#Fire Hawk Power Take Off

[midseo]

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[rexhya]

Your anul writings are sooo good like i got hooked

Like imagine anuls dad saying he found a wife for him and reader starts distancing herself because the potential wife heard about how obsessed he was with reader and threatened reader that if she listened or obeyed him she would have her father kill them

yandere!prince who is livid at his father, who wants to kill the woman who's supposedly going to be his wife. ( as if )

Anul doesn't even bother trying to pretend to like her, he continues as usual. What he doesn't know is how this wretched woman has been treating you.

You're sewing together fabrics of Anuls clothing, ever since he'd learned you know how to tailor clothes he's been insistent that no one else but you touch them, a button on one of his shirts had broken.

You of course noticed the woman approaching you, her luxurious gown could be seen swaying from miles away.

"You, maid girl." the woman sneered.

You turned upwards to where she was standing, her chest puffed out proudly. "Yes?" you gulped, she was obviously a noble, though one you didn't recognize.

"Stay away from The Prince , and I mean it. I know you think he loves you, but's he just using you. He'll understand you're nothing but a bug on the wall once he meets me." she flipped her hair waiting for answer.

"Okay." you mumbled looking down, this wasn't worth your trouble.

But the woman wasn't done, "Dont get cocky, do you know who my father is?"

You pricked your fingers while sewing, "I'm not—"

"That's right, you're not anything, stay away from him or i'll tell my father what you've done, and trust me you won't like that." she didnt wait for an andwer as she stalked away, leaving you and your bloody pointer alone.

It wasnt long after this interaction that you began avoiding Anul, excuse after excuse eventually led hardly any interaction at all, and it wasn't like you didn't enjoy seeing the prince from time to time, its was simply for your own safety.

The woman had been watching you like a hawk, ready to catch you near him so she could punish you, or even worse, kill you. You didnt take any chances and went to great efforts to stay away from him, seeing as he was constantly looking for you on a daily basis this turned out to be quite dificult however you'd made things work.

Untill they weren't of course.

Anul was deeply upset, you were so slippery these days, everytime he wanted to see you there seemed to be something of great importance interupting his much needed quality time. You hadn't slept in his chambers in over a week! This needed to stop, and it needed to stop now.

A week and 3 days, and 4 hours since you'd been avoiding him Anul decides he's had enough. He knows everything about your routine, he decides to set a trap. A maid girl leaves a letter in your locker to head up to the head of the maids office, your terrible nervous of course, because of Anul you hadnt been exactly the most present untill this past week, you hoped you wernet being fired.

That wasn't the case at all, "[Name], so you really are alive!" you don't have time to answer before Anul swoops you off your feet and into the air, twirling you around in a way that delightfully makes you squeeze onto him.

He sets you down gracefully and you peer up at him, " My prince, what are you doing here?" you try to pull away but he has his arms locked on your waist an deliriously lovesick expression on his face.

"I missed you my love," he sighs burrying his nose into your neck, breathing in your scent.

You warm, it was weird feeling the sheer power of Anuls body after being away for so long.

"But what are you doing here! I thought i was in trouble, Ms. Jalei, she—"

Anul suddenly pulled away, a cold and angry look on his face, "We'll that's because you are, you''ve been avoiding and ignoring me [Name], you should tell me why." despite the coldness in his voice he sounded awfully hurt. Had being away from you really hurt that bad?

"I havent been—" you tried.

"Dont, I'm not in the mood." he stared, and you began to crumble, his gaze felt like starting into a void of pitch black smoke.

"I–" you voice clogged, when you thought about the woman. "Well, it's just that there was this noble. I don't know her name—"

"She threatened you?" he narrowed his eyes.

You nodded, it was an obvious conclusion to come to. Anul knew of his admirers, he simply didn't care for them. Then Anul did something unexpected, he sighed in relief. "Oh thank god, I thought you didn't like me anymore. You would never abandon me, how silly of me."

You didn't say anything to this, letting Anul rub his nose into your neck, he hadnt said it aloud but he'd been misreable without you, running on 4 hours of sleep because he couldn't fall asleep right away, accidentally cutting of this knight boy he'd sparred with, and not to mention the drinking, god, it got so bad his father almost gave in and demanded you back to him. His moaning and wailing kept the entire palace up.

"Well, that solves everything then," he smile was as wide as you'd ever seen if before. "Don't ever do something like that again, okay? Tonight you sleep with me."

You nodded again, you should've expected this, Anul wasn't one to give up to easily. He finally pulled back and away to peer at your face, a hand coming up to stroke your cheek. "You're so quiet, she didn't already touch you did she?"

You shook your head no again. Anul frowned. "Use your words."

"No"

He grins, "Good girl. My precious darling, It's been so long since we've last seen each other, I feel obligated to a kiss."

You blink rapidly, struggling to keep eye contact with the violet haired man, he loved it when you were flustered like this, "Well?" he whispered and softly your your lips open with a thumb, open-mouthed sucking on your tounge, you shivered, trying to ignore the prodding feeling between Anul's legs. He was just as flustered as you when he was done, crimson red coating his face.

"God, I can't believe I went a week without that, you're to never be away from me again you hear me? And don't worry about that woman, she'll be disposed of if it's the last thing I do."

[calypsocolada]

how your first kiss went with them... ft. shigaraki, aizawa, & hawks

authors note: hi hi! just finished watching season 6 of mha and got inspired. first time writing for mha characters and started with my favorite ones :) hope you all enjoy!!

cw: angst, fem! one for all weilder, slight spoilers for season 6

wc: 2.6k

click here for my masterlist

Tomura could only watch as his mind was stolen, watch his body being overtaken by a force he wasn’t strong enough to stop. All for One’s control taking over. He knew he had seconds left before he’d no longer cease to be himself. You burned with hatred beneath him, your left arm broken and useless, your right hand holding some sharp shrapnel that you’d plunged desperately into his side, your powers flickering weakly within you. He didn’t feel the pain. Your eyes flashed, his hands around your neck, squeezing. Someone was going to win here but… it wasn’t going to be him. 

He pulled you hard, the fire in your eyes licking and burning his own but he couldn’t care less. If he was going to die he was going to make one last grave mistake that might send him to the grave earlier than expected. He leaned down where you were pinned beneath him and with impressive force, smashed his lips against your own. 

The kiss was like a fight. Like all your other fights. But lips instead of fists. With breaths instead of words. With groans instead of screams and growls. His hands gripped your face hard to keep you where he wanted you. You, in a fit of confusion and pure survival instinct twisted the shrapnel in his side. He gasped in pain but that only spurred him on, his mouth cracking yours open in a feverish attempt to be as close as humanly possible. He had no indication whether or not you wanted this until the pain ceased and he felt your tongue brush against his. His breathing hitched, muddled with pain and sorrow and complete obsession. He pulled you off the ground roughly and kissed you until you both were gasping for air. When he pulled back the state he left you in was enough to satisfy him for years. Your lips were kissed pink and wet, your cheeks had a wicked blush across them as you stared at him with utter bewilderment and something else that had his stomach tangling in knots within him.

He resigned himself to death then. He was guilty as sin.

Your hand was still on the hilt of your shrapnel that was embedded in his side as you stared at each other. Breaths heavy. Tomura didn’t know how to be kind. He didn’t know how to be soft. He’d never kissed anyone before and it should’ve been pretty damn suspicious when the first person he’d ever felt the need to devour with his lips was the one standing opposite of him in this endless war. The one he needed to destroy. And to say he wanted to devour you was almost an understatement. He wanted to climb into your body and live in your ribcage, safe and tucked away. He wanted to be inside you, wanted that mind of yours to only know him, wanted those pink lips to only speak his name, those pretty eyes to only meet his. The obsession was endless. He wanted it more than ever right now. Death knocking down his rotted door. So bad that he hadn’t even noticed his own tears before they fell and hit your cheeks. You blinked a few times, slowly coming back down from the clouds. Tomura reached for you a last time, the pad of his thumb swiping his tears off your cheek. 

“Save me, hero.” He breathed out before everything went black.

~

“Again!” He called as you huffed. Aizawa was a relentless teacher. You felt your powers flicker inside your veins as you tried to control them, to harness them and use them the way they were meant to be used. But dammit, you were tired. You two had been at this for hours. You weren’t some kid he could push around and it was then, with exhaustion mingling with annoyance you shook your head defiantly. Throwing your hands down.

“I’m done!” You growled at him, tossing aside your practice weapon. Aizawa straightened.

“We’re just getting started, hero.” He mocked as you stared at him with venom. He knew all about your inherited quirk, knew there wasn’t much time for you to harness it and so he’d been pushing you to the edge for months to train you. 

“Don’t call me that.”

“What should I call you then? Fraud?” He asked and that fire that you wanted to extinguish flickered in seconds, catching your inside on fire. 

“I’ll kill you!” You growled. You didn’t need that useless weapon. You outstretched your arm and black whip shot out like an extension of your grip, it wrapped around Aizawa in milliseconds as you yanked him towards you. You knew he’d use erasure and you were looking forward to it. The moment he used it it didn’t stop his moment as black whip dissolved around him, your powers canceled out only for his face to meet your fist. You hit him hard enough to rattle the brain in his skull. He hit the ground even harder and for a moment your heart leaped. He’d always said you were quick to fly off the handle and you’d just proved him right. Your hand ached, your knuckles busted. Aizawa groaned from the ground, pushing up on his forearms. You breathed out a relieved breath, thinking you had maybe killed him with that fuckery of a move. 

“That was smart.” He sighed, his upper cheek already had a bruise forming. “Why don’t you give me this energy during practice instead of making me get you angry?” He asks as you look at him hard.

“We’ve been at it for hours.” You growled angrily. “I’m tired.”

“And you don’t think I am too?” He pushed to his feet, giving you a hard look, his dark hair falling in his face. “You are a brat. You are stronger than any quirk user yet you don’t care enough to really harness those powers. You asked for this.”

“I know!” You burst out, turning pointedly away from him, dreaming of your bed, dreaming of a night without nightmares of all for one stealing your power and killing the world. You weren’t a kid but you were still young, young enough that this burden on your shoulders was crushing you. 

“You can’t run from this.” Aizawa said but he didn’t sound angry. You still didn’t turn to face him. “You think you’re all alone?”

“Of course I’m alone! It’s just like you said, I’m the strongest.”

“Everyone needs a hand. Even All-Might.” Aizawa said. You turned on him, eyes sharp. 

“All-Might defeated All for one on his own. There’s not a soul that could stand beside me and not be killed.”

“I’ve stood beside you this whole time. I’ve trained you. You think I’ll just let you go at it alone after everything we’ve been through?” Aizawa asked as the look in your eyes hardened.

“I won’t let you.” You said in a low, intimidating voice. Aizawa’s lips parted slightly. “All for one will not get a shot at you. I’ll die before that happens.”

“You’re stubborn but not as stubborn as me.” Aizawa returns, taking a step towards you. “I’m with you till the end.”

“Did you not hear a word I-” Aizawa leaned into your space, hand sliding over your cheek as his lips cut off your sentence. You almost pulled back but he stepped closer to you, one hand on your face the other sliding around you and resting on the dip of your back. You pushed him back forcefully, your breath shaky as you stared at him. 

“Forgive me… I-” You grabbed him roughly by his shirt, slamming your lips against his. He grunted against your lips in surprise, hands barely ghosting over your hips. You kissed him unforgivingly hard. This was a sort of ultimate payback in a small way, of all the hours he overworked you. You pushed him back on the training mat and slid atop him. This was a form of practice, right? A workout that wouldn’t exhaust you… or would it? If he thought for a moment you’d let him help you now he was sorely mistaken. But on the other side of the coin, if you thought for a moment he wouldn’t die for you, you were sorely mistaken as well. Rock meets hard place.

~

“Idiot.” You growled beside his hospital bed. Hawks looked peaceful and you wanted nothing more than to shake him awake and smack some sense into him. But he was still healing so your assault of slaps and punches would have to wait. You huffed. Leaning back in your chair, flipping through the channels on the tv. It wasn’t long before your mind wandered to the same thing you’d been thinking about for days.

Hawks almost dying for you. Hawks pushing you aside before you were impaled with Shigaraki’s power. Having to watch Hawks get impaled, having his eyes meet yours and a stupid soft and beautiful smile on his face as he mumbled something you didn’t even get to hear. You tried remembering again, tried focusing on his lips in your memories but it was of no use. You huffed, unable to relax as you turned back to look at him. The number two hero. You stare at him, your eyes drifting to those lips. You willed him to say those words again and when his eyes opened you didn’t even notice.

“Watching me sleep? How romantic.” He said, his voice gruff from being unused for days. You jumped at not only the sound of his voice but being caught staring at his lips.

“I wasn’t. I was trying to kill you with my mind.” You grumbled protectively, eyes snapping up to meet him. The way he looked at you was the most dangerous thing you’d see in a while. The pure adoration in his eyes, the smile that formed on his lips at your joke. It twisted at your insides.

“Are you alright?” He asked because the last thing he remembered in the fight was you hurt and in trouble. You tensed.

“You're the one in a hospital bed.” You growled. Hawks seemed to just notice this fact, he was utterly distracted by the fact that you’d been sitting at his bedside. He reached for your hand but you pulled away and stood to your feet.

“Y/n-”

“I told you not to get involved.” You growled. “I had it under control but you had to go and try to play the hero.”

“I am a hero.” Hawks said, something in his eyes that angered you more.

“Not to me. I don’t need your sacrifice. If you wanna get yourself killed, do it for someone else.” You hissed. He looked at you. You hoped your venomous words would have some effect on him. You wanted him to be angry. Wanted him to hate you. To look at you with harsh eyes but his expression didn’t change.

“Such venom.” He said with a smirk. If you didn’t have some modicum of control over your powers and anger this whole hospital would’ve been brought down. “Are you trying to push me away again?”

“What?” You huffed.

“You heard me, number one. I know what you’re doing but it’s not gonna work.”

“And what am I doing?”

“What you do to everybody you start to care about. You lash out at them so they’re not tempted to stay by your side when things go sideways.” 

“I-- I don’t do that.”

“You’re a terrible liar.” Hawks admonished with a shake of his head. You take in a deep breath, tensing your jaw. “Growl all you want, I’m not getting scared away.”

“You’re crazy. You almost died, this isn’t some fucking joke.”

“I knew I’d be fine. Knew you’d carry me off the battlefield.” He croons, you stare at him hard.

“How could you have known?”

“I’m an optimistic guy.” He smiles. You roll your eyes, turning to leave. He catches your wrist just as you reach for the handle.

“What-? You need to stay in bed, idiot.” You growl as Hawks holds your wrist gently in one hand, the other on his bandaged torso.

“I’ll get back in bed if you stay.”

“Are you serious?” You growl as he nods his head.

“Deadly serious.”

“You’re a child.” You sigh. 

“Stay. Don’t run away from me.” He says and the seriousness in his voice has your stomach flipping. You pull out of his touch.

“Get in bed.” You direct and his eyes look down into yours, a challenge.

“Make me.” He says. Your eye twitches as you waste zero time pushing this idiot back towards his bed. Once the backs of his knees hit the mattress he pulls a move on you and you’re pulled on top of him. You two tumble onto the hospital bed. Your heart lurches dangerously into your throat, feeling the warmth of his hands ghosting your hips. 

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Hush.” He says, hands sliding up to either side of your face as he pulls you down so that your lips meet. The shock of his cold lips against yours was like a rush to your system. An overloading and overheating shock. You gasped at the ache of want that tore through you. That had always been lurking beneath every tense moment with Hawks. Him training you. You two on missions. Reluctant breakfast, lunch, and dinners with him. He wormed his way into your heart and you hated it. Anyone close to you was surely going to be killed and that dangerous hope in your chest that built when he was around should’ve raised flags for you. But you let him in. You selfish creature. You pushed him back, and moved shakily to your feet. Hawks reached for you again and you caught his wrist, twisting it. He flinched in pain, staring at you with confusion and hurt.

“Don’t touch me again.” You growled. You needed space from him, your head swimming, your eyes traitorously drifting to the lips that had just been against yours.

“What's wrong?” Hawks asked. You stepped back, narrowing your eyes.

“You never listen. You-- you’re always trying to confuse me and sneak your way into my-- you need to leave me alone.”

“No.”

“N-No?” You asked as Hawks barely raised his brows, nodding his head. His blond hair falling against his forehead. He looked so annoyingly beautiful you wanted to hit him. 

“I don’t just sacrifice my life for anybody.” He says as he stands, wincing in pain.

“Just stay in the damn bed-” He pulled you to him, inches taller than you, eyes unwaveringly serious as he spoke his next sentence.

“I love you.” He said and the words had your eyes widening, a soft gasp escaping your lips. He clearly loved that he caught you off guard. “You don’t have to say it back. I just wanted you to know what I said.” 

“What you said?” You echo, unable to properly digest this moment. 

“When I saved you. I said I loved you.” The words his lips spoke that you’d been driven up a wall trying to remember. If he died you would’ve never known.

“I hate you.”

“Close enough.” He grins, leaning and pressing his lips gently to yours. You didn’t push him off, you didn’t have the strength, something selfish was taking over and you didn’t have the will power to fight it. You’d played it safe for years. Not letting anyone get close. But… you failed. You kissed Hawks back with twice the passion, pushing him back on the bed, caging him beneath you. If he was going to love you you were going to let him. Damned selfishness…

[red-riot-unbreakable-heart]

Sweetheart. | Keigo Takami/Hawks x Reader One Shot

Summary: You've been hooking up with Keigo for about a month, and you're starting to catch feelings. One particularly hot hookup session leads to a convo about your feelings for each other.

Important Notes/TW: All characters are A21+, Hawks is a Pro Hero, Hawks x Reader meet through work, hookup that leads to something more, penetrative sex, MDNI, This is an adult only blog posting mature content

Sweetheart. | Keigo Takami/Hawks x Reader One Shot

Keigo holds you close as he fucks into you from behind.

“My angel, my everything, my sweetheart…” he’s desperate, words jumbling together as he spits out every term of endearment he knows. He does this when the two of you hookup - as soon as he gets inside of you he melts into this sappy fuck. It's not like the two of you are even dating. Just a weekly hookup between heroes to take the edge off and work out all the tension that comes with being on top.

The way he gets so mushy gushy during sex didn't used to bother you. But over the past month or so you've kinda...caught feelings. It wasn't something you'd intended to do! But it's impossible not to fall for Hawks - he's charming, funny, good at his job. He's sweet at work and he's even sweeter in bed. How could your heart not go head over heels for this overgrown chicken!?

You're wrenched from your train of thought as Keigo's hips buck up in a new direction, the tip of his dick hitting a delectably sensitive spot deep inside of you. You let out an unexpected gasp at the contact, and Keigo preens.

"You like that, baby?" He murmurs, wiggling his hips and angling to hit the spot again. "Does that feel nice? I bet no one else's cock can make you feel good like this, huh?"

He doesn't wait for an answer, he just hammers into you. He groans with each thrust - overwhelmed by the tight feel of you around his thick cock. He’s so pussy drunk he can barely keep his eyes open - golden irises shining out between the narrowed slits of his eyelids.

Keigo’s strong hero fingers press against the skin of your hips with a strength that’s fit to bruise. You hope it will - you can’t wait to admire his fingerprints in the bathroom mirror come morning. You want to go home with a souvenir of the nights' exploits. You love the way he fucking marks you like this, the way you'll bear the reminder of how well he can fuck on your skin for a few days afterwards.

You gasp as one of his hands releases its clutch of your hips and snakes its way between your legs. He finds your clit instantly, swirling his fingertips around you with a frantic flick of his wrist. You feel heat pool in your lower belly, your orgasm building and swirling within you like golden stardust.

"Kei..." You groan out, your breath stuttering as you feel the telltale signs of your high rushing at you like a train. Your whole body gets warm, your cheeks flush with heat and your legs start to tremble. You concentrate on grounding yourself, on keeping your quirk in check. The last thing you need is for your quirk to go ballistic as you finish. You do not want that to happen again.

“You gonna cum for me, love?” Keigo keeps up his steady pace, the luxurious slide of his cock making you moan as it hits the most delightful parts of you. You concentrate on feeling every inch of him as he flexes his hips, fucking into you with practiced skill. “Are you all mine?”

His tone becomes fierce, possessive. You love it when he talks like this, when he acts like he wants you to be his past the hookup. You choke out some vague sounds of encouragement as your pussy flares around his dick, muscles contracting as you reach your high. Your quirk rumbles and begs for release as well, but you hold fast. You keep all of that power inside as best you can - the last thing the both of you need is for your fire quirk to take over. After all, those fierce but delicate feathers of his look...flammable.

Cumming around keigo’s cock feels so delicious you can barely stand it. You feel your gaze become heavy lidded as you ride out your orgasm - pussy pulsing around his thick length.

“Oh, baby, you’re too kind to me, far too kind.” Keigo mutters out as your pussy pulls an orgasm from him as well. “This is…oh! So, so sweet…”

He groans as he cums deep inside you, his dick pulsing as he pumps you full of his essence. And fuck does it feel good. You could do this every night for the rest of your life and still never be satisfied.

When he finally pulls out of you and rolls away on the bed, you suddenly feel a wave of melancholy wash over you. In a moment, he'll catch his breath. In another moment, he'll tug on his pants and be on his way. And you'll be left naked, alone and chock-full of this indescribable desire.

You watch as he takes a beat, then sits up and grabs his pants, pulling them on one leg at a time. He stands and tugs them up over his muscular thighs, buttoning them over his toned stomach.

"Going comando?" You ask, trying to sound fun and light and like you don't care so deeply for this man who only stops by to fuck you once a week.

"Heh. Yeah." He says, not even bothering to glance at you over his shoulder.

He calls you such wonderful things in bed. But that's just sex, right? None of that really matters, not during the day time...

"Same time next week?" He asks, pulling his shirt over his head and letting his wings stretch and poke through the slits cut into the back of the fabric. "I'm thinking next time you come to my place."

You look up, surprised. You've never been invited over to his place. You've always just fucked at your little downtown apartment with the broken fire escape.

"What do you think, Y/N?" He turns around and grins at you, all teeth. "We can even make a date of it. I'll take you to my favorite dinner spot."

A...date? Is he serious.

You must looked stunned, because his face falls and he stops fidgeting with his clothing. He flops back next to you on the bed, watching as you pull up the sheets around your naked body protectively.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" His golden eyes glint in the light of your bedside table as he leans towards you. sweetheart. Your brains scrambles as it tries to recall a time he's called you this outside of sex.

"This...thing we have between us." You say slowly, mouth feeling around the words. "I don't really understand what it actually is? You want to take me to dinner?"

Keigo stares at you blankly for a moment, then bursts into laughter. Your eyebrows must be raised so high up, they're likely in your hairline.

"Um...am I missing something here?"

Keigo calms down, his laughter rolling to a chuckle.

"No, no. You're not missing anything. I'm just an idiot." Keigo says, reaching out to place his hand over your own. "So...I've kind of had this crush on you for a while. And I was hoping that maybe I could naturally bridge our hookups into getting to know each other better and maybe we'd just kind of...I dunno...realize over time that we are perfect for each other and practically dating? And just naturally transition into me being your boyfriend? Is that some sort of stupid manipulative shit or something? I'm truly sorry if it is, I'm still trying to wrap my head around all the shit the Safety Commission put me through as a kid and I - mm!"

You cut off his rambling with a kiss, your lips locking and sliding easily against his. He leans into it hungrily, bringing his hands up to cup your face like you really do mean something to him.

"You have a crush on me?" You ask quietly when the two of you come up for air. He stares at you and nods, the kiss having temporarily sucked away his power of speech. "Then why do you always leave after we sleep together? Why don't you ever stay?"

He blinks a few times, then his mouth curves into a smile. "I didn't want to be too clingy or obvious. I thought if I left right afterwards I'd be mysterious and it would make you want me more."

"Oh my God." You push him away from you. This is so stupid and embarrassing...but he was right. It did work. Every time he's left your bed, he's made you want him more. Left you wondering where he was going, why he couldn't stay to spoon for at least a few soft minutes together. "You're such an idiot. Take off your clothes. Get back in this goddamn bed."

Keigo looks at you, really looks at you. His eyes scanning your face as he processes what you're saying (and, more importantly, what it means).

"You want me to stay?" He says quietly, words barely above a whisper. The wind whistles outside your window making you both jump.

"I've been wanting you to stay every damn time we fuck." You say as you reach for him and start working his ridiculously bright shirt up and off of his torso. "Now get back in this damn bed and let me hold you."

Keigo starts giggling madly, letting you strip him down. It only takes a minute to get him naked again. He crawls back under your sheets, peppering your face with little kisses and muttering how gorgeous you look by the lamplight. You roll your eyes and laugh along with him as the two of you tuck into each other, bodies folding together as if they were formed from the same clay.

You settle into a comfortable silence, your head resting against his chest. His heart beat light and fast - a bird quirk thing - beneath your ear.

"I've had a crush on you, too." You say, looking up at your cieling fan as it spins infinitely above you. “For a long while.”

“What should we do about that?” He asks as he presses a kiss to your temple.

“Maybe we should date.”

“Maybe we should.”

“Correction: I *definitely* think we should date.” You amend, reaching up to tousle his thick blonde hair.

“Then let’s date.” You don’t need to look up to see his face - you know that he’s grinning so wide that his cheeks have dimpled. You can feel him glowing. “I’ve been all in since the moment I met you...sweetheart.”

You groan, suddenly hot and bothered once again.

"I know you like it when I call you that." You can practically hear him wink. "Now get on top of this cock and show me that you're proper girlfriend material."

"It would be my honor." You throw a salute at the ceiling, throwing the bedsheets off of yourself and rolling onto all fours. He's already hard and ready for you. Your whole body feels glittery and warm at the sight of him laying there, all splayed out and waiting for you.

This must be what love feels like.

End.

[thecupidwitch]

Sun Magick

What Is A Sun Magick?

The Sun (also called Sol) is the one and only star in our solar system. Throughout the time almost every culture has worshiped the Sun as either a God or Goddess. Ancient Shamans used the power of the sun to heal the mind. The Sun is associated with life, health and healing. The light of guidance and illumination is an important magickal symbol. Solar energy helps you center in your own power, like the center of the solar system. Planet Earth orbits around the Sun. Other bodies that orbit the Sun include other planets, asteroids, meteoroids, comets and dust. Generally, the primary stellar body around which an object orbits is called its "sun", and stars in a multiple star system are referred to as the "suns" of bodies in that system.

Correspondences:

Associated deities: Aditi, Ah Kinchil, Ama-Terasu, Apollo, Aten, Brighid, Dhatara, Frey, Helios/Sol, Itzamna, Lucifer, Mithra, Mystere, Nitten, Paiva, Ra, Savitar, Apollo

Colors: Orange, amber, gold, yellow, red

Animals: Lion, Sparrowhawk, Griffin, Hawk, Bees

Incense: Cinnamon, clove, pine, citrus, Benzoin, Pine, Frankincense, Labdanum, Olibanum

Crystals: Sunstone, Goldstone, Ruby, Carnelian, Amazonite, Citrine, Tiger's Eye, Golden Topaz, Fire Agate

Sun Associations: Success, Empowerment, Ambition, Enlightenment, Goals, Generosity, Spirituality, Male energy, Health, Vitality, The Gods, Joy, Freedom, Leadership, Matters of the heart, Creativity, Friendship, Growth, Personal fulfillment, Self confidence, Wealth, Individuality, Pride, Energy, Power

Plants and Herbs: Sunflower, calendula, marigold, daylily, orange, citron, saffron, pine, mistletoe, rosemary, buttercup, heliotrope, bay laurel, daisy, walnut, acorn, maize, wheat, hops, cloves, cinnamon

Sun Phases

Sunrise

when the sun wakes up and peers over the horizon. This phase is all about new beginnings, changes, health, employment, renewal, resurrection and finding the right direction.

The Morning

the sun is growing in strength, so it brings the magical power for growth, positive energy, resolutions, courage, harmony, happiness, strength, activity, building projects and plans, prosperity and expansion of ideas.

High Noon

When the sun reaches its peak in the sky at midday – work magic for health, physical energy, wisdom and knowledge. It is also a good time to pop your tools or crystals out that need charging. (Note: some crystals can fade in strong sunlight so check first before putting them out).

Afternoon

This is a time to work in your communication, clarity, travel, exploration and professional matters

Sunset

As the sun takes itself off down below the horizon, work magic for removing depression, stress and confusion, letting go, releasing or finding out the truth of a situation.

Sun Water

Sun water is very similar to moon water. But rather than being charged by the moon, it’s charged by the sun. Sun water can be especially useful for helping boost the energy of a spell, to help an intention grow, and to cleanse.

Instructions:

Get a glass bottle

Fill it with any type of water.

Leave the bottle with water out in the sunlight or shade (indirect sunlight) during any time of day and for your preferred amount of time.

Tip Jar

[nakidoriii]

See you later, Mr. President (Part 5)

Hawks x FemReader! mini series

FIND PARTS 1-4 HERE

Warnings: adult themes, smut, anxiety, accusations of sexual assault, creampie || MDNI

Art: Pinterest! (If you know the artist please tag them! )

“The media is taking this story and running with it, Mr.President. You’ll need to make an announcement addressing it.” Keigo’s publicist said over the phone.

“Will I need to reveal the identity of the woman in the video?” Kiego says sternly.

“Possibly… we can try to avoid it since in the video you can’t really see her face but it is very obvious that she’s not from here. The internet might find her on their own. Who is she, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“It’s Y/N. She works with the company that wants to do business with the HPSC. We’ve been secretly going out for a month. Her company told her that she is not to get involved with anyone who works at the HPSC. I'm afraid she’s going to lose her job because of this.” Keigo explains.

“I remember meeting her in the office a few times. She’s very sweet and it’s sad that her company would fire her over this. Ultimately, we need to see how the public reacts to this and what it does to your public image. People might love it since it plays into your old reputation before the war or it could be perceived in a different light…a negative one. I’ll write up something for you to say but I know you will end up saying whatever comes to you at the moment.”

He lets out an agitated sigh and says, “This is such a load of crap but it is what it is. Thank you. Sorry for bringing you into this mess.”

“It’s my job, Mr. President. Try not to worry too much?”

“I don’t give a fuck about what the public thinks. I wouldn’t even respond to this if she wasn’t involved. I’m terrified to know what Y/N will say.” He says nervously.

“It’ll be okay. Keep me updated, sir.” She says as she hangs up the phone.

Keigo walks over to the bathroom that you’re in and knocks on the door. He figured that your phone call was about the video too. He just wanted to confront the situation head on.

“Y/N, Can you open the door?” He says while pressed up against the door.

Keigo knew that you couldn’t have been taking this well. He felt terrible knowing that he’s the reason this is happening to you. You open the door with your phone pressed against your ear. You look at him. Your eyes were glossy from the tears you’re trying to hold back. Your face was honestly a mix of emotions. You looked pissed but your eyes showed sorrow. All Keigo knew was that he needed to fix all of this.

“I have to go, Mira. I need to talk to Keigo so we can figure this out.” You say into the phone. You hang up and give him your undivided attention. You press your lips together and cross arms, waiting for him to say something.

“I am so deeply sorry. You have every right to be upset. I don’t know what I was thinking, acting like that in a public setting and I know better. I was the number two hero of Japan and I didn’t think to check for fucking cameras?” He says with his hand resting on the back of his neck. “I will do everything in my power to make sure we can fix this. Remember what I told you? I’m an optimistic guy. I will fix this.” He declares.

You want to be angry at him but his words just make tears form in your eyes. You press your lips together as they start to quiver. Keigo notices and starts to say, “No, nooooo, don’t cry, baby.”

Too late. The tears come streaming down your face as he pulls you into a hug. You couldn’t hold them back any longer.

“It’s not completely your fault. This was a mutual decision. Just knowing you have my back helps with the anxiety.” You spoke softly through your tears.

“I will take the blame for everything. We will see how everything unravels tomorrow.” He says while rubbing your back. “But for now, we should finish our dinner.”

You can tell Keigo’s demeanor is slightly off. You rub your thumb over the scar that’s placed on his jaw. You were being soft with him, egging him on to tell you how he really felt, with your touch. He looked at you with such serious eyes.

“I don’t want to lose you over this.” He blurts out. “I am so unbelievably into you that I will shoulder this burden for you. My only goal is to make sure you’re happy with the outcome and if you aren’t, I’ll do whatever I can until you are.”

His words carried weight. Everything he said, he truly meant it. You were worried about the outcome but now you’re starting to believe him when he says he will handle it. Hearing those words lit a fire in you. You grab him by his face and pull him into a passionate kiss. He seems a bit surprised but he’s happy you're not upset.

“You won’t get rid of me that easily.” You say as you pull away from the kiss. “Let’s continue our dinner. You put a lot of thought and effort into tonight and it shouldn’t go to waste.”

You grab your phone and turn it off. He does the same. You smile at him as you both sit back down and continue your at home yakiniku. You reach for the wine bottle he had set out earlier and fill your cup.

“Have you ever been through something like this?” You say with a slight giggle.

“Hmm, I’ve been stabbed, shot, held hostage, kidnapped, been a part of publicity stunts, but I’ve never had a border line sex tape leak. That’s a new one for me. What about you?” He says nonchalantly.

“I haven’t been through any of that. What the fuck, haha.” You burst out laughing.

He starts to laugh with you realizing that the tape is not the craziest thing that’s happened to him. “What is one of the craziest things you’ve been through then?” He asks.

You think while taking a sip of wine. The thought comes to you and you say, “Okay, I emergency landed a full plane using my quirk.”

Keigo’s jaw drops as he realizes what you just said.

“What the actual fuck, hahaha. For someone who isn't a hero that’s a big fucking deal. Your quirk has to be more than just a high IQ, Y/N. What’s your real quirk?” He says while taking a bite.

“Fiiinnee.” You whine. “If I read a manual or instructions, I can do that said thing proficiently.” You admit.

“Ooohh, so you read the plane’s manual and you were able to land it.” You nod your head to his statement as you take another big sip of wine. “That must have had your adrenaline pumping.”

“Yea, it was crazy. I don’t know what took over me. I didn’t want anyone to die and then I thought to myself ‘Fuuuck, I’m gonna die if I don’t do something’ so I just got over myself and did it.” You said. You and Keigo started laughing, realizing that you were getting tipsy.

He finally felt that he was seeing the real you. You were so goofy and your sense of humor was unmatched. The way you’d talk with your hands when you got excited about something, or the way your laugh filled a room. He was falling for you, hard. By the time you two finished dinner, it was 3 in the morning. You managed to help him clean his kitchen even though you both were pretty drunk.

“Now that the kitchen is clean, I should probably head home.” You say as you dry the last dish.

Keigo bursts out laughing and says, ���It’s 3 in the morning, you're not going anywhere. I have a guest bedroom and clothes you can wear.”

You were hoping he’d offer you to stay but you weren’t sleeping in a guest bedroom. You got up and hugged him from behind, wrapping your arms around his chiseled torso.

“Couldn’t I just sleep with you?” You say softly with your face pressed against his upper back.

He blushes at how forward you’re being with him. He loves it considering he usually makes the first move.

“Y-yea, you can sleep with me.” He stumbles over his words.

You started to rub on his torso, getting dangerously close to the bulge in his pants. He watched as you slowly began unbuttoning his pants. You took your time, wanting to tease him since you two often had quickies. You held your hand up his mouth and told him to spit. He does as you say almost immediately, knowing what your plan is. You kissed the back of his neck as you pulled out his dick and started stroking his hard on.

“Mmnnhh, Y/N. Yeaa, just like that.” He moans as he throws his head back. His eyes met with the back of his skull as you kissed and licked the outer shell of his ear.

“I love watching you squirm.” You whisper.

He moans and squirms as a response to your comment. You couldn’t help but leave hickeys on the side of his neck. You know, just like he did the first night you two shared together. The way your name kept spilling out of his mouth, you knew he was close. He places his hand on your wrist and stops you. Before you could even process what was happening, he turned around and placed his hand on the back of your neck, pulling you towards him. You shared the same breath as you looked into each other's eyes.

“Let’s take this upstairs.” He added in a low hum as he caressed your face.

He hikes up your skirt and picks you up by thighs. You wrap your legs around his waist while you hold onto him. You start to giggle as you two drunkenly head to his bedroom. He lays you down on his king sized bed, staying on top of you. It only took a matter of seconds before your skirt was balled up on the floor and your clit between his lips. His gaze was locked on you as he dragged his tongue through your slick.

“Keigo, fuck.” You whine as you push his face into your wetness.

He groans as if he was feeling your pleasure. He pushes your legs up to your ears as he buries his face deeper into your folds. You hold your legs in place allowing him to focus fully on you. He slides two fingers in as he continues sucking on your clit. Your small whimpers grew into long moans and curse words. Within a matter of minutes, he had you nearing your first orgasm of the night.

“You gonna cum for me, pretty girl?” He moans into you.

You start panting as you cum, legs up by your ears and shaking. You scream his name as you cover his face in your juices. He continues dragging his tongue up and down your slick as you ride out your orgasm. By the time you come down from your high, he’s already undressed and rubbing the tip of his cock at your entrance.

“Fuck, I love seeing you like this.” He moans. He furrows his brows once he realizes you still had your top on. “Take your fucking tits out.” He demands.

You bite your lip and do as he says, leaving you in just the jewelry you had on. He slides into you slowly, watching as your face contorts due to him stretching you out.

“Oh my god, you feel me in there baby?” He says as he slowly starts moving his hips.

You nod your head and say, “Mhmmm, you feel soooo good.”

He smiles at your response and picks up the pace. He props your legs onto his shoulders causing him to hit deeper into you. You couldn’t take your eyes off him, watching his abs flex as his hips snapped towards yours at an alarming rate. He always fucked you good but he was being nasty tonight. He turns his head and licks up your calf, his lips ending up around your toes.

“Ah! I love when you get like this.” Your words come out in between moans which fuels his arousal.

He leans forward, placing his hands on your waist as he fucks into you. Each thrust causes your tits to bounce in the moonlight. You desperately grip on to the sheets under you as he drills into you. He couldn't help but to smile once he heard you cry out. Your walls clenched around his dick as he pushed into your g-spot for a second time.

“You like that baby? Did I find your sweet spot?” He obviously knew the answer to that question but he wanted to hear you say it.

“Y-yes, fuck. right there!” You whine as you feel him pushing you towards your second orgasm of the night. At this point, you were seeing stars. The tight knot that’s been building up in your stomach was coming undone. Keigo thrusts only got deeper and harder as you came on him. He was trying his best not to cum but the feeling of your walls pulsating around him along with you talking him through it pushed him there. The little remarks you made about being filled with his cum also had a hand to play in his orgasm. Whenever you asked for it, he had to give it to you. How could he resist?

“Filled to the fucking brim.” He says as he pulls out of you, watching his cum spill out of you. He leans down and kisses your forehead before he walks over to his bathroom. When he comes back, he cleans you up and puts one of his old t-shirts on you.

“You need anything else, pretty girl?” He says in a low voice as he lays down next to you.

“I’m okay, my love.” You reply as you snuggle into his solid frame.

He wraps his arms around you, pulling you by his side. He leaves small kisses on the top of head as his hand snakes under the t-shirt you had on. His calloused fingertips rubbing up and down your back as you both fell asleep.

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

Keigo is not typically a morning person. He often struggles getting out of bed. However, this morning, he had gotten up before you and went down to the kitchen to make breakfast. He was trying to make your day as smooth as possible even though it was going to be a bad day regardless.

“You’re up before me?” You say mid yawn.

“I am. You were knocked out.” He says as he walks over to you giving you a kiss on your forehead. “Good morning, how do you like your eggs?”

“Scambled, please.” He walks back over to the stove and starts cooking your eggs. You sit down at the kitchen island and examine scars on his back. They look like healed burn wounds. You let out a sigh and say, “Have you turned on your phone this morning?”

“I guess we have to talk about it huh? You ready to hear it?” You nod your head yes as you prepare for what he’s about to tell you. “I turned on both our phones. The video has gone viral with a split reaction from the public. Some people are saying that I assaulted you, others are saying it was passionate and that we know each other. Your employer has a feeling that it’s you in the video because they want to do a video call around noon today… with both of us.”

You get up from the barstool and start pacing around the kitchen. You pinch the bridge of your nose and let out a sigh, followed with, “Wait, they think you assaulted me?! Keigo, I have to make a statement! I would hate for your public image to be tarnished over accusations.”

“My publicist was saying that. She had a feeling some people would watch that video and think the worst. If you do make a statement, you’re revealing your identity to the public and to your employer. Which also means we’d have to announce that we are a couple. I don’t think your employer will like that.” He says as he plates your food and hands it to you.

“It has to be done. I don’t like that people are perceiving you that way, when that’s not the truth. At this point, I’ve accepted the fact that I could lose my job. I am scared but after what you said to me last night, I have to do the same for you. I will stand beside you and do whatever I can to clear these accusations. You’re such a good man. Itadakimasu.” You sit down with the food and start eating.

Hearing you say that you’d stick beside him gave him a full body chill. He wanted to tell you now more than ever that he was falling in love with you. He sits down next to you and starts eating his breakfast.

“Do you want to take a look for yourself?” Keigo asks.

“Yea, my mind is made up.” He hands you your phone. You stare at the black screen, nervous as to what will be on it when you open it. Keigo notices your hesitation and places his hand on your back.

“Remember, we will get through this.” He says softly as he rubs your back.

this zoom meeting about to go crazzyyy. new pitcure and dividers for part 5 since we are now half way through the series! I hope you all are enjoying everything!

PART 6

taglist: @zinflo @seijuroww @beabamboo @beautifulsandwichcrown

If you'd like to be on the taglist, comment below!

Please do not alter or steal my writings.

[puppetwoman17]

Okay so I love all of the cap identity reveal stories. Obviously. The anticipation of the reactions, the fact that someone they’ve known for so long, someone they’ve fought with and laughed with and cried with, is not even half their age…

But what if they NEVER found out? Cap’s identity, I mean.

I don’t mean life just continues on with Billy leading his separate lives. It’s more like(this next part is so fucking drastic lol) the league thinks cap is dead and suffer with the hole he left behind, only to somehow find out he’s alive, and to add fuel to the fire, he’s a young radio host in Fawcett.

The JL( and other heroes if you want) are fighting a being with incredibly powerful magic. I’m not good with the specifics, but it lines up with someone like Lady Blaze. The YJ team are acting as reconnaissance and backup. Everyone’s doing their part, including Cap.

But then something goes wrong. A miscalculation is all it takes for the fight to spin in the villain’s favor. Magic is a fickle thing. One wrong move, and sparks will fly with reckless abandon.

The fight is nearing an end, and it’s clear that almost all the heroes have been rendered useless. They’re either limping up to go again, or unconscious from the strain.

Everyone but Captain Marvel, that is.

To bring an end to the fight, Cap unleashes a powerful stream of magic, something no one has ever seen him pull off. It seems to zap everything out of him. The next thing you know he’s falling, his body slowly disintegrating. He makes it to the floor and smiles at the other heroes, all of whom are crying their hearts out as gold dust replaces him, for divine beings have no blood.

Billy, on the other hand, is fucking pissed. Apparently, Shazam created a failsafe in case something like this happens. He wakes up in the rock, unable to transform. His magic is still there, and with Solomon’s help he learns that his champion form will return after a couple years. For now, he needs to rest his reservoir.

Now, you’d think he would go tell the league, right?

But he’s not so little anymore, and he now knows that him being younger won’t be the only issue. Younger him was only worried about that little tidbit, but in truth, there was no guarantee they would let him stay if they knew he’d been lying so much. If he’d been able to keep his age a secret for so long, what else could he be hiding?

It’s not something he wants to do. The League, the YJ team, the Titans, they’ve all become like a family to him, despite almost all of them(barring the magic heroes) not knowing who he is. But he can’t risk being watched by parental hawks whenever he’s doing his champion work as Billy. He can’t risk them learning about his… circumstances. His crappy uncle, his annoying cousin, his(an oc I created for this post specifically but dw he’s not that important) crooked cop of a younger-older cousin. His living situation, his previous state of malnutrition, and all of his responsibilities. What a nightmare that would be, explaining all of that.

Also, he tries not to sound too cocky in his head, but he’s fairly sure at least a little less than half of the JL would kill for him. Or at least they’d beat someone to a pulp, which is still a pretty big deal.

So, he washes his hands of the JL and the sub teams and handles his champion work(bar fighting now cause his other body needs to regenerate) in his civilian form. It helps that the magic community, all sides of the spectrum, collectively decide not to tell the other heroes that their Champion is alive. They can get really annoying when it comes to their Boy Scout 🙄.

Plot, plot, plot happens. I’m thinking maybe Whiz gets an opportunity to interview JL members and they send their best reporter for the job. Or maybe something happens on the magic spectrum that brings them closer to Billy. Either way, the JL finds out Cap’s identity without Billy knowing and they are PISSED.

Billy has to deal with countless vigilantes, heroes, and teams lounging on his couch trying to goad him into revealing who he is. Either that r they follow him throughout Fawcett. Some people are angry with him, like Conner or either of the Roys. They try to make him angry. They want to see the real Cap, the real Billy(which is stupid cause of course cap isnt a fake persona but they’re too mad to realize).

Others feel betrayed, like Artemis and Wally(I refuse to acknowledge his death). Cap was a best man at the wedding and they really started to look to him as a sort of father figure. In fact, all the younger heroes love how he stood up for them and validated their feelings. To know that so much of their worries were being shouldered by someone who was years younger than them…

And the JL is worse off too. Their coworker, who they trusted and cared for, had been living alone since he was a child. Having to save for scraps until he finally got a home of his own.

The magic users are practically waiting for Billy to blow a fuse at everyone either fussing over him, attempting to make him mad, or following him whenever they felt the need. Mary’s laughing her ass off and Freddy’s smirking because now he can say “I told you so”. Shazam’s shaking his head because he told his damn protege that the champion doesn’t DO teams, but look where they are now.

Teth is honestly ecstatic. Comes to the next higher ups meeting and laughs in Billy’s face.

And Billy? Billy at least hopes he can make some money off of this: Okay but if I let you stay on my couch for the next three hours, that’s gonna cost you.

No no, I’ll let you follow me, but only if you do this one interview.

Maybe just stop trying to make me mad and just talk to me? Like I get you have issues but I already have a shit load of that so…

[fandomloreblog]

i need post-dmc5 headcanons for nero im begging 🥀/lh

AAAAH COMPLETELY FORGOT TO SHARE THESE!!! I’ve been out of the country for the last week I forgot to feed le masses 🤣

This post also counts as my announcement that I am accepting post DMC headcanon requests now :3

⚔️ Post-DMC5 Nero Headcanons 🍇

Again! While these are takes for my DMC6 sequel, you are more than welcome to use these for any sort of fanart, fics, whatever! Just please tag me, not for credit or anything, just because I wish to see what I accidentally inspire in y’all! I’m parched for DMC content!

Warnings: Mentions of PTSD and Trauma from DMC4, but otherwise all fluff!

Probably has the healthiest body out of the whole Sparda family. While he is on the leaner side, both Kyrie and Vergil make sure he has a healthy diet (unfortunately). He and Dante have cheat days where they sneak out and order pizza or other junk foods. Somehow Vergil always finds out, though.

Takes on a more emo/punk attire after Vergil and Dante get back, piercings, lots of torn jeans and shirts, the works. Part of him did it to contrast with his dad’s more prim and popper attire, but another part of him did it because we wanted to.

Still rocking the faux hawk, only because he tried dying his hair a bit ago and realized that color DOES NOT come out of white hair without God themselves intervening, so Kyrie had to buzz it all off so it grow back normally. He cried and looked like a shaved kiwi for almost a month. Dante never let him live it down.

Ends up getting really into DIY stuff. Mostly it’s with clothes and outfits, such as cutting up his own jeans and shirts and styling them into something he’ll like, but he does end up helping Nico when making new devil bringers. Strictly in a cosmetic sense, she never lets him touch any of the mechanical components.

He tried doing that once and ended up causing the prototype she made to combust and nearly set the van on fire. Since then there has been a “Nero Isn’t Allowed To Touch Nico’s Shit” rule.

Preferably spends time with Kyrie when not doing missions for DMC. Kyrie went to college after the events of DMC 5, so whenever she’s busy with schoolwork or classes, he’s at the Orphanage in Fortuna he and Kyrie own, helping out and watching over the kids.

Inadvertently has become somewhat of a Credo figure to the orphans, which he’s extremely conflicted about. Technically he’s almost the age Credo was when he died. (Nero’s 25 ATP, Credo died at 26 in my lore)

Speaking of Credo- He’s still hung up over his death. He still blames himself for what happened, and it haunts him. On the worst days, he’ll end ip having nightmares of what happened, or worse. It usually ends with him just lying awake in the living room playing shitty videogames or watching some childish cartoon show.

Occasionally Vergil or Dante wake up and join him as well. They don’t judge or ask why he’s up, just if he wants some snacks or why he chose Power Rangers to watch or something.

Kyrie also occasionally catches these moments. She usually just gives him hugs and cuddles and asks if he wants to talk. Sometimes they do, about how Credo was and funny memories. Sometimes they don’t, and just wallow in the silence until Nero starts crying. He’s been looking into possibly doing therapy, but then again, try explaining to a mental health professional that yes, demons are real, my older brother figure got killed by one, and no I’m not crazy.

Somehow has become MORE reckless after DMC5. Because all regrowing his arm taught Nero was that he could do that. And now he gives Vergil and Kyrie a heart attack whenever he comes back missing a leg or a hand because “Dante said the fish didn’t bite”.

Absolutely despises (and enjoys) how close Kyrie and Vergil have gotten. His girlfriend and his dad now tag team on him to take care of himself.

For hobbies, he mostly does artsy stuff. Sketching is his main go-to when bored, drawing concept art for a new Devil Bringer, or sneakily sketching one of the DMC members before they spot him. Has a whole sketchbook that is just pure Kyrie art which she stole from him. (He was embarrassed about it until she went “This is my most treasured possession now”)

He still also plays video games, mostly teaching Dante how some of them work. He’s basically the only computer literate one in DMC, so he’s the one that gets summoned when the wifi router breaks or when Dante can’t figure out the controls.

Also got into writing a little bit, mostly from Vergil. The poem book he left inspired him somewhat, so he started messing around with that. Vergil accidentally found one of Nero’s poems and assumed it was some lost page from his own book from “how good it was” which nearly made Nero cry. They occasionally have little poem/book club sessions.

Speaking of family- he ends up meeting Patty 3 days after the events of DMC5 because she kicked down their door with a sword questioning why Dante went AWOL. They end up getting along really well, with Patty teaching Nero most of what she knows about DIY. She started helping around at the mobile branch as an assistant, getting trained by Dante how to use some of the weapons until Dante says she’s “demon ready”.

He’s also been looking more into his mother and her disappearance. Not out of a familial sense, more so as just a way to get answers on his family tree and genealogy. He honestly assumes her to be dead, but he doesn’t verbalize it after seeing how hung up on LIR Vergil was. Also because a small part of him wants her to be alive too.

An even smaller part wishes that if she were alive, for her to come back and they could all be a proper family.

[lacunammmm]

The League Of Villains Is The Most Irrelevant Group Of Losers The World Has Ever Seen, And Nothing That Happened After The First War Had Any Stakes Because Of It

Hawks killing Twice was a mistake.

It went nowhere, no one learned anything from it.

And as we learned from the final war arc, the villains are pathetic and can't score a single fatality.

NO ONE on the hero team got killed. Only villains died!

Hawks' actions look WORSE on that day. "Oh, but Twice was a huge threat!" Actually, no, he wasn't. He's a weak little bitch just like all his friends are. He could have executed Hawks' nightmare scenario of him cloning an army of high end Nomu, Dabi, and Tomura, and the villains still would have found a way to fuck it up.

The narrative would never kill anyone that the audience could begin to give the slightest of fucks about. The only people who died in the first war are were a bunch of filler characters invented just to get killed, and people with no real backstory or development at all.

Do you think anyone cared when Native died? Or how about Majestic, a character invented entirely for the war arc and given the role of being Momo and Setsuna's mentor, despite the fact that he'd never been seen before in the manga at that point, just so he can die and they can pretend there are stakes?

Eel Boy? Funk Man? There were actual characters who don't appear again to do anything of value in the series in the range of Tomura's Decay wave, but the author wouldn't let anything happen to his precious pookies, so they all get saved and he invents a bunch of nothing characters to die in their places.

X-Less entirely existed so he could die and deliver a Tetsuo style cape to Tomura. The man's life amounted to being a drip delivery boy.

The only reason Midnight died is because the author likes to mutilate and kill female characters. He realized that killing off a bunch of utter nothing characters wouldn't accomplish much and couldn't bear to kill Gran Torino after he drew Tomura turning him into a donut, so he picked Midnight, someone the audience could maybe care about but she only appeared in a handful of scenes and was there for Mineta's character development.

Notice how Kyoka lost an ear, but Deku's losing his arms got walked back in the next chapter, and the tease that Bakugo would lose his arm went nowhere?

There's no in universe reason for why the villains are so pathetic. They're garbage entirely because the author isn't willing to kill or harm his precious heroes, so he wraps them in mountains of bubble wrap.

Dabi couldn't even take out Hawks and Tokoyami when he had a type advantage against both of them, and flames that can melt steel in seconds. The guy bathed Hawks' back in blue fire, but only managed to damage his quirk a little.

I want to remind you that blue fire is hotter than lava. But instead of ending up requiring over 100 hours of surgery and having all of the nerves and flesh in his back obliterated, Hawks is just in some bandages for a bit and then he pulls through.

The guy doesn't even have to be rehabilitated. Nope.

The damage to his quirk is reversed by magical prosthetics that means he could enter into a battle with ALL FOR ONE with no apparent loss in power!

If the narrative has a character say "Oh, guys, I totally got weaker after my injury, trust!"

But then it has him fight the strongest villain in the series and the man who's slaughtered thousands by himself in a 2 vs 1 and the guy barely takes a scratch until AFO goes beast mode, why should we deny what's right in front of our eyes?

Hawks' damage was entirely cosmetic because the author likes him. And it means the villains are completely pathetic. This is a series where we're supposed to be worried that these bozos are going to kill everyone, while not letting them kill anyone.

It's a series where somehow, society had fallen to the point where it was total anarchy on the streets and THE MAJORITY of heroes quit…but coincidentally for the heroes, the League never attacks the specific places where their comrades are being held.

It sure is great for the heroes that All For one apparently couldn't be bothered to go spring all those PLF guys who certainly have…barely anyone guarding them because of how short staffed the country is at the moment.

In addition, as much as I like to harp on All For One's incredibly plot convenient "friends" who are apparently infinite in number and enable him to (ineffectually) have villains throw the entire planet into anarchy at his command all at once…

The heroes also get the incredible plot convenience of having infinite funding for all of their schemes, as well as infinite space and supplies for all the refugees who congregated in their school.

Would someone like to explain to me why and how UA high school is able to support most of the population of Japan and keep all of these people fed, watered, and sheltered? When NOBODY is going to work and everywhere is being evacuated? When they can't even get shipments from outside the country at the moment thanks to the state of emergency?

And they still have the supplies to manufacture all the stuff to:

-Make the entire school fly.

-Create the evacuation protocols for the refugees including the devices they were sending them off in.

-Supply their team with everything they could possibly need.

The author doesn't care to explain it and Momo's quirk is only used to create tiles to help fight "Tomura Shigaraki," not the rest of this stuff.

But I guess Nezu was preparing for a zombie apocalypse or something.

You know, Nezu. The guy who refused to entertain the idea that their school might have a spy and ignored the problem entirely.

Said spy was only caught because Hagakure happened to notice he was sneaking off to talk to his parents in the woods and he outed himself.

It sure is convenient for the heroes that AFO didn't keep both of Aoyama's parents as hostages, and that he had Aoyama out himself by having him attack Deku instead of just…waiting and having Aoyama open the doors of UA to them, or leak all their defenses.

It sure is convenient for the heroes that Shinso's quirk improved (off screen) enough to do exactly what the plot needed it to do and bypass AFO's lie detector abilities so he could summon his army into a trap that utterly destroyed them.

If we take the series at face value, everyone's terrified of Tomura, who has less than 100 kills. MOST of his kills were against MLA people who were attacking him. Something the heroes wouldn't actually know about.

The new symbol of evil, everyone, who regularly gets foiled by high school kids and then was murdered by the combined might of a bunch of 15-16 year olds.

I want to iron in something that illustrates how utterly worthless the League is.

Stain killed and crippled more heroes than the entire League Of Villains has. He killed 17 and maimed 23 to the point where they could never be heroes again.

Excluding All For One, of course, who got most of his kills pre-canon.

All For One's endless funding, a villain army, scores of Nomu, the All For One quirk, the MLA's assets being added to the League, and the brute force of Gigantomachia.

All inferior to one deranged man with knives and swords.

[beelinx]

hi!! could you do leo dating an ares kid? 🫶🏻

leo valdez dating a child of ares hcs

a/n: i hope this is okay anon 😖 i actually had lots of fun with this it’s a rlly cute dynamic

First impression: Scared.

Honestly it’s not his fault, you and your siblings are usually so intimidating.

Even more so when a capture the flag game is going on.

You guys were on opposite teams, and happened to bump into each other at one point during the game.

You almost ripped his throat out and he almost burned your hair.

Love at first sight <3

Well, it might not have been the best first impression, but it somehow still wasn’t long before he fell for you.

He started seeing you around camp more and more, and after a while you even started to have casual conversations, too.

He got more comfortable with you as time went on, and started to see a side of you he really liked !

He noticed you were actually kind, you cared a lot about people around you, and you were actually really funny.

Also you’re smoking hot.

Win win!

Once you’re actually dating you would be an insane power couple.

With Leo’s smarts and fire power, and your insane battle, and multiple other, skills, you two could easily defeat *almost* anyone.

But going back to Ares kids being scary: He basically shits his pants when he first meets your siblings.

Well, he actually already knew most of them beforehand – he’d seen some of them around camp, and he has even made weapons for some of them.

Still though, they had zero mercy telling him exactly what they’d do to him if he dared to treat you badly.

Okay well now he’s scared again.

Whoever you don’t like, he doesn’t like either.

Do you hate that girl from the Demeter cabin? He hates her too.

That Hermes boy keeps bothering you? Yeah, he sucks and should drop dead immediately.

Okay, he might think you get a little bit too carried away with the death wishes, but he supports you and all your… strong feelings.

Also – if you have a rough relationship with your father, you best bet he now has beef with him, too.

Silently, though. He’s much too terrified of Ares to trash talk him publicly.

Leo easily thinks you’re just about one of the coolest people ever.

He swears up and down that whenever he sees you fight, he falls in love all over again.

You leave him awestruck tbh.

If you have a short temper, he would try his best to be patient with you, even if it’s sometimes hard for him, too.

He knows you can’t control it that well, therefore he tries to help you out a lot.

By treating you kindly, listening to you patiently, and also not pissing you off.

You obviously try your best for him, too.

In the end, you’re both really sweet and considerate to each other <3

He’d make anything you ask for !!

If you ever want any weapon of sorts then trust he has it covered, and then some.

He’d add little quirks that make them cooler, like rigging them with special effects.

Ask him for anything else, be it a random cup of coffee or a full-blown spaceship, and he’d try his best to do it for you.

Making you happy is what he loves most so he’d move whatever you want to the top of his priority list.

Seeing your happy face makes it all worth it <3

Of course, though, you smack his head when you realize he lost sleep just to complete this project for you.

Okay, well, he may not be able to work in his workshop at night without you watching over him like a hawk anymore, but you still squeezed hugged and kissed him when he first showed the final product to you, so…

He’s taking it as a win!

Also because he now has you spending even more time with him, and in his favorite place, too.

He really can’t stop winning, huh?

[midseo]

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[readychilledwine]

Lollipop pt 2

Summary - Azriel and Seraphina Vanserra will take what happened between them after the High Lords Meeting to their grave. Well, at least her father's grave.

Warnings - NSFW, oral (f rev), fingering, degradation, Dom sub dynamics, power play, shadow play/bondage, praise kink, corruption kink, use of pet names, 😻 slapping, spanking, overstimulation, Azriel being a fuck rabbit, dumbification, cock warming, virginity loss, orgasm denile, implied anal and throat fucking, a very rough first time.

An - so.... this was supposed to post at 1pm my time 😒 evidently I drafted it instead of hitting schedule post. Low key thought you all hated it and I failed. Anyways! Forgive me 💜 and don't worry, you'll still get two smut corruption pieces today, though. Ps if you see mistakes, you don't.

Read Part One Here

Seraphina rocked back in her heels as he circled her like a hawk, a small smirk playing on his face as shadows broke her skin out in chills. “How lucky am I,” he moved closer to her back, “to have such an eager, pretty mate.”

She was beautiful. Smaller than he normally liked, but he knew from Eris that Beron kept her food very controlled to prevent her from gaining weight.

Which was a damn shame in Azriel's mind. The more curve, the better, and he would change that once she was his and his alone.

His scarred hand ran up her dress before gently wrapping around her throat, testing the waters instead of diving in head first. Seraphina, in return, whimpered loudly, the scent of her honeyed arousal coming into the air. Her hands found his thighs, gripping for purchase as she tilted her head back, allowing him, and his hand, more access. “Good girl,” he praised her softly, kissing below her pointed ear. “You know how to tug the bond, right?”

“Yes.”

Azriel kissed her bare shoulder before correcting her, “Yes sir.” Serphina nodded, watching him from the mirror. Her eyes widened at the feel of something cold and sharp on the base of her spine. “Breathe,” he kissed down her neck, and in one swift movement cut her dress enough to be able to rip it off.

She was calm throughout his testing of the waters. He rose a brow at her deep breaths. “You aren't afraid?”

She shook her head, her heart racing as hazel eyes met hers in the mirror. “What exactly do you plan to do to me?”

His shadows seemed to thicken and his eyes darkened as he stared at her in the mirror, placing that sharp dagger back into it's holster. “Everything,” he growled before gripping the back of her neck and turning her into a heavy kiss.

It was electric. It was passionate. It was fire meeting shadows. Dancing together as her hands found stability and purchase on his chest after her dress fell.

He backed her to the bed instantly. Growling as he shoved her back and was instantly on her body again.

He had waited years for this. Years for a mate, an equal. The fact that he would be her first. That he would be the one to ruin her and corrupt her was just a bonus.

Bites and kisses started going lower down Seraphina's body, making her shiver. Azriel bit down on her neck, causing her back to arch and a soft whine to leave her mouth. Her hand tried shooting to her lips, hoping to trap the noises in just for shadows to rip her arms away from her, locking them above her head in a vise like grip.

Azriel tutted her softly. “Do you want to be my good girl?” She nodded eagerly, arching into his shadows and hands as they roamed her body. “Words or we stop.”

“Yes sir,” his own heart fluttered at her submission, at how quickly she was taking her role.

“Then let me hear everything. Let me hear how good I'm making you feel.”

“Yes sir.”

“And stop looking away. I want you to watch what I'm doing to you.”

She nodded again, lip pulled between her teeth as his kisses reached her breasts and his warm tongue began to play with her nipple. The soft moan that left her lips was music.

Her body was a harp, a fine tuned instrument just waiting to be played, and for once, Azriel truly felt he was a musician. He wanted to cherish her, to show her how she as his mate would spend her life treated and worshipped.

But then his mind flashed back to her pretty mouth wrapped around that candy, to her visual fantasy Rhys had happily put into his mind the second it started, and all that hope went out that window.

His sole mission was to ruin her. To ensure no other male would bring her to the brink of pleasure over and over and over the way he could. And Azriel never failed a mission.

Kisses became soft bites, making gasps and moans fall from pretty parted lips and Seraphina's amber eyes to roll back. She thought he was going to kill her. He had hardly touched her and she knew she was soaked. She knew that coil would snap within moments of him doing anything to her. A pained whine came as his teeth sank into the inner side of her right breast, bruising and marking the soft untouched skin there before turning and marking the left the same way. “Mine,” he growled causing more heat to shoot through her body. “All mine.”

His kisses began to trail lower again. Mouth coming to a halt above her center as he looked at her. “Also. Fucking. Mine.”

Azriel did not give her a chance to respond, a chance to understand what was about to happen, and that first lick had her jaw fall open, head going back to the pillow and an almost scream like whine leaving her mouth. He wasted no time, instantly feeling that noise shoot to his cock and began eating her out like it was his last meal. Every nudge of his tongue in her center, on cilt, in her folds had her moaning, arching, pulling at his shadows as they restrained her tighter, holding her wide open and completely under Azriel's control.

His hands dug into her hips, leaving bruises there instantly as well as he groaned into the taste of her before wrapping his lips around that swollen bundle of nerves and focusing a ruthless attack there. He watched her under hooded lashes as she arched, as she cried, as the foreign feeling brought tears to her eyes and began to ruin her mascara.

She'd cum just from this. Just from his tongue rolling her pretty clit, circling it, pushing down on it. She'd cum for the lightest touches. And that got him off. It made him feel like a God.

Sera felt her eyes roll back again, an unfamiliar feeling in her stomach as her breathing and moaning picked up. She needed something, needed more. “Please,” she began to beg, her voice breathy and desperate as he began fucking her core, stretching her slightly with his tongue. “Sir, please. I-”

He pulled away, a hand quickly striking her pussy before rubbing gently to soothe her. “Good girls do not beg, pet. Are you a good girl or a whore?” He glared at her slightly as she whined before smacking her again. “if you want to be treated like a fucking whore, then I will treat you like a whore.”

He turned her, allowing his shadows to restrain her on her stomach with a limb towards each corner of the bed. He placed a pillow under her hips, positioning her ass and pussy in the perfect spot for him before waiting to see if she tugged the bond, if this was too much. Her hips wiggled instead, trying to sneak attention from that trapped pillow.

He sent a silent prayer and thank you to the Mother, to the Cauldron, to any deity listening, and then he spanked her.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Watching as her milky pale skin turned bright red for him, watching as she began dripping for him. “You are a fucking whore, aren't you? Getting off on me spanking you.” He spanked her again, watching as her legs began to shake. “Are you going to cum from me spanking you?”

Shame should have filled her then and there, but it didn't. She should be ashamed of herself. She had always been taught sex was not for her. It was for the male. Her sole job was to please him and him alone. Yet here she was, seconds from finding absolute bliss as her mate did nothing more than treated her like a babe in need of punishment.

Azriel brought both hands down on her ass, and watched as she screamed, body jolting and her tight hole clenched around nothing. She came screaming his name, tears streaming down her face. He ran his hand up and down her back, slowing her breathing through the High before running his hands back to her pussy and feeling those soaked folds.

“You have to relax,” he warned gently as she stiffened. “If you don't relax, I will end up hurting you, and I don't want to hurt my perfect pet, do you understand?”

“Yes sir,” Sera tried relaxing. Focusing on the humming bond. On his amusement, his pleasure in seeing her like this. She whimpered as two fingers ran from her clit to her whole, lubricating those thick scarred digits in her nectar.

Azriel pushed his middle finger in. He felt his own eyes roll back, imagining the feeling of her soft tight walls on his cock as she let out a breathy moan. He began pumping immediately, not giving her time to adjust and then inserted a second finger before leaning over her to put his hand in her hair and pull, forcing her to arch her back more as she began to cry again. “Gonna feel so good on my cock, pet. So fucking tight and warm.” The praise warmed her immediately. Another wave of heat and wetness flowing through her. “This pussy is mine, you hear me? You are mine. You belong to me.”

Seraphina felt her heart flutter at that. At the idea of being his and his alone. At the idea of no one else stretching her like this. Her walls began to twitch as he found a spot he had been searching for and began to ruthlessly curl and thrust his fingers in to it.

She was soaking the pillow, her thighs, his hand. Azriel's shadows began to remove his clothing, freeing his aching cock and allowing him to stroke it in time with his fingers. Sera was panting again, her hips trying to meet his hand only to be held in place as he felt her approaching the edge again.

Before she could, he pulled away, landing a harsh spank on her bruising ass before standing and removing his leathers completely.

“All in one or gently. Pick now.” His desperate voice sent a wave of power through Sera. The idea of him being this worked up for her while she did nothing but submit to his will make her glow with feminine pride.

“Just fuck me.”

He was surprised by the answer, hand coming to use her juices as lubricant on his cock before he got behind her with a dangerous grin. “I'd tell you to hold on to something, but it appears your hands are a little preoccupied.”

It was pleasure, pain, completion, everything. Sera felt herself fall into shock before a loud wailing moan filled the room along with the scent of her Maidenhood breaking.

Azriel's hand gripped the sheet next to her head as he too let out a pitched moan. She felt exactly as he had imagined. Warm, velvety walls pulsed around him. He gave a gentle teasing thrust, watching as her mouth fell back open. Her make up always ruined, her hair a mess, body littered in bites and bruises.

He had not been gentle with her once tonight, and he was about to start now unless she asked. He placed a foot solid on the bed and grabbed her waist. Then he began.

Seraphina saw the heavens when he moved. His thick cock dragging in and out of her, lighting every inch and nerve on fire as she could do nothing more than lay there moaning and crying out for him.

Her walls were twitching, begging for release instantly as they pulled him in deeper and deeper. He was going to fuck her into two pieces. She hadn't even had the chance to look at his cock, but Gods she felt it. She felt it brushing her cervix with each thrust. She felt it hitting places healers didn't even have names for yet. She felt it pulling her apart inch by inch until she was the perfect sleeve for him.

Azriel watched as her eyes fluttered shut, a small smile forming on her face, and she began to drool slightly.

He had fucked her dumb this easily. Fucked every brain cell from her and rendered her completely to his will.

Seraphina would be easy to train. Easy to make his personal whore. His perfect little mate, his perfect little wife, his perfect cock sleeve, always ready, dripping, and eager for him.

He fucked her until dawn broke through the window. Taking her cunt, her throat, her ass. He came on her face, inside of her, on her tits. She was soaked in his seed, her essences, his and her sweat.

He held her tight in the tub. Bouncing her on his cock as she sat in his lap crying from overstimulation. He released into her again, triggering another orgasm from her that left her in a silent scream and whimpers. He didn't allow her off, forcing her to sit chest to chest with him and warm his cock.

No words passed between them.

No words needed to.

When she tried to speak, he pushed two fingers into her mouth. “We will talk when master is ready. Am I understood, whore?”

She nodded, gagging as the digits pushed in further and maintaining eye contact like he had taught her. He hardened inside of her tender abused cunt again. And he lifted her off and turned her.

The slow realization hit her. 12 orgasms wasn't enough.. 8 hours wasn't enough. Her mate was insatiable.

And she was all too happy to just be used.

[delawaredetroit]

So Yuga Aoyama obviously shares parallels with Midoriya and arguably Shigaraki (I actually read a pretty decent thread on Twitter a while ago talking about the similarities and parallels shared between Aoyama and Shigaraki) , and my question is, is any other character that could be seen as a parallel to Aoyama?

Yes. For starters, you're right that Aoyama parallels both Izuku and Shigaraki. Aoyama is similar to Izuku in that he was born quirkless and became involved with the AFO-OFA blood feud to, among other things, escape the social consequences of being quirkless in a quirk-based society. He is also similar to Shigaraki in that All for One took advantage of his family situation as a child to take control of his life. Aoyama had an easier time of the two of them because Aoyama was a minor piece in All for One's grand plan while Shigaraki was his self-insert.

But there are other characters that parallel Aoyama. The first one that comes to mind is Touya. Both Aoyama and Touya crossed paths with All for One as a consequence of their parents' poor life choices. The source of both Aoyama and Touya's childhood angst was that they weren't born with the traits their parents wanted from them. Touya wasn't born with a fire quirk that could surpass All Might and Aoyama didn't have a quirk that would allow him to fit in with mainstream society.

Both were harmed by the use of their quirks due to their parents' choices to achieve the ideal child they wanted. Aoyama was given a quirk incompatible with his body. Touya's body was incompatible with a fire quirk because Enji decided to play eugenics and combine quirks that would require polar opposite secondary traits to support the quirk. So Touya had the body of an ice user but primary quirk of a fire user.

The difference was that Aoyama's parents accommodated him by getting him that belt, so Aoyama could still become a hero if he chose to do so (though the gesture was soured by the fact neither Aoyama nor his parents really had the power to decide that once All for One was involved). Endeavor on the other hand just told Touya to give up and made more children until he got the quirk he wanted.

Another potential parallel to Aoyama is Hawks. They were the traitor characters to each side. They had largely no one they could genuinely talk to for most of the story. They were both put in their respective situations because they were basically sold off by their parents to a shady entity as children. They both had one person they were tasked to spy on that they became too chummy with to the point it compromised their mission: Twice for Hawks and Izuku for Aoyama. They both attacked the enemy they cared about when confronted. However, Aoyama switched sides in the end while Hawks doubled down on his original position.

[bnhaobservation]

The LoV has failed as a villain group compared with all MHA movies villains! All MHA movies villains are much better than them!

I'm not sure if you're sarcastically echoing the annoyance of those who think the story did dirt to the league or you're criticizing them but I'll take your words as honest and a chance for me to discuss a bit of the League.

I wouldn't really say the movie Villains are better than the League for the simple fact that, in the end, due to being characters in a movie, they're way too quickly defeated and forgotten and hardly do any damage. They don't get to kill someone important, they don't really make countless schemes, they don't manage to escape capture and remain active and if they impact society that impact last an incredibly short amount of time because everything must be returned to zero for the story to manage to fit into the storyline of the anime.

But Horikoshi's choice to go for the League as the main Villain group is surely... odd.

Let's compare it with the other Villain groups, All for One's, Overhaul's, Re-Destro.

Re-Destro is a powerful businessman with plenty of men working under him, enough they rightfully define themselves a Army. He also has plenty of elite fighters, even if few get properly introduced and plenty of money and resources as he's in the support item industry and his underlings are also people of power.

Overhaul has less men but he's still a powerful Yakuza boss with enough money and underlings to look like a threat plus 10 elite fighters (the eight bullets, Chronostasis and Mimic) and resources to produce his Quirk-cancelling bullets.

All for One in his golden age was better off than Re-Destro in every mean possible, after he fell he still has enough money to support Garaki's research and his hospitals and orphanages in which they also do human experimentation secretly, have allies all around the globe, finance the League and dispose of Nomu.

As for Shigaraki without All for One's support... his league is moneyless, they live in a trash hideout, since Kurogiri leaves to search for Machia and Magne dies early on, he's left with 5 underlings. Of them initially only Dabi has a strong offensive power because Twice, due to his trauma, can't really fight, Himiko hadn't had her Quirk awakening yet and so she, Compress and Spinner aren't really that big of a threat.

The fact that the police fears them makes the situation hilarious and the police incompetent, not them a threat.

The moment the league gain enough power to effectively be a threat, the story immediately bring them back by having the Heroes make a surprise strike that erases most of their newly aquired assets.

Shigaraki's modding is interrupted, Garaki is taken captive, the Nomu factory is lost, most of the army is gone, Twice is dead and the plit between the League and the Meta Liberation Army becomes clear as Shigaraki cares to have Machia bring to him only the League which makes sense as the MLA never truly cared for Shigaraki and Co and only tailed after him because Re-Destro told them to do so.

And they're up facing an overwhelmingly number of Heroes.

At the same time the story sabotages them, Dabi's name doesn't mean cremation just in reference to how Touya almost died burned alive, his fire is hot enough he can cremate people but... not Hawks apparently, even if, considering how close Hawks was to him and the time he was exposed to fire, should have reduced Hawks to a charred corpse. I'll say Touya's fire damages Touya more than it damages others which is ridicule when Horikoshi reveals Touya HAS some fire resistance while Hawks has none...

On the other side the less powerful fire of Endeavor works just fine to burn Shigaraki consistently, good to him he has regeneration... to bad the fact Garaki hadn't finished modding him causes troubles.

Also Shigaraki hits Gran Torino as hard as he can and the old man survives to it! Deku ruins his arms but... it's okay, they'll heal just fine.

Bakugou's get stabbed in place of Deku but doesn't die like Twice, no he can fight and will recover.

And hey, the Heroes now have new technology and Eri controls her power so Best Jeanist is back from death and Lemillion have his Quirk back.

Compress instead is captured, Shigaraki gets possessed and they've to escape.

In the second war the Heroes overwhelm the Villains again, both in numbers and in times the narrative depicts them in advantage. @stillness-in-green did count the cliffhangers and the Heroes were definitely more often in advantage than the Villains.

Never mentioning that the Heroes get even better off than in the first war. In the first war they had some minor casualties... here they don't have even that, the deaths are all on the Villain side, Machia, AFO, Himiko, Shigaraki, and, even if delayed as he gets to live a little longer, Touya.

Bakugou gets resurrected and his arm will recover, Midoriya gets his arms back, Edgeshot survives and manages to regrow his arms.

The ones who take the worst deal are Enji, who gets wounded so seriously he's unable to use his legs, loses his arm and can't be a Hero (but he had already decided to Quirk), Fuyumi and Rei that get scarred (but they're no Heroes), Hawks who lost his Quirk (but he still becomes the HPSC president).

The LOV is a much more interesting Villain group than many others and I love the choice to make them all outcasts but... after the lost AFO's patronage they aren't genuinely given a chance to shine as a real threat that overwhelms the Heroes. The moment they might be capable to do it, the story turns the tables so fast you wonder if you dreamt it.

So it's not so much a LOV failure as a story failure. An enemy threat must be a believable threat and the LOV often doesn't get the chance to look as such even if the story insists it is.

[anerdinallherglory]

Approaching Sun (41)

Author’s Note: Somewhat of a cannon-compliance note, but I don’t really consider filler arcs and some movies canon, but for sake of the story’s plot, I’m briefly referencing material from Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow. The Shibuki name drop comes from Naruto episode 198. P.S., if you like this chapter, please go watch my favorite filler of all time “Gotta See, Gotta Know, Kakashi’s True Face.” Buckle up, this chapter hits the ground at a sprint. My official A.S. spotify playlist is linked on my linktree and my most recent post. Sorry for the delayed update. Sickness likes to knock my feet out from under me somewhat consistently. Stay healthy out there! 

Songs: Maybe October by Dekker, Everything Matters – AURORA/Pomme, Alcatraz by Oliver Riot, When it’s Cold Outside by 228k, and Alps by Novo Amor

Pairing: SasuSaku

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40

Chapter 41: The Power to Destroy Us

Sasuke’s plan had originally been to head northeast, travel through the land of Sound and Otogakure where Orochimaru’s base was located along the way, recruit some help to track and kill the remaining members of Zenshin, and then head to the Land of Snow. However, upon learning about that, Sakura had rerouted his plans, making a stark preference for the northwest route toward Takigakure, the Village Hidden by Waterfalls, bypassing Orochimaru’s hideout altogether. 

Sakura was convinced that she would be fine if they didn’t hunt down the leader of Zenshin and had assured the Uchiha as much to persuade him to skip forward to hunting the Otsusuki instead, but Sasuke had written three letters as they camped just outside the border of Takigakure. First, he wrote to Kakashi to confirm the Hokage’s plans, not because he didn’t believe Sakura’s detailed explanation of their sensei’s interference, but because he wanted to assess the process for himself and compare it to his own. He had to be sure, before stealing Sakura away across the sea to the Land of Snow. His second letter was addressed to Takigakure’s current leader, Shibuki, requesting permission to pass through and seek safe seafaring passage from Takigakure’s northern harbor. It was the same route Team 7 had taken when they were assigned to guard the actress “Yukie,”—an alias for the Land of Snow’s princess, Koyuki, that Team 7 had been unaware of at the time of accepting the mission—which is why Sakura was familiar with the road that would take them through. Which brought him to his third and final letter, addressed to said Princess Koyuki, informing her of their intentions to arrive in her land. Sasuke hated to leave a paper trail of their activities considering Sakura still had people after her, but considering his past and his travels recently, it was always better to inform and request permission from those in charge. 

As they waited on Sasuke’s letters to reach their destinations via messenger hawk, they set up camp lounged by a fire, sitting close to the flames that warded off the northern air that sought to chill their skin even in August. Sasuke eyed Sakura’s gooseflesh as she wrapped her arms around herself, determined to suffer in silence rather than admit she had hastily packed an unprepared bag. To his credit, Sasuke had repacked for her after her hasty exit, trying to discern which of her clothing might be the warmest, but found her wardrobe entirely lacking for winter climates. He thought they had more time before heading to the Land of Snow, so had packed her bag accordingly, refolding and organizing the bag in order to fit more in. Sakura had noticed as soon as she opened it for the first time, and immediately made to thank him, but Sasuke felt awkward as usual and chose that precise moment to flee in the name of firewood. 

Seeing her shiver and wipe away the prickling flesh along her upper arms made Sasuke feel inattentive, and so the Uchiha pushed back his reserved nature once more and reached for her, taking hold of her by the waist with his right arm. She jumped in initial surprise but smiled complacently when Sasuke pulled her between his legs to settle her back against his chest. The poncho, once again, came down over her head as Sasuke positioned them to sleep in a reclined position together to share their newfound warmth. He quite liked it, the excuse to bundle her into the fabric of his person like she was an extension of his body (she was as far as he was concerned, that valve in his heart he’d decided she was the last time they had found themselves at a fire on the road at the beginning of a journey. He remembered moving away from her that first time, deciding the distance alone would be enough to keep their lives from entangling further. He had never been more wrong. And now they had come full circle, no amount of distance preventing the inevitable.

“We need to stop in Takigakure to get you some suitable outerwear,” he stated, her body shivering one last time as the caress of warmth greeted her.

She burrowed against him, fitting in all of Sasuke’s angles as if she had been designed to be the missing pieces of him all along. She sighed and leaned her head back into the bend of his shoulder, and Sasuke intimately tucked his nose into her hair as they drifted to the crackling melody of the firelight humming heat.

Until Sakura spoke with a small content laugh, saying the very last thing that Sasuke would ever imagine in that moment. “I saw Kakashi’s face.”

Sasuke couldn’t help himself. He practically jolted as if he had been shocked with his own lightning blade. The elusiveness of Kakashi’s face had been one of those Genin curiosities that had never really left the realm of Sasuke’s curiosity, and the Uchiha had privately theorized with Naruto that the ninja had something to hide with that mask. “And?” he immediately investigated, eager to know what she was withholding. 

“And what?”

“Don’t ‘and what?’ You know exactly what. Tell me what he’s hiding under there.”

She snickered against his chest, a pleasant shifting motion against Sasuke’s sternum, as if her laughter could reach into his own body via vibration and demonstrate just how one could lose oneself in something funny. 

“Not hiding much, other than the fact that he’s a complete and total hottie.”

Sasuke could have choked on the air in his lungs alone. “That’s it? Nothing out of the ordinary? No big secret? Sort of anti-climactic, if you ask me.”

“Oh trust me,” she sighed. “Nothing anti-climactic about it—”

“Stop talking,” Sasuke shushed into her hair, immediately covering her mouth with his right hand to completely cut-off her crude direction of speech. Since when had his shy genin teammate become so unreserved? They’d had sex twice, for peat sakes, and weren’t in the habit of making these types of jokes. It was even worse that she was making a go about Kakashi, their old, decrepit, retiring sensei. Or at least, that’s how Sasuke would forever regard him. “You have spent too much time with that Yamanaka girl,” he chided.

“That’s all from Tsunade, actually.” Sakura admitted with a small laugh at his innocence. 

Sasuke grunted, and Sakura picked up the conversation again. “Do you think Kakashi is alone by choice? Because he’s the Hokage? I feel bad for him, always to himself when he isn’t working.”

Sasuke knew the answer immediately. He suddenly recalled several of Kakashi’s lectures whenever Sasuke found himself angry about being alone.  “Kakashi was alone a long time before he was the Hokage and even our sensei. He lost many of his loved ones, everyone who was ever close to him. I imagine that he’s afraid to form a bond that intimate being who he is and the role he has to play.”

“Sort of like you, then.” Sakura acknowledged. 

“Hn,” Sasuke affirmed, but added, “He’s right to guard his heart so. I tried, but someone’s chakra-enhanced strength punched through my rib cage.”

Sakura laughed before interjecting with, “You know, I always sort of theorized it might be because Kakashi sensei’s preferences leaned more towards men.”

Sasuke’s brows shot straight into his hairline, the first real emotion to present itself upon his carefully constructed face tonight. He thought about it, truly. And as he thought about it, he wondered. Truly wondered. “Hn,” he said again with a tilt to his head, “who knows.” He could honestly see his sensei having no particular preference at all. As he reflected on his genin days, Sasuke would say with confidence that he was definitely the sort to appeal to both. Everyone they encountered always had some weird obsession with him. 

“I hope one day, whatever the case may be, he chooses to be selfish, too.”

“I think he’s more excited about retirement than anything else. I think he’s just ready to choose himself for once.” And he’s dog obsessed, Sasuke thought privately. And sometimes, maybe pets were all you needed for companionship. Back when Sasuke imagined a lonely life without anyone else in it, he pictured a pet or two in his future. A hawk. Maybe a cat, even. That sort of life had once appealed to him, but he was choosing one of attachment, instead. He was choosing her, even if it was half-lived and intermittent. 

“Definitely,” she chimed, before stilling and growing quiet against him. Was she falling asleep?

But then, she said something else that rennervated Sasuke, and he was thoroughly trapped of his own making, the shared overgarment preventing him from fleeing from the question. “You helped Toka, didn’t you? Back in the Shikkotsu Forest.”

Sasuke didn’t answer. He didn’t breathe. Because how was he going to explain his actions of that night? He had thought it had completely escaped her notice, the hand he had played in Toka’s chances in escaping that night. 

“It’s okay if you did,” Sakura rested back against him more firmly, seeking to give him comfort. “I just want to know why.”

Sasuke still couldn’t breathe as he thought of the truth. The truth was rather simple in his head. Sasuke envied the choice the man had been given. Sakura had given Toka an out, a condition. If he made it through the Shikkotsu Forest on his own, he could leave and not return to a life of imprisonment for his crimes. It would certainly mean his death, to risk the snare that was Shikkotsu Forest for the 1% chance only a soon-to-be-father would take in order to possibly have a life with his family on the other side. Sasuke had heard Sakura break the news to Toka about his impending paternity, and had felt it like a stab to his soul, because Sakura was giving the man a choice to risk it all for a chance at a life with his woman and unborn child. Sasuke still remembered that tiny little throb of light that woman had concealed within her, and he had made a choice that night, too. The choice to help Toka, even if he less than deserved it for the part he had played in Zenshin.

“He made the right choice,” Sasuke admitted to the back of her head, recalling how at the first sign of Toka’s departure, Sasuke had performed his own silent summoning, a winding camouflaged python ascending the monstrous trunk to greet him. 

“Lord Sasuke,” it had hissed in an inaudible tongue only Sasuke could hear. “You have become like a stranger to us. A mere rumor of existence. We wondered if you were even still alive.”

“Let’s catch up another time, Sutsuma,” Sasuke had greeted cooly in the formal way of snakes. “Follow that man. Assist him out of this jungle. You’re familiar, aren’t you?”

“Katsuyu’s forest? Of coursssse we are,” hissed the python, turning its yellow eyes this way and that. “Not like the Ryuchi Cave, but we have brethren here all the same.” 

He had watched the snake make its way toward the retreating man, and Toka had glanced back at Sasuke, when the snake revealed its good intentions by not eating him and waiting for the man to follow. 

Sasuke hadn’t known if Toka had made it out, until Sutsuma found him once again in the morning, having slithered the miles back to him. “He livesssss. Barely, but he survivesssss.”

“Appreciated, Sutsuma,” Sasuke had amended, already prepared to reverse the summoning.

“Lord Orochimaru extends his greetingssss,” the snake informed, sending a small chill down Sasuke’s spine at the mention of the Snake Sannin.  “And Aoda remains unbound despite Lord Orochimaru’s great displeasure, pledging his fealty to you only Sssasuke Uchihaaa. Do NOT forget such kindnesssss from ssssnakes. We do not do kindnessss freely.” 

Sasuke simply nodded before the snake had dissolved into nothingness. Sasuke had felt a pang of guilt toward Aoda, a loyal friend from the past. When the situation had called for it, Sasuke had relied on his other summons after the war, the two hawks he had formed close connections with of recent days. He hadn’t realized that Aoda might have taken the Uchiha’s absence personally.

Sakura shifted against him, asking in finality, “So Toka made it out, then?”

Sasuke only nodded, saying “unfortunately,” but then added to assure her he hadn’t made the choice at the risk of her life, “and if he ever shows his face again, I’ll personally drop him back in the Shikkotsu and watch as the forest claims the life I took from her. He only got to live for the sake of his unborn child.” 

Sakura didn’t respond, as if there was so much she wanted to say, but couldn’t. What was she thinking silently to herself at learning this information?  Sasuke was suddenly worried, an uncomfortable ice replacing the burn of his annoyance. “What’s wrong? Are you angry that I interfered?”

“No, of course not,” she assured him, the curve of her skull moving back and forth against his sternum, but he heard the emotion in her voice. As if she were fighting back tears. 

He suddenly stiffened. “Then why are you crying?”

She swallowed before saying, “I’m not.” The pause alone before answering gave her away.

“You are. Tell me what’s wrong.” He moved so he could see her profile in the dim light. Sakura’s tears now affected him in ways he couldn’t explain. Because he had always been the reason for them, and even though Sasuke had changed, chosen her, she still ended up crying for some reason connected to him. And cursed heavens, he hated it. 

“Nothing,” she confessed, “Just, I’m happy you did. I am happy for them.”

And Sasuke’s stomach dropped, because he had been right to fear those tears. So much that was unsaid, was verbalized with those words. Sakura was pleased that Toka had chosen his pregnant lover despite the risk to himself. Happy that they would be together, and delighted for their baby and the family that tiny throbbing light within the woman’s womb would make them.

He had said this before, but he felt the need to try to explain this again.

“Sakura, if things were different—” he tried, but she interrupted him.

“I’m not pressuring you,” she defended. “I meant what I said back in the glowworm cave. You can’t make that choice right now, Sasuke. I’m not going to ask you to.”

“You’re right, Sakura. I can’t. Not until the Otsusuki are handled. I know that they’re out there.” But it wasn’t because he didn’t want to make that choice. In fact, it was such a temptation for him, which is why he downed that contraceptive in her presence. Did she even know that? He hadn’t technically been entirely transparent with her about his feelings about their future, his secret desires, and jealous fits about the choice he wasn’t able to make but others were. They had briefly discussed it after their first uniting in the cave, and he’d kept the rest of his thoughts about the matter private. For some reason, Sasuke felt like telling her all this would disappoint her if, for some reason, it never came to be. Gods forbid it, but if Sasuke’s search continued on for years and years, stuck on his isolatory orbit away from Sakura, what then? The devastation on her face when she had asked him if he never wanted kids had made Sasuke confess that he didn’t not want that when and if the time came. But—“I have to make sure the world is a safe one for the next generation.” Because that was the Uchiha’s promise to himself, and to Naruto, and the rest of the world—not because he wanted to live Itachi’s life of sacrifice or redeem himself—but because it was the right thing to do and it was still going to be his role to play, no matter what. 

“I know. And it’s okay,” Sakura turned to him under his loose-fitting poncho, grabbing his fingers between their chests. “We won’t take the risk. Just like I said to Kakashi, it won’t even come to that —”

Sasuke’s eyes grew wide before narrowing at the mention of his sensei about something so private. “What the fuck does Kakashi have to do with any of this?”

There was a silence as she realized her slip, and Sasuke felt an anger rise in him about secret conversations that the Uchiha hadn’t been included in because they were about him. He could already hear the words of others in his mind. Could already hear Kakashi and Shikamaru and whoever else approaching his wife and putting their noses in places they didn’t belong.

“What was said to you?” he seethed, pulling his hand away from her as he ducked free of his own outerwear until only she wore it. 

“I didn’t mean—” she tried to recover, but Sasuke’s patience had suddenly collapsed in on itself. 

“Tell me what he said to you. Why would he ask you about that?”

The excuses and stalling came to an end at that. “It’s nothing, really, so don’t be upset. He’s just worried about us. Just about what being together might mean for you. What a child might mean.”

Sasuke got very still at that. What a child might mean. What being together might mean for him. Not Sakura. Him. And with the context of the last forty-eight hours, Sasuke knew what those words were implying. Kakashi was worried Sasuke would develop a true weakness. Sasuke was suddenly recalling Sakura’s words of two nights ago: “Are you going to avenge me? Are you going to become an enemy of the world again if someone else is taken from you?” and “Shikamaru said I needed to cut ties with you. That being with you was a risk.” Sasuke let out a scoff and his upper lip curled. It wasn’t only Shikamaru who had talked privately to Sakura, apparently. The puzzle pieces were finally connecting, clearing away the confusion like an assaulting wind. This was about that damn threat Sasuke had made. They had told Sakura that she would be his undoing, and to Kakashi, apparently, his unborn future children would damn him even more so. Had Kakashi honestly asked her not to have children with him? Was this the Hokage’s attempt to control him as a threat? He made eye contact with Sakura as he deliberated this, and knew that his wife saw it in the dim fire light. The churning fury in his eyes. The absolute indignation that was coursing through him like the visual manifestation of the strongest of chakras. And she panicked. 

“It’s not what you’re thinking. I had told him there wasn’t anything to worry about, anyway. That this was between us, and no one else.”

And Sasuke took a heavy breath. He was irate. Not with her, of course, but anger blurred the lines to others and Sasuke wouldn’t be able to explain those lines right this second. “I need a minute,” he admitted, already trying to pull away from her, but Sakura clutched at his hand. 

“Please don’t leave. Take that minute here, with me. I won’t deny you space if you really need it, but I’m asking you to stay here. I’ll give you silence to think if you want it.” She said it with panic, and Sasuke was suddenly confronted once more with his habit of running away. She was afraid he’d leave and abandon her again despite his promise to always tell her before actually leaving from now on. “Please don’t go.”

And he sighed, letting out that breath, the most volatile of that anger leaving his body with it. Regret flooded in, and while it didn’t replace the anger, it gave him a clearer head. It pained him, deeply, to have such things said to her about him. Even more so because they weren’t far from the truth. They believed him capable of atrocities, and Sasuke knew that he was. But once again, he found himself thinking that he didn’t want to be. 

“We don’t have to talk about this,” Sakura said, placing the neck hem of the poncho back around him before turning to lay back into his stiff body, urging him with her own to relax once more. “Because I already know what would happen in a worst-case scenario.”

“And what is that?” he sighed bitterly. He wasn’t ready to let his frustration go completely even if he forced himself to remain sitting and listening.

“You made a vow that the world will not pay. And it won’t. You won’t ever have to seek vengeance because I will do it for you.” Sasuke stilled at her words, eyes widening, and a sharp stab of fear coursed through his blood at her ever being in such a situation. It was like being dunked in cold water, hearing her say those words. “I didn’t tell Kakashi this part, because I didn’t know what he would say. But if someone were to go after my child, I’d take care of them myself however best I saw fit. So, you don’t have to worry, because I will do it for the both of us. No one will be able to get to them in the first place anyway, having the two of us as parents. And Naruto and Kakashi as weird, and likely too-involved, uncles.” It reminded him of Naruto’s statement back in Suna: “Her association with all of us keeps her protected. Who’s going to risk the wrath of us in order to get to her?” But just like then, Sasuke knew better; there would always be those who tested the boundaries, who believed they were superior, who thought the lot of them had exaggerated reputations. 

But Sasuke thought about Sakura’s stance for a long moment. It was everyone’s habit to underestimate Sakura and she knew that, which is why Kakashi and Shikamaru did not fear the potential of her fallout. Sasuke’s actions, no matter what, would damn him to the world once more because of his past. It would be seen as his fall back into darkness. Sasuke didn’t know if Sakura would be ostracized or criticized for vengeance, but she was viewed as wholly good. Would allowances be made for her actions? If a child would tip the scales for Sakura, then maybe it would be more than enough for him to lose it, just as Kakashi feared. He already knew he would avenge any member of Team 7, especially Sakura. A child would be no question. 

Sasuke was suddenly afraid of that possible future for the both of them, despite how much Sakura wanted children that he had sworn to himself to give her one day. But it had him asking himself��why? Why would he ever allow something to transpire for either of them? And perhaps that was Kakashi’s reasoning, to get them to evaluate this. He had wished his old sensei would have left her out of it, had the courage to speak to him directly, even if Sasuke had an impossible-to-reason with sort of personality. 

There was a moment of hesitation before Sasuke voiced this concern aloud to Sakura: “If something like a child has the power to destroy us, then why do we do it? Why do we bring our own weakness into the world?”

“The same reason you chose to let me in, to care for me,” she breathed, smiling in confidence. “Remember what Naruto has taught us? Love brings us unbelievable strength.”

“And unbearable pain.” Sasuke sighed, seeing the cost and reward of his choices. His heart was resolved to never go through it again. He was terrified of it. He thought that as long as he hunted down the Otsusuki, the future would remain a good place just as Naruto promised. He knew Sakura could take care of herself, but recent events alone made him evaluate the future with Kakashi’s lens. A child would be vulnerable. Sasuke was already practically throwing his heart to his enemies by loving her. If the world were safe from the Otsusuki, would he still choose to bring children into the world if random threats appeared while he was distracted with his own mission? He couldn’t keep Sakura with him forever. He felt as if he was already stealing time, bringing her along.

Sakura’s declaration interrupted his critical thoughts. “I’ll face all the pain in the world for the opportunity at such love.” She said it with her back to his chest, but Sasuke didn’t need to see her eyes to see the weight of those words and the meaning behind them. At his silence, she continued, “But like I said, we aren’t taking risks right now anyway. It’s not happening. So take a breath. I can practically feel your low oxygen levels. You’re breathing like a statue.”  

Sasuke didn’t respond verbally, but he forced himself to inhale and coax himself back into rhythm. At some point, she had fallen into sleep, and Sasuke debated silently to himself the remainder of the night. Was Kakashi right? Would a child be the tipping point for him? Sasuke shook his head clear of all thoughts beside his one goal: he needed to rid the world of the Otsusuki, first and foremost. The rest would come later. He must have followed Sakura into sleep sometime later despite his heavy thinking, because it wasn’t Sakura moving away from him that had woken Sasuke up the next morning, but rather the small silhouette of his messenger hawk ruffling its feathers against a backdrop of tree-dividing, morning light. 

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Sakura shuffled in her warm parka, grateful for the scenic stop in Takigakure to purchase something to cover and replace her summer attire. She still wore the red Uchiha tunic Sasuke had had designed for her back in the Leaf, but she now paired it with long legging-style black breeches and a crimson knee-length overcoat that sported a thick lining of white fur along the hood. It had been one of the more expensive options, but she was grateful for the splurge now as the ship that her and Sasuke had boarded that morning lurched violently against winterized waters and winds as it headed toward the Land of Snow.

The movement below deck in their room had made her very motion sick, so Sakura had sought refuge at the edge of the ship’s deck, hoping the night sky would help ease her nausea. Unfortunately, the intense, horizonless darkness did nothing to alleviate her, and she had ended up seeking the railing to hurl over. Sasuke had followed her every step of the way, standing vigil with a concerned expression etched on his usual blank face. She could barely see him in this wind-whipping dark, but his presence was consistent and concentrated solely on her. 

“Sorry,” she moaned, embarrassed to have him watching her motion sickness so closely. “I didn’t know that I could get seasick like this.” She certainly hadn’t the last time she’d made this journey, but she still cursed herself for not being more prepared medicinally for such occasions. She had encountered many sicknesses as a doctor and her immune system of steal usually was impervious to common illnesses. But her immunity was no match for seasickness apparently; she almost wished she had a cold. It was something she could treat nutritionally. The idea of trying to eat anything right now made her hurl a second time over the railing, her fingers digging into to the salt sprayed wood that was beginning to crystalize. It was very bitter up here, but the thought of going back down below made her stomach clench tightly. 

“Don’t apologize for being sick,” Sasuke chided her, hand reaching up to clutch her arm, as if she weren’t currently channeling chakra to her feet and might careen over the side at any second. “We just have to get through the night; we’ll be there by morning.” He turned her away from the railing and she slid down the side, her head falling forward against his shoulder with a groan. He offered her water and Sakura was suddenly remembering months ago when she had gotten drunk and Sasuke had been there to take care of her then, too, a dark shadow in an alley forcing water into her mouth. “Try to drink something so you don’t get dehydrated. And hold on to me. I’ll steady you.”

Sakura didn’t know if his efforts could make that much of a difference, but she was feeling a small warmth in her chest for his offer and so in the dark starry night, where nothing but black careening sea surrounded them, she clung to him desperately, wrapping her arms weakly around his torso. 

“I can use the Susanoo. We could fly and bypass the journey by boat completely,” he informed, chakra flowing to his feet to steady the both of them as a particularly violent waved crashed against the side and sprayed them with ice.

Sakura’s teeth chattered violently. “Save your chakra. You’re going to need it for the dimension jump.”

A couple of the ship’s sailors passed by at that moment, noticing her bent form clutching at her stomach, and they stopped to check on her. They eagerly made suggestions for various seasick remedies. One of them, a younger, less seasoned sailor returned a few moments later to offer her some peppermint leaves he admitted he still sometimes used himself or kept close for regular passengers, saying, “Ninja aren’t usually affected by the sea, so I’m surprised you’re this queasy,” to which Sasuke immediately scowled. 

“Have anything more helpful to add?” came his derisive voice, colder than the lashing wind.

Sakura gave the Uchiha her best chiding stare in the dark—she was much too weak to elbow him or anything else of the like—before demonstrating an exhausted peace offering of a smile to the sailor. “First time for everything,” she sighed helplessly. 

“You know,” he added, “you have a room in the guest corridors just below deck, but I’m sure the Captain wouldn’t mind you seeking refuge in the hold. It might not seem logical to you, but the lowest decks are the best place to be if you’re seasick. The swaying lessens the farther you go below.”

“Thank you,” she tried smiling again, breathing raggedly as she accepted the peppermint leaves, smelling their sharp twang to confirm the herb, before shoving them in her mouth as the kind seafarer wished her luck, gave her one last pitying smile, and walked away. 

And when Sakura was certain she had nothing left to vomit, she took the man’s advice and allowed Sasuke to help her to the lowest level of the ship, the cargo hold. And the sailor had been right, the rocky back and forth evened out as she sought the inner-most spot of the ship amid boxes and hanging nets of supplies meant for the citizens of the Land of Snow. She tightened her hood around her, noting that while it may be a smoother ride, it was certainly colder down here. But Sakura could handle that, she couldn’t handle nausea. The floor was ice against her cheek as she curled straight into the fetal position around her stomach. Sasuke immediately came to sit beside her, tucking his thigh under cheek for head support. She clenched her eyes shut as she clung to his pant leg, too sick to even tell him she appreciated his uncharacteristic doting. When his hand came down on her hair, smoothing it back like she was a small child, she whispered one final thank you as the comfort of that gesture soothed her into sleep. 

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Sasuke was beyond concerned about Sakura’s condition. It had started with motion sickness, and he had been up to ask the captain twice of their journey’s time and progress. “Fourteen hours, lad. Can’t rush a storm into settling. Better settle; wishing brings terrible luck.” And then again, at pre-dawn, “Storm set us back, but we will be there before noon. If you’ll stop insisting we be there sooner, Lady Sea might do us a favor simply for being content.” 

But Sasuke was not content. Sakura hadn’t eaten anything in hours, and Sasuke was regretting this part of their plans. Even as time passed onboard, she wasn’t getting better. Maybe he should have pushed away the peppermint leaves that sailor had given her. He almost had, Mako’s poison attempts still very fresh in his mind. But Sakura seemed to be desperate for anything, so he had let her shove it down her throat, already mentally prepared for another allergic reaction. Instead, it helped her fall asleep which was at least some improvement. When the sun calmed the waves the following morning, Sasuke had expected Sakura’s sickness to improve, but it didn’t. Instead, her vomiting returned with the sunrise. 

“That’s it,” he let out an exasperated breath, standing rigidly over her doubled over form in helplessness. “I’ll use the Rinnegan and take some time to recover if needed. I’m not so weak that I need to let you suffer to conserve every last drop of chakra.”

“Wait,” she moaned. “Just wait. It can’t be more than a few more hours.”

“I don’t care,” he hissed, bending down to sling her arm over his shoulder. She didn’t complain as he marched them up several flights of stairs, practically mowing down anyone who happened to be in his way from reaching the sunlight bathed deck. Her silence was the biggest indication that she wasn’t well. 

He’d activate the Rinnegan as soon as he had the space to allow his full-bodied Susanoo to transform. But just as their heads broke free of the levels below, the white, ice-camouflaged shoreline of the Land of Snow greeted them. Sasuke didn’t hesitate for a second, jumping down from the starboard side of the ship despite the shock and protests of the most useless sailors Sasuke had ever had the displeasure of knowing (well, most of them, anyway).

With Sakura’s weight fully supported, he landed on the water gently, his chakra an anchor the uneven surfaces, floating chunks of ice solidifying the closer they got to the coastline. The ship was faster than his careful gait, docking well-before Sasuke could be considered ashore, but Sakura seemed to improve somewhat just from finding her balance in Sasuke’s steadying hold. “Almost there,” he told her, shuffling her against his side as she made to move her arm from his shoulder. 

“I already feel like I can catch my breath again. Like the ground isn’t going to flip me upside down.”

Even though the Uchiha was relieved to hear such words, Sasuke didn’t let up or relax his support until both her boot-clad feet landed firmly on snow. She pulled her arm free, kneeling into the snow. His arm reached down for her elbow, but she shrugged him off, rolling over onto her back. He immediately panicked before he realized she had begun waving her arms and swinging her legs until she created a celebratory snow angel. “Aww, dry land!”

If he wasn’t so concerned, Sasuke’s didn’t know if his eye would have twitched, or he would have smirked. “Snow doesn’t exactly constitute as dry,” he corrected sarcastically. Her persistent snow angel-ing loosened a bit of the worry in his stomach, but he still implored, “will you please get up before you catch your death and become the very thing you're making?”

“I’m a doctor, remember—”

“And look what good that has done you in the last twenty-four hours.”

“I’m ‘grounding.’ It’s healing me from the seasickness.” 

The Uchiha sighed and cast his eyes dramatically to the side, before honing them on the trio of sailors crunching their way through snow toward them from the docked ship. Instinctively, Sasuke took a step around Sakura to block her shenanigans from them and he knew the sort of picture he presented: black figure with a rolling sea of ice behind him. It was a perfect metaphorical picture for how he felt and could make others feel in a matter of seconds. “Is the lass okay?” they hollered, and Sasuke bit his tongue before returning their question rudely. “From the looks of it, she’s keeled over and died!”

“I’m fine!” Sakura called from the ground, attempting to roll over and find her own feet before Sasuke turned back toward her to assist her further. She shooed his only good working hand away as if she didn’t need the help, the stubborn convalescent. What was she trying to prove?

“Do you know if there is a doctor nearby?” Sasuke intercepted the sailor’s soon-to-be attempts at an inquiry about Sakura’s health. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been to the Land of Snow. We are unfamiliar.” 

“Not needed,” Sakura interrupted, faking a bounce to her step that had Sasuke scowling at the obvious lie. “Will you direct us to the Princess Koyuki?”

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.

Despite Sakura’s insistence that her health had returned, Sasuke forced the both of them to stay overnight in the rainbow-inspired village homes of the new “Land of Spring,” the name for the colorful homes unaffected by the intense winter climate of the rest of country due to the Land of Snow’s ‘treasure’ winter-defying generator. Even though Koyuki had furnished them with a minka in the mountains where they could refuge in-between Sasuke’s interdimensional jumps, the Uchiha was firm in his resolve to stay overnight in town where they could at least remain “close” to a doctor should Sakura’s severe symptoms return. 

“As long as I don’t step foot on a ship in the near future, I think I will be fine,” she had stated embarrassedly in front of the Princess Koyuki, whom hadn’t changed in the slightest. Maybe a little nicer, but she was more than accommodating, greeting them as old familiar friends, but inquiring the most about Naruto. She was surprised to learn a lot of the details about the post-war modernizations of Leaf Village and events leading up to the war. Sakura learned rather quickly that every time Koyuki would ask a question, she was really circling the conversation back around to Naruto and his involvement. Except for the one time when she smirked, glancing between them knowingly and said to Sasuke, “When you sent your letter, saying that you and your ‘wife’ would be passing through, somehow I knew it was the final member of your infamous Team 7 trio. I wonder what exactly that means, when you picture someone in your mind, and your thought becomes reality. I would call it coincidence, but I imagine Naruto would go on and on about Fate and the Will of Fire.”

Sakura had thought she had been blushing before from Sasuke’s mothering, but it was nothing compared to the scarlet that spread across her face at hearing how he’d addressed her in that letter. Wife. He was using that word freely, now. And it did all kinds of things to her. 

Sasuke was completely unaffected by Koyuki’s words, ejecting that emotionless acknowledgement of ‘hn’ before moving them along.  

As they said their final partings with Koyuki and the villagers the following morning to head toward the snowcapped mountains beyond the generator, Sakura made a mental note to remind Naruto to pay a visit to Koyuki and the Land of Snow soon—whenever fatherhood would allow him, that is. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay in town?” Sasuke had asked her lowly in the hours of the previous night, taking up the small space between them. “What if your sickness returns?”

She had pinched his cheek to his immense annoyance, eliciting a hiss like a snake whose body had just been violated by reaching hands. “I’ll acquaint myself with the medical staff in your absence, just as I did in Suna. I’ll make weekly visits and pick up some supplies before we head out in the morning. Will that assuage your needless concern?” 

“Fine,” he had grumbled, before reaching up and pinching her own cheek in return. 

And during the long trek into the winter wilderness, Sakura soon realized that she had underestimated the length of the journey and wasn’t so confident about those weekly trips back and forth. Sasuke stopped several times to wait for her to catch up, each time starting to probe about her wellbeing before she finally shot him the annoyed glare for once. He arched an eyebrow, but didn’t ask again. Just when Sakura thought her feet would fall off as blocks of ice to join the snow around them, she found herself at the base of the mountain, the steepled, snow blanketed minka a beacon of relief sending smokey signals in greeting. She shivered in anticipatory warmth just looking at it. Koyuki must have sent someone in advance to prepare it for their arrival. 

She had been correct in this assumption, because they weren’t alone when Sasuke pushed aside the screen doors. One of Koyuki’s men greeted them warmly, showing the two how to utilize the space during the harsh elements, along with unnecessary demonstrations of the open wood hearth and quilt bordered kotatsu in the center of the floor. Sakura had immediate plans for diving under it to warm her feet but was diverted by the elderly man as he pointed to the rising steam coming from the private onsen just on the eastern side of the house. “This is Princess Koyuki’s private mountain home,” the elder announced in pride, “the water is heated from magma deep beneath the surface. In other words, some of those mountains are volcanic. The mountains are home to the snow monkey population. You may see some stragglers, but they won’t bother you if you don’t bother them.”

“Please share our thanks to the princess for her hospitality,” was the last parting word Sakura had for the man as he outfitted himself for the return journey back to the Land of Spring, assuring her that he would return with supplies for the duration of their stay. 

Sakura couldn’t help herself. As soon as the man departed, she snaked her arms around her husband who was already tending to the hearth. “This is amazing! This is beautiful! And to think you’d be experiencing this all alone without me if I hadn’t come with you.”

He answered immediately. “If you hadn’t come along, I imagine I would have received the same neutral greeting that I do everywhere else. I’d probably be taking refuge somewhere up along the mountain side, closer to the source of the hot springs, surviving as the monkeys do.”

“Having a wife has it’s perks, then,” she grinned, stripping her bulky outer layers to dive under the quilt of the kotatsu just as planned, the floors warmed naturally by the streams funneling below. 

Sasuke bent over the stone-laid irori, placing more wood on top and checking the steaming kettle hung by bamboo from the ceiling. He spoke up from the other room. “The Kazekage was much more accommodating knowing that you would be in company, remember? And that was before you were my wife. It’s just you in general.”

Hearing him nonchalantly verbalize the word ‘wife’ for the third time made Sakura’s stomach swoop and toes curl in that dramatic teenage way that often plagued her as a Genin. She hadn’t been able to appreciate it when he’d dropped it during their argument before, but Sakura just realized that he wasn’t just writing it, he was saying it and doing so consistently! She hid a giddy smile to herself, her inner-Sakura absolutely rioting inside with glee. When he glanced her way at her suspicious silence, she rubbed the back of her neck with an embarrassed grin and tried to return herself to the present moment.  

“I’m going to check the area,” he said seriously, breaking into Sakura’s daydreaming with reality. “Will you be okay alone for a bit?”

“Of course. I’ll start cook—” she began, but he shook his head. 

“Just rest,” he interrupted, before ducking through the door and closing it to encase her fully in the warmth of her new surroundings. 

She promptly curled around herself beneath the kotatsu and let the sound of snowfall lull her to sleep. 

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Kakashi’s response letter had come that morning, and Sasuke found it difficult to not let his thoughts return to it over and over throughout their journey. 

Sasuke,

 You are investigating my plans regarding the remaining Zenshin members who remain, despite telling me yourself that it would be you taking care of this, instead of an old man like myself. I am assuming this means that Sakura has convinced you to leave matters to me. No news as of yet, other than that the search is headed West toward the Hidden Rain and Hidden Grass villages, in the hopes of flushing the leader and any remaining members out. The hounds are on it. Burn this after reading. If I don’t receive a response, I’ll consider the information compromised. 

They should be in the clear then, Sasuke assumed, if the pursuit for Zenshin members was heading South-West. Sasuke had responded quickly and decisively with no further information about their location or Sakura’s condition. It would be unwise to risk frequent communication in the instance that it might alert Zenshin to their whereabouts. This is the last message you’ll be receiving from me. If it’s crucial for me to know, alert me. Otherwise, I’ll trust you to handle it. 

Even though he had been a little reassured at Kakashi’s efforts, Sasuke still took it upon himself to create a few shadow clones to check the immediate area. The suspended snow around and above him created a silence so deep and thorough, that all Sasuke could hear was the cracking of the white shrouded limbs of the forest trees encompassing the base of the mountain. It was so isolated, so off the beaten path, that Sasuke hoped the Land of Snow’s Princess kept the privacy of her mountain house a closely guarded secret from the rest of the population. But Sasuke wasn’t going to drop his guard completely, considering the staff she probably kept to maintain it. Sakura was going to have to be mindful if she was planning on making visits and supply runs back into town. 

When his shadow clone jutsu released and he learned that there wasn’t a single living person within twenty-five kilometers in either direction, Sasuke returned to the house. Sakura had fallen asleep at some point in his absence, the fire crackling and tea-steamed air knocking her clean out. Sasuke watched her carefully for a few minutes, ensuring that she seemed well. Maybe it really was the sea that had made her so sick, and she would be better now that they were comfortable. He was anxious to make the first inter-dimensional jump but decided to wait until tomorrow morning. He was going to spend the day resting and ensuring that Sakura slept through the night without issue. 

And that’s precisely what the Uchiha did, stretching out on the opposite end of the kotatsu and promptly knocking out. When they woke in the evening, they shared their first hearty meal in a long time—Sakura picked at it, really, something Sasuke didn’t miss—and despite his refusal, she dragged him out in the darkness toward the private onsen. The cold air was brutal against their skin, and Sakura slipped into the hot water in record time. He didn’t even get a second to appreciate her nakedness, while she openly watched him undress with a blush. When he raised an eyebrow at her obvious gawking, Sakura tried to make the excuse, “The heat is already getting to my head.” He smirked and snorted at her lie, if ejecting air out his nose could be called that, before wading into the steaming decalescent water. 

They were wrapped in darkness, but the winter landscape outlined everything in white. The ground was patchy in some areas where the geothermal water flowed underground in a path directed toward them and beyond. Sakura sighed and rubbed her feet, claiming her toes had frostbite, and Sasuke assesssed them carefully to humor her, pulling at each small digit and admiring their dissimilarities from his own. Again, he was taken aback about how odd it was, being in love. It wasn’t the first time that Sasuke was noticing something about another individual that he never would have even bothered paying attention to in the past, but here he was admiring and evaluating the shapes of her feet. “You’re going to lose credibility as a physician if you claim those toes are even capable of developing frostbite,” he teased, releasing her perfectly pink and healthy foot back into the water.  “The length of those nails should lift you five inches off the ground. They practically curl under.”

Her face reddened before she returned what Sasuke had given. “If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been travelling nonstop with you for months now. I don’t chew them off like you do apparently.” 

“Mhm,” he responded, ignoring the jab altogether. He had been exaggerating good-naturedly just to get a rise out of her, and it had worked. 

“Let’s see yours then,” she probed, snatching his foot from the water like she had just caught a fish in a Leaf Village summer pool. Before Sasuke even had a moment to defensively react to her words, his head submerged completely as his foot lead his body into reverse. He had quite literally never been yanked up by his foot before. He turned underwater and reached for her immediately, but she had already jolted from the bath, making a naked run toward the house. Sasuke didn’t run. He didn’t have to. He stalked after her with that slow sulking certainty of knowing your prey has nowhere to go, and Sakura knew it too, because her panicked laughter ricocheted throughout the mikan as she slammed the screen doors shut behind her and fled farther in. 

Sasuke teleported—yes, it was a blatant waste of chakra, but the shock on her face and squeal of defeat when she collided into his dripping wet chest in the main room of the house, made it a worthy waste. He had her on her back next to the iori before she could even attempt to use that inhuman strength to free herself. Pinning her hands above her head, Sasuke smirked into her face with a victorious “hn.” 

“I’m pretty sure running through the snow barefooted is how you actually get frostbite,” he chided, dipping his nose to her throat and trailing it tantalizingly down her collar bone. She stopped fighting at once but her facetiously laughter continued. “You’re going to pay for that stunt,” he rumbled in finality before ravishing her mouth, his hand slipping from her wrists to meet the back of her neck.

It wasn’t the sort of resting Sasuke had planned on doing, but their heavy breathing and mutual attention and indulgence of each other’s bodies once more brought the both of them an immense amount of respite and contentment. To Sasuke, it was still resting, in a way, because he knew that these moments were few and would one day be very far-between. Every second, every minute, every hour he got to be with Sakura in this way was collected eagerly as rest for his soul. And, god, it was a blessed sort of deliverance to break apart into a million pieces. Witnessing Sakura in peak performance and taking with full ferocity did things for his mental state, too. Sasuke’s anxiety about her health significantly improved as she varied their positions and he watched her rock above him in that desperate attempt to break into a million pieces, too. He was thankful the snow around them deafened everything.

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“I’m going to travel to the ice dimension in the morning,” he had told her in the night, when their bodies stilled and their hearts leveled back out. “I’ll have to hike to the top of the mountain to get to the coldest point. In theory, that should make it easier.”

Sakura had immediately examined his plan, problem solving in her mind. “Won’t the height be an issue? Back at the inn in Tanigakure, we fell the distance of the top floor once we were through the portal.”

“It would be,” he admitted before clarifying, “but if I can skip the central dimension successfully again, the Ice Realm is full of mountains, remember? I’ll probably be stepping right out onto another one.”

Sakura nodded and pursed her lips as she considered. 

“I’ll do everything I can to return before nightfall the same day, but if I can’t make it back immediately, don’t panic. You’ll be okay here alone until I get back?”

“Of course,’ she responded immediately, but he still eyed her carefully in that all-knowing way of his. “And if I get bored, I’ll head back to town and get supplies or find some work.”

“It goes without saying, but be cautious. Kakashi may be hunting the Zenshin, but their reach has been large so far and their numbers surprising. Who knows what connections they may have in all sorts of places.” 

She bristled; she couldn’t help it. Sakura didn’t know why his concern was irritating her at the moment, but she just looked away and nodded. Sakura decided that it wasn’t just him—in the back of her mind, his concern overall was adorable, and she knew he wasn’t insinuating that she lacked mindfulness. Except for having too much faith in Mako, but Sakura wasn’t in the honest sort of mood to feel like counting that one. But it was more than his concern. It was this gnat-like dispute with Zenshin that just wouldn’t go away. She hadn’t said it aloud, but this was practically a honeymoon to her and here they were still having conversations about this group whom Sakura was practically sick of hearing about. She was done. Done with Zenshin. She didn’t care if they weren’t done with her, she was done with them. Sakura just wanted to hole up with her new husband, the man of her dreams, in this winter traditional home against a snow-capped mountain and do more of what they had already started. 

In the dim firelight of the irori, Sasuke scowled at her lack of a response. He could sense her irritation and sighed. “I know you can take care of yourself, I wasn’t saying—”

“I know,” she cut him off with sharpness, that annoyance bleeding through despite her resolve to contain it. He stared at her for a second before looking away as if he didn’t know what to say or do about her sudden attitude. This type of behavior had only ever been directed at Naruto. “I’m sorry,” she sighed. What was wrong with her? She was hormonal, she deduced, due to start any day. That godawful week before her actual period must have snuck up on her in the form of sudden mood swings. “But I’ll be fine. So you don’t have to worry. You can stop worrying.”

“Do you stop worrying about me when I am gone, even though I can take care of myself?” he asked calmly when she tucked her chest against his side. She felt him pull the strands of her hair in his fingers, touching it lightly so that she wouldn’t feel him doing so. She immediately felt his words like a guilt-inducing punch. 

She sighed. “Of course I do.”

“I can relate more so now, is all. Especially since you’ve been sick.” 

 “I’m not sick,” she sighed again, tossing a leg over his own suggestively. “Obviously.” 

He didn’t fall for the distraction. “You’ve barely eaten anything this evening.”

“I said I’m fine,” she sighed, rolling back over onto her back. “Honest.”

But much to Sakura’s surprise, she was not fine. Sasuke had rolled over well before sunrise to tell her he was leaving, just as he had always promised he would from now on. No empty beds upon her waking. No surprise escapes or lack of goodbyes like the past. She sat up groggily, and her breath froze in the air before her face, but Sasuke pushed against her shoulder to encourage her to return under the quilted covers. “I’ve stoked the fire. I’ll try to be back before sunset. Leave a note if you leave.”

She nodded sleepily and grasped his hand in parting. “Be careful. I love you.”

“Hn,” he murmured in response. And in typical Sasuke Uchiha fashion, he chose a voiceless reply, reaching down to tap his fingertips against her forehead. She rubbed at her forehead fondly long after he walked out into the frigid pre-dawn of the Land of Snow.

And when the sunrise woke her a second time, Sakura shuffled on her knees to the irori and poked the coals to aerate the steady flames before adding more wood to an already dying fire. But the ground flipping nausea from the sea voyage returned with a vengeance and hit her hard in her stomach. She doubled over, hardly avoiding the hearth before she vomited the meager contents of her stomach. She clutched her head with a moan. 

Drearily, and confused by the returning sickness, Sakura crawled on hands and knees back to the blankets, dry heaving along the way. She dove back into them, chasing the sleep that might rid her of the vertigo and nausea. If this persisted for long, she would definitely not be making that three-hour snowy trek back to the village. It was in her plans to consistently make chakra pills for Sasuke so his stash wouldn’t diminish, but a supply-run would have to wait for now. She couldn’t walk to visit a doctor even if she wanted to. And she was too prideful to not treat any of her ailments herself.

Thankfully, Sakura had thought to purchase some nausea aid back in town when Sasuke insisted she see a doctor. It was one of the ways she appeased him, gathering the herbs for the medication herself. But she didn’t have the energy to brew her ginger and peppermint concoction until well into the afternoon when she was finally able to move around without vertigo. If she were her own physician right now, Sakura would be telling her to write down her symptoms along with times in order to track and identify this random illness, but she was struggling for brain power. She was just tired. Sotired. She deduced it was probably a bad reaction to her new batch of contraceptives, since she took another one last night before falling asleep. She would study the ingredients again later. After downing the brewed nausea tea, she promptly fell back asleep with ragged breathing. 

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Sasuke found the ape population almost as soon as he took his first step up the mountain, the ice sloped surfaces and tree coverage a flurry of activity the higher up the mountain he travelled. They must have been well-acquainted with human occupants occasionally traversing this way because they ignored him, just as the mikan manager claimed. And Sasuke disregarded them in return, grateful for the indifferent species of monkey who acted as if they were almost bored by his presence. Their eyes barely roved over him before choosing to move along to whatever they had found to eat beneath the snow.

Despite the hot springs woven into the mountain, the weather was brutal, especially in the hours before sunrise, and only increased in ruthlessness as he hiked. Sasuke tried not to think about the easiest way to reach the top of this mountain was in the same suggestion he had made earlier: the full body Susanoo could simply fly him to the top. But he refused, because he needed the chakra reserves. He had to get back to her tonight, and even with the help of the chakra pills, he couldn’t waste a single drop of his own reserves if he hoped to return. He hadn’t pushed himself to teleport so far twice in the same day yet. In Suna, the chakra pill had simply allowed him to bypass the center dimension, and Sasuke was going to try to make the initial jump and return all in the same day, if it worked. The greeting fuchsia sunrise at Sasuke’s back, bleeding the white foot-print dotted landscape a rosy hue that reminded him of his wife—who he’d had to leave behind again—would be what Sasuke would use as a tether back to this realm when it fell again in sunset. He strengthened his resolve as the time was already slipping away and turned back to face the top of the mountain. 

The sheets of snow turned into ice as he ascended, and with every cracking step and swirling vapor of heated breath frosting his eyelashes, Sasuke couldn’t help but confide his thoughts to the mountain. His own life had been seasons of winter, an ice spanning the years of his youth, and no matter the amount of sunshine the season of the present now granted him, the seasons of his past were like the unmelting snow that lingered in the shadows of warmer weather, reminding all who looked at Sasuke of his history of frigid darknesses. Just as recollecting citizens often reminisced to one another during the first drop in temperatures, “do you remember the storm of ten years ago? The snow was waist-high…” So too, were the rumors of Sasuke Uchiha and his crimes. The ice of his past would never melt. Maybe Kakashi was right about one thing. How would he ever be able to truly embrace this summer without causing worry? All anyone ever saw when they looked at him was the reminder that Sasuke Uchiha was of the winter, a dark, icy monster. They were right to fear his growing attachments. Revenge, in any form, would be a returning winter that everyone expected. 

But then, there was Sakura. A literal walking sun that warmed the steps he left behind before catching up to him with her radiance. She blinded others of Sasuke’s transgressions just by standing by his side, persistently bleeding into that snow of his past like that sunrise. And the question that everyone wanted to know was who would win, the ice or the sun? Because if he had a child born to and taken from him, it was no longer a matter of if Sasuke would fall, but when in their minds. And they were counting on Sakura to keep him in check, not knowing that she would bring her burning, incinerating power down, herself. And Sasuke was no longer creating that ice. Alongside his wife, Sasuke was a black burning sun with his own Amaterasu flame, an Uchiha with a fixating love. Maybe they would burn the world together, and that’s why the others were begging them not to take the chance. And Sasuke couldn’t decide if they were hypocrites not holding themselves to the same standard, or if they were right. 

But, just as if Naruto were matching his trek, walking beside him in this unbearable cold, he could hear his voice. “I won’t let you. Either of you.” It was a promise that burned in the distance. Maybe they were wrong; maybe they were only burning stars of variation and Naruto was the sun who kept them all in gravitational pull. 

Reaching the top was an exhilarating feat and the sunrise peaked through the winter haze, sharpening into the round outline of the sun. He inhaled, and exhaled deeply, closing his eyes to memorialize this feeling as all his troubled thoughts left him. Sunrises and sunsets, he’d seen so many. But this one sanctified him, reminded him of the man he wanted to be, but he didn’t yet know just how memorable and marking this one would come to be to him. He would find that out later. 

For now, he turned his back, activating the Rinnegan and fracturing time and space, refraining from relying on Sakura’s chakra pill just yet. Push, he demanded of himself, when the portal wavered as he sharpened his focus on the realm beyond the core dimension. He could do it. He could do it. The portal flared to life at the expense of his chakra, the icy mountains corporealizing before his eyes. He didn’t even hesitate long enough to take in a victorious moment before jumping through the portal. Preparing for a long fall, just as Sakura had pointed, the Uchiha braced himself as he plummeted. But just as he theorized, something precipitous rose up to greet him. But it was not a mountain as he first thought. It was a spire, tall and ethereal beneath his crouched form. And Sasuke’s eyes widened in shock. He couldn’t believe it. He was standing on top of an icy fortress. It was a castle.

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Sakura woke mid-day to sounds coming from outside. She rose on her knees steadily, relieved that her sickness had gone, and her appetite returned. Her stomach growled angrily at its recent neglect, but she ignored it as she cautiously sidled up to one of the screen doors leading outside. Her ninja senses were suddenly on high alert as the soft crunching of snow met her ears and her hand inched down to her calf where a kunai was strategically hidden. She held her breath and took the risk to crack the door open to peer outside. What she saw was not what she had expected. The steaming onsen had attracted a few more guests from the mountain residents. A handful of monkeys, pale felted and red-faced, bobbed in the water with closed eyes. They groomed each other lazily, occasionally jumping out and back in. Sakura opened it wider to admire them with a smile. They noticed her, but paid no further attention, one monkey even going as far as to jump on the roof of the mikan to sit and dry. 

Turning back to the iori, Sakura brewed her ginger tea and cooked a small meal for herself while she watched the monkeys soak up the heat of the onsen. For the first time in a long time, Sakura found herself at a complete rest. There was no demand for her help, no rush to her schedule, no one else to look after. It was just her now, in the middle of nowhere—Sasuke was in another dimension and was actually farther away than anyone else—and while she felt guilty about her continued absence in Konoha, Sakura took a greedy breath of winter solitude. She told herself not to feel the restlessness of the pressure to be productive and to just enjoy the winter landscape and the snow monkeys. Because it might be one of the few moments in her life of truly ever being alone and there was something special about facing the world by yourself and feeling yourself alive in a vastness that continued and continued regardless of your presence and your busy life. How otherworldly nature felt, when you stopped to witness it. She could see why Sasuke felt more at peace alone in nature than in a crowded village most of the time.

And besides, she had been ill of late and deserved this little respite. Sakura highly theorized that her unrelenting pace of recent months had caught up to her in the form of illness. Being a medic, she knew the challenges faced by an unrested body. It caught up to you eventually, but she had the habit of ignoring her own medical advice. Maybe if she modeled resting, Sasuke would catch on and rest too. She was proud of him for doing just that yesterday, choosing to stay with her and not jump at the first chance he got, which would have been the more Sasuke-like thing to do. It was the little things like that, that reminded Sakura of how much he actually had come to desire her presence. She tried to not think about the fact that the both of them might be trying to grab onto as many memories that they could before the inevitably of their lengthy separation prevented them from making more. She sighed dejectedly. 

Sipping the ginger tea did her lots of good, and with the absence of her nausea, Sakura forgot just how sick she had been just hours ago, moving on with her day in the most mundane way possible. She read. And read. Underlining medical texts she’d picked up back in town, until her knee began to bounce from inactivity. After a while, Sakura explored the house more fully, admiring the various trinkets and belongings she encountered which probably once belonged to the princess. She cleaned and organized the space before going over to her supplies she’d brought with her to sort. Among her things, were ingredients for her burn solvent that she planned to pass along to the medical staff here just as she had in Sunagakure for the benefit of Gaara’s people. And now, she also brought along more of the anti-depressant plant H. Perforatum to capsulize for the Land of Snow as well. She would have to check in with Tsunade about the plant’s clinical trial progress back in Konoha before sharing it with anyone here, but it was on her list to do. 

When she ran out of things to do, Sakura admitted to herself that she wasn’t the best at resting. She longed for Sasuke, and it hadn’t even been more than half a day since he’d left. She realized suddenly that she just might have to make a trip to town as early as tomorrow just to fill the time in his absence. As the sun nodded toward the horizon, Sakura watched the snow monkeys answer the call of home and retreat back up the mountain where they had come down from, while also yearning to see the mountain return her husband to her in the same way. 

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.

.

Sasuke had explored Kaguya’s ice castle for the entire day, but just like the red-sand mountain back in the core dimension, it was abandoned and full of deceptive architecture. It was designed to trick him in the same way as the last building he had found—Sakura had pointed this out back when she had teleported with him after they had been ambushed in Tanigakure. However, unlike it had been with the tower, Sasuke couldn’t find the entrance of the ice castle despite circling the building twice and combing all the terraces and the domed top for a way inside to the central building. Every crevice or hole he discovered was a dead end, which staggered him. According to the theory Sakura had developed in the core dimension, the tower was constructed to lure and distract instead of prevent entry, but it didn’t seem to entirely hold true in this case. Sasuke supposed he might be able to use the Amenotejikara of the Rinnegan to swap places with something inside, but that would require chakra he wasn’t quite willing to sacrifice because he still needed to return to Sakura tonight. His Rinnegan and Sharingan revealed no one inside the castle structure as far as he could tell, but wasn’t sure others from the Otsusuki race might be detectable with his visual prowess. Kaguya was his only example, but if any of the Otsuski were still alive and operating as Kaguya had, then they would come eventually. Which is why Sasuke desperately needed to find away through the walls at whatever cost. Even if he had to blow the roof in, he would. But he couldn’t at the moment, not with the hours waning and his chakra vanishing rapidly. They would be spending longer than he had expected in the Land of Snow if this was the rate of his progress after discovering something so critical.

With a plan to return, Sasuke turned South in the direction the base of the mountain would be if he weren’t in another dimension. He’d walk the distance here instead of down the mountain at this time of night. For some reason, it was cold, but tolerable to an extent here as the light of this dimension was in full effect. As Sasuke made the long trek back toward his wife, he wondered if it might be a good idea to ask her to return with him once he had recovered from the aftereffects of repetitive teleportation. He didn’t like the idea of bringing her with him, the threat of the Otsuski was always a risk he wasn’t ready to take with anyone else, but she was the smartest of all of them, impressing even Kakashi at times. Sasuke knew she would figure out the puzzle of deception in no time at all if she came. He thought about the pros and cons of her tagging along with him as the travel time passed. 

When he came close to the spot Sasuke believed would be the mikan’s approximate location, he dove into his weapon’s pouch and produced one of Sakura’s chakra pills. He exhaled, swallowing it down, and inhaling as the rush of chakra flooded his system. It was going to work. He just knew it. He willed it because she was on the other side of it. 

The portal spun and widened, and his head cracked from the pain of it and Sasuke clutched it, squinting through the pain. He stepped through the black and purple vortex before it could minimize and leave him trapped here in the cold overnight. Sasuke had miscalculated a bit about the precise location of the mikan’s entrance, practically stepping out onto the iori and stumbling to avoid stomping out the flames completely. When he raised his eyes to search the house, he saw her in the same place he’d left her, under the blankets of their shared pallet on the floor. She was staring wide eyed at his sudden appearance, and Sasuke could tell that she was obviously not expecting him to teleport almost directly on top of her.

“You’re here!” she beamed, standing from her place of warmth to run to embrace her. He reached out his hand for her instinctively to close the distance. 

But when she got closer, Sasuke froze, his receptive hand falling limply to his side and eyes widening in petrified shock. Sakura faltered at the expression on his face, meeting his shaken stare with an apprehensive one of her own. “What’s wrong?” she questioned in a panicked rush, but Sasuke couldn’t hear her. His heart fell all the way to his feet because he was looking at his beautiful wife with the Rinnegan still activated, and centralized in the middle of her lower abdomen was a tiny, pulsing, throbbing sun. 

[kirkwallsfinest]

Glorified Lap Nug

Hawke and his dog are more alike than he thinks -- chiefly, in how damn clingy they both are.

Or, in which Hawke comes home and argues with his own dog over who gets your attention for the evening.

Garrett Hawke/Reader

The mabari — a large and ancient breed, their reputation as a fierce protector often precedes them. They’re strong and intelligent beyond words — this, any Ferelden could tell you, regardless of whether they’ve ever owned one themselves. Heroic hounds charging into battle, teeth bared against their foes, piercing howls that seem to rumble the battlefield… it’s a powerful image — one that’s etched itself into all of Ferelden, or perhaps, even all of Thedas. But what people don’t know, is that for all their might, they’re rather clingy, too.

A dramatic sigh from your doorway tells you that your lover is finally coming to terms with this fact.

You look up from your book, grinning in amusement. You raise your other hand in a wave, but the moment you pull your hand from the dog atop your chest, the hound lets out a whine — just as pitiful as his owner’s. You chuckle in turn, turning your attention back to the dog, but not before placing your bookmark in its place to cast the novel aside. It lands with a quiet “thud” somewhere on the bed, quick to be forgotten in favor of the pup demanding your attention — as though he hasn’t been commanding it for the better part of the day. It’s not often that you get a day free from your little “errands,” as you and Garrett have taken to calling them over the years — so the Maker will have to forgive you for using it to relax with your favorite animal. Both hands now free, you scratch behind his ears once more, and he grumbles contentedly, flopping back down with his head to your chest… meanwhile, Garrett grumbles in his own discontent, shutting the door to shuck his armor.

“You’re a war hound, Dog. War.” His chest piece falls to the floor, and he raises his hands in mimickry. “Barking, bloody, vicious? Ever heard of it?”

Dog, in response, only makes himself cozier in your hold. Hawke scoffs, fighting his way out of the last of his leathers with a half of a hop, nearly falling on his face in the process. You watch the display, amused, as he finally gets the damnable piece off. “Glorified lap nug,” he murmurs, before throwing his voice back to the dog, “I know you can understand me, Dog.”

Again, no response.

This time you can’t help but laugh in full — typical of him, to lose an argument with his own dog —but extend a beckoning hand nonetheless. At this he perks up from his melodramatic rambling, rounding the bed to instead kneel at your side. He leans forward, placing a quick, familiar kiss upon your lips. Some of the tension of the day seems to slip from his shoulders at this, and melts only further when you card a free hand through his hair to massage lightly at the base of his scalp. His eyes flutter shut at the gentle ministrations. For all of the adventuring you’ve been on over the years, you’re still shocked at how soft he’s managed to keep his locks — not that you’d ever ask “how,” for fear of inflating his ego any further. Although as you work your way through the tangled mess, the crunching sensation of slightly-singed hair makes itself known. You frown.

“You weren’t off fighting dragons without me, were you?”

“By the Maker, you think me so cruel?” His eyes crinkle in mischief, peering up at you from his spot on the ground, “I would never deprive you of such a thing.”

You raise your brow, questioningly, and he continues.

“I’m just too good at what I do…”

“Meaning?”

“Rogues work in the shadows, unseen… and I just happen to be so good at it that our wonderful, magical compatriots also didn’t see me before hurling a bit of fire.”

“So what you’re saying is that you were in the way?”

He chuckles, leaning into your hold a bit more, eyes drooping — “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

You chuckle softly, taking in his gradually relaxing form. “Fenris will have a field day with this one,” you murmur.

“Don’t remind me,” he responds, letting his eyes finally flutter close.

That is, until the Mabari covering you barks in protest, startling you both out of the moment. Garrett shoots a glare at his companion, and you extract your hand from his locks to flick his chest lightly in warning — coaxing a pout from the man, not unexpectedly — before returning it to the hound.

“Be nice to him,” you scold, “he’s been doing a very good job at keeping me safe, you know.”

He hums, “Ah yes, because you’re so defenseless. I leave you at home for one day, and suddenly you’re helpless against the evils of the world? No, it must be quite the danger, for you to need a hand. What’s he protecting you from today? The horrors of the written word?” He gestures at your discarded book. “Or is he protecting you from your lovely—” a kiss to your forehead, “dashing—” to your cheeks, “devoted—” to your lips, “and exhausted boyfriend?”

You smile at his antics — dramatic as ever. “Well you see, it’s rather cold out tonight. Bit of a draft, we’ll have to find someone to fix that.”

He blinks, eyebrows raising in question. “So he’s protecting you from… the cold?”

A hum of affirmation from you, and he grins wickedly.

“Well, why didn’t you just say so?” He leans further into your space, continuing lowly, “If you needed a knight in shining armor, I am happy to apply, you know. I, myself, know plenty of ways to keep you warm, your majesty.”

You laugh, placing a hand to his bare chest to push him away playfully. “Maybe he should be protecting me from you!” Although your attempts to nudge him away backfire as he grabs your wrist, keeping the contact as he holds your hand firmly to his chest. He rises to his feet, only to prop his leg on the bed to lean over you. Dog barks wildly at this, and scrambles to the other side of the bed when he realizes Hawke is not, in fact, stopping his advance. You laugh, struggling in his hold, but to no avail.

“Gare’, you are filthy—”

“Your loyal protector has defected from the royal army—”

“You are not getting on this bed without a wash—”

“Whatever will you do, your majesty? There’s no time to waste, you’ll freeze if we wait any longer—”

“You are incorrigible—”

He silences your protests with a kiss, slotting himself between your legs as Dog barks on, until the latter ebbs into a single, defeated whine. Bested at his own game, he pads off to go play with another — at least, that’s what you assume. It’s hard to think straight when Garrett muddies your thoughts so effortlessly — he smiles into the kiss, and against your better thoughts, you throw your arms around his shoulders to bring him in closer. He groans softly into your mouth, pressing himself against you so firmly that he quickly becomes your whole world. Large, scarred hands wander down, and down, and—

Furious scratching at the door breaks you out of the moment once more, and this time the groan your lover lets out is rather different in tone. You laugh to yourself — Fuck it, you’ll wash the bedding tomorrow. You squeeze his bicep fondly, nodding your head towards the door: “Go let him out, love.”