#How could he leave that poor defenseless boy alone like that

[bet-on-me-13]

Lois Lane is actually Ellie Phantom

Idea came from a comment @ourrechte-blog made on This post

So, back when Ellie was traveling the world, she saw quite a few things that she really didn't like. War Crimes, Humans Rights Violations, Poverty, etc.

And she really wanted to draw some attention to those problems, but she knew that as some random kid those stories would never receive the press they deserved. So she decided to Become the press instead.

She went back to Danny, who was also on the run, and they both got new Identities. Danny became Sam "Daniel" Lane, and Ellie became Lois "Ellie" Lane. (Also she reverted to her true age, so the ages matched up)

Ellie, now Lois, began to go to School so she could establish her new identity. Eventually, she managed to get to College, Graduated, and got a Job at the biggest newpaper she could, the Daily Planet.

She was now living her best life. She was a credited reporter, her dad was a Military General, and she was spreading the word about all the problems in the world that often got overlooked.

Then, one day, Lois met a really nice guy named Clark Kent. He was such a sweetheart, and had such a kind personality. She was immediately smitten.

Even Danny liked him, and Danny barely liked anyone for fear of them hurting his daughter.

And it got even better when she figured out that he was Superman, a Superhero just like her dad used to be. She proved it when she jumped off of the roof of the Daily Planet and he caught her. (She was never in danger, she can fly too. But she did decide that even if he wasn't superman, she trusted him enough to tell him that she had powers)

They got married, and one day Clark came home looking disturbed about something.

Apparently he just found out that a company called Cadmus had tried to Clone him.

She was not happy when he told her that he didn't want to accept the kid.

"Clark. So help me Ancients, if you left that poor boy alone and rejected him after he did nothing wrong I am going to string you up by your toenails and let my Uncle Fright go to town on you with his Magic Sword!"

"I-I know what I did was wrong honey, but why are you so angry about it?!"

"Clark, I'm also a Clone! You know I don't have a Mom, how did you never ask my dad or me about that!?"

"I thought he was dead or something! I'm sorry!"

"We'll talk about this later, let's go talk to that poor kid."

"Yes ma'am."

[screwsfall0ut]

Tim Drake Befriends a Bee Minific

When Tim was young and very lonely, he befriended a bumblebee. 

Back then, he was curious in a way that teased wonder on every rusted fire escape. At 9 years old, even Gotham’s grimiest streets sparkled under the right light and perfect Summer days were for adventure, not dread. 

It had been one of those perfect days - balmy, sunny, fresh, and crisp - when Tim almost stepped on a bee. He paused, one leg raised, light up sneakers still flashing, and hopped to the side. 

He carefully picked it up. The poor thing didn't have wings. It was so delicate. Its tiny legs tickled Tim's palms.

Tim was stricken with fear that it would die on the hot pavement, alone and scared. It needed to be protected. It needed a chance.

An eyedropper of sugar water and 30 minutes later, the bee was moving - crawling all over the table and, eventually, over Tim's hands. He brought the bee out into the garden, letting it examine the roses, the lavender, the yarrow.

Tim couldn’t leave it out there, defenseless, with no one to watch over it, to make sure it wasn't eaten or crushed or lonely. 

He named the bee Sisko, after his favorite Star Trek character, and because it was an onomatopoeia of the strange buzzing sound Sisko would make while traveling up and down Tim’s arms.

Day after day, Sisko and Tim would make new sugar water, then go explore every flower and bush and stone on the Drake property. Sisko’s favorites were the yellow roses, which had bloomed brighter and taller than anything else that season. Sisko would always crawl back to Tim’s hands in the end, or his arms, sometimes even up Tim's neck and into his bushy hair to keep Tim company while heating up chicken nuggets or peeling open protein bars or chowing down cold pizza. 

At night, Sisko slept in the ratty, soft stomach of Tim’s favorite stuffed animal, a bunny his Mom had given him when he was too young to remember. Tim moved the stuffy from his bed to his dresser (he was nervous about rolling onto Sisko in his sleep) and every night checked that Sisko was safe and sound before turning out the lights. 

They were friends - best friends. 

With Sisko, Tim lost the urge to wander off in Gotham proper for batwatching. Instead, he’d re-learned every step of Drake property, fell in love again with the flowers and trails, the old, old trees, and the pond out near the property line. 

Tim knew Sisko was on borrowed time (of course he did) but against all logic, Tim was certain that Sisko wasn’t any normal bumblebee. How could he be? Not when he’d chosen Tim, not when they'd made a home together. Anyway, why should it be so ridiculous to think that Sisko might be a witch's familiar or a companion like Jiminy Cricket. Magic was real, and there were stranger things on Gotham's streets every day.

Tim started to believe, actually believe, that one day he and Sisko might slip into Narnia or Wonderland or Middle Earth. Every day was an adventure.

Eventually the cold began to creep back, hardening the ground, taking the flowers, and turning the leaves. It was a chilly Sunday afternoon when Sisko crawled into Tim’s palm, fell asleep, and never woke up again. No matter how much Tim begged and begged and begged.  

He'd died so quietly. So unceremoniously. Tim wasn't ready. It wasn't fair.

Sisko was just a bee, and Tim was just a boy, and there were no magic wardrobes waiting for them.

Tim buried Sisko under the yellow rose bush, long gone spindly and brown. He cried so much that he'd thrown up in the dirt. 

Later that week, Scarecrow broke out of Arkham. For the first time since June, Tim pulled out his black clothes and his camera bag to watch Batman and Robin save the day. 

The click click of his camera shutter, the smoggy sky, the sweet rot smell of the dumpsters: that was familiar. Tim was a shadow again. He could lose himself: in the dark, in the night. 

Tim tucked his bunny stuffy into the back of his closet. He stopped waiting for magic to find him, at least, not the kind you'd read about in storybooks. Magic may have been real, but it was for people like Robin, people who swung from rooftops and laughed loud and made the world brighter. It was never meant for someone like Tim.

[bitchyycapricorn]

Pathetic

Remus Lupin x Pureblood! Reader

Masterlist

Wordcount: 2.7K

Synopsis: “Bite me Lupin.” You challenge, raising your head to look into his amber eyes.

Remus smirks, leaning down into your ear. “I’m going to fuck the pure-blood out of you.” He growls.

“Do it then.” You snap back, feeling Remus’s hand on your bare thigh.

“I’m going to ruin you.”

Warnings: Smut!, enemies to lovers trope, angst, cursing, P in V, fingering

AN: lightly edited

It was your glare that caught Remus’s attention. The way your eyes narrowed the moment the two of you made eye contact. You sat across the hall at the Slytherin table, chatting with your friends and poking your food with a fork that some idiot let you have. Remus didn’t trust that you wouldn’t stand up at any given moment and come stab him in the neck with it. He had every right to not trust you with sharp objects of course, since the moment your eyes locked with the brown haired boy you couldn’t help but think about dragging the fork down his throat and watching his filthy half-blood self beg for his life.

“You’re staring Lupin.” You taunt from across the room.

“Well clearly so are you L/N.” Remus counters proudly. He sat up a little more in his seat as a smirk fixes on his face.

“Yes well,” you smile, “I was just wondering how your whore of a muggle mother was doing. Still spreading her legs in hopes for something magical?” Your voice was dripping with venom as you mock Remus’s family life.

Remus clench’s his jaw, his hand bawling into a fist of rage . “You-“

“She’s not worth it mate,” James mutters, pulling his friends attention away from your proud face. Remus knew they were right, there was no point in arguing with you again. You always seem to win after all. No matter how many times they call you out for you skewed views on blood status, you always manage to shoot back with how at least your family loves you because you weren’t some blood-traitor or half-blood freak. At that point the boys would accept there was just no changing your views on these matters.

To make things even worse, you were a favorite in the Slytherin house. Many of the student’s believe you’ll be the next heir of Slytherin after all, between your family status and that fact you were a parselmouth. These factors made it nearly impossible for the boys to ever get back at you for your snarky remarks. The whole house would be up in arms defending you, and you’d just set a snake on poor defenseless Peter again. Remus backs down from the fight, looking back at his plate and resuming his eating. You sat proudly with your friends, laughing about how pathetic Remus was, not even standing up for his own mother. Laughter fills the Slytherin table until everyone is dismissed to go back to class.

+++

Remus was back in the library for the third time that day. It’s been a few days since the lunch table incident and Remus found the only way he could escape your taunting was by hiding deep in the bookcases of the library. He was enjoying hiding behind a bookcase and reading up on the new D.A.D material that was assigned when a figure turns the corner and bump into him.

“Ugh. Seriously?” You huff as you gather your books back into your arms. “Watch were you’re standing loony Lupin. God, you’re such a menace you know that?” You grumble.

Remus startles at your sudden presence, feeling the color drain from his face as his eyes met yours. “I was here first,” he squeaks out. A blush spreads across his face while his eyes search for an escape route.

“You think I care if you were here first? A filthy, disgusting, half-blood like you shouldn’t even be standing in my presence, let alone in my way while I’m trying to retrieve my books.” You spit. Your face was bright red as you push past Remus’s frozen body. He could feel every ounce of dignity he had left leave him in that moment.

“You don’t have to be such a bitch you know.” He mutters under his breath as he begins to leave.

Your head snaps in his direction as a scowl spreads across your face “Excuse me?”

Remus turns to face you, attempting to stand a little straighter in the process. “You heard me. I said, you don’t have to be such a bitch.”

Your body was shaking with rage, ‘how dare such an inferior half-blood speak to me in such a manner’ you thought as you clench your jaw. “Say that shit again, I dare you.” Your voice was sharp like a blade threatening to cut Remus open. He winces, backing up slightly.

“We both know its true. You are a bitch. A pure-bloo-“ Remus couldn’t finish his sentence before he was being thrown back into the bookshelf. Your body slamming against his roughly, books falling as you and Remus make impact with the shelf behind him.

“You think I’m a bitch? I’ll show you bitch.” You seethe, your first bawling around his now disheveled robes. “Fuck you Remus Lupin.”

“Fuck me?” Remus growls back. You pause for a moment at his words.

“You want me to what?” You tease, a small laugh escaping your lips.

“Shit. No that’s not what I-“ Remus groans, feeling you release him from your grip.

You back away from Remus, your eyes scanning his body up and down in the process. His back was still pressed up against the bookshelf, his hair is messed up and his robe was thrown open. Your eyes lock on his very obvious boner, causing your face to flush an even brighter red.

“You’re fucking disgusting Lupin.” You grumble, grabbing your books from the table and walking away.

+++

It had been a week since you saw Remus in the library, you were avoiding him at all cost. You’d never admit it, not even to yourself, that you were highly attracted to the scarred Gryffindor boy. Something about him made your knees weak and your body feel like it was on fire. You knew it would never matter how hot and bothered Remus made you, your family would kill him on sight if it weren’t a crime. So you held your head high and made his life a living hell.

The bell rang, dismissing everyone from their classes for the day. You gather your potions books and watch as students file out of the classroom. Professor Slughorn wishes you a good rest of your day as he exits the classroom as well, leaving you alone.

You continue to gather your books and put away your materials until you hear the door slam shut. You look up to see the Marauders on the other side casting a blood lock spell on the door. Your heart drops as you realize you’re trapped in the potions room until either Slughorn returns after supper, or until tomorrow morning. “Bloody hell,” you mutter, slamming your book on to the table.

“Really? You’re mad? They accident left me in here with you.” Remus grumbles as he appears from behind the far wall of the classroom holding some extra ingredients that were reserved only for the upper class potion students.

“Of course I’m stuck in here with the freak.” You groan, glaring at Remus as he approaches your table. “You know, nobody likes a scarred freak. Obnoxiously tall and built and…fuck” you mumble turning your head away from Remus realizing that if you keep talking you’ll only embarrass yourself.

“Tall and built? Didn’t know you had the capability of complimenting someone.” Remus teases, a sudden surge of confidence coursing though him as he continues to walk towards you.

“Fuck off Lupin, you’re the one who said you wanted to fuck me the other day.” A blush spreads across your face as the words leave your mouth. You can still vividly remember just how hot Remus looked pushed up against the bookshelf. The way his hair was a mess and his robes hanging off his perfect body.

“I did say that didn’t I? Also, I want you to know I’m not any happier about being stuck with you L/N. You’re an obnoxious stuck up brat.” Remus tosses his ingredients onto the table before turning to face you. “All you do is bitch. Complaining about others not being ‘good enough’ because they aren’t some snobby pure-bloods. You think you’re so much better than everyone else is that it?” Remus teases as he pins you between himself and the empty table behind you.

“Bite me Lupin.” You challenge, raising your head to look into his amber eyes.

Remus smirks, leaning down into your ear. “I’m going to fuck the pure-blood out of you.” He growls.

“Do it then.” You snap back, feeling Remus’s hand on your bare thigh.

“I’m going to ruin you.” Remus taunts, his hand sliding up your thigh now. “I’m going to fuck you until you’re nothing more than a pathetic mess underneath me. Begging me to keep going, to keep ruining your perfect little pure-blood self.”

You let out a groan, hands gripping the table behind you. His hand burns your skin as it travels further up your skirt, the heat traveling all the way up your body and leaving a pool in your underwear.

“You like the sound of that don’t you Y/N? You want a half-blood to fuck you, don’t you? What would daddy say if he saw you like this? Hot and flustered for me.” Remus presses a rough kiss to your neck, biting down on the tender skin.

“I-“ you let out a moan, pushing your body up against Remus’s.

“Use your words.” Remus’s hot breath hits your neck and sends a shiver down your spine.

“Yes Remus, I want you to fuck me. I want you to ruin me, please.” You moan as Remus hand slides your now soaking underwear to the side.

“Look at you, such a good girl using her words.” Remus teases as his middle and ring finger slide into your hot cunt. You throw your head back at the feeling. Your hips jerk forward, rocking ever so slightly on Remus’s fingers. Remus slowly pulled his fingers out of you before pushing them back in. You let out another series of moans as you rock your hips desperately.

“Remus please,” you beg as his fingers slide in and out of you.

“Please what?” Remus groans, his fingers getting faster.

Your voice is barley as whisper “Fuck me, please.” You moan.

“I can’t hear you clearly….” He says teasingly, pulling away from your body slightly. “Just say it louder, and more clearly so I can hear you love…” He whispers into your ear with a smirk on his face.

“Remus please,” you beg.

"Please... what my love? Please tell me what you want." His voice is dark and teasing now.

“I want you to fuck me” you whimper.

His smile widens, his eyes fill with lust as he takes you in. He pulls you closer, his fingers fucking you mercilessly, he whispers into your ear once again. “I can't hear you my love..."

“Fuck you Remus. Fuck me please,” you cry, moving your hands from the table to grab onto his Gryffindor robes.

Remus smiles, his eyes fixing on yours. “Now we’re getting somewhere.” He spoke as he kisses down your neck. “You want me to fuck you? Is that what you want.. My love?”

”Yes Remus, please. I need you please” tears brim the bottom of your eyes as Remus’s finger continue to slide in and out of you roughly.

"As you wish my love..." He pulls away from your neck and connects your lips passionately. His fingers curling inside your aching cunt, never slowing for a second. "I'm going to fuck you until you can’t stand anymore..." Remus pulls away from you, removing his fingers completely. Your eyes go wide in a confusion. You felt so empty without Remus’s fingers inside of your, or his body pressing against yours. You watch as Remus loosens the tie around his neck, pulling it over his head. He begins to shed his robes, his undershirt coming of next. You pause, admiring how toned his chest was, and the way light pink scars litter his chest and abdomen. “Quit staring and start stripping love,” Remus smirks as he pulls off his trousers.

“Shut it,” you grumble, loosening your tie as well before pulling it off completely. You follow his lead, stripping yourself completely naked. Your eyes meet his again before he pushes you up and onto the table. Your legs are quick to straddle Remus’s hips, pulling him closer as his lips attack yours hungrily.

“I’ve wanted you for so bloody long,” Remus groans, lining himself up at your entrance. His cock just barley enters you when a cry of pleasure escapes your throat. You bite down onto his shoulder harshly, trying to quiet yourself as Remus fully enters your aching cunt. His warm skin pressing against yours as his hips snap back and forth. His hands travel under your ass squeezing roughly as he lifts you off the table so he could thrust up into you.

Another cry escapes your lips as Remus helps guide you up and down his hard cock. You feel your whole body shaking as he pound up into you. His lips just barley ghosting kisses over the skin of your neck and shoulders, leaving a hot burning sensation spreading all throughout your body. Throwing your arms around his neck your fingers find their way to his hair, gently tugging on the fluffy brown strands.

A string of moans fall from your swollen lips at the feeling of Remus inside you. You could feel every inch of him as he fucks you senseless. Your mind is hazy as the world around you seems to disappear. The only thing your mind can register is the feeling of his cock thrusting in and out of you. Your walls contracting around him as he hits all the right spots deep within you.

“Fuck Y/N,” Remus moans, setting you back down on the table. Remus pulls out of you slowly before pulling you off the table and flipping you around.

“Oh my..uh,” you let out a whimper as your body presses against the cold table. Remus pushes into you from behind, placing one hand on your lower back and the other on your hips. His thrusts pick up again as he slams into you from behind. Small moans and whimpers escape your lips as your body is pushed up and down against the table. Remus’s thrusts are hard and forceful, pushing deeper and deeper into you each time. Groaning, Remus digs his fingers into your hip, leaving little red marks from the force.

“I’m close,” Remus groans, pounding into you with more force than before. “I’m going to fill you up, ruin you like you deserve to be ruined.” You let out another cry at his words, placing your cheek against the cool table, submitting to Remus completely. Within a few more thrusts you can feel Remus twitch cock twitching inside you. Letting out a grunt, he finishes in you, pushing himself as deep as he possibly can. “Fuck,” Remus heaves before picking his thrusts back up.

“Fuck-oh Remus!” You moan as his hand travels down your back and the inside of your leg. His fingers dance across your heat before dipping between your folds so he can rub your clit. The sensation sends waves of pleasure coursing through your body as your cunt squeezes around his still throbbing cock. “Remus please don’t stop,” you beg, feeling your orgasm approaching quickly. Remus keeps up his thrusts as his fingers toy with your clit, making you cry out with pleasure. “Remus I’m-I’m” you sputter felling the coil in your stomach snap as your orgasm washes over you.

Remus lets out another grunt, his thrusts becoming sloppy as he pushes deep into you before cumming in you for a second time.

“Fuck,” He sighs, pulling out of your limp body. You let out a small moan in response, too fucked out to respond properly. Remus ran his finger down your spine slowly, a grin spreading across his beautiful lips. “You’re so pretty when you’re not being a total bitch.” He laughs.

A dry laugh escapes your lips as you find your strength to sit up. “And I suppose you’re pretty hot for a half-blood freak.” A teasing smile settles on your lips as you stand to face him.

“Fucking pure-blood,” Remus mutters, placing his hand on your cheek and bringing you in for a kiss.

You pull away for a moment to smile at him, “your pure-blood now dumbass,” you smirk, connecting your lips with his once again.

Remus laughs against you lips before mumbling “what’s daddy going to think?”

You shake your head, still pressing kisses to his lips as he talks. “Just shut up and kiss me Lupin.”

+++

TAGLIST

[peachmangopie323]

Back to table of contents

Chapter 4: Meta Knight's Origins

(Kirby SST!)

Once upon a time in the far far far away planet called Halcandra lives an angel-like warrior on his days of glory, taking on an army of alien invasions and dark matters alone, he was dubbed the Strongest warrior of the Galaxy as no one was able to even leave a scratch in him.

The said warrior was praised, was given the one of the highest status of the planet, he was popular, he's on top of the world...

Until Galacta heard his mother call out to him once again.

Galacta followed her voice the second he heard it, piercing through outer space like it was nothing.

"What could I do for you mother?"

He kneeled.

"I made you a gift."

"A gift?"

"Yes, I noticed that you're the only one of your kind in this universe, it must have been lonely..."

"Mother.."

"My child, Galacta was it? I want you to take care of your new baby brother."

"Brother!?"

"Indeed, I made him to be just like you, protect him for me."

Galacta let out a sigh as he tries to hold the baby on his arms, he paused and said,

"Was he granted, power?" He had to ask.

"You have enough power for the both of you, that's why you have to protect him."

Galacta quietly sighed in relief, he's certain that this baby won't steal his spotlight but in the other hand he's annoyed he has to take responsibility of a child he didn't want.

He reminded himself everything Void creates exists for reason, that they're perfect and absolute, he carried the baby with his own arms and glared at its big pretty eyes.

"As you wish Mother, I shall go back home."

The white winged knight grit his teeth as he flies back to his home planet,

He arrived and announced the news to everyone, a new Star was born.

The ancients happily raised the baby, far different from what Galacta had go through.

Galacta wants to avoid his little brother but the little one will bother him until he agrees to play.

Galacta notices how the boy always bumps his head or trip and fall, he assumed that he was just too weak to maintain balance.

"Mother's decision to make you all frail is a bother." Galacta said as he helps his 4 year old little brother get up.

"The only thing I like about you is you don't cry as often as normal children..." He added.

"Do you cry as often as normal children?"

The boy suddenly spoke a full sentence, for the past years he was dead quiet. It made Galacta jolt he almost threw the poor boy to the ground.

"JUH!?"

"you're being noisy."

"WHAT? YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SAYING THINGS LIKE "POYO"!"

"Your voice hurts my ears.." he murmured covering his small ears.

Turns out, he's born with poor eyesight but excellent hearing, his body growth is normal, he's far from being ill or frail.

"How the hell did you learn how to talk?"

"listening...always listening, I could hear everyone through the walls.."

"You're a creepy mut, are you certain you're not some form of dark matter?"

"Are you doubting your Mother's creation?"

Galacta hated how this meek child could get to his nerves, it would be lowly of him to hit a defenseless kid. He simply scoffed and walked away.

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ*.✧

The little one grew up to be a sharp young man, his hair is a deep dark navy blue, his slim but muscular physique and his eyes, a mesmerizing bright yellow in contrast to his hair.

His appearance made him well received but he prefers silence, he's reserved and quiet in contrast to Galacta, him and his older brother have always been polar opposites.

He soon followed Galacta's footsteps to be a knight, though significantly weaker, he manages to gain enough strength to kill off enemies. The growth of his large bat wings made it easier, he was certain he's going to be a knight just like his older brother.

His training was harsh, he didn't have the upper hand Galacta does, he grew jealous of it. He gave his all everyday to mimic a fraction of Galacta's power but in the end he falls to the ground gasping for air.

He managed to gain his title of a Knight, he was given a special white mask, one that makes him see clearly. He adorned himself in a magic robe that gives him the ability to disappear on plain sight. He's always seen wearing armor since then.

"Galacta."

"What?"

"Could I meet Mother one day?"

"...No, Mother Void doesn't like you, it would cause her great pain if she was to lay eyes on you again."

"Why is tha-"

Galacta slammed the balcony's door shut before he could finish.

And from that day forward, Meta Knight's view of their godly mother had changed. It would cause him great pain if he lays eyes on her ever.

He would challenge Galacta Knight for a fight again and again and again everytime he thinks hes a bit stronger than before. It never ends up well, but he never gave up.

He soon found himself in Planet Popstar to be the Meta Knight we know today, he's around eating sweets and reading books, that just might be his happily ever after.

*Book closes*

⭐Notes⭐

Yay I gave him his own lore

Meta Knight doesn't like talking about his past much often that the book publishers didn't have much material to work with haha.

Next Chapter

[thesunshinebunny]

When the world falls apart, the only thing we can hold onto is ourselves (Part V)

Series Master list

pairing: canon Eren Jaeger x reader

content: Angst, unstable relationship, breakup, smut/nswf+18, major character death, violence, blood (obviously), war (pretty obvious)

summary: War and hate. It’s what defined the world at this exact moment. You failed your comrades, and by failing them, you failed yourself. Your relationship is hanging by a thread and your enemies will not only be found on the other side of the sea, but also in the mind of the person you love the most. How will you take the reins in the face of so much destruction?

Chapter summary: Eren and reader meet face to face and are determined to put an end to the tension that has been building around them since Eren returned from Marley.

Word Count: 7.9k 

The light wind blew the few leaves that had fallen from the trees around me at the same time that it generated a slight comfort, as if the same wind was hugging me and holding me between its countenance. The branches moved to the beat of it sweet music and danced a slow tango around two figures ready to end the other. We were both facing each other, each positioned perfectly and vertically above the other's line of sight, only a few steps separated, perhaps two meters apart, but still the difference wasn’t an obstacle to inspect each other.

Eren standed stiffly on the muddy floor, a position that was becoming a habit lately every time he was about to confront someone, either with words or with blows. His shoes were dirty and torn, some small holes showed through the cloth. Strands of hair fell on his forehead and some were stuck to the skin due to the mud and earth that the footsteps threw into the air. His eyes...just as empty of any light and life that might exist.

His jaw was clenched as well as one of his fists, I didn't find any sign his hand was hurt or his palm was bleeding and dropping a few drops to the floor, so I assumed it wasn’t in his plans to transform here and now. But that didn’t mean that I could be calm.

As for me, surely Eren was looking at me the same way a wolf looks at a little sheep or a poor dwarf white rabbit, one of the most defenseless animals in the food chain. Apparently I was the meal and it was time for lunch. But I was very sure that Eren hadn’t limited himself to looking at me with that horrible analogy, he’d surely noticed my torn and bloody clothes, as well as dirty with mud and some other things that I wanted not to investigate or put my nose in them. He had probably also noticed the multiple scratches on the skin of my arms and on my face, wounds already dry and in the process of healing thanks to the sweat from adrenaline and the race through the forest made in a few minutes. He had probably noticed little strands sticking to the crook of my neck and cold sweat dripping down my spine.

I don't doubt he surely noticed the fire burning in my eyes, my gaze radiating determination, a determination to get out of this place as unscathed as possible and find a way to fix this whole damn situation. He would have noticed how my figure was a reflection of his, I wouldn’t move if he didn’t move, I wouldn’t stop squeezing a finger if I didn’t see he stopped squeezing his. It was like being on the other side of a mirror, copying each and every one of the other's movements.

"So ... wanna make the first move?" My breathing was ragged, however neutral my face might be. Inside I was afraid, I was always afraid, it was a normal feeling and sensation. I was already used to feeling this unconditional fear when going out into the world.

The wind blew around us again, it was like a sweet melody cradling my ears, it was like feeling a hand caressing my battered face, a caress that I hadn't felt for a long time. If the moment had been different, it would have taken me some time to close my eyes and enjoy the breeze. If I did that right now, I would end up badly beaten and dejected, perhaps dead as well.

The breeze was dancing for a few seconds and stopped short, as if the world and time itself had stopped, only the two of us were able to move and yet neither did. Everything around us was silent, not the chirping of a cricket or the footsteps of an animal could be heard. Neither did any footsteps or voices from the other Jaegeristas, completely ignoring their locations, while ignoring the whereabouts of my beloved horse. It was just me and Eren in this little airless bubble.

Seconds of silence and in an instant Eren stepped forward and instinctively I stepped back, letting my left foot hold much of my weight on this. I was leaning back with the possibility of running if necessary, but knowing Eren I would only run a couple of meters before having him on my back and holding me like we’re playing hide and seek. My hands were raised to my torso, palms facing the ground and in position to become fists or grab something, whatever was out of the trees to counter or defend myself.

It wasn’t a position that I wasn’t completely unfamiliar with, was like reliving the old days as cadets in training, each one trying to search for the opponent's strengths and weaknesses, evaluating the chances of attack and their effectiveness. It really was like self-defense practices, practices that Eren put so much effort and determination into. I used to watch him from afar when my partner ended up on the ground given the multiple blows to the stomach that I had so proudly learned from my father. I used to see his frustrated face when Annie managed to knock him down with a simple leg movement or when Reiner was too abrupt to the point of knocking him to the ground from his high height. And yet, no matter how many blows and humiliations the poor boy felt when practicing self-defense, he never stopped fighting and asking for more blows, as if violence and physical damage were his only form of training. Already in the first practices I knew he was completely crazy, that he had something bad in the head, but his determination and that sparkle in his eyes when he got angry at losing, in the same way that a small child gets angry when they don’t have what they wants, was what caught my attention the most.

I used to fight him repeatedly in these same practices, being positioned in the same places we are now, one of us with a flabby wooden knife, but capable of doing a lot of damage if we didn’t use it properly. I was already used to the agile movements that I could perform with a simple kitchen and hunting knife, living much of my lifetime in the middle of a small town lost in the woods. I was used to defending myself and attacking animals with little rational intelligence, which made them much more dangerous than a simple human. I was equally used to dodging punches, and punches, able to redirect them and hit the weakest points of my prey. But I wasn't used to the low blows this boy was capable of. I always had to cover my back because I didn't know when he was going to jump on me and throw me to the ground, like the first time I knocked him down with a blow to the chin and when I was about to change partners, he grabbed my back and neck to throw myself on the floor and make me eat dirt. I didn't know if even throwing him to the ground multiple times he would go against my leg and bend it, hitting my head not only against the floor but also against his shoulder. I didn't know when he would apply the same technique Annie had taught him weeks ago. Unarmed or with a damn wooden knife Eren was dangerous because he was willing to keep fighting, even if he was going to fight dirty, without rules or codes.

I have faced him multiple times throughout the three years of training and in each confrontation there was something new that surprised us both, be it his various angry movements or my simple stances and punches capable of stopping the fight in any way. And that same uncertainty was also reflected in the times we went out to fight with what, at that time, we thought were simple and common titans, unable to deduce the actions of the other, evading death many more times than we could count.

And all that uncertainty and determination on the battlefield started with simple training with the wooden knife. A wooden knife.

A knife.

I withdrew my hand from in front of me and with great care I directed it towards the back pocket of my pants, without stopping looking at Eren who had taken advantage while I wandered in my imagination to approach and settle half the distance that separated us. When my hand reached the pocket, I stuck my thumb and forefinger inside it, grasping a small doctor's knife which I apparently had unconsciously put away in the morning when I finished treating my last patient. I secured it tightly and kept my hand behind my back until Eren again took a big step towards me and, in a protective movement, I positioned the knife in attack mode, eye level, as if was a real fight knife.

"Well that's not very fair-"

With a clean flick of the wrist the small knife rested on my thumb and forefinger and I tossed it to the side, striking perfectly even on the bark of a tree. It had been nailed cleanly and the sound it generated on impact gave certainty that it would be difficult to get it out of that place. Eren never moved from where he was, he simply followed the movements of my hand and at the moment of impact he inspected the cut on the bark before turning his gaze to me.

“I am unarmed… without weapons, without my movement gear, just my bare hands. But it still wouldn't be a fair fight, would it?"

In the four years that we were officially in the legion, at no point had we taken a day to practice our close combat as we did before. You could say that our fighting days were over on the night of our graduation. Although those days were behind us, I was completely sure he had never stopped training, he would continue to launch those unpredictable movements at any moment, let alone his unnatural power.

"You have your titan powers and each hit that hits you will heal, instead I will continue to bleed and spend days with a black eye and broken bones, if that is the case"

I saw what his fists could do to someone like Armin and what they had done to my neck and nose, if this fight went on longer than it should or turned in a bad movement, my body was going to end much worse than it already was; I was even beginning to think that maybe Eren would go as far as turning into a titan and crushing me once and for all. I had to be careful and hoped luck was on my side to make it out alive a second time.

“Come on, let's finish it once and for all” In position and waiting for the first hit, this is how they taught us and this is how I would be mentally prepared from now on, until the moment of my death, even if it were in a few minutes.

He was the first to cut the distance between us, raising his fist to my face. His knuckles slammed into my arm, propelling it toward the contour of my face by the wave and force of the impact. His other fist tried to hit the pit of my stomach, but I could catch his movement and block him with my other arm, hitting him to no effect with the bone. I raised my left leg to hit him on the ribs, but like me, Eren was faster and dodged just in time, avoiding my foot and moved it to the side. As I touched the ground again, I raised my leg again and this time I managed to hit him on the hip, propelling him forward and hitting his body again, this time with my right knee on his face.

His body didn’t move from where he had fallen to the floor, sensing that my blow hadn’t been strong enough to unbalance him, but to mislead him for a second. His face was thrown back by the impact of my knee and I hit him again in the same way, this time right in the center of the face, right on the septum and the mouth. My hand lunged for his hair, grabbing his already disheveled manbun and pushing his head back, my other hand was about to hit right in the neck area, but before I could even put my fingertips on him, his fingers closed tightly on my wrist and twisted it outward, drawing an uncomfortable groan from my throat.

His other fist managed to make a hook towards my chin causing me to loose the grip on the manbun, my legs were unbalanced and I felt blood spurt into my mouth, and one of his feet rose high enough to hit me in the chest and pull me towards him. back and hitting the head squarely against the hard dirt floor. Eren wasted no time and took a short leap towards my figure and placed his hands on my neck for the third time that day. It was like reliving the restaurant scene, me on the floor and him finding a way to position himself on me and immobilize me.

"God, what about you and your choke kink?" With my throat so battered in such a short time, I could barely speak and what I managed to get out was nothing more than hoarse and breathy moans, as if my voice was breaking little by little.

Both of my hands went straight under his armpits holding them in the shape of a sword and digging the bony ends into his weak skin. His arms loosened, giving me the chance to elbow him on the back of his neck and push him away from my body. I put my hands on the ground and got back to my feet with my arms and legs now muddy and dirty, but what was my intention to put myself on guard ended up turning into a new face fall down to the floor, having one of his legs hooked on my knee and making any escape movement impossible. I hit him hard with my free leg on the knee that was hooking me, managing to displace it and perhaps break it on the spot given the creaking sound that echoed through the bark of the trees. With my leg released, I turned around and now that same leg was on his broken knee, applying pressure to the floor, and my other leg took a moment to impact right on his face. His body was now flat on the floor and I positioned myself on top of him without wasting time, pulling his arm back and hitting his ribs with the elbow of my free arm. One, two, three blows, until I felt an impulse bring my body back to the floor as well as a blow on my left cheekbone. I hadn't seen his fist come to my face when he lunged against my body to get me off.

His knee hit me in the pit of my stomach, curling into a fetal position and his fist slammed again into my cheekbone. I tried to scratch his arm the same way I did with his face hours ago, but I failed miserably, as if the pain of the flesh peeling off his skin didn't affect him at all. So I hit his knee with mine, moving him off my stomach, driving him to the ground, and back hitting him on the ribs. Eren lifted his body for a moment to avoid taking any more impacts and gave me enough time to place my legs under his chest and stretch them towards and send him flying against the tree behind him.

Now I could easily stand up, but the pain in my stomach made it difficult for me to breathe and to be able to stand firmly on the ground. I took quick strides towards his body and when my foot was about to hit his face, Eren wiped away a considerably thick branch from the ground and struck my face with the tip, impacting the leaves and small branches on my wounds and throwing me to the ground from the burning. I was in four against a tree, behind me I heard how the dry leaves crunched under Eren's feet and how he was getting up to jump on my back; But this time, I was faster and managed to turn around to hit my leg on his neck for a good time and throw him again towards a crooked tree on our side, hitting his neck against the bark and tearing the skin with friction. From where I was lying I could see blood coming out of his neck, it seems he had torn the jugular area and was bleeding. I could also see the pain on his face and how his body was getting rid of the tension that the fight had caused.

We were both gasping for air, at the moment neither of us could take it anymore and both bodies were asking for a limit, but I knew it was a matter of time before Eren fully recovered and a new fight would take place again. If there was a moment to act, this was perfect. I tried to get up, but my back didn’t give in to my directions and I was thrown back to the floor. My eyes were fixed on the tops of the trees, which let a few rays of the sun slip into our little forest bubble. The sight was almost angelic, if it weren't for the multiple blows that were burning like a bonfire. I saw how some leaves fell slightly accompanied by the wind which had blown again when our fight ended. I felt physical and mental relief as I listened as the smoke rose from Eren's skin, quickly healing his wounds, but still suffering from the bleeding in his neck. My vision began to blur, nothing that was in front of me was seen clearly and I was afraid I was about to faint.

Ahead of me I began to see a familiar sight, quite familiar indeed; the training days, Eren and me in our younger years. I saw us in one of our first confrontations, being completely dirty from the sandy earth but still standing on our two feet, our eyes like daggers about to be thrown at our opponent. Each one prepared to deliver what seemed like the last blow and define the confrontation before ending the day and heading off to the canteen for dinner, ready to define our fifth confrontation with hatred for the other in the veins. Eren, as not, was the first to approach and to be dodged by a young me and give him a poor punch in the face. He complained about the impact, backing off for the next instant to pounce on my shoulder and hook me on the knee to finally throw me sideways to the ground for the fourth time in that three-hour workout. I groaned in pain and grabbed onto my shoulder, injured and battered from so many blows. I stretched out on the floor, in the same way that presumably I was now and I stared at the orange sky, observing how little by little the sun was setting on the horizon and fine dark blue lines welcomed the night.

"Ha, how many times have I beat you today?" his voice and breathing were ragged but still I could tell the false vanity and self-centeredness in his words. He had hunched over his knees resting his tangled hands on them and brought his face closer to mine, covering my beautiful sight and replacing it with his horrible green eyes. I fixed my gaze on his damn crooked smile, the same one he gave to any asshole he had the guts to challenge and finish. I closed my eyes to avoid looking at him and in less than a second I moved my leg over his, hitting his balance and causing him to fall headlong to the floor, hitting the side of his temple. The blow echoed across the ground, earning laughter from some of our friends and whispers around us. I didn't stop to listen to what stupid people might be saying about what had just happened, but stood up heavily, still having a semi air of victory over my body, I wiped my hands on my pants, which deserved a full-fledged clean, and I ducked down to his figure on the floor.

"Not so bad for a country one, huh?" and with that I turned and walked towards the canteen, hoping to be in time before Sasha ate my slice of bread like most nights.

Back at my self lying on the muddy, doughy ground, my breathing come back to normal before my vision returned to having the leaves of the trees in sharp focus. I felt a great heaviness on my body and at the same time I felt like a feather, as if I was experiencing an out-of-body episode ... or was simply rambling. I got up in the same way as in that wonderful memory which for some strange reason happened to appear in my consciousness, and I leaned back on a tree before compiling myself and dragging my feet on the leaves.

"That’s it, I’m done" To be honest, I couldn’t do this anymore. To be honest, I wanted to disappear from the face of the earth and reincarnate in another life, many years in the future. To be honest, my sanity couldn't keep fighting anymore, but I was too cowardly to take my own life. I was tired, not only tired of fighting, but tired of this damn world that the only thing that achieved was to put us in a circle of hatred and anger between each other.

I took a few more steps towards some side of the forest, knowing that I had no idea where I was going, if it was the same side I came from or another completely different, heading right towards the hands of the Jaegeristas. Likewise, if they caught me, they would take me to the others. Would it have been worth it to have escaped from the beginning? Surely not, but I was praying with my few walking neurons that I had managed to take a little time out of them.

"I can still going"

I heard him say a few meters behind me. I could still hear the smoke coming from his veins, this time with much more vigor, a sign that he was about to heal completely. Damn bastard, he'd perfected his healing technique over the years and it didn't take more than five minutes to heal all of his wounds.

"Well I can't!" I screamed reluctantly, as if I was trying to convince myself to give me a break, even if that break meant losing the battle against a terrorist group.

My feet kept moving over the leaves until they hit a fallen tree branch and half caught up with it, causing me to lose my balance and fall sideways onto the bark of the same tree. I instinctively placed my hand and with the fall, the hand didn’t stay sufficiently attached to the surface and drifted to the side, scratching my skin and exposing the raw flesh. I rested my healthiest shoulder on the surface and held my hand. The blood came out slowly, in time with the rapid pumping of my heart, the palm was throbbing and I felt that throbbing not only in that area but also in my ears and in my chest. I blew on the wound to remove the small traces of dirt and grime on the flesh.

"I'm tired of continue fighting, I'm tired of fighting with you and I'm tired of this world, I'm going home"

"What home?" ok, of all the things Eren could have said right now, or all the things he said to me over the past few weeks, this was the one that had hurt the most, the one that had touched my heart the most.

The image of my mother being killed in front of me by a bullet in the head at the age of ten, the image of my father or what was left of him returning to my village after years in training, the image of my family's house destroyed and split in half, while parts of the steps were burned and made charcoal. The image of a cabin in the middle of a field, far from the city, calm, empty and silent, the one that for a couple of years was my residence and now it was used by the queen herself to give birth to the heir. All those images appeared in my mind without invitation to haunt me in a matter of seconds until I gave my answer.

"To what is left of it" I broke away from the surface of the tree and devoted myself to looking ahead and following the path that at first I was taking.

“Wait” behind me the sound of the smoke had stopped and the only thing I could hear was the rustling of the leaves under Eren, who was getting up and standing on his feet.

I ignored his claim and kept walking, always looking ahead and taking good care of where I stepped, I wasn’t in the mood to rip my other hand or fall back on the one that was already badly hurt.

“I said fucking wait” was the only thing I heard before feeling his hands on mine and my shoulder.

I no longer know how many times my back was hit against a surface, I just knew that at this point it would be full of bruises or most likely my back would be a whole bruise, having all the skin covered in a nice purple or black color. My head suffered the same fate, chunks of bark digging into my scalp and some snagging on my hair. Strands got tangled over small branches halfway out of the trunk and pulled my head that way, putting me in a very uncomfortable position. The hand Eren was holding stretched forward, threatening to stretch it further and dislocate my shoulder in the process, the other hand holding my shoulder tightening more and more against my flesh while holding the bone in an impossible way with his long, slender fingers.

If my heart wasn’t already racing too much, the pulsations went crazy when I felt his hand leave mine calmy and position my arm at my side with great care to move to free a lock of hair from the bark and position it behind my ear. Then he stroked my cheek in the same way he had done so many times before. His thumb wandered over my shallow cuts, pulling out the dried blood that had accumulated, and made circular motions over my badly injured cheekbone, as if he was trying to remove the pain that he himself had caused. I leaned my head to the side trying to prevent him from keep touching me, fixing my gaze on the floor, on his feet, on mine, and I hid my face behind the few strands that were loose.

“Look at me” his voice was nothing more than a whisper, only the silence of the forest gave the opportunity to hear him clearly.

My gaze remained embedded in the grass that surrounded the tree below our feet. His thumb, now positioned on my lower lip, forcefully applied pressure downward on the open flesh, parting my two lips and sticking his finger in just enough to play with the tips of my teeth. His index finger came under my chin and forced me to turn my head in his direction.

“Fuck. Look at me! ” His eyes penetrated mine and for the first time in a long time I could see a small glow reflected in them. But that glow, I guessed, wasn’t good at all. It wasn’t the same kind Eren had when he was fifteen, knowing he had the whole world ahead of him and he could be of use to humanity, but instead was the same kind he had before annihilating with extreme anger his opponent.

We stare at each other, his face getting closer to mine. I could feel his breath on my skin and his thumb was still playing with my teeth. The hand that was holding my shoulder began to caress the skin that was visible outside the shirt, over my neck, also sore and full of scratches.

In an attempt to get him to leave my lip alone, I bit down on the tip of his thumb, not hard enough to rip off a piece of meat, but hard enough to make him fucking pull his finger out of my mouth. He waved his hand trying to ease the pain and grabbed my other cheek, stretched it out, pinched it and left a red mark on the area, burning me for a few seconds.

"I missed you back in Liberio" He grabbed a lock of my neck and twisted it between his fingers, playing for a moment and pulling the roots so that my head leaned forward.

The fingers on the skin of my neck continued it’s movements, sometimes going towards the back of my neck, scratching the beginning of the root and pulling a few strands. The caresses were soft, like the massage of a feather, it gave me chills up my spine at the same time that I was having trouble breathing with each step of his fingertips on the bone of my neck. He stopped playing with my lock and cupped one of my cheeks in the palm of his hand, his skin cold compared to mine, warm from adrenaline. It was a somewhat invasive sensation, but at the same time, comforting and uncertain. His thumb again made circular motions over the wounded skin but this time avoiding the scratch marks.

"I missed the warmth of your cheeks and the shapes of your hands" His face moved closer to my neck, his nose brushing against the bruised skin and his breath tickling the tender spots between my neck and collarbone. His breathing made me shudder from head to toe, as if lightning had struck my body.

"Eren" it was pathetic to see how with a simple touch, my body responded so submissively.

I was trembling and not from the wind that blew from time to time over us, but from the multiple caresses on my neck; my cheek being forgotten and now the waist was being the focus point, his lips playing with my mental stability as he delicately rested on me neck, but not enough to lean on and kiss it. My brain was telling me everything was wrong, that I shouldn't be doing this, but my body asked for more, asking for a break, relax and let go. My innermost desires were screaming, begging, to be released, imploring me to succumb and break the tension that was obvious to them, but less to me.

What seemed like endless minutes, were limited seconds before I felt Eren's lips on my warm skin, his hand now resting completely on my neck and my waist, drawing me closer to him, at the same time that he imprisoned me against the tree. I was in the middle of two hard walls and unconsciously I didn't feel like moving. His soft lips compared to his hands and his acting from the last year, roamed under my chin and collarbone, making a path up and down, always repeating the same line of kisses that he left behind. The more kisses he implanted, the more aggressive, open and needy they were, all the while getting wetter and leaving a trail of saliva all around. His knee shifted between my legs, separating them and lifting me to sit barely on his leg, my crotch gently placed on his covered flesh and with each movement his leg applied the necessary pressure to begin get pathetic moans out of me.

"Better keep quiet, you don't want others to find out about our whereabouts" he growled through his teeth as he continued attacking my neck. Now I was sure that, not only would I end up with scratches, but also a few hickeys if Eren wasn't careful enough. What would be more embarrassing? They founding us hot and bothered against a tree or the fact that I was getting carried away sexually with the most wanted person in Paradis?

"Fuck, Eren ..." the hand on my waist tightened and I grabbed onto him, pulling me impossibly closer, fusing both bodies, one against the other's chest.

His hand guided my body back and forth, continuing to generate pressure on my core, a sweet agony that built very slowly, too slow for my liking. My legs were starting to feel numb from the bad posture Eren had me in and were shaking as his leg touched a weak spot. His fingers intertwined with my locks, tightening them and pulling my head back, having better access to my neck and being able to run his teeth through the fine skin. Eren always had a damn habit of biting, and biting hard, not to the point of bleeding, but under the circumstances, I doubted he had enough self-control to even mind ripping the skin. When his fangs aggressively bit my collarbone I grunted in discomfort, but even that feeling, the pleasure was much better. It hurt and it felt good.

Another bite, this time reaching the shoulder. His hand left my hair in peace and stretched the shirt, revealing more clearly his work on my neck and how the curve of my shoulder became more visible under the fabric.

My breathing was shaking, my hands resting on his biceps trying to find a point of balance, my nails dug into his jacket and my leg trying to curl over his for fear of falling. When his teeth came into contact with my shoulder again, aiming for the bone, I screamed in pain, pressing my body against his to dissipate the burning of his teeth on the broken skin. He let go of my shirt and squeezed my cheeks, fixing his eyes on mine violently and commanding me to shut up.

"Stay quiet if you don't want me to fuck you raw until you bleed" Before such a comment I was speechless, my neurons could not connect and I was left blank; the only thing in command now was my animalistic desire.

"Make me"

His lips slammed against mine, needy and eager. They were dry, too dry, and every brush against mine hurt, but neither of us cared about having two pairs of chapped and possibly bleeding lips. All we cared about was melting into each other. My hands dug into the hollow of his neck and his bun, which was already disarmed and strands fell on his forehead and sides, some fell right in front of his eyes, tickling my forehead and eyelashes.

I felt his hands descend to the curve of my butt and grab a good chunk of both cheeks before fully holding them. A little pressure and I was already jumping so I could hold on comfortably. Now we could both feel the center of each other, hot, throbbing and twitching. Every move Eren made to hold us together against the tree sent chills through my entire body, his notoriously erect and hard member rose in the right places and my moans were drowned out by his savage lips.

My nails dug into the back of his neck as I felt a stronger and more violent thrust on my sweet spot. I wanted it, needed it, and desired it. I wished this lustful feeling was the only thing I felt, that I would succumb and refuse to feel any other feelings. I wanted to give myself to him and use me if it meant letting go of all the negativity that had accumulated for weeks. I wanted to remove his clothes from him, to feel his sculpted, chunky muscles on the palms of my hand, wanted to feel his chest throbbing and warm on mine, wanted him completely. I pulled the jacket off his shoulders, getting stuck in his arms. Eren dropped me on the floor with a spear and took off his jacket to leave it god knows where.

"Hey! What the fuck- ”He didn't take long to kiss me again, now with his colossal body on top of mine.

I felt small under him, much more submissive, the sensation of his hands prowling the ends of my torso, reaching under the shirt and feeling my skin burning didn’t fix anything to the situation. His fingertips tickled my stomach, making me shudder every time they made their way to my abdomen. His tongue played with mine, distracting me from his deft fingers and his wickedness as he moved towards my chest and began to work on my nipples. He was a teassing bastard. His fingers poked and twisted one of my red, erect pebble. It was torturous to feel like between the puncture and the circular movement he took the time to stretch it and make it harder. With his other hand, he held my hip next to his, keeping it in it’s place as he balanced his hips against my pelvis. My legs opened involuntarily to better feel his member and in an agile movement he positioned himself between them, reconnecting both hips and placing them on both sides and holding him at the waist. With this, neither could escape the grasp of the other and we slowly melted away with each thrust and twist.

His hand came out from under my shirt and he started unbuttoning my shirt, one damn slow button at a time. Having my chest semi-exposed, his lips wandered towards my clavicle, passing the corner of my lips, the cheek, the jaw and the already sensitive neck, causing a groan to come out unexpectedly. His lips on the crook of my neck, his hands on the skin of my abdomen and his crotch on mine, I felt like I was exploding. I didn’t know where to put my hands, they went through his tousled hair, his shoulders, his biceps until they ended up under his shirt, feeling insecurely on the fingertips as touching his marked abs.

Every time I had the opportunity to admire his sturdy and worked body, it never ceased to amaze me how well puberty had done to him. His body able to surround me and cover me against the floor, pressing so that we could both feel the heat emanating from the other. I hadn't been able to tell him when he was in prison, but seeing him hunched over and exposing his torso and back muscles really had a great effect on me, seeing him wet, being able to discern some drops falling from his head onto his neck, was like seeing an oasis and I was a thirsty one, eager to sink my face into its sweet waters. I had been deprived of touching them at the time, but now that I was doing it, it wasn’t enough, I needed to see them with my own eyes as my fingers ran over them, while I ran my nails and left small marks that would dissipate in seconds. 

The hand back on my chest was the boost I needed to lift his shirt up to his neck. Eren detached himself from me for a few seconds and got rid of the garment in the same way as his jacket, but he didn’t attack my neck like I so much wanted. Instead, his eyes stayed glued to my chest, seeing the work his deft fingers had done on my swollen nipples.

"Fuck" he growled as he ran his eyes over my semi-naked submissive body on the grass.

He bent down to level with his desired pebbles and caressed them with both hands, both giving them equal attention. I let my head fall back, closing my eyes and enjoying the sensation, but there was a moment when his fingers weren't enough anymore. I brought my hand up to his head, running my nails over his scalp, and pulled him forward, leaving him inches from my needy nipples. Eren got the hint because he quickly ran his tongue over one of them while the other was still torturing with his thumb and index finger. His mouth closed on the nipple and he sucked like it’s the only thing able to keep him alive, too painful but that didn't matter to me. He left a trail of saliva when he separated from the bundle with a 'pop' and dedicated himself to giving the other the same attention. I groaned at the needed action, causing his dick to hit my core. I was losing his mind, it was too much and at the same time, it wasn’t enough. I needed to continue, I wanted it with every fiber of my being. My nails had nothing better to do than run down his back and my legs wedged closer to his waist. I felt his dick throb and couldn't help thinking of the veins that ran through it, ending on his pretty and red head, he pre-sum that was surely coming out and wetting his pants, I couldn't help but wish to had him inside me and feel those same veins brush my velvet walls and go crazy with each thrust.

As my thoughts wandered of what was to come, Eren's lips left my nipples and focused back on my neck, this time on the side where my scar was. He left little kisses around the shoulder and around the mark, running up and down the shape, ending a little above the chest. His action was too sweet, too tender compared to his wild and hungry movements. My eyes widened instantly, if his intention was to make me uncomfortable, he had done it. If the intention was to ruin the fervid and hectic moment by reliving the scariest moment of my life, he was damned succeeding. How could I keep my composure when he was kissing the mark I had "earned" by going on a mission to rescue him? How could I stay calm when the memories of an onslaught of titans haunted my mind again, ready to devour me while I was lying on the ground with my movement equipment displaced and my shoulder immobilized by the bleeding wound? The memory of a stone flying towards my face, dodging it at the last moment and ending up hitting my shoulder bone, dislocating it, tearing the skin and flesh and noticing how the blood spurted out, soaking my shirt and jacket. My breathing started to hit, and not in the good way, and apparently Eren wasn’t realizing or hadn't taken it the wrong way.

It was like a bucket of cold water in pure winter. My mind suddenly cleared and every trace of heat my body ever had dissipated, leaving only a cold, stiff container.

"Wait, wait...no, no, this is bad" I put my hands on his shoulders and jerked him off.

"Why?" His eyes didn’t deign to inspect mine. Any normal person in their right mind, just by looking at my pale face could deduct that something was wrong.

"Why? I- You are the number one enemy in the world and of the military police, I would have to give you up and not making up with you right now"

I was babbling as well as shaking. I got up and settled onto my legs, sitting stiffly on the ground. Eren had come to the side before my body crashed against his when I got up and he was looking at me without any expression, as if nothing had happened, as if the only one who had been feeling something, even if it was a minimal sensation of pleasure, it was me, and that made me feel sick.

"I would have to be angry, make you shit on the floor and take you to pieces towards the wall Sina" at any moment I was going to throw up, I knew it. I knew my body perfectly to know that in every moment of tension and panic, my stomach would start to annoy me, to go into spasms and hit me internally. "I shouldn't be doing this with you"

"Is that so bad? Listen to your desires, follow your instincts? " His hands came to rest on my waist and without any permission from me, he placed me on his lap, both of us being face to face, chest to chest.

His words entered my ears and stayed reverberating in my mind. What to do? I was doing everything wrong, but at the same time they felt so good. I wanted to continue thoroughly, but I knew that morally it was wrong, more than wrong, it was horrible what I was doing, anyone could tell me that. I felt bad about myself, but ... deep inside me, there was a small feeling that was getting bigger and bigger and wanted, screamed, to be released. I was so indecisive and overwhelmed that all I could do was cry.

Pathetic. I was really pathetic.

I lowered my head on his shoulder, keeping the tears from being visible to this callous shit. His hands on my waist didn't feel at all comforting as he began to move his thumb in a circular motion. My hands formed into fists and I hit his shoulders repeatedly, each hit receiving a kiss on the head. My energies were exhausted at the very begining and I rested my fists on my waist, my head now barely suspended in front of him, not looking at him.

"I hate you" he kissed my shoulder.

"I know" another kiss, this time on the other shoulder, on my scar.

"I fucking hate you" my knuckles turned white from how hard I was clenching my fists.

"I know" he kissed a tear that had escaped my lashes and was running freely down my cheek.

"You're a piece of shit"

I opened my eyes to find a pair of beautiful turquoise eyes, bright and full of life. Eren placed his hand on my cheek, running his thumb every time a tear fell down it. He leaned down and captured my lips with his sweetly, the tears falling and falling, faster and faster and more forming in my closed eyes. The kiss had a salty taste, my heart was about to leave my chest and when Eren broke away I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to take it anymore.

"…I know"

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[greetings-and-salutations]

“Peter, You’re Spider-Man?”

Peter Parker x Reader Part 1

Day 2 of the Valentine’s Day Special!!!

Masterlist | Part 1 | Part 2

(Gif not mine)

Requested? No

Summary: Peter tries so hard to keep his girlfriend out of the dangerous part of his life. But some things are out of his control…

Warnings: starred out swear words, kidnapping, blood, bruises, injections, evil villain wanting to take over the world, the usual 🤷‍♀️

Pairing: Tobey!Peter x Fem!Reader (but I guess this one could be any of them too 🤷‍♀️😂)

“P-Please let me go! Please I-I didn’t do anything! I-“ (Y/n)’s pleas were cut off by the deepest most terror-inducing laughter she’d ever heard, and with her hands bound and a blindfold covering her eyes, she was practically defenseless against it’s source.

“Poor, girl. Don’t you worry. Your Spider-Man will be here to save you soon…” He said, (Y/n)’s breath hitched in her throat, as his footsteps got closer and closer, until they stopped, what felt like just inches away. “I’m counting on it.” (Y/n) shook her head, not knowing if he was looking in her direction or not, but she didn’t care.

“Why-why would he come after me? I-I’m no one special…” She started, but was cut off by the same ominous laughter from before.

“On the contrary. You’re quite the asset, Miss (Y/l/n).” He said. And then his footsteps were heard again, though, this time, heading away from the captive girl.

(Y/n) was silent, barely daring to venture a breath, until she’d heard the loud pounding of a metal door closing, and knew she had been left alone.

Now, (Y/n) (Y/l/n) was not one to cry. She saw it as a useless waste of energy. Whining about something wasn’t going to change it. It wouldn’t make it better.

That being said, (Y/n) cried like a baby as she awaited the arrival of either a superhero, that she was certain wasn’t coming, or a supervillain, that would be very angry with her when he didn’t.

But, all of a sudden, her pity party was interrupted.

“H-Hello?” She called out, having heard the door open with a slow creak. “P-Please, don’t hurt me…” she managed to get out, hiccuping a little towards the end, as quick footsteps made their way across the room.

“(Y/n)? Oh my god! What did he do to you?” (Y/n) would recognize that voice anywhere.

“Peter? W-what are you doing here?” She asked her boyfriend, as he fiddled with the ropes around her wrists. When her hands were free, (Y/n) pulled the blindfold from over her eyes, and gasped in shock at what she saw. “Spider-Man? Peter, y-you’re Spider-Man?” Suddenly it all made sense. Why the boy had to leave mysteriously all the time when they were hanging out, why he showed up to school with bruises and cuts and terribly obvious lies as to how they came to be, why the bad guy had called (Y/n) an “asset,” He*l, why he’d even kidnapped her in the first place. She was with Peter.

(Y/n) (Y/l/n) was Spider-Man’s girlfriend…

“(Y/n), baby…” He pulled his mask off, no longer needing it l, and touched the side of the girl’s face gently, a cut above her eyebrow gaining his attention, as she just stared at his face in disbelief. Peter really was Spider-Man… “Sh*t, he did this to you?” He asked, eyes meeting hers, as she managed a slow nod. She was shocked, and scared. (Y/n) had never wanted to be snuggled up under her covers with Peter more than she did right then. Oblivious to all this madness, and content in the arms of the boy she loved. It was too late for all that now, though…

“P-Peter… I’m scared.” She whispered, reaching up to grip his arm as tightly as she could, though it was still weaker than either of them would have liked. Whoever that villain was hadn’t roughed her up too badly, but (Y/n) wasn’t like Peter. She was normal, and healed as such. And she was tired, and bleeding, and, all in all, just ready to go home.

“I know, baby. I know. I’m gonna get you out of here, okay?” He said, earning a little nod from the girl. She trusted Peter with her life. Whether or not he had lied about his secret alter ego was irrelevant in that moment. He must’ve had a good reason. And (Y/n) would ask him later. Right now, they had other things to worry about.

“Well, isn’t this sweet?” Peter’s body tensed, and he stood protectively in front of his wounded girlfriend, glaring harshly at the villain, who must have returned, without either of them noticing, Peter’s attention having been focused solely on his (Y/n).

“Dr. Martin… Let her go. She has nothing to do with this.” He said through gritted teeth. But the guy, Dr. Martin, apparently, just laughed again.

“Oh, but she does. Your “baby” has everything to do with this.” He mocked with a smirk, as (Y/n) scrambled to her feet behind Peter, stumbling a little when she noticed that there was definitely something wrong with her ankle that she hadn’t noticed before, and limping forward to grab his arm.

“Pete?” She whispered, practically trembling. This was definitely not how she was planning for her Saturday to go.

“Aww. “Pete,” is it?” Martin asked with the same freaky smirk, as the boy pulled (Y/n) closer to him. “You’re not gonna let that girl down, are you Peter?”

“What do you want?” Peter practically growled. (Y/n) had never heard him this angry. But Martin seemed undeterred.

“It’s not what I want. It’s what you want. I could change the world, Peter. Make it a better place.” He mused, before turning abruptly towards the pair, and pointing an accusing finger at the girl. “Starting with her.” (Y/n)’s heart dropped. What did that mean?

“What do you mean?” Peter asked, pulling her even closer. “Dr. Martin, what did you do?” He asked, worry clear in his tone, but all the psychotic doctor did was laugh once again.

“Poor boy… Don’t worry. Soon, you’ll never have to protect her again.” (Y/n) frowned at the knowing smirk he held. It was as if he’d already won, and he knew it.

“What did you do to her!?!” Peter asked, turning to glance at the girl beside him, but, when he couldn’t find anything new to lead him to a conclusive answer to his question, he turned back to the doctor, whose grin widened.

“It’s not what I’ve done. It’s what I am doing.” Before (Y/n) even had time to process what he could mean by that, she felt something… off. It didn’t necessarily hurt, it was more uncomfortable than anything else, a tingling in her veins, that felt like a bubbling just underneath her skin. Something was happening. Something bad. What had Dr. Martin done to her?

“P-peter?” She mumbled, noticing a purple bruise growing on the inside of her arm, like a needle mark…

“The whole world will soon be praising me for my work. For saving human kind from our biggest cataclysm: ourselves.” Martin was still going on about his plan, but (Y/n) wasn’t listening, her eyes focusing in on a computer she hadn’t noticed before, across the room attached to a canister of something glowing an unnatural yellow. “Starting with your little girlfriend.”

“What’s that countdown for?” (Y/n) asked, her eyes not leaving the contraption, Peter’s quick to follow her gaze.

“You’ll soon find out.” Martin’s vague answers were starting to get on (Y/n)’s nerves, especially when they so directly affected whether or not she’d be around to have that talk with Peter about keeping secrets.

“She asked you a question.” Peter’s angry voice spat out, clearly sick of the games too. “What’s gonna happen in 7 minutes?”

And Dr. Martin’s face darkened, a sick satisfaction twisting at his features, the running down of the clock not even enough to pull their focus from his face. Then he uttered the six words that made (Y/n)’s blood run cold.

“The end of the world, Peter.”

Tag lists are open!!!

Tags: @electriclcvewp @missryerye

[phantomchick]

Merlin fic rec list

To Be A King by clotpolesonly Teen And Up, No Archive Warnings Apply, Gen, Merlin and Arthur, Merlin and Mordred, Gwen/Arthur, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Merlin's Magic Revealed, Canonical Character Death, BAMF Merlin, Dragonlord Merlin, Original setting, Magical kingdom, King Merlin, Royal!Merlin Summary: When Merlin discovers that his father was an estranged prince and he himself is now the only heir to the throne of a magical kingdom, he is forced to leave Camelot for the perils of a royal court. Will Merlin be able to win Arthur's favor again before Morgana launches an attack on a defenseless Camelot? Will he be able to defend his own kingdom at the same time or will all be lost? -

A Matter of Sovereignty by Kizmet Gen, No Archive Warnings Apply, Friendship Summary A visiting prince takes it into his head to brutalize Merlin, but sometimes the solution to a problem is in how you phrase it.

-

Bumps and Bruises by platonic_boner merthur, implied/suspected abuse, Protective Arthur, Magic Revealed, pre-relationship, teen an up, canon typical violence,

Summary: Arthur notices Merlin’s constant injuries, and decides he needs to step in and protect Merlin.

-

Finding Home by riventhorn Arthur/Merlin, Hurt/Comfort Summary: Written for a kinkme_merlin prompt. When Gaius retires a new physician takes over and quickly kicks Merlin out of his room and takes it for himself. Arthur finds Merlin sleeping in the stables...and it's winter.

-

How To Love A Living Thing by Polomonkey Mature, merthur, Merlin/Arthur, Pendragon (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, Abuse, Violence, Sexual Harassment, Drowning, Guilt, Romance, Protective Arthur, Mild Sexual Content, Redemption, Healing, Canon Era

Summary Guilt ridden and lonely after his confrontation with Nimueh, Merlin slowly begins to isolate himself from Arthur. When two knights take it upon themselves to teach him his place, Merlin finds himself with nowhere to turn. Will he be able to reach out to his prince before it's too late?

-

Obeisance by casspeach Gen, No Archive Warnings Apply, Merlin/Arthur

Summary: It's not that Arthur won't share his toys, just that he expects to get them back undamaged

-

All's Well That Ends Well by StormDancer explicit, Merlin/Arthur, Arthur Finds Out, magic reveal Summary: Merlin spent the week and a half that Arthur was gone splitting his time between crafting careful explanations that never ended up explaining the important things, the things that would make Arthur listen, and making half-baked plans to escape to Ealdor. He found a number of fire-proofing spells that would have no effect if they decided to cut his head off, and figured out how to adapt an invulnerability spell he had been trying to find a way to cast on Arthur without him noticing so that it would protect him from being decapitated, but it would have no effect on anything but metal. Despite all his frantic searching, he did not find a teleportation spell, because that would have been too simple and if there was one thing Merlin had learned in his years at Camelot, it was that nothing was ever simple.

-

Deeds by the5leggedCricket Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Episode Related, Oblivious Arthur Pendragon, Teen and Up,

Summary: Arthur is coming of age, and that means he’s about to get Deeds—marks on his body telling him of his soulmate’s greatest accomplishments. But as he tries to find his soulmate, he also makes some worrying discoveries about the kind of person his soulmate is.

-

Honorable Intentions by smilebackwards Gwaine/Merlin, Guinevere/Arthur Pendragon, Courtship, Protectiveness, Protective!Arthur, Teen and Up, Summary: There are several considerations Arthur would like to go over, starting with the state of Merlin's virtue.

-

Laundry's Hard Work by supercalvin Gen, Teen and Up, Canon Era, can be read as pre-slash, BAMF Merlin

Summary: Wasn't Merlin supposed to be...tiny? When the hell had he learned to use a sword and not fall on his backside? Where the hell did those scars from? What the hell?

or Arthur still thinks Merlin is the young boy he met ten years ago and he starts to notice things in his manservant that he wasn't aware had changed at all.

-

Fathom Me Out by supercalvin Merlin/Arthur, Canon Era, Magic Revealed, Teen and up,

Summary: After ten years, Arthur thinks he has Merlin all figured out. But as he watches Merlin, he finds out that he has more questions than answers. The longer he thinks about it, the more uneasy he feels. So he pushes it aside. Except, he can no longer ignore the questions he has about Merlin. Not your everyday reveal!fic

-

Loyalty Before Royalty by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle Gen, Gwen & Merlin, Arthur and Merlin being the most iconic duo? I think tf not, Gwen and Merlin wreaking havoc? Teaming up against Arthur? That's the most iconic duo there, as usual, Explicit Language, Fluff and Humor, Attempt at Humor, Arthur is so exasperated, someone help him, good thing he loves them both

Summary: "Where did you get that?" Arthur asked, but he already knew the answer. "Gwen." "...and the horse?" "Gwen." "What about the-" "Gwen." Merlin interrupted. Arthur nodded. At this point, he wasn't sure why he even bothered to ask. He was pretty certain his wife was going to knight Merlin any day now.He looked Merlin up and down for a few moments before accepting it all with a sigh. "As long as you get my armor to me tomorrow...I don't care." He finally said, turning away. Merlin cleared his throat. "Gwen gave me tomorrow off." "For the love of God." Or I hate that Gwen and Merlin's friendship kind of withered away in the later seasons so here's a oneshot about her and Merlin abusing her new royal powers because that's what happens when your best friend becomes queen.

-

Know It All Knight by Shi_Toyu Leon & Merlin, Knights of the Round Table, Magic Revealed, protective leon, Arthur Finds Out, Oblivious Arthur

Summary: Leon couldn’t say for sure when the exact moment was that he figured out Merlin had magic. He’d suspected it for a little while, to be honest. He definitely had it figured out by the time Arthur managed to ‘kill’ the Great Dragon. What Leon could say for sure was the exact moment he figured out that no one else had figured out Merlin had magic.

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The Nature of Trust by Lynds Merlin's Magic Revealed, Leon is the Mam Friend, Leon is so done, Protective Gwaine, Lancelot Lives, Canon Era, Arthur Finds Out, Hurt Merlin, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Canon-Typical Violence, reference to hunting and cooking animals Summary: Leon starts to notice that the knights, one by one, are starting to trust Merlin's judgement. That he keeps warning Arthur about danger, and being right. Is there more to Merlin than meets the eye?

-

Repercussions by PeaceHeather Fix-It of Sorts, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Lecture, Rants, Episode: s02e06 Beauty and the Beast, Episode: s02e05 Beauty and the Beast, Canon Era, One Shot, Gen Summary: Uther married a troll. In canon, that all worked out fine eventually. In this slight canon divergence, there is at least one noble who's not willing to let it slide so easily.

-

No Harm Will Come to You Here by fancyh Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Season/Series 05, Merlin's Magic Revealed, Fluff and Angst, temporary amnesia, teen and up,

Summary: "That was magic," Arthur accuses.

"Oh." Merlin just nods, looking unperturbed.

Arthur fights to keep his expression calm, mind racing and heart pounding. "Sorcery is outlawed in Camelot. On pain of death."

Merlin splutters, finally fixing Arthur with an affronted glare. "It's not like I meant to do it!"

***

Merlin gets hit with a spell meant for Arthur and loses his memory. Revelations ensue. Set sometime after 5x02.

-

Metamorphose by clotpolesonly Merlin/Arthur, Teen and Up, Between Seasons/Series, Episode: s03e01 The Tears of Uther Pendragon (Part I), Episode: s03e02 The Tears of Uther Pendragon (Part II), Mpreg, Magic Reveal, Angst with a Happy Ending, Pining, morgana redemption, some transphobic language from Merlin when he finds out he’s pregnant because of magic but it’s mostly just the shock that does it Summary: When Merlin falls into bed with Arthur, he doesn't expect for to wake up alone. He doesn't expect Arthur to give him the cold shoulder either, but there is something else he expects even less which forces him out of the kingdom for over a year. He returns to find a traitor in the court, an army on the way, and a love he'd thought all but lost waiting for him with open arms.

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Four Days To Fall In Love. by CupCakezys Teen and Up, No archive warnings apply, Merlin/Arthur, Morgana/Gwen, Soulmate AU, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic, Protective Arthur, Mutual Pining, Angst with a Happy Ending, Secret Relationship

Summary: In a world where everyone has a soulmate (or two or three), Arthur Pendragon knows he is destined to be alone. For Arthur can see his heartstring, could follow it to where his soulmate lived, and that could only mean one thing.

His soulmate had magic, and should they ever meet, Arthur would have to kill them.

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Sacrificial Lamb by RurouniHime Angst and Humor, Pining, First Time, First Kiss, Post Season 1, Initial Misunderstanding, But it’s resolved, Happy Ending, Fluff with a touch of angst at first

Summary: Arthur's been overworking his knights, so they come to Merlin as a last resort.

-

Cheers and Spirits by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle Gen, The knights are kinda fools, but the best king, Humour, Fluff, Fluff and Humour, Knights of the Round Table & Merlin

Summary: Despite all the supposed trips to the tavern none of the knights have seen Merlin drunk. They decide to rectify that. A poor decision, really.

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Circle 'round the Truth by enviropony Merlin + Knights friendship, Gen, Magic Reveal, Oneshot, Knights of the Round Table & Merlin Summary: They know about the magic. Or, more accurately, Merlin's magic is the truth the knights circle around, and Merlin's loyalty is the one 'round which they rally. (A character study with some yelling, an action sequence, and a bit of walking.) Post-S4.

-

Strict Justice by schweet_heart mutual pining, BAMF Arthur, magic reveal, canon au, oneshot, teen and up

Summary: After a particularly grueling battle, Merlin and Arthur share a quiet moment in their tent.

-

before it breaks by schweet_heart Teen and Up, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, merlin whump, magic reveal, merlin & arthur, merthur

Summary: “It’s not what it looks like,” he says, hand still outstretched, barely a waver in his voice as he lies, outright, to Arthur’s face. “Sire, I can explain.”

“Can you,” Arthur says. He’s aware that he’s trembling, a seismic reaction to the outrage and denial still fighting it out inside his head, but he knows what he’s seen. What it must be. “Well, then, you’d better be quick about it, because it looks a lot like magic.”

-

Until the Day I Die by Cookie Teen and Up, Oneshot, Angst, Temporary Character Death, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary: Arthur believed Dragoon had killed his father, and so he plunged his sword deep into the sorcerer. Now Merlin was dying in his arms and Arthur was facing the future alone.

-

These Castle Walls Bleed Lies by marguerite_26 Mature, hurt/comfort, Magic Reveal, Angst, Merthur, mentions of arthur/gwen, Gwen/Lancelot

Summary: With his father unfit to rule and Camelot decimated, Arthur must assume the role of King. But the truths he discovers shake the foundation of all he holds dear.

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before his eyes (he now sees clear) by hwc Teen And Up Audiences, Uther Pendragon is terrible and complicated, Merlin/Arthur

Summary: It takes Uther half a second to see Balinor in Merlin, and he's almost sure of what he should do.

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Keep Your Secrets by new_kate, orphan_account Mature, rape/non-con, torture, captivity, romance, alternate universe - canon, canon typical violence, hurt/comfort

Summary: Arthur Pendragon is captured by the bandits. While he waits to be ransomed, he slowly gets to know Merlin, the prisoner being held in the next cell.

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Crossing the Line by Ultrageekatlarge BAMF Merlin, Gen, Crack, Oneshot, Magic Reveal, Hurt! Merlin, Humour

Summary: In which Merlin gets bludgeoned, strangled, attacked, smothered, shot with glass, and tossed out a window, burned, whipped, stabbed, thrown down stairs, nearly drowned on dry land, and harpooned, and still manages to save Camelot from seven evil sorcerers, before lunch.

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Your Touch Is My Salvation by elirwen Magic Reveal, Canon Era, Oblivious idiots in love, Curses, Teen and Up, Oneshot, Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Merlin suffers from an effect of a curse. Arthur can help more than he initially thought.

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A Heavy Heart to Carry by Thursday_Next Rescue, Hurt/Comfort, Magic Reveal, Oneshot, Mature, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon

Summary: When Merlin is captured and injured, Arthur must face up to his own feelings for his manservant as well as the many secrets he discovers are being kept from him.

-

Can you do that? by no_nutcracker Merlin/Mithian, no archive warnings apply, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s04e11 The Hunter's Heart, Arthur & Merlin friendship

Summary: Merlin should be overjoyed. He just found his soulmate. If only she was not betrothed to Arhur.

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His Remedy for Care by ArgentSleeper Teen and Up, canon au, Episode: s02e13 The Last Dragonlord, Angst, Canon Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Fix It

Summary: Injured in the dragon attack in lieu of Arthur and afraid of being stopped from going on the mission, Merlin kept away from Gaius and never learned that Balinor was his father. Instead it's Arthur that puts two and two together as he seeks the dragonlord out, first to save his servant (not friend- they can't be friends), then to save his kingdom.

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A Considerable Head Start by ughbutidontwantto BAMF Merlin, Gen, when villains have more regard for you than friends, Camelot has a serious class problem, Merlin deserves better

Summary: Merlin is frighteningly competent and his friends are correctly concerned. Obviously they're going to follow him out to the woods. And obviously they're not going to like what they hea

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The Conscience of the King by ughbutidontwantto Gen, Post-Magic Reveal, Legal Drama, Oneshot, Friendship feels

Summary: Merlin's magic was revealed and now everyone has to deal with it in an official capacity since tragically most of these characters work in government. Arthur, predictably, is struggling to cope.

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Out of Sight, Out of Mind by BabyStepsAreStillSteps Merlin Deserved Better, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Merlin Needs a Hug (Merlin), Episode: s05e09 With All My Heart, Fix It

Summary: When Arthur turned his back on the Dolma that he didn’t know was his manservant, Merlin reminded him that he was missing a very important member of their rescue party.

What if he hadn’t?

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What They Owe Us by ironspidereilish Merlin/Arthur, Alternate Universe, Aredian’s a tax collector instead of a witch hunter but he’s still a bastard, Hurt/Comfort, Poverty, Angst with a Happy Ending, Protective Arthur Pendragon, BAMF Arthur, Canon Era, Romance, sexual coercion mentioned, BAMF Merlin

Summary: When Arthur finds out that the castle staff are having their wages held for weeks at a time and can no longer afford food or their homes, he will not rest until they are protected and Aredian is stopped.

The fact that Merlin’s stomach is rumbling while he delivers the prince his breakfast, and Arthur hates the thought of him suffering, only serves as extra motivation to fix this.

-

royal blood by Rona23 crack!fic, humour, comedy, Balinor Lives, Dragonlord things, Golden Age, Bamf Arthur, Bamf Balinor, Bamf Merlin, Fix It, Magic reveal, Oblivious Arthur, Merthur

Summary: ..... as if Balinor could be killed by Bandits O.o

Alternatively: An alternative take on Balinor surviving and saving Camelot. ... And then proceeding to hold the entire kingdom hostage, because he has a frigging Dragon at his disposal :)

- The way by Naelyn Episode: s04e11 The Hunter's Heart, POV Arthur Pendragon, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Oblivious Arthur, Until He’s Not, Hurt/Comfort, Merlin Deserved Better, Communication or lack thereof, Canon Divergence

Summary: "One more word out of you, and I swear to God I will send you into exile."

He knows it’s not the pyre, knows there’s much worse, but banishment would mean staying away from Arthur forever – and, as pathetic as that might sound, he thinks he would rather die than let that happen. It is clear that the feeling is not reciprocated, clear that in Arthur’s eyes, he will never come first. There’ll always be people coming before him, and he’s made peace with that long ago – but if even Agravaine can come before him, then anyone could, no? Anyone could replace him. Call Merlin a traitor and have Arthur get rid of him. Anyone could.

Merlin no longer feels safe in Camelot.

or: Arthur threatens Merlin of banishment. To Arthur's eyes, it's all forgotten. To Merlin's, however... Well, let's just say that his faith in their mutual destiny, once unwavering, finds itself faltering at a dangerously quick rate.

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Better in the Mourning by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle Gen, Lancelot & Merlin, Knights of the Round Table & Merlin, Grief, Fluff and Angst, Gwen/Lance mentioned, let the characters grieve, 5 Knights of Grief

Summary: Merlin mourns Lancelot's death. The rest of the knights help out. (AKA Merlin gets to take advantage of not having to keep a dead loved one a secret and gets some goddamn support in this castle)

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I suppose that I look different (without the robes and crown) by WingedWolf121 Canon Era, Episode: s05e03 The Death Song of Uther Pendragon, Uther Pendragon’s A + Parenting, Ygraine/Uther, Arthur/Merlin, Balinor/Hunith, Dragonlord Merlin, BAMF Merlin, Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary: When Arthur blows the horn of Cathbdhah for the second time, the horn doesn’t just send Uther to the other world. It sends Arthur away as well – to a world where Ygraine never died, the Great Purge never happened, and magic lives freely at court. As do those who practice it.

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For Your Information by reni_days Merlin & Uther, Merlin/Arthur, Modern Era au, Oneshot, Teen and Up

Summary: Merlin sighs. "After your...announcement," he explains, "your father decided he needed a bit more information. Which is apparently where I come in. I'm sort of like his gay tutor, it's hard to explain."

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Good Fortune by platonic_boner Canon Era, Fluff, Merlin/Arthur, Oneshot

Summary: Arthur makes Merlin a lord, and Merlin does an astonishingly good job of running a village.

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Within Reach by foxy_mulder Explicit, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Sex, Merlin/Arthur, Angst with a Happy Ending, Oneshot, Slowburn

Summary: Nobody touches Arthur.

Merlin realizes it slowly, and when he does, he wants to kick himself for not seeing sooner. ___________ (Or, Arthur and Merlin's relationship with touch over time.)

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Moment of Weakness by TheAsexualofSpades Gen, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic, Protective Knights, Protective Arthur Pendragon, Protective Merlin, Whump, Oneshot, Merlin/Arthur

Summary: After all Merlin's gone through, you'd think it would take some world-ending magic spell or an almost successful attempt on Arthur's life to shake him properly.

It isn't one of those, and Merlin has no idea why.

He just knows he can't be weak.

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The Only Reward Bestowed Upon Me by greatdumbking Gen, Oneshot, Merlin/Arthur, angst, hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, Episode: s04e05 His Father's Son, Fix-It, Agravaine, Canon Era, Love Confessions

Summary: “You’re wrong Merlin. I don’t need anyone. I can’t afford that luxury. The kingdom's my responsibility now, and mine to bear alone. And you must learn to accept that.”

How could this hurt so much, a third time? Merlin could feel the façade of his casual indifference faltering. His face fell, tears were clawing at his throat, creeping into his eyes. It took all his effort to nod, steel his eyes, and swallow down the rising sob.

(How did Merlin get chosen the be the bait? Why did Arthur start pushing Merlin away? Why couldn't he see how much it was hurting him?)

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Maybe Not the Most Awkward Dinner to Happen in Camelot's Citadel, but it's Definitely Up There by HopePrevails Gen, Gwen/Arthur Pendragon, Merlin, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Oneshot, Humour, past Gwen/Merlin

Summary: When an argument about whether Merlin is remotely attractive or not breaks out over dinner, Queen Guinevere accidentally drops into the conversation that she had a crush on him when he first arrived in Camelot. Arthur takes it... like Arthur.

--x--

“Don’t look so surprised, Merlin.” Gwen said kindly. Perhaps she was the psychic. “You’re sweet and gentle, charismatic-” Arthur snorted. “- and I’m not going to let you walk out of those doors thinking you don’t look the part, either. Remember, even when you first came to Camelot, I-” She stopped herself, snapping her lips tightly shut.

-

[dreamkidddream]

The Purr-fect Partner (or the BSD Gang as Cats!) (Intro)

So I decided that I’m just taking a small break from requests only bc I got too occupied with this lmao. So basically, you find the boys as cats and take them in, only to find that it’s more to them than it seems 👀 let me know why you think and I’ll add the chapters on here as I do them. As always reader is gender neutral and enjoy!

CW: minor language

Today had to be the worst day imaginable for you.

Your neighbors decided that last night was the night they wanted to be as loud as possible for their game night (damn those thin ass walls and also Hari totally cheated!), which caused you to oversleep and run face first into your very angry boss and spill her coffee over you both. Not only are you on thin ice with her, but there’s not a chance in hell that you’re getting that promotion you’ve practically been overworking yourself for and that it’s pretty much going to be given to that one guy who puts their work off to everyone else.

(You’re this close to stapling him in the eye if he comes up to you one more time-)

No breakfast, your takeout for lunch was not only messed up but cold- the list can go on and on for how shitty this day has been.

You’re the last one leaving the office when you see the bus driving away from your stop. And right when you started to walk, you felt the one of many rain drops pelting down on your skin.

Your umbrella flipped inside out and you were about to let out a very nasty string of words when you heard it. The sound of the rusty trash cans tipping over, it’s contents spilling out everywhere.

Someone was in the alleyway.

Now you’re not dumb and you are not about to become a victim, whether it’s being mugged or something worse. Just as you were about to speed walk out of there umbrella be damned, you heard something else.

A meow.

You halted in your steps, and you snapped your head back so quick that you’re probably gonna hate yourself in the morning, but you didn’t care. You heard them cry out again when you took another step closer. As you’re getting closer and closer, you can feel your heart breaking bit by bit. You’ve always had a soft spot reserved for animals, and the look this cat is giving you is just downright pitiful. This poor cat is just stuck outside in the storm, rummaging and covered in garbage, shivering and alone. You kneeled down to their level, and you can see how tense they were getting, their eyes never leaving yours and their tail freezing mid sway. You didn’t want to scare or run them off, but you had to see if they’re okay and if they have a collar; which given your luck with what you see, they did, but their name was barely there.

But maybe luck is on your side...

Your apartment is empty, and you can just feel the loneliness linger in the air every time you step inside. No matter how many times you try to overcome the feeling and try to blame it on your daily routine just being boring, you could just feel the void growing bigger and bigger each night you climbed into an empty bed. 

The silence was deafening at night, and it just made you realized how miserable you really were. 

Your hand just rested underneath the cat’s head, contemplating with what you’re about to do. Would it be wrong to just take care of them, to self indulge, even if it’s for a little bit? You wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if you just walk away now, just leaving them out here defenseless. And it seemed like you’re already making progress on this newfound partnership, as the cat hadn’t lunged at you (at least not yet) and didn’t run away.

Maybe the cat didn’t want to leave you either.

“What do you say? Wanna get out of this weather and come with me?” You felt silly talking out loud like this, talking like the cat can understand you, but any pressing thoughts soon faded when they let out another meow, like they were responding to you.

You’re both drenched and cold, but it didn’t stop the smile from spreading across your face and your fingers rubbing their chin delicately. 

You’ll start looking for their owner in the morning, but in the meantime-

“Let’s go home.”

[zutara]

*takes a big breath*

Oh, my dears, where do I even begin?

I shall try to answer you both in one single rambling. Just bear with me, please….!

To start, the only thing inside this fandom that irks me more than Maiko, are those who think Zuko was an actual evil individual at any given time during the story. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: ZUKO. WAS. NEVER. EVIL! But that’s another rant for another day…

Now, onto the Mai part.

Although I’ve always thought Maiko was toxic af, it was completely necessary for Zuko to go through that relationship so that he could grow and evolve.  

So, onto your questions. What do I think is Zuko’s view of Mai?

I think his view of her changed as the story-and his circumstances-changed. As children, Mai was Azula’s friend, the girl Azula mercilessly teased him with just to be cruel. As he grew, I’m sure Zuko in his own way became part of Azula’s inner circle but, based on the flashbacks we saw during Zuko Alone, I have trouble believing it was a healthy association for the most part. But hey, it happens all the time when you’re a kid. There are people you’re just stuck with, but you care about them nonetheless.

Another thing, I think Zuko understood—or was taught from a very young age– that as royalty he was expected to keep only a certain type of company around. Especially when choosing a gf/ bride. I think Zuko knew he was expected to go out with someone of high social standing, preferably a girl coming from a family within the Fire Lord’s good graces. He knew what was expected of him, and Mai was always there, part of his inner world, fitting all the requirements. And I’m sure he did like her and cared (cares?) for her a great deal. I’m not trying to deny or erase that part of his story. Never will.

BUT!

Fast-forward to Zuko post-banishment, –to a Zuko who has lived, learned, and survived in the world outside palace walls for years now; to a Zuko who, unbeknownst even to himself, has grown under his uncle´s love and influence. To a Zuko whose real essence (that same essence that spoke up in defense of his countrymen to save their lives) is finally starting to emerge again after his father so violently snuffed and silenced it– and give him the one solution he had convinced himself as a child he needed to fix everything that was causing him pain… and well, that inner traumatized little boy was going to take that chance regardless of how much he had changed.  At the end of the day, he just wanted to go home because he thought home was where he would heal his broken heart. The broken heart of a prince, of a son, of a young boy. And Mai becomes part of that illusion.

Mai automatically becomes yet another lifeline back into his old life. She was familiar, the original plan, just as things were always meant to be from the start. Sometimes I think Zuko was more infatuated with the idea of being his old self again than he was infatuated with Mai (does that make sense?). And that, my dears, is not love. Nor trust. Nor affection. That’s just familiarity and another way back to feeling like the old Zuko again.

As to the other question, NO, I don’t think it was abusive of Zuko to leave Mai behind! At all! COMMON, PEOPLE! He literally left her locked up in a cell, in a prison belonging to the Fire Nation, ran by Mai’s own uncle. If anything, she was safe there. Also, it’s like you said, Mai may be many things, but defenseless she is not! She is a kick-ass, dagger wielding, willful girl who has been trained from childhood. Zuko was awkward and yeah, even immature about the confrontation, but there were bigger things happening at that exact moment than his relationship with Mai. And opposite to popular belief, I think Zuko breaking up with her via parchment roll was necessary. The poor boy really had no other choice. If he’d have talked to her, she probably wouldn’t have listened to him, and even if she had, she wouldn’t have understood (she never did! Not once!) and would have done everything within her power to stop him.

That’s why I never liked them as a couple. Zuko was not the same he was when he returned, and she never truly acknowledged or was supportive of his history, who he had become, and what he truly wanted. She never understood him.

So yeah…those are my two cents on that. Sorry I got so lengthy and sorry if I made no sense. I just love Zuko so fucking much, ya know? I get emotional easily when it comes to him.

[minkmousesworld]

Hi! I was scrolling through your blog and oh mah lord its amazing 🥺. May I request a forest!au raccoon dog!Tanjiro x snow leopard!reader where the reader is injured, crying and shaking and Tanjiro is trying to calm them down? It's Oki if you can't! I hope you're staying safe and hydrated! Also, don't forget to take breaks bby 🤍

- 🌌

hello, honeymouse♡ thank you for your request! I wasn't sure exactly how you wanted it done, so I left it to my choice. I hope you like it! thank you so much for being so sweet. don't forget to rest and drink water♡

⌞ʟᴏꜱᴛ ɪɴ ᴀ ꜱɴᴏᴡꜱᴛᴏʀᴍ⌝

𝔲𝔫𝔦𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔢: forest au

𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰: UST, comforting, mention of blood (wounds), mention of panic, mention of escape

𝔡𝔞𝔯𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤(𝔰): raccoon dog! Tanjirou Kamado x snow leopard! Reader

writer's note: as I was advised, after I completed the request, I fell asleep... and recently I woke up because of the alarm clock, which I put on "just in case". and I realized that I didn't publish. ouch. also! it's so cute when you use au names(´ ω `♡)

Winter.

In your home, in the mountains, it was almost always winter. Pure snow lay on the mountains, untouched by the hot sun or the footprints of others; except that mountain goats and other snow leopards touched it. And you were comfortable with such a neighborhood.

Down below, it was different. Even the air here wasn't as clean, but it was easier to breathe in. You'd even enjoy it.

If only your lungs weren't burning from running for so long.

When you stepped on the fresh snow with your broad paws, you left shallow, bloody footprints, which the snowfall immediately covered up, covering your tracks. It was hard to move, every step was like stepping on sharp stones, but you tried to get as far away as possible, limping and gasping for breath.

Even if you had no idea where this road would lead you.

The wind began to howl even rougher, driving you forward in icy gusts. The blood flowed more slowly, took on a maroon color and froze on you in thin lines. Even the thick fur didn't help with the cold, which was chilling to the bone.

It seemed that with each breath of frosty, dead air, everything inside you cooled and froze. Trapped in the forest, you had no idea where to go to find shelter.

Running away from one death led you to another. You tried to wipe away the tears that had gathered in your eyes and prevented you from seeing further.

Too much stress.

You snuggled up against the tree and buried your nose in the bark, catching your breath. Memories of the past flashed slowly before your eyes, as if frozen. The moment when you were born, when you lived in a cave; when your mother first took you on a Groundhog hunt; when she said that "a good Snow leopard always knows their snow, and a bad Snow leopard dies in the mud".

When she left and you were alone, surrounded by snow and caves. It wasn't something painful, although at first it was unusual to realize that the only reason you might want to see other snow leopards is "mating season". But soon moving forward, finding a cave to sleep in, and getting food was all you cared about.

While the inhabitants of the forest built burrows, formed pairs and hid from the rains and snows, you ran around the mountains, balanced between cliffs and killed future food, sometimes breaking down from the mountains with prey in your teeth, just to make sure that you would have food.

Until They came.

Wrapping a long tail around your leg, you tried to hide from the wind behind a thick trunk with the last of your strength. They smelled of blood and dead things, and you were running faster than you knew what was happening. That alone saved your life.

"Strangers always bring trouble" — that's what your mother told you. She was a very wise snow leopard. [If you had the strength left, you would hope that They didn't reach her, she deserved more].

You put your arms around your shoulders, hugged your knees to your chest, and hid your face in them. The wind will soon stop, and you will be able to find food for yourself. Then go back... there will be no strangers there. You hope for this and that you will find your way back.

Your eyes were uncomfortably close from crying, and your cheeks ached from the cold. It was morning by your biological clock, the time when it was time for you to fall asleep in a cave, tucked into a strategically advantageous corner.

Your head was spinning — from the other air, from the cold, or from fear, you didn't know. The body that had carried you forward on pure fear and lust for life was now a weak meat that needed to rest. Perhaps a little sleep will help you feel better ... Thick fur will protect you from frostbite, frozen wounds from the cold will not disturb.

The wind became weaker. You were sure that by the time you woke up, there would be no wind at all, or it would be very weak. The spirits of the Mountains are merciful to those who need their mercy.

But you couldn't rest.

The smell (pleasant, tart, a stranger) suddenly came up to you. Following the smell, you heard the soft rasp of snow. Something was creeping up on you.

They. They found you.

You didn't understand when you abruptly got to your feet, one paw gripping the trunk of a tree to keep from falling, and when your body became so weak that the sudden rise made you dizzy. It wasn't important.

Your entire body was focused on the outsider, who, meanwhile, was in no hurry to come out of hiding. It was sitting in a thicket of thin branches, and at first you thought you were imagining it.

Before something jerked their ear and you froze in horror. Your throat is parched from the cold; even if you could speak, what would you do? Purred?

Your fingers ached, and you knew that with claws as broken as yours, you would rather catch on to this creature than scratch it. Run away? But where? What if it gets you faster?

Meanwhile, the creature twitched its ear again and... crawled out. It looked a little like a gopher: round, small ears; intelligent, curious eyes. Only the color of this creature was dark, which made it perfectly hide in the bushes and near the trees, but it looked like a bright spot against the background of snow.

When it came out of hiding, looking timidly at you, you didn't move.

It (he? she? the creature looked androgynous, and you didn't understand what gender it was) looked defenseless and tiny, like a weak herbivore that was attracted by an unfamiliar smell. So it wasn't a threat.

Herbivores do not attack without provocation.

But it began to come closer, coming too aggressively fast in front of the bushes.

"Shhh...", the creature stretched out its arms, "it's fine…"

And you staggered back in horror and fell to the snow. The creature paused, letting you catch your breath a few times before starting to get closer. Tears began to gather in his eyes again, making the creature blurry.

But you didn't even try to wipe away the tears.

"Don't cry... It's okay… Don't be afraid of me…"

The creature stretched out its arms. Checkered clothes, hair in a short ponytail, short stature. If you run now, it might catch up. Better to bite. Poor view to aim at the neck.

Even if the review was good, you wouldn't jump at it. Just running.

But it seems to have understood your intentions.

"Wait! I really---"

You immediately rushed back, but fell due to weakness in your hands.

The tears began to gather in her eyes even faster. Your chest ached even more, and you couldn't stand it anymore, sobbing, shaking, trying to crawl as far away as possible. Your body ached for pain and resentment, for your weakness, but your mind screamed that it would devour you, strangers bring only trouble.

The creature stopped. Then it reached into the bag (which, it turns out, was behind its back), and took out something.

Meat.

"You must be hungry," it said softly. "I just want to feed you. Will you let me?"

You couldn't take your eyes off the meat. Not yet frozen, large… you were sure you could smell it. Your body began to whine about hunger, your mind was silent.

"Here, food… I'll just come over to give, okay? I'll leave right away"

The creature crouched, became even smaller and more defenseless, and slowly began to come closer. When it was at the minimum safe distance, it carefully threw a piece of meat closer to you. And then it went away, as promised; timidly (I think, even with regret) looked at you and... went behind the bushes.

And you were left alone. The meat was softer than you thought, but a little bitter. Maybe it was a little rude to chase the creature away like that. On the other hand, what if it was afraid of your reaction and therefore ran away? You just wanted to protect yourself.

With such thoughts, having been sated and warmed, you fell asleep. And even the wounds seemed to hurt less.

◇◇◇

You didn't know what you were dreaming about. The dreams were vague and frightening, and you couldn't get out of them. The images became more eerie and bloody, the sounds grew louder and higher, and you felt trapped.

The only thing that calmed you down was the gentle melody you heard when things got particularly creepy. It was as if there was no escape. Like everything was fine.

The spirits of the Mountains are merciful to those who endure all trials with fortitude, and send their helpers. Sometimes, in your dreams, that creature appeared — with a gentle smile, which said that everything was fine.

And you believed it.

And then they fell back into oblivion.

◇◇◇

You woke up in a warm place.

Earthy air and little light... it was a hole. And you would have rushed up to find the owner and find out what you were doing here, but your body was too weak and your mind was too exhausted. You took a deep breath and looked up. Definitely a hole.

"Good morning", you heard a gentle whisper nearby. "Are you feeling better?"

And after a couple of seconds, next to you sat... a creature.

There was silence. He (up close you could see that it was a rather cute boy) looked you over tenaciously before he began his monologue again:

"You had serious injuries, so I brought you to my house", he raised his head, looking around as if for the first time, "do you like it? Not as cozy as my family's burrow, but after I became an adult, I tried to recreate the same atmosphere at home..."

The boy turned to you with a sunny smile.

"My name is Tanjirou. I am one of the raccoon dogs, Kie's son. You probably haven't heard of me… But I'm still happy to see new residents in the forest! It is sometimes quite lonely here, especially during heavy snows. It's a great stroke of luck that I managed to find you! You're so inconspicuous in the snow!"

Tanjirou paused, looking at you. You only nodded weakly, supporting the monologue.

"You're not from around here, are you? From somewhere in the mountains? I... ", the boy suddenly fell silent.

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter where you're from, I'm glad to see you anyway! You can stay with me as long as you want, but I won't let you leave until your body is healed! It's important to take care of yourself, you know? And take care of each other too! We're all friends!"

He looked at you kindly again.

"You're lucky you were able to come down. When I saw you, your wounds were monstrous… You're very strong… Is that what I was talking about? Oh, yes! In the forest…"

And under his quiet, lulling voice, talking about all sorts of nonsense, you involuntarily fell asleep. Only at the edge of consciousness did you feel a light, soft kiss on the forehead, and a quiet "sweet dreams" before falling asleep.

◇◇◇

Tanjirou kept his promise and nursed you for a long time until you looked like a healthy snow leopard.

He constantly brought you food and water; changed your bandages and smeared your wounds with medicinal herbs; helped you warm up your muscles when you were finally able to get out of bed on your own. He massaged your shoulders and didn't ask what happened. During bouts of fever, he brought down the temperature, sometimes sat with you at night and gently held your hand, even if you convinced him that you could handle it yourself!

Tanjirou just shook his head, refusing, and did not move away.

◇◇◇

"The season of flowers is here", Tanjirou once told you, as you were doing muscle exercises, preparing to get completely out of his care. "The snows are gone. You?.."

You gave him a curious look.

Tanjirou hesitated uncomfortably and looked away.

"Recently… I mean, you don't look like that anymore...", Tanjirou took a deep breath, and continued quietly: "I mean… Are you planning on leaving?"

You didn't even have to turn your heads to know which face he asked it with.

Sometimes Tanjirou looked like a real puppy.

[storiesforallfandoms]

what are we going to do? ~ 10k;z nation

word count: 2250

request?: no

description: it’s hard to take precautions during a zombie apocalypse, and when these lack of precautions catches up with a young couple, they have to decide what the best option is going to be

pairing: 10k x female!reader

warnings: swearing

masterlist

“Can we find some fucking transportation now?” Murphy groaned as he trailed behind the group. “My legs are killing me.”

“Oh, the poor baby,” Doc teased. “If you haven’t noticed, we haven’t seen any vehicles for miles! Do you expect one to magically show up?”

“I hate to agree with Murphy, but I need to stop, too,” (Y/N) sighed. “This heat is starting to get to me.”

10k wrapped an arm around his girlfriend, pulling her tightly to him as she began to sway. “Let’s find some shade.”

The group threw their things to the ground as (Y/N) and Murphy slumped under the shade of a nearby tree. Warren unhooked the water bottle she was carrying from her bag and passed it around the group. There was very little left, so everyone had to take a small mouthful.

When the bottle came to (Y/N), she meant to take just a small mouthful, but the moment the cold liquid touched her lips she couldn’t help but finish the rest of the bottle. Everyone yelled in protest, but she didn’t stop until the bottle was ripped out of her hands by Murphy.

��Hey kid! That’s supposed to be for sharing!” he snapped. “We don’t know when we’ll find more water.”

(Y/N) meant to apologize, to say she didn’t know what had come over her. Since the beginning, (Y/N) had been the one to insist that they ration out their food. At times, she ate and drank less than the others in order to save the food they had. She wasn’t one to be greedy with their rations.

But the moment she opened her mouth to apologize, she felt her stomach lurch. She quickly stood and moved so she was a fair ways away from the group before she doubled over and began to throw up. She heard her friends make noises in disgust before feeling 10k’s gentle hands on her, pulling her hair from her face with one as the other soothingly rubbed her back.

“What’s wrong with her?” Murphy asked. “She’s not sick, is she? We can’t afford for any of us to get sick, I can’t give all of you my blood.”

“Shut up, Murphy!” Addy hissed. “It’s probably sun stroke, we’ve been walking for so long and it’s been so hot. We haven’t had rain in days.”

10k guided (Y/N) to sit down and continued to gently rub her back. She looked up at him and gave him a half smile, trying to push down the nauseated feeling that was growing in her stomach again.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice soft.

“Yeah, just a weird feeling in my stomach,” she responded. “That’s why I drank all that water, my stomach has been off for a while. Probably sun stroke, like Addy said.”

The sound of footsteps caused 10k to look over his shoulder suddenly. Warren put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s just me, kid. Mind if I look at your girl?”

10k nodded. If there were anyone he trusted in these crazy times, it was Warren.

He stood and allowed Warren to kneel next to (Y/N). Warren looked into her tired eyes and inspected her face. She leaned forward close enough that a whisper would only be heard by (Y/N).

“When was the last time you had your period?”

(Y/N) felt her heart race. It had been months since her last period, at least two months for sure. She had shrugged it off as nothing, it was hard to tell what was normal and what was abnormal anymore. She hadn’t thought anything of it until she started feeling nauseated, something she managed to hold back until the night times. It was why she was so tired, she had been so sick that she hadn’t been sleeping.

(Y/N) glanced up at 10k, who had a look of concern written across his face. How did she break this news to him? How did she break it to any of them?

The look on her face was enough of an answer for Warren. “How long have you known?”

“I haven’t,” she responded. “I didn’t think anything of it...I just thought...I thought...”

Warren sat back, holding (Y/N)’s hand in her own. “Does your boy here know?”

10k looked between them, confused. He began to think the worst, that maybe (Y/N) had been bitten and no one knew, or that she was suddenly sick and wouldn’t be able to beat the sickness.

Tears were welling up in her eyes as she looked up at 10k. He felt his concern grow then. (Y/N) looked at Warren to ask, “Can you guys give us a moment alone?”

Warren smiled at her and nodded before standing. 10k quickly took her place next to (Y/N) as Warren called the others to leave. (Y/N) couldn’t look at him, instead she kept looking down at the ground in front of her.

“What’s going on, (Y/N)?” 10k asked. “Are you okay?”

Tears stung (Y/N)’s eyes as she looked at the ground. She shook her head, trying to will the words from her mouth. “Tommy, I’m...I’m pregnant.”

The news caught him off guard. He faltered a little, sitting back on his legs as he looked off into the distance as well.

On any normal occasion, this news would’ve excited 10k. His whole life he had wanted to be a father, to be as good as his own father. But that was before; before the apocalypse, before the constant threat of Zs, before it was dangerous to carry around a screaming, crying baby.

“Are you sure?” he asked her.

(Y/N) winced at 10k’s tone of voice. Although she had been expecting that reaction, part of her had hoped that maybe he wouldn’t sound as worried. She hoped that maybe, for once since the apocalypse happened, that they could enjoy a happy moment that any normal couple would celebrate.

“If it’s not pregnancy, then there’s something else we should be concerned about because I haven’t had my period in a while and now I’m getting sick.”

10k ran his hands through his hair. “What are we gonna do?”

He hadn’t meant to ask the question out loud, and he felt after seeing (Y/N) flinch at the question.

“What can we do?” she asked. “I have to have the baby, there’s no safe way to...to get rid of it without the risks.”

“But...do we keep it?”

(Y/N) couldn’t suppress her second flinch. She knew it was the right question to ask, raising a baby in these crazy times wasn’t easy. They had witnessed that first hand when Murphy tried to have his baby girl.

But would she be able to give the baby up? Would she be able to leave a seconds old, defenseless baby on its own, waiting to be killed by a hoard of Zs before it could even live? Would she be able to give her baby to someone she didn’t know and continue her life knowing that her child may or may not be out there, that they may or may not be alive or dead or a Z?

(Y/N) covered her face with her hands and began to cry. 10k wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

“I’ve always wanted to have kids,” she said, trying to keep her voice even. “I was hoping that, once we get Murphy to California and we find the cure, that maybe that would be a possibility. But...the longer it takes for us to find where we’re going, and the longer it takes to find anyone who really knows what to do...it feels like the cure will never come. And now this...”

10k soothingly shushed her and ran his fingers through her hair. “It’s alright. We’ll figure out what to do.”

~~~~~~

They decided not to tell the rest of the group, not until they made a decision regarding the baby. Whatever the decision, (Y/N) knew she’d have to divert from the group when it came time to give birth. She couldn’t risk them like that, no matter what they told her.

That night, the group set up camp in an area tucked away by trees. Warren littered the surrounding ground with anything that would make noise and alert them of someone, or some Zs, arriving.

Like most nights, (Y/N) was awake, except this time she was awake with the worry of her future decisions. Although it seemed as though the decision should be an easy one to make, she was still conflicted. The decision was easy, but was it the right one?

Afraid of waking 10k, (Y/N) sneaked out of her tent and went to sit in a nearby tree. Growing up near the woods, she always found that sitting in trees calmed her down. Being one with nature and all that cliche stuff.

She started when she heard the sound of leaves rustling below her. She slowly moved to pull her knife from her shoe, ready to attack whoever or whatever was approaching, but stopped when she saw the familiar lanky figure of her boyfriend pulling himself up onto the branch below her.

“Why aren’t you asleep?” she asked him.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he said as he struggled to pull himself onto the her branch. (Y/N) giggled and helped him up, taking hold of him to steady his balance. “You sitting in a tree is how we first met.”

(Y/N) covered her face and slightly groaned. “You have to let that go. You were a stranger and I was all alone, I had to be careful.”

“I don’t hold anything against you for attacking me, I just think it’s a funny story,” 10k responded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “She dropped from a tree brandishing an knife, threatened to cut me open unless I told her what I wanted. That’s how I knew I loved her.”

(Y/N) smiled and leaned forward to kiss 10k. His kisses were always gentle, as if he were worried about hurting (Y/N). Of course, there was no need for that worry. (Y/N) was probably one of the toughest in the whole group. She had been fending for herself for years after the apocalypse started, you had to be tough in those sorts of situations.

“It would be a story for our children if we - ” she started as she pulled away. Her words cut off abruptly as she realized what she was saying. “I mean...fuck, forget that. That was...old habit.”

10k took (Y/N)’s hands in his, running his thumbs over her knuckles. “Tell me the truth, (Y/N), do you want to keep this baby? Even with the threats, do you want to have a family with me?”

Tears started pricking (Y/N)’s eyes again as he asked the question. She looked away from him, not wanting him to see her cry again.

Stupid pregnancy hormones. They’re gonna make you soft.

“Yes,” she responded. “Yes, I want to have this baby, and yes, I want to have a family with you. I’ve always wanted to have a family, a small one if nothing else, and I even dreamed that, if we could find the cure to Zs, that I would be able to have that. I know that it’s reckless, and I know this puts us in danger, but fuck, Tommy, I wanna raise this baby with you.”

Tears were starting to form in 10k’s eyes as well, but he quickly blinked them away as he cupped (Y/N)’s face. “I wanna have this baby, too.”

The words shocked (Y/N). She looked up at her boyfriend in disbelief. “You...you do?”

He nodded. “I also know it’s dangerous, and I know we’ll have a lot of talking to do with the group, but I don’t think I can give this baby up. Our perfect little thing that we made...I’d never be able to live with myself if I didn’t at least try.”

(Y/N) threw her arms around 10k’s neck, almost pushing the both of them out of the tree. They laughed together as 10k hugged her back, holding her tightly to him. He didn’t want to let her go. The safest place for her to be for the next nine months was in his arms.

“I want a baby girl,” he admitted. “A little daddy’s girl that I can be overprotective of. I’ll even teach her how to shoot my gun when she’s old enough.”

“Hopefully she won’t have to do that when she’s old enough,” (Y/N) responded. “But...but I think it will be a girl. My mom always said that she had strange dreams about a little girl when she was pregnant with me, and a few nights back I had this dream that a little girl saved us from the apocalypse, but I couldn’t understand what it meant.”

10k chuckled as he put his hand on (Y/N)’s stomach. “That’s a lot of pressure mama’s trying to put on you already. Don’t worry, we’ll save the world before you come out.”

(Y/N) placed one hand over 10k’s and leaned in to kiss him. “I love you so much.”

He smiled brightly as he kissed her back. “I love you more, (Y/N).”

[fanfoolishness]

the wheeling stars, amidst the dark (The Mandalorian)

(Peli Motto’s glad to see one of her favorite customers, until she realizes he’s come alone.  Peli + Din friendship, set after The Rescue.  A study on grief, friendship, sorrow and hope.  5368 words.)

***

Winter on Tatooine was Peli’s favorite season, a time when the fierce desert heat gave up a little of its cruelty.  There was less sweating through her jumpsuit; not no sweating, of course, just less.  Water prices were better, and smugglers preferred to visit more often when the suns weren’t baking the sands below.  More people, more ships in need of repair, more work.  It was a good time of year.

She was at a lull today, though.  Nothing to worry about.  Happened now and then.  She passed the time setting the droids on maintenance duties in between games of sabacc, checking up on inventory, and drinking through a pot of caf.  It was actually cool enough this afternoon she could take her caf hot instead of chilled, and not feel like she was boiling alive.  She took a sip.  If nothing else, she was damn good at enjoying the little things.

She heard engines overhead and glanced up to see what was heading her way.  An Intel X4 gunship, by the sound of it.  It soared into view, and she narrowed her eyes in curiosity.  Didn’t see those around often, but she could fix it.  As long as the pilot was good for it, of course.

Her droids rolled up, ready to help, and she strolled out of her office with her cup of hot caf in hand.  She blew on it idly as the ship set down on its landing gear, which had seen better days.  She could already spot six areas that needed repair, always a bad sign.  

The more she looked, the more she saw.   The ship itself bore marked signs of carbon scoring and was missing several panels and outer arrays. One of the gun turrets had been taken out entirely.  Poor flying, it looked like, but it made for good credits.  She could get a solid day or two of work out of it, easy. 

She waited, growing increasingly annoyed at the amount of time it was taking for the pilot to hurry up and step outside.  Her caf was growing cold in her hands in the chilly winter breeze, and she frowned.  “Coming out or what?” she hollered, perfectly aware that the pilot wouldn’t be able to hear her unless they opened the ship up.  Still, though, it made her feel like she was doing something.  One of her droids burbled to her curiously, and she shrugged.

After what seemed an eternity, the ramp dropped to the sand.  She watched the darkness within the ship curiously, peering up into its belly as the pilot descended the ramp.  Those boots -- it couldn’t be --  A grin stretched across her face.

“Mando!” she crowed.  “Moving up in the world!  Finally put that hunk of junk of yours to rest, did you?”

The Mandalorian stepped out of the cargo bay, each footstep on the ramp measured and slow.  He walked down to her level.  “The Crest had a good run,” he said, as humorless as ever.

“Well, what happened to her?  You didn’t blow up running sublight, anyway, or you’d be space dust,” Peli laughed, taking a sip of her caf.  Ah, hell.  She’d forgotten it had gone cold.  She slugged down the rest, her mouth twitching at the bitterness.  She leaned sideways, looking around the back of him for the strap of the bag he wore to carry the kid.  But he wasn’t wearing it.

“An Imperial light cruiser happened,” he said.  “The X4’s serviceable enough.  But it’s going to need some work.”

“A light cruiser?” Peli asked in disbelief.  “That would have blown your rusty tin can to bits.”

He shifted slightly, rested his hands on his hips.  “It did.”

“Hang on, hang on.”  She handed her cup to one of the droids, who trotted off with it for cleaning.  She stared at the Mandalorian, spreading her hands out wide.  “Let’s get one thing straight.  Where’s my little guy?”

Mando stared at her, or maybe he didn’t.  The helmet was impossible to read.  But his shoulders rose and fell.  Rose, and fell.

She knew what an Imperial light cruiser could do.   Knew it could take down a whole town from above, let alone a little ship.  Let alone a little ship holding a defenseless child --

“Mando, come on,” she wheedled, trying to keep her tone light despite a growing sense of dread.  “You’re scaring me here.  Where is he?” 

“He’s safe now,” said Mando at last, and even through the helmet his voice sounded wrong.  Peli felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cool winter breeze.

“What do you mean?” she said sharply.  “I don’t like how that sounds, I don’t like it at all.  Sounds kinda final to me.”

“He’s with his own kind now,” said Mando, and his shoulders sank.  He looked at his hands, flexed them as if he didn’t recognize them.  “I found him a --”  His voice hitched.  He tried again.  “I found him a -- a Jedi --”  

She heard it, then, the strain.  That rough wetness to the voice.  The Mandalorian was crying.

Tears sprang to her eyes.  “Ohhhh, shit shit shit, Mando.”  She hurried over to him, grabbed the great silver lump by his shoulders, and steered him into her office.  He went without protest, his vocoder still relaying breathing that was too ragged and irregular to be normal.  Well, if this wasn’t a womp rat in the water tank.  

She fought back her own disappointment, her face twisting as she shoved him into one of the chairs.  She took the other, resting her face in her hand, and gaped at him.

“When did this happen?”

His helmet stared past her at the wall.  He took a deep breath, and the weepy sounds were gone.  “A few weeks ago,” he said, and his voice was all flatness, all emptiness.  

She shook her head.  “I mean, I know you said you were gonna -- but I thought that was just talk.”

“Why would it just be talk?” he asked, straightening up in his chair, stiff as anything.  “I was quested --”

“For suns’ sake, I thought you were just being religious or something!  A figure of speech!” said Peli.  “I never thought you’d really send him away.  You were crazy about him!”

The helmet tilted toward her in a faint nod.  “Yeah.”

Peli rubbed her face, trying to square what he was telling her now with the way he carried that little kid halfway across the Dune Sea, strapped to his hip, precious as anything.  She let out a long breath through her nose, thinking.

“So wait.  The kid was a Jedi?”

“He had… powers.  He needed training I couldn’t give him.”  This part came out all rote, like he’d said it a hundred times.

“But he had to leave you for that?  Like, you still get to see him now and then, right?  He’s not gone forever -- oh no, I’m sorry, oh, hell.”  He wasn’t crying this time, or if he was, it was harder to tell -- but he’d twisted his helmet hard to the side as if she’d punched him straight through his fancy armor, and he’d tensed in a way that had nothing to do with being battle-ready.  She froze, waiting for him to respond.

“I don’t think I’ll ever see him again,” he mumbled, bowing his head over his chest.  His hands unfurled in his lap, palms facing upward like they’d never hold a weapon again.

Damn it.  Peli scrubbed her burning eyes, hard, with the sleeve of her jacket.  They sat in silence for several minutes, Peli for once at a loss for words.  

There was a small noise by the door.  She glanced at it out of habit, startling when she realized it was one of the boys with her evening meal. She’d forgotten she’d set the droids on dinner duty tonight, not wanting to bother with it herself.  She blinked away the stinging in her eyes and turned to the Mandalorian, slumped in the chair.

“Hey.  You.”

He lifted the helmet slightly, enough so she could tell he heard her.

“When’s the last time you ate anything?”

He tilted his head upward to look at her, pausing as if in thought.  “Yesterday?  …day before yesterday.”

“Well, damn it, here you go.” She grabbed the tray from her droid and shoved the platter of food into the Mandalorian’s lap.  He looked down at bantha cheese, sorghum bread and dewback jerky with apparent bemusement.

“I — shouldn’t—“

Oh, right.  He was one of those that never showed his face, she remembered.  She firmly turned her chair around and closed her eyes, shooing her droid away with one hand.  She heard the droid go and reached, eyes still closed, to shut her office door. 

“I ain’t looking,” she declared.  “But you need to eat, and if you wanna talk while doing it, that’s fine too.  I got more things to worry about than what one Mandalorian looks like under his helmet, you know.”

A few beats passed.  She wasn’t sure what he would say, but the fact he hadn’t outright insisted she take her dewback jerky and screw off was probably a good sign.

“You swear it?” he asked cautiously.

“I do.  Cross my heart and hope to fall in a sarlacc pit.  But honest, if it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll go out to the yard, or you can get back on your ship —“

There was a hissing sound and a faint snick.  “No.  It’s all right.”  The words were followed by the sounds of eating and swallowing.  Something in her relaxed slightly, hearing it.

Peli leaned back in her chair, resolutely keeping her eyes closed.  Customers had a million weird requests and this was an easy one, especially since a well-fed customer always paid better.  

Besides, Mando wasn’t just a typical customer anymore.  Somewhere in there between repeat business and the shared affection they had for the child, he’d become a… a friend.  And Peli knew how to deal with those.

She settled her head in against the chair’s back and crossed her arms.  “So,” she said baldly, “I take it you’re not exactly doing great.”

He snorted.  Huh, he could laugh.  “That’s presumptuous,” he said, and without the ominous filter of the helmet, his voice was just a man’s voice, a little low, a little rough.  There was a pause.  “No.  I guess not.”

“It’s not something people just get over, losing a kid.”  She waved a hand up over the back of her chair in what she assumed was still his general direction.  “And I know, maybe you’ll say he wasn’t really your kid —“

“No,” he said suddenly, the word fierce.  “He was.”  He sounded raw, vulnerable.  Human.

Peli nodded, her heart aching.  She liked that he was admitting it.  He’d always been cagey about that before, when Peli would tease him about his strange-looking kid and he’d mulishly push back, spouting off crap about the kid being a foundling, yadda yadda.  But it had been obvious to her on their visits it was more than that.  The kid wasn’t a foundling, he was his foundling.

“So then, he’s your kid,” she continued.  She waved one hand where he could see it, underscoring her words.  “And losing him… it hurts, right?  Some horrible dark hole you can’t climb out of.  Can’t see the suns from.  It sticks with you, through everything you do.”  She sighed.  “It does get… softer, eventually.  The dark sticks to the corners again.  But it’s still awful.  If you weren’t a mess about it I wouldn’t like you so much.”

She could hear him breathing hard behind her.  She waited.  “You’ve been through it yourself,” he said, realizing.

“Something like that.  Not exactly the same.”  She shrugged, broadly enough that she thought he could probably see it even with the chair back in the way.  With her eyes closed it was easy to see their faces as they had been.  Her younger sister Prida, gleefully loudmouthed and brassy; her beautiful nephew Nedhi with his chubby cheeks and bright eyes. “But let’s just say you don’t get to be my age on a world like this without losing people.”

“No.  I guess not.  I’m sorry.”  

“It’s okay,” said Peli, though it never would be, not really.  But she’d done her work on the dark, hard kriffing work, and she didn’t want him feeling like he had to suddenly stop being a mess and focus on helping her.  This wasn’t about that.  “It was a long time ago.  You don’t move on, really, but you move forward.”

She heard a faint click.  “You can turn around now,” he said.  “Thank you for your kindness.”

“That’s me, Peli Motto, kindness expert,” she said loftily.

A faint sound that might have been something like a laugh shifted into a serious tone.  “I haven’t shared a meal with anyone in -- not since Grogu.”  The last word came out nearly as quiet as a whisper, but she caught it anyway.  It sounded like a name.

She turned back around, opening her eyes and squinting at the sudden brightness.  Mando’s helmet, back in place, gleamed in the fading sunlight streaming through the window.  “What’s a Grogu?” she asked curiously.

“It’s the kid’s real name.  I only found out recently.”  He rested a hand on his belt, fingers tightening over one of the pouches.  “You should have seen the way he smiled, hearing it again --”  His voice had gone warm again, taking that tone he always used when talking to the kid.  

Peli grinned at him, picturing the kid’s strange face all sunny, his long ears tipping upward.  Grogu.  It fit him in a strange way, a weird homely name for a weird homely baby: just like how the bright little baby seemed to fit so well with the grim Mandalorian.  This was good.  This was progress.

But Mando caught himself, the warmth shutting off abruptly.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t talk about this.  You have other things to do, and you’ve already done more than you needed.  And I should —“

“You should what?” Peli asked.  “Go back and mope alone on your new ship?  Something tells me you’ve already done more than enough of that, Mr. I Haven’t Eaten in Two Days.”

“You have no right --” he began, half-rising out of his chair as if to leave.

“No right to what?” she snapped, annoyed now.  “Point out when you’re gonna get yourself killed?  Don’t think I haven’t seen the state of that ship.  I know you’re a better pilot than that, you had to be to survive in the junk you were flying before.  If you’d taken any halfway decent evasive maneuvers it’d be in much better shape.  You’re flying sloppy,” she accused, and he sank back into the chair.

“And if I am?” he said, and the hollowness rolled off of him in waves.

Peli got to her feet, pacing around with one hand anchored to her hip, the other flying around to make her point.  Tough guys!  There was no end to their obnoxiousness.  “Look.  This is grief, Mando, and that’s the kind of shit that hunts you down and takes you out if you don’t face it.  You’re not special.  It’ll get you.  But I think you’re good people, and I like having you as a customer, and I’m selfish.  I’d like to keep you around instead of hearing you got yourself blown up.”

He lowered his head, listening.  

“So here’s Peli’s take on the situation.  I think you wanna talk about him, and about what you’re going through.”  She raised her brows.  “And I think you should.  I really think you should.”

He was silent for a few moments.  She paced.

“And you’re the one to talk to, huh?” he asked.

“Unless you’re hiding somebody else on that ship.”

He chuckled, a dry, raspy sound.  “Only in carbonite.  But they’re not very good listeners.”

“Well, look who’s a funny guy!” Peli cackled.  “Come on.  I’ll get the droids started on repairing your ship.  Let’s go up to the roof and take some time.  Night’s nice, this time of year.”

“Fine,” he said, in utter resignation.

***

They sat on empty shipping containers on the rooftop where the breeze was best, watching the moons rise as the last flare of the setting suns washed across the horizon.  The first star of the evening shone silvery white against the dusk.

Mando sat, shoulders straight and head high, on his crate; Peli slouched comfortably on hers.  A thermos of hot chocolate sat beside her, a treat she liked to save for particularly profitable days.  And for rough ones, too.  It was still a little too hot to drink, and she waited, trying to be patient despite it not being one of her strong suits.

“Well, Mando?” she asked.

“What do you want me to say?” he replied. 

“I dunno.  Tell me something about the kid.  Something that made you happy about him.  Or sad.  Come on, they’re your emotions,” said Peli.  “Ahh, I suppose I should go easy on you.  You don’t strike me as the conversational type.”

Another one of those dry chuckles.  “I’m not.  But I talked to him a lot.”

“Sure.  It’s good for kids.  Gotta mold those growing brains and all.  What’d you talk to him about?  Bounty hunting?”

“Not exactly,” said the Mandalorian.  He angled his head to one side, considering.  “I would always give him some idea of what we were doing, where we were going, who we were going to see.  He seemed to like hearing about it, like it was a story.”

“Did you ever tell him any bedtime stories?” asked Peli.  “He liked those, you know.”

He turned to her, folding his arms across his chest.  “What do you mean?”

“How d’you think I got him to sleep, that first time you two showed up?  You were off in the Dune Sea with that idiot hunter kid, and I had to figure out how to get the little guy to get some sleep, otherwise he would have eaten me out of house and home,” laughed Peli.  “So I told him all the stories I used to tell my nephew Nedhi.  The lost little bantha, the happy Jawa, the baby krayt dragon all alone in the desert.  You know.  The classics.”

“I’m sure he enjoyed them,” said Mando.  “I didn’t really know any stories.”  He shifted awkwardly on his crate.  “I tried to make up a few, but it’s not exactly my forte.”

“Well, he did like the stories, but I think he liked them too well.  Kept trying to act out the dance of the happy Jawa instead of going to sleep.  Nah, he didn’t get tired until I tried singing a lullaby to him.  You do not want to hear me sing, but I guess it worked.  Kids have weird taste,” said Peli, shaking her head.  She checked the display on her thermos and saw the temperature had settled at the perfect warmth for drinking.  “Hey, you want some hot chocolate?  Mixed it special.  I might have added a few nips of Rylothian firewhiskey; really gives it a kick.”

“Maybe later,” said Mando gruffly.  

“Your loss,” said Peli, pouring out a little cup for herself.  She blew on the surface, then took a sip, feeling warmth suffuse her from the top of her head to her toes.  She whistled.  “It’s a good batch.  Lemme know if you change your mind.”

The last daylight vanished, leaving a sky painted in inky blues and purples.  The nascent moons crept shyly above the horizon as the starfield began to populate in earnest, points of flickering gold and white amid the darkness.  

“What was his favorite food?” Peli asked. 

The Mandalorian guffawed, throwing his head back.   “He ate everything.  You know he almost got us all killed on that transport trip with your Frog friend?”

“What?” Peli squawked.  “I heard back from her later.  Sent me a holo of her cute little tadpoles and told me you’d kept your word like a true Mandalorian.  She didn’t mention a word about death-defying experiences.”

“We crashed on a glacial world trying to shake a New Republic patrol,” said Mando.  “I was busy repairing the ship when she wandered off and found a hot spring.  She was trying to keep her eggs warm and I was trying to keep them safe from --  well, Grogu found these spider eggs and started eating them.  Turns out ice spiders come in a lot of different sizes.”  He groaned.  “The biggest one was the size of the Crest.  If I never see another ice spider, it’ll be too soon.”

“Oh, no,” Peli lamented.  “Well, tell me you weren’t too hard on him.  He couldn’t have known what he was doing.  He was just hungry!”

“Don’t worry.  He didn’t get in trouble.  It wasn’t his fault,” said Mando.  He lay back on the crate, lacing his fingers together over his waist and letting his legs hang free.  “I should have kept a better watch on him.”  He turned his helmet to look at her.  “You were right.”

“About what?” asked Peli, taking another sip of chocolate.  It burned sweetly on the way down, and she closed her eyes, savoring it.  The warmth was a delicious contrast to the cool night wind.  “Besides everything.”

“The first time we met.  You told me I had a lot to learn about caring for a young one.”

She cast her mind back to her first meeting, remembering how Grogu had sleepily walked out of the ship, looking around in disappointed confusion for his beskar-clad caretaker.  She’d seen a lot of shoddy childcare in Mos Eisley, but leaving a toddler alone on a gunship definitely ranked up there with questionable parenting practices.  It was a move made either by someone foolish or desperate, and she knew which one Mando wasn’t.

“Yeah, well, you probably didn’t have a lot of options,” said Peli gently.  “Raising a kid, it’s hard work.  I tried to help my sister Prida as much as I could.  My nephew was always getting into things and making a nuisance of himself, so I watched him a lot when she had to work.  He was always messing around with my tools and getting underfoot; used to tell my sister I’d rather adopt a Kowakian monkey-lizard than have to deal with his shenanigans.”  She smiled fondly.  

“Did your nephew grow out of it?” asked Mando.  “I kept hoping Grogu would start listening to me for once, but he was stubborn.”  

Peli shook her head, swallowing.  She looked away from him, staring off into the darkened desert, shivering slightly in the wind.  “Never got to find out.  The Hutts charged a lot for protection.  I didn’t even know Prida was in debt until…”  She sighed.  “I came home with dinner and found them both.  There had been a struggle, but not a very long one.”

“I’m sorry,” said Mando, sitting back up.  His shoulders shifted, the angle between them softening.  

“It’s never the same for anybody,” said Peli.  “Grief, I mean.  I don’t know exactly what you’re going through.  But I think the shape of it’s kind of the same, even if the name is different.  Son.  Nephew.  Sister.  It’s all hard.”  She finished her chocolate and reached for the thermos.  More firewhiskey sounded good, right about now.  “Sure you don’t want some, Mando?”

He hesitated, then reached out an orange-gloved hand.  

“That’s the spirit,” said Peli.  She filled her own cup, then filled the second one for him and passed it over.  She held hers up and clinked it against his.  “Cheers.”

“Cheers,” he said cautiously.  She turned away, keeping her gaze on the distant mountains, just the merest black line on the darkened horizon.  The stars spangled the heavens, little jewels in gold and white.  Behind her, the Mandalorian was apparently investigating his drink.  She heard the click and hiss of his helmet raising and lowering as he drank, then a hacking sputter.

“You all right there?” she asked, resisting the urge to look at him in case she saw under the helmet.  

He gulped audibly.  “It’s been a while since I had firewhiskey,” he said, his voice unmechanized.  She heard him swallow again, this time without the sputter.  “This is good, though.  I haven’t had hot chocolate in years.”

“Even the packaged stuff?” Peli asked.  “Aw, come on.  You gotta treat yourself sometimes, Mando.”

“Treating myself usually means picking up a new weapon,” he said drily.  “Grogu would have liked this, though.  Without the firewhiskey.”

“Of course, of course.”

She sipped her chocolate.  In the distance, a lonely krayt dragon howled, just like in the stories.  It was a faint, pithy sound, but the empty sands carried the cry clearly, and it washed over them like the breeze.  She and Prida used to cower at the sound when they were children.  Now, it simply sounded like home.

“So how are you really?” asked Peli.  She’d never seen much point in subtlety.

“I don’t sleep well,” he said reluctantly.  

“Sounds about right.  It takes a toll,” said Peli.  “Hurt like this messes with you.  I remember I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t do anything.  It took weeks, maybe months, before I could sleep again.”

“Grogu used to wake me up most nights, talking to himself or crying or getting into things.  I… didn’t mind that,” he mused.  “But now he’s gone.  And I still can’t sleep.”

“Dreams?”

She heard the click of his helmet settling back into place.  “Yes.”

“Bad ones?”

A long, tense pause.  When he spoke again, his voice shook.  “Yes.”

She turned back to face him, taking another drink, letting the warmth of the chocolate fill her mouth and chest.  She remembered that time in a blurry, confused way, broken nights marked by imagining how that fight must have gone.  Dreams where she thought they’d died quickly, or dreams where they lasted for a while, suffering, on the floor of their cramped grimy kitchen.  She didn’t know which she hated more.

“I’m sorry,” she said.  She looked down at her hands, calloused and wrinkled, a lifetime of hard work etched into them.  But they hadn’t been enough to undo what had been done.  

“He almost died,” said Mando roughly, glancing away from her.  Moonlight and starlight pooled and rippled over his armor.  “The Imps took him.  They were taking his blood, doing tests on him.  Experiments.  If I hadn’t come for him -- if that Jedi hadn’t been so powerful...”  He sighed.  

“Shit,” whispered Peli.

HIs hands curled into fists.  “He was so pale when I found him.  They’d hurt him.  Badly.”  His legs, dangling over the edge of the crate, were trembling.  All of him was trembling.

A white-hot rage burned within her, a fury that made her slug back the rest of her chocolate and scowl.  “Are they still alive?  You need me to kill them for you?”

He laughed a little, the sound cracking partway through.  The trembling faded.  “They’re all either dead or the New Republic’s problem now.  But… thank you.”

“How could anyone hurt a hair on his head?” growled Peli.  “You’re sure he’ll be safe with this Jedi?”

“The Jedi fought like nothing I’ve ever seen,” said Mando.  “And he promised he would lay down his life for the kid.  I have to believe it’s enough.  I did what I set out to do.  It just….”  He rolled the little cup of hot chocolate around in his hand, then raised his other hand to lift the helmet.  Peli closed her eyes until she could hear the helmet drop back down.

“It must have been so hard,” said Peli.  “Letting him go like that.”

Mando set the cup down beside him and rested his hands on his thighs, the fingers flexing and uncurling.  “I let him see me.”

“Huh?  You’re hard to miss, you know --” Peli began, then realized.  “You mean your face?”

A slight nod, the helmet dipping towards her and lifting back up.  “I… broke the Creed.”  The words hung heavy in the air between them.  “I don’t regret it.  He wanted to see me.  And… I wanted to be seen.”  His voice dropped, low and hoarse.  “I promised him I would see him again.  But I don’t know that I will, and I --  I wanted him to remember my face.”

Peli gaped at him, horrified.  “So let me get this straight.  You lost your boy.  And your ship.  And your creed?  Just since the last time I saw you?”

He was quiet.

“Dank farrik, Mando!” she bellowed.  A flock of lesser nightwings roosting on the roof took flight, scattering in the moonlight at the sound.  “Look.  You can dock here as long as you need, all right?”

He shook his head.  “People are hunting me.  What else is new?”

Peli frowned.  “Fair enough.”  The guy really didn’t seem to be able to catch a break.  “Don’t want to put you at risk, in case you do get to see him again.  And I’ll be pulling for you on that, believe you me.  We’ll get you out of here, quick as we can.”

“I appreciate it.”

“You know, I figured out what it is,” said Peli.  “What got me.  You and Grogu remind me so much of Prida and Nedhi -- the two of you against the world.”  Her mouth quirked up to one side in a half-smile.  “Just don’t forget to visit old Peli if you get him back, you hear?”  

“Sure.  Maybe you can teach me some of those bedtime stories for him,” said Mando.  “For -- for the future.”

“Absolutely.”  She kicked her heels against her crate, rapping an aimless pattern as she did so.  The firewhiskey was starting to kick in a little, and she made a decision.  “Look… just so you know, repairs on your ship are on me this time.”

“No,” he said sternly.  “Full price.  Plus extra for the food and the chocolate.”

“No,” Peli insisted.  He was an obstinate one, that was for sure.  She could see where the kid got it from.  “Fine.  Half price.  You overpaid me the first time, remember?”

He let out an annoyed grunt.  “Three quarters.”

“Deal,” she said, smirking.  “You’re something else, Mandalorian.”

He seemed to be thinking hard about something, though it was difficult to tell with the helmet.  Eventually he said, “Din.”

“Eh?”

“My name is Din Djarin,” he said.  

She blinked.  “It’s a good name,” she said lamely.  Huh.  She hadn’t expected that.  But then again, maybe Mando didn’t sit on him as easily as it used to.  The thought made her sad, the feeling mingled with a sense of something like honor, what with him sharing this with her.  She suspected it was something he had done very few times before.

“All right, Din,” she said, trying it out.  It felt heavy, and strange, but right.  “Don’t worry.  I won’t spread it around.”

“Thanks.”

She glanced at her chrono, realizing how long they’d been up on the roof.  “Well, I guess I’d better check on how the droids are getting on with your ship, since you’ll need to get going.”

“I... have a little time,” Din said slowly, glancing at her.  “Got any more of that chocolate?”

She grinned at him, heartened.  “For a friend?  Yeah.  Of course I do.”  She reached for his cup and refilled them both with the last of the spiked hot chocolate. She passed him his cup and he held it up for a toast.  

Peli hesitated, then smiled softly.  “To those we carry with us.”  Her cup clinked against his, a bright and hopeful sound.

“To those we carry with us,” Din echoed, and the mingled grief and gratitude in his voice cut her to the core.  

The moons above them glowed in soft whites and yellows against the endless sky, and the stars wheeled.  Below them, Mos Eisley lived and hummed and moved on, its citizens striving, searching, seeking.  The mechanic and the man in armor sat on the roof under the stars and moons, enjoying the taste of hot chocolate and firewhiskey in the cool winter air, and for at least a little while, they did not fear the dark.

***********

(Bonus: a doodle I did of their initial meeting.)

[nohoney]

Do It For Me - 3.3

warnings: 18+, threesome, polyamory, mentions of assault, toxic relationships

title song: Do It For Me

summary: 

You trust him.

“Anything?” you turn your head and ask against his lips.

“Anything…” he echoes back to you. “And fucking everything…”

“For me?”

“All for you princess.”

3.1 ✧ 3.2 ✧ 3.3

It’s not that you want to defend Jun in the first place for strangling you, you think he definitely deserves a kick in the balls or something, but Touya is not against beating someone blind for touching you and would not be sorry for going overboard. You had one scary instance where you went out together to a social on campus, back when he was still Dabi to you. A drunk frat guy grabbed your arm too hard, too insistent that you drink with him and his buddies when Touya left to go have a smoke, leaving behind a bruise on your bicep. Touya witnessed it the moment it happened and he dragged that guy to a hallway and proceeded to beat him silly.

You can’t move fast enough as Touya moves through the house, his eyes rapidly scanning the faces of the remaining partygoers and searching for Jun, damn near out for blood. Keigo has no idea what’s going, trying to ask what was wrong and you’re calling out for him to not do anything crazy and to calm down. “Jesus, fucking wait! Dabi! Dabi, I swear to god do not do anything!” you call out him, uncaring as you capture the attention of several of the people still in the house.

Keigo tries to grab Touya’s arm to get him to slow down and get a sense of what is happening. “Dude, talk to me! What the fuck is going on?”

“(Name) got fucking strangled and I know exactly who did it.” Touya growled and shook Keigo’s arm off. Turquoise blue zeroed in on his target who was standing by the sliding door leading to the outside.

You’re pinned by Keigo’s gaze when you come up behind him, his eyes now registering how badly bruised you are around your neck. You can see how his eyes harden instantly but his hands are so gentle when he pulls you to him, carefully cradling your cheek in his hand. “Who did this (Name)? Who put their filthy hands on you?”

It looks like Keigo might be on board with the ‘beat Jun’s ass’ club.

There’s a loud slam and a screech of ‘what the fuck dude?!’

Touya has Jun pinned against the glass of the sliding door, both his wrists restrained in Touya’s large hand while the other is grasped tightly in Jun’s hair and squishing his face into the glass. He’s got one leg in between Jun’s spread out legs, taking the assertive stance and ready for any kind of struggle he may receive. You can practically feel the malice rolling off his body in waves and you’re genuinely scared to approach the situation but you don’t think you can take witnessing Touya get violent on your ex-boyfriend, even if he deserved a good punch in the face.

“You fucking touch my girl and put your goddamn hands on her! I should shatter your fucking kneecaps!” Touya growls and slams Jun against the glass. “You think that you would get away with it, huh?”

“Dabi, stop it!” you tell him and look to Keigo, pleading with him to do something to stop Touya. But Keigo has that same look as your boyfriend, wanting to inflict pain on the person who hurt you and does nothing despite you shaking his arm and begging for him to calm the situation down. People begin to gather to see what all the ruckus is, cell phones slowly coming up to record what is surely going to a chaotic clip.

Jun is such a jackass, he hasn’t changed that loudmouth of his when he’s obviously in trouble. He taunts Touya as if he’s got any power in this situation at all. “I don’t see why you’re so pissed off man. Isn’t she, like, one out of the four other bitches you see? I think you can stand to rent her out to me for a little bit. It was just a little choking, nothing I haven’t done with her already.”

Touya slams Jun against the glass again, his teeth grinding so hard you swear that you can hear it from where you stand. “Oh my fucking god, Jun! Shut the fuck up! It’s like you’re trying to get your ass handed to you!” you tell him frustratingly, remembering this unsavory part of his persona when you used to date him. “Dabi, he’s drunk. He always talk like an ass when he’s drunk so just let him go.”

“This bastard fucking strangled you and you expect me to let him get away with it because he was drunk?” he hisses at you. “You think I’m supposed to be okay seeing you walk around with all those bruises on your neck because he was drunk?”

God, this was not how you wanted your night or your roll to go.

There’s a look of realization in Jun’s eyes at Touya’s words and he cranes his head the best he can to get you in his view. You can see the way he squints his eyes towards you and registers the damage he had inflicted on you, his mind sobering up a little. It’s not an excuse that he was drunk for what he did to you, it absolutely is not, but it’s clear that he had overestimated just how hard he grabbed you and didn’t actually mean to do it that hard. Honestly it felt a little rough for you but you didn’t anticipate either that you’d get bruises. Jun deserves a consequence for strangling you but you’re not asking him to get maimed or anything like that.

You don’t want him to get hurt but Touya will inflict a punishment he sees fit though, regardless of how you feel.

The severity of the consequence should never exceed the crime… right?

“Shit… (Name), I didn’t know that I-” Jun starts speaking to you but yelps when Touya bends his head back with the hand he still has planted in his hair. “S-Shit Dabi, I’m trying to apologize! I seriously didn’t—”

“Shut the fuck up.” Touya growls and you swear the entire room just freezes. “Don’t you say her fucking name, don’t you fucking look at her, you don’t get to say shit to her. You’re speaking to me now, understand?”

“Keigo! Fucking stop him!” you beg once more and pull on his arm. You’re getting flashbacks to that frat party, especially as Touya drags Jun to the backyard, it mirrors the memory of him dragging that poor frat boy. When you move forward to stop himself yourself, Keigo holds you back and just tells you to stay with him. You wrestle in his arms but he holds you tightly, shushing you with his lips pressed against his temple and telling you that everything will be okay. Your heartbeat is rushing in your ears and you feel light headed, anxiety rising and the scene in front of you feels unreal and you feel yourself to dissociate, your mind attempting to protect you from the trauma of witnessing Touya’s temper a second time.

There’s two boys that rush from the house to pull Touya off of Jun.

“You kicked his ass plenty Dabi, you gave him what he deserved.”

But Touya doesn’t feel like it’s enough, damn near lunging at the defenseless Jun on the ground.

Jun is an idiot, especially when he’s drunk, he used to come to your old apartment in the middle of the night sometimes a little beat up from being in a bar fight. You could remember your disappoint in him, that you told him if he kept on being a jackass while he was drunk then he’d surely get himself killed one day by the wrong person. And then you would bandage and clean up his scrapes and ice his bruises, kiss his cheek and keep him company until he fell asleep.

It’s wrong to think this in the moment since you’re with Touya, but you want to run to Jun and make sure he’s okay. You want to stop his bleeding nose and ice the poor bump on his head, tell him that he’s going to be okay. You want nothing more than to nurse his wounds because you still cared; Jun was wrong, you’re still too fucking nice. Even after that break up and him putting his hands on you, you couldn’t bring yourself to seriously consider him getting hurt as a proper punishment.

Touya better not find out that you feel that way.

You feel like your brain is going into overload, the memory of that first time witnessing Touya’s anger colliding with this experience now. The ecstasy and alcohol still coursing through your system definitely do not help either. Drugs, alcohol, and anxiety don’t make a good combination; you remember that very clearly from that first house party you attended with Keigo and Touya. They mix together and you feel like you are both flashing back to that memory but are also present in this moment, that same anxiety rushing through every part of your body and unsure how to handle itself, your body does one thing in response to all the stress.

You pass out.

━━━━✧

The instant it happened, it felt like everything moved in slow motion as you watched Touya grabbed that drunk frat boy and moved through the crowd of uni students who were either drunk or on something. The music was loud but you still kept calling him, shouting the loudest you could to tell him that it was an accident. Maybe that guy really did mean to grab you that hard or he really was just too drunk to register the strength of his grip on your arm, but a bruise on your arm was not the worst thing that could have happened with a drunk guy at a college party.

That didn’t stop Touya from clearing out a hallway of the frat house to beat that poor frat boy, you had watched helplessly because pleading didn’t get him to stop. So you did the only thing you knew would get his attention: you cried. The moment Touya heard your sobbing he had stopped instantly, coming to you shush you. There was blood on his knuckles and you had dared to look just a bit past him to see the frat boy with a bloody nose and blood stained lips. The guy had come out with just a busted nose and a slight concussion and when the fraternity president caught word that it was Touya that beat one of his brother’s, he took you and Touya to the side a week after to find out the story.

“He grabbed her, left a bruise on her arm after she said that he wouldn’t leave her alone. You can’t tell me that if you were in the same situation that you wouldn’t have done something about it?” Touya asked as he had lit a cigarette between his lips.

The fraternity president had sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before speaking. “I’m not saying that I wouldn’t have done the same, but I have a duty to protect my brothers Dabi. The proper thing to do would have just been to bring him to me. Now my brother has to take two weeks off to recover, I had to lie to the goddamn dean that he got too shit faced and fought with one of the pledges. The fucking frat house is on a probation now!”

You remember as you stood close to Touya, keeping your head down and somehow feeling like this was all your fault even though it wasn’t.

“Do you think he went overboard?”

You bristled at the question, not prepared to be spoken to again and thought that the boys would just talk it out amongst themselves. You had looked between the two of them and rung your hands together out of a nervous habit when you were put on the spot. You could never condone Touya’s actions because he clearly went too far over a simple grab on your arm, but you were scared of what his reaction may be if you spoke what you felt.

“You don’t gotta say it, it’s on your face.”

It’s not like that fraternity president saying it for you made it any better.

Touya had huffed, puffing on his cigarette and blowing out the smoke. “I fucking defended her, end of story.”

“Dabi… there is such a thing as excessive force. It’s clear that my brother was too insistent and grabbed her a little too rough, but fucking shit it did not have to come to that. I’m sorry but something has to be done, my brother deserves a little bit of justice too.”

“Hm…” Touya threw down his cigarette before telling you, “Go wait in the car.”

“But Dabi—“

His glare had sent you practically scurrying back to his car, waiting in the passenger seat as you watched from where you were. The worst case scenario was that you thought they were going to fight each other but they just stood where they were and continued to talk. At least they did up until you watched Touya lean in close to the fraternity president’s ear before he had pulled back and walked back to the car and got into the driver’s seat. You didn’t dare say a thing, the tension in the car palpable as he turned on the engine and drove back to his place.

You waited patiently for that so called justice the fraternity president spoke of but nothing had ever happened, trying to ask Touya what exactly he said to dodge any consequences of what he did. But you were forced to move on and leave the incident behind because he refused to tell you anything, just that he did what he thought was right and that he did it for you.

It was one of the first instances you learned that Touya will withhold what he feels likes you don’t need to know.

And you don’t question it.

━━━━✧

When you open your eyes, you’re lying in the backseat of a car and assume that you must be in Touya’s car. You still feel hot and groan over the fact that you passed out, feeling like shit since the ecstasy was still processing through your system. Thankfully you were already on a come down so you’d just have to ride it out again, though it would be slightly more raggedy considering the circumstances of why you fainted. Your teeth ache and your mouth feels dry, smacking your lips and slowly sitting up in the backseat. “I feel like shit.”

“You look like it.”

It’s not Touya or Keigo that speaks to you.

You jump as you look to see who’s in the driver’s seat, now recognizing that this was not in fact Touya’s car but a complete stranger’s instead. Despite your sluggishness, your body tries to go into overdrive to save yourself from potential danger, reaching for the door handle to just tuck and roll out the car. But the driver anticipates your action and locks it just in time, the vehicle slowly coming to a halt at a stop sign. The driver turns back to you and hands you a bottle of water, “I don’t normally take any favors from anyone but Dabi promised that if I took you back to his apartment then he would do something for me.”

It’s Shigaraki.

You warily take the bottle from him, the cap unbroken so at least you know that it’s new and it doesn’t have anything in it like a roofie. Chugging the water, it helps calm you down a little but you’re questioning why you’re being taken home by this stranger instead of by Touya or Keigo. “Why are you taking me home? Where’s Dabi and Keigo?”

“I don’t know who Keigo is but I’m assuming that’s Dabi’s friend when I pulled up at that house. He didn’t say where he’d be, just told me to take you back to his place and watch over you until he gets back.”

Whoa… Touya hates having people at his place. The fact that he’s letting this Shigaraki guy into his apartment to watch over you, that definitely speaks volumes because Touya likes to watch over you himself first and have Keigo take care of you if he’s not around. You still don’t know what this guy’s relationship is to your boyfriend and you don’t know who he is period so you keep your guard up for now. You see your purse on the floor of the backseat and you pick it up, finding your phone inside and seeing that the time was almost four in the morning. “When did you come get me?”

“Not too long ago, maybe like ten minutes ago. Your fucking boyfriend was blowing up my phone and telling me to get my ass to that stupid house all just for me to babysit you.” the words are mean itself but there isn’t a bite to them, a hint of annoyance at most. “He mentioned that you were on ecstasy, didn’t want you to be alone on your come down.”

Your phone has no messages from Touya or Keigo and your mood drops even lower; you want to be with them. “Did they say what they were doing? Where they would be?” you ask as Shigaraki pulls into the guest parking of Touya’s complex and turns off the engine of the car. The door clicks and you’re able to open the car door, stepping out into the crisp air of the very early morning.

Shigaraki walks ahead of you, carrying a little backpack that’s slung on his shoulder and he pulls his hoodie over his head. “I didn’t ask, I don’t really care about what he does in his personal life.”

You unlock the door to Touya’s apartment with the spare keys and allow Shigaraki in first. It’s so strange to be in his apartment and not be with either Touya or Keigo for company. Shigaraki leaves his shoes by the front door and goes to sit on the armchair, a recent purchase that you and Touya bought together. You see him pull a handheld game device out of the backpack he was carrying and just fixate his gaze on the screen of it, not paying you any attention.

Closing the bedroom door and locking it, you go to the bathroom with your phone and try to ring either one of the boys; they both go straight to voicemail.

It feels better to be cleaned up and in loungewear, though your body craves the affection of your boys. They always take care of you when you go through your come down, this would be the first time you go through it without either of them. So you walk back into the living room to see Shigaraki still sitting in the armchair with his game, two glasses of water on the coffee table, obviously one for himself and the other for you.

Keigo left you his pack of gum in your purse, tossing it on the coffee table after popping a new piece into your mouth. You take the throw blanket from the little storage underneath the couch cushion and snuggle into the fabric. The fabric vaguely smells like Touya’s cologne and you know that he’s slept on this blanket without washing himself up first which would normally annoy you but you’re grateful this time, feeling like this is the closest you can be to Touya at the moment.

The tv is turned on and you just run a random sitcom series to watch, keeping the volume low enough where you think it won’t distract Shigaraki from his game. Without neither of the boys to take care of you during your come down and this stranger keeping you company instead, you feel even lonelier. All you can think of is where they are and what they’re doing, why their phones aren’t on and when they’ll return to you.

You want something to distract you.

“Who are you to Dabi?” you ask to Shigaraki as you shift your gaze to him.

He doesn’t answer right away, seemingly focused on his handheld but he answers vaguely, “Just an acquaintance.”

You shouldn’t ask, you know you shouldn’t because if Touya wanted you to know then he would tell you himself, but you ask anyway, “Why did you come here that one day? What did you need to talk to Dabi about?”

Shigaraki answers vaguely again, “Just some business between us, that’s all.”

“When you came by that day, I didn’t see him until the day after. I came back over here and he was high or something like that.” you don’t think you should be explaining all this to Shigaraki on the off chance that Touya and him aren’t involved like that but you can’t stop running your mouth. You’re still so curious about that day and this guy could be the only person to fill in the blanks of what happened that day. “Did you have anything to do with that?”

“What Dabi takes is up to him, I just made sure he got back here alive.” It’s just more vague answers and it starts to frustrate you.

You’re not certain if Shigaraki is under orders from Touya to keep his mouth shut or if he’s just naturally dodging the questions without a prompt from Touya in the first place. It seems like he doesn’t want you in his business either, not exactly looking happy that apparently he was harassed to babysit some girl that he doesn’t know. “What did Dabi promise he’d do for you? It’s not like him to reach out to other people for favors, especially when it comes to me.”

The handheld device plays soft music that suddenly shifts into a different soundtrack, hinting that whatever game is being played means that he probably went into a battle or something. “He just said he’d do something for me, we haven’t worked out the details just yet. Just pretty much wanted me to come get you in a hurry, so here I am guarding his princess while she sobers up from her roll.” You hear a victory anthem before the same soft music from before plays. “I didn’t even know Dabi had a girlfriend this entire time, didn’t think he was capable of being locked down by someone.”

You ask all these questions but no light is shed on who exactly this character is.

“Are you, like, a drug dealer too?”

The little game plays whimsical music, little chirps and tones that sound much too cute for a scary guy like Shigaraki to be playing.

“Did Dabi tell you anything?” he asks you when he looks up from the screen of his game to look at you.

You feel nervous under his gaze now and regret asking your question, you feel like the wrong answer given to this guy will bare a really bad consequence. “No. He doesn’t tell me about that kind of stuff, doesn’t want me to know. I can’t ask him myself, he’d just get mad at me. And it’s just,” you pause to take a breath and hoping that this next sentence won’t get you or Touya in trouble, “when he came back that day after we met, he came back with a case full of drugs. So I’m just taking a guess that maybe you’re his supplier?”

Shigaraki stares at you and you stare back.

He looks back down at his game and continues to play it. “I’m not into getting high or using any of that shit but Dabi likes to sample it if he’s interested. He’s got the strongest tolerance out of anyone I know. Though not to say that I haven’t had to revive him once or twice.”

Oh god… the thought of Touya overdosing and dying makes you spiral even more.

What kind of life is Touya leading? And you have to wonder what exactly his plan was in life before you came along and what his future ambitions were. Talking about the future wasn’t really something that came up, you were surprised that you’re coming up pretty close to the one year mark. You have to figure though that with how serious things seem between the two of you that it’s a discussion that has to come up sooner or later.

“No more questions, you need rest.”

You snuggle into the blanket and inhale Touya’s cologne to bring you a sense of comfort. All you want is to be sandwiched between the boys right now. They’d give you head massages, play with your ears, pass you back and forth to cuddle with, and they’d just coddle the fuck out of you. And they’d know exactly when it was okay for you to fall asleep during your come down, without them you’re just pretty much guessing.

You pull up your phone and go to your photo album, scrolling through your favorite pictures of you and the boys. Touya isn’t really one for taking pictures, he’ll be in it but he rarely looks into the lens and gives a smile. There’s more photos of him looking away but the best ones are the candids that you and Keigo liked to take. Those images of him captured in soft moments or when he’s genuinely enjoying himself, never mind that some of them have lines of coke in the corner of the picture or that he only looks so relaxed because he’s high on opioids. One of your favorites you captured so him just smoking a cigarette outside with the sunset just beyond the horizon.

The next picture you pulled up was of Keigo and Touya together, the both of them had fallen asleep in your bed waiting for you to come back from your lectures one day but passed out from drinking the night before. The more you looked through the photos, the more you missed them and wondered when they would be back.

It was useless to try again but you rang their numbers one more time, sighing when it went straight to voicemail again.

I miss them.

“Do you know when they’ll be back?” you ask Shigaraki and hope that he’ll have an answer for you.

Shigaraki just shrugs his shoulders in answer and continues to focus on his game. “Dabi didn’t say. Though if I had to guess I’m assuming that he doesn’t want to be away from you for too long, he wasn’t exactly happy handing you off to me. He threatened that if I touched you the wrong way then he’d have my hands.”

“Well he’s gotta trust you to some degree if he placed me with you right?” you asked him. Touya doesn’t trust anyone outside of you and Keigo so Shigaraki must fall within the circle somehow.

“He considers me not as scummy compared to other people so that’s the only reason why I’m here.”

You make yourself comfortable against the couch and look at the tv, not really paying attention to what’s playing. “I’m tired but I feel like my body won’t let me rest.”

Shigaraki’s game beeps and in between what sounds like a battle, he offers something in his bag to help you sleep. You highly doubt that it’s melatonin that he’s offering you in the bag and tell him that you’re not allowed to take anything if Touya’s not the one providing it to you. As tempting as it seems to take something to help you sleep, you don’t know how your body will react to taking something while on a come down.

“You’re a big girl aren’t you? Dabi shouldn’t have to be the keeper of what you can and can’t do.” But you want to be good for Touya and follow his rules, more than anything you want to be good for him and be rewarded for it. Shigaraki’s cares are so little as you decline his offer, shrugging his shoulders and continuing on in his game with a quiet, “Suit yourself.”

You don’t know exactly when it was you fell asleep but when you wake up, you’re in the one place that you’d been wishing for the past few hours; curled up right in between Touya and Keigo.

The sun is out and if your curtains weren’t covering the window then you’d be getting the full blast of sunshine. You can see the dark circles underneath both of their eyes from staying up who knows how late, you had no idea when they returned and you figure that Shigaraki must be long gone. They breathe peacefully in their sleep and you just notice the placement of their hands, Keigo sleeps behind you with his hand on your hip and just one finger tucked in the band of your panties while Touya has his hand placed underneath the back of your knee and just simply holds it there.

The question of where they were can be put on hold for now, this is all you want in this moment.

━━━━✧

It’s hard for you to not bring it up every time either of them give you something or when they move to hold your hand. They’re not trying to hide it because they know it’s obvious but you’ve already learned from the both of them when to not ask about certain things. If they wanted you to know, you would have been informed by now.

They must have been too tired to clean up completely that night you passed out, you woke up before them and peeled back the blanket to see their hands with some dried blood and their knuckles bruised. Touya acts the same as ever and so does Keigo, but he’s careful to give you that warning look or a little tap on your thigh when your eyes lingered too long on their hands.

It’s been a little over a week since that night, burning curiosity that neither of the boys will cure for you. So you have to investigate on your own but without directly involving yourself, you ask a friend who’s still connected to your ex to find out how Jun is and make her promise that she won’t ask you any questions if she discovers something.

She gets back to you rather quick in just a few hours, it surprises you. But the only thing that she can inform you is that Jun’s still pretty beat up from the party with a broken arm and a black eye. “I heard that Dabi and Jun had a fight at that house party and that you passed out. But everyone says that some guys took Jun home after pulling Dabi off of him, he must have been acting up with one of the dudes that took him home, we both know how he can be when he’s drunk. That idiot is always starting fights when he’s wasted.”

That’s the story that she told you but it doesn’t feel right. When you look down at the boys’ hands, you get a strong feeling that something more went down. Touya was the only one beating down on Jun at the party while Keigo kept you at bay, so you have to question why Keigo’s hands look as if he had also beat someone up when you clearly remember that it was just Touya inflicting the blows at the party. Not to also mention the fact that you woke up in the care of someone else after passing out instead of with them. But you won’t ask, they won’t tell you anything and you figure that it must be for the best. Just like what Keigo told you before, if Touya doesn’t tell you anything it’s for your own good.

To the best of your ability, you try to move on from it.

Touya sits behind you, propped up against the headboard and holds your legs spread open for Keigo who lays on his stomach and eats you out. A playlist sets the mood in the room, playing from the little bluetooth speaker on his bedside table that is surprisingly loud. You recognize the beginning of the song that plays next but you can’t quite put your finger on where you heard it before, like it’s been a while since you’ve last listened to it.

“Cum on Keigo’s face, c’mon pretty girl. Do it.”

Whatever he says, you’d do anything for him, you trust him, you love him… you think.

Touya’s humming in your ear in tune with the song and it triggers the memory of where you’ve heard it. The bass of the song, the little piano that plays in the back, the chorus and lyrics. It’s a fitting song, the one that’s playing in the background. It’s the song that he played on loop the first time you sat in the back of his car. You didn’t pay much attention to it the first time but when you listen to the lyrics, you now realize how fitting they are. “I’d do anything for you.”

You let out a little pitched whine when Keigo presses the tip of his tongue onto your clit.

The bruises on their knuckles are fading but they still serve as a faint reminder of a night that you probably won’t get any answers if you ask what happened, just like that night you unknowingly ingested LSD.

Touya’s shown you things you’ve never done before, things you probably wouldn’t have even given a chance if not for him. He makes you feel like never before and you want as much as he will give to you, you have him in a way that no one else has before.

You trust him.

“Anything?” you turn your head and ask against his lips.

“Anything…” he echoes back to you. “And fucking everything…”

“For me?”

“All for you princess.”

Keigo kisses up your body, licking a stripe up your neck and captures you in a kiss, taking your attention off Touya. Any thoughts you have about Jun or that night, their touches and their words erase it for the time being. You drown in the affectionate names, drunk on their attention, whining and mewling, their cocks wiping your mind blank as they fuck you into the mattress.

Neither of them have dared to wrap their hand around your throat even though you do desire it but the bruises are still tender. So only soft kisses and careful caresses around that area in the mean time. Too caught up in your own ecstasy, you don’t see how their gazes soften when they look at the bruises, unable to see the correlation of how they go just a bit softer for you up until you asked to be hurt and for them to be mean to you.

So they give you what you asked for, sharp smacks to your ass that make you cry out, bite marks all over your body that make tears gather in your eyes, pulling their cocks out from you and making you masturbate in front of them for not begging the right way, and degrading you when you’re unable to articulate any coherent sentences when they fuck you silly.

And as mean as they were to you per your request, they’re extra nice in the after care as Keigo massages your sore body and Touya rubs soothing lotion on the sensitive parts of you skin. You ignore the fading bruises on their knuckles, knowing that it’s no longer important what happened that night but you make them promise that they don’t leave you with someone else the next time you have a come down. “You’ll do that, won’t you?”

Of course they promise you.

Touya will tell you if he feels like you need to know something, that’s how he protects you, how he keeps you safe, how he keeps you his. And you fell for it, genuinely believing that this is his form of love for you. Early in the beginning you didn’t even think that the two of you would come this far, that you’d just tell him how you like to be fucked and eventually things would fizzle out, especially with the whole ordeal with the side whores. Yet here the two of you are, bordering on the edge of an unhealthy love that neither of you can recognize.

He confessed to you himself that he’d do anything for you, that you’re all his and he makes you feel like you’re the one for him. You’ve given him your trust and hopefully you’ll eventually confess more than just your lust to each other.

━━━━✧

Touya’s glad that he’s finally able to bite, choke, and kiss at your neck again just a month later though it was a hassle for you to cover up every time you had to go out, the weather starting the transition into colder temperatures later in the night but still warm enough during the day time to wear short sleeves. He’s relieved to see that the bruises are gone, he felt like every time he saw the marks he would get that same sharp rise of anger like the very first time he saw them. He knew something was fishy when he heard that thump upstairs and when he stepped into that room with you and your ex, not trusting how you withdrew into yourself but he didn’t want to act without a probable cause.

He had watched two guys from the party drive off to drop Jun off at wherever he lived, but not before he bribed one of them with a little extra something so that he could get the asshole’s address and pay his own little visit later on. At that moment, he was more concerned with making sure you got home safe, the only other person he knew that would probably do him a favor was Shigaraki but only if he did something in return. He wasn’t a fan of leaving you alone with him but he would be damned if he was going to let that Jun bastard off for what he did to you. The punishment had to be executed the soonest it could happen. He gave him an easy beating at the party but it wasn’t enough, Keigo believing so too and riding in the car alongside him after securing you in Shigaraki’s car.

It was so fucking satisfying hearing Jun’s terrified whimpers and pleas, he has to hide how giddy he feels when he remembers Keigo breaking the fucker’s arm.

His knuckles feel a bit better, it only took a week or so for the soreness to go away.

You’re his good little doll, not asking questions despite the obvious evidence on his and Keigo’s hands the day after. You have your suspicions but you’ve learned well to not ask unnecessary questions and he just had to reward you in the best way that he knew how to, making you a cock drunk mess until you were too stupid to say anything but his and Keigo’s names.

It’s getting close to a year since the two of you made it official, a few weeks away actually and Touya’s surprised himself that he’s committed himself this far. He wouldn’t trade anything else in the world for what he has with you. He watches you with a fondness he’s never had for anyone else and he’ll do whatever it takes to make you stay with him, right where you belong. It’s so good that you’re compliant, Touya would hate to have to fight and break you to make you stay with him.

You and him are walking downtown together, his arm slung around your shoulder and making casual conversation about the upcoming cold weather and needing to buy new winter clothes. The two of you are going to meet up with Keigo at a bar later on so you kill some time. You want to stop inside a little boutique and see what they have, Touya will just stand outside and have a smoke while he waits for you, he doesn’t mind. He lights one up between his lips and brings his phone out of his pocket, messages about if he has more oxys and xannies. He responds back accordingly, puffing smoke out between his lips with ease and sucking in more nicotine into his lungs.

He pockets his phone and stomps out his cigarette as you come out the store a few minutes later with a little bag in hand. You talk excitedly about what you purchased and Touya listens absently, his eyes just briefly looking to the side when he sees him for just a quick second.

Jun stands a decent distance away, his arm still in a sling and cast. He’s frozen in place when he’s caught under Touya’s sight, absolutely petrified. You don’t see him because your back is to him, completely unaware of the silent interaction between your current boyfriend and your ex-boyfriend. All Touya does is subtly lift his arm from the small of your back and clenches his hand into a fist while keeping his gaze on him; it’s all the warning Jun needs to turn on his heel and walk the opposite direction.

Keigo waves to the two of you when you arrive at the designated bar, already having found a table and he just has a round of waters for now along with some chips in the center to snack on. Touya lets a little smile come onto his face as you barrel into Keigo’s arms, greeting him with a kiss and excitedly holding up the little bag you had shown to him earlier. Touya honestly doesn’t remember what you bought nor the store that he stood in front of waiting for you.

All he thinks about that in the moment is seeing Jun on the same street you stood on, seeing Jun with that fucking smug look on his face when he entered that room at the party, remembering Jun fucking begging to stop the pain as Keigo had him restrained so that Touya could inflict more pain on him before Keigo wanting his own turn as well. For a moment that bastard is all he can focus on to the point he has a headache and feels like he needs to pop a few oxys. But you pull him from the storm of his mind with just a simple touch to his thigh, looking to you and he sees your face, your smile… and he feels calm again.

Jun is the past and he’s your present, there’s no need to focus on what has already happened.

Although if Touya had the choice of going back in time to deliver an even worse consequence to Jun, he would absolutely do it in a heartbeat.

He’d do it for you.

━━━━✧

Part 4 of the Us Series: Tell Me (When You’re Ready)

[yuu-the-pokemon-trainer-of-nrc]

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(Click for better quality)

I caught the Pokémon fever and I felt the urge to draw Yuu as a Pokémon trainer!

I kinda want to make a new AU where Yuu actually comes from the Pokémon world as well as update her BIO. Also I’m thinking of changing the color her school uniform’s vest.

Also, in this AU I think with her Pokémon by her side, she’s a lot more confident enough to think she would have no need to disguise herself as a boy. So this is what her uniform would look like:

Backgrounds I used:

Name: Yuu

Gender: Female

Age: 18 (I know I said she was 16 before, but now I want to change it 😖)

BIO: (It got a bit long, so I hid it under cut)

In the world of Pokémon, Yuu was originally from Opelucid City in Unova with her single mother. They were a poor family and her mother stressed day after day, trying to make ends meet while also putting up with the other responsibilities that came with being a parent. What set her over the edge was when Team Plasma attacked the city and froze it in ice along with their home. This made Yuu’s mother decide to put her in foster care in Castelia City in hopes another family would come and take better care of her daughter. That’s what she said, but when Yuu looked at her mother’s face she couldn’t help but see a bit of relief in her eyes. After that, Yuu mostly kept to herself, not really interacting with the other kids, blindly hoping that her mother would return once she’s more financially stable, but she never did...

One day, when she and the other foster kids were out and about the city (with adult supervision of course), enjoying their Casteliacones, a Patrat swiftly took Yuu’s remaining cone! She chased after it down in one of the alley’s, and hid around the corner and made a big discovery! The Patrat was actually a disguised Zorua! After hearing his stomach growl even after he scoffed the cone down, Yuu felt sorry for the illusion Pokémon and approached it. Zorua growled as Yuu settled down her backpack to take out her lunch bag and revealed it’s contents to him. “You need it more than I do. Take it.” She got up and left to return to her group, leaving behind a very confused Zorua. Oddly enough, Yuu met Zorua again shortly on the same day. After finishing most of her lunch Zorua saved an apple and followed her home to return it. (Disguised of course) But even with the disguise, she recognized the apple immediately and could see right through Zorua. Since then the two would meet when Yuu had the time and bring Zorua some food and she would chat and play with him. Sometimes she would talk about something funny she saw on TV, or go ranting about how annoyed she gets with grown ups pestering her about playing with the other kids when she wasn’t even interested. The only game she was interested in was Hide n Seek, but was then banned from playing it by the adults for being too good at it. And couldn’t even talk about Pokémon with the other kids without talking like a “stuck up know-it-all”. As well as talk about her dream of finally becoming a Pokémon trainer and go wherever she wanted without any kids or adults telling her what she can or can’t do. Zorua would then bark at her like he understood what she meant, and for the first time, she felt she finally has a friend/ally.

Then one day, one of the other kids leading a group traced back to where she had been meeting Zorua and found him, and by the time Yuu got there, she was horrified to find the kids circling and ganging up on a distressed Zorua - wanting to touch his ears and tail. At first, Yuu froze in fear, fear that now the kids know where her special meeting place with Zorua was, fear that Zorua might think she betrayed his trust by telling them about this place, but as Zorua cried out - Yuu snapped. Pushing all the other kids away, shielding Zorua, Yuu yelled at them to leave Zorua alone. It did not sit well with the biggest kid, who shoved Yuu to the ground, which angered Zorua! Zorua then used scratch on the kid and used his power of illusions to change into a Hydreigon! Not realizing it was an illusion, the kids ran away, crying and screaming. This greatly relieved Yuu, believing this event would make the kids think twice before messing with them again. However, that sense of security was short-lived ‘cuz shortly after it, she was confronted by the adults who run the foster home as well as a policeman, who was holding a struggling Zorua by the fur collar. Yuu was scolded for attacking the other kids while also making contact with a dangerous wild Pokémon that had a history of stealing food from tourists and local alike and now has attacked a defenseless child. Yuu tried to explain that Zorua was starving and how those kids were scaring him and the only reason he attacked was because she was shoved. But her explanations fell on deaf ears as the policeman said he’ll take Zorua somewhere far away from Castelia City. All Yuu could think of was that she was about to lose her only friend and will be left alone with kids who hate her. Not wanting to bear with that reality, she charged for the Policeman, kicking his shin which was enough to make him to lose his grip enough for Zorua to wriggle away free. And the two both charged out into the alleyways of Castelia City.

Since then, Yuu was a small child with a Zorua on the run. The police were frantic about searching for them, but thanks to Yuu’s cleverness when it comes to Hide n Seek and Zorua’s illusions, it made it all too easy to give them the slip. They were together, but unfortunately they had to steal food in order to get by. One of these thefts lead to a fateful encounter with a certain mad scientist by the name of... Colress.

While he was enjoying his newfound freedom from police custody at a café, Yuu swiped one of his pastries. And of course, it had to take one misstep to alert Colress that he was being stolen from which prompt Yuu to run as if her life depended on it. But as she regrouped with Zorua, they were suddenly surrounded by Colress’ Klingklang, Magnezone, and Porygon-2. With KlingKlang using protect from Zorua’s attacks, they had no way of getting out of it. But even then, Yuu refused to give up if it meant that she and Zorua will be separated. Seeing her bond with Zorua as well as her ability to give Zorua commands despite not even old enough to become a trainer, Colress’ interest was piqued and the gears of his mind started to turn. He held off his Pokémon’s attack, and met with Yuu at eye-level to ask her about her story with Zorua. At first, Yuu refused saying he’s just another adult who would never listen to her or give her the time of day, only for him to respond that it’s quite the contrary. Something about his eyes told Yuu that this isn’t something he would lie about and she reluctantly told him about her situation.

And Yuu didn’t know how (and was too afraid to ask), but somehow Colress was able to convince the people at her foster care to let him take custody of her as her guardian as well as convince the Police to let Zorua off. But one thing she did ask is why he decided to help her and Zorua out in the first place, his response was, “Because I firmly believe that someone should never be separated from a Pokémon they have a clear bond with. No matter what age they may be.”

And since then, Yuu and Zorua were always together. And though Colress was her guardian, he was never a father-figure for Yuu. Yes, he did provide Yuu and Zorua food and shelter, as well as Yuu’s education. But he never hid the fact that he saw the bond between Yuu and Zorua as a fascinating research subject. Sometime even testing how in-sync their brainwaves were. Yuu didn’t really mind either as long as no one dares to take away Zorua again and at the time she saw Colress as the only adult that was ever straight with her.. Zorua himself didn’t trust Colress and would always keep a sharp eye on him while sticking close to Yuu.

Hearing about the close community of people and Pokémon in Alola, Colress moved his lab there thinking it would be the ideal place for his research and took Yuu and Zorua along with him. At first Yuu didn't know how to feel about the change, but was surprised that compared to the kids she knew in Unova, she actually thought decently about her classmates at the Pokémon school that she was enrolled in. For one thing, they actually respected Zorua's space and hers which was a huge breath of fresh air. And her teacher, Professor Kukui, just let her take her time before getting to know them instead of pushing her to do things that made her uncomfortable. Later on, Yuu hears about how close the other students are with their parents, which made Yuu more aware of how different she is from them considering she doesn't exactly have a typical father/daughter relationship with Colress. Seeing her newfound sense of loneliness, Professor Kukui invited her to his lab to spend time with the Pokémon while also meeting his wife, Professor Burnet. It wasn't long before Yuu started having dinners with the married couple and started seeing them as parental figures.

(Now this has been going on for a little while now, so I’ll just sum up the next part shortly as the next part should be stories for another day)

When she became a trainer at the age of 11, Yuu decided to take on the Island challenge. Along the way she became partners with Primarina, Toucannon, Raichu, Mudsdale, Lurantis, and among others with those 5 plus Zoroark being her main 6 for Alola. And after becoming Alola’s first champion, Yuu decided she wanted to travel to experience everything the world has to offer, not only to perfect her battle-style further, but also to meet the Pokémon of every region as well as to grow deeper bonds with her Pokémon.

[natsukitakama]

First and last time Death met them Snk edition #1

Author note : this headcanon is based from the novel book thief which I hardly recommend. Basically its a first point of view headcanon where « Death » is about to explain the first and the last time they met each character of SNK  i never wrote something like that before i just wanted to give it a shot and i thought SNK would be the best place where i can write something like that. Hope you'll like it, if so i might write a part 2 or about another fandom

Warning : ANGST / This can be particular if you’re not comfortable with death content don’t read it it’s fine I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable / Spoiler If you’re an anime only you might be spoiled 

picture is mine and yes I used this character to personify death 

Masterlist

Eren Yeager - エレン・イェーガ

First time meeting : My first encounter with Eren was quite somethinG. He used to live with his family, his mind full of dreams and expectation for the future and one day everything went red without a blink of an eye. When I moved to take away his mother from him, I felt such an anger toward me, his tearing eyes was looking at him as if he could perfectly seeing me holding his mother. I heard him whispering later that he would kill us, those who take his mother away from him. Though I did not take his mother away, my job was to collected her and I know that he is angry at me for that. Obviously I didn’t feel threaten by any way, but I had to admit this child surprise me : never I have ever been looked like this with such argerness toward me. I knew at this moment that I would meet him multiple time. 

Last time meeting : Being cursed meaning that this little child didn’t have much time to left, though I would expect him to be angry or frustrated because he couldn’t reach one of his deepest goal. He was calm, more than he never was in his entire life. Though I could still feel a little bit of sadness and bitter against himself, after all not everyone would die because of their loved one. I discovered later as I hold his body against me how much he was sorry for this poor girl, forcing her to kill him must have been troublesome for her. I felt how sorry he was to leave without a proper good bye, to leave her without kissing her. Like a lot of man with project, he dies with a lot of regret but a lot of serenity too as if deep down he knew that he coud trust his friends. 

Erwin Smith - エルヴィン・スミス 

First time meeting : Oh my. It was quite something too. While the little boy Eren was angry at him for what I’ve done to his mother, the major was mortified and calm at the same time. Mortified cause it’s hard to look at one of your companion being eaten by a titan while there’s nothing you can do about it. Calm and collected because it was who he was, Erwin was a man with big hopes for humanity and ever since our first encounter he never felt to believe at his dream. I’m not supposed to say that but I’ve felt amazed by his nature, he was one of those people who can command, he was a leader born to lead humanity. An asset. I knew that I would take great pleasure holding this man for his last expedition, It would be an honor for me to lead him. 

Last time meeting : As expected, I wasn’t disappointed by Erwin’s death. It was quite surprising though. I mean, I expected him to send his man to death the mission being way too important for the fate of humanity. He couldn’t take the risk of not being able to reach that house in Shinganshima, but I didn’t expect him to walk side by side with his soldiers, running into death. It was a suicide, but for some reason he wasn’t scared, he wasn’t sad too even if he wish he could see the truth by himself he knew deep down that he could trust Levi his caporal to be sure everyone will know the truth. Maybe that’s why he didn’t flinch when I finally walked in front of him, he looked relax as if everything went according to his plan. Maybe it’s easier for soldier to die when they decided how to ? All I can say is until the end, the man never failed to surprise him. You deserve my respect Major Erwin. 

Marco Bott  - マルコ・ボット

First time meeting : I can’t quite remember my very first meeting with Marco, the poor things met me way too many times because of titans. I remember the way he seemed scare by all of them surrounded him, not the titans but me, every dead people is a part of me. It may be why I can’t remember when I first meet him, but i knew that it pained me somehow to be everywhere and anywhere at the same time. Marco was one of those who might deserve to work for their dream and to have a peaceful live. Sounds hypocrite right ? I can’t help, not many people can be so nice against me while being surrounded by me. He was sad, he was afraid but never ever was he angry against me. Maybe that was I was so reluctant at taking him with me. 

Last time meeting : About this one I guessed you guys hate me for taking him before he could reach his dream right ? I know the feelings. I am not a fan either of taking « pure » people. But it wasn’t like I have a choice right ? I’m not the one who pushed him defenseless in front of a titan. They did it, not me. Anyway, I won’t lie I didn’t take any pleasure he was a victim. Since you expect me to tell you, so I will. It took him 10min to actually die, you might think he died from being half eaten by the titan. Well you’re kinda correct he actually dies when those teeth finds his brain and crush it as if he was just an apple. During the whole process, all he could feel was pain, fear, and betrayal. His last thought before I couldn’t take it and decided to shorten his pain was to his friends and jean, he was wondering how he would take the news once it would be over. He was afraid that those traitors might kills him too. He wanted to tell Jean how sorry he was for leaving him all alone.  

[aecs-multy]

I'd make the devil prostrate before you

Summary:

When Merlin wakes up and Arthur is not by his side, he know that he's going to have to get him back. The bandits aren't the ones that should be scared of him, it's the king who should be for being such a reckless idiot and going to fight them alone instead of bringing Merlin with him.

---

Merlin was going to murder him. Screw destiny, screw Albion, screw everything. If the bandits didn’t kill Arthur, he would. More than once. He was going to bring him back to life time and time again and he would kill him in every possible painful way he could come up with.

When he had been informed that the king had gone missing and no one knew where he was, Merlin had already come up with a thousand ways of making him regret the day he chose to ignore the sorcerer’s words.

“That idiot never listens to me. Become the court sorcerer. People will listen to you. You will have influence,” Merlin muttered under his breath while he packed some essentials for the trip. “Well, all that is worthless if the freaking king goes and doesn’t listen to me, that clotpole!”

Merlin was aware he was receiving weird looks from the stable’s boy, but he couldn’t care less. He was bristling with energy, his whole body vibrating with the magic that cursed through his veins, alert, ready for anything he commanded it to do.

He mounted his horse and went in the search of Arthur, begging to The Triple Goddess that his love was alive. He wanted the privilege of murdering him for himself.

Merlin would be lying, though, if he said that he wasn’t afraid. His heart seemed to beat too fast and too hard for it to be normal. He was feeling cold all over even under the heat of the summer sun. His hands trembled in the reins of his mount.

Despite the paralyzing fear that he felt, the sorcerer put on a brave face and hung on to the almost-blinding rage that had been fueling him since the news of the king’s disappearance. No one would touch Arthur and live to tell the tale as long as he walked the earth, even if he had to burn the world to ashes to find those who had brought harm to his other half.

oOoOo

“The mighty Arthur Pendragon,” The man said, circling around him and hitting him in the stomach, making him groan and loose his breath for some seconds before being able to look back up at the man with all the hatred he could muster. “Defenseless against me. The king of Camelot rendered powerless without his knights and his precious sorcerer.” The man’s laugh echoed around the room. “You’re nothing without them, poor little boy.”

As if to prove his point, his last word was accompanied with a blow to Arthur’s face, and soon the coppery taste of blood blossomed in his mouth. His shoulders and arms ached with the strain that came with being chained to the ceiling by his wrists. That was nothing, though, compared to the pain that he felt on his side, where he was certain that he had several broken bones from the maze used to torture him.

“At least I’m above the lot of you, so scared of one man that you have to chain me. Afraid that I’ll humiliate you in a fair fight?” Arthur mocked with ragged breath, earning himself another hit. He should have learned that talking back was of no use, but he couldn’t, wouldn’t, let them break him. His body might be mauled, but his spirit was intact.

He just had to wait for Merlin, and that scared him more than this bandits ever could. Just the thought of it made him shiver. He was in big trouble, and that had nothing to do with being kept captive by some bandits. He feared the moment Merlin came to save him, certain that whatever the sorcerer had planned for him was a million times worse than this.

Arthur should have listened to him. He knew better than to come here alone, but he just couldn’t let the bandits trade for the life of his sister as if she were an object. As soon as he had received notice that the bandits had captured Morgana and asked for him to come unescorted to pay for her ramson he had had to do something.

Obviously, Merlin was against the idea, but he slipped away in the darkness of the night and went to the location the captors of his sister had told him they would be waiting. To his surprise, they didn’t have Morgana, but now they had him.

Merlin was going to skin him. He almost wanted to ask the bandits for protection against his court sorcerer. Maybe he would even have, but soon something seemed to shake the whole room. Hell, the whole building seemed to tremble. Several guards fell to the ground when they lost his footing and even the leader hat to grab Arthur’s chained arm to avoid falling.

Shit, Arthur thought. Merlin was here. He sighed and closed his eyes, accepting the fate that awaited him.

oOoOo

His magic was flowing out of him, surrounding the small castle and searching for Arthur. Bandits tried to stop him, but they barely took one step before they were thrown away with enough force to make cracks in the walls they collided with. He could sense the vibration of the ground beneath him, reacting to all the energy emanating from him.

An arrow flew towards him, but stopped a mere meter away from his head. He reached for the core of his power and with just a thought, the rest of his magic inside of him exploded, sending everything and everyone flying.

When his magic recognized Arthur, he walked that way, leaving a trail of unconscious bodies behind him. Soon, only a door stood between them and his magic burst them open without a problem. Dust was floating in the air and falling from the cracks in the ceiling with every tremor of the castle. Right now, Merlin was the one that kept it from crushing to the ground.

The expressions of the bandits were full of fear, terror dripping from them in waves. Good. His power lashed out and made them all fall to their knees, pressing them down and down until they were lying motionless, unable to move even an inch.

When his gaze focused on Arthur, stronger tremors shook the castle as his magic flowed from him like the waves of the ocean crashing against the shoreline. At least the prat had the decency of looking apologetic. Well, apologetic and about to empty his bladder in his torn pants if the panic in his face was anything to go by.

Merlin’s heart softened and ached when he finally noticed the state his lover was in. Several bruises and cutes adorned his body, the sight making his magic reach out to soothe him. He could see how the tension in Arthur's shoulders ebbed slightly and how his eyes became glassy as a small smile appeared on his face.

He went to stand in front of him and softly cradled Arthur’s face, his thumb brushing carefully over a bruise that was starting to form in his cheek. The king bowed his head and said, “I’m sorry.”

Merlin used his magic to make the chains disappear and held Arthur against his body when his legs gave out after hours of being held on his toes. He pulled him into a hug, with Merlin’s arms around his waist, and Arthur hid his face in the crook of his neck.

The sorcerer felt how Arthur’s arms moved to circle his neck as he returned the embrace.

After restoring the building enough to be sure it wouldn’t collapse, his magic slowly retreated to circle around both of them, making sure that Arthur was safe, alive. With a content sigh, Merlin started focusing on healing the body in his arms, noticing how Arthur sagged against him more and more with every injury that he healed.

“You’re in so much trouble that you’ll need your whole life to make it up to me, but right now, you’re safe. I’m here, love, you’re safe with me,” Merlin said, kissing Arthur on the top of his head.

oOoOo

Arthur’s heart swelled with emotion at his words and found himself speechless. He knew he was safe with Merlin. His arms around him were like a fortress, keeping the threats of the world away from him. He had never felt safer that with Merlin, and not only because of his magic but because Arthur had given him his heart, and the sorcerer protected it with everything he had, making him know how loved he was.

Even when the castle seemed to be about to crumble down, Arthur had known that nothing would happen to him. Merlin’s magic was like a hurricane, able to destroy everything that would dare approach him, but it worked as a shield too, because he kept those he cared about in the eye of the storm, where they were safe from the winds that would crush anyone that wanted to cause them harm.

For a moment, he forgot where they were when lips pressed against his hair and just enjoyed his rapidly recovering body and the man that held him, but that didn’t last long.

“Look how cute, the princess needed to be saved,” The leader of the bandits said.

Arthur stiffened when he remembered where they were and took a step back sharply, as if he had been jerked awake from a good dream.

He looked at the man and the bandit’s eyes were full of a hatred that he returned tenfold. Before he could say anything, Merlin stepped in front of him.

“It seems like you are the one that needs saving,” Merlin said, and Arthur smirked when he heard the venom that laced with his words. “You know, after the ban against magic was lifted, I finally was able to learn a lot of things about my power. There are many spells, but I can think of one that I’m sure you’ll love.”

Arthur loved the way the man’s face paled even more. He knew what it was like to face Merlin’s anger, having been there before, and it would make even the bravest of men run away in fright.

“I will bind you to this castle so that you can never leave its walls, condemned to stay here for the rest of your life.”

“What? No! Please, have mercy, please!” The bandit pleaded, but with a movement of Merlin’s wrist, no more sound came out of his mouth.

“Adiuro vos in loco isto ut non numquam etiam,” Merlin said, and with a flash of golden in his eyes, the spell was cast.

oOoOo

They camped half way to their home because Arthur was too tired to make the trip in one go. Merlin had healed his body, but he could see how the captivity had affected his king, so he decided that resting would be the best.

Now that the worry had faded away after rescuing Arthur, he had started to feel relief, but also the anger that he had felt before. Merlin knew why he had done it, but it also hurt that he had been left behind, especially when he could have helped and all this problem would have been avoided.

Arthur was silent, sitting beside him, his focus on the flame before them. Merlin could actually feel the guilt that emanated from him, but it did nothing to dissipate his anger. Several minutes passed where the only sound that they could listen was the sound of the fire, but then Merlin heard Arthur sigh.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

He kept quiet for a long time, pondering everything he wanted to say, all the arguments he had come up with during Arthur’s search, but when he spoke, it was only to say, “Why?”

Arthur looked at him with his head tilted to his side, his emotions clear on his eyes, and Merlin saw the flicker of confusion at the question.

“Why did you leave without me?” Merlin clarified, and then Arthur looked away, a blush of embarrassment clear in his cheeks even in the night.

“I… I just- I don’t know, I-” Arthur stuttered, but then he closed his mouth and run a hand to his hair, clearly distressed. Merlin waited, but Arthur didn’t attempt to say anything again, so he decided to do it instead.

“I told you to wait until the morning,” he said, barely over a whisper, but in the silence it almost seemed too loud. “I told you that we would both go there to help Morgana. I know how worried you were because she is like a sister to me too, but I knew that going to get her in the middle of the night wouldn’t solve anything because we needed to rest. You sneaked out ignoring everything I told you.” His voice had started to get louder, more irritated as his emotions took hold on him. In the distance, lightning struck. “You got captured because if you had waited until morning like I had told you, you would have discovered that she escaped and was back in the castle before the sun rose. All you did was useless because there was no one to save! You got yourself tortured for nothing!”

Merlin stood up and started pacing, not trying to control himself as he ended almost yelling, the fear and worry he had felt when he had woken up alone in their chambers coming back to him. “I could have lost you! Do you know how worried I was? I knew where you were, but not if you were safe, not if I would be able to arrive in time. If you were going to go anyways then you wake me up and we go, together-”

“I’m fine now, I’m alive, so stop shouting at me! I know I made a mistake, but everything is alright now, so stop worrying, I’m not a kid you need to take care of!” Arthur yelled, standing up too and standing in front of him.

“Then stop acting like one!” Merlin yelled back, his voice cracking. The tears he hadn’t known he had been holding back since he had woken up finally spilled and run down his cheeks. “I know you’re alright now, but I didn’t know that before, when I was riding in your search. I didn’t know what they would do to you, and I was scared, Arthur. You’re the king and you have a responsibility to your kingdom, but you’re also so much more to me, my partner, my best friend, my everything, and I couldn’t bear to lose you.” He said softly, his anger deflating until there was nothing left in him but such a deep ache that came with the knowledge of how wrong things could have gone. “I love you, so much that it hurts to even think of being apart from you. And it also hurts that you would leave me behind, because I thought we were past keeping things from each other and going behind each other’s backs since you discovered my magic. Guess I was wrong,” he finished, and now that he said it out loud, he noticed that most of his feelings revolved around that, about Arthur not trusting Merlin enough to tell him that he was going to go anyways.

He felt drained of all his energy and he sat down back again, cross-legged, with his elbows resting on his legs and his face hiding behind his hands. Merlin didn’t hold back, letting the tears flow freely as his body shook. He guessed he deserved it, after all, he had hidden his magic from Arthur, so it’s only normal that Arthur would hide things from him too.

He had been so foolish thinking that things between them would be alright, but how could they when Arthur didn’t trust him? It was all his fault. He should have told Arthur, but fear had stopped him, like something had stopped the king from asking Merlin to come with him.

“You’re an idiot if you think I don’t trust you,” he heard Arthur say, and he lifted his head to look at him.

oOoOo

Arthur felt something squeezing his heart when he saw the miserable look in Merlin’s face, and soon he was blinking back tears of his own, but he continued talking, regardless of how difficult it was to get the words out when his throat had seemed to close up.

“I trust you with my life, with the life of everyone in my kingdom, with the future of Camelot, with my heart. What I did wasn’t out of a lack of trust, it was out of fear. I thought Morgana was in danger, and I couldn’t let any harm come to her,” he said, but when he tried to open his mouth to speak again, Merlin cut him, his voice so weak that it hurt to hear it.

“But why didn’t you bring me with you?”

“Because I knew you wouldn’t like it and that you would argue. You had told me to wait, but I couldn’t and I didn’t want to waste any more time,” he said, desperately trying to make Merlin see why he had done it.

“You could have taken me, you know that if you asked me I would move the mountains, conquer the sky and tame the sea for you. If you had told me how you felt I would have helped you without a word,” he said.

“I…” Arthur knew that, but in that moment all that he could think about was rescuing Morgana, he didn’t think about anything else, and that was the problem, “I didn’t think, I just acted.”

Tense seconds of silence passed where Merlin looked at him with so much pain in his eyes that Arthur wanted to hit himself for being so stupid. He could almost feel Merlin’s pain as if it were his own, because he knew how he would have been if the roles were reversed, if it were Merlin that had disappeared in the middle of the night.

Arthur would have gone mad with worry, no matter how capable Merlin was of taking care of himself.

“I’m sorry, I really am,” he said, crouching down in front of the sorcerer and taking his hands in his. “Never think that I don’t trust you, because I do, more than I trust myself. And you’re right, we’re past the hiding and all that, and I should have told you, for that, I’m sorry. I never meant for it to end like this, I just wanted to help my sister and I forgot that I had you by my side.” Arthur kissed his knuckles and smiled sadly at him. “Come on, I’ll let you call me a dollophead without sending you to the stocks.”

That managed to get a chuckle out of Merlin and with the sound some of the tension in the air dissipated. “You really are a dollophead,” Merlin said, and Arthur could hear the fondness in his voice.

“I don’t know what I did in my other life, but it must have been legendary because I certainly haven’t done anything worthy in this one to deserve you,” Arthur said, moving to stand up and pull Merlin with him by the hands.

“You’re right, I’m too good for you,” Merlin laughed wetly, sniffing and brushing his tears with his forearm, not letting go of Arthur.

Arthur gaped at him through his smile and said, “You can’t address me like that,” remembering the words he had said the first time they met.

Merlin didn’t disappoint when he answered, “Sorry. You’re right, I’m too good for you… my lord.”

“You were such an idiot back then,” Arthur laughed, throwing his head back, feeling lighter than before and dizzy with relief, knowing that they would be alright.

“You were such a prat back then, although, now that I think about it, you haven’t changed much, have you?” Merlin mocked, both of them chuckling, and Arthur shook his head.

“I love you so much,” he said, his heart so full of affection towards the man in front of him that he felt like it would burst any moment now.

“I love you too,” Merlin replied, a smile on his face that didn’t reach his eyes. “but if you pull something like that again I swear the torture methods they use will be nothing compared to what I’ll do to you.”

“Well, you can always bind me to your bed, can’t you?” he whispered next to Merlin’s ear and enjoying way too much the shiver that run through the sorcerer’s body.

“I- Wh- I-” Merlin stuttered, his eyes wide and dark, probably having imagined the situation. “Oh god, you’re in so much trouble.” He finally said, a grin so wide in his face that it might split it open.

They kept staring at each other and soon they were resting their foreheads together, slowly moving to embrace each other. Arthur drank in the feeling of being in Merlin’s arms again like a thirsty man seeing water for the first time in days.

“Never leave me again, please,” Merlin said, his breath tickling the skin of his neck, his tone full of vulnerability.

“Never again, I promise, love, never again,” he said in earnest, vowing to himself that no matter what could happen in the future, they would deal with it together.