#But it's the same thing with them and has kept them calmer while my dog's been recovering

[mrfancyfoot]

My 12 year-old dog (the literal Mr Fancyfoot) has been ill the last week (he's fine now!), so I've been doing everything from my bed(room) in order to contain him and the younger troublemaker where I can see them both at all times. I dragged the big dog bed and their blankets in here (normally they just sleep on my bed or the floor). Made everything all super cozy since he couldn't hop up on my bed and refuses to use the special dog ramp I got a couple years ago (but the teenager-dog who doesn't need it likes to launch himself off of it).

Made it too cozy bc now no-one wants to leave. They're both herding dogs and herd me back in any time we venture out (damn enablers).

Wouldn't be a problem if my productivity didn't tank every time I do this, lol

[evolutionsvoid]

It should be no surprise at this point that there have been many misconceptions and misinterpretations between the Underworld and surface world. I mean, after all, these false beliefs are what pretty much fueled the animosity that still burns bright in these two realms. The people of the surface thought that this underground civilization of horned beasts and living shadows was literal purgatory, while the denizens of down below saw life up above as a blasphemous blight in a godless void. Thankfully, such ancient beliefs have long been disproved, and hopefully the hate between worlds has died down a bit. Outside of these more destructive misconceptions, there are also cases where past explorers from both sides have dared to tread into this other world and failed to properly understand what they were witnessing. Most often there were only glimpses of unknown creatures or strange phenomenon, and all the "facts" were hastily scribbled down as the panicked explorer fled in fear. This is how you get tales of deadly shadows that possess people, where someone got one look at a shade and made a whole lot of terrible assumptions. On the other side, it is where you also get stories of scourges from above, like the faceless rotten fungal people that spew poison and devour life (which honestly isn't the worse thing I have been called as a dryad). This is how old field journals and tomes boast pictures of bizarre, and sometimes impossible, creatures. Once calmer minds were allowed to delve into these unknowns, though, we quickly learned the true meaning of a lot of old myths. A simple example would be the species known as the Cerberus, who had a rather different face in the old story books before someone bothered to take a closer look.

Ancient drawings and stories attach this name to a dog-like beast with three heads (and occasionally a serpent tail), and claim it to be some guardian of the underworld. It was a vicious monster that kept the dead in and the living out. Tales of its existence was one of the many reasons why people on the surface dare not venture nears these demonic "portals" that led to hell. However, it was eventually learned that this horrid guard dog was not in fact a dog, it wasn't even a mammal! Instead, the Cerberus belongs to the family of scorpions, as rather large member of the group. Its size isn't the only thing to note, as it has other bizarre bits to its anatomy. The first thing to notice is that it only appears to have four legs (the claws don't count, those are pedipalps, not legs), which is odd compared to the usual eight found in scorpions. It is believed that these missing four legs were either lost or perhaps fused with the other legs to create these heftier limbs. Due to the Cerberus' huge size, it needs some strong legs to carry it, so it seems the species found it was better to bulk up four instead of eight. Then take note of its thin stinging tail, which may not appear as intimidating or vicious as the stingers of others. This is because the Cerberus fights with strength and powerful claws, thus a potent venom isn't as necessary. Also, when living in cramped tunnels and cave, bringing a tail overhead to sting may not be so easy.

My mention of the claws no doubt focuses attention on the feature most folk are interested in on the Cerberus. The species boasts two huge pincers, whose size is almost the same as its own head. They possess serrated edges that allow it to saw and cleave through flesh with ease, the blades so prominent they look like teeth. On the claws themselves are numerous spikes, with at least one pair large enough to give the impression of horns or ears. Bright coloration on the sides of these appendages can make people think of eyes when they see them. What I am obviously getting at here is that these two claws are the two extra heads of the mythical dog Cerberus. When held up on either side of its real head, it can make it look like a three-headed beast, especially when the spectator screams and flees after only looking at it for a second. While that explains the three heads, some may ask why people thought of a dog instead of a scorpion. Well, it turns out that the Cerberus are not silent creatures. The claws have a metallic lining to them, which helps with another feature of this species (we'll talk on that later), that rubs and scratches together whenever the pincers are opened and closed. When faced with an intruder, the Cerberus gnashes its claws, and the colliding of these metal parts create a loud, short sound. Some have likened it to a metallic barking sound, but that isn't the whole story. Yes, it has similarities to the barking of a dog, but if you were to sit in an empty room and listen to it, you would clearly tell the difference between the two. However, encountering a Cerberus in the dark tunnels of the Underworld is a rather different circumstance. The pair of claws are clacking all at once, creating a cacophony of noise that is amplified by the echoes of the tunnel. Alongside that is stridulation from the main head and body, which sounds like a low growling sound. Combine these with the terrifying visuals, and people come running out recalling the sound of demonic barking by some devilish canine.

To add to this display is the fact that the Cerberus appears to "breathe" fire. When those gnashing heads emerge from the dark, bursts of flame can be seen lining its many jaws. This is because the species produces a flammable gas, which can be emitted from its mouth in an invisible cloud. When those metallic claws snap open and closed, sparks are produced. This obviously ignites the gas and creates of blast of fire. While the pincers themselves don't spew these clouds, their sparks and proximity to the flaming mouth gives the impression of them having the same. It should be noted that this fire has more bark than bite, as the flames are not that hot and don't last very long. It appears that this behavior is more for scaring off bothersome intruders and for mating displays. The males ignite these gas clouds to show off power and health, which tends to scare off the younger rivals. Female Cerberus can also create these flames, though they use them more for cleaning parasites off their hard-shelled eggs. I believe it is used by both for hygiene and grooming, literally burning off the filth. As a weapon, not so much. It turns out their sheer strength is more than enough.

When it comes to eating, the Cerberus is a carnivore, prowling the tunnels and caverns for prey. Their large size means they go after bigger prey, like the Isodons. For them, there is no fancy ambushes or clever tactics, they pretty much look for food that can't run fast enough. Many species down below rely on armor and impenetrable defenses to survive predator attacks, but unfortunately these are useless against a Cerberus. Their claws are incredibly powerful and can crush chitin, bone and shell. They simply approach hunkered down prey and tear them into chunks. For those with armor thick enough to withstand this assault, the Cerberus will instead look for weak spots. The underbelly is usually the soft area, so all the scorpion needs to do is flip prey over and stab into its guts. Its strength is used here to break the prey's grip and knock them over, getting at the exposed belly. Some sightings have shown that the Cerberus may occasionally use its hooked stinger to snag prey clinging to walls and pull them down. This stinger harbors a painful venom, but it isn't lethal. Falling into the waiting claws of this beast, though, is a guaranteed death sentence. Once prey is killed, the Cerberus will eat its fill and then take the remaining carcass up in its claws. It will carry what it can back to its lair, saving it for later. The lair of the Cerberus is an important part of this species, as they are territorial. An individual will either find or carve itself a cozy little chamber, which it then claims as its own. These spaces are not large, usually just big enough to fit the Cerberus and a few extra carcasses. The important feature of this chamber is an entrance that is just big enough for the beast to block with its body. These spaces are where they store food or keep their eggs, and they are very protective of it. When unwanted visitors start getting too close, the Cerberus will stand at the entrance and block the way. Even if foes are not turned away by claws and flames, its sheer size prevents them from entering. This is how they protect their food and eggs from other Cerberus, who may be looking for an easy snack. This is why it is rare for one of these beasts to leave their chambers unguarded if it as decent supply of meat or eggs in it, as they dare not leave it unattended for long. Females will stockpile their space with kills before laying their eggs, as she will keep watch over them until they hatch, refusing to leave them for a second. When the young do emerge, she may finally go out to hunt, as her stockpile is long gone and she is most likely starving at this point. Rather than leave her young behind, they clamber onto her back and ride along as she looks for food. The sight of a female Cerberus laden with her children is an incredible one, but only when seen from far away. In this state, she is very hungry and very protective. Show any sign of threat to her or her young, and she will rip you into pieces. Don't even think you are safe if you are behind her, as that is what the stinger is for. When a threat approaches from the back, the Cerberus doesn't bother turning around and instead lashes out with its venomous spike. Such attack is so fast, it is almost like getting struck by a viper! A tail like a snake? Huh!

This species obviously has significance, as it has been known by the surface world for centuries. These myths are indeed false, as it isn't a multi-headed dog that guards hell, but you can clearly see where the impression comes from. Encounters with this species is possible because they live in the upper levels of the Underworld (meaning the layers closer to the surface), which means a higher chance for a timid spelunker to stumble upon one. Funny enough, this idea of a "guard dog" isn't just a surface world thing! It turns out the Underworld has saw their defensive behavior for their burrows and decided to put it to good use! The Cerberus has actually been domesticated (or at least very well trained) in some regions, with them being used to guard storerooms, homes and other precious places. Thorough training and rewards of food help teach them who to trust and who to keep out, and they are quite good at warding off intruders. Some have been even trained to guard livestock, scaring off predators who try to sneak in for an easy kill. Outside of that, some demons have kept them as just regular pets. With their size, though, this often is done by the wealthy and powerful, as they have the room to spare for a non-essential companion of that bulk. It appears that their strength and intimidating appearance is quite loved, so any proper warlord would have one of these beasts to sic on their enemies. There have been attempts to bring the Cerberus up to the surface, as there are plenty of questionable folk who would want to own one. Funny enough, this has been difficult because the giant powerful scorpion of the Underworld has one major flaw: they're kenophobic. Much like many denizens of the Underworld, they are very much used to the tight tunnels and enclosed caverns. Throw them out into the open, with an empty sky looming overhead, and they pretty much flee to the nearest burrow or hole. They are not used to such areas and don't know what to do when presented with them. So people who have dragged a Cerberus up to the surface to sell as a pet or guard dog will find the beast panicked and anxious. I don't think I need to tell you what happens when one of these scorpions gets paranoid and nervous. However, these disastrous attempts do not mean a Cerberus cannot live on the surface. Illegal wildlife traders have found that locking these sedated beasts in lightless cages prevents these outbursts, and even covering their eyes helps ease them. They are then sold to wealthy customers, who leave these creatures in dungeons and vaults, places that mimic their Underworld home. Some are used as guards, others for morbid entertainment. Lock a couple poor souls in a labyrinthine basement, and wait for your new pet to hunt them down and pull them apart. Sure is swell that we displace these unwary creatures for rot like this.... Chlora Myron Dryad Natural Historian       --------------------------------------------------

No spooky season is complete without visiting the Underworld! Turns out it isn't only populated with prehistoric creatures but also with some faces rather familiar to such a "demonic" place!

Also this concept had me thinking that it would work great as a MH carapaceon, like the Akuras. Only downside is that it would have to be a fire and/or blast monster and goodness do we already have plenty of those!  

[legendaryprofessorwisteria]

Hey Professor!

I'm a Galarian trainer, and I've come across one type of those odd Paldean pokémon.. well, two but I'll get to the second one eventually. You're gonna need some context

First is the purple Cyclizar-esque lizard. It kind of crashed into my balcony window and I found it in my apartment after getting home from work. (Quick background for me is that I specialize in dragon-type pokemon rehabilitation (from injuries, etc.), and specialize in pseudo-legendary/legendary pokémon, so I had a general idea of what to do.) It wasn't hostile to me— most likely since my partner Dragapult was watching it, but the poor guy was startled and hungry.

Long story short, I managed to catch it after befriending the big guy with sandwhiches. (Perhaps they're food motivated?) They're currently in an ultra ball sitting on my bed as I'm typing this.

Now for the question—

Were you aware of an orange variant? It has white feathers, a throat sac that inflates to resemble a wheel and is around the same size as the purple one? It looks like Cyclizar, but almost dinosaur/fossil pokemon-esque. Similar to the odd Jiggilypuff in a way.

It is also in an ultra ball, it was.. surprisingly very friendly, almost like a dog pokémon. I have a set of clothes in the wash that were covered in drool. No idea how it got in, but there it is.

The purple one will be named 'Jelly', and I've decided to call the orange one 'Peanut Butter' in order not to freak anyone out if I ever mention these two.

Sorry for the long ask, I believe these two occurances should be made known to you.

— Aster

Anon, you may be the luckiest person alive, and it sounds like you were precisely the right person for these two to run into. Thank you so much for telling me about this! What an experience you've had there. I'll respond more - because long post and spoilers - under a cut. I will say now though, we do know about the orange variant!

The two Pokemon you met are formally called Koraidon (the orange one), a Fighting/Dragon type, and Miraidon (the purple one), an Electric/Dragon type. For reference, this is what they look like:

They may look slightly different from the ones you encountered, but that is because these Pokemon are able to take on different forms - much like Cyclizar can stand up on two legs to battle or go on all fours and move quickly, these Pokemon can assume these forms for battle or move around quickly in their other forms. For reference on those forms, I've been sent these wonderful photos from Paldea, where a couple Trainers actually managed to catch both a while back, but their existence was kept between a select few people until these Paradox Pokemon started running rampant (that's how we know so much about them).

Side tangent real quick...aren't they adorable? By Arceus if these things end up being legal to own I might have to put my present plans on hold.

Ahem, that aside, these two are remarkably calmer and more tractable than the other Paradox Pokemon, which was probably why they were receptive to being calmed down by you. They have a confirmed genetic resemblance to Cyclizar, which may have something to do with it - a running theory is that Koraidon is from the past and Miraidon from the future, and because Cyclizar is so remarkably tame and intertwined with human history, the human-friendliness of Cyclizar is also true of its past and future forms! And yes, it does seem that all three are very food-driven.

However...they are also by far the strongest of the Paradox Pokemon, and evidence suggests they command some form of innate authority over others from their time period, akin to a lot of Legendary Pokemon. The lab is actually getting a pair of them and several other Paradox Pokemon that got caught/taken down shipped in soon to test the theory - and because I have a tamed Iron Moth, I'll get to be part of it! Very exciting. So you're very lucky your encounter with these two went so well.

I'd still recommend calling it in to your local professor/s or people who work with Legendaries if you can - we need all the help and info we can get!

[oh-s-a-m-u]

rant about its just a burning memory

i just listened to its just a burning memory and i wondered how it came to be because it sounds so.. depressing? i couldnt even explain it. the feeling it brought to me was unexplainable, yet melancholic enough for me to want to find out more. It was scary, yet sad, but at the same time i just couldnt pin-point the feeling. Then, i found the album. i cant remember the exact name, all i know is that its something along the lines of "everything at the end of time" or "its jsut a burning memory", i cant remember. And that was what was so horrifying about it. i started listening to it, and as i did i read through the comments on this 6 hour long video, of so many different songs. So many comments said they listened to it all and it changed their view on life, or how 15 minutes in thye were crying. I thought they were just being dramatic, so while i listened in my dark little room, i read through the comments of this horrifying album. Most of the comments talked about their family members sufering from dementia, the way it just kept getting worse and its just so *sad* to read. I read, my eyes filling with horror at the stories i heard. And yet, now i cant even remember them. Which would be normal, of course, until you remember the album is about *dementia.* it makes me anxious, thinking how could i, a young fella, forget about something that made me cry so easily, filing it away somewhere in my mind where i couldnt reach.

The song was split into a lot of chapters, A1 being its jsut a burning memory, the next one being A2, then A3, A4, A5, A6, and then B1. All the songs were about 3-5 minutes long, and they were all named after dementia/alzheimers. A1 is the start of dementia, where you just have this bad feeling, gnawing at you, but its probably nothing, Just a burning memory. A2, mostly the same, but the feeling has faded a bit, so its calmer. But you still dont know whats happening. After a bit, i have personally listened until B6, so i dont know if its true, but at the later stages, close to the end, the music is so horrific but its just too *real.* I had listened to B6, and had started crying while reading, just the idea of dementia giving me goosebumps, making me shiver. It probably didnt help that i was alone, in my house, lights turned off completely, phone at 14%, slowly going down until it inevitably would turn off. I didnt have a charger available, (i did but in the dark and sobbing hysterically i couldnt see it-) so it just reminded me even more of dementia, of how the people who are close to the patient have to see the way their body remains fine, but their mind is decaying. Watching, listening, interacting, knowing that theyre gonna forget them inevitably. Are going to die. A slow, painful death, not even aware of it because they *wont even remember their name.*

My eyes are tearing up as i write this, but its just so agonizing i cant help it. The way music could give such drastic changes to peoples's *lives* had gotten me laughing, giggling, thinking thats impossible, until i listened to the album. Even after i turned off my phone, turned off the comments, sat there and tried to stop thinking about it, i couldnt. Because suddenly, all the little things i couldnt always remember were screaming at my mind, making me try to remember. 'What was my friends' dogs name?' 'I don't know.' 'I can't remember.' '*I CAN'T REMEMBER.*' 'Okay- okay, what about ah- shit, i dont know- the grandmothers name?' 'my mums name?!' 'her maiden name?' 'ANYTHING?!' I just tried so hard, but i still couldnt remember and it drove me insane. The fact that people with dementia had to suffer through this, but worse and unable to remember their way home, their closest friends name, their parents, children, *family, pets, work, even their life-* it just makes me sick.

And all this, after i listened to 15 minutes of a 6 hour album.

God save those who's friends, family, anyone they know is suffering from dementia. It's so horrific to think about, yet people live their everyday lives, complaining about an exam they didnt study for, being late to work, such small things.. when they could be forgetting their entire lives, their friends and family, pets and children- I sound like a broken record, repeating similar things so much, but its true, its real, and its horrifying.

Bless you.

[heckpup]

Hahaha I did the Ranboo thing here y’all go have some food hope you enjoy it I stayed up again. And I made art!! (It’s in the middle, where it’s actually relevant. Don’t go looking for it, let it come to you.) :D enjoy!!

(Edit: I LEARNED HOW TO DO THE KEEP READING YESSSS)

Phil does not know very much about Ranboo.

What he does know he can count on two hands.

1. Ranboo is half Enderman, half something else. (Phil doesn’t know what the other half is, but he’s not going to ask.)

2. Ranboo exhibits many Enderman-y traits, which can be expected in hybrids.

3. Ranboo has memory problems.

4. Ranboo likes being with people

5. Ranboo could probably use therapy. (as could most people on the SMP)

6. Ranboo is loyal to his friends, regardless of side.

7. Ranboo likes animals.

8. Ranboo easily succumbs to peer pressure.

9. Ranboo hates Dream.

10. Ranboo lives with Phil and Technoblade.

It’s sad, really, how little most people knew about the tall boy. Philza knew that the only people who knew more than him were Dream, maybe Tommy, and (if he wanted to push it) maybe Niki.

But, regardless, Phil knows that Ranboo likes animals! (He doesn’t think about all the pets that died in the creation of L’Crater, or the time he found Ranboo in the doghouse, surrounded by the Hound Army, crying.) So, what could be cooler than taking Ranboo to see the turtle farm!

Ranboo had loved the green aquatic animals. He had rushed over, in all his Enderman glory, to awe at the turtles. Phil watched Ranboo’s ears perk up, listening to the movement, and his long tail waved behind him. One of the turtles, a female, Phil vaguely think, walks- slides?- over to Ranboo, before looking up at him and perching herself on the fence so Ranboo would pet her head in a very un-turtle like manner. Ranboo, frankly, doesn’t think too hard about it clearly, since he’s to overjoyed at the turtles and petting her head to think about the ‘how’s’ and ‘why’s.’

The sight in front of Phil, the happy Ender-hybrid with the Antarctic Empire cloak that Techno loaned him, with the golden crown and white shirt and beaming face, makes Phil suddenly think ‘Snow Prince.’

He doesn’t know why.

But what he doesn’t know is that something in him has changed, given him the want to pull out the metaphorical-not so metaphorical- adoption papers for the fourth time.

— — —

It’s a few days later when he has the thought again. He and Techno are discussing their newest roommate and the living conditions they are in.

“So,” Techno says. “This house is gettin’ kind of small, and none of us want to put effort into expandin’. I obviously get my room, since it’s my house. You already have yourself situated ‘n the room across, but currently Ranboo is occupyin’ that one and you’re forced on the couch.”

“Do we really have to kick him out though? He’s just a kids, Tech.” Phil jokes halfheartedly. They’re planning on building a new building, maybe a new house. The problem is who’s going to live in it. Techno won’t, since this is already his house, and Ranboo shouldn’t be living alone, but Techno needs Phil to help with the voices, since they only ever change from needing blood to needing “Dadza” (Phil heard him mutter it once and he smiled) when he’s around.

So, it all comes full circle. Who’s going to live in the new house?

“Listen Tech. What if we, hear me out, we just extended the house a bit so no one has to leave.”

“But that’s work, Phil! It took me a while to finish buildin’ this house, and I’m not ready for renovatin’!”

He can see the amusement on the Piglin hybrid’s face, as they banter back and forth about the choice.

Then, with a sudden movement, Technoblade is standing up and walking over to the doorway. He pulls out a black and white figure- when did Ranboo wake up?- and sits him down at the table.

“Ranboo!” Phil says, pleasantly surprised and mildly confused. Why does Ranboo look angry and close to tears? “How long we’re you listening?”

“Longer than you’d like, I’ll bet.” Ranboo’s answer is short and snippy, and whoa, Phil can almost taste the resentment and tension in the air. Phil almost asks him what’s wrong, but Ranboo beats him to the punch.

“So, you guys are tossing me out? I’ll go pack my things then, again.” And every question Phil had is suddenly tossed out the window and replaced with a new one.

“Wha- Ranboo, what are you talkin’ about?” Techno asks in surprised shock, while Ranboo looks both like a kicked puppy and an angry cat at the same time. “We’re not gonna kick you out.”

“Oh really? Then what was all that about? ‘Do we have to to kick him out?’ Not wanting to expand the house ‘cause it takes work?” Ranboo’s tail lashes angrily around the chair.

“What? Mate, we weren’t talking about actually kicking you out! Techno and I are planning on building a smaller, one person house over where we’re moving the kennel, and we were talking about who’s going to live in it because I don’t know if you noticed, but this house is a little small.”

Phil watched as Ranboo digests what he’s said, thinks about it, pieces it all together, and suddenly, Ranboo’s much calmer. “Oh.”

Ranboo looks out of the window behind him, surveying the land that Phil had pointed out the day before. “I wouldn’t mind watching over the dogs, I think.”

Phil and Techno give each other a look. “We figured, but I didn’t want you living out there alone. I mean, you’re just a kid, mate,” Phil says, silently glad that Ranboo no longer thinks that what- they’re kicking him out? Why would they do that? Ranboo’s a great kid!

He hears Ranboo mutter about how it “wouldn’t be the first time anyway,” and suddenly he’s hit with the urge to both immediately adopt this kid and also burn whoever did that to Ranboo until they’re nothing but a small pile of ashes and then dance on them.

Philza knows a lot more about Ranboo by the time Ranboo moves into the small home by the dogs.

1. Ranboo suffers from voices like Phil’s eldest. (Is it just a hostile hybrid thing?)

2. Ranboo has abandonment and trust issues.

3. Ranboo must, at all times, be kept away from Dream.

4. Ranboo loves turtles.

5. Ranboo is now Philza’s new son. (In his heart, at least.)

[spvce-cowboy]

could you put these together with javi? i got them from one of the pomrpt lists!!! thank you!

when one of them is hurt by the antagonist… and their lover goes… absolutely ballistic and does everything in their power to get to the person they love, to the point in which the antagonist and it’s crew have to physically restrain them… and it still doesn’t stop them… they jsut keep kicking… doesn’t matter what happens to them… doesn’t matter if they get beaten in the process… as long as their lover is safe…

when they haven’t seen each other for a while (bonus point if they’re not sure the other one is alive) and all this time they’ve been trying to stay strong, but when they reunite, they crash into each other’s arms, and completely breakdown…

anon ur speaking my language here

warnings below the cut: cannon-typical violence, painkiller usage

--

javi spits out the blood in his mouth before turning his gaze back up at the sicario crouched before him.

it lands on the dirt floor of the basement with a wet sound. the sicario’s eyes--so strung-out that his pupils have been reduced to twin pinpricks of black against his sickly green irises--flick down to the puddle of red-black liquid before resuming his scan of javi’s face.

“the girl means a lot to you, huh?” the sicario has an all-too-familiar texan drawl, long blond hair stringy with the gel.

“where the fuck is she.” he grits out the same mantra he’d been repeating since he broke down the back door of the warehouse. the same mantra he’d repeated as he fought off two of the men, shooting one of them in the foot (twice) before he was overwhelmed by the other guards. the same mantra he repeated as they forced him to the ground, kicking his ribs until breathing was an issue. didn’t matter. he kept fighting regardless. it took two men to twist his arms behind his back like this, both of whom he got a jab or two against before they wrestled him to the ground.

“think that’s it. she your little play-thing? didn’t realize men like you still got hot for teacher.” the sicario cocks his head like a dog might, itching behind his ear with his glock in mock-thought. “though i suppose the whores get old after a while. y’know where we grabbed her? the fucking library. the whole sweet and innocent shick must really get your rocks off.” he laughs. a cruel, sharp bark. javi didn’t understand the meaning of blind rage until this moment.

“i’ll fucking kill you,” javi grits his teeth as one of the men restraining him twists his shoulder back even further. “i swear to god if you laid a hand on her i’ll--”

the sicario makes a disgusted sound in the back of his throat, rolling his eyes and standing, as if even the suggestion was insulting. “not my style,” he pauses for a second, then gestures to one of the men holding javi down. “bull, however, if i decide to give him the chance...”

javi doesn’t register the surge of energy that has him attempting to struggle to his feet again. he only processes being pushed flush with the floor again, the sharp crack of pain that rolls through him enough to still the breath in his throat.

“i can get you money,” it’s hard to speak around the blood flooding his mouth but he manages. “money, information, whatever you want. whatever the fuck you want. just tell me where--”

the windows break all at once. javi stays flush against the group as the weight on top of him lifts, the sound of gunfire loud enough to have his hearing go to nothing more than a dull whine.

he doesn’t know how much time passes before someone rolls him onto his back. he coughs, something warm and wet covering his chin and rolling down the sides of his neck. someone’s voice is speaking to him, urgently, as a bright light is shone into his eyes but it’s nothing more than a murmur over the high-pitched tone bouncing through his skull. he thinks he might be saying something, might be trying to blindly bat the flashlight away because it hurts and he keeps trying to blink away the fuzzy haze that has settled over his vision. the world goes dark without warning.

--

you wake up in a hospital bed, heavy eyelids sliding open as your head rolls to the side. for a second you can do nothing more than take in deep lungfuls of air and listen to the steady beeping of the monitor to your right.

the painkillers getting pumped into your arm renders your tongue thick and heavy in your mouth, your throat dry enough that you can barely croak out a small: “javi” without wincing.

there’s a cool hand against your forearm, giving you a reassuring pat. you have to blink a few times before the nurse’s kind face comes into focus.

“he’s alright,” she tells you. her spanish, soft and sing-song and warm with relief, is as much as a reassurance as the hand she has on your forearm. something in you automatically relaxes. you think it’ll be a while before you can hear an american accent again without something within you curling in on itself with fear. without warning, the sicario’s face reappears in your memory, a jolting enough apparition that you squeeze your eyes shut again, flinching. the nurse notices, her voice growing even calmer. “he’s alright. resting, but alright. go back to sleep, you need your strength right now.”

you comply, though it’s not really a choice on your behalf. you just blink again and suddenly all other sounds fade, your eyelids sliding shut.

--

they make you down a meal of saltines and apple-juice before javi can come into the room. 

you can see javi’s silhouette on the other side of the small pane of glass above the doorknob as you patiently work your way through the packet of crackers. you can’t help the loopy smile that overtakes your face while you see the silent movements of him arguing with the nurse outside. the frustrated way he throws his hands up and then starts pacing small circles in front of the closed door.

when you finish nursing the small box of juice that they gave you, the nurse who was helping you unwrap the saltines’ plastic sheaths--your hands too shaky to manage on your own, which was a bit embarrassing--stands and opens the door just wide enough to slip through. 

you wait, entire body stilling as the two of them speak quietly outside, the monitor beside you betraying the beat of your hear. your breath catches in your throat as you see the knob turn down. it hesitates for a second before the door swings open.

you nearly start weeping when you see him. he looks panicked, wide-eyed and scanning you from the other side of the room as if you were about to break at any second. you swallow, opening your mouth to begin saying his name and--

javi crosses the distance between the threshold and your bedside in two long strides. you do your best to sit up to meet him half way, ignoring the whirring series of beeps that the monitors release with the movement. you collapse against him, his arms folding you against his chest with a touch gentle enough to demonstrate he at least absorbed at least some of whatever the nurse told him. you can practically feel the restraint it takes him not to crush you to him in reassurance that you were actually here. that this wasn’t some delusional mirage. he peppers the top of your head with kisses, one of his hands gently cupping the side of your face. his are shaking as much as yours are.

you don’t realize you’re crying until you pull back to look at him, cupping your palms against his cheeks and searching every feature, every new inch of swollen bruising, the stitches collected just above his brow that will no doubtably form a new scar for you to kiss before the two of you fall asleep each night.

“i’ve got you,” he breaths, closing his eyes and gently leaning his forehead against yours. your thumb swipes the under-eye of the unbruised side of his face as you look at him with relief, feeling truly safe for the first time in weeks. “no matter what. fuck i-- you--” 

you cut him off with a kiss, something that’s both hungry and reassuring. he sinks against your mouth as he gathers you against the warmth of his body once more.

and it feels like home. it always will.

--

requests are open !

[write-r-die]

Prisoner - Part 17

March 1067, Norman Conquest of England 

Masterlist

A/N: Drama!!

gif from demivampirew

For the first time in a long time, Thomasin felt safe.

Henry made her promise never to remove the pendant he gave her. It seemed terribly important to him, though Thomasin didn’t know why. Still, she agreed without question.

Henry never did shout at her. He didn’t like being angry, especially with someone he loved. Instead, he sat his wife down like a child and looked very deeply into her grey eyes while simply telling her she would never disobey him again, nor would she disagree with him in public. She was welcome to shout and scream and call him all sorts of names when they were alone together, but their situation was precarious. They had to present a united front so no one – just Lawrence, really – would think to pit them against each other.

Lawrence, though, seemed the same as ever. Maybe even scarier. He always had that awful grin on his face. He never got red; that’s what really worried both Henry and Tom. He was too calm, too self-assured. He planned out what he would do to them; now they were stuck in fear until he decided to act. It had only been a week since the wedding, and there was no telling how long Lawrence would wait. But he wasn’t a patient man.

Henry didn’t let Thomasin see his fear over Lawrence’s retribution. Since the wedding, she’d become all soft and willing. He thought she showed something akin to vulnerability. When they were alone, she would sit on his lap or press herself right against his side. They needed to be touching when they went to sleep, either with Henry spooning against her back or Thomasin lounging across his chest. She demanded his attention and affection. Henry obliged her, even going beyond. He’d kiss her in public when he thought no one was looking. She didn’t even mind.

He met her vulnerability with steady confidence. He’d sworn to look after her more times than he could count, and now that she was finally allowing it, he didn’t want to show any weakness. That was what husbands did for their wives – they remained strong and sure.

Henry asked a baron sailing back to Normandy to deliver the message to his family that he was wed; he was quite sure his mother would cry upon hearing the news.

“Should we send someone to tell your family?” he asked that night as he and Tom lay in the dark together. He was pressed tightly against Thomasin’s back. She used one of his arms as a pillow, and his free hand roamed over her body.

“I haven’t got a family,” Thomasin replied.

Henry nuzzled her rosy gold hair. “Yes, you do.” He kissed the back of her neck and sighed into her hair. “And you’ll never be rid of me.”

**

When the king finally summoned Henry, it wasn’t to chastise him. If he did mean to shout at Henry, it was low on his list of things to do. Henry found himself in something of a war council among other barons and knights of high praise.

“It is time to execute the Saxons,” William announced. “I’ve kept them alive for too long. It will embolden other rebels to attack if they believe I won’t kill them.”

“The rebels are all but gone,” a middle-aged baron said. “Even that young baron from the north has disappeared.” He looked at Henry from the corner of his eye; everyone knew he was referring to Hammond.

“Permanent imprisonment is not much better than death,” another put in. 

“All the same,” said the king. “The surviving Saxon prisoners will be put to death by hanging this afternoon. I expect you all to bear witness.”

“What about our wives?” a knight asked. Henry was grateful someone other than him asked the question. “Should they attend?”

William shook his head. “Tis no sight for a woman’s eyes.” He took a deep breath before declaring, “It is warm enough now to travel. We will hunt down the other rebels. If we cannot capture or kill them, we will at least run them out of England and keep them in exile for the rest of their lives.”

The men started shuffling out, murmuring to each other about the Saxon threat. Henry lagged behind the crowd, too lost in his thoughts to keep a fast pace. He was so distracted that he didn’t even notice when Lawrence sidled up beside him.

Lawrence made a sound like a sigh. “I do hope poor Tom won’t be too broken up over Cerdic’s execution.”

Henry felt like he had the wind knocked out of him. How did he find out about Thomasin’s relationship with Cerdic? How much did he know about it? What execution? Was that why the barons and knights were gathering?

But the true source of his fury was the fact that Lawrence had referred to his wife as Tom.

Lawrence looked at Henry from the corner of his eye. “Are you broken up, dear Henry?”

He turned his gaze to the other man, a savage look in his eyes. “You will never speak my wife’s name again. Do you understand me?”

Lawrence bowed his head in mock apology before moving along.

Henry paused in a nook in the corridor and ran his hand over his face. Damn.

Coming to England was like stepping in dog shit that one could never quite wipe away. Meeting Thomasin was like stepping in dog shit. One bad thing followed another like a cloying stink with that poor girl.

No, Henry realized. Thomasin meeting him when the troubles started.

***

Thomasin was grateful that Henry had been able to spend both his days and his nights with her. She knew it could not last forever, but she was sad all the same when he was called away, no doubt to discuss matters of war.

Now she would have to spend her days embroidering with other ladies or pursuing some other womanly hobby. She was never terribly good at that, though. At one point, her governess simply gave up trying to make Thomasin a proper lady. Her father let her have free reign of the estate so long as someone was always nearby and she returned to the keep by dark.

She imagined having a similar arrangement with Henry, but they first needed an estate of their own. Everyone assumed the king would give them the estate Thomasin grew up in, but she secretly hoped he would not. It would be haunted, at least for her, and she was sure she would never feel comfortable there. It wasn’t her home anymore. Just another conquered fortress.

The couple spoke a little of returning to Normandy so Tom could meet Henry’s family and there were some vague mentions of estates near his brothers that might be suitable for their needs, but they hadn’t had a real conversation about it.  What they wanted didn’t matter; William would likely keep Henry in England to fight his endless war against Thomasin’s way of life. Maybe they would be dismissed in a few years when things were calmer.

She would have to figure out how to spend her days. Her only true friend at court was Elaine, but the healer was often busy during the day. Thomasin accompanied her on a meeting with an elderly baroness with a horrifying rash; she would never do so again. 

She was returning from a brisk walk when she nearly crashed into her husband and his friends on their way out.

“Henry!” Thomasin bounced forward and grabbed onto his hand. She waited for him to kiss her while Charlie and Roger were pretending not to look. She knew something was wrong when he didn’t. “Are you well?”

Henry’s expression was as hard as it had been the day Thomasin tried to escape from him. She resisted the urge to step back. “Thomasin, go back to our rooms. Wait for me there.”

His clear agitation alarmed her; she spoke as calmly as she could. “Is something amiss?”

“Do as I say. I’ll be along soon.” He turned to Kal. “You go with her.”

Something must be truly wrong if Henry was willing to part with his shadow, even for an hour or two. Thomasin’s eyes flickered to Charlie for some hint of what was happening, but his expression was as stony as ever. Roger hadn’t stopped when Thomasin intercepted them so she could not look to him for clues.

She glanced at Henry one more time. He didn’t look all right. She wanted an explanation here and now, but she remembered her promise not to disobey him in public. Staying and demanding something from him would certainly count as disobedience. “Of course,” Thomasin said, forcing a mild tone of voice. She gave a shallow curtsey. 

She was chattering to Kal as they walked up a tight staircase when she heard a ruckus outside. There were no windows in the stairwell, only thin slats from which archers inside the castle could shoot at enemy soldiers in case of an attack, but they would do. 

Thomasin rocked up on her tiptoes to peer through one of them. There was a large cluster of men spread out across the field. They stood in clumps of three or four, talking among themselves as a handful of servants erected some makeshift structure she couldn’t quite make out. Perhaps if she had something to stand on, she would be able to see more clearly . . .

Kal made a grumbling sound. 

“I don’t mean to ignore you, Kal,” Thomasin said. “I just want to see what’s going on.” 

She never thought it unusual for one to speak to one’s pets, and Henry regularly held complex conversations with the bear, so she wasn’t embarrassed to talk to him in public as other women might be.

Thomasin pushed up a little further and caught a glimpse of fresh scaffolding, then of a handful of shackled men making their way over to it. The Saxon prisoners were finally being executed, then. Thomasin couldn’t blame Henry for not telling her. He was only trying to protect her.

She was about to turn away when she glimpsed a familiar silhouette and an even more familiar red beard. She squinted into the fading light as the hangman put a rope around the Saxon’s thick neck. 

She hated that neck. She once joked to Justina that she’d like to strangle him, but his neck was as sturdy as a thick branch on a tree. She’d only tire herself out trying to kill him.

Cerdic.

Thomasin was so shocked and upset that she pushed away from the window too hard and fell backwards; Kal softened her fall somewhat.

For a moment she couldn’t move or even draw in a lungful of air. Kal was breathing in right in her face, but she didn’t care. She felt removed from somehow, as if she weren’t truly in her body.

Cerdic was a ridiculous oaf, but she’d known him all her life. She’d cared for him not as a lover or brother or even a friend, but in the way a woman was expected to care for her husband-to-be. And he was all that was left of her life before.

It was easier when she thought he was dead, that he’d died in the fray along with most of the other Saxon men. She’d grieved him in her own strange way and put his memory behind her, but now everything swelled up again and tightened her throat. 

This was the last straw. She was strong but she wasn't made of ice. There was only so much someone could endure before they broke.

And Thomasin truly did break.

She ran to her rooms barely holding back tears. Her throat was sore with the effort of holding in sobs and her hands were shaking so hard that she almost couldn’t open the latch on the door to the antechamber. 

She barely made it through the antechamber and into the bedroom before she fell apart. She slammed the bedroom door before Kal could follow and fell forward on her hands and knees into the rushes scattered on the floor; she couldn’t hold herself together a moment longer, not even long enough to reach the bed. She began to weep so hard that she could barely breathe. She made choked, ugly sobbing sounds she couldn’t control that shook her shoulders as snot and tears ran down her face.

Kal whined and scratched at the door, desperate to comfort his mother.

Thomasin kicked the door hard enough to shake the hinges. “Go away!” she shrieked. Her throat was already raw.

She was too tired to move anymore, even to get into bed. She fell to her side and curled in on herself, shivering like a dog left outside in a storm, still whimpering and gasping for breath. 

***

Henry stood with Charlie and Roger as they waited for the executions to begin.

“You look unwell,” Henry remarked to his brother-by-law.

Roger heaved a sigh. “It’s always said when something beautiful dies.” 

“What, the men?” Charlie asked.

Roger turned to face his friends. “Their lives. Their spirits.” Their physical forms, too, of course. 

“That’s the nature of conquest,” Charlie said. “The old ways must end for the new ones to begin. If people cannot accept change . . .” He shrugged.

“I do not like the end part. You must feel some grief on behalf of Thomasin, Henry,” Roger said. “I cannot imagine. . .” he trailed off.

“I didn’t tell her,” Henry said. 

“She’ll find out,” Charlie said neutrally. He still didn’t like Thomasin by any stretch of the imagination, but he was coming to accept her. “Assuming she hasn’t already.”

Henry knew that, knew it would be better to tell her himself. He just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“I know,” he said. 

***

Cerdic had no last words – or if he did, Henry didn’t hear them. 

The men were strung up all at once, the nooses looped around their necks and the wooden bench kicked out from under them. A crueler king might have removed their heads one by one to heighten their fear, but William just wanted the business done with. He’d likely cut their heads off afterwards to mount on spikes near the city gates, though.

Henry left the first moment he could. Thomasin was probably fuming quietly in their room, probably repeatedly stabbing herself in the finger as she furiously embroidered something or other.  He hoped so. 

Charlie was right: Thomasin had probably found out about the executions somehow. He prayed that she didn’t know Cerdic was among the dead. He wasn’t sure what reaction to expect.

He tried to enter the antechamber quietly, but the room was deathly silent; every small sound he made seemed to echo. The first thing he saw was Kal stretched out in front of the door that led to the bedroom, his chin resting on top of his paws. He looked downright pensive.

“Kal.”

The dog leapt to attention as Henry knelt to scratch his ear.

“Good boy,” Henry murmured.

Kal whined, trying to communicate that something was wrong with Thomasin. He’d been guarding her as best as he could, but she wouldn’t let him into the bedroom.

Henry scratched Kal one more time before steeling himself. He opened the bedroom door. His wife lay on her side on the floor, still sniffling and hiccupping from weeping.

“Tom?” he knelt on the ground beside her. 

She moved her head the slightest bit to look up at him with bloodshot eyes. “You knew that Cerdic was here. That he was alive.” She was too exhausted to inject an accusatory tone into her raspy voice.

Henry took a deep breath. A lock of her rosy golden hair had gotten free of its braid; he gently tucked it behind her ear. “Yes.”

Her chin quivered as her eyes filled with tears. She shut them and turned away. “It was easier when . . .”

“I know.”

Her chin still moved. “I wish William had never come to England,” she said, voice high and tight. “I wish I’d never laid eyes on a Norman.”

Henry took a deep breath. “Tom, you can’t blame every Norm –”

“Yes I can!” She shouted, jumping to her feet. Henry stood, too. On the other side of the door, Kal whimpered. “It’s your fault! You came here and you took what wasn't yours and you killed the men and raped the women. My country is dead!” Her voice cracked. “I have nothing left! You took everything from me!”

Henry’s voice was low but strong. “You have me.”

“I don’t want you!” she shouted. Her words cut Henry like the blade of a knife. “You or your bastard king and your merciless countrymen! I wish I’d never met you! I – I –” 

I want to go home. 

“Enough, Tom,” said Henry. “You’ll give yourself a fit.” Thomasin reached for the back of her neck; Henry caught her hands in his and stopped her before she even touched the necklace’s clasp. “Don’t,” he said softly. 

Thomasin shoved away from him so hard she nearly fell backwards. Henry, who had the build of a stone wall, hardly budged. That made her so furious that she slapped him – tried to, anyway. Henry caught her wrist in his hand and used it to tug her close. 

“Let go!” she shouted. “Henry, let me go!”

But he held her to his chest and would not unlock his grip. She kept shoving and hitting him until he finally released her – only to capture her again.

Somehow, she was suddenly lying back on the bed, her wrists firmly locked in Henry’s grasp as he pinned them above her head. He hovered over her on his knees, locking her legs between his strong thighs to make sure she didn’t try to kick him in her anger.

“Thomasin, enough!” he shouted.

Exhausted, she finally gave up the fight. She sank limp against the bed and started to weep. 

She’d never cried in front of him before, Henry thought. He wasn’t even sure if she cried when she was wounded on the road. There were tears in her eyes on their wedding night and the day she tried to escape from him in the forest, but he didn’t think they ever spilled over.

He couldn’t stand to watch but he couldn’t look away. Thomasin needed him now. She was in mourning – for her father, her former betrothed, her relationships with her siblings, her country. She was mourning her own life, too, and what it might have been if William had never come.

“I hate you,” Thomasin whimpered through her tears.

“No, you don’t.” Her husband’s voice was tired but kind as he released her wrists and climbed off of her.

Her eyes were already shut; her outburst at Henry and fit of emotion after seeing Cerdic hanged drained her of all energy and she was on the very edge of sleep. “I hate you, Henry,” she insisted weakly. 

Henry knew she wasn’t sincere, that she was just speaking out of anger, but the words still stung him all the same.

It wouldn’t hurt him at all if she’d just say out loud that she loved him. He only needed to hear it once. None of her accusations or insults would bother him if he knew beyond a doubt that she loved him even half as much as he loved her. With those words, he’d be invincible.

But she didn’t say it. Maybe she never would. She loved him, Henry was sure of it, but she was too proud to admit it.

Tom’s tears had slowed and turned from sobs to sniffles to deep, loud breathing.

Henry stayed beside her in bed, both of them still fully dressed, and soon drifted off. She turned to him in her sleep, unconsciously taking her rightful place in his arms and against his chest. Henry didn’t wake; his body knew instinctively to put his arms around her.

[joshslater]

Breeder

Similar stories and bonus material on my Patreon. (Repost without the photo from another tumblr post)

I can’t remember the last time I came that much. Pump after pump of cum up his ass, and as I pulled out, one final squirt between his butt cheeks just to make more of an impression. I looked at his tight, pink T-shirt, his tight, leaking asshole, his smooth, slim legs, and his white calf-high Nike socks. “Fuck, I needed this so badly,” I exhaled and threw myself down on the bed next to him. It was my fault he was almost fully dressed, just barely out of his shorts. When we entered his apartment my juices were almost spilling over. We just kicked off our shoes and I started to grope him while we quickly moved to his bedroom. It had been such a stressful couple of weeks with tons of extra hours. Every day I felt drained of all energy the moment I stepped back into my apartment and hadn’t even had the energy to masturbate since… I don’t even remember. A month? More?

“I could tell,” he said, turning his head sideways looking at me. He was cute, even now that post ejaculation clarity had set in. My eyes had landed on him almost immediately once inside the bar. The radiant blue adidas baseball cap that we wore backward on top of his dirty blonde, shaggy hair and boyish face pulled me in. He was thin, so for him to have such tight clothes he probably shopped in the kids’ section. Just what I was looking for. A tiny twink I could just manhandle and drive hard. Kind of made me feel bad now for how one-sided that fuck must have been.

“I’m… It’s just with everything I haven’t been around much lately.” “Hey, don’t worry about it. We got plenty of time, if you want.”

He was still wearing the backward baseball cap as he lied on his front, looking at me with intense eyes. He wasn’t cute. He was gorgeous. Had I spent more time looking at his face than his butt walking to his place and his back being here I would have noticed earlier, but my dick had made all the decisions up until now. God, he must still be leaking cum into his bed given the size of the load I dumped in him. I wanted to tell him, to help him clean up.

He was biting his lip, still piercing me with his look. “Have you ever played puppy?” That came as a surprise. I’ve never understood that kink, and not just because I always top. I know some tops enjoy barking orders to a pup, or even dress up as an alpha dog, but it’s never been a thing I’ve understood nor at all considered.

“Can’t say that I have.” “Wanna try?”

He propped himself up on his arms, knuckles under his chin, elbows into the mattress. He was back to looking sweet and cute. I felt like I kind of owed him, but it’s not like I was doing him a favor either. Worst case it was nothing interesting and I could check another thing off the list.

“Sure, why not.” “Yass. I’ll get the things.”

He jumped out of bed and hurried out of the bedroom. If it wasn’t for the age check at the bar I wouldn’t have guessed him to be over 17. I assume he has a lot of creams in his bathroom and a strict diet. But then I would never miss a day at the gym. Different things are important to different people. “Take off your clothes” he shouts from another room somewhere. I slowly got up, and couldn’t help to look at the wet spot on the bed sheet where his ass had been.

I took off my jeans, my socks, my watch, and my shirt. I was just about to step out of my jockstrap when came back into the bedroom. “Keep that on for now.” I did as he said. This was his scene to direct. “Put these on.” He handed me a pair of leather wrist cuffs. Up until now it wasn’t clear who would play what role, though I had kind of assumed I would play the dog. Was I the dog? Would he also be a dog? I was kind of liking the uncertainty. The leather cuffs were high quality, and about as easy to secure as you could hope for when doing it on yourself. “And these,” he said as he gave me a pair of thigh straps, also leather. They were easy to secure, though I had no idea where this was going. He was rummaging in one of the drawers for something, and finally found a bottle of what I assumed to be lube. He proceeded to squeeze out a generous amount on the butt plug part of a tail plug. I’ve never seen one in person before. The plug part wasn’t that big, but the tail was huge.

“Now, get on all four.” I dropped down onto the floor. I was actually a bit anxious about this. I’m not an anal virgin, but I haven’t done a lot. I don’t even own a dildo myself. He walked behind me and I braced for impact, but he put the plug on a table and picked up something else. He crouched next to me and attached the wrist cuff with the thigh strap using a short chain with two metal clasps. Then he did the same on the other side. I wasn’t really sure what the purpose of the chains was. It would make moving around a bit awkward, but not stopping me from standing up or anything. He then positioned himself behind me and stuck a lubed finger up my ass and begun to wiggle it. “Not used to this, I feel.” He was damn right, but I was determined to take it like a man. He removed his finger and picked up the butt plug

I could feel him press the plug gently against my asshole, probing it lightly, only to then make a surprise, hard push and shove it all in at once. As soon as the sphincter grabbed it and pushed it into place I knew something was wrong. A shudder went like a wave through the body, and I yelped like a hurt puppy, surprising myself. I tried to cover my mouth as a reflex, but my armed yanked my leg, tripped myself despite already being on all four, and face planted on the carpet. “What the fuck!” I wanted to say, but what came out was an inarticulate “Whaaaff”. Getting real scared now I got up on all four again and frantically struggled to stand up, but somehow the body wouldn’t comply. It was like I couldn’t really grasp how to do it. I realized I was whimpering when he began to stroke me, petting my head like the back of a dog. “There, there. Calm down. There is nothing you can do about it now.”

He stood up and stepped away, while I was trying to figure out what was going on. I took a  step forward using my right arm and leg. That worked. I took another step with my left arm and leg. My mind was a whirlwind like I couldn’t focus on anything. I wanted to stand up, but how could you stand up if you are already standing? I let out an “Aooo” of frustration. He was back by my side again with something in his hands. What was his name? Did he ever even tell me his name? “Here, this should make you calmer” He stroked the back of my head a few times, and as much as I hated it, it was soothing. I then felt something cold. He was putting a chain around my neck, and then clasped a leash to it. I don’t know why, but suddenly the noise in my head went silent.

“Good boy!” He stroked my head again. “Let’s go to the door and clean up your mess. Heel!” We started walking out of his bedroom and down his short hallway toward the door.  My shoes laid randomly dropped on the floor, and a third shoe. It was one of his. A bright blue Nike air max shoe. The other one was neatly placed next to a row of other shoes. “Did you do that?” he asked and pointed at his shoe. “Bad puppy! Get it.” I raced ahead and bit into the heel of the shoe. It was still warm and smelled of his foot. It wasn’t that cheesy smell of reused socks or the sour note of workout sweat, but a light, earthy smell of everyday feet. Almost a bit like hay. “You like that?” I realized I was breathing in heavily with my nose in his sneaker, biting the ankle collar. I froze. I felt shame. Like I was doing something I shouldn’t be doing.

“Haha, it’s OK,” he said, and ruffled my hair. He proceeded to grab the other two shoes while I placed his sneaker on the floor and tried to dig my face into the opening. I didn’t get very far, but I manage to lick the inside bottom of the shoe. As it turned moist it released more fragrance. I could imagine him out on the streets, sweating during a hot day. Perhaps dashing to catch a ride. It wasn’t a pungent smell, but it was virile. It was the smell of someone with stamina. Then he stole it from me. “Hey, we have more cleanup to do.” I whined as he placed his shoe next to his other one.

Then he dropped on all four too and displayed his ass for me. “You left a mess here.” He didn’t have to say more as I attacked his butt cheeks with my tongue to clean them from my drying cum. It didn’t take many licks to clean him up around the butt hole. I then proceeded to lick the butt and to try to get my tongue as far up his ass as I could. While the taste was all mine, I kept breathing in his scent. It wasn’t at all as rewarding as the shoe. He was clean, had a citrus and cedar tree cologne, and hadn’t sweated much during our brief sex. I wished I would have worked him up harder. I know I could have made him exhausted from pleasure if I wanted to. He must have been squeezing now because my cum just kept coming out of him.

Abruptly he got up, mid lick. “Aw, you’re so hungry. Puppy needs food,” he said and walked into his small kitchen. I followed as fast I could. He opened the fridge and pulled out a few Tupperware containers, and dumped the contents into a dog bowl. He placed it on the floor. Brown rice, salmon, and broccoli. “There. Eat it all up. Puppy must stay strong for daddy.” I dove headfirst into the bowl and started to munch down the bowl of fridge-cold diet food. I realized I was starving and somehow this bland mush felt really satisfying. I started at a ferocious pace, but as I got down to the last quarter I was beginning to feel full. While grateful for the food, how could daddy know how much I could eat. Daddy? What was this nonsense? He’s a fuck I don’t even know the name of I picked up at a bar to breed. I was the top dog here, the alpha. This had to stop. I should stand up, take my stuff, and go. But I couldn’t stand up. I was already standing up. In frustration I howled.

He came back into the kitchen. I hadn’t even noticed him gone. He was wearing shorts again, but a different kind. Grey sweatpant shorts. He quickly sat himself down on the floor next to me, with crossed legs. He grabbed me and gently but firmly tipped me over so my head fell into his lap. “Puppy having a bad dream?” he asked. He didn’t sound mocking or sarcastic. His hand was stroking me on the side. I whimpered into his sweatpants. I could smell him again, the scent of a viril young man. I borrowed my head into his crouch and breathed heavily. I could smell his dick. Citrus, cedar, and precum. I began to lick the cotton fabric. “Good boy. Good boy.” I did nothing to his dick, but I could feel mine swelling in the jockstrap.

He gently pushed me away from him, got up, and filled another bowl with tap water. He placed it next to the first bowl. Then he held out one hand in front of me. I had to get up on all four from my lying position to see what was in it. Two white pills, one small and round and one larger and longer.  "Here, take these. They will make you stronger and better.“ I sniffed but all I got was his scent. I licked up both pills in one go and plunged my head into the water bowl to get some water to swallow them with.

He got down on the floor with me again, and started to remove the wrist cuffs and thigh straps, all while stroking me on my back. "I don’t think we need these anymore,” he said. I had no idea what he meant. I was just happy he was touching me. My dick was happy too.

“Come, let’s make you ready for the night,” he said, got up and left the kitchen. I got up on all four and did my best to catch up with him. He walked to his bathroom and opened the door. I rushed to get in before him. “Hey, hey,” he lovingly scolded me. He turned on the light and revealed a large bathroom. Shower, bathtub, washing machine, lots of bottles of shampoo and jars with creams, and a large dog cage. “Sit,” he commanded.

I immediately sat down, pushing the tail plug in a bit. I felt a wave, like a shudder going from the ass through the body. He was looking through the large cupboard. “Ah,” he said and pulled out a small jar. He put on a disposable latex glove, and kneeled in front of my. “Let’s take care of that for you,” he said and freed my dick and balls from the jockstrap. He then dipped a few fingers in the jar and begun to massage some ointment all over my dick and balls. I didn’t recognize the faint smell. I could feel my private parts getting warmer, but if that was the salve or just him rubbing me I couldn’t tell. Then he put everything back into the jockstrap. “Let’s marinate that for a while and tomorrow you will last hours.” I didn’t understand him.

Then he went to the cage and opened it. I could see that the floor of the cage was filled with clothes. T-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, trunks, socks. It all looked like gym clothes, or at last lazy day attire. “Come here, get in your cage.” There was a small part of me that wanted to hesitate, so I didn’t run in but deliberately walked. I could feel my dick and balls heating up as they fully erect rubbed within my jockstrap. As I got close and closer to the cage I could smell it. It somehow made me excited and I sped up my stride the last few steps into the cage. It was just filled with different scents of him. Not citrus or cedar, but him. Socks he had been running in. A T-shirt he had slept in. A pair of sweatpants that had been through a lot. I just kept moving my head all around the cage. In indecision I just laid down and started to wiggle and rub against everything.

He closed and latched the cage door. “Good night, puppy. Dream about fucking me.” He didn’t need to tell me that.

[kyonkyonswife]

two - they're all animals!

‘they're all animals!’

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

“Hello! Package for you from Speedy Delivery!” 

“SHIT SOMEONE’S AT THE DOOR,” I exclaimed while holding the orange cat rushing to open the door while Tohru followed behind me.

I open the door quickly before shouting out. “THEY’RE…THEY’RE…THEY’RE ALL ANIMALS!”  

“Yes, ma'am, I see you have some animals there.” The delivery man said with a smile. “Could you sign this, please?

Tohru was hyperventilating behind me trying to catch her breath since I ran so fast to the door. 

“NO, WHAT I MEAN IS-“ As the dog cut me off while signing the package.

“What a smart dog!” The delivery man says as he hands me the package while the “animals” are on the floor. “Thank you, see you next time!” He waves as he walks away. 

Out of exhaustion, I fell to the floor with the package in my hands as Tohru sat down trying to catch her breathe still. 

“WE CAN’T EVEN MAKE A GOOD COVER STORY IF YOU JERKS TRANSFORM, TOO!” The orange cat screamed at the dog and rat. 

“You’re the one who slipped up first, you stupid cat.”

Tohru and I turned towards them and back at each other. 

“Th-they can speak human language?!?!” Tohru says confused. 

“EXCUSE ME?!?!”

“Shut up, clumsy cat.”

Shigure barked as Yuki still sat on his head, “Well, better to just tell them than to make up a story they won’t believe.”

“I have the dog spirit,” Shigure explained as he turned his head to face Tohru and me. “Yuki-kun has a rat spirit, and Kyo Sohma over there has a cat spirit. We’re all possessed.” The orange cat also known as Kyo kept on hissing then made a sassy face. 

“Others in the Sohma family are possessed by the other zodiac spirits, too. It’s run in the family for hundreds of years now.” Shigure continued to explain as I stood up grabbing Tohru’s hand to help her up. “It doesn’t give us any especially cool powers, though. Pretty much all we do is communicate with our respective animals, and for some reason, we transform when we’re sick, or when hugged by the opposite sex. We automatically turn human again after a while…” The minute he said that they turned back into their human form and Tohru and I were met with naked men, quickly I covered Tohru’s eyes and turned around as Tohru was freaking out. “…Buck naked, I’m afraid.”

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧  ✦  ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

In the dining room

Y/n’s pov

“Sorry, you had to see that.” Shigure apologized as they were finally dressed. “Are you girls feeling a bit calmer now?”

“Uh, I’ve mostly processed things. How about you Tohru?” I asked her as we sat at the table.

“Um same I’ve mostly processed things.”

Me and Tohru faced each other as if we read each other minds shocked. ‘This must be why Sohma-kun shoved away from the girl who tried to hug him.’

“Man, Kyo, you’re such an idiot!” Shigure says while sitting down in front of me. “Should a trained martial artist be so easy for a girl to sneak up on?” Shigure teased Kyo. “You really have eyes for no one except Yuki-kun!” As he continued to tease Kyo which seemed to make Kyo rile up. 

“DON’T MAKE ME SOUND CREEPY! AND DON’T BLAME ME.” Kyo exclaimed as he turned around to face us. “What the hell are they—two girls—doing here in the first place?!?” As he pointed at me and Tohru. I quickly got in front of Tohru to protect her just in case anything happened to her. 

“Be quiet. It’s none of your business whether there are girls in this house.” Yuki turned around. “You’re an outsider.”

“SHUT UP!” Yelled Kyo as he punched the table which caused my forehead to start bleeding but thank the lord Tohru was behind me. “Huh?”

“Y/n-kun, you’re bleeding!” Shigure and Yuki looked at me in worry.

“Uh it’s a little blood, I’ll be fine.” 

“Y/n you always say that when we were younger!” Tohru exclaimed. 

“We need to treat it fast,” Shigure said with a worried look on his face. 

Kyo looked like he was in shock but I could care less right now since my forehead was bleeding.

“Let’s see, antibiotic ointment…” As Shigure was looking for the ointment, Tohru was holding my hand in worry and Yuki smacked the shit out of Kyo.

“Yuk-“ 

“I knew you were an idiot, but I didn’t think you were this bad,” Yuki said with a calm look on his face as he unbuttons one of his buttons. “Out of respect of the sheer depth of your idiocy, I’ll do you a favor: I’ll fight you seriously,” Yuki said with a slight smile on his face. 

“Kyo, don’t bore me.” As Yuki raised a hand beside his face.

“Bring it on, girly-boy!” 

The duo started to fight. Kyo tried to kick Yuki but Yuki dodge it. They continued to fight as Tohru and I watched. Tohru looked concerned so she tried to call out to stop them. 

“Sohma-kun!”

I didn’t give a shit cause this fight was one of the most amusing things I have ever witnessed.

“Don’t worry, Tohru. They get along so badly it’s not even funny.” Shigure said while getting close to my face to clean the wound. “They’re always fighting like that.” 

“Er, shouldn’t we stop them?” Asked Tohru.

 “Nah, it’ll be over soon,” Shigure said as he tended to my wound. “Today will be…” As he finally placed a bandage on my head. “…Another win for Yuki-kun.” 

The minute Shigure whispered that Yuki suddenly got so close to Kyo’s face which made Kyo panic. It gave Yuki a chance to hit Kyo across the face his foot which sent Kyo flying through the doors into the small pond. 

“I told you not to bored me.” 

“Damn he went flying,” I smirked.

“He..he went flying…” Tohru said in shock. 

“Don’t you go breaking my house, too!”

“Y/n-san, how badly are you hurt?” Yuki asked as he kneeled beside me. 

“I’m fine, that fight was amusing though,” I said with a smile.

“Is he going to be alright?” Tohru asked with a slight lace of worry for the ginger. 

“Eh.”

“I figure he’s probably fine.” As Yuki said that Kyo came out of the water out of breath.

‘I never would have guessed that this boy they call “prince” was so tough. He’s so different at school. OH SHIT SCHOOL, THAT THE ONE THING TOHRU AND I PROMISED TO MOM TO FINISH.’

“Tohru, we’re going to be late for school!”

“AHH, I FORGOT WE HAVE SCHOOL!!”

“We’re sorry about our timing! But it’s very important to us that we get to school every day!” I said while standing up as I grab Tohru’s hand to help her up. 

“Of course. You both promised your mother, after all.” Shigure said. “Still, I’ll have to report what happened to Akito-san, the family head.” 

“Family head? That must be someone important. As long as they don’t harm Tohru in any way I don’t mind meeting them.” 

“We’ll go change our clothes now,” I said as I grab Tohru’s hand and run to our room. 

“Sure.” 

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

“That explains why you spilled our secret so easily,” Yuki said. “You’re planning to have their memories removed, like back then…” 

“No, I’m not, actually.” Spoke Shigure. “We had no choice that day because of how many people found out.”

“I’m going to school, too,” Yuki said while walking to his room to get dressed. “At least fix the roof, stupid cat!” 

“Kyo-kun, look after things here, okay?” Questioned Shigure. “Don’t even think about going missing again while I’m gone.” Stated Shigure as he walked away. “And be sure you apologize to Y/n-kun.” 

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

Timeskip

In class

“It’s not like you two be late. Did you two oversleep?” Uotani asked as she and Hanajima walked to Tohru and I’s desk.

“Huh? Oh, yea.” 

The day I told Tohru that I was her sister was the day we also told Hana-chan and Uo-chan since we thought it would be good for them to know.

“My, my! Oversleep, eh?” We all turn around to face the random girl who was talking to us. “You should have just stayed home.” As I was about to get up and beat the shit out of these bitches, Hana beat me to it and chased those girls with her evil waves.

“The prince came late today, too, so they’re extra suspicious,” Uotani told us as we continued to stare at the door. 

Tohru and I looked at each other and read each other’s minds again. ‘We definitely can’t tell them that we slept at Yuki’s house.’

Hanajima walked back in. “Morons. Their brain cells must not get much exercise.”

Without realizing it, Yuki stares at my group as we continued to talk. 

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

After school

I and Tohru walked down the hallway together as always. 

“Honda-san.” Tohru and I turned to see who called us. We saw that it was Yuki in an empty classroom. We entered the classroom curious about why Yuki had called us both in here.

“Sohma-kun?”

“You…didn’t tell your friends about us.”

“Hmm? No, we didn’t.” 

“Oh, no, did we make you worry about that?!” Asked Tohru. “We’ll never tell!”

“Tohru’s right, our mother often told us that only bad guys blab others’ secrets!”

“No, what I mean is…”

“We swear on an oath. We’ll seal it in blood, or with a cigarette burn, or whatever you want.” I declared.

“No, listen…”

“Our mom used to do that a lot-“

“That’s not the issue!” As Yuki kabedon me against the wall while Tohru just stood there shocked. I on the other hand was just confused asf. 

“I’m sorry. Even though you’re doing your best to keep our secret, we might end up erasing yours and Tohru’s memories.”

“Huh??”

“Not literally. It’s hypnotism. A long time ago, I got found out like we did today. A girl hugged me, just playing around. It turned into a big thing, and the memories of everyone there got suppressed.” Yuki explained.

“Sohma-kun” Tohru said as Yuki turned his head to face her instead of me.

“I’m sorry.” Yuki apologized as he started to walk away. “I can’t go against Akito’s decrees. No matter what decision gets handed down, I can’t do anything. So… I’m sorry.”

“W-wait, I-“ Tohru ended up colliding into Yuki’s back which caused him to transform. I quickly ran to the classroom door to close it. Thank the lord no one heard or saw us.

“I’m so sorry! It wasn’t on purpose, I swear!” Tohru said as she kept on apologizing while glooming at the wall.

“It’s fine, as long as no one saw.”

“You guys are so lucky that I ran to the door and closed it. A girl was running down the hallway and I think she heard it but left anyways.” I announced.

“Anyway thank you for worrying about us. I worry about Tohru way too much that sometimes I forget to worry about myself as well.” I stated while holding tightly onto my bag.

“It makes us happy. But we’ll be okay!” Tohru said while looking down Yuki’s rat form. “The way that we see it, is that you might have no choice if the secret that we found out was that important.”

I added to what Tohru said. “So please do whatever will make you and your family feel safe. I would do the same if It came down to me and Tohru.”

“Although the idea of forgetting does make us a little bit sad, we’ll grin and bear it!”

“Please promise us this Sohma-kun, if our memories get erased, please be friends with us again, okay?” As I said that Yuki turned back into his human form which made me and Tohru turn away in embarrassment.

“The amount of time we stay as animals varies,” Yuki explained while getting dressed. “Okay, all done.” He said as he turned around to face us.

“Your necktie is crooked,” I told him.

“I’m not very good at this sort of thing.” 

‘Then how did he fix his necktie this morning?!? Uh whatever, it probably better not to question him.’

I walked towards Yuki to fix his necktie. “Time to show what I can do I guess,” I said as I fix his necktie. 

“Y/n, you don’t feel sickened?” 

“Nope, I’m all better now!” 

“Huh? No, that’s not what I meant…” 

“Anyways shall we go home?”

“Yes, let’s!” Tohru said with a smile on her face as we all walk out of the classroom and down the hallway. 

“Thank you.”

“Don’t worry, tie-knotting is a specialty of mine.” 

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

Timeskip

At Shigure’s house 

I walk into my and Tohru’s room to place our bags down but was met with Kyo stepping down from the ladder.

“Call in a pro later to fix it for real,” Kyo said. 

‘Did this guy just tape the roof?’

“Right now you only need to keep the rain out, right?”

I stood in the doorway not knowing what to say. “Y-yeah.”

“Hey!”

“Yes?!?”

“I… get... tunnel vision. When I’m upset.” He explains while gripping the tape.

‘Damn I wish my throat was that tape right now, wait what.’

“So, about what happened this morning...”

“I’m… so—“

‘Omg he’s a tsundere, that’s so cute. I love tsunderes.’

“Yuki-kun, Tohru-sun, Y/n-kun, I’m back!” Shigure said as he interrupted what Kyo was going to say. “Oh, and Kyo-sun, that clumsy idiot who lost another fight!”

“Forget it, dammit!” Kyo said as he grabbed the ladder and ran past me. 

“Huh? Wait what just happened? Please, wait!” As I chased after the ginger not before placing down Tohru’s and I bag and closing the door. 

The slam of the door caused a bag to fall over which contained a hat.

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

“It’s good news. The Hondas are allowed to live with us as long as they keep our secret.” Shigure explained as he took off his coat.

“We won’t be punished?” Tohru asked.

“No, but you girls have to keep it quiet!”

“We will!”

‘Thank goodness. Our memories won’t go away and I won’t have to fight a random bitch who tries to touch Tohru’s memories.’

“That almost sounds too good to be true…” 

“You and Akito better not be plotting something and mixing the Hondas up in it,” Yuki said with a glare.

“No! Would I do that?”

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

Flashback

“I’ll trust this ‘Y/n and Tohru’ person…” 

“This might be a good opportunity…”

“For Yuki, for Kyo, and me.” 

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

End of flashback

“Excuse me.” Tohru interrupted them. “Er, I know it’s weird to say this again, but it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” As Tohru said that I said the same thing then bowed.

“Yours, too!”

“Yeah. Yours, too.”

Tohru and I walked up behind the ginger. “I-it’s a pleasure, um… Kyo-san.” Tohru said nervously. “Yeah, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Kyo-san.” 

“Whatever! I’ve got nothing—“ Kyo said to us before getting kicked in the face again by Yuki. “What the hell was that for?!”

“Go away, outsider.” 

Yuki and Kyo continued to argue with each other. 

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

Timeskip

“This is amazing,” Yuki said in amazement. “I’m impressed you guys managed to get such a rotten kitchen so clean.” 

“We gave it our all!”

“Shigure owns a rice cooker?”

“Oh yeah, Tohru excavated it,” I say as I swept the floor. 

We all gather in the dining area for Yuki to try out the food that Tohru and I made.

“So how is it? Is the flavor strong enough?” 

“It’s great. I haven’t had a meal like this in so long!”

“I’m so glad you like it.” Smiled Tohru.

“Shigure and that stupid cat are sure late. Where did they go, Siberia?”

“I hope that’s where they’ll stay.” I laughed.

“Y/n that’s mean,” Tohru exclaimed. “Anyways you went out for a while, too, right?”

“Yeah. I went to my secret base in the backyard.”

“Secret base?!” Tohru said with stars in her eyes.

“Tohru, I don’t think he’s talking about that one you’re thinking about.” I muffled while still stuffing my face with food.

“Yeah what Y/n said. It’s probably not what you’re imagining. But I’ll invite you two there some time if you want.”

“You’d let us come?!” Tohru said still with stars in her eyes. “I’m so excited! A secret base!” Tohru says while shaking me. “I saw one when Y/n and I were little, but—“

The door opened and revealed Kyo and Shigure. 

‘Damn Shigure looks good in a suit. Might have to hit it later/j. Oo, Kyo looks mad I wonder what happened.’

“SHUT UP!”

“I want you to listen for a second, Kyo.”

“I’m so pissed. Is it fun for you, manipulating people like that?!” Kyo yelled as he and Shigure sped-walked around us. Tohru looked invested so I shoved food down her throat. Don’t worry I didn’t choke her. It was only to turn her attention away from those idiots.

“Slow down! Sure, I’m thoroughly enjoying it, but it’s for your own good!”

Me shoving the food down Tohru’s throat didn’t work so I just let her be and continued to eat my food with Yuki.

“That’s so not convincing!”

“W-Welcome home! Would you like to eat?” Tohru asked frantically.

“HELL NO!”

The minute that ginger said that I was about to jump up and punch the shit out of him but then I realized he’s a tsundere so he’s going to act like that. 

“Don't take it out on Tohru-kun! And no shoes in the house.” 

“You aren’t convincing, Shigure.”

“Oh, there’s food ready.”

“So why was Kyo so upset?” I mumbled as I continued to munch on my food.

“Oh, him. It’s because I tricked him into taking a school transfer exam.” 

“Transfer?” Tohru questioned as she handed a bowl of rice.

“Yes. Starting tomorrow, Kyo-kun will be commuting from here to the same school you three go to.” Shigure explained while holding the bowl of rice. “Thanks for the cooking!”

“Don’t eat. Don’t come near us. Get out.” Yuki said with an evil aura around him. 

“Yeah, I figured you’d be angry… So the thing is, Kyo passed the exam for a boys’ high school near his place, but he never went, and he dropped off the map for over four months. He’s been training in the mountains.”

“Training?” Questioned Tohru.

“Kyo wants to beat Yuki-kun in a fight, you see. They’ve been rivals since they were little.”

“He’s an idiot. Thanks for the cooking.” Yuki thanks us before walking away.

“You’re welcoming.” 

‘I wonder if Kyo-san wants to beat Sohma-kun because he resents being tricked like he was in the old story. But I get the feeling it would be invasive to ask him that. And I think Kyo-san already hates me anyways... It makes me a little sad. I finally got to meet the zodiac cat, and yet…’

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

At school

“Where is he?”

“Look, over there! The boy with orange hair!”

“Think it’s his natural color?”

“He’s cute!”

“Say, are you Sohma-kun’s cousin?”

Kyo looked nervous as hell. He was sweating so much but I mean who wouldn’t be when a bunch of girls is all gathered up near his desk.

“Are you two close?”

Uotani, Tohru, and I stared at Kyo while Hanajima was curling my hair. 

“Yuki-kun, I hear your cousin transferred here?” 

I turn my head slightly to where Yuki was.

“Introduce us!”

“I’m sorry, Sempai. We’re technically cousins, but we’re not close.” Yuki turned around to explain. “I’ve never even spoken to him.” 

Uotani spoke up. “I like his hair color. It’s a little like Kyoko-san’s.

“I feel them. I feel the same waves as Yuki Sohma’s.” Hanajima spoke up. “What are they? What am I sensing? These waves aren’t human…” 

‘Never underestimate Hana-chan’s wave report.’

Kyo got up from his chair and was about to walk out until a girl grabbed his arm. “Wait, what? Where are you go—?” Kyo immediately grabbed the girl’s arm and put her in a locked position on the floor. Kyo was freaking out. 

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Kyo screamed as he opened the window and jumped from like what the third floor? 

Uotani spoke up “That guy’s kinda entertaining.”

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

At the side of the school

Kyo sat down trying to catch his breath until Yuki interrupt him. 

“Oy, would you mind thinking a little more before you act?”

“Why are you going to a school crawling with girls like this? Are you insane?”

“It’s a lot better than being forced to go to Akito’s chosen boys’ school. I want to get at least one foot out of the Sohma cage. I don’t understand why you want to go inside it.”

“You… You would never understand!” yelled Kyo. Tohru and I walked towards the yelling and found idiot 1 and idiot 2 together. 

“I’m going to win. I’ll win against you, and become a full-fledged member of the Sohma’s! I won’t let them ostracize me anymore!” As Kyo grabbed Yuki by his shirt. 

As I love a good fight, I wouldn’t want these idiots to get in trouble so I ran quickly into Kyo’s back to stop them from fighting.

“You know I would usually allow you guys to fight but we’re on school property and I rather not have you guys get in trouble,” I explained as Tohru ran to my side.

“CAN IT, YOU!” The stupid cat yelled at me. “ALL I CARE ABOUT IS BEATING YUKI! DON’T GET IN MY WAY! WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM?!”

“Oy, Kyo.”

“GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!” The cat said to me angrily. Normally I wouldn’t be affected by this but this was my favorite zodiac and I kinda felt my heart sunk. I walked away in shame. “Max rage… He hates me… I just earned his complete hatred…” I said in shock as Tohru led me away with a sad look on her face. 

“You are an idiot,” Yuki said as he began to walked away from the cat.

“You’re not going to punch me?” Wondered the cat.

“Sometimes, not getting punched hurts more,” Yuki said while finally walking away as the cat stared at his bracelet.

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

At Shigure’s house

“You skipped out on your very first day?” Questioned Shigure as he read the newspaper.

“I want to leave this house.”

“It’s only your third day here. Think of this as a form of training, and suck it up.”

“I always end up saying mean things to her.” 

“Her? You mean Tohru-kun?”

“No, the other one,” Kyo said while laying on his side. “I can’t do this, okay? I’m not cut out for living around other people.”

“You just don’t have enough experience, that’s all,” Shigure explained as he kept reading the newspaper. “Here’s an analogy: You can break a table with one punch, but you can also pull back that punch just before it lands. Getting along well with other people works the same way.” Shigure continued to explain.

“You need to interact with strangers, hurt them, get hurt by them, learn about people, and learn about yourself, too, or else you can’t become capable of true empathy.” Kyo turned around to face Shigure. “Keep training now and don’t run away, so that one day when you meet a girl who says she loves you, you’ll be able to treasure her.”

“Like there even is such a girl.” 

“What will you do if there is?”

“I can’t even imagine,” Kyo says as he turns back to face outside. “I guess I’ll start by asking her if she’s crazy.”

“I see.”

Yuki and Tohru open the door to the dining area. “I’m home.”

“Welcome back. Where is Y/n-kun?”

“At work. She won’t be done until later, so Tohru and I are thinking of walking her home.” 

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want my younger sister walking home by herself.” Smiled Tohru.

“Yeah, do that. Perverts sometimes wander around here.”

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

Timeskip

My shift had finished a few minutes ago and I was now walking home through this bamboo forest. 

‘Get out of my sight’

When Tohru said that she’d quit being the dog and be a cat instead, I did the same inside. 

“I can’t believe he hates me…”

‘Just be you, Y/n.’

“I know, mom, I won’t get discouraged!” I say while looking up to the moon. 

I heard a noise around me more specifically behind me. “Could… Could that be… one of the ‘perverts’ people talk about?! NO!” I screamed as I quickly hit the person with my bag. I open my eyes to see that it was Kyo. 

‘Oh shit, he’s going to hate me even more now.’ 

He turns around to face the other way.

“U-Um! I was just, er, doing practice swings!” I say in a panic. “It’s a lucky day, right! Are you going for a walk, Kyo-san?”

“Cut that out! Being called -san makes me itchy. You can just drop it.”

“Kyo… kun?”

“Yeah, what?”

“Uh, I was just testing the name.”

“Don’t say my name if you don’t need anything!” I started to shake as I gripped my bag as hard as I could. 

“Okay!”

“No, scratch that. It’s fine. You can call my name without needing anything. And I don’t mind if you hang around where I can see you, and if something pisses you off, you can hit me, as you did just now. 

‘Oh my god, he’s a tsundere, cute. I mean wait what. Anyways could he be trying to apologize to me? That’s why he came out here…?’

“Listen! I’m sorry, it was a misunderstanding.” I say while bowing then look up at him. “I said ’NO!’ And hit you with my bag because I mistook you for a pervert!” 

“A-A pervert?”

“What I feel is love! I’ve always loved the zodiac cat but I never really showed it when I was younger! It’s true! I… I wanted to be the year of the cat! So what I’m saying is… I want to be friends!”

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

Flashback

“What will you do if there is? A girl who says she loves you…”

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

End of flashback

“There’s nothing good about the year of the cat,” Kyo says while walking away. 

‘I think I’m starting to understand Kyo-kun. He’s a little awkward, but I’m sure he has a gentle heart. He knows what “I’m sorry” feels like… He’s an honest person…’

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

At Shigure’s house

“Kyo-kun, you lecher!” Shigure teased Kyo.

“Why would you say that?!” 

“You know, Kyo-kun personally offered to walk you home from work!” Tohru explained.

“It’ll never happen again! No more!”

“Okay.” I smiled at Kyo. “But seeing you eat a proper meal makes me even happier, Kyo-kun.”

“How is it? Do you like it?” Tohru asked.

Kyo caught Yuki staring at him.

“What?!”

“Nothing.”

“You were looking at me.”

“Only looking at you.”

“Like you would look at me for no reason!”

“Is it bad?” I asked Kyo.

“Yes!”

“Uh, I guess Tohru and I will try harder next time…”

“Uh, no… um…” 

‘As you can see, we patched things up. I have a feeling the days ahead will be fun!’

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧  ✦  ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

[jaskiersvalley]

My life has been absolute shit lately, and your blog has been the one constant, an anchor if you will; for me. I've probably blown up your notifications and are prob sick of seeing my little icon and I apologize but you have kept me sane. I just love you so much😭❤

I’m so sorry to hear life has been absolute shit lately! Whatever it is that’s going on for you, I really hope it gets better soon. I’m there in your corner and rooting for you. On a side note, please never feel you have to apologise for blowing up notifications. As a writer, it is one of the loveliest things to see, to have someone enjoy works so much, they make their way through multiple stories. Generally, those usernames are the ones that I’ll remember and grin at going “it’s you again” and be really happy to see. Even if we never talk, regulars in notifications bring a special kind of warmth with them. So all the thanks and love should be given to you for being such a wonderful soul.

As thanks, and as a little something to take your mind off whatever’s been going on, have a strange modern AU.

The shelter where Jaskier worked was a relatively quiet one. They tended to specialise in last hope strays and those that needed a home that wasn’t expecting the animals to be cute, convenient and snuggly. Usually, Jaskier’s role was more to sit with the animals, sing to them and get them used to human presence. Sometimes it took weeks before one of the animals dared approach him or stopped growling at his mere presence. But each time it happened, Jaskier’s heart almost burst with love. He adored every single animal that came to the shelter, broken and hurting as they were. In part, Jaskier felt responsible for them and wanted to make sure that no matter what had happened in the past, their future was as bright as possible.

As well as the animals, there was another reason Jaskier loved the shelter. The people he worked with. Namely, one particular volunteer who came in at least once a week and often more when there was a particularly difficult case. Geralt had a reputation as a take no shit gentle giant. He’d had his fair share of bites, scratches and incidents but not once did he ever blame the animal in question. No matter how many times he got attacked, he returned, worked with the animal and tried his best to win them over. As far as Jaskier knew, he had yet to fail.

Some animals needed more attention than others. They were usually referred to as ‘Geralt specials’ because most of the time, it was Geralt who managed to start working with the animal in question. At that moment in time, there was only one such dog at the shelter, a mastiff cross of some description. She had come in half starved and petrified of any human contact. Even Jaskier sitting quietly on the other side of the door to her kennel had her snarling and snapping, throwing herself at the cage door. Any dog doing that would have been scary, when it was a dog Roach’s size, it was downright terrifying. But Geralt had come in and worked his magic. The first time Jaskier saw him slip out of the kennel, he hd expected to see copious amounts of blood. Instead, he got to see Geralt turn back to the kennel and offer a soft smile before acknowledging Jaskier with a nod.

Over time, Jaskier and Geralt started getting on better and better. While Geralt never stayed around when Jaskier played, claiming he wasn’t fond of the racket, he still seemed to linger nearby enough to catch the softly drifting music without being obvious about it. Their nods to each other had become a few exchanged pleasantries. Then it was chats int he staff room. Or even walking the dogs together, Geralt always taking Roach if possible.

“I’m moving,” Geralt announced out of the blue, Roach sitting next to him, tongue lolling happily.

“Does that mean we’ll lose you?” Jaskier’s heart actually hurt at the idea.

Thankfully, Geralt shook his head. “I wanted somewhere bigger, with a garden.” He looked down at Roach and patted her head. She growled, obviously not in the mood for gentle attention.

It was no secret that Geralt was absolutely doting on Roach. He’d even turned a few potential adopters towards other dogs, claiming she was still a work in progress. Though Jaskier had suspected that, with the right person, Roach would have been ready to leave the kennel. Maybe now, with Geralt getting a more appropriate place for a dog, he could actually adopt her himself.

“Will you not be lonely in a bigger place?” Jaskier teased, hoping to get Geralt to admit to his plans.

“No.” Geralt looked at Jaskier with a frown. “Are you asking if I need a housemate?”

Laughter bubbled up in Jaskier’s throat at that and he shook his head. However, he didn’t push the matter any further.

Days went by and Jaskier was called to the front desk. Two men, built like small mountains were standing there. While they looked nothing like Geralt, there were enough shared mannerisms that Jaskier had to wonder whether they knew each other.

“We’re here to adopt a dog called Roach,” the smaller one said.

Priscilla at the desk looked quite stricken. They all had been hoping Geralt would adopt her soon. But, as Geralt had said, moving was expensive and disruptive. He couldn’t bring a dog into the home if he couldn’t safely provide for them.

“I’m afraid Roach isn’t up for adoption just yet,” Jaskier tried to worm his way out of it. “I would be more than happy to show you a few other dogs though.”

“It has to be Roach,” the man insisted.

The other guy finally spoke up. “Sorry, to clarify, we’re Geralt’s brothers. I’m Eskel, this is Lambert. He’s been working with that dog for so long and hasn’t shut up about her. At first we thought it was two dogs, but we’re not sure who would name a dog Jaskier.”

Snickering, Jaskier nodded. “I’m Jaskier. Geralt won’t shut up about me?”

In testament to all of Geralt’s hard work with Roach, she greeted Lambert and Eskel in a civilised fashion. Which made more sense when Eskel admitted he was wearing a hoodie he stole from Geralt.

“She can spend the night at mine. Geralt’s got tomorrow off, his house is as ready as it’s ever going to be. Want to help bring her over?”

The plan was quickly hatched. Jaskier would pick Roach up from Eskel’s the next afternoon. Lambert and Eskel would be at Geralt’s and keep him from getting stuck in on some chore so when Jaskier arrived with Roach, he wouldn’t be interrupted.

There was only one hiccough to their plan. The following morning, Geralt turned up at the shelter even though he wasn’t on the rota. He walked to the back and Jaskier saw the moment he realised Roach’s kennel was empty.

“What’s happened to her?” Geralt’s eyes were wide, face stoically set into something vaguely neutral to hide a breaking heart upon learning she had been adopted.

Jaskier felt awful, realising Geralt had been hoping to finally adopt her. Instead, Geralt gritted his teeth and nodded.

“Did she go to a good home?”

“The best,” Jaskier nodded. “Guy with a house and a garden. She loved him and even tolerated the guy’s maybe boyfriend.”

That was a bit of a cheeky thing to add but Jaskier couldn’t help himself. He had hopes. What he wasn’t braced for was the way Geralt nodded once and made his excuses to leave. On the way out, he dropped a roll of money into the fundraising jar on the reception desk. Jaskier didn’t need to count it to know it was exactly the same amount as an adoption fee. There was a defeated slope to Geralt’s shoulders and Jaskier was reaching for his phone, calling Eskel.

“We need to move up the timeline. He just came by to try and adopt Roach.”

A quick jiggling of lunch breaks and cover later, Jaskier was taking an early lunch and on his way to Eskel’s. He smiled at the dog, loving the big old bow Eskel had managed to attach to her collar.

“Come on girl,” Jaskier coaxed her into the car. “Time to go home.”

He pulled up outside Geralt’s driveway. Somehow, Eskel and Lambert had already managed to coax Geralt onto the porch and Jaskier got to see the annoyed scowl before recognition smoothed Geralt’s features into something confused.

“Sorry to bother,” Jaskier said as he opened up the boot of his car. “But I’ve got something of yours that needed delivering.”

Roach hopped out with a huff and looked around.

“Roach?” Geralt’s voice was full of hope. His dog heard and Jaskier had no chance of holding her leash as she bounded towards Geralt.

Lambert and Eskel took a step back as Roach collided with Geralt and they went sprawling on the ground. They both looked so happy, Jaskier wanted to take a photo and treasure it forever. Thankfully, it seemed that Lambert had the same idea as he’d already whipped his phone out to take pictures. Meanwhile, Eskel pulled out the adoption papers from him pocket.

Finally a little calmer, Geralt sat up and stared at the three of them. “I thought she got adopted.”

“She did. By a guy with a house and a garden. The best home she could hope for,” Jaskier replied.

“Didn’t the guy also have a maybe boyfriend?” Off to the side, Eskel snorted and made no attempt to even hide it. Jaskier had the grace to blush lightly even as he shrugged. “Could we make it a definite boyfriend?” Geralt asked softly.

It was Jaskier’s turn to grin but he didn’t step closer. “While I’m very happy, I think I would prefer not to tackle you to the floor and lick you all over to express it. The bed however,” he trailed off suggestively.

Lambert barked out a laugh and punched him in the shoulder merrily. “We’ll leave you three to figure out who is allowed on the bed and who wears a collar. See you around.”

“Stay,” Jaskier replied. “I need to get back to work. But, maybe, when I’m done, I could come by and see how Roach is settling into her new home?”

He looked at Geralt hopefully. “I could even bring some wine and doggy treats.”

“Deal.”

That was how Jaskier found himself with a date for that evening.

[hargrove-mayfields]

okay so I saw this amazing post by @deardmvz and it reminded me that I had a similar wip laying around somewhere and she requested I finish it!! so here it is!!

Billy thought it would be a breeze, taking a road trip to Tennessee with Steve sounded like nothing compared to the thirty some odd hours he’d spent in the car from California to Indiana.

But twice on the way down the Camaro, on her last leg after repairs, had threatened to give up on them, the brakes getting testy until he had to pull over and give her a rest. It was the summer, and the a/c kept cutting out. Everyone seemed to have the same idea as them, and the roads were packed.

With the car giving them trouble, Steve refused to let him go any more than five over before he started gripping the seat and demanding he slow down, so what had been supposed to be a six hour trip turned into closer to ten.

So much for an easy trip.

By the time they were finally rolling into town, of course struggling to find a parking space anywhere near their destination, Billy was already dreading the drive back to Hawkins.

Because the only reason they were even here was because Steve had a craving for some taffy he’d gotten as a kid when he was down south visiting his grandma, so the minute they popped into that little candy shop and got what they were here for, they’d be back on the road within the hour.

This was a tourist trap kind of town too, 3D movie theaters and putt-putt courses and tacky museums galore, so he seriously doubted they would even be able to afford much more than a little bag of candy if they tried to stick around.

It’s decidedly worth it though, having spent all that time in the car, because he gets to see Steve all excited like, acting just like a kid again as he drags him through the crowded streets, stopping at the window of the candy shop with a smile pressed against the glass. Excitedly, he declares, “It’s still here!”

So Billy tries his best to return the smile and not let his grimace at the unexpected difficulty of the trip or the frankly ridiculous prices the place was charging for candy show. He remembers how he’d felt when he realized he would never have a cake from the local bakery back in his hometown for one of his or Max’s birthdays again, so he’d let Steve have this. Even if it cost ten bucks for a pound of taffy logs.

He buys himself a bag of cordial cherries too, figures he might as well get a little something out of it if the trip was going to be such a pain. The smile that Steve gives him when he has his own purchase at the checkout doesn’t go unnoticed either.

With their mission achieved, Steve practically skips back to where they’d left the Camaro in a pay-to-park lot a few blocks over. He stops at the drivers side door, hooks two fingers through the handle. “So who’s driving?”

“Uh-uh. You’re not taking my baby anywhere buzzed on sugar.” Steve pouts, but he doesn’t argue. Just circles around the other side and gets comfortable in the passenger seat.

Billy’s glad, because he doesn’t think he would’ve made it the whole way back home with Steve ‘drives like his late grandma’ Harrington behind the wheel.

Not too long into the ride back it’s already starting to get dark. It’s much quieter this time around, much calmer too, with the roads seeming to clear out as the sun disappears behind the mountains.

Were it not for the occasional crinkle of a candy wrapper, Billy probably wouldn’t have even known Steve was still awake, the way he was leaning so far back into his seat.

But in the same way that Steve’s back seat driving on the way up had made him feel tense, the silence makes him feel jittery, and the dark makes him paranoid. The prospect of at least another four hours in the car makes him feel trapped.

He reaches over and turns the radio on to distract from the emptiness, probably pushing the dial a bit more aggressive than was necessary, and a talk show, some sad sap call-in station where you overshare with the dj and they dedicate you a song that’s supposed to make you feel better, fills the silence, drowns out the irritating sound of tires on pavement.

He isn’t paying any attention, he’d turned it down as far as he could and still be able to hear it, so he must have missed something, because Steve sits bolt upright, bringing with him the previously reclined seat with a creak of the springs to exclaim, “Oh my god, Bill.”

He glances over at Steve for the briefest of seconds before his eyes quickly flick back to the road ahead, his heart skipping for just a second when he realizes he hadn’t been watching. “The taffy not as good as you remember it?”

“No it totally is. It’s our song, it’s on the radio.” His sounds like he’s going to burst from excitement as he explains himself and cranks the volume way high. Definitely too much sugar.

Though it’s not quite as extreme as Billy usually keeps it, it's still loud enough it takes a moment for his ears to adjust and recognize what is indeed the piano intro to what Steve had declared ‘their song’, of which he insists, “You gotta sing it babe.”

The concept of having a song was a fairly recent one, something that had been decided when Billy had started moving his things into Steve’s place, and he’d found some old record albums of his mothers that he’d kept hidden in his room for years.

Most of them were warped and scratched so badly they skipped through entire songs until they were unrecognizable as music. Others were covered in so many layers of dust and dirt they’d have needed hosed off before even thinking about putting them in their player.

Among the very few records still undamaged after being moved and stored for far too long were Farewell Andromeda, Electronically Tested, and a 45 of Don’t Go Breaking My Heart/Snow Queen.

John Denver was so not their speed, and Mungo Jerry was just a little too far out there for their tastes, so they kept the 45 and trashed or gave away most of the rest, if the sentimental value wasn’t too strong.

That little record was the sort of middle ground of their tastes, though neither would have ever fessed up about the soft spot for old pop to the other were it not for finding that old single under Billy’s bed, but from then on they’d spun it in Steve’s old console player more times than anyone should have been able to stand.

Over time, in the storage side of the player, they amass quite the collection of similar albums, more Elton John, ABBA, and god, Billy would never admit this to anyone, but goddamn Bees Gees, both on vinyl and cassette, but Don’t Go Breaking My Heart/Snow Queen forever held a special place in their hearts, and in their music rotation.

Everytime it came on the little battery radio in the kitchen or either slipped it into the player, it was tradition that they’d drop whatever they were doing and sing along with Elton and Kiki.

Just because, the romantic that he was, Steve had decided it was their song.

And honestly, Billy couldn’t argue with that, for obvious reasons the lyrics were special to the both of them, and the song was designed to be insanely catchy anyways, but right now he was busy driving, focusing all his attention on every dark corner of the road ahead. “‘M drivin’ Stevie.”

“Pleeease?” Steve glances between the radio and Billy with those puppy dog eyes of his, and offers a pointless bribe, just to help make his case. “I’ll give you a taffy.”

“Alright, alright.” Billy didn’t care about taffy, in all truthfulness he thought it was disgusting, definitely not a treat worth a minimum six hour drive for, but even watching the road he could see the expectant look in his boyfriends eyes from the passenger seat, so it didn’t take much convincing.

They’d missed the first few lines while they were debating it, so he tells Steve, “You start it then.”

With a smile that made it worth it, he does. He turns the volume up even higher and jumps right in on Kiki Dee’s “You take the weight off of me”

That was the indisputable rule Steve had established the very first time they’d played the record, that he would always sing Kiki’s parts of the song, and Billy Elton’s. Billy still didn’t really know exactly why that was, but he didn’t see a reason to argue.

So he does his line, “Oh honey when you knock on my door” and Steve gives him the biggest smile he can muster, as though he wasn’t expecting him to actually join in, and goes straight into his next with all the more enthusiasm. “Ooh, I gave you my key”

Ooh, nobody knows it

When I was down

I was your clown

Ooh, nobody knows it

Right from the start

I gave you my heart

Oh, I gave you my heart

Billy’s been known to get super into the whole thing, dancing like a goof, using anything he can find as a microphone just to get a rise out of Steve, but there’s a definite lack of that enthusiasm this time around.

It’s not that he doesn’t care about doing things like this like this with Steve, quite frankly, just the fact that they were even to a point in their relationship to have something as cheesy as their own song meant the world to him. He just was feeling, a little off.

So don't go breaking my heart

I won't go breaking your heart

Don't go breaking my heart

Steve definitely catches it, he’s the master at being able to tell when Billy’s not feeling his best. He calculates, and waits until the next break in the song to put his hand on Billy’s thigh. To let him know that the lyrics are directed at him. To remind him of the reason why they ever picked a damned Elton John song to be theirs.

And nobody told us

Because nobody showed us

And now it's up to us babe

Oh, I think we can make it

So don't misunderstand me

You put the light in my life

Oh, you put the spark to the flame

I've got your heart in my sights

It’s like an unspoken conversation, carried out entirely through the touch of Steve’s skin against his, the few seconds of eye contact Billy’s willing to allow before he’s back to watching the road, through the song on the radio that was theirs.

Ooh, nobody knows it

When I was down

I was your clown

Ooh, nobody knows it

Right from the start

I gave you my heart

Oh, I gave you my heart

Ever since being discharged from the hospital, no matter how hard he tried to appreciate being alive and what not, Billy still had moments like these where he was distant, only engaging with part of himself. It made him feel ungrateful, selfish. Like he didn’t deserve it.

Don't go breaking my heart

I won't go breaking your heart

Don't go breaking my heart

Now that he really thought about it, he’s guessing the only reason Steve had even made him drive all the way to Tennessee for a bag of candy they could have just bought at the dollar store was because he knew it was one of those days.

Ooh, nobody knows it

When I was down

I was your clown

Right from the start

I gave you my heart

Oh, I gave you my heart

It’s certainly the reason he’s belting his heart out in the passenger seat of Billy’s car to a lame old pop song, and it’s at least, in some small part, the reason why Billy’s heart feels so full at the sight of it.

Don't go breaking my heart

I won't go breaking your heart

Don't go breaking my

Don't go breaking my

Don't go breaking my heart

Don't go breaking my

Don't go breaking my

I won't go breaking your heart

Don't go breaking my heart

Don't go breaking my

I won't go breaking your heart

Don't go breaking my heart

Don't go breaking my

The song fades out before it’s over, the last few lines of the chorus cut off by a dj on a time schedule, but they finish it anyways, shouting over each other and the next song as it begins to play.

Steve dissolves into a fit of giggles, and Billy’s sure if he wasn’t driving he’d kiss the life out of him right then.

The radio gets turned back down to just background noise, and Steve gets settled back in again. He keeps humming to himself from where he’s settled back against the door in his reclined seat. It’s most likely an unconscious action, he does that a lot when he's drowsy, but it’s successful in keeping the tension out of the car.

At least, Billy doesn’t feel even half as on edge about the estimated three hours still left before they’d be back in Hawkins as he did before.

Because even if it started a little shaky, he was glad to have spent the day with nobody but Steve. No nosy teenaged brats refusing to mind their own business, no bosses calling them into work, no doctors appointments or friends dropping by for unannounced visits.

It was just him and Steve and the open road, and EJ and Kiki Dee, and a little bit of expensive candy, that helped too.

[fullmetalscullyy]

the way it was - chapter 32

summary: what if riza never went to war? riza hawkeye has just married the man she loves. six months into their marriage, an unexpected surprise stops her from following roy to the military. a canon divergence au that explores what might have happened had riza been unable to join the military. there will be plenty of family fluff, angst, and royai.

rated: m | warnings: no archive warning apply

read on ao3

1914

yes you'll be in my heart

from this day on now and forever more

The day the newest member of the Mustang household was born into the world started out just like any other.

Riza, exhausted before it even hit nine o’clock in the morning, hurried their easily excitable daughter to get ready for school as quickly as possible after Roy left for work. They made it to the school gates just in time for Riza to give Mia a quick kiss and for Mia to give Hayate a scratch behind the ears in farewell.

Chuckling, Riza turned away from the school once Mia entered the building. Hayate was whining quietly, sorry to see his best friend disappear for the next few hours.

“Come on, Hayate,” she ushered, signalling for him to walk.

Despite his vocal despair, Hayate obeyed but kept looking behind him to see if Mia would suddenly appear. It had been years, but this was his behaviour every time. Riza didn’t want to see her dog suffering, however it was amusing and warmed her heart to know they shared such a strong bond. Nothing would ever tear those two apart and Riza was grateful for it.

They walked along the pavement towards the centre of town to the large park. It was slow progress. Most days, Riza felt like she was moving through honey, but the doctor assured her that walking was still good exercise and an activity she should be partaking in as much as possible. It may also move the baby on further, which Riza was completely in favour of. She loved their child and didn’t mind being pregnant in the slightest, but she wanted to meet them already. Her ankles weren’t too sore thanks to Roy’s foot rub that morning. However, the pain still plagued her and they were almost always in constant pain in the evenings. Her back pain had finally eased a little, thankfully. Instead of it being short and sharp it was a constant dull ache. Headaches became her most prominent gripe, but Riza felt that was more manageable. As least she could move around more easily with a sore head, compared to back ache.

If Riza could bend down comfortably and let Hayate off the lead, she would. She winced as she twisted, feeling a light cramp in the muscles of her stomach so opted not to push her luck. Instead, Hayate had to walk dutifully by her side on his lead, which he didn’t seem to mind. He wandered and Riza let him, sniffing the edges of the path and foraging through piles of old dead leaves that hadn’t quite disintegrated yet in the winter cold. He never once pulled.

He’s such a good dog, Riza thought fondly as she watched him stop and wait for her to catch up. Once she did, he continued onwards, and this happened throughout their walk like clockwork. Riza enjoyed watching his antics. She loved their little pup.

Once home, Riza sat down on their couch, spent. That discomfort in her stomach was still present but it came in short bouts. As time moved on, the bouts prolonged further, but it was probably just the baby shifting. She’d been warned that would happen as she reached her fortieth week of pregnancy, and the same had happened with Mia as well. Until the pain came, Riza would try not stress herself out too much.

It was really nice, Riza realised, not to have coursework to go through while Mia was at school. After achieving her certification, her days opened up completely. Riza didn’t know what to do with herself having so much free time. She’d need to find something new to fill her focus, but while waiting on Baby Mustang to be born, she allowed herself a break. Once the baby arrived it would be all hands on deck and she’d probably not sleep properly for months. Roy reasoned with her to enjoy the peace while she could.

The first contraction hit, waking Riza from the light sleep she’d fallen into on the couch. It was uncomfortable, the sharp pain lasting only a few seconds. Heart thudding inside her chest, Riza pulled herself off the couch just in time for her water to break.

“Uh…” Never had a more eloquent sound come out of Riza’s mouth in that moment as she stared down at the puddle of water on the carpet. “Oh… Shit.”

That was quick.

Hayate looked down at the puddle. Riza was afraid he’d come over and sniff or drink it. Then he looked up at her, cocking his head to the side.

Another contraction hit, painful and leaving her breathless. Clutching her abdomen, Riza breathed through it while Hayate whined at her feet. His ears pulled back as he stared up at her, distressed by Riza’s current state.

“It’s all right, boy,” she panted. Sweat trickled down her temple, making her swipe at it irritably.

He was hot in her heels as Riza hobbled over to the phone.

“Colonel Mustang,” Roy greeted professionally once Riza had made her way through the process of the operator.

“Roy,” Riza greeted. She opened her mouth to continue when another contraction hit. Riza gasped as a sharp pain shot through her. The timing was ‘perfect’ and she rolled her eyes before they squeezed tightly closed and grit her teeth.

“Riza?” He was instantly alarmed, proving Riza’s assumption correct. She would have liked to get out what was happening to her first before Roy heard her groan in pain. It would only make him fret.

“I’m fine,” she choked out, clenching her jaw hard. “I’m all right. It’s the baby, Roy. My water just broke.”

“Holy shit.”

Riza burst out laughing but it quickly turned to a hiss of pain.

“Oh, shit, um… Right.” He was flapping on the other side of the phone, flustered after her sudden announcement. Just like Riza had predicted.

“Roy, I’ll get you at the hospital,” Riza told him.

“What?” He squawked at her, horrified at her suggestion. “I’m coming home to get you!”

“I’ll get Chris to come. She’s closer,” Riza reasoned.

They’d already had this conversation, which Roy agreed to. When faced with the sudden appearance of his child Roy was freaking out. All sense of reason had gone out the window.

Riza’s breathing finally evened out as the wave of pain passed. Her shoulders sagged in relief. Riza tried to catch her breath as she leaned against the wall beside her heavily.

“Riza –”

“Go to the hospital,” she urged him, stressing the importance of that command. “I’ll see you there.”

“Riza!”

“Roy, for God’s sake, just go!” Riza cried. “It makes no difference who takes me!”

“But –”

“Go,” she almost growled. “You being there is more important than making me wait longer for you to pick me up.” There was a short, sharp stabbing pain once more. Her fingers dug into the skin of her stomach as her eyes squeezed tightly closed. “At this rate, the kid may be born here if you don’t stop arguing with me and get off the phone.”

“Right. Okay.” He sounded calmer now that he had direction. It also sounded like he was psyching himself up to make the journey. “All right. See you soon. I love you.”

“Love you too, Roy,” she smiled, hiding her gasp behind a harshly bit lip until she heard the click of him hanging up. Once he had, a loud groan of pain left Riza’s lips, but she still reached with shaking fingers to dial Chris’ number.

“Chris? My water broke,” Riza panted into the phone.

“On it,” Chris barked, and there was the sound of movement. “See you in ten minutes.”

She hung up.

Quick and efficient, that’s what Riza needed.

*      *      *

Riza batted her eyes open and was greeted with the sight of a hospital room. Every muscle in her body felt sore, strained and fatigued after the few hours of labour she’d endured. There wasn’t much strength left in her to lift her head off the pillow, so she rolled it in place, moving from one side of the room to the other.

In the chair by her bedside, Roy was snoring gently. He looked as exhausted she felt, head tipped over the back of the chair with his nose pointed straight up to the ceiling. He would probably have a crick in his neck when he awoke. His legs were sprawled out, hanging wide open, the muscles completely relaxed. Arms were hung over the sides of the chair.

Their new-born child rested in the tiny crib beside Roy. One of his hands gripped the railing of the crib as he dozed, desperate for that connection between himself and his son.

Son…

Riza smirked tiredly, remembering the mop of black hair she’d seen on her son’s head before he was whisked away to be cleaned up by the nurses. Their little one had given her such a hard time after her water broke, that once he was born, meeting him was a blur before quickly falling asleep in her exhaustion. The last thing Riza remembered seeing was their child resting upon her chest as Roy looked on, tears in his eyes but a massive grin on his face.

Throat dry, Riza cleared it, feeling a scratch of pain. Smacking her lips, she thought about how desperate she was for a glass of water.

Roy snorted, sitting upright and blinking tiredly. He muttered her name, still looking half asleep before eyes fluttered closed once more. A deep sigh left his lungs as he settled back into the chair with an uncomfortable grimace.

Unable to help herself, Riza laughed. However, her throat was so dry and irritated, it caused her to break out into a coughing fit.

“Riza?” Blinking blearily, Roy forced himself to focus on her.

Offering him a tired wave Riza silently reassured her husband she was fine.

“Riza!” In a flash, Roy was upright and leaning towards her. He grasped the hand closest to him tightly, rubbing his thumbs over the back of her palm as a comfort. “What do you need? Is there anything I can get you?”

“Water,” she requested.

His warmth left her hand as both reached towards her head, but off to the side. On the bedside table, apparently there had been a pitcher of water left. Riza hadn’t even noticed or seen it. Not that she had enough strength to turn her head that far to see.

It dribbled down her chin, pooling in the hollow of her neck, but it was cool and refreshing nonetheless. Roy wiped away the excess liquid carefully and settled back into his chair, a tired, yet immensely proud smile on his face.

Riza took in his appearance. Her labour had been relatively quick compared to Mia’s. Within a few hours she’d birthed Baby Mustang and brought him into the world. Still, Roy looked drained and Riza had expected as much. Upon her arrival, he’d been flapping again, both stressed for Riza and frantic on her behalf. It was his first time going through it so she still worried. He’d been working himself up into a frenzy as Riza rode out her contractions. Chris managed to keep him calm when Riza couldn’t which she was thankful for. She thought he might faint in the delivery room, but Roy didn’t. He managed to keep himself upright and present for her, patting the hand that was holding him in a death grip.

“How are you feeling?”

“Tired,” Riza answered, cracking a smile, “but I’m happy.”

“Me too,” he beamed.

“Where is he?”

“Right here, Riza.”

Roy wheeled the crib over to her bedside, moving it between himself and the bed.

Her head wouldn’t lift for long off the pillow, causing Riza to huff in frustration. But, after a quiet chuckle from Roy, he stood and leaned over, supporting her had as she gazed down at her child. Easily, he slipped in behind her and the pillows, taking all her weight. Riza’s abdominal muscles ached but she pushed through. Her child was more important than her pain.

Baby Mustang was perfect. His face and body were tiny. His little fingers were gathered into his palm, resting up by his face against his rosy cheek. His smallest finger twitched, elongating for a moment, before curling back in with the others. Riza’s entire body melted at the sight of him. That mop of black hair stuck up on end with static as it rubbed against the sheet in his crib. The white swaddle was tight against his tiny body, making him seem so much smaller than he was.

“He’s amazing,” Riza choked out. She laughed, wiping away a tear as she groaned.

“What?” Roy laughed along with her, tears in his own eyes as he gazed lovingly down at her and rubbed her upper arm affectionately.

“With Mia I was a sobbing mess after giving birth,” Riza chuckled. “It seems it will be happening again,” she sniffed.

Roy laughed. “You’re allowed to be, I think,” he murmured. “He’s worth crying over…” He trailed off and Riza watched as Roy stared down at the baby, completely in awe of what he was seeing.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Riza whispered, moving her eyes so she was staring down at Baby Mustang too. Her head tipped to rest against Roy’s cheek. A tight pressure on her fingers distracted her for a second.

“Me too,” Roy whispered, eyes shining as he lifted her hand to his lips. A hard kiss was pressed to the back of it.

“What shall we call him?”

They’d discussed names. One stuck out for Riza the most, but she wanted Roy to admit it and accept it completely himself before she pushed the idea. It was fitting, naming their son after their late friend, Riza thought. A lovely homage. Whether Roy committed to it or not, Riza wanted to see. She hoped he would because she knew how much it would mean to him.

Roy swallowed thickly as he gazed down at their son. He was silent, struggling to come up with his answer. Patiently, Riza followed suit and simply stared at Baby Mustang so she could marvel at his tiny fingers and nose, giving Roy all the time he needed.

“I know what you want to call him,” Roy whispered.

“Is it so wrong?”

Roy shook his head. “Not wrong. Not at all,” he reassured. “But…”

“What, Roy?” Her prompt was gentle. Before the birth she purposefully hadn’t brought it up because she didn’t want to upset him. However, they needed to get to the bottom of it before it was too late. Riza didn’t want there to be any regrets.

“I don’t know if I can name him after Maes,” Roy admitted quietly.

“Why not?” She was genuinely curious. What were his reasonings?

“It… I don’t know,” he admitted in defeat.

“You can tell me,” Riza urged.

“I know but…” His breath sounded strangled before he cleared his throat. “I don’t know… It feels like it’s too much,” he mumbled.

“We named Mia after your mother,” Riza reminded him.

“I know,” he admitted. “So it’s your turn to choose who we name him after.” He was trying a different tactic.

Riza shook her head. “There’s no one in my family worth naming our son after.”

Roy huffed.

“It will be a lovely homage to your brother,” she whispered. Riza gripped his fingers tightly to give them a quick squeeze.

Roy cleared his throat, his spine straightening. He blinked the tears from his eyes and sighed heavily in acceptance.

“Are you sure?”

“As sure as I’ve ever been,” Riza nodded.

Roy glanced at her out the side of his eye.

“I’ve known this would be what it would boil down to if we had a son,” Riza admitted. “I have no issue at all with it, so long as you're happy with the choice.”

He tried to cover up his tears by clearing his throat again. He shifted, gripping onto Riza tightly as he stared down at baby Maes. A choked sob left him, which Roy also tried to hide, but the second one was impossible to restrain. Soon, tears were falling down his cheeks.

Riza grinned at him.

“Welcome to the word, baby Maes,” she cooed quietly as Roy sniffed and nodded in agreement beside her. He was unable to speak.

*      *      *

“He’s named after Uncle Maes?” Mia’s voice was barely above a whisper as she gazed down at Maes in his baby carrier. Her eyes were wide as she tried to take in every detail of her baby brother. She’d already stated his tiny fingers were her favourite thing about him.

Riza nodded. “He is.”

“That’s so cool… Was I named after anyone?”

Roy cocked his head then grimaced. “You were,” he replied carefully, “but I’ll tell you all about that once we get Mum and Maes settled.”

Announcing that she was named after her grandmother would confuse their six-year-old, so Riza understood Roy’s hesitation. According to Mia, Chris was her grandmother and had been for her entire life. It wasn’t worth confusing her just now without an opportunity to explain properly so Mia would understand.

“Okay!” Her grin was back on her face as she skipped after her father. Since meeting Maes she hadn’t ventured far from his side, desperate to keep her eyes on him.

Vanessa helped Riza inside the house, grasping her elbow lightly for support just in case. She’d been too tired to reassure that she was fine and could walk by herself, so let her sister-in-law guide her inside.

“Do you want to go upstairs?” Vanessa looked at Riza expectantly, awaiting direction.

“The couch is fine,” Riza answered. She wasn’t quite ready to leave her family just yet.

Mia meeting Maes was one of the most adorable things Riza had ever seen. She’d gasped so quietly, creeping over to look at him, silent as a mouse, afraid to disturb him. Riza melted as she watched on, feeling tears prick the corner of her eyes. She was so considerate of him already. Now that they were home, she was hovering over his baby carrier once more in the centre of the room. All she did was stare at him in wonder.

“Need anything Riza?”

She shook her head before shooting Roy a grateful smile.

“Would you like a coffee?” Roy extended the offer to Vanessa.

“That would be lovely, thank you.” 

Riza was eased onto the couch with the help of Vanessa. Once she was seated, her sister-in-law flipped her hair out of the way before looking expectantly back at Riza.

“Do you need anything? Any more cushions?”

“No, I’m all right. Thank you though, Vanessa. For all your help.”

“Of course,” she beamed. “It’s no problem, you know that.”

Vanessa had stepped in to help them home from the hospital. It was no secret that Venessa and Riza had ‘become’ friends during their time frequenting the Ladies Night at Christmas’ Bar. It would raise no suspicion if a friend helped Riza and Roy make their way back home from the hospital. Chris had left after meeting Maes. Riza was sure she’d seen tears in the gruff woman’s eyes but didn’t announce it. Secretly, Riza grinned to herself with the observation. The woman loved her grandchildren very much.

Mia was silent as the adults talked in the room, completely focussed on her brother. But Maes started to fuss quietly as Vanessa was finishing off her coffee and Mia started to worry.

“Mum?” Her voice was full of fear as she stared wide-eyed down at him.

Maes swiped a hand at his cheek after he yawned, face screwing up as he made tiny noises of discomfort.

“I got it,” Roy answered immediately, standing from his armchair. His mug was placed on the floor as he strode over, crouching down beside Mia.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Nothing bad, Mia,” Roy reassured with a light laugh. “He’s maybe a little uncomfortable.”

“Can I help?”

Vanessa cooed in the background.

“He might need to be changed, or he might be hungry. I’ll go and find out what he needs,” Roy explained. “Thank you for offering though, Mia. That’s very kind of you.”

Lifting Maes into his arms, Mia watched on, wringing her hands together.

“She’s adorable,” Vanessa leaned over to whisper.

“She is, isn’t she?”

“Mia Bear loves her brother,” Vanessa giggled. “Your kids are so adorable.”

Riza beamed.

“He needs changed,” Roy announced. “I’ll be back in a second.”

Mia walked to the door with her father but stopped on the threshold. Roy continued onwards to head up the stairs to Maes’ room.

“Mia?”

She turned, biting her lip.

“Come over here,” Riza beckoned, opening her arms.

Mia clambered onto the couch as her Aunt Vanessa scooted over. She cuddled into Riza’s chest, her hands clinging onto her shirt.

“What’s wrong?” Stroking her forehead always managed to calm her, so Riza brushed her fingers across her skin to try and ease Mia’s fears.

“I’m worried about Maes,” Mia admitted in a whisper.

“Why? He’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with him.”

“But he’s so tiny!” she exclaimed. “And he looked upset. I don’t want him to be upset.”

“Babies cry, Mia,” Riza explained, cuddling her daughter close. “Maes will be doing a lot of that from now on. He can’t speak yet so that’s how he tells us something is wrong.”

“Did I cry a lot?”

“You did,” Riza grinned. “You woke us up through the night all the time.”

She pulled away, horrified.

“That’s what babies do,” Riza shrugged. Lifting a hand to her hair, Riza reorganised Mia’s mussed up fringe and smoothed it down. Her hand trailed down to cup her cheek, the other booping her on the nose. Mia giggled, squirming away.

“Do you think he’ll wake me up?”

“We’ll try very hard to make sure he doesn’t. Maes will be sleeping in our room for a little while so hopefully he doesn’t. If he does, Dad and I will help him. You can just go back to sleep,” Riza reassured.

Nodding in acceptance, Mia relaxed against the cushions. Fondly, Vanessa patted the top of her head, running her hand through Mia’s ponytail. It was reorganised on her back, trailing down her spine. It had grown longer since her birthday, falling in between her shoulder blades now.

“Mum and Dad will do everything to make Maes happy, just like they do for you,” Vanessa reassured cheerily.

“They do make me very happy,” Mia agreed, assuring her aunt that was the case.

Riza laughed. “I’m glad, Mia Bear. You and Maes make us the happiest people on the planet.”

[queenismyprimejive]

Meeting the Family – Present! Roger Taylor x Fem! Reader

Synopsis: After making your relationship official, Roger wants you to meet his children. Which is almost, if not equally as scary as meeting someone’s parents. Though as you feared, they were not as welcoming as you hoped they’d be.

W/C: 2,354 words

Perspective: You-perspective, reader-insert, use of Y/N. I plan on putting this in each of my future fics, just because I tend to switch between the two perspectives in writing.

Warnings: Nothing really. Overall fluff, drama, angst, the usual.

A/N: None

Tagging:

 @joeneslee​

@hodgepodge-of-rog​

@ceres27​

@queen-paladin​

@march-of-all-queens

@jennyggggrrr​

@rhapsodyrecs​

To say that you were nervous was an understatement. Surely it was only the natural course of things after Roger had asked you to make your relationship official, but it was still a big step: you meeting his children. For you it was just as much of a big deal as meeting someone’s parents. Roger had told you previously not to worry about it, that if he liked you, they would take a liking to you as well, just as fast. But you weren’t so sure. After all, you were only 28 years old, engaging in a romantic relationship with someone of the same age as some of your grandparents. How could they not think I had additional intentions? 

As you were nearing Roger’s house, you tried to keep your nerves under control. You knew Roger would be there to guide you through the evening, to support you in any way he could. If there was any person that could ground you, calm your mind and make you push your boundaries all at the same time, that person would be Roger.

You now felt slightly calmer as you turned onto Roger’s driveway. You smiled as you drove past the luminescent garden gnomes Roger had put as a petty act of revenge after he was denied putting up lion statues at the end. He had told you the story on one of your first visits to his home, and now every time you drove past those gnomes they never failed to put a smile on your face.

The anxiety however returned in tenfold when you brought your car to a halt in front of Roger's house. Now there was really no turning back. You picked up all your courage, insofar there was still any left, straightened your carefully chosen dress for the umpteenth time and made your way to the front door. The laughter and chatter you just heard, silenced as soon as you rang the doorbell. Footsteps approached the front door and you secretly hoped it was Roger and not one of his children, because you didn't know how to introduce yourself to them without him present.

You breathed an almost audible sigh of relief when the door opened, and you were met with the well-rounded figure of the man you loved.

“Hello love”, he murmured as he slowly led you inside the house and placed a loving kiss on your cheek, “good to see you”.

You smiled back up at him, “good to see you too Rog, happy to be here”.

“Are you ready?”, he asked as he slowly grazed the small of your back with his fingers.

You nodded slowly, “still a bit nervous though”.

Roger chuckled, “no reason to be nervous love, if they like you even half as much as I love you, then it’s gonna be fine”.

Later that evening you found yourself at the table, waiting for the main course to be served. Just before that, you had introduced yourself to all five of his children, and although his youngest three children seemed to be showing genuine interest, you felt the distrust and dislike radiating from the older two. You were hoping very much that you weren't the only one who could feel the increasing tension in the room.

Roger, who was seated next to me, squeezed my hand softly which caused me to look up at him.  *You OK? * He seemed to ask with his eyes that were full of worry and adoration. You squeezed his hand back and nodded slowly, you really didn’t want to worry him with what kept your mind occupied.

“So, Y/N, what do you actually do for a living?”, Lola, as you remembered correctly, asked as she slightly leaned towards you from across the table.

You looked sideways to Roger and he gave you a reassuring nod, encouraging you to speak your mind.

“Well”, you started, “I was actually really lucky”. You smiled softly when you remembered the day you heard the fortunate news. “I did my graduation placement at a well-known publishing house in London and they apparently liked it so much that they asked me to stay on as a junior editor”, you concluded.

“Sounds like you found your dream job”, Lola replied.

I smiled, nodding, “yes I sure have”.

“Good to know then you’re not a gold-digger”.

You coughed as you choked on the sip of wine you had just taken, and you looked up to whoever had uttered those words, someone you recalled to be named Rory. For a moment there you didn’t know how to keep yourself in check. Every other chatter at the table fell silent, it was as if you could hear a pin drop and with every passing minute the air in the room felt even more constricted.

“I’m sorry?”, you questioned, “a gold-digger?”. You tried to keep quiet on the outside, but you felt the upcoming panic attack sizzling beneath the surface.

"Yeah, a gold digger," she sneered back, "because isn't that the only reason you're interested in our dad at all?"

Tears stung in your eyes and you tried to hold them back by blinking, because you didn't want to show how much those accusing words had affected you.

“Rory….”, Roger warned, but his warning deemed to be futile.

“No…. that is not at all what I….”, I stuttered. I tried coming up with a clever reply, but the words weren’t coming to you.

She made a dismissing gesture with her hands. “You don’t have to make up any excuses, because that’s what women like you tend to do when they take an interest in our father”.

“Do you really all think that?”, you questioned; you tried to come of strong, but you felt your voice wavering. Anger, frustration, and an overwhelming sadness were coming up like bile in your throat. You felt Roger stroking the back of your hand with his thumb, perhaps in an effort to calm you down, but the damage had already been done. You looked around the table, but no one said anything, not even Roger, and you knew that silence was your answer.

“Fine”, you said as you shoved your chair back, “…..if that’s what you all think”. You were no longer trying to hold back your tears, nor were you trying to wipe them away.

“Love where are you going?”

“Roger….. I’m sorry”, you started, “but I know when I’ve overstayed my welcome”. You swallowed back the lump of tears that was blocking your throat. “Rog you know I love you, but I can’t…… not like this…. I’m sorry”.

And with those words you turned around and found your way out, away from that poisonous atmosphere, away from them. You heard Roger calling out your name a couple more times, and how badly you wanted to be back in his arms again, you couldn't do it. If his own family couldn't accept you, how could the rest of the world?

 You had your hand on the door handle of your car, but there were too many emotions swirling through your brain that you deemed it to be too unsafe to drive back. Plus, as soon as you’d come home, you’d be alone again. And you were not sure if you could handle that right now. So, you opted for a walk through his garden, in an attempt to clear your mind.

As you wandered through his extensive but secluded garden, in an attempt to forget the emotionally charged evening, you tried to ignore the constant buzzing of your cell phone. It was undoubtedly Roger, but you had no intention of talking to him right now. You couldn’t believe how he could sit there while one of his children was blatantly insulting you and do nothing. If he genuinely loved you, surely he would have intervened, wouldn’t he?

You breathed a sigh of relief as you sat down on a bench overlooking the surrounding landscape. If the walk through the garden didn’t do its job, the crisp country air certainly did.

You checked your phone since it had stopped buzzing a while ago, and when you unlocked the screen you noticed about 9 missed calles from Roger and about twice as many messages, if not more. You shook your head as you put your phone back in your purse. You would deal with all this another time but not today, certainly not now.

In the distance you heard the bark of a small dog; you wanted to not pay attention to it, but the barking only seemed to get closer and closer. Almost out of nowhere a little dog jumped on your lap, and you remembered one of Roger’s daughters has brought the little dog along. It pushed its head against your hand, and you couldn’t resist scratching it between its ears.

“So, you finally found me huh?”, you said as you heard footsteps approaching the bench.

“Well…. technically the dog did”, a female voice replied. You turned around and were met with one of Roger’s daughters, the one you remembered bringing around the little dog.

You let out an exasperated sigh and put down the dog as you wanted to get out of this situation as fast as possible.

“No wait!”, she called out and ran around the bench quickly to stop you from leaving. "Can we talk?"

You chuckled, but it wasn't an expression of joy. "I think everything has been said this evening...I've got to go," you said briskly and tried again to leave once more.

"You should know that not everyone shares Rory's opinion, you know," she said softly and placed a hand on your arm. You scoffed at her remark. “Sure, didn’t look like it. She insulted me in the worst way possible and no one said anything, not even Roger”, you commented softly. You looked down at your hands and tried with all your might to control your emotions.

“Sometimes I don’t even think he loves me”.

“Now I know for a fact that is some absolute nonsense”, she countered. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. The man is absolutely smitten with you. He talks about you non-stop and you should see him whenever he receives one of your text messages, he’ll act like a giddy teenager.

“Now that I find hard to believe”, you chuckled upon hearing those words and you couldn’t help but feel slightly flattered.

She smiled back at me. “Trust me, I live with the man and I know my father better than anyone else. Surely, I was a bit sceptical myself when he told us about you, but after meeting you, talking with you…., well you seem like a genuinely nice person and I know you’ll be good to him.”

Tears pricked behind your eyelids again, but this time it weren’t any tears of sadness, but tears of joy.

“Thank you, that means a lot…. I mean hearing that”.

“No problem”.

Suddenly her phone lit up, and she picked it up to look at it.

“It’s my dad, you want me to let him know where you are?”

You thought about it for a moment, but Tiger-Lily’s words surely made an impact on you, so you nodded slowly, smiling.

She stood up and picked up her dog.

“Oh, and YN?..... Don’t worry so much about what the others think of you, they’ll warm up to you eventually”.

“I hope so, you replies as you watched her disappear in the darkness, and once again you were alone, however this time you felt much lighter.

 “Hello love”, you heard behind you and as you turned around you were met with a cautious Roger.

“Hey”, you replied softly.

“Can I join you?”, he asked as he gestured towards the bench.

You nodded in consent and you watched him sit down quietly, not knowing whether you should say something or not.

‘Rog….. I’m sorry about storming off just like that I shouldn’t have….”.

“I’m the one who’s supposed to say sorry love”, he interrupted you. “I’ve let them say all those awful things about you and I didn’t stop them even once”.

“I get it Rog, they’re your children, I mean family comes first right?”.

“Even then”, Roger countered. “They shouldn’t have said what they said, especially to the woman that I love”.

You felt your cheeks heat up slightly at his declaration of love for you. He laced his fingers with yours and then brought your hand up to his lips and placed a small kiss on it.

“Don’t worry love, they’ve left for now but, they’ll warm up to you, you’ll see’.

“You chuckled at the words you had now heard a second time this evening. “That’s exactly what Tiger-Lily said”.

“She gave you a good pep-talk then?”

“The very best”.

“So, are we ok then love?”

You gazed up at him, his big blue eyes filled with hope.

“Yeah Rog we are ok”.

He let out an almost inaudible sigh of relief and he let go of your hand only to place his hand on your cheek, to inch you closer until your lips met.

You sat together for a moment in peaceful silence until Roger grasped your hand in his and pulled you up with him.

“Let’s get back inside love, it’s getting chilly”, he said. “Plus”, he continued, we haven’t had dessert yet”.

You pressed yourself to his side as he wrapped an arm around you to shield you from the chilly, evening air.

“What’s for dessert then?”.

He gazed down upon you, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“You’ll see.”

[bitterlikesweets]

Love Bites Special Ch

This is a special chapter of a modern/vampire AU ereri fanfic. It's a bit of an extra, in the form of Levi recapping the entire story so far. You can also read it on Ao3. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Special

Next

~1~

Levi would rather die than admit this to anyone, but the first thing that went through his mind when he met Eren was, Shit, this guy is my type.

No, really. Isabel was collapsed on the floor at Levi's feet, Mikasa was practically frothing at the mouth, and Levi was thinking, Shit, this guy is my type.

Then he saw the vague outline of fangs through Eren's lips, and thoughts about the random guy's attractiveness were no longer on Levi's radar.

He was a new vampire; that much was clear. For his fangs to be so visible, he probably hadn't had blood in a long time. Only new fools were that stubborn.

New vampires were Levi's least favorite kind. Immature. Irresponsible. Always a pain to deal with. And Isabel had already angered Eren and his friend, leaving Levi in charge of damage control. Seriously, would it have been that hard for her to write out the three extra letters that made "no gar" into "no garlic?"

This certainly wasn't how he expected a vampire to taste his blood for the first time, but Levi knew that there were worse ways. Still, that didn't make him particularly pleased about having to use a kitchen knife to poke a hole in his damn wrist. While sullenly bringing the liquid to the vampire in a wine glass—he wasn't sure if the vampire's friends knew, and he preferred to be careful—Levi thought that the shitty vampire better not waste a single drop.

By the end of the night, Levi's last impression of Eren was this:

What kind of dumbass vampire turns down free blood?

~2~

Levi thought Eren running out of Kuchel's Kitchen like his life depended on it would be the last Levi ever saw of him. He seemed less than pleased about Levi giving him a glass of blood, though Levi wasn't sure if that was the shock of being found out or Levi's blood tasting like a pile of dog shit. If it did, that'd answer the questions Levi had about the origins of the rumor of poisonous Ackerman blood. If he had a drink of something that tasted like dog shit, he'd think it was poison too.

So, Isabel walking into their breakroom with Eren in tow was certainly a surprise. But what was most surprising to Levi was when he told Eren to just go and drink some blood like a normal vampire and the response was—

“No! I… Anything but that. Please.”

How long had it been since Levi had met a vampire who didn’t want to drink blood? Someone who didn’t seem like they wanted to be a vampire? Hanji was thrilled about their undead status, and Erwin had lived a long enough life as one to learn to accept it. And these days, only those who wanted a taste of immortality, a taste of that sort of power, got turned. Drinking a bit of blood was part of the deal they agreed to sign up for. Something wasn’t right with this kid. Levi just wasn’t sure what it was.

“If I knew who they were, they’d be fucking dead.”

The dark expression. The anger. Levi had seen that look on only two people’s faces before. One of them was himself. He knew immediately that it was likely a feral attack. But that didn’t make sense either because all ferals were under the King. Their victims either didn’t make it or were recruited for that sick fuck’s cause, and yet somehow Eren was right here…

When Eren started his story by talking about his mom, Levi’s stomach dropped. Eren’s voice was shaking, his body was trembling, and it felt like Levi was staring at himself from all those years ago, except at least Levi was given the mercy of not becoming the creature that took his mother away—

Levi reached out to touch Eren without even thinking. When Eren blinked up at him with those big green eyes, brimming with tears… Fuck, Levi had no idea what had gotten into him. His chest was squeezing like someone’s fist was in his ribcage, trying to choke out his heart. It was unfamiliar, it was strange. He just got this overwhelming urge to do something, to help. It was the feeling he got when he found Furlan left for dead in a basement, when he saw Isabel curled up in the corner of a vampire hideout. He wanted to save, to protect, but this was different because it’s not like the brat was in danger, so Levi had no idea why the urge was so damn strong.

“What are you doing?” Eren asked. He still had tear tracks on his cheeks.

I don’t know, Levi thought.

“Someone has to teach you how to be a vampire,” was what Levi said out loud. “This is step one.”

Eren looked miserable, even as he grabbed hold of Levi’s wrist. There was a piercing ache in Levi’s arm, but it faded at the same moment that Eren’s expression finally relaxed a bit, and Levi let out a quiet sigh of relief. Though whether the relief came from the pain going away or from knowing he had helped Eren, even a little, Levi wasn’t sure.

~3~

Every time Levi touched Eren, he felt like he needed to justify it for himself. He curled his fingers into Eren’s hair because it was a simple way to let him know it was time to stop drinking. That was the only reason.

He tried not to think about how his words also would have done the job just fine.

Levi distracted himself with the littlest things. He watched the little bite marks in his wrist become scars, busying his mind with what would be a miracle for most people. He knew what vampire saliva could do, but he’d never seen it used on himself.

“Alright, kid—”

“Eren.”

“...What?”

“Eren. My name.”

Eren bounced back fast. He fell abruptly in that hole of misery until he was in tears, and he’d already climbed far enough out of it to be a bit snappy with Levi. Levi felt like he should be annoyed, but the only emotion brewing within him was a bit of amusement, so he let it slide.

Eren’s look of panic when Levi tossed a wooden stake at him was pretty amusing too.

They argued for a bit—if it could even be called an argument—over Levi’s status as a vampire hunter and his various weapons concealed around the room. It was almost amazing how different Eren looked with a bit of blood in him. He was no longer that skinny, stressed, starving vampire Levi met a week ago. Without thinking, Levi reached out and tugged on Eren’s cheek, trying to see if he could still see the outline of Eren’s fangs. Even with the skin pulled taut, there wasn’t even a bump. His fangs were back to regular size. Good.

Things were good like that. He could’ve left it that way. But Levi’s curiosity got the better of him, and he asked something he shouldn’t have—insinuated something he shouldn’t have.

“Are you trying to say I killed my mom?”

That wasn't what he meant at all, though he could see how Eren's mind went there.

Perhaps Levi was calmer than he should have been about a vampire tossing a table across the room. But Eren clearly just didn’t know what he was doing or what he was capable of. The urges came back again—help, protect, do something.

And by the time Eren left, the vampire was okay again. Levi didn’t know if he actually helped or if Eren had some magic ability to bounce back from pure panic within minutes. Either way, he was glad it worked out. It was far easier to jokingly threaten the brat with a stake than it was to try and comfort him. Levi wasn’t great at the pep talks and the hugging and all the shit Hanji usually nagged him about for not being able to do.

Though it did seem a bit easier to do for Eren. For some reason.

Well, Eren managed a smile on the way out. That’s what mattered. Flashed his shitty sharp fangs at Levi in the process too. Goofy brat.

~4~

“So, you’re kinda sweet on that Eren guy, aren’t you?”

Levi paused with his soapy hands deep in the sink, aiming a glare at Furlan from across the kitchen. Furlan was putting on his apron as Petra stripped off her kitchen attire, preparing for their change in shifts. Petra’s eyes immediately lit up at the sound of Levi being “sweet on” Eren. Which he wasn’t. What does that really mean anyway?

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Levi asked.

“You know,” Furlan said, “offering to teach him about vampires and stuff.”

Levi rolled his eyes and brought his focus back to the dirty dishes.

“Would you prefer that I let him go feral?”

“Who’s Eren?” Petra asked, sliding over to Levi, who kept his gaze locked on the sink.

“Nobody,” Levi replied.

“A vampire that Levi’s taking in,” Furlan said. “Seems like Levi’s type. You know. Tall, bright eyes…”

Petra’s eyes brightened and she leaned even closer, drumming her fingers on the kitchen counter. Levi just sighed and tried to ignore her.

“It’s rare for you to take in a vampire,” Petra said. “What do you two usually get up to? Is he going to start working here? What’s he like? Oh, are you two going to—”

“Petra.”

“...Yes?”

“I’ve known Eren for two weeks. There’s nothing happening. I’m not ‘sweet’ on anybody or whatever shit Furlan said. Stop asking.”

Petra deflated in disappointment and Levi sighed, scrubbing more furiously at the dirty dishes. Furlan let his hands rest on his hips, still grinning.

“But he is your type, isn’t he?”

"Furlan—"

“What’s this about Levi’s type?” Isabel piped up, only her head poking through the door. She must have just arrived for work. “Are we trying to get him laid? ‘Cause Levi’s special brand of ‘I-don’t-care-about-you-but-we-can-bang’ is usually only endearing when he’s drunk—”

A plate snapped in half beneath Levi's soap-covered hands.

“Get to work before I fire every single one of you.”

As the three employees went running, Levi questioned why he surrounded himself with these fucking idiots.

~5~

Eren was blood drunk. At first, it was kind of amusing, and for a moment the word 'cute' may have crossed Levi's mind. Eren was asking him why Levi was the one that looked more like a vampire out of the two of them, which of course Levi didn't have the answer to. It was funny, endearing, and it helped clear Levi's mind of the somber reasons why he let Eren bite him. He loved and missed his mother, but sometimes thinking of her was… too much. Even now. Even after all this time.

So, Levi was grateful for the little distraction that was blood drunk Eren.

…At least until Eren puked blood into Levi's potted plant.

Everything that happened after that was… blurry. He remembers rushing over to Eren, cradling his unconscious body with one arm as he called Erwin and Hanji with his free hand. This had never happened before. Levi didn't know what to do. Levi really, really disliked not knowing what to do, especially when he had a blacked-out vampire with a bump the size of an apple on his head.

Levi knew so much about vampires. Their habits, their needs, their rules, their history—

And yet now, when he truly needed to know something, some obscure fact about their strange bodies, Levi was at a loss. He didn't know. He didn't know what to do. He didn't have the answers. He felt fucking useless. After his mother died, he wanted to learn everything, to replace every lie with truth. He never wanted to be caught off guard by a vampire again because look what not knowing the truth about their strange aversion to Ackerman blood had led to—

It was blurry. What Levi did while waiting. According to Hanji and Erwin, he'd been "petting Eren like a dog" the whole time. And Eren was lying on the table by the time those two got there, so Levi must have moved him too.

Levi really doesn't remember much. He remembers thinking about his mom, about how he'd failed to protect her. In hindsight, he knows he shouldn't have been so worried about Eren, that it wasn't to that scale. Levi wasn't sure then what made him panic so much. He's still not all that sure now. It was instinct and old memories that pushed him forward. That's all he knows for sure.

Levi was just so, so glad when Eren opened his eyes again.

If those two nosy fucking geezers hadn't been in the room, he might have even let it show on his face.

~6~

Eren's whole face turned red and Levi wasn't sure why. They were just talking about what to do in response to Eren's health issues. Eren said that they needed to meet every day, and Levi tried to make plans according to that. Then suddenly Eren was talking about how he didn't want to be a bother or for Levi to go out of his way for nothing—which was stupid because it was not for nothing. There was a clear reason. He was doing this for Eren.

When Levi told him as much, Eren's whole face turned red. Levi had no idea what it was about his words that caused such a reaction.

And Hanji interrupted before he was able to find out why. Then the conversation strayed to the hunters of old, from Erwin's time, but hunting of that scale was the last thing Levi wanted to think about while surrounded by friendly vampires. That was his family legacy: murder of innocent creatures whose crime was being born—well, turned is the proper word.

It was a good thing he ended it when he did. But then that got Levi thinking about how things ended—

Erwin probably sensed it. He may be as much of a nosy little shit as Hanji, but at least he knows when to leave.

When it was just Eren and Levi again, Levi thought of his mother, of Ackerman blood. He broached the idea to Eren—the idea that this might be his fault. Maybe Ackerman blood wasn't deadly, but that doesn't mean that it was good or safe. It could still be dangerous, harmful.

“...Are we still going to try?”

Ackerman blood could be just like Levi.

“I just told you that my blood might be making you sick.”

But Eren just… didn't seem to care.

“But it’s not like you’re sure. And what’s the worst that can happen? You said I won’t die, so if I end up throwing up again, we’ll figure out something then.”

So worried about bothering Levi, so nonchalant about Levi being a possible bother to him.

“You’re the one who told me you’re not going to back out of our deal. I already gave you an out, and you decided not to take it.”

Eren's grin was so bright. Nearly blinding.

Levi's mouth said annoying, idiot, shitty brat, because that's what he was used to. That's what he knew. But inside his chest, something… different was swirling. It was warm and hazy and made him feel… calm and stressed at the same time. What the fuck was that? Was he getting sick?

Levi just decided to push it to the back of his mind. He didn't like unknowns, but this… for some reason, he felt like for now, he might just be better off not knowing.

He'd be seeing Eren every day soon anyway. He'd have more time to think over this weird sickness then.

~7~

Levi just kept touching Eren without thinking. He didn't know how to stop himself, how to get back to the normal distance he kept with everyone else. His hands in Eren's hair were quickly becoming a habit, and he didn't know what to do about it.

Somehow there were always new things he didn't know with Eren.

“Why don’t you just stay my partner?”

Why?

Levi didn't know.

Why? Because Levi didn't know how long this tenuous friendship would last. Because they had started this with the intention of passing that duty onto Eren's two friends. Because… Because…

Because Levi had never thought about that. Being somebody's partner. Being Eren's partner. Because he felt like the idea of being a permanent blood bag should bother him but somehow it didn't sound so bad. Because he was getting that hazy sickness in his chest again and he didn't know why, and why the fuck would Eren want a vampire hunter to be his partner anyway?

“I doubt you really want that."

That was the best answer Levi could come up with and it wasn't an answer, really. It was a dodge, a way out of his own head.

He needed ways out because, unlike Eren, once Levi fell into that hole, he was very, very bad at bouncing back out.

As evidenced by Levi still being a stiff mess the next day too.

Luckily, the day after that, things were better.

“Have you ever thought about getting turned?”

The answer was no, although when he was a kid he may have considered it because of the strength and the power. But that was before his mother and he hadn't thought about it since. Even if he did, it wasn't like anyone would agree to help him turn.

"It's in everyone's best interest that I die someday."

Levi said it without thinking, really. It was a fact of life, one he'd known for a long time. The hunter line would end with him, and vampires would be much better off for it.

As long as he gets his final job done before he dies.

But Eren just looked so upset by Levi's words. He was staring, forlorn, at the table, brown hair spilling over his shoulders and obscuring some of his face. Green eyes narrowed, brows furrowed, and a barely held back frown—fuck, Eren looked so miserable.

Levi tried to lighten the mood with a little joke. Asked if the brat was going to miss him, just to tease, to get those green eyes to shine again.

“Yeah, maybe I fucking will!"

The hazy sickness came back fast and strong except there was less of the stress and more amusement, more warmth. And Levi's heart throbbed in his chest, violent enough for him to feel it and recognize it. He was getting sicker, getting worse.

...Though, as far as illnesses go, this one didn't feel too bad.

What did feel bad was talking about his mother the next day.

“Is Kuchel your mom’s name?”

It should have been such an innocent question. It should have been something easy for Levi to answer, but instead, he tensed, his mind going dark. It was the anger, the frustration, that flared out first, and he practically shoved the vampire’s head onto his wrist to get Eren to shut up.

But then reason hit, and Levi loosened his grip on Eren’s hair. It wasn’t Eren’s fault. How many years had it been already? Fifteen, sixteen years since that day? He should be able to hear her name—his fucking restaurant is named after her for fuck’s sake. He should—no, he needed to be able to talk about it.

And what better time than now, with this vampire that inexplicably seemed to set him at ease?

But it was hard. It’s still hard. He distracted himself by focusing on Eren’s movements, Eren’s hands still wrapped around his forearm. Eren’s lips on his wrist, even after Levi signaled that he had enough blood for the day. Eren’s soft hair beneath his fingertips.

When it got harder, when Levi felt himself falling into that hole, when he struggled to breathe, Eren caught him—or his hand at least, as it fell away from Eren’s head.

When was the last time he talked about it—about her, about that day? When was the last time he thought about the details, when he mentioned how he felt at that time?

Why was he talking about it now, with Eren?

Levi looked up and met Eren’s eyes, seeing pain and shadows flickering through green eyes. Maybe he just hoped that Eren understood. Maybe, because his experience was so similar, Levi thought Eren could understand.

As it turns out, Eren understood better than Levi ever could have hoped he would.

“Tell me the best way to kill a vampire.”

~8~

Levi took Eren to his house. He learned how to fight in his uncle’s living room. Now he would teach Eren how to fight in his own living room.

It almost made Levi want to laugh, the ways he still followed in that man’s footsteps, despite everything that happened. He supposed he just didn’t know any other way of doing things. And well, and it wasn’t like the old guy was wrong about everything.

It was too bad he happened to be wrong about the important things.

When Levi threw Eren the knife, something clicked. Holding the knife in his own hand too. Something about it was… good. He was alert, his mind clear. It was like he was on a mountaintop, getting his first breath of clean air.

Except he was in a house in the suburbs, sparring with a vampire wielding a wooden knife.

“Try to kill me.”

“...What?”

Levi almost wanted to smile.

“Ten.”

“Levi—”

“Nine.”

Eren was holding his blade like that shitty-ass knife doll from a horror movie Isabel was into. Eren gripped the handle so tightly that his knuckles were white, the blade raised above his head and the would-be sharp end of the wooden knife facing himself.

Stiff. Impulsive. Easy to dodge. Not to mention his clumsy run—so much wasted movement.

Levi probably enjoyed taking Eren down a bit too much. But adrenaline—no, excitement, surged through his veins for even this poor excuse for a fight. He hadn’t had to hunt a single creature in over a year, and he had missed this, missed the movement, the—literal and figurative—stakes, the chance to use his strength.

“Again.”

Eren complained the whole time, but he refused to stop. Levi doubted that they were feeling equal amounts of enjoyment, but he assumed that Eren didn’t hate the whole ordeal, or it would have taken the brat much less than an hour to give up.

Though, it wasn’t as though Eren actually gave up.

The vampire was a blur of brown for a moment. Levi’s body registered what was happening before his mind did, his hands coming up to block as Eren raced towards him, fangs first—

And then Eren stopped, just inches from Levi. Eren covered his mouth with his hands, apologizing behind them and stepping away from Levi when the man tried to meet Eren’s gaze. And Levi didn’t understand why Eren looked so upset. That was a good reminder; Eren wasn’t a human. He had advantages that Levi didn’t, advantages that Eren could use to get the revenge he desired. Levi tried to tell Eren as much, tried to tell him that this was good, that this was how they should practice from now on.

“No.”

“No?”

“I don’t—I don’t want to practice like that.”

It happened so fast. Eren was standing, looking shaken but otherwise alright. Then green eyes squeezed shut, and he trembled, dropping into a low crouch on the floor. Levi followed him down, trying to gauge what was wrong, what was happening.

“Eren?”

A muffled whimper slipped from behind Eren’s hands. His eyes squeezed shut tighter, hunching over, curling in on himself. Levi didn’t understand, but concern flooded every ounce of him, and he quickly moved closer, hands held helplessly out in front of himself, at a loss of what to do. He wasn’t—this wasn’t what Levi was meant for. A pat on the head or on the arm was one thing, but it didn’t seem like that would suffice for this, and oh shit there were little drops spilling from Eren’s closed eyes—

“Eren!”

Eren’s eyes opened, glossy, downcast. His hands slowly fell to his sides.

“I don’t—I don’t want to fight like that. Like them.”

“Okay,” Levi said, and his voice came out quiet, gentle, more so than he’d ever heard it. It startled him.

Eren mumbled more worried words. His eyes were looking at Levi, but they were clouded, like he wasn’t truly seeing the man in front of him, and fuck, Levi needed to do something—

And all of a sudden Levi’s arms were around Eren’s back, tugging him closer, pulling him to rest against Levi. Levi felt hands at his waist, fists grabbing at the fabric of his shirt. Levi just held him tighter, pulled him closer, as close as he could.

“Am I a monster?”

Eren—lively, energetic, idiotic Eren—his voice was so quiet.

No, of course not. Fuck no, a million times no.

What Levi managed to actually say out loud was only marginally calmer than that.

Eren sagged against him, and Levi could feel a face nuzzling into his shoulder, the hands at his waist pulling even more of Levi’s shirt into those fists.

“Don’t wanna be like them,” Eren mumbled.

“You won’t be. You won’t be.”

Levi swore to himself right there that he would make sure of it. Whatever that took.

~9~

When Eren pulled away from him, Levi didn’t really want to let him go. He let Eren move back—of course, he did, he had to—but it took all he had not to hang onto Eren’s shoulders and keep him there.

This was… not good.

This… whatever the fuck it was, it was… It was a lot. It was overwhelming. Levi nearly felt like he didn’t have any control over himself, and he didn’t know what was fucking causing it. He had never felt anything like it before.

Levi clenched his hands into fists. Whatever it was, he had to put it away. He needed control, he needed stability, at least for right now. Whatever this fucking feeling was—currently manifesting itself as a wave of relief due to Eren’s now dry eyes—was something Levi would have to worry about later. He had bigger things to worry about than the mess going on in his chest.

Like whether or not Eren still wanted to do this whole revenge thing.

And Eren said that he did still want to. With no vampire abilities. No powers. No advantages. Like a fucking idiot.

Levi didn’t know how they were going to manage this, but he’d just have to make it work.

And then, for some reason, Eren was thanking him.

“You really… I mean… I don’t know how to explain it except to say that you’re basically spoiling me. I haven’t done anything in return. If there’s anything I can do—”

“No,” Levi said immediately. The word came out without his own permission. Levi looked away, trying to get a grip on his own fucking head again.

“No?”

“You don’t need to—” Fuck, what was he even trying to say right now? “I’m not doing this just for you to pay me back later.”

“Then why are you doing it?”

Good fucking question. Levi didn’t really know why he was doing anything these days. All he knew was that he just kept doing things for Eren, thinking about Eren, trying to help Eren without any fucking reason why. And it felt so different from when he was with other people. Levi just didn’t get it. If Levi were anyone else, doing the things he was fucking doing, he’d think the person was nothing better than another lovestruck idiot—

Shit.

Wait.

No.

That wasn’t—

If it was anyone else but Levi. Levi wasn’t—Levi never—Levi didn’t do love. It was not on his radar. Love was the bullshit that had Furlan pulling into his driveway at midnight to complain about some terrible date. It was the stuff that made Petra lean over his shoulder in the kitchen to whisper gossip about her co-workers’ romantic relationships. It was irrational nothingness that Levi never wanted any part of. It was something so lacking in his life that Isabel started slipping articles—which she looked up and printed out, the little shit—about being aromantic into his mailbox. (She pretended it wasn’t her, but Levi’s not an idiot, and the only other extreme meddler in his life—Hanji—would just have told him about the concept face to face).

Love—romantic love—was not something Levi felt. Ever. End of discussion. Levi just related to Eren, saw himself in Eren. Levi wanted to help him the same way he wanted to help everyone who currently worked at Kuchel’s Kitchen. That was it.

When Levi began to explain that, Eren had already switched topics. Typical brat.

“I just remembered that we were doing this once a day thing to make sure I don’t get sick again.”

“And?”

“And,” Eren said, grinning as brightly as always, “I haven’t been sick once this week.”

For a moment, Levi didn’t get it. Then a swell of relief and warmth and that weird hazy feeling in his chest filled him, and he couldn’t even hold back the small smile coming to his lips if he wanted to.

“Well... I guess I’m not bad for you after all.”

Eren’s face was red again. Levi did his best not to read into it.

Before long, their conversation shifted again.

“...You’re sure you don’t mind?”

It felt silly to Levi that Eren was asking Levi if he was alright with Eren's murder plans after Levi spent an entire hour sparring with him in preparation for that exact event. Eren tried to explain how Eren's murder for revenge could possibly be less noble—or whatever the hell it was that Eren was trying to prove—than Levi's murder for pay. Levi was eager to let the subject drop. There was no point in asking if Levi was okay with it. Killing was his life for as long as he could remember.

And remembering only made him bitter. He didn't want to be bitter with Eren.

Well, that thought backfired on him anyway. Minutes later Eren called Levi out on his gossiping habits—it wasn't like he wanted to, those idiots gossiped around him and Levi has fucking ears—and Levi remembered talk about Eren being his type and Furlan's thoughts of Levi being sweet on Eren and—

Levi lost it. Full-on lost it. And when Levi loses it, he gets worse than bitter. He gets mean.

And the fact that he could hear Eren laughing his ass off outside the door didn't make things any better.

~10~

Levi was not Eren. He didn't bounce back from things, not easily. So when Eren arrived at the restaurant, grinning at Levi like a smug little shit and asking if the vampire hunter was still embarrassed, it took all of Levi's self-control not to snap at Eren all over again.

Though telling Eren that Levi would let him starve if he didn't drop it is probably considered snapping at him.

Well, Eren's consistent grin made Levi cool off pretty quickly anyway.

They talked about revenge again, for a bit. To make sure that it was something Eren still wanted to do with his own hands. Levi could do it for him. That had been Levi's original plan anyway. He couldn't just let a couple of ferals get away.

It was cute for a second, the fact that Eren was still worried about Levi's possible distaste for murder—Levi, the person who's been training to kill vampires since before his age had double digits. But only for a second.

“I was seriously worried about that shit! Made me feel more like a monster than I already am.”

Monster. There was that word again. Did Eren really see himself that way? What, because he was considering committing a crime—a crime against two real monsters that not only killed his mother but condemned him to a life of blood-sucking?

Eren was not the monster in the room.

“Being a vampire does not make you a monster.”

Levi didn’t know how to make it any clearer to Eren.

“Yes, it does! I’ve been taking your blood every day for a week straight—”

Taking. Is that how Eren saw it? Like he was taking, stealing, depriving Levi of something. Levi thought of Eren’s words from the day before. Eren was so focused on reasoning. It wasn’t about the number of kills to Eren, it was the motivation—as if killing to protect was more justified than killing for revenge. For Levi, motivation was irrelevant. It was how many, how often, and occasionally who. ‘Why' didn’t matter to Levi. A life is a life. A death is a death.

But if what Eren cared about was intention—

“Taking? No, I give you my blood.”

That was fine. Because Eren had noble enough intentions and a current body count of zero. He was innocent, even according to both of their definitions.

“Then what does make a monster?”

Try being an Ackerman.

“The only people I consider monsters are the pigs who take innocent lives without remorse.”

A life is a life. A death is a death. But being completely innocent isn’t what makes a human a human. Humans are fucked up. They’re cruel. But they have limits.

Monsters don’t. That’s the difference.

When Levi’s words didn’t feel like they were getting through, he moved closer, layering his hands over Eren’s. Maybe he couldn’t convince Eren otherwise within one night. But that wasn’t what Levi was trying to achieve right now. He just wanted to ease Eren, at least for now. He wanted to help the king of bouncing back do what he did best.

“Look, maybe I can’t convince you to not see yourself as a monster. But know that I don’t see you as one, alright brat?”

Who was Levi even kidding at this point? Hazy sickness? Yeah, right. Levi had it fucking bad for Eren, and it was only getting worse every moment they spent together.

All he could do was hold Eren close and hope that this wouldn’t all blow up in his face.

“Why do you do it?” Eren asked. “If stuff like this isn’t what you do often?”

I wish I knew.

“Why do you think?” Levi asked.

Of course, Eren was even more clueless than Levi. But Levi was given hope. Brief, heart-wrenching hope, in the form of his blood tasting sweeter on Eren’s tongue.

All those stories his mom told him in an attempt to get him to see “the good side of vampires” better not have been lies.

~11~

The stories were lies.

Well, not lies exactly. But Levi now had every reason in the world to doubt their truth. He had called Erwin as soon as Eren left, unable to stop himself, and—

“Oh… My friend, I… Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but…”

Legends. Fucking fairytales. Soulmate-based fairy tales. Soulmates? That was beyond absurd. Soulmates, but the only way you can find them if one of you happens to become a vampire and then happens to ingest the right person’s blood and happens to notice a change in flavor. What, so only vampires could have soulmates, and the rest of humanity was just fucked? Absolute bullshit, that’s what the story was. Fuck.

When his mom told him that story, it was supposed to be a definite thing. Blood tasting sweet equals love. End of story. It wasn’t like he was mad at her for having the story wrong, but shit, it took a lot just for him to get his hopes up in general. For it to end like this—

Levi decided to block it out. He refused to think about it. If he thought about it, it would just fuck him up. He was not going to dig himself into that hole. He needed to take a page from Eren’s book and learn to not let everything bog him down—

“Must you keep him in the dark about even this?”

If Levi was sixteen again, he would have committed a murder right fucking there. But he was older now. He was capable of reigning himself in. If Levi could just change the subject, everything would be fine.

“Tell me what?”

He just needed to—

“I should think you have plenty of reasons to tell him.”

“Tell me what?”

If Levi could just—

“Vampires are myths too, Levi.”

—Change the fucking subject!

“What the fuck are you guys talking about?” Eren asked.

Levi was not Eren. He did not bounce back. He snapped. And he was getting dangerously close.

Erwin could sense it. He stopped pressing so intensely, and he found a way to make his exit. Levi thanked his lucky stars that he’d gone to Erwin for advice and not Hanji. He knew that Hanji had always wanted to know what it was like to see him lose his cool.

But then Eren was trying to follow Erwin out. Fuck, Eren was going to ask. Levi needed to stop him, to prevent him from going because Levi really couldn’t handle any more than this—

“What? Are you going to tell me what the hell all that was?”

“It doesn’t concern you.”

“Doesn’t concern me?”

Stop. Levi needed to stop this, stop his head, stop his blood from boiling. He didn’t want to snap at Eren. It wasn’t Eren’s fault. It would be stupid to snap at Eren when the whole reason Levi was upset was because of how much he cared—

“If it’s nothing, then tell me about it.”

“No.”

If he could just get Eren to drop it. He’d tell the brat anything, just not this. Anything but this. He needed Eren to drop it. If Eren could just drop it—if Levi could change subjects—if they could talk about something else, anything else—please, Eren, fuck just drop it—

“You’re just going to say no without telling me why?”

Because even feeling what he felt without telling anyone was a new level of vulnerability hell for Levi. He couldn’t let Eren know, he couldn’t—Eren would have so much power over him—in this fucked up state of mind he could be crushed with a single ‘no’ and Levi was not Eren, he could not bounce back—

“I don’t have to explain anything to you.”

“But why won’t you?”

“I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

Somehow Eren knew just what to say, where to touch, to make things hit the hardest for Levi. Usually, that was good. Usually, that was him doing something that made Levi feel for him, that made Levi smile.

“Did I do something wrong? Do you—” Eren’s voice breaks. “Don’t you trust me?”

Right now it just hurt. And it hurt worse because Levi knew he was being an irrational little shit, because he knew that he was hurting Eren too, and fuck, fuck, fuck—

...Eren apologized first. Levi didn’t want that. He hadn’t wanted them to argue at all. He cradled Eren’s hands in his, raising them to his chest.

“Look, I really didn’t—It’s been a long day. I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”

Levi doesn’t bounce back. He snaps.

“I just… I got upset when you didn’t tell me. It felt like…” Eren trailed off.

“Like I didn’t trust you?”

Levi snaps. But as years have gone by, he’s learned to fix what he breaks.

“Eren. I… I do. I trust you. I trust you more than—”

More than I should. More than I’m probably capable of expressing to you.

“But you’re going to have to wait for me to grow a pair before I can explain to you what Erwin and I talked about, alright?”

It would be far out of Levi's comfort zone, but… If it was for Eren, maybe he could. Just… not yet. Maybe not for a long time.

For now Levi could just try to enjoy the feeling. And there were plenty of things to enjoy, if he chose to focus on them. Eren’s embarrassment every time Levi caught him daydreaming while burying his face into Levi’s neck—which really didn’t bother him as much as it probably should have. Eren’s exaggerated reactions to all of Levi’s teasing. Eren’s blushing, Eren’s smile, Eren’s grouchy little pout.

Eren’s determined gaze when he set his mind towards something. Eren’s spirit. Eren’s strength.

Levi wanted it all, wanted to protect it, to preserve it. And for what they both wanted… Levi would have to risk things if he could even dare to hope to protect Eren. Levi… Levi needed to be able to replace what he was going to risk.

“I need to meet those friends of yours,” Levi said. “The ones you came with the night we met.”

Levi wanted Eren to keep smiling. And, if he planned things right, he could manage it. But… But then Levi wouldn’t…

No. He didn’t need to think about that right now. For now, he could just pretend they’d get through everything unscathed. He would enjoy right now so that he wouldn’t even think about regretting things later.

~12~

It was supposed to be a good day. An easy day. They were just going to spar. He was going to teach Eren how to actually hold his knife and their day would go on like usual.

But Eren recoiled from him. He launched himself away from Levi when the man was just trying to get close, and Levi didn’t know why. Was it his hunting closet? Did the garlic on his coats and cloaks rub off on him? Levi knew that he didn’t have vampire senses, but he thought that he would have noticed if the garlic scent clung to him like that… Still, there was no other immediate concern that came to mind, and Eren was being unusually tight-lipped about it all.

It was… strange. Eren, expressive as he was, was normally someone that Levi could pretty much read like an open book. When he was angry, sad, conflicted, joyful, it all showed on his face, and all Levi had to do was piece together the reasoning behind it. Granted, there were times when Levi didn’t know, but this was… This was extreme. Everything about Eren was just screaming distress, but this was the first time that Levi was at a complete blank as to what the origin was. He felt like when Eren was wearing his emotions this openly, he should be able to know.

But Levi didn’t. They had been talking as usual, teasing each other as usual. Things only changed when Levi got close. And the only thing different about Levi was (possibly) the lingering scent of garlic.

Maybe Eren just didn’t want to say anything about the scent—which was weird, Levi would have thought that Eren would tease him for smelling like shit—and if that was the case, Levi wasn’t going to force the words out of him.

So, Levi decided to just shower.

And then the shitty brat laughed at him. Laughed so hard that he would have fallen on the floor if Levi hadn’t caught him. And while that annoyed Levi, he would have let it slide if Eren hadn't said—

“Thank you for worrying about me, but—” Eren was still laughing, the little shit. “You must really like me, huh?”

You must really like me. The words rattled around in Levi's empty head until his entire body went rigid. How did Eren—Did somebody tell him—no, nobody could’ve, but then—how did he know?

It was worse that it was a joke too. This feeling that Levi had been grappling with for the past couple of weeks, feelings that he didn't know could exist within him, that he didn't want to believe in, and that he only recently learned to accept—all that just played for a fucking laugh?

Did Eren know? Did he think this was just another one of those things he could tease Levi about and everything would be fine?

"I, uh… I was joking."

Of course, he was.

"Oh. Good."

What else was Levi supposed to say?

But then he heard Eren's gasp. He looked at the vampire struggling to push himself off the floor, and he saw trembling, watery eyes, a bottom lip firmly trapped between Eren's teeth, and shit, it all just looked like heartbreak—

“No, fuck, wait—”

This, Levi could read. This, Levi could understand. Eren, the fucking idiot that he is, of course, he would use a joke of all things to try and gauge Levi's feelings. Of course, now he thought the opposite of what was true and fuck, how could Levi fix this—

“Eren.”

“Look, I know we were supposed to be practicing, but I really just want to go home right now.”

“Please, just let me explain—”

“I really need to go home.”

“Eren—”

He needed to figure something out, and he needed to do it now because Eren was leaving, and Levi didn't want him to leave. Not like this. Not without knowing the truth. This wasn't when Levi wanted to do this, but if it would fix things… if it would keep Eren here, for just a moment longer, just long enough for them to clear things up, then—

“Eren, I’m in love with you.”

But… Eren ran. He ran as if those words were the last straw.

Levi… Levi must have read things wrong again. Said the opposite of what Eren wanted to hear.

Got his hopes up again. For nothing.

At least now, he knew for certain. At least now, he…

Who was Levi fucking kidding? He couldn't pull a bright side out of this. He tried to let decisions go, tried not to regret things he couldn't change, but…

Levi couldn't help wishing he'd done something different this time. Just this one time.

~13~

"Levi… Are you okay?"

Levi didn't look up from the sink at the sound of Isabel's voice.

"What makes you ask?"

"Oh, you know… Just the pile of broken plates next to you."

Levi glanced over at what was supposed to be the clean dishes rack. He didn't remember breaking any dishes, but he also didn't remember driving to work or anything else that happened since Eren—

"I'm fine."

Levi slamming a glass so hard into the dish rack that it shattered probably wasn't the most convincing thing he could have done.

"Right…" Isabel said, inching closer to him and gently guiding him away from the sink. "Why don't you take a break for a second? Furlan and I can handle things until you're...calmer. Okay?"

"I told you I'm fine—"

"Levi," Isabel said firmly, "we still need to serve customers tonight. Which means we still need plates. Which means you need to take a break until you cool off. Okay?"

Levi wanted to argue, but he was already feeling exhausted again. He just wanted to be alone.

"...Okay."

Isabel frowned up at him and patted him on the arm once before slipping out of the kitchen and getting back to work.

Levi doesn't remember what he did until Furlan came to get him. He remembers standing over the stove when the kitchen door opened. He remembers his friend saying there was some kind of "incident" happening outside. So Levi walked out of the restaurant in a daze, expecting to break up a fight—

“And then Levi goes up to little Isabel and says…Fear not, small child, for I have arrived to save the day!"

"What kind of fucking nonsense are you spreading now?" Levi snapped.

And then he saw Eren.

He remembers talking with Isabel, shooing her back into the restaurant, but whatever he said came out purely on autopilot. His mind was on Eren, even as he fought with himself to keep his gaze away, to not be swayed, to not get his hopes up again—

“Uh, Levi?”

Levi didn’t want to get his hopes up again.

“Look, I, um… I really… I mean, I’m really, really sorry about… about yesterday.”

“...You’re sorry.”

So Levi thought about all the reasons Eren would be there on a day they had never planned on, just a few hours after Levi sent him messages detailing the ways they could avoid seeing each other as much as possible. What reasons would Eren have to come? What reason would Eren have to apologize after running away?

“Y-yeah. I—especially because I ran—no, um, especially because of how I feel. Because, uh, I—”

Why would he bother attempting to force out words that he clearly wasn’t comfortable saying yet? Why, just because Levi said them? Because he felt bad? Bullshit.

“Levi, the truth is—”

“Don’t say it just because I did. I don’t need that kind of pity.”

Levi didn’t want to hear it. He just wanted the conversation to be over with. He wanted to leave.

“The truth is that I don’t know if I love you!”

It was the most sincere Eren’s voice had sounded so far, so Levi stopped. He stopped and waited for Eren’s truth. Levi didn't really want to hear a rejection, but if it would give things a smoother ending between them then—

“The truth is that I don’t know what I feel about you. Because I feel a lot of things, all kinds of things, all at once.”

...Huh?

“The second we met, I felt something when I looked at you. And honestly, my dumb ass was pretty sure it was fear.”

Fear? Levi didn't even try to—never mind, not important. Eren felt something towards Levi from the moment they met? That was—no, Levi needed Eren to clarify that—

“And I don’t know when I stopped being nervous around you, but I do know that I look for you when I’m nervous now. I reach for you, I try to grab hold of you. I’m not scared anymore, Levi. Being near you gets rid of my fear. I mean, yeah, sometimes I get anxious, but it’s only because I’m so desperate to keep you with me. I don’t want to mess anything up—”

Levi's brain was overloading. All this romantic sappy shit that made Levi's heart squeeze like a water balloon beneath a metal clamp was too much. Levi didn't know how to—Levi had never—No one had ever said anything like this to Levi. No one but Eren. He needed Eren to slow down, for a second at least—

“And you—you’re just—you’re there for me, and you say all these things that drive me crazy, and it’s like I’m always, always thinking of you even when I shouldn’t be. I want to impress you, I want you to think of me just as much as I think of you, and fuck, I haven’t even talked about how hot you are yet.”

All of that—all of that shit—that passionate starry-eyed nonsense that had Eren looking at Levi like the little bitter man was the fucking sun—

How… How was it that they felt almost exactly the same?

“What I’m trying to say is that if all these things I’m feeling about you are love, then I love you, Levi.”

If they really did feel the same…

“Sorry,” Eren said, “you were going to say something?”

Then Levi wasn't going to let Eren run away again.

"You drive me fucking insane."

Insane in a good way. And in a bad way. Because fuck, if Levi was unsure if his feelings before, he was certain of them now. Certain of the way they drew new sides out of him, new feelings, new emotions. Certain of the way they drove him crazy with stupid worries, with regret, with concern. Certain of the way they put his heart through the fucking wringer.

And Levi was certain that he wouldn't give up these feelings for anything, despite all that.

You're stuck with me now, was the unspoken promise Levi sealed against Eren's lips.

~14~

Levi wasn't great at all this romance stuff. The confessions, the purposeful sweet talk. But kissing? Kissing was no longer uncharted waters.

...Well, that's what Levi thought at first anyway.

For Levi, kissing was a chore. A detour from the main event that he had to take almost every time due to his partners' preferences. He knew what to do, and he had gotten good at it, but it never really meant anything or made him feel differently.

And then he kissed Eren.

Levi refuses to say all that cheesy shit about sparks flying or whatever, but… It was different. It was definitely different.

He felt hot. Boiling heat inside his chest, searing through him from the inside out. It propelled every one of his movements, keeping his hand on Eren’s shirt so that the tall brat would stay low enough for their lips to meet. His free arm slipped around Eren's waist and everywhere Levi touched seemed to make Eren gasp and tremble, and fuck, this was playing with Levi’s patience.

Eren’s hands were on his waist, and he could feel the eager vampire pressing himself closer, parting his lips, and Levi certainly wasn’t going to stop him—

Levi briefly registered pain on his bottom lip, faint enough that Levi could honestly equate it to an itch, and then Eren was pulling away. Levi opened his eyes and was met with vivid green panic. Levi just huffed a little sigh as he moved to slide his fingers into Eren’s long hair. Eren’s hands at his waist retreated a little, not letting go, but no longer open palms against his sides.

Levi nearly wanted to laugh, but he could still have a bit more fun with this if he didn’t.

“Eren.”

Eren’s eyes widened again before he dropped his gaze, his entire upper half drooping. Levi could nearly imagine a pair of brown dog ears on Eren’s head, remorsefully pinned back.

...Maybe Erwin was onto something with that whole “puppy” thing.

“I know I told you to bite me if I didn’t want this…”

Levi tilted Eren’s chin up with his fingers before wiping a stray drop of blood from his lip. He hadn’t meant for the action to stir up anything, but they were close enough that he saw Eren’s pupils dilate, and Levi almost had to physically bite back a smile.

Well, well. He’d keep that in mind for later.

“...but something tells me you were just being an overeager little shit.”

Eren was still staring at the bloody smudge on Levi’s lips.

“I… I forgot I had fangs for a second there.”

“Only you would. Dumbass.”

They goofed around for a little while longer until Levi decided they should call somebody to actually work before the restaurant fell apart. Petra arrived soon after that, and then they were back in their usual spots in the breakroom, ready to talk.

Well, Levi was ready until Eren was touching his own lips like he was silently begging for Levi to kiss him again.

And you're supposed to give a puppy a treat when they beg, right?

It was so easy for Levi to just get… absorbed by Eren. The sound of his voice, the feel of his breath and his lips… His skin beneath Levi's fingers… His soft hair brushing against Levi's cheeks...

His goofy-ass grin against Levi's lips.

Kissing Eren was… nice. It was sharing a smile, sharing joy. It was a confession. It was confirmation. It was a reminder. It made something warm settle at the pit of Levi's rib cage with every instance. Something warm and gentle and nice. Something like comfort. Like Levi's favorite blend of tea on a winter evening.

Kissing Eren was nice. So was touching Eren, being near Eren. It was all nicer now, knowing Levi's own feelings, knowing that Eren felt the same.

If Levi thought those words could get through his throat unchanged, he would have said them out loud then, in that quiet moment between the two of them.

“Don’t stare too long."

It took a moment for Levi to register how long they had been sitting there in silence, how long he had been absent-mindedly admiring Eren's face as his mind wandered. His throat swelled for a moment, shame clogging his windpipe and making him struggle to breathe. But Eren was just smiling at him, green eyes brimming with affection that probably matched Levi's.

Levi didn't have to be ashamed. He didn't have to be embarrassed. He didn't need to pretend that he wasn't staring at Eren, not when Eren was also staring at him.

But this was… new. It would definitely take some getting used to.

Especially when Eren's smile was slowly morphing into the grin of a smug little shit.

Levi forced their conversation back to what it was supposed to be: a moment for them to ask each other whatever questions they had. Levi himself had a few questions about Eren's preferred boundaries, but in all honesty, there was only one real question that he desperately wanted the answer to.

But Eren asked to go first, so Levi let him.

"What was that thing you were talking about with Erwin? When I walked in and you didn't want to tell me?"

Levi relived all his shame within a single instant. Of course. Why didn't he expect Eren to ask him about that soulmate fucking bullshit? He felt even stupider about it now, now that he and Eren had come to like each other the normal way. Of course, that was the first thing Eren asked. Of course, that was the start of their whole conversation.

"Wha—What's wrong?! Are some questions off limits? I can change mine—"

Eren’s panic only made Levi feel worse, so he forced the words out of his throat, eager to get the conversation over with and blow through the pain. This was exactly the sort of thing Eren liked to tease Levi over, so Levi waited for Eren to joke and prod and laugh at Levi for getting his hopes up at sky level before subsequently stomping them beneath his feet. Levi was just waiting for it, for that shit-eating grin that he knew would come—

...But it didn’t. It didn’t come.

“Personally, I don’t think we should take being soulmates off the table—”

Levi thought that sentence would be the start of it, the start of the laughs and the bullshit.

“But.” Eren was holding Levi by the hand. “Either way, Levi, I love you. I’m choosing you, myth or no myth. So you don’t have to put your hopes into some old legend. Just leave all those hopes with me.”

Levi… Levi had been waiting for ridicule that never came. He had braced for it, expected it—shit, if the tables were turned, Levi might have laughed at Eren—but it never came.

Eren was still holding his hand, anchoring him. Somehow… Somehow Eren knew that this would have fucked Levi up if he had joked about it. Because Eren usually has no problem messing with Levi until the vampire hunter is glaring daggers at him. But this time Eren chose not to. He chose to listen, to comfort. He chose to support.

Levi… Levi could learn a lesson or two from this insufferable, kind brat. He wanted to, so that could do this for Eren too, when Eren needed it. Levi wanted to be good at this. This whole being in love thing.

Because Eren deserved somebody who could be good at this.

“Eren.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m… new at this.”

Eren smiled in that soft way that made Levi’s heart expand and his chest squeeze at the same time. He had Levi by the hand, gave the appendage a little squeeze. It made Levi realize how tightly he was hanging onto Eren. Eren, the one of them with newly acquired super strength, was the one with the gentler touch, at least right now. Levi tried to loosen his grip, but he kind of just wanted to hang on even tighter.

“That’s okay. Me too—I mean, I’ve never felt this strongly—”

“No,” Levi said. “I’ve never… I’ve never felt anything. Nothing like this has ever…”

Levi has friends—family that are dear to him. He has people he would never want to lose, that he would protect with his life. What he doesn’t understand is how quickly Eren joined those ranks. He doesn’t understand what it is about the vampire that puts him in a separate category from the other people he loves.

And with his family, Levi can be as much of a little fucking gremlin as he wants. He can be a piece of shit, an asshole, a person they maybe only want around out of obligation—

But Levi wants to do more, to be more for Eren. With Eren. He wants—fuck, he just wants Eren to stay.

He could’ve said that. Maybe he should have. Maybe he will someday. But at that moment, Levi just said—

“I’m going to fuck this up sometimes.”

“No, Levi—”

“I’ll fuck it up. So, I…”

Levi really hoped he wasn’t going to regret saying this.

“When I do, I… I hope you’ll choose me again.”

Hope. He’d been feeling that a lot recently, hadn’t he? But with hope… Whenever Levi allowed himself that much it was almost always followed by—

Before Levi could even think the word ‘regret,’ Eren’s arms were around him.

“I will. I definitely will.”

Levi decided that he would believe in those words. At least for now.

It took them a little while to get back on track. When they restarted their question session, it was Levi’s turn. He asked the one thing he was truly desperate to know.

“Why did you run after I told you I loved you?”

He tried to stay neutral while asking, even though it still hurt, even though the wound was still fresh. He didn’t need to be hurt by it; they had already admitted their true feelings. But Levi… Levi was not good at bouncing back and he didn’t want any bad blood to linger. If he could just understand, then maybe that’d be enough for him to let it go—

“I… don’t know.”

Oh.

Levi… Levi didn’t know how to respond to that.

“I’m sorry,” Eren said, and his head lowered. Absentmindedly, Levi imagined the ears again, the drooping puppy tail. “I just—sometimes my head just… It-it gets stuck, and I can’t get out of it.”

Oh.

It happened to Eren too?

“I’m sorry,” Eren said just as the gears in Levi’s brain started turning again. “I-I don’t know what—I… I was just—I thought that you were rejecting me, and I just… I don’t know. I heard you, I know I did, but I just couldn’t—it was like I didn’t actually hear you, or I couldn’t process it because I was already gone, I was already stuck—”

It happened to Eren too.

“It’s like… Like driving a car with no brakes, like I can’t stop—I’m sorry, I don’t—I just—fuck—”

It was probably happening to Eren right now.

But that was okay. Levi’s been there before. He had been in that car with no brakes. While their minds weren’t the same, Levi could understand enough from Eren’s words, from the previous ways he was able to bring Eren out of his head.

What Eren needed was a reminder to take his foot off the gas.

When Eren told Levi about his mother for the first time, it was a touch that brought him out of that memory. So Levi’s hand found his way to the top of Eren’s head, and then he waited for a reaction, considering how there was a time when touch didn’t work, when that caused Eren to throw a table across the room.

Eren gasped but didn’t move away. The table was still in place. Levi added another hand and waited. The only reaction was quiet, trembling breaths. Levi shifted his focus to pulling Eren’s hands away from his head, frowning when he saw blood beneath Eren’s fingernails. If his head didn’t heal quick enough, Levi would let him drink a little extra. Just for today.

“I’m sorry—”

“No,” Levi said. Take your foot off the gas. “You don’t need to do that.”

“But I—”

“You don’t need to apologize.”

Levi continued slowly, methodically. He would try something, another touch, another movement, and then he would wait. If Eren was still okay, he would continue. He would do a little more.

What he wanted was to get Eren to look him in the eye. He wanted Eren to see that Levi wasn’t upset, wasn’t angry. Everything was okay. There was no need to apologize.

He wanted to help the king of bouncing back do just that. And sure enough, by the time Levi had calmed Eren down enough to have a brief conversation—

“Can we—can we still ask questions?”

“Are you sure?”

Eren nodded.

“I… want to know how old you are.”

Levi couldn’t hold back a laugh. The king had returned to his throne.

“I’m twenty-six.”

Levi had helped.

“Favorite color?”

“Black.”

Maybe…

“Favorite animal.”

“Hm… Horses.”

Maybe Levi had a chance at not fucking this up after all.

“Favorite hobby.”

“Do I get to ask you any questions?”

“Mmm… No.”

“Fine. Cleaning.”

Maybe… Maybe Levi could be alright at this would being in love thing.

“Favorite…”

Levi wasn’t sure how long they went on like that. All he knew is that by the time he sent Eren home, Levi was having a hard time biting back his smiles.

That vampire brat had changed him. Is changing him. Will continue to change him. And Levi…

Levi’s looking forward to it.

[magneticmage]

What my Dragon Age OCs named their animal companions (at least those that have them);

As this was longer than anticipated, it's under the cut, otherwise enjoy my babbling!

Lynera Mahariel has the following animal companions as a ranger:

-"Vengeance " aka Nan the Bear (a bear that underwent a type of modified Joining and became a bereskarn who later acquires the ability to wear heavy and massive armors). She will often use him as a beast of burden and a mount into battle. It is very docile for its kind, oddly enough, and she perhaps guesses that it might be because she raised the bear from a half-grown cub after its mother was killed by human hunters. When it got the Blight post-Deep Roads, she used some of the Archdemon's blood they had collected (yes, they fought it in the Deep Roads but that's another post on its own) and she is known to have stayed by its side the entire time, fully prepared to put it down should the need arise. As this was on the heels of Tamlen's ghouldom and subsequent death, she did not want to have to lose another friend to the Blight's corruption, but felt no other alternative was available. She is also prepared to kill Nan before going on her Calling (while she helped to find the cure for the Taint, she did not use it herself as she had accepted her fate as a Grey Warden during the Fifth Blight). She named him Nan after the rage and grief she feels over Tamlen and the loss of her old life, something the bear seems to share towards bow and arrow armed humans who have not been recognized as allies. He is brown and black furred.

-"Anger" aka Nin the Wolf (another animal companion who was Joined-seeing a pattern here yet?-after contracting the Taint and transformed into a blight wolf that eventually gains the training to wear medium and then heavy armors). She took the wolf in after he was separated from its pack by a darkspawn war party in the Kocarri Wilds and he has remained with her ever since. While extremely territorial and aggressive, she can soothe him with a simple touch much to the bafflement of others, and sometimes even herself post-Joinings. She named him Nin due to all the anger and frustration she was feeling at the time, as well as how aggressive and snappy he was to others. He has red fur with a dark gray underbelly.

-"Sadness/Depression" aka Nume the Spider (the final mention of animal companion to Join Lynera's menagerie of pets-turned-Tainted-Wardens and capable of wearing light armor). She hatched the spider from an egg sac recovered in the Dark Forest from around the Queen spider's nest. While Nume takes some time (probably a few months to half a year, given spider's known moulting rates as juveniles into adults) before the spider is fully grown and capable of combat, Lynera doesn't generally use her for direct skirmishes and often has her set up webbing to facilitate ambushes. She contracts the Taint after a few skirmishes with the darkspawn and Lynera promptly has her Joined. Careful to a fault and uncertain about the abilities and effects this new type of Spider would have should Nume ever be allowed to breed, Lynera makes a point to kill any male spider within the general facility and often has Nin or Nan do so. She also noted the Nume's weaknesses to certain types of damage and had Wade craft specially designed armor to protect her friend. Nume is named after the rage and grief that Lynera experienced at the time. Nume is black with vivid red and white markings and gold-hued eyes.

Isemaya Tabris;

-Kisses the Cat=An old she-devil calico cat that's been Fade-Touched after she rescued it from the Alienage orphanage's attic. She taught the cat to wear a set of modified studded leather-and drakeskin armor that Wade designed after showing her to the staff at Vigil's Keep. Prior to that, she simply kept the cat in her pack and had trained it to come when called. She named it Kisses after it proceeded to continously bite at her armor and clothes before calming down as time went on, at least until Ser Pounce-a-lot came around as the two only get along at certain times (when their owners are in the room, her heat strikes, etc.).

Catriona Surana;

-"Freedom" aka Revas the Warden Mabari Warhound (Was also Joined upon contracting the Taint post-Solidier's Peak and it inspired Catriona to modify the Joining in such a way as to allow-or, at least, attempt-other creatures to undergo it and hopefully have a higher chance of success. The results of the test have yet to be determined due to the small sample size thus far, but it offers promising results if the current survival rate holds true. Although this does not stop the creature's from changing due to their now Tainted nature nor does it make them immune to the Calling, however, she has also begun further research into modifying the Cure for them, as well. The results will have to be remain to be seen as this modified cure hasn't been tested yet). She had the mabari trained to wear medium and heavy armors over time so that he could continue to fight beside her as she is a blood-mage, spirit-healer, and arcane-warrior and thus often fights on the front lines when not shuffled away in her research libraries. Revas himself was named after she found community and acceptance among the Danish and city elves after being so estranged from her respective heritage and cultures due to being in the Circle at Kinloch Hold since the age of eleven. He was also named for the fact that she found she actually wanted and enjoyed her newfound freedoms after so long denied them by the Templars. He's got white fur with icy blue eyes and seems slightly more wolf-like in appearance than most mabari.

Cale Amell;

-Barkspawn the Mabari Warhound is the sibling of Catriona's wardog due to being in the same litter. He is a dull black-furred dog. He was not Joined and was often used as a frontline of defense should enemies get to close to his owner as his owner is far more squishy than Catriona and so was taught to wear medium and heavy armor sets. He is also extremely fond of Morrigan and almost seems to prefer her over Cale at times. He was returned to the party, alongside his brother, by a chance meeting with Cale's estranged sister, Raven Amell, in the lifting of the seige of Gwaren during the Fifth Blight.

Raven Amell;

-Ribbon the Falcon=This lovely bird was give to her by one of her past Orlesian lovers (now deceased due to poisoning by rivals in the Game) during their time at Montsimmard together before she was set to be transferred to The Gallows at Kirkwall. Needless to say, the Blight interrupted those plans and Raven kept her bird until its death by arrows during the fight against Corypheus' forces in the Arbor Wilds despite the light armor vestments it had been granted and trained in by that point of time. Prior to her death and the Mage-Templar War, she was often used to scout and send encoded messages or for hunting small game like rabbits. Ribbon is named after the streaks-"ribbons"-of lighter colors across her dark brown wings and underbelly.

Fion Cousland;

-Hafter the Mabari Warhound is exactly what a Cousland should have in a mabari; purebred, stalwart, noble, and fierce. He's a charcoal grey color with some uneven ashy and soot colored stripes. He was given combat training around the same time as Fion had begun to excel at his own warrior training and the two quickly became a nigh-unbeatable time. By the time of Awakening, Hafter is able to wear truly massive protective armor and still keep fighting as effectively as ever, though he has gained a healthy fear of water after going under a river for a few hundred feet post-Awakening but pre-Inquisition. He was named after the old tales Nan would tell him as a child.

Aelynne Cousland;

-Rabbit the Mabari was the runt of the litter and was given to Aelynne upon the previous death of her old dog (an aged greyhound named Marble she'd been given by a relative). She is a simple brown color with a white underbelly and darker brown ears. She's got a small "mask" across her eyes that matches her ears. She was named Rabbit due to Aelynne having stated she wanted a pet rabbit for Wintersend and Fergus promptly giving her the long-eared mabari as a present soon after instead. Rabbit is calmer than her master and often helps to keep her calm and collected and focused. Due to Aelynne preferring longer range combat (though she later gain a reputation for being a skilled duelist post-Fereldan Civil War and her own raider adventures), Rabbit was trained to be a more direct threat to their enemies and thus wears medium and heavy armor (though the later is often only used for ground assaults as it's often a detriment at sea).

Barran Aeducan;

-"Family" aka Kalnath the Deepstalker Queen is a hardy and rather large deepstalker matriarch of unusual gold and blue coloring with alert and bright red eyes. While her numerous and fast-growing progeny is occasionally weaponized as fodder after becoming acclimatized to having Barran at the top of the "pecking order" so to speak and thus often trained for simple tasks and commands, Kalnath herself is extremely valued by Barran as she was the first creature to not attack him during his exile in the Deep Roads. He freed her from a darkspawn trap and nursed back to health while traveling to Ostagar. Once healed, she did not leave and seems quite content to continue her adventures with Barran. She was trained to wear light to medium armor to better protect her in battle (though her progeny goes without). Barran has begun an extensive breeding program of her descendants to make them viable as scouts and pets (often those of unusual colorings such as Kalnath herself or gentler and obedient natures) among other things. He is adamant that Kalnath is not a pet but is often found secretly doting on her whenever possible. Kalnath is named for fact that he viewed his family-namely Bhelen, Trian, and even King Endrin-as a nest of deepstalkers with slightly more complexity in motive and means that he often had to navigate growing up but they were deepstalkers if the same pack, at least. Also Bhelen's betrayal was still fresh in his mind and he decided he would be a "deep lord" by swallowing "the venom" of his traitorous brother if that is what it took to get vengeance.

Valda Aeducan;

-"Peace" aka Partha The Giant Spider Queen is a companion of Valda that rarely leaves the Palace walls except when she goes on expeditions into the Deep Roads. Partha is a vivid blue color with green and yellow markings as well as with eight large red eyes. Valda's fascination with spiders started young upon being served them as a special birthday dish when she was six. Since then she has been breeding them for a variety of uses (from exotic pets to poisonous toxins and tools of death against her enemies to more mundane uses such as spidersilk threads for clothes and meat for food) for quite some time. Partha is the latest and most successful individual she has produced thus far, having lived nearly as long as Valda herself (Partha is currently in her late teens) due an extremely strong toxin and elemental resistances paired with powerful muscles for strength and speed. This spider queen is even capable of wearing light armor to aid in covering up her weaker joints and underbelly, as well as occasionally some more sharp drakeskin-and-teeth options for intimidation purposes. She was named after the dwarven word for peace due to Valda wishing to bring about an end to the systematic oppressions faced by many in Orzammar as seen when she encountered a young Brosca ruffian during her youth.

Tatha Brosca;

-"Friend" aka Salroka the Bronto is a beast of burden that Tatha "liberated" from Beraht's cages before killing the crimelord. He is a deep cobalt color. Initially taken so that she could quickly gather what supplies she could scavenge (and an emergency food supply if that failed) before she could abscond off with Rica and Kalah into the Deep Roads-at least that was the plan until the guards arrived and she was Conscripted into the Grey Wardens. Salroka is a simple brute and not easily frightened though it was a rough adjustment period for them both on the way to Ostagar. She often ended up using him as a warmount during the Fifth Blight and so took preparations to get him used to heavy (and then later massive) armor. She named him Salroka after Leske as she missed her fellow partner in crime and did not fully trust Barran despite having been friends with his twin sister for some years prior to the whole mess with Beraht and Jarvia (also another story for another post). She managed to avoid killing Leske during the initial engagement with Jarvia and sent him away when he woke up. Unbeknownst to her, Valda has recruited him to serve as a hidden bodyguard of sorts for Kalah Brosca. Tatha had joked that her old Salroka was even better than her new one so killing him was just a waste of dwarven talent when she was questioned about why she let him go.

Dion Caron;

-Victoy the Giant Rat is a pet rat with fluffy and curly grey and brown fur that Dion has had for a number of years. He doesn't know why the creature is still alive and frankly doesn't care enough to find out. He has trained the rat to help Garam look for and set up traps for the darkspawn they often hunt. He even gave her a makeshift set of Grey Warden gear out of a sense of camaderie. Her name is Victory to remind him that in the war against these monsters and other great evils, the world is still so full of little victories like her.

Jasper Hawke;

-Honey the Mabari Warhound is a beautiful golden-brown mabari from a litter of seven that was birthed by Malcolm's mabari when they were kids and, although one died shortly after, two were given away to family friends, and another was killed by the darkspawn in the flight from Lothering (it was Leandra's white dog named Cotton), he managed to survive among other things; being mauled by a bear, getting burned by mage fire, and losing a fight to a giant rat (poor Honey now has a crippling fear of them). Jasper has trained him to follow commands and wear specially crafted heavy armor (often matching Jasper's own) alongside the special magical-resistant Kaddis he uses. Jasper also has him help train the templar recruits and will even let Aveline borrow him for similar purposes from time to time. Honey was named as such due to getting into a fight with a bear over its beehive of his own volition. He was found hours later beside a dead bear, horribly wounded and covered in bees and honey. Jasper couldn't help but laugh at the memory once he'd recovered.

Gray Hawke;

-Biscuit the Mabari is a grey and brown mabari and was the runt of the litter. A sickly pup that required lots of attention, he has grown to be a very healthy (if somewhat needy) and overly large lap dog. The Kaddis Gray uses are often used for their artistic aesthetics but a few are for actual combat as well. Gray often has him guard the family estate when he is away or sleeping; he even goes on little patrols around the neighboring blocks if rumors are to be believed! He is also very friendly and prone to stealing biscuits, hence his name.

Skye Hawke;

-Pudding the Mabari is a deep brown color and was the largest of the litter. She is also the most curious of the bunch and has been known to get into anything and everything if left to her own devices (much like her owner, some would say). While she often used to help round up the animals around the farm growing up, she's since developed into a capable and well-rounded animal. Skye often uses her for assisting in pranks and diversions, but doesn't often use her for battle out of sentimental reasons. A number of Kaddis designs and types are used for this purpose. She was named Pudding after Skye's favorite desert.

Violet Hawke;

-Cream Puff the Mabari Warhound is a mostly white furred with gold-spots mabari with gray paws and tail. Violet often fights alongside her mabari and even had Cream Puff's own Champion heavy armor comissioned (though her dog did not join her in the fight against the Arishok). Otherwise, Cream Puff is as docile as they come and is known to "kidnap" little kids and other small creatures and bring them home which Violet then has to return. She was named by Malcolm Violet asking for his help in naming her mabari.

~Additional Bonuses~

Emilyse Trevelyan has a cream-colored mabari gifted to her by an Antivan suitor (much to Cullen's consternation) after a recent litter of his Fereldan relatives kennels. She goes on to often use the dog-and its inevitable litters of pups with Cullen's own mabari- to help with the therapies for trauamtized mages and templars looking for some form of comfort who come into the sanctuaries and clinics set up in the Inquisition's wake. She named her Butterscotch.

Garam Kader has acquired a giant silverite-and-steel golem he's named after the dwarven word for war, "Kallak", by the time of Awakening. The details of how exactly he managed to acquire this particular golem are unclear and no one on his team is willing to elaborate on it either.. He has the control rod but upon being told the truth of the Anvil of the Void by Barran and Tatha, he has set a team of researchers to finding a way to break the rod to restore the dwarf's original personality and (hopefully) even find a way to reverse the process and return them to a dwarven form once more. Until then, he maintain Kallak in as best a condition as he can manage despite the numerous missions and dangerous assignments he is given by the Grey Wardens. In the meantime, he has augmented Kallak with some truly massive crystals. He often leaves the golem to its own devices in Vigil's Keep's courtyard where it will wander off to the forge. Wade complains that it is watching him and making his work difficult but Lynera seems to soothe these fears with a simple "perhaps it remembers the craftsmen who made it or what it once was before it became a golem".

[liliesoftherain]

My Hero Academia Main 3 Boys x Reader

Ch.9 Accidental Backstory?

Ch.1 Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8

Another chapter out! This will be my last post for a bit, finals week is next week so after that then I’ll get back to it but for now, I need to focus on passing chemistry ;-;  But more to come soon no worries! Enjoy!

TAGLIST:  @rizamendoza808 !(: @iris-suoh !(: @quicksilverfangirl​ !(: @shortperson202 !(: @noodlenerd101 !(: @matchamidoriya​ !(: @thorsbtch-captainnoobmaster69me​ !(:

“We’ve reached the halfway point but it’s still anybody’s game! Class 1-B has made an unexpected showing, but can they keep it? And who will win the 10 million points in the end!?”

Your team glared at the offenders who had the audacity to not only steal your headband, but also piss off the hot head of the group. You assumed the rider knew of Bakugou’s explosive nature and was trying to use it to his advantage. What he didn’t realize was it wasn’t a smart idea to anger Bakugou, it was going to be their end.

“Quit provoking him Monama,” one of the students muttered,” we don’t want to stoop to their level.”

“I guess you’re right,” The Monama kid sighed,”It’s not very heroic of me. Besides, you know how these things work. Heroes are always being surrounded by villains with nasty intentions and desperate attempts of some kind of revenge.” His smirk widened. 

You felt your eyebrow twitch. This guy was talking about nasty intentions when he’s the one trying to get under your guys’ skin? He hated your class and he was using that as fuel, if that wasn’t some type of weird payback/revenge, you didn’t know what was.

“You have no right to call us out for the same bullshit you punks are doing!” You spat back before you could stop yourself,” You’re acting on some petty-ass hatred for our class, doesn’t that make you villainous as well?”

“My my,” Monama glared at you,” what a dirty mouth on this one. You should really muzzle your dog, Bakugou.”

Bakugou felt any patience he had snap at that very moment, his eyes burning with rage as his body began to shake. He saw red and then let out a yell in frustration.

You were annoyed at this ugly boy calling you a dog, but before you could respond Bakugou’s aggressive scream sliced through the air, effectively shutting you up before you even began. 

“Bakugou man calm down, he’s trying to say crap to rile you up! Don’t fall for his trick otherwise we can’t get our points back if you aren’t thinking straight.” Kirishima grunted, even though he was pretty pissed himself at this guy for calling you out.

“SHUT UP! Isn’t it obvious? I’ve never been calmer. Lets fucking go after them already!” Bakugou yelled back.

“Whatever you say..!”

With that your group took off, sprinting after the other team while they only stood still. You were confused as to why they weren’t moving, but you had no time to express your concerns as another on of Bakugou’s shouts filled the air,

“You think you’re tough, huh? You think you can talk shit and get away with it?! Well I got news for you, DIEE!” 

A loud explosion ripped through the air, but Monama dodged last second and brought a hand up to Bakugou’s face and set off an explosion of his own back at him. You gasped loudly, and your team managed to get some distance between the other, not before Monama was able to slap Kirishima’s head. You looked up at Bakugou and saw scorch marks on his cheek, and you glared at the smug boy across the way from you. 

Bakugou’s teeth grit in frustration, his cheek stinging from the damage taken. He was pissed, how did this guy have such a similar quirk? Nearly the same as his own, it was ridiculous. 

In an attempt to get the boy back, you brought your right arm up and shot a beam of light. Making sure it was hot enough to leave a mark, but not too hot that it'd really hurt the kid. You just wanted him to get a taste of his own medicine. However, Monama simply brought an arm up and it hardened, your light unable to do any damage. 

“You both have impressive quirks for sure, but I think you’ll agree when I say mine is better.” Monama said smugly.

“What? My quirk too?” You heard Kirishima say in surprise.

“You bastard, so you can copy others quirks huh?” Bakugou deduced with a frown set firm on his face.

“Wow you figured it out, congrats, I guess even idiots can understand some things can’t they?”

The team was ready to charge at Monama when you were all cut off by a wall of sludge.  You glanced to your right and saw another team creating the substance. You assumed they were classmates and they were looking out for each other. You sent another ray of heat towards the new team, as the guy wielding the sludge quirk quickly used it to protect himself and effectively stopping his attack on you guys. 

They left shortly after, telling Monama to watch out while they did. The boy in question only smirked at your team, causing tension to rise higher.

“ONLY 3 MINUETS LEFT!”

“I can’t move! I’m stuck!” Kirishima panicked. He was trying to remove his foot from the gunk of that one boys quirk, but it hardened on him and he was utterly stuck. You put a hand out and used the heat from your light to break through the substance. 

“Stand still Eijiro, I’ll melt it away!”

Once he was free, you guys charged again, heading straight towards at Monama as his team had started to walk away from you. Bakugou’s patience was running thin so he jumped off of your support and blasted away, shouting the whole way.

“You losers get back here!”

“He really has got to start letting us know when he’s going to do that.” Sero sighed.

You knew it was going to be pointless for him to charge again the same way and expect a different result. You were sure all he needed was a touch and he could copy your quirk, after all he did smack Eijiro. But who’s to say what the actual mechanics of it is? Does he need to touch Bakugou again to use his quirk, or does he have them all set like a speed dial and can change quirks in the blink of an eye? 

Best thing to do was try to give Bakugou the upper hand by making it to wear Monama was off guard and unable to use Bakugou’s quirk against him. Making sure he had his eyes on the hot head flying towards him, you sent a blast through the air. Making it change to a solid when it collided with Monamas unsuspecting chest, allowing the boy to be thrown back. His teammates being the only thing to keep him from falling off while Monama grabbed his chest in shock and pain.

One member of his group yelled out his name as Bakugou quickly approached, and since Monama was winded, the student used his quirk and trapped Bakugou in a giant bubble. He was pounding on the thing as he floated in midair inside of it, the student snickering at the sight.

“Ha, you look pretty stupid fighting with air.”

“Well it seems we’re okay for now,” Monama thanked his own teammate before throwing a heated glare at you,” you’re going to pay for that-”

“Oh yea?” You smirked, not showing any fear. You weren’t scared of this brat. ”Bring it on you chump. You thought I was all bark and no bite eh? Maybe I do need some type of muzzle or restraint because if not, you best believe I’ll kick your ass.”

“No, you need a muzzle because you’re a filthy animal in every sense of the word. You think you’re better than us, but you’re scum just like your boyfriend and the rest of your class. You’re the reason the female dog has it’s nickname you bitch-” The sound of glass breaking cut Monama off.

Bakugou broke free of the prison he was trapped in and punched Monama across the face before grabbing most of the headbands around his neck. Thinking quickly, Sero shot out his tape and caught him right before he hit the ground, yanking him up and bringing him back to your group. His landing this time was much smoother than the first as he quickly settled on your guys’ arms.

Bakugou was absolutely livid. How dare that background character trap him in a stupid bubble and make him look weak in front of everyone. How fucking dare that droopy eyed asshole call you a bitch when he was the only bitch he saw here. And worst of all, how dare those motherfuckers still have one headband left. He wanted them to go down, no headbands, zero-points-you’re-out down.

“You should really warn us before you jump dammit.” Sero grunts out.

“Shut up.” Bakugou barked back, not in the mood.

“It’s alright, at least we’re advancing now!” Kirishima yelled out excitedly. 

“No!” Bakugou growled, starting to smack Kirishima’s head,”We’re not done yet! We’re going to make sure those assholes have nothing left, we’ll fucking obliterate them. Then we’re going to be the indisputable champions of the game.”

“I wasn’t able to brace myself when I jumped,” He continued, you and Sero gave each other a look as he was still smacking the other boy’s head. Said boy taking no care. “Let's get our points back, then take down Deku and get his 10 million.”

“Right! Let’s go!” You all agreed, his words firing everyone up.

“Elbow guy, tape them! Get the back!” Bakugou lifts his left leg, giving Sero the opportunity to shoot, blocking the other team’s right side.

“My name is Sero dammit!” 

“Glow worm! Can you trap them there!?” Bakugou lifted his right leg for you to do the exact same thing.

“Don’t you doubt me Bakugou!” You yelled, sending off a large blast that was bigger than the others you’ve used.

 It was larger than your normal beams but still pretty small, reaching just under your hips. You made sure to keep the heat up as you manipulated the light to warp on their left side and behind, creating a barrier. You all rushed forward, faster than before. The heat you created caused Monama and co to stagger back, and get caught in Sero’s tape. The were unable to move out of the way as you all rushed up on them.

Bakugou raises a fist as the guy who originally trapped him was creating another bubble, this time to act as a shield. In one punch Bakugou effectively smashed through it, easier than the first one. You saw the other groups eyes widen as Baugou kept his fist outstretched and made a grab for the last headband. 

“Woah did you see that folks, Bakugou is a force to be reckoned with! We also saw some impressive moves from his group members, like Sero from class 1-A, and of course our little miss Hakamata! WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT WITH ONLY 30 SECONDS OF THE MATCH LEFT!”

You dropped your small heat barrier, and you all skidded away from Monama and towards the giant ice slabs. Once close enough, Bakugou sent off an explosion hot enough to melt the ice and wide enough for you all to run through. Once inside, Bakugou jumps off of the group and uses his quirk to help him lunge towards the two other clashing teams, lead by Todoroki and Izuku.

“Who’s got the points!?”Bakugou yelled as he looked back and forth between the two points, seeing Midoriya going after Todoroki he knew. 

“DAMMIT ICYHOOOT!”You held your breath, waiting for Bakugou to snatch the points.

“TIMES UP!” 

But alas, things never went the way you wanted them to. Bakugou belly flopped onto the ground as Present Mic announced the end of the match. You couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of your lips at the sight of the hot head face-first on the ground. 

“SHUT UP, WHAT THE HELL IS SO FUNNY!?” He turned his head and snarled, obviously not as amused as you were. 

Sero and Kirishima joined in with their own laughs and Bakugou felt a vein pop as he moved his face back towards the dirt and screamed.

“Let’s take a look at our top 4 teams shall we? In the number one spot, we have team Todoroki! Second place is none other than team Bakugou! As for third, our team is-oh wow, team Shinso! That’s a shock! Finally, last but not least, in fourth our last team is, TEAM MIDORIYA!” The crowd went wild. 

“Man we were so close to first.” Kirishima sighed.

“Yeah sure, but we’re continuing so it doesn’t matter.” Sero shrugged.

“I don’t think our fearless leader agrees with you there.” You giggle while watching Bakugou as he slammed his fist on the ground throwing a fit.

“He’s like a rabid animal.” Sero muttered.

“You okay Bakugou?” You asked. He kept his face planted in the dirt, ignoring you.

“Now let's take an hour break for lunch before we start the next activities! Hey EraserHead, let’s grab some food!”

“I just wanna nap.”

You walk over to Bakugou and poke him with your foot.

“Are you coming with us or are you going to lay there all day.”

“Fuck off.” Bakugou got up and glared at you, before walking away on his own.

You shrugged at the other boys, walking with them to the entrance before catching sight of Izuku and his team. The poor boy was crying his eyes out, and that made you want to laugh. He was a total baby, just like Bakugou. They were pretty similar in various ways, but all different at the same time, it was weird.

“You guys go on ahead and I’ll catch you later!” You told your two teammates, and they nodded back in agreement before making their way out of the stadium.

Walking over to Izuku’s group, it wasn’t hard to miss the giant tears that fell from his eyes. You placed a hand on his shoulder and your heart squeezed at his big watery green eyes that looked into yours at the action.

“You guys did amazing! I’m glad you were able to find a great team Izuku.” 

“Thank you (y/n)! It means so much!” He started to cry even harder at your praise. 

He was just so happy that he made it, so happy you made it, he was just so happy. More tears started to fall, practically sending him into the ground. You sighed before grabbing onto his hand, trying to lift him from the ground. Everyone was walking away to the lunchroom and you wanted to make sure you both got a spot.

“C’mon Deku let’s go get some lunch! I’m starving!”

He agreed and you both walked towards the entrance, but were stopped by someone suddenly before you got the chance to reach it. You had to stop yourself from running into their chest, looking up in confusion.

“Todoroki?” 

He didn’t answer you, choosing to stare coldly at Izuku, and you felt some protect-izuku-at-all-costs instinct kick in, you tsked and crossed your arms. 

“I just need to talk to Midoriya.” You looked at the boy in question, and while he had looked a bit nervous, he seemed just as confused as you were.

“O-kay?” He finally tore his gaze away to look you in the eyes. You felt your heart thump and blamed it on the icy gaze he held.

“Now. Alone.” 

“Yeah whatever, thanks for asking politely.” You grumbled out.

Looking at Izuku to make sure he was okay to be left alone. He just nodded politely and you smiled at him. Smile turning down as you walked away, passing by Todoroki, shoulders brushing as you did. Well, more like your shoulder and his bicep, what’s it with these boys being so tall?

“I’ll see you later Deku.” 

Todoroki didn’t let your attitude bother him, he knew you were still wary of him for calling you out and he didn’t blame you. While he held no ill will, this was something he had to speak about alone to Midoriya. He already said his two-cents to you, and he hoped you’d understand. This wasn’t a fight he wanted with you, only with Midoriya

You guess Bakugou was right to call him IcyHot, but not just for his quirk. His mood really did flip on a dime, and while you thought Bakugou was an arrogant jerk, Todoroki beat him by a mile. You felt angry, but at the same time you didn’t. You saw something else in him when you two talked, even if it was only for a second. You didn’t want to feel this was about him, but it always seemed like no matter what good deed he ended up doing, the blunt and nasty attitude washed it all away. You hoped that he could maybe one day it could be different, that he could be a friend. As of right now, you didn’t think you could call him that. No matter what you both went through during the U.S.J, or even the shared understanding of being a child of a top 10 hero. 

You will admit, while you didn’t realize Todoroki was Endeavor’s son at first, it wasn’t hard to figure out. Especially after the training with AllMight, that quirk couldn’t have been mistaken. You glanced back, seeing them both walk towards a different entrance. While doing so you ended up locking eyes with Todoroki for a split second before turning away. You huffed, feathers ruffled and belly empty. You just wanted some food, and you needed some water in your system.

Making your way through the corridor, you were about to walk outside in the direction of the lunch hall when a was hand pulling you back. You yelped and quickly spun around, bringing your fist up your fist to counter attack. 

“Hey knock it off or I won’t let you come.” 

“Bakugou?” Said boy was holding your fist in an attempt to stop you from punching him. You muttered a sorry before letting your hand fall to your side, and cocked your head at him in a questioning gaze.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you think? I want to know why the hell that damn IcyHot finds Deku more of a threat than me. So I’m going to listen to what he has to say. You in or not glitter bomb.”

You bit your lip, looking into his ruby red eyes. While you wanted to know what was happening, because you were curious, another part of you knew it was wrong. Plus you were hungry, tired, and thirsty. You just wanted to sit down.

Bakugou was getting annoyed at how long you were taking to answer, and he really did not like the way you zoned out while staring at him, biting you lip like that. No not one bit, what the hell was your problem.

“Oi glow worm I’ll leave you fucking here I don’t have all damn da-”

“Yeah shut up lets go!”

You both snuck around to one end of a hall, stopping before it opened up when you heard Izuku’s nervous voice echoed off the walls.

“So you brought me here, now what?”

 You held your breath, afraid to even breathe at the idea of being caught. Your heart was thumping in worry, you wanted to make sure Izuku was okay. 

“We should probably eat soon, the cafeteria is going to be busy! Don’t you think?” Izuku spoke out once more after not getting a response. 

The tension was killing him, it was different when he was with Kaachan, at least he was more open about his feelings that way, and he had some idea on how to deal with the explosive attitude. He’s never dealt with silent intimidation before. Oh what he wouldn’t give to be sitting down and eating with you, he wanted to know all about how your fight with down, and he wanted you to be interested in his too!

“I was overwhelmed,” Todoroki’s voice broke him from his thoughts, “and that made me break the promise I made to myself a long time ago.”

You looked at Bakugou questioningly and he just shrugged in response, eyebrows drawn together.

“None of our team members felt it, but I did. I was the only one in that moment who could sense your true power. It reminded me of AllMight, and when we experienced his quirk first hand.”

“Oh yeah? Um, okay, is that all?”

“I’m trying to say, your power feels just like AllMight’s. Midoriya, tell me. Are you really AllMight’s secret love child. ”

You had to slap a hand over your mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Bakugou glanced down at you with a disgusted expression as your shoulders shook with silent laughter. He motioned for you to be quiet, but you can hardly contain yourself. Just the thought of Izuku and AllMight being father and son-

Your movement stopped as you allow yourself to think about it; they were always together, they did have some similarities in their quirks, and Izuku really did look up to AllMight. Was it really that far fetched? Quirks didn’t have to 100% resemble your parents, it’s not like you had your dad’s exact quirk after all. The only thing you and your dad did have that was similar was you could manipulate properties. His was clothing while yours was light particles. Your quirk was a mix of both your parents, who’s to say that’s not the case for Deku?

“No no way! That’s not it at all I swear! But I guess if I said I wasn’t you would think I was saying that to protect my identity and therefore not believe me anyways so I guess it really doesn’t matter if I say yes or no because if I said yes well then why would I be lying about that, and if I said no then you would always be suspicious and doubting so I guess there really isn’t a good way to tell you it’s not true because-”

“Midoriya.”

“Ah, r-right, anyways you’ve got the wrong idea. Why would you even think that.”

“You wouldn’t be the only offspring of a Pro Hero in this class if that were the case. My father is the hero Endeavor, you’ve must’ve heard about the number 2 Hero.”

You gulped, would he bring you up? Or would he respect any privacy you had?

“And then there’s Hakamata.”

Of course he wouldn’t. You felt Bakugou’s stare on you but you kept your gaze at the wall in front of you, not looking at him. 

“Wait, (y/n)? What does she have to do with anything?” Izuku demanded. 

He may have been frightened, but he didn’t like that Todoroki was bringing you into something that had nothing to do with you. He felt some confidence flood his system as he narrowed his eyes at Todoroki. 

“I don’t know what your issue is with me but I can handle it, you don’t need to be dragging her into anything! She’s a good person and you can’t-”

“Don’t you get it?” Todoroki sighed, growing annoyed by his rambling. Why was he making such a big about you anyways? It was pretty exasperating. “Hakamata is the daughter of the number 4 Hero Best Jeanist. While she may be a concern in the future, I don’t have a grievance with her at the moment. But if you were connected to the number 1 hero in any way, that just means I have even more of a reason to beat you.”

Izuku felt his eyes go wide. You were the daughter of the number 4 Pro Hero? That was so cool! But then he realized the full weight of Todorokis’ words and frowned.

“What do you-”

“My old man is ambitious and he aims for the top, but he’s never been able to best AllMight. The Symbol of Peace is living proof of his failure. He’s still going, trying to take down AllMight. One way or another.”

“Todoroki, I don’t understand. Why are you telling me all this, what are you telling me?”

“Have you ever heard of quirk marriages?” 

Your blood ran cold and you felt your hands shake as you balled them into fists by yourself. He was the result of a quirk marriage too? Your head started to ache and you just wanted to be anywhere but here. It was bringing up some memories of your own that you really didn’t want to deal with. You heard Todorki’s voice break through your own metal breakdown.

“People trying to find potential mates solely with the intention of creating powerful children. Like old-fashioned arranged marriages. My father was a man who had many accomplishments and money to throw around, so he bought my mother from her family and used her quirk. Now he’s raising me to usurp AllMight.”

Izuku’s gasped.

“I refuse to be a tool for the scumbag that did that to my mother. I only ever remember her crying. She called my left side unbearable before she poured boiling water on my face... I picked a fight with you to show my old man what I was capable of doing, without having to rely on his damn quirk, and that I can take first place without using it.”

You felt Bakugou tense next to you, and you did as well. It was a terrible burden to place on a child, and you felt anger towards his father. You knew he was a terrible man, but this? How sickening. You heard their footsteps fade away and you shared a grim look with Bakugou. Your mind flashed with images from your childhood and you closed your eyes. 

With heavy limbs you walked away, not even bothering to wait for Bakugou. Your past wasn’t something you needed to be thinking of at the moment, so you just needed to act like nothing happened. You shouldn’t have gone with him and listened in on those two. You knew it was a bad idea, curse your nosy nature.