#I made the mistake of giving myself time to think (in the bath) and nearly cried for the third time today

[arthurs-better-half]

Dude. Yellow Malevolent. Fuck

[vclvetfleur]

Freak show Chapter 7

Buggy x fem!reader

Summary: Buggy has awoken to the betrayal and is determined to find you. You had quickly escaped the island in search of somewhere new before Vivienne requested a celebration back home.

WC: 3.5K

Notes; I had edited this chapter a bit, unsure of the exact sequences were going to play

Chapter 7: Hide and seek

Buggy’s crew had turned their heads to noises of things slamming and yelling. “Where the fuck is it? Where the fuck did that whore go!?” He screamed, throwing things across the room recklessly as he searched for the missing map. “That fucking bitch!” He stormed out of his quarters, face flushed hot red. “Listen up! The map was stolen last night! And judging that we had a few acquaintances just leave, we’re packing up and leaving!” Buggy announced. “But Captain- we set everything up…” One of the acrobats in Buggy’s crew chimed in. Buggy shot them a look, warning them to keep quiet before having to deal with consequences. “Get your shit. And pack up!” He slammed his hand against the pole holding their flag. The crew quickly fled and followed his orders.

Buggy ordered the rest of the crew that was responsible for navigation to sail in half an hour.  Once our ship was in view, they needed to prepare for war. Buggy felt foolish to ever let his guard down. To even trust you. This had to be your plan all along. Insecurities came through. Why would someone like you ever actually go out of their way to express some kind of attraction to him? What was he even thinking? If only he didn’t ask you to stay with him. This could’ve been prevented. But a mistake like that could not be brought up to the crew. He would look weak. Just a weak clown who fell for a whore’s tactics to rob him blind.

He locked himself in his training room, throwing knives and training his body for battle. He was determined.

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You felt bad for tricking him. But it was for the best. You had no time to pick up a lover if you were gonna be Queen of the Pirates. You were too busy to even think about Buggy’s feelings. Plus, how badly could it of hurt? Maybe it bruised his ego. But definitely didn’t do much. Maybe it made him realize how idiotic he was.

Some part of you still felt some remorse. He was so careful of you after putting your body through all that. He let you bathe and held you all night. He made sure you felt safe in his arms. He was vulnerable. He fully revealed himself to you. It had to be an act. He had to have wanted you to put your guard down.

You laid on your hammock, your eyes watching the clouds dance through the sky. “You seem like you’re back to normal…” Vivienne interrupted your daydreaming. You turned your body to the side, shrugging. “Have I not been acting like myself?” You wondered. Maybe spending all your time with your crew was a bit strange to them.

“You never really cooked before. So yeah-pretty strange. Rumor has it Buggy snuck a knife into the cell and nearly killed you.” She revealed the details of this supposed ‘torture’.

“I just don’t wanna get into it…” You murmured. This was the best outcome. Slightly embarrassing, but it’d be more embarrassing if they knew the truth.

“We should celebrate.” Vivienne requested. Your lips curled into a frowned smile, suppressing the enjoyment of the idea. “Anywhere in particular?” You wondered. “Home.” Vivienne and you haven’t been back to your village since you left for sea. Parts of you missed it. It’d be nice to actually go back. You pondered on the idea before silently nodding. “Let the navigation team know…” You half whispered. Vivienne nodded, leaving you in your silence.

You sighed, going back to watching your clouds. It would be nice to lay low in your old village. Maybe give back to it to help the villagers. You and Vivienne often snuck away together to other villages on the island for weeks to months at a time to stay away from all the memories and overall status of the village, but once you both set sail it hurt to leave. You left your mom and dad’s grave. It’s been so long since you’ve talked to them. You used to spend hours talking to them. But that was years ago. You felt guilty for not having returned in a while.

‘I’ll see you guys soon…’ you hoped they could hear you. Wherever they were now.

The next couple of days were spent sailing before landing at the village. You shot up from your seat, watching the shore get closer and closer. “Vivienne! Vivienne!” You cried out for her. You rush to find her, shouting her name, giggling, and smiling as you do. “We’re here!” You tried to warn her. She left her quarters, running to the main deck to get a view of the shore. You followed suit and watched as the boat landed.

“Pirates!” You watched a young girl run and scream. You jumped off the boat, looking around. It was the same as you left it. “Hey! Little girl! It’s okay! We’re not here to hurt anyone.” Vivienne tried to calm her nerves. But it didn’t seem to calm her anymore. She had already gotten the attention of the villagers. The mayor stepped out, sword in hand ready for attack. “Girl…” He stopped, his eyes large, his mouth hung slightly open. “So, this is where you two ran off to this time…” He murmured. He had watched over you and Vivienne for a few months while you and Vivienne were in your pre-teens. No one else was willing to take you both in. Especially with your abilities. Vivienne was more welcomed by them than you ever were. They knew you’d just cause issues. But Vivienne never found it fair to have a place to call home when you didn’t. You both put the mayor through hell while under his care. The poor guy.

“I assumed you just went on your little adventures… or just left.” His voice hinted at disappointment. He essentially stared at you both like monsters.

“We’re here to repay the town…” You mumbled. “Gil! Get the bag!” You called out. You and Vivienne set up a bag of stolen loot that you both deemed appropriate to give to the village. It just fell a little short of 7 million berries. You weren’t willing to give up so much of your belongings away.

“We don’t need your stolen money.” A familiar face came out. She was slightly older, but you remembered her. Mina. It was a friend of your mother. She was one of the last remaining people who survived the raid that destroyed the village years ago. You fell silent. This was a terrible idea. “Even after everything… you really became a pirate? Knowing what they did…” Her disgust was clear through her words.

“I-I just thought… Look- I’m just here to speak to my parents.” You tried to walk past, being stopped by the older woman.

“Please… do what’s best and leave.” Her brown eyes softened as she stared into yours. Vivienne held your arm for support, hoping you wouldn’t later take this out on the crew. Your eyes welded up with tears, shaking your head.

“I’m not gonna leave. We’re staying here for a few days. My bounty is way too high to be back at sea. If you can live with sending your best friend's daughter out to die, go ahead. But we’re staying.” You pulled yourself together. The happy demeanor going back into the demeanor you always held. You drew your sword out, your eyes darting at the villagers. “Anyone wanna say anything?” You vaguely threatened.

“Just let them stay…” The same young girl from earlier spoke. “Please… I don’t want anything bad to happen.” The mayor huffed, giving in to your demands. “Fine. A week and you two are gone.” He walked away, unwilling to argue. You drew your sword back, shoving into Mina’s shoulder. “We were hoping for a celebration. You all have to work for your berries now.” You taunted.

Vivienne tried to chase after you, but you denied her any access to you. You went to the one place you longed to go for years.

You sat down at the infamous graveyard that was held as a memorial for that faithful day. You knew the route to them like it was written into your brain. You sat down, facing the two small graves. You wished you had enough time to buy them a new hedge stone. Something they deserved. You talked and talked, trying to catch them up about the past couple of years and your adventures. They wouldn’t be proud, but if it was something you truly desired, they always gave in. Every toy you eyed was yours. Every candy bar. Every dress. It was yours with just a look. You didn’t even shed a tear. You were just happy to be able to spend the time you did. But time was up. Now to play your role as a pirate.  

You went into town, searching for your crew. It wasn’t heard to find most of them. “We’re still celebrating. If they try anything, don’t do anything. Just call me.” You instructed. You went into a local restaurant and demanded for them to make you a feast. “There’s no time. We have customers to take care of.” The owner tried to stand up for himself.

“Oh? I’ll slaughter every one of them then… So, either tell them to leave or they’ll leave 'cause I made them.”

You struck immediate fear. This is what they submitted you to. You just played your role accordingly.

The rest of the nights that went by you and your crew went from restaurants to bars to shops and demanded whatever you desired. And the mayor could not speak a word of it.

You ate till your bellies were full and drank until you forgot what you all have stolen or done the next evening. Vivienne was the only one who stayed mostly sober. Not out of guilt. She believed they deserved it. But to speak to her lover from across the sea. She was careful not to give up the location this time though. Cabaji informed her about Buggy’s new reign of terror. He has been going from port to port in search of you. It was endless. He definitely took his frustration out rather quicker than ever. He had thrown a crew member overboard for telling Buggy to ease up. He has gone completely mad.

You had two more nights to spend in the town, spending a lot of it talking to your parents, mostly apologizing for your actions. You knew it wasn’t right. But you needed to survive somehow.

You retreated into town, hearing screaming. You rushed, expecting a crewmate to be harassing a villager. You specifically told them to always get you first. What was the moron doing? The closer you got, the more screams you heard. Not just one. But multiple. From men, women, children. Fuck… a raid. You vanished; your sword being drawn before spotting the familiar attire. He was here… How did he find you so fast?

You began your attack, tackling and fighting off members as they tried to find the source of the kicks and punches thrown. You knocked down one of Buggy’s first men. Your boot crushing his chest as you threw one more kick his way before being knocked to the ground. You tumbled, looking around before spotting the bright azul hair. “Stop fucking hiding coward!” He shouted into the air.

There. You appeared in front of him. “Get out Buggy. This place has nothing to offer you.” You warned. “Oh. But you do. Where’s my map your sneaky little rat!” his fists clenched as the veins in his muscles and neck appeared more clearly.

“I’ll give it to you if you leave. Now please. Leave. Your problem is with me. Not them.” You calmly tried to reason with him. You lied though. You’d never give it to him.

“Why the fuck do you care about them? Oh… this place is special, isn’t it?” he tilted his head. His smile appeared for the first time in weeks, purely out of amusement. He struck a nerve. Something that meant something to you. “What’s so special about this place? Hmm? Care to speak up beautiful?”

“Buggy- don’t fucking start. You don’t want to start this.” Your hands out like a dog trainer dealing with a vicious rabid dog.

“You started it first!” His voice boomed through the town. Your shoulder automatically raised, to shield you. His hand flew your way before sending you fly once it hit impact onto your body. Your back fell as you slid against the dirt.

The mayor watched in terror. “This is exactly why we told you to leave!” He hollered. “You’re gonna get yourself killed! Don’t be stupid!” He finally showed some care for you. He tried to bury it, but it’s hard after witnessing someone you watched grow up being beaten in front of you.

“Mayor Tenile, Go inside. Get everyone out of here. Now.” You warned.

“Oh- you’re on a first-name basis? Do you know each other?” Buggy put the pieces together. He watched your face, reading into your slight body movements. Your body tensed up, taking in more breath to calm your nerves “This is your home, isn’t it?” Buggy laughed manically. “Oh no! What a shame! I never realized what a dump you were from. Wow- I’m doing you a real favor, place is hideous. Not even a lick of color at all. No wonder you have the dark and gloomy look going on.” His laugh grew louder.

“Just stop… please.” You tried to plea once more. You thought of something idiotic, but it might work. It worked on most people after all. You sat on your knees, pressing your chest up slightly. Your hands coming together, arms right under your breast. Your eyes give the puppy dog look to them. “Buggy- I’ll give you anything. Just stay away from here.”

Buggy stared you down, his eyes scanning you. “You’re not that sneaky.” His knife flying your way. You vanished, moving quickly out of the direction. You got up quickly before making a run towards him. Your sword going through his torso. You needed to find a way to get him away. The question of how would trip you up. You thought of something. You rushed to the ship as fast as you could. “Hey! Don’t back out of a fight now!” Buggy called out as he attempted to follow the footsteps. You dug through your belongings before finding the map. You had such little time before Buggy destroyed the whole village.

You left the cabin, watching as Buggy’s body stood at the port, waiting for you. “Really? You’re playing hide and seek now?” Buggy accused you. “No- I have something you want. So- either leave or it’s being thrown into the ocean.” You marched up to the railing of your ship. You held your arm out, map hovering over the ocean. “Now leave.” You slowly let two fingers go of it as it was secured only against your thumb and finger and pointer finger. Buggy had no time for this game. His hand flew over, attempting to yank the map away from you. Your grip was on tightly. A yank of the map pulled most of your body towards the right. Your body attempted to keep its balance over the railing, but ultimately failing. Your feet slipped off as your body fell mid-air.  Your grip of the map immediately lets go. Your hands attempted to hold onto something to keep you from falling into the water, but everything was just out of reach. Buggy’s fist grabbed the map retrieving it from you. He was confident you wouldn’t actually hit the water. This had to be a trick. He just waited for the reveal.

Your body smacked against the water, your clothes immediately weighing you down. Your arms attempted to push you up, but there was no use. You sunk lower and lower, unable to get a single breath in while you were under. Your vision grew hazier by the second. Your head felt woozy. It wasn’t long before your vision went completely blind.

Buggy waited, but nothing. This wasn’t a trick… His immediate panic set in. But he couldn’t come grab you. He’d die trying.

Your body laid there, unconscious. Your dress sunken to the floor with you as your hair seemed to flow against the currents. You had finally been defeated by Buggy.

Buggy panicked trying to find a way to get you out. There had to be someone who could help. He heard a rustling in the bushes, turning his head to find an older woman with long black hair, knife in hand. She had been spotted. She charged out with the knife, swinging it at him. Buggy didn’t move for a second. “What are you?” She cried as she kept trying to make an impact. Buggy was losing time. He grabbed her wrists, staring down at her. “Stop! I will leave if you do one thing. Just-“ He made the deal. “I will call my crew off immediately.” “Why would I believe you?” She attempted to pull her hands away. “Cause you can do something for me,” Buggy spoke quickly, knowing you barely had a minute left. She broke down her boundaries and opted to listen to what he had to say. Buggy quickly explained, stumbling over his words, but Mina took no time to try to save you. Despite her grievances, she couldn’t live with the fact she could actually save you. She snagged her shoes off before diving into the water.

Mina dove into the water, scanning the water to find you, sinking herself deeper and deeper before finding you. You laid there. Finally at peace. You looked softer weirdly. You didn’t have the same angry look you had all the time. Your eyebrows softened and your body was less tense. She grabbed your arm quickly before swimming to the surface. She swam above the sea, holding onto the deck as she attempted to pull you up. Buggy rushed to help, grabbing your arms out of the water and pulling you up.

Mina left the water after, standing above you. She shook her head before getting onto her knees. She pressed her hands against your chest, stopping to hear for a heartbeat or breathing.  

“You idiot. This would’ve never happened if you only kept a simple life…” She whispered.

Buggy kneeled down, shoving Mina out of the way. None of this was working. He turned you to the side, hoping you wouldn’t die from choking on water you’d eventually throw up.

You regained your eyesight. Everything was brighter yet still fuzzy. You turned around, kneeling on your hands and knees, water spilling out from your lungs and stomach. Mina rubbed your back and removed your hair away. She shushed you, trying to comfort you as you coughed out mostly everything before fully coming to. You looked to your left to see Buggy sitting there. Blood-boiling rage took over. You stood up quickly, kicking Buggy farther onto the floor. “Get out of here!” You drew your sword, pressing the blade onto Buggy’s neck.

“He was just on his way…” Mina tried to intervene.

“If I could- I would kill you right now… You don’t deserve it though. Next time you see me in your path, leave. I can never forgive you… Your ego has gone too far. First, you destroy my village and attempt to kill me? I don’t even want the map anymore. Keep it. It’s as worthless to me as you are right now. You’re nothing, but a circus freak. Now get your men. And leave.” Your words getting caught in your throat. Your jaw tightened as you unknowingly grinded your teeth. Your vision grew blurry once more as tears filled the brim of your eyes. You were foolish. You’ve betrayed Buggy countless times. But this had gone too far. It stung more knowing the new history you’ve created together. The way you both let each other see such vulnerabilities. But that’s all it was. History. “It’s just business. Don’t forget it.” Buggy shoved your sword away before going back into town. He quickly recruited his men before making a departure. You couldn’t look at him. But you knew he couldn’t stop looking at you. He wanted to plead to you. But there was no use. Everything he thought of saying would do nothing.

He had to be okay with the story you convinced yourself happened.

It wasn’t long before you collected your crew as well. You couldn’t be here any longer.

You recollected the money you promised the town in the first place. You went into the Mayor’s office, waiting for him at his desk before dropping the money you promised.

“Uh- here… I’m sorry about the mess I brought. Take it to rebuild everything.” You couldn’t bring yourself to look him in the eye. You felt such guilt for causing another tragedy on the village.

“You know I can’t accept it.” His gaze softened, standing up to protest the money.

“Please- I’ve caused enough issues. Just let me do something nice…” You begged.

“Don’t say that. You defended yourself. That’s all… You’re not a bad kid…” Your lip quivered, wiping your eyes before tears could start.

All the years of the villagers never taking you in because of the fear they had of you. You were too bad to be let in their homes. To play with their kids. To be in their store. You were just a kid.

“You’ve done good. Don’t ever forget it… Now please.” You cut him off. “No- take it. And uh- here. I want my parents to get a nice gravestone. If you can work that out for me…” You handed over an expensive watch you knew could be sold for 435,000 berries. “I’ll get out of your hair now. Thank you.” “Visit again soon.” He requested before you headed out the door.

“I probably won’t.” You confessed before stepping out of the building. You made your way back onboard, setting sail for somewhere new.

notes: I'm so sleep deprived

[runningfrom2am]

the sea around us; chapter nine

In which Rafe Cameron has to choose between his dad and a pogue who's changing his outlook on life more and more every day.

(rafe cameron x f!oc)

(eventual!jj maybank x f!oc)

warnings/tags: violence, drug/alcohol use, smoking, sexual content (if you squint), slowburn, older brother’s best friend, (these tags are obv not exhaustive but regardless it’s pretty PG13)

wc: 2.6k

my masterlist

series masterlist

requests

*:･ﾟ✧*:･

When I'm ready to return to the party, I feel like I've absolutely lost my mind. Quite literally, the only thing I feel even remotely capable of thinking about is Rafe. Maybe I love him. Maybe I didn't splash my face with water enough times in the bathroom. I know I'm just drunk.

I pull the door open and start to go for the stairs I came up when I hear a voice behind me. "Hey." Then a whistle, trying to get my attention. I turn, just as I see Rafe standing up straighter from where he was leaning on the wall.

"Oh, hi!" I smile, pushing my slightly damp bangs out of my face. "I was just going to look for you." I can hear the drunk in my own voice. It's so annoying.

"Well, here I am." Rafe grins, holding his drink up to his lips.

"Are you okay?" He asks me, finishing off his drink. "I didn't mean to freak you out or anything, you know, I'm sorry about that." He sounds nervous.

"No, no way. I'm fine. That was fine." I nod nervously, smiling at him. "I didn't mind one bit." I feel my cheeks burning.

I can see Rafe relax a little bit, he looked a little wound up about it. "I just, you know, it felt right." He shrugged. I'm glad he felt the same.

"Ugh- do you know what I really want right now?" I hear myself saying, changing the subject.

"What's that, Snowy?" He asks.

"I would literally die for a hot bath right now." I giggle, leaning back against the wall, and looking up at the ceiling as it spins.

"That can be arranged. Could it wait till we get back to Tannyhill? Or I can find you another bathroom where you won't be bothered.." He suggests and I laugh, shaking my head.  I don't remember agreeing to go back with him, but I don't mind. The shower in the guest room that I used the other day was beautiful.

"It definitely can wait. I've made the mistake of having a bath at a party before." I lower my eyes from the ceiling to meet Rafe's.

"You- what?" He chuckles, looking truly confused.

"You heard," I say, giving a slight nod. "Completely naked, door unlocked, everything. There's a picture of me passed out drunk in a tub with a bowl full of my own vomit out there somewhere. I think Kie has it."

"Wow," He laughs. "Here I was thinking that this may be the drunkest you've ever been."

"Not yet, but I'm getting there." I joke, reaching out for his hand so we can go back downstairs. He takes it and has to hold it up a little bit to keep me from falling. "Do we need a ride? I'm kind of ready to go." I ask over the music, which is louder now that we're back on the ground floor.

"I can find someone," Rafe assured me, scanning the room. He's not standing the steadiest either, so he wraps his arms around my shoulders, holding me from behind and resting his chin on the top of my head. He's not nearly sober enough to drive a dirt bike.

"Maybe we can ask Kegs?" I haven't seen him drink." I suggest, looking around for my brother but I don't see him.

"No- no he can't drive. He's been taking shots I think." Rafe said, sounding unsure.

I gasp suddenly, making him jump a little bit. "I'll call John B! No.. that's probably not the best idea. I can call Kie! She'll come to get us." I tell him. "Can I borrow your phone?"

Rafe nods and holds it out to me. "If you're sure she'll be okay with this."

"I'm not gonna hide anything from her, she won't mind. I know it." I smile, taking his unlocked phone and struggling to see the phone app, and then the numbers. It takes me a minute to dial, but finally, I get it and I head for the door. It is much quieter outside. Rafe is close behind me as I run out onto the lawn, laying down in the grass as the phone rings.

"Uh, hello?"

"Kie! Oh my god hi!" I say, waving Rafe away. "Rafe- give me like two minutes okay I want to talk to her," I whisper and he laughs, nodding as he walks back up to the porch and leans against the railing, watching me.

"Snowy? Are you with Rafe Cameron? What are you doing?" Kie sounds shocked, suddenly much more awake.

"Yeah, I am." I giggle. "He invited me to this awesome party at Kelce's, I'm having so much fun."

"That's great Snowy, but why would Rafe invite you to a party?"

"I don't know honestly, but we've been talking all night and we just get along so, so well." I say, looking up at him and waving, which he returns. "Kie, he kissed me," I whisper.

A few seconds of silence follow, and I can practically hear her confusion.

"Snowy, are you for real? Did you want that?" Kie asks quickly, seeming worried.

"No, no Kie I'm fine. I definitely wanted that. He has not left my side all night, and god he is just so pretty. His arms are just so.. ugh, I feel like my heart is going to explode." I giggle. "And! And, he called me Juliette. And I liked it, Kie. Isn't that crazy?"

"Oh my god.." Kie sighs. "Okay, well, if you're happy, I'm happy." She reluctantly says. "Is that what you called to tell me? That you're in love with a Kook?"

"Not exactly, can I ask you for the biggest, biggest favor in the whole wide world?" I ask hopefully.

"You need a ride?"

"We need a ride, to Tannyhill, yeah."

"To Tannyhill. Of course..." I hear her sigh as she gets up out of bed. "Where are you?"

"Uhm... I don't know. One sec." I say, looking around. I know I'm at Kelce's, but I don't know what the address is. "Rafe?" I shout over to him, standing up very unsteadily. He's here in almost an instant.

"Is Kie coming to get us?" He asks.

"Yeah, but I don't know the address." He nods and I pass him the phone, he holds it up to his ear.

"Hey, Kiara." He says, the smile on his face fading a bit as I can hear her say something to him after. "Yeah, no, of course. I just think she'll be more comfortable. She said she wants a bath and we have a bunch at home so she can take her pick." He chuckles. He then tells her the address, and before he hangs up I get as close as I can while he's still got it to his ear, so I can say "I love you" and "thank you" to Kie.

Rafe hangs up and looks at me. "She's not pleased, hey?" He asks and I shrug.

"It's whatever, she supports my decisions. It's JJ I'm worried about." His eyes harden a little when I mention JJ.

"Well, I don't see why he can't suck it up." He said, seeming frustrated with the idea.

"He will at some point," I explain. "Should we do an Irish goodbye? Or.." I suggest and he laughs.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･

When Kie arrives, Rafe is just finishing up saying goodbye to some friends on the porch, and I run up, jumping in her passenger seat.

"Hey Kie, I appreciate and love you so so so much..." I smile, leaning over and hugging her, she can't help but smile and hug me back.

"Snowy, are you sure about this?" She asks, pulling away and looking at me seriously. "I can take you back to John B's, it's not too far."

"No, Kie, I swear I'm fine. Rafe promised me I could have a bath." I tell her, I love baths, I haven't had a long relaxing bath in probably years.

"Snowy I am so serious right now, be careful." She says quickly as Rafe approaches the car so he doesn't hear. He hops in the back and she gives me a look of uncertainty but agrees to drive us anyway.

Back at Rafe's house, I jump out and run around to Kie's side to open her door and give her a hug.

"I seriously love you so much. You're the best." I tell her, and she hugs me back again.

"I love you too, Snow. Just please be safe. Call me if you need me." She tells me. "Also hurry up and have that bath- you smell like booze." She jokes and I let her go.

"Sorry.." I giggle, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek as I step back, almost falling backward from the weight of my backpack, which is still somehow much lighter than it was when we arrived.

"Let's go, Snowy," Rafe says, grabbing my backpack to steady me.

I nod and wave goodbye to Kie, walking up to the house with Rafe while he has his arm around my shoulders. I see him glance back at the car as Kie pulls away.

"I missed her.." I say out loud.

"It was nice of her to drive us." He nods.

"It's so weird they weren't there." I continue as Rafe guides me up the stairs inside the home.

"Shhh... I think my parents and Wheeze are asleep." Rafe shushes me and I nod.

"Right. Sorry." I whisper.

He takes me up to his room and I put my backpack down next to the bed.

"Still want to have that bath?" He asks, walking over to his bathroom and flicking the light on.

"Oh my god, yes please." I smile, already going to pull my shirt off, not having a care in the world if he sees me shirtless.

"Woah, wait- I'll get it running and then you can go in and get ready." He says, laughing a little.

"Sorry." I laugh, embarrassed now as I pull my top back down. He didn't look anyways, I don't think, but still.

"Don't be sorry, it's definitely fine by me, I just don't think you want to do that." He explains vaguely.

He goes into the bathroom and turns on the faucet, grabbing something from under the sink and heading back over to the tub, out of my view.

I lay back on the bed and look around at his posters and everything. He's got a few photos of family and friends, a couple of golf trophies, and some miscellaneous sports or movie posters.

"I didn't know you liked the fast and furious movies." I giggle, sitting up to look at the poster.

"Yeah, they're pretty cool. I don't know, that was a Christmas gift from Sarah a few years ago." Rafe tells me, coming out of the bathroom, and wiping his hands on his shorts. "Bathroom is all yours." He says, coming over to the bed and laying next to me.

"I love those movies," I tell him, turning my head to look his way, seeing he's already staring at me.

"Really? You do?" He smiles, and I can see a glint of something in his eyes, hardly decipherable, but I can tell he's happy. I think he probably likes them more than what he said.

"Yeah, they're some of my favorites." I say, staying there on the bed for a minute before getting up.

"Bath time," I say, walking in and closing the door behind me.

"Thank you!" I say through the door, smiling at the bubbles he put in for me.

"Shout if you need anything!" Rafe replies.

I strip down and get in, feeling the warmth rush over my body and a deep breath leaves my chest. This is instantly the best bath I have ever had.

After a few minutes of laying there with my eyes closed, I realize I'm falling asleep. I don't want to make that mistake again.

"Hey, Rafe?" I ask, hoping he can hear me at a normal volume.

"Yeah?" I hear his response.

"Can you come in here?" I ask, and there's a pause before he replies.

"Are you alright?" He asks, sounding puzzled.

"Yeah. I just want some company."

I pull the glass door of the bath closed and I hear him open the door, I can just see shadows through the glass, and how he opened it just a little to peak in before he fully entered.

He comes in and sits on the ground at the wall next to where my feet are.

"Hi." I giggle.

"Hello there." He replies, laughing a little as well. "How is it?"

"Only the best bath I have ever had in my life," I reply, and I can see him nod.

"I'm glad."

"The bubbles were a nice touch."

"I figured you would like that."

"How did you know?"

"Well, girls like that kind of stuff. And you have a very bubbly personality, I'd say."

I giggle a little bit. "Yeah, it's a fair assumption."

"Can I ask you something?" He asks after a moment.

"Yeah, anything." I say, and a moment of silence follows.

"So, like, what's up with you and the Maybank kid anyways?" He asks.

I sigh and sink down in the water. "Well, nothing. He's my best friend. I love him." I explain.

"I feel like there's more to that story."

"Yeah, a little, but I don't want to talk about it honestly." I admit. "He hurt me, I guess."

"Some best friend he must be if he could hurt you." Rafe says sarcastically.

"I don't think he meant to." I try and justify what happened.

"Did he hit you?"

"No, no way. God no. I mean like, emotionally... I guess." I explain. "But that was a year ago and I know I was just being a baby."

"I doubt that." He says. I can tell by his tone that he still has questions, but he decides to drop it.

"So.. do you want to talk about what happened with us instead?" Rafe asks, after a few moments of quiet.

"The kiss?" I ask, it's a stupid question. Of course, that's what he means.

"Yeah, seriously I'm sorry if I overstepped-"

"Rafe, if you overstepped do you think I would be in your bathtub right now?" I laugh, interrupting him before he gets too carried away.

"Yeah, I guess. I just wanted to make sure I didn't fuck everything up." He says. How could he possibly have fucked anything up?

"You couldn't if you tried, I don't think." I try and ease his worries.

"Snowy, you don't know me apparently- I am the expert on screwing things up."

I frown at that- why would he feel that way? It makes me sad.

"Okay, keep in mind how smashed I am right now when I tell you this," I laugh. "You couldn't fuck it up if you tried because I know I really like you." I hold my breath while I wait for him to say something, trying to hone in on how drunk I'm still feeling so I don't have to admit to myself that I said that to him.

"Alright, now you keep in mind how smashed I am when I say this; I think I really like you too." I feel my cheeks burn as he says that. Keeping in mind how smashed he is, yes, he could be making this up. But, why would he invite me to pre's alone if he didn't at least want to get to know me? That's a good sign. Maybe he just felt the same way about me that I did about him. He's cute, he's nice, I wanted to get to know him and if something happened? Great. If not, I'm fine either way.

"But, before you say anything, I feel bad about how this happened. So please, if you remember this tomorrow, let me take you out sometime." He adds, and I'm surprised about how I could blush more, I'm just glad he can't see me right now.

"Yeah.. yeah I would like that."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･

A/N; eeeeee i loved this so much!! i hope you guys are enjoying as much as i am :) -R

[tiny-lady-journal]

It's been 24 hours without her.

I threw the blanket she had nearly died on in the washing machine as soon as I got home. I didn't want to erase the memory of her loving that blanket, but I couldn't stand to see the dried vomit that had crusted on it. I still haven't moved it to the dryer.

My mom swiftly removed her items when I asked. I knew having to look at them, unused with a layer of dust, would break me into millions of pieces over time.

I slept with my door completely closed for the first time in 3 years.

I couldn't look at the foot of my bed when I woke up in the morning because I knew she wouldn't be there.

I struggled to answer my boyfriend's text this morning when he asked me how I was holding up; I sat and stared at a wall for what felt like too long, trying to figure out how to tell him that my world has flipped on its head and nothing feels right anymore. I settled on, "I cried and everything feels weird".

I had to shut the curtain to my closet, because her bed was on top of my dresser, and I couldn't bear to see that spot devoid of both small cat and small bed.

I cried over that, hard. I screamed that I had killed my baby, that I had made a mistake, that I wish I could have saved her, and that I wish she had never gotten sick.

I then had to tell myself, over and over, that I did the right thing, that I did all I could within my power to help her, and that taking away her pain was my way of helping her when she needed me most.

I shoved the churu and the water dropper in a box in my room, remnants of our last few heartbreaking days together. That, least of all, could I look at.

I deleted the Stardew Valley file I had made prior to her getting sick. I played it when she was getting worse. I didn't want it to exist anymore, not with the memory of it tainted with looking over at her every 5 minutes to see if she was still breathing.

I looked at pet urns, then had to take a break because it felt like my little lady was reduced to tacky cartoon cats and cheap looking ceramic pots, and it made me cry all over again. I would give her a sapphire-encrusted gilded urn if I could. I would have given her the stars if she asked.

I cried when I got water from the fridge because there was no tiny lady getting under my feet, screaming at me and begging for nice cold water because she didn't care for the temperature of her water fountain.

I keep shifting in my seat, waiting for her to crawl up my chair, ignore my attempts at trying to interact with her, and climb me and the chair like a jungle gym so she could get to the windowsill to watch the birds or meow at passing cars.

I keep hearing the little tinkle of her bell, just within earshot. Either I'm hallucinating, or she's letting me know she's near.

A bird tapped its beak on my window while I was laying in a puddle of my own tears. I looked up a spiritual meaning behind it, and cried even harder at my search results.

What I did manage to do today though, despite it all:

I watched Twilight. I did psychology notes. I ate pizza. I brushed my hair. I brushed my teeth. I washed my face. I took a bath. I played Stardew Valley. I put Contrapoints on in the background for something besides my own thoughts to listen to. I drew a little, and got frustrated with it. I flipped off my Canvas notifications (my cat just died, fuck off, I don't have the emotional capacity to think about the anthropological origins of religion right now). I answered texts. I existed. I survived day one.

[starrypawz]

(Wow this set of questions is REAL good) ❝ sometimes, i just need the world to be beautiful. i know how dark and ugly it can be but i just want to see something good and focus only on it for a few minutes. ❞

It's all about the yearning prompts // AO3

Mild cw for discussions of childhood neglect/emotional abuse and the concept of running away from home as a child

To no one’s surprise, London’s skies are grey and there’s a chill in the air that makes neither of them feel like lingering more than necessary. So instead they’ve lingered  amongst Monet, Seurat, Reubens, Van Gogh, Turner, Degas and Rembrant amongst others in the much more pleasant environment of The National Gallery. 

Nemo’s been mostly lulled into comfortable silence (Which they’ve noticed happens a lot around him) as they’ve wandered the galleries with Gerry as he’s given his input (And Nemo’s found he has a lot)

The gallery’s been quiet, not that surprising for a grey weekday afternoon outside of peak tourist season. There’s been a secondary school trip of adolescents of various degrees of enthusiasm that they lost track of several galleries back, a handful of other patrons likely out of season tourists and a few art students studying the masters. (Nemo had noticed Gerry watching the students with a wistful look before they’d moved on)

They’ve been bathed in comfortable silence for a long while now only broken by the occasional echo of footsteps from the nearby corridor as they’ve sat on one of the wooden benches, another grand oil painting from another Old Master before them. 

Gerry breaks the silence with a snort that sounds like he’s bitten off a chuckle. 

“What?” 

“Just… remembered something.”

“What?” 

“I…” Gerry pauses, “First time I tried to run away.” 

Nemo turns to him, “I… How old were you?”

Gerry sighs, “I was… eight? I think,” He pauses, “Mum had left me alone to deal with… something and I decided it was a great idea to finally run away and I came here,./ 

“Why?”

“I… Don’t really know why… or don’t really remember,” Gerry shrugs, “Just had some idea I could live here, hadn’t really planned all the details out,” He snorts, “Not much has changed on that front.” 

Nemo offers a weak chuckle in response, “Then what happened?”

Gerry shrugs, “I… stayed here for a few hours seemingly unnoticed and then realised maybe running away wouldn’t really work and I went back home.”

Nemo turns to him, their expression a combination of concern and confusion. 

“No one noticed you?” 

He shrugs again, “Yeah no idea how that worked, guess people just assumed I was with whatever adult was nearest to me, I think there was a school trip here on that day so I guess people thought I was a straggler. I managed to slip through the barriers at the tube station easily enough, and somehow I just knew what trains I needed.” “Gerry Keay, faredodger, I never expected.”

Gerry snorts, “I do mostly pay for my tickets these days.”

There’s a long pause before Nemo speaks up,

“Did…” Nemo pauses, “Did she-” 

“She was still out,” Gerry tenses his hand grips the edge of the bench, “Nearly made myself sick thinking she’d find out either that I made some mistake to expose myself or that she’d just know what I did but she never mentioned it-”

“Gerry-” “I’m ok,” Gerry sighs and relaxes his grip, “She came home late, I pretended I was asleep and woke up the next morning and it was… normal,” He gives a bitter snort, “I mean as normal as it ever is with her.” 

“And?”

“Made me realise eventually I could maybe pull one over once in a while, guess it was one of my first acts of petty rebellion,” He pauses, “Or maybe she wants me to think that, let me occasionally get away with something so I lower my guard and-” Gerry claps his hands together to pantomime something getting crushed and the sound echoes around the gallery.

“Cheery thought.” “Comes with the territory, right?” Gerry laughs, seems a little brighter, “Have that moody freak reputation to hold up…”

“You’re not that moody.” 

“Didn’t say anything about me not being a freak though.” 

“Well that’s undeniable,” Nemo grins, “And I’d like you a lot less if you weren’t one and anyway us freaks need to stick together right?”

Gerry’s actually smiling by this point, whatever looming darkness seems to have been shoved back into its box for now.

“Yeah.” 

Nemo shuffles closer to him, “So… art?”

“Art.” 

“You know a lot about it?”

“I guess I kinda do?” Gerry sighs and gives Nemo a brief smile, “I think you’re the only person I’ve ever really been able to talk about it with,” 

Nemo smiles

“Does… she… mind?” Nemo pauses, “That you’re into art?” 

“Weirdly she doesn’t,” Gerry pauses, “I don’t think she’s as fond of my interest in the… academics of it? Probably feels i’t a distraction from her bigger picture but she does seem to like the fact I’m apparently not totally terrible at actually making it” 

Nemo gives him a nudge, “I’d say you’re a bit better than ‘not totally terrible’” 

Gerry grins and nudges Nemo back, “Maybe I’m just fishing for compliments,” 

Nemo nudges him harder (Not that it makes much impact on him) and Gerry chuckles.

Gerry shrugs, “Yeah I don’t know maybe she just appreciates the fact it was a way to keep me out of trouble as a kid when she wasn’t… teaching me,” 

With a sigh Gerry leans back, his attention on the ceiling long enough he starts counting the panes in the skylight and Nemo leans into his shoulder. And although this has become a feature in the time they’ve known each other this time Gerry feels a warmth blossom to his cheeks that almost derails his thoughts instead after a pause he wonders if it bordered on awkwardly long he says

“There’s a lot of fucked up shit out there,”

Part of Nemo wants to respond with ‘You’re telling me’ or ‘No shit’ but instead keeps quiet. 

“And art,” Gerry pauses as he tries to get the words together, “Art… there can be fucked up shit in there too but it’s contained and it can’t hurt you… not really. It can make you uncomfortable, it can scare you, it can make you have to face things you don’t want to but at the end of the day it has no claws,” His gaze drops from the ceiling, “And often there’s still something beautiful there,” Gerry sighs, “And even the most realistic art is just… an approximation of reality, it’s all an escape really.”

“An escape?”

“Yeah…” Gerry pauses, “And I mean,” He gestures to the painting they’ve been seated across from, “Look at it,”

“It’s beautiful,” Nemo offers up. 

“Exactly,” Gerry pauses again, “It’s… See there it’s art, it’s beautiful, it’s all contained within that gilded frame, nothing more nothing less, it’s an escape into an approximation of reality where-”

“Nothing bad happens?” 

“Yeah,” Gerry sighs, he shifts his gaze away from the painting towards Nemo, “Everything is kind of fucked up and ugly out there when you look at it for too long,” And finds he’s again taking in every little detail in Nemo’s face, the exact shape of their hairline on the shaved side of their face, the distance between the piercings in their ear,  the exact constellations of freckles against their cheeks, the rounded tip of their nose, the shape of their lips, how it all adds up to make their specific profile. “And maybe sometimes I need things to be beautiful and look at something… good for a while.” 

Gerry swallows and then shifts his focus back to the painting, he only just realises that Nemo hooked their little finger around his at some point whilst he was talking. Nemo settles against him again and that warmth comes to his cheeks once more and with a soft sigh he relaxes against Nemo.

[devildomdisaster]

Idk if you read Lore Olympus but chapter 129 gave me an angsty request idea.

So Persephone, who’s the goddess of spring, goes into a hibernation-like state and when her emotions go out of control, she ends up growing her hair really long and her body sprouts a lot of plants from her; to the point of covering her and whatever area she’s in with her plants.

So I would like to request head cannons of the Brothers reacting to an MC who gets really sad whenever the brothers insult or threaten them and after several weeks of being berated by demons it causes MC to shut down and go to their room but mistakes a comfort spell with a plant curse that causes their hair and plants to grow continuously long. The plants fill up MC’s room and while they would normally be surprised at the mistake, they don’t care any more. They allow the plants to to grow, even wrap around their neck and body, and hopes the curse kills them off before the brothers notice as they go in the “hibernation” stage of the curse (The curse causes the victim to grow a lot of plants and vines from their body until they die, which can take a few days).

I’m sorry for being so long and descriptive, I just wanna see the Bros panic and feel guilty that MC felt pushed to do this to themselves but I understand if you don’t want to do it

I don't read Lore Olympus but you described the situation really well so I hope this is something close to what you wanted.

Comfort spell gone wrong

Lately, nothing seemed to be good enough for the demons. No matter what you did one of them would find something to berate you for.

“Mc, your grades are subpar even for an exchange student. You’ll have to try harder in order to not be a disappointment to Diavolo and myself.” Lucifer warned over breakfast.

“Mc, you burned dinner. You should learn to be a better cook.” Beel grumbled. As if you had ever seen any of these ingredients before ending up in the Devildom.

Even Mammon seemed to be in a particularly unpleasant mood. A never-ending string of complaints about how hard it is to protect an ordinary human. “Geez, you’re such a hassle human.”

Taking refuge in the library to study and to give Mammon a break from you proved disastrous and nearly deadly. Somehow you’d managed to spill your cup of tea all over an old somewhat rare text after Asmo had barged in and startled you. Your string of bad luck continued when Satan rounded the corner and saw the soggy tea-stained pages you’d been trying to decipher. In his fit of rage, he’d called you several unpleasant names and asked if you were “capable of doing anything right or if all humans are as stupid as you?” You’d left as quickly as you were able to avoid any more of his wrath.

No matter where you went you kept walking in on Belphie napping and without fail he’d say something nasty to you, that would make tears burn the backs of your eyes.

Levi had angrily called you a “useless normie,” who he wished would “never come back.” and had pushed you from his room with a slam of his door.

Even Asmo who usually just ignored you when he was upset found every reason imaginable to critique your every aspect. Physical and personality. Not a single one of which made you feel any more than worthless.

So was it any wonder when at the end of a long week you’d locked yourself in your room and decided to try that comfort spell you’d heard Solomon talking about? It seemed simple enough. But then your tears had blurred your vision as you’d recited the words and your Latin was still shaky at best. But it was just a few lines! And there was no way you were going to go to one of the brothers for comfort when they had seemed perfectly happy to make you miserable for the last few weeks.

You’d read the spell aloud and curled up hoping that the spell would kick in and you’d feel even just the slightest bit better. The blinding green light and sudden drop in energy was the first and only warning the spell had gone wrong. But being new to magic meant it still sapped your energy, so you didn’t stop to think something might be wrong. By the time you realized what was happening, everything was out of control. Plants had begun to sprout from your skin and the floor around you, growing and growing. With each inch they grew you felt your exhaustion creep up and consume you. You were just so tired. Your eyes fluttered closed. This was wrong! You forced your eyes open again. You need to fix this. The spell! But a short nap wouldn’t hurt, would it? You’d have more energy after you woke up. Then you could go get one of the brothers. Satan would know how to fix this. Or Lucifer! He’d clean the spell up easily. Yes, after you woke up…

Lucifer hadn’t seen you all weekend. He figures you’re most likely studying. But you don’t show up for meals and none of his brothers have seen you either… and oh Diavolo! He can feel the spell from the dining room. How did he not notice sooner? The cold pulling sensation of the spell, like it was sucking the warmth and life from its surroundings.

When Lucifer reaches your door Mammon is already there. Knocking and shouting for you, but there's no answer. He all but breaks your door down, his brothers behind him, and finds you at the center of the spell. Unresponsive and covered in the plants using your energy to grow. The plants had begun climbing up the walls and twisting through your hair, sending out snow-white flowers.

“Beel! Don’t!” Lucifer warns as Beel reaches out to pull a handful of plants from you. “We don’t know what did this and what will happen to Mc if we just rip the spell off like that.”

“Lucifer, Mc did this to themself,” Satan points to the open spellbook. “It looks like they got a comfort spell mixed up.”

Fortunately, your last tired thoughts were correct and Lucifer is able to break the spell quickly. You wake surrounded by the brothers.

Lucifer:

All this happened for a comfort spell? Because you didn’t feel like you could come to him, to any of them?

He’s so sorry Mc. Enough that as he leans down to pick you up out of the mess of withering plants you can feel tears fall onto your face.

“Nothing I did was good enough for you Lucifer. Any of you. I just wanted to feel… I just wanted-”

His heart breaks when he realizes this is his brother’s fault, his fault. “You are always good enough, Mc. Much more than I could ever ask you to be, and if I ever made you feel like you weren't. No, the fact that I made you feel like you weren’t, means I have been truly terrible.”

You’re choking back your own tears now and you curl further into his arms as he carries you down the hall. “You said I was a disappointment.”

“My dear Mc, you have never been, nor could you ever be a disappointment to me. Forgive me for ever making you feel as if you were.”

Lucifer takes you to his bathroom and draws you a bath to wash away the last of the plant matter from your body.

Afterward, he’ll bring you anything you ask for. He wants to wrap you in his arms but doesn’t want to push you, so he asks softly if he can hold you.

He’ll spend weeks trying to make this up to you, even after you forgive him, he’ll be sure to tell you how much he loves you more often than he did before.

Mammon:

Shit human! Why didn’t you come to him? He loves you so much and oh. He made you feel like a burden.

How could he be so stupid when he knows how his brothers make him feel?

Mammon begs for your forgiveness in front of all his brothers.

“Please can ya forgive me? I never meant to make ya feel like a burden. You're the only human I- I want to protect you Mc. I’m so sorry.”

Mammon helps you up and since your room is covered in plants he offers to let you sleep in his room for the night.

He wraps you in blankets and brushes the hair from your face with trembling fingertips.

There are still a few stubborn leaves sticking to your face and in your hair so Mammon takes a warm washcloth and wipes them from your face before gently untangling the plants from your hair.

You’ll be getting little gifts and tokens of mammon’s affections for the foreseeable future.

Levi:

He threw you out of his room when you came to him for comfort and the guilt at seeing you almost die because of it is eating him alive.

He feels frozen

Maybe you would be better off without an otaku shut-in like him. He starts avoiding you like the plague.

You start to think that Levi is so disgusted with the fact that you did that spell that he doesn’t want anything to do with you anymore.

Despite this Levi still checks up on you. He wants to know that you are ok, he just does it without you knowing.

He’ll ask his brothers about you and discreetly glance at you during meals to make sure you’re eating enough and look healthy.

A few days later when your favorite and manga anime start showing up outside your door you confront Levi. “Are you mad at me? Do you just not want to be around me after what happened? Levi, I miss you!”

He is shook, and he can’t believe he messed up so badly.

He’s happy that he can invite you to hang out again, and he makes sure to spend long nights gaming or watching movies with you until you fall asleep against him. He’ll even stutter out how much he treasures his time with you, blushing fiercely all the while.

Satan:

Satan feels anger swell up inside him. How could he have let this happen? How could no one have seen how upset you were?

Once the spell has been dissolved he is at your side instantly. Brushing vines from your skin. His fingers are shaking in anger but his touch is so gentle.

When both you and your room are cleaned up Satan sits at your bedside, book in hand, reading to you.

He just wants to be close to you now. He wants you to know how much he cares about you but is still too worked up to get his thoughts out properly.

Eventually, his thoughts calm and he stops reading in the middle of a sentence. “Mc, I am so sorry. I never meant to make you feel unwanted. Every day I spend with you is infinitely better than a day without you. I know the spell was a mistake but… we almost lost you. I almost lost you.”

He wants to talk about what pushed you to do this. He won’t push but he really does think that he will be better able to help you if he understands.

Satan makes sure to spend more time with you from now on. He makes a conscious effort to check his temper at the door and be with you when you need him.

Sometimes he’ll just read to you until one of you confides in the other in quiet voices.

Asmo:

As you blink your eyes open Asmo gently brushes some plants from your cheek.

You are so pale and his heart breaks as you flinch away from him. You feel like a mess and you know you must look like one too so curl your body away from him trying to hide. Trying to avoid his critical gaze.

This is the moment Asmo knows he screwed up.

He draws his hand back, for a moment, before reaching out to you again. Cupping your cheek and wiping your tears away with perfectly manicured hands.

Lucifer has him take you to his bathroom to clean up while the rest of the brothers work to clear the plants from your room.

Asmo is quiet for a long while as he untangles plants from your hair.

“You’re so loved, Mc,” he says softly. “You are.” he insists when you shake your head no.

“More than you could ever know, and it’s our fault for not telling you. My fault for not making you feel worthy.”

After this incident, Asmo wants to make sure you know how beautiful you are. He starts self-care days once a week that soon turn into whole family affairs. Each week different combinations of his brother attend and you all work to pamper each other.

Asmo makes sure nothing like this happens again, he never wants to be part of the reason you feel unloved ever again.

Beel:

At first, Beel thinks you did this on purpose. Once the brothers realize you messed up the spell he is less angry but no less distraught.

Once you wake up, he wants to take you to get desserts. He’s heard humans eat Chocolate/ other sweets to feel better. And this makes sense to him, food does make everything better.

But you don’t want to go to Madam Screams or the kitchen to make your own. You’re still so tired. Not to mention embarrassed that you screwed the spell up this bad.

And now they are all staring at you like they care so much when none of them had any time to notice how they were making you feel before.

When you become unresponsive to the brother’s questions and apologies Beel scoops you up in his arms and walks away with you.

Something about the way he holds you close to his chest and his warmth causes you to finally let go.

You bury your face in his shirt to muffle your crying.

“I just… I felt so alone! And… I...but no one” you gasp out shakily between sobs.

Beel soothes you with soft murmuring as he gently cards his fingers through your hair and strokes down your back.

Once your crying quiets he starts to speak “Don’t do that again. You can always come to me Mc. I’m so sorry you felt like you couldn’t”

Belphie:

Belphie thinks it’s a joke at first. “Man, how could they mess up this bad?”

Then he sees Lucifer’s panicked expression and it hits him how serious this is.

Belphie is immediately by your side. Hands frantically feeling your wrist for a pulse.

After Lucifer breaks the spell and your eyes flutter open Belphie is filled with relief until a wave of guilt washes through him.

He can’t believe he fucked up so badly again. Sure this time he didn’t directly cause you physical harm, but he did play a role in causing you to almost die again.

“I am so very sorry Mc, I never meant to hurt you.”

He does everything he can think of to make it up to you. Anything you ask him for, as long as it’s within his power, is yours. No questions asked.

He asks permission just to hold your hand for weeks afterward as if he thinks you’ll come to your senses and decide you don’t want anything to do with him.

He wants to comfort you so bad.

To make sure you don’t feel like this again Belphie pulls you away to nap with him as often as he can get away with it. Most likely only a few times a week (much less often than he would like). Sometimes he uses this time just to talk with you. Others you really do nap, and Belphie curls himself around you. Occasionally he enters your dreams while you nap together to make sure no nightmares can touch you.

[jiminiesfavouritecolourisblue]

Our little love part 2 - mafia/yandere au Drabble {angst + fluff}

As always please let me know what you think, I am actually going to go to bed now my brain is angry with me for not sleeping.

It seemed the cycle was never ending, you fucking up and pissing them off, them punishing you by drowning you in their love, only letting you come up to breathe so you could swim in your own guilt and submit to them.

You wince as the victim to your latest fuck up gets another blow to his chest. Taehyung and Hobi held onto his arms as Jungkook and Jimin kick and punch the poor individual. You know not to speak, it’ll only make things worse. Temperament was a fickle thing in their lives, trust was everything, and you still had to build yours up again.

“Y/n help please,” Kai whimpers as you stood with your arms crossed looking away.

“Don’t fucking say her name,” Jungkook growled before punching your ex colleague in the face. You’re frowning, the need to beg them to stop was fighting for exit on the top of your tongue, but you bite it down and pray Kai doesn’t say another word. You know if you do as he asks they’d kill him. Your punishment was to watch silently.

Yoongi strolls up behind you, hands in his pockets before he rests his head on your shoulder, watching the display in front of you both.

“Nothing to say little love?” He whispers as your friend groans out in pain.

Please don’t kill him, you want to say, but you just shake your head in defeat. You want to believe they’re better than this, but the evidence of the contrary was never hidden from you. They showed you every side of them whether proud of it or not with bold eyes daring you to stop loving them, pushing your boundaries and morals waiting for you to snap. But the breaking point never came, you loved them, you shouldn’t and you knew it, but you did. You were completely and utterly theirs, yet still they treated you like you hadn’t seen the worst of them. Like you would run away the second you realised they were monsters, not that they would let you run far, only far enough to let you take a single breath before making you drown in them once again.

Yoongi wraps his arms around your waist, keeping an eye on your reactions. The asshole deserved it, not that they cared either way, he tried to take you away from them, that was enough.

Kai was your old partner before you took a very early retirement, what you didn’t know was that he continued the case you were working on before you left; the case of the seven men you now loved and the reason you quit said job. He had called you to meet up for old times sake and you, very naively in Yoongi’s mind, decided it was harmless. But if it was harmless why didn’t you say anything to the boys? You thought Kai didn’t know the reason you handed in your resignation, but he had been keeping an eye on you all before he realised you were the key to their downfall. He knew you harboured some feeling for him in the past and thought you’d reciprocate when he tried to flirt his way into getting his hands on the evidence you collected, he didnt know you burned it all. You lied to him and said you lost it, same difference anyway. This prompted plan b from him.

“Y/n they’re criminals,” he had said to you. “You’re a cop at heart you can’t love them.”

You floundered at his words when you realised he knew, and yet he still asked you to betray them.

“Kai I think I need to go...”

It was a mistake, you knew it then, but he followed you out onto the street and you hoped tonight the men you loved weren’t keeping an eye on you. Maybe naive was an understatement.

“Are they coercing you Y/n! Do they have something on you or are they threatening you?” He calls after you. “Because the Y/n I know would never love killers, what have they done to you?”

It was when he reached his hand out to grab your arm that your boyfriends decided to show themselves from the shadows. Which lead to the situation now, Kai beat up and bruised beyond recognition, and you forced to watch. He falls unconscious and they let him drop to the floor, you hate this side of them, it was cruel and cold but you’d never leave. They turn to face you now, their anger still present despite the last hour of releasing it onto your old partner. They don’t miss the way you’re shaking, the shallow breaths as you try and keep your tears to yourself. As much as you hate their violence, you hate their disappointment in you more.

——————————————————————————

You’re sitting in Joonie’s lap for what you call the debriefing of your punishment, this happened way too often in your opinion. You look down but he wasn’t having it today, tilting your head to look at him by your chin.

“Why did you get punished today little love?” He starts the same way as usual.

“I went out without telling you guys where I was going or who with,” you say while fiddling with your fingers out of nervous habit.

“And?” Hobi sits across from you in a chair, legs straddling the back and an elbow rested on top with his fist holding up his face. Hobi was hardest to pacify, he was ruthless and unforgiving and while that didn’t extend to you, you still had a hard time with his stubborn anger.

“I met up with Kai, and I let him touch me,” you’ve done this too many times before to not know how it worked. Kai’s ‘touch’ obviously meant nothing to you but for them it was the worst crime anyone could commit against their little love.

You remember the time you nearly tripped in the park and a guy steadied you politely, but you still had to hold Jungkook back from throwing hands.

“Kookie would you rather I fell and hurt myself?” No he hadn’t wanted that so he grumbled in agreement still seething but you cooled it down. “Instead of hitting him maybe you should thank him,” it was a joke but it made the youngest scoff.

“Baby girl why can’t you just be good?” Namjoon’s sigh brings you back to the present. “Why do you always have to test us like this?”

You didn’t mean to, you want to say it but the words are stuck below the sob in your throat. You actually whimper as his tone, bottom lip wobbling pathetically. He hadn’t even told you off properly, but you already felt like a mess as he bathed you in his disappointment. That was the common consequence of your actions and you hated it, you couldn’t do anything right.

——————————————————————————

“Jin do you need help with the food?” You ask your eldest boyfriend politely, he was frowning and you thought it was because today’s meal was too much for him to handle alone, his tone of voice made you realise it was because of you.

“No, I’m alright,” he doesn’t look at you as he speaks and you’re left gaping at him like a fish. Jin loved it when you cooked with him, it was your bonding time without the others, although Yoongi would join you from time to time. The others also tried but Jin wouldn’t let them anywhere near the kitchen, they hogged you enough anyway.

You feel your soul deflate, still standing there as he ignored you.

“Are you mad at me too?”

The way you said it made his heart twinge with guilt, but the others were right you wouldn’t learn and your first betrayal was still fresh on their minds. He sighs and you turn away, refusing to crying in front of them for the tenth time that day. What was wrong with you? Ever since that day where they found out who you really were you felt like you werent enough anymore, you tried so hard to make up for it all but you kept messing up. You weren’t like this before, but after seeing the hurt you put them through you were constantly on edge and second guessing yourself. You wish you could go back and stop them from ever finding out.

Jin hears the sniffle as you walk away and he can’t go through with it.

“Wait little love,” he calls for you. “I forgot to cut the onions, would you mind?”

You shake your head, you didn’t mind, but you didn’t trust your voice to answer for you. Youre grateful to Jin for giving you this task, it hides the fact you’re crying, but you know he doesn’t miss it.

——————————————————————————

Jimin and Taehyung were giving you narrowed stern gazes through dinner, it put you off your food which resulted in getting told off by Jin just after he branched out to you in the kitchen.

You felt alone, like the seven men you loved were against you and there was no one to blame but yourself.

“I’m sorry,” you say quietly before getting up and removing yourself from the dinner table and dining room, ignoring all of their stares. You decide maybe an early night is best, you could start again fresh tomorrow. You don’t get too far up the stairs before a hand pulls you back, you turn to see Jimin with Tae a few steps behind him.

You’re so used to seeing them laugh and play around that it feels like you’re looking at different people. Even during missions or gun fights, the youngest three were always joking their way through the bloodshed, keeping scores of who got the most headshots and other grotesque games. You remember the time Jimin and Tae called you during he middle of a shoot out, arguing with you and each other over who you loved more out of the two while you begged them to not get shot or killed.

“Why did you go see him Y/n?” Jimin asked, he wore the demeanour he used for enemies and it takes you back to that night.

“I... h-he said he wanted to see me to catch up,” you explain but you know it’ll fall on deaf ears.

“And you thought that was a good idea, to see your old cop buddy?” His tone makes you feel stupid, you weren’t stupid.

“He was my friend Jimin,” you say in disbelief, you know in the end it was a mistake but at the time it didn’t seem like the worst idea in the world.

“You’re ours,” Taehyung moved forward, towering over you even though he’s a step below you. His face is close to your own, eyes burning into yours as he looks disgusted at the words that left your mouth as if they’re still attached to you. “How do you think we felt when you went to see another detective? Do you have any idea what was going through our heads?”

“Tae I love you,” you lean away from him, searching his face for a hint of softness and love in his gaze, but there was only fire. “You know I wouldn’t, you all know I wouldn’t, I left that life for you why would I turn back to it?”

He stalks away from you without a word, Jimin close behind, giving you a final cold glance before leaving you alone. You thought your love could make them better but if anything you made their darkness worse.

——————————————————————————

Jungkook needed to vent, the only way he knew how was physically. Obviously it wasn’t the cleverest thing he’s done, taking rounds with the punching bag only to open up the cuts on his hand from beating the bastard earlier. He mutters a few curse words under his breath, why did you make matters worse? Maybe they were being harsh on you before today, finding any excuse to punish you a little, test your boundaries and see if you would run, but today they honestly feared that was what happened. They thought you chose to leave them and go back to the life you had before them, but they’d never let you go, they couldn’t let you go. Despite everything you loved them and they worshipped the ground you walked on. You were everything for them now, there’s be no point to any of them without you. Why didn’t you understand that?

He throws another punch to the bag, spreading his blood across them, it hurt like hell, but the thought of you running back to your old partner still played on all of their minds. He wanted to cry, he wanted to find you and beg you to never leave them, they’d be nothing without you.

There’s a knock on the door and he finds you on the other side, waiting for permission to come in. You never waited for permission, it makes him frown, maybe they were too harsh on you today. He could see you shuffling your weight, insecurity screaming through your eyes, you feared his rejection more than his anger.

He notices the first aid kit in your hand, you must’ve heard him. He doesn’t let the fluttering in his chest reach his face as he sits on the bench, waiting for you to come to him.

His gaze is expectant, daring you to cross the threshold and face him, you were no coward, you didn’t fear them the way others did, why were you behaving so meekly now? You force yourself to move and sit beside him, setting the kit down and pushing your hair back behind your ears. He doesn’t move his gaze away from you, even with the sweat and hair hanging in front of his face.

You carefully take a his hand into yours, sucking air between your teeth at how injured it was.

“I’m sorry you hurt yourself because of me,” you say, eyes on his bloodied knuckle as you press the ointment against the open wounds. “Are you sure you want me to stay, I keep hurting you...”

You try to sound like you’re joking, that you’re okay and the hurt isn’t weighing you down with your doubts. He frowns, they really did take it too far. He sets down the cotton wool from your grasp, taking both of hands into his before kissing each finger delicately without letting you look away.

“You’re perfect little love,” Jungkook says, reassuring you with no question in his voice. “We’re the ones who don’t deserve you, we’re mean and cruel but we’re never letting you go.”

You remember how loving they were before that night, maybe while they accepted the truth at face value they could never really forgive you in their hearts. Maybe that’s why they were being like this, they didn’t love you the same way anymore.

“Do you love me?” You had to know, the doubt was eating you alive.

He looks at you as if you’re insane, maybe you are, you don’t know anymore.

“Little love, don’t you see how much we love you?” He asks sincerely. “We would do anything for that love even if it made you hate us, you belong with us, and no one is going to take you away.”

You could see the crazed look in his face grow as he spoke, you believed him, the honestly worn like a heart on a sleeve. But his answer bought a wave clarity to your hazed vision, you made them like this, you made them worse, you had to leave.

[padme-parker]

Mizpah // the darkling x reader // ch 4

summary: The Darkling and Alina talk. You get a tour of the Little Palace.

warnings: cussing, getting drunk, maybe some violence maybe not. not proof read either </3

AFTER showing you to your room, the Darkling hurried back to Alina. Inside, the sun summoner had been pacing relentlessly. What did he mean we weren’t together? The girl understood that the two had shared nothing more than a kiss. He didn’t owe her anything, so why did she feel like this? Hearing the door swing open made her stop in place.

“Forgive me, Alina.” He started. “But I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have kissed you that night.” Aleksander didn’t know what he was saying. He knew that he had to have the sun summoner by his side, and he didn’t know how to execute his plan if he didn’t have her. Truthfully, there had been some part of him that enjoyed indulging in her. He had convinced himself and Alina that it was them against the world, which he had believed. Until you showed up.

On the contrary, Alina was seething. She didn’t know whether to be angry with herself or the Darkling. “But you said-” She let the words die on the tip of her tongue, she couldn’t recall what he had said exactly. All she knew was that he made a promise that they would save the world, together. Had she interpreted his words and actions wrong, the girl didn’t know. She left Mal, she just let Mal walk out of her life for a man she had known for less than a year. A man who had promised her everything yet nothing. “Saints, I…”

“I really am sorry.” Alina knew something was off, the Darkling never apologized for his actions, deliberate or not. He had no problem taking up lovers in the past, so what had made him change his mind? He seemed so ready to give himself to her.

The sun summoner gave him a weak smile, “No, I understand.” She could feel the tender strings of her heart snapping. How could I let myself fall for someone like him so easily? She began to berate herself. She quickly excused herself, not wanting the Darkling to see the tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. As soon as she shut the door, she paused. Willing herself to calm in order to go to her room. On the other side of the door, the Darkling approached it yearnfully. He had risked everything for a whim.

With a sigh, the Darkling left the war room and headed to his sleeping quarters. He took a short bath before putting on his sleep attire. He found himself falling asleep to the thought that you would soon be in his arms.

-

THE DARKLING had been roused from his sleep, your screams echoing in the barren hall. Hurriedly, he threw open the doors of his room and gathered his oprichniki before entering your room. He ordered his guards to survey your room as he made his way to your trembling figure. He desperately wanted to reach out to you. To take you into his embrace and kiss your forehead until you stopped crying. But he couldn’t, not yet. It was still too soon. After no threat was found, he directed his guards to leave the two of you alone. He finds himself crouching down to you, his hand hovering over yours, asking for permission. He didn’t want to take advantage of you in such a vulnerable state like this.

With the nod of your head, he takes your hands into his, unconsciously rubbing his thumb along the soft skin of your palm. He does his best to subdue the emotion in his face as he sees the raw skin of your neck. His mouth seemed to dry, his throat feeling like the sands of West Ravka. With caution, he traces along the lines of your birthmark, noticing the shudder you had so deeply tried to suppress.

“I can call for Genya, if you’d like that.” You knew what he was insinuating. As humiliated as you were by it growing up, you wouldn’t get rid of it or try to hide it. Not anymore, not ever again.

“No.” You said sternly. The sunlight had completely changed the way your room looked. In turn you observed how the rays of light painted your room in a warm, welcoming tone. You had managed to finally calm yourself, his presence oddly enough brought you comfort. You should’ve been scared of General Kirigan, The Darkling, Starless Saint, or whatever it was he went by. He was a ruthless man who was willing to do anything he could to end the war. But was that not a good thing? You asked yourself. He would risk everything to end the war. Ravka needs someone like him. He certainly did far more for your country than the King ever did.

A realization came over you as you stared at him, a smile coming to your lips. “I think it’s time for that tour you promised me.” The Darkling lent his hand out to you, and you gladly took it. You dusted yourself off, pretending like nothing had happened. “Give me a second to get dressed.” Without waiting for his reply, you took the same undershirt and trousers from yesterday, and changed in the bathroom. Before leaving the room, you made sure to throw your raggedy soldier’s jacket over your shoulders.

The Darkling started with the obvious, his sleeping quarters and the war room. He had told you how the sleeping quarters connected to his war room wasn’t actually his bedroom. He found it too much of a hassle to move from the war room to all the way down the hall in order to sleep every night. The next room he showed you was his own, but he never granted you entrance.

“I don’t go in there often, it reminds me of..” His eyes briefly met yours, he cleared his throat and looked away. “..someone.” There was a flash of something, some emotion, that you couldn’t pinpoint. But if one thing was clear, whoever this person was really hurt him. You tried not to press on further as the curiosity got the best of you.

“I didn’t peg you as someone who would settle for a relationship.” You said as he started to lead you away from his room.

“I’m not.” He said solemnly. You could tell he wanted to say more. That there was something that wanted to escape his lips, but he didn’t allow those words to leave them. He took his time explaining the halls and rooms of the Little Palace.

“This is where the Corporalki practice, I don’t recommend going inside.” He stated. Their practice room had no windows, unlike the many other rooms within the Little Palace. You could only imagine the horrid smell in there. Perhaps they convinced a squaller to air it out once in a while.

The next room he took you to was where they all gathered to eat. He told you how Grisha were separated into their own tables. The Darkling had sat in the middle, while the Corporalki and Etherealki were seated to the right and left of him. However, it wasn’t often he made an appearance here. He usually ate in his war room.

After showing you the inside, he then took you outdoors towards the garden. He had managed to avoid large crowds inside, but due to nearly everyone training outdoors, there had been some people who stopped and stared as you walked past. The lake had begun to freeze, some Grisha ice skating on the shallow side where the ice froze first. The others had been practicing their magic. It had mainly been the Etherealki who practiced outdoors. Eventually everyone had to come outdoors though to train with Botkin.

“Perhaps I could train with him too?” You asked. Afterall, you were in the First Army. It would be a waste to sit in the palace and do nothing while you could be training and brushing up on your skills.

“If that’s what you want, sure. All Grisha are permitted from using their powers while training with Botkin. I can assure that you’ll be given a fair fight.”

“Oh, I won’t be the one needing a fair fight.” You mused, peering at your knuckles, remembering all the fights you had gotten into at Keramzin after Alina and Mal came. You’d come a long way from that damned orphanage.

“Well, I guess that concludes our tour of the Little Palace for now.” The two of you walked aimlessly, trying to make conversation. Out of the corner of your eye you spotted a small hut, encapsulated by the trees.

“What’s over there?” You asked. The Darkling looked in the direction you had pointed to before swiftly leading you away.

“That's where Grisha go to train one on one with a teacher.” He explained. “I have a meeting to get to, but I can walk you to Alina’s room if you’d like.” The Darkling had hoped you accepted his offer, and tried to hide his disappointment when you had told him you’d like to walk there on your own. As you left, the Darkling kept his gaze on you the whole time. And if only you had turned once, you would see the longing he had so desperately tried to keep back.

The walk back to Alina’s room had been uneventful since Grisha were off training, including Alina. As you return to her room, you traversed about. You were sure she wouldn’t mind you looking around. You and Alina had grown accustomed to sharing most things while growing up. Everything from food, toys, even to Mal. As you neared her desk, you noticed a red book that she failed to hide. The cover had a beautiful gold design and lettering on it, Istorii Sankt’ya, it displayed.

“The Lives of Saints.” You whispered as you flipped through the pages. You were confused as to why Alina had this, she was never one to believe in the Saints growing up. Surely there was no way she had converted to a believer in a matter of months. Then again, faith was a strong thing that could cause Kingdoms to rise and fall. You’d heard of the whispers, some calling her Sankta Alina. As you continued to flip through the pages, you abruptly stopped, one of the images catching your eyes.

Depicted was an image of Sankt Ilya in chains. Behind the Saint was a white serpent that splashed in the waters. At his feet was the stag you’d been tasked with tracking down. And in the background behind the Saint’s left shoulder was a bird. Your fingers traced over the antlers of the Stag, trying to recall why you’d been tasked with tracking it in the first place. You’d heard about all the myths. The Stag, the Sea Whip, and the Firebird. If the Stag had been more than a myth, more than a children’s story, then did that mean the Sea Whip and the Firebird were real too? If so, what could the Darkling possibly want with them.

The sound of approaching footsteps startled you, making you drop the book in your hands onto the desk. You quickly seated yourself on the chair in front of the mirror, trying to seem inconspicuous. Alina came in through the doors alone.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my sun summoner. How are you my friend?” You played off, which Alina squinted her eyes at.

“What do you want, y/n?” The question made you roll your eyes, letting out a huff as you got up from the chair.

“What, I can’t visit my friend while I’m staying as a guest here?” You noticed the furrow of her brows, reminding you of the conversation that you, the Darkling, and Alina had last night. “What happened to Mal? Why’d he leave?” You whispered, knowing she was still hurt from the events that took place.

“I.. He..” She began, the whimpering in her voice evident. “We got into an argument, he told me I had changed since I left. That the kefta and jewels made me different. He told me that he saw how the Darkling looked at me. One thing led to another, and then he just left.” She explained, a single tear falling from her eye.

“Did you?” You asked, “Did you like the way he looked at you?” You clarified. Your eyes never leaving hers as she stared at you.

“I thought I did. There was something that was luring me to him. I thought I wanted to be with the Darkling, and then something changed within him. Maybe I took his words the wrong way. But either way you're the only person I have left now. Mal is… gone. The Darkling probably only wants me here to get rid of the fold.” She sighed. You tugged her into her grasp, feeling her body let out small sobs.

“Mal will come back to us, he always does.” You assured while stroking her hair. “Now can we get something to eat, I’m starving.” She let out a laugh as she wiped away her tears. She walked towards a bell that had been sitting upon a tray. She rang it once, signaling a servant. Right after, a young servant had knocked on the door. Alina had promptly opened it and asked for a meal for two to be brought to her room. The servant obliged, bowing before leaving once more.

Soon after the servant had returned with a cart full of food. She served you several small plates of Zakuski, a pitcher of Kvas, along with some pickled herring on top of crackers. You grimaced at the selection placed in front of you.

“Well they’re certainly feeding you ...something.” You giggled. You gravitated towards the Zakuski as your other hand went to pour a glass of Kvas.

“The General orders we have a balanced diet, or something like that.” She replied. “Since when do you drink?”

“Ever since I got stationed at Caryeva.” You shuddered thinking about your time there. “It was my only escape. I remember that night, it was a quiet night, but it didn’t stop the Shu from attacking and capturing Grisha.” The words seemed to just slip from your mouth, it was the first time Alina had heard about what your time was like down in Caryeva. “I tried to fight back, to help the Second Army. Hell, I even suggested that they take me with them. But they spared me because I wasn’t Grisha. Of course I didn’t come out unscathed.” You said, referring to the scars she’d seen yesterday. “And ever since then, I’ve been drinking because why the fuck not.” You raise your glass in a toast before downing it in one go. You reached for the pitcher again as Alina began to talk about her experience here.

“It wasn’t easy at first. It still isn’t. Some of them still don’t believe I’m a sun summoner, that I’m doing some kind of illusion. But surely the Darkling would’ve killed me if I wasn’t what I claimed he was.”

“Can I see it?” You interrupted, while you only got a glimpse of her at the fete, you had yet to see her powers one to one. In an instant, the room is filled with a bright light. You set down the Kvas in order to shield your eyes. A smile came onto your lips, “I can’t believe it, my best friend is the sun summoner.”

“Whenever you return to the First Army, you can’t mention that you know me. Someone will use that against us and try to get us both killed.” She warned, “While we're on that topic, how long will you be staying?”

“Well, he did say I could stay for as long as I’d like; as long as you permitted it.” You said, taking another gulp of your Kvas. You could feel it begin to take its effect, a slight warmth blooming throughout your body while your cheeks were tinted with a light blush. Time seemed to pass quickly as the two of you continued to catch each other up on what the other had missed. Soon enough the moonlight had taken over, leaving you with nothing but candles and lanterns to light up the room. And Alina of course.

“Alright, I think it’s time I head back.” You announced, getting up from your chair seemed to be a difficult task made obvious by the wobble in your knees.

“Maybe you should stay here for tonight.” She tried to convince you.

“I think I’m fine, Alina. Besides who would miss out on being able to sleep across the hall from that hunk of a man.” You snickered as Alina stuck her tongue at you. “What, I know a hot man when I see one.” You admitted.

“Yeah well, good luck trying to get into his pants.” She countered, a smirk on her face. She walked you to her door before giving you a quick hug and wishing you goodnight. As soon as she closed the door, you were alone again. Even in a hall filled with people, you had never felt more alone, more out of place. At least with the First Army you were surrounded by fellow soldiers, while here you were surrounded by Grisha who didn’t know you even existed.

The journey back to your room consisted of you constantly hugging the wall for stability. You thought you hadn’t drunk that much but the effect of the Kvas had just started hitting you more harshly. You’d probably woken up a Grisha or two with your annoying giggling while you mumbled to yourself. Before you know it, someone is walking up to you, their arm supporting your waist as they rest your arm atop their shoulders.

“Oh, hello Mr. General, sir.” You tried to salute him, but failed miserably. You could see the corners of his mouth slightly turn up as he tried to fight it.

“I assume you had a good time?” He questioned as he made his way back to your room.

“Yes, it would’ve been better if you were there.” You suggested, wagging your eyebrows. Sooner than you’d like, you arrived at your door. The Darkling gently laid you onto the bed as he went to take off your shoes, leaving them at the foot of your bed. He lit the lantern that had been placed on the side table. Before he could leave, you grabbed his hand.

“Thank you for walking me back. Goodnight..” You didn’t know what came over you, but the words left your lips before you could even think to stop, “..my darkling.”

If you had stayed awake for a few more seconds, you would’ve seen the genuine smile that came to his face. His fingers stroking your hair, tucking some behind your ear.

“Goodnight, my darling.”

-

A/N: sorry this took so long lol. I was quite busy over the weekend. I usually post every other day. But my question is if y'all like shorter, more frequent updates, or longer updates. Obviously the longer updates wouldn’t be posted every other day. Most likely once a week though. However I enjoy writing and posting every other day because it keeps me motivated. 

Mizpah tag: @all-art-is-quite-useless @devilxangel @musicconversedance @parabatai-winchester @runawayolives @tartiflvtte @rbg1933 @thatguppienamedbae @batgal96 @thebarisinhell99 @5hundreddaysofsummer @kaqua @queenseneschal @benbarnes-supremacy @princessofpersia96 @takethee @dontjinx-it @freakytillthemoon @amortentiaaaa @marvel-ousnesss @coolninjavoid @areomalfoy @pansysgirlfriend @universalirwin @leavejuliaalone @xx-winwin-wednesday-xx @honeyofthegods @lunamyangel @d-list-goddess @comphersjost@telepathdestiel @the-celestial-kitsune @thestoryofmylife9 @s-corpionem @pancakeisreading @sanna2020 @secretsandtinyshadows @savannah-elliott @maliasblue @tea-effect @disneyandharrypotter @futuristicpinklemur @tanyaherondale @the-puff-is-strong-with-this-one @hxgreeves @yourboiialucard @thereeallink @ladyblablabla @wolfieellsworld @p3nny4urth0ught5 @louweasleymalfoy @the-natureofme @itsloveroflife @oddlittleminx @within-thehollowcrown @itsfangirlmendes @heyyimlaynna @jgtfvhsg @gloriousmoneyrascalbiscuit @auggie2000 @itsnotquimey @jtownraindancer @sonnensplitter​ @sarcastic-and-cool​ @poulterfilms​ @spookybooisa​ @stickyknightflowerbailiff​ @hollandsweetie​

S.a.B. forever tag: @deceivedeer

[homoose]

Love Has a Learning Curve: Part I (x reader insert)

Summary: Our favorite couple has some catching up to do.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader (or xOC)

Category: hurt/comfort, fluff

Warnings/Includes: descriptions of Mexico and prison; they have a sleepover, but it’s just talking and sleeping 🥰

Word count: 3.5k

a/n: Here we go!!!!! We’re picking up from right where we left off in tmsidk part X.

Song Rec: The Luckiest by Ben Folds

Series Masterlist

———

“Do you— would you want to— come upstairs?” he asked.

Spencer stood in front of her, unsure of what to do with his hands. Y/N was absolutely radiant— bathed in the very last of the golden daylight and more beautiful than he even remembered. All he wanted to do was hug her again and never let go.

She shook her head, and he tried not to instantly deflate. “I have to feed Roald.” She smiled a little at him and restarted his heart. “But would you want to come over? We could order somethi—”

“Yes— yes.” She let out a quiet laugh at his eagerness, and he wanted to hear that sound every day for the rest of his life. “Can I— I just want to drop this stuff off and change, and then I’ll, um.” He gestured vaguely to her. “Should I drive you or do you want to walk or I can just— meet you? Whatever— whatever you want.”

“I’m gonna head back now and take care of Roald. Take your time, and just— well, here.” She held out her hand. “I’ll put my number in your phone, and you can just text me when you’re on your way.”

He fumbled the phone out of his pocket, placed it into her outstretched hand, and nearly vibrated with the way her fingers brushed over his. She stared at the unsophisticated phone in her hand. “You weren’t kidding about the technology thing, huh?”

He ran a hand down the back of his neck and shrugged. “I prefer to keep things simple.”

“I haven’t seen a T9 keyboard since I was in high school. This is a relic,” she laughed and then gave him a soft smile. “And… very you.”

He watched her fingers as she pressed along the tiny keys, still sort of in shock that she was here, that he was getting a second chance, that she wanted to do this with him. She handed the phone back to him and then stuffed her hands in her pockets. “So, I’ll see you in a little bit?”

He nodded and gave her his best smile. She stepped forward into his space, and his eyes went a little wide as she leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. She stepped back with a smile, then waved and turned on her heel headed to her car.

He stood rooted to the spot until she had disappeared from view, then let out a long breath and looked down at the small screen of his phone at her contact information. His lips twitched at the name she’d given herself.

Miss Honey <3

…

Forty five minutes later, Spencer smoothed down the front of his cardigan and blew out a sigh. He’d spent five of those minutes reveling in the magic that was Y/N, and the other forty convincing himself that she’d already changed her mind. But he was a man in love, and so he was standing in front of her building, willing himself to press her buzzer.

He was jolted out of his stupor by the buzzing of his phone. He pulled the device from his pocket and saw her name on the tiny screen, hesitating only a moment before pressing the button to answer. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He could hear her smile through the tinny speaker, and it immediately set him at ease. “I was just checking to make sure you remembered where you were going.”

“Yeah, I— I’m outside now, actually,” he confirmed.

“Oh, great! I’ll buzz you up.”

The door buzzed open, and Spencer pocketed his phone, stepping into the small foyer. He wiped his sweaty hands on his pants as he made his way to the staircase. He had barely taken the first step when she called, “It’s the third floor!”

He barely resisted the urge to take the stairs two at a time. When he reached the landing of the third floor, she was standing in the doorway in a purple sweatshirt, sweatpants, and fuzzy socks with dragons on them. He couldn’t help but grin.

“Hey.” She returned his smile. “Come on in.” She moved aside and waved him into her apartment.

He stepped over the threshold, and she closed the door behind him. “I can take your coat. Feel free to leave your shoes there. Roald will be in hiding for the next half hour or so,” she informed him.

He shrugged out of his coat and handed it to her, looking briefly around the tidy space. The walls of her living room were a calming mint green, adorned with plenty of art and photographs. Her couch was a blush pink velvet, exactly as soft as she was.

“Okay, I’m starving,” she admitted, turning to hang his coat in the coat closet. “We can order pizza, Indian, Thai— any preference?”

He shook his head. “No, whatever you want.”

She closed the closet door and cocked an eyebrow. “So if I wanted to order a huge pizza with extra cheese, you’d be cool with that?”

“Sure, absolutely,” he nodded.

She tilted her head. “Even with your dairy thing?”

He was surprised that she even remembered such a tiny detail from all those months ago, and his heart would have fluttered if he wasn’t so focused on making as few waves as possible. He still couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d made a mistake letting him back in, and he didn’t want to do anything that would cause her to rethink her decision. “Well, it’s— it’s just a sensitivity, not a true allergy. Although it’s gotten a bit worse in recent years. But really, whatever you want to do is fine.”

He suddenly struggled to make eye contact, feeling overwhelmingly awkward and out of place. Now that he was here in her apartment, it was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped. He cracked the knuckles on each finger as he waited for it. She let out a small sigh, and he braced himself for impact.

“Why don’t you come sit?”

Her voice was quiet, and then her hand on his arm was soft, and she was leading him to the couch and sitting down next to him. She kept some distance between them, placed her hands in her lap, and then she was still for a long moment. He could feel her eyes on him, but he wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t know if she wanted him to say anything at all.

“You know I forgive you, right?” The question was tentative. He met her eyes, and he didn’t see the regret or pity that he expected. There was something else there; something he couldn’t quite decipher. “Because I do. Forgive you. You apologized, and you meant it, and you allowed me space and time to process. And that’s— that’s all I could have asked for.”

As seemed to always be the case, the task of articulating what he was feeling began to crush him under its weight. The words were there, but he couldn’t get the order right. If it were anyone else, he would have just evaded the conversation entirely. But he’d promised her that he would try. After everything he’d put her through, she deserved that much.

He breathed in through his nose, expelling it in a sigh. “I’ve just— I’ve spent the last month thinking about this— about you— pretty much exclusively,” he admitted, staring at his hands. “And I’m just realizing that I never really… allowed myself to think about what would happen next, because I wasn’t sure that this would happen at all.” He gestured between them and then looked at her. “And now I’m here— with you, and I just— it’s…” He let out a sigh.

“Doesn’t live up to expectations?” she prompted.

His eyes went wide, and he moved closer to her on the couch. “No— god, no.” He instinctively reached for her hand, felt that electricity again when she allowed him to lace their fingers together. He was already making a mess of things. “You always exceed expectations.” He shook his head, and she squeezed his hand. “I just— I don’t… I don’t wanna mess this up.”

She covered their intertwined fingers with her other hand, rubbed her thumb along his. “I don’t think you will. Something tells me you don’t typically make the same mistake twice,” she inferred.

He laughed a little at that, and she gave him a sweet smile, and then she said, “So, no pizza. How about Indian?”

…

They were just cleaning up the last of the take out containers when Roald made his way out of Y/N’s bedroom.

“There he is! Hey, buddy,” she cooed, leaning down to give Roald a quick pet. She gave Spencer a sheepish smile. “He takes a while to warm up to new faces, so don’t be offended if he’s not—”

She was stopped mid-sentence by Roald’s decision to make a beeline for him. The cat stopped to give a cursory sniff before weaving between Spencer’s legs, purring loud enough that they could both hear it. Her mouth dropped open a bit as he leaned down to scratch between Roald’s ears.

“He— he is never that friendly,” she said incredulously. “There really is something about you, Dr. Reid.”

He looked up at her with a smile. “I’m just glad he approves. Would have been kind of awkward otherwise.”

“He’s a very good judge of character, so that bodes well for you,” she confirmed.

“Oh yeah?” Spencer scratched underneath Roald’s chin, grinning at the contented cat. He brought his gaze back to her, standing back to his full height when he realized she’d moved… a lot closer. His tongue darted out to wet his lips, and he watched her eyes track the motion.

“Yeah.”

He thought back to that night nearly two months ago, the way his mouth had verged on violent when she’d kissed him. He hated that their first kiss was tainted with his foolishness, that he’d marred that memory for them both. He couldn’t take it back, and he wasn’t certain that she wanted to kiss him now, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Yes, please,” she breathed.

He brought his hands to her face and used a gentle grip to pull her in. She rested her warm palms against his waist and let her fingers dig in, holding herself steady as his lips met hers.

He kept the kiss as soft as she deserved, opening his mouth to let her in but letting her lead and take him wherever she wanted to go. Her hands slid around to his back, and she tugged him in closer. He left one hand cradling her face but moved the other to the small of her back and pulled her flush against him.

She huffed out a tiny breath against his mouth, her lips turning up in a smile that he could feel in his toes. She brought one hand up to his jaw, rubbed her thumb across his cheek and then wound her fingers into his hair. She tangled them in his curls and tugged just enough to break the kiss, pressing their foreheads together with a sigh.

“If it’s all the same to you, I think I’m just gonna wipe our first kiss from my memory and replace it with that one,” she murmured.

“I’m very much on board with this rewrite,” he agreed.

“Excellent.” She used the hand in his hair to pull him forward into another quick kiss. Roald made his presence known at their feet with a loud meow, pulling a laugh from both of them.

They de-tangled themselves from each other, and she ran a hand through her hair. “It’s getting late.” He nodded in agreement, although he never wanted this night to end. And then she continued, “Do you wanna, um— do you wanna stay the night? I’m sure I can find some comfy clothes that’ll fit you.”

He’d been a ship on a turbulent sea for the past two months, just barely staying afloat at times. It had been heart wrenching and nerve wracking and terrifying— and all of his own doing. And in one night, she’d anchored his vessel amongst the crashing waves. A solution kit, a hug, forgiveness, a kiss, and now this.

His racing mind came to a standstill. The near constant noise was quieted. The turbulent sea became calm, still waters.

“I’d really, really like that.”

…

Spencer ended up in an XXL t-shirt from a school fundraiser and a pair of stretchy bike shorts. Y/N had managed to scrounge up a new toothbrush from the back of the cabinet, and they brushed their teeth together with foamy smiles in the bathroom mirror.

It had taken very little convincing for Spencer to agree to share the bed. Y/N climbed in under the covers, settling back against the pillows and turning down the duvet for him to join her. He held up one finger and disappeared out into the living room, returning a minute later with the solution kit in hand. He moved to the bed, sliding in between the soft sheets and pulling up the duvet.

He leaned back against the pillows and turned toward her, opening the box. “This is the most incredible thing anyone has ever done for me,” he admitted. “Can you, um— explain them to me? Some of them I figured out, but others— well, I just want to hear you, really.”

She scooted closer to him and leaned over to look in the box. “The first few are pretty self-explanatory. This one,” she said, pulling out a picture of her with her hands over her heart and belly, “is taking deep breaths until you’re calm and ready to try again. This one is reading a favorite book— which I know will take you about five minutes,” she joked.

She retrieved the card with the clip art book, and then the one behind it with a pencil and paper. “You can try to write down the difficult thoughts and feelings to get them out of your headspace.” The next card had a picture of an old rotary phone. “Hmmm, almost a match to the dinosaur phone you actually have,” she teased. “But it’s an option to call someone. Could be your mom, or a friend, or—”

“Or you? Could I call you?”

She looked up to find his eyes on her and smiled. “Yeah. You can call me, too.” She pressed a soft kiss to his mouth, and— not for the first time that night— he could not believe how lucky he was.

She drew back to pull out the next card: a clip art rendering of a desktop computer. “Oh! This one is for researching something. I know you’ve got a seemingly endless encyclopedia of knowledge up there,” she tapped on his temple, “but there’s always something new to learn. And teaching yourself something can help you feel capable in moments where you’re feeling— a little helpless.”

There was also a small wooden puzzle cube in the box. She took it from the box and held it up in front of them. “I know your IQ will probably solve this thing in fifteen seconds, but at least it’ll be a nice fidget toy,” she laughed.

The last card in the box was a picture of a timer. “This one might seem kind of dumb, but sometimes it helps me to set a timer to remind myself that feeling shitty is a temporary state of being.” She held the card between her fingers and shrugged. “Even if I’m still feeling less than great after the timer goes off, it usually gives me the boost I need to move forward.”

She gathered all the cards in her hands, shuffling them and then placing them back in the box. “You can add your own options as you think of them. This was just a starter set.”

He closed the lid of the box and set it on the bed between them. He reached for her hand, and she immediately threaded their fingers together. He rubbed his thumb along her impossibly soft skin and took a deep breath.

“The timer isn’t dumb. I, um— I did something similar in prison.” She squeezed his hand. “I kept track of the— the days on this little spot on the wall. Every time it felt like I couldn’t take another day, I’d count the marks and remind myself that I— that I’d survived that long. That I could make it another day.”

He went quiet, and Y/N sat up a little in bed, brushed her free hand over his hair. “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“I want to.” It wasn’t a lie. He wanted to talk to her about it. He wanted to talk to her about everything. He wanted to let her into the shadowy corners of his mind that he kept from everyone else.

“If you’re sure, then I’m right here.” She pulled their intertwined fingers into her lap and leaned over to press a kiss to his shoulder.

When she pulled back, he let out a long breath. He watched her thumb as it traced an unwavering line across the back of his hand. “I was, um— I was in Mexico getting an experimental Alzheimer’s drug for my mom. I’d been going down there for a few months, and it wasn’t ideal, but the medication really seemed to be helping her. And I was just— I was desperate. Desperate for anything that would give me more time with her. More lucid, meaningful time, you know?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I do.”

“It wasn’t the, uh— drug that got me arrested,” he admitted. “There was an unsub— one of the serial killers that we put away a few years ago— a psychopathic, narcissistic hitwoman who had this— I don’t know, vendetta against me, I guess. She, um— she manipulated another woman into drugging me and framing me for the murder of the doctor I was getting the medication from.”

He could feel her eyes on him, and he drew his brows together. “I know the— the whole thing sounds completely absurd— fictional even,” he admitted. “She used a mix of drugs called sevoflurane and scopolamine to trigger dissociation and hallucination, which made it really— um... For a long time, I couldn’t tell which of my memories were real and which were drug-induced delusions.”

He focused on the motion of her thumb against his skin. “The team got me out of the prison in Mexico, but because I went against FBI protocol when I crossed the border, the Bureau wouldn’t fund my legal representation here. Emily hired a great lawyer, but the judge was less than sympathetic. And it really, um— snowballed from there.”

He took a deep breath. “I was sent to Millburn, which is a maximum security prison, and then I didn’t get the protective custody detail, so I was in general population, but I didn’t want to hurt people or move drugs, so I got the shit kicked out of me for a while, and then my friend Luis was killed in front of me, and I—”

Spencer didn’t realize he was crying until Y/N’s hands were on his face, wiping the tears before pulling him into her arms. “A-and then I poisoned the drugs, which just ended up hurting a bunch of people who didn’t deserve to get hurt. And then I got outed as an agent, and my mom got abducted, and I stabbed myself to get put in solitary, but I wasn’t safe there either, and I really thought... I was sure I was going to die there.”

He wrapped his arms around her middle and tucked his face into her shoulder as the hurricane of his agony swirled and raged and then swept out as quickly as it rolled in. She soothed his cries and held him against her, never rushing or shushing him. Eventually, his weeping dwindled to quiet sniffles, his heaving breaths faded to drawn sighs. She kept him anchored through all of it, rocking him gently from side to side and calming his shattered frame.

When he finally quieted, she released him and pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. His chest tightened at her tear-stained cheeks, and he brought his hands up to wipe at them uselessly. When his hands fell back to his lap, she sniffled a little before taking a deep breath, releasing it on a shaky sigh.

“The choices you made kept you alive, Spencer. They were—  impossible, horrific choices that I’m sure just—” She shook her head, searching for the right words. “I’m sure the weight of the guilt and grief has to be unbearable sometimes,” she surmised. “And there’s nothing I can say that will make that any less true.”

She cupped his face in her hands, swiping at the fresh tears with her thumbs. “But I’m... I’m so selfishly thankful for every choice you made. Because it was the perfect set of decisions in that it brought you here. To me…” The tears tracked hot down her cheeks, and she took a shaky breath. “And I feel so unbelievably lucky and so incredibly grateful to have you.”

He had her wrapped up in his arms before she’d even finished the sentence. “I never believed in luck,” he mused. He pressed a kiss into her hair and closed his eyes. “I’m still not sure if I do. But I can tell you that I’m the luckiest.”

———

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[imaginativeamateur]

[Kakashi Hatake X Reader] Take a Rest

Requested by: @anonymous: The reader is home after a tired day of work, nearly passing out. The next day, she doesn’t have enough energy but still wants to go to work.

Pairing: Kakashi Hatake x gn!Reader

Note: Thank you anon, a very nice topic!!! Honestly, it think Kakashi is also a very soft man even though he rarely displays this side of his persona. This one is so cute I couldn’t stop myself from grinning the whole process. Enjoy reading!!!

“Y/N, welcome home, love,” Kakashi opened the door and pecked your cheek.

Your limping body pressed against his in what you assumed was a hug, too tired to even façade a smile, “Hey, I’m home.”

“You look very exhausted. Here,” he took your bag with one hand, the other guiding you to the bathroom, “take a bath and relax. I’ll prepare dinner.”

You smiled appreciatively as the silver-haired and closed the door. Slipping out of your work attire, you quickly submerged yourself under the warm water and closed your eyes.

After what felt like an eternity, you shot up from your lying position and cursed under your breath for falling asleep. Worried that Kakashi would come in at any time, you scrambled out of the tub with a hasty movement that caused your vision to obscure and a painful headache to consume your system. 

You dropped to the floor with a loud thud and crashed your knee into the bathtub. Yelping, you quickly covered your mouth, fearing that Kakashi would rush in, but it was too late, the man was already banging on the door, “Y/N, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” your head hurt even worse, “just... dropped the the bottle of shampoo because it was... slippery.”

“Stop your ridiculous excuses,” he pushed the door open, “it should've been a splash of water if it was the shampoo bottle, not a thud—Kami, are you okay?”

You bit on your lips to restrain the groans, “It’s only a headache, don’t worry.”

Kakashi’s frown deepened as he wrapped a towel around your barely clothed body and lifted you up from the floor, making his way to your shared bedroom. He kissed your forehead, “You're burning, Y/N. Got yourself a fever, dear, rest.”

You finally gave in, only when you were unable to hold your eyes open anymore as the dizziness drowned your sight. He laid you down onto the bed and changed you into your pajama, getting a wet cloth to lower the burning temperature of your forehead. 

Kakashi went back to the kitchen and set the three-course meal that he had prepared aside, got another pot, and started cooking you some porridge for easy digestion. He carefully brought the steamy bowl into the bedroom and set it on the table, “Y/N, I know you really want some sleep but you need to eat something for recovery.”

You lifelessly fluttered your eyes open and brought yourself up against the headboard with his help. The silver-haired slowly held a spoonful to your mouth after giving it a few blows, his eyes commanding you to eat. The man quietly fed you with diligence until you finished the whole bowl, then he tucked you back under the blanket.

The next morning, you woke up to the heavenly aroma that originated in the kitchen. The only problem being was that you had no appetite, not with the stacks of documents awaiting. You knew you were in no condition to work, but you could not neglect the piles on paper in your office. This time every year would be very stressful, and you hated yourself for falling ill during such an important period. 

Ignoring your pounding head, you sat up from the bed and were hit with a stronger wave of vertigo only to lie down again. The rays shining through the blinds made you squint your eyes in irritation. You repeated the motion a few times in an attempt to get used to your malfunctioning system before Kakashi interrupted your progress. 

He forced you back to the bed by the shoulders and scowled, “You should be resting. No work today, I already called your office.”

“No,” you stammered, “I have a lot of things to finish.”

“You’re not going anywhere with that burning fever, Y/N.”

If anything Kakashi managed to get for himself, it was an equally stubborn companion. 

You resisted, slightly pouting your lips, knowing that he would surrender to your secret weapon, “Please, Kakashi. I only need to go through the papers today, and I’ll stay home tomorrow. No, I’ll come home for lunch, right when I’m done! Promise!”

But the silver-haired was extremely firm when it came to your health and wellbeing. Yet, at the same time, he could not stand your sulking face, he had a soft spot for you. 

Then, the man finally came up with a brilliant idea, “Fine, I’ll let you go to work if you can write a sentence without dropping the pen. If you can’t do that, you won’t be able to read anything on the proposals even if I let you go.”

You smiled as he gave you a piece of paper and a pen. Kakashi just made a big mistake when he underestimated your ability. 

But you were dead wrong. 

The moment your vision took in the unbearable whiteness of the paper, your head hurt. Your hand that was holding the pen shakily made its way on top of the cool sheet, it was the first time you noticed how heavy a pen could be. 

You bit your lips, trying to suppress the queasiness that started to coil up in your stomach, trembling your way through the first letter ‘I’. Saying it was a letter was an exaggeration since the mark was merely a vertical line that you still, could not get it straight. You did not even know what to write next as your head was whirling around. Holding your head down to stare at the paper did no good to your overwhelming nausea.

Seeing your struggle, he sighed and took the paper and pen back, leaving you no other choice but to hopelessly squirm back onto the bed. You mumbled, “I’m sorry. I should’ve known that I wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

“It’s okay, Y/N. You’ve been working really hard, but sometimes, it’s equally necessary to take a rest. Just take today off and recover so you can get back to work tomorrow.” Kakashi gently stroked your hair, “I know the village needs you, Y/N. But don’t wear yourself out from working, I can’t watch you handling yourself like that. Now I’ll go make breakfast, alright?”

You obediently nodded and quickly pulled on the sleeve of his turtleneck, “You... forgot something.”

He raised an eyebrow and gave you his eye-smile as he leaned in, planting a kiss on your forehead, “Good morning, love.”

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

Taglist: @dai-tsukki-desu​ @thenightfallingstar​

[whump-a-la-mode]

A hero is in a coma. Villain visits them every single day, loosing sleep, not eating, their life is now completely focused around the empty hospital room.

Until hero wakes up and notices how sick villain has become due to anxiety and not taking care of themselves. Caretaking?

This is such a cute ask!! There’s only a little caretaking, but as always I’d be happy to write some more ^^

To all non-Americans out there, I am so sorry for using our weird 12 hour clock in this piece

CW//Comas, medical settings, just some horrible self care, mentions of explosions, bad hygiene, sleep deprivation, low self esteem, blaming self, strong language

“How are they doing?”

The voice alone was enough to make Doctor jump, spinning on their heels with such quickness that their shoes squealed on the tiled hospital floor.

Oh. It was just Villain.

Just Villain. It was a ridiculous thought to have, and they were well aware of that fact. Only a few short weeks ago, the name would have been enough to make any well-minded civilian tremble. It was bad enough, to hear it spoken on the news. Worse, to hear it not coming from a television-- in some cases, that name was all the warning one was given, before a terrible fate befell them. A nameless causality in the never-ending battle of good and evil.

But, now, there was no terror associated with it.

Most hospitals, Doctor was well aware, were fortunate enough that villains did not often pass through their doors. When they did, in the best cases, it was to seek treatment. In the worst cases, they had far more destructive intentions.

Their hospital, however, was an exception. There is a saying, that one can get used to anything, and with their experience, they now believed it to be more than true.

Doctor sighed, letting their shoulders fall.

“Visiting hours are over, Villain. You need to go home.”

The villain’s eyes widened, flickering momentarily to the nearest clock. In fact, it was past the end of visiting hours. Well past. Night rounds were about to begin, even.

It was simply so easy to forget Villain, hunched over in their little plastic chair.

Especially with those big, pathetic eyes with which they regarded Doctor.

“I can’t leave.” They pleaded. “Not yet. Can’t I stay just another hour?”

“No, Villain. We’ve been over this. You can come back tomorrow, bright and early, right at seven.”

“But it’s eleven, now! That’s eight hours. Eight hours they’ll be alone.”

“Not alone.” Doctor bit their lower lip. They knew full well that the person before them could render them to a charred corpse in mere seconds, if they so wished. Their tense, skipping heartbeat wouldn’t let them forget it. But, there was no malice in their eyes. Not an ounce. Only that terrible, pitiful sorrow. The sorrow that never seemed to leave them. “There’s people here, all night. A whole medical staff. If anything happens, they won’t be alone. I promise.”

Villain’s lip quivered. Weren’t they supposed to be dangerous?

“You’re sure I can’t stay? Just another hour?”

“I’m sure.”

“O-Okay.” The villain reached into their shoulder bag, and, for a moment, Doctor nearly pressed the nearest panic alarm. Yet, they withdrew no weapon. Instead, Villain took a small, spiral-bound notebook in hand, offering it. “Here are my notes. Um, just so you know. What they did today.”

Doctor’s gaze downcast to the paper. They already had three of these, piled on their desk. Filled to the brim. This one had only recently been started.

The page the notebook was turned to displayed the same thing as all the rest: Impeccably neat handwriting, dividing the page into half hour blocks. In each, letters of equal quality described the patient’s condition, down to the most minute detail.

3:30 - Minor twitching of the eyelids accompanied by singular irregular heartbeat.

4:00 - No abnormalities.

4:30 - Twitching of left index finger.

5:00 - Abnormal breath at around 5:12.

It was the best-kept record of a comatose patient’s condition that Doctor had ever seen. Even if it wasn’t exactly helpful, with how repetitive the patient’s movements tended to be, it was downright impressive.

“Thank you, Villain. I’ll tell the receptionist to expect you at seven?”

“Is there any chance I could come in earlier than that?”

“No. I’m sorry. Visiting hours start at seven.”

“I’m quiet. You know I’m quiet. I won’t be a bother to anybody.”

“I know, Villain. If...” They knew they needed to say something, or this argument would continue all night long. “If anything happens, we have your number on file. I’ll call you myself.”

“Really?” Their eyes widened. “You promise?”

“I promise. Now, you need to go home.”

“Okay.”

“You won’t hide in the bathroom and try to stay late this time?”

“You saw?”

“Everyone saw, Villain. Now, you’ve gotta skedaddle.”

The villain nodded hesitantly, looking to their shoes as they turned, moving down the hallway. As they left, Doctor could not help but mutter in their wake:

“And get some rest.”

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Six weeks.

Those two words echoed hollowly in Villain’s mind as they plodded along the damp sidewalk, lit only by the dewy echoes of streetlights overhead. The hour was late enough, and the city tired enough, that the streets were nearly deserted-- a state they were in so very rarely.

Their henchmen had spoken to them so many times, lecturing them that moving through the city’s depths, alone and unprotected, was terribly dangerous. Any hero, or any vigilante too cocky for their own good, could try their luck in an ambush.

But, Villain could hardly bring themself to care.

Six weeks.

That was all they cared about.

Six weeks since Hero had moved. Six weeks since they’d spoken, since they’d awoken. Exactly six, now.

Exactly six weeks since...

Villain’s hands clenched to fists at their sides, overgrown nails digging into the meat of their palms.

Since they’d made the biggest mistake of their life. Since the two sworn nemeses, Hero and Villain, light and dark, good and evil, had had their final battle. An industrial sabotage gone wrong.

They should have known better! Better than to use their pyrokenisis in an oil refinery.

But, that hadn’t. They hadn’t been thinking. They never thought! They were so stupid, so reckless, so careless...

Villain’s ears still rung from the explosion.

Their injuries meant nothing, even as they still throbbed. No. Because, for the last six weeks, they had been awake. Moving. Talking.

Hero hadn’t been so lucky.

When they at last arrived at their HQ, the halls were silent. Life existed only in the form of a scattering of guards, nodding their respects, but making no other gestures.

It was with weary legs that Villain ascended to their bedroom. They hardly noticed its state-- they’d grown used to the scatterings of clothes and papers. Instead, upon opening the door, their eyes snapped to the bed.

More specifically, the item upon it. They rushed to it, yanking it off the mussed blankets.

A book. A note, upon its cover.

“Went to bed before I could give this to you. It’s that book you wanted - Henchman”

Villain removed the note, far more interested in the cover it hid.

A Neurologist’s Guide to Chronic Vegetative States

There were more than enough pages within to last them until sunrise; until visiting hours at last recommenced.

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At 5:40, the sun began its ascent, bathing the sky in a dull hue of blue.

When six o’ clock came, the first rays of light could be seen, flashing over the horizon.

With the strike of 6:10, Villain placed down their book. They were only around halfway through-- wandering eyes and brief minutes of dozing lowering the speed at which their foggy mind could process the medical textbook.

They would have more than enough time to read, the next night. The book didn’t matter. What mattered was that visiting hours would commence in 50 minutes, exactly.

Twenty minutes to walk to the hospital. Meaning that, to get there early, they needed to leave in fifteen.

Rubbing sleep from their eyes, Villain rose from their chair, knees popping and cracking all the way to the bedroom door. Quickly, they changed into the cleanest clothes they could find, if only for the sake of appearances, before heading out.

Showering could wait. Showers took time, time that could be spend watching. Reading. Taking notes.

Helping. Doing anything, anything they could to help.

Emerging into the hallway, they startled a moment. The lights had already been turned on, despite the fact that their henchmen never awoke this early. Perhaps they had simply forgotten to turn them off the night prior.

Yet, there were noises, from downstairs.

There was no fear left in their body to feel. Justifications were quickly made, and they ran down the stairs.

Entering the kitchen, a scent hit Villain, forceful as a gust of wind. The scent of food-- warm and fresh and garnished with garlic.

Before the stove, Henchman stood. Out of all those Villain employed, Henchman was the least likely to be awake at such an hour. Often, they dragged themself from bed well after ten.

Yet, here they stood, flipping a pancake in a skillet.

“Hey, boss.” Their henchman turned, a grin glimmering upon their face. “I’m almost done here. Get yourself something to drink.”

Villain blinked.

“What... are you doing?”

“Making breakfast? I thought that’d be pretty obvious.”

“Yeah, I can see that. But... Why? You never eat breakfast.”

“Yeah. It’s not for me. ‘s for you, boss.”

They shook their head, glancing at the clock. 6:17.

“I’m not hungry. Besides, I really need to get going.”

“Boss.” There was an endeared, yet frustrated, tone to the voice. “When was the last time you ate?”

“You made me eat a granola bar yesterday.”

“And the day before that, you didn’t eat anything. So, you’re eating breakfast, if I have to shove it down your throat.”

They clenched their hands to fists.

“I don’t have time for this! Visiting hours are going to start soon. I need to be there.”

“No. You need to eat. Then you can go to the hospital.”

“You don’t get to decide that. I need to go. I’m sorry.”

“Boss.” Henchman slid the pancake onto a plate before deftly stepping between their boss and the front door. “I don’t mean to be blunt, but you look like hell. I know you haven’t been sleeping. Everyone knows it. If you keep acting like this, you’re going to be the one in a hospital bed.”

Villain gritted their teeth.

“Maybe that’s what I deserve. Now, fuck off. Get someone else to eat your damn pancakes.”

With those words, and furious footsteps, they emerged onto the sidewalk outside.

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When Receptionist arrived at their desk, there was already a patron, sitting in their waiting room.

A few short weeks ago, such would have been unusual. While other parts of the hospital were occupied day and night, the appointments handled by this room did not begin until the hospital actually opened-- right at seven.

Now, though, there was nothing strange about it.

Before they could so much as sit down, Villain was already moving towards them.

Receptionist could not help but note their appearance.

Working in a hospital, they had long since grown used to seeing the sick and injured. And yet, there was something particularly distressing about this case.

They supposed, it was because they had seen it happen. Usually, when patients arrived at the hospital, it was because they could no longer manage their own conditions. Their bodies were in shambles. They showed up in their damaged states.

Villain, on the other hand, had first appeared to the waiting room is relatively good health.

Then, they had begun to appear tired.

And thin.

Now, their appearance matched that of the comatose patient that they were here to see. Skin clung taught about their cheekbones, their flesh pale and eyes glazed over. Most semblances of hygiene had been abandoned entirely; some parts of their hair had even begun to mat, and dirt clung to them like caked and cracked makeup.

But, there was something else in their eyes. The sheer essence of undying compassion.

It was that alone that prevented Receptionist from sending them away.

Villain had no need to speak. As soon as they had time to sit, the hospital employee had paged the proper floor-- a sequence of buttons that had quickly become muscle memory.

“You can go up, now.” They spoke. With a wearied nod, Villain moved to begin their ceaseless watch.

Neither of them could have guessed that, an hour later, the unthinkable would come true.

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When Hero awoke, it was to the sound of a pencil, scratching at paper.

The world filled in with a terrible, exhaustion tedium. Above them, blurs of white and grey turned to a sterile, white tile, while the world about solidified to four pale, beige walls.

A hospital. They’d been in enough to recognize as such, with just how clumsy their teammates tended to be.

But why were they here, now...? Who had gotten hurt, this time? They couldn’t quite remember.

Rolling onto their side, the question was quickly answered.

Villain appeared to be on death’s doorstep, about to press the doorbell. Matted hair clung to their neck, eyes drooping and skin appearing as though there was no blood beneath it at all.

At the very least, they had made it to the hospital before suffering any serious damage.

Wait.

It was only then that Hero realized who exactly was in the room’s hospital bed.

[thedevilsdom]

should’ve behaved

Mammon’s usually such a good boy! It’s a shame that he’s gotta make a mistake at some point or another

A request for MC/Mammon with vibrators, punishment, overstim, and aftercare. Technically Male MC but it doesn’t really come up

~1.9k words

Mammon had been a bad boy.

He usually does his best to be your good boy, wanting nothing more than to please you and earn your rewards and praise, but you’d just been edging him for so long! What else was he supposed to do? His hands had zipped down from where he kept them behind his back to his dick so he could finish himself off, and the very second his orgasmic high left him, he felt the dread set in instead.

His eyes are wide as he looks down between his cum covered fingers and up at you. You’ve got a stern look on your face that lets him know what’s in store for him and he shivers in anticipation and fear.

“Hm.” You cross your arms and he whimpers. He knows that you’d never be unnecessarily cruel to him, you’d never hurt him to the point where he’d be questioning if you still love him, but he’s well aware that there’s going to be at least some punishment.

“-M sorry,” He shrinks under your gaze.

“I know you are, I know,” You pet his hair. “Lay down on the floor, on your tummy.”

There’s a thud as he drops down on his knees and immediately positions himself on the tiled floor just as you want him. You kneel down and position him, moving his body until he’s laid half on his side and half on his front, with one leg bent to keep him like that. His still hard cock is resting on the smooth floor, drooling precum. You leave for a second to grab what you’ll need, speaking as you come back.

“Tell me everything you did wrong, pup.”

“I- ah- I moved my hands from where they were supposed to be,” He says. With that you slide a cock ring down his length. “I touched myself without your permission.” You put a pair of nipple clamps on him, relishing his little yelp. “And I c-came without your permission.” With that final confession, you spread his ass cheeks and push a lubed up vibrator into his hole.

“Nice and honest, puppy.” You give him a little spank and you slowly stroke down his back. “Just for that I won’t be too rough. Okay?”

“Yes, Master.” His heated body is trembling. If he had a tail it’d be between his legs.

“Good.” The vibe in his ass gets powered on first, then the vibrating ring around his cock, then you sit cross legged in front of him so you can reach forward to the thin chain that connects the nipple clamps. His watery eyes can’t help but look between your legs as you sit, and he’s grateful that this display is having at least some effect on you.

The vibrations start out weak, but in just a couple seconds you ramp them up and he’s suddenly very aware of how oversensitive he still is from having just cum earlier. His eyes go wide and he yelps, trying to squirm away, but you keep holding the clamps’ chain, keeping him where he is. As he writhes, his slick cock slides against the tiles, the cool pressure only feeling overwhelming on his hot skin, and the vibrator in his ass keeps brushing against his prostate.

“Mas-ah!” Tears already start to brim in his eyes. He can’t stop his body from trying to move away from the sensation, but it only makes you tug on the nipple clamps and his cock move against the tiles. “Oh fuck fuck fuck!”

“What, pup? Don’t like it?” You give the clamps another harsh tug. “You shouldn’t have been naughty. You knew what you were doing was wrong and you still did it. This is your punishment, so take it.” As mean and cold as your words are, you know he’s got the safeword, and you would stop the instant it’s said. Yet, he doesn’t say it, so you continue.

“It’s so much,” He squeaks, interrupted by whines and whimpers. “Ple-please, need- need you-“ His head feels like it’s floating off his body. He doesn’t care that your touch would feel like molten lava on his skin, he needs you to touch him, pet him, hold him, anything.

It’s been only about half a minute since you started, but Mammon’s a mess. There’s drool where he’s got his face pressed to the floor, his poor, abused cock is deeply flushed and throbbing, his hands form fists behind his back. You feel sorry for him.

“Cum again and you can be done.”

He sobs against the ground and weakly thrusts his hips. The feeling against his sensitive skin is almost too much, but he knows that he needs to push himself over the edge for this torture to end.

“Cum, gonna- gonna, ‘m cumming! Nnngh!” With a low whine, his orgasm washes over him and he shudders, cock giving pitiful little drops of white against the dark tiles. Immediately you go and turn the vibes off, then gently remove the clamps from his sore chest. You let him rest like that for a moment, panting and warm on the floor, your hand gently placed on his bicep to ground him. Once you think he’s ready, you slowly, carefully, take the vibes off of him and set them aside, ignoring his whining complaint at the oversensitivity.

He looks like a mess. Drool on his cheek, the beginnings of tears in his eyes, a shine of sweat across his body. You feel a sick sense of pride inside you, knowing that you made him be this way.

“Oh, my little pet, come here.” You open your arms and he eagerly- though shakily and slowly- clambers his way into your lap. He fits himself against you as best he can. One of your hands comes up to rest on the back of his head, cradling it against your shoulder, while the other holds him across the back. “You did so good for me, you’re always so good for me.”

He tilts his head, turning his face to your neck, and shifts into his demon form. You begin to preen and care for him wings, feeling him shiver as he comes back to his body.

“Come take a bath.” You say. Your voice is soft, and it’s taken on more notes of care and compassion than you’d had in the scene, but you keep just enough sternness that it still registers as an order from his dominant. You’re not looking to give him whiplash from jumping out of a scene too soon. He nods, mindful of his horns as he pulls back from you, taking your hand as you walk him over to the bathroom connected to the room. You plug the tub and get the water running.

“I’ll be right back, I’m going to go get some stuff for this.”

You’re fleet footed as you move back to the room and grab the things you need, heading back with them in your arms. A pack of cookies, a bottle of water, and some bubble bath soap. You come back to find Mammon with his hands in the warm water filling up the tub as his body is wracked with shivers.

“Come on, let’s get you in there.” You feel a little bad for taking your eyes off of him long enough for him to get chilly, but you know that he’s fine. You help him into the bath and he immediately sighs at the warmth, relaxing into it until just the top half of his face is above the water. He looked at you with puppy dog eyes, requesting something despite not wanting to move his lips out from under the warm water to actually ask. Though, you know exactly what he wants.

You remove the remainder of your clothing and slip into the tub, situating yourself behind him. He immediately leans back into your warm chest, a low, demonic trill resonating from him like a purr. You gently splash water across the parts of his body that aren’t under it and you pour the bubble soap into the bath, allowing it to foam. Gently, caringly, you clean his body. You hadn’t done any impact play tonight, so there are no wounds to take care of, but you still check him over for any injuries.

“Anything hurt?” You say, hands massaging down his body.

“Just a little sore, ‘s all. Usual stuff.” He was hesitant to move up enough out of the water to speak, but he knew that you wanted an answer. Almost immediately after, he sinks back down into the comforting warmth.

“Good, let me know if anything feels off.” You begin to wash his hair. You move delicately as you wash his hair and pay careful attention to his wings and horns, slowly coaxing him out of the scene until you’re both on equal ground. Though, you still turn him down when he wants to return the favor of being washed, citing that he should just relax after such a scene.

“It makes me happy to take care of  you, Mams.” You say with a smile as you work some shampoo into your own hair. You don’t spend nearly as much time cleaning yourself as you did cleaning him, just simply doing your usual shower routine. He waits idly by, eyeing you as you wash yourself. His wings dip passively into the water, casually swishing about in the foam.

“What are you looking so hard at?” You giggle. His eyes track the bubbles that cascade down your body as you wash the shampoo out of your hair. Mammon instantly huffs and pouts, stuttering out a few syllables as he tries to think of a response.

“Can a demon not keep an eye on his treasure?” He says, resolute in believing that that was somehow a correct and convincing answer.

“I don’t mind you watching, baby, you don’t have to be embarrassed.” Reaching out, you take one of his hands in your own and place it at the side of your waist, physically giving him permission to touch and hold you. You finish cleaning yourself up, noting that- while he’d moved off of you so that you could wash up your own body- Mammon has been scooting closer and closer to you the whole time. You rinse the both of you off, then get out of the bath and unplug the drain. You towel dry Mammon off first, laughing at the way he bats his wings to get the water off of them, before moving to dry yourself off next.

Next comes the pajamas. After finding out a while ago that Mammon usually just slept in an old shirt and boxer briefs, you’d gotten him some actual pajamas to wear. You hand them over to him. They’re the softest, comfiest set of pajamas you could find, and they’re extra comforting after a scene. He puts them on himself and waits for you to get dressed before following you out into the bedroom once again.

He’s in bed the first chance he gets, slipping under the covers and waiting for you, looking up at you with those puppy dog eyes. Naturally, you relent and get in with him, allowing him to pull you close.

“Was that all good, Mams?” You ask as you wrap your arms around him.

“I can’t think of any complaints.” His words are already slurring with the pull of sleep.

“We can talk in the morning.” You pet his hair, “Good night, baby.” He nuzzles into you, nearly hiding his whole face against you. You can feel his dopey smile against your skin.

“G’night, MC.”

Want to request something? Send a request to my inbox, or support me on kofi!

[hamburgerhelpersotherhand]

Château P4

Castlevania x Reader

Warnings: Mentions of blood,

Notes: I’m no longer continuing this series. I really love Castlevania, and I will remain in love with it, but I’ve written myself into a corner with this one.

Anyway!! I ended this post with a brief overview of what I had wanted for this series originally, and what I had begun to want instead.

The carriage ride is awkward.

Your upper half is covered in foul smelling dried blood and Alucard has had his eyes glued to you since you’ve both sat down. It’s probably what’s leaving that horrid taste in your mouth, too. The blood, not Alucard and his ridiculously amused smile. Though, that’s almost nearly as irritating.

Tears start to prick at your eyes for no other particular reason that the incredible stress you’re facing. Honestly, you’re more stressed than you had ever been before. If this is what it’s like living away from the castle, you don’t want it.

“Why are you crying?” Alucard asks aloud.

“Is she crying?” Trevor butts in with a grin, joining in on the amusement.

Your expression stiffens, but tears keep rolling down. “Yes, I’m crying. What of it?” You try to bite your tongue, but you keep talking. “I can’t believe people live like this. I smell like the stables.”

“Worse than the stables.” Alucard adds and Trevor snorts.

Sypha shushes the boys immediately. “Play nice...” she says. It doesn’t help much, though they did drop it.

You huff out a breath and silently watch the trees go by. Some of these trees have missing bark, no doubt clawed off by whatever beasts live and roam in the woods.

“Y/N.” Alucard speaks softly. You turn to him, despite having hurt your feelings moments ago. He’s lucky you’re a forgiving person. “You never told me the name of your mistress.”

You turn your gaze away, looking down at the dirt patches left behind the carriage. “Carmilla.” You state plainly. “I almost hadn’t thought of her today.”

You contemplate your existence for a moment, reminding yourself that you owe it all to her. Your saviour, your mistress.

“I have been by her side since I can remember. I can’t imagine a life outside of that, but I find myself living it at this very moment.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“I’m not sure.” You look to him. “But I think I’m unhappy.”

“I don’t think any of us are happy.” Trevor grumbles. Alucard leans to him.

“Who do you pity more? The poor who grow strong from their labor,” Alucard looks to you. “or the rich who never lift a finger?”

“The poor.” Trevor states plainly.

Sypha immediately cuts in. “Think about it this way, Trevor:” She continues. “The rich never lift a finger, so they never learn how to care for themselves.”

Sypha’s words seem to sink in, and a puzzled look appears on Trevors face as he looks to you.

“Do you know how to make a bed?”

“Yes!” You answer almost immediately, glaring around at the trees as you then try to think over it. You’re not so sure about your answer, actually.

Alucard huffs as he observes the uncertainty on your face. From then on, you decided to remain silent, only quietly hoping there be a warm bath and a fresh set of clothes at the end of this trail.

-

I hadn’t really thought too far when I began this story, but now I honestly don’t feel like it can continue without me changing too much from the canon plot— the three of them are going to kill Dracula, so what do I do with Y/N? She doesn’t fight, so clearly I’m in the wrong season if I’m choosing the one where it’s all about fighting.

Thinking back on it, I think I could’ve written it after the events of season 2 and would’ve had more freedom in the story alongside it.

Imagine this:

Y/N is taken by Hector after he’s made aware of Carmilla’s tricks. She’s probably scared, doesn’t really want to believe him, and now it can go two different ways.

1. Hector takes Y/N, but she runs away to find Carmilla on her own after realizing her mistake. She’ll find her way back to the teleported castle above the Belmont estate thinking Carmilla’s in there, probably takes her a long ass time to do so too and this could give her a time skip where she learnt to be a little more independent.

2. Nevermind the second option sucked.

Well, I think that about does it for me.

See you later!

[cranetreegang]

The Hardest Things are the Honest Truths: Lucio x FemApprentice

A/N: So, I love Lucio. I don't know why, but I just do. I wish there were more scenes of him reflecting on his past though. So that's what this is. Just a brief roast session with some fluff afterwards. RIP my poor baby boy... but he gotta hear it. I have some more parts for Lucio that I'll hopefully post soon. I've also been working on a Julian piece that I'm really excited to share soon! Anyways, any feedback is always welcomed!

Summary: The Apprentice, Evie, wonders if she made a mistake binding herself to Lucio. She hopes that her faith in him isn't misguided, and seeks consul from those who knew him.

Word Count: 2300

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I watched Lucio play with his two dogs with a hint of a smile. Seeing him like this almost made the earlier fiasco seem misplaced. The look of disappointment in Asra’s eyes was not something I could shake off though. Had I really made such a grievous error in binding myself to Lucio?

“You seem troubled.” Nadia had managed to stand next to me without me noticing. I hid my surprise well and I nodded quickly.

“There’s a lot about magic I’m still learning. I think today just proved it.” I said.

“Mistakes happen. Although, this mistake was a fairly large one.” She smirked.

I let out a defeated sigh. “Indeed it is.” I agreed.

She frowned then turned around to leave. “I recommend the bath house. It might serve you well to help clear your head.” Nadia said over her shoulder as she left.

It didn’t take a genius to get the hint. Lucio, still distracted with his dogs, didn’t notice Nadia and I’s exchange. I bit my lip on whether to let him know I would need some time alone. I figured he wouldn’t care, so I headed towards the bath house.

I got to the marble room and was taken aback by its grandiose. The room had pillars at the far edge that overlooked the city below. The sun was beginning to set, giving the steaming waters a warm evening glow. Smells of lavender and incense filled the air and I felt my shoulders begin to drop. A bath was a good idea after all.

I stripped myself of my clothes and sank below the warm waters. I emerged with a relieved sigh. I went back under the waters then emerged once more. I faced back towards the entrance and froze at the sight of Lucio.

I dove under to hide my bare self. “What’re you doing here?” I hissed.

Lucio gave a dazzling smile that I was sure won over his fair share of enemies. “I was wondering where you went. I got worried.” He said; seemingly genuine.

“So, you thought it best to just watch me as I bathed?” I grimaced.

“What? No! I only just arrived. I swear.” He had his hands up covering his eyes, but he lowered them with a smirk. “I mean, it’s not like you have anything to be embarrassed about. You have a very... ,” he paused, his glowing eyes dancing with want, “beautiful body.”

I felt the heat of his words overcome the warmth of the waters. Before I could say anything, the doors opened.

“Evie!” Portia greeted with a beaming smile. She walked past where Lucio stood. I wasn’t sure how to warn Portia of Lucio’s presence. She didn’t give me room to talk as she launched into a story about her day and began to undress. She joined me in the bath and sat across from me.

I nodded along with her story, but would steal glances towards Lucio, who seemed content with sitting at the bath’s edge. His feet kicking in the water absentmindedly.

“And then they expect me to clean it all up! It’s outrageous.” Portia huffed.

“Couldn’t agree more.” I debated about leaving when the door opened once more and Nadia strolled in. Even in the steaming waters, my body had gone cold. She spared Portia and I a raised brow.

“I’m to assume the Count isn’t here?” Her question had an edge that made me inwardly flinch. Lucio was shaking his head while mouthing, ‘Don’t say I’m here.’, as if anyone but me could hear him.

“The Count? As in, Count Lucio?” Portia wondered.

I spared her an awkward smile. “You and I both had a long day.” I bit my tongue for a moment. If I say he’s here, then Portia would be upset with me. If I lie, then that could be even worse. “I don’t see Lucio here in the bath with us.” A semi-lie, but better than the truth. He technically wasn’t in the bath with us. Lucio gave me a pleased grin, which I tried to ignore.

Nadia nodded before disrobing. She held herself regally and effortlessly as she glided into the bath. I was envious of her ability to be noble in practically any setting. Lucio’s eyes were eagerly trailing after her. His hand reached out to touch her, but he resisted at the last moment.

“I’m glad to see you’re taking full use of the bath house, Evelyn.” Nadia sat between Portia and I. She swirled her white wine in a glass that probably cost more than anything I had ever owned.

“It’s quite nice. Very relaxing.” I hummed. At least it would be relaxing, if Lucio wasn’t hovering around us.

“So, what’s this about Count Lucio? What’s going on?” Portia inquired.

Nadia smirked as she rolled her head over to me. “Go on. Explain what you did.” Her voice purred.

“Yes! Tell them how you rescued me from that awful room.” Lucio encouraged.

I let out a quiet sigh. “I was investigating the Count’s murder. And… I ended up finding Lucio still in his room.”

“He was alive?!” Portia screeched then covered her mouth at her outburst. “I mean, was he alive?” She said, her voice muffled behind her hands.

I shook my head. “Not exactly. He was stuck between the world of the living and death. So, I… helped him by…,” I bit my lip and I couldn’t bring myself to look at Porita’s curious gaze.

“Go on. Tell her.” Lucio was now laying behind me. He had his head propped up by his golden arm while his other hand swirled in the water next to me.

“I bound Lucio to me.” I finally said.

“You did what?!” Portia exclaimed. “Did he threaten you? Was he going to hurt you if you didn’t?”

“Hurt you! I can’t believe she would suggest such a thing.” Lucio scoffed.

I shook my head. “No. He didn’t. I was just trying to help.”

Nadia let out a chuckle between her sips of wine. “And now you have Lucio attached to you. I couldn’t think of anything worse.”

Portia nodded in agreement. “And I thought my day was bad. You clearly win, Evie.”

Nadia and Portia both giggled. Lucio plopped down next to me with a disgruntled huff.

I bit my lip as I looked between Lucio and Nadia. For everyone reacting like this, one would assume I had shackled myself to the most vile man in existence.

“Nadia… I hope you don’t think of this as inappropriate. But, I was hoping you could tell me about Count Lucio.” I said.

Nadia and Portia exchanged glances to one another, concern spread across both of their faces.

“You don’t even know who I am?” Lucio sputtered before calming down. “Oh, sweet Evie, I could tell you all about me. It’s my favorite subject, you know. ” He ran his finger down my shoulder to my elbow. He pressed his nose against my hair as he whispered, “You need only ask.” I had to contain the way his ghostly touch made me shiver. I was thankful he moved away from me, but he was still too close for comfort.

“Quite amazing. You bound yourself to someone you didn’t even know. I can’t tell if you’re naïve, idiotic, or selfless.” Nadia’s eyes were downcast. “But, I suppose if you did know, you wouldn’t have done it.” She swirled her glass in thought. The setting sun glinted against the fine crystal, making it dazzle. “I don’t recall much of my time with him. But, from what I remember, Lucio was… how to best put it?” Nadia hummed in thought.

“An Egomaniac?” Portia blurted out then covered her mouth again. “I’m so sorry, your grace.”

Nadia laughed and nodded. “No. That’s exactly it. Selfish. Entitled. Volatile.”

“Rude. I heard he loved to throw things at the servants anytime he was annoyed.” Portia chimed in.

Out of the corner of my eye, Lucio was completely taken back by their words. I felt a bit sorry for him. “He doesn’t sound like a good person.” I sheepishly said.

“That’s because he wasn’t, sweetheart.” Nadia chuckled. “He was only interested in what best served him. He didn’t care about what I, or anybody else wanted. Especially not the people of Vesuvia. Even though he claimed otherwise. His incompetence has led to a decline in the city, that I’m now having to fix. ” She scoffed. “The only thing he might’ve really cared about were his dogs. If that.” Nadia took a long sip of her wine, the cup was nearly finished.

“He cared about his hair.” Portia giggled.

“Ha! Yes. His looks. I will admit, he was very easy on the eyes. And very, very nice in bed.” Nadia had a playful smirk toying on her lips. “Although, needy. I couldn’t have any fun without him. He was always so desperate for any kind of attention.”

Lucio crossed his arms in an obvious pout. I felt their words slicing into me as if they were speaking ill of me.

“Surely, there must’ve been something about him that wasn’t completely terrible?” I asked, begged really, for any kind of redemption for him.

Nadia frowned, her mind years away. “If there was, I don’t remember." She met my eyes with a soft smile. "Perhaps, you’ll find something in him worth saving. Because I never could.” She finished her glass then rose from the warm waters. “All this talk of my dear husband makes me in need of another bath.”

She stalked out of the water and put back on her silk robe. She spared me a sideways glance. “If Lucio were a whore, I would’ve paid good money for him.”

“And as a Count?” I wondered.

She smiled, the answer laid within her ruby eyes, before she sauntered away.

Portia also got out of the bath. “I suppose that was a long enough soak. You coming?”

I looked from her then down to the deflated form of the Count. “Not yet. I need a few minutes to process… well all of it.”

Portia gave me a pitying smile. “I’m sure it’ll work itself out. Don’t fret!” She smiled sweetly at me. She left the room and I was alone with Lucio, who was sulking next to me.

“That was pretty brutal. Are you alright?”

Lucio’s brows furrowed and he shook his head. “I was alone in that room for three years. Not one person came to see me. Not one. And to find out it was because they all despised me.” His head fell and he looked on the verge of tears. I placed my hand on his. The energy between us briefly merged together and he jolted in place.

“What are you doing?” He asked, his glowing eyes wide with suspicion.

“I… trying to… comfort you?” I felt silly as I explained myself. He stared at our hands then back to me.

“I don’t need your pity.” He spat.

“I’m not pitying you.” I quickly said. “I’m empathizing. What they said, I could feel that it hurt you.”

“You felt…,” he let out a huff as he rolled his eyes, “Of course you did. This bond we share. Seems we’re more linked than I originally thought.” Lucio frowned.

“Seems so.”

There was a long pause between us. I wasn’t sure how to break it, but Lucio did it for me. “Do you think less of me now? Do you think I’m a-a-a self-centered, idiotic, whore?” Lucio snarled with disgust.

“Were you?” I asked.

He looked offended then grimaced. “I… I didn’t think so. I don’t know.” He was quiet as he hesitated on what he wanted to say. “Being alone in that room… I didn’t have much else to do, except think. And the only thing I could think about was if things went… differently. ”

“What would you of’ve done differently?” I wondered.

He wrapped my hand with his and stroked over the top with his thumb. He let out a sigh then whispered, “I don’t know.”

“Well, if you don’t think you’re an incompetent whore, then what do you think of yourself?” I asked.

Lucio stared into the sunset as he thought over my question. “I’m not sure.”

I furrowed my brows as I thought over what to say next. He was lost. A feeling I recognized all too well. “I see it as you have two options. You can either pout and deny what they said. Or, you can accept that you lost yourself at some point. And do something about it.” I stated.

“Pout or change.” He chuckled, but it was bitter and didn’t reach his eyes. He looked at me. “What should I do?” He asked quietly.

I was surprised he would ask me, a stranger by all accounts, for advice. “I don’t believe you want to be all those things they said.” I confessed.

His brows rose. “You don’t? How? It seems to be the common opinion of me around here.”

I bit my lip as I wrestled with my confliction to tell him the truth or not. But, the truth was what he needed right now. “I believe you’re capable of changing. I don’t think you’re truly evil at heart. I think you care about more things than yourself. I believe you can take accountability for your past actions, and move towards a better future.” I paused before adding, “But, you’re the only one who can make that choice. No one else can. I can help you, but I can’t force you to change. That’s something you’ll have to do.”

Lucio was silent, pondering over my words. “That’s quite an optimistic vision you have of me.” Lucio’s eyes fell and he leaned his head on my shoulder. “Perhaps I can try to make it come true.” He whispered.

“I want to help you.” I whispered back to him. “We’re in this together now.”

“Mhm… together.” He squeezed my hand. “I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.”

“Me either.” I whispered.

He moved closer to me with a soft sigh. “Stay with me a while longer?”

“Of course.” I laid my head against his and we watched the sun dip below the horizon.

[sugurus-slxt]

are you tired of this? - Iwaizumi

Type: angst (happy ending)

Warnings: cursing, mentions of mental illness

Note: Y’all are married in this story and um I’m not so if I mess up well I sincerely apologize

Hope you guys enjoy the story

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thursday [11:15 p.m.]

“I just came home a little late what’s the fucking problem?” He shouted at you for the second time tonight. “I didn’t say there was a problem Haji. I just wanted to know what came up,” you spoke softly trying to keep a calm composure. The truth was your insides were shaking, every possible bad thought that you could think of hurtled at you over and over. You were just worried something had happened to him, your anxiety had calmed since he came home but it seems you had made one wrong move and here you were. “And I already told you the boss needed me to do some extra paperwork to take in some new trainees,” he spoke harshly but a bit calmer than before. He pinched his nose bridge between his fingers. “I’m not having an argument with you right now, forget it. I’m going to shower,” he turned to walk away from you but you grabbed his hand.

He turned to face you, “What!” He exclaimed loudly making you nearly jump out of your skin. “The dinner i-its getting cold… umm do you want me to heat it up?” You asked hoping he’d calm down, but it seems tonight was different he just got even angrier. He grabbed your wrist tightly, “What the fuck do you think? Dammit all you do is worry and cry! Now you don’t even have common sense. Sometimes I wonder why …” he stopped, words dying in his throat. Tear welled in your eyes; it didn’t take a genius to figure out what he was going to say. Forgetting the pain of him squeezing your wrist, you shouted at him for the first time tonight, “Say it! Say it Hajime!” He stood mouth hanging open, not one word. You couldn’t hold back the tears that streamed down your face. There wasn’t one emotion but instead too many, everything you’ve bottled tonight had busted like a dam.

You tore away from his grip, every inch of anxiety, depression, panic, all the emotions were pouring out of you in tears, sobs and every word you cried out next. “What! You don’t know why you married me? Huh? Is that it Iwaizumi? Well I’m so sorry I worry about my husband ok? I’m sorry that I can’t control when I get depressed. I’m sorry that every day I pray for you to return home safe. Tell what else you wonder about me! Tell me!” You pushed him as hard as you could. “Do you really wanna know what I think because I don’t think you can handle it,” he asked in a scarily calm tone. You knew you weren’t prepared for what came next but your emotions clouded your judgement. Neither of you meant anything you said, you knew that. Well you hoped because you know you hadn’t meant any of it. Every fiber in your body loved this man but tonight you weren’t backing down even if it meant you’d get hurt. “Go ahead!” You shouted pushing him again.

“Dammit stop pushing me! I’ll tell you but don’t blame me because you asked for it,” he never backed down. He knew that would be best right now but he didn’t care today was hard and he was just mad that you couldn’t get that. “You cry too much. You worry much. You get things wrong all the damn time. Something as simple as cleaning the house can end up in a disaster. I am always fixing you fucking messes. Not to mention you are so childish. For fucks sake grow up. Sometimes I wonder why I married you yeah ok because I’m so sick of this,” he stopped, he wasn’t shouting but his tone was angry as he belted out everything he though was wrong. “Haji- I,” you didn’t know what to say. Everything had gone numb. You thought that he didn’t mean it, but he seems so serious so calm. It was scary, it was as if he knew he wanted to say this for a while. May he was tired of you, tired of this, was he going to leave you. He continued but his voice softened, “Sometimes I just want to scream. I get off all of my steam hitting that punching bag till it breaks but nothing helps like letting it out but I’m not mad. I really am not. I'm frustrated and I’m tired. So tired angel. So fucking tired” He hung is head looking at the ground and you looked at him but you just couldn’t see him clearly, the tears blurring your vision as you asked the scariest question of them all, “Are you tired of this? Tired of us?”

He just gave out a sad chuckle and you caught it somehow, in the moment you caught it, the tear that fell on the ground. You’ve never seen him cry. This was different for Iwa and you just looked at him as he sat leaned against the wall. You tried drying your tears and went and sat cross-legged next to him on the floor, looking at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. The silence was deafening but it didn’t stay like that for long.  “Tired of this? Yes Tired of us? Never,” he said softly. Your head shot up, “So you’re not leaving?” He turned and wiped the remaining tears from your cheek and smiled with his tear stained face,” I could never leave you” He smiled it was warm and genuine.  

“I wouldn’t rather do any of this with anyone else. Even if we are fighting. It's ok to make mistakes. It's ok to cry. It's ok to be sad, to be worried or to feel to not do anything. I know this isn’t easy for you. In fact I wasn’t even mad at you tonight, I was never mad at you to begin with. It’s just… ” He says cupping your check and stroking it with his thumb. Your wide eyes held anticipation, “T-thank y-you for saying that. And thank you for b-being honest with me. Even if you said it didn’t make you mad, I- I still want to try for you but Haji I know there’s more so p-please tell me,” you pleaded stuttering in between.

He moved his hand from your cheek and rested them on his knees as he turned to look straight ahead. “I was mad at myself because I always seem to mess up. I –I promised to make you happy, keep you safe and healthy but it seems like I always cause your despair or make your bad days worse. I make you cry, I don’t spend enough time with you. Babe you’re a trophy wife but I don’t think I’m you’re trophy husband. Hah maybe I should have let shittykawa have you all those years ago. I’m sure he’d always make you smile. Gosh… that beautiful smile. B-baby I-I’m so… so …sorry,” he broke down sobbing into his hands. You couldn’t believe it, all this time you thought that you were hurting him and always messing up but he was thinking the same. You huddled closer to him placing the words together on you head.

“Now you listen to me and let me finish o-ok H-haji,” he raised his head to look at you, tears still spilling out of his eyes, you bent forward and kissed them away and he smiled just a bit. “I love you. Only you are ok. Sure I cry, sure I worry and yes it’s about you but it’s because I love you. I’m going to do that no matter how the day turns out. God dammit you could be with me and I still worry because I never want to lose you. My depression and anxiety are always going to affect me but I always rest happily at night because you wrap me in your strong arms and tell me just what I need to hear. You make me feel like the most special girl in the world. Not a day goes by that there isn’t at least one happy moment for me and that is because of you Haji. And never give me to Oikawa. I will kill you myself if you do,” both of you giggle a bit, “You are the only one for me. The only one can make me happy. You are perfect for me in every way possible. I love you so much,” your cheeks are flushed and eyes puffy but you smile not because he needs it but because even now you’re happy with him. He bends over pulling you into a tight hug, “Thank you. Thank you. Gosh I love you so much. I’m supposed to be making you feel better but still thank you,” he buries his face in your nape. You whisper, “You already did.”

You both sat there for a bit just enjoying each other’s warm embrace. He finally rises up and lifts you along with him. “Let’s go take a warm shower together. We can eat dinner and maybe watch a movie. Maybe cuddle too. No definitely cuddle I think we need that. Ok with you baby?” He looks down at you for a response, “Of course I’d never say no to cuddles but don’t you have work tomorrow?” You ask heart-warmed by his gestures. “Nope. Not anymore. I’m taking a day off. I’m spending it with you. I’m gonna make you smile all day and we can talk about everything but tonight just enjoy each other,” he said kissing your forehead. “If you’re sure. I’m so lucky to have you. I love you so so much,” you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. His lips molded against yours perfectly, moving in sync. You break the kiss, hiding your red cheeks in his chest. “Hmmm. Six years and years with me and you still get flustered. How cute?” he chuckles to himself. “Hey it’s not my fault my husband is practically a Greek god.” He sets you down and pulls you into a hug, “And yes I’m sure. I’m just as lucky to have you, I love you my goddess.” You both spend the night just bathing in each other’s company and love.  

You guys can leave me suggestions or request. I hope you enjoyed it. :)

If you liked this maybe you might want to buy me a coffee?

[whatifxwereyou]

The Oncoming Storm Part 23: Flesh and Bone

Liu Kang x Reader and Kung Lao x Reader (gonna do both, two paths!)

You find the springs- and it exceeds your expectations but perhaps not in the way you had hoped it would. Something wicked is unfolding.

A/N: I'm going out of town tomorrow but I will do my best to get back to replies as often as I can! Your feedback gives me life <3 I'll be back on Tuesday. You guys probably won't even notice I'm gone, since I've somehow managed to miraculously write enough to cover the space where I won't be around! I'm going to see my family for the first time since the pandemic ;___; !!

Part 22 Part 24 Chapter Index

You drew closer to the wave of clouds above you, and it wasn’t long until you were engulfed by them. It was like the most intense fog you’d ever been in. You had scoured the cliffside for caves along the way but found nothing of note. You stopped walking once you were completely surrounded by the clouds and had long since let go of Liu Kang’s hand.

There was that feeling again. As though you had been lost in this fog before and yet you had never been there. It made you dizzy and you lost sight of Liu in the fog. You could see that man from your vision, walking in front of you, then to the left of you, then to the right. Your head spun and when you closed your eyes, you felt lost. But you weren’t. You knew this place even if you’d never been there. The vision in your head knew it.

You turned and the clouds felt misty on your skin. It was as if you had lost your body and were watching yourself walk through the fog blindly in search of something you weren’t sure that you wanted to find. Then suddenly, very suddenly, as if you were being pulled out of a dream, Liu Kang stood in front of you. Your body was yours again. His right hand was bathed in fire and the shadows it cast on his face were haunting and beautiful.

“Wake up, Y/N.”

He urged his hand to your arm and forced you to look at him. You gasped, your lungs having once again forbidden you air. You closed your eyes tight to shake off the feeling and then searched around you. It was too foggy to tell how far you’d gone but you had the distinct feeling that it hadn’t been very far at all. Liu’s relief was palpable and with a wave of his hand the fire was gone, leaving you in the cold mist of the clouds.

His grip was tight on your arm, as if he were worried that you would walk off again. You caught your breath, chest aching with the lack of it, and knit your brow. “How… how did you know?”

“I just knew.” The concern on his face was valid but the admiration was unexpected. “You’re like flickering lamplight, Y/N. The shadows cast by my flame. I know when you’re not there.” Your tongue was suddenly far too big for your mouth and your heart hurt. You should have kissed him. That was the most romantic thing you had ever heard in your whole damn life. But your chest was aching and your hands were trembling with the fear of losing control of your body. “Do you think that you could lead us using your vision? If it’s taking control of you like that then it clearly wants us to go somewhere.”

“I’m… I can try but I’m afraid.” You were still struggling with air and words. “I don’t know if it’s a good thing it’s leading us. I walked off on Kung Lao and nearly drowned myself yesterday when my vision took over.”

“It’s okay, Y/N. I won’t let go of your hand.” He let his hand move from your arm and down to your fingertips. He leaned closer and whispered. “Trust yourself as much as you trust me.” He stepped back, still holding your hand. You had to try. He was right. If you trusted your gut and it went horribly wrong then Liu would make sure you didn’t jump off a cliff. He was staring back at you, completely relaxed. He trusted you. You could feel it. How could you have ever doubted that? You weren’t sure where to begin but you started with turning off your inner critic. You were unsteady on your feet, unsure of yourself.

“Are you okay?” You couldn’t help but ask. He took both of your hands and walked backwards in front of you which you felt like was a mistake.

“Keep going, Y/N. I trust you. Close your eyes and follow your vision. I will make sure that we’re safe.”

“I…”

“Trust yourself, Y/N.”

You didn’t, that was clear to you both. With a deep exhale, you closed your eyes and then walked. When you walked, Liu walked. You led him blindly along the path through the clouds. The more you walked without plummeting to your deaths, the more confident you felt. And you were in control, which was nice. You walked until he stopped suddenly in front of you, as if he’d run into something. You stumbled into him, letting go of one of his hands to catch the stone behind him, body pressed against his. Eyes fluttering open, Liu let go of your other hand and instead rested both against the sides of your neck. Despite their warmth, they gave you chills.

His thumb brushed over the bruised skin on your neck, other hand gently caressing its way up to your cheek, thumb just beneath your eye. His hands were callused and strong, still somehow soft, controlled just like the rest of him. He had this way of drinking you in, of making you feel like you were something precious and special. You got goosebumps. The pitter-patter of your heart was betraying you, pressed against him like this and it was warranted for more reasons than you could count. The most important of those reasons was Liu Kang.

“You did it,” he whispered but his eyes were on your lips.

“I found it.” You smiled in realization and got the chills. That was a wonderful feeling. It was the first time in ages where you’d trusted your gut and it hadn’t wound up in a complete mess. Without thinking you buried yourself against Liu’s chest, hands gripping at his shirt. You closed your eyes tight and took deep calming breaths.

Don’t get upset.

Don’t cry in front of Liu Kang even if they were happy tears. It had been so long since you’d felt that good.

“What? What is it?” He could sense that you were trying not to get upset and he tucked your hair behind your ear, fixing the flower that had come loose.

“Nothing. I’m just happy.”

“Okay…?”

You lifted yourself from his chest and straightened your posture, but you were hopelessly pressed against him. “So much of these last few weeks with healing and my arcana and the visions… it’s felt like such failure. I’m trying so damn hard and still it seems impossible. One thing after another keeps going wrong and I’m just so grateful to have something work out.”

“Y/N, just because it doesn’t work out how you expect it to, doesn’t mean it’s a failure. You’re learning. Please… be kind to yourself. The shadow hanging over you isn’t any fault of yours. From where I’m standing? You’re doing well.”

God, he was the cutest. So damn sweet. “Thank you, Liu. Thank you for grounding me too. I needed it.”

“Don’t credit me with that. You grounded yourself, Y/N. I just reminded you how to breathe.” He gently took one of your hands from where it was balled up in his shirt and held it in his.

“It’s funny. Sometimes I feel like my brain is such swirling chaos that I’m going to float away, like a leaf on the wind. You have this way of bringing me back and keeping me firmly rooted to the branch.”

“I’m happy to make sure that you don’t float too far for too long if you need me to.” Liu let go of your hand and turned his gaze to his left. His smile faded.

“What? What is it?” You touched his face this time, fingers gently brushing over his cheekbones that curved so perfectly when he smiled. You’d never done that before. He was so handsome that it felt forbidden to touch him.

“Now is not the time. Later. I promise. We have things to do.”

“Yeah. The cave.” You nodded to your right. You hadn’t seen the cavern yet but you knew it was there. He offered a nod to agree.

“Raiden theorizes that these places are protected and changed by the magic that the man from your vision used. He considered that the artifacts could be toxic. The dotaku you found was probably tainted with evil intent in some way.”

“Great, because I had that thing pressed all up against me for way too long.” You frowned. “The monks there said something about it being cursed, too.”

“You seem fine other than the bruises. And the anxiety but I don’t know if that’s related.”

“Tangentially so.” You smiled but then frowned. Kung Lao had been pale that morning. You hoped that he was taking care of himself. “Let’s get this over with.” You stepped away from him, realizing you had essentially pinned him to the wall. He reached into his pockets and pulled out two keychain sized flashlights. He offered one to you and you took it with a smile. “I’m glad one of us was prepared to go into a cave.”

“It was a last-minute purchase.” He admitted with a shrug. The cavern opening, now that you saw it, was not inviting. You never would have found it without your vision. It was less like a cave mouth and more like a fissure. You’d have to stand sideways and scoot inside which was incredibly unappealing. You had to do it though, you reminded yourself.

So, against every instinct in your body, you pressed yourself between the stone walls and scooted. It was uncomfortably tight and you’d had to adjust several times to make it through. If you’d told yourself months ago that you would be doing this then you would have never believed yourself. Liu was right behind you and you helped each other through difficult spaces. Finally, the fissure opened up and you gasped at what lay beyond the tight opening. The air was so humid it was difficult to breathe and there were pools of water glimmering with bioluminescent light. Usually, you would have thought it was beautiful but there was something inherently sinister about it.

The air was foreboding. Liu joined you at your side as you studied the cave that went back into the darkness far beyond your tiny flashlights.

“It’s like the exact opposite of the springs back in the temple.”

“Something dark has corrupted it.” He frowned then walked right into the water like it was nothing. At its deepest point it was up to his thighs.

“You just jump right into that probably cursed water, huh?”

“Yes, and you should join me. I have a feeling that it’s going to be quite a walk and the only way through is in the water.”

“You’re probably right. Is this the opposite of holy water, you think?” You joined him and he offered a shake of his head at your bad joke. You trudged together through the water, following the only path there was to take. You lit your way with the tiny flashlights but even combined it didn’t do much for you. The bioluminescent plant life growing in the pools helped you at least find your path and you were sure if you needed to then Liu would use his fire. It was eerie. In the distance, there was the sound of falling water and it grew ever louder as you approached.

You finally pinpointed what the bad feeling was. It was like you weren’t supposed to be there, and the cave wanted you out. You knew that this was where you were meant to be and whatever wanted you out was that artifact.

“Careful.” You gestured to another fissure in front of you but this one was half full of water. It went on longer than the first one had, and you’d briefly panicked halfway through. Liu had helped you and then you had helped him when he’d gotten stuck at the end. It didn’t get any better after that. The next fissure was lower, and the water was up to his shoulders which meant you had to swim and squeeze your way through.

“Just hold your breath.” He encouraged and you looked to him skeptically but did your best. The water got down your throat a few times as it splashed around your face, but you managed your way through it. Liu continued right behind you, and it was made much more difficult when the path shrunk at the end. He’d nearly gotten stuck. That would have been a disaster. That cavern was low, and the water was so high you had to swim. The sound of water falling was no longer distant but very close. You searched the small corridor with your flashlight, but it was flickering after being submerged in the water. “Where do we go?” He searched above the water but there was barely any space above you.

“You’re going to hate it.” You pointed with an unhappy groan at the cavern beneath the water, completely submerged. This was a nightmare.

“You’re right, I do.” He shook out his wet hair. You ducked beneath the water, allowed your eyes to adjust to the warmth of it and cringed. It was uncomfortable. The springs in your vision had been small and modest. It was like they’d spread like cancer throughout the cavern thanks to that man and whatever artifact he’d hidden there. Then you came back up and turned to him. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck, Y/N.”

You ducked beneath the water again, held your breath, and then made your way through the tunnel as quickly and carefully as your body would allow. Just as you thought your lungs would give out, you found a space at the very top of the tunnel that was above the water. It was barely enough for you to tilt your head up and regain your breath but it was more than you needed.

Then you ducked under again and were grateful when the cave opened up and you could bring your head above water into a much, much larger space. The water was way deeper there too and you gasped greedily for breath. Then you turned and waited for Liu Kang to follow you. Seconds later, he popped up next to you, also gasping for breath.

The cavern was huge and you found the source of the rushing water. It poured from an opening above that led to the mountain outside. You caught a glimpse of a tree beyond, but just barely. Water poured from a river from the precipice and down onto two other ledges in between before ultimately falling into the pool that you and Liu had emerged in. There was dry land on either side of the deep pool and you were looking forward to it. Never again if you could avoid it.

Liu reached for your hair to push it back and looked disappointed to find that the flower had gone. You searched the water for it and sighed. You’d forgotten it was there. “Sorry.” You pouted and he smiled anyway. The air in the chamber was heavy and you were set on edge, like something terrible could happen at any moment. Liu was moving toward the shallower water and talking but you couldn’t hear him. There was a high-pitched squeal in your ears.

Liu called to you, but his voice was distant and fading. You couldn’t quite remember why he would be with you or where you were or what you were doing. You turned in search of him, but he was gone.

You were alone and made your way to the shallower water, crawling out just enough so it was up to your thighs. When you turned back, there was a man standing before you. It was him. The creature from your vision and you saw him plain as day. His skin was gray and mysterious patterns shifted beneath the surface, his white eyes surrounded by red flesh, as if he had never slept a day in his life. He wore a hat that fit to the form of his head and curved up into horns. When you blinked, he was standing uncomfortably close in front of you, and you stumbled back. He sneered and the flesh melted from his face, revealing the fanged skull beneath it.

“Who are…” You tried to ask but you choked on your words as his hand plunged into your chest, tearing at your flesh like it was nothing. Pain radiated through your shoulders, down your stomach, and you were blinded by it. You would have collapsed if he had not been holding you in his death grip. His cold fingers wrapped around your heart and you saw your blood ooze down his arm and drench your shirt.

He was killing you.

You were dying.

When you looked back up at him, he was gone but the pain remained. You collapsed into the water, the ground disappearing from beneath your feet as though you had never step foot upon it. You couldn’t breathe.

But you could hear again. The ringing had stopped, and you could hear combat above the water. Through it, you could see the light of Liu’s arcana as he fought off many creatures you couldn’t make out from there. He was trying to get to you but the shapes were overwhelming him. You watched, as if in slow motion, as one of those shapes burned up. Then he was thrown back into the water with a splash and the fire was doused with a hiss of steam.

You panic-swam to the surface. Liu was being held beneath the water by skeletal creatures in tattered robes and tarnished jewelry. They were pulling him further into the deep pool. You grasped at your chest suddenly and discovered there was no wound. It had been an illusion or a vision or something.

There was no time. You had to get to Liu.

You bashed the creature aside that had been pushing him under but there were others pulling him further and further. Taking a deep breath, you dove into the water and willed your ink into your jian. You hadn’t been certain it would work under the water but were pleased to find that it was solid. You slashed one of the creatures to pieces and swam out of the way of another. Then you knocked the one holding Liu away.

He was struggling to keep his breath, hand grasped over his mouth. You pushed his hand aside and pressed your lips to his, offering him the little breath you had left. Then you urged your arm under his and helped kick to the surface. You both gasped for breath, and he coughed up water. You urged him back behind you, defending you both with the jian so he had a chance to regain himself and get to dry land.

The moment he had his footing, he grasped at the natural energy around him and bathed his fists in fire. He twisted and threw the flames and several of the skeletal creatures stumbling toward you burned up. But they didn’t stay down for long. Either they rebuilt themselves or there were tons of them. You twisted with your jian, ducking, and slicing at them as they drew closer, finishing them off when Liu’s fire didn’t.

“This isn’t working!” He coughed as more of them crawled out of the water toward you.

“There’s too many.” You backed up to join him on the small shoreline. If these things kept crawling back to life, then you would be at this until you were exhausted and one of you slipped up. You had to do something drastic. You’d mimicked Kung Lao in Japan but you hadn’t been sure how you’d done it. Could you mimic other things? “You thought that my arcana could mimic things, right?”

“Yeah, you mimicked my hand when you first showed me. Haven’t had much time to train, have we?”

“Could you keep me safe while I try something?”

“Of course.” Liu stepped in front of you and, fists still engulfed in flame, and went after the creatures as they came close. Watching him fight was amazing. It was almost like a dance. Stepping back to offer him more space to fight, you worked with your ink magic. You’d been able to draw with it when you’d been fighting against the tar creature in Japan so why not try that?

Bracing yourself for the energy it would take, you focused on the creatures as they fell beneath Liu’s skilled hands. He stepped back from them and bounced in ready position, extinguishing his fire. You focused only on the space and your ink, your will to make it. Your mind cleared of all other thoughts. Liu stepped back in surprise as you drew solid walls around the creatures, and they filled with ink. Then you slammed your hands together and the walls crushed the creatures trapped within. You felt the crash of those walls rattle through your arms and into your shoulders.

“Damn.” Liu turned to you with admiration. You relaxed your posture but didn’t get to do so for long. Water exploded in a fountain and rained down over you. A huge creature made of bones and skulls rose from the water. It hissed and creaked awkwardly. Its many arms wielded old, rusted weaponry. You summoned your jian back into your hand and stepped up next to Liu who turned back into his stance, hands bathed in fire again.

You waited for the creature to strike. It raised its arms and swung down toward you. You leapt away from the blows. Liu ducked under another and set the arm ablaze and then kicked another back. You leapt over the one he’d kicked and sliced it at the arm and then cut another that was grasping for Liu. You ducked low, rolled back and then knocked the weapon out of another’s grasp. You were always aware of where Liu Kang was. It was unlike any other fight you’d ever been in. It was almost like you’d choreographed it before you’d started. You were so in tune with each other’s energy that you could sense what he was about to do before he did it. You stepped back to allow Liu to keep the creature at bay and with the jian as a pen, you created a heavy chain with ink that attached to the shore. It dripped and then crystallized into form, wrapping around the creature.

Liu rolled over the chain and then knocked the creature back as it pulled, trying to free itself with wild thrashing. Liu flipped backwards and threw fire at the creature that then swatted at him, howling in agony. You leapt atop the chain and ran closer to the creature. You flipped atop the mass that held its many arms. It swung at you wildly and you leapt to the other side of its many heads. With a flourish you drew another chain to wrap around the creature but before you could finish, you were grabbed and thrown back toward the shore.

Liu leapt and caught you, and then gracefully set you down. You bounced to your feet, and you finished the chain and then spun low to the ground, smacking your hand against the stone so that it locked next to the first one. The monster couldn’t move far now but you had to finish it off before you ran out of steam, or it found a way to escape.

Liu nodded toward the creature that thrashed at the chains. They groaned beneath the force. It wouldn’t be held much longer. You threw your jian and it faded into ink and then you mimicked the water, and a wave of ink coated the creature. Ink was flammable. It would smell horrible, but you hoped it would work. “Now, Liu!”

He stepped back, braced his footing and his hand was engulfed in flame, so much so that his flesh seemed to glow orange and crack with bright light. Ducking low, he swung upward and from the water behind the creature, a massive dragon made of fire and lava rose high above it. With a low crouch and a spin of his arms, he slammed his hand to the ground and the dragon opened its great maw and attacked the creature. The ink caught fire just as you had hoped and the creature howled, consumed by flame. Then it stopped thrashing and began to fall toward you with the last bit of its strength.

The shore wasn’t wide enough for you to stay on it, so you grabbed Liu’s arm and you ran from the creature that swept toward you, ablaze, and leapt into the water together. The creature fell after you, its bones scorching and disintegrating as it did. You dove deep beneath the water but as you made your way to the opposite shore, it grabbed your ankle and pulled. You choked and your breath escaped, and you got a mouthful of water and had to resist the urge to breathe and swallow. You fought against the creature’s fading grasp but your lungs were aching so badly that you could do little but kick and flail upward and hope it got you there.

But then Liu’s arm was around you and he pulled you free of its grasp and dragged you above the water. You choked and spat out water, but your lungs were in agony. He pushed your hair back and held you above the water. “Breathe! Breathe, Y/N!”

“Trying.” You croaked and water sputtered past your lips. It was burning at your throat and your lungs, but he had gotten to you before it had gotten worse. You dragged each other to the opposite shore and then Liu urged you to lay back so you could focus on breathing. Then he collapsed on his back next to you to do the same.