#He's got a really cute and difficult-to-draw face! Why! I cannot figure him out

[sysig]

Growing closer than expected (Patreon)

[mdawritings]

“Arrested” [Aaron Hotchner X Female Reader]

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Rating: E

Pairings: Aaron Hotchner/Female Reader

Wordcount: 8,510

Summary: 

The BAU is working a case in the DC area: an unsub killing women outside of nightclubs and bars. When you get arrested and manage to end up in the same precinct as Aaron Hotchner, the team discovers that their unit chief has been sleeping with a MUCH younger woman. Even more importantly, they discover that aside from being Hotch's fuck buddy, you have had direct contact with the unsub. Told through cute and smutty flashbacks throughout your relationship with Aaron.

AO3 Link

It had been weeks since you’d seen Aaron. The first week you didn’t see him was because of a case over the weekend in Florida. You had sent him a few scandalous pictures while he was flying home…

You rest your head against the arm of your sofa lazily. You reach for the phone and look at the simple text from Aaron. “On the way home now. I want to see you soon.” Just those words send bolts of happiness, excitement, and arousal through you. You press the top of your phone to your lips to suppress your growing smile. You text him back.

“Been imagining your hands touching me instead of my own”

Aaron picks up his phone at the chime. He reads the message from you and can’t help but start to stir a little. God, the thoughts of you home alone… touching yourself thinking about him. Yeah, that definitely does something to him. It’s not like you weren’t in his thoughts the entire time. It's difficult to focus on a case when all he really wants is to be home, buried under the covers with you, taking in your light, yet intoxicating perfume. Touching your soft, perfect skin. Hearing you scream his name… He almost lets out a moan but catches himself and looks around the jet at his sleeping coworkers.

He quickly replies to your message, “Oh yeah?”

You jump up from the couch, exhaustion rapidly dissipating from your previously sore limbs at the thought of seeing Aaron tonight. Memories of his large hands touching, groping, squeezing your body flood into your mind.

You hurry to slip on the purple lingerie set you bought. You stand in front of your bathroom mirror. You take a few minutes, capturing some, quite honestly, fucking amazing photos.

“Missing the feeling of you buried inside me” You send the photos along. You grow even happier at the thought of him getting a fucking hard-on while just a few feet away from his sleeping coworkers. You revel in the effect you manage to have over such a powerful, dominant, authoritative man. It makes you especially proud to think about his normal demeanor, stoic, hard-faced, serious, and how easy it is for you to reduce him to simpering, whimpering, moaning mess under your touch. Your phone chimes a mere seconds after sending the photos.

“You are torturing me. We HAVE to see each other when I land”

You fell asleep in your bed in that lingerie waiting for him. You didn’t see his messages until the next morning, saying the sitter for Jack fell through and he probably wouldn’t be able to see you until next weekend.

At the start of the second week, he got called away to a case in California. That one took up the whole week and by the time he got home, he was way too exhausted to spend time with you.

This kind of thing went on for two weeks. A full month without Aaron had been torture. It wasn’t like you expected him to drop everything and come running to you. You understand he has a kid to take care of and an FBI unit to run. Plus, it isn’t like you two are really dating. Do you sometimes wish you were? Hell yes. Is it reasonable or feasible? Absolutely not.

That doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy what you have going on right now. He comes over to your place, tired and frustrated from a long day at work, and he— well he fucks your brain out. You’re always working hard on your Ph.D. and Aaron’s job is just plain stressful. You both need and enjoy the amazing stress relieving benefits of casual sex. You do enjoy each other’s company without having sex sometimes. It usually happens on those weekends when you or he or both of you are way too exhausted. But really, it's the moments after sex that make you question what you truly are to one another…

Your heart rate begins to steady and you can’t help but smile up at Aaron. He looks down at you with that small Hotchner version of a smile. It’s a smile that wouldn’t seem like much to anyone else, but you know how infrequently he lets the corners of his mouth turn up in happiness. “How do you do it?”

You soon realize after letting the words out, (and from the confusion on his face), that he cannot, in fact, read your mind and understand what you mean, “How do you go from seeing all that bad out there in the world to lying in this bed with me with that adorable smile on your face?”

For a split second, you think you’ve said something wrong. The smile falls from his face and his brows tense up. You always tease him about his eyebrows, telling him the more he frowns the more wrinkles he’ll get.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to cross a line—”

“I don’t want to pull you into all this… my work. I want to protect you from it.” Your heart practically sinks into your stomach. That’s not the type of language you use with your casual sex partner. Then again, you’d be lying if you said you didn’t worry every time he leaves for a case. You worry that you’ll never see him again. You won’t even find out he’s dead because no one knows about the two of you.

“Y/N,” he pulls you out of your thoughts. His voice cuts through the silent room and you look back up into his soft eyes. They’re searching your face, scanning your behavior. You can tell he’s trying to figure out what you could possibly be thinking.

“Stop doing that,” you warn him, but your tone is light-hearted, “That whole studying my behavior thing you do.”

“Profiling,” he corrects you and runs a hand over your hair. The action is like a natural reflex for him, he’s not even consciously aware he’s pulling you closer to him.

“Right. That. Stop profiling me,” you laugh.

“Well, how am I supposed to know what’s spinning around in your head when you zone out like that.”

“I’m thinking about the fact that you listen to me rattle on and on about statistical physics but you don’t talk about your job.”

“You need to stop talking about physics after sex. It makes me feel like I’m sleeping with Reid,” he laughs and notices your confusion, “He’s a coworker of mine. You’d like him.”

You’d like him. That phrase sticks with you. Does that mean he wants you to meet his coworkers someday?

You’re not sure why you and Aaron never discuss a real relationship. Well, it’s more like Aaron never discusses a real relationship. Aaron doesn’t really discuss anything. The first time you really talked to him you thought his closed-off nature was charming, dreamy…

“Aaron Hotchner… right?” You look over the man who has just walked up to the bar next to you.

He reaches for the beers he’s just ordered, obviously for a group, but stops as you call out his name, “I’m sorry do I know you?”

“You work for the FBI… Behavioral something unit.” Your laugh sounds loud and obnoxious to you, but to him, it’s bright and cuts through the din of the chaotic bar.

“Behavioral Analysis Unit,” Aaron’s eyebrows furrow. He looks you over before turning his attention back to your face, searching it for answers.

“Oh god!” You're not really the type to strike up a conversation with a man in a bar but you’re feeling bold, not to mention empowered by the liquor, “I must seem so crazy. You gave a talk at Georgetown I attended. I’m a Ph.D. student there. It was about criminal psychology.” His face softens as he begins to realize you’re not a crazy stalker nor an obsessed fan. You stick your hand out for him to shake, “Y/N Y/L/N.”

“It’s nice to meet you, again, I guess,” He nods as he shakes your hand. You can tell he’s just trying to be polite and he glances over his shoulder at a group of people at a booth. Their eyes are all on you two. He wants to go back but something about you is drawing him in. “So you’re pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology?” He moves to sit at the bar next to you.

“Actually no.” You feel flush rushing into your face as he moves closer to you and sits down. You can’t help but look over his body. He’s much closer to your height now that he’s sitting down. He’s wearing a black quarter zip and dark jeans. His hair is neatly gelled back. He does not fit into this atmosphere. “I’m getting a Ph.D. in physics. I conduct theoretical research on the experimental implementation of quantum computing with trapped ions in— I conduct research.” Your blush deepens.

Aaron smiles widely at your ranting before jumping in, “So what were you doing in a criminal psychology lecture?”

Your face feels hot with embarrassment, “I snuck in. It sounded interesting.” You shrug slightly and reach for the drink from the bartender. “I almost didn’t show up, but then a classmate told me one of the FBI agents was very attractive.” You give a small wink before reaching for your check for your drinks from the night. “And she was right, Agent Prentiss is drop-dead gorgeous.” Your attempts to keep a poker face fail, your lips curling with delight.

Aaron laughs as he takes the check from your hands. “You don’t have to—” You protest slightly but Aaron holds up his hand to silence you.

“My treat. As a thank you, for breaking the rules to see my lecture.” He shares in your smile as he hands the bartender his card, paying for your drinks. Your ex just broke up with you a few weeks prior so you came out to cheer yourself up. Seeing Aaron Hotchner up close and personal is… definitely a pick me up.

“Do you have a business card or something?”

“Uh… yes.” Aaron is hesitant to hand it over but reaches into his wallet for one. You grab a pen and take the business card from Aaron. You scribble down your number on the back and hand it to him.

“This is my number.” You hold it out before reaching for your purse. He looks down at the number and then back up at you. For a grown, adult man, he doesn’t seem to understand. You can see confusion written all over his face, it’s quite adorable honestly. His face though it seemingly remains emotionless, in just the few minutes you’ve spent talking to him, you see hints of smiles hidden under a professional, powerful exterior.

“Call me sometime. You know, so I can pay you back for that drink.” You stand up from the bar, legs weak from the heavy drinking you’ve done, “Or if you just want some company.” He nods slightly in response and you turn to leave. You can’t help but turn for a second to watch as Aaron walks back to his table of what appear to be friends. One of the women looks back at you and smiles the most infectious, sweetest smile at you. You return it and move to leave the bar.

It wasn’t until late that night that you got a call. The drinking your sorrows away didn’t stop once you left that bar. You were curled up on your couch, a glass of wine clutched in your hands.

“Hello?” you mumble into the phone, pulling the blanket around your shoulders tighter.

“We didn’t really get to talk much at the bar, but I’m pretty sure you made some promises about paying me back for that drink,” A stern man’s voice cuts through the phone.

“Aaron?” you ask momentarily confused, “It—It’s late, are you drunk?”

Your laugh rings through the phone and it’s that laugh that has Aaron so intensely drawn to you. He can’t help himself. He needs to be near you, “Just go to the door.”

You stand up, “My door? How did you get my—oh right. FBI agent,” you muse and open your door. And there he is, standing at the door with the phone pressed to his ear. He pulls it away and hangs up. “This is incredibly creepy, I hope you know that.” You lean against the doorframe, pulling your large sweater around yourself tighter. His eyes run over you. You grin slightly, catching his wandering gaze, and at that, he shoves his hands in his pockets.

“So about that drink you owe me.” Aaron takes a few hesitant steps into your apartment. He closes the door behind him, “How about you pay me back wit—” he starts to talk but you don’t let him finish his sentence. You grip his shirt and pull him close, your lips melting against his.

It’s messy and passionate and needy. You struggle to stumble along, guiding him towards your bedroom and his hands are touching every inch of you. He hurriedly pulls your sweater off and tosses it off to the side before unzipping your dress. You let it fall to the floor and kick it off as you match his frantic pace, pulling off his shirt and pushing down his jeans. He lays you down gently and reaches around to unclasp your bra.

“Holy fuck,” Aaron groans as he takes a second to take in your naked body.

Then he’s leaving a trail of soft kisses down the expanse of your chest and breasts. He travels down further. His lips brush against your inner thighs, his stubble tickling your skin. He smirks up at you wickedly as he grips your thong in his teeth, pulling it down your legs. You already know your soaking wet pussy will give away just how bad you want him right now.

He doesn’t hesitate, he goes to work on you. Licking and stroking and rubbing your clit. Your back arches and you grip the sheets and his hair. You massage your breasts, panting heavily as two of his fingers press into you, his tongue flicking your overly sensitive bud of nerves. “Oh god, Aaron yes!”

His name rolls off your tongue and you continue to chant it like a fucking mantra as his somehow rough yet gentle touch drives you wild. You feel the knots building in your stomach. Your legs tremble with pleasure as your eyes shut harshly. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” You’re panting intensely at this point and the whole room practically slips away as your orgasm hits and your body feels out of control. Every nerve ending on fire. And Aaron is merciless, he continues to lick and tease as you ride out your high.

He can’t help but grin proudly at the number he’s done on you. As he comes up to plant a few more kisses on your lips, you feel his rock hard erection pressing against your thigh. You kiss him hungrily while fumbling to stroke him through his boxers.

The groan the emerges from his lips is… holy fucking shit it’s sexy. You flip the two of you over so you’re on top of him, your chest pressed against his. You dip your hand into his boxers, pumping the entirety of his length. You feel him getting harder and his cock twitches in conjunction with a loud, throaty groan. “Y/N." His eyes flutter open and he grabs your arm to still your motions. “I need you, now.”

Within seconds he’s peeling his boxers off, you roll the condom down onto him and you slam your hips down on his. You can’t contain the loud gasps and moans as you feel your walls stretch around him. Fuck it’s been too long since you’ve had sex. You’re still for a second and Aaron bucks his hips, needing friction, needing to thrust and feel your tightness around him.

“Oh god." Your eyes are practically rolling back in your head as Aaron takes an agonizing pace, lifting your hips all the way up just to slam them all the way back down again.

He has a vice grip on your hips and you can feel the bruises forming under his fingertips. You grind your hips against his as you ride him faster. “Fuck you feel amazing,” Hotch lets out another one of those agonizingly sexy groans.

“I’m close,” you whine out. Aaron reaches to rub your clit with his thumb as he starts thrusting his hips up to meet yours chaotically. That combined with his large cock hitting your sweet spot sends you tumbling over the edge once again. It’s not long after that you feel his cock throbbing deep inside you, his hips messily thrusting and his face contorted up in pleasure. His panting becomes rapid and it's not long before he’s coming undone inside you. You flip off of him to collapse at his side on the bed.

“So when are we doing this again?” you pant heavily and hear a beautiful sound beside you. The sound of Aaron laughing.

Sometimes you worry if he’s embarrassed by you. I mean, you’re a few years shy of 20 years younger than him. You’re still in school. He was starting college by the time you were out of diapers. He runs a whole goddamn unit of the FBI and you’re still a student. You both are in entirely separate places in life, how do you reconcile that? It’s not as if he keeps you secret. Jessica knows you and you met his son Jack one time. Besides, you’re not really showing him off either. Not that you have many people to show him off to.

Like said, it’s been weeks since you’ve seen him which has just left you to sit around and overthink just about everything.

Aaron is working a case in DC. You saw the news reports the other day. Women were turning up dead in alleyways behind popular nightclubs and bars in the downtown area. Despite this horrifying news, you were happy when he told you the case was at home. It meant less travel. Less travel means Aaron is less tired. Which means more sex for you. And god, did you need sex.

It’s your friend’s 27th birthday and in an attempt to keep her from crying about getting a year older, you and a group of friends promised to go out drinking with her. You reach for your phone to check for any messages from Aaron. You would drop all your plans if he told you he was coming over tonight. There is one new message but it’s not exactly the text you were hoping for.

From: Aaron:

Please be safe for the next few days. Don’t go anywhere alone. Call me if there’s any trouble or if you need anything at all.”

You furrow your brows. It’s not news that Aaron cares about you and wants to look out for you but usually while on a case it’s radio silence from him. Yes, if you were really in danger he would want you to call immediately, but usually, he tells you he needs to focus on the job and nothing else. You dismiss the text, chalking it up to the presence of a serial killer in the city you both live in. Hell, you were pretty freaked out too. You had seen the girls on the news, 20-30, with your hair color and around your height.

You let out a long sigh, knowing you are most definitely not getting laid tonight. It’s time to get stupid drunk with your friends and enjoy your night anyway.

It does not take long for you and all your friends to reach the perfect level of sloppy drunk. Seeing as you all haven’t been out in months, what with some of you pursuing real jobs, grad school, med school, and whatnot, there hasn’t been a lot of time for screwing around as you did in college.

“So come on! You cannot still be single,” your close friend Sarah screams in your face over the music.

“It’s complicated,” you feel your words starting to string together. They’re not quite slurred but it’s getting there, “He just comes over, fucks my brains out, we spend some time together, and then it’s over.”

Your comments provoke a loud response of laughs and cheers from your friends, “So we don’t even get a name? Or a job? Or where you met him?”

“He guest lectured a course on abnormal and criminal psychology a few months ago,” You start to explain but Sarah is cutting you off before the words have left your mouth.

“Months? This has been going on for months?” You roll your eyes. The bartender places another full tray of shots in front of you guys. She nods towards a man at the edge of the bar. As you look up, he gives you a small wave and smiles. Creepy.

“No, I ran into him a few weeks after and I just gave him my number.” You down the shot, souring your face up before reaching for a lime wedge to chase it, “And then things just happened.”

“Name? Job? Age?” Another friend rattles off at you.

“Isn’t this Sarah’s birthday? Shouldn’t we be talking about her?” You try and steer the conversation away from yourself. You turn back to the bar and see that same man who sent you the shots staring at you. Even when you turn away you can feel his eyes boring into the back of your head.

“Well I want to know, so this is a birthday present,” she continues to pry and it drives you crazy. You're just not ready to share what you and Aaron have with the world.

“His name is Aaron and he works in the FBI and he’s 45,” You mumble that last part into your glass as you take a long sip.

“He’s how old?” Your friend’s jaw drops and another friend grins widely. Your face is burning hot at embarrassment and all the attention.

“Can we all just shut up and drink?” you command forcefully before downing your own.

Hotch looks down at his phone, waiting for any sign that Y/N has seen his text. He doesn’t panic though. She has a life, she’s busy. She probably has plans for the evening. Maybe she’s out… with someone. Aaron shakes his head slightly before forcing his attention to the case. But his mind wanders. Would she go out with someone? It’s not like anything between them is defined. I mean, he would never go out with anyone else. He just wants her. If she wants to go out on a date she can do whatever she wants. Yet, Hotch can’t help but feel the jealousy coursing through his body. The idea of someone else touching her… yeah, that makes him angry.

His more rational thinking takes over. Maybe she’s busy with school work. He knows how hard she’s been working on her research. He fails to hide a smile as he thinks about the way her face lights up when talking about her research. The passion she has for her work is extremely adorable...

You hear three short raps at the door, “It’s open!” you call out as you rush to get all your thoughts down on your computer. You hear the door open and the footsteps approaching.

“You leave your door unlocked? Do you realize how incredibly unsafe and unwise that is?” You can hear that Aaron probably has his stern face on, judging by the disapproval in his voice.

“I knew you were coming,” You shrug and gnaw at your bottom lip furiously as you work, “I just need one moment. I was thinking that in a controlled quantum environment...” As you start to ramble Aaron’s hands snake around your waist. He pushes your hair to the side, placing feather-light kisses along your neck.

“Mm,” He mumbles against you.

“Wait, wait,” you moan, “If you keep doing that I’m going to lose my train of thought and I will never forgive you unless you can formulate how to create thermal distrib—” He nips at your skin and gives your hips a squeeze. Your groans grow louder.

“The physics can wait,” Aaron growls against your skin, turning you around so he can passionately kiss you, “I need you now.”

The panic doesn’t ease because Aaron reaches to call you once again. You don’t pick up because well… you’re a little preoccupied drowning your liver. He thinks, if you had just given a small ok text, he would know you’re safe. But he’s panicking. He continues to panic for the next hour until something unexpected soothes that anxiety. The sound of your screaming drunken voice radiating throughout the entirety of the precinct the team is working in. But as soon as the wave of anxiety dissipates, he feels his stomach drop.

“I’m a victim here!” you screech and cement your legs in place so that the officers holding your arms are practically dragging you.

“Ma’am please!” You kick your legs violently as the officers try to seat you in a chair. They undo your handcuffs and redo them so that your hand is cuffed to the desk. “We’re understaffed and backed up so you sit here and shut up while we get you booked.”

“He was feeling me up! Under the skirt over the panties. He grabbed my ass, I’m sure I have a mark you wanna see it? He assaulted me!” you continue to screech and reach for the hem of your dress, ready to flash every cop in the precinct your ass.

“So you smashed a bottle over his head? Real ladylike,” one of the officers steps forward and holds your hand tight to keep you from lifting the dress.

“Don’t I get a phone call.” Now your words are slurred together. That last round of shots before you got arrested is hitting you hard.

“Once we book you.”

“I know a federal agent. From the FBI,” you spell out the letters obnoxiously, “Do you even know what that is?”

“Yes, I’m sure the federal government will come running to post your bail. Stay here. Don’t move,” the officer commands and you hold up your handcuffed wrist to demonstrate that you’re quite frankly incapable of going anywhere.

“Oh my god,” Prentiss lets out a small laugh from the conference room. “I can hear her through the closed doors.”

“Well, most of this room is glass and sound travels through the glass just about the same as it does air. A better insulating material would be a foam or fiberglass or even a mineral wood composite,” Reid clarifies before giving that signature tight-lipped smile.

“She is… really something,” Morgan laughs and nudges Hotch, “Hotch look.”

Hotch turns and sees what he’s dreading. He sees you, drunk out of your mind. Your skimpy dress is somehow simultaneously riding low on top and riding up on the bottom. You have a small cut lip and a little bit of blood on your dress. His brows furrow deeply. “Oh god,” he mutters under his breath.

“These cops are supposed to stay in the bars and clubs for protection. Why are they wasting time on drunk girls?” Rossi finally chimes in.

The cops finally get you settled into a chair and you kick your feet like a child. “Call the FBI! I know them.”

“Oh does she now. You guys know her?” JJ rolls her eyes and laughs, “I am so glad I never got arrested when I was in college. My parents would’ve killed me.”

“College? Girls do not look like that in college,” Morgan smirks.

“We have to focus on the case,” Hotch's jaw tightens as he sees Morgan look over your body. It’s not something new for Morgan but when he’s making those eyes at you specifically, Hotch feels that surge of jealousy again.

“Call them! Call Agent Aaron Hotchner.” You lean back and try to cross your arms, but your right hand is yanked back by the cuffs.

The team all turns to Hotch with wide eyes. “You know her?” Rossi smirks.

“Where exactly do you know her from?” Emily fights the grin growing on her lips as she looks over her stone-faced boss.

“I’m sorry what?” The cop glances down at you.

“Aaron Hotchner with the Behavioral Unit Analysis Science thing or something like that he’s in the FBI he’s unit chief. I know him.” You roll your eyes at the cop who is speechless, “Oh god. Are you that thick? A-A-R-O-N H-O-T-C-H…” you trail off the alcohol inhibiting your spelling capabilities, “N-E-R. Aaron Hotchner! Call him and he’ll tell you to let me go.”.

The cop glances at some of his coworkers before looking at the conference room. You follow his gaze and see Aaron with a large group of other well-dressed agents. “Oh fuck,” you mutter. Aaron opens the glass doors and steps out of them walking towards you.

“So how does he know this girl?” Prentiss tries her best to hide her spying on you and Aaron.

“I got money on babysitter,” Morgan nods.

“No way, she’d be with Jack right now. I’d say she met him at work." JJ leans against the desk, watching Hotch as he looks down at you, crossing his arms.

“Then we’d all have seen her before. Plus she wouldn’t be telling them she knows the FBI. She would technically be part of the FBI. Why not use that?” Rossi rubs a hand over his goatee.

“He’s sleeping with her,” Reid states simply before turning back to his geographical profile on the board.

“What?” Multiple members of the team turn in shock, not only at the statement but at the fact that Reid is the one making it.

“No way. She’s… at most 27 years old.” Morgan shakes his head, “She is not Hotch’s type.”

“Are you jealous that Hotch has more game than you?” Reid teases without turning away from his work.

“When was your last date, pretty boy? Huh?” Morgan hits him on the back of the head playfully.

“Officer.” Aaron steps in between you and the officer. Good thing, because two more minutes with that guy and you would be charged with a lot more than resisting arrest and public disturbance.

“Aaron!” you squeak, “I didn’t know you were here!”

“Well, she’s definitely not a coworker. She called him Aaron.” Rossi nods at the rest of the team still in the conference room. For a team of profilers, their attempts to hide the spying are weak at best.

“I’ll take care of her.” He doesn’t bother looking at you, but he gives the officer his best unit-chief glare.

“Sir we have a process to go through here. We’re still processing her arrest,” the officer attempts to argue with Hotch but you can see the discomfort clearly in the officer. He struggles to meet Hotch’s eyes.

“Please officer, we have much more to deal with here. I want to find this guy before another body drops. We need you out there patrolling the bars for the guys, not the drunk girls the creeps hit on.” Aaron takes on a stern voice.

“Yes agent.” The cop is visibly annoyed but isn’t willing to get into a fight with a federal agent all over your stupid drunk ass.

“Are you injured? You’re bleeding.” He grabs your chin in his calloused fingers, turning your face from side to side to assess the small cuts. You almost moan into his touch but remember the current location.

“No, no it’s someone else’s.” You turn out of his grip, trying to push his hands off.

“Someone else’s? What did you do?” Fuck. Aaron is furious with you. His arms are crossed against his chest and you can see the veins in his neck standing out. The tone he takes with you is harsh and you’re not used to him speaking with you like that… at least not used to it outside the bedroom.

“It’s not my fault okay!”

Aaron holds the bridge of his nose frustratedly, “Y/N. I have a serial killer to profile, catch, and stop from murdering innocent women. Can I just get the truth?”

“This creepy guy kept sending me and my friends drinks all night so when I went to the bar to get us another round he came over. Things got messy.” You shrug your shoulders. “Can you take off these cuffs now?” You hold out your wrists, pouting out your bottom lip. You can physically see him soften at that.

As Aaron reaches for the key and undoes the cuffs, he shakes his head at the stench of alcohol seeping out of you, “You’re gonna have to do better than things got messy.”

“I just…” You pause, knowing the details of the story are going to make him upset but he wants the truth, “I knew he was a little off. Weird and creepy and pushy, you know?” You rub your irritated wrists, “So he starts talking to me, offering me some drink. I know better than to accept a drink from a stranger so I turned him down. That's when he grabbed my arm and well… tried to cop a feel.”

“Cop a feel?” Aaron’s jaw has tightened and his hands are clenched so tightly at his sides his knuckles are pale.

“He slid his hands under my dress.” Your hand ghosts over the sore spot on your bottom where the man dug his fingers into your flesh, “He grabbed my legs and then my ass and then… and then he tried to get his hands in my underwear.” You show Aaron the red marks on your inner thigh. You’re not sure what you expect from him, but his face remains hardened. The only emotion readable on him is anger.

“The blood is from self-defense,” Aaron begins to understand.

You nod, confirming his statement, “I grabbed the first thing I could and smashed him on the head. I think I sliced his eyebrow. By the time the cops came, he was gone and I was in cuffs.”

Aaron looks back at his team in the conference room. In a poor attempt to hide their spying, they all rapidly turn their eyes to their work. He takes a few steps closer to you, his eyes looking over the red bruising on your cheek. He fights every urge to reach out and touch you, stroke your face softly and kiss your lips, “Did he hurt you? We should get a medic to check you out or–”

He doesn’t have a second to finish that thought. “Hotch, another body just dropped,” Morgan and Prentiss come rushing out of the conference room, “We’re going to the crime scene now.”

Aaron nods at his team members, “Call me if anything stands out.” The team nods and Aaron reaches for your arm, walking you towards the rest of the team, “I don’t want you alone right now. You’re going to sit here and keep quiet, understand?”

You bite your lip and look around at the team, still pretending as if they’re not listening in, “Jeez way to embarrass me, Aaron,” you mumble under your breath as you drop down into a chair with a loud sigh like a child.

JJ can’t help but come over to talk to you, “I’m Jennifer." You give her your name, "It's so nice to meet you Y/N, how do you and Hotch know each other?”

“Hotch?” you let out before quickly realizing the nickname for Aaron. You shake her hand, “Oh Agent Hotchner and I are just fuc–“

“Friends,” Aaron cuts in, “Y/N and I are friends. We have a case to get back to,” Aaron frantically changes the topic of conversation but your little comment doesn’t go unnoticed by the team members. Even Reid is smiling slightly at your comment.

You sit back in your chair and take in the sight of Agent Hotchner, Unit Chief of the BAU. The confident and commanding energy he exudes is immensely attractive. It’s not long before the agents that left for the crime scene, Morgan and Prentiss return with news for Aaron.

“Sir we found something weird at the crime scene,” Morgan steps back into the room.

“Weird?” Hotch cocks his head slightly to the side.

“There were droplets of blood over the victim’s dress but it wasn’t her own,” Morgan shakes his head.

“But you called and said she had no defensive wounds, he drugged her like the others. How could he have been injured?” Hotch turns back to the other case files.

“We’re not sure,” Emily shakes her head, “It’s possible it’s unrelated but maybe he might have been hospitalized for something recently?”

“What about any witnesses?” Hotch nods, “Any people at Churchkey bar see anything unusual? A man that was a little too forceful with women?”

You snort slightly at that, “I wouldn’t say that’s unusual for a bar.”

Hotch shoots you a hard glare that shuts you up for good, while Prentiss lets a smile shine through.

“The bar was mostly cleared out. Apparently the bar was packed earlier tonight but it cleared out after a bar fight broke out.” Morgan informs the team.

You bite your lip harshly. Aaron told you no talking but… this is more important, right? “Wait, Churchkey bar?” You finally speak up and all the agents turn their attention to you.

“What about it?”

“That’s the bar I was at tonight.” You trail off at the end of your sentence.

“You remember someone or something off?” Rossi looks over your body language.

“I think I talked to the unsub. I think... I’m the one who injured him." You unconsciously wrap your arms tightly around your body.

“You think you could walk me through the night? Tell me about him, it could really help us,” Morgan moves to sit on the edge of the desk to face you. "We could do a cognitive interview." He nods at Hotch.

"A cognitive?" You look between the two men.

"It's a memory recall exercise. We would walk you through the night and you tell us as much as you can," Morgan explains gently.

"And it could help you find him?" You ask, unsure how much you remember about him.

"You might not realize the type of details that help us form the profile." Morgan places a reassuring hand on your shoulder.

Aaron clears his throat. “She’s not sober enough for a cognitive." You can tell that the fact that his personal life is bleeding into his work is driving him crazy.

“If I can help catch this creep, I want to help. I’m fine.” You touch your finger to your nose a few times in an attempt to demonstrate your sobriety.

“Then you should drink some coffee before we start,” Aaron dismissively addresses you before turning to leave, “And I’m going to want the whole truth.” He stalks off towards the interrogation room.

Rossi runs to catch up with Aaron, pulling him off to the side. “Aaron, you cannot conduct this cognitive.”

“Excuse me?” Aaron snaps, crossing his arms against his chest.

“Take a step back, pretend she’s not someone you clearly care about,” Aaron rolls his eyes at Rossi’s comment but plays along as he continues.

“She’s a young girl… just how young is she?” Rossi raises a brow at Aaron, losing his train of thought.

“Dave.” He lets out an exasperated sigh.

Rossi holds his hands up in defense, “Fine, okay. She’s a young girl, she’s a little drunk, and she’s been sexually harassed in a bar by our unsub. Who do you send in to talk to her?”

“The least intimidating figures to her,” Aaron nods.

“So definitely not the angry boyfriend who wants to kill anyone who touches her,” Rossi clarifies.

“I’ll send in JJ and Prentiss,” Hotch sighs and turns before pausing, “And I’m not her boyfriend.”

Rossi simply smiles and pats Aaron’s back, “Ok boss.”

You sit up in your chair tiredly as Emily and JJ walk into the interrogation room.

“Hi Y/N, I’m Agent Prentiss and you’ve already met Agent Jareau,” Emily sits across from you.

“He can hear us, right?” You bite your lip and look towards the glass.

“Who can hear us?” JJ takes a seat and places a file in front of you.

“Aaron.” You search the glass, knowing that you won’t be able to see him but that he definitely can see you.

“Oh uh-” Emily pauses, unsure what to say in response.

“Do you want more privacy? I can ask the agents to leave.” JJ starts to stand.

“Hearing this would help them figure who the killer is?” You’re gnawing your lip hard enough to draw blood, a nervous habit Aaron never hesitates to point out to you.

“Yes,” JJ sits back down.

“Then it’s fine.” You look over one last time, “Just make sure Aar— Agent Hotchner,” you correct yourself, “Make sure Agent Hotchner doesn’t lose his shit.”

“No promises,” Prentiss smirks and lets out a small breath, “We’re going to walk you through the night. If it gets to be too much you let us know and we’ll take a break, okay?”

Well, now you’re really nervous. You let out a small breath, “Okay.” You close your eyes as Agent Prentiss starts.

“You’re in the bar. It’s crowded…”

“Y/N I think he really likes you,” your friend Sarah laughs. “Come on go talk to him.”

“No, I really shouldn’t.” You feel dizzy and light on your feet from the alcohol the man has been plying you and your friends with.

“Why?” Another friend chimes in, “Big strong Agent Hotchner going to punish you for talking to another guy?” Your friends taunt you playfully.

You smile widely at them, “Yes, yes he will.”

“You naughty, naughty girl!” Sarah laughs. You feel eyes on you and look back to the man at the bar. He’s hunched over in his stool. He looks nervous, but he smiles sheepishly at you and waves. It’s not long before he’s calling the bartender over again and pointing at you animatedly.

“Next round is on me,” you say softly to your friends, keeping your eyes on the man’s face, memorizing every detail you can. His face is young but worn and tired. The wrinkles on his forehead tell you he frowns a lot. They’re lines that appear on Aaron’s face too. You think about how you tease Aaron about smiling more. God, you miss Aaron right now. You wish he was here to make you feel safe. As you walk up to the bar, your presence causes the man to stand up and move closer.

“I was going to order you and your friends more drinks. I ordered you a vodka soda. It’s what you’ve been drinking all night, right?” He stutters slightly as he talks to you. He slides a glass over to you, but you know better. Strange man... drink that you didn’t see the bartender actually make... no way.

“I was actually going to order a beer,” you try to reject the glass, “You take the vodka soda though. You’ll see why they’ve been my go-to all night. He’s been making them very strong.” You look at the bartender, ordering a beer. You pray that the young bartender senses your discomfort.

“Come on it’s a harmless drink.” The strange man moves into you, pushing the glass closer. “You have the drink, we’ll get to know each other better… you’ll like it. I can make you like it.”

Thinking about his words sends chills down your spine. You have to take a moment to let out a shaky breath.

“Are you sure you want to continue listening to this?” Rossi eyes Hotch. Hotch’s face is contorted so harshly into a mixture of anger, disgust, and sadness. His neck muscles tense, his arms are tightly crossed against his body. He doesn’t even acknowledge Rossi.

“Can you keep going?” JJ eyes your face. You nod.

“No thank you, and no more drinks for my friends and I. We can get our own drinks.” You turn to grab your beer but soon the man stops you. He grabs your wrist tightly, placing his other hand behind your back. He pulls you flush against him. His rough, calloused fingertips grab and scratch up your thighs, under the dress. He grabs your ass so hard you want to scream out. He continues to trail his fingers up, hooking around your panties and—

A sickening shattering noise and cracking erupt as you swing the beer bottle at his head. The man screams. “You bitch!” He slaps your face. You stumble back, falling on the floor, cutting your hands on the broken glass from the bottle. Your skin is sticky with alcohol and you glance down at the blood on your dress. The bar grows louder. The commotion intensifies. You feel a friend’s hands wrap around your arms pulling you up off the ground.

“Wait he—!” You look around for the man but he’s nowhere to be found.

“Not long after that I was being shoved into a cop car and escorted here.” You finally open your eyes and look at the two agents.

“I can make you like it?” Emily asks you to clarify. She speaks slowly clearly enunciating her words but you can hear the disgusted tone in her voice.

“That’s exactly what he said.” You wrap your arms around yourself, “Does that all help?”

“Yes, yes it does,” JJ reaches out to touch your hand gently. Your eyes flick back to the one-way glass. You can’t see Aaron but you can tell he’s probably fuming. He probably has that signature scowl on his face.

“Am I—” You clear your throat and try to adjust your dress for more modesty, “Can I go?” Prentiss gives you a sad, pity-filled smile and nods. You stand up quickly and exit the room in a rush, colliding with Aaron’s strong chest as you do. You look up into his eyes and you see something in his face you’ve never seen in all the times you've been with him: sadness. You bury your face into his chest and his arms wrap tightly around you. “I was scared,” You choke out as his large, warm hands rub circles into your back, “I needed you.” You ball up his shirt in your fists. You’re not one to cry easily, but your body shakes as you breathe heavily.

“I know,” his voice cracks as he rests his chin on top of your head. He runs one hand over your hair softly, shushing you gently, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

You pull away from his chest and frantically pull his lips down to yours. A strong hand goes to your back, holding you close to him. You hear the interrogation room door open behind you, the two agents stepping out, but neither you nor Aaron break the kiss. “I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you,” Aaron breathes against your lips, pulling you back into a tight hug. “You’re safe here with me now.”

———

You lift the heavy metal knocker and let it slam down twice, waiting for the door to open. When it does, Rossi envelops you in his arms, a wide smile spreading across his lips. He grabs your face tightly, kissing each cheek joyfully. “Bellissimo! I’m so glad you could make it.” Rossi places a gentle hand on your back and leads you inside.

You walk into the crowded kitchen and the members of the BAU all turn and smile back at you. Aaron moves towards you and quickly gives you a soft kiss on your lips. “I’m so happy you’re here." 

“I’m so glad you’re finally home.” You pull away from Aaron to make the rounds hugging the people who are like family to you at this point.

Morgan wraps a friendly arm around your shoulder and can’t help but tease Aaron, “Hotch, you couldn’t be bothered to pick up your girl?” He turns to smile at you while Aaron shakes his head.

“I had to stop by the research lab so I just had my classmate Tyler drop me off after we finished up." You shrug.

“Tyler, huh?” Rossi grins, hoping to rile up Aaron a little.

“Is he cute?” JJ chimes in with a laugh.

Aaron quickly clears his throat, hoping to change topics. He raises his brows at you, “So do you want to share the news or should I do it for you?”

“Oh my god, you’re totally preggers!” Garcia squeals and runs to hug you again. You glance at Aaron and can only laugh.

“No, no.” You smile as she pulls away and you look at the shocked faces of everyone in the kitchen, even Aaron looks a little rattled. You playfully nudge his arm, “See what you did? Always causing trouble.”

“Me? If I recall correctly you’re the one who got arrested for being drunk off your ass and trying to fight a serial killer.” His comment elicits a series of small laughs from everyone.

"Yeah and it helped you catch him, so really you all should thank me for being drunk." You playfully argue with Aaron. "Anyway, the actual news. No, I'm not pregnant." You point at Penelope as she opens her mouth to say something else. 

“You’re looking at the proud new owner of a Ph.D. in physics!” You do a small cheesy spin as the rest of the team congratulates you, “Handed in my final thesis paper today.” Aaron smiles proudly as you move back to his side.

“Yeah that’s great and all but you’re still two Ph.D.s behind me.” Spencer can’t help but tease you. In the past year, he’s become one of your closest friends, especially since Aaron can’t even seem to begin to understand your thesis research.

“All right cool it kid.” You joke with him.

“Kid? I’m older than you.” Spencer laughs. Aaron comes closer to wrap his arm around your waist. The gesture is comforting and just this touch sends waves of pleasure through your body.

“Reid might have two more Ph.D.s than you but he’s got nothing on your good looks.” Prentiss winks at you.

“She’s got that right,” Aaron smirks as he kisses your cheek gently.

“Ok, ok, enough small talk.” You feel your face flush, “I came here to learn some cooking from chef Rossi, not talk about how hot I am.” You see Aaron roll his eyes with a smile and you pull him close as Rossi starts the demonstration.

“I love you so much, you know that?” Aaron has his arms wrapped around you from behind. He speaks softly so only you can hear.

“I know,” You smile, happiness flooding through your body, “I love you too.”

[hwascripts]

What Izuku would be like in a relationship: The positive traits, the toxic traits, his love language, my own personal headcanons and an overall conclusion

WC: unknown

TW// POTENTIAL SPOILERS, No smut but Izuku is aged up, Toxic traits aren’t necessarily toxic...more so just bad traits, Teeny tiny little bit of angst, I think that’s it!

Masterlist

Disclaimer: I am in no way claiming the following headcanons are true. You are 100% free to disagree with me but please DO NOT send me hateful comments or asks. I am simply writing what I think Deku would be like in a relationship

a/n: Just to let you know, your nickname for him is Zuku just so you don’t think I kept spelling his name wrong.

-Deku is literally the kindest soul ever and it makes me want to cry. He’d give you his umbrella if you ever forgot yours, he’d literally carry you to first aid if you ever injure yourself- this man will legitimately do everything for you

-He’s incredibly observant. If he catches you looking at a pretty ring then he’ll literally show up at your door days later with that very same ring in his hands

“I saw you looking at it a few days ago and I wanted to surprise you!”

“Zuku baby oh my god how much did you spend?!”

“You don’t need to worry about it sunshine”

I wholeheartedly believe Izuku would call you his sunshine or something along those lines

-I have this one headcanon of him drawing you all the time as an excuse to “observe you and your quirk” but it’s really just because he wants to admire the way you shine underneath the sun- and that’s how he came up with the name Sunshine for you

-Deku has a heart of gold oh my god, this guy cares so much about you it’s unreal. Imagine trying to hide the fact that you’ve been crying while on a phone call- mission failed because he heard your shaky voice and now he’s on your doorstep with your favourite hoodie of his and your favourite snacks

-His memory is insanely good, like it’s freaky how good it is. Like you mentioned to him ONCE that you liked a certain drink and now he pulls up to your dates with that drink all the time (not like I’d complain if Deku brought me my favourite drink)

-Just like Bakugou, Deku is incredibly smart and he literally always comes up with a solution. You could literally vent to him about a problem you’re having at work and he’s come up with at least 73 solutions within 6 hours

-He’s determined and hardworking. Again, he’s just like Bakugou in the sense that he’ll put his blood, sweat and tears into whatever he’s doing- no matter if it’s a serious high stake mission or something like planning your weekly date. The second he puts his mind to something, he makes sure to give it his all.

-Izuku is your own personal cheerleader, this dude will hype you up no matter what. Training after work? he’s cheering for you. You completed a really difficult task? you better believe he’s gonna pat you on the back for it.

-He’s very protective of you. Remember when the LOV attacked the training camp and he rushed to find Kota? yeah he’s 10x more protective of you.

-And it’s not because he thinks you’re weak and can’t defend yourself, it’s because he genuinely worries about you all the time and just wants to make sure your always safe

-He’s an inspirational person, he makes you hella motivated to do even the most boring chores around the house

-Deku isn’t afraid to show his emotions. Unlike Bakugou, he’s often seen showing his emotions. Deku said “toxic masculinity who?”. He definitely gives 0 fucks if someone sees him crying/upset because I feel like Pro-Hero Deku would stop the stupid mindset of “Hero’s can’t show their genuine emotions”

-Izuku is the type of person to analyze all his losses, figure out what he did wrong and then learn from it to make sure he doesn’t make the same mistake again. He’s the complete opposite of Bakugou who gets bitter over his losses due to his superiority complex.

-He’s so good at comforting you that it’s unbelievable. Deku gives the warmest hugs that make you feel so safe- you literally cannot change my mind about this

-You know those hugs where the other person lightly rubs your back and lightly sways side to side with you? Yeah those are the hugs that Deku gives (he’d definitely give you a sweet little kiss on the forehead/cheek)

“Sunshine come here, let me hold you while you let out all your frustrations. I’ve got you, nothing can hurt you while you’re here with me”

-Can you tell I want some comforting Izuku hugs? He wouldn’t let go of you until he put a smile back on your face and GAHH oh my god I need Izuku hugs

-As much as I hate to do this, it needs to be done 😔✊🏻

-Izuku is such an over thinker, this guy worries about EVERYTHING under the sun. Your eyes didnt crinkle when you smiled? he’ll think you’re upset with him. You gave him a side hug rather than a normal hug? he’ll think he did something wrong.

-He’s self aware that he overthinks things but he just can’t seem to stop his thoughts. No matter how many times you reassure him that you aren’t upset with him, he’s subconsciously thinking about how to make it up to you

-He constantly pushes himself past his limits. You guys saw how many times he’s broken his bones. Deku may be intelligent but when it comes to his own self he can be completely hopeless

-The amount of times you’ve scolded him while you clean up his scrapes and cuts is insane. He just sits on the toilet lid and bites his lip nervously while you wave your finger angrily at him

“Sunshine please, I said I was sorry and that it won’t happen again!”

“Zuku you and I both know that’s a damn lie, I’ve had to patch you up 3 times this week! When are you going to start being more considerate of your limits?”

-I’m sorry but I picture him being so nervous to initiate anything with you. This guy would be so fidgety just by THINKING about holding your hand

-And deep down he knows he’s being ridiculous because come on, you’re his S/O and he’s been dating you for years now- why does he still get shaken up just by holding your hand?

-At first you think it’s cute, he’s just being respectful of your boundaries- but as time goes on you kind of get a little annoyed because he always asks you a bunch of times if you’re okay with him being affectionate.

“Zuku...sweetheart you know you don’t need to ask me a million times if I want to cuddle, right? I love cuddling with you!”

*cue sweating* “I’ll keep that in mind, Sunshine”

-He eventually gets a lot more comfortable with affection...more often than not you wake up with him nuzzled into your side like a cat

(Side note PLEASE wake him up with a bunch of kisses, he’ll literally melt)

-He’s very insecure about his scars because they make him feel like he’s “ugly” and sometimes he doesn’t even want you to look at them

-Do me a favour and please kiss along his scars/ trace them with your fingers while you compliment him- he’ll start crying because the scars he thought made him ugly are now starting to look beautiful to him

-This isn’t necessarily a toxic trait, more like a bad habit. Whenever Izuku gets stressed he’ll train himself to the brink of exhaustion just so he can try to focus on something other than how stressed he is

-Again, not a toxic trait but a bad one...Deku puts everyone else before himself. Which isn’t a bad thing if it’s done in a healthy amount, but Izuku goes to the extreme. I feel like he’d neglect his own needs just to satisfy everyone else and you’d have to intervene before it gets worse

“Sunshine I said I was fine, you don’t need to worry about me! Your Zuku is perfectly energized and ready to go”

“Zuku don’t lie to me, you know I can read you like a book. You’re coming with me and I’m putting you to bed”

-I hate to say it but this guy hates confrontation so much that sometimes he’ll suffer in silence for MONTHS before he even hints at being upset with something

-I honestly think your biggest argument with him would be about his lack of communication in terms of him not being completely honest about how he feels and he just breaks down-

-Like he has a really bad breakdown because he’s been bottling everything up for so long because he hates the idea of fighting with you.

-And now he’s sobbing because he’s so frustrated that he doesn’t know what else to do

-Anyways, the two of you just silently comfort each other until you’ve both calmed down enough to talk properly. This is the night Izuku finally starts opening up to you rather than bottling up every negative emotion he feels

-I honestly think his love language is a mixture of giving you gifts and words of praise

-He’s a little shy when it comes to showing you how he feels through affection, so giving you gifts and his praise get his point across

-He’s totally the type to send you cute messages throughout the day, send cute selfies when he misses you, or he just sends you a random bouquet of flowers because he saw them and thought of you

-Also the type of guy to have photos of the two of you displayed around his office. His most prized one being the photo of your first mission together

-Just warning you now that if you ever mention that your suit ripped or a certain item isn’t functioning properly then he’ll literally buy 10 replacements- each one better than the last

“Zuku I said that the sole of my BOOT ripped off, not my entire suit!”

“Well now you have 10 new upgraded suits to make sure it won’t happen again! Isn’t it great, Sunshine?”

(Someone take his credit card away from him)

I definitely think Izuku would be an amazing S/O! He’s caring, kind and comforting- and he does his very best to try and work on the bad habits he has.

Overall, I would say Izuku definitely would win a “S/O of the year award” (sorry Bakugou)

[decayandfanfics]

The great book of sayings

PAIRINGS: Tomura Shigaraki x FemReader

SUMMARY: He looks at you, his scarlet eyes fixed on yours, burning a hole through your head,  every bit the predator he is, but you are as tough as it gets, so, against your better judgment and any well-founded logic, you answer his  silent threat, the animalistic look he gives you with nothing less than a  fearless smirk, irises burrowing into his pupils.A clever girl. He  thinks, finally labeling you inside his head, cursing himself in the  very moment he allows his brain to think of you as more than an asset.  He is sure (he knows himself enough to know) he’ll think of this moment  many times from now on.A clever pretty girl.

Reader is a typical college student until she gets herself tangled with the league of villains.

WARNINGS: Unhealthy/complicated relationships, violence, Tomura being Tomura, mentions of murder, heroes’ abuse of power, smut, dirty talking.

A/N:  This chapter is shameless smut, you are warned. Minors do not interact. go and read a book or something.

Any misspelled words, english is not my native language so i’m trying Helen.As always, let me know what you think!

________________________________________________

Chapter 14 / Chapter 15

Lovers ever run before the clock.

Overhaul really is just an uptight pretentious asshole, but Tomura lets his insulting remarks slide, trying his utter best not to snap.

He was supposed to be in a good mood today, but by the time Chronostasis puts the gun against his white locks, he swears that he will do anything in his power to completely ruin Shie Hassakai for this mess, already struggling to keep his temper at bay.

“I don’t want you to get hurt. That’s all.”

He’s never one to get distracted but it is difficult to stay focus when he cannot erase the feeling of her thighs caging his hips, her words rumbling inside his brain like a prayer for him to come back and take what’s already his.

It enrages him far more than he would like to admit, but he can’t go back if he gets killed, can’t he?

Luckily for them, Tomura kinda lacks that self-preservation impulse at the face of danger, so he stays there completely stoic and delightfully petty between Chisaki and the gun. The thought of her crying because he got his pretty brains scattered all over the Shie Hassakai immaculate floor makes him realize that he has yet another reason to hate Overhaul.

Really, what’s the matter with these people? they just keep adding points to their list, but sure, he will work with what he has (as always) by sending Toga and Twice into their ranks to gain some reliability after Chisaki told him about this ridiculous plan of curing society of quirks like it’s an illness.

And he thought que was an extremist.

It’s a dumb concept, really. People decide to be assholes, to be heroes, villains and such. There is a choice in excluding those like him from society meanwhile hero violence is idolized. But quirks? People don’t get to choose. Shit just happens. You can develop a cute little nice quirk that allows you to make bubbles or something ridiculous like, dunno, destroying everything you touch; but people can help it, it’s just the way it is. Nobody asks for it. Not even Overhaul, not even him.

And, even when Tomura can understand what Overhaul is saying about society being unfair based on quirks, his plan still sounds pretty nonsensical to him, who wants to destroy everything with his own hands, after all is that why he was born with such deadly weapon at the reach of his fingers. It would be nothing short but hypocritical and, despite the irony, he likes to think of himself as an honest person. His goal clashes directly with Overhaul’s, so no, he will keep the league interests to himself and for now will trust Toga and Twice to do what they do best without rising any suspicion about what he’s up to. Chisaki is more stupid tan he looks if he thinks Tomura will make blind eye to the audacity of his challenge and his continuous lack of propriety.

Oh, poor Overhaul. He doesn’t know it yet, but he already lost.

In the meantime, he’ll keep himself busy on more important and exciting matters. Hating Overhaul is something he can use as a motivation for more than just inner monologue, because you see, Tomura has a revenge to plan and a truck to steal.

_____________

 Things are different next time he sees you. Something primal and strange born from a sick sense of belonging that fills your interactions after the night you slept together, soothing his temper and bitterness into something warmer and far more intense that pulls and twist and burns to be close to each other.

It's been four days since they left the apartment to prepare the backhand against Overhaul and Tomura is sure that by that hour tomorrow Overhaul will have failed, leaving him as the great winner of his sensei’s title. (Not that he ever needed to prove it, but if Overhaul wanted to pick a fight, he would not be the one to deny his wishes.)

Tonight, however, has nothing to do with all that, not when he’s finally back.

You’ve been waiting for his return by the window, searching for his frame in every shadow, a mug of chocolate warming your hands as the soup simmered over the stove. A warm meal made for him every night in case he decided to return, guessing he would be hungry and cold, wondering if it isn’t too much (but you care for him, so you do it anyway).

A supposition that turned out to be true, but Tomura had another solution in mind.

He’s a starving dog all hunger and demand, a wild vicious thing that looks at you feral and maddened, dripping with want and something far scarier that you don’t dare to name (but you do know, don’t you?).

You are no better than him, not when your fingers had traced patterns with his name across your body, spelling dreams and fantasies from your lips, remembering the way his fingers filled you and you wonder if he touched himself thinking about you too. The answer comes rather messy the moment his jagged mouth whimpers how much he missed you between whispers and moans that to you sound like poetry.

And he takes and takes and takes with deaf hands and sharp teeth, leaving bruises with the shape of his fingertips burned all over you as he bites and scratch and pull-out whimpers and pants from your mouth that echoes the frantic tune of his heart slamming against his ribs because he missed you so much it was painful.  

So, he had kissed you feverish, stomping you against the wall desperate and needing for your attention until you had pull him by the neck of his shirt to drag him into the bedroom, his brain completely forgetting about Overhaul’s existence the moment you push him to the edge of the mattress to sit in his lap, pulling the hem of his shirt for him to take it off, too focused in the heat prints your hands leave on his pale shoulders as something roars inside of his chest urging him to imprint his existence on your skin and possess the being that lives inside your bones.

Tomura paints a plethora of purple kisses over your neck and chest as a mark of his touch and your belonging. Something dark and twisted reverbing inside his ribs, inside his brain.

Mine; his mind repeats over and over again until he’s dizzied from the words, drunk in touch as your hands slither all over his sides, his chest and shoulders. His eyes marveling in the way skin holds together every angle of your flesh and the parts where your bones show from inside of your figure when he finally takes off your dress.

So soft, so beautiful and all his.

His kisses become raw and sharp and painful like the electric bond that ties you together by the ribs, all roughness and need, bruising lips and sinking teeth. Your moans and pants mixing now and then with some pained yelps and hisses of his name to call out on his harshness, but he chooses to make deaf ears to your pleas, too busy trying to gorge on your taste.

His teeth sink on your skin leaving marks like crescent moons that he kisses after you cry, pleasure and need pooling between your thighs, a tightness that burn inside your belly as you tangle your fingers in his hair, thinking briefly between the fog of your thoughts that it has grown, that it looks painfully beautiful on him like a crown of silver and moonlight.

Soon enough your legs lock around his bony hips, the choir of soft mewls and pants has become something far more animal; cries filling the room with each touch. White underwear remaining as the last barrier to your skin, leaving a wet stain over the fabric of his jeans.  

The room turns unbearable warm as your kisses become more slopy and open, letting him take your mouth just how he likes it as he registers the way the skin of your torso presses against his bare chest, your warmth spreading over, suffocating him.

Hooking a finger on your bra cup, Tomura pulls down and reveals the flesh hidden under the layers of lace, deciding already that this is his favorite image of you. Covered in love marks, wet and underwear ruined, your bra tucked under the curb of your breast. Something obscene and desperate about it, more crude than mere nakedness and it’s exactly how he likes it.

It looks lewd, it looks nasty. It looks like everything he wants to make of you, so he tightens his hold on your waist, making your back curve a little up to latch his mouth to your breast, sucking hard enough to draw a loud moan from your lips as you dig your nails on the muscle of his arms, delight shooting through your spine.

“Ow…fuck…” you pant with each pull of his mouth, and he chuckles darkly against your chest, amused and smug because he has you and he knows it, a sinister part of him (the vengeful scary one that wants to kill and maim and destroy) screaming that you belong to him from now on, that you’ll never leave, that he’ll never let you.

Mine, and mine alone he thinks and the thought sounds jarring and loud inside his head as he leaves bruises all over the skin that surround the buds of your chest, making you gasp over his lap.

“What? Wanna say something?” Tomura teases watching your expression, your eyes going wide the moment he slides your panties to the side and press his fingers inside you without warning.

“T-oh…Tomura…fuck…ow” you try to articulate but the words come out as blurred whispers.

“No bickering now?”

“Oh god…Tomura…please” you cry trembling, mouth watering with every touch of his palm over your nerve.

“Please what.”

You hide your face on the crook of his neck to bite him hard enough to make him bark an excited laugh, rejoicing in the fact that you are marking him too, before hooking his fingers inside you to make you moan loudly; hips moving automatically as one of your hands reach the hem of his pants and unbuttons his jeans to touch him back.

“I want you inside.”

He lets out a pretty hiss the moment your fist close around his length, caressing him tentatively until finding a pace, giving you a little victory over his rough teasing.

“I wanna tear you apart” he growls reaching deep inside of you, a wolf like grin slicing across his face baring his sharp teeth “you are a mess. All wet and begging for me to fuck you.”

“Tomura…”

“Fuck…you are so wet, all for me…my good girl, my good girl.” The words pour out of his mouth in feverish tone as his other hand clear the hair off your face before catching your lips on his again.

“Tomura, please…”

He snaps, turning you onto the mattress to climb over your body, throwing his jeans to the floor before leaning between your thighs as his hardness brushes over your clothed center. His patience has run thin though, so he yanks the panties by one side, closing all five fingers over the piece of fabric that flews to the floor before transforming into dust.

He lines up with your center, feeling the intimate touch before thrusting deep into you, ripping out a high moan that makes your eyes roll back and your nails dig into his shoulders, leaving scratching marks all over his pale skin in an attempt to steady yourself as your walls burn with the stretching.

No, he isn’t gentle this time, he just can’t bring himself to be soft when he feels like the awful infatuation he’s been harboring inside is about to tear his ribs open, pouring out for everyone to see the bloody mess you’ve made of his heart. So, he thrust hard like punishing you for it, snaping his hips fast and deep into you, trying to leave a bruise mark inside as well as one of his hands tangles between your hair, pulling and making you scream to the rhythm of your creaking bed.

He bottoms out the moment his arm hooks under your knee, as you tangle your other leg over his waist, giving him deepest access into you, his tip planting kisses against your cervix, rough friction and raw closeness sending you over the edge because he’s fucking you hard, making sure your screaming can be heard from the hall of the building.

It's brutal, yet you give him everything he wants and more because you like it like this, you like it because is him. The warmth of his body covering yours and you wonder if he can feel it too.

The terrific need of holding onto his body, his wicked smile, his bruised heart. The horror of your attachment to a person like him and what this represents, at the brim of ruining your life for love…

Love.

You are so in love with him.

“Look at me” he demands pulling your hair, a feral snarl across his sharp face darkening his features before kissing you hard, his tongue filling your mouth in lewd motion. “Fuck, you are so tight…I wanna split you in half.” His voice is a coarse and maddened sound against your lips, so close and intimate it’s scary because he’s sinking so deep it feels like he’s trying to rearrange your insides and his words do nothing but intensify the heat.

“Fuck…Tomura…it hurst…you’re so rough…so rough” You manage to blurt out, eyes boring into his.

“And you love it, don’t you?” he snarls tightening the grip on your hair. “You like how it feels…like I’m gonna split your pretty cunt in two. Huh? Say it, say it…”

“Fuck…yes…yes”

“Yes what.” He barks in a particularly harsh thrust that makes you scream like a wildling.

“I love it…fuck…like that…I love it…I love it.”

“You are mine…you hear me?” he prays over your mouth half ordering, half begging for you to go down with it and say that yes, that you’ll never leave him, that you’ll stay with him “All mine to fuck, mine, mine, mine, MINE!” he growls with every thrust as the bed slams hard against the wall until you are a babbling incoherent mess.

His brutal pace and words get you quiet soon, too much to even make a sound and hardly even allowing you to breathe, too concentrated in the feeling of his length and him smashing into your ending wall as the overwhelming touch of his hips and his abdomen on yours burns your skin.

The brush of his hair and ragged breathing fanning over your cheek is the only compass of time while the tightness in your belly threatens to snap the moment your teary eyes meet his, mouth on mouth without even kiss, but you smile to him, your warm hand caressing softly the skin of his jaw as he tears into you, feeling incapable of telling him what the voice of your mind has been playing over and over again.

I’m in love with you.

Like sensing your thoughts, his hands abandon your hair. Four trembling fingers cuddling your cheek, carefully and almost scared before closing his eyes, letting his forehead rest on yours as he whispers sweet words of praise only for you to keep, still forcing himself in and out of you. His mouth watering to the sight of your bouncing breast still trapped by your bra.

“ow…I’m gonna..Tomura…I’m gonna…”

The snap of his hips become erratic when finally you come undone on him, eyes rolling back and a cry that tears your throat open when your walls clench around his hardness making him moan as he keeps thrusting in and out, reaching his own end soon after; his hand closing tightly into a fist over the mattress as he grunts with his face hidden on the crook of your neck, filling you warm and slick until he goes soft inside of you.

Tomura pulls out and rests his head on your chest, his heart hammering against your belly, still trying to catch his breath; his fingers tracing mindless patterns over the shape of your waist, as your hands slide between the tangled locks of silver, lips laying little pecks over his crown.

Time slows down, minutes passing and quiet settles, he notices.

Quiet inside of him.

This is all he wanted from the moment he crossed the umbral of your door months ago. The insufferable itch silenced by the calming thump of your heart, fluttering softly behind the gate of your ribs and he wonders if maybe you’d have a room by your core where he could lay his bones to finally rest for a minute from all the rage and hate that burdens him.

Maybe you do have one, hidden and unspoken, a mirror of the one you occupy in the graveyard of his chest where he holds you beautiful and bright and…everything he doesn’t get to hate.

Yeah, he thinks you do. After all, he’s lying in your arms, isn’t it? You had caressed his face and marked his neck and back, all teeth and nails, to then crown him with a wreath of kisses, your body soft and still under his weight, while your hands brush carefully through his scalp.

He knows the feeling, he’s not stupid…but he doesn’t get to speak its name yet.

Is not that bad, after all. Being attached to you and the lullaby of your heartbeat could make him better, smarter, stronger. You could be another reason to fight and destroy. After all, in a society as rotten as this one, you’ll never be allowed to walk by his side if not by putting a bounty on your head too.

What the media would say about you? Would they catalog you as an S class villain? since your quirk is as deadly as it gets, you would be feared and hated. You can practically kill by just looking at someone and he’s not even sure if you really need to look to your target, after all.

And yet you are the kindest person he knows. If someone of the hero commission knew about this, you’d be hunted down despite your service as a doctor, despite your resolution to help whoever needs it, despite caring for those rotten and downthrown. And since you are critical of the system, you’d be reduced to just another animal to put down. Just like him.

Tomura swears he’ll decay every single person on the world before let that happen.

“Tomura…”

He rises his head to look at you, a question drawn across his face.

“Can you…move a little? My bra is killing me.”

“Ow…sorry about that.” He apologizes, curious eyes over the mark that the elastic has left over your skin as he sits by your side.

“Can you help me? I can’t reach the clip…”

“Sure…”  

You bend over to give him better access to your back, feeling his fingers brush over your skin carefully, before liberating you from the elastic straps incrusted on your flesh.

Tomura leans forward, placing soft kisses between your shoulder blades, letting his forehead rest over your spine and the touch is so sweet that it makes you wonder if maybe he does feel the same as you.

You get your answer when his hand moves forward to cup your breast, middle finger carefully up, as the other slides down between your thighs, making you sigh, feeling his hardness brushing your hip.

He nuzzles against your cheek, until you turn to kiss him deeply, warmth pooling between your legs again as his fingers play lazy between your slick entrance and the bundle of nerves. This time though, you take your chance and turn over, sitting on top before taking his wrist to lay kisses over the soft skin of his pulse.

Your quirk flares alive and before Tomura gets to catch on your intentions, his hands stand secured high against the headboard.

“What the…ow fuck!” He moans the moment your hand close over his length, pumping until he’s losing his breath, a ragged laugh scaping his jagged lips “fuck…you are an evil woman.”

“I should be proud if you say so.”

You accommodate over him, lowering until he fills you, pushing his previous release deeper into you.

Your pacing is torturingly slow and intense, soft moans and sweet whispers between languid kissed. Tomura watches hypnotized how your hips ride over the place you two connect, his crimson eyes half lidded as he lets you take him, before finally releasing your hold.

He touches you carefully this time, palming over the curve of your hipbone and your belly, index finger up as he wonders how deep is he, trying to feel himself from the outside, before pushing down to sink deeper into you, hitting the fragile spot where he makes you cry.

“I like you like this…” he speaks softly, looking you up from behind his eyelashes as you ride him slowly.

“How” your word is a whisper against his lips.

“Bare…” he rasps, his voice luring you into his embrace, spilling sweet nothing into his ear as he mumbles over and over again.

“My good girl…you are so good for me…”

This time you reach your peak softly. A sweet thing that fills you gently; walls fluttering around his oversensitive length while you keep rocking him until he stuffs you again, finally both falling back into the mattress side to side, already drifting into sleep, both tired and content.

A light touch catches your attention before falling unconscious. Tomura´s pinky hooks on yours as a silent plea, so you spill a peck over his shoulder before resting your temple on it, a sweet gesture that makes his heart tremble with fear and excitement for all the right reasons.

So, he does what he wants, sliding his arm under your neck and moving your head to rest on his chest. Over his heart he lays a fist for you to grip gently by the wrist before finally crowning you with soft kisses as the steady beat of his heart lulls you to dream.

Chapter 16 (soon)

[deafeninggardenerpanda]

Waddle Dee went to Kirby's house every day after finishing work at Factory Dedede to help aid the search.

"It seems that our president has also started searching for the gears. He’s been walking around town with a map and a magnifying glass."

Kirby nodded. "Not only President Dedede, but everyone in town is searching for them. It's difficult, though. No one knows the shape or color of the gears." 

"Hmm ... Do we have any leads?" Kirby and Waddle Dee pondered face-to-face. At that moment, the doorbell, which rarely rings, made a noise.

"Who is it?" Waddle Dee said to Kirby. "You don’t get many guests."

Kirby jumped up. "Oh! Is it the pizza delivery person!?" he shouted.

"Pizza delivery person? Kirby, did you order pizza?"

"No! But ... maybe the pizza place made a special pizza to celebrate my 100th consecutive victory of the airplane races!" Kirby opened the door in a hurry. There stood someone wearing a large hood.

"That? That’s not the delivery person, is it ...? " 

"Good evening, Kirby! It's been a long time. It’s Magolor, yo~! " Magolor, the traveling merchant. He traveled often from town to town selling medicine. Kirby, himself, had also once taken Magolor's medicine after he had previously rolled around in the snow and caught a cold.

"Did you come to sell medicine again? But I'm not sick ... "

"No, no! It's different this time. There’s a big story."

"A big story?"

"It's about the search for some gears." Magolor came into the room, put the large trunk he had with him on the floor, and sat down on it.

Kirby was taken aback. "Are you also looking for the gears, Magolor?" he asked.

"Yep, it's my dream to get the prize, build a laboratory, and develop medicine." Magolor spread his hands. "Kirby, we both have our strengths. If we put those strengths together, I’m sure we could find the gears! What do you think about some cooperation?"

"Yeah, sure!" Kirby nodded. Waddle Dee, however, was a little worried. 

"Kirby, is it okay to trust this guy?"

"Eh? Why not? It's easier to find something with three people instead of two." 

"Hmm ... but ... " Waddle Dee didn't trust Magolor. He came out of nowhere—maybe he was trying to use Kirby by taking advantage of his kindness.

Looking at Kirby, Magolor said, "I know a secret method for finding the gears. If you have me, we’ll easily be able to find them."

"Really!? Great, then let’s do it!" Kirby was overjoyed, but again, Waddle Dee was more skeptical. He became more and more suspicious.

"If you know a method, why are you telling us? Why don't you search for them by yourself?"

"I would, but ... there’s a big issue." Magolor took a deep breath and spoke with all his might. "I can’t do it alone. Kirby has a certain something we need." Kirby and Waddle Dee looked at each other.

"Kirby has ... what? Huh?"

"Here’s the thing, listen carefully!" 

"Okay." Kirby and Waddle Dee sat down in front of Magolor.

"I'm nuts about ancient magic, so I’m the only person who understands ... the gears of the ancient machine cannot be found because they’ve been sealed."

"Sealed?"

"Uh-huh. Once upon a time, the gears were stolen by an evil wizard. It seems the gears had a magic seal put on them during that. The sealed object cannot be seen with the naked eye, however, a special tool can be used to find it. I know the location of that special tool."

"Special tool?" Waddle Dee said. "A special tool that reacts to magic ... Where is it?" 

"I told you, Kirby has it."

"Eh? I do?" Kirby’s eyes widened. "I don't have anything like that! I can't use magic!" 

"You ... you have the Star Compass, right?"

Kirby was surprised. "The Star Compass ...? Yeah, I have it, but, hold on." Kirby rummaged through some junk piled up in the corner of the room and pulled out a small, star-shaped compass.

"That’s a cute compass. What’s so special about it?" Waddle Dee asked.

"The old man of the Magic Guild gave me this as a present a long time ago, after I defeated a monster in the City of Magic."

"Not the ‘old man,’ the Elder of the Magic Guild. The great wizard Tottemo." Magolor looked enviously at Kirby. "Tottemo … Totteeemooo ... The Star Compass, such a precious artifact. If you study magic, you'd want it even if it were in bits and pieces. When I heard an airplane pilot from Diamond Town got it, I was so jealous!"

"Huh ... I didn’t realize it was so important." Kirby recalled when he received the gift.

("Really? You want me to take it?"  When Kirby asked, the old man of the Magic Guild—no, the Elder, smiled gently.

"It’s a thank-you item. Please, don't hesitate. The Star Compass—if it falls into the hands of someone with a bad heart, it will bring terrifying results. But if it's with you, Kirby, it will be safe."

"Huh?"

"Besides, this compass, don't you like it? Ho ho ho!" He waved goodbye as Kirby left.)

That guy that Kirby visited ... Even when he asked what he meant, Kirby didn't understand at all. 

"This compass, it doesn't move. I can’t tell what direction it points because of it. I'm sure it's broken ... "

"That’s just because you’re using it incorrectly." Magolor reached out and received it from him. "The Star Compass is a tool used to search for the power of magic. If it’s not used correctly, it won't move. Watch." Magolor opened his trunk and took out a small paper packet. Glittering, sand-like grains spilled out when he opened it. Using them, he began to draw a mysterious pattern on the floor.

"Like this, if you draw it with magical sand and put the Star Compass in the center ... "  The needle of the compass, which had not been moving until now, began to sway. It emitted a pale light like the glimmer of the stars.

"Ah, the compass ...! " Kirby shouted. 

"Get a map of the town!" Magolor said. Waddle Dee hurriedly brought a map of Diamond Town, which Magolor put the compass on. He chanted a spell. The compass needle spun around wildly, increasing in speed, until it stopped at a particular angle. After a moment, it began spinning again and stopped at another angle, and then another. Magolor nodded.

"Okay, there are three gears in all. Here, here, and ... here." Magolor put three marks on the map.

"Do we know the position of the gears, now?" Waddle Dee said with big eyes.

"Yep! The movement of the Star Compass can tell you exactly where our magical objects are."

Kirby looked at the map. "The first one is ... the field! That field is where the goal of our airplane races is," said Kirby.

"Second is ... around the clock tower in the west," said Waddle Dee.

"Third," said Magolor, "‘The Town of Light.’"

"You can't go into The Town of Light," said Waddle Dee. "’The residents of the Town of Wind must not go into the Town of Light without permission.’ That's the rule."  

"Aw man … The third gear is postponed, then. We’ll have to figure out some other way. Let’s find the other two, first."

Waddle Dee nodded. "There’s a guard at the clock tower that won’t let us in, so we should start with the gear in the field."

"Okay! Come on, let's go!" Magolor stopped Kirby from running out the door. 

"Now, it's too late. You should wait until tomorrow." 

"But ... "

"The night is dangerous. We’re the only ones that know the locations, so don't worry so much."

"That's right. Let's start tomorrow," Waddle Dee said. "The factory will be closed, too, so we can find it together. We’ll all meet in the field, first thing in the morning."

"Oh, actually, I’m sorry. I have something to do tomorrow. I can’t go with you ... Instead, let me give you a thing." Magolor took out a small bottle from the trunk and gave it to Kirby. "These are magical eye drops I made."

"Eye ... Drops ...? " 

"As I said, things with a magical seal on them cannot be seen with the naked eye, however, you’ll be able to see them if you use these special eye drops."

"Wow, that's convenient!" Magolor, again, stopped Kirby from immediately trying to use the eye drops.

"No no no, it doesn't last for long! Only about an hour. It'd be better to use them tomorrow!"

"Okay, I understand. Thank you, Magolor."  

"You’re very welcome! Oh, and one more thing: once touched, the magical seal will melt. It will be so that the gears can be seen even without the eye drops."

"We just have to touch it," Waddle Dee said. "If we find the gears, let's deliver them to Mr. Fugo, together, and get the prize. We’ll divide it evenly!"

"Wow, sounds fun! Good luck Kirby, Waddle Dee."

"Yeah, we’ll do our best. Thank you, Magolor!"

Magolor headed home, dragging his heavy trunk behind him.

"Magolor is really knowledgeable and smart," Kirby said. "I’m surprised!" 

"I'm glad he’s on our side," Waddle Dee nodded. "Thanks to Magolor, we can get the gears. Let's do our best, tomorrow."

"Yeah! Good night, Waddle Dee." 

"Good night, Kirby." Waddle Dee waved and left the room. 

Meta Knight was sitting on the couch and thinking, of course, about the gears and the ancient machine that was discovered.

(Evil using an ancient machine ... What kind of machine could it be?)

A knocking sound was heard, and Butler Vul's voice soon after. 

"Excuse me, my lord."

"What is it?"  

"It seems ... a strange guest has come."

"A guest? At this time?"

"Well ... I told him to come back tomorrow, but he said that he wanted to speak to you as soon as possible. He spoke of gears—I didn't understand much of it ... What do you want me to do?"

" ... Gears." Meta Knight had also begun looking for the gears, but no one should know except Daroach. Not even Butler Vul should know. Meta Knight stood up.

"Okay, let me through the living room."

"Are you sure?  Somehow, he has a strange atmosphere about him ... "

"It doesn't matter."

"Understood ... " Butler Vul moved to return to the front door, however, he nearly bumped into someone on the way there. "Wahhh!?"

"Nice to meet you, Lord Meta Knight!" Standing behind Butler Vul was a person wearing a large hood. Butler Vul yelled at the intruder.

"Why—! Hey, you! You selfish—! How dare you just, come in on your own! I told you to wait at the door until my lord gave me permission!" But the guest just pushed Butler Vul aside and spoke to Meta Knight.

"I'm a medicine peddler named Magolor—"

"We don’t need medicine. Get out."

"—I want to talk to you, Lord Meta Knight. I have a story I want to tell you—"

"It's time for my lord to get his rest. Get out!"

"—A story about ... the gears of death!"

"Hey, why don’t you listen to a story about my wrinkles instead!" Butler Vul was furious, but Meta Knight just stared at the strange merchant.

"Okay, let's hear the story. Vul, you’re dismissed." 

"Eh!? But my lord ...! "

"I’ll call if anything happens. Don't worry." Butler Vul was so upset he left the living room with shaking fists. Meta Knight led Magolor to the sofa and sat down. Magolor spoke with a smile.

"Thank you so much, Lord Meta Knight. I’m sorry I’m here so late at night, forgive me ... " 

"Let's not waste time. About the matter at hand—what do you know about the gears?" 

" …………… " 

Magolor’s hood shifted and showed his expression. "Right to the point. As I expected from you, Lord Meta Knight!" Suddenly changing his tone, Magolor leaned back on the couch. 

"I know a tip for finding the gears. I want to tell you about it."

"What do you mean?" 

"What I mean is, Lord Meta Knight, I want you to find the gears ... " Magolor rephrased, seeing sharp eyes staring at him from behind the mask. "I’m telling the truth. I'll give you a tip because I want you to find the gears and win us the prize. I want to build a laboratory and develop new medicine."

"Why me? If you know a clue to finding the gears, you should look for it alone." 

"I can’t, it has to be you. You see, one of the gears is in the Town of Light."

" ... What was that?"

"As an aristocrat, you have the freedom to act in the Town of Light. If they see a merchant like me sneaking about, they’ll kick me out. To find all the gears, our cooperation is a must! Your help is needed at any cost!"

Meta Knight stopped to think. This medicine peddler, who called himself Magolor, was more than he seemed. He seemed to know important information about the gears, but Meta Knight was not yet convinced.

"If you need an aristocrat, I'm sure there are others. Why did you choose me?" 

"The aristocrats are a burden. Everyone, they’re sloths, annoying things. Out of all of them, the only one I can rely on is you, Lord Meta Knight."

Meta Knight didn’t believe it was that simple, but Magolor had a point. The aristocrats who lived in luxury had no adventurous spirit or curiosity. Meta Knight was the only one who was interested in finding the gears.

"Let me hear from you. What kind of hints do you know?" 

"Look at this." Magolor opened his trunk and took out a map. "The gear is here." A certain place was marked in the Town of Light.

" ... This is ...! " Meta Knight was shocked.

"Do you know where this is?" Magolor asked.

" ... Ah, yeah."

"Great! Then, do your best to find the gear. I'm going home ... Oh, one last thing." Magolor pulled out a small bottle. "These are magical eye drops I made." Magolor explained the eye drops and handed a vial to Meta Knight. "Good luck, Lord Meta Knight. Have a good night." He dragged the trunk out of the living room. After Magolor left, Meta Knight was still. He was staring at the map of the Town of Light. The gear—it was in Mr. Fugo's mansion.

"What does this mean?" Meta Knight murmured. "Regardless, I have to let Daroach know ... "

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[elleonmybeloved]

The weather on the day of the competition was perfect, nary a cloud in the sky and a warm fresh smelling breeze blew throughout the city of Mondstadt. Everybody was gathered around the archon statue, in front of which a raised wooden platform has been placed as a makeshift stage. The person in charge of the event is just a person who owns an instrument shop in the city, but the real weight behind regulating the event is the group of knights of Favonius that stand guard in the area and enforce safety as well as the rules of the proceedings. There’s no panel of judges. It’s the audience who chooses the winner by writing the name of the bard who gave their favorite performance and placing it inside a wooden box to be counted by the host.

“Ooh, Paimon can’t wait! When are they gonna start already?” Lumine’s floating companion gives an impatient wiggle. “Oh wait, look, here comes the host now!”

The host steps up on the stage, and after a minute the swelling chatter from the crowd dies down to a murmur.

“Greetings citizens of Mondstadt, and welcome to another battle of the bards! It is my pleasure to announce that we will be treated to fifteen performances today. Each contestant will be performing two songs, one preexisting song of their choice, and one of their own. After they have all given their performances, you, the audience, may cast your vote for whoever most greatly moved your heart with their music.” He gives a break for applause.

“May the anemo archon watch over us all! Let the contest begin!” The host steps down off the stage and the first bard takes his place.

One performance after another, the city fills with music. Some chose upbeat, joyous melodies, others slow and mellow ballads, and even some that take a jazzy tune and encourage clapping and dancing from the audience. Lumine is amused to witness what she guesses is a bard commissioned by Stanley to make a song about him and his famous adventures.

By the end of that song, she and the crowd have already memorized the repetitive words and are joining in to shout-sing the great adventurer’s name.

“Good for him, I guess.”

“Paimon thought this was supposed to be emotionally moving music! Geez.”

“They never specified which emotion.” Lumine points out, but before Paimon can quip back, a hush falls over the crowd again as the next bard comes up.

The lanky teen in bright teal that takes the stage is surely Venti, but his prescence feels so different from what she’s used to. Lumine swallows dryly. He’s the one on stage about to perform, so why is she the one feeling nervous all of a sudden?

Venti begins with the first song- Lion Heart, the one about Venessa, the great hero of Mondstadt. The melody flows like the wind but the sound grows and flares like a fire in a grand way that makes her feel as if she herself has been transported back in time and is standing in the middle of a raging war. His voice is strong and unwavering as he effortlessly tackles difficult notes, and his lyre sounds more like the herald of a trumpet than some little church house harp.

When it’s over, the audience whistles and calls out loudly with applause. The man next to her is exclaiming that he has “-Not heard that classic song so masterfully done in decades!” And Lumine has to agree with the sentiment. He could end it right now and still be the one to go home with the prize.

“Oh wooow, who knew the tone-deaf bard could do that! And to think, Paimon didn’t believe him when he said singing was the only thing he did well.”

“Yeah.” She says, squinting at the stage. Venti is setting down his lyre and is taking... something, up to the stage. It looks a bit like a lute, but it’s curved in swirling angles and with it there’s a... straight bow? Nobody else seems puzzled by this, so she figures it’s an instrument native to Teyvat.

He gets into position and Lumine’s heart begins to pound in her chest. Here it comes!

It starts with a deep, resounding hum in a minor key, tamely going above and below the starting note of the chord. The instrument makes a beautifully layered, rich sound that supports the higher and lighter tone of his voice in such a nice way that she instantly understand why he chose to use this instead of his lyre. The melody begins mysterious, and she strains her ears to make out every word.

Venti tells the tale of a forest, ruled by a bird king, a white dove. His voice flutters like the flapping of wings.

The bird king loves his forest, but invaders keep coming in and threatening it. The kings friend, the lizard, drives off the invaders, but the venom of his attack drips to the ground and poisons the forest, causing all the plants to slowly wither and die. The bird king tries everything, but cannot cure the poison, and resigns himself to die with his beloved forest instead of abandoning it, and becomes poisoned as well.

The deep thrum of the stringed instrument waxes somber.

Then, a star falls from the sky, crashing into his forest with a great flash. To the bird king’s surprise, out from the crash site flows light that purifies the poison in the forest, eventually even himself, and the great lizard. He goes to thank the star, but encounters instead a lake of tears and ash.

The bird king asks the fallen star why it laments so. The star says she has lost her ability to fly, and cannot rejoin her friends that soar the heavens. Not being able to fly sounds like the most painful fate the bird king has ever heard, and his heart is moved to help the fallen star.

Lumine recognizes a theme that resembles her song in this part, and then the instrument and Venti’s voice swirl up to a new sound.

The bird king plucks a feather from his own wing, and plants it in the now purified ground. A flower grows, and from it, he plucks a fruit.

He offers the fruit to the fallen star, telling her it is a magical fruit that can restore her power to fly, but it will cause her much pain. She eats the fruit, and is engulfed in a great flame. From the ashes of the fire, she rises, no longer a fallen star, but a phoenix.

The music soars to a climax, shifting from a minor to major key in the last few notes. Then it’s over, and Venti lowers the instrument to take a bow.

The crowd is silent a moment before erupting into applause. Lumine doesn’t know how to feel. She can’t even begin to unpack the meaning of what she just experienced.

Another bard, the next contestant replaces Venti on the stage. Lumine somehow tunes back into the present.

“-and so before I begin my performance I have something to say.” The woman on stage couldn’t be much older than Lumine. There’s something familiar about her. “Unfortunately the song I was about to play has already been played.”

A confused murmur passes through the crowd.

“I got the idea to write a song about a magic forest after being rescued by some adventurers in the Whispering Woods. I worked really ha-“ Her voice breaks on the word. “Worked really hard on it and I was so excited to show it you all today. But I can’t, because he,”

She is lifting a finger at Venti. “Stole my song.”

The host steps forward with an uneasy expression. “That’s quite the accusation. Do you have any proof, Miss...?

“-Solia. Of course I do.” She says, and hands him her notebook. “Here’s where I wrote it. You can even see the drawing I made of the bird who inspired the Bird King.”

“This... does resemble the white cranes in the Whispering Wood.” He admits. Gasps and whispers come from the crowd. Somebody says they always knew Venti was a thief and several others hear that and murmur to each other.

Lumine cannot believe her ears. She can’t see Venti’s expression from here, and she pushes through the crowd to get closer.

“Is what she is saying true, young man? Please be honest.”

Lumine pushes through to the front just as Venti answers him.

“Uheheh, no. If this is meant to be a jest, I’m afraid I must protest.” He just looks really confused. “It’s not that funny.”

“Liar!” Solia cries. “It’s my song!”

Lumine realizes where she’s seen this woman before. Sitting at the base of a windmill, writing in a notebook, a week and a half ago.

“Actually, it’s my song.”

The host looks even more confused as Lumine climbs into the stage and strides over to stand in between Solia and Venti.

“And by that I mean, he wrote it for me while you sat underneath him by the windmill and copied what you heard word for word.”

“Uh, who are you?” Solia is thrown off beat by the exposure, face flushing rapidly. “His -his girlfriend?”

“Enough of this.” The host insists. One of the knights of Favonius is saying something to him. “This young lady is an honorary knight, appointed by Acting Grand Master Jean herself. Miss Solia, if you don’t intend to play your songs, please exit the stage.”

“Huh? But-“ Solia splutters through several half formed protests, but the knight steps towards her and she raises her hands. “I-I’m going.”

Lumine turns to Venti. He looks dazed, like he still can’t believe what happened. “Come on Venti.” She grabs his hand and pulls him with her off stage. “Let’s go.”

They’re a block away before she stops. She is still holding his hand.

She’s at a loss for words. “I can’t believe she did that.”

“It’s okay, Lumine.” He’s already soothing her. “I’m not angry! Eheh... but wow, I should’ve been more careful. I hope it didn’t ruin the song for you.”

“No, not at all!” She shakes her head vehemently, clasping both his hands in hers now. “It was really good. I was really moved. You were so good!”

“Hehe. Thanks.” He’s looking at her grip on his hands.

Lumine realizes and drops them like she’s been burned.

Venti retrieves them and presses one against his cheek and rubs against it.

The question she was about to ask sputters out at the bold gesture.

“You’re so cute.” He croons, and tugs her closer to him. His blue eyes shine with mischief and happiness. “Wanna play a game?”

“Play a- uh yeah, okay!”

“Close your eyes. Open em and you lose~!”

The way he is petting her is very distracting. Lumine closes her eyes and hopes she doesn’t look dumb. She can feel his breath on her face. Her heart lurches in anticipation.

“...”

She cracks an eye open, wondering what’s going on.

“Hey! Come on, you didn’t even last ten seconds!” He complains. “I’m good at this but I’m not that fast.”

The long parts of her hair are in his hands, one side half braided. She realizes he is giving her the same style as him.

“Oh sorry.” She says, and closes her eyes at his pointed look. Lumine holds very still. She feels repetitive little tugs at her hair one side, then the other. Is he finished? Feels like it.

“We match.” His voice is very close.

Pressure pulls her head forward by the braids in a gentle motion. And then there’s a swell of warmth as soft lips press firm against hers and a hand presses against the small of her back.

Lumine was sufficiently fooled into not expecting it, and a chorus of butterflies rise in her stomach as Venti pulls back and kisses her again.

Elation fills her at the confirmed prospect of his feelings and her cautiously withheld affection for him breaks free. Lumine presses a hand to the back of Venti’s neck to bring their lips even closer together.

They take turns swapping sweet kisses until they are both breathless and love-drunk. Venti isn’t there to hear himself win first place.

[gingersnapwolves]

The Untamed, a brief summary [part 6/6]

Part One: Sword Wizard School

Part Two:  The Search for the Yin Iron and the World’s Worst Summer Camp

Part Three: The Fall of Lotus Pier and the Sunshot Campaign

Part Four: The Downward Spiral

Part Five: Mo Manor, Hungry Sabers, and Yi City

Part Six: The Hidden Room, Burial Mounds Redux, and Guanyin Temple

Ext, Koi Tower [Lanling]

Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and Lan Xichen roll up to Koi Tower. Jiang Cheng is already there and decides to make it awkward for everyone by asking the Lans to introduce the masked Wei Wuxian, even though a) he knows or is at least pretty damn sure it’s Wei Wuxian, b) he knows that they know it’s Wei Wuxian, and c) he doesn’t know if they know that he knows. Thanks for making me type that sentence, Jiang Cheng.

ENTER A WOMAN WHO SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN A BETTER PRE-NUP

Jin Guangyao comes out. He still has a great smile and he and Lan Xichen are still cute together. But it gets really awkward because, if you’ll remember (and I don’t blame you if you don’t), Wei Wuxian is pretending to be Mo Xuanyu, who is Jin Guangyao’s half-brother who got thrown out of Koi Tower for bad behavior. How bad? Well, apparently Mo Xuanyu had a habit of harassing Jin Guangyao’s wife, Qin Su. Whoops.

Of course, it’s difficult to say whether or not Mo Xuanyu actually did this, since all we have to go on is what people say about him, and ‘maybe don’t believe every rumor you hear’ is like the main thesis of this show.

 Int, Koi Tower [Lanling]

Nie Huaisang shows up too, and throws himself at Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen because “the old problems are solved, but new problems have arrived!” He is a drunk mess and it’s a little embarrassing for everyone.

 Ext, Koi Tower [Lanling]

Jin Ling is being bullied. Wei Wuxian tells him that he should beat the bullies up, because once you’re an adult you can’t just beat people up anymore and it sucks. He teaches Jin Ling some moves and they have some nice nephew-uncle bonding time, even if Wei Wuxian is pretending to be a different uncle from the one he actually is.

 Int, Koi Tower [Lanling]

Wei Wuxian uses a little paper man talisman spell to sneak into Jin Guangyao’s rooms. His wife is there and she’s upset about a letter she got. Jin Guangyao comes in and they argue about it. She keeps asking if what’s in it is true, and what happened to their son. He keeps asking her who wrote the letter and saying whoever it was only trying to upset her. When she won’t back down or answer his question, he burns the letter and then puts some sort of trance spell on her. Then he takes her into a hidden room behind a mirror.

The room is full of all sorts of treasure, including Wei Wuxian’s old sword, and more important, Nie Mingjue’s head. Yeah, just his head, with blinders over its eyes and everything. It’s weird. Wei Wuxian does a spell called Empathy to communicate with the dead guy.

  Int, Nie Mingjue’s mind [currently Lanling]

We see flashbacks to him first meeting and promoting Meng Yao, who was getting bullied by the other soldiers, then to the day he exiled Meng Yao (with slight differences from the way it was presented earlier because unreliable narration is fun). We see them argue a few times over the years, then see Jin Guangyao playing music for Nie Mingjue (ostensibly to keep him from qi deviation). They get into a big fight, Nie Mingjue throws Jin Guangyao down the steps of Koi Tower, but then his brain basically explodes. Jin Guangyao looks pretty satisfied with how things are turning out but then Nie Huaisang runs up, shouting for his brother, and Jin Guangyao switches to looking super worried instead. He keeps Nie Huaisang from running to his brother, saying he won’t recognize him. Then Nie Mingjue is held down in the treasure room we’re currently in, still alive and fighting qi deviation, and Jin Guangyao tells Xue Yang to kill him (with Baxia, which Xue Yang is holding), which he does.

  Int, the hidden room [Lanling]

Wei Wuxian separates his mind from Nie Mingjue’s and says ‘well that was fucked up’.

Jin Guangyao notices the little paper man and starts trying to catch it, or stab it. Wei Wuxian manages to use the paper man to manipulate his own former sword, which is very cool, and get away.

Jin Guangyao is like ‘gee, who could that have been, using Wei Wuxian’s paper man talisman to wield Wei Wuxian’s sword?’

  Int, Koi Tower [Lanling]

Wei Wuxian tells Lan Wangji about all the fucked up stuff he just witnessed. They go to force their way into the hidden chamber. Lan Xichen catches up with them on the way. A bunch of Jin disciples try to stop them, including Jin Ling. Lan Xichen asks Jin Guangyao to let them in if he has nothing to hide. Jin Guangyao tries to demur, but Lan Xichen insists. With so many witnesses, he’s left with no choice.

  Int, the hidden room [Lanling]

Nie Mingjue’s head is gone, but Qin Su is still there. Wei Wuxian goes over to try to talk to her, and Su She (remember this guy? Betrayed the Lan sect way back when, made friends with Jin Guangyao afterwards) says that ‘Mo Xuanyu’ just wanted to harass Qin Su some more. While Jin Guangyao is showing off a knife that’s part of his treasure, Qin Su grabs it and uses it to kill herself.

Everyone is super fucked up about this. (Don’t forget, Jin Ling is there! This 16 year old is having a Time of it.) Lan Xichen is like ‘holy shit my best friend’s wife just killed herself in front of me’ and Wei Wuxian basically blue-screens trying to figure out if she did that to herself because of whatever was in the letter, or if Jin Guangyao somehow coerced her to do it with the trance spell. (Unclear! Draw what conclusions you will.)

Jin Guangyao, who is either really upset or the world’s best actor (or both) asks them why they demanded to come into the treasure hall and what the fuck is going on. People outside, who have heard the commotion, come running in, including Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng (who looks at Wei Wuxian like ‘I leave you alone for five fucking minutes and now there’s a dead woman’).

Lan Xichen explains about the sword spirit and the body in Yi City and how they were looking for Nie Mingjue’s head. Jin Guangyao asks ‘did you really think I had our sworn brother’s head in my treasure room?’ Lan Xichen looks at his best friend cradling his dead wife that yes, he was in fact about to accuse of such a thing, and looks like he’s going to be physically ill. (Lan Wangji, however, is staring Jin Guangyao down like ‘listen up you lying asshole’ and Wei Wuxian is just impressed he’s found someone who’s even more shameless about crime than he is.)

Jin Guangyao takes the opportunity to blame ‘Mo Xuanyu’ for everything. He pulls his sword on Wei Wuxian, and Lan Wangji steps between them. Wei Wuxian tries to de-escalate things but it doesn’t work for shit because Su She attacks him, and he grabs his old sword off the display to protect himself. This is a Big Deal because the sword sealed itself when he died, so nobody except Wei Wuxian would be able to draw it. Oops. (Wei Wuxian has a sad moment with his sword for being so loyal, even though he was unable to use it for years before his death, since he had no golden core.) Then they run outside because fuck this shit.

  Ext, Koi Tower [Lanling]

Jin Guangyao reassures Jin Ling that it’s not his fault he got tricked by Wei Wuxian, because Wei Wuxian is so evil and everything. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji try to get away but get surrounded. Jin Guangyao again calls Wei Wuxian out on being Wei Wuxian, so he takes off his mask. Everyone acts shocked even though 90% of the characters already knew this.

The Jin cultivators surround him. Wei Wuxian pushes Lan Wangji away and says to tell them that he didn’t know who Wei Wuxian was and that he was tricked by him. Lan Wangji refuses, immediately telling everyone he knew damn well that Wei Wuxian was Wei Wuxian and what the fuck are they gonna do about it? Wei Wuxian still tries to get him to leave, and Lan Wangji runs up to the line of what the Chinese censors will allow in terms of declarations of devotion between two men and plays gay chicken with it. He and Wei Wuxian smile at each other. Jin Guangyao has a ‘really? Right in front of my salad?’ look on his face.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji fight off the Jin guys but then Jin Ling stabs Wei Wuxian in the stomach. It sucks for everybody. Lan Wangji grabs him and they run away.

 Int, Cloud Recesses [Gusu]

Lan Wangji has taken Wei Wuxian back here to heal. Lan Xichen is there, too, and says that it was with his permission. But he’s clearly pretty upset about what happened at Koi Tower, since he’s the one who forced Jin Guangyao to open the treasure room on Wei Wuxian’s word, and now he kind of looks like an asshole. He and Lan Wangji come as close to a fight as they’re capable of getting in. Lan Wangji thinks Lan Xichen should believe Wei Wuxian. Lan Xichen points out that he’s known Jin Guangyao for nearly 20 years at this point and he trusts him. Since neither of them saw Nie Mingjue’s head with their own eyes, they cannot know which of the two (Wei Wuxian or Jin Guangyao) is lying. It’s frustrating, but Lan Xichen has good reason to be wary, considering that witch hunts are what led to everything that happened to Wei Wuxian in the first place. In fact, Wei Wuxian is much less upset about it than Lan Wangji.

He tells Lan Xichen what he saw while using Empathy, and plays the Song of Clarity (the qi-deviation prevention music that Jin Guangyao was playing in the memories). Lan Xichen said he played it wrong and Wei Wuxian said he played it exactly as he heard it in the memory. They realize Jin Guangyao altered the song to cause qi deviation instead of prevent it. Lan Xichen still finds this pretty hard to believe, but he says he’ll test the version Wei Wuxian heard on himself and see what happens.

Lan Xichen walks Wei Wuxian back to where he’s been stashed, and Wei Wuxian takes the opportunity to ask him why Lan Wangji has so many whip scars. Lan Xichen explains that after Wei Wuxian died, Lan Wangji flipped his shit a bit and prevented all the other sects from sacking Wei Wuxian’s cave of neat stuff. It’s a bit vague but you get the impression he might have beaten up some important people. So Lan Qiren punished him with a whipping and three years of seclusion in the back hills of Cloud Recesses. Then they show him being beaten because sometimes this show’s continuity is not great.

(Lan Xichen is like ‘hey, you know my brother’s in love with you, right? I mean, only an idiot could not know that. But you really seem to be an idiot. Let me tell you a story about how our mother killed a guy and our father insisted on protecting her anyway. Please use your lone brain cell to connect the dots.’)

Lan Wangji comes back with booze for Wei Wuxian. They talk a bit about Lan Xichen, and Lan Wangji asks if they should tell him about the second flute. He talked to Wen Ning, who told him that he heard two flutes playing at Qiongqi Way. Wei Wuxian says he wanted to know at first, but now he’s not sure it matters. No matter what, people will always say he’s evil, but at least Lan Wangji still believes in him. He says to Lan Wangji ‘I’m sorry, and thank you’.

  Int, Cloud Recesses [Gusu]

Jin Guangyao has turned up, and says he definitely believes Lan Xichen that Wei Wuxian isn’t there, but maybe they could take a look anyway, to reassure the other clans? Lan Xichen doesn’t even dignify it. Then Jin Guangyao says that they’re all going to band together and do a siege on the Burial Mounds because strange things have been happening there, fierce corpses are roaming, and obviously Wei Wuxian is there and up to no good. Obviously Lan Xichen knows that this is not true since Wei Wuxian has been convalescing at Cloud Recesses. He is fucked up by the fact that Jin Guangyao is lying straight to his face and he really can’t deny it. Jin Guangyao leaves, and Lan Xichen says he’s going to go to Koi Tower, while Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian plan to go to the Burial Mounds.

  Ext, some random cabin [somewhere]

They meet up with Mianmian. She’s got a husband and a daughter and is a badass rogue cultivator. There’s really no point to this scene but it’s nice to see that at least one female character got a happy ending.

Then they meet up with Wen Ning, who’s been trying to scare people away from the area so they don’t encounter the fierce corpses that Jin Guangyao has raised with the yin iron (to make people think Wei Wuxian was doing it). They head to the Burial Mounds together.

  Ext, the Burial Mounds [Yiling]

Wei Wuxian and company find all the juniors tied up in the cave, and they say they were abducted but they’re not sure who was behind it. Then an absolute fuckton of cultivators show up, including Jiang Cheng, Lan Qiren, Su She, and Nie Huaisang (who says he’s just there to make up the numbers). They’re all shouting about how they want Wei Wuxian dead for all the crime he committed last time around. Jin Guangyao’s not there because ‘someone tried to assassinate him’ that morning, and Lan Xichen is tending to his injuries. Wei Wuxian looks extremely skeptical.

Then they get attacked by fierce corpses. The gathered cultivators realize that they’ve all had their spiritual power leached away by ill-gotten means. Ruh-roh! They all end up hiding in the cave.

  Int, the Burial Mounds [Yiling]

Wei Wuxian sits everyone down for an Agatha Christie reveal. He deduces that Su She is the one who took away their spiritual power, by playing malicious music on their way up the mountain. Su She denies it but Wei Wuxian tricks him into revealing that his own power is still intact.

Su She ruins the protection seal and then uses the teleportation talisman and bounces. Wen Ning tries to fight off the horde with some help from the juniors, who still have their spiritual power, but there are too many. Wei Wuxian paints a lure flag on himself and uses himself as bait, with Lan Wangji killing the fierce corpses, so the others can escape. When he catches up, he half-collapses into Lan Sizhui’s arms and Lan Sizhui is really worried about him. It’s cute. Wen Ning looks at Lan Sizhui and realizes he’s actually Wen Yuan.

  Ext, some docks [Yunmeng]

They’re heading back to Lotus Pier to figure out what to do. Wen Ning comes over to talk to Lan Sizhui. The juniors are scared of him but decide he seems harmless enough, and he did just help them fight the horde, after all. He tells Lan Sizhui that he looks like a cousin of his.

The parents tell their kids to stop associating with evil, and the kids tell their parents to get a grip, and it’s beautiful.

  Ext, Lotus Pier [Yunmeng]

Jiang Cheng won’t allow Wei Wuxian in, so he and Lan Wangji hang out on the steps. Wen Ning tells Lan Sizhui stories about the little boy that Wei Wuxian used to plant in the dirt.

  Int, Lotus Pier [Yunmeng]

Some mysterious ladies show up. Jiang Cheng talks to them for a while and then gathers everybody together (although he still makes Wei Wuxian basically stand in the doorway).

Mysterious lady A is a prostitute who was there when Jin Guangshan died. Basically Jin Guangyao had his father fucked to death. It’s gross, although to be fair, couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Then all the prostitutes except her were murdered. (Why she was spared is actually never explained in the show. It’s because she was friends with Jin Guangyao’s mother and was nice to him when he was a kid.)

Mysterious lady B is a maid who worked for Qin Su’s mother. She tells everyone that she wrote the letter to Qin Su, telling her that her mother had a secret. Qin Su is not the daughter of the man she always thought, but was actually conceived during an act of rape by Jin Guangshan. She and Jin Guangyao were half-siblings. It’s strongly implied (although never outright stated if I recall correctly) that their son had some developmental delays because of this and Jin Guangyao had him killed so nobody would find out. He then blamed his son’s death on a sect that was opposing him on some political stuff and wiped them out.

Everyone is Big Time Shook over all this news. They immediately begin calling for Jin Guangyao’s head.

Wei Wuxian is frankly disgusted. Because sure, he thinks Jin Guangyao’s evil and everything, but it’s sickening to him how quickly everyone turns against him, just based on a few rumors – so much like what happened to him. He wants to know where the ladies came from, and why they came forward after so much time has gone by. But in the end he acknowledges that the gathered cultivators being against Jin Guangyao helps him, and he can’t convince them of anything anyway, so whatever.

They go to the ancestral shrine so he can pay his respects to his parents. Jiang Cheng finds him there and picks a big fight. It’s really painful for everyone. After the first couple minutes, Wei Wuxian tries to leave but Jiang Cheng won’t let him go. Wei Wuxian ends up passing out. Lan Wangji tries to leave with him but Jiang Cheng is using the lightning whip to try to stop them.

Wen Ning shows up and he’s pissed. He tells Jiang Cheng the truth about his golden core, in basically the meanest way possible, directly targeting his insecurities with dead accuracy. It’s fucking brutal. Was Jiang Cheng being a dick? Yes. Did he deserve everything that Wen Ning said to him in this scene? Not really, given that it wasn’t his fault he didn’t know. (Does Wen Ning have a right to be pissed at Jiang Cheng on general principle because Jiang Cheng didn’t help him and his family back then? Now we’re getting into the reams of meta that are written about this show.)

Anyway, in telling Jiang Cheng, Lan Wangji finally finds out, too. He’s clearly horrified to find out that Wei Wuxian went through something so awful and he didn’t even know. He picks Wei Wuxian up and they leave.

  Ext, a boat [Yunmeng]

Wen Ning gives Lan Wangji the details about the golden core swap. Lan Wangji looks like he wants to cry for an hour. I feel you, Lan Wangji.

Wei Wuxian wakes up and tells Lan Wangji not to be mad at Jiang Cheng, he’s just a jerk sometimes. He wants to pick lotus seeds but Lan Wangji reminds him that the lake they’re on belongs to someone and so the lotus seeds are private property. Then he picks some and gives them to Wei Wuxian anyway. It’s super romantic. Wen Ning pretends he’s not the world’s thirdest wheel.

  Ext, Yunping City [Yunmeng]

So while Wei Wuxian was in the hidden room, he saw a deed for a temple in this city. They figure it has to be important since it was in Jin Guangyao’s safe, so they go to check it out. It has a weird vibe.

  Ext, Guanyin Temple [Yunmeng]

Literally so much happens in this scene you guys. It’s almost 4 entire episodes long. Let me try to sum up as quickly as possible.

First of all, the show never actually bothers to explain why Jin Guangyao is even here. It’s actually because this is where his mother is buried (and he had the temple built just for that). He’s planning to go on the run because the jig is obviously up, and wants to bring her remains with him. He also wants to get one last date with Lan Xichen in, possibly apologize for ruining everything, et c. Lan Xichen was with him in Koi Tower, and Jin Guangyao tricked him and sealed his spiritual power, then carted him off to the temple. Romance!

Anyway Jin Guangyao doesn’t get that date because literally everybody in the damn story shows up. First Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, for obvious reasons. He has Lan Xichen as a hostage so it’s pretty easy to catch them. Then Jin Ling shows up. Then Su She shows up, which is less problematic since he’s a henchman, but he brought Nie Huaisang with him because he found him passed out in a gutter or something. Jin Guangyao can’t just kill Jin Ling and Nie Huaisang because he still has feelings I guess.

Then Jiang Cheng shows up! He makes a grand entrance and then promptly gets his ass kicked. This is partly because Jin Guangyao tells Wei Wuxian that Jiang Cheng found out about the golden core thing, which upsets him. Lan Xichen tells everybody not to let Jin Guangyao talk because he’ll manipulate you and get the better of you. Everyone proceeds to let Jin Guangyao talk for the next forty-five minutes.

At some point during all this they confirm that yes, Jin Guangyao sent Jin Zixuan to Qiongqi  Way to get him killed, and that Su She was his accomplice playing the evil music. Su She is also the one who cursed Jin Zixun. Jin Guangyao’s basically like “whatever, I said what I said”.

They finally get the coffin dug up, but instead of Jin Guangyao’s mother, Nie Mingjue’s body, complete with head, is inside. Jin Guangyao has no idea how he got there and he freaks out, which seems reasonable.

Wei Wuxian points out that while Jin Guangyao has been so impressed with himself and neatly manipulated everyone around him, someone has been pulling his strings as well. He points out the letter sent to Qin Su, the emergence of the mysterious ladies at Lotus Pier, the release of the sword spirit at Mo Manor, even his own resurrection. Jin Guangyao freaks out more.

At this point they’ve dicked around long enough for Lan Xichen’s spiritual power to come back. He puts his sword at Jin Guangyao’s throat. Jin Guangyao makes sad ‘you don’t like me anymore?’ eyes at Lan Xichen. Lan Xichen responds ‘dude, you killed, like, everybody’. Jin Guangyao admits that this is a fair rebuttal, but begs his forgiveness and pity anyway. Lan Xichen seems to forget that he literally just told everyone not to let Jin Guangyao talk because he’ll manipulate you.

Then Wen Ning shows up, and he’s been possessed by the sword spirit. He chops Jin Guangyao’s arm off. Ouch. Then he attacks Jin Ling, because the sword is just pissed off about everything, which seems fair. Wen Ning manages to fight off the possession and not kill Jin Ling, so good for him. Wei Wuxian gets the sword suppressed using his awesome mojo.

Lan Sizhui shows up at some point. I really don’t remember why the hell he’s there. Late night field trip?

Nie Huaisang screams that Su She attacked him, and his leg is bleeding. The sword springs right back to angry spiritude and murders Su She. Wei Wuxian is like “wtf I just put you to bed” and has to do it again.

Lan Xichen patches Nie Huaisang up. Everyone else sits around thinking about how truly fucked up the last 2 hours have been, especially Jin Ling, who is really having trouble with realizing one of his uncles was evil and not the one he thought. He is going through it. Meanwhile Jin Guangyao is kind of slumped against a pillar behind Lan Xichen because somehow he is not dead after losing an arm, which seems kind of whack when you consider what killed some of our other characters.

Then Nie Huaisang shouts, “behind you!” and Lan Xichen, assuming that Jin Guangyao is about to attack him, whips around and stabs him through the chest. Double ouch. Jin Guangyao is, understandably, upset at being run through. Nie Huaisang says he had a knife but Jin Guangyao calls bullshit (yes, while being run through, I don’t even know), saying even though he’s done tons of terrible things, he never once hurt Lan Xichen. Meanwhile Lan Xichen is having a complete mental breakdown, standing there with his sword in Jin Guangyao’s chest. Jin Guangyao realizes that Nie Huaisang is the one who orchestrated all this, in revenge after Jin Guangyao killed his brother. Also the angry spirits are back. A lot is happening. The temple starts to collapse. Jin Guangyao asks Lan Xichen to die with him, and it looks like Lan Xichen is going to do so, but then Jin Guangyao pushes him clear at the last second. Lan Wangji grabs him and gets him out of the temple before it collapses.

  Ext, Guanyin Temple [Yunmeng]

Everyone is injured and in various states of shell shock. A ton of people show up and start fussing. Wei Wuxian reveals that the last curse mark from Mo Xuanyu is gone, indicating that Jin Guangyao was the last person Mo Xuanyu was holding a grudge against. (Presumably for throwing him out of the Jin sect and back to his abusive family, which Jin Guangyao presumably did because Mo Xuanyu found out about Qin Su’s parentage, which presumably Nie Huaisang told him. I know, it’s a lot of presuming. I’m trying not to be biased and pass judgment lol.)

Lan Xichen asks Nie Huaisang if Jin Guangyao really had a knife. Nie Huaisang prevaricates rather than answering.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are leaving. Jin Ling asks Jiang Cheng if he doesn’t want to talk to Wei Wuxian before he leaves. Jiang Cheng says everyone is going back to where they belong. He flashes back to just after his parents were killed, when he vanished from the inn, and we see him realize Wei Wuxian was about to get caught and lure the soldiers away. All this time we thought he just wandered off and got captured like an asshole, but no, he was saving Wei Wuxian and never told anybody. In the present, he says ‘take care’ to himself as Wei Wuxian leaves. Five thousand ‘Yunmeng bros reconciliation’ fics spring into existence.

  Ext, the forest [presumably still Yunmeng]

Lan Sizhui approaches Wei Wuxian and tells him what little he’s remembered about his childhood, and that he’s realized his family name used to be Wen. Wei Wuxian realizes that he’s Wen Yuan, and that Lan Wangji saved him back then. It’s super touching and I happy cried, like, so much.

  Ext, Cloud Recesses [Gusu]

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are standing around by the waterfall acting married. Lan Wangji is chief cultivator now. Wei Wuxian has finally figured out how Lan Wangji recognized him even though he was wearing a mask when they first met up again – it’s because the song he was playing is the same song that Lan Wangji sang to him in the cave of the murder turtle. Lan Wangji actually wrote that song just for him and has never played it for anybody else.

Nie Huaisang comes for a visit. Wei Wuxian asks him if he wants to be chief cultivator. Nie Huaisang tells them that no, he was really only in it for the revenge. It’s awkward, especially given all the morally questionable choices Nie Huaisang made while on his revenge quest and the fact that Lan Xichen is super fucked up about everything, but we all hope that they’ll eventually work it out. Or at least I hope that. Your mileage may vary.

  Ext, a mountain [the world]

Wei Wuxian goes off to wander for a little while. The show really makes us think that it’ll end with the two of them splitting up, but then at the very last second they meet again. We all collapse into sobbing, emotional heaps.

 ~end of part 6~

Characters/naming notes, as promised

I use the Mandarin for names and titles in fanfiction because it just reads better. Some of these don’t have an exact translation, so, the original is better, here are the basic terms you need to know:

Zongzhu = sect leader

Gongzi = young master

Furen = madam

Guniang = maiden/miss

Ge = older brother

Jie = older sister

Xiong = kind of like “bro” in a friendly sort of way

Da, Er, San = first, second, third – these are used in conjunction with the above, so “da-ge” is “oldest brother”, “Lan-er-gongzi” is “second young master Lan”

A- = an affectionate diminutive

Wei Wuxian (courtesy name)

Birth name: Wei Ying (only Lan Wangji calls him this)

Title: Yiling-laozu (used mostly in the second half of the show)

Also called: Wei-gongzi (by Lan Xichen, Wen Ning, and assorted others), Wei-xiong (by Nie Huaisang), A-Xian (by Jiang Yanli)

Lan Wangji (courtesy name)

Birth name: Lan Zhan (only Wei Wuxian calls him this)

Title: Hanguang-Jun (by the juniors and various others)

Also called: Lan-er-gongzi (by various characters)

Jiang Cheng (birth name)

Courtesy name: Jiang Wanyin (Lan Wangji calls him this)

Also called: Jiang-gongzi before he’s sect leader, Jiang-zongzhu afterwards, A-Cheng (by Jiang Yanli)

Jiang Yanli (only name given, not specific if birth or courtesy)

Also called: a-jie (by Jiang Cheng), shijie (by Wei Wuxian), Jiang-guniang (by pretty much everyone else)

Lan Xichen (courtesy name)

Birth name: Lan Huan, but nobody uses this

Title: Zewu-Jun (most people use this)

Also called: Lan-zongzhu (I think a few people use this instead of his title), xiongzhang (by Lan Wangji, this is a formal word for older brother), er-ge (by Jin Guangyao)

Wen Qing (only name given, birth)

Also called: Wen-guniang (by Jiang Cheng), jiejie or just jie (by Wen Ning)

Wen Ning (birth name)

Courtesy name: Wen Qionglin (used very rarely)

Title: Ghost General (never used to his face, I don’t think)

Also called: A-Ning (by Wen Qing)

Nie Huaisang (only name given, courtesy)

Also called: Nie-xiong (by Wei Wuxian), Nie-gongzi (by assorted others)

Nie Mingjue (only name given, courtesy)

Title: Chifeng-Zun (called this by many people)

Also called: Nie-zongzhu (by Meng Yao and others), Mingjue-xiong (by Lan Xichen), da-ge (by Nie Huaisang, then later by Lan Xichen and Meng Yao)

Jin Zixuan (only name given, courtesy)

Also called: Jin-gongzi (by most people)

Meng Yao (birth name)

Later in series, courtesy name: Jin Guangyao (used commonly)

Title: Lianfang-Zun (used occasionally)

Also called: A-Yao (by Lan Xichen), Xiandu (after he becomes Chief Cultivator), Jin-zongzhu at some point probably

Hoo boy all. That was a lot, huh? “I’ll write a brief summary,” she said. 20 thousand words later ... but this was as condensed as I could make it without it reading too disjointedly! So I hope you’ve all enjoyed and that this will help those of you who want to plunge into the fandom but didn’t have the time or the spoons for the show itself. 

If you have any questions about something that wasn’t clear or a part of the story you want more detail on, feel free to ask me anything!

Love y’all!

[four-loose-screws]

FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 8

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

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I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

———————————

Chapter 8: At Port Kiris

Frelia was blessed with fertile land.

As Eirika’s army traveled away from the capital city, the beautiful countryside came into view, allowing them to enjoy the sight of blooming grains signaling that the harvesting season would soon begin.

Along the well-maintained main road stretched many small towns and villages. They traveled the main road heading east, with Carcino as their goal.

The Republic of Carcino was a developing nation east of Frelia. It’s origins differed from the other countries, as it had not been founded by a hero. Instead, a group of merchants from the other countries had each started a guild in their line of work, and Carcino’s beginnings traced back to a plan to boost their business profits.

At first, the guilds only just barely managed to scrape by together, but as their businesses developed, they gradually gained more and more power, until they were eventually able to exert influence over the other countries’ economies and governments. That was when Carcino finally declared its independence as a nation.

All of that meant that Carcino had no king. Each guild elected an elder, and the elders ruled the country as a counsel. They currently shared an alliance with The Kingdom of Frelia, and at the beginning of the war had immediately declared that they were siding with Frelia because of it.

The first leg of Eirika and her allies’ trip went smoothly. Unlike the last journey, they saw no signs of war along the way.

Those traveling with her from the last campaign still called themselves "Eirika's Guard," however, it basically felt like they were on a pleasure trip. Everyone was happy that they were able to travel at Frelia's expense. 

It was of vital importance that they reach their destination, however, Eirika at least wanted her companions to enjoy a taste of what it would be like to go on an actual relaxing sightseeing tour. 

The most excited of them all was Colm.

"This is gonna be my first time goin' to Carcino! I've only heard rumors, but it sounds like there's tons of rich people there! I bet there's villas all over the place, with treasure sleepin' deep inside 'em…” He looked ecstatic, however, Neimi seemed worried, so he immediately added, "Uh, um, I mean, that has nothin' to do with us! I was just thinkin’ that we could go sightseein’ and walk around a huge estate, or that it would be a nice sight for our sore eyes, or somethin’!”

"It's too bad, Colm!" Franz called out to him. His brother having joined them on this trip put him in a cheerful mood. "We won't have time to relax in Carcino. We must quickly board a boat at the port, and head towards Rausten."

“What’s the rush? C’mon! Let’s just stay two, or maybe three nights…”

“We cannot. Lady Eirika said that she is responsible for a very important duty.”

Colm clicked his tongue in disappointment.

Eirika felt bad, but knew she couldn’t give in this time. Even if this was an easy trip, it wasn’t really for fun.

Prince Innes had left before them and should have traveled the same road, but according to what the townspeople in one of the roadside towns said, his army had already passed through several days ago. He was so impatient that he probably had his army marching so quickly that they did not even have time to look around. Eirika and her army weren’t moving that slowly, either, but the difference was still clear.

“...Huh? Hey, hold on a minute!” Colm stopped and called out to Eirika.

She halted her horse and turned around. “What’s the matter, Colm?”

“Somethin’s comin’ this way!” Colm was looking up at the sky, and came frantically running from within the group of their allies.

His sharp senses had sensed danger many times already, and proved very helpful. Their chances at encountering any enemies was extremely low en route from Frelia to Carcino, but if Colm’s ears picked up on something strange, then they couldn’t brush it off.

However, he instead burst out laughing.  “Oh, we don’t gotta worry. It’s not an enemy. Look, they’re flyin’ this way!”

Colm pointed out a lone figure in the sky. As it got bigger and bigger, they could make out that it was a pure white pegasus.

There was also someone riding on its back. 

Eirika realized who it was from the pegasus’ body before she could even make out the person’s face. “That’s Achaeus! So that must mean that the person riding him is…”

They next heard a voice. It was addressing Eirika’s army, and shouting, “Wait!”

Achaeus softly landed in a field along the side of the road, then Tana jumped off him and waved as she ran over. “Wait, Eirika!”

“Tana… what are you doing here? Did I forget something…?”

“No, that’s not why I’m here! Eirika, you’re so mean! You left without saying anything to me!” Tana balled her hands into fists and pouted.

“Huh…? But I’m pretty sure I told you we were leaving for Rausten…”

 “I didn’t think you’d leave so soon! You and Ephraim had just come home from fighting some really difficult battles, after all!”

“I’m sorry, Tana. This is very urgent business, so we were in such a hurry... even though we should have taken the time to say goodbye.”

“That’s not it! I didn’t want to say goodbye, I wanted you to take me with you!”

“What…?” Eirika couldn’t help but take a step back.

Once she finally got a good look at her, she could see that Tana wasn’t wearing a long dress like usual, rather, she was wearing light clothing more similar to that of men’s styles, and appeared fully outfitted for travel. “You can’t Tana. Does King Hayden know?”

“Of course not! If I told him, he’d be totally against it! I left without saying anything. ...Oh, but don’t worry. I left him a letter!”

“But, still… King Hayden will surely be…”

“I’m just so worried about you! And I hate living carefree all by myself when everyone is coming together to fight! Brother told me that I’m still a child, but I’m not! I’m a pegasus knight!”

The look in her eyes was just as powerful as her words, sending her message loud and clear: ‘I want to fight too!’

Eirika remembered Tana’s close encounter with danger when Tana went to greet her at Mulan Castle.

Though she may still look childish on the outside, she had shown unimaginable courage and decisiveness. She also took a lot of pride in fulfilling her dream of becoming a pegasus knight. After Innes had told her that “A war meeting is no place for a child,” she’d looked so upset… when Eirika thought of it that way, she couldn’t say no.

“I understand, Tana. You can come with us.”

“Thank you, Eirika!”

“But you must promise me not to push yourself, or do anything reckless…”

“Hey, that’s my line!” Tana said with an innocent laugh, immediately welcoming her into Eirika’s group of allies. 

It was no surprise that everyone was happy to welcome a friendly and cute pegasus knight.

They felt bad for King Hayden, who would probably be filled with despair once he saw the letter, but they didn’t have to travel very far to make it to Rausten, and they wouldn’t pass through enemy territory. He would probably lecture her once she got home, but it might also make for an opportunity to rethink who his daughter truly was.

Eirika was optimistic as her horse continued down the road.

-

As Eirika’s army traveled further, the wind carried the scent of the ocean towards them.

The first to notice was none other than Colm, but it wasn’t long before everyone else picked up the unique smell.

The realization slowly made everyone more and more excited. There were many people in the army who had never seen the ocean before, and the anticipation lit up both their footsteps and conversation.

Before long, they arrived in Kiris, a large town that prospered as a trade port selling wares from all across Magvel. From Kiris, their plan was to board a ship, then travel by sea for roughly ten days before they reached Rausten.

The contrasting ages and clothing styles of Eirika’s army couldn’t help but draw the attention of people in rural towns, however, that was not the case in Kiris. Men and women of all skin and hair colors were rushing about, and none of them were even the slightest bit alarmed by them. For Eirika, who did not like to flaunt her social status, it was a great place to be.

As nearly everything she saw was strange and unusual to her, her eyes darted around restlessly, until she saw a face that stood out amongst the crowd. She stopped Seth, who was trying to find a boathouse, and whispered, “Please wait, Seth! I think we’ve met that person over there before…”

Worried that the person might be an enemy, the color drained from his face, but the moment he looked over where Eirika was, he relaxed his shoulders.

A familiar group of three people was walking around. In front was a girl carrying a long staff, and behind her was a bearded giant and a young man with a cold expression.

Seth raised an eyebrow, wondering if this encounter was truly just a coincidence, and whispered, “They’re the people we met in the Za’ha Woods, correct?”

“Yes. The woman’s name was Miss L’Arachel, I believe…?”

While they were still frozen in bewilderment, L’Arachel noticed Eirika. Her face lit up, and she walked over to them. “You’re the people who defeated the monsters in the Za’ha Woods! What a strange coincidence it is that we meet again!”

“Yes, it really is!”

“Do you have business here?”

“We’re en route to The Theocracy of Rausten, and are currently searching for a ship that will take us there.”

“Oh, that’s too bad…” L’arachel sighed and shook her head.

“Did something happen?”

“You mean you don’t know? There aren’t any.”

“What?”

“I was also just about to return home to Rausten. But I was told that there aren’t any ships going there right now.”

“Why…?"

“Word has it that a ghost ship appeared on the ocean. Ships started sinking one after the other, so all passenger and merchant ships have postponed their voyages.”

Eirika looked around the area.

Up until that moment, she had been fascinated by the new sights of the port town, but when she took the time to look around carefully, there were people scattered throughout the crowd talking with panicked looks on their faces, and others yelling at sailors. It really did seem like there weren’t any ships sailing.

Though they'd been optimistic that this would be an easy trip, something unthinkable had happened after all. 

L'arachel noticed that Eirika was panicking and said, "But you don’t have to get so down about it! If you can't go by sea, then you should go by land."

"By land…? Wouldn't we have to take an extremely roundabout route in that case?"

"Yes, but it is a test given to us by the gods. Let's go, Dozla! Rennac! Fare thee well, travelers! If fate wills it, then we shall meet once again!"

"We'd follow you anywhere, Lady L'arachel!"

Exactly the same as before, the lord and servant left in a hurry. Rennac also followed after them just as defeated as before.

Eirika turned to Seth. 

He didn’t seem to be very good at interacting with people like them, as he was standing a few feet away.

“Did you hear what they told me, Seth? We’re in a really difficult spot now.”

“Yes, we are. But if the ships will not leave under any circumstance, then all we can do is go by land…”

Because they would have to pass through Carcino, it wouldn’t be dangerous to travel by land, however, it would take several days. Since they wanted to reach Rausten right away, it pained them to have to take such a roundabout route.

Still, it would be a waste of time to hang around in Kiris. The fastest way to travel would be for Eirika to ride Achaeus with Tana, and go by air, but in the off chance that something were to happen, they wouldn’t be able to protect themselves alone. Such a plan was too reckless.

Because Eirika was so deep in thought, she did not notice the strange thing happening around her. 

The people bustling around seemed to start to disappear, but then it became clear that they had sensed danger, and were circling Eirika’s army from a distance. Many of those watching warily from the shadows of the surrounding buildings also sensed it.

They were all trying to get away from a man approaching Eirika. Anyone could see his villainous expression, even from afar.

He narrowed his eyes at her and said in a hoarse voice, “Ain’t you the princess of Renais?”

“...Who are you?”

The man did not answer, instead laughing greedily. “It's nothin’ personal… But if I turn in yer head, I'll get a huge reward! You'll die here!"

The man drew a weapon he'd been hiding behind his back. It was a large, showy axe.

The crowd of people that had been watching with bated breath all shrieked. Those who’d been curious all ran off in different directions.

In their places, the group of men encroached upon Eirika's army, each carrying their own weapon.They had nowhere to run.

The battle started without any time to gather any information, like if the men had been hired by someone. Since Eirika's army hadn’t thought Carcino would be dangerous, they'd let their guards down, but that did not change the fact that they were used to battle. They shifted into their standard formation with little chaos.

The cavalry unit went first, and the lightly armored sword and axe infantry who could move swiftly rushed in to fill any gaps in their formation. Behind both of them were the mages and archers, then Moulder and Natasha waited on standby wherever it was safest for them.

The men did not seem to be properly trained soldiers, however, they were still on a higher level than a ragtag group of ruffians. Based on what they’d said, they seemed to be hired to work for money, but… Eirika could not think of anyone aside from Grado that was targeting them.

Had Grado been tracking their movements again? She regretted letting her guard down, but it was already too late.

Suddenly, a tiny figure came into Eirika’s field of vision, taking her completely aback.

A young girl was walking around right in the middle of the active battlefield. Was she perhaps a local who couldn’t run away fast enough? From her current location, she was sure to get involved in the fight sooner rather than later.

Eirika rushed over to her in a panic. “Excuse me, miss? Please run away!”

The girl jumped back, startled. She was blonde, energetic, and looked to be about a year younger than Eirika.

“Please go hide somewhere! These men are chasing after me. You should get away from here as quickly as possible…”

It was at that moment that Eirika realized the girl was holding a lance. She had been holding it loosely, and not in a battle stance, so it did not cross Eirika’s sight until they were up close to each other.

And when Eirika looked at her more closely, she could also see that the girl was wearing armor. She was so small that Eirika thought she was just an ordinary citizen, but upon further inspection, she did look like a soldier.

“I, um, I’m a Grado soldier! P-Prepare yourself, princess of Renais!” The girl yelled, her voice cracking, then thrust her lance with a grunt.

Eirika was taken aback, and instinctively swung her sword. The thin lance repelled the attack, but went flying through the air. The girl watched her lance land with her mouth open wide, then looked at Eirika in fear.

Eirika felt bad for her opponent. No matter how you looked at her, she didn’t seem used to the battlefield at all. This might even be her first time.

“...It’s dangerous here. It’s no reason for you to throw your life away. It would be pointless for you to fight like this. Please run away.” Eirika picked up the girl’s lance. 

She took it back with shaking hands. “...Huh? You’re completely different from what I was told…” The fear and nervousness disappeared from her face, and in its place appeared an innocent curiosity as she stared up at Eirika. “My commander told me that Princess Eirika of Renais is a cold, heartless person who does not shed neither blood nor tears…”

“Who, me?” Eirika laughed out loud. She certainly might seem that way to the Grado Army. “Well, there’s nothing I can do about that right now, though I hope the day comes when we can clear up any misunderstandings between our sides. Until then, please be careful, and don’t get yourself gravely injured.”

Eirika started to walk away, but the fresh recruit shouted, “Please, wait!”

Eirika turned around.

“Um… You’re probably going to think of this as really weird of me to say, but…” The girl raised her lance and fixed her posture. “Will you let me go with you?”

“...Huh? But you’re a Grado soldier…”

“Do you know of a man named General Duessel?”

A totally unexpected name flew out of her mouth. Eirika nodded. “Yes, I do. He is a very honorable soldier. My brother learned spearmanship from him.”

“Really? But why? He’s the prince of Renais!”

“It was at the request of my father. He said that if Brother is going to learn spearmanship, then he will learn from the best. And the best was none other than General Duessel, so he went to the Grado Empire to study. There are generals in other countries, but as both a man and a soldier, no one else is as great as him… my brother still respects General Duessel from the very bottom of his heart to this very day.”

“Me too!” The girl chirped, but quickly realized that might have been rude, and corrected herself, “Ah, of course, I can’t compare myself to the prince of Renais… and I’ve never met General Duessel personally… but I know just how honorable a general he is! If there’s ever a village in trouble, he takes the initiative and comes to help all on his own. That’s what my mother said. When my village was struggling during a flood, he came in a flash! And at His Majesty the Emperor’s lance tournaments, there’s no one who can best him!”

The girl was so excited as she spoke that it was as if she was retelling the story of a hero.

Her genuine sharing of her feelings made Eirika smile. 

She then blushed and added, “Sorry, I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Amelia! I enlisted in the Grado Army because of my admiration for General Duessel. But I only learned afterwards that… the general said he is against this war.” Amelia’s shoulders drooped. 

Her words pained Eirika’s heart. “Really? He is against it…?”

“It’s just a rumor, but supposedly he’s warned His Majesty to stop the invasions many times already. When I first heard that, I didn’t know what I should do. And you don’t seem to be a bad person, so… I want to learn. Why Grado and Renais are at war.”

Eirika looked down at Amelia’s unsure face.

She’d found yet another person questioning this war… that thought encouraged her. She didn’t know how long the fighting would last, but she felt that she could see a ray of hope.

However, this was not a decision that Amelia could make lightly. This was a matter of the girl’s fate. 

Eirika warned her, “Please think carefully. If you go with us, you will be betraying the Grado Army. Are you prepared to do that?”

Amelia had a pained look on her face, but she nodded with confidence. “I know. It’s really difficult to do, but I’m okay with it. This doesn’t mean I am abandoning Grado. I will still return home after the war.”

“Alright, then, let’s fight together! If we combine our power, we’ll be able to end this war quickly!”

Eirika took Amelia to the rest of her allies.

-

Most of the enemies had already been defeated. Seth had just stabbed the leader with his lance. 

“Who hired you to go after Lady Eirika!?” He questioned a man sitting on the ground.

The man laughed out loud. “Ha! I won’t squeal. I may be rotten, but I’m still a mercenary. I’ll never spill a word of my contractor’s secrets!”

Seth did not flinch as he raised his lance. The tip touched the man’s throat. 

He screamed and shuffled backwards. “Wait! W-Wait, I’ll talk! It was Carcino!”

Seth pulled back his lance, and asked in surprise, “Did you say Carcino?”

“Yes! Do you know a man named Pablo?”

“The elder of the Republic of Carcino?”

“He’s the one who hired us!” The man sneered at Seth.

Eirika couldn’t believe it.

Carcino had an alliance with Frelia, and swore to ally with them. Did this mean that they were plotting in secret with Grado?

Now that he was far enough away from the lance, the man’s bravado had returned in full. “Any way you look at it, you fools don’t stand a chance! Carcino probably knew that and sided with Grado! It is a wise decision…”

Seth glared down at him, and he started shivering again. His words were much quieter as he continued, “I mean, the other elders did seem against it, but Pablo is a coercive guy… He hired us for five thousand gold coins.”

“You may go.” Seth set him free. 

The man scampered off.

“Seth… do you think what he was saying is true? Could Carcino really have done this…?”

“We were too careless. We let our guards down.” Seth crossed his arms and scanned the area.

Seeing that the battle was over, people had started to return. They would likely gradually begin to act as if nothing had ever happened, and the street would return to its previous liveliness, as the people of this town were already used to violence breaking out in the area.

“Carcino is a country of merchants. Their history is short, and their relationships with other nations are still shallow. Of course they would decide to act in their best interest. The Grado Empire is strong. It is only natural that they would join the most powerful side. We should have anticipated that.”

Eirika remembered something terrifying, and swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. “Innes… He was going to pass through Carcino on his way to Jehanna! Since we thought Carcino was safe, he didn’t take many soldiers with him…!”

“Eirika!” Tana shouted. 

She turned around to see Tana pointing at the sky.

“Look! It’s a pegasus!”

Just as Tana said that, a black shadow appeared above them. It slowly became larger and larger, then landed on the stone port town street with a clop that echoed through the air.

The person who dismounted the pegasus was a messenger that Eirika had seen before. She must have gone with Innes to relay messages.

She did not even give herself time to breathe, immediately kneeling in front of Eirika.

"Please forgive my sudden intrusion!"

"What happened? You went with Innes, correct?"

"Yes! I am here by Lord Innes' order. He is in a skirmish with the Carcino Army, and fighting alone in the fort on the Tiraz Plateau. We request reinforcements!"

The outcome they feared had happened quicker than they'd expected.

The messenger went on to say that she had decided Eirika's army would be closer than Frelia, and searched for them instead. She traced their whereabouts by asking the people within towns along the main road about them, and finally found them in Kiris.

She felt that it was cruel to the exhausted soldier, but Eirika ordered her, "I'm sorry to do this when you are so tired, but please return to Frelia immediately. You must report this news to King Hayden as quickly as possible."

"But, Lord Innes is…"

"Please leave his safety to us. We will help him."

"Yes, Your Highness!" The messenger shouted with all of the energy that she could muster, then got back on top of her pegasus. She soothed her mount with a soft “You can do it!” then kicked her side.

The pegasus moved so softly that it did not seem like she was tired at all, and lifted herself back into the sky.

[straycat-writes]

I request that you first give yourself a hug. Then perhaps a character you’ve been wanting to practice, write their reaction to someone telling them merry Christmas in July? Idk just something fun. (the hug is required though)

[I’ve kept this message for so long just because it’s so incredibly sweet and reading it makes me smile every time. You give yourself a hug too, I demand it!😭❤❤]

 say it now (shouto todoroki)

People think once you get into the hero course at UA, all your problems just magically fly out the window. “You got into U.A., man! What more could you possibly want?” Well, for starters, that is just a big fat lie. Life as a U.A. student is hard, training to become a hero is hard, in general. It’s even harder for you, because you have been stupid enough to let yourself go and fall for a classmate.

You sigh as you look at him across the cafeteria. He’s sitting with Deku and Iida, like always, and has a bowl full of cold soba, in front of him, like always. And he looks so very beautiful without even trying, like alwa –

“Hey, (y/n)!” What’s up?”

You’re startled out of your reverie by a cheerful voice. You blink, looking up to see Denki and Mina at your table, holding their food. They sit down beside you, and Mina follows your line of sight.

“Oh.” She says, as if suddenly coming to a realization, “You were looking at Todoroki again.”

“What? No, I wasn’t…” you mumble, averting your eyes.”

Kaminari laughs, “Sure, and the sky isn’t blue. Come on, (y/n), you gotta do something about this situation of yours.”

“There is no ‘situation’.” You mutter, absently picking at your food. But when your eyes flit across the room to land on him again, you let out an almost piteous sigh.

Mina and Kaminari watch you silently for a while, sympathetic expressions on their faces. Soon, however, the look on Mina’s face changes to one of pure determination. She lightly but firmly puts her hand down on the table, startling you once again.

“It’s been long enough.”

You raise a questioning eyebrow at her, “What?”

“Your little crush on Todoroki.” She explains, “We have seen you melt and pine over him from afar for far too long, and I will not stand for you putting yourself through anymore suffering.”

Kaminari nods in agreement, “She’s right, you know?”

You blink, looking at each of them in turn, “That’s all well and good, guys, but what exactly do you want me to – “

“I’m saying,” Mina interrupts, pointing her finger at you, “That you’re going to tell him how you feel. Tonight.”

“What? Absolutely not!”

“You don’t get a choice in the matter.” She pouts in mock sympathy, then smiles brightly, “Because if you don’t do it by midnight today, I’m going to do it for you.”

“Are you crazy?” you say, panicking, “You know I cannot do that!”

“Why not?”

“Because…because have you looked at him? I cannot think straight when he’s in front of me, much less speak!”

“That’s not my problem.” She waves a hand, “You have the whole day to figure it out.”

“Come on, (y/n)!” Kaminari butts in, “It wasn’t my idea, so don’t blame me, but you and I know Mina’s not bluffing. Don’t you think it would be better if he hears it from you?”

You frown, “I…suppose so, but – “

“No buts!” Mina says loudly and you look around in panic, hoping she didn’t draw too much attention, “You’re doing this. Please, (y/n), it’s for your own good. I cannot see you pining like this anymore.”

You let out a defeated sigh, and almost let your head drop down onto the table, “I hate you both.”

In hindsight, you realize, that might have been an understatement. At the moment, you hate Mina and Denki from the very bottom of your heart for ever putting you into this situation.

It was just after dinner at class 1A’s dorm, and everyone was busy with something or other. By some stroke of luck or chance or happenstance or just plain fucking voodoo, you had found Todoroki alone on the balcony. He was resting his arms on the railings, leaning slightly forward and looking out into the gardens. He looked so calm and serene that you almost didn’t want to interrupt whatever it was that he might be thinking.

In fact, you would be very happy to just turn around and go to bed and pretend none of this ever happened. Unfortunately for you, Denki and Mina were persistent. You took in a deep breath, trying to calm your nerves, before you finally stepped into the balcony.

“Oh, hey, (y/n).” Shouto says, turning around slightly to look at you.

“Hey.” You smile, standing beside him and mirroring his position on the railing, “What are you doing?”

He turns back to gaze at the gardens below, “Nothing in particular, really…I just like to come here sometimes. The sounds of the night are comforting.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.” He smiles softly at you, and you almost melt right there, “What about you? Did you need something?”

The question catches off-guard, because his stupid soft smile and stupid beautiful face had almost made you forget why you were her in the first place. You blink quickly, nervously fidgeting with your sleeves, “Well, y-yeah, as a matter of fact. I need to tell you something.”

He turns to look at you fully, slightly tilting his head, “Well, what is it?”

Oh God, he’s even prettier up close. Why can’t I breathe properly? Shit, I can’t do this, I cannot do –

“…(Y/n)?”

“Merry Christmas!”

There was silence for a few seconds, and you only realize you had screwed your eyes shut when you open them again. He’s staring at you with a completely lost look on his face, and if you were flustered before, you’re absolutely livid with embarrassment now.

Merry Christmas? Who even says that, you idiot!? Why that of all things?

“It’s…it’s July.” He manages to say after a while.

“Oh. I’m s-sorry.” You stutter out with a nervous laugh, “I…I must have got confused somehow.”

He squints at you slightly, a concerned look in his eyes, “Are you sure you’re alright? Your face looks a little flushed…”

Flushed was putting it mildly. You know for a fact you must look like a bright red tomato right now; you could feel the heat radiating out of your ears. But you try to laugh it off.

“Y-yeah? Of course, I’m completely fine…”

He doesn’t look convinced, and moves a bit closer as if to put the back of his hand against your forehead. When you almost let out a squeak and quickly take a step back, he pauses, looking at you oddly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you wouldn’t want – “

“No, it’s not that!” you say quickly, then look down at your feet, “It’s just that…I guess what I’m trying to say is…Damn it, this is difficult…”

“What’s difficult?” He tilts his head in confusion again, and ends up looking so cute that you almost want to hit him in the face with a pillow to get him to stop.

“I like you.”

Where that sudden burst of courage that allowed you to say the words came from, you have no idea, but at least it was out in the open. You cannot back out now. The thought makes you simultaneously relieved and anxious.

Shouto blinks at you, once, then twice, lips parted slightly. “O-oh. Well, this is…”

“Awkward?” you mutter, averting your eyes.

“Unexpected.” He corrects, “I’ve taken a liking to you for a while now too, but I never expected you would actually reciprocate these feelings.”

“Yeah, well – wait, what?” his words register a little late in your brain, and your eyes widen, “You what?”

“I like you too.” He says simply, though you’re pretty sure you can see the slightest hint of a blush covering his face, “In fact, would you…would you maybe like to go out with me sometime?”

Your ears must be deceiving you, you think, because here he was in front of you, the Shouto Todoroki, not only telling that he liked you but also asking you out on a date.

“Well? Would you?”

He sounds nervous, something you didn’t think he was actually capable of, and you cannot help the smile fighting its way onto your face.

“Of course.”

[lovecre]

this is a disaster lol

hi this is a double date fic feat. @honeycombscereal and their f/os… umm yeah

    “hey, how do you feel about double dates?” eden asked suddenly. 

 angel blinked in surprise. “where did this come from?” 

“well, it’s just…” eden sighed. “volks, cole, and poe really need to be more social. except for maybe volks, they’re been isolating themselves lately, and i’d like for them to meet nimh and stirling. maybe they’d get along?” 

angel hummed thoughtfully. “i’ll bring up the topic to them. i mean,” they continued, “it sounds like a good idea! we’ll see how it goes.” 

eden tapped his hands on the table the two were sitting at. they both had to take a break from their respective partners, and decided to meet up at a small bakery to chat. 

“actually, i’ll call up nimh now!” angel decided, dialing her timid lover’s number on their phone. 

“and i’ll text… cole, maybe?” eden pursed his lips. “yeah, cole.” turning his attention to his phone, he began to type. 

me: hey cole!! i have a question for u :O 

cole (🖤): Oh? Ask away. I’m curious now. 

me: sure!! umm how do you feel about double dates >_< 

cole (🖤): Double dates? I’m not too familiar with them, but they sound nice enough. 

cole(🖤): Why do you ask? Although, I do have a sneaking suspicion. 

me: yeap!! angel and i were like omg what if we did double dates… so i wanted to ask everyone starting with you!! <3 

cole(🖤): I’d say I’d be fine with it… As for the others, however I’m not so sure. 

cole(🖤): Perhaps it would be best if you took only I along instead. The others would simply be a hindrance…

me: yeah nice try. since ur there can u ask the others for me?? <3 and NO LYING ok <3 i WILL know 

cole(🖤): Alright, alright. I’ll ask them. 

meanwhile… 

“hey, nimh, what do you think of double dates?” angel asked over the phone.

“uhh… oh, gosh, this is sudden…” nimh stammered. “they- they’re alright? i mean, i wouldn’t mind going on one, if it was with you…” 

“is that a…yes?” 

“um! yes, that’s a yes… yes.” 

angel stifled a laugh at nimh’s unintentional antics. “okay, could you as stirling the same question?” 

“s-stirling?” nimh squeaked fearfully. angel could practically see him trembling. “er, uh… y-yes! i can… ask him!” his voice was unnaturally high-pitched. “right. i’ll just… go ask… the scary vampire man… i mean! i’ll go ask. stirling. right now. yes.” 

“…you don’t have to—“ angel started gently.

“no! no no no, i’ll do it!” nimh responded. 

“… alright, if you say so.” 

“so, how’d the convo go?” eden asked. 

“could have gone better, but i’d say it was a resounding ‘yes.’ what about you?” angel replied. 

“same here, although volks said he didn’t want to go. something about not wanting anyone else to see his ‘feral eating habits.’” eden squinted. “which is weird, because he usually doesn’t care about that. at least, not around me.… actually, now that i think about it, he does still have some ‘wolfish’ tendencies.” 

“…yeah, i wouldn’t want anyone to see that either.” angel laughed. 

a few days later, the group had decided to go to a fairly cheap restaurant, because god knows how much everyone would eat all together.

eden was waiting at one of the larger tables with cole and poe, when he spotted angel entering with her partners. 

“hey, angel! over here!” eden waved both his arms in the air. the trio made their way over to the table, sitting down. 

“hi! i’d like you all to meet eden,” angel turned to nimh and stirling. “he’s my friend, and the one that came up with this idea.” 

“um, hello!” eden waved awkwardly. “it’s… nice to meet you!” 

“uh, hi! it’s nice to meet you, too…!” nimh responded in a similarly awkward fashion. 

“a pleasure to meet you.” stirling nodded at eden, a bit distracted by all the people bustling around in the restaurant. 

eden, in turn, faced his boyfriends and gestured to angel. “and this is angel! they’re my friend, and these are her partners.” 

“uh, hey. i’m poe.” poe waved halfheartedly. 

“and i’m cole.” cole greeted shortly. 

“hello!” angel smiled at the two. “so, what kind of restaurant is this? like, what kind of food do they serve?” 

eden paused. in all the excitement of going on a double date (and getting to meet a REAL LIFE VAMPIRE), he had forgotten to check what kind of food the restaurant served. he internally prayed it wasn’t a vegan restaurant. both he and cole would have problems with that, and a hungry cole is a cole no one wants to meet. 

“i… uh.” he stalled. 

“how about we take a look at the menu?” cole quickly jumped in. “you know, it’s a bit strange that a waiter hasn’t come up to us yet.” 

as if on cue, a pink-haired girl popped up from seemingly nowhere. she smiled brightly at the group, and pulled out a notepad. 

“hey, i’m wendy, and i’ll be your server for today! now, does anyone want any drinks?” 

everyone proceeded to order their respective drinks, (except for stirling, who pulled out a suspicious bottle of red liquid, which he assured everyone was “definitely just fruit juice”— no one believed him.) 

angel got lemonade, poe and eden got soda, while nimh and cole just ordered water. 

cole was gripping eden’s hand tightly underneath the table, making it difficult for him to handle his drink carefully— it was a heavy glass, and he didn’t exactly have much muscle, okay? 

“cole. i need both hands.” eden muttered to the taller man. cole hesitated, and reluctantly let go. 

poe was listening to music on his phone—presumably something edgy—while scrolling through social media. eden elbowed him gently. 

“poe, manners!” he whispered fiercely. 

“hey, i didn’t ask to be here. i only came because you wanted me to.” he mumbled back. 

meanwhile, nimh was practically hyperventilating— there were so many intimidating people… cole kept shooting glares at him, poe had so many piercings and tattoos… not to mention STIRLING. nimh was still scared stiff of that man, and he practically has to see him every day now that they both were dating angel. angel was having to constantly pat him on the back to reassure him that she was there. 

cole and stirling kept being passive aggressive to each other, which definitely was not helping the vibe. 

“so…  you’re a mystery solver? my, that must be… quite the profession.” stirling sipped his ‘fruit juice’. 

“yes, quite. and… what’s your job, again? oh, right, figure skating.” cole replied. “i can’t imagine how… brave that must be, to wear such costumes, and showing off for everyone. oh, i mean, performing.” he finished coldly. 

stirling gritted his teeth. “goodness, thank you so much for the… compliments. you know, for someone so… plain-looking, you certainly are bold.” 

eden cleared his throat loudly. “AHEM! so, what’s everyone ordering?” 

“mashed potatoes,” poe said, not paying attention at all. 

“…wait, what? that’s it? just mashed potatoes?” eden stared at poe.

poe shrugged. “all i need.” 

“…alright… uh, what about you, nimh?” 

“h-huh?!” nimh practically jumped in his seat. “oh! um! yes! food! i’m getting… uh, o-oatmeal…?” 

“…oatmeal.” eden echoed, deadpan. 

“…uh. yes.” nimh wished the earth would swallow him up right then and there. he was stuck with eating oatmeal for lunch. did they even serve oatmeal?

“i’m having a burger, if you’re curious, eden.” cole butted in. “i’ll gladly share with you as well, my dear.” 

“ah, no thanks, i’ll stick with tomato soup.” he politely declined, causing cole to frown. 

“personally, i see eating things such as burgers so… how do i say? atrocious?” stirling sniffed. “all i need is my bl— uh, fruit juice.” 

“…anyway, i’ll probably have a sandwich, or something.” angel said, shooting stirling a warning glance. “who knows, i might have to smack someone with it if they keep being rude.” 

once the food arrived (thankfully for nimh, they did indeed serve oatmeal) the tense atmosphere had died down somewhat. stirling was managing to ignore cole’s backward insults, and instead focused on casually chatting with angel and eden. 

“so, you say you draw? do you ever draw, say… horror? perhaps surrealism?” stirling asked eden. 

“oh! um, not… not really…?” eden wasn’t quite sure how to explain that he mostly drew fanart. “i draw… people. and cute things.” 

stirling nodded. “i see… ah well, it cannot be helped.” 

“stirling. be nice.” angel muttered. 

nimh glanced over at poe’s screen, only to see a strange surreal meme. something about “stonks”. he decided to no longer look at poe’s screen and stick to sadly eating his plain oatmeal. angel noticed this, of course, and mentally noted to buy him some cookies afterwards. maybe a carrot or two. 

overall, the experience was… unique. maybe eden would bring volks next time, or maybe nimh wouldn’t be so paralyzed. maybe the restaurant wouldn’t be so weirdly ambiguous, or maybe cole wouldn’t be so… like that. who knew? definitely not eden. or anyone else, actually. i don’t know how to end this but this is the end . yeah<3 bye 

[darkmindsthinktwistedthoughts]

Non-Valentine Valentine

An AK short for the season I hope you all like a bit of fluff. 

Warnings: Soft Kitsune, a worrying warlord and a reluctant princess

Masterlist

---

Non-Valentine Valentine

It was a cold wind that blew through the castle town. Birds were singing, flowers were trying to bud and the townspeople were busy in preparations for yet another successful day with the market.

Everything was peaceful…

“Princess! Aerion… wait!” An all to familiar voice rang out in the castle as the man attached to it rushed to the wooden walkway that led to the gardens following hot on the heels of the reluctant Princess.

“Why? So you can shoehorn me into that outfit? No way!” Aerion called out over her shoulder as she dropped down on to the gravel, minus her shoes, and ran in nothing but socks towards the gate.

Almost everything was peaceful.

The people in the market glanced towards the gates as the Princess burst free of its shadow. One pair, in particular, watched as she ran towards the lake.

“Wasn’t that Aerion?” Yukimura stood up frowning slightly in the direction of the noise.

“Looks like it.”

“Damn girl really is like a wild animal.” Yukimura shrugged and went back to laying out the trinkets Shingen had sent him to sell mumbling complaints about girly things being annoying. Sasuke continued to stand there for a moment watching as his friend disappeared further into the distance, and the figure following in her footsteps.

---

The sunlight was blinding as it played around on the surface of the water. She had to squint and hold her hand up just to try to focus on the fishermen and boats in the distance. Aerion sighed as she moved along the shore and found a slightly sheltered place to sit. She dragged her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees as she watched the birds floating on the water.

Nobunaga was expecting a visit from some traders and Hideyoshi had suggested that she join the meeting and support Nobu in his attempts to secure supplies. She had no issues with that as a general rule of thumb but there was something wrong with the requirement that she put on fancy-dress costumes that didn’t allow her to breathe in order to just sit there like a statue and have some random sailor ogle her.

“I wish I could be a bird…” She muttered lost in thought.

“Well, now there is an idea. What an interesting imagination you have my dear. Do tell me how you expect to succeed with such an plan when you cannot even remember to put on shoes.”

She nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned and saw a white figure standing behind her leaning against a tree in the shade. His smile was mocking but the warmth in his eyes was as bright as the sun on the lake.

“I might have known it was you. How do you always find me anyway?” Aerion shrugged and turned back to resting her chin on her knees watching the birds on the lake. Mitsuhide came closer and sat next to her a fabric bundle in his hand.

“That would be a secret Princess.” He chuckled softly stealing a sideways glance at the small female. Her feet were once more so muddy it was difficult to tell if she even had tabi on. Her hair was partly pinned up and falling down. He reached his long fingers up and teased some of her tangled hair free of the pins and began to comb his fingers through it. “Let me guess Hideyoshi was the reason for your sudden departure from the castle?”

“Isn’t he usually?” Aerion sighed and relaxed as the pressure on her head vanished. She really did fail to see the point in all this fuss. What was so wrong with just dragging your hair up into a side ponytail anyway? She became aware of a change in sensation and realised Mitsuhide had produced a comb from somewhere. “You brought a comb?!”

“I learnt when it comes to you little one that I should be prepared for most things.” His smile softened as he watched the teeth of the comb glide through the soft as silk hair in his hands. He had long since given up on the idea of denying the fact that her hair was something that pleased him. He still couldn’t quite place the feelings in himself when it came to mind that someone else had tried to tame the unruly locks, even less when it was another man. For the time being, he would play it safe and push aside those unhelpful flights of curiosity and focus on the way her hair tumbled through his hands.

“Hard to imagine you not being prepared for anything Mitsuhide.” Aerion spoke again turning away from him. He wanted her to look at him again.

“Mm, well there are times when a certain Princess goes beyond even my expectations.” He grinned knowing his teasing would draw her eye back to him.

“Hey! That’s just a fancy way of calling me difficult!” She exclaimed as she batted his arm playfully.

“And no less cute for it.” His voice was softer with no edge or tease to it. Her blue eyes remained locked on his wavering a little.

“That joke is in poor taste even for you.” Aerion huffed a little like a child which only caused him to bark out in amusement.

“Agreed. If it were a joke that is.” He didn’t miss the rosy shade her face had taken and took a little delight in knowing he was the cause. “Now little girls really shouldn’t go running around outside in bare feet.” He put the comb away in his sleeve again and made a poor show at acting scandalised.

“I don’t have bare feet I got socks on. See?” She lifted the hem of her Hakama enough to wiggle a foot at him.

“Poor dear Hideyoshi. I fear he will collapse at the sight of those.” Contrary to his words Mitsuhide was doing admirably poorly at masking his delight at the idea of the castle’s mother hen going insane over laundry. Picking up the fabric parcel he had been carrying he handed it over to the Princess.

“What’s this?” The knot was fairly tight and took a little effort to work it free. “Mitsuhide since when do you carry around sandals and socks?” Aerion could feel her jaw drop at the sight of a pair of fresh white tabi and some geta with low teeth on the soles.

“As I said before my dear it pays to be prepared when it comes to you.” From watching her practice with Hideyoshi as he instructed her in behaving like a real Princess he chose a pair that would at least allow her to walk without major risk of falling over.

“…. I’m surrounded by men trying to dress me up or treat me like a doll.” Aerion grumbled. Seriously if it wasn’t Masamune trying to feed her or Ieyasu handing her some sort of medicine complaining she was too soft to survive without it. Hideyoshi was trying to wrap her in so much silk she could be a Daruma doll and it felt like someone was always trying to gift her things.

“You are mistaken, my dear. This is not a desire to dress you up. Merely a means to prevent your feet from becoming injured.” Mitsuhide slipped the geta on her feet and then held out his hands to her so he could pull her up to standing. “Now then. It is rather late and I doubt you stopped at all in your escape to have lunch.”

“You’re going to feed me?” Her eyes sparkled with the idea of food. It was not something he could really say he understood but he could enjoy her expressions all the same.

“My my now you’re not so much a doll as a lost puppy.”

“Oh, shut up!”

---

The place he took her too was just off the main road in town. They had ducked under the fabric covering the door and instantly were transported into a world where the air was filled with warmth and mouth-watering smells.

“Is this your usual place?” She asked as she took a seat at the counter next to him.

“There are many shops in town, I frequent a few. This I discovered recently and thought you might enjoy it.”

“Oh? Well, now I really am curious.” Aerion looked over to the small window that showed the kitchen. A man with his sleeves tied back was standing in front of a pan that looked like it was hot as larva. He picked up things from a plate that seemed to be dripped and plopped them in causing the pan to crack and sizzle.

It took a few minutes but eventually, a platter covered in what looked like a battered and fried jigsaw was placed between them.

“Tempura?” Aerion marvelled at the unexpected golden clusters.

“You’ve had it before? It’s relatively new.” Mitsuhide masked the crestfallen feeling he had as his stomach suddenly felt like a cavern had opened up inside him.

“Oh? No, I mean I’ve heard of it but not really eaten it.” Aerion backpedalled. She had naturally eaten it before but attempting to explain time travel was just going to complicate things. Plus if she were completely honest she wasn’t certain she could explain wormholes even with guided notes from Sasuke. “What have we got here?” She picked up her chopsticks and tried rather clumsily to pick up a small piece.

“A mix of vegetables, fish and meat. The soy sauce is brought in from the same province as the sake.” Mitsuhide took on the role of a teacher as he explained more. Suddenly Aerion vanished and he couldn’t help but think that was rather a good trick for one to pull in front of him. Before he could look for her or call out someone else did.

“Mitsuhide?”

“Hideyoshi. And just when I was enjoying my food.” Mitsuhide turned to greet the approaching Warlord flashing his trademark smile.  

“You never enjoy food.” Hideyoshi ended whatever might have been of Mitsuhide’s planned teasing whilst looking dubiously at the platter far too large for one person.

“Forthright as ever. What brings you here? Don’t tell me the castle staff have gone on strike after being told to prepare a feast for the guest?” Unwilling to give up their accustomed game of trading jibes Mitsuhide persisted so as to distract from what Hideyoshi might question next. Namely the portion control for the establishment.

“What? No of course not. I –” On cue Hideyoshi began to blunder his way through spoken language.

“Lost the Princess again?” As he said this Mitsuhide felt something touch his ankle.

“If you know then why ask? Have you seen her?” Hideyoshi pressed closer as if sharing a secret which caused the grip on Mitsuhide’s ankle to tighten.

“A Princess? I’ve seen a few…”

“I’m not asking about your trip to see the ladies at court I am looking for Aerion. She bolted like a rabbit from the castle earlier and I haven’t been able to track her down since.” Seemingly taken that Mitsuhide was being his usual difficult self Hideyoshi sighed and absentmindedly looked around the shop.

“How unfortunate. No, I haven’t seen her, I did have a mind to look for her myself later.” Mitsuhide’s smile became wider as he was now keenly aware that he had two targets at his mercy. And the one under the table had claws currently digging into his lower leg.

“And what did you have planned? You know she is Lord Nobunaga’s favourite. I won’t let you—”

“Oh relax. Why don’t you try some tempura?” Mitsuhide graciously indicated the stool next to himself. He didn’t imagine the small barely audible gasp as he shifted it slightly with one hand.

“Thanks, but I really should find her before it gets too dark and cold.” Hideyoshi declined and looked anxiously out the window at what he could see of the sky from this angle.

“You might try some of the stalls in town. A few traders have returned and I do know she is rather fond of their wares.” Mitsuhide picked up a piece of battered fish with his chopsticks and dipped it lightly with some soy before filling his mouth. He really couldn’t get the flavour but this texture was exquisite.

“Yeah, I’ll do that. Oh, and Mitsuhide?” Hideyoshi paused before leaving. “If you find her before I do…”

“I’ll be sure to bring the Princess back to the castle.” Mitsuhide gave a noncommittal wave without really looking at the other man. Five beats later and Aerion appeared at his elbow again.

“You enjoyed that far too much.” She grumbled looking adorably flustered.

“You wound me little one. You were after all the one to pull a vanishing act during dinner.” Mitsuhide brought both his hands up to his head cradling it as if in pain.

“You rather Hideyoshi caught me and joined us for real?” Aerion leant over and swiped the cup of sake from in front of the main cause for her desire for a strong drink.

“Certainly not. I make a point of avoiding conflict during dinner, does absolutely nothing for the digestion.” With a cheeky grin he dropped his hands and retrieved his chopsticks once more. “Come on now eat up I have to walk you home.”

---

When Aerion came back to her room there was a note left on her futon. She recognised the scrawling sand script anywhere.

I’m glad you managed to find your smile again. I’ll be gone for a week.

Talk soon. Sasuke p.s. Happy Valentine’s Day

“It’s Valentine’s day!?” Aerion let out a cry as she let that bit of information register. She looked at the postscript several times before falling to her futon and looking across the room at the pair of sandals she had carried in with her. “Shoes and a meal. I might not have known the date but I don’t think I’ve had a Valentine’s in years that went this well.”

Not bothering to get undressed she lay back, snuffed out the lamp and closed her eyes. Within minutes she was out like a light.

---

Mitsuhide stood in silent observation secreted nicely in the gardens away from prying eyes as he watched the light dance in the Princess’s room. He smiled as he saw the shadows move knowing she was back safe. She had insisted on walking herself in and almost as soon as she said that he found a desire to stop that from happening. As with most of his recently discovered desires though however, he suppressed it and simply said “Goodnight Princess.”

Today had been eventful and he had enjoyed himself far more than he thought he should be allowed to. As the lamp was snuffed out in her room, he found his mind drift back to her by the shore. That hair like spun moonlight as it fell through his fingers. He picked his way through the grounds before leaving to return to his manor.

“Sweet dreams… Aerion.” With one last fond look back, his ghostly figure melted into the town and vanished.

[alvacchi]

Susan x Ray scenario, please? I want this ship to become popular

Your wish has been heard loud and clear!

This turned out longer than I thought! I will put part of this under cut to not take up people’s dashboards haha.

There isn’t much information on Susan, at least not in English! So this will be based off of assumptions! It could be read as a close sibling bond at the same time!

Here’s my own interpretation of how Ray and Susan’s relationship went! Enjoy!

[This contains spoilers from A Letter from Norman, Prologue and Chapter 1. Also spoilers up to Ch 32/Episode 11]

—

SCENARIO: Numbered: Susan’s Story

Year 2038

Emma, Norman, Ray = Age 4

Susan = Age 5

Olivia & Michelle = Age 6

[Ray was sitting against a tree by himself, reading his book and humming a lullaby as the others were playing tag.]

Ray: 🎵 🎵 🎵 ~

Susan: What a beautiful melody!

[Ray stops singing and looks up from his book to see Susan looking down at him.]

Ray: Aren’t you playing tag?

Susan: Don’t feel like it. What about you? Aren’t you going to join?

Ray: It’s a nuisance.

Susan: Did you compose it? The song?

Ray: Not going to tell you.

Susan: Well I think you should sing more! You got a nice voice.

Ray: Hm [he goes back to reading his book]

Susan: Hey, are you listening?

Ray: …

Susan: … ‘Not talkative much? Wait…is he reading about farming?’

[The others were starting to gather around now. Eventually, tag was over.]

Olivia: Susan! You should come play tag with us more!

Michelle: That’s right!

Emma: Ray, you should come too!

Ray: I’ll pass. Who’s going to keep track of the time?

Emma: You can do that while you play!

Ray: I’d rather stay and read.

Emma: [pouts]

Susan: Haha I’ll join some time!

‘Maybe I’ll be able to get Ray to play too.’

—

Year 2039

Emma, Norman, Ray = Age 5

Susan = Age 6

Oliva & Michelle = Age 7

Ray: Why am I playing tag again?

Susan: It’s important to move your body around more! It’s good exercise.

Ray: Right.

Susan: [covers Ray’s and her footprints up as they move around the forest]

Ray: Heh~ you’re really good at this.

Susan: Of course. This makes it so they can’t track where we are…

[Susan sees a scratch on Ray’s ear.]

Susan: Ray

Ray: Yeah?

Susan: What happened to your ear?

Ray: ! [He immediately puts his hand over his ear] It’s nothing. It’ll heal up.

Susan: You’re going to get an infection if you don’t bandage that! Let me see that!

Ray: No

Susan: Ray–

??: AAAAAA!!

[Ray and Susan run over to the source of the scream. Norman is seen collapsed on the ground exhausted with Emma worrying over him. Ray grabs a stick and starts poking at Norman.]

??: THERE WAS A MURDER!

Emma: No there wasn’t! But Norman fainted!

Isabella: He’s sick. Listen you can’t go near the infirmary for a while. Okay?

Everyone: Okay! [Emma stands there shocked.]

Susan: ‘Ray, he’s hiding something but he’s always been secretive. Maybe it’s not that important…’

—

Year 2040

Emma, Norman, Ray = Age 6

Susan = Age 7

Helena: Susan, you’re always talking about Ray nowadays.

Susan: What? No I’m not!

Abbie: Yes you are.

Susan: I’m just worried that he’ll stay being alone. He’s always sitting by the tree reading his book by himself.

Helena: That’s true. He seems to keep his distance from everyone.

Abbie: Don’t Emma and Norman go play with him? Aren’t they the same age?

Helena: Maybe he’s afraid of getting close to us because we’re going to leave the household one day.

Susan: Olivia and Michelle have already left with their foster family. I wish he’d warm up to us more. I’ve been trying to get him to…

Abbie: I’m sure you’ll be able to!

Helena: Yeah! Believe in yourself!

Susan: Thanks you guys! I’ll do my best!

—

Year 2041

Emma, Norman, Ray = Age 7

Susan = Age 8

[Ray and Susan were sitting outside by the tree as the others play tag. They started talking more often now.]

Susan: A ghost hunting adventure? You, Norman, and Emma went?

Ray: Yeah! I was dragged along to find out if ghosts exist or not, even though it was obvious they don’t. Olivia and Marcus were saying there were ghosts at night and Emma thought of writing a letter to the ghost. It was ridiculous! Turns out also that Chucky was the ghost in the hallway and Robert was the piano ghost. Emma got a reply to her letter but I believe the one who wrote back was Mama though. I’m sure Norman caught on but Emma probably doesn’t realize.

Susan: Haha that sounds like Emma! Did that happen? Ah, I wish I wasn’t sick that time! I miss Marcus and Robert now! They already left the household not long ago. Olivia and the others too. You sure talk a lot about Emma and Norman. They mean the world to you huh?

Ray: …Yeah. Yeah they do.

Susan: That’s nice. I envy that. Hold them close and make sure you don’t let go.

[She pats Ray on the head with a smile.]

Susan: …could I hear you sing that song once more?

Ray: I don’t feel like it right now.

Susan: Heeh please?

Ray: I’ll tell you something about it instead. I learned it when I was in the womb of my biological mother.

Susan: Huh?! Really? How is that possible?

Ray: I don’t have childhood amnesia.

Susan: Woah. How nice~. I want to remember something that far back! Then, maybe I’ll know something about my parents. We’re orphans though.

Ray: …

[After some time of peace and quiet, Susan suddenly started giggling to herself]

Ray: Why are you laughing?

Susan: I’m just glad to see you opening up a little! Do you remember? During that time Norman got sick, you were forced to wear that mask. You were giving some ideas to Emma so Mama taped up your mouth.

Ray: Do you have to remember the worst parts about me?

Susan: Sorry! But I thought it was cute!

Ray: …[flustered] I’m not cute…

Susan: You’re so mature for your age, despite being shorter than me.

Ray: I’m not that much younger than you. And besides I’m still growing.

Susan: Hehe maybe you’ll get taller than me one day!

Ray: Yeah…one day…

[There was a hint of sadness on Ray’s face for a split second before it goes back to normal. Susan didn’t miss it.]

Susan: ‘Huh? Why did he look so upset?’

—

Year 2042

Emma, Norman, Ray = Age 8

Susan = Age 9

Isabella: Congratulations Helena. You’re going to join a foster family.

Abbie: Helena! Congratulations! You’re so lucky!

Chucky: More and more of you guys are leaving!

Jimmy: Darn, it’s going to feel more lonely!

Abbie: Hey you guys! This is a time for celebration! Let’s be happy!

Susan: Helena, make sure you write back!

Helena: I will! Hey, what do you guys want to do when you go outside? I’m going to become an artist and draw animals outside!

Abbie: I think I’ll want to go on a boat and see some cute bunnies!

Chucky: I want to see a fairy!

Jimmy: Oh yeah I read about fairies in a picture book! They’re cute!

[As they were talking about their future plans, Ray was helping out in the kitchen with the others, cutting up vegetables. He listens in to their conversation.]

Susan: I want to meet more people! Being together with you guys is already so fun! Just thinking about getting adopted makes me so happy!

Ray: ‘It’s not something to be happy about!’

[Ray accidentally cuts himself with the knife.]

Ray: Ah.

Emma: AAA RAY YOU’RE BLEEDING!

[Susan and the others noticed the commotion in the kitchen. Isabella was going to go with Ray to get his finger bandaged up in the infirmary, but Ray insists he can do it himself. Susan comes to see him there, worried.]

Susan: Hey. Are you that bothered about me leaving the house some day?

Ray: …

Susan: Ray…you know I’ll be writing to you. You don’t have to be so upset. I won’t let you be lonely. Besides you have Emma and Norman to keep you company!

Ray: I wasn’t even planning on getting attached to them. ‘Much less to you’

Susan: [smiles] Friendship isn’t planned Ray. It just happens~

—

Year 2043

Emma, Norman, Ray = Age 9

Susan = Age 10

[A hide and seek game was going on. The children were scrambling to find a place to hide in the house. Susan decided to sneak into Isabella’s room and hide underneath a clothed table. She hears the door open and a couple footsteps.]

Susan: ‘These footsteps…two people?’

Ray: So the next shipping will come next year? That’s quite some time.

Isabella: Yeah.

Susan: ‘Ray and Mama?’

Ray: Who’s turn is it? It’s Chucky, isn’t it?

Isabella: Susan

Ray: ! [A dreadful feeling took over his body the moment she mentions Susan.]

Susan: ‘Me? What about me? What are they talking about?’

Ray: Wait why?!

Isabella: Why so distraught? I’ve been shipping out low quality products, Abbie being the previous one. Susan is the best one in a long while. She’ll be turning 11 soon.

Ray: ‘Shit that’s right. I’ve been so focused on the low scores, I didn’t realize the age limit is 12.‘

Ray: Can’t you wait longer? The human brain will still continue to develop after 12.

Isabella: Ray. That cannot happen. The higher ups demand the best quality products right now and the rules are to ship out anyone before or once they turn 12. They are willing to wait for a year but no longer than that. The harvest must be perfect. So, everyone else will have to wait. Besides, why are you suddenly asking that now? Are you suggesting you’re breaking your end of the deal?

Ray: No. Why would the thought cross my mind?

‘Damn it. It’s too risky!’

Isabella: The shipment will go as scheduled.

[Isabella leaves the room. Susan leaves her hiding spot and confronts Ray who was surprised to find she’s been hiding there the whole time.]

Susan: Ray…what were you and Mama talking about?

Ray: It’s nothing important.

Susan: What happened to Abbie? Olivia, Michelle, Marcus, Robert, Helena…our older siblings…Didn’t they find happy homes?

Ray: You don’t need to know.

Susan: I have a right to know! They’re our friends! Our family! You and Mama were also talking about me right? So it is my busine–

Ray: DON’T COME INTO THE DARKNESS!

Susan: [flinches]!

Ray: Sorry. It’s better if you stay oblivious. But if you really want to know so badly, figure it out on your own. You’re a smart girl Susan. The fact that you’ve been able to stay alive for 10 years. Why don’t you put the puzzle pieces together?

Susan: ‘Alive?’

Susan: Why are you being so difficult right now? What are you saying? I don’t understand! ‘Just when I thought we were getting closer!’

Ray: That’s great.

Susan: Ray.

Ray: …

Susan: You know what? You’re right. I’m not stupid. You were acting really suspicious a few years back. There was that time you scratched your ear and you wouldn’t let me see it. Mind telling me about that?

Ray: …

Susan: [Sighs] ‘He’s not talking…’

Do the others know? Do Emma and Norman know?

Ray: …

Susan: ‘I’m going to have to go with no’

Susan: Alright fine. You don’t have to tell me. But!

…let’s make the most of our time together. Okay?

Ray: …

[Susan leaves the room. Ray stays standing there for a long while.]

Ray: ‘If only I could bring her along too..but’

[He clenches his fist in frustration]

‘It’s too early…I don’t have enough materials to disable the transmitter. Damn it…Damn it!’

—

Year 2044

Emma, Norman, Ray = Age 10

Susan = Age 11

Isabella: Congratulations Susan. You’re going to join a foster family.

Hao: Congratulations!

Susan: Ah. Yeah…

Cedi: What’s wrong? Aren’t you excited?

Susan: It’s just Ray and I had a fight and it’s been going on for a year now. I hope we’ll be able to make up before I go.

‘Ray, why are you avoiding me? I’m glad you’re hanging out with Emma and Norman more now but please… come talk to me too….I really miss our talks…’

—

[The next day]

[Susan stares out of the window on her final day at the house. Then, she decided to go see Ray. She finds him in his room, looking out the window like she was and facing away from her.]

Susan: Ray.

[Ray senses her presence and hears her. However, he makes no move from the window.]

Susan: I gave what you said some thought and I think I understand now. What you’ve been doing and why you are doing it. What you’ve been hiding….

…Thank you.

Ray: …Why are you thanking me? I’ve done nothing worthy of thanks.

Susan: You’ve tried to stop the shipment, didn’t you? You say something but you act differently. You’ve given me hints and clues throughout the past year. You were watching me from afar. In truth, you care.

[Ray clenches his teeth as a mix of anger, sadness, and disappointment welled up in his chest.]

Ray: ….Sorry….I couldn’t protect you….

[Susan sees his shoulders slightly shaking as he tries to keep it all in.]

Ray: I couldn’t save you…

…I thought if I could at least let you smile a little longer…

‘I thought if I kept my distance, it wouldn’t hurt this much…’

Sorry…I kept it from you this entire time.

Susan: You don’t need to be sorry…it’s not your fault…really…

[Ray hears a sob from behind him. Susan begins to cry a lot, tears running down her face.]

Susan: I know already but! I’m scared. I’m really scared right now!

[She tackles him with a hug from behind. Ray’s eyes widened and wavered as he felt her hold tighten around him.]

Susan: I don’t want to die!!! I want to live longer! I want to see you grow up and become a fine man!

[Ray feels his eyes begin to water. A teardrop manages to escape. Isabella appears at the door to find them.]

Isabella: Susan. It’s time.

[Susan wipes her tears away and tries to smile. Ray doesn’t see it though, refusing to look at anything but the window.]

Susan: Farewell Ray…happy birthday to me…

[Ray hears Susan and Isabella’s footsteps as they head downstairs, his hands clenched at his sides and his head hanging low.]

‘Sorry.’

Isabella: Everyone, Susan is going to leave now!

[Everyone comes over to say goodbye to Susan.]

Gilda: Bye Susan! I hope you’ll get to wear some pretty clothes on your birthday!

Don: Happy Birthday! May you live happily with your new family!

Emma: Huh? Where’s Ray? Why isn’t he coming down?

Norman: He’s probably sulking.

Susan: Emma. Norman. Please take care of Ray. I’m counting on you two.

Emma & Norman: We will!

Susan: Bye everyone!

[Susan exits with a smile on her face. She walks with Isabella outside towards the gate.]

Isabella: 🎵 🎵 🎵 ~

Susan: [shocked] Mama…that song…

Isabella: [smiles]

—

[The next day]

Emma: Ray! Come play tag with us!

Ray: …I’ll pass.

Emma: Come on! You shouldn’t sulk all the time! I’m sure Susan will send a letter to you some time!

Norman: He’s reverting back to how he used to be.

Emma: I won’t let that happen! We promised Susan we’ll take care of Ray!

Norman: That’s right. Ray is our friend and family. Give him some time though. They were pretty close to each other. It wasn’t that long ago since she left.

Emma: Okay.

[Norman and Emma leave Ray to his devices. Ray sits in his usual spot by the tree. It didn’t feel the same though. There was an empty feeling from where Susan would sit. His thoughts were talking as if Susan was still there.]

Ray: ‘Don’t worry I’ll make sure those two stay alive. They’re important to me.’

‘Susan, wait for me….soon I’ll see you on the other side..’

[papersynth]

The Feud breakdown theory

TLDR: Its basically one big Klance-centric episode, this whole theory’s probably a reach but its nice lol. Reposted from my twitter. More under the cut!

Lets start off this thread by pointing out one of the glaring things that immediately hit me once I started watching this episode when it aired: the title sequence. I'm not particularly old but my parents have always loved gameshows and reality television.

They would watch it in the living room and so one of the things that stuck out to me the most was how the logo for Garfle Warfle Snick is visually similar to "The Dating Game" which was a 60's TV show centered around a bachelorette picking out a guy to take out on a date.

Even the dang flowers.....

It was at this moment I thought "well, after being basically deprived of any Klance scenes for 3 seasons, you'd think S7 would bring you some of that and boy oh boy I've been fed so well. I think its strange for them to visually replicate a DATING GAMESHOW logo. We know for a fact that they were going for a family feud esque style, so why didn't they just replicate the Family feud logo instead? The vibe of the entire episode would change because it'll be a glaring reference.

Going back to Kaplan's tweet about how things aren't what they seem, the Feud really, like, obviously lets you know, that things really aren't what they seem. The story shifts in focus and tone and so do the characters.

My theory is that this episode foreshadows events to come that even the paladins never knew were even challenges themselves.

I believe this sort of aids the Klance fight theory (graciously written by Ca HERE) because that altean colony which they believe was a win for them to discover, could possibly be their next challenge (their garfle, becomes a warfle)

We also know that it isn't new for Voltron to use the "it was an altean all along!" as shock value for their enemies but at this point, I think Allura's starting to learn that her race is equally capable of evil.

This adds to the idea that during the 3 year gap, there's a possibility that the altean colony and Haggar/Galra have been working together to develop new technology (Hunk: I've never seen the Galra use weapons like these before) because clearly it isn’t the olkari helping them.

Time for my biggest reach yet, how the fuck is that a chopstick lance. You can recognise a mullet for a hundred feet away but you can't recognise a sword at point blank. Strange considering Keith drew out the sword pretty quickly, so there's no way Lance saw chopsticks.

NOTHING in this image screams chopsticks. I even went and printed out this god forsaken screencap and tilted it to see if it looked like chopsticks from a far angle and nope, still looks like a blade. This one's a reach but, chopsticks are insinuate a "yin-yang" dynamic.

Chopsticks is a strange pick because it doesn't LOOK anything like a chopstick. It would have made more sense to call it a shovel, paper fan, knife, surfboard etc. Go off. Chopsticks have always been used as a pair, one cannot exist without the other, which brings me to voltron's wings. I like the idea of Voltron being similar to Darling in the Franxx because of their mecha designs kinda taking reference from Evangelion. This is a reach definitely, but its cute whatever, eat this up. There's a mythical bird called "Jian" and it only has one wing.

The bird can only exist with another of its kind, where together, they can fly and soar. Wings and duality are symbols that have ALWAYS gone hand in hand, simply because there are two. Chopsticks being Lance's stupid fucking word choice is so damn specific its hurting me.

HERE'S ANOTHER REACH Y'ALL, the reason why chopsticks are thicker and circular at the top but thinner and squared at the bottom is because they represent the heaven and the earth. WHERE'D THEY COME FROM Y'ALL. WHERE DID THE PALADINS GO? UH? BACK TO EARTH YEA?

And once again, Keith draws this one very quickly so it does show that Lance can make a good guess immediately. I can see why he would say Dog here. SO WHY COULDN'T YOU SEE A BLADE AT FIRST LANCE? EXPLAIN YOURSELF. MOVING ON FROM THE DAMN DRAWING GAME.

I think these two screenshots speak for themselves. Earlier this morning I wrote a theory about how the Klance dynamic is all over the place because Lance has grown as a person in his absence and he's confused as to how he's supposed to behave towards "new keith".

He takes a jab at Keith throughout the start of this whole episode

"Not my fault keith can't draw!"

"I'm not a mind reader!"

So once again, its the usual bickering coming from Lance, but we see that shift later in the episode, I'll get to that later.

The next game with bii boh bi. Funny to me how the game's called "The Garflator" when we've already established that "Garfle" means to "win". The monster isn't the Garflator as they've misleaded, its the tank.

If you don't believe me, here's the subtitles literally calling the monster the "Warflator". Strange isn't it? You miss these things when you watch it the first time. Bob wasn't joking when Warfle and Garfle were interchangeable.

I don't really want to analyse how Bii Boh Bi acts throughout the whole segment mainly because I think that's reaching a little too far, and it was likely comedic the entire time, but I can't help but notice that his tone throughout suggests a "fill in the blanks" situation.

My theory is that this situation foreshadows the possibility that someone will help Lance fill in the blanks, and guess what the answer is in the GARFLator. He might even really be running out of time so again, stick it out till the last episode of S8.

Bonus: Seems like its pretty nice isn't it. Our crops are watered and his skin is cleared. Joking of course, but overall the whole Garflator/Warflator situation keeps getting mixed up together that's why I think this theory's reaching but I digress.

Time for the scene that made all of us Klancers scream into the depths of hell. We all already know that they didn't have to vote for each other if it was meaningless, but after seeing the recent surplus of Lance being hurt by Keith leaving, I've got a solid theory.

Lets look at the scene first, mainly at Hunk and Pidge's faces. We know Hunk is emotionally observant while Pidge behaves logically, so I think when we're speaking logically: Lance picking Keith seems HIGHLY illogical to pidge.

Lance "hates" Keith. Why pick him to survive? THE MATH DOESN'T ADD UP. On the other hand, Hunk's facial expression here seems more....worried? Not confused. There's been substantial evidence that Lance was hurt by Keith leaving, and if he spoke to anyone about it, it'd be hunk.

I think Pidge is surprised to hear these things come out of Lance's mouth and seeing Keith pick him. Remember when they all picked someone to help Lance? The braniest of the team? I think honestly Pidge might be the first to pick up on their possible affections towards each other.

This sort of parallels the earlier scene where Lance was the last one to figure out Pidge was a girl, but maybe that's reaching a little too hard (Curse these short arms!)

Earlier this morning I wrote a thread about how Lance picking Keith to leave here is probably the nail in the coffin that he deeply cares about Keith. Remember, this situation would probably be the third time that Keith has left Lance.

Read the linked thread, I won't reiterate it here but basically Lance grows in Keith's absence, stepping up when he needs to, but its not really what he wants. Losing Keith again might be devastating, but that only heightens why this scene is so affectionate. He makes this choice himself.

He calls Keith the future because he has faith in his skills (he's our leader) and him as a person (plus he's half galra). That Keith HAS a future. This is SIGNIFICANT because the only other person that has said that they have faith in Keith, was Shiro.

Shiro is VALUABLE to Keith, he's the most important person in his life. Having people believe in him has always been difficult and I think where Lance says (although cryptically) that he believes in Keith, is really where their new dynamic takes off.

THAT's why Keith behaves somewhat coldly in S7, because its never gonna be easy for him to suddenly accept a new person in his life. He’s not sure how he should react to another person caring for him. Both of them know their dynamic isn't what it used to be, they can't joke and jab anymore. We're back to square one, but its different this time.

One last thing about this episode (that isn't Klance related) is Luxia's kingdom, just a fun quick thought that maybe the Baku might be back, i mean he never really was defeated, just trapped. ;)

Uhhh that's it! Can't think of anything else haha. Thanks for the wild ride friends, I hope these feed your optimism for today~ Again, they're all just theories but I hope S8 is a good experience for everyone! Have a great day :)

One last thing: I would love it if Klance happens and the theories prove true, and if it doesn't its okay! Sure I'll be disappointed, but its fine if I'm wrong about a fictional TV show lol.

[mysweetestcreature]

Strands of Hair

Request: could you write something about harry having a new hair and make up artist and them casually flirting then one night before a show they take the flirting too far? love your writing xo

A/N: I hope you enjoy it! xx

***

“He’s a total softie,” Lou says, “but he can be a bit stubborn when it comes to his hair.” Y/n makes a mental note to not mess of the famous locks of one Harry Styles. A few months ago, she’d been contracted by Harry’s management––at her good friend, Lou Teasdale’s, recommendation––to be the rock star’s new stylist. It’s been a dream of hers, to travel the world. And now she’s able to do it, while doing something she loves. Her old job at a makeup/hair salon in the heart of London had been a fantastic start out for her career. Some well-known public figures have sat in her chair and allowed her full creative freedom. 

But this is much different. Not only is he one of the biggest names in modern times, but she’d be lying if she said that she wasn’t a bit of a fan herself. “What about makeup? Does he wear any?” Y/n asks. 

“Some powder on occasion, but he really doesn’t need it. Have you seen the man’s skin?” Lou laughs. She gives Y/n an encouraging pat on the shoulder. “You’re going to do just fine, okay? You know you’re good at what you do, and Harry’s really easy to work with. If I wasn’t needed at the salon, I would still be on the road with him.” The main reason she was hired was because Lou had made the decision to focus on her personal business ventures, a hair coloring salon, which she helps run with her sister. Y/n gives her an appreciative smile, as she packs the last bit of her makeup and hair necessities in her tote. 

Hopefully all goes well.

***

11 March 2018, Basel, Switzerland

The first night of the tour, and the adrenaline is running high backstage. Already, Harry can hear the echoes of the growing crowd waiting on the other side of the screen. It’s the first time he’ll be performing in front of so many people as a solo artist. Tonight, marks his first ever arena gig, and he cannot be more excited and nervous. When someone has been on the road as much as he has, one would expect him to feel immune to whatever jitters may course through his body. Yet, the feeling never stops, as Stevie Nicks has so prudently preached.  

He’s got his sparkling black trousers fastened around his hips, a black ruffled blouse tucked into it. “Hair and makeup, now,” Jeff orders as he passes him in the hall and turns to point at his watch. So, he does just that. To be honest, he’s a bit sad that Lou isn’t joining him on this leg of the tour. She’s been with him ever since he started out in this crazy business, but she did promise that his new stylist would be nothing short of exceptional. 

“Hi!” a voice chirps at him just seconds after he passes through the doorway. Harry takes a moment to get a good look at her. Her hair is pulled back into a stylishly messy bun that sits near the top of her head. She’s dressed in high-waisted navy blue skinny jeans, with a light grey cropped tank on top. Just the right amount of skin lingers in between. “I’m Y/n!”

“I’m Harry,” he politely nods to her. She giggles softly, and he can’t help but smile at how infectious it is.

“I know, I’m actually a really a big fan,” she blushes, then signals for him to take a seat in the chair right in front of the vanity. He looks at her through the mirror, and watches as she runs her hands through his hair, tussling it on the sides. Her fingers feel good as her nails lightly scratch against his scalp, he bites his tongue to hold back a pleasured moan. “I’ve been told not to mess with the hair too much but is there something you want specifically?” she asks, the reflection of their eyes meet. 

“I dunno, maybe just curl it a bit?” Lou would usually cut it before most shows, but he’s recently made a firm decision to let it grow out into its naturally wavy state. 

She nods, and takes a brush and gently brushes it back, making sure not to hurt him. The last thing she needs is to cause physical pain to the man that’s paying her. “How about if we curl the front?” Y/n steps in front of him and stares intently at the top of his head. Her hand reaches up to curl a piece around her finger, her mouth curls to the side in what looks like pure concentration. Yeah, curling just a bit of it in the front would look good.

The breath he didn’t even know he was holding releases once she turns around to get the curler ready. He won’t deny that she’s cute, really cute actually. “Sure, that’d be cool,” he says calmly, although his mind is still focused on how she smells of vanilla and…roses, maybe? As she gets to work on his hair, he tries to come up with something to say. Surely it shouldn’t be this difficult to make conversation. They’ll be working closely with one another for the better part of five months. “How long have you known Lou?”

“About three years or so,” she replies, taking a moment to dart her eyes up at him through the mirror. 

“Oh…lovely,” he says, and noticeably winces at how sarcastic that had sounded. She chuckles as she wraps a strand of hair around the wand. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that,” he shakes his head lightly, his dimples pop out as he offers an embarrassed smile. 

“It’s alright,” she giggles. She lets the heated curl fall against his forehead, then brushes it to the side. Once more, her fingers comb through his hair, and she looks at his reflection to make sure everything looks perfect. 

When they’re both satisfied with how it looks, she moves on to dust a bit of powder over his face. The things they had said weren’t false at all. This man has the nicest skin she’s seen. Would it be weird for her to ask him about his skincare routine? “You have really nice skin,” she mumbles, but he’s able to catch it.

“Why, thank you. I just drink loads of water,” he jokes, and a flush of pink rises to the apples of her cheeks. But when she dares to meet his eyes, they’re all bright and green, and suddenly she feels like she’s the seventeen-year-old fawning over his picture in the magazines. 

“Oh, so that’s your secret,” she muses, as she tries to play off the discomfiture of having been unable to hold her thoughts in.

Harry laughs, and nods his head tauntingly slow. “Yeah, that’s all there is to it. I could give you some pointers if you want,” he teases, but when he thinks logically about what he’s just said, he realizes how stupid it must’ve sounded. Luckily, she finds the humor in his statement, not being able to bite back the melody of giggles that so eloquently dance through her lips. It’s a sound he could get used to hearing. 

***

18 March 2018, Stockholm, Sweden 

Four shows down, and Y/n finally thinks she’s gotten the whole ‘moving around a lot’ thing down. Thankfully, the following meetings with Harry hadn’t been as awkward as the first. They’ve actually been able to maintain a decent conversation while she plays with his hair, and she finds that they share much of the same humor. He’s quite funny, always cracking jokes at opportune times.  

The rest of the band is really great, as well. She’s already formed a close bond with Sarah and Clare, and she loves doing their makeup. Since the guys go light, only really covering themselves in the faintest of foundation, it’s a good contrast to be able to experiment with different eye looks to match their colorful outfits. In the show in Paris, she’d given Sarah a magnificent blue cut-crease to match her sparkly top.  

She’s forgotten what an exhilarating performer Harry is. There’s just something about his charm and charisma that instantly draws an audience by the thousands. He’s cheeky, but also the sweetest person all at the same time. It reminds her of why she became a fan in the first place. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that she’d ever take part in his career in any way besides admiring him from afar.

During his Amsterdam show, she chose to settle herself within the crowd, wanting to see him rock the stage in the way that only he can. She’d jammed out during ‘Only Angel’ and had shed a tear or two when he sang ‘If I Could Fly’ while phone lights lit up the arena. Something worth mentioning is how good he had looked in his custom Harris Reed. He was like a modern-day pirate, as she had told him while seated in front of her. 

Tonight’s suit, however, has her feeling a certain way. It’s a custom Calvin Klein suit, light pink with thin black lines that form squares along the fabric. Inside, he’s only got on a tank, and bless her soul when he had come into the makeup in only that, she felt her thoughts drift astray towards the tattoos that scatter along his bare arms. The muscles in himslightly flexing when he had opened up a water bottle.  

“It’s a nice suit, yeah?” Harry Lambert whispers as they look on from the side. She bites her lips inward and gives the faintest nod. He’s going completely wild on stage, ‘Kiwi’ just has that effect on him. At the final seconds of the song, he does his infamous spit take, and launches a mist of water into the air. There’s something about it that she finds so extremely, breathtaking. She shouldn’t be having these thoughts about him, he’s her boss and maybe she can call him a friend, but that’s about it.

Each member of CHASM exits off the stage, Harry being the last. “How’d I do?” he smiles at her, an arm casually slung over her shoulder as they walk. “You were amazing, as expected,” she says sincerely, “a bit pitchy during Sign of the Times, but I suppose it happens to the best of us.” She keeps walking in spite of him stopping in his tracks, his arm falling to his side as he stands there completely stunned. She turns, continuing to walk backwards, and flashes him a mischievous look. 

***

24 March 2018, Oberhausen, Germany

Harry’s developed somewhat of a crush on her since they’ve embarked on this tour. There’s something about her that keeps drawing him in, and he has yet to find out what it is. One thing he admires is how she always manages to smile, even when it’s visibly evident that she’s running low on energy. It’s the travelling, he assumes. When he was on tour with One Direction, it had taken him several weeks to find his own rhythm in the midst of the all the hustle. 

It’s still early, they’ve got about eight hours until they’re meant to be preparing for tonight’s gig. He pops in to where she’s sitting in the makeup chair, scrolling through some pictures of makeup looks from by her favorite beauty gurus. “C’mon, get up,” he says to her, pulling her hand till she’s standing on her feet.

“What? Where are we going?” she raises a suspicious eyebrow at him. “If this is one of your pranks, I’m telling you, Harry…”

“No! I promise you that you’ll appreciate this one.” He grabs her purse on the way out, and she looks down to where her hand is being firmly held in his. His hand digs in his jacket pocket and pulls out a pair of sunglasses. “Here, put these on.”

***

The liquid burns her throat, but she can slowly feel herself becoming more in touch with her senses. Turns out, he was taking her to a coffee house not too far from the venue. He’d made her wear his extra pair of shades, so they could easily maneuver through the streets without anyone recognizing them––she’s acquired quite the following since early March. 

“Hit the spot?” 

She hums in satisfaction, her eyes closed as she indulges in the feeling of having the steam of her coffee open up her sinuses. “Definitely,” she replies, and takes another sip of the dark roast. She opens her eyes to see his sparkling down at her, the sunglasses he had worn earlier perched on the top of his head, no longer hiding the green irises she’s become entranced by. Before she has chance to stop herself, she’s pushing back a stand of hair that’s gone aloof.  “Sorry…It was bothering me,” she blushes. 

Harry takes a step closer to her, only a few inches now separating them. Y/n can feel the rushing of her heartbeat as the warmth of each of his breaths sends shivers down her spine. “It’s fine,” he says in low voice, his gaze darting down to her parted lips, all plump and pink, and just begging to be kissed. “It’s yours to play with.” 

***

31 March 2018, Madrid, Spain

“Amazing job, tonight!” he hears her praises Clare and Sarah once they’re all backstage. He makes his way over to her, only be stopped by Jeff. His manager starts talking his ear off, but Harry can hardly pay him any attention.  

A pang of jealousy hits him when he sees her hug Mitch and Adam, if only it were him. Their eyes meet from across the hallway, and she shoots him a sweet smile before getting whisked away by one of the staff members. 

“Sorry, can we talk about this later?” Harry excuses himself and takes long strides over to his band. The four of them are laughing amongst themselves, Mitch holding a bottle of champagne in his hand, a flute in the other.

“Want a drink?” he holds it out for Harry to take.

He waves his hand to decline. “Have you seen, Y/n?” he asks, looking over Adam’s shoulder. He doesn’t even notice them exchanging knowing looks. At this point, the mutual attraction shared between Harry and Y/n is obvious to all. Sarah motions over to hair and makeup, and he’s already jogging over to the room.

When he sees her, she’s twirling the wire around the handle of hairdryer, making sure that there are no twists––he’s learned that she hates when things aren’t properly put back in order. With her concentration in full effect, he quietly tiptoes behind her. His hands dwell over her sides before he’s digging his fingers into her hips. She lets out a yelp and nearly jumps out of her own skin.

“Oh my god!” she swats his arm then clutches her heart. “Don’t do that, you know I’m not good with surprises.” His chest rumbles as he tries to hold in a laugh, his closed-mouth smile threatening to expose his teeth. His hands find her the curves of her waist and he gently pulls her closer.

“I’m sorry,” he says, but there’s not a single shred of remorse etched into his words. He tilts his down, their noses bumping as his lips ghost above hers. “Forgive me?”

***

11 April 2018, London, England

“What’s going on with you and Harry?” Clare inquires while they help themselves to food from the buffet. “You two seemed awfully cozy last night,” she winks, and Y/n feigns innocence as she shrugs. 

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she responds airily. Clare smirks at her and plays along with the charade.

“So those noises that Mitch heard when he came by to drop something off at his room were just cats fighting?” Y/n misses her bowl, the oatmeal falling on the table with a big splat. An already distressed looking waiter that passes them lets out a defeated sigh and turns back to grab a towel. Y/n calls out an apology, but he’s already disappeared into the kitchen. 

***

She’s setting up her station when she hears the door shut behind her visitor’s footsteps. There’s no need to turn around because almost immediately she’s being pressed up against the vanity, a prominent bulge poking into her back. “Where’d you run off to this morning?” he whispers in her ear, his hands roaming down her front.

Her head falls back to lean onto his shoulder and enjoys the feeling of his kisses along her neck. “Went to get breakfast with Clare,” she purrs, biting her lip when his hands slide up her shirt and cup her breasts through her bra.

“I missed you,” and he gently squeezes them, massaging them in rounded motions. Not only did Harry wake up alone in bed, but he woke up with the most painful morning stiffy that he had been forced to take care of himself. He was only relieved for a few hours before the thoughts of past few nights resurfaced in his memory, and it was almost as though he could feel her body writhing beneath him. Those images had been enough to bring life back to his lower half. 

He pulls her shirt over her head and tosses it over the chair behind him. Her hand reaches behind to slip past the waistband of his joggers, he moans against her hair as she strokes him, her head craning to reach for his mouth. “I’ll make it up to you.”

And just like that, he’s pulling down her jeans and bending her over the vanity. She looks up and sees his eyes are a darker, more dangerous shade of green. “Want you watch how I fuck your pussy,” he husks against her temple, and suddenly she’s gasping as he slowly enters her from behind. His eyes roll to the back of his head as she envelops him completely. “Fucking tight,” he mutters under his breath. 

Her eyes drift shut for only a moment, but he’s pulling strands of her hair to have her look at their reflections. “Gotta stay focused, love. Keep them focused on me.” She watches as the glistening of sweat begins to form beads at the top of his forehead. Her eyes trail down to where she can see how his thick length gleams with her wetness every time he pulls out. 

She braces herself against the edges of the table as he rocks her back and forth with even thrusts. “Tell me how much you like it,” his eyes never leaving hers in the mirror. “Tell me how much you love having me so deep in your cunt.” The veins on the sides of his head become more prominent as he tries his best not to bust his load right then and there. She’s so warm and tight, it’s driving him absolutely wild how he feels himself hitting the very end of her. He moans as his balls slap against her ass each time he drives into her delicious heat.  

“I fucking love it,” she pants out as he starts picking up speed. “I love it so much, daddy,” she cries, and reaches back to pull at his hair, turning his head to meld their lips together. The rising production of heat and humidity in the room slowly begins to fog up the mirror until all that’s visible is a hazy outline of their intertwined bodies. 

His hands move back to her breasts, twisting her nipples as he leaves open-mouthed kisses along her neck. He sucks just below her jaw, bring the erotic purple shade to the surface to let people know who she now belongs to. In the few short weeks that he’s known her, already does he feel himself being tangled around her little finger. 

The sensation of him being so deep inside her, hitting all the right places and has her on the verge of an explosion. Her arms spread over the table, knocking down some of the stuff she’d previously laid out for tonight. With the little energy she has left, she reaches to wipe away the fog in big circles. She’s met with his darkened eyes once again. 

“Gonna give it to me?” he breathes out. “You gonna cum all over daddy’s cock?” She nods eagerly against him, her hair tickling the edge of his chin as her back arches to meet his thrusts in search for that last bit of needed friction.  

“Right there, please, daddy, don’t stop!” she screams, her voice rising as she feels herself on the brink of a climax. A string of curses leaves her mouth as she sees a flash of white flood her vision and take over all of her senses. Her body goes limp in his arms, as he continues to drive into her with a tantalizing force.

Once she’s gathered enough strength after coming down from her high, she lets him slip out of her and gets on her knees. She takes his cock in her hand and covers her lips over the tip, her cheeks hallowing as she sucks down until it’s hitting the back of her throat. His head falls back, as he fucks into her face. “Yeah, baby, suck my cuck. Take my treat,” he moans, his eyes shutting tightly as he his seed shoots deep into her mouth.

He pulls out of her, and bends down to pry her lips apart. His thick sticky release sits in a pool on her tongue. “Swallow,” he orders. She closes her mouth and he sees the bob of her throat, and he imagines what his cum looks like as it fills her tummy. 

***

12 April 2018, London, England

“I love this hair on you,” Y/n says as she tussles the curls atop his head. She doesn’t particularly love it when it’s too messy. No, she prefers it to be the perfect balance, nice and maintained in the back, while the front gracefully bounces whenever he goes wild. “Love this suit, as well,” she leans in to whisper in his ear. Harry smirks at her and leans up to give her a quick peck on the lips. “Alright, now we’ve got to fix the nails. Have you never heard of a base and top coat before?” 

[letitbefiction]

Iron heart and a spider shaped key- chapter 22

LAST CHAPTER

A/N: AfGkdlxkxhzgggsha IT IS TIME! It is THE END! I hope you all like it..I really do...thank you for reading this I cannot thank you all enough for all the love and support I got for this fic.

Feel free to read more of my fics: (X)

(I personally really like A Little ODD)

Warning-lap dance, drinking (mentioned) sexual touching (???) Peter almost being demolished by the avengers.

Paring- Peter Parker x stark!reader

Type: fluff

Word count: 8.1k

Staring at your mirrored figure, your dress was beyond beautiful. Sure it was slightly extra but it’s your birthday and it’s you, and if anyone had a problem with it you didn’t care.

Your light pink dress fitted perfectly to your y/s/c skin color, the lace detail extending the length about five inches after your fingertips and your cleavage is showing just the right amount a seventeen year old should show. “You look beautiful...” a familiar whisper crossed your mind, turning around you saw Peter. His chocolate eyes scanning you up and down with aw before locking eyes with you. “Thank you” you trailed sweetly before approaching the boy.

You approached the boy and ran your hands over his blue flannel, a light blush coated both of your cheeks. “Cameras...” you suddenly mumbled with a sigh, pulling your hand back to hold it with your own over your chest. But he still stood there, completely lost at your sight, you were beautiful. Your makeup was done on a professional level and hair was pulled into a half up half down ponytail with a few loose strings to frame your face, “Peter you’re staring..” You giggled embarrassed, nudging the boy with your elbow before taking a step back to sit on your bed.

Immediately snapping out of his thoughts he began mumbling an apology to which you laughed at, he was adorable and flustered, turning completely red when he stumbled trying to follow behind you. “My god..Peter just..sit down” you shook your head and he let out a small chuckle “I’m sorry it’s just...wow..y-you’re just..wow and I-uh..wow..” he trailed with aw. You closed your eyes with a soft smile as the mattress next to you sank a bit, He was close but not as close as you wanted him to be. Knowing that, he simply dragged his hand over to yours shyly a question rolling off his tongue hesitantly “when are we going to tell them?” “Can we just..run away?” You answered sarcastically.

Peter smiled at you, he knew you were nervous..which was a bit strange, but he knew because he was too. For days he had spent with your dad in the laboratory he was terrified he’ll be compromised or get too nervous and blabber it out, a small moment caught on security cameras or simply a text could send his ass flying from the Empire State Building! Yeah..he knew.

“Maybe tomorrow?...like..I don’t know..I—“ you started but he quickly cut your thoughts when he reached for your hand “hey..you tell him when you’re ready..until then I’m as quiet as a bug!” “Like a mosquito maybe..” you giggle and he pushed you away playfully, a sweet chuckle escaping his pink lips sending your heart racing even more.

-

“The Spider child is in her room!” Thor boomed “I know he’s in her room!” Tony retorted, eyeing the character beside him, covering his right ear as a soft ringing sound echoed in his mind. Then another blond one appeared on his left side “Should we call them in—?” “What are they saying?” Natasha spoke from behind interrupting Steve “I don’t know—“ “do you think they’re together?” Bucky cut tauntingly before being elbowed by Wanda “That’ll be so cute” Sam grinned causing Tony to tick with annoyance “that won’t be cute because she’s my daughter and—“ Wanda cheers cut, a large and teasing grin appearing on her lips “oh! when they’ll have children do you think—“ “NO ONE IS HAVING KIDS!” Tony burst, making the room go quite in an instant.

With a huff he turned to his teammates, immediately closing the tab that was monitoring the two of you, even though it was pure and innocent he couldn’t help but get slightly nervous of his little girl growing up.

“How did any of you got in here?!” He hissed, not sure to which member it was intended, Vision took the obligation to answer “They followed me sir.” He answered politely. Tony shook his head desperately, placing a hand over his eyes before looking at his creation with annoyance “really jar—vision. Really?” He caught himself, hoping no one would notice. No one did they all just spread out and began exploring on their own while the two walked off into a more quieter space. “Apologies sir.” He started “but maybe we should put all of our theories for a test?” Tony looked shocked at even the possibility of doing so, maybe he was a bit too arrogant to admit to himself that he might need to loosen up the grip. “What?” Your father asked rhetorically “I overheard a conversation y/n had with one of her friends. They were talking about going to a girl named Maddie after the party.” He answered quickly, “hey don’t touch that!” Tony pointed towards a confused Sam who touched some undeveloped tech, he scratched the back of his hairs before looking back up at Vision slightly confused. “Go somewhere? Why would she want to go—“ “I believe she said ‘just a few hours without any cameras around! That’ll be the best birthday gift ever’ “ he cut coldly.

A twitch of guilt stung your old man’s heart, yes you did say those words, but it was just because you were frustrated..having to hide even in your own house.

-

A few hours later, guests started to arrive, from your usual pretentious preppy teenagers to the sloppy lazy ones, all decided to try and dress up in a shallow try to impress one of the superheroes.

You had a special area in the compound specifically for parties only and that’s where you met everyone. Some people you weren’t sure you knew, they gave you presents in an attempt to gain your likeness, but presents nonetheless so you didn’t mind. Music blasted in your ears as your father and the rest of your family promised to stay away just for tonight.

More and more people began crowding the living area as dark settled in nicely on the velvet sky. Flashing red blue and green lights covering the walls while dancing shadows roamed within the room.

When finally seeing your friends you ran into each others arms with a squeal, compliments going back and forth with delight.

“This place is HUGE!” Jack yelled wide eyed, “Yeah well..thank you?” You giggled awkwardly, not sure how to answer the obvious fact and turned your attention to Maddison who laced her arms with you. “You’re —- coming — my hou— after —.. extra—-” she teased, her voice yelling over the loud music but still difficult to hear “what?!” You yelled dragging her away into a more quiet side of the room while the group left you so they could dance.

“I SAID—!” “Ow!” You cut, pushing her away for yelling in your ear. “Sorry” she giggled unapologetically “uh huh..” you rolled your eyes with a slight smile. “I asked if your still coming to my house after this?” “Oh yeah of course!” You answered excitedly before dragging her out to dance.

Music was getting louder, and somehow kids got drunker. Your eyes drifted away from the scene in front of you, your laughing friends mixing with the background as you locked eyes on your boyfriend. A slight jealousy sparked in you when you saw a girl approaching him.

She was a brunette tall girl, a royal blue tight dress hugging her curves. Her eyes flattering with heavy mascara that you can see from a mile away.

You tried to ignore it, you really did, just dancing and having fun with your friends and trusting him as your mind boomed with your favorite songs.

But things change and while the DJ replaced a song to one of your friends requests, you managed to hear a few words escaping the glossy mouth. “Wow Peter..you work out?” She asked sneakily, squeezing his arm making him feel more than uncomfortable and making you angrier by the second.

Why were some girls like that? It’s still a mystery to you and many others.

Peter felt really awkward with her touch, it felt..weird, empty and forced and above it all, it felt wrong that it wasn’t you.

His heart beat fastened, Ned was standing only a few steps away but he couldn’t see a thing. Peter was holding his apple juice cup in one hand, nerves pricking on the back of his neck. “I uh..I don’t r-really..can..you stop..?” He asked embarrassed, words tumbling out of his mouth awkwardly. Looking over his shoulder he managed to see you looking at him and then escaping his gaze, his heart beat stopped in an instant. Quickly and very annoyed, he moved the girl’s hand away harshly before turning to find you walking towards the hall.

“Peter!” You shrike as he put his hand over your mouth and dragged you into a small closet. “What?” You whispered raspy when he lowered his hand, a big grin crossed his lips “can I kiss you?” He mumbled confidently and you smiled.

He wanted to show that you’re his, and you weren’t going to stop him.

“you’re out here looking for danger boy..” “danger is my middle name!” He smirked with a playful smirk “Your middle name is Benjamin.” You teased before pulling him by his collar to close the gap between the two of you. Your butterflies were swirling inside with excitement, a smile creasing your lips as he pulled you close by the waist. You didn’t say anything but you could feel his bulge through his jeans, what? he was a teenager and so were you.

“Ok ok I have to go..” you cut shortly with a smile, your heart beat chanting in your

his hands slowly moving to your core and drawing small circles unintentionally as you slid your soft hands off his chest. He let out a slight whine of disappointment as you told him to wait a bit before getting outside, to give off at least a slight chance of not getting caught.

-

“Hey there Peter” Bruce called as he passed by when Peter opened the door. Wide eyed Peter was beyond flustered “h-hey Doctor Ba-aner..hehe uh I wh-what are uh what are you doing here I uh..” the scientist simply shook his head with a hidden smile behind his mouth “why are you in there Peter?” He questioned knowingly, after all he saw you leave that closet too just moments ago.

Peter felt like a doe caught in headlights, his heart was thumping loudly in his chest and it wasn’t you to blame this time. “Uh was just checking for uh snacks so..” his brown eyes scanned the closet they were in quickly, realizing it’s full of cleaning supplies. “I uh..tide pots! Yeah yeah well hehe..it’s uh it’s here so we’re good” he gave a thumbs up with a nervous laughter running from his as fast as he escaped Banner’s questioning eyes. But no such luck, he was lectured for maybe 15 minuets straight about the obvious dangers and toxicity of the product and that it’s not a joke, but peter was more than lost in that conversation seeing you swaying your hips to the music with your friends.

“Close one. Banner.” Peter whispered loudly to you as he passed by, his raspy voice sent slight shivers down your spine. You turned around but he was gone, approaching Michelle and Ned who sat by the couch and ate pizza with a whole lot of unopened snacks that you wondered where did they steal them from.

-

The night went on, and on..and on.

You had your birthday song played in the background when your three level cake was rolled in, all your friends by your side while other recorded it. But non was as close to the feeling you had feeling Peter hand reach for yours from behind, and that smile, the smile he gave you made you happier more than any cake or party could.

But of course, some idiot brought alcohol to the party.

Unlike Liz’s party, which you only heard from Michelle once, when the oh so expensive vase was shattered on the floor a loud alarm went off.

You can only imagine how everyone had reacted, teenagers scattered around, music stopped only to be replaced by the sound of yelling and screaming mixed with rushing steps.

Lucky panicking teenagers escaping your rushing superhero team.

“What Is going on?” Your father yelled, the loud alarm overcoming his voice as a teenager run towards the exit by him.

He searched for you in the crowd but you were gone, yelling your name while the rest tried to show everyone the right exit or help search for you and Peter.

You were quite difficult to find, having hearing the alarm breaking the music you rushed in an attempt to shut it down, and when that didn’t work you searched on why it happened.

Your friends rushing after you into the room where the vase was shuttered to the floor, panicking because damn this is one expansive vase.

In seconds the alarm stopped you looked up, “fuck” You muttered knowing damn well who was the only person who could shut it off.

“It’s fine it’s fine he..he won’t be m-mad right?” Emily said with a shaky voice to which you only paniced more. Yor friend mixed voices came in and out of your ear as you tried to come up with an idea..or rather an apology. “Y/n!” You heard your dad called and ran towards his voice “dad! I am so so sorry I swear someone must have—“ “oh my god your ok!” You father cut, creasing his hands over your arms with unsettled eyes. “Uh..yes.” You mumbled, escaping his touch slightly awkward when feeling everyone’s eyes on you. “What happened?” “Some idiot broke the vase in the—“ “wait. Please tell me it’s the one in the living room and not the guest room.” You kept quiet with an apologetic puppy eyes “not my 6000$ vase..!” He whined dragging his hands over his face before taking a deep breath “it’s fine I’ll..at least you’re ok..” he huffed and bring you into a tight hug.

-

“so...can I go to Madison?” You asked your dad innocently, turning briefly to look at your friends having a fan moment with your family. Peter stood by the other side of the living room, Michelle and Ned by his side.

“Take Peter.” He ordered and began walking towards the rest, cue for your whining and annoyed act. “but dad!” You trailed, following his steps with a pout. “He’ll just ruin everything!” You fake whined, but your father remembered his so called agreement with his teammates and he knew that if he’ll break it he won’t hear the end of it.

“Someone tell my kid I’m right” he spoke with a grin, the group turning their attention to him before looking at your annoyed attitude following behind. “What about?” Sam asked, placing his hands in his pockets while standing up.

“She needs to take Peter with her.” “No.” You crossed your arms, glaring at the others with anger. Steve simply agreed with your father, stating a simple “Yes.”, your stomach swirled with nerves and you turned to “Bucky! Help!” “Sorry kiddo I have to agree with —“ “ugh fine!” You cut. Inhaling frustration you yelled “PETER!”, the young boy popped his head nervously seeing your angered face but seeing the rest made somewhat sense in his mind. “Wh- uh what do you want?” He mumbled “You’re going with Y/N to uh..” your father trailed with forgetful eyes “Madison.” You sighed and he turned to the group with searching eyes. “who’s Madison?” He asked and your blond, and slightly intimidated friend raised her hand. “No drinking. No smoking and no drugs.” He ordered and they all nodded as a promise.

Your father clapped his hands with a proud grin “Great! I’ll call happy!” He grinned and left the room, only to return moments later “Peter..a word.” He raised a brow as they all exchanged looks.

-

The curly headed boy followed timidity after his mentor, both approaching a side room before Tony closed the door behind them.

“Pete” He started, placing an over protective hand over Peter’s slightly terrified shoulder. The young boy could be tackled by Steve and it’ll be less nerve racking than this conversation, “yes Mr. Stark?” He gulped, “you keep her safe. and you keep your hands to yourself. Am I clear?” Tony said coldly, Peter being too scared to notice the suited man was fiddling with his jacket simply nodded quickly with wide eyes.

“Good” Tony patted the boys back and left the room, leaving poor Peter anxious, heavy breaths of relief escaping his mouth.

-

While Peter disappeared you stared nervously at the closed door, you were nervous but only one seemed to notice.

A set of hands startled you, one is colder than the other as they rested on your shoulder. Turning your head around you were met with a pair of blue eyes, they seemed calm and understanding as the brushed your hair from your eyes “they still don’t know..” he whispered with a smirk and you simply sighed with a smile “thank god..” you muttered.

Bucky was the first, and only avenger who found about your secret. It happened by accident really.

-

Sitting in the lab you concentrate on fixing your boyfriends web shooters, your y/e/c eyes squinting at the small screws. “Hey y/n—“ a voice called and you let out a yelp, turning around you saw a very shocked and apologetic Peter standing in the entrance.

He was slightly blushing but non the less happy to see you.

“Sorry babe..” he mumbled rubbing the back of his neck as you rolled out off your chair with a delightful smirk, hearing him calling you babe just made your heart flatter what can you do?

It was the first day he was in the tower so you didn’t even noticed that the first thing was giving him a pack on his lips quickly before you two continued a conversation of nothing, perfectly sweet nothing.

It was about an hour later, he swung his legs back and forth, from time to time spinning the chair while staring at his phone quietly as you asked. You needed to work, but having him around just made it more easier.

Finishing explaining the new web combinations you added, he led you to the kitchen to a much deserved snack time.

You sat on the cold marble island as he leaned on the counter in front of you, both of you rudely snacking on someone else’s treats. Your mixed laughter was to be heard from a distance, that’s why Bucky approached it in the first place.

He was a mad shipper, a 100 and something year old super soldier wanted two teenagers to be together like he had nothing else to do in his life. And he was slightly proud of what he saw.

Peter teased you with one of Wanda’s Pocky sticks and placed on end in his mouth and one end empty for you. “Peter no..” you trailed with a tempt laughter “come on! I saw it in a some Chinese show once pwease?” He mumbled with puppy eyes and you had to give in, taking mental note to ask about why he was watching it in the first time.

“Jeez..Parker you’re going to be the death of me..” you giggled before biting onto the delicious pretzel like stick.

A few bites in and your lips met, his lips were sweet and had a slightly sour taste to them because of the gummy worms he had a few seconds ago. he came in closer, one hand held you by the waist and the other cupped your cheek delicately. You broke the kiss slightly just so you could swallow the pieces of sweetness, a soft smile creeping onto his lips when he stared at you lovingly. He closed the gap again and this time you wrapped your legs around his waist, you felt as if you were floating mid air and his touch was the only thing grounding you. It was right before he deepened the kiss that a cough made you both pool away, both shocked and embarrassed you turned in horror to see Bucky’s folded arms leaning over the door frame.

His eyes darted between the two of you quietly, you didn’t know what to say, or how long he’s been there. panicking you jumped off the marble surface with a plea “Please don’t tell anyone!” You begged, Peter quickly following your steps with the same helpless puppy eyes. “Please Mr. Barns I uh..I..” The young boy always felt slightly terrified of the long haired super solider, his heart beating increasing with fear as drops of sweat began forming on his forehead when the soldier simply raised a brow at him.

“I won’t.” He suddenly spoke, a kind smile appearing on his pink lips, slightly taken back you felt doubtful of his reasons. “Why?” You muttered, sure you were glad he won’t say a thing but why not.

“Cause you will”

“What?”

“You’ll tell them. Just tell me when cause I have a bet to win!” He winked and brushed past you and Peter, “uh..what?” “A bet?” You both asked dumbfound.

“A bet yes.” He smirked and tried to find something to eat in a way to disguise the fact they’re the reason in the first place he followed into the kitchen.

Not sure how to react you turned to Peter who simply reached to your hand nervously.

“And Parker!” The man called warningly, giving both of you a heart attack as he was about to leave “You hurt her. I will hurt you. Don’t think I forgot how to hide bodies.” Bucky hissed, scaring the living hell out of the boy before ruffling your hair and leaving with an apple in his hand.

“He won’t kill you..” you trailed before cracking a smile, looking briefly behind your shoulder.

“I hope..” “you hope?!” Peter exclaimed as you dragged him back to the lab with a nervous giggle.

-

“You’re were supposed to tell them today” he reminded and you looked at the ground “I know I..I’ll tell them later” you scoffed and he raised a brow at your tone “you have up until the end of the day or I’m telling them kid.” He instructed before turning back to the rest.

Panic took over your mind, how the hell were you supposed to do that?! “What? Come on Buck!” You frowned, big doe like eyes begging the super solid to keep this secret for a while longer.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to you with a smirk “it’s for your own good! Because sweetheart...” he trailed with a shrug “you are being too obvious anyways” he chuckled “I am not!..” you trailed but he looked at you unimpressed, his finger pointing to his cheeks “you’re blushing doll face” he taunted with a nod “oh fuck..” you muttered “language” “bite me barns” you retorted quickly. “isn’t it Peter’s job?” He snickered and you turned completely red as you stormed off to your friends, but stopped mid step to see your father returning to the room with a shaky Peter behind him.

-

And so, this is how you found yourself walking to the car, you leading first and Peter strolling behind. “Bye sweetheart! Stay safe!” “Bye dad..” You giggled before motioning to Peter to close the door.

In an instant, the seating changed, Peter was by your side his hand shyly resting on your thigh drawing up and down strips.

You smiled at him and plugged in your phone, letting your friends play whatever song they chose to.

Time passed, and you arrived to her empty house quickly. Immediately taking off your jackets and throwing them messily in a closet room you each sprinted to the couch to get a good spot.

“Princess?” Peter bowed teasingly and motioning you to sit in the middle as he took a seat next to you “I’ll beat you up Parker” you shook your head, a laugh being held back behind a tight smile. Your legs automatically swung over his and he placed one of his hand over your thigh and the other over your bare shoulder. “Easy with the whole pda kids!” Bridget teased, throwing a bag of sour gummy worms towards you, only that Peter caught it moment before it hit you with a shy smile. “Nice reflexes Parker!” Adam commented before slamming himself next to Madison who almost dropped her bowl of popcorn to the floor.

After ten whole minutes of arguing what movie you should watch you decided on the incredibles, simply just to tease you for living with actual superheroes..and dating one. Not that they needed to know that.

You spent most of it focusing on the glowing screen, eating, laughing and even starting a food fight with each other.

And when saying mostly that you did those things, was because Peter’s hands were all over you, and yours was on him.

He rested his curly hair on yours as you laid across his chest, his fingers fiddling with your y/t/h hair as you drawn small circles on his chest. When the movie ended, the black and white credits rolled and everyone started starching, He looked down at you for a moment and smiled, your hair was slightly tangled in his hands but your lips were a vibrant color of magenta, practically inviting him to kiss you. He took your chin gently in his fingers and placing a heaven like kiss on your delicate lips.

Emily smiled devilishly at you first, not that you noticed, and then at the rest, who definitely noticed and mirrored her thoughts.

Her sudden movements grabbed your attention as you watched her rushed into the kitchen, everyone exchanged amused looks and quickly sat on the floor, you did the same, even though you were slightly confused.

But it all made sense as she brought back an empty bottle, a big grin on her face as she took the seat in front of you.

“Ok ok ok..we all know the rules right?” Adam asked, eyes directly moving to you and Peter “what level?” Bridget asked calmly, still looking at her phone.

“Level?” You, Peter, Michelle and Ned asked in unity, eyes darting towards each other with confusion. Madison turned to you with an awkward smirk, not sure what words to use “Uh yeah you know how..uh..well..” she trailed and your eyes widened “oh...OH!” You exclaimed, realization hitting your mind.

Turning to Peter you whispered to him that it means how sexual it might get. Heat rushed through his whole body, his neck ears and face turning a bright color of red.

-

Meanwhile in the avengers compound, your father sat in his office and stared at the large screen, his fingers tapping fast on a plastic keyboard in an attempt to fix the small camera.

The small device was one of the new spidercam Tony wanted to add to the suit, eight metal legs hit the wooden floor as he stared ahead at the small crack of light coming from beneath the door.

“What are you doing?” A voice startled. “Non of your business Rhodes..” He retorted, brown eyes still fixed on the camera movement. A small disbelieving chuckle was heard from behind before snarky words were to leave his lips “your spying on your own daughter man!” “Who’s spying on who?” Natasha stormed in with a smirk, Bucky trailing behind her quietly.

“Why are you in here again?” “Movie night Stark. Vision insists on you being there” she emphasized with jazz hands.

A pair of icy blue eyes scanned the screen, a group of teenagers sitting comfortably, their faces illuminated by different lights coming from an animated movie. “are you spying on y/n?” Bucky suddenly commented, eyes still fixed on the live video in front of him.

“No.” Tony slammed the laptop screen and with that the live video stopped. He crossed his arms with daring eyes but his judging friends kinda saw through him at that situation. “Okay yes I am-“ he said lifting back the screen “-but I’m just watching over her. You said it yourself! I don’t know those kids and—“ “ok cool can we watch this instead of Vision documentary!” Natasha grinned towards a very confused Tony.

-

After maybe a twenty minutes persuasion by The two most dangerous people in the compound, Bucky and Natasha won over your father stubbornness.

They were all getting snacks and drinks prepared to see what were you up to, while the true reason was to win the ongoing bet, that by now the price had gone up to 300$ to the winner by each participant.

They stared from behind at your illumined figures, not wanting to get too close and might risk the fact that one of you will smash it to pieces. They all simply enjoyed half of the movie you chose, trying to guess which one of those shadows is you and failing..sort of. They actually thought the couple cuddling on the couch was Emily and Jake, except for Bucky who knew damn well.

Bored out of his mind, Stark left the room for a moment, exactly missing the shared kiss, to fix himself a glass of scotch and answered a call from Pepper.

You already started playing though, silly dares really, ones that all the avengers laughed at and even tried mimicking you. Everything was fine until a very...unique one was heard through the muffled speakers.

“Uh..” Thor trailed, slight amusement in his voice followed by Loki more sarcastic tone “no...”.

“What? what did I miss I-oh HELL NO!” Tony yelled at the screen, his scotch almost slipping off his hands as his brown eyes widened feeling his overly as his overprotective father mode activated. Completely ignoring the avengers seating all comfortably and full of themselves at your father reaction to the spinning bottle. “Relax Tony..it’s just truth or dare.” Natasha grinned, maybe she was slightly nervous, you were after all a teenager...and a the daughter of Tony Stark so...but she managed to hide the fact she heard the are you were asked to do obviously.

Tony shot her a look, he wasn’t an idiot and he knew damn well what could happen if you choose to accept whatever they’ll tell you to do.

They all stared at the green bottle spinning in the middle of the giggling teenagers circle.

Tony immediately reached his phone, he knew that you won’t answer and neither will Peter, so he tried and get a better view for the planted camera and a better way to hear the muffled teenagers. Moments past and the screen finally stopped moving only to stop directly on you and Peter, leaving to another room.

“Tony?” Steve called, protection in his voice as he stood up from his spot “Shut up.” Tony called, his eyes still fixed on the small movements on his phone screen. “Tony.” Bruce was one to call this time to which Tony only huffed “I’m busy.” He grunted before smiling proudly to himself for perfecting the camera position “You might want to see this...” Steve trailed and just in time your father managed to see Peter entering a room and closing the door while your beloved friends howled in the background.

Realizing that you were no where to be in the circle, concern and anger fueled his body “oh he better not.” He hissed, eyes glued to the screen before seeing the group rushing from their seats to pin their head to the door.

They all had very pleased grins and giggled escaped their hand covered lips.

When the door opened again in less than 3 minuets, they all took a step back with anticipation and anxious eyes.

“We’ll do it.” You said shyly, peter holding your hand nervously but shrugging with fake confidence.

-

It started silly really, you don’t know how you ended up with a dare like this when only the game started. “Do an impersonation of Donald Trump” that Adam got, and preformed perfectly! “Go to the neighbour’s house and ask for a banana” which Madison got, and man it was a lot more funnier than it should have been. “Close your eyes and send a blind text to a random person” was something that Jack got, and thus is a start on how he’ll have to explain his aunt why he asked for a booty call, which was just....priceless as you can imagine!

Your stomach hurt with laughter, eyes flickering with tears of amusement. Peter’s laugh was rolling off his tongue with delight, even chocking when he tried to calm himself down.

But then..the bottle spun, and you stared with fear and anticipation as the object dizzied your y/e/c eyes.

Shit.

“Truth..or Dare y/n..” Madison trailed. You gulped nervously, you had to choose dare! You just had to, you can’t break this unspoken rule and choose truth when everyone else chose dare, and the fact they’ll ask something about you and Peter just made you more nervous. Exchanging looks with the group you suddenly turned to Peter, his soft smile calming your nerves before your turned back to the dare devil.

“Dare.” You smirked, fake confidence shadowing you immediately. They all exchanged amused smirks as ideas were to be whispered to the blond girl. Her eyes twinkled with delight when Adam whispered the perfect dare, “do a lap dance.” She smirked and your eyes widened with embarrassment, heat rushed to your whole body and your eyes darted to the floor “On Peter obviously.” She insisted and you immediately looked at your boyfriend embarrassed.

Peter, felt a rally going inside his mind. Anticipation, fear, nerves, lust, embarrassment and awkwardness was showing with red heat on his pale skin. He didn’t look at anyone at first but feeling your gaze upon him he turned around immediately, and seeing your nervousness he had to do the right thing and calm himself down, or at least fake it.

He stood up, his shadow falling over your small character “give us a moment?” He spoke, his hand reaching for yours to walk you to another room.

He placed his hands on your back with a soft smile “you don’t have to..” he whispered, closing the door behind him. pulling you to his embrace.

Your stomach knotted with nerves, mind racing at the possibilities of the outcome. “I..uh it’s fine..” eyes locked at your shifting feet you finally spoke, breaking the anticipating silence. His soft hands reached for your tensed shoulders, grabbing your attention in an instant as butterflies unknotted the feeling inside. He smiled kindly at your wide eyes and brushed a hair our of your cheek quickly “y/n..you don’t have to. I’ll say it’s my fault” he smirked but you shook your head, feeling a slight blush creeping up on you “Peter..” “you don’t have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.” He stated before roaming his hands to hold you by your waist, you unknowingly moved your hands over his shoulder with a slight grin “I love you” he whispered, his cold minty breath brushing agains your lips. “I love you too” you whispered and closed the gap.

You then held him by the hand and opened the door, a few of your friends stumbled inside and you had to bit your lip so you won’t laugh. You darted your eyes between all the characters before giving in “we’ll do it.” You said confidently.

Peter felt his heart pound heavily, fearing you might do it out of pressure. “Y/n?” “I am comfortable as long as you’re with me..” you answered quickly, giving him a small pack on the cheek and leaving to your friends.

-

“Ok go pick a song! Peter stay.” Jack instructed and you nodded, cringing at the instructions slightly.

“Wow..peer pressure. Thank god I don’t have many friends.” Michelle called from behind as you searched for your jacket.

You turned to her with questioning eyes, “it’s not peer pressure.” You insisted. “Is it not though?” She taunted, but truth is, she cared. And you knew it. “It’s not. because I’ve talked to Pete..and..I’m actually ok with it..” you shrugged, slightly lying but that’s just because you were nervous, not scared.

Finally finding the device you searched for a needed song, but she blocked your screen forcing you to look up at her.

“You don’t have to.” She stated again, her eyes trying to keep cool but failing to hide the care in her voice. “It’s ok chip. I promise.” You smiled genuinely and she let put a huff “fine..I’ll make sure no one will record this” she rolled her eyes, a small smirk tugging at her lips.

After maybe 4 minuets of finally finding a song, the two of you opened the door and turned down towards the living room.

-

“What’s going on?” “Why are they telling him to sit?” “Why is he standing up now?” “Why are they laughing?” “What the hell did my daughter agreed to?!” Those were just a few of Tony’s questions, his and the teammates eyes glued to the screen like it was the gospel.

“Don’t worry Peter. I’m sure you’re going to enjoy it!” One of the guys called, patting on the shaking shoulder of the boy before slamming himself on the couch in front of the camera.

There was a big sofa left empty, Peter’s profile was seen through as he wiped his hands over his shirt nervously. “You ready y/n/n?” Madison giggled, and when you yelled back a yes they slightly dimmed the lights so the song could start.

(Song: strip that down-liam payne)

The beat started quickly, your mind came up with combination of choreographed music videos as you thought ahead before letting your body move.

Your eyes glanced at the group of teenagers and then turned to lock eyes with Peter while taking a few strides forward, your heels making a clicking noise over the wooden floor before coming to a halt. You swung your hips to the beat, hands slowly running over your curves. Your hands created an X over your waist before moving to circle your chest and go down to your core while leaning closer, your ass slightly swaying to the beat. You circled the chair he was sitting in with lustful eyes that drove him insane (like your family who was watching from the other side, but for other reasons). He licked his lips and bit the inside of his cheek as a reflex, his brown eyes following you with a mixture of nerves and anticipation, after all you were both hormone filled teenagers. Slowly tilting his chin to force him to look at you, you smirked devilishly and ran your hand in his curly hair before letting your thumb crease his bottom lip. With a flicker of his eyes you started face away from him, taking a few steps forward then flipping your hair as you lowered your ass to the floor, sending Peter a wink while rising up slowly, letting him have a good look as if you were all alone.

Swinging your hips to the beat you let yourself sit in his lap, your back to his chest so your ass is pressed against his growing bulge. He put his hands on your hips and your rose like scent made his head dizzy as his hands ran slowly over your unbelievably soft skin and incredible shape.

Slowly leaning back, you let your shoulders hit his chest and wrapped your right arm around his neck. He tried fighting it but he was defeated and gave in to look into your cleavage, that from the angle gave him a perfect view of your lacy bra.

You slowly arched your back and turned to kneel down, your big eyes scanning his features change as you ran your hands over his thighs. He gulped nervously the closer you got to his crouch, a sly and devilish smirk appearing on your lips as you stopped mid action.

You flipped your hair to the side and quickly straddled him, you could see him turn a bright shade of red as you bit your lip. A smirk appeared on your lips as you felt him hard beneath your dress. You run your fingers through his curls and slowly down his neck before leaning closer to connect your soft lips with his sensible skin. A quite moan accidentally escaped to your ears causing you to stop your actions.

He seemed embarrassed but your simply smiled devilishly, your hips beginning to press against his crouch while rocking back and forth. You could see him biting his lips as you stared into his eyes, and the moment he looked into you, you closed the gap between the two of you and gave him a passionate kiss as if no one was there.

A smile intoxicated your lips as you moved to his ear “you can go lower if you want..” you trailed before looking at his wide eyes, your movements not stopping for a moment. He slowly ran his hands down your thighs and you raised a brow hinting him a place to go.

And he did. His warm fingers tailed up your dress and reached down your ass. You could feel your heart beat increase with every second in a very bad, best way.

The song slowly came to an end with you kissing the very flustered boy, you simply smirked and shrugged at everyone’s applause as you all rearranged your seats. They threw some cheeky comments at the both of you, you simply rolled your eyes but Peter seemed to be in a different world. That was until Michelle stood up and pulled a small device from her pocket.

-

“Uh..” Michelle hand captured the small camera in her hand, thank god it was only one way hear or else she’ll be able to hear the shrike coming from the avengers. Her face coming extremely closer to the camera, fingers lightly pressuring the pieces making the screen twitch before she scanned the small device with careful eyes.

When showing the group the small, spider like metal device you almost, well, no. You had a heart attack the moment you saw it.

And sure, seconds after that, your driver seemed to have a hard time keeping his cool as he motioned you and Peter to go get your coats, “we’re leaving.” He spoke, oh fuck.

-

“Bucky?” “I just want to talk to him” he answered Vision motionless, his eyes glued to the now blackout screen. Nat slowly rose from her seat and glanced at the blond solider who’s leg was jumping up and down, “Steve?” She called, her hand reaching for the man’s tensed shoulder as if he was a beast. “We just want to talk to him.” He rose quickly, his bright blue eyes hooded by a dark shadow and a tight smile crossing his lips with hidden anger.

Finally Rodney turned to his friend, he saw Tony mad before, angry, frustrated, hopeless anxious depressed he’d seen it all...but not this, this was stone cold and undeciphered. “Tony?” He called, “I just want to shoot him.” He stated, quickly rushing to his feet and turning to leave “What?” “You can’t shoot him Tony he’s a kid!” “Did you see how he-ba dthen he reached for her.. and what why was he smiling like this huh?! And he looked down at her dress! I’m not an idiot! He’s dead!” “Tony. He is a kid. Let it go we can—“”Yeah well so is she.” He said coldly, the room stayed quiet for a few minutes, all exchanging looks not sure what to do.

(Except Bucky who was now over a 1000 dollars richer and planned on going to get some pizza after killing Peter).

“It was a dare. not much come on” “do not tell me how to raise my child Natasha” “if I may interject” “you may not” “I do know a way where we can insure y/n’s well being and also stabilize...their behavior.” Vision spoke, having a slightly hard time to process the very tensioning situation. “Oh yeah? Enlighten me then” your father hissed, a sarcastic smile planted on his lips as his eyes through dagger around the room.

-

“the fact I am accepting it does not mean I’m ok with that” Tony muttered as FRIDAY announced that your car had arrived.

It was a very...awkward and frightening ride for the two of you. And though Peter was extremely turned on, knowing he was watched and is going to die seemed to make it disappear slightly.

“Children.” Tony spoke, Happy’s hands resting on Peter’s and yours shoulder, squeezing it tight so you’d be unable to escape from your father just yet. You quickly locked eyes with Peter, both of you being consumed with fear.

“Y/n. Care to explain?” Your father spoke, both of you knowing damn well what he meant. You could feel the palm of your hands sweating with nerves as you tried to comment something smug on why had he followed you, your words rolling out of you lips with a shake. “W-why d-did you follow us huh..? A-and I uh..” “wow. Ok next.” You father shut, and you didn’t seem to fight it.

“Peter Parker.” His voice seemed so loud, even though in reality it was a normal volume. “You reached down..my daughter’s..skirt.” He hissed.

Happy let the two of you go and took a few steps back, not quite feeling like ruining is suite with blood. You darted your eyes between your talkative family and your quite boyfriend before whispering “Run.” He seemed to be the only one who heard you because in literally seconds you two sprinted into two different directions.

-

“Parker. Get off the wall!” Tony yelled, peter was standing ok the ceiling, his hair dangling upside down. Your heart beat was still having a hard tile settling down from running, it was a stupid idea but worth it if it gave Peter a few more seconds of being alive.

“Sir. Listen. It wasn’t what it seemed like—“

“Get off the wall!” “No no you have to listen I swear I treat her right please don’t kill me!”

“I can’t kill you! You are on the freaking wall!” Tony shook his head, his eyes drifting to his feet briefly and then looking back at the teenager “And also May would kill me..” He muttered, earning a snorted laugh from Natasha.

You quickly made your way to the “Papa..” he indicated a finger to your lips, with a brief glare before turning back “hush. We’ll talk about this later.” His eyes still locked on Peter’s form glued to the wall, almost falling as Sam tried to tickle him with a broomstick.

-

“You’re dating.” Your dad declared as you and Peter sat next to one another in the kitchen table. Behind his were your entire family, even Loki, all throwing you mixed looks. Some had amusement and a blessing while other planned on murdering Peter for reaching down you skirt. “Yep.” You answered quickly, eyes slowly drifting to Peter who seemed as terrified as anyone had ever been. “Yes..” he finally answered, swallowing hard as if someone was choking him. Your heart beat booming in your brain with every breath that left your lips “I’m...” your father started, taking a deep breath and looking to his sides before looking back at you. “not fully ok with..this.” He continued twirling his finger towards the two of you before pinching the bridge of his nose. “But fine.” He huffed with a hidden smile, and that word “fine” was enough for you to feel happy. You brushed your fingers over Peter’s as a soft smile tugged at both of your lips, but maybe it was slightly a little bit early to celebrate.

“Y/n. Go upstairs for a moment will you?” You both darted your eyes away from each other and looked at the group fearfully. “The guys and me want to have a private conversation with Peter.” Your father smiled tightly and you nodded nervously. “Good luck” you murmured as the girls escorted you to your room, and yes, like your friends, they too teased you about your ‘hidden’ skill.

-

“I have 10 condoms,25 more ruled we’ll need to follow and over 300 ways your family will kill me if I hurt you....” peter trailed shakily, his form leaning against your door frame as his eyes locked at the foot of your bed. You shook your head with a smile a shy chuckle rolled from your lips “good..I think” you smiled, slowly swaying your hips before pulling him inside with a kiss.

-

-

-

-

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[chaoticclaire]

RESIDENT EVIL WEEK

Day 4: Alternate Choice - Free Day

~ ~ ~

Okay, this is a longer and personal post…

For the Free Day I chose my favorite and/or most memorable scenes. To be honest, I could have chosen so many more, but I limited it to two per main game. Resident Evil is a big part of my life for over 20 years now - the games, characters, story, music, EVERYTHING, mean so much to me ♥

~ ~ ~

RE ZERO: Billy playing the piano (I let Rebecca play first because I knew from RE1 that she could play… who would have thought that Billy can play so well! I really love the little song he plays) /// “Thank you, Rebecca” … this thumbs up, so cute! I can’t help it, Billy is one of my favorites ♥ Why wasn’t he referenced in Vendetta, why?! ;_;

RE1: Okay, so the first zombie scared the shit out of me but what REALLY destroyed my childhood were the dogs jumping through the window! Bye, bye innocent childhood! My parents and I also knew from that moment on that this game was something different, something new – and we just couldn’t stop playing from thereon! /// Chris and Jill holding hands in the helicopter… the moment my OTP was born!

RE2: The intro just blew me away and Claire and Leon meeting for the first time was just great! From “Don’t shoot!” to the conversation in the car, I love every second of it. And of course seeing Claire for the first time… who would have thought that THAT would influence my life so much ♥ /// Claire and Leon in the S.T.A.R.S. office. I felt so sorry for Claire that Chris wasn’t there… and the music, so sad yet beautiful :’)

RE The Umbrella Chronicles: “The Death cannot die!” HUNK barely making it out of the RPD. I really hope he gets a more fleshed-out scenario in the RE2 Remake, he’s one of the best villains! /// Wesker returns! RE hasn’t been the same since he’s gone… I miss him :’( (and, to be fair, Ada’s escape level was also nice – we finally got some answers on how she survived)

RE3: The first encounter with Nemesis… I was so scared, I didn’t even notice the option selection at first XD That guy is so iconic for a reason! /// The ending, especially the news report. Raccoon City’s fate is so sad… (love the ending song, it’s one of the best RE songs ever!)

RE Code Veronica: “Remember your promise” Chris and Claire, finally reunited and they don’t want to lose each other again :’) I love their sibling relationship, they are the best! /// “Hey, I always keep my promises” Chris, my favorite big bro ♥ ♥ ♥

RE The Darkside Chronicles: My Claire being so strong :’) I love how she is one of the more emotional characters, it makes her more human. Alyson also nailed her performance in this game ♥ /// Leon and Krauser as comrades… why did it have to go downhill from thereon :’( I like Krauser on both, the good and the bad side, but still… I’m glad their past got fleshed-out in TDC, he deserved it!

RE4: The beginning of the game. Seriously, I have played the village part so many times, it always cheers me up when I’m in a bad mood or sad. RE4 is not necessarily a good RE game in my opinion but damn, it’s one hell of a game! AND SAVE THE DOG! ALWAYS! /// Leon and Krauser – now as enemies. The knife fight was so intense. I remember my friends and I playing it over and over again because we had so much fun.

RE Revelations: Quint and Keith, I love those two dorks! RE isn’t RE without its cheesiness and that duo delivered that perfectly! I want them back, even if it’s just a BSAA behind-the-scenes cutscene :D /// Parker “dies” :’( What an emotional moment, I really liked Parker, he’s a good and honest guy! So glad he survived in the end!

RE5: My OTP reunites!!! Fighting Jill was difficult, both gameplay and emotional wise. Not shooting her but TALKING to her was well done and it really gave me the feels. I don’t care if they are just partners or a couple in RE canon, I was just glad they reunited again ♥ /// Chris in the ending, his “Yeah, it’s worth it” line always makes me smile. He’s my RE hero, I can’t help it :’)

RE Revelations 2: “That IS Wesker, Alex Wesker!” I mean, we all more or less knew it, but still,… I hope she returns, we need a constant villain again and her being a Wesker is even better. /// Claire saves the day! Claire is always amazing but that cutscene blew me away so much! She finally kicked some real ass again and although her ponytail is iconic I really love that she cut her hair. It kinda marks an end/new beginning part of her life I guess. Also, don’t you ever fuck with a Redfield and their family or friends. You. Just. Don’t.! That ending has everything a RE ending needs: a helicopter flying into the sunset, a cheesy one-liner, a rocket launcher to the face, a slow-motion bullet… THAT is RE guys, THAT is RE :D I don’t care if it has been done a thousand times before, I enjoyed the whole ending so much :D ♥ (”I HAVE THIS!”)

RE6: Chris “papa bear” Redfield and his soldiers. From being a rebellious young soldier that got kicked out of the Air Force to a leader figure with his team looking up to him – my boy has come a long way ♥ /// Sherry sharing her past with Jake. I was glad Sherry was back and her “His research killed him” line got me by surprise… so glad Claire and Leon have been there for her after Raccoon City ♥

~ ~ ~

Like I said, I could have chosen so much more…

I kept the pictures dark for a reason and only highlighted the most important part(s) to emphasize what’s important to me :)

Thank you Resident Evil for so many good memories. I really wish I could thank the person who introduced me to the games, but he passed away before I could, unfortunately :’( I met so many friends offline and online because of the games, I started with cosplay, improved my drawing skills, etc. It’s a huge part of my life and will be forever ♥ I’m so glad I got my Made in Heaven tattoo as a tribute ♥

Also thanks a lot to everyone who read this to the end, it really means a lot to me :’) ♥  ~ChaoticClaire