#I had no thoughts in my head when it froze in the road except 'SAVE KITTEN'

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

how to handle a traumatic experience

step one: make a meme of it

here I am on my way home from getting my car finally, gloriously cleaned by someone with the tools to do it well and SUDDENLY there is a mother cat with a TINY BABY CAT (5-6 weeks if it's a day) behind it running across the road. My mom is behind me so I slow down and stop just as the tiny kitten realizes a monstrosity beyond its comprehension is bearing down on it and it is in the middle of the deadly THUNDERPATH and it freezes. I pull my newly cleaned e-brake and run out into the road, waving frantically at the truck coming the other direction and trying desperately to herd the kitten OUT OF THE ROAD

kitten runs across the road in front of the truck I'm waving at, truck stops, does not hit either of us, I successfully herd the kitten up to a nearby tree and then into the plants outside the house I ASSUME it came from. I run back to my car and, at my mom's command wave thanks at the nice red truck that stopped and blocked traffic on the other side of the road for me.

we are all fine, everything is fine, the 5-week-old kitten is NOT a splatter on the road and neither am I but GOOD LORD, WHAT THE HECK

[beels-burger-babe]

Melodious Mourning

***Ben Platt?! Hell yes! Okay! I am so so excited about this! Thank you so much @ester-is-here for reminding me how much I love this song. I hope everyone enjoys it. You can listen to the song, if you haven't already, here. Disclaimer: In Case You Don't Live Forever and its lyrics do not belong to me. They belong to the brilliant Ben Platt*** Poly!MC Summary: It's MC's anniversary of their relationship with the Lords of the Devildom. They've planned a little something special to share with them; something that will express how much they love the brothers, while also preparing them for a tragic truth. The time had come. After a long night of celebrating your anniversary with the seven sins, it was time for you to finally show them the surprise you had prepared for them. You giggled as you dragged a tired Belphegor into the music room by his hand, the others following closely behind you. Asmodeus made a small noise of disappointment and leaned against the grand piano in the middle of the room. "You know when you said you had a surprise for us, I must admit this wasn't exactly what I had in mind, " you snorted as Satan smacked Asmo on the back of the head. Asmo yelped and held his head as he glared at Satan. "Though I'm sure that whatever this surprise it will be equally as lovely. Geez, let me finish before you ruin my hair!" Mammon came up beside you. "But what is this surprise though? Is it a diamond? Money? Jewelry? That lost treasure that we never found?" You smiled softly at the Avatar of Greed and poked his nose. "It's better than that. Or at least I hope it will be," You sat down at the piano and took some sheet music out of your bag. "I um...I wanted to sing a song for all of you," you nervously tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. "With our anniversary being today, I've been thinking a lot about us and all the time that's passed and the what the future will hold, and I-I just thought that this song would be the perfect way to express all of that."

Lucifer placed a hand on the small of your back as he looked down at you with an awe-filled, adoring expression. "I wasn't aware you could play. I would've loved to play with you sometime." You leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips. "There will be time for that in the future. For now, it's time for your surprise," you hovered your fingers over the keys and hesitated. The song the message shared was important but would be hard for your lovers to hear. You glanced over at them. "J-Just listen, please. Okay?" Beel frowned at the serious look on your face and nodded. He could sense that there was something important about this performance, something almost dire, that clearly frightened you. "Of course." You took in a shaky breath as you began to move your finger across the keys.

"You put all your faith in my dreams. You gave me the world that I wanted. What did I do to deserve you?" Your smooth voice filled the room and wrapped around the hearts of each of the demons. They smiled gently at your words as a warmth filled their chests. In the years that they were fortunate enough to have you in their lives, they had spent every last second doing their best to keep you happy. They would give you the world if you asked for it, and you knew that. "I follow your steps with my feet. I walk on the road that you started. I need you to know that I heard you. Every word." Since coming here, the brothers have shown you a number of things. Lucifer taught you to be more confident and take pride in the things that you've achieved. Mammon taught you that it was okay to be selfish sometimes to do the things that you wanted. Together, you and Leviathan learned that the only opinion that truly matters is your own. Satan taught you that you define your own fate and meaning and that no one can say who you are except you. Asmodeus taught you to appreciate the pleasures in life, no matter how big or small. Beelzebub engrained in you that your body is a temple that you must cherish, look after, and love. And finally, Belphegore taught you that it's alright to take time for yourself. Each of them had impacted you and fundamentally changed the way that you looked at life, and you would never be able to thank them enough for that. "I've waited way too long to say. Everything you mean to me," you swallowed down the lump that was beginning to form in your throat. You had waited too long to tell them this, that much was true. By now they were irreversibly attached to you. Though you were grateful for it and loved them in return, there was something all of you had been avoiding discussing. You took in a shaky breath; you couldn't hold it off anymore. "In case I don't live forever let me tell you now," You could hear their breaths get caught in their throats. Lucifer's hand froze on your back, while Belphie quickly sat up from where he was laying on your shoulder. "MC, what are y-you saying? What are you-" Levi's voice stuttered from behind you. You couldn't bring yourself to look at them as you continued, "I love you more than you'll wrap your head around," you finally glanced over at Levi. The otaku's eyes were wide and filled with fear and concern as he scanned you for any missed injuries or signs of illness. At finding none, his eyebrows narrowed in confusion. You offered him a reassuring smile before looking back down at the keys. "In case I don't live forever, let me tell you the truth. I'm everything that I am because of you." Satan's trembling hand gripped onto your shoulder as he placed a kiss on the top of your head. "MC, my love, that is beautiful. But you can't just say something like that and not expect us to be concerned. Are you alright? Should I be getting a doctor or Barbatos or do I need to take you to a human hospital?" You paused for a moment to turn to your lovers. "I'm okay. There's nothing wrong with me, only that I'm human," you watched as they tensed in realization. "Treasure, that's not-" Mammon stepped forward, but you lifted a hand to stop him. "I've been thinking about the passing of time a lot lately, a-a-and I need to say this. Please, just let me finish?" The sound of your voice close to tears had the brothers wanting to do nothing more than wrap you up in their arms and never let you go again. But there was this desperate glint in your eyes, that none of them could deny. Belphie laid his head back down on your shoulder and buried his face into the fabric of your top. "Go ahead, angel. We're listening." You turned your head to lightly kissed his head, whispering a small thank you, before picking back up the song.

The music filled the room once more, but unlike before where it filled your lovers with joy at the thought of such a sentimental gift, a feeling of dread and unease now swirled in their stomachs. "I've carried this song in my mind. Listen it's echoing in me. But I never helped you to hear it." Your mortality was something that had weighed on your thoughts for years now. You never mentioned it for you knew that the brothers would just brush off the subject. They had lost so much already; they didn't even want to begin thinking about the day when you would no longer be with them. But with each passing year, the subject had become more and more crucial, yet you were still too much of a coward to bring such a distressing topic to light. You had hoped the song would lighten the blow, but based on the way Mammon's eyes were squeezed shut and his fists were pressed to his mouth, as though whispering a prayer, it hadn't. Tears pricked your eyes at the sight as you felt your throat tighten. "We, we've only got so much time. I'm pretty sure it would kill me if you didn't know that pieces of me were pieces of you." It was true. You carried the boys with you where ever you went, both literally through your pacts and figuratively through the pieces of their personalities that you have mirrored throughout the years. You often find yourself mimicking Lucifer's eye-brow raise when someone is acting particularly stupid. The sight of food or beautiful clothes causes your heart to thrumb with excitement, just like it does for Beel and Asmo. You have a deeper appreciation for anime and astrology from your many nights with Levi and Belphie. You're more knowledgeable and educated in literature from your countless hours in the library with Satan. You were more conscious with your money after your few attempts of trying to teach Mammon how to budget. You were one with your boys; a beautiful collage of the experiences and times that you had all spent together. You just hoped that they knew that. "I've waited way too long to say. Everything you mean to me." Asmodeus claimed your other side, as one of his hands moved up to delicately wipe a tear from your face. You noticed, with an aching heart, that his cheeks were tearstained as well. Your lip trembled as you opened your mouth to sing the chorus. "In case I don't live forever let me tell you now. I love you more than you'll ever wrap your head around. In case I don't live forever, let me tell you the truth. I'm everything that I am because of you." At this point, you weren't singing so much as you were sobbing. You could feel your hands tremble heavily as you pushed them to keep playing. The only thing keeping you from breaking down completely was the solid feeling of the brother's touch supporting you as they lent you their strength. You squeezed your eyes shut and played hard on the keys, causing the brothers to jump a little as you began to belt. "I have a hero if ever I need one!" Flashes of the countless times that they had come to your rescue flashed in your mind. Unknown to you, the brothers weren't thinking of them rescuing you at all, but rather how you had saved each and every one of them. "I just look up to you and I see one! I'm a man 'cause you taught me to be one," your voice quivered with emotion as you held the falsetto note at the end. You leaned over the keys, suppressed cries falling from your lips as your shoulders shook. Beel placed a hand over top of one of your own and met your gaze. "You don't have to finish this MC. We understand what you're trying to say and we can just end the song here and talk if you want." It was tempting. Honestly, your hands our practically useless with how much they were shaking. But this wasn't just for them anymore. Speaking the words that had been swarming your mind for too many years out loud, although painful, also freed you from a sense of guilt that you weren't even aware that you were carrying. "I-I'd like to finish it. I-If you all don't mind." Belphie's arms came to wrap around your waist and Asmo

pressed a kiss to your cheek. Lucifer's hand on your back moved in comforting circles, while Satan repeated the motion with his thumb on your shoulder. Levi moved closer to lean onto the piano for support. Mammon gave you a tearful smile as Beel lifted his hand off of yours. "Of course. Take your time, honey bun." You took several deep breaths to calm yourself before lightly playing the chords. You met the eyes of your partners and hoped that they could see the utter adoration and passion that was flooding through your veins for them. "In case you don't live forever let me tell you now," you playfully elbowed Belphie and turned your head to kiss Asmo's cheek. "I love you more than you'll ever wrap your head around." As the music picked up the tempo once more, you couldn't help but grin even as tears poured down your cheeks. "In case you don't live forever, let me tell you the truth. I'm everything that I am-" You closed your eyes, tilting your head back, as you allowed yourself to give in to the music and fully feel everything that you had been suppressing. "Woah, Woah, Woah. " As you began to sing the melody again, your eyes snapped open as you heard the brothers harmonize alongside you. Lucifer, Satan and Beel's low voices rang deep like the growl of thunder. Asmodeus and Belphie hit the higher octaves, chiming like bells ringing in the wind. Mammon and Levi sang the original notes with you, remaining strong and pure like waves against a shore. You laughed brightly as a radiant sensation of love blanketed you in warmth and soaked up any traces of fear that lingered. "In case I don't live forever, let me tell you the truth." You looked around at the brothers tenderly and softly played the final notes. They all smiled back at you, eyes gleaming with that same sense of passionate affection that you had felt moments earlier. Your heart fluttered in your chest as you came to a realization. No matter how much or little time you had left with each other, you would spend every moment of it at each other's side loving another unconditionally. "As long as I'm here as I am," you rested your head on top of Belphie's and smiled softly, "so are you." *** This was so sweet and sad at the same time and I just LOVED writing it! Oh my goodness, I haven't written a song fic in ages, so this was a little challenging, but I just loved it so much. Thank you @ester-is-here for this beautiful request!*** TAGLIST: @thegrimgrinningghost

@henry-and-the-seven-lords

@satans-beloved-riv

@cosmixbun

@sufzku

[subwaysurf45]

Winter Makes Ice (Ep.3)

Summary:  you’re captured after a brawl at the Avengers building, Bucky and others must save you before Hydra makes a new Winter Soldier out of you, Bucky has given up that title.

Words: 2799

Episode: Three

Warning: not much, flashbacks, talks of violence

Masterlist! Winter Makes Ice Episode: Two

Time: 1:00pm 

Date: October 2nd 2024

It didn’t take long for everyone to board the helicopter and for it to take off, no one was lounging around this morning so they assembled quickly. Bucky sat by himself on the heli, the file was still open in his hands with the page turned to Dr. Wright. Bucky looked over the information that was given; he double and triple checked. There was a car waiting for them when they were going to arrive, Bucky would get dropped off and then Steve, Nat, and Wanda would drive around Halifax but would keep watch for a distress signal. Bucky made it clear it would only be him talking to the doctor, he was practicing his script in his head. 

“Five minutes ‘till landing,” the pilot spoke into his headset, the sound went to their ears sounding like a 1940s radio show. 

“Copy,” everyone replied without unison. 

The plane got lower and lower until it touched the ground; it was a private tarmac for primarily military forces and other important people; SHIELD was always allowed to use it. Everyone got off the plane after the propellers began to slow down, Bucky had jumped off once while they were still at top speed and got flung forward but the air. The all black car stood a ways in front of them, they all took their bags and headed over. 

“What a ride…” Steve muttered as he ran his hand against the perfect hood, this car was brand new and probably had never been in the sun before. It wasn’t a low sport car but rather an everyday car that was bullet proof and decked out with an AI on the inside, no one would take a second glance at it but the four of them marveled at how this car could fit in amongst others. The black rims matched the black tires and the black paint, this was Bucky’s dream car. 

They all got in and the ride began, Steve drove while Wanda sat in the back with Bucky, Nat was in the passenger seat playing her music. Every so often Wanda would look over to Bucky, he could see her out of the corner of his eye, she’d give a sympathetic glance and maybe open her mouth as if she was about to say something but chose against it. Bucky had Dr. Wright’s address on the file sheet; he was giving directions to Steve as they drove through the colourful houses. 

They had never seen houses like this, around four to five houses lined up next to each other, each of them were painted a different colour but they looked the same. Flowers grew in little holders under the two window sills at the front of the house, tulips were the most popular, vines would grow on the side where the sun didn’t shine too much and pain would chip around the bottom of the houses. Some houses still had Halloween decorations up, red leaves scattered on the ground and blew everywhere. There was a brown hue to the world around them, pumpkins were scattered on some door steps while other people still had Christmas lights up from last year. 

Bucky tapped Steve’s head rest and the car slowed to a stop, they looked out to their left to see a house that looked like it belonged to the community. It wasn’t modern and square with sleek grey tiles on the outside, it was old and run down. A ghost hung from the single garage light, one pumpkin was sitting on the doorstep. This house didn’t look like one of a nazi group member, nevermind just a person with their doctorate.

Tons of leaves crunched under Bucky’s combat boots, the road was littered with them, it made it seem like it was a red and yellow road. He looked both ways as he crossed even though no cars were on the road except for the military grade undercover car, Bucky looked over his shoulder to see Wanda waving. They were going to head to a farmers market in this town to pass the time, and Bucky would walk over there when he was done. He gave a thumbs up and the car drove away and down the street, he didn’t watch to see it disappear, Bucky only had one thing on his mind and it wasn’t some apple pies Wanda was looking for. 

The driveway looked new as well as the cobblestone walkway, one car was in the driveway and it looked to match the house, no crazy sports car. There was a screen door before an actual green wooden door, Bucky pulled back the screen and didn’t bother with the doorbell, he banged on the door. When he pulled his fist away there was a flake of green paint on his middle finger’s knuckle, a quick swipe and it was gone. Bucky stood back because he saw that in the movies, his back turned to the door as he looked out to the town. It was a lovely day, most people were probably at this farmer’s market, Bucky had never been to one even though you had offered to take him. 

His head whipped back at the door opening, the same man, but only older, opened the door. He looked tired and worn out, this was probably his last Halloween. The cane he was holding was shaking in his grip, the other hand gripped the side of the door extremely tight. You could see the white through the speckled skin. 

“What can I help you with, son?” the old man spoke with a smile, he licked his gums. A Canadian accent seemed almost cartoon-ish. 

Bucky froze as he looked at this man, the sight of him brought him back to his nightmares and everything he’d been through. The name ‘son’ rolled off this man’s tongue and down Bucky’s spine and sent a shiver running all through him, it was obvious this man didn’t know who Bucky was. Bucky almost felt bad that he was bothering him, it was obvious he wasn’t a walker and standing seemed to be his exercise for the day, but at the same time Bucky couldn’t help but think about all the ways he could rip this doctor apart. 

“Son?” the name came again. 

Bucky looked up with a shake of his head, “hello, are you Dr. Wright?” he asked quietly. 

“Yes it is, what do you need?” he didn’t seem freaked out that Bucky knew his name, it was a small town. 

“My name is James Buchanan Barnes,” Bucky started but the man didn’t seem to figure it out, “I am the Winter Soldier- used to be actually…” Bucky added. 

“Are you here to kill me?” the man’s voice shook, “because if you really are him then you have every right to do so,” he stepped back and opened the door for Bucky to walk in. 

“I’m here to talk, you’re not going to die.” Bucky walked in and kicked off his combat boots, he’d heard it’s a thing in Canada to take your shoes off in the house. He also heard there was bagged milk which didn’t make any sense to him, but he wasn’t about to argue. 

“That’s always good to hear, eh?” the accent slipped out again, it was weird for Bucky to see this man who haunted him just laughing. “Would you like some hot chocolate?” Dr. Wright asked as he made his way into the kitchen. 

His house was small, not many walls as one room just faded into another. Knick-knacks littered shelves and tables, everything brought a homey feel to it all, the house was very lived in. “No thanks,” Bucky waved up a hand to signal no. 

The doctor came and sat across from him, Bucky was sitting on a chair while Dr. Wright took the sofa, they both were wrapped in plastic. It made a squeaky sound when either of them moved but it didn’t seem to bother the doctor at all, Bucky one final time before swearing he wasn’t going to move again and hear that annoying sound. Both of Bucky’s hands were clasped in front of him, he felt too large and bulky for this petite chair, his fingers fiddled with each other. He’d pick and poke at the massive gloves he wore, his long sleeve was covering everything he needed. 

“So, Dr. Wright-”

“Jacob, son,” he corrected, “though I am a doctor,” Jacob hesitated, “I go by Jacob.”

“Is that your real first name?” Bucky asked, he was met with a smile and nod, “then call me Bucky, please.” Bucky smiled back, there was a growing tension between the both of them but they chose to ignore it. 

“Nice to meet you, Bucky.” Jacob seemed to relax at the name, he was scared of Bucky and Bucky could tell. This man had seen Bucky train for years on end, and Jacob knew what the Winter Soldier was capable of. “What do you need to talk to me about?” his cane rested beside him, his hand found its way there and just held it. 

“I need to talk to you about Hydra, any information you have on the Iceland base- or any base in Halifax, Iceland, Greenland, and there’s one more…” Bucky brought a gloved hand to his stubbled chin, the leather making a rough noise when it brushed against the facial hair. “Oh! It was Newfoundland, anything you knew about those four places.” 

Jacob thought for a moment, he didn’t have stubble to rub. Though he was old it was obvious he still thought that it was the old days, hair slicked back and a very fresh shave, facial hair wasn’t allowed unless you had grown it out in private. Bucky had always remembered Howard Stark’s mustache; he couldn’t picture him without it. 

“I mean, I was just a scientist, I ran labs and tested things on animals. I didn’t come up with the world ending plans, I was never told the reason for what I was doing, I was just told to do it.” Jacob sounded worried, “when I used to work for Hydra I was worried for my life everyday, they were so paranoid all the time that someone could be a rat. If you said ‘hail Hydra’ a little too quietly then you’d have a bullet between your eyes, I just kept my head down and did what I was told.” Jacob’s hand got increasingly tighter on the handle of his cane. 

“Was there something new they were working on?” Bucky asked, and he pulled out a little flip book to keep track. 

“I quit a total of ten years ago, when I was seventy-one, the only thing they were thinking of was keeping you in their grasp, there was no other plan.” Jacob shrugged, “Hydra couldn’t see a life source without you, they never intended on losing you the way they did.” 

“So you have no idea what they could possibly be working on, at all?” the hope Bucky had was falling, this was the only lead they knew and if all he could say was there was never a plan B, you were screwed.

“I’m sorry Bucky, I really want to help, but I just don’t know.” Jacob stood and walked back to the kitchen. He filled a glass of water and grabbed three pills from a container before heading back over to his seat. 

“Out of the four places I mentioned, Iceland, Greenland, Halifax, and Newfoundland,” Bucky paused and watched Jacob mutter them to himself and then take the pills, “which one is the strongest?”

Jacob swallowed his pills with water, “Iceland.” without any hesitation, no second guess, nothing giving away he was lying for didn’t know. “Iceland was hell for me, it has the best of the best for agents, scientists, and…” he glanced out the window, “cells and tourture.” 

Bucky shot up right away, he headed to the door. Jacob followed him, glass still in his hand. When Bucky was about to leave Jacob placed a hand on his shoulder. When Bucky turned back around the hand traveled along the center of his chest, “I'm not wired, Jacob.” Bucky eased. 

“Some things just come second nature, son.” Jacob kept his head down, “y’know, I never wanted to hurt you. I thought I was making my old man proud, but I never stopped to realize what I was doing was actually wrong.” Jacob looked up with glossy eyes, “I actually wanted to find you at some point because I know I was the one who woke you up last, I remember clearly the way you looked, right then, I knew I needed to leave that place.” Jacob shuffled over and stood completely square to Bucky, Bucky just looked down at Jacob with a face of horror. The man Bucky saw every night was crying and apologizing to him, he didn’t know anyone who worked with Hydra had a heart. “I’m sorry for everything I did to you,” Jacob reached in his back pocket, he had placed the glass of water on a side table. “Here, take some money-”

“No, none of that, Jacob, really,” Bucky held his hands out, “you’re forgiven, don’t worry about all that, I just need to find someone.” Bucky reached for the door. 

“What do you mean?” Jacob fished in his wallet. 

“Hydra stole my girlfriend, I think she's in Iceland.” Bucky’s eyebrows knitted together at Jacob who was given him a coin. 

“I think you’re right,” Jacob dropped the coin in Bucky’s palm before closing the door, the screen door creaked as it shut quickly with the wind. 

Time: 2:33pm

Date: October 2nd 2024

Steve, Nat, and Wanda were walking around on the closed road, stands of every fruit and pastry lined the streets. Wanda was on top of the moon, she had a tote bag with some apple turnovers in them, that was really all she wanted. Nat had actually bought something too, Steve was genuinely surprised when Nat bought some earrings from a vendor, they were very small and dainty moons that would go in her ear lobes. Steve didn’t buy anything but just liked walking around, there was a lot to see but in a good way, no screens or jumbotrons, just people being people. 

As Bucky made eye contact with Steve, Steve’s phone rang. Nat and Wanda rushed up to Bucky and were asking how it went, but the unknown caller was what Steve was focusing on. 

“Steve Rogers,” Steve lowered his voice. 

“Captain Rogers,” an all too familiar voice hit his ear. 

“King T’Challa?” Steve turned his back to the group. 

“We have three Hydra agents in custody, they tried to take out my sister,” his accent flowed and bounced as he talked.

“Keep them in the cells, we’re on our way.” 

“Will there be more of them?” T’Challa asked before he could hang up. 

“I don’t know, but hold them and don’t kill them, they might be our only hope.” Steve said his goodbyes and hung up. 

When he turned back to Bucky and the rest of them, they seemed scared, Bucky had overheard Steve’s call, super hearing, and was looking at him weird. 

“What was that?” Bucky asked. 

“King T’Challa, says there was an attempted hit on Shuri, doesn’t know where they came from but they want her.” Steve shoved his phone in his back pocket, “what did you find?” 

Bucky just held up a silver coin, “we’re going to Iceland.” 

“We need to go to Wakanda,” Steve stepped forward. 

“Not all four of us,” Nat pulled everyone aside from the farmer’s market, “I’ll go with Steve to Wakadna, you go with Wanda to Iceland. We’ll be talking and before you ambush the Hydra base in Iceland we’ll confirm y/n is in there, deal?” She looked to the other three. 

“Deal.”

“Deal.”

“Deal.”

Winter Makes Ice tag list: @small-death-and-codeine​ @commonintrest​ @buckyys-doll​  @lil-baby-nor

let me know if you want a tag!

[restlessfandoming]

“family holiday” (pt. 2) (chilumi fic)

[SPOILERS FROM 1.1 STORY QUESTS]

Lumine finally arrives in Snezhnaya and takes Childe’s offer of visiting his home (mansion). 

(EVEN MORE DOMESTIC FLUFF OWO)

[part one here]

so it’s come to my attention that childe has older siblings too so OOPS MY BAD LOL

ill just finish up this story with the headcannon that he’s he oldest and prob incorporate the older siblings in future works :p

thank you all for your patience! 

[Fic Masterlist]

“family holiday” (pt. 2)

Lumine stood speechless as Childe spoke to the old toyseller about their “family.” The children were too preoccupied with their new toys to even pay attention to what their older brother was saying. Soon enough, the transaction was done, and he was walking away from the counter. 

The old woman waved goodbye cheerfully. “What a wonderful husband you have,” she said. 

AH? She couldn’t find the words to answer her. 

“Sweetheart? We’d better go—the children are already in the street,” Childe called to her from the doorway. The old woman nodded enthusiastically, and Lumine gave her an awkward smile as she turned away. 

Lumine practically stomped her way to Childe, and would’ve grabbed him by the collar if Teucer hadn’t fallen asleep in her arms. “So care to explain what you were doing back there?” she whispered aggressively. 

“Tonia! Anthon! Stay close!” he called after the children who were showing off their toys to each other down the street. He turned to Lumine. “What was that?”

She glared at him. “Telling that old woman that we’re,” she took in a sharp breath, “a family?” Heat crawled into her cheeks. She hoped Childe wouldn’t notice. 

He shrugged. “It was just easier to avoid explaining the whole situation; I’m not a fan of dragging an innocent old woman into our business.” 

Ahg...he’s not wrong… “You didn’t have to be so enthusiastic about it,” she mumbled. She buried her face in Teucer’s hair, embarrassed as she recalled his words about her as his wife and mother of his children. Him agreeing that she was so beautiful. 

She shuffled away from Childe as quickly as she could with Teucer in her arms. Her whole body was rolling with heat. At this point, I won’t need a coat…

“Something the matter, Lumine?” Childe’s voice rang out next to her. She nearly jumped out of her own skin. Damn him and his long legs. 

“Absolutely not,” she lied. “Just cold.”

“Your face looks quite warm.” She could hear the beginnings of a smirk in his voice. “Do you have a problem with us being a couple?” 

She stopped in her tracks, and faced him. “We are not a c-couple.” 

He took a step in, closer, towering over her. He leaned down. “Do you want to be?”

...

?!

Is he serious?!

His ocean eyes held a steady, intense gaze with her, and Lumine didn’t find herself saying no. 

...Do I?!

She hadn’t ever thought of it—them, together—save for a few fleeting thoughts when they spent a lot of time together, ones she didn’t ever take seriously. But did Childe actually like her? 

Do I actually like him?

Lumine blinked. “I—”

“Brother! Lumine! Hurry up!” Tonia shouted from down the road. 

Childe let out the smallest of sighs. He gave Lumine a strained smile before taking Teucer from her. “Thank you for carrying him.” Then he walked past her, towards his siblings. 

Lumine stood there, frozen by their exchange. 

What was she going to say? She had started speaking before her mind had even come up with an answer. She glanced down the road, at Childe lovingly taking care of his brothers and sister. 

Was I going to say yes?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Big brother always makes the yummiest food!” Tonia said with a mouthful of chocolate cake. 

The family was all sat around the dining table, eating the cake Chlide promised Tonia.

Paimon nodded, wiping the corners of her mouth. “You have lots of money, you can make really good food...Paimon might be warming up to you, Childe.”

Yes, he does cook really well surprisingly… Lumine thought while chewing through her own cake slice. He just keeps surprising me today… She shoveled more cake in her mouth when she remembered what he had asked her earlier. 

“I’m glad you like it,” Childe said, then stood up. “Looks like everyone is almost done; let’s start cleaning up, okay?” 

The children nodded, beginning to pile their plates and utensils in the sink, and wiping down the table. 

“Thank you.” He pointed to the mess of supplies they had used to make the cake earlier. “Can you guys clean this up too?” There was a unanimous ‘yes’ as Childe started washing the dishes. 

Watching all the siblings made her heart ache for Aether even more. She wished he could be there, in the kitchen with her. They didn’t even have to be travelling worlds anymore; she wished he was there for something as mundane as baking a cake together. 

She walked up next to Childe at the sink. “I’ll clean up everything. You should spend time with your siblings.” 

He scoffed while continuing to clean the dishes. “I’m not going to let you do all that work.” He looked around the room. “Plus they’re cleaning up with me anyway.” 

She frowned. You’re missing precious time with your family. “But—”

He held out a washcloth. “Or how about you help me and it’ll go twice as fast?”

Lumine sighed and took the cloth, starting to wash the plates next to Childe. Their elbows bumped into each other every so often. 

Soon, the children were done with their tasks, all chatting while waiting for Childe and Lumine to finish the dishes. 

“Lumine?” Teucer asked shyly. 

“Yes?” she answered while wiping a glass cup. 

“Do you think you and Big Brother could give us another sibling?”

CRACK. The glass in Lumine’s hand shattered. 

Childe froze, then let out a nervous laugh. “Teucer...why are you asking that?”

“Well...I don’t want to be the youngest anymore. I always get babied!” he whined innocently. 

Tonia jumped up. “I want a younger sister too! I’m tired of being the only girl!”

“Yea!” Teucer jumped up with his sister. “And Anthon said that babies only come from a grown-up boy and a grown-up girl!”

Anthon put his head in his hands. “When you asked me, I didn’t think you’d ask big brother…”

“Teucer, we don’t go around asking random adults to give us siblings, right?” Childe said. 

“And, I’m not your mom, Teucer,” Lumine explained. “Even if we had a kid, it would be your niece or nephew.” 

“Oh,” Teucer said, thinking. “Well, can we have one of those?” 

Childe and Lumine looked at each other—briefly, accidentally—and quickly broke their shared gaze. Lumine turned her attention to the ceiling while Childe looked down into the sink. 

“You’re bleeding,” he said. Huh? Lumine looked down to see her ring finger had been cut from breaking the glass cup. 

“Bleeding?” Teucer and Tonia gasped. 

“Bandages! We have to find bandages!” Paimon shouted, flying out of the room. Anthon stood up, dashing out of the room as well with Teucer and Tonia following; all four were soon screaming around the house for bandages. 

Lumine held her hand up. “It’s not too bad.” She looked at the shattered glass pieces. “Sorry about the cup.”

“Don’t worry about the cup,” he said. He gently took her hand to examine the cut. “Hm. You’re right it’s not too bad.” The blood started trickling down her finger. “Ah—” 

Before she knew it, Childe had her finger in his mouth, sucking the blood away. 

“What are you doing?!” Lumine asked, panicked, lightly pulling her hand away from him. 

His hand still gripped hers. “What?”

“I—” She had a flashback to earlier. Do you want to be? 

“About earlier,” he said, his voice dropped. Lumine felt his grip tighten. 

“Did you mean it?” she interrupted. A look between the two.

“That depends on your answer.”

Down the hallway, they heard the rumble of the children’s footsteps approaching. Both Lumine and Childe grimaced slightly in annoyance; Childe’s eye twitched. Interrupted once again.

“Bandages! We have bandages!” Teucer announced, running into the room. 

“I have bandages,” Anthon corrected, coming in after him. “They all just yelled and screamed while I actually found them.” The two other children and Paimon smiled sheepishly. 

“Thank you, Anthon,” Childe said, patting him on the head. He took the bandages, and began wrapping it around Lumine’s finger. Lumine hoped the children wouldn’t question why her face was so red. 

Then, Tonia came close, and kissed her bandage. “Big brother always does that to my bandages; he says it helps!” 

Lumine smiled softly at her. “Yes, thank you, Tonia—it feels much better.” 

“Okay, well, I think it’s time for bed, everyone,” Childe said, rather quickly.

“Bedtime? But it’s so early…,” Teucer said. 

“It’s been a long day,” Childe countered. He started hurdling the children upstairs. “Bedtime!” 

“Paimon would rather fight a gang of hilichurls than look after them all the time,” Paimon said, sighing heavily. “They’re so much work!”

Lumine raised a brow. “You didn’t do anything except eat.” 

“That’s still tiring!” She yawned. “Speaking of which, that chocolate cake really made Paimon sleepy...Goodnight, Lumine!” She disappeared into her world in a blink. 

Lumine let out a small chuckle. She could always rely on Paimon to lighten her mood. She then went up the stairs to find Childe. 

She found him in Teucer’s room, saying goodnight and tucking in the youngest brother. 

“Goodnight, Lumine!” Teucer called to the doorway. Lumine waved in response. Soon, Childe came out and shut the door behind him. 

“I’d better head out and find a nearby Inn or something,” Lumine said. 

“You’re not serious, are you?” Childe asked. “You think I’d invite you to my home and not even offer you a place to stay?” 

“You’ve already done so much.”

He gestured around the large hallway. “We have plenty of room. Save yourself a trip out into the cold, and some Mora.”

Lumine bit her lip. “Okay, fine.” 

“Good,” he said, before heading into Tonia’s room. Lumine followed, watching him say his goodnights to his sister and tucking her in for the night. 

“Noo, please don’t go yet!” Tonia whined under the blankets when he started to leave. 

“Okay, okay,” Childe conceded. He turned to Lumine standing in the doorway. “Sorry, could I ask you to check on Anthon and make sure he’s getting ready for bed as well?”

Lumine nodded. She walked down the hallway and entered Anthon’s room. He was sitting up in his bed, playing with his new Lawachurl action figure. 

“Hey, Anthon,” Lumine said. “You ready for bed?”

Anthon nodded, then put his toy on his bedside table. He sat near his pillows, then looked at Lumine, waiting. 

Oh. She walked over to the side of the bed, and helped Anthon get under the blankets, then awkwardly tucked him in, remembering how Childe did to Tonia and Teucer. 

“Hey Lumine?” Anthon asked. 

“Hmm?”

“Are you and my brother going to get married?”

Lumine choked on her spit. What? “Why—why do you say that?” she asked, attempting to maintain her composure. 

He tilted his head innocently, confused. “Well he’s never brought someone home before. So that means you’re special, right?”

She thought for a second. Everything that had happened today. “I don’t know. But I am glad I got to come here, and meet you and Tonia.” She smiled at him. 

Anthon smiled back. “I’m glad I got to meet you too. I hope you stay with my brother.” 

“Me too,” she found herself saying. Staying with Childe...wouldn’t be so bad…

“Goodnight, Lumine,” Anthon said, closing his eyes. 

“Goodnight, Anthon,” she said back to him, then left his room, closing his door quietly. 

...

“You are,” Childe said behind her. 

She jumped slightly, turning. “You have to stop sneaking up on me like that.”

He chuckled. “Sorry, a habit of mine.” He locked eyes with her. “But you are. You are special.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “So what you asked me earlier? You meant it?”

“Did you mean what you said to Anthon? That you hope to stay with me?”

“Stop answering my questions with more questions.” 

“How about we both say our answers on the count of three?” 

“Why are you always so weird?” 

A small smile from Childe. “One.”

“...Two,” Lumine murmured. 

“Three.”

…

…

… 

“Yes,” they both said. 

A pause. A breath. 

Then, Childe grinned. “What’s this? The traveler has fallen for me?” he teased. 

Her cheeks burned. “I could say the same thing to you.” 

“Seeing you get flustered so easily...It’s hard to believe you’re the strongest person I’ve ever faced.” 

“Shut up,” Lumine said, grabbing his collar. 

He smirked. “Or what? You’ll fight me—?”

She stood up on her tip toes and kissed him. 

Then, she pulled back, and saw his eyes were wide, his face flushed. Her turn to smirk. “Hm. Nice to see you’re the one who’s flustered now.”

“Uh-oh, you’re making this into a competition,” he said. “And you know I always have to win.” He cupped her face in his hands, kissing Lumine until she was weak in the knees. 

And for the first time in forever, Lumine felt a warm happiness—true happiness—radiate from her soul. 

Yes, I want to stay with Childe.

[harveywritings92]

BNHA vampire soulmate scenario: you see them again/ they introduce themselves.

 They find you and don't leave you alone.

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

Dabi: It had been almost a month since the 7/11 incident, Dabi kept his distance watching and protecting you from the shadows, That all change today, he was watching your house from the old abandoned grocery store-across the road from your bar (your house is on top of the bar). He noticed you haven't step outside for almost two days, Dabi frowned as he step out of his hideout and as soon as he got close enough to your home his nose scrunched up as he was hit by a fowl stench: he made a disgusted noise... it was like mix of rotten milk and cantaloupe...

You were sick! but that wouldn't explain your lack of activity...unless- Dabi felt his stomach drop into his feet he checked the gargoyle you keep by the door for your spare key, he unlocked the door and walked inside your house and found you passed out on the floor at the bottom of your stairs! he rush over crouched down to check on you... he put his hand on your neck, Fuck your skin was like a furnace. "What the fuck do I do?" he hissed picking you up of the floor and putting you on the couch in your living room.

You wheezed in protest feeling your body being lifted away from the nice cold floor, your eyes opened straining to see who had moved you? but all you could see was a black and purple blob looking down at you; before moving away from sight as your overheated mind tried to comprehend what was happening, Who was that? How did they get in... but soon you drifted back into unconsciousness, and felt something cold on the back of your head...

You woke up disoriented and very confuse you looked around and you were still in your Livingroom... with half melted bag of frozen carrots resting behind your neck and another bag of frozen corn shoved down your shirt, which bewildered you the last thing you remembered was trying to crawl upstairs and go to your room, than nothing. You heard someone clear their throat and looked next to you to find a man who looked like a ragdoll was sitting in your recliner watching you...

"Who the fuc-" you croaked only for the guy to thrust a yellow pill and a glass of water towards you. "Take this first.." he muttered as you eyed the pill suspiciously "patchy" rolled his eyes at your wariness. "It's just Tylenol." he put the glass on the coffee table and showed you the box, "If I wanted to hurt you, wouldn't I have done it already?" he stated as you hesitantly took the pill and the water from him and swallowed it trying not to gag as it went down your throat. "Who are you?" you hissed voice still hoarse trying not to show fear, which was in vain as Patchy's cerulean eyes lit up in amusement seeing through your bluff. "I have several names, but these days I go by Dabi." he said waiting for your reaction but, to his utter astonishment you clearly had no idea who he was... "ok..."Dabi" How did you get into my house?" you huffed as Dabi gave you this unimpressed look. 

"Y'know the whole reason for hiding a key, is to not make it obvious."

"What are you talking about? What key?"

"Yeah, good one...the key under the gargoyle."

"...I don't keep a key under my gargoyle."

You say watching Dabi's expression shift to confusion as the scarred man pulled the the duplicate key from his pocket, he showed it to you and your stomach felt like it was full of rocks... that was definitely your house key!... But, it looked newer, shinier then the one in your purse. "You don't recognize this?" Dabi asked feeling your fear which caused his instincts go haywire wanting to remove whatever caused the distress, as you shook your head insisting you've never owned a spare key!

Dabi took a sharp breath through his nose, taking it in all the scents around the house before picking up faint traces of a another male... Dabi let out a low inhuman growl as he relaxed against into the recliner. "Good news doll, you gotta a new roommate." Your mouth opened to protest, but something in the deep crevices of your soul was telling you to trust the scarred man as he played around with the duplicate key. with a feral glint in his eye. "Bad news is... It's gonna suck for whoever the hell pissed me off." his purred flashing his fangs at you.  

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

Hawks: You were at work it had been to weeks since Hawks showed up on your doorstep, let's just it didn't go so well... It was like in the movies you opened the door saw the blond vampire standing there, you gasped, screamed and fainted scaring the crap out of the poor guy! At the moment he was currently loitering outside the gym you were teaching at, he could hear some of your students parents talking about you.

"It's waste I tell you, someone with her Quirk should've gone pro!" A woman said in a snarky tone the man next to her nodded. " I agree. if I had a Quirk like L/n-san I would be saving lives and kicking ass, instead of teaching kids how to dog paddle!" Keigo growled looking up from his phone and spoke up. 

"Yeah...She could've gone pro, but instead she's here teaching your kids not to drown..." 

Both adults froze and saw the number 2 hero glowering at them his wings slightly puffed and raised making him look bigger, They sheepishly apologized and scurried off, Just as you walked out, with an unreadable expression it was obvious you had heard everything just now, but were relucted to say anything as the two of you started the routine of walking home together, you were still on the ropes about Hawks. 

When he first showed up (after you woke up) you freaked out thinking he was there to to silence you and keep his secret, however after calming you down, he started going on about soulmates, blood-bonds and you being his other half, you were very reluctant to believe him after all... the first time you saw him, he was covered in blood feeding off a woman who looked half dead! Hawks seemed genuinely remorseful about you seeing that, it wasn't his intention to scare you, he explained how the woman was fine. 

She wasn't dead like Y/n had thought! he just used his venom to put her into a state of ecstasy... she likely has no idea the winged blond had been drinking her blood, She was at home most likely believing she had a wild night with the number 2 hero. He even showed you the girl's social media account to prove it; There she was doing a bathroom selfie bragging about the wicked "hickey" Hawks had given her...

Now here you are a month later and the vampire hasn't left your side since! Well... Except for when he has to go on patrol, then he has one of his feathers following you, and you have this sinking suspicion that Hawks has been sleeping on your roof at night...though you're never sure, you could hear something rolling around up there but whatever it is, is usually gone by the time you go check it out, later that night Hawks texted you inviting you to dinner, you read the restaurant's name... Dang that's pretty swanky place, you didn't even know if you had a dress or whatever to wear! luckily in the far reaches of your closet you found an old black dress that seemed suitable enough for the job... and sighed. " I only wore this once, to a funeral..." you muttered before getting ready.

You wished you had taken a shot of whiskey before you left the house, you were a ball of shaking anxiety as you entered the restaurant, the hostess eyed you with a unpleasant sneer. "Can I help you?" she said in fake sweet tone. "Y-Y/n L/n, I-I'm here to meet a Mr. T.K.?" you stammered the hostess scrunched her nose as she gave you a once over snorted. 

"I don't know how you found out about his reservation... but I can assure you the number 2 hero doesn't associate with your type." she with sneer your face would would've been flushed with anger if you weren't holding back every fiber in your body to slap that smug smile off that bitch's face. "Well can you go check?" you snapped standing up to your full height which threw the hostess off, she curt nod and walked off into the back...

(Hawks knew you were here he could smell you the second you walked in, his eyes briefly skimmed over the menu as he herd hostess approach, without you... "Sorry about that Hawks." the redhead cooed as the blonde looked at her bemused she snorted. "Some fake (h/c) slut tried to say you were waiting on her-" she continued talking as Keigo talked over her. " I am waiting for Y/n." he stated firmly as the hostess finished what she was saying. "Just let me ask my boss to let me off and we ca..." she trailed off and blinked not believing what she just heard.

"w-What?" she chortled thinking this was a joke as Hawks deadpanned repeating what he said. "I am waiting for Y/n, go get her." it wasn't request the hostess looked like a fish as she stared at the No. 2 slack-jawed. "Bu...You.. I- what about me?!" she sputtered lip quivering like a child who'd been denied candy, the winged man just eyed her incredulously making it clear he doesn't know her. "What are you talking about?" Hostess didn't answer she just stomped away to go get you.)    

A few minutes later she came back all red in the face. "Please follow me ma'am." she huffed now it was your turn to be smug. "Oh?... But I thought the No. 2 hero didn’t associate with my type?" you hissed as she snapped her head up to look at you eyes her brown eyes filled with jealous rage and you realized....It was her. The girl from the park. "My apologies ma'am." she said with a forced cheery tone as she led you to a private booth where Hawks was waiting his wings stood up at full attention as you sat down.

"Hey did you have any trouble?" he asked nodded towards the front desk where the hostess was giving both of of you the stink-eye. "You don't recognize her?" you whispered as Keigo's brow furrowed as he tried to piece it together.... had.. they slept together?...Hmm no, signed her tits? that was a possibility, He hummed scratching his beard You could tell he was drawing blanks. "She's the woman from the night...when we met?" His gold eyes widened.

 "Oh... the blood that tasted like charcoal and moldy bread." he grimaced in disgusted as he finally pieced it together you tilted your head as him bemused. "That’s what smoker's blood taste like...to me anyways, other Vamps have told me it varies." he stated you hummed nodding your head both intrigue and worried that you were getting use to this odd situation.

While you two were going over the menu, Keigo couldn't help but notice how off you were acting, you were fidgeting and looking around almost like you were...scared. why would you scared? all the other girls he'd brough.... Then it hit Keigo like ton of bricks. 

He was treating you like one of his fans! and not his...hopefully soon to be lover, Dammit! He didn't even think about your comfort zones or asked if you wanted to go out and where did you want to go, he just assumed you would jump at the chance, because what girl doesn't want to go on a date with the number two hero?

After a few moments Keigo put the menu down. "Hey...wanna get out of here?" You were about to protest but the blond put his hand up. "Let me rephrase that; Do you want go somewhere else?" you shyly nodded Keigo called the waiter paid for the drink he had earlier and the two of you went on a very simple and impromptu park date involving pizza and an outdoor movie theater that Keigo had no idea existed; all in all he actually had fun! 

And so did you given the joy and admiration he was sensing coming off you in waves. as opposed the fear and defensiveness you usually gave off around him, which made Hawks hopeful for the future... but for now he'll just settle on being friends, He smiled staring at the spare key you gave him, the blond let out a tiny churr feeling giddy as he fell asleep on your couch, as you caught him outside earlier.  

…..Yes, he was totally sleeping on your roof.

[drabbles-mc]

Burnt

Kozik x OFC (Tawnie Trager)

Inspired by Day 16 of the July Prompts: sunscreen

Part 2 can be found Here

Warnings: language

Word Count: 1.4k

A/N: Me? Back at it again with another slice of life fic? It’s more likely than you think! In my head this takes place on the same day as my other SOA Beach Day fic Say Cheese but the stories exist separately from one another. Also, if you’re interested in this pairing you can check out these fics: X X

SOA Taglist: @garbinge​ @masterlistforimagines​ @adela-topaz-caelon​ @chibsytelford​ @mijop​ @xladymacbethx​ @i-just-read-stuff​ @jitterbugs927​ @kkim120​ @toni9​ @unicornucopia-fuckers​ @shadow-of-wonder​ @punkgoddess-98​ @paintballkid711​ @black-repunzel99​ @lexondeck​ @mrsstevenbuchananstark​ (If you want to be added just let me know!)

“Dad,” she aggressively shoved the bottle of sunscreen into his hand, “Dad just put it on.”

“No,” Tig tossed it over onto the towel, “I’m not putting that on. I don’t need it. I’ll be fine.”

Rolling her eyes, she picked the bottle back up. She squeezed a generous amount onto her hand and then proceeded to slap it onto his chest, “You’re tough but you’re not tougher than the fucking sun. Get over yourself.”

He groaned as he looked down at the mess of lotion that was on him now, “You fucking kidding me, T?”

“Nope,” she shook her head as she rubbed some into her own arms and legs.

Once she was done, she looked around to see who else was close. She loved all the boys in the club, but she would be the first to tell them all when they were being idiots. She was adamant about the whole sunscreen thing ever since they all decided to do a beach day together. The guys had given her shit about it at first, wondering when she became so concerned with those kinds of things, but when it came down to it the last thing they wanted was the pain that came from serious sunburn. So, most of them silently put some on, refusing to make eye contact with each other and acknowledge the situation.

“Kozik!” she called over to the man who was laying out towels for each of them.

His head whipped up, instantly looking over at her, “Yea?”

“You got some on?” she waved the bottle in his direction.

“Let him get burned,” Tig mumbled under his breath as he wiped away the last of the lotion that his daughter had caught him with.

Tawnie ignored the comment, shaking her head slightly as she waited for Kozik’s answer. He made his way over to her, reassuring her that, yes, he had put some on the second they got to the beach. He knew that there was no way she was going to let him get away with anything else, and she was the last person that he wanted to be pissing off.

“Can you get my back?” she asked as she handed him the bottle, pulling her hair out of the way.

“Um,” he could feel Tig’s eyes boring into him, “sure.”

Kozik silently prayed to whatever gods there were that Tig wasn’t going to pick him up and drown him in the ocean. He tried to focus on the task at hand, but he also wondered if that would make things worse. And she must’ve sense the tension, too, because she glanced back over her shoulder and looked at her father, eyebrows raised.

“You want him to get your back too, Dad?” she asked.

Kozik’s entire body froze up as he waited for the fallout. Surprisingly enough, Tig just sighed and shook his head before turning and walking down towards the water, “Those hands go below her shoulders and you’re a fucking dead man, Kozik.”

She chuckled quietly as he finished applying the sunscreen, “He’s full of it. You know that, right?”

“You sound pretty confident but I’m not so sure,” he chuckled as he closed the bottle and tossed it back into her bag.

“If he was going to kill you, he totally would have done it already.”

“That’s…that’s not as reassuring as you think it is.”

She laughed as she pressed her palms flat against his chest and pressed a light kiss to his lips, “Just relax. Who knows when we’re going to be able to all have a fun day together.”

“And what are you going to spend your fun day doing? Besides assaulting people with sunblock?”

She gave him a playful shove, “Shut up. I’m gonna go fucking swimming, duh. I haven’t been to the beach in ages,” she paused, tilting her head slightly, “What’re you gonna do?”

“Watch you swim,” a smirk crept across his face.

She couldn’t stop herself from laughing. It’d been an interesting, and slightly bumpy, road for the two of them to get to where they were at now. But she was happy about it, about him. And despite the constant pushback from her father, there was a certain type of ease and comfort that came from being with him. She knew that she wouldn’t have ever been able to be with someone who didn’t understand the type of life she lived, and no one understood it better than a man who was actually SAMCRO. But as she stood there looking at him, smiling with a few streaks of sunscreen still on his cheeks, he was more than just a guy from the MC. She never knew what it felt like to date someone who was your best friend until then.

She snapped herself out of her sappy thoughts with a shake of her head, “Don’t let my dad catch you leering.”

“I thought you said he was full of it?”

“I mean,” she laughed as she skipped off towards the water, “nothing is a hundred percent.”

He shook his head and watched her as she took off to go swim and cause whatever kinds of trouble she could manage to stir up along the way. Being with a Trager was a lot of things, but it was certainly never boring.

The afternoon sun was beating down on all of them. Most of them had found their way back to their chairs and towels and started digging into the food and drinks that they had brought with them. Tawnie was camped out on her towel, watching the volleyball game that was happening. Her father and Opie were pitted against Jax and Kozik, and to all of their credit it was shaping up to be a pretty competitive game. But she did notice the fact that Tig’s shoulders were getting redder and redder as the minutes went by—clearly he hadn’t put any extra sunscreen on except what she had forced on him. She shook her head silently, a smug smile creeping across her face. He’d have to learn the hard way, the way that he did with most things.

“Game point!” she called out before taking a sip of her beer.

“Better win this one for your girl, Kozik,” Jax quipped with a laugh.

She chuckled but she could see it on her father’s face that he was not at all amused by the comment. He dove, saving the ball from hitting the sand. There was now a new level of determination and desire to win. He never wanted Kozik to win at anything, but now there was an extra layer on top of it all.

The four of them were going back and forth for a while. Tawnie sat back, unable to hide the fact that she was incredibly impressed by them. Her eyes went wide when she saw Kozik jump up, spiking the ball down onto the other side of the net with an incredible amount of force. She couldn’t contain her laughter as she started clapping.

“Way to bring it home!” she beamed over at him.

“Lucky shot,” Tig said, already shaking his head.

Despite the tension that had been present during the game, once it was over everything went back to business as usual, which Tawnie was incredibly thankful for.

Tig was walking ahead, talking to Jax and Opie while she hung back with Kozik. She slipped her hand into his as they walked, smiles on both of their faces.

“You think it’s alright that I didn’t let him win?” he asked with a smirk.

She laughed, nodding, “It’s good for him. I’m thinking of it as karma for not using sunblock.”

“I think the blisters that are gonna be on his shoulders tomorrow will be karma enough.”

“Maybe,” she laughed, leaning against his side.

He glanced down at her, admiring her still-damp hair and the little patches of sand that were still stuck to parts of her stomach and arms. She looked so at home at the beach, and he had never felt more at home than when he felt her pressed up against his side.

“We should do this shit more often,” he said as they walked along the shore, waves lapping at their feet.

“Yea, well,” she chuckled, “When you guys take a break from your life of crime, we can do big family beach days whenever you want.”

“I’ll bring it up in church next time.”

She laughed, “Well,” she lifted their interlocked hands and kissed his knuckles, “you gotta let me know how that conversation goes.”

“If I live through it, you’ll be the first to know,” he smiled as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

The sound of Tig’s voice cut through the softness of their moment, “Hey! I said no hands below the shoulders!”

[songsformonkeys]

So um... What's gonna happen to reader and Dave on Valentines day? It would be so cute they finally slept in the same bed or if they kissed for the first time. Or maybe they cuddle at least? 🥺️🥺️🥺️ (i totally headcanon that Dave would remember at least some things after sleeping in the same bed but that's up to you)

VALENTINE’S DAY (dave york x reader)

Part of the Sturdy Home verse. Unbeta’d

You had gotten halfway through the day before you realized just what day it was today. Valentine's Day. It had never been the most celebrated holiday in the York household. But like so many things after the accident, you couldn't help but see it in a slightly different light this year. You'd never felt the need to celebrate Valentine's Day before, because it had just seemed silly with a dedicated day for showing your love for each other when the evidence of that love had always been there. Now, you would have given anything for a day with your husband, to get to love him and spend time with him again. But that was impossible. 

If Dave had realized what day it was, he'd made no show of it, for which you were very grateful. You didn't think you would be able to handle being a spectator to Dave's internal struggle to figure out whether he was expected to get a Valentine's Day gift for the wife he didn't remember loving.

He'd made you breakfast, but that was nothing new. He always did on the mornings when he woke up before you. ”Makes me feel useful,” he'd said when you'd told him that it really wasn't his job to feed you all breakfast or to pack the girls' lunches for school. And there had been such desperation in his eyes to let him do something, that you hadn't had the heart to tell him no.

It was Sunday, but you had still decided to get a couple of hours of work done. Your energy was a fickle mistress these days and you had to catch her whenever she appeared, regardless of whether or not that was on a Saturday or Sunday. It still didn't make up for all the weekdays you'd spent crying and getting absolutely no work done.

The girls were playing nicely upstairs and you could hear the muffled sound of the TV in the other room. Dave was probably watching something.

”Hey.”

Or not. You jumped at the sound of his voice behind you and almost knocked over your mug of coffee.

”Jesus, Dave!”

”Sorry...sorry. I just wanted to see if you needed a refill,” he said with a small smile and nodded towards your mug.

”You're not my butler, Dave,” you said and immediately felt like shit as the smile slipped from his face.

”I know. I just... I'll leave you to it, then.”

He’d disappeared the way he'd come before you could figure out how to apologize.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

A few hours later, you and Dave were standing in the hallway and if he had been upset with you earlier he seemed to have gotten over it because now he was smiling again - that soft smile that made your entire insides twist up in painful knots.

”Are you sure you don't mind doing this?” you asked him, not for the first time.

”I don't mind doing this,” he repeated, just like he had the other times you'd asked.

”Because I can cancel if...”

”I have watched them before, you know,” Dave interrupted you. He was right. Dave had looked after the girls plenty of times when you had gone running errands or visited your parents. He was great with them and you knew that you had zero reasons to worry about his babysitting abilities. Yet, there was this tightness across your chest and an unreasonable urge to lock the doors and windows around the safety bubble that was your home. If you were completely honest with yourself, this whole thing might be more about you doubting yourself rather than you doubting Dave.

This thing you were going to would require you to be a normal person for a few hours, and you were terrified that you had completely forgotten how to be just that. Normal. You could fake it, for the amount of time it took to go grocery shopping, but this was for much longer and would require you to actually interact with people.

”Yes, but not for bedtime,” you continued, fully aware you were grasping for straws. Dave was aware too and he reached out to place a hand on your shoulder. You froze and he pulled it back, but let the assuring smile linger.

”You've left us enough money to order pizza for the whole block, and I know where their pajamas and toothbrushes are. They've already picked what movie we're gonna watch, and Full Metal Jacket is a great movie!”

”Dave...” you sighed, feeling a slight tug at the corners of your mouth, despite yourself.

”We'll be fine,” Dave said, and even in his sweatpants and worn t-shirt, there was a certain air of authority about him. That was something you recognized from before. ”And I have your number if I need to contact you. Now go.”

He pulled your coat down and helped you into it. He didn't actually push you out the door but you suspected that was only because you stepped outside on your own.

As you walked towards the taxi waiting on the road, you felt like there was a rubber band attached to your back, straining and wanting to pull you back into the house and back to Dave and the girls.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you returned home a few hours later, the house was dark, save for the lights in your bedroom. You must have forgotten to turn them off before you left earlier. 

It was later than you had planned to be home, but once the worry had finally settled after leaving, you had actually been able to breathe easier. Pretending to be normal hadn't felt as suffocating as you thought it would.

It was completely quiet inside the house when you stepped through the door. It seemed Dave had gone to bed as well. You hung up your coat and took your shoes off before silently tiptoeing upstairs.

You were on your way to the girls' bedroom, to give them each a kiss goodnight when a soft cough came from inside your bedroom. You frowned slightly and made your way over to the doorway where the dim, warm, light spilled out into the hallway.

What you saw when you looked inside, had your breath catching in your throat.

The girls were both asleep in your bed, hugging a plush toy each, and curled up on either side of an equally fast asleep Dave. He was fully dressed, sitting half-propped up against the headboard, with his chin resting against his chest and his legs crossed at the ankles. There was an open book resting on his stomach.

Seeing them like this was a first but at the same time it was not a first and as the memories assaulted you like daggers thrown at your heart, you had to grip the door to steady yourself.

You hadn't seen him properly asleep since he came back, but now... when he looked like this, he could have been your husband. And you wanted it so badly that it felt like the pain was eating you up from the inside.

You should wake him up and get him to help carry the girls back to their beds, or at least leave them alone and go sleep in Molly's bed for the night. But you were weak and so so tired, and right at this moment, you didn't care if it wasn't real. You wanted your family.

So when you moved, it was towards the bed and not away from it.

There was an open spot next to Alice, where you fit perfectly. She stirred only slightly and turned to hug you when you lied down next to her. The movement set off a small chain reaction and, as Alice curled up against you, Dave's head snapped up with a sharp intake of breath. He looked around but stilled as his eyes landed on you. You watched each other in complete silence, both frozen still, like a human that had just come across a deer in the woods and was afraid to scare it away. Except you weren't sure who was the deer and who was the human in this scenario.

In the end, you were the first one to move, perhaps aided by the two glasses of wine you'd had tonight. Slowly, you reached out to take his hand, where it was resting heavily on the open pages of the book he'd been reading to the girls earlier. Your touch was tentative but Dave didn't pull away, instead spread his fingers so you could slide yours between them. You ran your thumb along his, and he mimicked the movement. His hand felt just as warm and strong as you remembered.

”Will you stay with us?” you asked and you knew, as the words left your mouth, that you weren't just asking about tonight or about the bed.

Dave watched you and his eyes were unreadable in the dim yellow light. This was not the first time you'd asked him to stay and as the seconds ticked by, you braced yourself for the same kind of rejection you had gotten the last time you asked.

When Dave let go of your hand, it took all your willpower to hold back the sob that clawed its way up your throat. But despite no longer holding onto you, Dave didn't move away. Instead, he reached above his head to turn off the light. In the sudden darkness, you heard rather than saw, him shift and move down from the headboard to lie down properly.

There was a moment or two of complete stillness before you felt his fingers brush over your knuckles, as he took your hand again.

He didn't say anything, but as his hand tightened around yours and placed it over his heart, you felt that was answer enough. At least for tonight.

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

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[hetalia-has-a-secretary]

Axis and Allies when they run in to their s/o who just dipped out one day 7 years ago with no warning or explanation, except she’s a mom now! And hey that kid looks... uh... kinda familiar... and they’re how old now?

(Basically Axis and Allies find their ex and meet their child who is a dead ringer for their country parent)

Mmmm angst *slurps the spilled angst off the floor*

Ffff- I need to come up with reasons as to why their S/O do this~ (• J •;)

Oh and C/N means Child's Name.

Allies and Axis see their S/O with their kid of 7 years.

Allies:

America:

His S/O ran into him on their way home, and the store they were in had something extremely specific they couldn't find anywhere.

So they took their chances, not really expecting to see America again.

But they did, and it was a long pause in silence.

S/O could physically how hurt he was, but the sight of a child, even if it was obviously his, made him turn around to walk off.

His S/O didn't know what to expect, but him walking away was not one of them. They picked their kid up and went after him.

"Alfie- He's yours..."

He stopped in his tracks, eyes already red, but scrunched in confused anger.

"Why didn't you tell me? After all this time... Why?"

His S/O walked closer to him, not wanting to stir up unwanted attention.

They explained that they were scared their lives wouldn't work out. They were worried he'd be so busy traveling and enjoying life, a new family would weigh him down.

Giving another hard swallow he went to walk away, only for the kid to be eyeing him from his S/O's shoulder.

Neither of them meant to act like this in front of the kid, but none the less America found a way to console them, promising to do what it takes to show how much he cared. About both them, and their child.

Even if it took a few akward phone calls.

England:

His heart shattered. Standing right across the road was his S/O.

And in a spur of the moment he ran across beeping traffic, and stopped barely 10 steps away as he notices the kid.

Part of him hated the fact they ran off, and was happy they crossed paths again. The other part of him wondered if running across a busy road was worth it.

He looked at his S/O, then at the kid, silently asking if it was really his.

A quick nod from his S/O and he immediately knelt down to talk to the kid, making his S/O tear up.

"Hey kiddo. I'm... You must be S/O kid right? I'm an old friend of theirs... My name's Arthur..."

The kid looked up at S/O for approval to interact with this 'stranger', to which they agreed.

"Hi... I'm C/N... How are you?"

England had to fight back tears at this point.

"I'm doing good... Very good. It seems S/I taught you well, you're very polite..."

The kid nodded, saying thank you.

Only later did he find out that his S/O left, thinking he wouldn't want a kid, and it was going to ruin the relationship.

From them on he did everything he could to make up all the lost time, silently worrying over why they'd think he'd wouldn't want a family with them.

France:

He was brutality heartbroken the day they left. Like, this is a HUGE no, no to do to him.

At first he thought they were missing, but when it finally became clear they just left him, he got really cold.

Right up to the point of seeing them in public, on the streets.

Eyes locked, and his S/O expected him to be romantic about, fully preparing to reconnect.

Not what happened. He walked up to them, a crunched up face, obviously smitten with them.

"Why are you showing your face around my home?"

Pain on both sides of the party. His S/I wouldn't be able to get a word in as he assaulted them with questions and accusations as to if they even loved him.

Only when the sound of a small kid calling out for S/O did France freeze.

He was shocked, and looked at his S/O wise eyed.

His S/O gave a vague explanation.

"I'm sorry... But I wanted to raise them outside of a busy city. I told you were I was going to be, didn't you get my letter?"

He shook his head no. Watching his S/O silently cry in front of them.

And in one forgiving swoop he held them close, tears falling from his own eyes as he gave apologies.

After he was done with his S/O, his child was next, he spun them around, immediately repeating the fact he was their father, making the child giggle as well.

China:

Even though he felt close to his S/O he got over it quickly, also being use to people leaving him for whatever reason.

He never expects relationships to last.

But seeing a familiar face, I should say familiar faces, standing at his door made his heart pond, and ache all at once.

He wanted so badly to hold them, but he needed answers.

S/O ride broke down near by, and they needed a place to stay. This was the only place they could think of.

Once the kid was put to sleep, both adults doing an amazing job of keeping their cool, things started to unravel.

He asked about the kid, and why they left. Being told his S/O was simply a bit overwhelmed finding out they were pregnant, so they decided to leave made him almost laugh.

To him it was a ridiculous reason to leave, so he was the one to ask them to stay.

Russia:

He did not do well when he realized his S/O wasn't coming back anytime soon.

He felt their relationship was at its peak, only for them to disappear? Yeah, not going to happen.

His S/O might think they were better off but Ivan, had other plans. He wanted to know why. Was there someone else involved, more specifically.

He hired people to watch them, and when he learned there was a kid involved it angered him. He had to fight every nerve to not go find his S/O himself.

Only when he saw the kids eyes, a brilliant purple, did it click for him.

The reason why they left didn't matter, and he gave them time to change there mind.

When those 7 years past (if even) he went straight to where they were, demanding answers.

His S/O had to explain they were scared having a child around could complicate things. Especially when Ivan himself was trying to change as a person.

That news turned his anger into hurt. He wanted nothing more than to be family with his S/O, and having a kid as well? He already made vows to change, so he became a little more self aware after this event.

He went great lengths to learn about parenting, to the amusement of his S/O.

Though he won't admit it, he is kind of bummed out over the fact he was never able to hold his own kid as a baby.

Axis:

Germany:

Heartbroken wasn't the word to use.

He got a bit more, pig headed for a month or so, but got over it. Assuming it just wasn't meant to be.

However, after seeing a child that looked like a splitting image of him hanging on his S/O's hips said it all.

He literally walked up and straight up asked if the pregnancy was the reason they left.

His S/O sheepishly agreeing.

He gave a sigh, asking them if they'd still be interested in being together.

From there the next few months were spent patching up their relationship.

Japan:

He had to be convinced several times, to leave his room.

Eventually he moved on, but still missed them

So the look on his face when he finds them at an old restaurant they use to meet at, was quite the look.

He cursed himself for the sensation of meeting for the first time.

It was like his body moved on it's own. Up until he spots the kid. Then he tried to backpedal.

Not Because he wasn't happy about being a father (possibly), but he wasn't ready for the news.

He only got so far before his S/O called out his human name. To which he froze and turned around with a bright red face. Obviously understanding the situation.

Surprisingly enough the three of them seemed to connect and get along like it wasn't a super akward moment.

He almost all forgot to ask about why, but saved that question when C/N wasn't around.

He was glad to hear it was just because they were scared. Now he's more than happy to try again, and actually kind of excited to teach this small being about anime... And life things but mostly anime.

Italy:

He's the kind of guy to never get over it.

Even though he's fine on the outside, literally everything I'm his home reminded him of S/O

The amount of whiplash he experienced when finding them in his home town made his skin crawl

To him, it was like seeing a ghost, and it was honestly a bit much. Especially with the tiny clone of him.

Naturally he fainted on the spot.

Later on, in the hands of a medical staff, he and his S/O had a long conversation about the why's, and how's.

His heart still sunk hearing the reason they ran away, was because they didn't want to take away his freedom.

Thing is, his S/O was his freedom. So he listed all the reasons why. Freedom to be him, freedom to admit his fears when others would laugh at him.

They were his source of strength, and safety net. So yeah, he wanted them back. Kid was an added bonus.

[voiceswithoutlips]

Fallen - Chapter One

— pairing: OT7 x Reader (F) — genre: Fantasy AU, Vampire AU, Soulmate AU, Fluff, Eventual Smut, ANGST , Poly!BTS — word count: 2.8k — Rating: M — warnings: minor character death, slight gore — beta: Thank you so much @taegularities​ and @unoriginal-username15432​ for all you feedback <3

Click for Tag List

— chapter summary:  

The people you killed, they haunted your dreams. They would say to you, “What you do always comes back to you, there is no escape from this miserable life.” It was true, there was no escape. In your world there was only darkness, sorrow, fear, hate and death, always death.

— A/N: It is I, your idiotic author. Welcome to my blog <3

Ch. 2

The sound of rain was like a roaring beast. It was almost midnight and the roads were lonely. You stood there in an alley facing a madman, uh, mad-vampire. His eyes were glowing red; he was wearing a dirty grey cloak on his rag like cloth. His brown hair had gotten messy when he’d run away from you but there he was, still as a dead body, waiting for you to attack. There were thick walls on both sides of the alley and behind him was a dead end. He was trapped.

“Lockham, why don’t you come back with me? That way I won’t have to kill you,” you suggested to the psycho killer vampire who stood a mere ten feet away from you. There was no way for him to run so maybe he would attack. You weighed your options - fight? That would’ve been nice; at least your body would’ve gotten some exercise.

He laughed. “You think you can win? Destiny is waiting for you Hunter,” he said in an impressive voice. Another one of those ‘destiny’ believers. Apparently the Goddess had a plan for us all, not that you had much faith in it. Gods don't care about who kills whom or who eats what, they’re more concerned about their own entertainment. You’d never put much faith in any higher power, God or not, nobody gave a shit.

“You’ve killed people Lockham, you’ve been a very naughty vampire and now it’s time for your punishment,”you said as a teacher would say to a naughty kid. He took a step back.

“Who are you to punish me?” he mocked, showing you his blood covered teeth. He was just having a meal when you found him and then you two had a nice chase. You were glad that he ran, you wanted to stretch out your legs anyway.

“Exactly, I’m no one,” you said and took a step forward; he took a step back simultaneously and vanished. What? Vanished? How? You walked forward to investigate and sighed. How careless of you. There was a hole, he fell into the sewer. He must have used cloaking so that it would look like he vanished. The only thing he forgot was to close the hole. You shook your head,  you hated wet places! You jumped down and landed lightly on your feet, without making a sound, perfect.

You were getting bored of chasing him, it was almost dawn and you needed your beauty sleep. You took a deep breath and pulled out your silver dagger. It was your favorite weapon. Silver was deadly to vampires. It was very pretty with a finely carved snake on the handle with emeralds where the eyes should be; a gift from someone you had known a long time ago.  You closed your eyes and let your mind wander through the tunnels. Just like your immunity to silver, your telepathy was stronger than centuries old vampires and you could perform magic. You were a half-witch after all.

You found him running through the tunnels. As soon as your mind touched him, he froze. You were inside his mind now. Reading someone’s mind was nothing like watching a movie or reading a book. It was like waking up from a dream, you don’t remember what you saw or heard but the thing that you remember is the feeling, the essence of the dream. Every being has a certain essence, unique to them. Like walls that you can’t see or touch, but you know they’re there. You could clearly see the tunnel before you, but it was like a distant memory, you were no longer there.

You were in a room, an old room with cobwebs and dust. It smelled of something rotten, like a thousand dead rats. There were worn out clothes hanging from the ceiling - correction, there was no ceiling, just clothes hanging midair and swaying with the wind, except there was no wind. At one corner sat two rusty iron chairs. The window with broken glass showed a full moon. 

There was an old cupboard on the wall with the yellow wallpaper. It was white as if someone had carved it from bone. There were noises coming from the cupboard, screeching, screaming, the cry of a baby, the soothing voice of a mother, someone’s last words. A shudder ran through your body. I will never ever do this again, you promised yourself. 

You heard a creak from behind and you swiftly turned back. There he was, sitting in a corner, the little boy. He held a tattered grey cloak in his hands. His body was folded at impossible angles. He was white as a sheet, there was no blood in his body. He was thin with brittle bones. Dull brown eyes in a sunken face held unimaginable terror. 

He looked up at you. “I’m tired, I want to sleep,” he whispered and quickly stole a glance at the cupboard.

“Then why don’t you sleep?” you whispered back, clearly not wanting to wake anything in there. Yeah, getting into someone’s mind was a nice thing, you could get full control over them... but there was a catch. If something went wrong in that mind or if you failed to escape in time, then you’d be trapped there forever, or die. You were pretty sure that you didn’t want to be trapped in this mind, not here.

“They don’t let me sleep, they keep me awake so that I could bring more and more food for them,” he replied, pointing a finger at the cupboard. Slowly, you understood what he was saying. ‘One without a soul feeds on other’s souls,’ the thought crossed your mind, not a good one.

“What if you don’t bring them food?” You already knew the answer but you asked anyway, maybe just to confirm it.

“I’ll go mad,” he whispered back with horrified eyes.

“Come to me, I’ll help you sleep.” The words left your lips, the real ones which were still attached to your face. Lockham turned back and slowly walked towards you. You could hear his heavy footsteps in the tunnel.  At last he took the last turn and there he stood right in front of you. His eyes were blank. It was like there was no soul in his body, no life. You had him entirely under your control. If you told him to do ballet, he would dance like a professional, but you weren't a sadist. Life had already tortured him enough. 

“Come forward,” you said softly, the sooner it ended the better. He walked forward and your silver dagger slashed through his throat, severing his spine, killing him in a second. Blood splashed and soaked his body. It was a merciful death, you had seen worse. There are worse things than death in this world. Death was just an easy escape.

You stood there for a moment, looking at him, wishing that the outcome would’ve been different. Were you feeling sorry for him? No, you were feeling sorry for yourself. You were a fifty year old vampire and in all your years as a hunter you’d killed hundreds of criminals, but you had never been able to save one. 

People knew and people talked. Some said that you were cursed; you were the representative of death, the spawn of darkness. As a result, the council only gave you high profile cases, criminals that were too far gone to be saved. It was always death. The people you killed, they haunted your dreams. They would say to you, “What you do always comes back to you, there is no escape from this miserable life.” It was true, there was no escape. In your world there was only darkness, sorrow, fear, hate and death, always death.

You pulled out your cell phone and called the police. They would take care of the body. You bent down to leave a tracker near it, so they would find it easily. Lockham’s eyes were wide open, and you closed them. “At least one of us is at peace,” you whispered. 

“You’re home!!” little Lilly exclaimed happily as you walked through the door. Your  family was sitting in the dining room, having supper. You were the firstborn, the eldest of your father’s children. Your father was the Duke of Serafino, the City of Snake; one of the two warrior cities in the Vampire Kingdom. He was a nice man with brown eyes and hair, fair complexion, nicely built but a little short. 

Your stepmother was a beauty; she had blue eyes, fair complexion, sharp features and hair spun like gold. Her children took after her, all cream and gold. They all hated you, except for the little one, Lilly.

“Yay, I’m home,” you said sarcastically. It was hard not to be nice to the little girl who looked at you with wonder in her eyes; she was so full of life. To no one’s wonder you had blood on your clothes and your darling step mother eyed it with a look in her eyes that said filthy. For you, it was like an invitation. You were planning to have supper in your room just like any other day, but you sat down at the end of the table. Your father was seated at his normal seat which belonged to the head of the family. The chair right across from him was the place for his wife, but that was your mother’s place and now it belonged to you. 

Your mother had died in childbirth, you had her amber eyes and olive skin. Her name was Katina. People told you that she’d been a beauty; you had some of her pictures and sometimes you would feel her close beside you. It was a weird feeling, but not bad, not at all. You weren't a person who put her feelings on display, heck you hadn’t even cried in like twenty years! The only permanent feeling you had left was emptiness. You felt numb, like a shell, nothing inside, no love, no hope, not even sorrow after all these years. It felt like you were dead and it was true, your heart was dead.

“I would like some blood sausages Charles and don’t forget the wine,” you said cheerfully to the butler. He was a nice guy, always talked politely. You suspected that he was in love with the cook, Ms. Glen; it would be nice to have some love in this house which felt like living in a coffin.

“How was your day, Y/N?” Lilly asked, her cheerful eyes trained on you. You wondered for how long this child would be allowed to keep her innocence? When you’d been her age ...you shied away from that thought. Thoughts bring back memories and your memories were like old corpses, one would never want to dig them. Instead you took a bite of your sausage - man, they were delicious.

“It was almost nice, Bunny. I played who-can-catch-me with a friend and I won!!” Bunny was the nickname you had given her because she was never still. Everyone paused for a moment; it was really weird and funny at the same moment. You loved how all the eyes drifted to you and back to Lilly. She was beaming because you had won the game. You gave her a small smile.

“Oh that’s wonderful!! Where is your friend now?” Curious little kid, everyone paused again, including you this time.

“You see, we were playing on a bet. He lost the bet so he had to …go to another city.” You were very good at lying, but her beaming eyes and pure innocence made it hard. It was impossible to lie to that child.

“When would he come back?” she asked, and you sighed. Your plate was half empty and the looks everyone were giving you just killed the hunger inside. You stood up with the wine glass in my hand.

“Chew your food, Bunny,” you replied and left the room.

Your room was a mixture of blue and gold. The wallpapers were straight lines of different shades of blue. The furniture was of mahogany wood with fine carvings. The round rug was golden on the edge and blue in the middle, it looked like a pool of water. All the linen was blue and gold as well. Your bed was round and big with golden bedposts and curtains. You had a balcony of your own with a little fountain with a sculpture of a mother and her child. You had spent a lot of time taking care of the blue roses in your garden. 

The front wall was covered with your music collection. You found peace in music, it was the only time when you could just forget everything and float. You quickly changed and crawled under the sheets, picking up the remote from the side table and pressing the play button. It was Mozart’s duo. What an amazing symphony! It helped you drift back to your happy memories.

Unlike your half brothers and sisters, you were raised in Tiria. It was a small town on the edge of Serafino. You were raised by the Countess of Tiria, a very kind woman. She had grace, beauty, and wealth but no children. She showered you with love and pretty gifts. You had excellent teachers for your education. You learned everything from crochet to fencing. 

The manor there was old and beautiful. It had a beautiful garden and a whole forest around it. You would often go into the forest, just to explore it. Those were the happiest days of your life. Until your tenth birthday - the day the Countess died.

Just like the symphony, your thoughts turned darker. You’d been happy that day; the maids had told you that you were going to have a big birthday party. The Earl had been there for two weeks now. Your innocent mind had thought that he was there for your birthday. That morning you were out in the gardens, picking up some red roses for the Countess, it was something you did every day. You would just run into her room to put them on her side table, she loved that. You held the bunch of roses in your tiny hands, running through the house to her room. You were wearing a very pretty white dress with laces and pink ribbons. Your bare feet softly met the stone floor as you ran to her room and pushed the door, happily calling to her.

The Countess was there, lying on the floor in a pool of blood. There were bruises on her body and a sword, stabbed right through her heart. The handle of the sword was in the hands of the Earl. He twisted the blade with a cruel smile in his eyes. Then you screamed. The flowers falling from your hands, red roses into red blood - they were the same color. Your pretty white dress was now red. You backed away still screaming, leaving little red footprints on the floor. The maids came running to you and held you tight as you screamed and screamed. You don’t remember for how long you were screaming or what happened later.

You drifted off to sleep. 

It was a beautiful forest. The trees were so thick that sunlight barely touched the ground and everything was covered in moss. You were standing there in front of a giant wolf. It wasn’t a werewolf, it smelled like a  regular  one but just giant, like a direwolf. It was growling at you, baring his teeth. You had no weapons with you, you double checked. You looked around for an escape, you could kill him with your teeth but they weren’t as sharp as they’d used to be. You looked at your nails, they were fragile. Heck! You were human!!

“Y/N, wake up!!” the wolf suddenly spoke in a girly voice. It didn’t make sense, really.

“Are you a girl?” you asked the wolf who was ready to kill you. Talking to an animal, guess you had finally lost your sanity.

“Y/N!!” Someone was shaking you, trying to wake you up without much success. Then you realized you were sleeping under a bunch of blankets and pillows. It was three in the morning; you could tell by the smell of the air. You peeked at the person who had dared to disturbed you. It was Lily.

“What is it, Bunny?” you asked sleepily. It was good she had practice understanding you while you sleep talked, if it was anyone else, they would’ve thought you were talking gibberish.

“I had a bad dream,” she said with a puppy face. You knew what she wanted; she wanted to sleep with you. 

“Me too,” you replied and ran your tongue over your teeth, yup, still vampire. “Come here you,” you said, grabbing her and stuffing her under the pile of blankets and pillows. You loved a warm cozy place to sleep. You held her like a teddy bear and dozed off again. She was so soft in your arms and she held tight onto you. Protecting someone was a good feeling. You went back to sleep as if  you had never woken up.

NEXT

[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.

[wallwriterstuff]

Obsession ||Yandere!Alec Volturi x Female Reader|| Part 1

Warnings: Yandere!Alec, obsessive behaviour, unhealthy relationships and implied non-con later on. This is possibly one of the darkest fics I have ever written so please be aware if controlling behaviour, gaslighting etc. If this is triggering to you, do not read this fic. This and posts like this one will be tagged under dark themes so please feel free to block that tag if you do not want to see content like this in the future. 

The following link will take you to a Citizen’s Advice Page that have resources regarding Domestic abuse and violence. They detail various organisations offering support, refuge and advice for both women and men in abusive situations, however these only apply to the UK. 

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/gender-violence/domestic-violence-and-abuse-getting-help/ 

I am from the UK and therefore am not sure about what resources may be available internationally, however I know many of you are from places outwith the UK. If you have any resources you know of that would be useful or helpful to add here then please do! You can reblog this post with link in or message me a link to have me edit it into the original. I will post this link and any that get added in all three parts of this fic that I post. 

Words: 3116

Summary: A request for @tiger-khans-blog Savings your sister’s boyfriend was an act of kindness, something you had done out of the goodness of your heart, but hadn’t they always said the road to hell is paved with good intentions?  Alec is aged up to 16 in this fic.

Part 2: When You’re Lost I’ll Leave My Gaslight On 

Part 3: These Violent Delights 

It had been near constant since you’d entered the room.

His eyes were the most piercing ruby red – until they weren’t. The onyx colour had followed you ever since you’d set foot in the throne room, a sharp inhale being the extent of his communication with you. If he wasn’t so damn creepy he might have been handsome, with his shock of dark hair framing a pale face with all the sharp, angular cheekbones and jawline of a model. He was taller to, definitely taller than you by at least half a head, but his stare was piercing and completely at odds with his otherwise apathetic expression. He showed no emotion at all yet the way he looked at you…it was like the whole world revolved around you and only you. There was hunger and excitement and need and envy and a whole host of other emotions in his eyes. It had made you so uncomfortable you’d gravitated towards Alice as best you could, but the whole plan had gone out of the window when the hulking mass of muscle they called Felix started towards your sister.

Isabella Swan was two years older than yourself, but for most of your life she had been the one taking care of you. Renée hadn’t planned on having a second child but like so many other things in her life, you were a complete accident. As loving as your mother was, she wasn’t necessarily fit to take care of one child, never mind two. Bella was the one who had helped with homework, who had crawled into your bed with you when you had nightmares or were sick. To see Felix coming straight for her was like something straight out of a nightmare and you’d moved without thinking. One minute you were facing the taunting smirk of a mountain man and the next the room had blurred, and your vision was filled with the furious stare of the boy who had been watching you all day.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he hissed. His grip on the tops of your arms tight enough to bruise. You winced, wide eyes filling with tears, and in the next second the boy had released your arms and moved to tenderly cup your face. “Shhh, shhhh sh sh, it’ll all be over soon.” He promised, thumbs stroking your cheeks while you tried to squirm out of his grip. His eyes hardened, clearly unhappy with you trying to escape him. You could only see him, his face the only thing in your vision, but you could hear what sounded like rocks colliding, granite smashing. Your body trembled, anxiety filling you up. It wasn’t clear if the boy was more upset with your trying to get out of his grip than your interference with Bella’s execution, but those coal black eyes never lost their laser focus on you.

“Alec?” the petite blonde beside him sounded thoroughly confused while you fought off a shudder. You hated how his name sounded so appealing. Everything about him was enticing, even his scent, but he terrified you beyond belief with the way he was acting.

“Is it the noise? Would you prefer not to see? To hear?” he asked. In the next second it was all gone, like the world had fallen away around you. You couldn’t see, couldn’t hear; you were left screaming in your own head with absolutely no idea if you were still in that awful, awful room or if your soul had mercifully fled your body before you could feel any pain. There was simultaneously nothing and everything, an endless abyss of silence and the imprecise, ever-shifting image of what you thought you remembered the Volturi’s throne room to look like wavering in your head.

Being left alone with your imagination was somehow worse than seeing the actual thing. In your mind Bella was torn in half, one hand stretched towards you while the other remained in Felix’s grip. Alice was trapped by Demetri, Felix holding Edward by the throat. Then the scene would shift and Bella was limp in his arms with Felix’s mouth attached to her neck, both Cullen’s dead and Alec descending on you with that insane stare of his. There were too many ways to envision what mutilation might have occurred and you were beginning to drive yourself insane with them when suddenly the darkness faded.

You blinked rapidly, unsure if what you were seeing was real since it was so blurred. A gentle hand dabbed rough wool beneath your eye and you realised the world looked so watery because you had been crying. Alec used the sleeves of his jacket to dry your tears. Bella was watching you with horror filled eyes, your trembling body almost giving way as you fought the urge to run – you were sure Alec would just drag you back. You could feel his breath on the side of your face. He clearly didn’t understand the concept of personal space.

“Mesmerising, to see what you have seen before it has happened.” Aro murmured, stroking Alice’s hand before she pulled it back with a clearly forced smile.

“But what will.” She reminded him. He clapped his hands, looking so joyful you were left utterly paralysed with confusion. Did he not understand how terrifying this all was? Had he not seen the sheer crazy that was waiting to burst forth out of the boy holding you back? His behaviour was erratic, completely at odds with the rest of the refined and well disciplined Guard. How could Aro not see?

“Yes, yes it’s quite certain, you are free to leave.” Aro informed them. Your breath escaped you in a rush and you immediately tried to dash for your sister. Bella had opened her arms straight to you and the safe haven was so close, yet so far. Alec didn’t let you take a step, hauling you back against his chest and burying his nose in the crook of your neck, inhaling deeply.

“No you don’t, I’ve waited too long.” He grumbled. You struggled frantically, the tears springing to your eyes again as Caius tried to protest his brother’s decision. You had drawn the attention of most of the Guard and the man you knew to be Marcus by now though, the brunette king looking somewhat sympathetic towards you. For a man with no respect for human life to look at you like that could most certainly not be a good thing.  

“What are you doing brother? Let the foolish thing go.” Jane said, reaching for his arm. His head snapped up, a growl rumbling through his chest into your spine. If looks could kill, you had no doubt the petite blonde would have burst into flame then and there, bursting into a thousand pieces with the intensity of the danger in his glare.

“Bella!” you whimpered. His hold was like having an iron beam wrapped around your torso, two strong arms refusing to let you move so much as an inch from his chest. It didn’t make sense, none of it did, why was he so obsessed with keeping you near? Did he want you dead? He couldn’t, he’d had plenty of chance to do so by now and hadn’t taken a single opportunity to hurt you on purpose. So what was his problem with you?  

“Alec, dear one, is something the matter?” Aro asked, eyes glistening.

“Aro.” His brother held a hand out to him and the black haired leader flashed towards him while you continued to struggle, your frustration mounting.

“Let me go!” you cried, You stomped on his foot – nothing. You threw your elbow back into his ribs – nothing except a sore elbow for you. You tried to pry his arms away from your body – nothing.

“No.” he hissed. You squeezed your eyes shut.

“Let me go! Please! Let me go!” you begged.

“I said, no.” he repeated, his voice ice cold. Your heart rabbited in your chest, the nausea in your throat rising until you were sure you were on the verge of throwing up. You could barely breathe and it wasn’t just his tight grip that was the problem. There was a panic attack looming on the horizon for you if he kept this up.

“Please, let her go, she’s done nothing wrong. Aro said we were free to go.” Bella tried. She took a step towards you and with one swift jerk he had turned his back on her. You screamed, your limbs fatigued and losing strength with every hit.

“I’m afraid young Y/N will not be going home with you,” Aro’s voice was soft, “To separate them would clearly only cause harm. Alec cannot leave his mate.” You froze in his grip, fingers curling into the fabric of his jacket as you lip trembled. Mate? Mate? What the hell did that even mean? Animals mated, not humans! Was that what he was implying? The boy was so horny for you he wouldn’t let you leave? The fear that gripped you was utterly paralysing as you thought of a thousand different scenarios that made you want to be utterly sick with the horror of them; your choices taken from you, your voice inconsequential as he did things to you you never consented to.

“She’s my sister! Please, I’ve looked after her since she was born, you can’t just-“

“And from this day forth she’ll be looked after by me. She is mine.” Alec snarled quietly. He didn’t seem to notice you’d gone completely rigid in his grip.

“Alec her father will be devastated, she hasn’t even finished school, if you keep her here you’ll just make her unhappy.” Edward tried to reason with him, but he merely tightened his grip on you. You cried out, a sharp pain ripping through your midriff as he almost choked the life from you. The blonde-haired Guard appeared in your line of sight then, his expression somewhat concerned as you struggled to force air into your lungs. If Alec could hear you rasping for air he didn’t show it.

“Alec, old friend look at her,” he coaxed. Alec had done plenty of looking at you, you didn’t want him to look anymore. You shied away from his gaze, head ducking and hair falling between you. Shuddering gasps escaped you as your heart began to roar in your ears, a sure sign there wasn’t enough oxygen getting into your lungs. One arm moved from around your waist but you were too scared to move away from him now, his freezing cold fingers gently brushing your hair back. You flinched.

“She’s mine, Demetri.” He insisted, frowning like a petulant child who was being threatened with their favourite toy being taken from them. Demetri nodded his head.

“She is, and yet she flinches from you. You are scaring her Alec, and she will most definitely bruise if you keep holding her so tight, that’s I she doesn’t suffocate first. Do you want that for your mate? Do you wish to hurt her? To make her fear you?” he questioned. Alec gave a soft wince, immediately loosening his grip.

“I’ve hurt you?” he asked, looking a lot like a wounded puppy now. You swallowed past the lump in your throat, not trusting your voice to remain steady and simply nodding in response. His eyes were still wide with conflicting emotion, but Demetri seemed to be getting through to him at least. You were grateful, and pleaded with your eyes for the man to keep going.

“You cannot simply claim her Alec, she is so young still, would you not prefer her to live a full life and come to you willingly?” Demetri wondered. You felt your stomach drop as Alec’s expression hardened.

“You’re trying to take her from me to.” he growled.

“Alec you are-“

“She, is, not, leaving!” he snarled, a sea of black exploding around him. Your eyes widened, a cool mist swirling about your legs as you finally managed to stumble away from him. Only Bella was still standing, the others having crumpled to the floor until only he, you and Bella remained conscious.

“Y/N!” she cried out. He didn’t stop you running to her this time. You stumbled into her arms, sobbing and shaking. She held you tight to her, her fingers pressing harshly into her skin. It felt like butterfly wings caressing your flesh compared to Alec’s vice like grip. “It’s okay, we’ll figure this out, it’ll be okay, you just have to-“

“Make this quick, say goodbye to your sister. That’s what you want isn’t it? A proper goodbye?” Alec asked, mist still pouring from his hands as his black eyes followed your every move. You shook your head frantically.

“I don’t want to say goodbye, I want to go home! Let me go home!” you begged. Alec hissed.

“What don’t you understand? You are my mate! I’ve waited a thousand years for you, you are mine and you cannot walk away from me!” he snapped. Bella tried to hush you, stroking your hair gently as you collapsed into her.

“Please don’t let him keep me here.” You cried. Bella remained silent, horribly, startlingly silent. Her hands shook as she held you close. Alec approached you, the mist seemingly absorbing back into his body as he walked. The room was in an uproar as soon as everyone was on their feet again, Felix and Demetri forcing him to his knees with furious expressions. He still never took his eyes off of you, his expression devoid of any and all emotion suddenly.

“Are you insane Alec? Using your gift on us? We’re trying to help you!”

“How could you brother? You broke our promise and for a human no less!”

“What insolence is this? Need we remind you of your place boy!”

Alec didn’t respond to any of the accusations, his neck straining so he could keep his eyes on you. Aro only had to touch his hand to know his intentions for you, but you didn’t dare look anymore, choosing instead to bury your face in your sister’s neck as you struggled to calm your breathing and sobbing.

“I would advise you leave now.” Felix huffed.

“We can’t,” Edward’s voice was quiet, apologetic, “Y/N, if we take you, he’ll destroy us all.” Your chest constricted, you felt like you could barely breathe as a lead weight settled in your gut. Destroy them? Alec was a killer, if the red eyes hadn’t told you so then his actions just now had. It wasn’t difficult at all to believe he’d go so far as to kill anyone who stood between you both, but what hurt even more was that you didn’t trust him to be good to you if you stayed either. Why did it have to be you? You’d come to Volterra to do something good, to save someone’s life! So why were you losing yours?

“You ought think on your actions Alec, your mate will be here waiting for you, but for now you need some time to reflect on your position. I think two weeks in the dungeons ought to suffice.” Aro’s voice was ice cold, his fury obvious. Clearly, he had never thought one of his own guard would dare use his powers against him.

“You monster! You fucking monster! Edward I can’t leave her here, she’s my baby sister!” Bella protested. You tightened your grip on her shirt, eyes itchy red and cheeks wet as the terrible weight of hopelessness sank down on your chest. There was no way out. Even if they had tricked Alec and let you leave what then? Did you run from him for the rest of your life? Did you just wait for him to find you? Maybe the dungeon might mellow him out some? It was a bit of a relief really, when the stress just shut your brain and body down, even if the moment of relief was as brief as blinking.

You could almost pretend nothing had ever happened, that perhaps you were at home, as your consciousness dripped back into you. You were on soft sheets, your pillow cradling your head, and you wanted to just burrow away in them. The only thing was, you could feel sunlight warming your skin, and that addictive, woodsy smell was not the lavender your laundry usually came out smelling like. You felt awfully nauseous for a moment when you opened your eyes, your body readjusting to having your brain in control once more, but the red eyes that met yours were far kinder this time than Alec’s aggressively territorial stare. The chestnut brown hair and angular face was familiar to you, and you warily sat up to lean back against the headboard. Demetri let you put the distance between you with an aura of calm that tempted you to relax to. He was alone, no Felix or Jane by his side, but that didn’t mean he was any less dangerous.

“Where’s Bella?” you whispered. She had to be somewhere nearby. Maybe she was in the bathroom? Or had gone to find food and drink? How long had you even been out? Whose room was this?

“She and the Cullen’s departed for their return flight to America not an hour ago.” Demetri informed you. Your stomach dropped, your nausea rising and face paling.

“No…no she – she didn’t leave me here, she didn’t….you’re lying!” Knees curling to your chest, you gripped tightly at your jeans until your knuckles turned as white as your face.

“Not without protest,” he assured you, his voice softer now with sympathy, “But it seems Alec has become unpredictable. His reaction to the mate pull unnerved us all, you are not alone in your fear, though perhaps we fear different things.” His voice was soothing in a way not much else to you was right now. Thoughts swirled in your mind, the bitterness at your abandonment only outweighed by terror at being left behind.

“What is he going to do to me?” you asked, your voice barely more audible than a whisper. Demetri’s head tilted.

“And that is why I am afraid…I truly cannot tell you.” He murmured. He didn’t exactly comfort you when the tears came again, your eyes beyond irritated with all the crying you’d done today, but he didn’t stop you from letting your emotions run away from you instead. He remained close enough to remind you you weren’t alone, but Demetri didn’t hold you as Bella would, or stroke your hair or do anything remotely soothing. His greatest gift to you in that moment was to simply let you be human.

You didn’t know how long that would last.

[four-loose-screws]

FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 17, Section 1

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

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Chapter 17 - The Demon King's Shadow

There were five Sacred Stones total, and all of them were passed down within each of the nations of Magvel. Eirika and her army had safely obtained Renais' Sacred Stone, but Grado, Frelia, and Jehanna's Stones had already been destroyed.

They now were seeking the last one, and so they decided to march to the Theocracy of Rausten. Their guide was none other than Princess L'Arachel.

Once they left Renais, they traveled in peace for a long while. They were not attacked by any enemies nor any monsters. They were also blessed with good weather, and L'Arachel was in a fantastic mood.

"It's good to return home sometimes. I wonder if Lord Uncle is doing well?"

Dozla was walking alongside her. His guffaw echoed through the air. "Pontifex Mansel is sure to be very surprised! You've grown into an even finer young woman than you were when you left home, Lady L'Arachel!"

"Oh, Dozla, stop it!"

*Can I ask you somethin’?" Rennac was trudging along behind them. He said with a bored, apathetic look on his face, "This Pontifex Mansel person will pay me my money, right? Every gold coin his niece has avoided paying me…?"

"Oh, that's right, Eirika! There are many exceptional bards in Rausten. And the one we all talk about most, Saaga, is so amazing that he moves me to tears no matter how many times I listen to him perform. I want you to hear him as well!"

"...Uh-huh..." Eirika turned back and caught a glimpse of Rennac out of pity for him. 

He looked utterly exhausted and worn out as he muttered, "...She ain't even listenin’." 

Eirika didn't know whether L'Arachel really didn't hear him, or whether she just pretended not to, but either way, L'Arachel's voice gradually became more and more cheerful.

"But this time, it is my turn to tell the bards of my many adventures! Our services for the greater good are sure to become a beautiful poem passed down for many generations to come!"

"If so, I wonder if I will be in this poem as well?"

"Oh, Dozla, of course! You will go down in history as my loyal servant!"

"Ohhhhhh, what an honor that will be! You have moved me greatly by saying so!"

"You don't have to record much of anything about me. Just pay me." Rennac muttered.

"We will soon reach the Narube River. Dozla, do you remember when we crossed it? Monsters were trying to attack a boat traveling upon it, so we gallantly rushed in and saved some ordinary citizens who were trying to escape…"

"We should be able to rendezvous with the Frelian Army here." Innes forcefully cut into their conversation. He unsurprisingly seemed to be fed up with L'Arachel's cheerful banter.

Eirika smiled and added to show that she heard what he'd said, "Yes. And when we do so, it will make all of our battles from here on out much easier."

"Of course. We will be teaming up with Frelia's most elite unit."

The Frelian Army had departed their home country following a different route from Eirika's army, and were now going to Rausten as well. Eirika had received a report from the pegasus knights that they should be able to meet up somewhere within the vicinity of Narube.

They would combine with the Frelian Army to bolster their numbers, then obtain Rausten's Sacred Stone so they could capture Lyon this time with all of their forces. That was her army's current strategy.

No matter how powerful Lyon's Dark Stone may be, they had nothing to fear if they had two Sacred Stones. The army he led was now nothing more than the survivors from Grado, so his numbers and weapons likely wouldn't compare to Eirika's. L'Arachel and all of the other members of her army were making cheerful expressions because they could feel hope for the road ahead.

But their cheerful march did not last for much longer. The moment they reached the Narube River, they froze. Two ordinary citizens were cowering alongside the road.

They were a young girl and an elderly man. The exhausted man was comforting the girl, who appeared to be his granddaughter.

The girl noticed Eirika's army and pulled back in fear.

Eirika dismounted her horse and quietly approached her so as not to surprise her. "What happened? Do you live around here...?"

"...You're not with the Grado Army? You're not, right?" The tension drained from the girl's body with a sigh of relief. 

But on the contrary, her words made Eirika's army nervous. "You saw the Grado Army? Somewhere close to here?"

"Yes."  Terror flashed through the girl's big eyes, and she nodded. "They attacked us suddenly. A group of soldiers wearing Grado’s armor came here… and set our village on fire. They killed all of the men who tried to stand up to them… Just when we thought it was all over for us, Frelia's pegasus knights rushed in and saved us. But… the Grado Army is so strong it's terrifying… most of the soldiers from Frelia were killed."

"What? The Frelian Army was killed by the remaining soldiers from Grado?" The color drained from Innes' face, and he pulled in closer to the girl. 

His angry expression spooked her. She shrunk back closer to the old man, then nodded. "Y-Yes…"

"Not all of them were defeated, right? For every last member of Frelia's elite to be gone…"

"No, there is a unit still fighting. But only one. The other units were all defeated. There's still a few friends in our village who have yet to escape… The last of the Frelian Army is still doing everything they can to protect them. Please save them! Please…"

"Understood. Let's go, Eirika!" Innes shouted.

However, Eirika was worried about the look on the face of the crouching old man that the girl had protected. His face was twitching like he'd suffered a horrifying experience, and his lips moved as if he was trying to say something.

Eirika approached him, bent down next to him, and gently said, "You're okay now. We will defeat the Grado Army and save the villagers. Please try to relax and…"

"...No match… for him." The old man muttered something in a muffled voice. 

"Huh?" Eirika responded.

"You are… no match… for him. You are no match… for a terrifying person… like him…"

The man was shaking all over, and continued speaking in a mumble. The words that she only just barely managed to make out were ominous. "No… he's not… a person… He's not... human… He's… a monster… He's… the Demon King…"

"The… Demon King? What does that mean?" Eirika felt a chill crawl down her spine for no discernable reason, and her voice lowered to a hush.

The old man's eyes were wide open, and his breathing was shallow. 

His granddaughter noticed this and wrapped a blanket around his shoulders, then she said to Eirika, "I'm sorry. Grandfather rushed right out when the village was attacked… and seems to have seen him. The commander leading the Grado Army…"

"Their commander? Who could it have possibly been…?"

"I didn't see, so I can't say anything at all, but… Grandfather was saved by the Frelian Army when he was in danger. Still, he's absolutely terrified. I have no idea what he saw."

"...Can you tell us what kind of person the enemy commander was…?”

The moment she tried to ask the man for more details, L'Arachel suddenly cried out, "Look at that! There's someone over there…"

Eirika looked up in the direction L'Arachel was pointing to.

A black shadow rose over the grass.

Or so it appeared to be at first glance, for it radiated a gloomy aura all around it. Then Eirika realized that it was someone she knew well, standing with his back slightly hunched over, not moving a muscle. 

Eirika whispered before she even knew what she was saying, "Lyon…?"

Grado's prince was staring at her from beneath his long bangs. His eyes were cold and unfeeling.

Eirika's heart was filled with a sense of relief. Even though they were currently enemies, they could communicate with each other from the heart. ‘I'll always be your ally…' She could hear his voice clearly even now.

'I want to talk with him. I want to ask him for the answers to all of my doubts.' With her mind focused on only that one thought, she tried to walk over to him.

But Ephraim saw her moving and sharply yelled at her to stop. "Stop, Eirika! Don't get anywhere near him!"

"Brother…?"

Ephraim stood in front of her as if to shield her from something, and glared at Lyon.

Lyon's expression abruptly softened. Considering Ephraim's threatening look, his was so gentle it was strange. "Hey, Ephraim… What's the matter? Why are you making such a scary face…?"

 "Lyon! How dare you appear before me with such a calm look on your face!"

Lyon tilted his head at Ephraim’s violent words like he didn't know what Ephraim meant.

"You remember the time we met in the capital, right? Don't tell me you forgot!" Ephraim's voice became more and more harsh with each word. Lyon, by contrast, was calm, and even smiling.

"Of course I remember! I would never forget… Ephraim, we're finally meeting again after so much struggle… Why are you so mad? Did I do something to upset y-?"

"Shut up!" Ephraim sharply cut him off.

Eirika anxiously looked for an opportunity to stop her brother. If he continued to speak with such hostility, they would lose their chance to talk with Lyon.

However, his anger was so fierce that she couldn't carelessly call out to him. All she could do was watch over them, with all of her apprehensions weighing on her mind.

"What did you say then? That you were the one who instigated this war… and that you were the one who invaded Renais and killed my father? That was what you said, right?!"

"Ephraim…" Lyon suddenly made a sad face in response. 

Eirika couldn't stay silent any longer. She softly placed a hand on her brother's back and said, "Please stop. Brother. Don't talk like that."

"Eirika…"

Ephraim turned around and said in a strong tone to warn her, "He's not the Lyon we know. He's being controlled by an evil power. Probably the Dark Stone…"

"That can’t be… You're not yourself today, Brother…" Eirika could feel that Ephraim had made up his mind.

Eirika didn't know exactly what their conversation in Grado Castle had been like. Everything she knew was from her brother's report. She didn't think that he had lied to her, but they couldn't say there wasn't a chance that he lost himself when he was agitated, and interpreted everything Lyon said as animosity, even though Lyon might have come seeking reconciliation.

"Why are you looking at Lyon like he's suspicious? He's our dear friend, isn't he?"

"Eirika…"

 "Lyon said that he will be our ally no matter what. Isn't that right, Lyon?"

"Yes, of course! I'm so happy, Eirika. You really are very kind. Why don't you come… closer…" Suddenly, Lyon's body stiffened. He bit his lip, signaling that he seemed to be enduring intense pain. But he couldn't suppress his voice, and a quiet groan escaped his lips.

"Lyon? What's the matter? Are you alright, Lyon…?" Eirika remembered that Lyon's body was not very strong.

Since long ago, he often broke out with fevers, and his swordsmanship never improved significantly. He was even embarrassed, and it made him feel inferior. But though his body was weak, because he possessed superior intelligence and sensibility, Eirika thought he should be more proud. Yet he still seemed to lack confidence in himself and be troubled by his weaknesses.

Lyon's face twisted, though now it was less in pain and more in anger. "Gah…! Don't get in my way…!" The moment Lyon shouted in frustration, his knees gave out, and he fell atop the grass.

Eirika tried to run straight over to him, but his sharp voice made her feet stop moving.

"Get away from me, Eirika!"

"Huh?"

The anger vanished from Lyon's face. In its place a desperate, pleading expression formed before he shouted, "You can't come near me! Hurry, get away…! If you don't, then I'll…"

"Lyon! What's wrong? What's happ-"

"I'll destroy you… Run… Hurry out of h-" Lyon cut his words short, and hid his face.

Eirika was utterly shocked. She was worried about his health, but he had told her to run. She found it hard to decide what to do, and didn't move.

Lyon slowly raised his head. On his face returned the same cold smile he had when he first appeared. He said in a calm voice, "Sorry for worrying you, Eirika. I’m alright now. That was just a light spasm."

 "...Lyon?" If they were true, then those words should have reassured her, but for some reason, they only made her feel all the more worried. She took a step back against her own wishes.

This was not Lyon. That was the first thought that immediately came into her mind. Lyon didn't smile like that. He would never coax her in such a terrible way 

"Be careful, Eirika. Don't leave any holes in your stance. He's not Lyon." Ephraim said. 

Lyon… no, this being with the same face as the prince, laughed in amusement. "I'm not Lyon? Don't say such strange things, Ephraim. Oh, I get it. You don't like seeing me with so much energy? Would you be satisfied if I suffered a more severe spasm? You always looked at me like you would. You said that Lyon is a weak, pitiful child. But that was just your impression. You did not know anything about me…"

"That's not true." Ephraim refused to be provoked by Lyon’s attempts to agitate him, and responded in a calm voice, "We were friends. Of course, that doesn't mean we knew everything about each other. It wasn’t that simple. But I knew what was most important. You… Lyon was not the type of person to ever deceive or betray us. He wasn't a terrible creature like you, trying to enchant us with whatever words we wanted to hear. He wasn't a horrible person like that. You are not Lyon. You cannot be him.”

Lyon tilted his head to the side and stared straight at Ephraim, but, little by little, his expression began to change. The smile he was directing at them twisted into an arrogant smirk that could even be considered brazen. “Hmph… I see. It seems that human feelings are not something that I can underestimate.”

Eirika could not believe her ears. His tone was more sarcastic than any she’d ever heard before in her life. 

“Pretending to be human was more fun than I ever expected it to be, but… there’s no need to keep up that facade any longer. You saw right through me, Prince of Renais. This body no longer belongs to Prince Lyon.”

“Damn you! ...I knew it! So you have taken over Lyon’s body?!” Ephraim shouted. “I don’t know what you are, but get out! Get out of Lyon’s body right now! Or else I’ll…!”

“Or else you’ll what? Come now, what are you going to do, you foolish prince? Prince Lyon’s heart is already almost entirely gone. I’ve eaten it all up…”

“What did you just say…?”

“Didn’t you hear me? I ate it. Though it resisted and screamed, I ate it up. For a descendant of Grado, he had such a weak heart…”

“Damn you…!” The anger disappeared from Ephraim’s voice. He tried his very hardest to keep himself together, but his voice still shook slightly.

Eirika was taken utterly aback. This was the first time she’d ever seen her brother tremble before an enemy.

“What are you?!”

“You still don’t know? You really are an utter fool, prince of Renais. You should remember your legends that have been passed down through the ages. The name of the enemy you sealed away.”

“He can’t be…” Eirika whispered.

“The Demon King… of ancient times…” Ephraim growled.

He burst out laughing, the sound echoing through the air. He'd already given up his human facade, and a malicious aura radiated around him.

He was the being known as the Demon King, that had existed eight hundred years ago and was feared by humanity. He’d led countless monsters and did as he pleased with the continent of Magvel. The fire his monsters breathed burned down the villages and towns, and drowned the people in the depths of despair.

What became the people's final hope was the five Sacred Stones and the hero Grado. He led his soldiers, challenged the Demon King to battle, and in the end, succeeded in sealing away the Demon King’s soul. This finally brought peace to the continent, and humanity created new towns atop the ashes. The hero Grado founded an empire, and the brave soldiers that fought with him each built their own countries. 

That was all supposed to already be a thing of the distant past, and become legend. The Demon King wasn't supposed to be resurrected ever again. But the seal had been broken, and the Demon King revived. And he’d even taken the body of a descendant of Grado, the very man who’d defeated him.

The Demon King said with satisfaction in his voice, “Prince Lyon will never appear again. This body has already yielded to me. It is mine now!"

But then the Demon King clutched his chest with one of his hands. It appeared that the gesture meant that Lyon’s heart continued to try its hardest to resist, and the Demon King was trying to keep him suppressed.

“Don’t worry, I will grant you your desire to kill Prince Ephraim of Renais, and claim Princess Eirika. That was what you wanted, is it not?

“Damn you…” Ephraim tightened his grip on his lance, however, before he could launch his attack, the Demon King vanished.

“He ran away…?” Ephraim looked around.

Eirika turned her head towards him. “No, Brother. He’s not running, but trying to lure us somewhere. I think his target is more likely the people of Narube that haven’t escaped yet and the survivors of the Frelian Army. He wants to attack them and lure us to him.”

“You’re right. Let’s hurry, Eirika. We must save Frelia’s unit!”

“Yes, we must…” Eirika nodded, but did not feel like giving the order straight away. 

Ephraim noticed her expression, and looked at her. “What’s the matter, Eirika?”

“Brother, I wonder what Lyon’s… No, the Demon King’s final words meant. About Lyon’s desires…”

Ephraim winced and said, “It was just part of an enemy’s plot to make us falter. Don’t worry about it. It’s more important we think about the Frelian Army and the people of Narube first.”

“...Yes, it is.”

Ephraim was right. Their allies were fighting desperately to protect the citizens. Rescuing them came first.

[savethelastdan]

Yashahime Is Over Party: Contribution #2

“All right, all right!” 

The crowd of villagers quieted (some with a wince) as the high-pitched shout rang around the village entrance. Ten-year-old Moroha gave them one last warning glare for good measure. 

With, as her Great-Grandpa on the other side of the Well would say, “more gusto than should be necessary”, she then leapt upon the nearest height-offering surface - one of the tourists’ suitcases, emblazoned a dozen times on every side with “FRAGILE” - and began her welcome speech. 

“Shut your mouths and hold onto your butts, folks, because this is a real treat! The coolest village ever to exist in any timeline, on a sunny day! Since my big brother is at kitsune academy today, you all have the honor of yours truly acting as escort around this prime piece of feudal real estate!” 

Dramatic pause for emphasis. (Yes, she’d taken some liberties with the script that Shippo had left, and she didn’t quite know what ‘prime piece of real estate’ actually meant, but her cousin Towa agreed that it sounded fancy and fancy always worked with humans.) 

A soft-faced young woman glanced around the crowd self-consciously before raising a hand. “You mean, this is the village where priestess Kikyo - “

“Ahem!” Moroha held up the wooden sign hanging from her neck, tapping the carved-in letters spelling ‘Village Tour Guide #2” with one nail. “Are you wearin’ the sign?”

“Oh. Uh, sorry.” The woman blushed. 

After a moment, Moroha cleared her throat. “Okay, yeah, it is. But there’s a bunch of other super-cool people here, too! If you wanna meet them - follow me!” With that, she jumped from the suitcase to land solidly in the dirt. A few tourists reared back from the cloud of disturbed dust, putting them at the back of the moving crowd. 

“First up, the sister of the blah-dee-blah-famed-priestess-blah-dee-blah Kikyo - Lady Kaedeeeeee!” She swung both arms in a dramatic half-circle towards the healer woman’s hut; the crowd ooh-ed and ah-ed appropriately. “On days like these, she’s either healing a sick patient, birthin’ a new baby, or taking a long nap! Since she’s awfully old, the napping’s more frequent.” Hooking an arm around a teenage tourist’s shoulder, she hissed in a spooky tone, “Some say she’ll live forever, getting older and older until she’s like a living zombie-” 

“I heard that.” With a cross expression, Kaede leaned out of the window.“Don’t think I won’t curse you for those bad manners.”

Moroha waved the group on with a nervous chuckle. 

“And this is the home of the most famous demon slayer known to womankind - Sango!” Cupping both hands around her mouth like a bullhorn, Moroha drew out the last syllable of the woman’s name to emphasize her coolness. Several of the humans perked up with excitement; it wasn’t hard to imagine that they had themselves benefited from some of the woman’s work. 

“Her husband Miroku lives here too. He used to be a monk, but now he’s a family guy! My papa says -” She straightened, putting on a deep, gruff tone - “it’s a damn miracle -” Dropping the tone, she grinned cheerily at the group - “nobody will tell me why!” 

As if on cue, the door to the house opened to reveal a group of tall, bickering young adults. The loudest were two women with matching features, the only visible difference to a stranger being that one’s slayer outfit was trimmed in pink and the other’s in green. Behind them trotted a younger boy, also wearing a slayer outfit in red.  

“I’m taking the kusarigama, you’re taking the wakizashi!” The green-outfitted slayer said, ignoring her sister’s attempts to talk over her. “Otherwise you and Mom will have two long-range weapons, and that makes no sense!” 

“Plus that’s Uncle Kohaku’s specialty!” Their brother piped up; he dodged the twin elbows that swung back at him as easily as if they’d warned him. “She wants to impress him with it so he’ll take her on his trip to the mountains with Rin this summer!” 

Through the left-open door, came the sweet smell of treats baking - one of the many hobbies Miroku had taken up with his time, now that he wasn’t going to up and die (Moroha knew she wasn’t technically supposed to know about that. Or probably phrase it like that… But if her godfather Koga said it that way, why was it any different for her?)

The group of slayers stopped short upon seeing the crowd; with awkward bows, they quickly skirted their way around the gaping tourists. 

““That’s Sango’s kids; every one of ‘em demon slayer prodigies.” Slinging her arm around the same teen from earlier, Moroha shook her head with a dramatic sigh. “Makes me almost want another sibling. Except then I’d have to share my room, nooooo thank you!”

“Excuse me.” A mustached man in the middle of the group raised one arm curiously. “I heard one of those women mention Rin - is that the human who died twice and was resurrected by the sword Tenseiga?” 

“Huh? Oh, yeah. That’s Rin.” Moroha tapped her own head thoughtfully and muttered under her breath, “Was it really only twice…”

“Does she still live here?” The man’s mustache drooped in a frown. “Or did she go to live with that dog demon?”

“Dog demon? Ohhh, you mean Uncle Sesshomaru!” A smile stretched across her face. “I almost forgot about him! Nah, after she got married she decided to stay in town -” 

“Married?!” The group erupted in murmurs of horror. One kerchiefed mother clapped her hands over the ears of her daughter; the mustached man turned green.

Moroha’s face fell. “Well, yeah. She wanted to keep taking healer lessons from Kaede, and even though he travels a lot, she wanted to stay by Kohaku’s side when he comes home. Be a team, and all that.” 

“Ohhhh, so she’s Kohaku’s wife!” The human mother’s shoulders slumped with a sigh. “How lovely and age-appropriate.” 

Moroha wasn’t sure what that meant, but if it made the negative energy go away then she was all for it! “Rin’s super cool, anyway. She knows how to heal demons, not just humans, and she tells really good ghost stories, and she’s actually really good at arm-wrestling -” 

Suddenly she ducked her head to whisper, “She’s probably my favorite cousin, if I’m bein’ honest with ya.”

 “Do you have other cousins?” A man who appeared to look a thousand years old squinted in her direction. Perhaps in confusion, but it was hard to tell with all the wrinkles. “I doubt a full-blooded dog demon like that Sesshomaru fella would leave his legacy in the hands of a human girl.” 

“My mom would say that’s prejudiced,” Moroha said helpfully, causing the old man to blanche. “But Rin’s got two little sisters, who you can see riiiiiiight now!” 

With a dramatic twist, she whirled around to point in the opposite direction with both hands, adding a low growl that was meant to mimic the roar of an excited crowd. 

The moment was slightly underwhelmed by the confused looks of the tourists as they took a moment to figure out where exactly to look. That’s okay; she’d work on it. 

Down the road, her twin cousins leaned against the wall of a house (Moroha’s house, which she was saving for last because you always save the best for last). Towa was smiling and pointing out something up in the sky, while Setsuna wore a very predictable scowl. From this far away, the red streaks in their hair were little more than smudges. 

The extremely old man with an attitude problem made a weird hacking noise, most likely in surprise. 

“Did he adopt them like your other cousin?” asked a teenage girl. 

“Kinda!” Both hands landed on her hips; Moroha then modeled her expression on her Uncle - stoic, dismissive, oh-so-cool. “On a cool spring night, Uncle Sesshomaru walked into the darkest, deepest forest on the planet, waved his sword over a really old and creepy tree, and when he cut it open - there they were. Two lil’ hanyou babies.” 

Dramatic pause. 

“Just kiddin’.” Laughing loud enough to bring back the wincing from the group, Moroha slapped her knee. “They’re full demons. I can still take either of ‘em in a fight, though. Oh!” She pointed up in the air with a wide, excited smile. “There’s their mom right now!” 

Murmurs of confusion filled the air as the tourists moved their heads this way, that way; only when a chilling breeze morphed into flesh and bone, right before their eyes, did the group exclaim in collective understanding. 

Moroha waved. “Hi, Auntie Kagura!” 

“Yo.” Clearly taken aback by the crowd, the wind demon gave a tiny salute. The side of her neck bore a half-moon symbol tattooed on the skin; Moroha thought it was neat, even if her dad thought it was a dumb, archaic wedding ritual. “Do your parents know you’re doing this?” 

“Uh, duh!” She held up the sign with a cheeky grin. 

“Fair enough.” Upon spying her daughters across the way, Kagura’s expression softened a bit. “Well, I’ll see you later.” 

“No, wait! We’re actually heading the same way.” Gesturing to the not-moving crowd, Moroha repeated, “The same way. Meaning the best part of the tour - come on, folks, work with me here -” 

Kagura snorted, walking quickly as though to avoid the gawking humans and their nosy questions about how she had been resurrected or could still live now that Naraku was dead or got Sesshomaru to admit he had feelings much less have kids with her. A curt “none of your business” was all they’d get, no matter how much Moroha tugged on her sleeve and whined about “giving people their money’s worth.”

Luckily, once they reached Moroha’s house, it was easy to escape. After all, a much more awe-inspiring attraction awaited the group of lucky, lucky tourists. 

“And now! The Greatest Love Story Of Our Time!” With a winning grin, Moroha landed a kick on the door, sending it slamming open. 

“Oh.” Kagome blinked at the group from where she sat on a futon in the middle of the house, surrounded by magical artifacts. A scroll marked with ink rolled from her lap all the way to one side of the room. Behind her, halfway through helping her put her hair in a bun, Inuyasha froze “Uh, hello?”

“My parents! Dumdedumdummmmm!” The warmth of her pride felt like it was going to burst in her chest. It was the absolute best to come home to people who loved her! Whether it was tickle fights before bed, or her dad taking her and Shippo out on demon-tracking trips, or her mom humming a lullaby if she felt sick on the full moon night, Moroha was certain her family was the best of anybody’s anywhere. “One fell through time, and one fell -- fell, uh, for her -- sorry, I’ll work on it.” 

Inuyasha huffed in the way that meant he was going to complain later. Kagome just chuckled and waved. 

For once, the humans reacted exactly the way Moroha wanted them to - smiling, clapping, appreciating the wonder of her super-beautiful-and-also-hella-powerful mom and grumpy-but-still-amazingly-brave papa. She launched into the story she knew by heart, of how they had come to be together and saved the whole world while they were at it. Some parts were probably missing or misrepresented, from the laughter in her mom’s eyes, but she had enough of it right that half the tourist group was in near tears by the time she was done. 

“And now, they have one more accomplishment to add to the long list - parenting the greatest warrior this world has ever seen. Moro-uh, Beniyasha!” Swirling the ends of her fire-rat robe, she twirled. “The Crimson Slayer!”

“Slayer of my patience, maybe,” Inuyasha snapped, though he was unable to hide his smile as he marched over to grab her by the collar. “Come ‘ere, kid. You’ve got chores to do!” 

Tossing her over his shoulder, he waved dismissively at the group of humans. “Sorry folks, the show ends here. Yeesh...” 

Moroha cupped both hands around her mouth, screeching to be heard over her parent’s laughter before the door shut.

“Make sure to leave your comment cards in the box at the entrance!”

[whump-tr0pes]

Jake/Isaac comf part 2/3

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Isaac Moore works in the pet lib movement, rescuing pets from the BBU. After an op goes sideways, he ends up on the doorstep of Jake Stanton’s safehouse for rescued pets, bleeding, and needing a safe place to lie low. Jake helps treat Isaac’s wounds and sets him up on the couch to sleep until Isaac’s medic can get into town. 

Jake, Chris, Antoni, and Ash’s BBU story belong to @ashintheairlikesnow and are used here with permission. You can find Isaac’s story here.

Content warning: implied human trafficking, past child abuse, discussion about intimate partner violence (that isn’t actually happening), scars, pet whump, past torture, touch starvation

~

Jake couldn’t sleep. Not with the stranger in the house. Even if Nat knew him (and she did, he’d called her as soon as he’d helped Isaac to the bathroom and closed the door) and even if he was pet lib (he was, Nat had confirmed that, too – extraction teams, she called them, and Jake had to laugh at the sick parallel to the acquisition teams that made people like Isaac necessary), he couldn’t stop thinking about the risk Isaac brought. He’d insisted on Isaac getting some sleep before he left again. 

“I mean… can you go to the hospital to get fixed up?” he’d asked.

“No,” Isaac had said with a huff. “No way. I have a friend who works in the hospital, but I can’t… set foot there. Not without putting her at risk. We have a medic, but… they were delayed. Fuck, they’re… probably at least eight hours away, with how far they still have left to drive.”

“Will you die before they get here?” Jake had said, trying to keep his voice even, the way he usually did with the rescues. Even with this man, who was probably older than he was and not in need of his protection, he slid so easily into that role. 

“No,” Isaac said, with a strange twist in his voice. “It looks worse than it is.”

Jake hadn’t believed him, but he had insisted Isaac stay for at least eight hours, get the sleep he was so desperately needing. Reluctantly, Isaac had agreed, on the condition that as soon as his medic got into town, he’d leave.

“I’m not worth the risk to you,” he’d said. “Believe me.”

Jake had rolled his eyes when Isaac wasn’t watching, and given him fresh clothes and a set of sheets and a blanket to make up the couch.

Now Jake lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Chris was fast asleep in his own bed. He hadn’t left his room at all since Jake snapped at him, near as he could tell. Jake still burned with shame at raising his voice at the young rescue. 

He was just starting to trust me, too.

Jake rolled onto his side, wrapping his arms around his pillow and hugging it tight against his chest. He was miles away from sleep. Eons. He sighed and slipped out of bed.

His bare feet padded on the wood floor as he walked across the hall and descended the stairs. Just as he reached the bottom stair, he heard a sound that froze his heart in his chest.

A whimper. 

Fuck.

If they found him... Jesus Christ, if he led them here and they found him... Jake swallowed hard, his hands shaking as he walked around the corner into the living room, ready to scream if he needed to – ready to warn Chris and Antoni to run, without having to tell them to. 

He let out a breath of relief as he realized the living room was empty, except for the man lying on the couch. The room was lit by moonlight streaming in from the windows.

“N-no,” Isaac whimpered where he lay on the couch, twisting in the sheets. Jake’s heart went cold and he went to Isaac’s side without hesitation. 

“Isaac,” he whispered, reaching out to shake his shoulder. 

“No, no,” Isaac sobbed, his eyes closed, his hands held down by his sides – no, hands held behind him, as if…

As if tied there.

Jake sucked in a breath and shook Isaac harder. “Isaac,” he urged.

Isaac heaved a ragged sob, shying away from Jake’s hand. “P-please,” he whispered. “I… please, no, I… n-no, Gavin, no!”

Jake grasped Isaac’s shoulders and shook him so hard his teeth clacked together. Isaac gasped and threw his hands up over his head, his eyes darting around the room until they finally landed on Jake’s dark, hulking form over him.

“Shit,” Isaac spat, shoving himself away from Jake. “Fuck, shit—” He pulled back his fist and punched Jake squarely in the jaw. 

Jake reeled back, his own hands flying up to protect his head – but it wasn’t the first punch he’d ever taken. Not even close. He stayed on his feet, heart thundering in his chest. His hand shot out, fumbling for the light switch along the wall. He snapped it on, his hands tightening into fists – ready to end Isaac, if he made a single move towards the upstairs. 

Isaac froze as his eyes focused on Jake. Sweat glistened on his skin, darkened the neckline of the shirt he was wearing – Jake’s shirt. His gaze flicked to the bruise blooming on Jake’s cheek from where Isaac hit him. Isaac’s eyes went wide. 

“Oh, fuck,” he breathed. “Jake, I… I’m s-sorry. Fuck. I need to go. I…” He looked around, dazed. “Shit. Where are my clothes?”

“In the dryer,” Jake said, rubbing his jaw, fighting back the tears – the rage – that burned him. He jerked his head to the side to clear the rush of memory – fists, eyes wild with fury, a thundering voice that made something inside Jake tremble and quail. His knuckles ached as his hands squeezed tighter into fists. 

“Wh-who is Gavin?” Jake said darkly. 

Isaac froze, the blood seeming to drain from his face. “M-my partner,” he rasped. “Why—”

Jake made a soft sound in his throat as he looked at Isaac, a different kind of rage bubbling in his chest. “Your… partner?”

“How do you know about Gavin?” Isaac whispered. His hand drifted to his waistband, an unconscious-looking movement. 

“You were screaming his name in your sleep,” Jake said, doing his best to keep his voice steady. “You…” He swallowed against the sudden rush of tears. “Begging him to stop… hurting you, I think. Isaac, does he…” Jake took a step closer, his hands relaxing at his sides. “…does he hurt you?”

Isaac slumped forward with a sigh of… relief. “Oh,” he said softly. “Oh. I… no, Jake. He… doesn’t hurt me.”

Jake clenched his jaw shut against the words that came in an onslaught. You think I don’t know what that looks like?

Jake shook his head. “…okay,” he said, knowing not to pry. “Then—”

“If I was begging him not to hurt me,” Isaac said, “It’s because he… he did, in the… in the past.”

Jake’s jaw started to ache. “I—”

“No,” Isaac said, his eyes sliding shut. “Not like… not like that. Um…” Uncertainly, Isaac’s hand went to the hem of his shirt. Slowly, painfully, he pulled the shirt up, revealing his stomach and chest.

Jake’s eyes went wide as his gaze moved over the scars that covered Isaac’s chest and abdomen, lines crossing in every direction in some sort of pattern. The scars disappeared beneath the shirt, and Jake saw for the first time the scars at Isaac’s wrists, too. Jake shivered as he raised his gaze again to Isaac’s eyes. Isaac dropped his shirt. 

“He didn’t want to,” Isaac said heavily.

Jake’s mouth opened, closed, opened again. “I…”

“Gavin’s parents…” Isaac swallowed tightly. “Th-they… they bought me. For him.”

Jake’s eyes went wide. “You… you were a—”

“A pet, yeah,” Isaac said through his teeth. He rubbed at the scars encircling one wrist. “I was. One of the… y-young ones. They… the Stormbecks…” Jake went pale at the name of the richest family in the city. “…they bought me. When I was twelve, my dad died in a car crash. Mom started drinking. I ended up on the street at fourteen, and…” Isaac’s mouth twisted. “…and one of them must have seen me. The fucking… acquisition teams. I… I don’t know… what made them choose me, but…” He shuddered. “Th-they made me… I…” It looked like it was physically painful to keep talking, like Isaac hadn’t told anyone this in a long time. “I w-was a Domestic. Officially. But…” He blew out a slow breath. “They… the Stormbecks… They made Gavin hurt me. They wanted him to be like… like them.”

Jake shook his head. “Like—”

“Sadists,” Isaac growled. “Torturers. Murderers.” His hand tightened around his own wrist. “Gavin… saved me. Ran away with me. But not before… before…” He gestured to his body. “…this.”

“Oh,” Jake breathed. “I… shit.”

Isaac shrugged painfully. “It’s ancient history,” he mumbled. “It’s nothing. It’s…” A slow smile spread across his face, the first true smile Jake had seen from him. “I have Gavin now. I have my family. It… i-it brought me to Gavin. And I…”

Jake flushed at the shy smile that tugged at Isaac’s lips. Jake didn’t have anyone like that, no one who looked like that when they thought of him.

He shoved down the blue eyes that smiled at him in his mind. 

“Well… I’m still…” Jake spread his hands. “I didn’t know. Sorry for… for assuming.”

“I don’t blame you, with what you’ve been through,” Isaac said, looking at Jake steadily.

Jake’s hands shook. “Wh-what I’ve… been… through?”

Isaac huffed a bitter laugh. “You think I ended up on the streets for no reason? Kids can deal with a lot more than just a parent who’s drunk a lot.”

Jake bit down on his tongue and said nothing. Rage tickled his chest, bubbling up his throat, burning his mouth. Still, something about the way Isaac said it... without pity, judgement, or awkwardness. It was a statement of fact. He knows my dad was a piece of shit. He doesn’t know the details, but he doesn’t have to. Pain is pain. Abuse is...

Abuse is abuse.

Jake shivered and forced his shoulders to relax. He rolled his neck and blew out a slow breath. “Yeah,” he said heavily. “Yeah.”

Isaac shrugged. “Miss him, though,” he said softly. “Gavin, I mean. I’ve been on the road for… fuck, for weeks, prepping for this op. And I…” He shrugged again, his shoulders tight. “Fuck, sometimes it’s nice to be with… someone who knows.”

“Yeah,” Jake rasped, his eyes suddenly burning with tears. “It… it is.” He wet his lips, trying desperately to blink the tears away. “Can I… can I sit?”

Isaac’s face softened, settled. “Yeah,” he said softly. He pushed himself to the side and pulled the blanket around him. Jake let out a shaking breath as he walked to the couch and sat beside Isaac. He didn’t say a word – only leaned into the touch – when Isaac wound his arm around his shoulder and drew the blanket around them both.

[tirednerd2012]

How about this idea: Ian is walking home from school one day and he gets kidnapped by one of barley's rivals wanting to take revenge on him or something and barley goes on a quest to save his little brother.

Bonus scene: while barley is struggling with the rivals, Ian manages to reach his staff and casts a spell at them and it saves barley, but Ian blacks out and he later wakes up in the hospital with barley and his mom beside him and Barley starts comforting him and have a brotherly moment.

Get ready for some angst with this one! Here you go! This will be the last one for the night. More to come tomorrow!

Barley was a lot of things. His mother and brother would call him loyal, annoying, exciting and overly protective. His friends would call him chill and a great dungeons master. His enemies, however, would call him a jackass or something of the sort. Just depends on the perspective.

The person who probably hated him most was his ex, Drew. He managed to avoid him. While Barley knew damn well he would never forget everything that man put him through, but he tried to move past it.

Especially after he crashed into the van, knocking Ian and Barley out and kidnapping them. He was going to kill Barley, but Ian insisted on taking his place. There was no changing Drew’s mind. He knew how much Ian meant to Barley and he knew that Barley would want nothing more than to protect Ian from him.

Barley still couldn’t sleep at night without hearing Ian’s screams and Drew’s laugh. He stabbed him, but apparently he survived. The wound wasn’t fatal and he was able to get to the hospital in time. Meaning someone was helping him, but Barley had no idea who.

Ian Lightfoot was walking home from school. Barley was working on his online classes and it was a nice day, so he decided against the bus. He texted his brother that he was on his way home and continued to make his way. He was about halfway there, on an older street that not many people lived in, when a car came speeding by.

Drew stepped out of the car. With a gun. Ian reached for his staff, but remembered he didn’t have it. He never took it to school.

“Well, well, if it isn’t little Ian. It’s been awhile, man,” he said. Ian went to run, but it seemed that Drew was reading his mind. “I wouldn’t do that. No one really lives in this neighborhood. I can shoot you.”

“Why can’t you just leave us alone?” Ian snapped. Drew walked over to him and yanked his bag and jacket off, revealing the scars from Ian’s last encounter with him.

“I’ll admit, that was pretty brave, what you did for your brother back there,” he said. Ian froze as Drew smiled at him. He hated this guy. He wanted him dead. Ian cursed his name more times than he could remember for what he did to Barley. He remembered checking in on them after Barley didn’t come home to see him choking the life out of his best friend.

“What do you want?” Ian asked, but his throat felt tight. Drew paused, looked at him with cold eyes before quickly grabbing a fistful of his hair and then slamming his head hard against the car. He collapsed and Ian felt the gravel on his cheek and his head spin. He couldn’t process a single thought, except his wrists being tied behind his back, a gag in his mouth and then his ankles tied.

Drew lifted him up without much effort and tossed him in the trunk of his card like he was nothing.

Barley looked at the clock. Ian texted him three hours ago saying he was on his way home, now he wasn’t answering his phone at all. He drove around everywhere looking, but there was no sign of him.

Worry and anger were building up in the oldest Lightfoot brother when Ian’s picture popped open on his phone. He grabbed it and answered within the first ring.

“Ian, where are you?”

“Sorry, babe, Ian can’t really come to the phone right now,” Barley fell over and landed on the chair when he heard that voice. His heart skipped a beat and he grabbed at his chest.

“Drew.”

“Who else?”

“Where’s Ian?” he demanded. Don’t be afraid. Don’t let him see you afraid. The video turned on and Barley saw Ian in a large dragon cage with a dead bolt lock on it. He tried to look at the background for clues, but couldn’t find any. He had no idea where Ian was. He felt his hands shake and he had trouble keeping the phone steady.

“Alive, but that’s about all I can give him,” Drew responded, indifferently. The camera focuses on Ian, desperately trying to get out of the cage. His forehead was bleeding and several of his scars had been reopened. “Say hi to Barley, Ian.”

“Barley, I’m okay. Whatever he wants, don’t give him!” Ian said, but Drew laughed and kicked the cage, causing Ian to fall in it. He grabbed a key, unlocked it and then dragged Ian out of the cage. Barley could tell from the position of the phone that Drew climbed on top of Ian.

“Hey, babe, does this look familiar?” he asked as he brought his hands around Ian’s neck. He began choking him.

“Stop! Stop. Drew you got me, where are you? I give up! You win!” Barley cried. He didn’t stop. He choked Ian out until his brother fell unconscious. Then he checked.

“He’s still breathing,” Drew informed him. “You have about, I dunno, it took us 3 hours to get here, you have 4 to get him before I kill him.”

“He has nothing to do with this, Drew. Please, if you’re going to kill anyone, kill me,” Barley offered. This was his mess, not Ian’s. His brother got involved because he loved him and wanted to protect Barley from this bastard.

“I could, but we both know this is much more painful to you. If you fail, his blood, your little brother’s blood, will be on your hands, Barley. If you get anyone else involved, I’ll kill him on the spot. I have nothing to lose, but you sure as hell do.”

With that, the phone call ended. Barley stood there for a second, stunned. Three hours to get wherever they were. That meant he had an hour to figure out exactly where that was, or he would be too late. There would be no room for error.

“I’m coming, Ian, I promise. Just hang in there.”

Barley, not proud of this part of the rescue mission, first threw up. He darted to the bathroom and felt all the stress turn to nausea. Then he panicked. One wrong move and Ian could be killed. His brother's life was in his hands.

He thought about Ian, alone, knocked out somewhere with someone who wanted to hurt him, and Barley is at least 3 hours away from him. He couldn't protect Ian and it hurt every fiber in his being.

Wait. Ian's laptop. He had it connected to his phone. Maybe he could find the phone's location on it. He ran up the stairs and went to Ian's desk. He looked up at the picture Ian took of the two of them at the park on day, hanging up on his wall. Then he shook his head. Focus, Barley.

He opened the computer, no password, and looked up the Find My Phone App. Sure enough, he found a location. Three hours away, north. He would have to pass the Manticore's Tavern (Maybe Corey would blow some shit up after he got Ian out?)

No, Drew said not to get anyone else involved. He had to listen, otherwise Ian would pay for his mistakes more.

He looked over and saw Ian's staff. It would be nice for Ian to have something to protect himself with. He grabbed it and his keys, left a note for his mom saying he'd be home soon, and then left. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he opened up a message.

Drew sent him a picture of Ian's back now covered in fresh cuts. Barley had to wipe his tears away to prevent from going off the road. He was going to kill Drew. Nothing would stop him this time. He would make sure the bastard was dead.

Was Ian awake? He must be scared out of his mind. He was just walking home from school and suddenly snatched away with the underline promise of death?

Barley drove as fast as he could. He gave it all he had in his van. According to Maps, Ian was in the middle of the woods. Barley could park the van a little bit away and take the rest on foot. That would give him the advantage of surprise. The only thing that truly mattered was getting Ian out of there as fast as possible.

He would need a hospital. If Barley parked far away, he would have to carry him, but that shouldn't be too hard. Ian was light and Barley had been able to carry him since the day he was born.

Barley had memories of Ian since the day he had been born. Who else could he say that about?

No, no, keep it together, Barley told himself. He made the three hour drive in two hours and thirty minutes. He pulled into the woods, grabbed his sword and Ian's staff and took off. He found a cabin and he crept close to it, listening through the backdoor.

"Barley's going to make you sorry!" he heard Ian's voice. While it was clearly pained, he managed to sound strong and determined. Barley tried to pinpoint the location.

"Your brother isn't here to save you, Ian. You're going to die for his mistakes."

"This isn't his fault! It's yours. My brother is the most amazing guy and you're the one who doesn't deserve him. I'm glad you two broke up. He is worth more than you ever could be."

Even when facing certain death, Ian defended his brother.

"You little shit."

Barley tried the backdoor and opened it quietly. He peaked in and saw in the living room, Ian was in the cage glaring at Drew. His back was pouring out with blood and his eyes showed how much pain he was in. He tried to stand strong, but his legs shook and he had to hold on to the bars to keep from collapsing. Drew was too busy enjoying Ian's suffering to see Barley coming out from behind.

He grabbed the guy and threw him away from Ian. He laid the staff down by the cage and went to look for the key when he felt something slice his back.

"Barley!" Ian cried out. Barley spun around and ducked just in time to avoid Drew's aim to his head. The two began fighting. Barley was terrified, yes, but his adrenaline and anger took over.

No one hurt his brother and got away with it.

Ian watched with horror as Barley and Drew fought. Drew was planning for this. He knew Barley would find them within no time. He knew everything to do to piss Barley off enough to get his mind so blinded by anger, Drew could kill him.

Drew managed to kick Barley in the stomach and his sword fell out of his hand. Ian saw his staff and reached for it. He didn't have much energy, and honestly, he had never felt so exhausted before in his life, let alone tried to use magic when it was like this. He didn't know what would happen.

But as he got the staff in his hands, Drew went in for the kill. Barley glanced over just in time to watch Ian's eyes fill with horror and his brother screamed bloody murder.

"No!" Ian remembered an explosion throwing him back, then nothing.

He woke up in a hospital. Most of his body was covered in bandages and he heard soft crying beside him. His mom was there, sobbing, her hands covering her face.

"Mom?" he asked. His throat burned and tightened and for a moment he wondered if she even heard him, but she looked up at him and cried with relief.

"Ian! Oh my God, my baby," she said and hugged him. It hurt, but he would never tell her that.

"What happened?"

His mom recounted the whole story of his kidnapping, Barley rescuing him, only for Drew to try and kill him, but Ian used magic that Barley had never seen before, It took everything he had, but he caused a throwback spell that was powerful enough to break the cage and get Drew away from Barley.

That's when he lost consciousness. Barley stopped the bleeding for all of his wounds before getting his brother to the hospital. He called his mom crying.

"Where is he?" Ian asked. His mom smiled sadly.

"He went outside to get some air. You've been out for hours now and it's- it's been a scary time. You had us so worried," she said, her voice thick with new tears. Ian managed to squeeze her hand just as Barley walked back in. Their eyes locked immediately.

"Ian," he said and ran over to him and hugged him tightly. Ian managed through the pain and found comfort leaning on his brother's shoulder.

"Barley, you're okay," he said, trying not to cry himself. Their mom stood up.

"I'm going to give you boys some time to talk. I need to check in with the doctors."

With that, it was just them. Barley sat down beside Ian and put his hand on top of the one without the IV. He didn't look Ian in the eyes anymore.

"Thank God you're okay," he said. "I'm so sorry, Ian. I didn't think Drew would go after you like that, but I promise I took care of it."

"What did you do?" Ian asked, but then the moment he asked it, he realized. Barley killed him.

"I made sure I took care of it this time," he answered. Then he shook his head. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is the fact you're here, you're going to be okay and you're safe."

Now that he was out of harm's way, Ian allowed himself to go through everything that happened. He was kidnapped and tortured. He was at the mercy of someone who hated his brother more than anything else in the world and the fact he was alive was a miracle.

But Barley saved him. He faced the man Ian knew he was secretly afraid of to save him. And he killed him. Barley, his sweet, lovable, teddy bear of a big brother, ended his life. Of course, he probably would have done the same thing in his position.

"I missed you," Ian said.

"I missed you, too. I'm glad you're okay," Barley said. Ian allowed his head to fall on to Barley's shoulder and in return, felt his brother's arms wrap around him carefully this time. They both cried. "I love you so much, Ian."

"I love you, too, Barley. I knew you were coming, even if I didn't want you to."

"Well, I can't let someone take you from us, now can I?" Barley responded, with a humorless chuckle. For the first time since this happened, Ian truly felt safe. Barley was here. Everything was going to be fine. "I'll never let anyone take you from me like that. Never."

[tiaragqueen]

Good Boyfriend

✂ Pairing: Yandere! Pro Hero! Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

✂ Word Count: 1,2k+

✂ Trigger Warnings: Manipulation

[Edited]

Do not re-upload my writing to another website or use it without my permission.

***

If you like my writing, please support me on ko-fi!

“You're always pestering me to do impossible things. ‘A boyfriend who does that is bad for you,’ all my friends tell me, and they were against you.” - 100 Meter Conbini [AKB48]

“A boyfriend who pressures you to do the things you don’t want to do is bad for you.”

You remembered what your friend said to you a few days ago when you recounted the story of Bakugou forcing you to quit your part-time job. You understood that he did it with your best interest in mind – at least, that was what you hoped – because he saw just how fatigued you were. He’d told you that he’d help you pay your bills and everything else; his salary as a famous Pro Hero was enough to cover the necessities and even another stomach.

“Just focus on your study,” he said, waving a dismissive hand when you inquired about his reason. As appreciative as you were with his help, you didn’t want to rely on him more than necessary. Sure, he was your boyfriend, but he had no responsibility to cover your bills. He wasn’t your husband, for God’s sake!

However, you knew that if you complained about this to him, he’d most likely dismiss you again or yell for you to just shut up and accept it. The unpredictability of his response was always daunting; something that you never told him in fear of his reaction. He might’ve grown a bit calmer in adulthood, but traces of his less than pleasant attitude would always remain.

And that meant his observation was still as keen as ever, possibly even sharper than in the past.

“Oi, what’s with the long face?” he inquired gruffly, calloused hands gripping the guard rail that separated the road from the cliff. He liked to bring you here on nights where you both weren’t able to sleep, driving around the city aimlessly and enjoying the nippy air. The road was quiet and empty, saved for the distant chirps of crickets. It was probably your favorite spot now.

You snapped out of your thoughts and blinked repeatedly. Bakugou patiently waited for you to gather your bearing, noting that you’d spaced out a lot lately.

“I’m fine.” you tittered. “Just thinking about… stuff.”

He quirked a brow. “And what is this ‘stuff’?” he prodded.

“Nothing important.”

“Were you thinking about your job again?”

You fell quiet. He wasn’t wrong, you did think about it occasionally. You wondered what your boss had reacted when Bakugou texted them that you wanted to resign, or whether your colleagues missed you at all. Bakugou never bothered to answer your questions further except for a simple ‘it’s done’, and you found out that he’d deleted their contacts under the pretense of keeping your attention to college.

Oddly enough, none of them ever attempted to contact you, either. It was like they’d vanished from the face of Earth, or maybe that was just you. Honestly, you couldn’t blame them for being mad at you regarding your abrupt resignation. You would be mad, too. And it wasn’t as though you had enemies in there, anyway. You always tried to maintain friendly, or at the very least, professional relationship with them.

Still, it hurt to be forgotten that easily. Did you even mean something to them? Or were you just another worker, a mere blip in their lives?

You’d never know the answer because Bakugou always prevented you from leaving beyond going to the campus. During his day off, he liked to accompany you to the grocery store or wherever you wanted to be. Sometimes, he even bought you groceries himself. It was a stroke of rare luck – almost a blessing – that you managed to reunite with your friend without his knowledge, either.

Maybe he really was bad for you.

At your silence, Bakugou sighed. “Told you to stop thinking about ‘em. You’re not working for them anymore, so why do you still bother?”

“It’s not that easy, okay?” Running a hand through your slightly messy locks, you frowned almost frustratingly. “I’ve been working in there for so long, and then suddenly I quit–” you sighed woefully, staring down at the dark wisp that blanketed the cliff below. “Do they even miss me?”

“They don’t.” You snapped your head towards him. Bakugou merely gazed forward, his apathetic face served to burden your constricting chest. “Visited them a month ago, didn’t look like they missed anyone at all.”

“O-oh, is that so?” You couldn’t keep the tremble from affecting your voice as you looked away, tears pricking your eyes. “That’s quite... disappointing.”

It was heartbreaking, but you opted to stay silent. You had a feeling that he’d hate you to cry over them. You couldn’t bring yourself to question why he told you now, either.

“Told you already.”

You bit your lip at his condescending remark. Well, how would you know? It wasn’t as if he allowed you to go anywhere unsupervised, anyway.

A surge of exasperation flowed through your veins as you balled your hands against the railing. Your friend was right; he was bad for you. That’s why you couldn’t let this continue any longer. You needed to stop him before his tendency worsened.

“Bakugou, maybe we should just break up.”

You jolted a little when he snapped his head towards you. Gone was the nonchalance that smoothed over the wrinkles on his face, replaced by frigid acrimony that congealed your blood.

“What? What did you just say to me, [Name]? Care to repeat that?” he inquired through ground teeth.

You gulped, trying to keep the shiver at bay. Suddenly, the night felt a lot colder, not even your jacket was enough to give you any warmth.

“I… I said we should break up,” you replied somewhat meekly.

Bakugou said nothing for the next couple of minutes. He merely glared daggers at you as the wind howled in the background, filling the tensed silence between you.

“… It’s that girl, isn’t it?”

You froze, dilated eyes transfixed on nothing in particular. And yet, you still had some courage – or stupidity – to fool him. “N-no, of course not. I–”

“Don’t lie to me, [Name],” he growled, earning a flinch from you. “You think I didn’t know that you went out with her without my permission?”

“That’s exactly it, Bakugou!” You skillfully directed the focus on him, just like it should be. “You’re always trying to control me. That’s not how a good boyfriend is supposed to act.

“What do you know about that, anyway? Am I not your first boyfriend? How do you know the difference between a good and a bad boyfriend?”

“W-well, that’s…” Damn it, he caught you there. He truly had a strong memory. “That’s because… a good boyfriend wouldn’t try to dictate his girlfriend.”

“What makes you think I’m dictating you?” he retorted smoothly, though his darkening features suggested otherwise. His patience was wearing thin, you realized. “You do realize how dangerous the world is, don’t you? There’s always danger in every corner, and with me as a Pro Hero, the chance of you being attacked is high. Isn’t it a ‘good’ boyfriend’s job to protect his girlfriend?”

You opened your mouth, trying to counter him with anything – even if it was a petty insult – but you couldn’t even form the right words. He already defeated you at your own game, and there was nothing left for you to do other than anticipating his next strike.

Bakugou spared you a sinister glance as he turned his body towards the cliff. “If you say that nonsense again, I won’t hesitate to lock you in your own house.”