudged Riley with an elbow and leaned over, whispering, "Hey, isn't that the guy from the news who had the penis transplant? It looks just like him."

Knowing precisely who that was by the description, Riley popped her head up to look. She hadn't known Drake well, only that he was Liam's best friend, and after having spent time together on the plane ride to Cordonia with him, that her maid-of-honor had given him several venereal diseases. "Drake?" she called out.

While Alyssa zoned in on his groin, curious as to what was in there, Drake broke away from the dispute and turned his focus toward the familiar-sounding voice. She was a connection to home and a long-sought-after friendly face. "Riley? Liam's insta-bride, Riley?" 

She let out a light chuckle and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose that's how you would know me ... What are you doing at the hospital? Is your body rejecting the ..." Her embarrassed gaze dropped lower with a gulp. " ... thing?"

"No!" he barked. "I just got attacked by that ... uh, someone."

"You got attacked?" Shocked, Riley placed a hand over her chest. "Why would someone attack you? Are you okay?"

Feeling incensed by the memory, Drake shook his head and muttered. "It's a long story ... What about you? What are you doing here? Thought you were in Cordonia with Liam?"

She inhaled a deep breath through her nostrils and forced a smile. "It's a long story too."

Drake peeked over his shoulder at Nurse Ratchet, giving him a gimlet-eyed stare from behind her computer screen. He groused and turned to face Riley again. "I've got time."

----------------

Nearly 12 hours after takeoff, the royal jet touched down in sunny Las Vegas, an hour ahead of schedule. Liam and Leo stepped off the plane and strolled across the tarmac to the awaiting vehicle, where a smiling man held the rear passenger door open.

"Bastien," Liam greeted as he approached. "Good to see you again."

"Your Majesty." He bowed. "Likewise ... I have the rental car you requested, and the Queen's address is already programmed into the GPS. Should take no more than 30 minutes to get there."

"Perfect,” he replied, clapping Bastien’s shoulder.“Thanks for having everything ready to go."

Liam had contacted the head guard -- who was still jailed for non-support -- and gained him a day-long pass to provide security detail. Bastien was also to stay in contact with his guards to oversee the capture and detainment of Madeleine.

Bastien took their bags, and the brothers hopped into the back of the Escalade. Once they pulled away from the airport, the directions led the group west. The head guard glanced briefly in the rearview mirror as he drove on. “I want to thank you for giving me a second chance. It’s nice to be out of that place, even if just for the day.”

Liam smiled back. “Not a problem, good man. I can’t think of anyone else I trust more for the job than you … though I’m not sure why. Anyway, do you have any updates on the Madeleine situation?”

“Yes, sir. I contacted my colleagues again just before you arrived. Countess Madeleine was taken by surprise when our guards arrived at her family estate in Krona. Once in custody, she was immediately transported to Valtoria for detention, exactly as you requested.”

"That's terrific news ... Wait ...Did you say, Valtoria?" Liam asked with puzzlement in his tone. 

"Yes, sir. As you requested." 

"Man, please tell me Mads tried to fight them off, and they had to use the taser on her," Leo insisted as he held his crossed fingers in the air. "A billy club ... a rubber hose ... something."

"There may have been a brief verbal exchange and some threats, but the Countess promised if they permitted access to her computer to send a quick email, she would go with them peacefully and without further protest. There didn't seem to be any harm in doing so, and she followed through with her word. Sorry to break it to you, Prince Leo, but no tasers were harmed in her capture."

"Well, fiddle shit." Leo glanced over at his brother --who was still scratching his head -- in disappointment. "If only I'd been able to get that shock collar on her while I was engaged to her, you wouldn't be in this mess right now. She just squirmed too much. I’m sorry I let you down, little brother."

"It's fine, Leo; it's not the first time,”  Liam said dryly before turning his head away from Leo to face the front again. "Can we get back to Madeleine being taken to Valtoria? I never requested that. An accused of the Crown is always placed in the palace dungeon. There aren't even cells in Valtoria to hold her in. What am I missing here?"

Approaching a stoplight, Bastien lightly pressed the brakes, then met Liam’s gaze in the mirror. “The orders I was given to pass along to the guards from you earlier were clear in your text: Once she’s taken into custody, she is to be sent to Valtoria and placed in the cage with the monkey until further notice. That’s what they --”

“Mongo! They put her in the cage with Mongo?” Liam exploded before pinching the bridge of his nose, knowing there was no point in asking how that message got mixed up. “Goddamn it, Leo! Why are you, you, sometimes?” He ran a swift hand down his face and turned to glare at his brother. “Do you realize they consider that cruel and unusual punishment? Did you ever stop to consider how much shit I'm going to hear over this if this gets out?" He let out a sharp breath and threw his hands in the air."How? How did you do it?"

"It's simple pimple, Liam. When you went to the bathroom, I grabbed your phone," he replied bluntly with a shrug. "And according to page 24 of Father's torture book: It's not considered cruel and unusual punishment, as long as she has food, water, and clean shelter -- which she does. Or ... if she's housed with a member of the royal family -- which she is. Mongo is the heir to the throne, so we've got that covered too. So just relax, little bro; Leo’s got it all taken care of for you."

Liam dropped his chin to his chest, then let out a weary breath. “Bastien, call the guards and have them move her to the palace at once.” 

As Bastien placed the call, Liam shifted in his seat so that he was staring out the window. He put a palm over his mouth to conceal the curved lips that formed a devilish grin, trying to contain the unbearable urge to bust out laughing. Oh, Maddie ... I hope you and Mongo had one hell of a time together.

----------------

Back at the hospital, Riley situated herself on the gurney while a nurse prepared to check her vitals and ask general health questions. 

In the next bay over, separated by a thin sliding curtain, Drake was finally attended to after Riley reluctantly, but willfully, played up her celebrity status. Once she threatened to have the hospital shut down -- which she doubted was even possible on her end -- the proverbial red carpet was rolled out for both of them; she was still a queen, afterall. 

Steps were then taken to ensure they both received the royal treatment, so to speak. That wasn’t typically how Riley preferred to handle situations; she hated big fusses over her. But in the end, she did help one of Liam’s oldest friends finally get the medical attention he needed, so it was worth trying. 

The blood pressure cuff on Riley’s arm squeezed tighter just as one of the doctors stepped inside and slid the curtain all the way closed. His cheerful greeting drew Riley's fixed gaze away from the changing numbers on the monitor beside her bed, and she smiled up at him.

The doctor was tall and thin, with thick spectacles perched near the tip of his nose. He gave a brief nod to Alyssa, who was sitting in a chair at Riley’s bedside, rubbing her shoulder. Scanning the patient chart, he spoke without looking up, "Queen Riley, it says here you suffered a fall?"

"I'm just Riley,  please," she requested.

The doctor looked up from the paperwork and nodded with an understanding smile. "Of course." 

After the initial exam concluded, Alyssa remained behind after the doctor ordered x-rays and transport had wheeled Riley down to radiology. 

Bouncing her crossed leg as she scrolled through her phone, Alyssa tried to bide her time until Riley returned. An air conditioning vent overhead that she didn’t realize drowned out so much noise around her, suddenly flipped off. Able to catch the conversation on the other side of the curtain better, she listened with a broken heart as Drake reluctantly described to an attending, the worst days of his life. Alyssa shuddered as he recalled the moment his penis fell off, rolled across the bed, and dropped onto Ethan Ramsey’s leather shoe during an exam. “That poor man. I just want to hug him,” she muttered.

Her little ears perked when the doctor mentioned he was “going to have a look at it.” In her curious mind, there were no doubts that she was too. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a peek at the first transplant of its kind; no way was she going to miss out on that. 

Alyssa slid to the edge of her seat and raised her hand to up to the curtain, easing a tiny portion of it aside. Her blue eyes crinkled with frustration at a nurse who was blocking her view. “Move your ass,” she whispered to herself.

Unable to get a good view, she gave up that spot and eyed the other opening in the curtain at the far end of the room. Sliding off her chair to a crouching position on the floor, Alyssa crab-walked as fast as she could without falling off balance until she made it to the other side. Crooking a stealthy finger along the seam of the curtain, she hoped and prayed Drake’s genital exam wasn’t through yet. What her eyes saw on that gurney when she pulled the fabric aside caused her heart to jolt out of her chest. 

Alyssa cupped a hand over her gaping mouth before stepping back and letting the curtain fall loosely shut again.  Dropping her hand limply at her side, staring blankly at nothing, she mouthed, “Oh. My. God.”

----------------

Down in the radiology department, Riley sat patiently in her wheelchair, waiting for the tech to return to take the x-rays. Enjoying the lighter feeling of having an empty bladder again, she let out a contented sigh; she was about to bust earlier. That mandatory urine sample couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. 

Left alone to ruminate in her thoughts, Riley wondered about those phone calls she ignored last night from Liam. The regret she felt over her actions the last 26 hours continued to mount up. And it took a heart-to-heart with her best friend to really put things into perspective. Her decisions weren’t the best course to take, even if they were done with the most loving of intentions. 

There was a lot to make up to Liam, and she only hoped that it wasn’t too late. Could he even forgive her for all of it?

She wished he was there with her right now. If she knew him the way she thought she did, he’d be standing around telling inappropriate jokes to make her laugh or embarrass her with his silly antics. It was like Liam could be two different people sometimes: Kingly and stoic around everyone else, but the second it was just him alone with her, he was such a big kid. Somehow, she could bring out his true self; the one where he felt comfortable enough to be silly and playful. And as much as she tried to play them off, those little pet names he gave her -- she chuckled to herself as they popped into her head -- were funny. What the hell even was a knucklehead mcspazzatron? 

“Miss Brooks” Riley shook herself of her thoughts as the x-ray tech returned and made her way over. “I apologize that took so long.”

Riley smiled up at her. “No need to apologize… Are you ready for me now?”

“Not exactly,” she teased in such a cheery tone, Riley slightly lowered her eyelids, holding her gaze. “You most likely won’t be getting x-rays today, sweetie.” She held a fisted hand out to Riley and opened her palm to reveal the small object inside. “You’re pregnant.”

--------------------

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[winterscaptain]

when you wake up.

Aaron Hotchner x Gender Neutral Reader

a/n: i’m a sucker for protective aaron, alright? sue me. i have checked and double checked, but if i’ve messed up any gender-neutralisms, please let me know! i’d like to thank snow, the academy, and my welbutrin for their spiritual aid as i write these fics at an alarming rate rating/words: teen / 2642 warnings: canon-typical injury, swearing, kissing 

AO3 | Masterlist | Requests Open!

+++

“You know –“ you gasped, grimacing through the pain, “blood is a bitch to get out of a wool blend.”

Aaron pressed his lips together, his forearms flexing as he staunched the bleeding from the gunshot wound in your shoulder with his gorgeous navy pinstripe blazer.

That one was my favorite, you thought with a pout.

He had you propped against a wall, his shirt splattered with your blood. He had torn the collar of your shirt for better access to your wound, and your vest was entirely forgotten on the floor beside you. Emily called the paramedics about seven minutes prior, but the backroads of Montana were not conducive to prompt medical service.

The pain wasn’t unbearable, and surely you’d been through worse.

Shock is a hell of a drug.

Nevertheless, his concern was touching. It had been a while since either one of you were injured – long before you realized you had feelings for each other and did absolutely nothing about it.

It all happened so fast – you had your gun trained on the unsub, who was using the sixth almost-victim as a shield. As soon as Derek and Aaron threw the back door open, he’d shoved the frightened young woman toward Derek and moved really quickly.

Bang. Ouch. Fuck.

“Aaron.”

He didn’t respond and was dutifully ignoring your eyes, focused entirely on the blood gushing through his fingers under your shoulder blade. The hand attached to your injured arm wrapped around his bicep, your fingers clinging to the fabric of his sleeve.

“I’m fine,” you continued. “It’s through and through. Six weeks tops I’ll be back to my old tricks.” 

You brought your other hand to his hair, and he leaned into your touch almost unconsciously. Your thumb smoothed over the hair at his temple, where tiny silver streaks rested in the inky black. You were just teasing him about his greys last week.

“They make you look distinguished!” You insisted. You were behind him as he sat at his dining room table, helping Jack set the table for dinner while Aaron tried (in vain) to review a consult.

“They make me look old,” he retorted in a deadpan.

You raked your fingers through the hair at his temples, massaging his scalp all the way to the crown of his head. He leaned back, his hand relaxing around his pen. With a final pat to the top of his head, you stepped away and returned to the pasta sauce.

“No old man would cook as badly as you do.”

His withering glare made his son laugh out loud, and the look only grew darker as you offered Jack a high-five.

“You’re still losing a lot of blood.” His voice was low and tense, his jaw tight.

Derek hovered nearby, though Aaron had shooed him away minutes earlier. He was talking into the comm, likely getting status updates from EMS.

Offering Derek a weak smile, you let your hand drop to Hotch’s wrist. Your eyes were heavy, but you fought to keep them open. Falling unconscious now would only worry him more.

“Aaron, you need to breathe.”

He huffs, and it’s almost a laugh but there’s no humor in it. “You’re telling me to breathe?”

“I’m breathing just fine.” And you were, focused only on the feel of his hands on your skin and the slow, deep breaths you took to keep your oxygen levels high as your blood pressure dropped. “Breathe with me, please. It’ll make me feel better.” That was a low blow, but you were pulling every card you had to keep him from breaking his teeth with that clenched jaw.

God, you were just so tired.

Aaron’s brown eyes flickered up to yours and softened. He leaned forward, shifting his weight and wrapping an arm around you as sirens faintly wailed some distance away. “Lean into me. It’s okay. You can sleep. I’ve got you.”

You were cheek-to-cheek when you finally passed out, succumbing to the heaviness.

+++

When you woke up, your shoulder ached, and the lights were way too bright.

There was a weight dipping the mattress on your left side and a dark shadow on your right.

You lifted your head slightly to see Aaron fast asleep, his head resting on his arms. You smiled and redirected your attention to your right. The dark shadow was Emily, watching you with a soft smile.

“Hey, champ.”

“Hey Em.”

She gestured to Aaron with her chin. “He hasn’t left once.” There was an implication behind her words, something not-quite suggestive, but understanding.

You ignored it for now. “How long was I out?” You brought your hand to Aaron’s tense shoulder, relaxing there, your thumb tracing back and forth over his baby blue button-down. Your IV line pulled a little, and you retracted your hand to his bicep.

“About two days. Surgery went really well – they just had to patch up a couple of ligaments and set a few pins in your clavicle. Nothing shattered, and no fragments. All things considered, really clean shot.”

Not as bad as I thought.

“He’s been here the whole time? Are we still in Montana? What day is it?”

Emily laughed, smiling broadly. “So many questions!” She counted off on her fingers. “His ass has only left that chair to chase down your doctor and go to the bathroom like...twice. We are still in Montana. It’s Tuesday. We’ll be on our way home as soon as you’re discharged. We wouldn’t leave without you.”

You sighed, adjusting your position on the bed. “Thanks.”

She winked. 

Hotch stirred, and Emily stood.

“I’ll leave you two for now. We’re all out in the waiting room if you want to see anyone.” She kissed your forehead and slipped out, closing the door behind her.

You could see the exact moment he registered your hand on his shoulder. He startled, straightening faster than you could blink. His eyes still bleary from sleep, you watched as he took stock of your entire person, finally meeting your eyes.

“Hi, Hotch.”

“Hi.” He reached for your hand with both of his, careful of the IV in your forearm. He brought your linked hands to his lips - warm, relieved breath washing over your fingers.

You squeezed once, feeling the stress and worry in his grip. “I’m okay.”

“I know.”

“I’m sorry I got shot.” Your voice was soft, but the humor behind it was unmistakable.

He huffed a laugh against your hands. “I should be mad at you.”

“You aren’t?”

Just then, a twinge in your shoulder made you wince. Your face crinkled up before you could hide it.

Hotch immediately reached for the call button, his body arcing gracefully over yours, pressing it twice. He looked down at you from under his arm. “No, I’m not.”

The nurse came in, said something about how nice it was to see you awake, and administered some more pain medication. She worked around Hotch, who never let go of your hand.

You had your eyes on him the whole time. His hawkish brown eyes tracked everything – the dosage, the IV drip – until the nurse left the room.

Right away, you started feeling heavy, your eyes slipping closed. “I don’t - I don’t wanna sleep,” you mumbled.

The back of Hotch’s hand traced the line of your cheek in a gentle caress. Your eyes fluttered closed, and you felt his touch fall down your good arm and wind your fingers together. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

“You should get s’m sleep.”

You weren’t sure if it was the haze of meds or not, but you could swear you felt kisses to each one of your fingertips before you slipped into unconsciousness once more.

+++

When you woke again, he was still there. He was kicked back in the recliner this time, a book in his lap and reading glasses perched on his nose. It was dark outside, and you surmised you’d been asleep for a couple of hours.

“Since when do you wear reading glasses?” Your voice was rough with sleep.

Hotch snatched the glasses in question off his nose and folded them into his collar. “I don’t, usually, but the fluorescents are hard on my eyes after a while.”

You nodded sagely before breaking out into a smile. He offered you one back, one of those sweet, crooked, closed-mouth tip-ups.

Those might be my favorite.

You shifted, scooting over in the hospital bed and raising the head with the remote so you could sit up with more ease. Hotch stood, and you could tell he was trying to give you space as you independently adjusted your surroundings.

You patted the bed next to your hip, and he gingerly sat beside you, crossing his ankle over his opposite knee. He probably didn’t realize, but his entire body was bowed toward you, from his toes to his shoulders. You had always been tuned to each other, like finely-made instruments.

There was so much to say, so much unsaid. This injury was pretty far from a near-death experience, but it was enough to screw your head on straight a little bit.

“Aaron, I --“ You stopped, not sure where to begin. You rested a hand on the knee within your reach, tracing absentminded circles on the grain of his jeans.

Almost three days in the hospital and he’s still wearing jeans.

Well...at least it’s not a suit.

“Why did you stay?” Your words left you without your permission, but maybe it was better that way.

His brow lowered. “It’s my job.”

Your lips tipped up in a small, wry smile. “Bullshit.”

He heaved a sigh. “Fine. I felt...compelled to make sure you were alright.” His eyes were cast down toward the heavy white blanket beneath him. “Every time I got up to leave, I couldn’t. I couldn’t leave you knowing you could wake up and I wouldn’t be there.”

You were acutely aware of the dopey grin on your face.

He looked up at you. “It doesn’t make any sense I know –“

“Aaron.” You stopped him with four fingers pressed to his mouth. It was the first time you’d actually instigated contact with his mouth. You felt the stubble that was rapidly turning into a proper beard, but you were focused on the softness of his mouth. You softened, letting your hand relax against him. “It makes sense to me.”

There was silence for a moment. You just stared at each other, your hand still over his mouth. You were glad your heart rate stayed steady, as the beeping was one of the only sounds in the room.

“Hey, Aaron?” Your fingers weren’t really tracing his lips, but they weren’t...not doing that either.

He smiled and spoke from behind your fingers. “Yeah?”

“The spot between my shoulders is insanely itchy.”

He shook his head, exasperated, and pulled your fingers from his mouth. “Lean up for a second.”

You did, and he pulled a pillow from behind you and put it in your lap. You wrapped your good arm around it and ducked your head down. His fingers massaged across your good shoulder and neck, releasing some of the tension there.

He laughed aloud when you made a (frankly) obscene noise when he hit a particularly sore spot.

“You’re giving my physical therapist a run for his money, Aaron.”

“Good.”

He moved down underneath the sling strap, gently running his nails back and forth over the skin peeking through your hospital gown. It was heaven.

“Okay, you can’t ever stop doing that.”

He continued, scratching lightly up and down your spine “I’m here as long as you want me here, sweetheart.”

The endearment made your heart feel all fuzzy, and you relaxed further into the pillow, your body relaxing as the tension melted out of your back.

He stopped after a few minutes, just smoothing his hand back and forth along the left side of your back. “Feeling better?”

“Much, thank you,” you said, leaning back against the pillows.

He brushed some hair away from your face and hesitated there for a moment. Your jaw fit a little too neatly in his hand. You licked your lips, finding your mouth suddenly dry.

“Y/N...” he said, still quiet.

You shook your head and leaned forward at the same time he did. You met halfway, and he captured your lips with a relieved sigh. He was so careful with you, considering your injury, one hand reaching from your jaw to the side of your head, the other resting on your thigh on top of the thin hospital blanket.

The faded smell of his cologne or deodorant or something very masculine swirled around you. It was a smell you could identify anywhere – something spicy and earthy and Aaron.

Your noses slid against each other as you pulled apart to grin at each other. He pulled you back toward him and your lips met again. Your breath caught as his tongue traced your lower lip. You granted him access, ignoring the embarrassing spike in your heart rate that sent the monitors into a frenzy.

A part of you absolutely wanted to jump him then and there, but between your shoulder and the big window facing out into the hallway, that was a no-go.

You settled for devouring him from where you were instead, taking his lips between your teeth until he was groaning into your mouth. His hands knotted in your hair and you twisted his shirt in your hand. You didn’t think too much about the fact you’d been asleep for two days and therefore had two days of morning breath. The only thing on your mind was the taste of coffee on Aaron’s tongue, the hand planted firmly on your thigh, and the surprising softness of his lips.

It’s not that you thought he’d be a bad kisser, but fuck he was good at it. Almost too good. You craved more and damned your shoulder (again) for keeping you tethered to this bed and unable to wrap him in your arms.

“God,” he whispered into your mouth. “I was so scared I was going to lose you.”

You laughed into him, nipping at his lip again. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

There was a desperate edge to his touch as he took your face between his hands and pulled back to look at you. He kissed you once. Twice. So gently you almost couldn’t feel it. “I’m never getting rid of you,” he said. “Not now, not ever.”

It took you a couple of seconds to open your eyes again. When you did, the warm brown of Aaron’s eyes sank into you, and you almost forgot you’d been shot less than 72 hours prior. “Am I nuts to tell you how much I love you when I’m hopped up on pain meds?”

He shook his head, a thousand-gigawatt smile eating up his whole face. You cupped his jaw in your hand, pressing your thumb into one of his dimples. He tenderly covered your hand with his and turned to press an achingly gentle kiss your palm. “Only a little,” he said. He guided you back onto the pillows, arranging them around you so you could sleep without jostling your shoulder.

The nurse bustled back in and asked after your pain level. You said seven (it was a lie, you’d give it a nine and a half if you weren’t trying to be a hero), and she administered another round of meds. She swept out of the room and your eyes started to close again.

“Aaron...” you whispered, clinging to the last dregs of consciousness.

A kiss to your forehead. Warm breath over your fingers.

If safety had a texture, it would be somewhere between the callouses on his hands and the cool cotton of his dress shirts.

“I’m here.” A pause. “Hey.”

You cracked an eyelid.

“I love you too, by the way.”

+++

tagging: @arganfics @quillvine @stxrryspencer @agenthotchner @hurricanejjareau @fics-ilike @octothorpetopus @ange-must-die @ughitsbaby @rousethemouse @criminalsmarts @dr-reid-ismyspiritanimal @shrimpyblog @genevievedarcygranger @ssaic-jareau @saintd0lce @good-heavens-chris-evans

[isnt-it-loverly]

little birdie (3)//five hargreeves

Warnings: blood, poorly written fight scenes

Summary: When Five lands in the Sparrow Academy, he must convince one of them to help him reset the timeline. 

Word count: 1600

Author note: super short and not the best. This week i got some pretty rough news so updates may not happen as often as I want them too. I do have a plan and its officially going to be a series now! I’m going to try to get an update out at least once a week. Thanks again for all the love on the first two parts it means a lot!!

Part one, Part two , Part four, Part Five

There was a loud bang that awoke Five from his restless slumber. He grumbled groggily as it felt like he had just fallen asleep. He wondered what the hell you were doing out there. There was another crash and Five decided that it’d be best to check on you. Pulling himself out of bed was hard as he was now incredibly sore. He half expected the door to be locked again, he was wrong. Another one of your flaws, he noted, you were far too trusting. 

He pulled the door open quietly as to not to give himself away if there was trouble. Unfortunately, his fears were confirmed. Ben has you pinned to the wall, tentacle around your neck, and hand over your eyes. 

“Where are they, I know you’re helping them!” He yelled. Five watched silently as he watched you struggle, trying to pry yourself out of your brother’s grip. He gulped in fear that you would break and tell Ben all that you knew. 

“I- I don’t know,” you choked out. You were trying everything to get him to let go. Kicking, squirming and digging your nails into his skin. 

“You’re lying, I know you didn’t go on patrol yesterday. You’ve been spending a lot of time down here. Something you do when you’re hiding something,” Ben snarled. He squeezed harder and you felt all the breath leave your lungs. You gasped and coughed trying to get any air at all. Five grumbled to himself, knowing full well what he had to do. At least now you two will be even. 

“Hey asshole,” Five yelled with a cheeky grin, “looking for me?” 

“I knew you were lying, you little bitch,” Ben growled as he quite literally threw you across the room. You felt like all the air had been knocked out of you, and there was a high pitched ringing in your ears. You looked to Five but there was nothing but black dots dancing across your vision. You decided it might be best to give yourself a minute for everything to stop spinning.

Five looked to you worriedly, you definitely had taken a beating. This version of Ben was much more ruthless than his, and if he was being frank, it kind of scared the shit out of him- especially in his weakened state. He flashed in front of Ben and landed a punch square in his jaw. The Horror stumbled back, surprised that such a little guy packed such a powerful hit.

“Your family will be dead by nightfall, too bad you won’t be there to see it,” Ben roared before releasing the beast within him. A tentacle reached for Five, but he blinked out of the way. However one managed to strike him down

, and another pinned him into a wall. He looked down to see the blood seeping through the clean shirt you had given him, shit this was not good. He heard his brother yell out in pain and the grasp on him loosened. There you were, arms wrapped around Ben’s neck and bringing him to the ground. Five watched in amazement as you fought, it was like you were dancing. He was impressed, you were amazingly trained- even by the commission’s standards.   

Going toe to toe against your brother was not a simple task, especially when he had a giant octopus monster coming out of his stomach. All you could do was dodge his swings until you could get close enough. You manage a kick right into his jaw, and you watched with pride as he stumbled back with a bloody lip. You felt guilty for doing this. All over a boy, you had met less than a day ago. There was truth behind Five’s words, you knew that the apocalypse was coming and that your family was the spark that ignited it. You knew the consequences, you had to get him back to the umbrellas, whatever the cost. You landed another hit before that royally pissed him off. He came rushing at you, right into your trap. You knew that he’d be blinded by rage. Ben grabbed you by the neck and hoisted you into the air. 

“Rookie mistake,” You muttered while looking directly into his eyes. Just like that, it was over, Your dimwitted brother was much easier to take over than Five. In Number One’s body, you carefully set yourself down. You looked over to Five and rushed to his side.

“(Y/n), please tell me that’s you because I really don’t think I have it in me to kick his ass at the moment,” Five muttered clutching his stomach. You grimaced and you lifted his hand to see the fresh blood. You don’t know why but you hated to see him in pain.

“I’ll fix you up, but not here. It won’t take long for them to realize Number One has gone missing,” you explained while helping Five his feet. He looked exhausted and you were determined to keep him safe. Nothing was going to happen to him on your watch. 

“Now,” you looked Five dead in the eyes, “how hard can you punch?

“What?” He responded with a quizzical look on his face. 

“Like on a scale of one to one hundred, what would you say?” You asked with a small smirk. 

“I don’t know, 94?” He replied. 

“Perfect! I need you to knock me out,” You instructed nonchalantly. 

“Fine by me, but it’s not gonna hurt you right? I’m punching Ben not (Y/n),” Five questioned as he prepared his stance. 

You nodded to let him know that it was okay. Sure you’d feel it but he didn’t have to know that, besides a little white lie never hurt anyone. Five really went for it, all the angry built up in one hit. You stumbled back, closing your eyes tight. When you opened them you found yourself back in your own body and Number One splayed on the ground.

“Ninety-four my ass, that was like a 200,” You complained. You rubbed your jaw slightly trying to ease away the pain that had transferred over. Five mumbled a small apology. You just shook your head and rolled your eyes. 

“Come on,” you said in a hushed tone, “sleeping beauty won’t stay down forever.”

You pulled him along as fast as the both of you could move. You were definitely sore, two big fights in the span of 24 hours was draining. Rest was not a luxury either of you could afford right now. Slipping out of the basement and into the corridor, head whipping as you did. The coast appeared to be clear. Before you could move Five pulled you into his chest, with a hand over your mouth. 

“Now, I’m gonna trust you. Which I don’t normally do. If, for even a second, I think you’re gonna double cross me and my family- I will kill you,” He whispered in your ear harshly. You pulled his hand away gently and looked into his eyes,

You could tell he was searching your face for any signs of deception but he wouldn’t find any. All he could see was a severely pissed off (Y/n).

“If I wanted you dead, I would’ve let bleed out the first time my brother kicked your ass,” You snapped back. You pulled away in anger, after all you did for that little shit. If any of your siblings found you, they’d kill you- didn’t he realize that you were on his side. That you had already lost everything to reset the timeline and stop an apocalypse that may not even happen. You looked around the corner again and signaled for him to move. He followed you closely before grabbing your shoulder. 

“Hold onto me tight,” He instructed. You did as you you were told and held on to his arm for dear life knowing exactly what he was about to do. Five did a quick run forward and suddenly the both of you were outside in the courtyard. You covered your mouth and bit your lip to keep from vomiting everywhere. 

“I’m gonna be sick,” you groaned. 

 “You can do that after we’re far away from the academy,” Five said in a hurried tone. He grabbed your wrist and begun pulling you along into the street. To be honest, most everything looked the same to Five. All of the shops were the same, the people looked normal, nothing except the academy was out of place. 

“Do you know where West Street is? There’s a place where we can hide out. Its safe, I promise. Clean clothes and fresh food too,” You asked with hope in your voice. 

“There's no time for comfort, Ben knows where my family is. We have to find them first,” Five said with determination. 

“He was bluffing, I checked. They have no leads,” You confirmed, “ and on top of that, two kids in bloody clothes will raise too many questions.”

Five looked at you wearily, You hadn't lied to him so far so why would you start now. He knew that you were right about your appearances, they’d be a dead give away. He sighed in defeat and told you he knew the way. You smiled and slipped your shades on, ready to take on the next chapter of this adventure. 

“Here,” You said while slipping off your blazer. You handed it to Five and he gave you a quizzical look. 

“To cover up the blood, you look like Carrie after the prom,” You joked. Five slipped it on, it was snug yet it felt very familiar. The material was the same as his old one, just red. He sighed and ran his hand over the emblem, that bird did not belong there. You noticed his discomfort but decided not to press it. The faster you got to West Street, the better life would be for the two of you. 

[tinyboxxtink]

Build Me Up Buttercup *PART 7*

Whooo man, I don’t know if this is a longer chapter or not. I had planned on splitting the situations into two separate chapters, but it seemed short so I combined them. 

If you need to catch up!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 8

Tag List: @wanniiieeee

Rafael slammed the door to the men’s room open, terrifying some poor cowboy just trying to use the john. 

“Sorry…” He nodded apologetically to the guy who grumbled some obscenities as he washed his hands and left, leaving Rafael alone to stew.

Why had he just done that?! Why did he have to glance back at your table as soon as you closed your eyes? In that split second, he had locked eyes with Olivia. They were so close it was like they could telepath whole sentences between each other; and the look she had given him in that moment was definitely saying “What the FUCK do you think you’re doing?”. 

Truth be told he really had no idea what he was doing, it all happened so fast. Really, the whole day was a blur. Before today you were just a junior detective to him, albeit a very sexy one. But truthfully you were barely a blip on his radar; you didn’t speak much, and when you did it was usually insulting him or contradicting. How had this one out of town trip completely flipped your relationship through a dryer tumble cycle? First the song in the car, the coffee in the car, the Fahey’s bathroom, and now this. At one point did he start…falling for you? Was he even falling for you? Were you planning this thing all along? Had you been seducing him? No, surely he wasn’t that dumb to just be seduced by a pair of pretty eyes and a tight t-shirt...and a soft soul who’d been through so much at so young…

NO. 

He wasn’t doing this. Not here, not now.

----

“What do you mean, he just left?”  

Once again you had fled to the bathroom, this time to update your BFF on the never ending nightmare that was this day. 

“I mean he LEFT. He mumbled some bullshit about being ‘sorry’ and just….walked away. No I’m sorry, he RAN away.” 

“Well...maybe he got scared?”

“A grown man?” 

“I don’t know from what you’ve said about him, he seems pretty high strung am I right?” 

“That’s putting it lightly…”

“I mean the fact that you even got him on that dance floor sounds like a miracle to me, maybe he just got in his head all of a sudden,” 

“Maybe…”

“Which means….” they paused ominously. 

“Means what?” you asked skeptically. 

“You’ve gotten yourself a def con one situation here, babe,”

“...What?” you were completely lost.

“Everyone knows the rule, Y/N” they kept completely serious.

“Wha-What RULE?” 

“The RULE! Once you have a…’moment’ with someone that gets interrupted, you HAVE to actually kiss them...or bang them but let’s be realistic,” they continued in a very serious tone, despite the fact that they were talking conspiracy theories. 

“Is ANY of that realistic? What happens if you ‘break’ this rule?”

“You have to kiss them in 24 hours or else you’ll just stay friends forever,” They stated like an oracle.

“Do you hear yourself when you talk, or has the crazy just become white noise at this point?” You rolled your eyes.

“Mock all you want, but you remember Duncan and Sarah?” 

“They went on one date and decided to be friends?”

“No no, they went on one date and she got called away before the end of it, thus nixing the good night kiss. And then the next time they ‘went out’, it had been 72 hours and when he went in for the good night kiss, she said they were better AS FRIENDS,” 

“...THAT’S what you're basing this insane rule on? A story about people we barely know?” 

“Well, it was also on Scrubs. Elliot and JD had to go through SO MUCH just because he couldn’t man up in those 24 hours!” They insisted.

“Oh my god, I’m hanging up--”

“WAIT WAIT WAIT, Come on Y/N just hear me out,” They begged. You sighed, putting two fingers across your eyes.

“Alright, let’s hear it,” 

“Look, you can choose to think I’m full of shit, but you gotta ask yourself: Are you willing to chance it?” 

You bit your lip, actually pondering if she could be right. 

“And you better think REAL quick, because your time has already been cut in half,”  they added. 

“NOW what the hell are you talking about?”

“You’re like, on a ‘vacation’ right now. Barba is FINALLY seeing you, like a person. A woman. Someone who’s not up his ass for warrants or bitching about deadlines,”

“I’m not that--” you tried protesting. 

“Shush. No time. You’re in like, another dimension right now. I’ll bet money as SOON as you hit the city line he’s gonna go back to his robot self and remember the fact that you two are completely inappropriate--”

“Oh come on that’s a strong--” you once again tried defending yourself. 

“I’m just saying what he’s gonna reason, babe. You know I’m right,” 

You paced the bathroom now, thinking of all the reasons you and Barba were bad news. 

“....What if he’s already there? What if that’s why he walked off? What if he’s talking himself out of….ANYTHING?”

“THIS IS WHAT I’M SAYING, HELLO You need another ‘moment’, but without everyone staring at you. I’ll bet you anything that’s what got him into his head all of a sudden,” 

Your eyes widened, remembering the front row seats your entire squad had to your little romantic moment. 

“Oh my god you might be right...they were all staring at us,”

“See?? You need to get him alone,” They went on, as you walked out of the bathroom. 

“...Fuck,”

“What? Fuck what? WHAT?!”

“I may have run out of time,”

You saw Barba approaching the booth again, Olivia gesturing wildly. The body language of their conversation did not seem very encouraging. What was worse, Amber walked up and handed them a check. 

“I think we’re leaving, Olivia got the check and she looks like a mad mom bitching out her ten year old for trying to swipe candy,” You groaned, ducking behind a man with a huge cowboy hat and following behind him to a seat at the bar, out of the squad’s eye line. 

“You need more time! You can’t just get in the car and drive back with everybody there, the ‘moment’ will never happen!”

“Okay can you stop with this, I’m already flipping out enough without you stating the obvious,” you twirled your hair and bit your lip.

“....You need to do something to your car.” they suddenly threw that at you like it was a completely reasonable statement. 

“EXCUSE ME?”

“Slash one of your tires!”

“Are you high right now, be honest with me,” You narrowed your eyes.

“Desperate times, babe,”

“Desperate times, not PSYCHOTIC times,”

“Look if you have a flat tire, you’ll have to call AAA and have them come and fix it, that should give you at least an hour. Then you can go back inside, get him ALONE, and get your moment!” They tried reasoning with you. Was that Hurricane THAT strong, or were they actually making some sense?

“...Why am I listening to this?” you kept a straight face, even though it was just a phone call.

“You can act smug all you want baby, but I can hear it in your voice; you’re considering it,” 

“Of course I’m considering it! But it’s...it’s insane. It’s like, ‘Fatal Attraction’ crazy,” 

“Ok I’m not telling you to boil his bunny, just inconvenience yourselves for another hour, drama queen,” you could hear both of you rolling your respective eyes at each other.

“And what’s more insane; puncturing a tire, or giving up something we both know you’ve wanted for MONTHS,” They pointed out. 

“How do you--” You blinked in disbelief. 

“Girl, please. I knew before you did, and I’ve never even met the man,” 

After several more moments of silence, you pulled your keys towards your face. 

“...I’ll call you later,”

Before you could talk yourself out of it, you sprinted outside to the parking lot and back to your car. You pulled the nail file attached to your key ring, and stared at your tires. 

“God forgive me…” You sighed, making a sign of the cross across your chest before kneeling next to your left rear tire.

You dragged the nail file across the tire, it barely made a scratch. Panic began filling your head, thinking of missing any chance to have Rafael’s lips on yours. Your BFF was right, you probably had a thing for him the moment you met him; even though you hadn’t even dared to let yourself think about it, until this morning. This WAS like an alternate dimension, it was like the rules of the ‘normal’ world were moot. 

The emotions of it all bubbled to a head as you stared at the tire; with a sort of pathetic battle cry, you PLUNGED the nail file into your tire and pulled it HARD across the top. Air came gushing out, the tire deflating in mere seconds. You sat back, the nail file in your hand like a machete, your breath going in and out like you had just run a marathon. Okay, you did go a LITTLE psycho there for a second. 

You barely had time to admire the work, you knew you had to go back inside to make it look like you had been in the bathroom this whole time. 

There was no going back now. 

----

Back inside you weaved in and out of the crowd back towards the bathroom, then made a turn for the booth so it looked like you had come from that direction. You walked up slowly, still hidden in the crowded bar as you heard an exchange between Barba and Oliva.

“...What I’m saying is, don’t start leading her on when you know it’s not going anywhere,” 

“How do you know it’s not going anywhere, Liv?” 

“Barba. Be serious,” 

Oh hell no. Who was she to make that decision? Surely he didn’t think that...did he? 

“HEY, hi,” you spoke up loudly, the entire group jumping at your rather loud greeting. 

“Oh hey Y/N we uh, I got the check. I just went ahead and paid for everybody, and when I say I, I mean Dodd’s,” She smiled, like she hadn’t just insulted the fuck out of you. 

“Oh, yeah? Ready to head home then?” You acted completely oblivious, noticing Rafael was avoiding your eyes.

“Yeah, I’ve got my nanny waiting on me and it’s already...8 o clock?!” Olivia gasped, looking at her phone. 

“Good lord, how long have we been here? I better call my sitter,” Amanda grabbed her own phone out of her bag as the group walked out.

“Well, we were driving for a good 45 minutes outside of Hartford before Rafael made us stop here,” 

“Wait, what?” You now for the very first time, took a good long look at the parking lot. The bar was next to a motel on one side, a gas station on the other side next to it. And then field, across from it. And for miles. 

You were literally in the middle of nowhere. 

“Oh god…” you muttered, mentally yelling obscenities at your BFF and yourself for listening to their bat shit logic. Fin glanced at you quizzically, overhearing your ranting-- and then you heard Sonny’s voice.

“Is that….?” 

You saw him gesture towards your back wheel. FUCK.

“Oh my god, are you serious?? A Flat tire?!” Amanda slammed her phone against your car. 

“Barba must have driven across a nail, or glass, or something in the parking lot. Probably a broken beer bottle if we’re being honest,” Sonny scoffed looking at the less than stellar cars in the parking lot. 

“Hey it’s not Barba’s fault!” You snapped defensively, once again mentally face palming. THINK before speaking. 

“I mean it’s...it’s nobody’s fault, right? I mean, maybe the road people? Or, drunk hicks? Certainly no one here in this vicinity though, I mean obviously,” Nope, still couldn’t stop talking. 

Olivia’s eyes narrowed, looking from you to Barba, who was staring at the pavement silently. She started to say something, but realized she had no concrete evidence to start throwing accusations. 

“She’s right Liv, it was just a stupid accident,” Fin chimed in, patting Olivia’s shoulder. 

“Do you at least have AAA?” Olivia asked you, still suspicious of the sudden turn of events.

“Oh yeah, I’ve...I’ve never used it before though,” You dug into your wallet and pulled out a worn out AAA card. Olivia took it and started dialing the number into her phone. 

You took this moment to start your mission, despite the fact that your plan was quickly running off the rails.

“Can we…?” You motioned sideways, Barba nodded and moved to the side with you. 

“Look, Y/N. The whole dance thing it was, cute. Flattering.”

“Flattering?” you scoffed. Seriously?

“But, I mean you know we’re in front of the whole squad, and we’re working,” His words cut you like knives. Was he actually implying that whole was embarrassing?

“ ..And I just don’t think--”

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?” Olivia’s booming voice snapped you both out of the conversation. 

“Yeah, well-- thanks a lot,” she scoffed, tossing your card as she hung up the phone.

“Hey I might--” you walked back over to her, her red hot eyes meeting yours. 

“You don’t have AAA out here,” she spoke directly to you, the annoyance of her voice turning to anger.

“W-What do you mean they don’t--”

“I mean, Y/N-- your AAA card is for NEW YORK, and we’re still in CONNECTICUT,” 

“Liv seriously will you knock it off? Leave her alone, she didn’t know,” Barba finally spoke up in defense of you, putting space between you and Olivia. 

“I’m...I’m sorry, Y/N. I know it’s not your fault,” she apologized, not knowing it was indeed your fault. 

“What am I gonna tell Lucy? We’re going to be stuck here until morning,” She sighed. 

“Morning?” Amanda exclaimed angrily. “What about my Jesse?” 

“I’m sure Lucy will watch her at my place with Noah, Amanda. I’ll call her right now,” Olivia assured her, the two of them walking off to the side.

You started running your hands through your hair and pacing like mad, trying not to hyperventilate. This wasn’t supposed to happen!! This was supposed to be a MINOR inconvenience, not a crisis! WHY did you listen to your BFF? 

“Hey, are you ok?” Barba came up behind you and put both hands on your shoulders. 

“Come on Y/N you know that’s not what I--” he protested but you wouldn’t hear it.

“Why do you care all of a sudden? Didn’t I embarrass you in front of your colleagues?” You snapped your head around, glaring at him.

“Can we please just forget it, PLEASE? I am already getting my karmic ass kicked, I don’t need you lecturing me on top of it,” You started walking towards the door of the bar. 

“What? I’m not lecturing you I don’t--” He trailed behind you.

“EXACTLY,” You spun back around, planting your feet as you stared directly into his eyes. He stopped suddenly almost on top of you, surprised by your sudden stop; his puppy dog eyes were begging you to forgive him. 

“Exactly. You don’t want to, I get it counselor. I get it. I should have never--” you feigned tears welling up in your throat.

“Carino--” he went for your hand. 

“Don’t. Just-- I’m sorry. For all of this,” You snapped your hand back and ran back inside the bar, noticing Barba following right behind you. Your fake tear filled face now slid into a sly smirk. 

You were getting this moment come hell or high water now. 

[bunnys-beetlejuice-blog]

bangs pots and pans together loudly FIC UPDATE COME GET YALL SOME JUICE

Apparently the vital, missing component to enjoying school was having a friend there. Go figure.

He and Kevin only have that first period class together, but they make the most of it, passing notes back and forth between the two of them, the teacher too tired that early in the morning to notice, or care. Lunch isn’t depressing anymore. They sit together under the shade tree, and Kevin does seem to also appreciate the view. “Can you even imagine working up a sweat, on purpose?” Betelgeuse pats his gut. “You know I can’t.”

“I can’t believe how little the track shorts are. That’s obscene. You think I’d look good in them?” “You join track and I’ll come to every meet, an’ it won’t be for th’ love of th’ sport.” He doesn’t think normal friends talk to each other like this, but he doesn’t actually know. Does everyone flirt with their friends? Are friends just cool people you wanna fuck but haven’t yet? Is it demon hormone bullshit, making him read into everything? Unclear.

It’s all going so good, until it isn’t, suddenly.

One lunch, two months into being there, Kevin pulls a huge and impressive old book from his backpack. “Look what I goooot,” he sing songs, waving it in Betelgeuse’s face, and he sneezes in response. “Smells old.” Emily and Lydia would love it. “It is. It’s very old,” Kevin confirms, and he moves so he’s sitting next to Betelgeuse, shoulder to shoulder, both their backs to the shade tree. “It’s about demons.”

Betelgeuse loses interest immediately, and focuses on not going pink at their shoulders touching, instead. “Z’at so?” he grunts. Kevin doesn’t seem to pick up on his moodiness, though. “It talks about all these ancient beings,” he explains, flipping pages. “Their summoning circles, their aspects,” he gives Betelgeuse a nudge at that, “all the things they can do for you, and the boons they grant.” He feels uncomfortable. “What’s with this? You obsessed with me, or somethin’?” He tries to play it as a joke, but that glint in Kevin’s eyes is back, and he doesn’t like it. “Of course, who wouldn’t be obsessed if they learned all this shit is actually true? It’s like there’s a whole secret world behind a locked door, and I’ve got the key.” Kevin looks back up at him.

He gets the feeling he’s the key. It’s not a good feeling.

“Where’d you even get this fuckin’ thing?” he lifts a finger, and the book slams closed in Kevin’s lap. His friend huffs. “Internet, of course.” “No, I mean… why were you lookin’ for somethin’ like this?” “I want to learn more. Don’t you?” Kev presses, and reopens the book. “I mean, what if there’s something amazing you can do, and you just don’t know, cause you’re not bothering to try?”

“So I’ll never know, so what?” Betelgeuse feels like this is a losing argument, but he tries anyways. “What’s so great about bein’ weird? You’re lucky you’re human.” “Dude, don’t even start with that. You can fly.” “So can humans,” he points out. “Wh- A plane and fucking levitating for fun are not the same, and you know it, BeetleJerk.” Kevin honestly can’t understand why he’s not excited over this. “I just mean… I’d rather be human, than this.” He blinks at his own words, because he’s never expressed that out loud before, ever. But it doesn’t feel untrue. “You’re out of your mind, more so than usual. Every human alive wants to feel special, and do the stuff you can do. Why are you acting like it’s so miserable all of a sudden? You use your powers all the time, I’ve seen you literally teleport five feet because you’re too lazy to walk.”

“You don’t get it.” He’s feeling sullen now, and he wiggles a little away from Kevin, and crosses his arms. “BJ, come on-” Betelgeuse teleports away to under the bleachers, and he eats his lunch there, until the bell rings.

He’s waiting for Emily after school, not feeling particularly friendly, when Kevin approaches. They stand there awkwardly. It feels tense, and weird, and he waits to see what the breather does. “Don’t be mad,” Kevin says, finally. “M’not mad.” “You sound mad.” “You know what mad on me looks like,” he finally turns to look at his friend, amber eyes burning with irritation. “First hand.”

Kevin looks down, and kicks at a rock that might not actually be there. “I thought you’d be excited. BJ, come on, I don’t wanna.. Not be friends over this.”

Betelgeuse signs, and scratches at the scruff on his chin. “It’s not like that,” he relents after a moment. “I just, I don’t care about that stuff. An’ I don’t wanna sit around, focusin’ on it. I don’t exactly like feelin’ different. Yeah, I do tricks an’ use my magic an’ stuff, but it’s hard to control. I lose my temper once an’ I could seriously destroy somethin’, or hurt my family. It doesn’t exactly feel good, knowin’ that. No one else my age can stand me, cause they can tell I’m weird. Before you, it was fuckin’ lonely, Kev.”

He feels a familiar pressure, because Kevin has taken his hand, and the human gives it a squeeze. He accepts it, melting a little against the other boy. “Still friends?” Kevin asks, and Betelgeuse purrs in response, resting his head on Kevin’s shoulder.

It’s not till later, at home, that he realizes Kevin never actually apologized.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````

It’s like that, for a while. He knows Kevin still has the book. He knows he’s reading it, and sometimes Kevin will bring up demon stuff, but Betelgeuse has almost exactly a minute and a half of patience for answering questions or hearing about it. Still, Kev doesn’t stop. He might feel angrier if the breather wasn’t so god damn cute.

The air is starting to go cold, and leaves are beginning to fall. October is settling in, getting comfortable, and mom’s starting to break out the Halloween décor. It’s the middle of a kind of gloomy, Autumn day, when things get weird.

Kevin has the book open, much to Betelgeuse’s annoyance, and he’s blabbing away about a demon that supposedly grants wealth- “Do you think you could do that?” -when Betelgeuse looks down at the book, and sees Juno looking back at him. It’s not really her, it’s an illustration, but he’d recognize the bitch anywhere. She’s ink, glaring up from the page, those same age lines etched into her face, confirming his private theory that she’d been an old hag even when she was young. The slit neck is prominent, and as he stares, he sees smoke billow out of it. Oh, fuck no.

He grabs the book and slams it shut, startling Kevin, and then he teleports it directly under them, a mile down in the rock of the earth. Kev blinks for a moment, confused, before looking at his friend. “Wh.. Dude, WHAT?”

“Possessed book,” he croaks out, feeling tense, because he can smell cigarette smoke. “And you’re afraid of it? Why? You are also a literal fucking demon!” “That’s why I’m not messin’ with it!” Betelgeuse stands up, uneasy. The ground around the tree feels weird, now. He doesn’t like it here anymore. “Cause I actually understand why it’s a bad fuckin’ idea! God, you should have instincts that tell you not to mess with this stuff! You’re deficient, Kev, seriously.”

“Me deficient? Seriously?” Kev snaps, which hurts in a new, unexpected way. “Whatever, asshole. Give me my book back.” Kevin stands up, too, but he’s not uneasy, he’s angry.

“It’s better off where it is.”

“Which is where?”

Betelgeuse glances down. The grass around the tree is starting to wither. Kevin follows his gaze, but doesn’t seem to notice the dying vegetation. “You buried it? Come on!”

“Leave it, Kev.”

“This isn’t just your cool secret, anymore, it’s mine too!” Kevin glares at him. “You can’t keep me out of it, BJ. That’s not fair. God, at this point, I know more than you! You should be listening to me!”

He feels his volatile temper flare.

“Ex-fuckin’-scuze me?”

He waits for Kevin to take it back. Instead, his friend doubles down. “Demons have to listen to humans,” Kevin crosses his arms. “If they’re summoned. It’s in the book.” “Nobody summoned me,” Betelgeuse snarls, letting his real snake eyes show, an intimidation tactic that works for about half a second. Kevin’s too used to him, at this point. “I’m up here on a deal.” “Bet I could do it. I bet I could summon you. Then you’d have to listen to me.” “Yeah? Well, good luck without your stupid book!” He storms off, leaving Kevin standing there.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````

The rest of the day sucks. He’s moody all day, annoyed in the car, grumpy in his room. He cranks metal and wishes he’d learned to play a guitar instead of his rinky, happy sounding ukulele. The instrument isn’t going to produce the noise he wants to express himself, right now. He throws it across the room, into a wall, where it smashes, and reforms a minute later, because… it’s still his favorite, after all. Even if it’s no good for expressing his teenage angst.

He can hear shuffling, and talking, outside his room, though he can’t make out what’s being said over the music. After a moment, though, there’s a knock at his door. “Hey, Bug?” Emily calls. “Can you come give me a hand with something?” He wants to tell her to piss off, go away, to leave him the hell alone, but.. It’s Emily. The CD player lets out a strangled choke and suddenly stops, and the door swings open, all without him moving from his flopped position on the bed. “Sup, ma?” he grunts. Emily peaks her head into the room, and smiles when she sees him, the expression radiating warmth and adoration and.. Oh, God/Satan, bless his sunbeam of a mother. “Just wondering if you’re free to do a little decorating?” She reaches behind her and grabs a fake severed bloody limb from the box he assumes she’s dragged into the hallway from the attic. “Don’t you worry it takes away from the “wow factor” to do Halloween twice a year?” He asks, standing and stretching, before apparating in the hallway behind her, and giving the decor box a nudge with his boot. “What? No way, there’s never enough Halloween!” Emily grins. “Get that, please.” The box floats along behind him as they head downstairs. They pause in the entryway, as Emily thinks out loud. “So, maybe the kitchen should be-” “Functional as a kitchen, please,” Charles calls from the living room. Emily rolls her eyes. “Okay, fine! Spoilsport! We’ll focus on the entryway for now,” she decides. “You wanna put up cobwebs in the rafters?” She gets on tiptoes to reach into the floating box, and he lowers it a bit for her, as she grabs the fake webbing. “I could just instantly decorate the whole room,” He takes to floating next to the box. “Could make sure it’s all normal human stuff, too,” He adds, before she can respond. “I know you can… But I like decorating,” Emily says brightly. “It’s not about getting it done quickly. It’s about, you know, doing it together.” “So why are dad and Lydia slacking?” Her smile doesn’t falter, but becomes softer. “It kinda felt like you needed some mom time, today,” She says simply. God, she can read him easier than Kev can read his stupid book. “We got in a fight,” he admits. She hums at that, because he only has one friend. It’s not hard to guess who he could possibly mean. “I’m sorry, Bug. What over?” He hesitates. So far he’s not let any of his family in on this book business. He’s been sort of hoping it could just go away on it’s own, and not be a thing. Kevin’s made it into a thing, though, and not telling even his mom feels… bad.

“He’s really into demons. Like, really, really into em,” He rasps, floating up and beginning to put up the spiderwebs, as his mother takes down the usual, sort of spooky wall hangings and trades them for her very intentionally spooky Halloween ones. “He’s got this book, an’ it’s all about demons an’ like, how to summon them, an’ their powers, an’ stuff… Sometimes th’ way he talks, it’s like.. Are we friends cause we’re friends, or friends cause you think I’m gonna be... useful?”

Maybe that doesn't make any sense, but that’s how it’s been feeling, like there’s an invisible shoe hanging midair, and it’s about to drop. His mother waits until he’s finished before looking up at him. “And you fought over that?” She prods. “Not exactly.” How the fuck can she even tell that, though? Damn her mom powers. He really, really didn’t want to talk about this, not to her, but… “I saw Juno. In th’ book,'' He lowers back down to the floor, and digs through the box, pulling out fake body parts. Back up he goes, to stick these in the fake webbing. “It was just a drawing of her, but it started like.. Billowing smoke-”

“From the neck,” His mother remembers, suppressing a shudder.

“Yeah. I could smell the smoke. So I got rid of the book, buried it in th’ school yard, but Kev got all pissy about it. He thinks he’s an expert on this shit, an’ he’s gonna mess with somethin’ big if he keeps this up.” “I’m sure you’ve told him that.” “He doesn’t listen. He gets this look in his eye, like it’s a game, or like… I dunno. Feels sometimes like he thinks he’s…” He searches for the words. “Like he thinks he oughta be the boss a’me, or somethin’.”

He rubs absentmindedly at the moss on his nose. It clings, stubborn as ever, same with the patches by his hairline, and he’s found it’s easier to just add another little layer to his glamour than try to do anything about it.

Maybe that’s indicative of a bigger problem. It’s easier to do a bit of magic and make everything look better than to actually fix the underlying problem. Ugh, introspection, how absolutely miserable. He wants to keep thoughts like that locked away tight, but they have a habit of slipping past his mental defenses and making him feel worse. Absolutely no one can make him feel shittier than he himself can. He sinks to the ground, going purple, and he’s instantly wrapped in his mother’s arms. “It’s okay, Beetlejuice,” Emily has both her hands on the back of his head, and he pushes his face into the crook of her neck. “I just.. I’ve only got the one friend,” he groans. “I don’t wanna stop bein’ his friend, but.. Fuck, ma.”

“I know.” Her voice is a soothing balm. She works her hands through the mess of purple hair at the back of his head. “I know, sweetheart. I know it’s lonely at school, but school isn’t forever,” she tries to assure him. “If your friend is treating you this way, well.. He’s not a very good friend. Do you want to be around someone who makes you feel this bad? Does it feel worth it, to you?”

He knows the correct answer is, “No,” but he’s not sure if his self esteem is high enough for that.

“I like him a lot,” He grumbles, and she hums again. “He’s handsome,” She says, and then pulls back far enough to pinch his nose. “But not as handsome as my son, of course,” and it’s silly enough to help knock away his mood, so that’s something, at least. “What should I do?” He doesn’t pull away from her, just soaks up the mom energy for as long as he can. “I think you need to have a talk,” Emily tells him. “Lay out how you’re feeling. Try to get his side of things, and make sure he hears your side, too. Then, at least you both tried, you know?”

It’s such a mom type answer. He groans again.

“I was worried you’d say some shit like that.” She fuzzes his hair, and he feels the tingle in his scalp that means it’s changed colors. Back to green, he assumes. “You know your moss changes color along with your hair? And your creepo-stache?” “Leave the stache alone, it’s tryin’ it’s best,” He pretends to be defensive.

“It makes you look like the founder of a forum for people who marry their cars,” Lydia offers, from the bottom step of the staircase, where she has apparently been just chilling and listening.

“Wh-! Mom, it’s not that bad, right?” Emily tilts her head to the side and gives what can only be described as a condescending smile. “Oh, you’re both in for it now.” He brings the various decor items to life to terrorize them, and then Charles joins his side, sympathizing with his son vis-à-vis bad teenage facial hair, and by the time the whole squabble is over, hardly any decorating has gotten done… But he does feel better. His family’s good like that.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Monday rolls around, same as it always does, but there’s a weird feeling in the air. Halloween is a week away, barely missing getting a weekend date, but there’s some big Halloween bash the school is apparently throwing. There’s fliers for it everywhere, plastered all over lockers and bulletin boards. He’s not much of a participator, though, and his reaction to his locker being plastered over with invites to a party he doesn't care about is to snap his fingers. All the fliers on all the lockers up and down the hall, all instantly fall loose at once, littering the floor. A few students jump back, but no one looks his way, because why would they?

He’s grabbing his history textbook when he feels a tap on the shoulder, and when he turns, it’s a girl he recognizes, but her name is absolutely lost on him.

“You’re BJ, right?” Miffy askes, and he nods. “Yeah, s’right,” and Margo seems to wince at how gruff his voice is, before continuing. “Um, you and that guy Kevin, you’re like…” Milicent trails off, waiting for him to finish her thought, but sorry, baby, he can barely finish his own. “Like…?” He says, with his gravel voice copying her tone and inflection, and she huffs. “Together?” Marge asks, “Like, all of the time?”

He cocks his head, and squints at her, hands t-rexing at his sides, as Lydia likes to say.\

“Usually,” He concedes, and he gets the feeling he’s dragging this out much, much more than Mango clearly wants, because he spies a group of girls a little ways off, waiting for her. One of them is staring intently, more focused on him, but he pushes that thought aside.

“Look, okay, he’s gonna be out for a few days, and I’m just trying to see if you can take him his homework,” McGrubber has grown tired of having to stand here, talking to the chubby goth loser, apparently. “I’m a student aid in the office and they’re trying to make me do it, but I have track practice!” Thaaaat’s where he knows her from. She looks different, not bouncing and sweating and also not half a football field away. “Sure, fine, I’ll make sure Kev gets his work. Wouldn’t want you to miss out on running in a fuckin’ circle, Maria.” Her face sours. “It’s Blair.” So close. “Who fuckin’ cares,” He replies, and turns back to his locker. He can hear her rejoin her friend group, all of them fawning over her harrowing experience of having to speak to him in public. The last thing he hears from Blair is, “He’s just so goddamn weird,” and then the group rounds the corner.

He closes his locker harder than he maybe needs to.

Kevin isn’t in class that day, or the next, or even the one after. The shade tree has withered and died completely, it’s color sapped and gone, and even walking near it makes him feel uneasy. His new lonely lunch spot is under the bleachers, which feels even more voyeuristic of a spot to watch the track team, but even that activity feels tainted, somehow. He’s back to being lonely.

He can’t stand being lonely.

It gets so bad he contemplates sitting, wait for it, on the bleachers, and maybe even trying to strike up a conversation, but he’s too chicken shit. He’s been going to school with these kids for the past three years, and no one’s wanted to talk to him or chat with him in all that time. He can’t imagine that’s about to change.

Still, on Thursday, miserable and lonely, he gives it a try.

Sitting up here sucks. It’s just a hard metal seat on a gloomy day, and when he’d ventured up and sat down, other people had slowly moved away from him, until he was sitting by himself, all the breathers huddled in a different area, away from him. He'd tried talking, but hardly had a "Hey, how ya doin'?" grated out before the migration began.

Figures.

He finishes eating and lies on his back, resting his hands on his chest, eyes closed, and after a while he feels someone standing over him, and something laid over his hands. He opens his eyes. There’s the most beautiful girl staring down at him. She’s got long, bleach blonde hair, darker at the roots, which is hanging down in a halo around her face, and the biggest, clearest blue eyes he’s ever seen. He glances down, to see she’s placed a daisy over his hand. He looks back up at her, amber eyes questioning.

“You looked so still,” She smiles. Her voice is like music. He thinks he can hear harps. “With your hands folded like that. Kind of like an open casket.” He’d been forgetting to breathe, apparently, which happens sometimes. She thought he looked like a corpse, and she placed a flower over him.

“Sorry, if that’s weird. You’re.. BJ?” She asks, and he picks up the daisy, sits up, and nods. “Yeah, you’re…” “Barbara,” she fills him in. “You’re not so good with names.” “Mmm. Buffy tell you that?” He recognizes her now, from that group of girls. Barbara sits next to him, which makes zero sense. “It’s Blair,” she corrects him gently, but not without a giggle in her voice. “Oh, right.” Her name could be fuckin’ Moonpie and it’d make the same amount of difference to him, but he’d agree with anything Barbara said, if it meant she kept sitting there, talking to him. “Are you going to the Halloween party?” She asks. “Supposed to be pretty killer. It kind of seems like your scene.” “I’m not exactly a social butterfly,” which is the understatement of the god damn century, honestly, but she laughs and nudges her shoulder with his. “Well, I think you should come. I bet you’d have the coolest costume. Maybe think about it?”

“I guess, maybe..” He says lamely, because his brain is short circuiting from that small touch.

“Barb, come on!” someone calls to her from a ways away, on the track. Lunch is nearly over. She stands, and smooths down the long skirt she’s wearing, which is modest but flattering. “Later, BJ,” she smiles, and just like that, she’s gone, like an angel going back up to heaven in a beam of light, off to rejoin her friends. He can hear what she says to them, though. “You guys are mean, he’s not so bad. Just shy.”

He keeps the daisy in a little glass of water on his dresser, and strums love songs on his ukulele.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Thinking about Barbara and her smile and the way she nudged him is a fun distraction, at least for a little while, but when it’s Saturday, and he still hasn’t heard from Kevin, he decides it’s time to demon up and see what the fuck is happening with him. He’s been just teleporting Kev’s homework inside his room, and he’s sure it’s falling into a pile on the floor each time and startling him, but no one ever said how he had to deliver it. Today though, emboldened by the pretty girl on the bleachers, he appears at Kevin’s front door instead, holding Friday’s work, and he knocks. It takes a moment, but Mr. Loh answers.

Betelgeuse hasn’t had much chance to interact with Kev’s dad. He looks like a normal, tired dad, wholly unimpressive, and kinda short. Chuck could wrestle this guy to the mat, no problem.

“Oh, BJ,” Mr. Loh says, and then glances at what’s in his hands. “Kevin’s homework? Thank you. He’s holed up in his room… won’t come out.. Maybe,” and he suddenly looks hopeful. “You two are friends. Maybe you can try talking to him?”

Well, that’s what he was there to do anyways, so sure. “I gotcha, Mr. L,” he nods, stepping inside, and heading up the stairs and down the hall to Kevin’s room. The closer he gets to the door, though, the weirder he feels. Something stinks, figuratively and literally. It smells like… It smells like the waiting room. It’s that same, veil is thin type air that he can smell on Halloween night, but how the fuck is he smelling it here? He bangs on Kevin’s door. “Hey, Kev, it’s the B-Man,” he calls, trying to keep his tone playful, but he feels like he’s doing a poor job. What the hell is going on? “Come on, man, open up!” He tries again, when he receives no response. He thinks he can hear a shuffle behind the door. “Dude, I will bust this fuckin’ door down,” He growls, all the play gone from his tone. “You know I will. Better yet-”

He appears inside the bedroom, just in time for Kevin to slam shut the closet door. Kevin turns to look at him, back pressed to the wood. There’s a beat, both teens staring at each other, wide eyed, Betelgeuse in that weird way he does, and Kevin looking frazzled. “What,” the demon grates out, “the fuck, are you getting up to in here? It smells like the netherworld, Kev.” Unfortunately, that makes Kevin’s face light up. “It does? Oh my god, that’s perfect! It must be starting to work!” He crosses the bedroom, going to his desk, where an old book is sitting open. It’s not the same one he took from his friend, it can’t be, that book is still a mile down in presumably solid rock. “Another musty ass tome, great,” he growls, but Kevin ignores him, flipping through the book.

He hates feeling ignored.

A black and white striped arm sprouts from Kevin’s desk, and slams the book shut, which makes the breather turn and glare at him. “Get out of my room, BJ,” is all Kevin says, and Betelgeuse ignores that, instead crossing the floor to get a look at that book. “Where th’ hell do you keep finding these fuckin’ things?”

“This one I bought from a one armed man living out of a 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale,” Kevin recites. Betelgeuse squints at him, top teeth over bottom lip. “You’re too gay to know what that means,” he says, plainly, and Kevin shrugs. “He wouldn’t stop talking about his stupid car. I now know more about that antique than I know about geography.” It feels fun, for a second, like this drama isn’t happening, and they’re just having a conversation. It doesn’t last, though. He can’t let Kev off the hook.

“So you bought a second cursed book, this time from some amputee homeless guy, and you’re just, doing the rituals inside of it? And this seems like a super good idea to you?”

“I’m practicing,” Kevin replies.

“So what’s in the closet, Kevin?”

“Get out of my room, Betelgeuse.”

The way Kevin says his name is weird. It doesn’t feel like how it normally feels when a breather says the full thing. He shakes it off, and gives his friend a defiant look, before waving a hand and throwing open the closet door. There’s a cleared spot, in the middle of the closet floor, and a fucking summoning circle in what smells like, “Pig’s blood? Couldn’t get human?” He turns to look at Kevin, who is glaring at him intently. He matches the look.

“Betelgeuse Shoggoth, get out of my room.”

That gets his attention. It feels like an invisible hand is pushing him, and he stumbles back out of the room, confused. “W-what?” Kevin is just standing there, staring at him, and Betelgeuse stares back, eyes wild. “You motherfucker,” he hisses, eyes in snake slits, teeth sharp, claws extended. “You wanna do that “real name” bullshit with me? That the choice you’re makin’ here, Kev?”

Kevin doesn’t even look phased. “I’m working on gaining a bit more control, but looks like that works, for now.”

“You’re cracked!” Betelgeuse growls, absolutely furious. “You’re really tryin’ to summon me? Are you out of your head!?”

“You’re wasting your powers,” Kevin storms forward. “You’re a supernatural being, and you go to school and play your stupid ukulele, and don’t even try to do anything bigger. You could be stepping on everyone under you,” his former friend is going red in the face. “You could be leading, you could be ruling, but you just jerk off in your room and play pretend at being human. But someone might as well profit, here. Why not me?”

“I thought.. I thought we were friends,” is all the demon can say, lamely, and Kevin’s smile is the meanest thing he’s ever seen on a breather. “Once you’re fully listening to me, we can be friends again. Betelgeuse Shoggoth, get out of my house.”

He feels that same invisible pull, and he thinks maybe if he was stronger he could resist it, but a demon’s true name is like a lead on a dog, meant to control them, and unfortunately, Kevin has a tight hand on his leash. He makes it to the front door, and stumbles out, covering his face until he can calm himself enough to reapply his glamour.

Shit, he thinks, straightening up, and staring up at Kevin’s bedroom window. He is so fucked. ``````````````````````````````````````````````` Posted this chapter and another over at Ao3. You can read it right here

[holylulusworld]

Sorry is not enough

Summary: It’s an eye for an eye and a life for a life tonight.

Pairing: Mobster!Dean x Reader, former OFC!Frank x Reader

Warnings: angst, mentions of forced marriage, mentions of domestic violence/physical & emotional abuse, protective Dean, hurt & comfort, violence, torture, blood, knife play (non-sexual), burning with cigarettes

Characters: Sam Winchester, Benny Lafitte, Ruby, Jimmy Novak, Arthur Ketch, Charlie Bradbury, Alex Jones and Impala the dog

A/N: Please head the trigger warnings for domestic violence which gets mentioned. Please also head the warnings for torture, blood, and violence.

A/N2: Part 3/3 to  Too late to be sorry… & Never too late to be sorry

“Where is he?” Dean looks at the monitors, following Benny, Jimmy, and Ketch while they sneak around a house. “Is that bastard in there?”

“Take a deep breath, boss. Sit over there and just watch. The boys got this, okay. I hacked into the security system and made sure the phones won’t work.

He’s in there, along with his boss and partner who watched him hurt Y/N.” Charlie explains while she sips at her coke.

“You enjoy this a bit too much, Charlie. I guess working with me, and Sammy made you hard as steel.” Dean smirks as Charlie gives him a curt nod.

“Not hard as steel, boss. I know what we normally do isn’t exactly legal but, this is fun. Punishing an abusive asshole, his boss and partner - a good day for Charlie Bradbury and Team Winchester.” Snickering Ruby looks over Charlie’s shoulder.

“Sam insisted on going with them. He’s out for blood, you know, he never forgot about Y/N. Sam often told me she was like a sister when he was younger.” Ruby gets her knife out to clean her nails, a smirk on her lips. “Do I get the chance to cut one of those bastards? Please?”

“You can have the boss and partner. Treat the leftovers however you want to, Ruby. That bastard is mine.” Dean’s eyes narrow watching Benny break through the front door. “I reserved a special place in hell for him.”

“I guess that messing with Dean Winchester or his girl is a death sentence. Good thing I fuck your brother.” A smirk on his lips Dean crosses his arms over his chest.

“Won’t save you if you fuck us over. Now one messes with the Winchesters, not even a pretty little thing wrapping my brother's dick around her fingers. Be good, and we treat you well.

Be bad, you end up six feet under with my brand on your ass.” Ruby swallows thickly watching Dean’s arms bulge. “Not that Sammy does not like you, though.”

“Never thought about fucking you over. I prefer fucking your brother…” Charlie sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Can you two stop talking about fucking or fucking someone over? I have to provide back-up for the boys. I need to be their eyes and ears. Now silence. Benny is about to go in…” Dean falls silent, just like Ruby when the minute's tick by.

“Benny, can you hear me? Can you give me a status update?” Concerned Charlie tries to reach her friend. “Got it. Can you repeat it? Good. Pack everything and bring him here.”

Watching Benny drag Frank’s partner out of the house via the dashcam in his car Charlie squeals. “That’s number one. Good job, Benny. Secure him and wait for my orders.”

“Awesome…” Dean gives Ruby a high-five chuckling lightly. “Don’t tell Sammy or he believes I start liking you.”

“Wouldn’t dream about it…” Ruby retorts.

“Sam, can you…oh-great. Hit him with your best shot big boy.” Squealing Charlie jumps up to do a little victory dance. “Sam got Frank, broke his hand, and drags him out now.”

“Damn, if he brings me that monster, you can marry, Ruby.” Blinking a few times Charlie giggles at Ruby’s pained expression. “What? You want my baby brother, make him an honest man…”

“Slow down, Winchester.”

“Guys, silence. I am trying to reach Jimmy, but he doesn’t answer. Give me a minute here.” Charlie ends the awkward situation. “Jimmy, can you…oh-yes. Confirming Sam and Benny got their targets. Perfect. Bring him out.”

“He got the boss?” Dean watches Jimmy drag Frank’s boss out of the house. “Say goodbye to your cozy home, bastard. Does he have family or the partner?”

“Had a wife, got divorced according to the information I gathered last night. Uh-huh-juicy. She accused him of having an affair with one of his colleagues. I bet my favorite pair of panties it was Frank.” Hands balled into fists Dean paces around the room.

“He let Frank hurt my girl as he was banging him? Are you fucking kidding me!”

“I guess you want to know why we brought you here?” Looking at the men, chained to chairs Dean smirks as Frank’s partner looks like a scared little mouse. “It’s because all of you were part of my girl’s misery.”

Frank’s head snaps upward and just now he recognizes Dean’s face. Sam can see the fear in your husband’s eyes as he tries to fight the gag in his mouth.

“What did you try to say?” Mocking Frank, Dean moves one hand behind his ear. “Didn’t get that, sweetheart.”

“Don’t you worry, Frankie boy. You’ll get your chance to scream your lungs out later. For now, we want you to sign the divorce papers and for you to give everything you own to Y/N, your beloved wife. Later you will write a farewell note.”

Ruby circles the man, her favorite knife in her hands she slides it over Frank’s partner’s cheek, cutting deep enough to make him whine.

“Shush, little pig. Don’t be a girl about it, take it like a man.” Ketch leans against a wall, enjoying Ruby’s way to play with the men. “Wasn’t that exactly what he said to Y/N?”

“It was Arthur. My girl told me everything about that night. She finally gathered all her strength and called you, Michael Waters, her husband’s partner to ask you for help. She also called you, Victor Murdock, his boss.” Sam looks at your diary, the one you handed Dean days ago.

“Do you know what my girl wrote? You pigs came to her house and watched her husband hit her, hard enough to make her bleed, and lose a tooth.

When he was done hitting her, he got a belt and spanked her back, thighs and ass while you just watched him.” Dean’s eyes turn cold when Sam slams the diary shut.

“Ready or not…” Ketch snickers when Dean gets up to light a cigarette. “Here we come…”

Screams echo through the house and you wrap your arms tightly around ‘Impala’. You know Dean came back hours ago, Frank, his boss and his partner in tow.

“Everything is going to be alright, Impala. He’ll never hurt us again, baby. Promised. Dean will hurt him.” Sniffling you look at Alex who tries to ignore the men’s pleading. “If you want to go, Alex, I will understand.”

“My dad liked to push my mom around, Y/N. He always acted as if it was an accident, but I saw the bruises and the blue eyes he gave her.

I know what an abusive asshole looks like and Frank is one of the worst I ever met.” Alex sits next to you to squeeze your hand. “We will listen and remind ourselves, they deserve the worst…”

“Look at you with my girl's name written on your chest.” Dean muses while Ruby cuts the last letter of your name into Frank’s boss ' chest. He’s impressed by Ruby’s handiwork, even though, he would never tell her so.

“A masterpiece. Now…give me the salt.” Victor shakes his head furiously but Ketch hands Ruby the salt, a grin on his face. “I think you will look good covered in blood and salt, just like the pig you are…”

When he starts screaming again Ruby slaps his face. “Take it like a man, pig. Don’t you dare to lose consciousness, or I will carve my name into your dick.”

“She will do so, asshole. Believe me, my girl likes to carve her name into things and people.” Sam snickers at Victor’s pained expression. He grits his teeth, tries to breathe through the pain but Michael isn’t better.

While Ruby plays with Frank’s boss, Benny does the same to his partner. “Mine looks way better. Look, I carved a flower next to her name.” Ruby huffs, not caring about the rose Benny carved into Michael’s flesh.

“I think, we are done playing.” Dean claps his hands, still only staring at Frank who looks like he’s about to scream like a schoolgirl when the tall mobster walks toward him, a cigarette between his lips.

“Boss, can we bring the leftovers out and finish them?” Ketch rubs his hands, already imagining where he will plant the bullet ending Michael and Victor’s life. “Fast, or painful?”

“Painful.” Frank flinches at Dean’s words but dares not to look at his partner or boss. He knows, he’ll die tonight. He reached the end of the rope and he can’t escape Dean’s wrath.

“Leave Frank to Dean, I’ll stay here to help him out if he needs me to.” While Benny, Jimmy, and Sam drag the other men out of the room Ruby and Dean stay behind. “Shall I carve her name into his chest too?”

“No, Ruby. This is my job.” Dipping his head Dean blows the smoke of the cigarette into Frank’s face, enjoying the tears run down his face and the fact Frank peed his pants.

“A little and scared man, that’s all I can see. Nothing special. Only someone hurting vulnerable people, women, children…even your granny.”

“Piece of shit.” Ruby spats, sitting onto the table behind Dean’s back. “I’ll be waiting for my turn, Frankie. We will have so much fun.”

“Nah, he’s all mine.” Dean fists Frank’s hair before he removes the gag. Frank pants, sniffles before he chokes the word ‘sorry’ out.

“Oh, poor little Frankie. Sorry is not enough for what you did to my girl. It will never be enough.”

“An eye for an eye, Frank. Or rather your life for the life you almost took. Now, be a man about it and take it…” Ruby laughs when Dean presses the burning cigarette to Frank’s forehead.

Frank screams, even whimpers as all the memories of his father’s abuse flash back up. “You had a chance, Frank. You could’ve treated people better than your piece of shit of a father did. We decide who we become, not our parents.”

“That’s right! My mom was a bookkeeper and look, I am a goddamn sexy killer. She was a nice woman, always treated me right but I became a bitch.” Snickering Ruby watches Dean rip Frank’s shirt open. “Knife, boss?”

“Yeah…I think he deserves Y/N’s name on his chest but first. Maybe we will end you fast, you were smart enough to sign the papers after all.” Dean plays with Frank, always giving him hope just like he did with you. “No, I think…”

Dean’s fists meet Frank’s jaw and his head lulls back at the sheer force. For a heartbeat, Frank believes Dean is done but the fist comes back…again, and again, and again until nothing of Frank’s face is left than a bloody mess.

“Shall I or do you want to do it?” Itching to carve your name into Frank’s chest Ruby stand behind Dean. “Please…”

“Do it. This is my wedding gift for you and Sammy, crazy bitch.” Dean smirks when Ruby starts carving your name into Frank’s flesh. “I’ll get more salt and acid. I want him to scream for me…”

“Dean?” Watching Dean emerge from the showers you grasp for his fist. “Does it hurt?” Smiling Dean kisses your temple, not saying a thing just to savor the moment. “Dean?”

“He’s gone, and I can tell, he paid for what he did. Frank was kind enough to sign divorce papers and to give you the house, car, and everything he owned.” Dean carefully helps you lie onto his bed.

For a few days, you live with him in his room, the one he wants to share with you for the rest of his life . “I…thank you. I hate to admit it, but I am glad he’s dead…”

“Sweetheart, I promised to reserve a special place in hell for him, and I did,” Dean smirks when you curl into his side. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Dean.”

He’s wrapping his arms around you, not mentioning he sold Frank and his friends to not very friendly people. People who like to torture and hurt people like Frank.

Dean fulfilled his promise. He made the rest of Frank’s life living hell…

More tags in reblog.

Dean/Jensen Forever Tags   

@spnfamily-j2

@supernatural-bellawinchester

@negans-lucille-tblr​

@deans-baby-momma​

@thefaithfulwriter​

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@neerness​

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@rosalynshields​

A/N: If your name is crossed out Tumblr won’t let me tag you.

[abraxos-is-toothless]

Surprises (19)

I’m back! It’s just been one bad thing after another and I’m sorry that I’ve been gone. This one is a very small update because I messed it up right before it should have been posted. And then I had personal issues at home and then tumblr refused to post. I should be back to regular updates on everything now, fingers crossed, and I’m sorry this isn’t longer.

Full Masterlist.

Surprises Masterlist.

---------

Azriel was honestly, slightly scared for his life. Yes Elain loved him, he was the father of her child and gods did he love them both. But the way she had glared at him merely two minutes ago had him on edge. Apparently, absolutely none of her clothes fit her anymore. He’d tried telling her she could just use his shirts, it wasn’t like she had to go to school. She was suspended since she had punched Ianthe, but he was proud of his girl, the bitch deserved it for calling his little one a bastard. Elain had sort of sobbed and yelled at him, saying she just wanted to feel beautiful in her own clothes. He thought she always looked beautiful and he told her just that. Elain threw a shoe at him in response. This is why he was now sitting safely downstairs and drinking coffee in the kitchen, almost spilling it everywhere when Mor burst through the doorway. “Good morning shitstain! I am here to make your day so much brighter.”

Gods, she had no idea of how incredibly right she was.

Azriel let out a sigh of relief and started motioning for her to leave. “Elain is upstairs having a clothes crisis. Please will you go and help her?” Mor’s face took on a giddy expression as she squealed so loud it made him wince, and she was clapping her hands together excitedly.

“Oh, you know how much I love clothes! I’ll go get her into something comfortable. Are the two of you busy today? Can I take her shopping for proper maternity clothes? She might feel better about it then.”

“No we’re not busy, she might enjoy the day out.” And with that, the blonde was out of the door and rushing up the stairs. Azriel thought that now, he could go back to drinking his coffee peacefully, but then Cassian came in all moody and grumbling under his breath, banging the cupboard doors as he made his own drink. He knew why his brother was in a bad mood and had to force himself to keep his laughter at bay.

“Cass, we’re only going for my physiotherapy and so you can have the last of your stitches removed. Why are you being an idiot about it?” The other boy stood at the counter, his back to Azriel and he was staring out of the window, shoulders tense.

“I don’t want to go back there. I don’t like it there. I can barely stomach surprising Mom with lunch or dinner anymore.” Well, this was a little dramatic surely? It was always Cassian’s favourite thing when the three of them would go surprise her at work with a bag of goodies, knowing their stubborn mother wouldn’t have taken a break, too focused on her patients. It wasn’t a bad thing, of course it wasn’t, she just wanted to help but that wouldn’t be possible if she ran herself into the ground.

“It’s just the hospital Cass, we’ve been there a ridiculous amount of times.” He watched his brother freeze, mug half way to his mouth before he slammed it back onto the counter, the impact so hard he thought the mug might shatter. When Cassian turned, tears were threatening to spill over his cheeks and there was a fire in his eyes that he always got when he was upset or angry.

“Do you have any idea what it was like? You took all of the impact from the truck! You were the one lying on a fucking table losing blood! We could barely keep you conscious, Rhys and I. I had no idea what was going on while you were in surgery, Az, you could have fucking died!” His tears were falling now, a choked off sob tearing through his throat. Cass’ whole body was tense, little tremors shaking his shoulders as he struggled to keep the flood of emotions in check. “Ellie is pregnant, you’re going to have a little girl and you thought it was best to pull some shit like that, really?” Azriel couldn’t take it anymore, watching his brother spiral like that right in front of him and he forced himself to stand, walking over to stand in front of him. This close, he could hear the way Cass took in shaky breaths and sniffled, trying to stop himself from crying. Azriel thought he was finished but just as he opened his mouth to say something; his brother whispered words he thought would break him. “You are my brother and I love you. You’re meant to love me back. You can’t leave me Az, you can’t.” An indescribable sound left Azriel as he threw his arms around Cass, holding him tight, feeling the other boy bury his face in his shoulder. The body in his arm was trembling, breaking down without restraint. He pressed his cheek against Cassian’s, mouth next his ear to breathe his reply, loud enough to be heard amongst the hiccups.

“I love you too, of course I love you. I’m right here, I’ve got you Cass.”

“D-don’t you do that self sacrificing shit again, I will not raise your child for you.”

He hadn’t thought about it until now, really, pushing the crash into a small little box and then shoving that box to the back of his mind. The only priority he’d had in that split second before they were hit was keeping his brothers safe, protecting them with everything he had. Azriel had forgotten about Elain, the baby and everything else in that moment, which made him feel guilty now. Elain still had not spoken to him about that day, not really. He tried talking about it sometimes but she would shut him down, either saying she was fine or changing the subject completely, but now he realised. Realised why she was so terrified and upset when he’d woken in that hospital bed, realised why she had been angry with him afterwards. Fucking gods above, he was a damned fool. Time and time again since Azriel had found out about the baby he had promised he would always be by her side, he had promised he wouldn’t leave her, that she wouldn’t have to do any of it alone because he was right there.

If he had died, she would have been alone. His family and her sisters would have helped, would have stuck by her, he knew that but it wouldn’t have been him. Elain would have had to tell their daughter eventually why her daddy wasn’t there, why he wasn’t there to hold her when she cried, to do with her what all the other daddies did with their own children. Azriel did not regret what he had done because he would do it all over again to keep Rhys and Cass safe, to make sure they were okay. But Elain’s distance when the crash was mentioned, the way she held onto him tighter when they slept at night and the way she said ‘I love you’ more often and with so much more passion, it all made sense to him now. She, along with the others for just one moment, were forced to picture their futures without him being there.

Pulling back from his brother after the sobs had subsided, he watched Cassian quickly rub away the tears from his face, eyes red and a little puffy. Being forced to think about those events and the trauma that ensued, Azriel recalled a hazy memory- no not a memory but a dream. The images flicked past like the pages of a book, one after the other and he felt as though he was back there again; stuck in the horrible trick his mind had played on him.

He knew what he had to do, he knew what he had to tell Elain so that maybe they could finally start putting this behind them, leaving it in the past where it belonged.

He just hoped that this time she would listen to him.

--------

Again I’m sorry it’s short but this is what it looked like when I fixed it. The next one is a longer one!!

Tags: @empress-sei​ @elrielllll​  @stars-falling​ @cirieael @verifiefangirl​   @theshadowsinger-and-thefawn​ @lila-baard​  @acourtofterrasenandvelaris​ @silver-flames​ @queen-of-glass​  @bamchickawowow​ @empress-ofbloodshed​ @sleeping-and-books​ @b00kworm​  @kvi-arts​  @tswaney17​ @awkward-avocado-s​  @courtofjurdan​ @junkiejosten10​ @mu-si-ca-l​ @agem10​ @harmonyindark245​ @slightly-sane-fangirl​ @tanaquilpriscilla​ @my-fan-side​ @whimsyrhys​  @starrynightsbooks​ @maastrash​​ @kendarbahr   @elriel4life​​ @illyriangarbage​​  @thewayshedreamed​​ @snowflakesandstarlight​​ @lacewilde​

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

Empires on the Horizon I

Jason is a CEO: Part I

Here’s my masterlist for the next part and my other stuff

i fear it might break me

then break

break

let spirit crack you open

-a letter to the king

There was something almost sinister in the whiskey-induced haze of a Manhattan skyline. The buildings nothing but dark blocks, uneven stairs.

There was something lonely about the haze too.

But Jason Grace couldn't give two shits about the blackening playground of buildings, couldn't give two shits about the incredible view from his twenty-second story window, couldn't give two shits about anything except his whiskey bottle and the burn because today could only be described as hell. Worse than hell maybe.

His son of a bitch ex-boyfriend and his son of a bitch new girlfriend, well ex-girlfriend now, had decided to christen his office. The deal he'd been working on for months didn't get legal approval, which meant everything had to be redrafted. And on top of everything his sister called to tell him she’s setting him up on a date with a quote, unquote ‘lovely girl who seems just right for him.’ He wanted to slam his phone across the room, and he would have if he didn't believe she had the supernatural abilities to know when he was pissy.

The shrill ring of said phone interrupted his anger.

"Talk to me"

"Hello Grace, you sound like shit."

"I'd sound better if you didn't fucking call me, you ass."

A laugh echoed down the phone.

"What do you want Valdez?" A smile played at Jason's lips, despite his day.

"Just wanted to check in and see how you were doing," Leo Valdez sighed, "I heard what happened with bimbo and brainless today."

He winced, "I don't know if I want to burn my office or throw them in an unmarked swamp to swim with the crocs."

"We can do both." His friend replied, conviction lacing his words.

He chuckled darkly shaking his head, "I think I'm just gonna drown myself in the good stuff tonight. I'll face the world tomorrow."

"Okay, I've sent over a tub of your favourite ice-cream. Sorry I can't be there; The lady has been raving about this theatre show for months. I'll be dead if I bail now."

"No worries Firefly, thanks for the ice-cream. Let's meet tomorrow for dinner?"

"Sure bro. I'll book us at the Labyrinth."

"Great and bring your better half!"

A laugh was the only reply before the call ended.

Jason collapsed onto the couch, folding his body into the corner of the seat and taking a large swig from the whiskey. Every time his mind wandered to the horrors of the day he drank. It took a horrifyingly short time to see the bottom of the bottle. The world blurred and tilted, swayed like young trees fighting against the wind. Tears spilled hot and fresh down his cheeks- he didn’t bother to wipe them away. Today he was allowed to cry, today he was allowed to break. It was okay, okay...

“OKAY!” He yelled, trying to untangle his legs from the blanket and wipe the drool on his mouth.

The banging at the door started up again and he cursed a blue streak. With a growl he yanked the door open, “What?”

“Well good morning to you too Mr. Grace,” A cheery-faced Hazel Levesque greeted.

“Hazel,” He sighed “Hi, sorry I- come in,”

“Everything okay Boss?”

“Had a bit of a rough day yesterday, I’m sure I smell like the inside of a whiskey bottle,”

“Uh-I don’t know if I should say anything to that,”

“Good call, I might burst into tears if you do.”

She gave him a wide-eyed look but he waved a dismissive hand, picking up the pillows he had flung in rage and the bottle he had discarded just before he crashed on his couch.

“I’m going to go shower; I’ll update you over some breakfast.”

She gave him a long look before nodding and taking up a set at the kitchen counter. He thought about explaining or offering her something to drink but his soul was exhausted; at the very least he could help himself to a shower before he had to face the world.

The water scorched his back, his forehead pressed to the cool tile. He considered himself lucky for having eaten before he got drunk, otherwise he would have spent the morning with his head in a toilet bowl. His brain pounded against his skull but the alcohol was only half to blame; crying for two hours had its fair contribution.

“Okay you can do this. You’ve gotten through a lot of shit, you can get through this.” He stared himself down in his mirror, fixed the clasp on his watch and shouldered his suit jacket.

With a deep breath he stepped out of his room, his business face firmly in place.

“Shall we grab coffee at Reedpipes, you can update me on my schedule on the way.”

“Sounds good Boss let’s go,”

And within a matter of moments they were stepping into their favourite café. Flowers bloomed in the middle of every table and ivy wrapped around the industrial fixtures above them. A bright hello sounded from the barista’s station.

“Good Morning Grover,” He smiled, at the bearded man already frantically working on their orders.

“How’s it going? I haven’t seen you in a hot minute.” Warm eyes twinkled up at him. It took immense self-control not to burst into tears.

Grover, oblivious to his turmoil prattled on, “Hazel how’s the strawberry pot coming along? Did the compos-“

Jason zoned out, the world becoming a blur of sound and moving colours. His mind hurtled him back to yesterday when he had walked into his office– oh gods it hurt to think about. The evidence of them had been everywhere. Clothes strewn on the floor, his papers and trinkets thrown like a hurricane had swept through. And they had just grinned, like they were waiting, like they planned for it. His stomach flipped, ache and regret flooding him.

“Mr Grace!” A small hand shook his shoulders.

He startled back to the present, “Sorry, sorry.”

“It’s okay” Hazel gave him a weird look, “I’ve got our coffees let’s grab a seat.”

He nodded letting her lead them to a little wooden table in the corner of the shop. Sun was just starting to filter in, and the beams caught on the subtle gold accents rimming each table. Once they had settled in across from each other she handed him his cappuccino and took a long slurp of her iced coffee before setting her intimidating golden eyes on him.

“Spill Boss.”

He sighed, running a hand down his face.

“Yesterday I went back to my office after the meeting with Titan Industries, we need to do a redraft for that by the way,”

She nodded, already tapping on her phone to diarise an appointment with the legal team.

“So I get the office and Piper and Luke–“ He gulped, steeling himself, “They decided to use my office as their playground.”

He didn’t know how to put it delicately and little Hazel shouldn’t have to hear his real thoughts on the matter which mostly sounded like ‘fucking fucks, stupid dumbass wankers’ and various other curse words

“Oh Jason,” She gasped softly, reaching out a hand to squeeze his, “I am so sorry. Why are you even coming in to work today? You should have taken the day to yourself.”

“I still have a business to run Hazel, and besides I can’t let their selfishness stop me.”

“You are allowed to be hurt Jason.”

“I know, I know. But I can be hurt this weekend, right now we need to redraft that stupid contract and I need to make some calls about the new buildings starting this week,”

“Right will add that, don’t forget we need to get your suit for the alumni dinner on Friday,”

“Ugh I forgot about that, okay just pencil that in for some time today and maybe call Drew or Silena to find out if they can have a few ready for me to try on. Also I have dinner with Valdez tonight so no calls after six thirty.”

“You got it Boss, and hey­–“ She tugged at his sleeve making sure he looked at her, “If at any point you need to stop, you let me know. And if I see you neglecting yourself like you did last time, I will book a trip to the smallest island in the middle of the damn ocean and throw you on a plane myself,”

He laughed at his fiery assistant, and gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, “Yes ma’am.”

***

Jason’s day wasn’t going great, but it was at least fifty times better than yesterday. All his belongings had been moved to the floor above and his tainted office was being cleaned out. He didn’t know if he wanted to go back there ever again but maybe he could convert it into a room for his employees. At least they won’t be haunted by the events that occurred. His call with Miss Arellano had gone surprisingly well even if the drafting of this stupid Titan Industries project was proving to be a real pain in the ass. He didn’t even know if it was worth it to do this much readjusting.

“Hey boss,” Hazel knocked at his door, “Frank is here to take you to your suit appointment,”

“Damn is it already four?” He frowned at his watch, “Alright give me two minutes to finish this email and then I’ll be ready. You should go home for the day.”

She snorted, “Thanks, but I got some admin to catch up on. You mind if Frank comes back to drop me off at home afterwards though?”

“No problem, you know he would be happy to do it.”

And maybe if Jason hadn’t been so distracted, he would have caught the blush his assistant was trying so hard to stop.

“Right well, let me know if you pick out a suit or if I need to reschedule. Also Mr Valdez called to confirm your reservation at the Labyrinth for seven thirty.”

“Thank you,” He gave her a brief smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes before turning his attention back to his blinking cursor.

***

“Hello ladies,” He entered the open, marbled boutique that was Aphrodite’s Armour.

“Jason!” A sweet voice squealed, coming towards him for a hug.

“Hello Silena, how are you?”

“Much better now that my favourite customer is here,”

“Aww,” Another voice pouted, “I thought I was your favourite customer?”

“Babe you don’t count,” Silena laughed, booping her fiancé on the nose.

“Well if it makes you feel any better Drew, I know she’s lying because she says that to all the customers.”

Silena gasped, smacking his arm, “I DO not.”

“Yes you do hun,” Drew laughed, “You here for your suit Mr Grace?”

“Yea it’s for the alumni dinner at SPQR University this Friday,”

“Oh yes we’ve heard a lot about this dinner. We’ve had all manner of folks come in these last few days.” Silena nodded, already making her way to the back of the store.

“I’m sure. It’s the big charity dinner where they get all the ‘successful’ alumni together and then milk us for all we’re worth.” He shook his head with a smile.

“Ah you rich people can afford it,” Drew scoffed, smirking at him over her shoulder.

“Yes I do agree,” He nodded, “Where’s my favourite of you lot?”

“Oh Charlie isn’t in. It’s Wednesday so he has to go to his sites.”

“He’ll be sad he missed you though, I think he has some project he wants to pitch.”

“Tell him to give me a call, I’m always happy to talk business.”

“Yes, although I’m sure he’ll be much happier to get down to business with you,” Drew cackled.

“And how would his two fiancées feel about that?” He raised a blonde brow.

“Quite excited,” Silena bubbled, a glitter in her eyes.

Jason let out a real laugh for the first time all day, “Sorry darlings but I don’t think I’d be much fun right now.”

Drew gave him a kiss on the cheek “Well, we’ll be here when you do.”

“Much appreciated,” He grinned.

“Okay, I think I have the perfect one!” Silena moved from behind the racks shoving a black bag into his hands, “Go try it on.”

He stumbled into the changing room and pulled out a gorgeous maroon suit. The lining was a deep blue and the detailing on the seams matched it perfectly. He knew immediately this would be a favourite of his and got confirmation when two minutes later he stepped out to gasps and applause.

“Mr Grace,” Drew’s eyes were wide.

“This is the best one yet,” Silena sighed, assessing him.

“Thank you ladies, it really is beautiful.”

“I think the wearer may be more so,” A low voice from behind them said.

Jason’s head shot up only for his gaze to land on the most exquisite person he had ever had the privilege of laying his eyes on. The beautiful stranger stood with their hands tucked in their pocket and an appreciative look on their face.

“Oh Mr Jackson we didn’t think you’d be here so early.” Silena jumped into action, ushering him through the door and out of site.

Jason was standing stock-still unable to get the image of sparkling green eyes and molten brown skin out of his head.

“Who was that?” He breathed.

Drew was pulling at his suit, synching it and marking the fabric with needles.

“Oh that was Mr Jackson, he comes in here fairly often too. It’s a wonder you haven’t met before, I’m sure you run around the same social circles, what with your fancy parties and all that,” She was mumbling around a mouth full of measuring tape.

“I’ve never seen him before in my life. Trust me I would remember a face like that.”

That got the seamstress’ attention, “Oh someone has a crush,”

“How could you not? We did see the same person, right? Tall, wonderful curly black hair, unbelievable sea green eyes, a voice like crashing waves and earth and-“

He was cut off by her laughing.

“What?” He frowned.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone fall so hard from a five second interaction.”

He blushed, looking away from her all-knowing gaze, “I’m just saying what I saw.”

“Well I’m pretty sure he’s going to the dinner on Friday so maybe you can talk to him there.”

‘He’s what?” He whipped around to look at her, eyes comically wide.

“Yea, he was telling us all about it when he came in earlier this week.”

“Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods, oh gods,” He muttered, heart racing.

“Oh don’t panic, he’s honestly one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.” She shrugged before pulling at his arm to take the measurement, “Alright, all set to go. You can pick up the suit tomorrow afternoon or we can send it tomorrow evening?’

“Uh yea, send it.” He said distractedly, already pulling on his clothes.

Drew gave him a cheeky smile, “Goodbye Mr Grace,”

“Bye Drew, tell Silena I said bye, and tell Charlie to call me.”

He stepped into the entrance of the shop, but the beautiful man was nowhere to be found. With a final glance around he made his way into the street, ready for dinner with his friends.

“Hello Grace, glad to see you haven’t gone full hermit,”

“Hello Leo,” He snorted, “It was the ice-cream you sent last night. It gave me hope.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” His friend laughed, “How are you though, seriously?”

“I’ve seen better days, but I’ve seen worse too. I’ll get over it.”

“There is no doubt in my mind Jason Grace,” A soft reassurance floated towards them.

He smiled, pushing out of his seat, “Hello Annabeth,” He enveloped her in a hug.

“Hello my darling,” She gave him a gentle smile.

He let her go and she moved around him to give Leo a quick peck. He smiled at her with overflowing adoration and muttered a soft, “Hello love,”

“Tell us what happened?” She sat down next to her boyfriend and reached out to squeeze Jason’s hand.

So he took a deep breath and relayed the story of his nightmare yesterday. By the time he was finished the couple looked like they were ready to storm the castle and beat Luke and Piper with sledgehammers and drawing compasses.

Annabeth’s grey eyes were hard and stormy with anger, “I’m going to kill them,”

“Don’t worry babe I’m there to help.” Leo said vehemently.

Jason couldn’t help but smile at the protectiveness of his friends, “Thank you guys but I’m fine. Really.”

They gave him a dubious look, their expressions so similar it was comical. He gave them another, hopefully, reassuring smile before they launched into a discussion about work.

Both were engineers with too many degrees to count and an abundance of knowledge circling between them. It was almost scary how exquisitely their minds worked. Jason had recruited them time again for his projects– from designing the education center to building the water systems and electricity grids in the downtown area. His work helping small businesses and improving ‘run-down’ neighbourhoods would be a thousand times harder if he didn’t have them to help him in design and implementation. Annabeth, as the civil engineer, often went to sites with him and over saw a fair few of his community projects. Leo was a mechanical engineering professor at the university they all attended but he was always willing to help if need be. Jason was eternally grateful for that because he didn’t trust many others to oversee his works.

When dessert had been cleared away sometime later the three were laughing and ribbing each other like they were back in college and not big-time owners of various companies.

“Okay, okay,” Leo gasped, “No more of your stories man. Annabeth doesn’t need to know all my secrets.”

The lady in question snorted, digging her elbow into his side, “You wish you had secrets. If you can’t recall I was there for ninety percent of your dumbassery in varsity and I’m here for one hundred percent of it now.”

“You don’t know what happened on our guys nights,” Leo narrowed his cassiterite eyes at her.

“Keep telling yourself that honey,” She smirked.

Jason watched on in amusement as Leo’s face morphed into panic.

“Tell me she’s lying Grace?”

Annabeth’s smirk was wicked, “Oh yes Valdez I know about the ‘pants on fire’ situation, and the ‘jumped off a Ferris wheel situation’ and the–“

“Okay stop. How did you ever choose to date me knowing all these things?” He looked at her with some mixture of horror and wonder.

She shrugged, “I figured if you were smart enough to get a PhD and a Masters you were smart enough to know when I’ll kill you for doing something stupid.”

Jason burst out laughing, “She may be taking your space at the top of my favourite’s list Firefly.”

His friend gave him a look of disgust, “That’s just rude, we’ll see who takes your phone away next time you’re drunk on vodka,”

They all dissolved into fits of giggles after that and Jason felt his heart grow a hundred times lighter.

“Are you guys going to the dinner?”

Annabeth nodded, “I heard the university has a proposition for us this year.”

“I’m mostly excited for the mini tacos,” Leo grinned.

“You’re always excited for the tacos,” She rolled her eyes playfully.

“I can’t help it, there’s just something about them, you know?”

Jason couldn’t help but agree. They really were delicious.

“I guess I’ll see you guys there.”

“You can count on it,” Annabeth gave another of her dazzling smiles, reaching forward to rest a hand on his arm.

“And don’t worry bro I know for a fact Luke isn’t going to be there.”

“Yea I know,” He sighed, “I asked Hazel to check this morning.” They stepped into the chilly night.

“Call us if you need anything,” Leo gave him a look before pulling him in for a hug. Annabeth echoed the sentiment and gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

He watched them walk towards their car, fingers intertwined, Annabeth’s blonde curls resting against Leo’s shoulder. A flutter of ache washed through him at their closeness, their easiness. He had had that once. Until Luke had gotten greedy with his ambition. And he may have had that with Piper if she hadn’t decided to screw his ex.

His life was a mess.

Yet when he crashed into bed that night he felt more hopeful and loved than he had in a long time. He slipped into sleep with a soft smile playing on his lips.

-----------------------------------------------------

Okay what are we saying? How do we feel? GIVE ME THOUGHTS!

Tags (if you want to be added to/ taken off the tag list just let me know, all my channels of communication are open):

@lesbian-peanuts​ @leydiangelo​​ @queen-of-demons-and-hell​ @msdrpreist​ @sparkythunderstorm​ @nishlicious-01​

[hwajin]

disclaimers: this is f!reader angst, expect nothing from me i have bad grammar and im mentally drained. tnx -lorelei/🥟

* minho made an update as i was writing.

心做し (224) ft. 이민호

day 1

to say the least, you were annoyed. too annoyed at the fact you couldn't concentrate in the first day of class. "you should really talk it out with him." jeongin said at you with a concerned look. "i'm not angry i just, hate being second all the time. c'mon ayen, you know that since the first day we became friends."

you were once y/n, the transferee girl. you sat beside jeongin on your first day, who thought you looked cute on your first day.

coincidentally, you liked his friend. a senior who was named minho. assuring to yourself and jeongin that it was nothing more than a crush was the hardest part. being drunk at a party and confessing to him had become what you quote "the best thing i've ever did".

after class ended, you decided to stick with jeongin who became class president and now is tasked to clean the classroom. why were you there? you really trusted him, a lot and as a friend.

"hyung!" jeongin called out to your supposed boyfriend who was walking toward your classroom.

"y/n-ah, bubs, cutie" he said, ignoring the male and rushing to give you a warm hug. "if you feel less, remember i love you so much. today tomorrow forever, remember?" he told you and you just stood there, uncertain how to react.

"y/n you should go home, i'll be waiting for seungmin too." jeongin said with a warm smile, looking at your annoyed face that contrasts minho's neutral face.

for some reason, you and minho walked home not even talking. "i'm-" "please dont remind me again." you coldly said. "i'll make it up to you. iced coffee?" he asked as you shrugged, thinking of your answer but your heart said yes after a second he asked the question.

"i'm super sorry i've been insecure." you muttered while intertwining both your arms. "no big deal. remember that she's a friend." he said as he rubbed your fingers.

you've never really been anyone's first choice, in middle school you never really had a permanent set of friends that treated you like a friend. you were always rejected and your parents never really cared for you as much as other parents do. you knew you grew up quickly, and you're trying to fix yourself as much as you can.

"oh look, the theme park is open today." he said, pointing outside to the moving ferris wheel. "come on, we are fixing the blue, making it color yellow." he said while dragging you outside the coffee shop as you silently drink your coffee.

he put your bangs down slightly, smiling at what he did and ruffles your hair softly. "my y/n is so cute. she's pretty, nice and she is the first person in my mind. "

"minho?" there she was, the girl you hate the most. minho's first love. his family loves her that sometimes you get compared to her. you knew of her existence, unsure if she knew yours though. "ah this must be your new girlfriend!"

noticing your uneasy gazes, minho spoke up. "hi, yeah and we're leaving." he said. "i really don't know where the entrance is, can i come with you? i'm meeting up with my friends." she pouted as you nodded.

"yeah, you're y/n, super cute. minho and you were together since last year? congrats!" she asked and minho was the one to answer. "yeah, here's the entrance to the theme park." he scoffed and held your hand tighter while you walked towards the ferris wheel.

day 2

the next day, you had to bring it up to jeongin and seungmin, people you trusted the most. "yeah its kinda like in a teasing way, i absolutely hate it. its like she wants to punch me in the face and move me out of her way!"

"oh my god, never be a punch bag you can move around." jeongin said. "i'm not a punchbag!" you said in an enthusiasic tone "Y/N ISNT A PUNCHBAG." seungmin accidentally said too loudly, causing the librarian to look and he bowed his head to say sorry. "my bad." he said and the three of you laughed quietly.

day 94

and, you knew it was coming.

after months, she always found a way to be closer to him. after all, she did know him better. while losing time for you, he remembered all the points on why she was his first love after all.

"minho... please dont hurt me anymore mentally. if you want to break up with me, im sorry. i dont know. i just feel too conflicted. i... hate this so much. i want to die. " was the first words you said as he opened up to your door. "i love you y/n." "its always i love you y/n, i love you y/n, fuck do you even mean them?! words aint enough, atleast spend some time with me. i... absolutely hate this."

collapsing to his arms, he felt his tears rushing down his cheeks. "i never knew you felt like that." he said as he caressed your hair. "now you know." you said, as he kissed your tears away. "can we move somewhere else?" he asked, talking about the awkward position you have on the doorway that made you smile.

day 156

"wow, it's snowing!" you said as you tugged minho's arm. "babe, please pay attention to me." you say to your boyfriend over and over again, who has been focusing on his project. you knew it was hard for him, but it was a sunday. and it was a group project. "you done your part yesterday-" "let me finish this first." he said with a scary tone, realizing what he said he decided to let it be for a few moments.

why am i being like this? he asked himself, looking at his girlfriend. his girlfriend, he reminded himself. perhaps he forgot? is his first love comig back to his life?

day 183

"and... thats what i knew. " you said over and over again. "y/n..." "stop messing around with me! you knew i couldve told hwang hyunjin from class c that! i couldve told your friend jisung, i had a crush on them too, but i chose you, and i never regretted it for, one and a half year. you dont even remember our anniversary? could you just ever..." you said, walking away.

"but i wasn't your first choice either." he spit out, and that made you get very angry. "what about now? who is your first choice now, my first choice now would be you. after that day i confessed it became you, i didnt even force myself to. it was because, you were minho i loved. can i... get him back. but fuck no, you played me." you said, and he breathed in and out.

after hours of silence, you left your phone, he noticed. opening the chats and backreading everything, that was the time where indeed he was wrong, he was wrong in all aspects. he never says sorry, its always her. and his phone rang, it was the girl again. he felt a jolt in his heart reading her name, butterflies in his stomach, but he knew there was y/n.

"ah fuck, this is all my fault."

day 192

a week or so since you havent gone to school, thats when you realized your mom cared and told you advice, went online shopping with you. its just that you always view everything negatively.

"someone wants to see you." she said, you hoped it was minho who would tell you sorry.

"y/n... its jeongin and seungmin. i have notes here compiled, even though im from another class. jeongin has english here, are you fine? " they asked while you explained everything.

day 194

deciding to go to school although minho was there was a bad thing. the day consisted of you being mentally unstable, and that wasnt the cherry on top.

"why are you here?" you said once you went out the school campus. "because, i want to. iced coffee?" again, blindly saying yes.

day 200

if you love her, dont be nice anymore. chanted in your head, but cant be said.

" why are you so nice, i know you've fallen out of love. " and he smiled as he looked again at the movie.

"minho. please, give me closure. stop being nice. treat me like a servant. swear at me. tell me im a bitch, whore, i dont know degrade me! please leave my heart alone, i cant cry anymore."

and so he thought for a moment, i cant do that.

day 210

holding you close again while you violently react, he caressed your face softly. tracing each feature and wiping your tears.

screaming, crying, like the storm. but he still held you up, like how he does to you everytime. "it's fine now."

day 224

"if i had a hole in my heart, how do i fix it?" she asked him, the man who she hasnt talked to in 2 weeks. "you've known what it is." he replied subtly.

"its not today tomorrow forever anymore huh. two day, two morrow and four ever. and its feb 24. fucking want to collapse or you just hit me and degrade me like what i said." and you watched him shake his head. "you cant split a heart into two and think it would still work, cant you?"

"but, you can break one into pieces and then they'd pretend its fine." she says with a bitter smile. "please be happy." and those words, those simple words were the confirmation. it was such a bitersweet love, everyone finds their way out of this somehow.

oof wait a minute i gotta read this later I DON'T HAVE TIME RN BUT EVERYONE GO READ

[cinnaminsvga]

🌀 social media au where namjoon is the head of research and development for the korean intelligence and he has to protect an innocent civilian from a mafia attack –– except that he’s got the wrong person 🌀

A/N: The last two (three?) updates for this series will mainly be in prose, mostly because I didn’t know how else to convey the Scenes™️ in text form without it being weird... Anyway. Here’s this! || W.C. 2.6K

prev // part 23 // next links added later.

[updates every mwf + sat/sun at 12PM PST]

When you finally regain your consciousness, it takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to their surroundings. The cold cement underneath your body is unfamiliar and disconcerting, helping you snap out of your dizziness long enough to realize that you had no idea where you were.

“Fuck.” Panic seizes you as you stare at the concrete cell you find yourself in. There is nothing inside the small room except yourself, some empty wooden shelves, and a metal door to your right, though you imagine that this room might have been used as a supply closet at one point. That doesn’t help you understand where you are, however.

“I was… at home? And then… I was texting Mafia Man and... oh fuck. The mole. Hoseok!” You exclaim, scrambling to your feet before falling face flat once more onto the floor. “What the hell..?” You see that you had tripped over the ropes that were binding you, as it seems that the ones near your legs had untangled somewhat.

After a bit of fidgeting and clawing at the rope, you manage to free yourself with only a small rope burn by your thigh. Whoever had tied you up must not have had much experience with tying people up, but luckily for you… Well, let’s just say being a horny weeb has its perks in times like this.

Unfortunately, your captors had remembered to lock the door, and no matter how hard you slammed your body against it, it didn’t look like it was anywhere near buckling down. “Let me out!” you scream, despite how futile and stupid it is. You continue to bang your fists against the metal regardless. “Once I get out of here, you guys are gonna get absolutely fucked by my yakuza boyfriend!”

No response. Either your guard was scared of the prospect of your (not) imaginary boyfriend, or they had left you alone without a guard. Frankly, you’re more offended if the latter is true because that means these mafia assholes were certain that you wouldn’t make it out on your own anyway.

“Well, it’s true but they still shouldn’t do that,” you mutter angrily to yourself, sliding down to the floor and hugging your knees to your chest. Well, guess you should start getting comfortable if this is going to be the way you’ll live for the rest of your short lifespan.

“Let’s hope Mister Mafia-Slash-FBI Man figures out I’m gone and comes to rescue me,” you say, though the dejected tone of your voice makes it all apparent that you hold no faith in those group of bumbling idiots. “They didn’t even know they had a mole in their presence! I’m gonna fucking die all because of stupid FBI man…”

At the very least, if you make it alive… FBI Man definitely owes you, and you already know what you want in return. “Hot yakuza boyfriend… wait for me,” you sigh dreamily to yourself, closing your eyes as you wait for whatever your future will bring.

“I don’t get paid enough for this,” Namjoon growls lowly to himself, the beginnings of a migraine starting to form. He had just turned off his phone to keep it from ringing, just in case Jungkook doesn’t listen to him and tries to call him and consequently give away his cover. “I can’t believe I’m saving this stupid weeb dumbass. I could die. Or worse, I could lose my job! Fuck!”

Namjoon would have loved to recite a litany of curses for a longer period of time, but the sound of footsteps from behind the abandoned warehouse walls causes him to clamp his mouth shut. He can feel his heart jump to his throat as he strains his ears to hear the conversations of the men behind the walls, trying to pinpoint the recognizable voice of the man he thought that he could trust.

“Did you see that girl that Hoseok brought in to the compound? She looked like a piece of work.” A rugged voice laughs, his deep timbre reverberating even through the walls. “Wonder why he would go through so many lengths to capture her.”

“Maybe Hoseok just likes his women like her,” another voice replies. They sound like they’re getting closer to where Namjoon is standing, and he hopes that they don’t suddenly decide to open or close the door that someone had left ajar. “Bit of a surprise really. Didn’t think he even swung that way.”

“I guess he just didn’t like the girls up in the clubs we go to. Either that, or I didn’t think he was interested in that sorta thing. He looks pretty young, probably the same age as my lil bro. It’s a wonder why he even joined the gang in the first place,” the first man says, and Namjoon can’t help but wonder the same thing. “He’s a real weirdo, that one. A great spy for us, though.”

“I know! Can you believe he got through the resident genius of Korean Intelligence? What was his name again? Kim Namboob or something?” Namjoon almost whines at that, having to shove a fist into his mouth to keep himself from yelling at that rude piece of scum. Namboob! He didn’t graduate university at the tender age of 10 to be scorned like this!

Another pair of footsteps sound like they’re coming closer as well. “You guys talkin’ about me?” The new intruder giggles, and Namjoon feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up in attention.

It’s Hoseok.

“Not at all, kid. Though, now that you’re here, we wanted to ask how your little whore is doin’. You gonna keep her all to yourself or are ya sharing her with the rest of us?” The two men laugh loudly at that. Namjoon grits his teeth in anger, wanting nothing more than to burst through the doors and punch them right where it hurts (though he imagines his limited upper body strength would only cause his fist to break in the aftermath). As much as he thought you were an annoying piece of shit, no one deserved to be spoken about like that.

And it sounds like Hoseok agrees. “Fellas, I’d really appreciate it if you don’t make jokes like that. Ever. These people might be our hostages, but they’re still people. We’re living in 2019, for fuck’s sake.”

The gruffer man snorts. “Geez, kid. Learn to take a joke. Ain’t none of us touching her, anyway. She looks like one of those crazy bitches who spurts their gurts for 2D guys or something.”

Though Hoseok doesn’t reply to that, Namjoon nods his head in agreement. Oh, how right he was.

“Anyway, we’re heading out. Boss says you can keep your girlie in there for another two days, but then you’re gonna have to deal with her after. He’s getting pissed since the feds won’t give up the ransom money for that Halsey girl, so you better not get on his bad side today.”

“Right. See you boys around,” Hoseok says, and it takes a second for Namjoon to scramble away from his position and hide behind a lone metal barrel. He makes it just in time as the two men exit the warehouse, the glint of their guns visible even in the moonlight.

Close one, Namjoon thinks, breathing hard as the adrenaline in his veins refuses to die down. Now’s his chance to sneak in and follow Hoseok to where you were likely being held captive!

He waits for Hoseok to walk away first before poking his head through the door, trying to keep his movements as silent as possible (a feat in itself, as his limbs tended to have a mind of their own sometimes.) He sees Hoseok turn the corner, and Namjoon hastens to follow him, carrying his footsteps while also trying to keep up with the traitor’s quick pace.

They walk through a few corridors, passing a few rooms that Namjoon is itching to investigate, but he focuses himself on the task at hand. Get Y/N, make sure she’s okay, then leave. Anything else other than that can be handled by the Six once they arrive. He wonders if he should make a detour and try to find Halsey as well, but it sounds like from Hoseok’s conversation a while ago that she would be more heavily guarded, so he swallows down his guilt and trudges on towards the lesser important hostage. (You suddenly sneeze in the distance.)

When Hoseok stops right in front of what looks like a supply closet, Namjoon has to skitter to a halt, holding his breath and hoping that Hoseok hadn’t heard the squeak of his shoes. Lucky for him, Hoseok seems none the wiser as he pats his pockets for the keys to your makeshift holding cell, opening the door wide open and revealing your prone form on the floor—

“YOU FUCKING BITCH!” Your sudden shout causes Hoseok to flinch back in shock. In a flash, you stand up with your hands raised, landing a punch against Hoseok’s left cheek that left him groaning in pain. “What the fuck!” you screech, clutching your fist in pain. “Damn you ikemen boys and your sharp jawlines! You fucking hurt my hand!”

If Namjoon was in an anime, he’s sure there would be one of those cartoon sweatdrops illustrated just above his head right now.

But Hoseok was quick to recover; he grabs you in a chokehold, subduing you to the floor with a grunt. “Please, don’t make this any more troublesome than it has to,” he murmurs, forcing your face onto the dirty concrete. “I’m so sorry, Y/N. I really don’t want to hurt you but I can’t let you run off just yet.”

As Namjoon watches you struggle against Hoseok’s hold, he feels searing anger and protectiveness suddenly surge through him in waves. How dare that fucker touch you like that! Are we in some sexist BDSM Wattpad fanfiction or something? Hell no! It is that overwhelming wrath that causes Namjoon to jump out of hiding, wrenching you free of Hoseok’s grip with a strength he did not know he possessed.

“Y/N! Are you alright?” Namjoon huffs, struggling to keep Hoseok in place. When Hoseok realizes who it is, he stops squirming. Namjoon ignores him for now, accessing you for injuries. “They didn’t do anything bad to you, did they?”

“Who the fuck?” You splutter, your eyes bugging out of their sockets. You stare at Namjoon, unmoving for what feels like hours. Namjoon still has to latch onto Hoseok to keep him from lunging at you again, though he seems just as perplexed by Namjoon’s sudden appearance as you were.

“Namjoon?” Hoseok tries to twist himself to face him, jaw agape. “What the..? You never do fieldwork! What are you doing here?”

Meanwhile, you were over there like, “Huh? Hughhdfh? HHSHJFHDF?” Truly a person of many talents, you were somehow able to verbalize a keysmash in real life. “HHSFFJKFSKFS?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m here to turn you in and save Y/N, you filthy traitor,” Namjoon growls, surprising everyone with how menacing his voice had gotten. “I can’t believe you fucking drugged our teammates! You betrayed all of us when we had accepted you like you were family!”

“I know, okay? Believe me, I fucking know,” Hoseok sighs, shoulders sagging. “If there was any other way, I would’ve—“

“YAKUZA BOYFRIEND?” You scream, interrupting the heated conversation in front of you. You have your hands splayed dramatically across your chest, the expression on your face comical. You raise a trembling finger towards Namjoon, pointing almost accusatorially at him. “You’re the dude from the picture! Hot yakuza dude! What the fuck? Am I dreaming? Is this some twisted joke, or am I having a wet dream again?” You pinch yourself. “Ouch! Nope, I’m not fucking dreaming.”

“Y/N, I can explain later, but we have to get out of here,” Namjoon starts, but Hoseok takes this as his chance to escape Namjoon when he feels his grip loosen slightly. Hoseok elbows him straight in the sternum, stealing Namjoon’s breath and knocking him down to the floor. He goes to grab you again, holding his arm around your neck and facing the two of you towards Namjoon. Then, you feel a hard cool metal object pressed above your right ear.

“Don’t you dare move, Joonie,” Hoseok warns, holding you tighter. You whimper pathetically, going stock still as fear encompasses you whole. Oh shit, you forgot that you weren’t an anime heroine for a moment there. Namjoon goes still as well, hands raised mid-air as he stares pointedly at the gun placed by your head.

“Hoseok, don’t do this,” Namjoon says as calmly as he can. He can feel his heart hammering against his chest, and his vision is beginning to swim from the nerves. This is where his lack of fieldwork training is made apparent, and he’s never regretted skipping out on PE more than he did right now. “Let’s not get hasty here…”

He doesn’t falter. “Leave, then. If you don’t want to see Y/N hurt, then it’s best you stay far away from here. Call off back-up as well. I don’t want any fighting going on tonight.”

Namjoon grits his teeth. “You know I can’t do that.”

You gasp when you hear the sound of the gun clicking. “Joonie, I’m asking very nicely,” Hoseok says, calm. “Is this girl really worth risking your life over? You and I both know that I can easily kill the both of you. Why don’t we keep the casualty count as low as possible and go on our merry way.”

“Yeah?” Namjoon feels himself laugh, but he doesn’t quite know what’s funny. He’s running on pure adrenaline right now, trying his best to stall for as long as possible. Any minute now, back-up should come… If he knows Jungkook at all, he’ll have tracked his phone even after he had told the younger to leave him be, so at the very least he can rely on him arriving. But the only question remains is… when? Hurry, Jungkook.

“How can I be so sure that you won’t just kill Y/N and I once I turn my back, huh? I know I’m an idiot when it comes to real-life battles, but even I’m not that naive.”

“I swear on my life,” Hoseok says. His gaze is stoic, but there is a fire burning behind them. “I swear on my father’s grave.”

Namjoon stops, hanging onto Hoseok’s words. His father… If he remembers Hoseok’s personal file correctly, he knows that Hoseok’s father had died at the hands of loan sharks. Was that why Hoseok was working with the mafia? To pay back his debt? Or to exact revenge?

“Hoseok… Is that why?” Namjoon mutters to himself, posture slackening. He feels the flames of guilt licking up and down his spine. Hoseok watches him curiously, though his grasp on you doesn’t wane.

“Why what?”

“Your father… He’s the reason you’re with the mafia, aren’t you?”

Hoseok’s face gives it all away. As much as he is a spy, he’s still an expressive type of guy, especially when it came to his family. His mouth crumples into a ㅅ shape immediately. “Namjoon. Please, just leave, alright? I’ll take care of Y/N. Even though it seems like I’ve betrayed you, just… Just trust me, okay? I don’t go around betraying family unless there’s a reason.”

Namjoon hesitates. He feels his guard slowly falling, despite knowing that this could just be another trick Hoseok is employing to dig up his weak sentimental side. Curse me and my stupid empathetic heart! he thinks disappointedly to himself. 

Just as Namjoon is about to make a decision, the three of you are surprised when you hear the telltale sound of another gun clicking behind you. From the shadows, another figure appears.

“Freeze. Nobody fucking move.”

Then, you scream.

[dulcetminds]

some (concept) playlists

find my spotify here ✨ & my fandom character/ship playlists

this page is updated monthly!!!!

💫 monthly, yearly & get to know me playlists:

 monthly mixtape: updated daily and refreshed every month with no correlation to anything what so ever.

twentytwenty: a song for each day of the year

the soundtrack to my life

my favourites

pass the aux cord, fool: car vibes

🍾🌉 playlists based off cliché concepts:

coming of age indie romcom soundtrack: cigeratte burns on film, a first kiss that tastes like beer and chapstick, and laughter falling on train tracks

not another coming of age soundtrack: red party cups and the never-ending feeling of nostalgia

Mother Nature reclaims: a soft apocalypse mix

tragedy in the dark: set in the 90's, you're driving at night on the highway, passing under street signs and street lights that illuminate your lovers tired face as they trace circles on your thigh

rise up!: (a futuristic teenage rebellion playlist) you live in a world full of holograms and plastic food, the government is corrupt and somewhere out there is a bunch of rebels that are fighting back

an angels kiss in spring: it’s the roaring 40′s and you hit the town in bold red lipstick, curled hair, flared dresses & traditional swing

a wispy field of sunshine: there's something alluring about falling in love under the sun, sipping on raspberry lemonade & kissing someone who tastes like chapstick

the air is fresh out here: i am lost beneath the earth; dirt and moss fill my lungs and i cough up ivy and rose petals as the trees whisper my name so soft, it gets caught in the wing of a butterfly floating by

3am dancing with my lover: fairylights are hung low around the kitchen, my lover has tired eyes full of wonder and we trip over our own two feet, laughter pumping our hearts alive

the last dancers at midnight: my prom could have been better so we're gonna visualise it like a teen romance movie; tired feet, starry eyes & a tender kiss under the disco ball in your high-schools' hall

even my phone misses your call: 'hey, this is [redacted] please leave your message after the beep!' 

you’re so nice to come home to: finally moving into a small apartment with your lover; succulents adorn the windowsills and you both have a love for vintage polaroids and dream catchers — a dreamers dream

I've been in love with you forever: best friends that live next door to each other & know one another like the back of their hand, connected windows, rooftop talks, sleepovers, & everything that comes along with we're best friends & i don't want that to change but i am definitely in love with you

found you in this life: my mother once told me that some of the people we meet in this life, we knew in a past life and it’s up to us to decide where it goes from here

raspberry stains: spring flings includes squashing raspberries between finger & thumb, and dancing under the sun

rollerskating disco rink fever: we're twelve years young & there's a disco ball highlighting our hair as we dance the night away & i'm pretty sure we've happened to scuff the linoleum floor

endless summer afternoon: hopping from shadow to shadow, blisters on our feet; summer, summer, summer!

summer ate me alive: and I want nothing more than to sleep through the next three seasons

ragtag band of misfits from the year ‘87: group of four trying to solve the murder mystery of their late best friend / everyone’s hiding something / he might be in love with the boy he’s known since childhood

[our hands are brushing against each other as we walk]: i want to slow dance with you in the middle of the street

hey, new kid!: its highschool and life is full of rumours and giggling girls & boys with sharp teeth and then english class rolls around ━━ and did the principal just introduce a new student?

🧚🏻‍♀️ specific concept playlists (mostly based on moments and emotions that I've experienced & can’t get over):

head’s a buzz!: stoned out of my mind, I'm pretty sure I met the girl of my dreams last night

 I should be sleeping: but i am walking aimlessly under street lights trying to forget your face, your taste, your voice; with vodka stained cheeks and chipped nail polish

pity party for two: the sudden realisation that the future is scary and we're two lost souls stuck in love with people who helped us grow

we’re under the same stars: It’s talking under the stars till the sun breaks through the trees with him, who makes your stomach ache full of laughter and although the wind is cold against your skin and the sleeping bag is thin, he burns just as brightly as the stars in the night sky, and you want to exist between 3 and 4am forever.

I fell in love for one night: he kissed my shoulder & held me tight

moments left unsaid: I love every part of you when it’s loud, when it’s silent, when you don’t know it at all (basically falling in love with your friends in the moment over the smallest of things like the way they dip their head back to laugh or hide their smile behind their hand or when they slow down waiting for you to catch up or pull you aside to ask if you’re doing okay, etc)

angel in disguise: can angels fall in love?

skate park shenanigans: I spent a the hours 8-11pm at a skatepark with my friends and we don’t even skate but this is the specific energy those hours gave off

you’re dreaming beside me: & I’m dreaming of you

how to be soft, sad & content at 4pm

I wish we could live forever: knowing someone you love is gonna die is the one of the hardest things you’re ever gonna witness

remember when we were in love?: 2015: yellow. open roads. a boy. a girl. my house. high school musical. clouds. stars. a pillow. sunflowers. beauty and the beast. skype calls. a bear. / 2017: a girl. blue, blue, blue. / 2019: a girl. a boy. picnics. skateboards. burgers. your house. an empty promise.

the pretty reckless: my friends fall in love too easily

the ceiling is staring back at me: it’s 1am and I'm thinking about everything and anything

me against the world, vol. 1

me & my apathetic brain: basically Russian roulette with I’ll die anyway by girl in red & just a girl by no doubt

🏳️‍🌈🌈 lgbt+ playlists:

this is for the gays!: for pride month 2019, gay bops to rock your socks to

all I see is her: girls r great!

we should fall in love or something: just kidding... haha... unless?

I don’t wanna b ur friend, I wanna kiss ur neck: yeah, it’s based off I wanna be your girlfriend by girl in red & also my ex but we’re gonna take the former

please look at me the same!: my bisexual teen angst

🦋🏹 ‘old groovy, 70′s, 80′s, 90′s etc music’ playlists:

butterfly dust: old time music that goes together

groovy, groovy: 70′s, 80′s, 90′s

lovestrucklovestruck: nothing goes wrong when you live in your head

she’s gold dipped & cherry wine kisses

funky glow

🥁🍒 genre specific playlists:

metamorphic: rock n roll

devils advocate: it’s like white noise before you enter hell (mostly ghostemane)

you’re not indie till: you skate, own a pair of hot converses, have good fashion taste, drink ice coffee and and and

monsters live amongst us: hiding in plain sight, the people we call our friends / a horror pop playlist

hazy affection: anxiety reducing songs and study beats

softly, sweetly: relax your eyes & dream of simpler times

bubblegum pop: the radio is overrated but here we are

glazed eyes, cherry skies

darkness looms overhead

magic under fingernails / under veins

state of mind: kinda like rap but not, definitely an easy listen to while stoned

moon rockets: fly me to outer space where we’ll become another star in the night sky.

dream & folk pop

my dreams reach the stars: my mind is far away from here / starry-eyed and captivated

local neighbourhood party: songs I'd bang my head to at a party

heavenly hymns

fluorescent heartbeats

take me away, into the night

if you see me listening to this, look away: literally Disney musicals mainly Disney’s descendants & zombies

autumnal breeze: a mix of bedroom pop & 80′s tunes

blueberry feelings: is this soundlcoud or tiktok?

untamed glory: the songs dont vibe together as well as they should but i guess thats ironic given the name of this mixtape

all strung up: my favourite female pop songs & then there's sunflower, vol. 6 by harry styles

candyfloss kisses: baby pop

and that’s on tiktok luv: literally what it says

candle lit afternoons: candles + rain = a gentle quiet in it’s purest form

tenderness: soft, quiet, yielding; murmurs at dusk & the playing of hair

my bed is the warmest place: for rainy days & the chill in your nose

🚀🍁🍓 playlists to listen to when your doing this specific thing:

classic picnic bitch: (cute songs that give me picnic vibes) and we bond over a pack of UNO cards and strawberry-filled desserts

beach bums, baby!: a beach-y playlist

hotboxing ur friends car: get high w/ me!

🥺💫🌞🌻🤩🐝 playlists to grow & fall in love with yourself to:

falling in love w/ myself !!!!!: I'm still learning how I work

then I defy you, stars!

seventeen: I made this when I was seventeen and getting over my first heartbreak and realising that I should never wait for people who can only give half back

no negative vibes here!

💌💖 my romance / love centred playlists:

dancing in my room to the sound of you, you, you (middle school crush vibes)

love cluster: and i guess there are lot of love songs out there but there are also a lot of songs that aren't about love that got me feeling like i'm in love so which is it

lovelorn: (a unrequited love playlist) and we yearn for the hearts we cannot hold; lovelorn, lovelorn, lovelorn

our love has gone cold: I love & I loved

whimsical lovers falling out of love

baby boy blues: fell in love for a day with a boy whose smile is contagious and ever-lasting

you gave me panic attacks & I called it love: unsure if you’re in an unhealthy relationship? leave them.

regret in the simplest of forms: I could have loved you / I think a small part of me did

my favourite ‘what if’: soulmates who weren’t meant to be

seeking love among cruel hearts: perhaps we were friends first and lovers second. but then perhaps this is what lovers are.

it’s a long way down from your window: everyone’s favourite secret relationship trope

heartbreak hotel

i’m yearning for his heart while he gives me his body: I love you, don’t you love me too?

make out w/ me?: songs I'd kill to make out with someone too

miss you forever: sad pop love letter

I liked you better in my dreams: the idea of them has taken root in your mind and it’s much different to how they really are

little bit in love with u: alterous attraction? we KNOW her

drowsy cacophony of love

tracing you back to the roots of my house: I'm sifting through the memories of us, where did we go wrong?

love; a choice or a feeling?: and it is both I suppose, it is a feeling, it’s happiness and soft giggles, faint blush. and then it is a choice, a choice to stay with them or leave. it is a choice to not only love them, but yourself too.

tenderly, tragically: this used to be a collab playlist with someone who loved me fully and unconditionally, things have changed since, but this is whats left; it's our story compiled into a playlist

second chance at love: you make me hard, but she makes me weak

lonely in love: (it was supposed to be just casual sex but fuck, I think I'm in love with you)

silent lovers: skinny love (n.) a type of love where two people are in love with each other but are too shy to admit it

my first love: they say your first love never dies, and love, they’re right

my lover is a liar: victim to broken promises and false truths by a boy who died when he gave me his heart

love locket type of love: I loved you in secret !!

the charms of love: don’t fall in love with the moment & think your in love with the girl! (yes, she’s american by the 1975 lyrics)

almost lovers

💸💄💅🏻⛓ playlists that give off bad bitch energy:

rich girl$: my cash flow will never ever end

kiss the boys n make em die!: femme fatale, girl revolution, girl power

GIRLS. FOOD. GEAR: loosely inspired by people by the 1975

girl, interrupted

you’re like a rhinestone pick-up line: picture this — a girl with a hard attitude that you can’t just seem to get off your mind

back on my bullshit: just got my heartbroken; revamped!

👻👽 my halloween inspired playlists:

hallohalloween: basic halloween playlist

 the fae know my name: humans beware the manic pixies & lip curling fae for although they don't lie they are cunning creatures with kind eyes!

frothy vampire chick meets soft green witch: red fanged lover & a green house full of potions, spells & succulents

sirens lament: sharp teeth hidden under a pretty face

murder at the casino: (in breaking news: monster hunters just cant seem to catch a break!)

the howling

witchy renaissance

fuckin vampires, man!

🥀 if I were series (playlists that only feature one artist based off something specific):

if I were to dance in a faerie ring to hozier songs: maybe I want to fall in love with a faerie and be under Hozier’s rule

if I were to live my teenage years to Lorde songs

if I were to get high by the beach to skeggs songs: BIG greening out energy

 if I were to fall in love to tom rosenthal songs: tom rosenthal songs that make me feel like I'm in love!!

if I were to reminisce about heartbreak to LANY songs:

Hogwarts Houses:

🌻 Hufflepuff

🥊 Gryffindor

🐍 Slytherin

📘 Ravenclaw

[thelastspeecher]

Superhero/villain AU - Baby Daddy Drama

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a ficlet!  I’ve been busy, haven’t had time to write up ficlets.  But I have a bit of a break right now, and since I won’t be posting the next chapter of Recoil until tomorrow (I decided I needed to edit it more), here’s some stuff I wrote up today.  I’ve danced around Tate’s role in the Superhero/villain AU, mostly because I couldn’t figure out the circumstances behind how he comes to be.  But I finally figured it out, so behold!  Tate McGucket’s origin story.

(Btw, I forgot to mention, but like in most of my nonsense, Fidds is trans in this)

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              “They’re down,” Stan said, walking into the living room. Ford looked up from his book.

              “Good.  That took a bit longer than usual.”

              “Eh.”  Stan joined Ford on the couch.  “Thanks for letting us chill at your place for a while.”

              “No problem.  May I ask why, though?”

              “Fidds had a baby today,” Stan said casually. Ford’s eyes widened.  “Angie went to go see him and the baby, but we figured that we’d wait a couple days before the girls met their new cousin.  They can be hell on wheels, after all.”  Ford chuckled.

              “That’s an apt descriptor of them, yes.”  Stan’s cellphone dinged.  He dug it out of his pocket.  “Is that an update from Angie?”

              “Yep.”  Stan grinned at his phone.  “And a picture.  Aw, that’s a cute kid.  Not as cute as the girls, y’know, but still.  Pretty damn-”  His phone chimed again.  Stan’s face went slack.

              “Stan?” Ford asked, after a few moments passed in silence.

              “Shit,” Stan whispered.  He looked up at Ford.  “Ford…”

              “Yes?”

              “You- uh- nine months ago, you and Fidds didn’t-” Stan rubbed his face.  Ford felt dread begin to build in his gut.  “You guys didn’t knock boots or something, did you?”

              “Wh- my sexual history is none of your concern,” Ford blustered, trying to mask his growing unease.  Stan pinched the bridge of his nose.

              “No, I think it is right now.  Fidds’ kid has twelve fingers.”  A heavy weight settled in Ford’s stomach.

              “Pardon?” he asked.  Stan silently handed him his phone.  Ford looked down at the messages Angie had sent.  The first was a picture of a newborn swaddled in a white blanket, with a large nose like Fiddleford’s and thick, dark brown hair.  Immediately after the picture was a text.

              “Tate here has twelve fingers…” Stan’s phone chimed and buzzed as another text arrived from Angie.  “Fidds won’t say who the other parent is, but I don’t need your mom’s power to figure it out.  You need to talk to Ford right away.”  Ford swallowed and returned Stan’s phone.

              “I didn’t even realize he was expecting.  He didn’t tell me.”

              “Why?  He told everyone else.”

              “I- when we-”  Ford looked away, feeling a flush beginning to creep onto his face.  “I was very…emotionally vulnerable that night. Maybe he was worried about how I’d react.”  Stan was silent.  “As for why he won’t tell anyone outright who helped to- to conceive-”

              “Seems pretty dumb, since it’s obvious,” Stan muttered.

              “I assume Lute is there?”

              “…Yeah.”

              “He probably wants to spare Lute’s feelings.” Ford looked at Stan again.  Stan rubbed his face.  “I mean…”

              “Okay, yeah, you and Lute used to date, which is…really awkward for all this, but Lute’s not an idiot, and Fidds knows that. Lute can figure it out.  Why the hell would he keep his mouth shut when it’s this obvious?”  A strange look crossed Stan’s face.  “…Ford.”

              “Yes?”

              “When did you and Lute break up?” Stan asked in a dangerous tone.

              “…Nine months ago.”

              “Son of a-”  Stan put his head in his hands.  “Please tell me that what I’m thinking is wrong.  Please tell me you didn’t rebound from my brother-in-law by sleeping with one of my other brothers-in-law.”

              “If I was good at lying, I would,” Ford said softly. Stan let out a loud groan. “Look-”

              “Okay, how soon after the breakup did you two sleep together?” Stan interrupted.  Ford was silent.  “Stanford.”

              “That night.”

              “That night?!”  Stan whipped his head up to stare at Ford.  “Holy fucking shit, really?  While Lute was crying over the breakup, sitting on my couch and eating my ice cream, you were banging his older brother?  Son of a bitch, Sixer, the McGuckets aren’t the only family with twiggy, big-nosed farm boys!”

              “I- Fiddleford was visiting, we were reminiscing about our college days, and-”  Ford looked down at his book, still open on his lap.  “Even though Lute and I parted on amicable terms, I was still emotionally vulnerable.  Fiddleford offered me comfort and one thing led to another and-”

              “You do realize he’s gonna kill you, right?” Stan asked flatly.  “The day you two broke up, you slept with his brother.  And you didn’t just sleep with his brother, you got his brother pregnant!”

              “I didn’t know about that last part!” Ford snapped, slamming his book shut.

              “That doesn’t make the rest of it hunky-dory!” Stan shot back.

              “You’re not exactly one to criticize me for who I sleep with!”

              “God fucking-”  Stan ran a hand through his hair, which was beginning to smoke.  “You are not gonna bring me and Angie into this!  We made a shitty decision, yeah, but it wasn’t half as shitty as yours!”

              “You were archnemeses!”

              “You slept with your ex-boyfriend’s older brother the day you broke up!” Stan thundered.  He shook his head.  “God, my three-year-old daughters can tell right from wrong, but I need to explain to you why what you did was bad?”

              “I just- I don’t hear any of this vitriol being sent Fiddleford’s direction,” Ford stammered.  He could feel himself running out of steam, guilt beginning to replace his rage.

              “Two things.  First, he’s not fucking here.  Second, he just had a baby.  I’ll wait for him to be out of the damn hospital before I yell at him.”

              “How considerate,” Ford muttered.  Stan’s eyes narrowed.

              “Don’t get cute with me.”  He jabbed a finger at Ford’s chest.  Ford winced.  Stan was worked up enough that his powers were emerging; the jab felt like it was from a red-hot fire poker.  “You’re the one that fucked up here.  You couldn’t keep it in your pants long enough for the dust to settle from your breakup.  You and Fidds.  Lute’s not gonna be happy about this.”

              “You’re not going to tell him, are you?” Ford asked. Stan scowled.

              “Hell no.  But it doesn’t matter.  Underneath that blustery, overprotective twink exterior, Lute’s just as smart as Angie and Fidds.  He’ll be able to figure it out.  And he’s gonna be hurt.”  Ford felt his chest ache.  “He’s gonna be hurt that the ex-boyfriend he loved so much and parted on such good terms with slept with his brother.  And he’s gonna be hurt that his brother – the one he’s stood up for his whole life – would sleep with his ex-boyfriend.”  Ford slumped against the couch.  “He’s gonna use that anger of his to hide how much this whole thing hurts him.  He was so damned excited to have a new nephew to spoil, and now he knows how that nephew was made.”  Stan looked away.  “Lute and I might have started off rough, but we’re good now.  I’m not gonna be on your side this time.”  Stan stood up.  “I’m gonna take the girls and head home.”

              “But you just got them to nap.”

              “I don’t wanna be anywhere near you when Lute comes to your door demanding answers,” Stan said.  His voice was devoid of emotion.  “I sure don’t want my kids around.”  Stan’s phone chimed again.  Stan looked down at it.  His face hardened.  “Yep.”

              “What?” Ford asked weakly.  Stan shoved his phone in his pocket.

              “Lute figured it out.  He’s on his way.”

              “How bad-”

              “Count yourself lucky that he needs Angie’s help to make tornadoes.”  Stan began to head towards the room his daughters were napping in.  “You might wanna invest in some scuba gear, though.”

----- 

              The door opened to reveal Fiddleford, dressed in baggy clothes, a towel tossed over one shoulder.  Fiddleford rubbed the bags under his eyes.

              “I was expectin’ you at some point,” he said tiredly. Ford swallowed.

              “May- may I come in?”

              “By all means.”  Fiddleford stood to the side, allowing Ford to enter.  Ford had visited Fiddleford’s home a few times.  Each time, it had been somehow both cluttered and clean; every single one of the many pieces of machinery tucked away on some shelf or in a drawer somewhere.  Now, though, it was a mess.  Empty boxes for various baby-related items lined the hallway leading to the door.  In the far-off living room, Ford could see baby clothes and toys scattered on the floor.

              “How- how are you doing?” Ford asked softly as he stepped inside.  Fiddleford closed the door behind him with a shaky laugh.

              “I’ve got no clue how Stan ‘n Angie managed to deal with two at once.”  A shadow fell over Fiddleford’s face.  “Then again, no one in the fam’ly was just pretendin’ to be nice when they helped out with Danny ‘n Daisy.”

              “What do you mean?”

              “My folks are here,” Fiddleford said in a low voice. Ford’s mouth went dry.  “They wanted to stop by fer a couple days to help. And…well…once word spread about Tate’s parentage…”  Fiddleford trailed off.  “They’re goin’ easy on me right now, ‘cause I’m still a bit vulnerable.  But once I’m back to normal, I wouldn’t be surprised if my whole garden up and died, or if a freak windstorm dinged up the house.” Fiddleford sighed.  “Honestly, I wish they’d be upfront about their frustration. It’d be better than this fake cheerfulness.”

              “This seems rather…harsh,” Ford ventured cautiously. Fiddleford slumped against the wall, rubbing his face.

              “I wonder if their reactions would be dif’rent if we weren’t a fam’ly of villains.  The ‘no snitches, no traitors’ code runs deep.  And I’ve betrayed Lute.”  Fiddleford’s voice broke.  “My own brother.”

              “How is he?” Ford asked.  Fiddleford shook his head.

              “If I knew, I’d tell ya.  Within about five minutes of seein’ Tate up close, he stormed out.  Haven’t seen him since.  He’s- Lute ‘n Angie are awful sim’lar.  They struggle to keep their emotions under wraps, ‘specially in the heat of the moment. I get the feelin’ Lute knows he wouldn’t be able to control his powers if he spent time with me or Tate.  He might be fine if I got a bit scratched up, but he wouldn’t want Tate to get caught in the crossfire.”

              “It doesn’t help that Lute tends to use anger to mask his more vulnerable emotions.”

              “No.  It doesn’t.” Fiddleford bit his lip.  Finally, he let out a long sigh.  “Well, no point in delayin’ it.  Come meet the lil Tater Tot.”  Ford silently followed Fiddleford down the hall and into the living room. Mrs. McGucket sat in a rocking chair, holding a small bundle, while Mr. McGucket was tidying the room.  Mr. McGucket looked up at the sound of footsteps. His face twisted.

              “You!” he snarled, stomping over to Ford.  “Get out!”

              “Mr. McGucket, I just-”

              “Leave!  You broke my son’s heart and then broke it again!  Lute’s been devastated by this.”  Mr. McGucket shook his head.  “Can’t believe I was naïve enough to think that Stan would be the problem of the two of ya.”

              “Mr. McGucket-”

              “No arguin’, boyo.  Yer not welcome in this place.  Not after what you’ve done.”

              “Pa,” Fiddleford interjected.  “This is my home.  I let Stanford in.  He can stay until I kick him out.”  Mr. McGucket glared at Fiddleford.  The venom in his expression startled Ford.

              “If Lute hears-”

              “Mearl,” Mrs. McGucket said, still rocking back and forth in her chair.  “Stanford has a right to meet his son.”

              “Th-” Ford started.

              “Don’t thank me,” Mrs. McGucket said shortly. “Then I’d have to say you were welcome. And you aren’t.”  Ford’s body filled with ice at her vicious tone.  She got up from the chair and strode over. As she got closer, Ford could feel harsh, dry, hot wind biting where his skin was exposed.  Fiddleford looked at his mother, exasperated.

              “Ma.  Please cut that out.”

              “Hmph.”  Mrs. McGucket pursed her lips into a straight line, but the wind stopped.  “Hold out yer arms.”  Ford did as he was told.  Mrs. McGucket carefully deposited the bundle she was holding into his arms.  Ford felt his heart begin to race.  He carefully parted the infant’s bangs to reveal his eyes. Tate stared stoically at him, his eyes brown, rather than Fiddleford’s blue.

              “Hello, Tate,” Ford croaked.  Mr. and Mrs. McGucket exchanged a frustrated look before turning away and marching out of the room.  Ford swallowed the sudden lump in his throat.  “Fiddleford, I’m sorry that your parents are-”

              “We’re both to blame,” Fiddleford said.  He stroked Tate’s cheek with one finger.  “I refuse to let ya bear it all on yer own.” His voice was thick with emotion. Ford could only nod, unable to speak, the weight of everything that was happening finally crashing over him in full.

              “He’s very- he’s very handsome,” Ford managed, still staring at Tate.

              “I agree,” Fiddleford said softly.  Tate yawned widely.  Despite himself, Ford smiled.  He held out a finger.  Tate eagerly grabbed it with his hand.

              His six-fingered hand.  Ford had known Tate had twelve fingers like him, but actually seeing it in person was more than he could bear.  He let out a choked sob.

              “You all right?” Fiddleford asked.  Ford shook his head.  “What’s wrong?”

              “Well, my ex-boyfriend flooded my house, my sister-in-law refuses to let me in her house, my twin brother is following her lead, and the relationship I built with my sister-in-law’s family is crumbling.  And all of it is because of the conception and birth of my son.”  Ford closed his eyes.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

              “I hoped it wouldn’t be obvious whose he was,” Fiddleford said.  “I thought I might be able to get away with no one suspecting a thing.”

              “Polydactyly is dominant.  There was a 50% chance he’d be like me.”

              “And 50% chance he wouldn’t.”

              “I just- you were really going to keep me in the dark?” Ford asked softly.  “About my son?  You expected to raise him as a single parent, never telling me whose he was?”

              “I hadn’t planned that far ahead.  All’s I planned was keepin’ it a secret from Lute fer a while. Maybe until he’d found himself a new main squeeze.”

              “What if I had gotten back together with Lute? What then?”

              “I…”  Fiddleford looked away.  “Like I said. I didn’t plan nearly as far in advance as I should have.  I just wanted to keep Lute from gettin’ upset like he did.”

              “No matter how long you held off telling him, he would have been upset,” Ford pointed out.  Fiddleford sighed.

              “Yer right.”  He rubbed his forehead.  “All I can hope for now is that he cools off a bit.  Give the sit’ation some time, and maybe I can build up a relationship with him again.”  Tate began to fuss loudly.  “He’s prob’ly hungry.”

              “Oh.”  Ford handed Tate to Fiddleford.  “I- I should probably go.  I have some work to do at my mom’s place.”  Fiddleford cocked his head curiously.  “She was the only person willing to take me in while my house gets repaired.”

              “Ah.”

              “Even still, she’s pissed at me.  Stan told her what happened.”  Ford rubbed his forehead.  “It feels a bit like it’s just me against the world right now.  And rightfully so.”

              “I’ve been feelin’ the same way m’self,” Fiddleford said softly.  He took a hold of Ford’s hand and squeezed it.  “Don’t worry.  It might take a while, but things’ll blow over soon.”

              “Easy enough for you to say.  Aerokinesis runs in your family,” Ford said.  Fiddleford managed a small smile.  On impulse, Ford leaned over to kiss Tate’s forehead. “Goodbye, Tate.  I look forward to spending more time with you.”  Tate stopped fussing for a moment to stare at him in shock.  Fiddleford chuckled softly.

              “I think he’s lookin’ forward to it, too.”

[therainroguefanfiction]

🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ Chapter 038 [Wildest Fantasies]

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Backward

Word Count: 3,240

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〈“If you ever need somebody, even if all your tiles fall down, If you even need somebody, even when all your hope runs out, If you ever need somebody, I believe, I believe, I believe in you.” The Score, “Believe”〉

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

“Nice work,” Aizawa told us. “You have the next two days of school off to recuperate. I’m sure the pros that watched the festival will want to recruit some of you. We’ll look over the draft forms and update you when you return. Get some rest, you still have a lot of training.”

“Yes, sir!”

I glanced over at Iida’s empty desk. After the awards ceremony had ended, I caught up with Zuku and asked him about what had happened. He was hesitant to tell me, but finally revealed that Iida’s older brother, Ingenium, had been attacked. He didn’t know much more than that, but the fact that Iida left the sports festival prematurely spoke volumes.

A hand slammed down on my desk, breaking me from my thoughts. Katsuki was shaking with anger, the first place metal still clutched between his teeth. I raised a brow, “You look like a feral dog, bro. Are you up to date on your shots?”

“Shut up!” He spat the medal out onto the desk and slammed his hand down again. “Your dumbass was disqualified! You said you didn’t get in trouble, you fucking liar!”

I hummed, leaning back in my chair. “I didn’t lie, dipshit. I said I had to apologize, which I did, but I never said that was all. Which reminds me, I’m supposed to apologize again.” I stood up, throwing my shoulder bag over my head before patting his shoulder. “Grats on winning first place, Katsuki~” His body tensed up and he grumbled something under his breath, but I couldn’t make out what it was he said.

Class B was buzzing with chatter about the day’s events, but it died down as soon as they noticed me in the doorway. This school has a serious fucking staring problem. I huffed in annoyance before approaching Monoma, who sat in the same spot as Zuku. His eyes widened a bit when I stopped in front of him. To be honest, I had planned on just apologizing and leaving, but with everyone staring fucking holes into my body, I’m feeling a bit, uh… well, I don’t fucking like it one bit.

“Come with me for a minute,” I demanded, jabbing my thumb toward the door. He hesitated before standing up and grabbing his bag. I caught Ryuu’s eye on the way out and he sent me a worried smile. Guess I can’t blame him for not trusting me anymore. I brought the blonde to the stairway, waiting for two girls to finish their descent before speaking up. “I’m sorry for punching you, bro.”

His brow furrowed, eyes guarded. “You already apologized once. Huh, I guess class A really has no pride!”

I shrugged. “Midnight said I had to apologize again and I don’t wanna face the cruelty she promised if I don’t. Later.”

“Wait,” he grabbed my wrist before I could walk away, but quickly let go when I narrowed my eyes at him. He cleared his throat, meeting my eyes. “I may hate class 1-A, but I’m not a snitch. I didn’t tell anyone that you hit me, and neither did Rin or Kendo.”

My brow furrowed as he walked away. I know he’s telling the truth, but then… how the fuck did Midnight find out it was me? Was someone else there that we didn’t see? I rubbed the back of my head. What a pain.

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I stifled a yawn as I slid the chicken breast into the boiling oil, hearing the sizzle as they started to cook. Honestly, I feel so fucking exhausted, I just want to go die on the couch, but I need food first. Plus, Aizawa still can’t do anything with those arms of his and if I make him a delicious meal, maybe he won’t punish me as hard over the whole punching thing. Hell, if it’s good enough, he might forget altogether!

The front door creaked open, followed by a loud, familiar voice that made me groan. “Your students are crazy, Shota! They totally rocked the show today!”

“You’re too loud,” Aizawa grunted. “You’re gonna wake Jen up.”

Aww, he really does care!

“Hey hey, what’s that delicious smell?!” Mic stuck his head in the kitchen, his face lighting up. “Jen, my beautiful girl!” He rushed me, trying to throw his arms around me but I sidestepped and he slammed his face into the cabinet above the counter. Heh, that’s what you get for being so tall, fecker. “Ow~”

“I figured you’d be asleep…” Aizawa regarded me curiously from the doorway.

“Should be, but it is my job to take care of you until you’re all healed up, ya know.” I wagged my finger.

“Aww, she loves you!” Mic cooed, reaching out for my cheek but I slapped his hand away. Why’s this fucker gotta be so damn touchy?

“No, she doesn’t.” He responded blankly, settling down at the kitchen table. “She’s trying to butter me up so I don’t punish her.”

I winced, forcing a smile. “I would never do such a thing, Shouta~”

“Don’t pretend to be nice, it’s creepy.”

“Fucking rude, bro.”

“Let Mic finish the food. That’s the only reason I brought him here.”

“Hey! I thought you enjoyed my company!” Mic cried out.

“You thought wrong.”

I laughed when Mic cried out again, turning toward the chicken and poking it with a fork like a sad little kid. “You guys are so mean~”

“Sit down,” Aizawa ordered, staring me down. I hesitated but sat beside him. “Midnight told me why you were disqualified. You know better, Jen.”

I scowled, slouching down in my chair and crossing my arms. “It’s not my fault, Zawa. Today has been the longest, most draining day of my entire life. Even worse than that time Travis brought a fucking llama to show in tell only for the administration to ban fucking llamas. I mean, who does that? Llamas are majestic as fuck and they deserve to be treated with respect!”

“Uh, Shouta, what the heck is she talkin’ about?”

“I have no clue.”

“Anyway, if my life were a book, today alone would take up like thirteen chapters. Thirteen chapters, Aizawa! That’s insane.”

“Pretty sure you’re the insane one, darling.” Mic commented.

“Hey,” I glared at him. “Focus on the fucking chicken you damned cockatiel.”

“You gave me a nickname?! I knew you loved me!”

“Fuck off!”

Aizawa sighed, clearly done with both of us. “Did you apologize to Monoma?”

“Twice.”

“Good. The next two days are going to be pure hell for you. I hope you’re prepared, Jen.”

I swallowed hard, a bead of sweat rolling down my cheek. “W-What are you talkin’ about, Zawa?”

“Did you really think I wouldn’t punish you?” He deadpanned. “As punishment, you’ll be training non-stop during your two days off from school.”

“Oh come on, that’s so not fai -” My words died in my throat at the challenging look he sent me, his eyes daring me to finish the word so he could spew the same lecture about how life is full of unfairness get over it. Instead of replying, I let my forehead drop to the table with a thud, the table shaking from the impact.

I really hate my life sometimes.

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I huffed and puffed, but I didn’t blow the house down, don’t even worry about it. I leaned over, resting my hands on my knees as my lungs burned, my side feeling like I was ripping open stitches with every deep breath I took. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, the sky lighting up with shades of orange and red. True to his fucking word, Aizawa had woken me up at three-fucking-thirty in the morning to run around the city.

“Get moving,” Zawa’s voice buzzed through the earpiece he had forced me to wear to ensure that I was, in fact, carrying out my punishment. The damn thing gave him real-time updates as to my location and if I was moving or not and if I stopped to catch my breath for too long, he’d bitch at me to get moving.

I groaned in frustration and started to run again. I wonder if I can stick this fuckin’ thing on a dog and just spend the rest of the day napping in the park. If he found out I did that, though, he’d double what he’s already making me do. Man, this sucks. What’s Katsuki doing right now? What about Zuku? Or Todo –

“Fuck!” I fell backward, clutching my forehead that had just collided with another. “Watch where the fuck you’re going, you fuck – Oh, hey Todoroki.”

His brow was furrowed, hand on his own forehead as he sat on the ground across from me. “Winchester…”

“Sorry,” I grunted, pulling myself to my feet before extending my hand to him. “Wasn’t paying attention.”

“It’s okay,” he slipped his hand into mine and I pulled him up.

“What are you doing out and about so early?”

“I’m… going to go see my mom.”

“Hmm, I see.” I smiled, ruffling his hair. “Be safe on your way, Todo.”

“Please wait…” His slim fingers curled around my wrist, stopping me from leaving.

I raised a brow at him. If I don’t get moving soon, Aizawa’s gonna bitch at me again and every time he does, he adds five more minutes to the total time that I’m meant to be running. Still, what if what he wants to say is important? Ahh, fuck choices. “What’s up?”

“What was… the technicality that stopped you from fighting me?” He questioned, his heterochromatic eyes meeting mine.

“Ah, that. I punched a guy from class B.” I grinned. “Totally fucking worth it, but after seeing you fight Zuku, I was disappointed. Though I guess it doesn’t matter, you wouldn’t have used your flames against me, huh?”

He tilted his head, bangs swaying against his forehead. “You wanted to fight me?”

“Well, not at first, no. I thought it would be a pain.” I scratched my cheek. “But damn, those flames of yours are fucking beautiful.” I lifted up my hand, flames dancing across my palm as I molded them to look like a Sparrow. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my flames, they’re a part of who I am, ya know? But… I don’t know, there’s just something mesmerizing about yours.”

His cheeks dusted pink and he shifted his gaze to the side. “No one has ever said that to me before…”

I chuckled as Zawa scolded me through the earpiece, telling me to stop lazing around. “Listen, Todoroki, don’t let that flame fuck of a father determine how you live your life. Zuku was completely right when he said it’s your power. Using it doesn’t make you him, it doesn’t make you like him, and it doesn’t mean you’re giving into him. It’s a part of who you are, don’t run away from that.”

It was small, but he did smile. “Thank you, Winchester…”

I grinned, ruffling his hair. “If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to us, okay? No need to keep that shit bottled up when you have us. Now, get going and say hi to your mum for me~” With a wave, I continued my jog.

I still have no fucking idea why my mother chose to become a hero and I probably never will, but that’s okay. It took me a while to figure it out, but I finally found my reason to fight, to go on with this new life I’ve been given. I want to get stronger and master this quirk so I can protect class A and help them reach their goals and achieve their dreams. I’ve decided that I’ll be the one on the sidelines, lifting them up every time they fall and encouraging them to keep moving forward. That will be my purpose in this life. At least for now.

It probably sounds stupid and some people might not consider it a real goal or a valid reason to become a hero, but it’s what my heart wants and no matter what you try, you just can’t deny that fucker. More than anything, I want those kids to smile and be happy as they chase after what their hearts desire.

Gramps gave his entire life to me, even though we weren’t related by blood. He could have so easily just transferred me to that new world and left me, but he didn’t. He gave up everything so I could grow up with love and support. I couldn’t do anything to repay him, to save him from his fate, so I’ve decided that I’ll pay it forward instead and show these kids the same kindness, love, and support that he showed me. And this time? This time I won’t let the life be ripped from the people I love.

I grinned as a feeling of warmth radiated against my chest, pushing my legs harder as I ran toward the sun, rising higher into the sky.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

At twelve-thirty, Aizawa gave me permission to take a break for lunch. Naturally, I headed straight for Shimatsu Tacos. The building itself is kinda small, wedged between a flower shop and a used bookstore, but the place was feckin’ crowded like an amusement park, people hanging around outside the building as they waited for people to clear out from inside. Shit, if I wait in this damn line, I’ll have to start running again before I can even make it to the counter to place my fucking order.

With a scowl, I ducked under the arm holding the door open and squeezed my way through the throng of people, feeling like I was on the fucking subway. It was loud inside, chatter mixing with the yells of the chefs as they called out completed orders. I’m not claustrophobic but hot damn, I might just fucking be after I leave this place. I squeezed my way toward the counter, eyes locking on the back of the next guy in line. He’s tall and lanky with spikey black hair. Here’s to hoping he’s a nice guy. Not like a nice guy, but a genuine one.

I tapped his shoulder to get his attention and he turned his head. Holy fucksticks, what happened to this dude? His chin, neck, ears, and the skin under his eyes were badly scarred and burnt, the skin purple and wrinkled, with metal staples connecting the marred flesh to the rest of his milky complexion. Metal rings covered the orbital of both ears and three small studs pierced his right nostril. Half-lidded turquoise eyes met my own. Quirks are fuckin’ weird, man.

“Hey, I’m kinda in a hurry, do you mind if I cut in front of you?” I asked, glancing at the wall. Fifteen minutes had already passed by.

“Why should I?” he drawled.

“I’ll pay for your fucking food,” I scowled as the cashier called the next person in line.

“Deal,” he grinned, stepping aside so I could approach the counter.

“Good afternoon!” The woman smiled. “What would you like to order?”

“Five soft shell and a large Dr. Pepper,” I pulled out my wallet, using my other hand to wave at the man behind me. “And whatever he wants.”

He stepped up behind me, his natural warmth strong enough that it seeped through his clothes and mine. “Twelve hard shell, add lettuce.”

“Lettuce, really? You’re distorting the perfection that is a meat and cheese taco, you fuck!” I scowled.

“Lettuce is good for you, doll.”

I clicked my tongue, holding up my finger. “False! The lettuce used in most tacos is shredded Iceberg, which offers zero nutritional benefits. You’re basically just eating water.”

“Why do you know what?”

“At my old school, they tried to force the students to eat an Iceberg salad with every meal. That shit’s pretty disgusting, so I did some research and told the principal off. They stopped forcing us to eat it after that.”

“Umm,” the woman sweatdropped. “I-Is that all?”

I looked at the ravenette expectantly and he rolled his eyes before addressing her. “No lettuce.”

She nodded, typing away at the register. “That comes to a total of $20.50, please.”

“Fuck you’re expensive,” I scowled at him and he grinned, giving me a half-shrug.

“Wait a minute, Cleo.” A hand rested on her shoulder, stopping her from taking my money. “It is you, kid!”

I grinned at the man standing behind her. “Yo, Ojin!”

He smiled brightly before addressing the confused cashier. “Cancel the transaction, this one is on the house!” He then waved his hand, indicating that we should follow him to the back of the shop so we didn’t hold up the line. The ravenette seemed reluctant to follow but did so while keeping his distance. “Sorry I couldn’t stick around for the end of the festival, my phone was blowing up because of you!”

“Heh?” I tilted my head in confusion.

He swung his arm out in front of him. “This crowd? It’s your doing, kid! To be completely honest with you… if things didn’t turn around soon, we’d have had to close down and sell the building, but because you wore our band during the sports festival, we’ve been slam-packed with customers!”

I grinned brightly at this information. “I’m glad to hear that, Ojin. Sorry that I didn’t make it farther.”

“Nonsense, you did great!”

“Boss! Mrs. Shiozaki is calling again!” A man stuck his head out of the kitchen.

“Be right there!” Shimatsu patted my shoulders roughly. “You have my eternal gratitude for saving my father’s business, Jen Winchester. You’re always welcome to eat here for free!”

F-F-Free tacos for life?! Oh my fucking god, I think I’m gonna pass out. Midnight was fucking right, my wildest fucking fantasy just came true. I can die in peace now.

Once Shimatsu was back in the kitchen, the ravenette shifted from his position against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. “That happy expression on your face is making me want to vomit.”

“Green ain’t a good color on you, bro.” I tsked. “Don’t hate, appreciate.”

He rolled his eyes, but I didn’t miss the subtle tug of his lips as he held back a smile. “You got me, I’m totally jealous of you, doll.”

The earpiece buzzed, “Time’s up, Jen. Get to it.”

“Goddamn it,” I muttered. Come on, just gimme a few more fucking minutes you damned mummy.

“Here you are!” A young man approached us, holding out a plastic bag with the shop’s name written on it and my large drink. I thanked him and we squeezed our way out of the shop, finally able to breathe properly. I made him hold my drink as I pulled my five from the bag, holding them gingerly between my forearm and chest, light enough that I didn’t squish them but heavy enough that they didn’t wiggle free. I handed him the bag and he returned my drink, rubbing his wet hand on his jeans.

“Later, bruh.” I lifted my drink in a sort of mock wave before turning around.

“Hey, doll.” He paused, his eyes shining. “Thanks.”

I grinned. “Always happy to share the love of a taco. Later, Patchy.” I continued on my way, doing this sort of speed walk mixed with a jog as I tried to inhale my food while balancing the drink and avoiding pedestrians that refused to get the fuck out my way.

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▸ Forward

📜 Read more by checking out my masterlist 📜

[soaringlanddormitory]

“  you can stay with me.  ” - Kei & Manami, “  what did you want to show me?  ” - Yuriko/Moe, “  hush, i’m trying to kiss you.  ” - Hanako/Kaoru; If that’s alright ; w ;

Yes! Of course, mama!! Definitely alright! I hope you like it though!! Sorry if it took some time! Also I got King [ @nightcrownsking​ ] to contribute a bit because he wanted to! 

Kei, Moe and Hanako belong to @polar-stars​!!

Also Keiko belongs to @polar-star-dorks!!

Kei/Manami

One of those other days where she had to face someone who underestimated her passion, believing she only stayed because she had her two older brothers with her. People who bullied her normally pointed out her lack of ability which was false, but she was never able to handle all these words well. She ended up gripping her box tightly, her arms shaking and it caused her to grip the box too hard--- causing some cookies to fall as the group of people only mocked her louder. They pointed out that she was weak, that she was fragile, that she couldn't compare to her siblings--- and she believed they were right. She bit her lips, some tears streaming down her face as she couldn't find a way to escape when she was in the middle of a circle--- around her were some of her batchmates, who accused her of not staying by talent but by family bias.

"Awww Kuga, don't start crying now! If your eyes turn red and puffy, you'll only further realize that you're only existing in Totsuki because of your siblings!" One female insulted, flicking the bells on her hair and she backed away a bit as she did. "You see, this shows how dependent you are with them! You're so freaking pathetic that it's annoying! Speak up for yourself! Unless your voice belongs to your two brothers too." She stuck her tongue out at her and Manami only ended up staring at her own two feet, not knowing how to build up words to make the people around her leave. "Look at her! She's being the same old Kuga again! I wonder why she even is in the same year as-"

The door was banged open, angry steps coming in as the people who surrounded her jumped in shock. They turned their heads to spot an Eizan. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU ALL DOING?!" A yell came from him, clearly angered. They only blinked at his reaction, and he brisk walked to one of them before holding them by the collar. "Stop being such assholes to her! She did nothing wrong! Unless you want to fucking fight?" He growled and the small crows only began backing away. The last person they want to mess with is someone from the Eizan family, and it didn't help that this boy had rings on his fingers that can clearly break skin if he punched hard enough, and if he did it right. "Get the fuck out!" He threatened them again, but they only left because they'd rather not be an enemy of the Eizans, not because of fear.

"Kei-chi..." The girl finally spoke after those few minutes of hell. Her eyes still being teary, and she ended up hugging him tightly, her head resting on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I probably disturbed you from what you were doing... I'm sorry for wasting your time..." She ended up crying things which she would have also cried about if it were her brothers... She always has felt a nuisance, especially when her bullies added up as she stayed in Totsuki longer. She didn't like this at all, but she never knew how to talk back when her mind processed that they were right. She wanted to think differently, but her mind made her believe that what they said were true.

She only got more quiet as the male ended up accepting her hug, even ruffling his hair. He felt pretty awkward at first because he still wasn't used to affection, but this was all thrown out the window so he could comfort her. "It's okay. You don't need to apologize either... Those bastards are supposed to be the ones fucking apologizing!" He argued and he only felt the girl hug him tighter. "None of this is your fault, they're just being bitches." Kei scowled as he just noticed how she actually dropped the box so she could hug him. He only began frowning, noticing her efforts went into waste... There were still cookies inside the box, right? He'd fucking eat it even if they were cracked by now.

A few minutes passed and this only ended up with her finally being at ease. She removed her head from his shoulder before giving a brief smile at him. "Thank you..." Instead of burying him with another set of apologies, she decided to thank him instead. He always did prefer hearing that instead of a sorry when she truly wasn't at fault... Which it never was. She didn't do anything to ever make him upset, and that was the truth. He only noticed how her smile grew wider, and she began picking up the box which fell. "Too bad most cookies are cracked already... I was supposed to give them to the Elite Ten members but... no one would enjoy how messy it looks now..."

Kei shrugged his shoulders before he began picking up the cookies that fell on the floor, looking at the cracked designs and saw how much was wasted because of those people. "Yeah, it might be cracked, but we can still eat the ones in the box together." He said this and her face began lighting up again. "You can stay with me." He continued, a blush appearing on his cheeks. "I don't really have anything better to do, and we can go to my house if that would help you be happier." He noticed how she jumped in happiness, a smile very evident om her face. He couldn't help but smile back slightly as she began cheering.

"I'm totally down for that, Kei-chi! I'd love that!" She exclaimed to him and he only nodded his head, knowing that it was his own idea. It was a success! She seemed to be happy again. She got the cookies that fell on the floor from him before throwing the broken pieces in the trash can, but since there were some that were still clean... They can totally eat that instead! "Thank you for staying with me and being my friend!" She went next to him again, revealing the cookies inside the little box she carried with her. "Let's eat this together as we walk!"

"Alright... When we arrive home, let's build the best fucking house in Minecraft."

"Yes! Let's do that!"

Yuriko/Moe

The duo was established ever since they met through the NGM. It truly was a great experience to be a part of it, and they even became close friends. Takashi and Keiko decided to go somewhere together after the meeting with Dai, who was the teacher that was with them with almost every discussion. As of now, Dai was looking at the test results of his students, before he smiled at the people who were left in the room. "Yuriko-chan, Moe-chan, you may go now!" He clasped his hands together. "We've already talked about our amazing sightings so the meeting is now over! Unless you two have something else to talk about, hm?"

Moe blinked at this topic, not really having anything in mind. After a few seconds, she shook her head, signalling she had nothing else in mind. While the other just leaned on her chair before crossing her legs. She was trying to think of any problems or ideas she had to tell her teacher... To be fair, the teacher who she was closest to would most likely be Dai so he was already used to her random rants or vents about almost anything. But for today... she didn't really have anything to say. She winked before giggling. "Don't really have any topics, Adachi-sensei~! But I will be sure to tell you if I have anything that comes in mind!" She declared and Dai only chuckled.

"Alright you two, if there really isn't anything else, you may leave now! I have to fix these papers up." He placed the papers down on his desk. "But be sure to update me if there is something that happens!" He was really a fun teacher, and the two believed that. They both stood up, but Yuriko proceeded to carry Moe up and Dai waved at them. "Have a nice day, you two! May the ships be in your favor!" Once the door closed, he began holding his pen again before chuckling to himself. "Hope my acting was good enough, I hope she enjoys the surprise." In a split second, slid a drawer open to bring out an album.

"Where are we going?" Moe asked Yuriko, her face still expressionless despite the curiosity she felt. Yuriko did carry her a lot, but she would tell her where they were going when she did. This was one of the few times she didn't even say a thing. Yuriko began humming happily before she placed one of her hands on her hips. Moe tilted her head to the side, still not grasping on what she wanted to tell her. To her surprise, she was only spun around by Yuriko as she continued lifting her up.

"I would have to show you something! So we're going to my house!" She finally answered her question and Moe nodded. She might have no idea why they were going there, bur at least she had an idea on where they were exactly going. "Hinata is there too, and he probably prepared some chocolate and waffles! Trust me, you'll love it!" She began boasting about her brother and Moe listened to what she said. Unlike Yuriko, Moe didn't really have a biological brother before the universes combined. But someone did act as if they were older brother! To her, that was enough. She always heard Yuriko talking about her brother, so hearing about it always made her interested. Likewise, Yuriko absolutely loved hearing about the sisters of Moe.

"Yuriko senpai." She started to converse with her, and Yuriko only faced her, wanting to know what she has to say. "You really do love your brother."

"Of course I do, and I love you as a little sibling too."

Moe felt happy in the inside, but no smile was seen on her face. Instead, her eyes shone bright and it expressed how happy she was when Yuriko said that. Yuriko has always been the big sister figure to the NGM, and probably even to some people in her universe. "Moe-moe loves you as an older sister." She had to tell her she felt the same and the female she told this to basically squealed at those words and began bragging about how great Moe was and how she truly was an example of cuteness. Once again, Moe just faced her with sparkles in her eyes, enjoying every moment of it. However, when they finally arrived in her house, Yuriko gently placed her down and Moe only began wondering why they were there again. "What did you want to show me?"

Hinata opened the door before staring at the two. "I said I wanted to die 13 times before you arrived, but everything is prepared."

"Thank you for being so kind~!"

"Prepared?"

Hinata made the door open further before he pointed at the living room. "Happy Moe Got A Good Grade Day...? I don't know, but my sister said it is a congratulations party."

She ended up seeing Takashi blowing balloons and Keiko popping the party poppers from inside the living room. Even Dai was there with a bunch of albums which he carried with both arms. Her eyes widened and she noticed that there was a gift given by Yuriko. "Here is what I was going to show you! A party! Oh and a bonus! The whole NGM and Adachi-sensei decided to buy you a couple of ballerina and panda keychains!" A wide grin was seen on everyone's faces besides Hinata who brisk walked to the kitchen to get the sweets ready, and Moe who was currently covering her lips with the box that was given to her. Was she smiling? Who knows? But she did love every single bit of it!

"We're proud of you, Moe!" Keiko released yet another party popper and Takashi breathed heavily as he finally finished blowing all the balloons.

"Yeah! Very proud!" In between of inhales and exhales, he got to say those words.

"Of course, I am too! As a teacher, seeing students' success always makes me happy. So I snapped a couple of pictures, and I got some people to help!"

Moe was still hiding her lips behind the box, but she only stared at each one of them before saying she wanted to say the moment she realized what was going on. "Thank you."

Hanako/Kaoru

Late night car rides wasn't new to them. It was a common thing for Kaoru to give her a ride home when she ends up attending any kind of seminar, or when she worked too late. It was kind of him to do so, she thought. No matter his schedule, he always made time for her and made sure that he was there for her. He didn't care about how long he waited because seeing her was always something that made the waiting worth it. At that moment, Hanako was on the front seat. She rested her head on the side, having a nap to at least gain back the energy that she lost after having a busy day. Usually, they would talk until she was brought back home, but this day was tiring than the rest.

He didn't mind at all. Her face was pretty even when she was asleep, but the cute factor was added if that was even possible. He just found her sleeping face adorable, and sometimes she would mumble things in her sleep. Despite driving, his eyes would shift to her direction at times so he could have a look at her face which he clearly loved. Cheesy, some people might think of his actions as such, but he didn't care about that. What he cared about is that he got to spend some time with her, asleep or not--- She was still there, and that was what mattered. She was still there, and that is what he cared about.

The spotlight turned red and he stepped on the break gradually so the sudden stop wouldn't wake her up. Usually this stop would take about a minute or two... That's what he remembers. He faced her for a moment, observing her. She did seem like she was a having a good sleep... But the thing is--- he couldn't control himself. He began leaning closer to her, so he could give her a kiss on the cheek. But now, he noticed that her eyes slowly opened. "Kaoru?" She mumbled his name, then realized where she exactly was. "Kaoru? Aren't you supposed to be focusing on the road?" She brought up and he only moved closer.

“Hush, I'm trying to kiss you." His voice was so soft that it sounded like a whisper. He lifted up her chin a bit and tilted his head a bit so he could give her a kiss on her lips. Instead of doing it immediately, he had a few seconds of eye contact, shared his grin to her before saying words he'll never get tired of. "I love you." She felt his lips on hers, and her heart still as fast when he kissed her the first time. It was always something that made her heart melt. Somehow so gentle, so loving and so gentle... She really did love all the kisses he gave to her. Without realizing it, she began kissing back.

Her eyes closed but she smiled as they kissed. It was those moments where she gets reminded why she had feelings for him. He was the sweetest person she knew, the most considerate and the person who waited long enough for her to achieve her dreams first. He was always so selfless. Some moments, they separated but it soon ended up with some kisses again. Sometimes they would laugh in between kisses, and at times- their noses ended up nuzzling to the other. No matter what happened, it seemed like their lips find their way to one another. "I love you too."

A blush was seen on Hanako, and suddenly Kaoru began to have the same reaction. He gave her a tiny peck on the forehead before separating, a sheepish kind of smile on his face. "It's late yet I feel so energized already." He laughed, thinking it was something that was dorky to say. "However, I wouldn't mind kissing you again, flower." He returned to his original position, as he stared at the spotlight again. "It's still red, but it will probably become green soon. I'll get to kiss you more once I bring you home." He lifted up his finger. "So you'll have to be ready to get buried by kisses. I really missed you and I had to store all my wants to go in the place just to kiss your pretty face."

Her blush only became darker, playing with some strands of her hair as she felt butterflies in her stomach and heat on her face. No matter how old they get, this was the same feeling she had towards him. Love. It wasn't hard to fall for him, and she was glad that she got to fall for someone like him. "You really are too sweet." She complimented him as he began driving, and she took note how he couldn't stop smiling as he did. Was it because of what she said? Or was it something else? She continued to stare, and she only laughed a few seconds later. "You're doing that extremely happy smile of yours. What caused it this time? Was it something I said?"

"Well, that could be considered as one of the reasons."

"Is it because of our kiss?"

"That is also considered as another reason."

"What is it then?"

"I'm happy that I got to be with you, my flower." This man... He really did specialize in making her fluster. Her face was now completely red, and he only held her hand before giving a quick kiss to it as he continued to focus on the road.

The late night city lights...

The stars that were white freckles in the skies...

The darkest part of the day was one of the loveliest parts...

But being with someone you love, made people realize where life starts...

A lover could only make the day more beautiful...

And she proved it.

She proved it.

She proved it.