#I need a stand to put the stupid nightshade on because we have had a plant location ultimatum

[clannfearrunt]

Ikea solo navigation challenge commencing now

[mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune]

Transformers Theory: The Terrans Are Children, So Whats The Autobots & Decepticons Excuse...? (Steven Universe Reference Meme)

[Note: Please Don’t Reblog This Without My Permission] 

when you think about, the Terrans: Twitch, Thrash, Nightshade, Hashtag and Jawbreaker are just kids, and they have sibling bonds to Robby and Mo Malto, and even a type of parent and child bond to Dot and Alex Malto.

so with how the Older Autobots and Decepticons are, and the whole Autobots not understanding they are just much to blame as the Decepticons, cause Himbo Prime just had to do something stupid when it came to the Allspark, well him and also the live action movie version of himself that had Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes characters in that first and second movies, and instead of just making Sam be with Carly, they could of got some other gal to play Mikaela.

but anyway, a lesson is learned....never trust a Himbo Prime with the Allspark.

he will either try to put it in his chest where his spark is, just so he could destroy it (and that is being disrespectful to the Allspark Mother.) or he will end up possibly blowing it up when it’s send through some type of space bridge back to Cybertron.

TFA-Optimus gets a pass, because he had no clue and he is a precious cinnamon roll....Bumblebee from the Bumblebee Movie, is still a Bumble-Muffin.

anyway if in the Earthspark, like in a Fanon timeline...

if Optimus gets so mad and frustrated with the Terrans while in the middle of fighting both the Decepticons and GHOST....

he could say to them “your acting like children!”

and one of them, possibly Twitch saying it first and then Thrash finishing it...

Optimus: “Your Acting Like Children!”

Twitch: “we are children.”

Thrash: “what’s your excuse...?”

and if Frenzy was standing behind Optimus, she could reply with “Oooh, Optimus just got owned by the Terrans!”

well if it does end up being used as reference and meme, then if someone had to tell Optimus, the Autobots and the rest of the Decepticons off (but not Megatron or Bumblebee or Tarantulas.)

by telling those Eon-Boomers that the Terrans are children, and wanting to know what are the Autobots and Decepticons excuse, then well it is something that should happen, even if it only happens in the Fanon.   

one of the best things that Steven said to White Diamond, when she said that he was acting like a child and he replies with that he is a child, and what was her excuse. XD

it be like if in a Hazbin Hotel x Helluva Boss AU, where Charlie is still a child, but makes friends with Moxxie, Blitzo and Stolas (and it being way before Vaggie dies and comes into her life when Charlie is all grown up, as well as before Moxxie meets Millie...)

and if Charlie’s Dad, Lucifer Morningstar himself, ever talked to Charlie in the same manner as White Diamond did to Steven...and it being in front of Charlie’s friends like Moxxie, Blitzo and Stolas, as well as Lilith, Ozzie, Mammon, Beelzebub and the Others who rule the other rings....

if Charlie’s Dad ends up saying something like this...

Lucifer: “Your Acting Like A Child!”

then Charlie would have a right to reply with...

Charlie: “I am a child, what’s your excuse...?”

and in a AU where she is still a child, but makes friends with Moxxie, Blitzo and Stolas (and possibly Little Fizz Cinnamon Roll.) who are also still children, it would make sense for her to call him out on that....

so if Terrans have to say the hard truth to Autobots like Optimus or even Decepticons like Starscream, then it will be a hard truth those Eon-Boomers need to hear, even if they might not like it.

and they might only do so, if Optimus says that the Terrans are acting like children, to which they will reply that they are children and then ask what his excuse was.  XD

so yeah in a Transformers x Steven Universe theory, this could end up becoming a reference meme, where it is fanon but can be used to show that the Eon-Boomer Autobots and Decepticons are acting like children, and it isn’t just the Decepticons that are to blame for what happen on Cybertron.

Optimus might be the Autobot Leader, but even he needs to be told that he is acting like a child, even if it takes a Cybertronian child to tell him that is what he, the Autobots and some Decepticons are acting like.

and only some percent of Cybertronians that became Autobots, are spoiled rich slag heads....at least not everyone who is rich is like that at least...just the toxic-rich types, like some of the Cybertronians who only became Autobots, so they could keep the toxic corrupted caste system the same, where they are still on top, and the lower class cybertronians are still at the bottom.

Megatron should get two slice of energon bread and put each slice of that bread on each side of Optimus’s face and ask him what he is.

Megatron: “what are you...?!!”*while holding two slice of energon bread on each side of Optimus’s face*

Optimus: “......a Himbo Prime...?”

Megatron: “correct!”

it be funny if that actually happen in canon, but it would be the best thing to happen of all time....it would also mean that the nickname I started to call EarthSpark-Optimus, would become canon as well. XD                         

[americancowgirl19]

Eight Year

Summary: You’ve been missing for a long time but now you’re home and Dick isn’t about to let you distance yourself from him.

Warnings: Angst Fluff

Reader: Female Reader

Pairings: Dick Grayson x Reader

Word Count:

A/n: Act like Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian all grew up under the same roof with you for this one shot. Damian is still the only one that is Bruce’s biological child though.

Masterlist - Part Two (Old Times)

If anyone asked where the best place in the Wayne Manor was, you’d tell them about the rooftop. You had to be extremely balanced and brave (or stupid) to be able to get to the peak. But once you got there, it would be the perfect place to see all of Gotham. If the wind was blowing right and you strained your ears to listen, you could even hear the hustle and bustle of the city despite being so far away. 

But that was when you were growing up. Everything’s different now. The roof was still an amazing place to be but it no longer held the peacefulness you craved as a child. Still, it was better than being in the middle of the family arguments occurring below you. Even then, you can’t completely escape it.

“I figured I’d find you up here,” 

You don’t even have to turn your head to know who was walking across the roof toward you with expert balance. The roof put distance between you and your other brothers except Dick. While they didn’t mind jumping from one building to another with Batman, the roof of Wayne manor was different. You had claimed it as your own and raised hell if anyone bothered you. Anyone other than Dick at least. You always had a soft spot for him.

“Shouldn’t you be in Bludhaven?” You ask, averting your gaze from the skyline of Gotham to the slanted shingles on the roof.

“Well, when you see on the news that Y/n Y/l/n came home for the first time in eight years you make a special trip,” Dick says, sitting in the spot he had claimed 15 years ago.

“You shouldn’t have wasted your time,” You mutter.

“Hey,” He lightly scolds. “You’re not a waste of time,” He tells you, his voice a little softer. You risk a glance at him. He gives you a small smile. You force one in return before looking down as it fades.

“Did I ever... hurt you?” You ask, your jaw clenching the instant the question is out in an attempt to hold yourself together.

“Don’t. Don’t do that to yourself.” Dick states, shaking his head. “Nothing you did was you,”

“But it was, Dick.” You snap, looking at him. “Every kill, every fight, every injury was because of me. I was the one who did that, no one else.”

“Do you even remember what happened?” Dick asks, raising his eyebrows at you. “Remember what they forced you to do?” You hold his gaze before looking down. “It wasn’t you fault,” Dick says slowly trying to emphasize his point. “You didn’t have control over yourself, you didn’t know what you were doing.”

“I hate that I can’t remember,” You whisper. “Eight years of my life and nothing. All I remember is going to that party with you,” A small smile came onto your lips. “I convinced you to dance with me,”

“We danced all night,” Dick whispers, a smile of his own on his lips. It only lasts a few seconds before it fades. “I leave you for two minutes and you just... disappear,” You frown your eyebrows not liking the sound of his voice.

“You blame yourself? Dick...” You whisper, your shoulder deflating.

“We look after each other,” He says, looking at you. “It’s what we do. You have my back and I have yours, always. But the one time you actually need me and I’m in the kitchen doing a beer bong.” He growls, glaring at his fidgeting hands.

You push back the tears as your arms wrap around his arm. You hug his bicep and rest your head on his shoulder. He lets out a shaky breath and kisses the top of your head.

“I missed you so goddamn much,” Dick whispers, leaning against you. His head leaning on yours, his nose buried in your hair. Your eyes closed as you focus on him. You ignore the tear falling down your face.

Eight years ago you had been kidnapped by a group that you have no recollection of. They had you under their complete control. Not only did they kidnap you and turn your mind into mush, they experimented on you. They wanted to make you strong enough, powerful enough to be able to take down the Justice League and everyone associated with them.

They succeeded, sort of. While you couldn’t take down the entire Justice League, you were considerably stronger than you had been. They had a serum that changed your DNA. You had the enhancement and strength of Superman, the speed of Flash, and the power of Zatanna.

Bruce had an entire file on you. He had recordings of the experiments you went through that your captors had taken and notes on everything you did. One night when everyone was asleep or out patrolling the city, you looked through the file.

You don’t remember it but you had been the reason behind so many deaths. So many good people, sidekicks and full fledged League members fell by your hand. You didn’t know how you could show your face around anybody knowing what you had done.

You felt touched that your family had spent the last eight years searching for you and trying to find a way to get you back. Even after everything you had done, they never gave up on you. They wanted you back, they wanted to help you become yourself again.

Yes, you’re home now. Yes, you’re in control of your actions now. No, you don’t feel like you’re back to yourself again. Not even close.

Before you were kidnapped, you were the original Batgirl. You and Dick had been trained at the same time. You both took up the mantle as Batman’s sidekick at the same time. You did everything together.

So, when Dick transitioned to Nightwing you hung up your cape to become Nightshade. You both thought it was clever with a side of corny at the time which is the exact reason why you took a name so similar to his. Since you were no longer Batman’s sidekicks, you had free range to become your own persons. 

With Jason as Batman’s new Robin, Gotham was becoming crowded. Dick suggested Bludhaven and you followed him. You were there for three years before you were taken. Your absence happened a month before Jason’s death.

You family had no idea how they survived two tragedies so close to each other. 

Almost a year later a mysterious assassin emerges out of nowhere. It took them a while to figure out that it was you. When your identity was revealed, the decision on what to do with you split the League. 

Half the League wanted to get revenge for what you had done by death or isolation in an inescapable prison off world. The other half wanted to save and rehabilitate you. 

Batman, Nightwing, and Robin (Tim) were strong advocates of saving you. In fact it had been brought up more than once that if anyone tried to kill you or take you off world they would have to personally deal with them, mainly Dick.

Dick had just found out that you were alive, he had hoped that you were but now he knew. Now that he knew you were alive, no matter what you did, he was going to get you back and damn anybody who got in his way.

They knew off the bat that you weren’t in control of your actions thus making you innocent in their eyes. But not everybody believed you to be innocent. But as Dick told anybody who lobbied against you, nobody was killing you or taking you away while he was around.

It wasn’t until Red Hood’s identity was revealed as Jason did they finally have a chance at bringing you home. Red Hood, Nightwing, Robin (Dick), Damian (a couple of months before he would take up the Robin suit), and Superboy all went up against you one night.

This wasn’t the first time Nightwing, Robin and Damian had tried to get you but with Red Hood and Superboy on their side they became victorious. Red Hood gave them that extra person while Superboy was more equipped to handle your speed and strength.

You were taken to the watchtower. You stayed there for a long time and weren’t allowed to socialize until you had control of your mind back. About a week ago you were released to Batman. 

A couple of days ago the media caught word that Bruce Wayne’s long lost daughter has finally returned home which prompted Dick to come back to Gotham.

But while you are home with your family you can’t help but feel like an outsider. Since you’re return you feel as if there’s this wall between you and them. Bruce wasn’t completely sure how to act around you. Tim tried but you just couldn’t connect with him. Even Damian, the all confident biological kid of Bruce Wayne, felt awkward around you despite his relief that you were home. You haven’t seen Jason since you returned home but since your arrival to Gotham has been broadcasted you knew it wouldn’t be long until you two met up.

“I’m glad you’re here,” You whisper, snuggling into him more. 

“Where else would I be?” He mutters. You look up, your eyes meeting his. “My place will always be by your side,” He reassures you.

“Dick... I’m not the same person I was, ok?” You whisper. “I’m still adjusting and-” Dick’s lips meet yours before you can finish. You lean into him, your hand touching the side of his face.

“You’re it for me, pretty girl,” Dick whispers, smiling softly. “You’ve been mine since we were kids and I’m not giving you up just because you’re stronger, faster and weirder than me now,” He winks at you. You smile widely and laugh quietly.

“I thought after eight years-”

“No,” Dick whispers, shaking his head. “It’ll only ever be you, sweetheart. Only you,” You smile, snuggling into him.

“Master Grayson, Ms. Y/l/n,” Alfred hollers from the ground. You both look down. “Dinner is served,”

“Thank you, Alfred,” You replied loud enough for him to hear. Alfred nods and reenters the house. You sigh looking at Dick.

“Come on, you know how Alfred gets if he has to say things twice,” Dick says standing up. You take his hand and he pulls you to him. “You and me, just like it has been since we were 12. That hasn’t changed,” You grin, balancing yourself carefully as you drape your arms around his neck.

“Well, I wasn’t exactly kissing you when we were 12,” Dick smirks, holding your hips.

“Relationships evolve,” He shrugs. You smile, staring into his eyes.

“You make the world quiet, Dick Grayson.” You whisper to him. “You keep my mind straight,”

“You do that yourself... I just remind you to smile and relax very so often,” He tells you.

“I love you,” You whisper, pressing your lips against his.

[ootori-sibs]

Kyoya's second shot

Episode three: Dawn of a new day

There was something off about Haruhi the next day, none of the hosts knew what was up with her- no one but Kyoya. He smiled the moment he saw her walk in, face curled into a look of disgust. He noted it down as she sat down, frowning.

11:30 - Haruhi has arrived, it's evident Nekozawa has done his job. It's my turn.

He approached her, trying to not to react to the smell. "Are you alright Haruhi? You look troubled." She looked up at him curiously, tilting her head slightly.

"I think Nekozawa-senpai did something to my bag." Oh. She got it instantly, that was unexpected. Kyoya hummed nonchalantly, not wanting to give anything away.

"What did he-"

"Oh heavens!" Here came the darling king, swooping in to save his precious 'princess'. "Are you alright Haruhi? You aren't cursed are you??" Both Haruhi and Kyoya sighed at that, Kyoya instantly feeling furious at her for sighing- why don't you appreciate your boyfriend's care? Huh? Bitch? Kyoya would love and appreciate that kind of care so much, he's only sighing because his plan is already failing.

"Nah I'm not cursed, I think he put something super stinky in my bag…" she hummed in thought, rummaging through the bag. She pulled out a black envelope, the source of the smell. It was closed with a wax seal and written on in crimson ink, a curse in latin.

Dominus soporem in tenebris, et funiculus iste coccineus et habitatores figure non amare Princeps Ouran. classis superioris, dimiserunt eam cadere a gratia Dei.

Kyoya knew Latin, and he found it amusing what Nekozawa had said, making sure to not show any signs of amusement as Tamaki panicked over the clear curse and Haruhi carefully opened the envelope. The curse read: 'Dark lord in slumber, let this scarlet figure never settle in love with the prince of Ouran. Let her fall from the graces of the upper class'. Kyoya absolutely loved the little nod to his own command, Umehito was always one for poetic justice.

Haruhi pulled a burnt stick of elderwood, the rest of the envelope was filled with dodder and deadly nightshade. It was soaked through with a horrendous perfume, Nekozawa's handiwork, with which he'd gotten Kirimis help, the younger a child the more evil, Kyoya's own brother had told him that. She looked at it with a frown, ignoring Tamaki's wide eyes and blabbering expression, instead heading straight to the bin to dispose of the curse. "What a weird guy, wonder how I annoyed him." But it wasn't him she'd pissed off, and she'd soon be made aware.

"How are you not worried!?" The king cried out, clearly genuinely scared his princess would be hurt. "You were cursed!!" Kyoya sighed, he was unbelievably bitter that Haruhi was already fucking things up for him, but also didn't want Tamaki to fret too much.

"And she got rid of it, therefore: no longer cursed." He hated to admit that his plan was already failing but it was ok, he was sure Nekozawa could up his game on the same day. In fact he quickly sent a text to the councils newly made group chat to ensure it.

Shadow king: Nekozawa. You're not doing well enough, Haruhi has located and dispelled your "curse" within seconds. Do better or we'll move forward without you.

Sorcerer: Of course, it shall be done.

Kyoya was glad Nekozawa was taking his job seriously, although it wasn't a real threat, Kyoya needed him for the plan to work. He returned to his seat, silently continuing with the finances.

Not an hour later, Haruhi was sweating like a pig, looking exhausted and so much more what Kyoya had expected from a curse. She told Tamaki she didn't know what was wrong, he clutched her close, cradling her softly. It made Kyoya feel sick… then Tamaki yelped, pulling his hand away from Haruhi's middle back.

"What the hell was that? You're boiling!" He points to a place at Haruhi's back, and the twins come swooping in, pulling her shirt up just so. Salts, a cloth laden with hot water and salts- a fake fever. Kyoya couldn't believe Haruhi hadn't noticed that before now, it was stupid.

"Huh… that's weird, do you think it was Nekozawa again?" Haruhi asked, holding the cloth, the twins shrugged, tilting their heads in unison.

"Not sure, probably." They spoke in unison, clearly feeling something off. "Why is he suddenly targeting you�� did you do something to the puppet?"

"Not that I know of…" The four of them began theorising ways Haruhi could have pissed Nekozawa off, perfect, Kyoya had a willing scapegoat.

Shadow king: Do you have a scoop yet, Komatsuzawa?

Bitchboy: I have a few ideas, but I'd like to change my nickname first.

Child: but it's so fitting

Bitchboy: Silence child.

Shadow king: You may change your name once you prove yourself useful. What's your scoop?

Bitchboy: Well her father's "career" is certainly one sure to cause a stir.

Shadow king: Absolutely not, we will not be insulting Ranka in order to bring Haruhi down. He doesn't deserve that.

Bitchboy: What? Ugh, fine. There's also, we could imply she's been with the twins?

Shadow king: But the twins have done nothing wrong.

Kyoya sighed, sure his plan would hurt them all, but he didn't want to hurt his friends unnecessarily. They didn't deserve that… he could feel the guilt building up again. He was never the best with emotions…

"Mommy dear?"

Tamaki's voice rang in Kyoya's ears, startling him slightly, not looking over but just staring at the numbers on his screen, clutching his phone tightly, as if it would suppress the notification sound. "Yes Daddy?" The stupid nicknames Tamaki insisted on using, it just reminded Kyoya of how things should be. He should be the one by Tamaki's side, club mother, vice president, shadow king. They were the monarchs of Ouran, the most powerful students there, why weren't they together..?

"Are you alright?" Tamaki frowned, leaning closer, wrapping his arms around Kyoya and resting his head on his shoulder. Kyoya felt his cheeks heat up, but he was likely wearing enough makeup to hide it. "I was going to ask about the finances but you seem a little on edge mon ami, is everything okay?"

Kyoya felt guilty, Tamaki was so sweet, so good. Kyoya was doing such evil acts, and his beloved had no idea… he had no idea he was even the one Kyoya loved. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in an attempt to battle the feelings into submission, lest the tears well up. "I'm fine, Tamaki, don't be ridiculous."

"Why are you on edge then?" Kyoya felt his phone buzz gently, putting him even more on edge, luckily it didn't seem like Tamaki noticed. Kyoya wasn't quite sure how to respond to the king's question, he couldn't think of a good excuse.

"Why is it important? There's nothing wrong with simply being startled, I can't always be on high alert, I'm no guard dog." His words bit back at the princeling with venom, he couldn't think of a good defence, so he faked spite and hoped it would work.

Surprisingly, Tamaki did indeed back off, looking confused, and slightly hurt. It was ok though, Kyoya told himself, this was all for Tamaki's sake in the end. He checked his phone.

Bitchboy: We could say she's a lesbian? She did kiss a girl after all.

Not to mention all the hosting she'd done with the ladies… oh, Kyoya could see the headline already. He was almost positive she was bisexual anyway, it wasn't that much of a strech… he paused, what was Akira saying though? Was he suggesting Haruhi didn't really love Tamaki like would be perfect, or was he trying to be homophobic?

Shadow king: Elaborate?

Bitchboy: Do I really need to?

Peasant: well it does sound kinda homophobic to claim that sort of thing could ruin her image…

Bitchboy: Ruining her image is the whole point, moron.

Shadow king: How do you entirely miss the point like that?

It's almost impressive.

But you're the moron Komatsuzawa.

You better find something a little less incriminating of your own mind.

Kyoya sighed heavily, why must he surround himself with such disgusting people. It wasn't hard to find good people, hell, he was surrounded by at least folks good enough at pretending to be good, the issue was that good people never wanted to do bad things. So this was what he must do.

13:30 - The folks I surround myself with make me sick. But it must be done. Tamaki has begun to show slight worry towards my more nervous mannerisms, I managed to get him to stand down. I have yet to perform my duty.

Bitchboy: Of course you'd support that kind of behaviour, Ootori.

Kyoya frowned down at his phone, this little dick… He glanced over at Tamaki, who had just asked him a question, although he had failed to process it. "I'm sorry Tamaki, what was that?"

"I said; are you coming to lunch with us? You haven't joined us at all this week."

"Ah," Kyoya began, it was true he hadn't joined them at all, but that was simply because he hadn't had lunch all week, "I'm afraid I won't be joining you today either, please enjoy yourself." He smiles, a polite, designed to placate, smile. Turning back to his phone, he replied to Akira's message.

Shadow king: And what exactly does that mean?

Bitchboy: Well you're the same aren't you?

Sorcerer: Aw, don't be mean just because you're correct. He's Souh-san's best friend.

Akira had sent another text after that, but Kyoya didn't want to think about it, he'd used a word he didn't even think people used unless they were openly violent, or gay themselves. So that was just wonderful, Kyoya was working with a homophobe, lovely. He decided to at least note this down before doing his own part of the deal.

13:32 - Akira Komatsuzawa is a homophobe.

He left his phone on silent and in his bag, before standing and walking over to Haruhi's bag, digging through carefully, not wanting to make it look too obvious things had been looked through. He took her phone out of the bag, looking it over carefully, oh, she had a cute set of phone charms… little plastic roses, and there was one in each of the host's colours. Even purple. Kyoya took great care with removing that charm, tucking it into his pocket gently. He may mean malice towards the commoner, but he wouldn't hurt anything with sentimental value, at least if it could be avoided.

He made his way to the window, looking out. There were too many people, he couldn't achieve it like this. So he instead went out into the hallway, walking in the opposite direction from the canteen, making his way down to the ground floor and then outside. He knew exactly where to go.

He was a lover of poetic justice, just like Umehito, and he could remember Haruhi's first week. The poor, poor commoner was bullied by one of Tamaki's regulars. That girl had thrown Haruhi's bag in the fountain to the east of the club room, the one with the cherub without wings. As Kyoya made his way to that very fountain, he thought about how ironic it would be if he put her phone in that very fountain. So that's what he would do.

When he got there, he saw the exact girl he'd been thinking about, sat there, with a little bento box her maids had made for her. She looked up at him and frowned. "What are you doing out here? Why aren't you with the rest of your club?"

"Hello Ayanokoji, do you know who this belongs to?" He holds up the phone, knowing full well she knew who's it was.

"That's Fujioka's phone… why do you have it?" She asked him, clearly on the defensive, not understanding why he was here. To answer her question, Kyoya simply lifted his hand and tossed the phone into the water idly. Looking her in the eyes as he does so, watching hers go wide "Wha-? Huh??" It seemed she'd assumed all the hosts were under Haruhi's thumb.

"Help me, Seika Ayanokoji, we have the same goals in mind." He offered her entrance to the council, without letting her know it existed. Kyoya even held his hand out to her, it was obvious from his body language that he was offering her an opportunity, but his words seemed like the deal would only benefit him. So he wasn't surprised to hear her response:

"What's in it for me?" She'd glanced down at his hand in suspicion, before looking back up at him, not trusting his words one bit.

"Oh let's see…" he pretended to think, already knowing exactly what to offer her. "I'll remove you from the club's black list." He knew for a fact that that'd get her going, she was the same as all the other girls after all. Her eyes widening at the prospect of being hosted by Tamaki once again proved him right, although he couldn't say he didn't blame her- they did have similar motives.

She took his hand, standing and giving him a smirk. "You've got a deal, what do you need me to do?"

Kyoya just smiled wickedly in response.

"I want you to do anything in your power to make that commoner suffer. Don't let anyone know I'm involved, but get anyone you want involved. Cause her trouble, make her look bad, make her out to be just what you think of her."

"A little mutt with no pedigree?" She asked, eyes sparkling maliciously, she already knew the answer.

"Precisely, we both know she's not. But the general student body don't need to know that, do they?" He shrugs, casually turning away from her, preparing to walk away.

"You can count on me." She assured, voice full of confidence and spite, exactly what Kyoya needed from his council. He'd originally hated her for being so uppity, then she'd done all that to Haruhi and he'd decided he hated her for being a bully… but bullies can be awfully useful, if you have them on your team.

He got back to the club room, silently tapping his foot on the floor as he took his phone out in order to add her to the group, pausing when he saw Akira's reply.

Bitchboy: Well there is that manager of your club, didn't she pursue the girl?

Kyoya smiled, of course, Renge. She was the perfect scapegoat, it was clear the duo had chemistry. Haruhi had gone to Renge's place after all, no one knows what could have possibly happened there…

Shadow king: Alright then, write your article.

But I will be reading it before it's published.

Kyoya sighed, adding the newest council member to the group chat.

>Seika Ayanokoji joined the group

>Shadow king changed Seika Ayanokoji to Woman#2

Woman#2: Wh

Why do I have to be woman two??

Woman: Bonjour.

Child: Holy shit there are girls here?

Bitchboy: How did we not notice this before?

Shadow king: Miss Ayanokoji will be helping us from now on, she will be present at the next meeting.

I want you all to get along.

He put his phone down just as the other hosts walked back in, combing their hair and adjusting their uniform in preparation to open the club to the guests. Kyoya smiled softly, this was going to be a fun term...

14:12 - Seika Ayanokoji has joined the council, she has been removed from the club blacklist.

A very fun term…

[itzagothamcitysiren]

Welcome to the Family

I’ve always struggled finding someone who I think would make a good Damian. I love the voice actor from the DCAU, and even the kid who did the voice in the Harley show lol, but live action wise I’ve never really settled on a kid I’d think would do a really good job.  I’d love to know everyone’s own fan casting and who they would think would make a good Damian. :)  

Mother’s Day pt.2          

  Damian couldn’t stop himself from watching the whole scene play out in front of him, cursing Drake as he knew that this was his plan all along. Drake wanted to rub it in his face no matter how hard he would deny it when Damian confronted him on it later. The bitter taste of the sweat was all Damian could taste as he slowly began to peel off his costume after a long and tiring night of patrolling Gotham City. His eyes darted from person to person, trying to keep the sudden annoyance down in the pit of his stomach.

           His father stood off near the batcomputer, slowly getting ready to call it a night, overlooking some files. His father had his cowl off, the tiredness of a long night out in the city showing on his face. A little ways away stood his sister, politely excepting the water bottle Alfred was now handing out to each of them. He started to head towards the pair to retrieve his own but halted. Drake approached them, clearly hiding something behind his back, underneath his cape. He turned around, simmering but kept listening as Drake began to speak.

           “Hey, staying the night?” Tim cleared his throat as he approached Halley, a hint of hopefulness reaching his voice.

           The girl chugged her water bottle, capping it off with a sigh. The cold liquid felt good running down her throat. Placing the near empty bottle on a nearby desk she turned to give Tim her full attention. With a smile, she leaned up against the desk, her muscles sore. “Nah, I have to head to the library first thing tomorrow, finish up my term paper.”  

           “I can help you. Use the library here,” Tim frowned, offering his help. He hadn’t seen his sister as much as he’d like over the past few months. She’d been busy with her last year of college and the internship she started this year at the Gotham Gazette.

           He did get to see her two weeks ago but that didn’t really count. He’d never gotten to meet the Robin before him, Jason Todd, but Halley spoke very fondly of him. They had grew extremely close he learned and she was absolutely devastated when the Joker killed him six years ago. And for the last couple of years, Tim would accompany with her to visit Jason’s grave on his death day because she could never bring herself to handle going alone.

           “As much as I would love that, it’s actually a study date.” She bit her lip, looking at her feet.

           “Wow, like a date, date?” Tim was taken aback, almost looking proud at the older girl. All the years he’s known her, she’s never been one for dating or having interest in anyone.

           “Yeah, we’re going to go to this café; the one on fifth, the one you said had really good coffee muffins.” She nodded, still timid about the date itself. She hadn’t been on a date in six years. It felt weird, but Dick told her it was time to start moving on and Dick had never led her astray before so, she was going to try. Jason would want her to anyway, she kept telling herself.

           “Well, I hope you have a good time. And actually get some work done.” Tim chuckled. “Well since I won’t see you in the morning and it’s technically the tenth right now, here you go,” Tim said, pulling out what was hidden behind his back.

           Halley looked down at the items that were being outreached to her, her eyes already getting watery. Tim really didn’t understand how much this stuff meant to her. Glazing over the card, seeing it goofily decorated with glitter and cute little doodles, Halley couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. She thought it was adorable. Opening it up, she read what he wrote inside, chuckling more at the little stick figures of Nightshade and Red Robin. Inside it read:  A mother is the person you can always call to see how long chicken can last in the fridge.

           Shaking her head at him she moved to the other item he handed her. It was a medium sized box wrapped in wrapping paper with little cute cartoon pugs and an oversized purple bow. Putting the card in between her armpit, in order to not drop it, she tore the wrapping paper apart, letting out a squeal, causing everyone to look at her in shock; it took a lot to make the former assassin to squeal in pure giddiness.    

           Damian was now almost fuming as Halley lunged herself into Tim, nearly tripping the boy over in her excitement. Her grip on him was tight, as was her grasp on the gift she still held in her hand, as if holding onto it for dear life. She couldn’t believe he got her this,

           “How did you get this? It sold out in seconds!” She pulled away, now hugging the object to her chest, “Tim you really didn’t have to do this, I totally didn’t realize the date, with school and-,”

           “I knew how much you wanted it and were bummed when you had to go on that mission with the Titans when it went on sale and so I ordered it for you, so you didn’t miss out.” Tim cut off her rambling, shrugging her off. “I was going to give it to you for Christmas, but it didn’t come in on time so I saved it for this.”

           “I can’t wait to show Steph!” She excitedly held it up to look at the smooth and shiny new box, revealing it to everyone in the room the newest Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson palate. “You’re literally the best Tim.” She pulled him into another hug, this time a quick one, no one noticing how Damian was now practically steaming. “What are you doing Wednesday? I’m only at the Gazette until like noon, we should hang out, go to the movies or arcade or something once you’re out of school. I’ll pick you up.”

           “I promised I’d help the Titans with something, it’s not an emergency though-” Tim frowned, hesitating, he could try and reschedule.

           “No, no it’s okay. I know you’ve missed them, being busy with school and all,” She waved off, scrunching up her nose. “We’ll figure it out, but soon, we gotta at least go get burgers or something. It’s been too long.”

           Damian watched as Halley began to start saying her goodbye, realizing that it was nearly five am at this point and wanted to try to get at least three or four hours of sleep before she had to be up for her date. She called out a goodbye to Bruce and Alfred, shooting Tim another thank you and smile before heading to the showers to change and grab her bag to head to her apartment in the city. On her way out, Damian felt his cheeks turn red as she nicely wished him goodnight, smiling wider than she did to Tim. Feeling a strange pang in his chest, he brushed her off, muttering a grumpy ‘night, before curtly turning to head up to the Manor.

           He was unamused by the exchange between her and Drake. He was only under the impression that he was giving her that immature card, not a gift as well. She looked so happy that it almost appeared that Drake was indeed the favorite brother, which absolutely could not possibly be true.  He was the blood brother, he reminded himself. He couldn’t let Drake outshine him like that. It wasn’t even because he cared that much, it was just unacceptable. If it had been Grayson it might sit a little easier with Damian but Drake?

           Damian thought about it until the sun shined through his windows, making him even angrier. Why was he letting this get to him as badly as it was? It was just a stupid card and a box of colorful dirt. But that stupid card and box of colorful dirt still stood in his mind for the following days, making it nearly impossible for him to concentrate on anything else. His father asked him what was wrong during patrol the following nights, only to get a growl here and a grunt there in response. If Damian had to see Drake’s smug look one more time during these moments, he’d finally kill him, his father be damned.

           Damian couldn’t believe how much he let this get to him. He tried to deny it; blame it on hormones or whatever Grayson called the cause of his mood swings. He didn’t even begin to consider admitting he was jealous of his sister’s close relationships with his so called brothers until he found himself standing in front of the Gotham Gazette at 1:50pm. Gritting his teeth, he walked straight in. Once he reached the front desk, he said he was here to see his sister. He was a Wayne, they knew who he was and the woman nervously pointed him to the way to the office his sister worked in.

           The look of worry and shock his sister wore as he stood in front of her desk confirmed that this had indeed been a terrible idea.  She had been head deep in her computer, typing away furiously, while on the phone, barking out questions and demands; something about needing to have some interview with some councilman rescheduled ASAP. Damian was impressed as she spoke. He was used to her stern voice from working with her on missions but this was different, she seemed so professional but scary; he almost felt bad for whoever she was talking to on the phone, but also felt proud by the way she was demanding things like an al Ghul would.

           She must have thought that he was someone else who knocked on her door for when she slammed the phone down, she didn’t even look up at him, just outreached her hand waiting to be passed something. She was expecting someone. She was busy. This was a terrible idea, Damian thought to himself in a slight panic. Was that sweat starting to form on his brow? Grow up Damian, he spat to himself.

           When her hand stood empty she shook it aggressively as if silently saying to hand her something.  Damian raised an eyebrow at her and when she was still left empty handed, she whipped her head up, clearly irritated. She was tired from another all-nighter. She couldn’t even consider going on patrol last night, which was something she never missed up until the last couple of months. She was itching to be done with school already.

           She had to stay up all night trying to make a backup plan for her final article and paper. She was writing about the coming election, making a strong article highlighting the past Mayor’s and city officials. It was a puff piece, but a damn good one. She wanted it to be perfect so that way when she graduated in June she’d hopefully get to stay at the Gazette permanently. But at the same time, she was also just trying to use her connection with the paper to weasel her way into an interview with councilman, Rupert Thorne.

           Her paper had been her obsession since starting it; she was exposing the corruption of city hall and it was at the point where her grade didn’t matter, she just wanted it to be done so she could publish it. Everyone knew that Gotham was corrupt, but no one really talked about, just complained about the crazy, dressed up weirdos that tormented the city at night. People like Scarecrow, Riddler and the Joker make people overlook villains who in her opinion where just as bad. For example, Rupert Thorne

           He had his nose deep in too many illegal operations running out of Gotham that Halley and even Bruce lost count. He had the audacity to run for mayor this election season, as being a councilman wasn’t enough for someone like Thorne. If he won this, Gotham was more screwed then it already was. Without at least speaking with him once her entire paper and grade would be ruined. And she couldn’t exactly go as her alter ego and force him to talk to her. That would raise too many questions. She didn’t even care as she named dropped Bruce, making sure they knew that she was Halley Wayne; she was desperate.          

           When she saw Damian though all thoughts about Thorne left her mind and her face softened before scrunching up again with concern. Damian never visited her before a she had been pretty sure he forgot that she interned here a couple days out of the week. Stopping her work, she looked up at him, looking around the room as her co-workers eyed them curiously.  “Damian, is everything okay? What happened?”

           “Tt.” He crossed his arms.

           “Damian, is everything okay?” She pressed, seeing that look in his eyes when he looked stressed or in trouble.

           “Nothing is wrong, I-,” He paused. He hadn’t figured out what to say. He didn’t prepare for this. Gulping down his anxiety, he took the seat that was across from her desk. He could see the bags underneath her eyes and the untouched food sitting at the other end of the desk. He also noted how the clock said that it was now a couple minutes past two. “Didn’t you tell Drake you were done with work at noon?”

           Halley blinked a few times, now knowing that there was no emergency but instead was just thrown off. What was he talking about? Looking down at the time on her laptop it clicked. Her conversation with Tim in the cave, about possibly hanging out today. Oh right, she remembered.  Looking back up at her younger brother she gave him an unsure look, she didn’t understand why he was here.

           “Um, yeah, well I don’t have a concept of time when I’m in here.” She lightly chuckled, trying to get a vibe on why he was here. Rubbing the black beanie on her head, itching her head awkwardly, “Most times the janitor has to kick me out.”

           She looked at him when he just nodded at her, still not stating why he was sitting in front of her. She was surprised he remembered her conversation with Tim, she hadn’t thought he had been listening and it was like they were talking that loudly for him to be forced to overhear him. She had taken note of Tim texting her about how unbearable he’s been since last Sunday though. She bit the inside of her cheek, was Damian jealous? She laughed to herself, there was no way. But when she have him another look over she saw his green eyes staring at her messy desk with a slight pout on his face. Oh he was totally jealous of Tim, she thought.            

           She looked at her untouched lunch, having totally losing herself in her work and forgetting it even existed. She then felt her stomach growl, seeing how Damian noticed it as well, raising his eyebrow higher, if that was even possible. Quickly saving the document she was working on, she slowly closed her laptop, letting what she was about to do sink in. Trying to contain her smile, not wanting to scare him off before she could even begin, she cleared her throat.

           “So do you like Burgers?”

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

Empires on the Horizon IV

Jason is a CEO: Part IV

Here’s my masterlist for the next part and my other stuff 

new beginnings

look fragile

like glass

but when grabbed

sparkle

like diamonds

-badpoetry

“Good morning Mr Grace,” Grover Underwood smiled from his usual spot behind the coffee machine.

“Morning, how are you?”

“Much happier for seeing you less like someone kicked your puppy,” He gave Jason a knowing look.

“How?”

“There are some things the brain cannot hide, matters of the heart are often one of them.”

He didn’t really have any reply to that, so he gave the man an awkward smile and shrugged.

“Your usual then?”

“Yes please, and an iced coffee for Hazel.”

“Ah where is the darling this morning?”

“She’s coming into the office later, something about needing to go home first? She must have stayed at a friend’s place.”

Grover raised a dark brow, “Mhmm and where is your driver this morning? I noticed you drove yourself in today.”

“Uh I think Frank took the day off,” He frowned trying to piece the conversation he’d had with his friend in his sleep-deprived brain.

“Oh interesting,” Grover’s chocolate brown eyes twinkled in amusement, but before Jason could question him a warm cup was being shoved into his hand and he was being ushered away to wait for the iced coffee.

Collapsing into a chair, he pushed his glasses up his nose and wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck. Winter was beautiful but gods it was cold. He glanced around the café taking in the familiar forest green walls and dark wood floors. There was no sun streaming through the windows today so the gold accents on the tables were dulled and dark, like hidden bronze. He traced his fingers around the edge of his cup, losing himself in the motion, in the feeling of heat on his cold fingers, in the small gusts of wind against his cheeks as the door opened and closed, in the noise of a bustling store, in the–

“Hello Jason,”

“Luke,” He took a deep breath, “Fuck off.”

“Aw don’t be like that,” He sniggered.

“Please Luke, I don’t have the energy for this right now,” Exhaustion was a thousand-ton weight on his bones.

“That’s your problem Jason you never wanted to take things head on. It was always let’s wait for this, let’s get their opinion first, let’s just give it a couple weeks. You could have had the world begging at your fingertips if you just went for what you wanted.”

“Are you done?”

Luke’s responding laugh was malicious, “You are so-“

“Leave.” His voice was stone.

His ex-boyfriend scoffed, “Pathetic.”

Jason watched as the face he had been so in love with sneered at him, the scar running down a pale cheek twisting into malice. His soul ached for what could have been, it burned for what now was. It always surprised him how drained he felt after every interaction with Luke- like crashing down from a potent high. Being with Luke was a high, was euphoria and hope and sin. What the fuck went wrong? 

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

“Talk to me,”

“Why do you insist on answering the phone like you’re some sort of mafia boss?” His sister grumbled.

“Hello to you too Thalia,”

“I just wanted to let you know that I’ve set you up on a date tonight. Six-thirty at Sun and Songs.”

He groaned, “No. I am not in the mood.”

“Jason Grace,” She started; he could feel a rant coming on, “You cannot stop living your life because you have a wanker of an ex-boyfriend. You have been in a slump since Luke and it is affecting you in ways you’re too scared to admit.”

“It is not affecting me,” He was tired of having this fight, “I literally dated Piper for like three months.”

“Mhm and were you happy? Did you put all you could into the relationship?” She didn’t wait for his response, “No, you may have been a little happier, but you weren’t you. So you will go on this date tonight and in five years when we’re planning your wedding you better be thanking me in your speech.”

“Gods Thals,” He snorted, “We haven’t even gone on the date yet and you’re already planning a wedding?”

“Wait does that mean you agree to it?” She squealed through the phone.

“Yes loser,” He held in a laugh, “I’ll go on the date. But if it doesn’t work out you drop all of this. No more setting me up, no more interfering.”

“Yes sir. Now, how work’s going?”

“Besides the fact that Project Hestia is on hold because of this stupid contract everything is good.”

“Isn’t your fancy lawyer lady sorting it out?” She muttered.

“Reyna is a great lawyer and you know it.”

“Yea but she’s also my ex-girlfriend so I get to be a little resentful.”

He snorted at that, “Of course, and how are you?”

“I’m good. The Conservatory is still standing so I can’t be doing too many things wrong.”

“Didn’t you guys get cheetah cubs this weekend?”

“Oh Jase!” His sister cried, “They are just the absolute cutest things. Did you know cheetahs are so shy that some conservationists and wild-life biologists recommend giving them emotional support puppies?”

“So what you guys got puppies and cubs?”

“We haven’t got the puppies yet; they’re only arriving this week.”

“Well send me pictures when they’re together, maybe I’ll have them framed and hung around the office as a morale booster.”

She laughed, the sound crackly through the speaker, “Will do little bro. Listen I have to go but call me tomorrow to tell me about the date.”

“Wait!” He yelled, ignoring the weird looks from the café patrons as he walked out, “What’s her name?”

“Zoe.”

***

Jason was nervous. That was the only explanation for his shaky hands and the zoo of creatures in his stomach. He had gotten to Suns and Songs fifteen minutes early with a lavender and daisy bouquet in hand. The restaurant his sister had reserved was nothing short of incredible. Dark maroon draped over each table, and opulent candelabras sat in the center, lit only if the table was occupied. Glass and crystal chandeliers swung slowly from the high wooden beams, catching on the light and making a kaleidoscope of the room. Even the way the air smelt was decadent here. Like wood smoke and perfume, some hint of chocolate, maybe. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he wanted to bottle the scent and bathe himself in it. Trying not to be suspicious he took another deep breath in; it calmed his nerves if nothing else.

“Mr Grace?” someone put a soft hand on his shoulder, “Your guest,”

He thanked the waitress, getting up to greet his date and pull out her chair. He tried to muffle his gasp when he finally turned to her. She was stunning. Midnight skin contrasting elegantly with the pastel yellow dress she wore. Braids intertwined with glittering strands; it cast a pale silver halo around her head. Small hoop earrings glinted as she moved, and the bracelets at her wrist clinked gently when they shook hands.

“Hi, Jason Grace,” He smiled.

“Zoe Nightshade.” She flashed beautiful white teeth.

He handed her the flowers, “You look unbelievable.” He truly was in awe of her.

“Thank you,” Her smile was soft, but her voice was crisp and direct, “And these are gorgeous.”

“Would you like to order drinks?”

They scanned the menu quickly; Zoe ordered a cocktail he hadn’t heard of and he ordered the first thing he saw that didn’t have tequila in it.

“So,” He asked, and then cringed at himself internally. Starting any conversation with so was bound to make it awkward.

He cleared his throat, “How do you know Thalia?”

“We work together at the Conservatory. I moved here a couple months ago because I got transferred from the wildlife center in Germany.”

Jason didn’t know what but something about her voice made his insides melt. She said everything so undiplomatically– like if it wasn’t a fact it wasn’t worth uttering.

“Oh that’s cool. What do you do?”

“I’m a veterinarian. You?”

“Well I was a structural engineer but somehow over the years I got roped into being a town and regional planner.”

She frowned, tilting her head assessingly, “You did not finish your engineering degree?”

“Oh no I finished and got my masters in structural but then I started my company and I realised I needed other qualifications to run it the way I wanted to so I had to go back and get a degree in urban and regional planning. By the end I felt like I had been studying since the dawn of time.”

She laughed at that, and a look of surprise crossed her face, as if it was as unexpected to her as it was to him. “I know how you feel. I love animals and I’m passionate about my work but when I was done studying, I vowed never to go back. Studying for seven years after school and then trying to do it all over again feels like a one-way ticket to the end of the road.”

He mirrored her smile, “How did you get into veterinary sciences anyway?”

“My father was always busy, and my sisters were… interested in anything that could make them more beautiful, or richer. So I was pretty alone for most of my childhood. At some stage I convinced my father to get me a dog, Ladon. We were inseparable. But he got hurt when this man,“ She said it with such disgust he almost flinched. “This man hurt him. Kicked Little Ladon out the way when he was just trying to say hello. We had to take him to the vet, and I remember them being so sweet and kind to my dog and I knew I wanted to be exactly like that when I grew up.”

“Any chance you know where this man is so we can kick his ass?”

She laughed, raspy and bursting, “Don’t worry little eleven-year-old me kicked Mr Alcides as hard as I could in the shins.”

“Good,” he nodded with conviction, “He deserved more but you found your passion so there is some balance.”

She hid her grin behind a sip from her drink.

“Sir, ma’am,” Their waitress stepped to their table, “Would you like to order?”

Hours later, cheeks flushed from the liquor, laughing over Thalia’s antics and their shared need for structure, they finally decided to call the dinner to an end.

“The focaccia was to die for,” Zoe groaned, patting her stomach.

“Honestly, I may have to marry the pasta.” He sighed contentedly.

She giggled, and he knew it was a rare thing for her because her face caught that surprised look again.

“Want to grab dessert?”

“Oh gods no,” She shook her head in alarm, and then frowned as the realisation of what that meant washed through her.

“I had a really great time tonight,” He started softly.

“Do you want to walk to the park? We can stop and have gelato?” Her dark eyes were full of nervous hope.

He blinked at her, a little shocked she wanted to continue the date, “I thought you didn’t want dessert?” He teased.

“Maybe the walk will burn off some of these calories and i’ll have space for a little ice-cream.” She scunched her nose.

He knew the gelato was just an excuse, so with a grin that lit up his whole face he grabbed her hand and nodded, “Let’s do it Miss Nightshade.”

Her face glowed with relief and enthusiasm as they tucked their chairs in and exited the restaurant.

“Tell me about your family. How come you weren’t interested in the rich side of life like your sisters?”

“I guess being the youngest kind of made it all seem pointless. I had seen what happened when their vanity became malicious and I didn’t ever want to turn into something I couldn’t recognise. I went to stay with my Aunt Diana through high school. She owned a bird sanctuary. That’s where I interned in my college years.”

“Wow,” He looked down to her, awe evident in his face, “And it didn’t bother you to be so far away from your father and sisters?”

“Honestly, I’m not even sure they noticed when I left.” She shrugged, “It was a long time ago. I really only see them for family functions now.”

“And your aunt?”

“She still has the bird sanctuary, but she mostly works in the background now. My cousins, Bianca and Phoebe, run it full time.”

“Do you miss it? Were you guys close?”

“Much closer than my sisters and I. I do miss them, but I definitely can’t say I miss the sanctuary. Some of those birds were evil.”

Just then a loud squawk came from above them. She scowled at the sky, “I’m talking about you Auretta.”

He tried to hold in a laugh but Zoe stuck out her tongue childishly and they both bent over in laughter.

“Maybe we shouldn’t hurl insults while we’re out in the open.” He managed to gasp.

“Good thing the gelato shop is right there.” She grinned, grabbing his hand and sprinting towards the small, illuminated store at the end of the cobbled street. Her dress shimmered, moved like rays of light. She looked like a star.

“Come on,” She yelled, tugging at his hand harder.

‘Alright, alright,” He snapped out of his admiration and let her lead him into the shop.

“Hi, what can I get you?”

“Want to share?”

“Sure, you choose,” He waved a hand towards the abundance of flavours behind the glass.

“Please can we have one scoop of chocolate, one scoop of vanilla and,” Her brow furrowed as she scanned the tags, “And one scoop of cookie crumble.”

“Why did I think you were a sorbet girl?”

“Sorbet in the summer, anything else for the rest of the year.” She said matter of factly.

He nodded solemnly, “Yes makes sense.”

She swatted his arm, grabbing the cone from the lady with a thank you, “Gods I feel like a teenager again,”

“I know what you mean,” Her excitement was infectious.

“I have to ask,” She swallowed a chunk of cookie crumble, “What on earth were you thinking when you decided to eat a stapler?”

Jason groaned, “Why did Thalia tell you that? She swore she wouldn’t tell anyone and if asked I would say I fell off my bike or something.”

Zoe giggled, “Come on, spill.”

“Okay, first of all I was two,” He sighed, embarrassment heating his cheeks, “And it was shiny, and it made a cool clicking noise, and I wanted to know what it tasted like.”

“I can just picture a little Jason crawling onto the kitchen counter and trying to bite down on a stapler.” She teased.

“Yes well now I have this scar,” He pointed to his upper lip, rolling his eyes.

“Battle scars. Very worthy.”

He shoved at her shoulder lightly and they dissolved into laughter once more.

It was almost midnight by the time he had dropped her off at home and stepped into his apartment. He looked at his phone to see a couple work messages, and something from Hazel– things he could reply to in the morning he decided, tugging off his tie and discarding his clothes as he walked to his room. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow, his phone still glaringly bright and open on the chat with his sister.

You were right. We’re going on a second date.

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

Grover is like some other worldy deity that spews life lessons every time they meet and i am so here for it! Anyway what y’all saying??? How are we feeling?

Tags (if you want to be added to/ taken off the tag list just let me know, all my channels of communication are open):

@lesbian-peanuts

@leydiangelo

@queen-of-demons-and-hell

@msdrpreist

@sparkythunderstorm

@nishlicious-01

@lucyisblue​

[softboywriting]

Welcome To The Pack | Mendes Triplets Series | Part Six

Summary: You’re a human who has moved in with the Mendes triplets as their newest housemate. You’ll have to learn to navigate life with werewolves, college classes, and your feelings for each guy. [fluff] [drama]

Word Count: 1.7k

|Masterlist In Bio|

The group of guys from campus appear again. It's been weeks since the run in where Raul saved you. You and the guys all figured it was a one off thing, just some guys being dicks. As soon as you see them, you know something is going on.

You're outside raking leaves in the front yard when the sound of crunching leaves gets your attention and you look up from your pile to see the guys walking into the yard. They just stare at you, saying nothing. Honestly it's creepy and you feel panicked.

"Sh-shawn!" You yell, dropping the rake and running up the porch and into the house. "Shawn!"

Shawn comes running down the stairs, taking two at a time and grabs you, arms around you in a split second. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"There's wolves out there. The group from campus, they're in our yard."

Shawn growls and looks to the open doorway to the front porch. "I didn't smell anything, are you sure?"

You pull Shawn toward the door. "Yes! They're out there right...now." There is no one in the yard. Just your pile of leaves and the rake you dropped. "They were just here."

Shawn looks around, stepping down off the porch and walking around the yard. "I don't smell anything. Are you sure?"

"Yeah." You cross your arms and look around. "They were here. Three of them. It...it was the same guys. They were just here I swear."

Shawn climbs the porch steps and puts his hand on your forehead. He presses his other palm to your cheek. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine Shawn. Those guys were here."

"I just...I'm not catching a scent. They were in the yard right? Did they say anything?"

"N-no they just stood there. I'm not crazy Shawn. I know what I saw."

"Okay, okay." He holds your shoulders. "I'll finish raking, just in case they come back. Just relax alright?"

You lean your head against his shoulder and he wraps his arms around you. "I promise I'm not lying."

"I didn't say you were. Go relax, please. You're very tense."

"Okay. I'll go look at what I want to make for dinner tomorrow and just chill."

"Good girl. I'll be back in shortly."

"Okay...sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry for anything."

_____________________

By the end of the day you feel awful. Strange how you started the morning feeling fine doing housework and raking but after you saw the group of guys, you started to feel bad. Shawn insisted he couldn't catch a single scent of anyone outside, and he even took a walk to see if he could pick up a trail of any sort. He came up with nothing.

Things got stranger when Shawn started to feel sick. His head began hurting, body aching and a cough that wouldn't go away. You were having the exact same symptoms, but you're a human and he is a werewolf who shouldn't be getting sick.

"Hey, are you okay?" Peter asks, poking his head into the living room where you're curled up under some blankets beside Shawn. The two of you decided to nap together when you began to get cold and shaky, the room spinning for both of you.

"We're sick."

"We?" Peter asks, walking in and taking in Shawn's sleeping form slumped over beside you. "Shawn's sick too?"

"Yeah. I...I think he is?" You shake your head, brain foggy. "It happened suddenly."

Peter furrows his brow and takes a step toward his brother, laying his hand on his head. "Werewolves don't get common colds or allergies. Did you guys get into something?"

"No?"

"Something isn't right. Did you eat or drink anything weird?"

You shake your head.

Peter takes a seat on the coffee table and you stare at him. He looks puzzled. "Walk me through your day."

"I woke up, had breakfast. I did laundry and cleaned the kitchen. Then I went outside to rake leaves, and after a while I saw a group of guys from campus, the ones who bugged me that day Raul stepped in."

"Wait, they were near the house?"

"In the yard but when I got Shawn he said there was no one there. The guys left or something. Then I went inside and Shawn finished raking and-"

Peter stops you. "Hold on. You say the guys were there, but Shawn didn't see them? Did he smell them?"

"No, no he couldn't find anything. I know I saw them, I swear."

"When did you start feeling bad?"

"After I came inside and calmed down a bit."

"And Shawn?"

"A little while later." You roll your head against the back of the couch. "Why are you asking so many questions Peter?"

"I'm curious." He stands and tugs your blanket off, making Shawn stir awake. "Did you shower or change clothes after you raked? Have you taken any medicine?"

"No?"

"Did Shawn?"

"Probably not?"

Peter sighs. "Where is the leaves you raked? Did Shawn bag them up?"

"Yeah? They're at the curb. Why?"

"I have a feeling something is in the leaves." Peter pulls you up and covers his face with the front of his sweatshirt. "You need to change clothes, shower, and take some allergy medicine. I think you have something on you that's making you sick. Shawn too."

"Something? Leaf dust?"

"No, something like nightshade pollen or leaves. It can make humans have an allergic, or even deadly reaction and hallucinations. It's less worse for werewolves but will numb their senses, even make them ill to an extent." Peter shakes Shawn's shoulder. "Get up Shawn, you need to go shower and take medicine."

"Fuck off." Shawn mumbles.

Peter smacks him upside the head. "Shawn, get up!"

Shawn sits up snarling and shoves Peter over the coffee table. You sink back down into the cushions. You feel horrible, not up to dealing with fighting. Your energy is drained.

Peter growls and tackles Shawn over the back of the couch, both boys go careening over the sofa and onto the hardwood floor. "What are you fighting me for?!"

"You tackled me!"

"I tackled you because you hit me!" Peter hauls Shawn up and you watch in awe as he does so. Peter is big, but not near as muscled as Shawn and Raul, at least you don't think he is. The ease with which he is moving his much larger brother is astounding. "You're poisoned. Go shower and clean yourself up."

"What?" Shawn shoves Peter off of him. "I am not."

"Then tell me how you're sick?" Peter quips. "Hmm? How's a werewolf sick with a fever and cold like symptoms?"

Shawn shrugs.

You peer over the couch at them and they both look at you as you groan, head hurting. "Can you stop arguing for a minute?"

Peter sighs heavily. "I think it’s nightshade, I think you've both inhaled some pollen from the leaves or dried flowers from it."

"Fuck." Shawn says softly. "It made her sick? Is she okay? I should have realized. I'm so stupid."

"Don't worry. She'll be okay, she didn't eat any of the plant. Just get her some medicine and out of those clothes. And take care of yourself too." Peter sighs. "Someone probably planted the dried flowers in the yard as an attack. I'm willing to bet it's that pack that she saw, unless that was a hallucination. I'm not sure."

"But-"

"No one was there right? Your senses would have become dull when you went out if the nightshade was out there. All of us would be vulnerable for who knows how long if she hadn't been the one to clean up most of the leaves. I'm going to go make sure there isn't anything left. Take care of her."

Shawn gets you into the bathroom and you take a quick shower, using just some bar soap to get clean. By the time you're done you feel a lot better. You're still a little stuffed up but the headache has mostly receded and you aren't as tired or dizzy.

You take an allergy pill and get dressed in some pajamas while Shawn showers and you head to the living room. Raul walks in the front door and stops, looking around for something before spotting you.

"What happened? Are you sick?"

"I'm alright. Peter thinks someone put nightshade in the yard."

Raul makes a face. "Did you get hurt? Where's Shawn and Peter now?"

"Showering and upstairs." You pull a blanket around your shoulders.

"They just left you alone?" Raul sinks onto the couch beside you and kicks his boots off. "Are you alright? Can you breathe okay?"

"Mmhmm. Showering helped a lot. I took an allergy pill and some decongestant. I feel better than when Peter found me and Shawn."

Shawn walks into the living room in his pajama pants, hair wet and a mess. He looks so good, like a model from some loungewear magazine. Unreal. "Good you're home Raul. Peter found nightshade in the yard."

"I heard." Raul moves to stand and you grab his hand, feeling the tension radiating off of him. "Why didn't you notice? How come you let her get sick?"

"Whoa what? I was busy feeling sick too, I didn't know what was going on. What am I, a fucking botanist?"

You squeeze Raul's hand and he tries to tug away but you won't let him. If he's holding on to you, he can't start fighting with Shawn. "Rau, sit down. It's not Shawn's fault."

Raul turns sharply and looks at you. "You...don't call me that."

"What? Rau?"

"My mom called me that." He sits down, hand in yours relaxing. "Sorry, I just...it's fine."

Shawn says he's going to get Peter so they can discuss what happened and how to move forward.

You lay your hand on Raul's shoulder and he leans back on the cushions. "I won't call you that if you don't like it. It was just a slip of the tongue."

"It's fine. I just haven't heard it in a long time."

"I don't want to remind you of your mom if you miss her or something. I won't-"

"No, I said it's fine. Mom would have liked you, and...I like you. So I don't mind it."

You lean your head on his shoulder and he leans his head on yours. "You like me?"

"Of course I do. A lot. You're my pack."

"Mmmhmm."

"Just...pack." Raul mumbles under his breath softly as he looks up at Shawn and Peter entering the room. There is a lot to decipher about events unfolding around the house, and you know there will probably be some arguments. You pull your blanket around yourself and settle in.

———–

End Part Six

———-

Thank you for reading! Please reblog if you enjoyed this and reblog to support and encourage myself and fellow writers. Next part coming soon! - A

Custom header per part made by the incredible delicateshawn

*****Note: none of my works should be posted anywhere outside of my linked accounts. I do not give permission to repost with or without credit to my accounts. Please notify me of any reposted fics.*****

[sleepless-in-starbucks]

Can’t Even Bleed Out Alone Anymore, SMH

AO3

Summary: Vigilantes and cops didn’t mix. But neither did Remy’s blood with the cement beneath him, so maybe desperate times called for desperate measures. ...Or no measures whatsoever. That worked too. Warnings: Non-detailed but fairly often mentions/descriptions of blood, talk of a major + physically violent fight, mentions/thoughts of death/dying, swearing Pairings: Platonic creativisleep Notes: Based off this post. Tagging @blinksinbewilderment because she’s the one who reblogded the post, and @rosesisupposes because vigilantes are superhero-esque + she picked the pairing so I think she deserves to know why I needed a random ship at 9pm

Vigilante business was, in general, a pretty lawless business. That was the whole thing, in fact- no rules! No laws! Creatures of justice and the night and miscellaneous bullshit!

    There were, however, a few unspoken rules of thumb. But they were simple things, things that came with the whole territory of being a vigilante. Things like ‘don’t get caught’ and ‘don’t wear bright colours’ and ‘don’t rat on other vigilantes.’ There was also, of course, the most important not-rule rule:

    You don’t go to the fucking cops.

    Now, in Remy’s defense, he hadn’t meant to go to the cops. Really! He hadn’t! He had tried everything else!

    ...And in this case, everything else was ‘hope to miraculously gain the strength to move or die in this dirty, cold alleyway.’ Remy thought it was a wonderful idea, really, especially since he didn’t have any others.

    He was also pretty sure he didn’t have enough blood in his body, but that was a secondary issue.

He also hadn’t technically gone to the cops!

    They came to him, which really shouldn’t have surprised Remy as much as it did. It was a shady alleyway in one of the more crime-ridden parts of town. It, of all places, needed police patrols.

    That didn’t stop Remy from startling when he heard footsteps at the end of the alley, slow, calculated steps clearly taken by someone who had done this walk many times before. He tried to move at first, to stand up and run, or even just move enough to hide himself, but all he succeeded in doing was sending a shockwave of pain through his entire body. He gritted out a grunt as he slumped back against the wall.

    To his disappointment, the movement attracted the attention of the patrolling officer, their footsteps stopping. “Hello? Is someone down there?”

    Remy bit his lip, hoping if he kept quiet the officer would pass by. It didn’t help that he recognized that voice; it belonged to one Roman Prince, a police officer Remy had come face to face with a couple of times in his work.

    And by ‘couple of times’ he meant at least once a week for the last four months. Roman was a good guy, one who wanted to help as much as he could, and it lead to him taking a lot of night shifts in the worst parts of town. Which were, coincidentally, the places Remy, nighttime vigilante, ended up the most.

    So they ended up talking a lot. Sometimes in battle, when Roman just had to play the part of a hero and Remy had to save his stupid courageous ass. Sometimes after battle, to talk about how much Roman disagreed with Remy’s methods while Remy just smirked and said his methods were the reason why Roman had anyone to handcuff. Sometimes there was no battle- they were just bored, both in need of a conversation partner, and both in the same area at the same time.

    Tonight, right now, though? Remy did NOT want a conversation partner. Or any partner, in fact. He needed to be alone and not worried over and definitely not helped because he was a lone vigilante, which meant he worked alone, took care of himself alone, and dammit he was going to die alone too.

    Not that he thought he was going to die!

    Probably not.

    Maybe.

    It wasn’t entirely certain. He just needed to get some strength together, and go home, and patch up all his cuts, of which there were… more than three.

    Alright so maybe the odds weren’t really stacked in his favor, but that was alright. He made the odds his bitch on the regular. If he had done it before, he could do it again!

    “I’m coming down there, alright?”

    Except today, apparently, since Roman was just too damn noble for his own good. Remy mentally ignored the fact that it was also just a standard part of his job.

    He kept silent even as Roman came down the way, hoping that maybe if he stayed still and quiet Roman wouldn’t notice him. But despite his attempts, Roman’s flashlight still ended up in his face (blinding him and forcing his to tilt his head away), and the officer gasped as he recognized the now bloody and torn outfit. “Nightshade?”

    “No, this is a hobo. Leave me alone.” Remy called back, well aware it wouldn’t work, but figured that he had nothing to lose to just try it. Given how rough his voice sounded, and the fact that halfway through his declaration he had to stop to half-cough, half-retch, however, Remy knew he was done for.

    The steps, which had been a slow, measured pace, broke into a sprint, Roman quickly crossing the rest of the alley to reach Remy. The minute he got to the wounded vigilante, he fell into a crouch, placing his flashlight down so that it lit Remy up but let him use both his hands. Remy grimaced when he saw the concern in Roman’s expression. “Listen, hun, I know how this looks, but really, I’m gucci-”

    “Shh.” Roman hushed gently, and Remy shut up immediately, not completely sure why. It was just something in Roman’s face, the stiff way his jaw was set as he looked Remy over more fully, taking in the extent of Remy’s injuries. Something cold and cruel that, while Remy doubted was directed at him, made Remy afraid of Roman.

    Which was insane, right? Roman was a hard worker and a good fighter but, at heart, he was a goofball and a dramatic with an overactive imagination. He could be brave, and tough, and strong, but not scary.

    But then Roman’s hand was under his chin, gently pushing it up so he could better look at the blood caked on Remy’s face, and Remy felt borderline terrified. Not because he was exposed, his mask having been lost in the fight that landed him there (Roman had had plenty of chances before to take Remy in if he wanted to and he hadn’t- what did it matter if he knew who Remy was?), but because there was something glinting in Roman’s normally soft amber eyes, something hard and angry.

    Carefully, Roman wiped his thumb beside Remy’s mouth, coming away with a streak of blood from his cut lip. The motion was impossibly gentle, and Remy wouldn’t have believed it had even happened if the proof wasn’t smeared across the cop’s thumb.

    Roman studied the blood for a moment, but then his gaze moved back over to Remy; not even his face or his injuries but him, Roman looking him dead in the eye. Remy sucked in a breath through his teeth as he did, because the gaze was intense and heated and furious and Remy found he didn’t very much like being on the receiving end of it.

    “Who did this to you?” Roman asked, voice low and dangerous. Remy didn’t respond at first, because that tone caught him off-guard and was doing nothing to help his already racing heart.

    “Who did this to you?” Roman repeated, voice quieter but filled with even more fury.

    Remy reacted that time, mostly because he felt he had to, had to answer before Roman did something unreasonable (he wasn’t sure what Roman’d do, but he figured it was best to nip the flower in the bud before anything escalated). “No one,” He started, pausing to cough roughly into his elbow, “No one important.”

    “No one important?” Roman repeated, incredulously. “I’d say anyone who beat you up this bad is pretty damn important!”

    “Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.” Remy said, which wasn’t a complete lie. He had dealt with all of these injuries before. Just… normally he dealt with them separately. Like, one or two at a time. “And, besides, I’m not just going to tell you and watch you run out on some sort of suicide mission to avenge me or something-”

    “Have you even seen yourself, Nightshade?!” Roman snapped, and Remy flinched at the tone. Roman clearly noticed, sighing before he continued, quieter, “You appear to have at least three severe external wounds alongside a multitude of bruising that seems to be covering your entire body, and that isn’t even getting into whether or not you have broken bones or internal bleeding. I don’t think you should even be alive right now.”

    “I’m resilient.” Remy told him drily. 

    “You’re lucky, is what you are.” Roman corrected, frown deepening as his hand slipped from holding Remy’s chin to cupping his cheek. Remy hated it, hated how… sincere the gesture was, but that didn’t stop him from leaning into it, the cold of his environment finally beginning to seep in. Softly, Roman ran his thumb over Remy’s cheek, only inviting Remy to lean further into his hold. Were it not for the last few tendrils of his sense of will, Remy would have collapsed into it too.

    “Someone hurt you with the intention to kill you.” Roman said, quietly. “And I intend to make them pay for it. But to do that, I need to know who hurt you.”

    Remy looked at Roman carefully, squinting at the officer. His expression was set, fury still in his eyes but now accompanied by determination. “You’re just a civilian.”

    “So are you.” Roman pointed out. “You just put on a suit.”

    Remy didn’t respond to that, choosing to just keep watching Roman, not sure what exactly he was looking for. Finally, he sighed. “Uncanny.” He admitted, feeling as if he had just told his deepest secret. “I caught them on the roof of an apartment complex, trying to force their way in from the top. We fought, and… well. One of us went overboard, and for once it wasn’t me.”

    Roman nodded to himself. “Uncanny.” He repeated, the fury once more flashing in his eyes, pushing out everything else. He leaned back, lost in his thoughts, his hand slipping from Remy’s cheek as he did so.

    Later, Remy would be embarrassed by what he did next. But in the moment, with the adrenaline finally beginning to fade and the force of his injuries, the cold, and the loneliness hitting him, the thought of Roman leaving was completely unbearable.

    So he pushed himself forward, ignoring the burning protest that immediately flared across his entire body at the sudden movement. He fell against a startled Roman and curled into him, his grip loose and weak and shaky but still enough to allow him to latch onto Roman.

    “Please don’t.” Remy begged, feeling foolish but only being able to slightly care, because Roman was warm, unfairly so, and Remy had no clue what he would do if Roman left him, left him cold and hurting in this freezing empty alley. “Please don’t go, please, please don’t, don‘t leave me, I can’t, can’t-”

    Arms, suddenly, warm and strong, wrapped around Remy’s back and helped to pull him up, more properly surrounding Remy in the warmth. Tenderly, Roman moved Remy’s head to his shoulder, tucking his face against his neck.

    “Shhhh.” He shushed, gently, calmly, kindly, gathering up as much of Remy as close to him as he could get. “It’s alright. I’m not going to leave you, Nightshade. You have my word.”

    Remy just nodded into Roman’s shoulder, because he trusted him, really, trusted his word and trusted that he wouldn’t leave Remy. As soon as he stopped nodding, however, black spots began to crowd into his vision, swarming in from the edges as his eyelids fluttered. He was still aching all over, but now he was warm, warm and safe, and trying to keep himself conscious seemed both a useless and unnecessary use of his effort.

    “Ro, I- I’m gonna-” Remy tried, at the very least not wanting to frighten Roman, make him think he had fainted or something when, really, all Remy wanted right then and there was a good, long nap.

    Roman just nodded a little bit, enough that Remy could feel the vibrations, running one of his hands over Remy’s back in a soothing manner. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.” He promised, and as Remy gave up his fight with his eyelids, letting them fall completely closed, he continued, 

    “I’m not going to let them hurt you again.”

    And with that last promise echoing in his mind, Remy drifted off, feeling secure in the fact that, if no one else would, he knew Roman would keep his promise.

[hhhellish]

“little by little”

P. 30 / ?? S.M. AU. 1/3

Martha Kent was surprised, sure. What was this well-dressed man doing in her house? Jon was immediately at her side, as if on the defensive, and you were the one to take a step foward. “Hello, Mr. Wayne” Ah, so he was Bruce Wayne, Clark's... friend. “Hello, Y/N, nice to see you again”, then he turned to Martha, “I'm sorry for intruding your home like this, Mrs. Kent” he said, and she shook her head. “It's quite alright”, he offered a small smile, polite but tense. “I needed to talk to you, Y/N, about what happened”, you crossed your arms, on the defensive too, and Martha looked at you. You were such a sweet girl! What did those bats do to you to have you so on edge? She felt her motherly instincts kicking in just by looking at the way your lips trembled. But you smiled at her and told her to get the food started, you would take care of this. Jon, being the sweetheart that he is, stayed by you.

“I think everything has been said, sir”, you took two plastics bags from the floor and made a beeline for the kitchen, but the Batman blocked your way. “It was not a question, Y/N” “Yeah, it was an order, and I didn't abide”, you grunted, “So if you could please move so I can put this away, that'd be great”. You didn't know if it was because of the shock of not intimidating you, or the way you were glaring daggers into his skull, but he moved to the side obediently. “Thank you”, and you were gone, with Jon right behing you with the other seven bags of groceries. When you emerged, Jon still following you like a protective puppy, you expected him to be gone.

But no, of course not, he was still standing there. A powerful man, dressed in a ridiculously expensive suit, looking tremendously uncomfortable. You had a feeling he wasn't used to being denied. “What do you want exactly, Mr. Wayne?”, you asked, patience wearing thin. “I told you” “Talk, then” He glared at you, and the resemblance he shared with Damian was uncanny. It made your heart clench painfully in your chest. “Have you told anyone what you know?” “No” “Are you sure? ” You looked at him as if he had grown a second head, “Am I sure—? Of course I am sure” “How did you find out” “You know that already or you wouldn't be here otherwise” “I still want to hear it from you” “No, you want to see if both stories match”. He was impressed, you were assesing him with seriousness and a cutthroat behaviour. Damian had impeccable taste in women, “Impressive” “Not really, just common sense”. Alright, you were a box full of surprises.

“I think we should go for a walk, so we can talk more... easily”, you scoffed, did he really think you were stupid? “I think you meant privately”, you looked at Jon and nodded, and he left to help his grandma with lunch. “Follow me”, and you were out the door, Bruce right behind you. “How did you get here so fast? It takes nearly 18 hours driving from Gotham” “I have my ways”, and when you saw Superman outside the house, you knew which ways. But... Did Superman really carry Batman all the way here or—? “Hi, Y/N, it's good to see you”, he said, and smiled kindly, “Oh... Um, hi”. You kicked yourself mentally but he just smiled wider. “Jon told me about your little discovery”, he said cheerfully, but you were on alert now. No matter how much effort he put into looking non-threatening, you understood a warning when you saw one. “I can imagine how you feel after finding out about all of us” “Miserable”, you saw him open his mouth, flabbergasted, brows knitted together, “That's how I feel”. You descended the few steps the porch had, and faced him, “I just found out all the people I hold dear lied to my face day and night, so I'm not thrilled”, then you turned to Bruce, any traces of patience now gone, “And now I have to put up with an uncalled-for interrogation”, you closed your eyes for a second, annoyed, and took a deep breath. “It's a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Kent”. You started walking towards a little bench under the shade of an oak, not bothering to see if Batman followed you.

You plopped down, and watches as Bruce took his sweet time to get there. It was scary how much Damian looked like him. Same strong shoulders, same face shape, wide chest, the hands. He sat down next to you, his brow sweating slightly. “You shouln't have come to Kansas in a suit, you'll melt”, you offered him a tissue, which he accepted. “I'm sure Martha would lend you some clothes that'll fit you if you asked”. He shook his head, saying he was fine. As stubborn as his son, you thought. You cleared your throat, “What do you want, Mr. Wayne?”, he was staring ahead, at the vast extensions of greenery, “You already know I won’t say anything about... All of this”, you said quietly, and he sensed how much being kept idnorant of their nightly activities had hurt you. He decided to cut straight to the point, “I want you to come back”, he didn't wait for you to protest, instead, he continued, “Damian... He is not alright. He refuses to leave his room, he only comes out to check on his pets and eats only when pestered enough about it”. You could feel your heart trying to escape your body, pained and bleeding for him. Did it really hurt him that much? “I can only imagine how you feel after finding out. And your reaction was only natural, I understand. But...”, he seemed at a loss for words for a second, “Please, come back to Gotham. I'm not asking you you to forgive him, to forgive them. But talk to them. They are all so miserable lately...”.

You rubbed your eyes, getting rid of your teary eyes. “Alright, lets say I come back with you, and talk to them. Then what? What can guarantee they won't lie to me again?” “After seeing what lying to you caused in the first place? I don't think they will ever dare”. You considered it for a moment, unconvinced. Then you nodded. “I'll come back to Gotham, but on one condition” “Whatever it is, you got it”. He regreted it the moment he said it, seeing your evil smirk, “Good, i'll tell you what it is when everything is done”.

tags; @reclusive-chicken-nugget @carolinawindsay @a-random-queer-kid @thefightingfangirl @no12worryabout @the-sweetest-dragon @randomdcfangirl @zero-nightshade @axa-vega @bookish-and-shy @bodapenguin @patyreadee @allpowerfuloracle @wayablack @books-netflix-and-pizza @loxbbg @local-fandom-trashcan @ohswald @crazyfangirl123456 @call-me-prodigy @probablyzombiedinosaurs @welcome-to-my-reblog-cave-uwu

[letsbenditlikebennett]

Mister, I’ll Make a Wolf Out of You || Ariana & Simon Chatzy

Ariana sniffs Simon out at the farmer’s market and the two become quick pals. @inconvenientsimonstrocity 

Why Ariana was going back to Nightshade Farmer’s Market, she couldn’t quite say. After the whole watermelon debacle last time, she was curious about what sort of other supernatural things they had going on in there. Maybe this time she’d just avoid buying anything unless she actually came across the black garlic she’d been looking for the last time. As she walked around, her nose was confronted with a variety of different smells from seafood to herbs and spices. There was one scent in particular that caught her attention and instinctively her feet followed it. It definitely wasn’t Ulfric or Lucas, she’d recognize them long before she ever neared them. This was someone new and she could feel herself perking up. There was a small grin on her face as the scent of the other wolf became stronger. As she rounded the corner, she saw him standing there at the cursed produced stand with the stupid watermelons. Ariana gave the woman running the stand a dirty look before she approached the man. He appeared to be around Ulfric’s age and had very sharp features. She knew he had to be able to smell her, too. “Hey,” she said, greeting him with a warm smile, “I’m Ariana. I think we may have some important things in common if you’d like to chat for a bit.”

Speaking of the variety of scents, Simon was curious about why he hadn’t thought of this before actually arriving at the market the… girl on the internet suggested to him for finding venison. It was strange how quickly the smells in the air could go from the alluring aroma of garlic to the oppressive odour of fish and the combination as they were were almost enough to make him consider just giving up and going home BUT… he endured. Because he really wanted some deer meat. Hopefully jerky. What he was currently in front of… was not jerky. Rather, he WAS contemplating to see if these watermelons were the aforementioned cursed objects spoken of by others or not, rubbing his nose absently. Suffice it to say, he was caught off guard when he was suddenly approached by a short, younger girl and he jumped back slightly, turning to regard her. “Oh, er… hi,” He replied, noting her smile before her scent, quickly becoming unmistakable to him, backhanded him in the face and he coughed in further surprise, torn between his body’s instinct to take a few generous steps away from her and his minds curiosity to lean in further and try to memorize it. “Ariana,” He replied quietly. He cleared his throat and straightened up. “I’m-- yeah, we might so…” He glanced over at the woman at the stand briefly before looking back at the girl-- the wolf Ariana. “Llllead the way,” He offered awkwardly as if this were the first time he was talking to another person.

Ariana could tell that the man before her seemed to be a little bit thrown off by her approach. She wondered if he was new to this. Could this have been the werewolf that Luke had been referring to. She supposed she would find out soon enough once they found somewhere a little more private. She nodded and led the way to the spot her and Winston had sat down to eat the last time they were here. “Yeah, there’s some tables and stuff that are pretty quiet over this way.” As they passed through the stands, she kept a careful eye and ear out for anyone around them. Could she be putting this wolf in danger by being around him? She wasn’t sure how much truth there was to there being a bounty on her head. Still, this was important. Their kind was meant to stick together. When she found the little area in back with the tables, she was relieved to see no one else was there. “We can grab a seat over here.” She sat down and studied him. “Do you know why I wanted to speak with you and what we have in common?”

Simon couldn’t help but feel a little awkward as he followed Ariana astutely through the market; a tall, scruffy-looking hobo man tailing after a girl who he guessed was likely still in high school probably would’ve turned heads in a more formal environment. Even if he lost her visually, he almost took comfort in the fact that he had picked up her scent well enough that he could probably track her on a better day. And with antihistamines. He’d probably need to tell someone about that one of these days. He tilted his head slightly when they approached the empty area, also internally thankful that there weren’t any bodies to listen in on them and he sat across from the girl. He set his hands on the table in front of him and chose to be invested in her outfit rather than look her in the eye. “You’re… Lucas mentioned you.” He replied softly. “You’re a werewolf. I’m assuming that’s the topic of this discussion.” He said before adding “Unless it’s not that at all and you want to mention my jacket, which I understand. It’s kind of-- it’s no looker,” He chuckled.

Ariana was relieved to have found the man that Lucas told her about. No one should have to figure this out alone. She had been lucky to have not known life any other way. As he spoke, she was sure to keep a close ear out for anyone that may have been approaching. She wasn’t sure how if he had a full grasp on his wolf senses yet. She made herself comfortable at the table and placed her elbows on the table. With a raised brow, she said, “Yes, Lucas mentioned you as well, but didn’t give me a name. He said you were pretty new to this whole thing. I’m sure that’s a pretty big change. How are you adjusting?” Prior she hadn’t actually noticed his jacket, so she laughed and added, “Damn, you found me out. I really just wanted to know where you got your jacket. Looks hella comfy.”

At least she seemed friendly, which appealed to both sides of Simon and the latter felt himself relaxing slightly from his formal position, especially as he noticed her do the same thing. “Yeah, it’s also ‘hella’ ugly and old.” He replied lightly, wishing they could keep talking about fashion instead of things everyone else seemed to think was important. Well, no, that wasn’t correct - he loved to hear about what other people thought were important topics. The more he thought about it, the more he just felt awkward to talk about himself like he had anything interesting to say. “I, uh… can’t complain,” He said mildly, itching his nose as if his body was subtly trying to call him out on the lie. “The deuteranopia is frustrating but that’s really a nitpick in the grand scheme.” He said, not untruthfully. “Oh, um. I’m Simon.” He introduced, thinking maybe he should’ve started with that. “Sorry.”

It was good to see the other wolf relax a bit. Ariana knew if he was new to all of this, the sensory overload may have been a lot to deal with. She wasn’t sure what having human senses felt like, but she knew the hearing and scent was extremely dull in comparison. She couldn’t help but laugh as she said, “You said it, not me.” She rested her head on her knuckles as he spoke. She listened closely, genuinely curious about what his experience with this whole situation was. Her face scrunched up in confusion when he mentioned deuteranopia. “Wait, what’s deuteranopia? I don’t know that word. I know there’s got to be a lot about this that takes getting used to, but it’s good to meet you, Simon.” She needed to get insight to determine if he was safe. He definitely shouldn’t be going through the full moon alone. “So, how long have you been a werewolf? What are your plans for the next full moon?”

“Oh, sorry. It’s uh, red-green colourblindness,” Simon explained. That was the terminology most people were familiar with, after all. BUT at least he couldn’t say he didn’t teach someone a new word. “I didn’t have that until about seven months ago. I can’t tell for sure because I don’t… remember the last handful of full moons,” He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “Lucas made a couple of helpful suggestions about the next time, though. He said I should hang out with you guys and we could go for a run,” He couldn’t help but let a small, timid smile cross his sharp features, if only because no one had offered for him to ‘hang out’ with them before. “He told me what it was like, being a wolf. He also said that that was a big part of their family and that he’d been turning since he was a child. What about you?” He asked, curiosity evident in his tone. “I figure you’ve been a wolf a lot longer, too. What does that make you feel? And you can be as honest as you want, I’m obviously not going to judge,” He chuckled again.

“Oh,” Ariana exclaimed, she nodded and said, “Yeah, I guess I’m used to it since I’ve always been colorblind. Throw in some dyslexia and it makes school a blast.” Her tone towards the end hinted at her sarcasm. It had to be strange to go from seeing the world in full color to seeing only part of the spectrum. The rest of her senses were already so sharp, she didn’t quite mind having dulled vision. She noted that it’s been seven months and the not remembering the full moon was concerning. With the hunters out and about, he definitely needed to be with her and Ulfric to ensure his safety. “That means you’ve been a wolf for seven months now then. Spend it with Ulfric and I. There are people in this town who don’t think we should exist. It’s not safe to be out there on a full moon on your own.” It was a relief that danger hadn’t found him yet. Though maybe she wasn’t the best person to be around to avoid danger. She had to remember they were safer in numbers. “Yes, we’d love to have you run with us. It’ll be fun. I’ve been turning since I was a child as well. My parents were both wolves.” She skipped out on mentioning how they were killed. This whole thing had to be overwhelming enough without taking hunters into account. When he asked how she liked being a wolf, she offered a soft smile. “I’ve always been a wolf so I don’t really know anything else. I enjoy it though. I remember the full moons at this point and have fairly good control when it comes down to it. I find the full moon to be liberating. There’s something about running through the wood that just feels… right. I also like the advantage when it comes to strength, smell, and hearing. Comes in handy being well… short. How has the experience been for you? What you can remember of it at least.”

There was a brief glance of sympathy on Simon’s face when she mentioned dyslexia - that combination couldn’t have been that easy. She seemed bright and optimistic though; not the type to let anything keep her down. That was just the impression he got as he listened to her talk about her experiences, about what being a born wolf felt to her - that made at least three wolves now that were born with it. He took a mental note of the name ‘Ulfric’ and the usage of her past-tense mentioning parents - estranged? Passed on? She hadn’t mentioned it so he chalked it up to a negative memory at best. He also noted the similarities of experience between Ariana and Lucas - it felt right. A literal second nature, something Simon and other normal humans only thought they understood. The smile he hadn’t realised was on his face by listening to Ariana faltered when she asked about him, however and his gaze dropped back to his hands. “N-not as… exciting, I don’t think,” His brow furrowed as he struggled to remember even the following mornings of the first moons; he only vaguely recalled the most recent one and he really wished he didn’t. “I don’t remember the nights but… the next day, there’s usually blood and I feel like I got hit by a truck. Or pushed off a rocky cliff.” He explained, trying to sound plain about it but his fingers intertwined with each other nervously.

It dawned on Ariana that the soreness was probably from the transition itself. The body took a long time to get used to it. She wasn’t actually sure on the timeline of that herself. Ulfric grew up with other wolves, he probably had a better idea than she did. She hoped that wasn’t something that lasted too long. When Simon spoke about it, there seemed to be a certain amount of tension. She wished she had more answers, but she knew eventually it would get easier for him. That didn’t make it suck any less that he clearly wasn’t having an easy time with things right now. “I think the soreness is supposed to get better the more you transform. The same thing with your memory. Your hunting drive will be really strong in wolf form. I usually catch deer or some sort of other game.” She shifted away from leaning on her hands to convey what she had to say next was serious. She kept a close ear out for anyone who could be approaching as she spoke. “We have to be careful though. There are people out there who kill our kind. Especially on the full moon, we’ve gotta stick together.”

Though the aspect of it hurting less physically brought Simon a small level of comfort, he still felt himself withdrawing from her. Lucas had said similar things about feeling a drive to hunt, to be on top, about how freeing it felt and about how being together was imperative because of the Hunters, he believed Lucas referred to them as. It all sounded fantastic, for lack of better terminology. Ariana, Lucas and his family, they had an important aspect of this: Control. They had exposure to this side of themselves their entire lives. Simon, frankly, was a nobody and he was perfectly fine by that but he wanted to be a nobody who just happened to be friends with a bunch of werewolves. He didn’t feel free, he felt like his body had been pulled on a torture device. He didn’t feel control, he felt the exact opposite from the lack of memory, waking up covered in blood. He was turning 43 in November; his life was half over and he was just now being pulled into a circle of brotherhood he didn’t even know was a thing until a few days ago. Maybe Hunters existed because of people like him; he was fully ready to acknowledge and defend that Ariana and Lucas were sentient. He wasn’t - when people pictured werewolves, he was that picture. Mindless, aimless killing machines. And he didn’t think it was appropriate to discuss these things with Ariana… She was young and spirited, a promising individual for a good future. He didn’t feel like it was his place to be such a downer, not to her or really anyone else. “Yeah, you’re right,” He said quietly, feeling like he wanted to say more but he couldn’t bring himself to.

Ariana tried to think back over what she said that could have come across the wrong way. The fact people were out to kill them could definitely be enough to make someone uncomfortable. Then again, this whole thing was new to him. She wished she could relate to it a little bit better, but she knew between herself and Ulfric they could help him learn to be more in tune with his wolf side. More than anything, she wanted to make sure Simon was going to be safe. “Yes, I’m sorry if that was a lot to take in. We’ll help with both safety and learning to be more in tune with this new side of yourself.” She hoped it was comforting. It was hard for her to understand just what he was going through, but she wanted to try. She offered him a warm smile and tilted her head slightly, “It’ll be nice to have another wolf around. I’ve actually only recently started to meet other wolves.” She hoped maybe it could help her level with him to some degree though she did hate the look of pity people always gave her when she told them about her parents. She let out a soft sigh and explained, “I was really young when my parents died, so until recently, I hadn’t known anyone else like us.”

Simon’s eyebrows twitched faintly when she mentioned having lost her parents, piecing together more information. She was really young so they didn’t teach her; she had to learn by herself? That separated her from Lucas. She wasn’t aware of other wolves - she wasn’t raised here? The thoughts of Ariana having to grow and learn how to control and embrace the wolf on her own pulled Simon out of his temporary fugue and he lifted his head to look Ariana in the eye for the first time, his gaze conveying empathy with a gentle smile. “And yet here we are,” He said softly. He leaned back and sniffed thickly. “So tell me more about you, Ariana. What do you like, what do you wanna be when you grow up, that sorta thing.” He said as he knuckled his septum, turning his head slightly to keep an eye out on the exposed entryway they arrived from; he wasn’t sure why but he supposed he also wanted to be aware just in case someone who shouldn’t be overhearing their conversation wanted to listen in.

Ariana was pleased with how well this meeting seemed to be going. It even just felt good to be moving on to more normal conversation in the midst of everything that was going on. She leaned forward and rested on her elbows again, feeling eager to find out more about Simon, too. Wolf stuff aside, they were still people with hobbies and lives that weren’t centered entirely around being a werewolf. She started, “Well, I love soccer, cooking, and running a lot. I just started an apprenticeship at Trusty Wood so I’ll be going into carpentry. My sister still has some hope I may actually take some college classes, but I don’t know if I really want to do that.” She never thought she’d actually enjoy talking about school. She’d be happy to go back to a failing Algebra grade being her biggest problem, but that wasn’t how life worked. She solved the Algebra problem at least. Maybe they could solve this, too. She shook that thought. “What about you,” she said, “What do you like to do? And well, I guess you are grown up, so what do you do?”

Soccer, now that seemed like a good way to burn energy. Simon’s constitution never gifted him with an ability to play sports(until now, at least) but he found soccer the most entertaining to watch - it had the least amount of standing around and discussing superfluous things - he would’ve rather read a book during those times. He made a mental note to attend her games in the future. He also made a note that she mentioned having a sister. Didn’t bring her up when talking about wolves so he guessed she wasn’t one. That raised the question: Could one child be given wolf shifting as a trait but not another? Unless they weren’t related but either way, it meant Ariana didn’t spend her time entirely alone as either the wolf or the human. Oh, duh, she probably had an adoptive family-- but wait, did that work with orphaned wolf pups? He would probably learn some more of these answers in the future, so for now, just focus on THE now. “Me?” He asked. “Oh, uh... “ At least it wasn’t talking about being a wolf. “Well, I used to be a forensic technician but I’m a janitor at the Morgue, at the moment,” He decided to be honest with her. “I enjoy reading, learning new things… I need to get back into playing the piano. I’m out of practise,” He admitted, subconsciously clenching then unclenching his left hand as he said that.

Ariana had to wonder if the switch in jobs had anything to do with his transition, but for once decided against spewing out too many questions in one go. She had no doubt that they’d have time to get to know each other. Shifting focus to the piano thing would definitely be wiser. That had more of a physical aspect to it and she didn’t enjoy reading. Audiobooks were okay, but even so she usually preferred the sound of nature or a good song. She wondered if he hadn’t practiced because of the transition, too. She wasn’t sure how wolf hearing compared to human hearing other than it was intrinsically better. Once he got used to it, music at reasonable volumes was enjoyable. She really hated the piccolo though. Whenever she’d hear the marching band practice, the high pitches always sounded cringe worthy. “Piano, huh? Do you still have one you can practice on? I always enjoyed listening to music with piano in it. I’ve never played an instrument unless you count those god awful recorders they make you learn to play in elementary school.” She laughed a bit before she added, “Not sure if it’s our hearing that makes them sound so grating or if they really are just that bad. Is there a particular genre you enjoy playing most?”

Simon also laughed when she mentioned the recorders from elementary school. “You were right the second time; I couldn’t stand them as a child, either.” And he didn’t want to imagine how they’d sound nowadays given how much more sensitive his hearing tended to be. “And call me old-fashioned but I prefer classical - name any pseudo-famous pianist and I probably know a song or two by them.” As he talked, his right hand mimicked the motions of playing a simple tune on the table in front of him for a few moments before stopping as he sighed. “Unfortunately, I still don't… I didn’t bring a whole lot of things with me when I moved here,” He admitted, a dash of melancholy in his tone. “I’d like to acquire one soon though, just to give myself something to do in my spare time.” The feeling washed over him and he looked at Ariana once more. “I’ve never played a sport, myself - aside from what they made us do in P.E.,” He added. “What made you decide to choose… soccer--” He barely got the question out when he turned his head away from her suddenly and dipped it into the crook of his arm, sneezing twice. “Gah! Sorry--” He apologised hastily, keeping a hand over his face while the other fished around in his pockets and he felt something sink in his stomach when he found his packet of tissues but not the familiar bottle of pills. Of… COURSE he forgot them because why wouldn’t he have? It was just too convenient and a brief look of frustration crossed his features. “I’m sorry, that was terribly rude of me,” He apologised again as he applied a tissue to his face. “Um… sports. Yeah, that’s what we were talking about. Soccer.” He plowed right on through. Sports!

Ariana shook her head, shocked that they sounded that bad with human hearing and they were still forced to learn them. “Wow, they made us put on concerts with those things knowing how bad they sounded? Big yikes.” She nodded along and realized half the crap she listened to would probably not be up his alley. Post Malone was a far cry from classical piano music, but he was America’s Sweetheart. She did remember a few piano songs from her music history class though and responded, “The only piano song I remember by name is Moonlight Sonata… which may be for obvious reasons.” She laughed a bit at her own lame joke. Really anything that reminded her of the moon always stood out in her mind. “You should totally get one,” she said eagerly even though she had no idea how much pianos cost, “I’d love to hear you play sometime.” Her face lit up at the mention of soccer again, but quickly scrunched up in confusion at the loud sneeze. He seemed very thrown off by sneezing and apologized. She shook her head and said, “Don’t worry, we all sneeze. Unfortunately, being a wolf doesn’t give us a break from that… Well, clearly as you can see.” He seemed set on bringing it back to soccer and she was happy to talk about her favorite hobby. There was something about being on a team and getting to run around for long periods of time that really just suited her well. “I tend to prefer team sports and soccer is my favorite of them. Always running around and getting to be outside? Definitely a good way to burn off some energy. I’ve played basketball in the past, too, but I don’t enjoy it quite as much. Sports aren’t everyone’s thing though. Music is pretty badass, too. What inspired you to learn piano?”

‘Yeah, being a wolf is part of the problem, I think.’ The thought flitted through Simon’s mind briefly but he expressed genuine interest in Ariana’s enthusiasm for soccer though he made another mental note about her remembrance of Beethoven, giving her a small smile as she made the joke. Be that as it may, it was still a good song. “Tell you what,” He said first. “I’ll play Moonlight Sonata for you sometime if you teach me some of the ins and outs of soccer.” He absently took to scratching at his arms now as if the sneeze reminded his body that though his mind was having a good time, it wasn’t. It was fine, it was supposed to be a new moon. Maybe he was excited, bouncing back from that little pity party he threw. Was it a pity party? He couldn’t never tell. “I was… ffffive, I think, when I started playing and really, I only chose it because my mom told me I couldn’t be a velociraptor when I grew up,” He laughed, recalling the memory. “My parents both work in the medical field but I’ve always loved music.” That was when he wondered how different his playing would sound now given the changes in his… lifestyle. He also wondered how much a piano would cost. He would certainly look into it, now.

Ariana had decided that she thoroughly liked Simon. There was something about him that was sweet and endearing despite the fact he was a good deal older than her. He didn’t talk to her like she was still a kid who didn’t know anything about the world. They could level with each other and she looked forward to helping him learn the ins and outs of being a wolf. She extended her hand out to shake on it and said, “Deal. You play Moonlight Sonata and I teach you soccer. Sounds like a blast.” She grinned widely and was very glad that she found Simon. She noticed he seemed to be a bit uncomfortable as he was scratching his arms. She didn’t want to press too much so she focused back on his story about playing the piano. Five years old was super young. There was no way someone could have gotten her to sit down long enough to learn piano at five years old. “Wow,” she said, “That’s pretty cool you’ve been playing so long. Not quite as cool as growing up to be a velociraptor, but still pretty cool. I’ve always enjoyed listening to music, particularly on runs. What’s your favorite song to play?”

“Yeah, well… I guess there isn’t a lot of demand for professional velociraptors so piano it was,” Simon chuckled as his hand went up to rub at his jaw either out of irritation or contemplation - this question always made him think because he seemed to have a different answer every time. “I think to choose just one would be tantamount to only picking one book or one best friend.” Indeed, books and music WERE his only friends when he was a child. She did not need to hear this depressing-but-factual claim. “I’ll just be broad and say I’ve always preferred Chopin. Again, stereotypical but everyone has something. What kind of music do you like, whether on runs or just in general?” He asked, finding that it was rapidly becoming easier to talk to her; she seemed ambitious, forward, and eager. She had a ‘bull by the horns’ mentality about her, a trait he couldn’t help but appreciate regardless of the source. He recalled just earlier when he felt awkward following her and realised looking back, people might’ve thought that he would’ve been trouble when in actuality, he would’ve been the one IN trouble.

“What a shame,” Ariana said with a laugh, “It would’ve been really cool to meet a professional velociraptor.” Maybe she spoke too soon. Next thing she knew White Crest would reveal some dinosaur like monster that would make her eat her words. Oh, well, she couldn’t let it ruin her A+ jokes. She listened as he mentioned Chopin. “Huh, I’ve definitely heard of Chopin but don’t know if I can actually remember a song from them. Oh well, probably nothing you’d like. Unless you’re secretly a huge Post Malone and Khalid fan in which case, you’d really be full of surprises.” She giggled a bit at the thought of him jamming to Posty. Simon definitely seemed to be opening up a little easier now. He seemed a bit hesitant at first, but now conversation came easily. She had no doubt they’d be an awesome pack.

Simon opened his mouth as if to say something, paused, then closed it again. “Iiiii have never heard of either of those, so we’re even.” He admitted, making a note to look them up later. Was the man’s first name Post? That was interesting, certainly more interesting than his rising frustration with his immune system as he muttered a low ‘excuse me’ and turned his head again to sneeze twice more. At least he had a tissue this time. “Sorry,” He cleared his throat, finally relinquishing what he had been suppressing in the name of good conversation. “But is there any way we could walk and talk to the nearest corner store or pharmacy?” He swallowed what little pride he had. “My allergies aren’t happy with me.” He gave her a sheepish half smile, eyebrow twinging with embarrassment and no shortage of guilt, feeling like he was prioritizing things wrong and cutting their talk short. It was his fault, after all, that he forgot any form of medication.

Ariana laughed along at Simon not knowing who Posty and Khalid were. “I didn’t think you would, they’re pretty popular with my generation. Not sure they’re really up your alley.” They were a far cry from classical piano music. Both artists were fun though and she particularly loved Post. As Simon sneezed again, Ariana gave him a sympathetic look and said, “Bless you.” At the mention of walking to the corner store with him, she nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yeah, for sure! Want you to be comfortable. Seems like the allergies are treating you pretty rough today.” As an afterthought, she asked, “What are you allergic to?”

The weight that always sank to the pit of his stomach whenever Simon felt inconvenient lightened when she seemed willing to accompany him. Then again, part of him figured that she wouldn’t turn her nose up to a bit of walking - she did play soccer. He sniffled and got to his feet, pushing in his chair and he paused for a lengthy moment when she asked her most recent question. He could’ve said anything; indeed, they were at a public market full of conflicting scents and overwhelming aromas. It COULD’VE been anything but… it wasn’t and no matter how embarrassing or detrimental to his character information was, Simon didn’t like lying. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Dogs,” He said first, then exhaled and pointed to her slowly, then turned his finger to point to himself as he gave her a look that said ‘yyyyep’.

Accompanying him to the corner store was really no big deal in Ariana’s book. She was just excited to know another wolf and that her and Ulf would be able to help him adjust to this new life. When he answered the question on what he was allergic to, she looked at him incredulously. Dogs which translated to wolves. Which meant he was allergic to her and himself. Big fucking yikes. “Wow, I’m surprised the bite didn’t like… counteract that. I’m sorry, that’s gotta be not fun. Let’s go get you some allergy meds so you feel better.” Once again, she was directing the way so Simon could have everything he needed to feel comfortable and not sneezy. She didn’t want to be contributing to the wolfy sneezes.

“Yeah, you’d think being mauled then subsequently, er…” Well, Simon didn’t want to call it ‘cursed’ in front of someone who had been born with it though he felt like it would be a long time before he accepted being a werewolf as anything other than a ‘parasitic relationship’ or ‘curse’. “Biologically altered--” Nice save. “Would’ve negated that. I guess we can’t all be so lucky,” He chuckled with another sniff, tending to his face with the tissue again. He still felt guilty and immediately thought about how he could’ve translated that answer better or less awkwardly but he settled for a quiet “Sorry.” He was always sorry. What he was more than sorry right now though, embarrassing admittance of his body’s rejection against his own kind now aside, was thankful that Ariana both stayed and still offered to lead him given how unfamiliar he was with everything in town. Wolves really did stick together but he wondered just how big of a liability he still was - wasn’t the ‘pack’ only as strong as its weakest member? That’s how human groups worked, or… what managers would tell their beleaguered employees to scare them into being more productive. He had to stop being negative. “Er… Sorry if this isn’t the right time but I’m glad you sniffed me out, Ariana,” He glanced down at her with a gentle smile.

Ariana did her best to hold back a grimace at his mention of being mauled. That has to be traumatizing and it made her more determined to help him feel comfortable as a wolf. “We’ll just have to keep a hefty supply of allergy pills and tissues then,” she said with a sheepish grin. More than anything, she wanted to be good support for the transition he was going through. There was pep in her step as she directed them to the corner store. She was happy she found another werewolf and someone that she was actually able to help. Her’s and Lucas’ situations both felt hopeless. It was nice to have things with an easy solution like simply watching out for him and teaching him about being a wolf. “I’m glad, too. I think you and Ulf will be fast friends. Good to have you as part of the pack.” She gave his arm a playful punch as they made their way up the block. Their pack was really coming along and it left Ariana with a warm feeling. Maybe things could work out after all.

[jessi-writes-fandoms]

A new beginning: An OC story

Chapter 3

Drift stood outside the medbay fidgeting with his digits nervously. With only five days until their next stop, today Drift had to ask Remedy out. “What if she says no? What if she knows of my past and gets scared? No Remedy would never hate me for my past, she’s so forgiving.” Drift continued to argue with himself about wether or not this was a good idea or not. As far as he knew, Remedy was unaware of his previous actions during the war, hell Remedy left Cybertron when the war was just getting intense so surely she had no knowledge of Deadlock whatsoever. He let out a shaky breath and walked into the medbay.

Ratchet was showing Remedy some of the more basic medical procedures that would be common while aboard the Lost Light. Remedy then heard the door open and due to her curiosity she immediately looked up seeing Drift walk in, that goofy side smile plastered on his face. Remedy gave her friend a warm smile before asking Ratchet if she could have a couple minutes with the mech, Ratchet nodded giving the two a warm smile and left the two alone. Drift walked over to Remedy, his pedes heavy, the feeling of more doubt setting in. Remedy noticed this and immediately had him sit down next to her, she looked at him confused about this strange behavior.

“Drift are you alright? You seem off.” He gave her a reassuring smile showing that he was in fact fine and in no need of any medical assistance, seeing how she cared so much for his wellbeing made his spark beat harder. “I’m perfectly fine, I came here to ask you something. Our next stop is supposed to be a beautiful sight, glowing plants and waterfalls, it’s beautiful! I would be honored if you joined me to see the sights.” He then took Remedy’s servo into his and gave her a pleading look. Remedy was stunned by his sudden proposal. Her processor running a million miles a second, something inside her was telling her to say no, all the previous sparkbreak and pain flashing before her. She looked back at Drift then shook her memories away. “I’d love to go with you Drift, it’ll be fun and give me some time to relax. Drift leaned over and gave the femme a huge hug.

Later that night Remedy was in her shared room with Nightshade humming happily and thinking about her upcoming date with Drift. Nightshade took notice of Remedy’s overly giddy behavior. “Someone’s in a good mood, did Swerve offer you more free high grade?” Remedy was pulled from her thoughts as Nightshade waved her servo in front of her face. “I have a date with Drift! Yeah that’s right, he asked me out I have a hot ass mother fucking date!” Remedy was practically jumping up and down frantically with excitement and wrapped her arms around the larger femme, pure joy and happiness clear on her face. Nightshade patted Remedy’s helm and pulled away from her strong embrace.

“Rems are you sure you wanna go through this? I know you really like Drift and all and you see him as this prince charming and shit but don’t you remember the last time a relationship didn’t work out?” Remedy thought for a moment but shrugged. “Remedy the guy cheated on you and you beat the shit out of him and then you went through a major depression for primus knows how long. How could you possibly not remember that?!” Remedy looked off to the side in attempt to avoid the topic altogether, she remembered what happened, she remembered all her past relationships, some healthy some toxic beyond belief. Something about Drift made Remedy happy, she saw true love in his optics, he saw her as more than just a pretty face, he saw her as her own independent bot. “I know you’re trying to protect me, I know you want what’s best for me but seriously, Drift is the one who will make it all better I just know it.” Nightshade sighed in defeat, she knew arguing with the femme would be futile and only anger her, she gave Remedy a reassuring smile and wished her the best of luck on this new journey.

Remedy waltzed her way to the medical bay to finish up some work Ratchet asked to do, it had been a couple days since Drift had asked her out, the scene constantly replaying in her processor. “Well I haven’t seen you this happy in eons.” Remedy was snapped from her thoughts when she heard Ratchet’s voice, he was sitting at his work station looking over some datapads. “Well I do have a date tomorrow night, with a very special mech.” Ratchet looked up from his datapad giving a fake amused look to the young femme. Really now, and who might this mech be?” He gave her a small smile and handed her a small box with a data pad under it. “I assume this is from your admirer, Drift.” Remedy had a shocked and confused look on her face as she took the items Ratchet gave her. “Why would he leave me a gift? Wait how did you know Drift asked me out?” Ratchet gave her a small smile and set his datapads on the table. “Well Drift came in here a couple cycles ago and for some odd reason he assumed he needed my permission to ask you out. He’s a good kid, he’ll treat you like a princess.” Remedy rolled her optics and opened the small box, inside was an assortment of her favorite energon sweets, she then lifted up the datapad with a message written on it.

“Remedy, I remembered you telling me how much you loved these, luckily I had some saved when we left Cybertron. No amount of sweetness can compare to yours, you’re so caring and beautiful and I can’t wait for our date tomorrow night. ~Drift

Remedy read over the message a few more times then looked over at Ratchet. “Don’t look at me, I didn’t tell him to spoil your ass.” Remedy sighed dreamily at the thought of someone actually loving her and taking the time to do something so sweet for her. Ratchet shook his helm at her childish behavior and urged her to get her work done.

The day had finally come, the crew finally reached their stop before continuing on their wild goose chase for the Knights of Cybertron. Their stay at this new planet would only last 24 hours so Everyone on board was in a hurry to see the sights. That evening Remedy was getting ready for her date, waxing her paint job and looking herself over multiple times. “How do I look?” Nightshade sat up from her berth letting out an annoyed groan at her friend. “I already told you, you look great and if he doesn’t say anything then he’s not worth it.” Remedy giggled and rolled her optics at the seeker. “So are you coming to see this planet before we leave? Ultra Magnus suggested everyone leave the ship at least once to check it out.”

Nightshade let out a sad sigh and laid back down on her berth face down. Remedy look at her friend, obviously wanting and explanation for her behavior. “I’m not going, I don’t wanna go by myself and I have no one to go with me.” Remedy Grabbed her large servo in an attempt to pull her off the berth but to no avail. “Nightshade c’mon Rodimus is going he said it’ll be fun, although his definition of fun seems to involve impulsive behavior so maybe it’s safer you stay here.” Nightshade quickly sat up with a loud groan, she gave Remedy an Annoyed look. “Fine I’ll go, only because you wont stop bugging me. And Remedy, be careful on your date with Drift.”

Remedy look at the seeker confused at her warning. “If you think Me and Drift are gonna-“ “NOT THAT REMEDY!” The smaller femme was taken back by her friend’s sudden outburst. “Remedy you’re not gonna like hearing this. I had heard some things about Drift, bad things.” Remedy tilted her head even more confused. Nightshade sighed and places her servos on Remedy’s shoulders. “Drift was a once a con, a horrible con by the name of Deadlock. Whirl told me all about it, he killed many. From what Whirl told me, Deadlock was a terrifying bounty hunter who later traded his guns for swords changed his name and became this whole born again spiritualist or whatever.” Remedy burst into laughter, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing from her friend. “So you’re telling me that Drift, the sweet quiet mech who asked me out is actually some murderous decepticon named Deadlock?! Shades that’s quite a story and my god it would make for a human soap opera plot line but seriously c’mon.” Nightshade gave her a serious look. “If you don’t believe me go ask Ratchet or any of the others, they’ll tell you the same thing. Just, maybe ask about it tomorrow I mean the guy did ask you out and you’d be a glitch to stand him up.” Remedy nodded her helm and left the shared berthroom to find Drift.

“So... you nervous? You look nervous, like you look like you’re gonna fall over and die.” Drift and Rodimus were headed to meet the others outside the ship, Drift had told Remedy to meet him there. “What if she doesn’t show up? A femme like her, any other attractive mech could have asked her out and she decides to go with him.” Rodimus looked slightly offended by Drift’s assumptions. “Hey I would never ask Remedy out behind your back! And I really doubt she would say yes to someone else when she already said yes to you.” He put his arm around Drift’s shoulder in reassurance, a cocky smile on his face. “If you’re so worried about losing her then do something that will make her beg for you, talk dirty to her. Tell her ‘Damn girl are you from outer space? Because your ass is out of this world!’ Believe me chicks dig that shit.” Drift gave the orange mech a disgusted look, the fact that Rodimus even suggested such a stupid pick up line. “Rodimus I want her to love me, not slap me.” After a few moments of silence that led to laughter the two mechs headed out to the main entrance of the ship.

[carolightpenvenys]

DEADLY NIGHTSHADE- CHAPTER 3

A/N: just to let y’all know i flew my own wig writing this one, please let me know what u think!!!

Chapter 3: damn, i wish i was your lover

T/W: References to dead body/body parts, references to sex (not in the same bit tho!)

“I just need to speak to Mr Carne on the phone,” Caroline was rolling her eyes and scribbling furiously on her legal pad. “And by that I mean Drake, not you.”

Dwight smiled as he stood in the doorway of her office- she hadn’t noticed he was there yet.

“So you’ll bring him in in an hour? Because he can’t drive right.” Caroline furiously scribbled actual man child on her pad, but obviously Dwight couldn’t see this. “Right, see you at 10am.” And with that she slammed the phone down.

“So I assume you had Drake Carne on the phone?” Dwight came and sat in the chair by Caroline’s desk.

“Oh,” Caroline raised her eyebrows. “I fucking wish.” Her hair was out of her Amy Santiago like bun today and instead piled on her head with about three pens slotted in. She hadn’t bothered with makeup as it was clear she had been up all night trying to crack the case. “It was his brother Sam Carne and apparently his fucking carer. I think we have reached a dead end- this man can hardly tie a shoelace.”

“So Sam wouldn’t let you speak to Drake?”

“No he hasn’t seen him in days, apparently he’s moved in with his sister Demelza and her husband Ross to grieve. But he promises to have him here by 10am.”

“Ah.” Dwight sighed. “I guess this is Ross Poldark’s involvement in it all.”

“Oh so he’s,” Caroline grabbed another pen and drew on her existing spider diagram, “This Ross? Oh man if Drake goes down he may never work again- you’ll be stuck with me forever,” she let out a tired laugh but when she met Dwight’s eye he was just smiling directly at her.

“I can think of worse things.”

POLICE INTERVIEW WITH SUSPECT:

MR DRAKE CARNE (LOVER OF THE DECEASED, POSSIBLE WITNESS): DC

DET. CAROLINE PENVENEN: CP

DR DWIGHT ENYS (M.E): DE

( THE WITNESS IS INCREDIBLY EMOTIONAL)

CP: Mr Carne, to clear up, what was your relationship with the deceased?

DC: You couldn’t understand

CP: I’m going to damn well try.

DE: Explain as best you can, Drake.

DC: I swear nothing happened whilst she was married, I would never!

CP: Let the record state the witness is inconsolable.

DE: Drake, I need you to answer my questions but I’m on your side. Do the words Atropa Belladonna mean anything to you?

CP: Or deadly nightshade?

DC: Is that some kind of code because I’d rather know the truth.

DE: No, we believe it may be the murder weapon.

CP: Drake, do you think there stands any reason that Morwenna would attempt to take her own life? Let the record show the witness probably needs a break before answering this question.

DC: No. She would never.

DE: Any reason you hold this opinion?

DC: It sounds stupid. But we always said we’d wait for each other through everything- she never wanted that marriage, you need to understand that-

CP: Are you suggesting her marriage was forced or arranged?

DC: Arranged definitely. We were in love.

DE: Who arranged this marriage?

DC: George Warleggan.  (Note: GW from previous interview).

CP: Finally, where were you between the late afternoon and midnight on the night in question? It’s a large window I know but due to the poisoning, it could have taken her hours to die- we need any information we can get from anyone who might have seen her.

DC: You’re lucky- Sunday is a Poldark family day. I’m sure if you speak to my sister, Ross or Sam they can confirm I was awake and with them until way past midnight. Possibly until about 2am.

END OF INTERVIEW

“I bought lunch!” Dwight strolled into Caroline’s office to find added to her dishevelled appearance, a rather cute pair of glasses as she drew lines between suspects.

“Fuck, we are going to definitely bring George Warleggan back in and he’s going to definitely have a lawyer. Oh, thank you for the Pad Thai.” She smiled warmly at his efforts. “Any more information about the body?”

“Ok so the time of death is confirmed midnight, she ingested the poison, probably via a drink as her stomach was empty. An interesting concept considering part of her husband’s story concerned a Sunday lunch earlier in the day.”

“Ooh Doctor Enys, you’re really digging up the bodies today, if you’ll pardon the pun. So between these three here,” she pointed to George, Osborne and Elizabeth, “there’s some kind of lie going on.”

“I would say at least one of them knows more than they let on. Maybe they saw something they didn’t want to see.” Dwight shrugged. “But your guess is honestly as good as mine- I’m not a detective after all.”

“And yet you’re here.” Caroline took her glasses off and took a moment to appreciate Dwight. A moment she soon took back, “Fuck I’m blind.”

Dwight found the whole situation rather endearing, “Yes, I’m here, and you’re here.”

“And we’re going to… solve a case?”

“Something like that.”

As Dwight passed Caroline a lab coat to allow her near to the body, she thought out loud, “I just think it’s so weird you’re vegan right- but you literally open bodies for a living.”

Dwight put down his scalpel on the tray, amused, “Even if I ate meat, which I don’t, I wouldn’t eat other humans Caroline.”

She sat on the counter where his computer was, her legs swinging back and forth. “I guess I never thought of it this way. Why did you even become a medical examiner?”

“Not for the fame.” Dwight sighed. “When I tell women I work in a morgue, it’s the world’s biggest turn off. They look at my hands and think ‘oh shit, he just touched dead bodies.’”

“No but seriously though,” Caroline enquired further. “What got you here. In the morgue.”

Dwight sighed. “Being a doctor is hard. I couldn’t cope when my patients died on me- so I thought at least with the morgue you could kind of wash your hands of that a bit. Still fucking depressing. Plus telling people I solve murders is cool, even if I actually don’t.”

There was a silence, but it was a contemplative one. “What about you, Miss Stately Home?”

“Ah, you remembered,” Caroline said, an ounce of bitterness in her voice. “Maybe I did it to avoid being Miss Stately Home.”

Dwight turned away from threading the needle to look at her. “Believe me, you’re a lot more than that. You know, catching all those smooth criminals.”

“Oh my God!” Caroline put her head in her hands. “Why do you have to say stuff like that?”

“Stuff like what?”  Dwight replied, stitching with a steady hand.

“You’re just… Such a catch. Like look at you! You remember literally everything about me, even my ringtone. You are always giving me these motivational talks, plus you’re like so cute.”

She stopped when she realised Dwight had put the needle down. “Caroline, do you really think that?”

“Ugh forgive me.” She put her hands over her eyes. “It’s way less embarrassing when I can’t look you in the eyes. I’m way too fucking blunt, I’m literally a mess I drink and swear too much and I caught myself in the mirror and I just thought wow he must really like me if he hasn’t even commented on how I look like a literal trolley lady today but now I’ve made a massive dick of myself-”

“Caroline.” This time he was so close, she could feel his presence and his hands firmly on her thighs where she was sat.

She took her hands off her eyes. “Oh my God.” She whispered. “What are we doing?” But he only got closer and closer and she shivered slightly. “You better not be leading me on here, you’ve taken your gloves off and everything… are we going to bang in a morgue?”

“What?” Dwight backed away from her slightly. “No. I’m a gentleman, I’ll at least take you back to my apartment.”

“You know,” Caroline giggled. “I’m glad we are discussing this. As two professionals, I pledge we just fuck it out of our systems, come back Monday morning and just, you know, solve the case. No one will ever know the difference.”

“I take no issue with that.” Dwight nodded seriously. “Who knows, it could be an educational experience.”

They were suddenly interrupted by the clock striking five. “Don’t you just fucking love it when everything comes together?”

Yeah. He fucking did.

[itzagothamcitysiren]

Welcome to the Family

Sorry for that late post, stupid was a superhero stressful day at work and I took a super long nap as soon as I got home. Also, this is kinda a filler chapter, just to kinda of give a look of the dynamic between her and Bruce. It’s not my best but I wanted to also use it to practice writing more action stuff. :)

There's a Web That You Have Wove pt.2 

           The night was cold and the air almost felt damp as Batman and Nightshade stood perked up atop a stack of cargo crates that lined the Gotham City docks. They were high enough to not be able to be seen from below but still had a good line of sight of below. Batman stood, silently, peering into his pair of high-tech binoculars. He surveyed the activity below, watching as goons unloaded the unaccounted for children out of a delivery truck. The Dark Knight began calculating a plan in his head as he watched them being led towards another truck. They had to act soon before their window was closed.

           He folded the binoculars into themselves, placing them back in their spot on his utility belt. As they clipped on, he reached for his grappling hook, noting how Nightshade did the same as she was on the same page as him. Waiting for his orders, she moved forward from her spot behind him. He looked at her and then back to the scene below.

           “We take them out before they leave the docks, we cannot lose that truck.” He said, knowing she didn’t need that many words to understand what had to be done.  

           Nightshade nodded, following her mentor down as he shot his grappling hook to swing below. She landed moments after him, noting the slight pause as the goons were thrown off by their arrival. They looked notably scared that Batman and his sidekick where now standing between both trucks, cutting them off from finishing their job. The pause felt longer than it really was as the first goon to react began to rapidly fire his gun at them.

           Nightshade jumped out of the way of the spray of bullets, as Batman threw a batarang at the man’s gun, causing it to jam. She ducked behind a pile of crate before rolling out into a standing position. Nightshade then raced towards the truck that the kid’s had been loaded into as Batman found himself busy disarming the men attacking. Jumping up and off of a man, Nightshade kicked the gun out of his hand, bringing down a fist into his face as she pushed off of his chest. Flipping, she landed crouched down, swiping her leg out and knocking down another. She was back up on her feet and dodging more fists heading her way.

           It looked like she was almost dancing as she avoid more fire effortlessly. This was practically baby stuff. She reached the truck, disarming the two man who’d been shooting at her. She was about to place her hand on the doors of the vehicle to make sure the kids were okay but the sound of an engine starting caught her attention. The truck came to life, the tires squeaking as it was floored forward.

           “Fuck,” she cursed, shooting her grappling gun at it.  

           She heard Batman call out to her, telling her to wait for him. It wasn’t that he was struggling, that was far from the case. He had just taken the brunt of the onslaught of low-lives with guns. Normally he would’ve been mad at seeing his protégé not waiting and instead grappling a line to the truck, using it to pull herself to it. He knew she could handle herself and he said it himself that they couldn’t let the truck escape them. They’d never see those kids again if they did.

           Nightshade felt the wind blow her hair about making her glad that she had decided to wear it up tonight as the truck veered towards the exit that lead into the city. She held onto the line, grasping the backdoor handles to keep herself from flaring about. She could hear the kids inside screaming as the truck broke through the gates. Once the vehicle somewhat settled she began to climb up the back and onto the roof.

           She used her free hand to reach for her set of daggers she kept holstered on her lower arms, stabbing into the metal to keep her from being tossed off as the truck jerked to the side again, and turning into the streets. She crawled her way to the front of the truck, the wind hitting against her face as the truck picked up its speed. Taking a deep breathe, the adrenaline still fueling her, she hopped down and landed on the hood of the car. The driver hadn’t expected it and swerved his wheel to the right.

           Hissing as he drove off the cars in the other lane, Nightshade used the momentum to toss herself sideways and towards the driver’s side door. Gripping on the mirror for balance, she pulled her fist back, bringing it into the window. Her knuckle guards on her gloves made a satisfying shatter and she reached her hand in.

           “Pull over!” She shouted, gripping the wheel. She was met with him pulling out the gun he was hiding and aimed it point blank at her face. “Seriously?” She narrowed her eyes, not hesitating. Removing her hand from the wheel she grabbed the hand holding the gun, pointing it up watching as the bullet lodged itself into the ceiling.

           She heard the sound of a reeving engine, and quickly turned her attention behind her, smirking as she saw the Batmobile approaching. The driver’s eyes darted to his side mirrors, panic setting in as he saw the Batmobile right behind him. He wasn’t getting paid enough for this.

           Nightshade used the driver’s now distracted state to reach back in with her other hand, pulling herself inside. She was practically straddling the guy but didn’t care as she pushed the gun to the floor on the passenger side and put her fist to his neck. In one swift motion, a small tranquilizer dart jotted out of the armored gauntlet she wore.  As the man struggled to now stay awake, panicking as the girl turned around on top of him, sitting on his lap. She pressed her foot on the break, hands grasping onto the steering wheel as she did so.

           The man saw one of her knives holstered to her hip and used the last of his strength to grab for it. He felt the handle in his grasps and stabbed it forward, feeling pleased at it now was lodged into her thigh. Nightshade gasped, losing control of the wheel as she felt the pain shooting up her leg. Now slamming on the break, she tossed her head back, cracking skulls with the asshole sat underneath her. She felt him be knocked out cold finally and let the truck creak to a stop.

           “Ow,” She muttered, putting the truck in park, she let her head fall onto the wheel.

           She could hear the sound of cop cars approaching and knew that that was her cue to leave. Opening the door, she sluggishly dropped down from the car. Her feet landed on the concrete causing a jolt of pain to shot up to her thigh. She didn’t remove the knife, not wanting to make the bleeding worse until she was in the batmobile at least. She noted Batman approaching, opening the back doors of the truck. The children peered at him, still all frozen with fear. Police cars soon surrounded them, causing her to quicken her pace.

           She hopped into the open door, slamming it shut as she got in. Before taking the knife out, she reached forward into one of the compartments inside, pulling out a first aid kit kept for emergency. She took out what she needed to wrap it quickly and then ripped the blade out. Wincing from the sharp movement she bit her lip as she went straight into wrapping the fabric bandage around her thigh.

           It wasn’t until a handful of minutes later did Batman join her, handing off the kid’s and information to Jim Gordon the moment he arrived. He pulled away from the scene, sending a message to Alfred to prepare the medical area.

           “I’ll be fine.” She gritted her teeth, tying off the bandage. Her healing factor would kick in within the next couple hours and she’d been fine by tomorrow. The wound wasn’t that serious. “It was my fault. I should’ve been quicker.”

           Batman stood silent, only giving her a curt nod. Tonight had gone smoother than past nights and he couldn’t help but dwell on it. Even with this slight hiccup, he was satisfied with her handling of the situation when it went array. He’d become so accustomed to the chaos that ensured normally and knew why tonight had gone differently than others. He felt bad for admitting it, but he couldn’t help but let the thought cross his mind.

           Halley looked forward, slowly peeling her mask off her face and rubbing her eyes with her hands. The adrenaline gone now and the stinging feeling becoming extremely noticeable. Wincing, she shifted, trying to get comfy as they headed back to the cave. She let her eyes peek at Bruce as the car stood in silence.

           He looked like his regular brooding self and she quickly looked back down at her lap. She’d still yet talk to Bruce about how she believed he should let Jason back out on patrol. It’d been almost a full week and she didn’t know how much longer she could take Jason’s attitude about being completely left out of this case. It wasn’t her fault he didn’t take instruction well, he didn’t have to take it out on her.

           “So,” she bit her lip, trying to find the courage to address her thoughts to him. Once she saw she had Bruce’s attention, she continued. “When do you think Jason will be able to come back out?”

           She crunched her nose up at how lamely it sounded as it left her mouth. Clearing her throat she added, “I mean, now that this is over.” Nope, still lame.

           “I know he’s been skipping school again. I have to go to the school tomorrow for another meeting with your principal about it.” Bruce grunted, turning down towards their secret road once they reached the outskirts of the city. “Once he can prove-,”

           “He only skips because you,” she cut him off, before quickly slamming her mouth shut. She’d didn’t mean to cut him off, but she was sick of Bruce constantly knocking Jason down. Was he this hard on Dick when he was Robin? She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand when she saw Bruce’s lip form a straight line and his eyes narrow. Heart beating fast she hurriedly continued,

           “Sorry that came out wrong. What I meant was, that he acts this way because he feels like you’re just brushing him off. He just wants to prove himself to you.” She said softly, playing with her hands.

           “He needs to learn discipline.” Bruce retorted.

           Halley nodded, agreeing. She was surprised Bruce was actually having this conversation with her. They had a decent relationship but she wouldn’t say they were close or anything like that. They’ve had conversations in the past but mostly about their night job. He’d sometimes asked about how she was adjusting with school and stuff like that when he did actually join them for dinner but that was about it. She didn’t know that much about him, so this conversation felt awkward to her but she knew this was a conversation she needed to have for Jason’s sake.

           “I agree. But each time you bench him, his confidence gets knocked down a peg and then he comes back making the same mistakes, sometimes worse.” She retorted right back. She sighed, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to question you.  I just don’t think this method is helping him.”

           She felt like she had pushed her limits when he didn’t respond to her after she spoke. Biting the inside of her cheek, she just sat in silence for the rest of the car ride.  Great job, Halley.

           She barely slept as the exchange played through her head all night. What if she made things worse? What if Bruce talked to Jason and Jason would be even madder at her for talking to Bruce about it? It plagued her thoughts all day during school as well, now it being her turn to avoid Jason at all costs. She just wanted to go home and on patrol so she could knock out her frustration on the filth of Gotham.

            Much to Alfred’s protests, Halley insisted she was fine to go to school the next day and even to go on patrol the next night. Her stab wound healed overnight, and was only a little mark by the time school was over.  Alfred relented as she showed him the spot before she put her costume on. She chuckled as he rolled his eyes at her before walking off to monitor the batcomputer.

           She went to finish changing, pulling out the rest of her uniform from his case. She began pull up the black spandex suit, zipping it up. Putting on the different parts of armor, she fastened them tightly. As she began clipping on her different weapons, making sure her darts were up well stocked up, she heard footsteps approaching the changing area. Looking up she smiled, seeing Jason walking over.

           He opened the case holding his uniform, peeling off his shirt and jeans so he could change. Even though she’d seen him changing before, she still looked away to hide her blush. It wasn’t that she had feelings for him or anything, she was still unaccustomed to the opposite sex. She never had friends growing up and the thought of boys had never crossed her mind. Even with that being said she could admit that Jason was in fact a good looking guy.

           “What are you doing here?” She asked, smirking as he pulled his pants up.

           “Bruce is letting me back on patrol.” He couldn’t hid the smile on his face. “He actually said he was sorry for kicking me off.”

           Halley smiled, smugly. She wouldn’t tell him about the talk she had with Bruce the night before. Jason looked so excited that Bruce was letting him back on his own accord, she didn’t want him to think any differently. He already spent too much time questioning how Bruce felt about him and if he found out she was the reason Bruce let him back, well she just didn’t want to take that away from him.

[xx-thedarklord-xx]

To Smile: Mission of the Deadliest Kind

This is a fluffy 5k word piece. You can read it down below, or on Ao3 here. Thank you @katerinehathshblack for looking this over for me on such short notice.

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

           “Ron!” The shout was accompanied by their dorm door slamming against the wall.

           Ron jerked so suddenly that the essay that he was supposed to be working on—but was actually blank—ended up with a giant hole in it as his quill stabbed the middle.

           Harry rubbed the back of his neck a little sheepishly as the realization that he probably shouldn’t have shouted became clear.

           “What’s wrong?” Ron demanded as he stood up, knocking over his chair and spilling his bag. “Is someone hurt?”

           “No,” Harry shook his head quickly before sitting on top of Dean’s bed. “But I need your help.”

           Ron narrowed his eyes suspiciously, there was something off about the way Harry was going about this. It wasn’t typical.

           “Is it dangerous?”

           Harry nodded sagely, gesturing with his hands in an affirmation.

           “Is it top secret?”

           “Definitely,” whispered Harry, eyes traveling over the empty room. “No one can know. Not even Hermione.”

           That had Ron righting the chair before he collapsed in it dramatically.

           “Am I going to regret this?”

           “Absolutely.”

           Ron didn’t even need to look up to know that his friend was grinning. “Alright, I’m in.” He probably would regret whatever it was, but as long as it got him out of his Transfiguration essay, then he was in.

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

           “I take it back,” Ron declared as they crouched in the shadows of an alcove on the third-floor corridor. “I don’t want to help you.” Dozens of Transfiguration essays would be preferable.

           Harry glared darkly. “You can’t take it back. Once you make an agreement, you are forced to see it out.”

           “Who the bloody hell said that?”

           Harry lifted his nose in the air before shoving Ron in the hip. “I did.” When Ron arched his brows, Harry’s shoulders slumped. “Please. I just don’t know what else to do.”

           Ron pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes to avoid the pleading that he just knew would sway his mind. “Harry, we are stalking him. This isn’t normal.” Nothing about this day was normal. It wasn’t fair that one pleading look from Harry was enough to have them following Malfoy around.

           The statement had Harry wincing as he bit his lip. “We aren’t stalking, it’s just a reconnaissance mission.” He knew that this was going overboard—he understood that—but once the idea had entered his mind, it just wouldn’t leave.

           Ron wasn’t exactly proud of the floundering look of disbelief he just knew was on his face. “Reconnaissance mission? Harry, I think we have two different outlooks here. I understand that you have this startlingly weird obsession with Malfoy, and you are probably madly in love with him to boot—not that you would ever see that.” He grinned widely when Harry let out a squawk of either horror or denial. “But you haven’t even told me why we are following him and hiding in the shadows like a creepier of version of Snape. If I’m going to be brought up in front of the Wizengamot on stalking charges, then I think I should have all of the facts here.”

           When Harry slumped to the floor, covering his face with his hands, Ron worried that something else was going on.

           Harry couldn’t look at Ron, not while his face was burning, and his fingers were clenched so tightly it hurt. “I just want to see him happy, I want to see him smile.”

           Ron wasn’t entirely sure where stalking the git came into play, but the miserable edge to Harry’s tone tugged at his heartstrings.

           Regret was clearly going to be Ron’s friend. “Alright, let’s make the prat smile.”

           It couldn’t be that hard, right?

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

           It all started when Harry realized that despite the dark times and the horror of the war, that love, and happiness was stronger than ever.

           The easy laughter that used to surround the halls and corridors was gone in the beginning of the year, but that was to be expected. It took a little while for Harry to realize that the happiness had shifted. It may not have been as loud and boisterous, but it was still there. The small smiles friends would share, the tighter circles of friendship and the comradery that linked all the houses together was proof of this.

           Subtle happiness was still happiness. It was still enough to help ease the ache inside of Harry’s chest. He wasn’t sure what he would have done without Ron and Hermione to keep his happiness afloat. They were a constant in his life and they meant the world to him.

           As the months passed, the castle tentatively became a healthier atmosphere, and Harry knew that they would all recover. Perhaps not in the same way the school had once been, but it would be enough.

           Despite all of the progress inside of Hogwarts, Harry couldn’t help but notice that Malfoy was the exact opposite of merriment. Sure, the Slytherin had never really been the picture of smiles and joy, but this was different. Harry wasn’t sure if he had ever seen Malfoy smile before; smirks were usually the norm, but not anymore, not since the war.

           In the beginning, a few people had tried to bait Malfoy into arguments or even duels, but it was as if Malfoy was just a body with no cognitive thought. Grey eyes would regard people in an unseeing way that was unnerving. Harry didn’t like it, not at all.

           The concept of depression wasn’t foreign, Harry and several others were counseled in the beginning of the year and put on a potion regiment that wouldn’t get rid of the depression, but it would help. Malfoy had been a part of the meetings and prescribed the potions, but it didn’t seem to be doing a whole lot for the man—at least to Harry. He supposed there could be an internal progress that wasn’t widely shown on the surface.

           It started out as just observation, Harry wanted to see if anything could change Malfoy’s temperament. Perhaps time or his friends would change his aura. Parkinson and Zabini were their usual selves, but that didn’t seem to help Malfoy any. Even surrounded by his friends, the Slytherin was just as vacant as he had been for months. As the year progressed, it was clear that Malfoy just wasn’t going to be happy. It wasn’t as if this was Harry’s business, if Malfoy didn’t want to smile or be happy, then that was his prerogative. But everyone deserved happiness—even broody gorgeous prats that used to drive him mad.  

           The solution to his growing problem of why he cared about Malfoy’s lack of happiness came in the form of a lecture from Hermione.

           “You just have to take hold and seize it, you know?” Hermione informed Harry and Ron as she finished her History of Magic essay. “Look at Merlin, he was told that he wouldn’t amount to much because of his lack of affinity for using a wand. But he changed the world in wandless magic, found new conduits like staffs or croziers, and became one of the strongest wizards ever known.”

           “What does Merlin have to do with helping me in Potions?” Ron complained, half asleep. “Unless he is going to come back from the grave and tell me the different properties to nightshade, then I don’t need him.”

           Hermione rolled her eyes as she threw a balled-up piece of parchment at his head. “You want to be an Auror, don’t you?” She didn’t wait for a reply before continuing. “You’ll need potions to do this. Don’t sit around and wait for failure to happen before you regret what you can already change. Be like Merlin and take it. Be the best Auror you possibly can.” She paused when Ron sat up firmly, determination flaring in his eyes. “Tackle potions like you would any other problem. Seize it, Ron.”

           Harry furrowed his brows as he realized that Hermione was right. If they wanted something, they would have to take it and rise to the challenge.

           Observing Malfoy wouldn’t do anything. If Harry wanted to make Malfoy happy, then he would have to rise to the challenge and make it happen.

           He just hoped it wouldn’t be that big of a challenge.

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

           “Have you tried talking to him?” Ron wondered as they crouched behind a headless statue—well he crouched, Harry’s height had him level with the stupid thing.

           “Ron, would I be here if that worked?” Harry asked in exasperation.

           Ron ignored the ire and wished they could figure out a better way to watch Malfoy than this—his knees couldn’t take much more. “I mean a real conversation, Harry. Not asking about the weather or saying hello.”

           Briefly, Harry thought back to the few attempts he tried at talking to Malfoy, it hadn’t exactly gone well. He had been a flustered mess and Malfoy only needed to lift his brows in response for Harry to get the gist of unvoiced messages. It was strange that Harry was becoming accustomed to the one-sided talks, well if they could truly be one-sided when Malfoy’s brows responded just as well as a sneer could. “Kind of?”

           Ron rolled his eyes before shoving Harry in front of the bust, ignoring the betrayed look his friend sent him. “Try again. Go on, this will add to our data.” He absolutely hated that a sentence like that even left his mouth.

           Harry wanted nothing more than to turn around and give Ron a piece of his mind, but Malfoy looked up from the bench he was reading on. Oh Merlin.

           “Hello,” Harry began, trying to act as if he hadn’t just been shoved. “I see you are reading.” He wanted to smack himself at the stupid observation.

           “Well spotted,” Malfoy drawled, eyes not moving off the pages of a book with no title. “What do you want, Potter?”

           Harry glanced back when Malfoy still didn’t bother looking at him, he couldn’t see Ron from behind the statue, but a freckled hand slid out and gestured him to continue.

           “How are you doing?”

           Ron nearly groaned at how painful it was. Was this how Harry had been around Cho and Ginny too? Because this wasn’t going to cut it.

           “Goodbye Potter,” Malfoy drawled, standing up and walking away with his eyes still trained on his book.

           Harry slumped to the floor, not bothering to sit on the bench. “How did I do?”

           “Not good!” Ron yelled from behind the statue. “But it did help for research purposes.”

           Well, at least there was that.

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

           “So, talking is out of the question.”

           Harry frowned at Ron. “I could always try again.”

           “Please don’t,” begged Ron as he dramatically threw himself down on his bed. “I can’t go through that again.”

           Harry wanted to point out that Ron hadn’t done anything but listen, but he was too distracted by ideas that were fruitless. “What held you back from asking Hermione out sooner?” There was a pause before he cleared his throat and amended his statement. “Not that I want to ask Malfoy out.” Because he didn’t, the mission was only for a smile, a simple smile or a lingering happiness.

           Ron clenched his fingers tightly to stop from throttling his best friend. If Harry thought for a single moment that he was fooling anyone, then Ron was going to give up on humanity in general. “Years worth of self-denial, crippling doubts and a giant empty void where my courage was supposed to be.”

           The brutally honest answer had Harry sitting up tentatively. He wanted to ask if Ron was feeling okay, but his friend was smiling. “That’s not exactly encouraging, you know?”

           Ron arched his brows. “What do you need encouragement for? I thought you didn’t want to ask him out.” Teasing Harry was honestly his only enjoyment in the stupid mission.

           Harry ducked his head, hiding behind the curtains of his own bed. “I hate you, you know that?”

           “I love you too, Harry.”

           Harry sighed softly, thankful that Ron was his best friend.

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

           “Have you thought about giving him a gift?”

           Harry scrunched up his nose in thought. “Like what? What do you get someone who has an entire fortune in their grasp?”

           “Who said a gift has to cost money?” Ron countered as they made their way towards the kitchen for a late-night snack.

           The question held merit. Harry smiled at the house elves when they already had a treacle tart waiting for him. “I could make him something, I suppose.” The thought had him wincing, crafts weren’t something he could do well.

           “Is—is Mister Harry Potter in love?” Bitty, one of Harry’s favorite house elf asked in interest as she piled way more treacle tarts then he could possibly eat on a tray.

           When Harry promptly choked on his bite, Ron laughed so hard he slipped off the stool he had claimed for himself.

           “No, Bitty I’m not—Ron! Stop laughing!” He sighed heavily when Bitty approached Ron hesitantly, clearly worried for his health.

           Ron gripped the edge of the table as he stood up, needing the support. “Yes, he’s desperately in love, but can’t see it for himself.”

           Before Harry could correct the completely insane statement, Bitty nodded her head so rapidly her ears flopped forward. “Small gifts of insight can be used for courting.”

           Courting? Harry shook his head quickly, wishing his throat hadn’t closed. “That’s not—I’m not—this is different.” It was clear by the way Bitty hummed and scratched her head that she had no clue what he was trying to say. Not that Harry exactly knew what he had been aiming to get at either. “I just want to make him happy, that’s all.”

           Bitty smiled widely before clapping her hands together. Her excitement shot a pang of longing as it reminded him of Dobby. “That is admirable. A selfless gift can also lead to courting.”

           Ron snorted loudly, ignoring the heated glare Harry sent him.

           “No courting!” Harry blurted out far louder than intended. Several house-elves stopped what they were doing to send him wary looks.

           “Mister Harry Potter wants to… mate… before courting?”

           Harry covered his face, wishing he could block out the embarrassed heat coming from his face as easily as he could tune out Ron’s roar of laughter.

           “No mating, no courting, no nothing.”

           There was a silence that settled around the room, but Harry didn’t want to break it, not when he was still trying to get his embarrassment under control. This was becoming more trouble than it was worth. It shouldn’t be this hard.

           When Harry looked up he narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the way Ron and Bitty were whispering to each other. Bitty had crawled on top of a neighboring stool and was kicking her feet slowly as she talked with Ron. “What are you two talking about?”

           “Nothing,”

            “Courting gifts.”

           Harry watched them look to each other before they both let out sheepish smiles. “I dislike the both of you.” He made his way towards the exit, not bothering to say goodbye. As the portrait swung shut, he could hear Ron say, “So, tell me more about house elf courting?”

           Bitty’s delighted exclamation rang in his ears, but that didn’t stop Harry from smiling softly.

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

           Malfoy’s confused face had Ron looking back at Harry in exasperation. “What on earth did you get him? I thought we discussed the proper cour—” He ducked when a spoonful of mashed potatoes was aimed at his head.

           “If you say courting, I will hurt you,” Harry threatened, lifting his arsenal of hot dinner once again.

           Ron rolled his eyes as he looked back towards Malfoy. “Is that…” He trailed off when it was clear that he had no idea what Harry had gotten Malfoy.

           “Hermione showed me some knitting spells.”

           Even with the context, Ron wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be. Was it a scarf? An oddly shaped pillow?

           “It’s a shirt. Not nearly as good as the ones he already wears, but it should keep him warm.”

           Ron squinted, hoping that would make the shirt appear more as it was supposed to. The longer he stared, the more Ron wondered if his eyes were failing him—because that was supposed to be a shirt? It was tiny—the shirt would barely fit Bitty let alone Malfoy.

           “Think it will fit him?” Harry asked, not looking up from his dinner.

           “No,” Ron pulled out his bag and grabbed his parchment that held their data. “No, I don’t think so.”

           “I was afraid of that,” Harry sighed regretfully, wishing he had applied the stretchable charms that would help if Malfoy decided to elongate it. “It’s the thought that counts, right?”

           Ron pretended not to hear the question as he scratched ‘gifts’ off their list.

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

           “I thought we decided that gifts weren’t going to work,” Ron pointed out, watching a school owl drop a three Belvederes on the table before Malfoy.

           “Flowers aren’t just a gift, they can be sent for a variety of things.” Harry paused when Malfoy blinked rapidly at the flowers, as if he wasn’t sure what was happening. “Surprisingly enough, flowers appear in numerous courting gifts. I had to dig deep to find some that weren’t mentioned anywhere.”

           Ron bit his lip to stop from laughing out loud. “Harry,” He gasped when the laughter became too much. “There’s a reason Belvederes aren’t in courting gifts. Flowers have a meaning, which is why you will find them intermingled into gifts to begin with.”

           Worry was beginning to make Harry’s throat close. “What does a Belvedere mean?”

           Ron snorted, unable to stop himself. “It means that you just told Malfoy you want to declare war on him.”

           “What?” Harry wasn’t proud of the squawk that left his mouth. “Why is there even a flower meaning for that?” Startling images of Voldemort sending him Belvederes entered his mind and it had Harry shaking his head quickly to dispel anything of the sort.

           Harry covered his face with his hands when Malfoy picked up the flowers and stormed out of the room.

           “I am so bad at this.”

           Ron would have agreed, but he was too busy adding this to their parchment. At this rate, they would never get the prat to smile.

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

           Three attempts later and Ron was pretty sure they were going to drive Malfoy into hiding. Harry had overheard Parkinson mention that she wished the house elves would make scones for dessert, since they were Malfoy’s favorite.

           Bitty had been too enthusiastic and the only dessert that night had been scones. Every flavor imaginable and then some. Ron wasn’t too sure why anyone would want scone flavored condiments.

           “Scones, Ron! Not even a twitch of lips. Sure, he seemed surprised and even ate five chocolate scones, but there wasn’t even a hint of a smile.”

           Ron sighed heavily as they made their way back to the common room. “I’m not even going to ask why you counted how many scones he ate. I really don’t need the headache.” Harry was taking this too far.

           “Just stick to the data,” Harry ordered, hands thrown up in the air in frustration. “We are getting close, I can just feel it.”

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

           They weren’t close at all, and Ron decided that he had made a grave mistake by ever sitting down in Harry’s compartment when they were eleven years old. Clearly, this was his fault for seeing kind green eyes and thinking being friends was a good idea. Past him was an idiot.  

           “What if—” Harry was cut off by Ron as they laid side by side on Harry’s bed, watching the top of the canopy that had been charmed to show the night sky.

           “Bad idea.”

           Harry frowned, taking his eyes off the constellations and peering at Ron. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

           “I don’t need to hear you say it to know that it will end badly.”

           Harry harrumphed and pointedly looked away. He knew that Ron was mostly right, but that didn’t mean it didn’t sting a little. It wasn’t his fault that Malfoy was a statue on the surface and completely incapable of smiling.

           “Hey,” Harry’s eyes lit up, finger pointing to a specific constellation. “Isn’t that one—”

           “If you say Draco, I am going to smother you with a pillow and deliver your body to Malfoy. We can see if that will finally make him smile.”

           Well, fuck. Harry decided it would be best for the both of them if he kept quiet for the time being.

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

           When Ron walked into their dorm and found the section where the poster of his favorite quidditch player used to be, covered with a giant mess of parchments and red lines that seemed to connect the papers, he was curious. It wasn’t until he got closer and noticed exactly what was plastered that he became agitated.

           “Harry,” Ron ground out, turning to his friend who was scribbling on yet another spare bit of parchment. “Why is our data up here?”

           “I needed the room, and that seemed like a good spot.”

           Ron breathed through his mouth a few times, trying to calm himself. When it wasn’t much help, he decided to just go with it. “That’s it. Come with me.”

           Harry yelped when Ron grabbed the back of his robes and pulled him out of the dorm and down the stairs. He made gestures towards his friends when they made it to the common room, but the traitors that they were just watched in confusion.

           It wasn’t until they made it towards the third floor that Harry realized where they were going and tried to wrangle himself free. “Ron! What are you doing? We don’t have an observational scouting today.”

           Ron rolled his eyes. “Stalking, Harry. Say it with me—stalking. That’s what we are doing. Sugarcoating it won’t change the meaning.”

           Before Harry could argue against that, he noticed that they had bypassed their usual statue. It took a moment before it was clear just what Ron was doing.

           “Here,” Ron told Malfoy, shoving Harry down on the bench next to him. “I can’t take any more of this and I will lose all sense of reality if I have to go through one more attempt. Keep him, kill him, I don’t care which—just talk it out first.”

           Harry’s mouth had dropped open halfway through Ron’s statement. He watched in disbelief when his best friend of seven years walked away, leaving him in the hands of Malfoy. This was proof that he should have just asked Hermione to help him instead.

           “Are you going to explain why you are stalking me?” Malfoy drawled, glancing up at Harry briefly with another book in his hands.

           “You knew?” Harry blurted before he winced at his own words. “And I wasn’t stalking you!”

           Malfoy arched a brow and Harry wondered if this was his amused brow lifting or his annoyed one. He had gotten better at silent cues, but there is only so many ways one can be judgmental with their brows.

           “Subtlety is not a skill you embody. At first, I believed you were wondering if I was up to something,” Malfoy mumbled, eyes finding the pages of his book. “But then the odd conversations began, the weird gifts, the declaration of war—”

           Harry held up his hands so fast that it startled Malfoy into looking up at him. “I did not declare a war!” Malfoy might think he was a lunatic with a stalking problem, but if he was going to go down, it would be without the belief of a declaration of war.

           When Malfoy lifted both brows, Harry worried what that might mean in ‘silent brooding speak’, so he rushed to explain. “I just tried to find a flower that wasn’t in any courting gifts. I didn’t realize it held a special meaning.”

           A calculating gleam entered grey eyes and Harry was positive if he breathed wrong that Malfoy might not believe him.

           “What’s the point? What is your goal here, Potter?”

           It was sad to Harry that Malfoy thought being nice to someone meant that there was an ulterior motive to it. “I just want to make you smile.” He looked down at his hands when both eyebrows lifted again. Damnit, he should not be missing the one arched brow. This was not normal.

           “Do you mind repeating that with actual words that make sense?”

           Harry winced before squaring his shoulders and looking Malfoy in the eyes. Belatedly, he realized that this was a mistake because up close, those eyes were enchanting. “I just wanted to make you happy. Even if it was just once. A passing moment and that was it. You always seem so down and a little bitter—not that that is a bad thing,” He hurried to explain when Malfoy narrowed his eyes at the implication.

           “You’ve been acting a fool because you want me to smile?”

           When it was put like that and in a tone filled with censure, Harry wondered if he should’ve ever even bothered. “Yes,” whispered Harry, eyes willing Malfoy to understand what he wasn’t even sure of himself.

           “Why do you care?”

           Harry closed his eyes, wishing that Malfoy would be as gullible as Ron. “I don’t know,” he honestly answered. “I’ve been trying to rationalize it myself. Everyone deserves to be happy, and I want that for you too.”

           There was a silence that settled around them, it was stifling, and Harry almost loosened his tie just to give him something to do.

           “You are aware that those were horrible attempts, aren’t you?” Malfoy drawled, tone neutral, not giving off any hint to what the Slytherin was thinking.

           “Not all of them.” The urge to defend himself was pretty strong. Sure, a few of his attempts weren’t the best, but it was kind of endearing, right?

           Harry didn’t even have to look up to know that both brows would be raised again, it was just a given.

           “I don’t even know what to do with the wash rag you sent.”

           Okay, that one hurt. Harry looked to Malfoy, trying not to show it. “It’s a shirt. Perhaps a bit on the small side, but it’s a shirt. You don’t have to be rude about it.” Which in hindsight was a silly thing to say. This was Malfoy, rude was a default setting.

           “Potter,” Malfoy sighed heavily. “I’m not intending to be impolite. This is rather sudden, and I am trying to make sense of it.”

           That Harry could understand, he was still having a hard time coming to grips with it all. “Not all of this is my fault.” Harry decided that Ron should take some of the blame as well. “Ron was in charge of some of the ideas too.” This time it was only one arched brow, but it was enough to make Harry nervous. His mind didn’t even filter the words as they tumbled out. “I did stop him when he suggested courting gifts, because that was not a part of the mission.” Oh Merlin. That hadn’t been what he wanted to say.

           “You wanted to court me?”

           Harry snapped his head up in horror. “No! That’s not what I was going for. Not that being courted to you would be bad—oh God, that’s not—I’m not trying to—er—this is a disaster. I’m going to kill Ron for leaving me here. I just—”

           A low chuckle cut Harry off before it turned into a laugh that was so freeing it froze Harry instantly. A small—almost nonexistent smile lifted Malfoy’s lips and Harry gasped at the sight. That’s it. That’s what he wanted.

           Malfoy tilted his head to the side, eyes wide with something shining in them. “You really did just want to see me smile.”

           It wasn’t worded as a question, but Harry nodded anyways, eyes glued to pink lips.

           “Was once enough to satisfy you?” Malfoy whispered, eyes traveling Harry’s face in a way that had him wishing he was fluent in Malfoy’s eyes the same way he now knew the man’s brow language. “That is what you said.”

           “No,” Harry blurted before his mind fully caught up with what he was saying. “I want to see it a thousand times more.” If he wasn’t so far gone already, the statement might have embarrassed Harry.

           Malfoy looked down briefly, cheeks pinking up slightly. The sight had Harry wondering how warm they would be and if the heat would be worth the burn that was already happening to his insides at the mere thought of touching Malfoy.

           “I’m not opposed to that.” Malfoy looked back up, another quirk of his lips causing Harry’s mind to evaporate.  

           As Harry took in everything there was to Malfoy, he realized Ron was right.

             He had fallen for Malfoy along the way and the thought had his own smile forming.

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

           Ron swore that he had only stayed to make sure Malfoy didn’t actually harm Harry, but if he was being honest with himself, he just wanted to see how it would play out.

           When Malfoy smiled—as small and tiny as it was—Ron wanted to point and jump in place. Weeks of hard effort had been spent on this mission. Weeks that he would never get back. Weeks of data, charts and behavior analysis and so much stalking that he had debated about turning himself into the Wizengamot.

           The urge to stay silent only lasted long enough to see Malfoy kiss Harry on the cheek. The loud whoop left his mouth faster than he cared to admit.

           “Ron! Go away,” Harry called out, hiding his face in Malfoy’s shoulder.

           The way Malfoy looked down at Harry’s head, so soft and open had Ron’s own heart melting. Yeah, it was definitely time to leave.

           “Alright, but I am telling everyone I come across about this. I didn’t spend so long on the bloody mission for my hard work to be fruitless.” They were too cute to not have some recognition.

           Before Harry or Malfoy could say something, Ron made sure to turn around and leave quickly.

           “Oi! Parvati! You are never going to believe this.”

[mynotsoawesomescenarios]

Sweet Blood |2|

A/N: Hiiiiiiiiiii! I hope you all like this heh. I worked hard on it but it still doesn’t seem to be as good as it could be. I hope you can see my growth with this series. 

~Admin Allie

Part |1| |2|

Since you weren’t welcome into your neighbors’ home, you decided to introduce yourself to the other people in the cul de sac. You walked to the house that was next to the bloodsuckers and admired the garden. It was small but the pretty blue and purple flowers made you feel welcome. It was so often where you saw roses or daisies and the sight of these flowers were so refreshing. You walked up to the door and knocked twice. You waited for a while before thinking of knocking again but when you heard shuffling inside, you kept your arms at your sides.

“Who is it?” You heard the sweet voice of an older woman speak to you through the door.

“I moved in yesterday. Uh, I live two doors down. My name is Y/-” She responded with a delighted gasp and opened the door for you. “Nice to meet you dear.” You put your hand out for a handshake but she wrapped her arms around you. You lifted your brows due to surprise but you embraced her. You and Bennie didn’t hug much, it was too weird. But to hug a complete stranger made you feel so loved. “I’m Ms. Larkspur.” She let go of you.

“I’m Y/- “

“Y/N, I know dear.” You furrowed your brow a bit, confused but a little scared as to how she knew your name. “I knew you would come soon.” She gave you a gentle smile that made you want to feel comfort in the situation but you just couldn’t.

“How did you know?”

“I saw you coming,” She tapped her temple. “With my third eye.” She winked at you and your worries lessened. It would be weird if this woman weren’t supernatural but with her announcement of her powers, you understood. But you were still confused. How did she see you coming when you are of such a low rank? You knew from your limited knowledge of tri-seekers, they only saw the path of those who are powerful or important. Seeing that you were neither, you questioned her. “Would you like to come in?” You didn’t see why not so you stepped into her house.

“Would you like a reading?” She sat in her chair and looked at you as you nodded. Tri-seekers weren’t like other psychics or fortune tellers. Everything they tell you is about how the people around you are affected by you. They don’t see the future and they don’t know everything about ones past. But they do have the ability to warn one of the people who may want to harm or help them. However, another downfall is how they tell you, they don’t outright say who the person is and they are often referred to plants and animals.

“I take it you met the lovely boys next door?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Hmm, some of them have pretty strong opinions on you already. Would you like to hear the story of the bunny, the bear, the puppy, the tiger or the cat?” Since you didn’t know who was who, you chose based off of instinct.

“The cat.”

“The cat is terrified of you,” you couldn’t see your face but you were sure that your skepticism was showing. “They know what you can do and they are afraid because you are unaware of your power.”

“But I know what I am capable of, which is very little. And if this is based off of that rumor, that folktale, then their fear is bullshit.”

“Talk to the bunny and you’ll know why.”

“How can I talk to the bunny? I don’t kn-,” Your phone rang out in an obnoxiously loud way. You looked down to it and saw that it was Bennie.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?!”

“I’m meeting our neighbors. I’m just two doors down, what’s up?”

“Come home now!”

Bennie’s command made you scared so you quickly told Ms. Larkspur goodbye and left her house. When you got outside, you saw Bennie standing in front of the men’s home. She looked at you and ran to you. You asked her was wrong but all she did was chant thankful wishes under her breath.

“Christ, I thought you were with them.” She looked suspiciously at the house you came out of. “A tri-seeker?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“There’s larkspur and nightshade in the yard.”

When you got back in the house, you were going to go to your room but Bennie called you into the living room. She said that she needed to talk to you and that it was something important.

“Okay..”

“Okay?”

“So, what I have to tell you is that this, um, this town that we live in… is for magical and mythical beings.” She blurted out the last half of the words and you laughed at her.

“You think I didn’t know that? I may not be able to sense when someone is supernatural but I am well aware of the energy of the masses.”

“And you’re not mad? You said that you wanted a normal life and to not live in one of these protected cities. I thought you hated the idea.”

“I do. But since I’m not in control of myself, even after ten years,” you added bitterly. “It’s the better option.”

She was surprised that you admitted that 1) because you were too stubborn to realize that you were pretty bad at concealing your powers and 2) you hated the idea of living in a neighborhood with just supernaturals. You had nothing against them, obviously. But you felt like it wasn’t right to have them all cooped up in one place, isolated from the beings that took up most of the earth. Despite not being human, you were still to be respected at treated like one. But to be shoved into a corner because of others who were afraid on you, dangerous or not, was frustrating. However, you did understand their concern. And places like this are good for people like you who have not yet been able to control themselves. You saw both the good and the bad in the situation. But since you lived here now, you decided to just suck it up and be happy to even have somewhere to live, a rarity for a mythical being, especially one that exposed themselves to a crowd of drunk people.

After your talk with Bennie, you walked to the living room and sat on the couch. You didn’t have anything you wanted to watch so you flipped to a random channel and let the sound fill the room as you browsed twitter on your phone. You were going to click on a funny video but the doorbell rang.

“Bennie! Did you order food?” You pushed yourself off of the couch and walked to the door.

“No.” She said down the stairs.

You pulled open the door and saw Junmyeon’s smiling face. You smiled back to him and asked him what he was here for.

“I need to talk to you about something. Would you mind if I came in?” You shook your head and moved aside, letting him into the house. You lead him into the living room and turned down the television. He sat down and started his words, not wanting to drag on the conversation more than it needed to.

“As you probably know, all of the men I live with, including myself, are vampires.” You nodded your head to show him that you understood that point very well. “Good.” He looked at you and then his eyes fell.

“Is that what you needed to tell me?”

“No,” he shook his head. “I needed to tell you about what Minseok did earlier.”

“Ah, when he forced me to go home in the blink of an eye?” You laughed it off because you personally thought that it was so hilarious that he seemed to be so scared of you.

“Yes. Minseok was the first of us to turn, he did so in the seventeen hundreds. I don’t want to give you his entire background, I’ll let him do that one day, if he wants to. But he’s experienced a lot in life, specifically with supernatural like yourself.” You cocked your head to the side out of confusion but you let Junmyeon continue before you asked him questions. “After he was turned, everyone he knew and loved was killed by a simple shifter, like you, that was bitten by one of our kind.” He looked up to you for a response but you couldn’t bring yourself to give him one. “So, he’s afraid of you because of what you could be capable of if one of us were stupid enough to turn you.” You still gave him the confused look and he laughed at you a little. “Your blood is unbelievably irresistible. Everyone started salivating when you moved in. At first, we thought you were just one of those sweet smelling girls and, truth be told, we all fought over you.” You scoffed, no longer dumbfounded. “But when Minseok let us know you were a shifter, we all backed down, well aware of the history of your kind with our kind.”

“If we all just stay away from one another, there shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“That would be true if we all had a grasp on ourselves. But Jongin and Yixing are only three years into being vampires. And Baekhyun and Sehun are only one year in. They all have a hard time suppressing their blood lust, especially living next door to you.” You looked away from him. “If they come here for any reason, please be careful.” You nodded but still had one question in the back of your mind.

“Did Minseok ever talk about the ‘vamp shifter’ in detail? I mean, everything I heard was a folklore and all of the details are inconsistent.”

“That’s the problem. The creature its self is unpredictable. There are some that live quietly and there are others who create chaos. Which is why I wanted to talk to you. Please, just stay away from the house, for the safety of not just us, but everyone in the city.” He stood up. “If you want to ask me anything else or you just want to talk, I’ll leave you my number.” He turned to leave your home but you stopped him.

“Wait! Why can I be around you but not any of the other older vampires?”

“I never said you could be around me. I may be older but I have it just as hard as the others. I just have more control over myself.” He paused and swallowed down the dryness in his throat. He licked his lips and turned in his heels just before his eyes could change. “See you around.”

Not being able to bug your neighbors made you quickly realize how boring this town was. You tried to convince Bennie to let you go out, to do anything, but with the chances of running into a vampire being higher than it was in your home town, she reluctantly refused.

“I would let you go but Junmyeon told me that almost one third of the occupants of this city are new vampires. I doubt they know or even care for the history of your kind and wouldn’t hesitate to feed off of you.” She gave you an apologetic look as she left your room and closed the door behind her.

You laid on your floor as the house grew unbearably silent without your sister’s random shuffling and strange exclamations when she realized something in her cases.

“I guess now would be a good time to work on my powers.” You scooted across the carpet and settled in front of the mirror. You looked at yourself without really knowing what to do until you thought about a book about shifting you had read a few weeks ago. One of the main tips was to let your body shift on its own for a full three minutes and then, starting from your toes, you change each feature one by one. The book specified that it would be difficult because your natural want is to change back all at once. But this exercise tested your patience and control, two things you really needed.

You closed your eyes after setting a timer on your phone. You felt very specific features be created and taken away and you were anxious for the outcome for some reason. You felt your shoulders broaden, your abdomen tighten and your general body felt more lean. But when you felt a rather…foreign feeling between your legs, your eyes flew open just before your timer went off.

“..what…the fuck?” You stared at your reflection and Baekhyun was staring back at you. “Of all people, why-why him? This stupid body.” You couldn’t get over what you had just done but you still thought about what the book said to do next.

“Okay, so I changed and now I change back.” You pondered on how exactly to do that and it came to you. It instructed that it was best to examine one body part at a time and think of how it should look instead of how it looks now, basically imagining your body how it typically would be in its set state.

You were doing good until you got past the knee. You could perfectly imagine how your own thighs looked but with your basketball shorts obstructing the view of your imitation leg, it was anything but easy to turn back. You thought of taking off the shorts but you remembered what was underneath them.

“Nope, to hell with this.” You willed your body to turn back but you couldn’t, you were stuck. You tried with everything in you to change back but you couldn’t. You then started to search for the book, looking in boxes that still hadn’t been unpacked. You ripped them open and eventually found it in a box filled with other random things.

You flipped through until you found the page you had folded in half. You skimmed the page and found the excerpt you thought would help.

“If one does not follow through with the execution of this lesson, they will be stuck until they resume. Please practice on a day with much t-,” your words trailed off and you felt so frustrated. You looked at his stupid face with was now your stupid face in frustration. You tried to think of ways around this but you couldn’t. As long as the body part was out of view, you would be like this for god knows how long.

“Fuck it..” you dropped your pants and stared at the mirror, eyes focused on you knee caps, making sure they hadn’t drifted upwards out of curiosity. After a few minutes, your thighs were your own once more. You furrowed your brows and your cheeks heated up at the thought of what you had to shift next. Your eyes slowly traced up your body and landed on his genitals. You gasped and tried to look away but once you looked you couldn’t rip your eyes away from the sight.

“God…”

“Impressed?” You nearly jumped out of your skin at the sound of the voice that was exactly the same as your own right now. Without a second thought, or any kind of common sense, you picked up your shorts and covered your bare bottom half. Baekhyun laughed at you and got closer to you. “Geez, I know I have an impact on people, but shifting into me just to check me out is a bit creepy, Y/N.” He shook his head in a disapproving manner.

“I wasn-! How the hell did you get in my house?!” The fact that his annoyingly whiny voice was creeping up your throat was disturbing.

“Window,” he said as if you should have known.

“Okay, better question: why are you in my fucking house? Aren’t you supposed to stay away from me because your feral or something?” His eyes showed a glimmer of red and he snarled at you a little, making you want to chuckle at his kid-like reaction.

“I’m not feral.”

“You sure seem like it, since you lost a little control because of a simple statement.”

“Says the one who is half me and half herself as we speak. Why haven’t you turned back yet? This shit is weird.” You lowered your head now, forgetting that you had to tend to your problem at hand. You were going to argue with him but it would be no used since he clearly knew something was up.

“I was practicing and I got stuck like this. There is a specific way that I have to use to turn back, so can you leave?”

“Do you have to be naked?”

“No!”

“Haha, you totally do. It’s okay, I won’t peak, but I’m not leaving, you can’t make me.” He hid his smiling face with his hands and parted his finger so he you look at you through them.

“I’ll call Junmeyon.” You held up your phone to threaten him but before you could unlock it, he sped across the room to retrieve it.

“I promise I won’t look. I’ll even close the door.” He walked out and you rushed to the door to lock it. You heard him laugh and you rolled your eyes.

You went back to the mirror and examined yourself again. After the initial shock, you were able to easily change each part of your body with ease. It took about thirty minutes to change back overall but you were sure that that wasn’t a bad time span for your first exercise. You dressed yourself and opened the door for Baekhyun.

“Can I have my phone now?” He handed it to you and you quickly shut the door and locked it again. While he knocked, you dialed Junmyeon’s number and let him know that the “feral one” was outside of your bedroom door. Within seconds he dragged the boy out of your house and scolded him for coming into your home uninvited.

“I told you to say away from her.” His voice was stern but still mostly disinterested as he walked out of your home. You opened your window to listen in to their conversation before they got into their own home.

“She smells so fucking good though. Just being around her makes me feel full.” Baekhyun talked like a love-struck man and it made you roll your eyes.

“You think I don’t know that?” Junmyeon’s voice was getting louder. “When I’m around her it feels like a fucking monster is trying to come out of me and devour her.” He looked up to you window as her neared his home. “But it’s either we stay away from her, we kill her or we change her.” He made eye contact as you swallowed air, and you were sure that they both felt how anxious you were from his words.

Baekhyun looked up to you window and directed his words to you, “Only one of those options is acceptable, I guess.”

[kpopfoyoseoul]

War and Peace; One

Gamer!G-Dragon x Gamer!Reader

Word Count: 1195

Genre: I’m pretty sure it’s fluff…

You and your boyfriend play War and Peace, a Virtual Reality team game.  You both lead your teams, but what happens when your teams are put against each other?

GIVE ME FEEDBACK, I’VE BEEN HOLDING THIS BACK FOR AT LEAST 3 WEEKS BECAUSE I WAS NERVOUS ABOUT SHARING MY WORK

   “Babe, wake up,” Jiyong complains as he pokes your cheek playfully, “The game is starting soon.”

   The game.  Gangs of Peace and War.  The game is self explanatory.  You can join a pre-existing gang or create your own and invite people to join. After that, the chaos begins.  Oh yeah, it’s also a Virtual Reality game.

   Jiyong and I both play it, a lot. Although though we are dating, we don’t know each others’ gangs. We refuse to even say the name of our gangs. All we know is that we are both gang leaders.  We haven’t faced each other in game yet.

   Today, my gang is playing against the highest ranking gang, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. Though my gang is ranked 2nd, BIGBANG has much more experience, and better skills, than M-Power.  They also have a few more members than us.

   Each of my 3 members has a special skill, mine being knives. I hide them everywhere.  In my boots, up my sleeves, under the waistband of my skirt.  Anywhere I possibly can.  My second-in-command, Winter, has a healing skill, so she’s always near me since I’m in close range combat quite often.  The last member, Nightshade, has a quite obvious skill…poisons.

    Each match can go two ways, either fight or form an alliance. So far neither BIGBANG or M-Power have and alliances.  Alliances come into play in the full on gang wars.  One month a year, all the gangs go head-to-head in one massive battle. This match will be my last before the gang war.

   “Babe, you can’t go back to sleep, the match starts in five minutes and I know you need prep time.”

   FIVE MINUTES!!  At this news, I’m wide awake, immediately reaching for my VR gear.  After a few failed attempts at reaching it, Jiyong gives in and passes it to me, grabbing his own too.  We both easily equip the gear and load the game.  At first I think something is wrong, until I remember that the game picks a random location, be it in a house or in an office building.  I guess I got lucky, the game chose to sent today’s match in my house.

   As is custom when one team has this advantage, I link into a voice chat with BIGBANG’s leader.

   “Quick warning to Dragon, this is my turf.”

   Their leader speaks as I finish, with a voice filter.  “Warning to Serpent, I’ve spent a large amount of time here.”

   Confused, I quickly ask, “Dragon, could you repeat that?  I couldn’t quite hear it.”

   And Dragon does, this time without the voice filter, revealing a voice I know so well, yet I can’t quite pinpoint where from.

   “Sorry about that Serpent, my filter has been acting up lately, I was warning you that I know the layout here quite well.  Could you please repeat yourself as well?”

   I quickly disable my own voice filter, knowing most filters have been malfunctioning recently.

   “Of course.  I was actually giving you a similar warning, considering I live here,” I say, suddenly remembering where I know his voice from, “Jiyong?”

   Dragon gasps, knowing BIGBANG can hear him, but not me.  I hear a door open and close down the hall, that I easily identify as the guest bedroom.  Before I can react, the match is starting.  Winter clings to me like a koala, just like the beginning of all our matches, until I shake her off, moving towards the door, ready to slide a knife out of each sleeve into my hands at any sign of immediate danger.

   As soon as I’m out the door, I signal for winter to close and lock it, jumping up to the beams that are my favorite hiding place.  Jiyong and I will often practice in real life, with fake weapons of course.  From up here, I can see his closest friend, and in game second, Youngbae, aka Sol, specialty: nano-explosives.  He’s walking towards the master bedroom, which would put him right under me.  Before he gets close enough for me to ambush, a flicker of movement catches my attention from the living room.

   Seunghyun, aka T.O.P.  Same specialty as me, but more precise.  I can tell from the way he is moving that he doesn’t have nearly as many knives hidden as me.

   I continue scanning, keeping watch on Sol all the while, until I find Daesung, the highest level health special in the game. Shortly after, I find the other Seunghyun, more commonly known as Seungri, aka DeathRi, specialty crossbow.  Finally Sol is in ambush range, but I’m hesitant to attack without knowing Jiyong’s whereabouts.

   However, I don’t let that bother me, knowing the others won’t touch me if I have a hostage.  Most people wouldn’t try to touch Sol with his nano-explosives, but I have protection against explosives.  I allow him to walk slightly past my hiding place before I swing down behind him, wrapping one arm around his torso and pinning his arms down, and sliding a knife into my right hand to hold against his throat, at the same time spinning around so he is between me and the other members of BIGBANG.

   Of course my action is already noticed by DeathRi, now aiming his crossbow before realizing what would happen if he fired.      T.O.P somehow recognized me from the other end of the hall, and lowers his blade.

   “Y/N-” he starts, before I cut him off.

   “That’s real life T.O.P, in game, it’s Serpent,” I correct him, ignoring the fact that the whole group now knows who I am.

   “Fine, Serpent, what will it take for you to let Sol go?” he asks, making a show of saying our in game names.

   “I want you to tell me where Dragon is, and I want to meet with him, alone,” I tell them, watching as their faces turn hesitant.  The game is over instantly if a leader is killed.  “Guys, you all know I’m not stupid enough to pull a knife on him when he has his revolvers.  And DeathRi, would you please stop pointing that crossbow in this direction, you’re only giving me a reason to hurt Sol.”

   Before any of the guys can respond to my demand, another walks around the corner, not realizing the situation at first.  Jiyong, aka Dragon, my boyfriend and the leader of BIGBANG.  As soon as he realized what happened, he walks towards me, ignoring the warnings of the other members.  Until I speak.

   “Dragon, don’t pass that door, I haven’t had a chance to tell my poison special to stand down yet.  I’ll let Sol go, as long as you promise to come right over here as soon as I call her off.”

   I watch as he nods, knowing I wouldn’t break my promise as long as he keeps his.  At his silent promise, I release Sol, and immediately bring my right hand to the earpiece connecting me to Winter and Nightshade.

   “Nightshade, stand down, I repeat stand down.  Do not poison Dragon.”  I nod and give Jiyong a thumbs up as soon as she confirms.

I’M READY TO MAKE MORE PARTS.

-Admin A