#I very narrowly escaped a situation like this once and it messed me up for months

[mysticstarlightduck]

21 for the writer’s ask game?

Thank you so much for the Ask, @mk-writes-stuff!!!

21. Who is/are your favorite character(s) to write?

This is such a great question! Since I have quite a lot of WIPs, I have a lot of favorite characters I love to write about as well - so, for the sake of making this answer easier for me, I'll choose some characters from Enchanted Illusions and Of Starlight and Beasts to narrow down the list (and because these two WIPs are my "Words Into Potions" project this March!)

While I like almost all of my main characters and POV characters some of them just take the cake when it comes to being the ones I have the most fun writing and creating!

I'll give a quick summary to each of the characters I mention here (:

Of Starlight and Beasts

Leora Tallin - a young warrior from the former kingdom of Idrevan, which was conquered and annexed by the Crimson Queen's army generations ago. Leora was once a terrified orphan child whose magic caught the attention of Meira's army, who intended to have her trained as a soldier for their wars - a fate she narrowly escaped thanks to her older sister rescuing her. Now, Leora is the leader of a growing faction in Idrevan's underworld, seeking to offer the oppressed a chance of freedom away from the Crimson Queen's hold on their land. She's very much a brash, "strike first, ask questions later" type of character, and is also highly intelligent - while she yearns for her revenge on the General who ruined her childhood - a General who also nearly killed her adoptive brother - Leora also knows that openly standing up to Queen Meira without a plan would be a disaster waiting to happen, and so she waits and grows her power for the perfect opportunity to take a stand.

Arammys Lochlain (also this book's certified cinnamon roll!): Arammys is a young man whose memories of his past were stolen from him, for a reason he does not know. He is also the Starlit Guardian - (someone who has the most ancient and powerful magic their world can possess, a power said to be remnants of the power that created the realms, a magic which his family line have been the carriers of for millennia now). I love writing Arammys because, he's just the sweetest, kindest, most pure-of-heart character in this whole series - and despite his normally pacifist manner, he is also someone people really, really shouldn't mess with. I guess I just really love the "cinnamon roll that could kill you" type of characters lmao! He is the love interest of Corah, one of the main characters, and their story is one of my all-time favorite subplots this book has to offer!

Eidan Delythen - A formerly bright-eyed inventor, ward of a noble family, Eidan's world was destroyed and torn upside down by his treasonous uncle. Blaming himself for the fate of those he once called family, who died at the hands of his uncle, Eidan resigned himself to a life of solitude, whilst he sought a way to put an end to the evils and beasts that the corrupted magic of the Crimson Queen's magic brought to the land, as a way to redeem himself. He's very much a morally grey, scheming character when he is first introduced to the story, which I think is part of the reason why I love writing him so much - at first, he finds himself joining the MCs in their quest because he believes it will advance his goals, but as the story progresses and their bond starts to grow he genuinely starts caring about his newfound friends and participating on the quest for the right reasons while remaining quite the schemer when it comes to plotting the villains' downfalls. I guess it is just so cool to write the character whom he becomes later on in the book - still a morally grey, scheming character who manipulates situations for his gain, but who now does it with a noble goal in mind, to help his friends.

Tomasa Flammyr - She lives in the kingdom's coastal city, and is hopelessly in love with her girlfriend, Nadya. Tomasa also has high hopes of one day joining the royal Navy - her whole reason for helping the main cast, other than stopping the Crimson Queen will save thousands of innocents, is that she believes this is her chance to become the hero she dreamed of, just like the ones in the tales she was told growing up, and that it'll also be her chance to impress her future in-laws. She also happens to be a very (literally, physically and mentally, she's unbelievably strong) strong female character - she could carry most of the main characters with one arm and be unfazed - which, for me, is one of the reasons I love writing her so much. Other than that, she is just a really sweet person who also is a brave and honorable fighter, who loves puppies and all things cute in the world, but who also could defeat a giant in a five-minute brawl. Her secret shapeshifting ability is also a part of one of the greatest plot twists of the book! (:

Enchanted Illusions

Augustus Grimmure - One of the book's protagonists, Augustus is an all-powerful necromancer who made a deal with the deamon Deathbringer (an ancient entity of their world) for more power after being betrayed by his peers. He dreams of creating a world where innocent people are safe from harm, and where progress can really flourish - and being an "anti-hero" type of character, he believes that this can only achieved by purging all those who are pointlessly cruel and abusive from the city, eliminating the worst criminals, the kind of people who would create more injustices like the ones he faced. I just love how, while he is a morally grey character who often does questionable things for a noble/good goal (and is not above killing his enemies), he is also a kind and caring young scholar who wants to keep his friends and loved ones safe and happy. The dichotomy of someone who can go "I'll devour your soul" to criminals/his sworn enemies, and then do a 180° and go back home to his friends and family like nothing happened, straight up "Do you want hot chocolate, my dear?", is very fun and compelling for me to write!

Marcus Kallihan - The most dangerous assassin Ansburke has ever seen, Marcus Kallihan rose from street urchin to king of one of the most powerful mobs in the city. He runs the city's criminal underworld with an iron fist, ensuring that while his business is booming, innocent and honest folk can have a better and brighter future than the one he had. He runs The Fair - a giant underworld city-like landscape underneath the city of Ansburke, where he welcomes the outcasts and misfits from all around the region, and where he conducts most of his underworld business as well. He is a mobster with a strict moral compass, much different than his fellow mob bosses in other gangs, and due to him being a very much "Robin Hood" like figure, is adored by the people. He is also known as the Phoenix. I just love how his character is a badass with a heart of gold who took "the cards he was dealt with" and used them as a chance to give people like him a different fate than his, so that no other street kid had to resort to crimes to get by, like he had to.

(Most characters in Enchanted Illusions are antiheroes, which is really due to the world they live in, and that's very interesting dynamic as a whole for me)

Evangeline Daemitya - Daughter of the richest and most powerful man in the city (Damien Daemitya, heir of the most influential family in Ansburke, and also a member of the city's High Council of Sorcerers), Evie is a very sweet, studious, and opinionated lady, despite her sheltered existence. She has the means to make this city a better place, and when she discovers a conspiracy involving the nobility of the city, Evie takes it upon herself to change the way things are about to go. She's determined, madcap, and stubborn, a daredevil at heart who is not afraid of taking risks and leaps of faith if it means getting things done, while also being one of the most polite and pure characters in the book. She's very feminine and very strong at the same time! She wants to be a good person - unlike her callous, abusive ex-step-mother, who made a great part of her past a living hell - and use her extensive monetary means, as well as her knowledge, to give the city a chance at progress.

[castielmacleod]

sorry if this counts as a nfsw ask but it’s interesting to me that you call cas sex averse! i have never heard that take, only people saying cas is constantly horny for dean, can you expand a little? again sorry if this is a sensitive q

Hi, that’s okay, I can talk about it a little! It’s a bit of a recent realisation for me but one that I see pretty well grounded in canon. It’s just based on the whole April thing and how I don’t really think Cas would want to have sex again after that. He was already at least disinterested in it (even terrified of the idea of having sex with women specifically, if you think about 5x03) and then that coercive event happened in 9x03 that I think would be honestly very traumatising if spn was a normal show where things affected people

Like I AM a gay Cas truther, I think he is attracted to men, and that that is a good and normal and natural thing…. I do think he would enjoy consensual, safe sex with a partner he could be sure he could trust, and that he’d enjoy feeling emotionally and physically close with someone he loved in that way. But I think it would take him a while to feel comfortable enough to enter that situation again, if ever, and that he’d need someone to be very patient with him and considerate of that

Some elaboration on the 9x03 situation under the cut because I can’t help but ramble, I’ll just put out a cw that I will be discussing the nonconsensual nature of what happened with Cas and April, so please just be wary of that.

So 9x03 is one of the more horrific and upsetting episodes spn ever put out, which is saying something. These tags by @/waifstiel on this post sum up my opinion of the situation pretty well.

There were people hunting him, April was offering him food, shelter, and medical care. It was stay with her or get thrown back out onto the streets.

She also just started kissing him apropos of virtually nothing, so Cas may have also thought it was what Humans Do, similar to how he reacted when Meg kissed him. The people in Cas’ life, especially Dean, have done nothing but indicate that Men Have Sex With Women And That’s How The World Works, so there’s that too.

And to go back to waifstiel’s tags, he had absolutely expressed disinterest, dislike, and even fear of sex in the seasons before this. We all saw how he looked when confronted with sex with women in 5x03. In my opinion there is no way Cas would have had sex with April if he thought he didn’t have to.

Of course the real answer to all of this is that Buckleming are sexist rape fetishist freaks who can’t write to save their lives and they genuinely thought Cas would just do that. But anyway

Of course, the next morning April betrays Cas’ desperately placed trust by tying him up, revealing she wasn’t who she said she was, straddling him against his will, torturing him, and murdering him. So the fact that Cas had sex with her not only under duress, but without full disclosure of who she was, makes what happened between them nonconsensual in my opinion. Being coerced into giving consent for his own survival was bad enough, but now we have what might be considered a sexual assault. (Which makes the jokey way they play it off later in the episode absolutely sickening)

Anyway, those are my thoughts on that

[staarshiine]

Turbulence

words: 1,773 tw: s*icdial thoughts

Louie knew that he shouldn’t be feeling this way, that it was a dangerous and terrible thought to have, but he just couldn’t muster up the energy to care anymore.

He hadn’t cared about anything for a long time.

-

or, Louie can’t sleep. He ends up spiraling.

Ao3

Louie didn’t know what it was that woke him up.

These nights even the slightest creek from the old house could startle him awake. It was embarrassing, really, to sometimes fall out of bed just because a poster fell off a wall, especially after he had a day of avoiding bears with chainsaws for arms. Maybe being such a light sleeper was the price he had to pay for a childhood of near death experiences. A shitty trade off, if you asked him.

In the end it didn’t really matter what woke him up, the result was the same.

Louie was left laying alone in the dark, tired out of his mind, but unable to sleep.

For some awful reason, his brain had decided to choose now to be uncomfortably aware of every inch of his body, almost as if sensing his desperate attempts to fall back asleep.

His gut was churning and twisting in a way he knew would evolve into a full blown stomachache the second he decided to get up, and there was a slight pang in the left side of his rib cage. His wrist and knuckles still hurt from when he had smacked the back of his hand against a stone wall while running away from the catastrophe of the day, and there was a similar stinging pain in his knee from when he scrapped it tripping and falling on the ground to narrowly avoid the swipe of an axe. His legs and the bottoms of his feet were aching from the cardio workout he got while running for his fucking life earlier that day.

He was just so tired.

The weariness went much further than just bone deep. It was as if exhaustion was laced into every breath, like someone had made thread out of lead and had sewn it into the very fabric of his soul.

He was tired of not being able to sleep through the night. He was tired of his body hurting all the time. He was tired of being forced to fight just to live every day.

He was tired of his life. He was tired of living.

The realization dawned upon him quietly but all at once, like the tide slowly inching in until he’s suddenly been submerged by the waves he didn't notice creeping in.

Louie knew that he shouldn’t be feeling this way, that it was a dangerous and terrible thought to have, but he just couldn’t muster up the energy to care anymore.

He hadn’t cared about anything for a long time.

When had the constant danger become normal? Why had he gotten used to being kidnapped on a daily basis, as if it wasn’t horrifying enough to get locked and tied up? How had having to run just for the chance to breath for another day become a regular occurrence?

Louie had been running on pure fear for so long, he wasn’t sure how to get through the day without adrenaline pulsing through his veins.

Maybe he was tired of fighting. He barely even knew what he was fighting for.

It wasn’t as if Uncle Scrooge allowed him to keep any of the treasures they found on adventures. The golden luster of a future life filled with riches had begun to lose its shine. Was some pretty coin worth all the trouble it was taking to get there?

He didn’t have many big dreams outside of just getting rich, it was almost sad. It was sad. But it wasn’t as if he was going to get far in life anyways. Louie was a greedy, lazy, selfish bastard and he knew that fact uncomfortably well. No matter what Louie did he could never seem to escape who he really was. Someone always ended up getting hurt.

Did he have anyone to be there for?

He didn’t have many friends, either. Not that he ever really tried to make any, not after the disaster that was Doofus Drake. Lena, Boyd, Violet, and Gosalyn were all nice, but they weren’t really his friends. They were all closer to his siblings. He wasn’t anyone’s first choice.

There was always his family.

His family who probably hated him.

Louie couldn’t even count the number of times he had put them into mortal danger for stupid reasons. No shiny ring or necklace was worth their lives, but he was always blinded by the shine and his own selfish greed, and risked it anyways. What reason had he given to deserve their love? He brought nothing good to the table. All he did was sit around all day and get in the way.

His family didn’t seem to have the same problems with the constant adventures that he did. Day after day they just popped back into action, bravely facing whatever life threw their way. Louie felt so ashamed in comparison. Was the problem just him? What was wrong with him?

Why couldn’t he do anything right?

Schemes were supposed to be his thing, the one skill he had that had the capacity to be helpful, to some degree. He fucked that up too.

He had blinked all of them out of existence because of his stupid fucking schemes, and his mom hated him for it. Of course she did. Who wouldn’t? He certainly did.

God.

He just wanted to go back to bed.

Louie didn’t know how much time he had spent, falling deeper and deeper into his own head, but he felt worse than ever before.

His blanket had long stopped being comforting and instead became suffocating. He could barely muster the energy to rip it off, and the sudden cold made him feel sick to his stomach.

Living in a literal tower seemed cool, but the novelty wore off once they realized Scrooge was too cheap to pay for the heating in the room.

Still, the cold was better than the clammy constricting blanket. He curled up tight into a fetal position, and tried to bite back the tears burning in his eyes.

Louie knew he wasn’t in the right mind, that his brain was playing tricks on him and skewing his perception of reality, but god did it feel real.

In that moment he truly believed nobody cared for him. That he was totally and utterly alone.

Then Dewey let out a loud snore above him.

It was such a stupid and small thing, but he couldn’t help but let out a snort. Which then exploded into full blown laughter.

Louie just couldn’t stop. He knew he was definitely going to wake someone up, but he just couldn’t control himself. He doubled over wheezing and cackling till his stomach and cheeks hurt, and each gasping breath began to turn into sobs.

Between the sound of his own manic laughter he could hear the sheets above him shuffling, and the quiet thunks of Huey climbing down the ladder.

Knowing his brothers were awake to witness his hot mess of a breakdown just made the situation even more hilarious in the same way a depressed clown falling on his ass was. Louie’s face was bright red from how hard he was laughing, and hot tears were streaming down his cheeks. He could barely breathe. Nothing about the situation felt real.

“...Louie?”

Dewey’s sleepy voice cut through Louie’s gasping breaths, and startled him out of his crazed giggling. Somehow both his brothers had manifested at the edge of his bed without him noticing. Louie could barely make out his brothers’ concerned expressions through his watery eyes.

Huey’s eyebrows were furrowed so hard Louie was surprised he hadn’t gotten wrinkles yet, and Dewey was rubbing his eye and clutching a pillow to his chest. He looked almost scared. Louie had to look really insane for Dewey of all people to be scared, Dewey wasn’t scared of anything. It was honestly concerning sometimes how often he would throw himself head first into danger.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Huey fretted, and moved to sit near him on the bed.

Like he had to ask. Louie knew he looked like a garbage fire that was hit by a freight train then tossed into a blender and hurled into the fucking sea.

You tell me, do I look okay, Hubert?

He knew he was being a little mean, but it was enough to throw Louie back into hysterical laughter, which quickly dissolved into violent sobs. Huey let out a distraught noise and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. Louie just let himself be held and cry into his older brother’s sleep shirt. He felt like a baby, but he couldn’t be bothered to care anymore. The bed dipped and creaked slightly as Dewey sat down on the other side, and began to rub circles into his back. That just made Louie cry even harder.

They really did care about him.

The thought suddenly flooded him with pure relief.

Louie didn’t know how long he spent sitting there and sobbing his eyes out, but eventually he ran out of tears to spill. His heaving cries sputtered off into quiet gasps and eventually he was left quietly clutching to Huey’s side. The night still felt unreal, like the second Louie let go Huey and Dewey would vanish and he would be all alone again.

“...No,” Louie weakly whispered out, his voice scratchy and raw from the abuse Louie had just put his throat through. “I’m not okay. I… I think I haven't been for a really long time.”

No one said anything. Dewey just leaned into his other side and gave Louie’s hand a slight squeeze. Huey shifted slightly to reach up and gently wipe away Louie’s tears. He rested his palm against Louie’s cheek and guided his head to rest on Huey’s shoulder. They were such small acts of affection, but it was enough to warm Louie’s heart. It was right there, sitting sandwiched between both his brother’s, did Louie finally feel a sliver of hope.

He was loved.

It didn’t matter what he thought of himself, there would always be two people in his little corner of the world who cared about him.

Louie was still tired. He wasn’t sure anything could lift that heavy feeling out of his chest, but just sitting there and being held made it just the slightest bit lighter.

Maybe he could make it through another day.

Maybe tomorrow morning he could work up the courage to talk to his siblings and explain just exactly how he was feeling. But for now, all Louie was concerned about was letting his heavy eyelids slip shut.

And finally, he fell asleep.

[kalle-and-lita]

Aiko was beside herself. She sat on his sofa with tears on her face and her head thrown back in a wail. Kalle grit his teeth and pinched the bridge of his nose, the noise a high pitched ring in his ear. Cato, who hovered just next to her, playfully poked her with a small stuffed bear.

"Come dearest," he coaxed, "Take the stuffy, you'll feel better after you hug it."

Unamused, Aiko pushed it away and screamed louder.

"Cato, please," Kalle begged, "That's only going to upset her more."

"I am willing to take ideas then," he snapped back through a pained smile, "But you will have to forgive me if I don't listen to a man who keeps secrets from me!."

Oh if looks could kill Kalle would be a dead man on the floor. The old Night Lord closed his eyes and sighed through his nose. The intensity behind Cato's glare sent a shiver down his spine, but he hid it behind his usual irritated facade.

"I keep my secrets for good reason," Kalle replied stalking to the vault door to close it. He had kept it open in his haste to contact help. He shook his head as everything snapped back into place, "But this is neither the place nor time for this arguement."

"Fine," Cato stood and set the bear on the coffee table. He pointed a finger threateningly at him, "But we are going to discuss this, mark my words. And stars preserve me if you try and get out of this."

With a final glare Cato returned his attention to Aiko. Her screams had died to a pitiful sniffle, large eyes flickering between the two of them. There was confusion on her tear stained face, her cheeks and nose puffy and red. Kalle exchanged a glance with Cato and ever so carefully approached the couch. He bent to his knees, stuck between the sofa and the coffee table, and reached out to thumb away the stray tears on Aiko's cheek. She looked at him, so small and precious, and he couldn't help but to smile.

"I'll make a trip to the requisition office," Cato sighed, "Aiko is going to need new clothes until we figure out how to cure her. And Toys, lots and lots of toys. What say you, dearest?"

Cato approached the couch and held out his arms for Aiko. She looked up at him with those big, half pitched eyes of hers before reaching back out to him. She dug her face into his chest once she was safely secured, her tiny hands clenching the fabric of his tunic.

"I'll inform Guilliman of the situation and begin work on a way to reverse Aiko's condition."

Cato just shot him a look before sweeping out of the room. Kalle watched, nervously rubbing the back of his neck at the cold departure. Yet, he pushed his partner's obvious displeasure from his mind. There were far more important things to do.

Swift strides carried him through the halls and to the Primarch's office. He found Guilliman surrounded by a mountain of paperwork, and he looked none too pleased at the interruption.

"You've finished with your experiments on the artifact?"

"Not exactly," He felt Roboute's gaze narrow down on him, "There's been an... incident."

"What kind?"

"As I was performing my experiments on the artifact I made the crucial mistake of believing I was alone in my stateroom. During the procedure Aiko snuck into my vault behind me and was hit with a stray temporal arc."

The Primarch's desk was knocked over, the tablets and papers scattering. Under normal circumstances the situation would frighten him; the anger and ire of a Primarch was no small matter after all. Yet, Kalle was far too old and far too tired to be intimidated.

Roboute rounded the desk and stood toe to toe with him. Though the Primarch was much taller than him he was still regarded coolly by the smaller Night Lord.

'"She lives. I can only theorize how, but my best guess is that her precognition allowed her to narrowly avoid the full arc of the artifact. At this time, Aiko is no older than a toddler."

Roboute didn't look pleased, "Is there any way to reverse the effects."

"Not right now."

The scowl he received was withering. The large Primarch turned to the mess and tegarded it with clear disdain, "We agreed that the vault was a necessary secret to keep the occupants of this fortress safe, as well as the rest of the galaxy. It does not please me to learn your defenses are so easily circumvented."

Kalle wisely bit his tongue. His carelessness had caused this. Only a hypocrite would argue against it. So instead he watched Guilliman.

"A battleship is hardly a place for a child..."

"I can transfer the vault door to a new space, somewhere quiet. It would be safer for Aiko and still allow me time to deduce a way to reverse the aging effects."

Guilliman nodded, "Very well. I'll start the transfer process. An Agri-world will suit your needs well enough?"

Kalle nodded, "I will pack and begin set up of the new housing. I thank you for the time."

"In the meantime, I think it best we review the necessity of this vault of yours, and if need be more secure measures to keep out unwanted visitors."

Kalle once again wisely kept his mouth shut, dipped his head and left without another word. The halls were quiet but his thoughts were a loud chorus. Plans and theories, experiments to be done. The artifact was the answer but the equation eluded him.

"Kalle!"

He snapped back to reality to find Cato staring up at him in concern. Aiko rested comfortably on his hip, her two middle fingers in her mouth. She blinked at him slowly, all dressed up in a comfortable tunic. In Cato's other hand was a large bag.

"You gave the Primarch your report?"

Kalle nodded and unlocked the door. Cato swept through the threshold, discarded the bag by the door so he could swing Aiko from his hip. She looked so ridiculously small in his arms, though her expression was that of a grumpy little girl.

"I think someone had a big day!" Cato pulled her close and peppered her cheek with kisses. Aiko grumbled but didn't fight back, "We got toys, stuffys, clothes. I tried to find her some pretty dresses but my baby didn't seem to like that idea very much."

Aiko wiggled in an attempt to escape the onslaught of affection. Cato put her down with a laugh and watched her scamper to the couch. Their couch was made for the likes of Astartes, so watching a toddler her size struggle to climb it was amusing.

Kalle approached while Cato dug through the bag. He caught her attention with a playful tug to her hair.

"Da!" She snapped, clearly unhappy. She shot him a glare as she clung to the cushions, her small leg halfway up and over.

"Are you stuck?" He teased. She made a face as she tried to pull herself up. "Do you want help?"

A furious flush crept into her cheeks, "No! I do!"

Kalle hid his smile behind his hand, shoulders shuddering as he tried not to laugh at her. He watched her struggled a moment or two longer before he subtly bid the shadows at her feet to lift her up. She clambered up with a grunt and a very satisfied look on her face, reaching out to a large stuffed grynx Cato offered to her. Her small arms wrapped around it as she slid down on the couch.

"So?" They watched as Aiko, two fingers back in her mouth, drifted off to sleep. Kalle cast a sideways glance to partner, whose eyes never left their daughter. Unsure of what to say, the old Night Lord turned to the kitchen.

"Speak your mind." He offered, digging around for cookware and food to make. Cato huffed loudly,

"The Primarch's consensus on this matter?"

He could feel Cato's stare drilling a hole in the back of his neck, "Aiko and I will be moved to a quiet Agri-world so I can work on reversing her age. It will keep her out of danger, and give me the space required to work."

From his peripheral he watched Cato enter the kitchen and fill the sink with water. An awkward silence fell over the pair as they worked; Kalle prepared a simmering stew as Cato cleaned after him. They moved around each other with nary a word or a glance, a stark contrast to the flirting the duo was prone to.

"I'm going with you."

Kalle shook his head, gaze stubbornly locked onto the pot of food he slowly stirred, "As Captain of the Victrix guard you are needed here. I cannot ask you to step away from your duties."

"You are not asking, I am volunteering."

"My statement still stands, you are too important to leave and I am more than capable of handling this on my own."

"Are you?!" Cato turned on him in a flash, the drying rag was thrown to the counter. Kalle felt his heart rate spike in an instant. "Aiko was an adult and you couldn't be bothered to lock a door behind you; and now I'm supposed to trust you with a toddler?! No, absolutely not, out of the question."

"Cato-"

"No!" Cato's tone turned icy, hard and inflexible like steel. "This is not up for debate, Kalle. I trusted you, and I assumed after all this time you felt the same. Only today do I find that you're keeping dangerous artifacts in our flat!"

Cato snarled and turned back to the sink. He drained the water and dried his hands, breathing heavily through his nose.

"We live here, Kalle, and you couldn't tell me?"

"It was meant to protect the both of you, Cato!" Anger raced through his veins like a fire. "There are things in this galaxy that are too dangerous to destroy! It is far better to keep them locked away and where I am the only one with access to the door!"

"And you did such a wonderful job protecting Aiko!" Cato snapped, his tone dripping in sarcasm. Kalle's thin veneer of patience finally snapped with an audible crack. The light in the kitchen shattered, the glass tinkled as the shards hit the floor. Shadows writhed around him as the anger burned. Despite that, Cato did not seem afraid.

"Partners do not keep secrets from each other. I do not trust you, therefore I am going. That is final." He turned and walked away. He was a solitary figure in the dim light of the living room. Wordlessly, he cradled Aiko's small sleeping form in his arms and swept out of the flat.

Kalle screamed when the door finally hissed shut.

[stardusttrashed]

Dancing in the Moonlight

Based on Dancing in the Moonlight by Alt-J

A/n: y/n’s quirk is both earth and water manipulation, but she hasn’t quite got the hang of using both at the same time

You shifted your foot in the soil, digging into the dirt slightly. The soil was cool beneath your aching feet, providing a smidge of comfort. Steadying your breath you focused on the air filling your lungs. You held your breath as your arms moved into place, the limbs fluid like water. Your eyes fluttered shut as you drifted into a deep concentration. You formed a dirt wall in front of you by turning your foot and prepared your water for the next part of your attack.

“It’s almost curfew,” a familiar voice called out, breaking your concentration. The water you had been gathering with your arms splashed out of control, soaking your shift before seeping into the ground. You muttered swears to yourself as you turned around. Todoroki gave you an apologetic look, “sorry. I didn’t mean to mess up your concentration.”

You relaxed your shoulders and smiled tenderly. “You’re out late, everything alright?” You picked up your water bottle and sipped from it, maintaining eye contact. You unsuccessfully attempted to keep your eyes from drifting down his body and focus on his. But you couldn’t. As beautiful and enchanting as his heterochromia eyes were, you couldn’t help but take in the rest of him. He was in his casual clothes but seemed far from getting ready for bed. His button-up shirt hid his slim yet muscular form making him seem almost lanky. 

Todoroki’s eyes drifted down to the ground, focusing on his shoes. “Yeah. I was heading to bed and saw you out here.” That wasn’t completely the truth, but it also wasn’t a complete lie. Truth be told he had been looking around the dorm for you since you weren’t up to hanging out with everyone else. Quite frankly he missed your presence. He missed being able to look around and spot you or feel your warmth fill the room. He had excused himself from the group to go find you. 

He spotted you through a window and watched you for almost an hour before he got himself to walk over. All he could see was a silhouette in the moonlight, but he knew instantly it was you.  You were the only one he could think of with movements so graceful yet firm like bamboo in the wind. 

You watched him for another moment, waiting to see if he’d bring his eyes back up to yours. “Well… since you’re awake,” you took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself. Being around him filled your stomach with butterflies and made thinking clearly a troublesome task. And yet there was always a sense of familiarity with him like you’ve known him for years. You busied yourself by fixing your bun. “Feel like helping a friend out with some sparring? Won’t get better with my quirk if I don’t use it in combat situations.” 

It was nearly ten and he knew he should say no. Tell you that you both should go to bed. Or even that you shouldn’t fight out here. But he couldn’t, not with you looking at him like that. You were his kryptonite in so many ways, yet even he was oblivious to it. “Any rules?” He shrugged off his button-down shirt and walked closer.

You popped up to your tiptoes in excitement. “No holding back. And don’t get caught by Aizawa,” you shrugged as if it was simple knowledge. The smirk on his lips sent a rush down your spine. You dug your toes into the dirt, readying your defensive stance. 

Todoroki stood in front of you casually. Without any signal, he sent a rushing wave of ice along the ground. He knew you, watched you fight enough to know you weren’t one to underestimate. Even if you didn’t always have a good handle on your quirk. 

You lifted the ground beneath you, using it as a stepping stool to launch yourself onto the icy floor. You skated towards him, narrowly avoiding a blast from his flashfreeze heatwave. With a flick of your wrist, you transformed his ice into a water barrier. You swung your arms to guide the water into a rushing wall that encircled you and him. A look of surprise crossed his face, quickly replaced by an impressed smile. 

“When’d you learn how to do this,” Todoroki asked cooly, his smile suppressing itself into a smirk. 

“Like I’d tell,” you smirked proudly. The cool summer breeze provided a refreshing feeling and pushed your stray strands into your face. “But I did have inspiration.” You searched his eyes wondering if he’d pick up that he was your inspiration, but all you received was a blank stare. With a sigh, you flicked your finger, guiding a small burst of water towards his back as a sneak attack. 

“Try again,” he chuckled in an almost cocky manner as he froze the burst and wall. The ice block fell to the ground with a loud clatter, shattering into dozens of ice bits. “Nice try though.” The ground around your feet began to quickly freeze, trying to latch onto your feet. 

You formed a flight of stairs out of the ground as you tried to escape the lighting fast ice that engulfed everything in its path. “Is the famous Todoroki talking trash,” you teased him as you leaped off the highest step with a graceful flip. You formed a small wave to help guide you back to the ground. Before you could attempt another escape Todoroki sent ice shards towards you that froze your wave and feet along with it. 

Todorki shrugged confidently, “just an observation. Looks like I won.” He shoved his hands into his pocket and tried to turn around to go get his shirt, but his feet wouldn’t budge. He looked down with a dumbfounded expression at his buried feet. You had somehow managed to trap his feet into a dirt prison without him feeling. 

You suppressed your giggles and took advantage of his momentary guard drop, sending a wave of water towards him. You rode on the tail of the wave, watching as it soaked him, unfortunately breaking your dirt prison. “You didn’t think I’d give up that easy with you, did you,” you asked as you landed a short distance in front of him. 

He looked up at you through his drenched hair, the water dripping into his eyes slowly. “I hoped you didn’t.” You looked absolutely gorgeous under the moonlight. It was hard to admire you and fight you at the same time, but that didn’t deter him. He adored the way the two strands in your face were slowly starting to curl from a mixture of sweat and mist in the air. He loved watching this new side of you with your quirk. In class trainings you always seemed to have a hard time using both aspects of your quirk at once, but now you were doing it almost effortlessly. He began to wonder if it was all an act. If you were holding back in class to keep everyone from knowing how strong you were. 

“Hey, stop staring at me like that.” A blush crept onto your cheeks and you made the ground roll beneath him so he wouldn’t see. He stumbled backward, unable to catch himself before falling onto the ground. 

“Like what?” He turned the ground into ice and formed a wall behind you, bringing you towards him. You came in faster than he expected, crashing into him as he stood up. Todoroki wrapped a protective arm around your waist to steady the both of you. The close contact drove him crazy and all he could do was hope it did the same to you. His cheeks flushed as he looked into your eyes again. 

“Like-,” your breath became uneasy. His strong arm around your waist made your mind hazy while his tender eyes sent you into a drunken state. You couldn’t even escape his grasp with your quirk if you wanted to, it required too much concentration that you didn’t have. “Like that. You keep it up and I might have to kiss you,” you scoffed, assuming that’d help him let go of you. To your surprise, he continued to hold you. If anything he pulled you closer. 

“Can I?” His voice was no more than a whisper, his breath ghosting over your lips. He couldn’t tell if it was the summer heat that made him so warm or his embarrassment from having you so close. 

You let out a nervous laugh, “this isn’t very funny Shoto.” His unwavering expression settled your nerves slightly. He meant it. The boy you’d been crushing on since your first year really meant it. Two whole years of doubt and worry that your feelings weren’t returned. You opened your mouth to speak, but nothing could find its way past your lips so you simply nodded. 

His palm cupped your cheek carefully as if you were the most delicate thing in the world. Now that he finally had the chance to make his fantasy come true he seemed to be frozen in time. He knew he had your permission, but he was still nervous out of his mind. He wanted to make sure he did it right. Make sure he wouldn’t disappoint. He allowed himself to get lost in your eyes, ingraining you into his brain. 

With a soft giggle and an eye roll, you wrapped your arms his neck, pulling him down to you. You gingerly pressed your lips against his, his wet hair resting against your forehead. Without hesitation, he pulled you flush against him and pressed his lips against yours. You took it as a sign to continue, deepening the kiss. Your heart poured itself out onto his lips, letting go of everything you held onto for years. His soft lips were warmer than you thought they’d be. 

Todoroki craved more, wanting to devour you. Your taste was even more intoxicating than you were. He would give anything to make this moment last forever, but his growing struggle to breathe said otherwise. He would gladly suffocate in your presence just to keep holding you close. 

You reluctantly broke the kiss, your breath escaping your lips in small pants. “I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted to do that.” You opened your eyes to catch him admiring you once again causing you to blush. 

“Me either, but I don’t want to wait that long before we do it again.” He caught your chin between his thumb and forefinger, guiding you to look up at him. “Pardon my forwardness, but I like you- a lot.” His ocean eye lured you in closer while his fiery eye set the butterflies in your stomach ablaze. “I think I have for a while now.”

“I like you too,” you spoke softly as you swooped his hair out of his face. “And I’d really like to kiss you more often. If that’s okay with you?” The blush on his cheeks slowly crept over to his ears, making him almost as red as his hair. “Same time tomorrow?”

“Of course. I’d be honored to see more of your skills.” He looked at your smirk with a confused expression before it finally clicked. “I meant with your quirk,” he added sheepishly. “Not that I would mind seeing other things. Not- not in that sense.” He sighed in frustration as he stumbled over his words.

You cut him off with a quick kiss on his lips. “It’s fine, I’m just giving you a hard time. Come on, it’s getting late,” you slipped out of his arms, missing his warmth already. You gathered all of the water out of his clothes and hair and disbursed it into the grass. He smiled at you gratefully before picking up his shirt. 

As you both walked back to the dorms you felt his hand slip into your, holding on softly. The walk was comfortably quiet as the two of you basked in each other’s presence. You decided to take the stairs to avoid being too loud. And to give yourselves more time together before you split off to your separate rooms. 

“Good night Y/n,” Todoroki whispered as he stood in your doorway.

“More like morning,” you teased him. “It is 3 in the morning after all.”

He chuckled quietly, “I suppose it is… I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah.” You chewed on your bottom lip as you tried to think of an excuse to keep him by your side longer. “Unless you want to stay,” you decided to jump out with it, immediately regretting your decision. 

Todoroki stared at you while he thought it over. Every passing second felt like an eternity and you wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and never come out. “If you wouldn’t mind.”

The two of you laid in your bed, limbs entangled, allowing the sound of the other’s breath to lull you to sleep. One bold move after another had made way for a new summer ritual. Every night you’d both sneak out around 10 to go fight or talk and wouldn’t return until 3 in the morning. It was something you both looked forward to. A loving constant that only made the both of you fall head over heels. Though it was never outright said, during one of those nights you had transformed from friends to something more. Night escapades merged into afternoon moments of public affection and the rest of class 1-A was here for it. Your late-night fights would slowly become a show, two silhouettes dancing in the moonlight as mist and smoke floated in the air.

[nevernotwriting]

You, Me, and Yancy | Chapter 5: The Wrench in the Works

Read me on AO3!

Previous chapter

You slept surprisingly well that night, despite the heightened anxiety from your situation and what almost happened between you and Mark the night before. He kept giving you warm glances over breakfast, making you smile into your soggy cereal. Despite your current predicament, your head was on cloud nine knowing that he was still very eager to take you on that date once this mess was over.

Once breakfast was eaten and the inmates were allowed to roam, you and Mark got to work on your plan. You’d agreed that rallying the prisoners to your cause was your best way of getting out of here; there were more prisoners than guards, and with the size of some of the prisoners, the lot of you could easily overpower them.

You and Mark decided to work together to tackle the biggest, burliest prisoner first. You hadn’t caught his name yet, but he stood well over six-feet tall, sporting a large beard and a spider web tattooed onto his bald head. You gulped as Mark turned to you with a reassuring nod before poking him harshly in the bicep.

“Hey! You! I wanna talk about respect. It’s somethin’ that we’ve been really missin’ here lately.”

You watched from the side lines, ready to step in when you were needed. You suspected it wouldn’t be long; the man’s intense look of contempt was only getting worse as Mark poked him in the chest to emphasise his words.

“Now I need you to respect me, and help me and my friend break out-”

Wham.

The man’s fist collided with Mark’s stomach, and Mark was sent crashing through the wall behind him. Bricks and dust flew everywhere, clouding your vision and making you splutter. By the time the dust cleared, the wall was rapidly being filled in again, and Mark was nowhere to be seen.

Your heart started beating rapidly, stomach lurching.

Was Mark... dead?

Your head started spinning, making you feel faint. What the hell were you going to do now? Your plan had backfired and now you were on your own.

You barely had time to collect your scattered thoughts before a husky voice came from behind you.

“Break out… of this place? Why would anyone… wanna break out?”

You turned around, greeted by a man with coiffed black hair and an array of tattoos. He was sat on a table as if he owned it, looking at you with one eyebrow cocked and a devilish smile.

You weren’t entirely sure if what occurred next really happened; the man started singing to you, surrounded by his fellow prisoners. He took you by the hand as he sang, introducing you to his “gang” with the biggest smile on his face. There was dancing, even more singing – something about not wanting to be free? – and then it was all over. The lights stopped. The dancing stopped. You were surrounded by criminals once more, and now they were closing in on you. You weren’t sure whether to be impressed or intimidated by how quickly they could change their demeanour.

“So, tell me,” the man spoke again, a dangerous look in his eyes as he approached you. “Do ya still wanna be free?”

You gulped, thinking yet again about Mark being launched through that wall. He had to be okay, right? You wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if he was dead. You needed to be sure. More so than that, you had friends and family out there. You couldn’t just leave them all behind for a life behind bars, as tempting as the song made it sound.

Family, of course! You reached into your back pocket, handing the photo of your parents to the man.

“What’s this?”

He turned the paper around, almost looking disappointed as he glanced over it. “Oh. So yous the type o’ person with one o’ those… family types waitin’ for ya on the outside, huh?”

You nodded. To your intrigue, and utter bewilderment, his expression took a sombre turn, as if he was reminded of a thousand past hurts all at once.

“I too was once also one of those familial types. Before the incident… ces.”

He tossed your picture behind him with an even more pained look. “But forget it! It’s best if yous just forget about those family bonds of youses, they ain’t worth it! They always just gonna leave you behind, so best to just stick with what’s youses! The past ain’t the kinda thing to be trifled with.”

The sincerity of his monologue didn’t sound like the words of a murderer, despite what he had claimed in the song. You wanted to question him, but he shook himself out of his sadness with an exasperated sigh.

“So what’s it gonna be, huh? You gonna stick with us, or you gonna go out on your own?”

You looked behind him, noting that you still had an audience for this stand-off. Despite the anxiety growing inside you from this tense situation, you knew you had to stick to your guns.

You shook your head at the man. “Look, thanks but no thanks. I gotta get out of here.”

The man narrowed his eyes at you, his expression rapidly deteriorating into one of judgement.

“Oh. So it’s like that, huh? Maybe I misjudged you. Maybe I was distracted by that lovely face of youses. What, are we not good enough for you?!”

He gestured to the gang around him, who were laughing and cracking their knuckles as they backed away into a wide circle. You should’ve felt more terrified, having only ever landed practice punches on your colleagues during CQC training, but your mind was preoccupied by the man’s words. Did he just… compliment you? In the middle of a stand-off?

You managed to narrowly miss getting punched square in the face. You reigned in your wandering mind, adrenaline starting to course through you as the man’s gang cheered him on. You raised your fists and focused on him, lightly bouncing on the spot. Your breathing picked up as you dodged around wildly, avoiding collisions with tables and chairs and fists alike. You didn’t want to descend into violence, but the yells of encouragement encircling your makeshift arena didn’t give you much of a choice, it seemed. Eventually, you managed to land a few punches on your opponent, boosting your confidence as his attacks slowed down more and more.

For an apparent leader of a prison gang, this guy was surprisingly easy to beat. After a dozen landed punches on his face and abdomen, he fell to the floor. His gang surrounded him immediately.

“Yancy?!” Some of them gasped. So that was his name.

Yancy slurred a response. His gang looked up at you with murderous glares. They slowly started to crowd around you.

Your eyes widened in panic. Winning one fight was something, but you’d stand no chance against all these folks.

“Wait!”

Your panic was cut short. Everyone stopped and turned back around, seeing Yancy haul himself onto his feet with a tired expression. There was a circular bruise around his eye and a cut on his lip. Some deep part of you almost felt sorry for him as he trudged towards you with a sigh and apologetic eyes.

“Maybe I was wrong about yous. Maybe I was… wrong about a lotta things.”

He patted his gang members on their shoulders as he went, eventually standing in front of you.

“Look, it’s too late for me. It’s too late for us. But I can tell that yous got somethin’ worth fightin’ for out there!” Yancy continued, his voice surprisingly soft. You smiled a little in relief.

“So what’d’ya say? Let us let bygones be bygones, and let me help yous be gone from this place?”

He held out his hand for you to shake. He looked kind, and just slightly nervous.

You sighed, still recovering from the whiplash of how quickly this situation had de-escalated. You couldn’t deny it; you needed the help, and Yancy clearly knew this place better than you did.

You took his hand with a firm shake.

“Yancy, right?” You asked him.

His smile grew wider, seemingly flattered that you’d picked up on that small detail. “Yeah. And what should I call yous?”

“Call me Zero.”

Yancy hummed with an approving nod. “Zero. Got a nice ring to it. All right, let’s get to work!”

Suddenly, the lights turned a flashing red and sirens blared around the room, making you, Yancy, and his gang jump out of your skin. The Warden strode in with a furious look on his face.

“What the hell is goin’ on around here?! Somebody turn off that infernal racket!”

The alarms whirred into nothing, the lights returning to their normal, neutral colour. Yancy hunched his shoulders and curled his hands towards his chest as the Warden stalked towards him.

“Now a fight hasn’t broken out here at Happy Trails Penitentiary in fifteen years! And now,” he loomed over Yancy with a threatening aura, “I hear you started one.”

Yancy stammered through a desperate explanation. “No, Warden, I wasn’t startin’ no fights, I was just talkin’ with my new friend here!”

Yancy glanced at you with petrified eyes. Your heart was hammering in your chest.

“I’ve heard enough!” The Warden roared.

“B-b-but Warden-” Yancy stumbled on, but the Warden cut him short.

“No buts!”

Yancy’s lip trembled. You watched on in terror, frozen to your spot and unable to look away. Dread filled every fibre of your being.

“I can’t have my prisoners runnin’ around causin’ a ruckus now, can I?” The Warden asked, clapping both hands harshly onto Yancy’s shoulders. Yancy shook his head vigorously, obviously eager to escape his firm hold.

Something snapped inside of you as the Warden clamped his hands down on Yancy like that. Before you could stop yourself, you stepped forward, words shooting out of your mouth.

“It wasn’t his fault, Warden. It… it was mine.”

Yancy snapped his head towards you. His eyes lit up in gratitude, but this was quickly replaced with a look of horror as the Warden trained his murderous glare on you. You took a deep breath and stood tall, ignoring your pounding heart.

“It’s not his fault, I provoked him. He doesn’t deserve to be punished… I do.”

Silence filled the air for a few seconds. The Warden grumbled underneath his breath.

“New or not, we will not be having fights in this establishment! You hear me?!”

You nodded back silently. You clenched your fists at your side to stop your hands from trembling.

“Now, I’ll let you off with a warnin’ cause you’re only a rookie. But if I hear one single peep outta you, outta any of you, I will throw your tuchus straight into solitary! Have I made myself clear?”

You gulped, squeaking out a meagre “mhmm.” The Warden turned to Yancy and the gang, gaining an array of agreements and nods before he strode out. The same guard that escorted you into the yard yesterday shot you a threatening look, heading out the same way as the Warden.

Once the Warden was gone, everyone let out a collectively held breath. Yancy turned to you, planting a grateful hand on your shoulder.

“Hey, thanks for takin’ the heat for me,” he sighed. “Guess I really owe you one now, huh?”

You laughed a little. “You can help me by getting me the hell out of here. Deal?”

“Deal,” he replied. “But it’s gonna take me an’ the boys and girls a bitta time to come up with a plan. Think you can sit tight for a little longer?”

He winked at you, making your heart jump unexpectedly. You nodded.

Mark, if you’re out there, I’m coming for you.

Next chapter

[angelguk]

jeon jeongguk is the worst roommate ever and it’s not your fault if you end up killing him one day. or the one where your roommate jeongguk accidentally breaks your vibrator because he thought it was for massaging stuff. 1.5k 

Jeongguk is annoying. It's not even an opinion anymore, it's a straight fact. He irks every fibre in your being, poking at you all the time with a shit-eating grin. But this, this right here is the final straw. The straw that breaks the camel's back or whatever proverbial shit Namjoon was talking about in his philosophical discussion the last time you got together for lunch. You're not focused on the schematics right now, only pure fury pumping your legs forward as you kick the door of your room open and storm into the living room. He's sat pretty on the couch, hair pushed back by a pink headband and his dirty feet propped up on the coffee table. You freeze, the anger you feel psychically making your body seize up. Not to be anal, but you'd asked Jeongguk repeatedly, to keep his dirty ass feet off the table, but here he was, ignoring your request once again.

You twirl the broken vibrator in your hand and wonder how much you're willing to risk being charged with physical assault and battery when he tilts his head in your direction - not even bothering to break his eyes from the show flashing on the screen.

"What's up with you?" He says. "Kicking the doors like you’re Bigfoot. You have hands right? Use them."

Maybe having a criminal record could be worthwhile after all.

You throw the pink vibrator hard. It soars across the room, narrowly missing his massive head and knocks one of his stupid signed baseball figurines off the TV display counter. He blanches at that, spinning around to face you, bewilderment making his jaw hang.

"What the fuck?" His tone is coloured with incredulity. Like he genuinely can't believe you did that. Some part of you can't either. But you stand your ground, glaring at him from across the room. It's a good thing Seokjin was home - because you'd kill Jeongguk right now if there were no witnesses around. But you have a sneaky suspicion Seokjin has his noise-cancelling headphones on right now. Maybe you could get away with murder.

"Did you touch my vibrator?" You start, voice venomous and low in the room. He stills at that, eyes widening like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Your what?" Jeongguk twists to look at your broken vibrator sitting forlornly on the floor. "The thing you threw? If it wasn’t already broken it’s broken now."

Your skin prickles at his tone. But you bite back the rude retort sitting on the tip of your tongue. "Answer my question."

"I didn't break it!" He whines back, obstinate.

"Did you touch it?" You rephrase, knowing with certainty that the only person who would snoop through your belongings in this house was Jeongguk. And he would end up breaking your things too if you know him well enough.

There's a second too long pause in his reply and you know right away that you've got him.

"Um. Maybe I saw something that looked like your vibrator. I used it to massage my shoulders! I thought it was for massaging!" He quickly defends, seeing the fury settle in your eyes.

You blink. Hard.

"You did what?" It sounds ridiculous even to you, but Jeongguk says it with such earnest that you're afraid he did that.

"It wasn't a massaging machine?" He says, voice small.

You can't even process it, the stupidity of the young man in front of you. It takes a couple of deep meditative breaths that Namjoon taught you for your anger to subside long enough for you look Jeongguk directly in the eye without wanting to break his face.

"Jeongguk," You say it slowly, hoping he could hear the strain in your voice. "That was my vibrator. That you used. To massage your shoulders."

There's a long pause between the two of you, a dark blush creeping on his face as the realization hits him. And then it's broken by a soft, small, "Oh."

You launch across the room without a second thought, moving to wrap your hands around his neck and strangle the shit out of him. But Jeongguk moves faster than you, a result of his athletic background. His thighs pump him forward as you chase his heels, a flood of swear words leaving your mouth. That vibrator had been expensive - a self-care gift you'd gotten yourself after you'd aced your midterms for you economic class. A splurge that may have hurt your bank account, but you don't like to think about that.

It's over when he trips over the slippers strewn across your apartment floor. He hits the ground with a thud that reverberates through the house, bouncing off the walls loudly. Seokjin must have heard that. But you're too preoccupied with getting your hands around his neck and holding him down tight to care about what Seokjin might think.

You land on top of him, the breath knocked out your lungs with the force of your collision. He nearly throws you off but your anger fuels your strength and you pin him down with surprising ease.

"Jeongguk," You hiss, hands around his neck. "I swear to God, if I don't have a new vibrator in the next three days, I will cut up your fleshlight." His mouth drops at that, a gasp escaping from his pink lips.

"You wouldn't." But from the fire in your eyes, he knows you would. He can't think of a way to diffuse the situation. His fleshlight, named Betty, was very dear to his heart and if you damaged it Jeongguk feels like he might cry. There's nothing more lacklustre than nutting in his own hands. And he needed Betty for when all the girls he kept on his roster ditched him for the night. He would die without Betty.

There's only one thing coming to his mind right now. And that's because of the way you're on top of him, your crotch hovering right above his. He knows you'll probably say no - but there's no harm in trying. And your hands are getting a tad too snug around his neck.

"Bro, you know I'm too broke to buy you a brand new vibrator. Can we come to a different agreement? Please." He feels light-headed and his vision is blurring.

You relax your grip and raise an eyebrow. "I'm listening." You want to give him the benefit of the doubt. Jeongguk was stupid most of the time but was on top of all his classes. There must be more than two brain cells in that head of his.

"Okay, how about," He pauses like he's reconsidering what he's about to say. "You use my dick as a temporary replacement." It's rushed out his mouth, a torrent of words that hits your ears hard.

There's another heartbeat of silence, where your blood is throbbing in your head and your fingers begin to itch with the strong desire to punch his face. Jeongguk must realise how much he's messed up because his face freezes, terror in those big brown eyes of his. Physical assault and battery charges, here you come.

"Are you guys seriously fucking on the floor?" Seokjin's voice rings from his doorway, coloured with disdain and disgust. "Please stop! I live here too!"

You spring apart you fast, you're sure you've broken something in your ankle, from the crack that floats from the bones there. Jeongguk is surprised too, staring at you from the floor with his mouth agape, heat spreading across his face and tingling the tips of his ears rose.

"Please. You have bedrooms. Use them." Seokjin slams his door shut a second later, leaving the two of you sitting deep in your mortification.

"Y/N-" Jeongguk starts, scrambling up from the floor. He moves like he wants to help you up.

"Don't," You curtly reply, getting up by yourself. "Don't say anything. I don't want to see your face for the next few days."

He's silent as you walk away, something you're oddly grateful for.

outtakes:

flat lord jin (08:34 pm)

walked into y/n and jeongguk fucking on the living floor today

who's got bleach?

kim taehyung (08:34 pm)

what??? forreal??

yoongles (08:36 pm)

pics or it didn't happen

joonie (08:37 pm)

finally glad they're addressing their sexual tension

sick of seeing jk drool over her all the time

peepeepoopoo (08:27 pm)

EXCUSE ME

first of all, there is nothing to drool over

so shut up namjoon

second

we WERE NOT FUCKING

it was just an

interesting predicament

joonie (08:28 pm)

predicament exists in your vocabulary?

astounding

mochi bear (08:30 pm)

omg namjoon stop you'll make him cry

peepeepoopoo (08:31 pm)

CAN U STOP

I'M NOT GOING TO CRY

flat lord jin (08:33 pm)

fellas...

i can hear him crying

y/n has left the chat

mochi bear (08:34 pm)

christ jk how bad was your dick?

one pump and u were finished, right?

peepeepoopoo (08:36 pm)

WE WEREN'T FUCKING

SEOKJIN IS A LIAR

flat lord jin (08:37 pm)

excuse me.

peepeepoopoo (08:37 pm)

shit sorry, seokjin i didn't mean it!!!

flat lord jin (08:39 pm)

you're on dishwashing duty for the next week

no buts

and go check on y/n

i think she's breaking something in her room

[nicole-lynne]

If You Scare Me, You Have to Kiss Me

This was a request from @armyaghasekpop4ever​ for a fluffy Peter Parker story. I’m sorry this is so late, but I finally got a little bit of motivation so here’s this. Hope you enjoy and forgive me for it taking forever! I also didn’t proof read this soooooo apologies. 

Give a like/reblog/comment if you enjoy this!

The noisy video game blasted from the tv speakers while you and best friend, Peter, bickered about who was going to win the racing game you were playing. Peter kept reaching across the couch to mess with your controller and tickling you so you were squirming around while you kept trying to push him away from you but he just laughed and continued, using his super strength. 

"Can you two please calm down." May asked, walking into the living room. Both of you stopped to stare at her, baffled at the slinky red dress she was wearing. It wasn't very often she dressed up but when she did, she could knock the socks off of anyone.  

"Wow, May, you look hot! You have a date?" You pretended to fan yourself and she waved you off before encouraging you to continue jokingly. 

"As a matter of a fact, I do. It's a man I met who works at the shelter, John. You said you’re staying tonight since your parents are out of town, right? Are you two going to be fine for dinner?" 

You nodded reassuringly, attempting to hide the fact that you were psyched to be alone with Peter for the night. He’d been your best friend since you’d moved into the building a few years ago and the two of you spent almost every day together. There was also a tiny part of you that was crushing on him - hard. It would be impossible not to. He was crazy smart, hilarious, kind, attractive, and a literal superhero, not that many people knew that.

There was only the very obvious reason why you hadn’t told him yet. You were completely terrified to lose him if things went bad. Peter and May were always there for you with your parents traveling so much for work and you weren’t sure what you’d do if you didn’t have them to turn to.

"We'll survive. Although you may not have a nephew to come home to if he keeps cheating." 

"Hey! I am not cheating, it's not my fault you suck at this game." 

"I don't suck, you keep messing me up." You shouted as you threw a pillow at his head which he dodged and narrowly missed before he settled back into his space next to you, the heat coming off his skin making a shiver run down your spine. 

"It's alright, hun, we all know that I'm fine as long as I've got my favorite girl." May patted your shoulder and you both started giggling at the shocked look on Peter’s face. "I put some money on the counter for take out later. Please try not to kill each other while I'm gone." 

"I'll behave if he behaves. Have fun, May!" You called out after her as she ran out and closed the door. "Now, where was I? Oh yeah, kicking your ass." 

Next to you, Peter still hadn't picked up his controller, instead, he was staring at the closed door in deep thought. You started snapping your fingers loudly, trying to get his attention, and his focus shifted to you. 

“You okay, Pete?” 

“Ye-yeah, I just was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie?” 

“What about the game?” 

“Eh, I’ve beat you enough for today, gotta give you a chance to rest up.” He teased with a little sparkle in his eyes. Rolling your eyes, you shoved his arm futilely and he chuckled at how weak you were. “Why don’t you go order the food while I pick a movie.” 

“Fine, but don’t pick anything stupid. I don’t think I can handle watching Animal House or Die Hard for the thousandth time.” You said over your shoulder, ignoring his inevitable eyeroll. 

“Those movies are classics, I tell you, classics!” For as much as he protested your disinterest in his favorite movies, Peter had a different movie in mind and clicked through netflix until he found the one. 

He’d been trying, and chickening out, for months to tell you how he felt about you. So instead, he’d been settling for finding any possible way to have you right next to him. Luckily, you were completely terrified of scary movies and he knew, without a doubt, that your soft body would be pressed against him in minutes if he could convince you to watch it. 

He queued it up just in time as you walked back in, chattering away to the girl from the Thai place next door. 

“Kanya said it’ll be up in ten minutes. What’d you pick?” 

“It’s called Lights Out.” 

You narrowed your eyes at him, “Peter Benjamin Parker, that sounds like a scary movie. You know I don’t do scary movies.” 

“Oh come on, I’ve been dying to see it since it came out. And I spend all my time with you so I haven’t had the chance. It won’t be that bad,” flashing you the puppy eyes, he folding his hands together, “please?” 

With one look from his big brown eyes, you knew that you wouldn’t be able to say no to him. You looked around the room, anywhere but him, and he knew that he had you. You almost never looked at him when you were about to give in. 

“Ugh, alright! You owe me two chick flicks and dinner from that Italian place I love.” 

“No way, I hate that place.” Peter grumbled. 

“Do you want me to watch this movie or not? Because I’m perfectly happy to watch something happier.” 

He stood still for a few minutes, pretending to think about the options. “Okay, deal. Next weekend, you and me, rom coms, and Magiano’s.” Throwing out his hand, you two shook on the deal at the same time there was a knock on the door. 

While you set up the food, Peter shut the curtains, turned off the lights, and draped the blanket over you both. Clicking play, he gave you a small nudge and your heart fluttered at how happy he looked. 

~~~

Two hours later, you were smushed right against Peter, hiding your face behind his shoulder, peeking up once in a while to watch the girl on the tv be attacked by the demon shadow thing. Everytime you jumped your nails would dig in his arm and Peter would laugh and rub your thigh lightly to comfort you. Secretly, he’d barely even been watching the movie, only watching you, and loving every minute of it.

The moment you opened one eye to see what was going to happen next, there was a loud crash outside on the fire escape, the sound making you jump out of your skin and start screaming bloody murder. Popcorn flew through the air and covered their laps. Peter instantly pulled you into his arms protectively, on high alert for danger, before he realized the stray neighborhood cat had knocked over a plant. 

“Hey, it’s alright, it was just Alley Cat.” The tension melted out of Peter’s muscles, but he kept his arms around you. 

“Are you sure?” Your voice muffled against his neck, your warm breath making his eyes flutter shut for just a moment.

“Yes, I’m positive, you’re safe. Plus, you know I wouldn’t let anything hurt you.” He said quietly. 

Slowly, you lifted your head up to look up at him, your cheeks burning with embarrassment and your heart thumping erratically in your chest. Carefully, he lifted his hand and brushed your hair out of your face, tucking it behind your ear, studying your reaction closely. 

The smell of his laundry detergent mixed with the spearmint of his toothpaste and was fogging your brain. You’d been this close to him before but something felt different and your chest was tight with nerves. Glancing down between your two bodies, you saw that Peter had pulled you onto his lap in the chaos of it all. 

“Oops, I’m sorry-” You quickly shifted to get off him, but his arm was still wrapped around your waist and he held you tight so you couldn’t move. 

“Don’t be sorry...I like it.” He had never said anything like that before and you searched his face, certain he was joking around with you. His face stayed serious and you knew if you turned the lights on, there would be a hint of pink growing on his cheeks.

“You do?” You managed to squeak in response. 

Peter let out a breathy chuckle, “how could I not?” 

“Well, because I’m crushing you and this is kind of a close encounter and you think I’m your personal space.” 

“Okay, one, you’re not crushing me, you dingbat. You weigh absolutely nothing to me. And two, I like having you in my personal space.” Then he sharply inhaled and his eyes went wide. “Did that sound weird? God, that was a stupid thing to say-” 

 “Pete,” you held a finger to his lips, stopping his string of babble. “It wasn’t weird. I, um, I like being this close to you.” 

Vaguely you could feel his fingers rubbing circles on your back and they had only stopped for a fraction of a second when you said that. You held your breath as the words sunk in to him, your finger falling from his lips gradually. The situation was already intimate enough, might as well add a little more to it. 

“You do?” He asked, echoing your earlier question. 

“I guess your spidey sense hasn’t been working much lately?” You rolled your eyes, a small smirk playing on your lips. 

“Wh-what’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Have you not noticed how much you make my heart race or how I get goosebumps every time your skin just barely brushes against mine? How I spend literally all of my time with you instead of anyone else.” Taking a deep breath, you spoke again. “I like you, Peter. A lot.” 

His jaw dropped open and you giggled. Lifting a finger underneath his jaw, you closed his mouth but his face still looked mystified. 

“You’ll catch flies that way, dork-”

Peter cut you off by connecting his lips to yours in a hurried kiss. Before you could register what had happened, he was pulling away and you were chasing his lips, your eyes still closed with satisfaction. Finally, you hazily blinked your eyes open to see Peter grinning. 

Heat surfaced on your cheeks and you let your head drop onto his shoulder, hiding your face from his view. His hand cupped the back of your head and he was pressing little kisses to the parts of your face he could reach. 

“I’ve been dreaming of doing that for so long.” He whispered under his breath. “I like you too, have for a while.” 

You lifted your head just enough that you could smile up at him, placing a gentle kiss on his lips before slipping your arms around his waist. “I was so worried you would reject me...” 

“I’d have to be an idiot to reject someone as gorgeous and amazing as you. You make me so happy. When you moved in a few years ago, I thought I was having a heart attack. Just one look at you made my heart stop, babe.” 

Your stomach flipped at the casual use of the nickname. A nickname you’d always wanted to hear from him but never thought you would. You almost had the urge to pinch yourself just to make sure that this was truly happening and not some sick joke from your subconscious. 

“I can’t believe I waited so long to tell you when I could have been kissing you this whole time.” Peter tightened his hold on you, keeping you firm against his chest.

You snorted.  “I can’t believe I had to watch that scary movie just for you to finally kiss me.” 

Peter’s chest rumbled below you with a chuckle. “Well we never actually finished the movie, ya know, so I guess I don’t have to go to Magiano’s after all.” 

“No, no, no,” You shot up quickly and thumped him on the arm. “You’re not getting out of Magiano’s, Peter Parker. If anything, you owe me even more because I’m now allowing you to kiss me.” 

Smiling sweetly, he brushed his lips against yours again before relenting, “babe, I’ll go anywhere you want.”

[ddixons-angel]

Fated: Season 3

Summary: Gloria Rhee narrowly escapes Atlanta with her brother as the outbreak reaches the city. Luckily, they find a camp outside the city and together, they fend through encounters with the living and undead.

Starts a little before Season 1 and then follows the main storyline of the show.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Glenn Sister!OC

Warnings: major TWD spoilers, language, violence (the typical TWD stuff), attempted sexual assault

A/N: So it’s finally Friday! I see a lot of people weren’t too pleased with the cliff hanger hahaha well here it is, the next part of it! I hope it’s up to par for all of your patience! 

Chapter 4

Back in Cell Block C, the survivor’s block, Rick and the others have returned from their task of burning the walker bodies. Daryl was fidgeting with his crossbow on one of the tables in the main area while Rick went to check on Lori and Carl. 

“Where’s Gloria?” Glenn asks anyone who knows the answer as he looks around, worried since he doesn’t see his sister anywhere. 

“She told me she was going to patrol outside, you didn’t see her?” Beth told him, sitting at the other table with Maggie. 

Glenn shakes his head, “I didn’t...”

Suddenly, Daryl instinctively picks up his crossbow and aims it at the dark corridor that leads to Cell Block D as he hears quick-paced footsteps . A blonde, bearded man quickly emerges from the corridor but stops in his tracks as he sees Daryl holding the weapon up to him.

“Woah woah! Don’t shoot! Please!” he pleads as he holds his hands up, surrendering.

“Gimme one good reason not to!” Daryl shouts at him, his voice brings Rick out from the cell block. 

Once he sees the man in their area, Rick pulls his gun from its holster, “I thought I told you to stay away from my people!” 

“I-I know! But I had to come to you! Tomas, h-he took one of yours.” he stutters, afraid for his life, “t-the pretty Asian lady.” 

His words triggered Glenn to bolt towards him, grabbing him by the collar, “Where is she?!” 

“B-back at our cell block!” he tells them quickly. 

Glenn pushes the man out of the way and dashes through the corridor with Rick, Daryl, and the blonde man following him. As they get closer to the cell block, they can hear Gloria screaming and cursing at her captor. 

“Stop! You asshole! Fuck you!” Gloria screams and cries, continuing to thrash under Tomas. 

“Shut up, you bitch!” Tomas slaps her hard across the face. 

“Hey hey-hey stop! Stay back!” a voice calls outside the cell, but assuming it’s just his friends arguing with each other, Tomas ignores it.

He growls lowly in Gloria’s ear, “still doubting the kind of man I am?!” he rips off Gloria’s shirt in one swift movement, causing her to scream for him to stop, tears streaming from her eyes. 

A gunshot rings from the cell block, catching Tomas’s attention then he’s thrown to the ground as Daryl proceeds to beat his face, lashing out his fury on him. Rick chases the man with the gun down the cell block and Glenn rushes into the cell, pulling Gloria up to hold her but she screams again, still caught in the trauma and thinking Tomas is back to terrorize her. She struggles and pushes him away, but Glenn doesn’t give up.

“Gloria! Gloria, it’s me! It’s big brother, it’s Glenn!” he says as he holds her tight, saying the endearment she likes to tease him with in Korean. 

Gloria’s vision returns to normal, the visual of Tomas turns into Glenn as her mind warps back to reality. She starts crying, sobbing from the trauma and relief that she’s now safe with her brother. 

“Glenn...” she whimpers as she cries into his chest. 

He pulls away from her and takes off his sweater then wraps it tightly around her, wanting to make her feel more secure. He looks over to Tomas’s now dead body, his face bloody and disfigured from Daryl’s beatings. Glenn looks at the man’s corpse in disgust, feeling absolutely no remorse for him. Daryl’s sitting on the ground, heaving from his lashing out. 

He turns to look at Glenn and Gloria, “she okay?” 

Glenn nods, “I think we should get her out of this damn cell though.” 

Daryl nods and gets up from the ground and heads for the door of the cell, waiting for Glenn to help Gloria stand. They escort her out of the cell where Oscar is still standing, looking at Gloria, regretful that he couldn’t help her more. Seeing him triggered more anger within Daryl and he started to make his way to the man when Gloria reached out to grab his arm, stopping him.

“Oscar tried to help... he tried to stop him.” she says in a frail voice. 

“Ya tried?” Daryl glares at the man, “well, why didn’t ya try harder?!”

“Andrew was holdin’ me and Axel at gunpoint man, I had to distract them so Axel could go get you guys, I had no choice, man.” 

“Just leave it, Daryl.” she says, almost pleading, she just wanted to get out of this cell block. 

Daryl looks back at her and his expression softens, “okay, let’s go.” 

The boys walk her back through the corridor to the main area where the others are waiting anxiously for their return. Maggie and Carol gasp silently when they see the shape Gloria is in; her hair was a mess, clothes torn, lip split and bleeding, Gloria just wanted to hide. She lowered her head once she saw them looking at her, letting her hair fall to hide her face. She was humiliated, embarrassed, ashamed, and afraid, she just wanted to be left alone. 

“Gloria...” Carol calls out to her. 

Feeling tears well up in her eyes again, she lets out a sob as she pushes Glenn away and runs into the cell block, up the stairs and into her own cell, slamming the gate shut. Glenn tears up as he watches her run away, he was angry and hurting for what happened to her. He punches the table in anger and frustration, Maggie watches him with a worried expression, not knowing what to say to help him feel better. Later on, Rick had returned from the corridor as well.

“I chased that asshole down, led him into a part of the prison that’s full of walkers, he’s as good as dead.” Rick tells them, bitterness dripping from his voice. 

“I killed that prick, beat his face in.” Daryl says, still angry from the situation as if killing him wasn’t enough.

“I saw that...” he then looks at Glenn and softens his voice, “how is she?”

Glenn sighs and shakes his head, “she locked herself up in her cell, not talking to anyone.” 

Rick sighs at this then pats Glenn’s shoulder, “give her some time and space, she’ll be okay.” 

Hours had passed as Gloria sat on the edge of the bed in her cell. She’d been trying to calm herself down, trying to forget what happened, but the memory was just too fresh for her to stop thinking about it. It was dark in the prison now, the moon peeking through the windows being their only light source as everyone had gone to bed. Realizing how late it actually was, Gloria decided she should sleep. She lets out a sigh and lies down on the bed, closing her eyes only to open them again as she sees Tomas towering over her. She gasps loudly for air and sits back up, looking around but sees no one; that’s when she realizes that her cell looked exactly the same as the other. She couldn’t stay in there. Getting up, she runs to the gate and opens it hastily, stumbling onto the railing that overlooked the lower level of the cell block. Gloria holds onto the railing, breathing heavily with her eyes closed shut, her knuckles turning white from how hard she’s holding onto the railing. 

“Hey.” a voice calls out to her. 

Gloria gasps in fear and flinches, not knowing that there was someone else there with her. She looks at the person in front of her like a deer in headlights. She calms down a little when she sees that it’s Daryl.

“Sorry...” he says, feeling bad that he ended up scaring her. 

She shakes her head, “No... I’m sorry for reacting like that... I usually don’t scare that easy...” 

Daryl purses his lips together, “Ya can’t sleep?”

She nods at that, “I can’t be in there, in any of these cells. They’re all... too similar... too suffocating. I just... I can’t stay in there.” 

“Ya gotta sleep though.” Daryl tells her.

“I can’t!” Gloria chokes out a small sob, hating how weak she was at this moment.

Without saying another word, Daryl carefully and slowly reaches out to her, taking her hand. He’s relieved that she didn’t flinch at his touch then guides her to the bed on the perch. He ushers her to lay down on the bed while he sits on the ground by her side. 

“Ya gotta sleep.” Daryl repeats his words from earlier. 

Gloria looks up at Daryl, her eyes still wet with tears from trauma and fear. Daryl reaches out and gently caresses her face. 

“I’ll make sure nothin’ like that happens to ya ever again, I’ll protect ya.” he says in a soft voice. 

A small smile makes its way to her lips, “are you just going to watch over me as I sleep?”

“Ya wan’ me to?” he asks back, giving her a side smile. 

She shakes her head, “that’s just creepy.”

Daryl chuckles at her, deep down he’s happy that she’s talking to him like she was. He hated what happened to her today and the very thought of it made his blood boil. It soothed his heart when he saw her finally able to calm down and joke with him, her small smile warmed him and if he hadn't already, he would have made it his life's mission to protect her. She had finally been able to drift off to sleep while holding his hand. Her peaceful face, however, didn't last very long. Gloria soon started to whimper and shift in her sleep. 

"No.. Please don't..." she cries softly. 

Daryl was not a stranger to this, she was having a nightmare, most likely reliving the events of the day. He slides into bed with her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to him. 

"Shh.. 's okay, you're okay." he whispers softly into her ear. 

Her cries and whimper soon come to an end, her shaking body stills as her hand grabs onto Daryl's shirt. Gloria is still asleep as she snuggles into his chest, her breathing slows to a calm pace. She's finally able to feel safe as she sleeps in Daryl's arms. 

---

Next Chapter

And there you have it! I hope it was worth the wait! I felt like something like this was necessary mainly so I can get Gloria to sleep on the perch with Daryl just because she’s too stubborn to ask him directly hahaha my plans worked :P Let me know what you thought of this! 

In regards to everything that’s happening though, I really want to say I hope everyone stays safe and healthy, please don’t panic, we will get through this!

And as always, I would really appreciate any comments left for me! I’ll be replying to any comments in a new post because this is a sideblog!

Taglist (please let me know if you’d list to be added/removed!):

@twdeadfanfic​ | @fandomfanatic97​ | @crossbowking​ | @watchmeaspire​ | @spidergirla5​ | @kamieshep​ | @letsstarsfalling​ | @molethemollie​ | @alicewinchester99​ | @neilox​ | @womanup22​

[be-the-creature-fan]

AIN'T NO TIME LIKE 1969 by: be-the-creatue-fan. (Its a long one)

Chapter 1

Its was a quiet day at the Tortuga, ever since self quarantine started things were very quiet in the creature world. The Wild Kratts team were trying to keep busy, Chris and Martin were trading creature power discs again, Koki was making sure there was no Villain activity, Jimmy was playing his video games and Aviva was working on her inventions.

"It's Done!" Aviva said with excitement.

"What is?" asked everyone else.

"The Time Trampoline! Its finally been restored to its former glory."

Chris's face lit up with a tear in his eye, finally after over a year of waiting, the time trampoline was finished.

"So, Chris are you ready to test it out?" Martin asked.

"You don't have to ask me twice! So, Aviva how far back can this time machine go?"

"Well lucky for you Bros, this baby can go all the way back to the Jurracic Time Period!"

"For real!?" The Brothers said.

"Do you know what this means Chris?!" "We can finally see your fossil collection come to life!!!"

Chris was so excited he couldn't speak.

"Well what are you guys waiting for? You guys can visit them right now!"

So the Kratt brothers got ready to go back in time to see the dinosaurs, but little did they know that trouble was lurking close by.

"Uug Finally she finished her time trampoline thingy" Zach said as he walked towards his invisibility cloak. "It's finally time to defeat those Wild Rats once and for all!

Chapter 2

"Are you guys all set" Koki asked

"Ha! I was born ready!" Chris said as he climbed on the trampoline.

Once both Brothers were on the trampoline the countdown started, not just for the Wild Kratts team but for Zach as well.

"5.....4.....3.....2.....1....ze-" just before the team could say zero, Zach came out of nowhere and pushed Martin off the trampoline and destroyed one part of it as Chris made it into the time connection. Martin could only watch in horror as the time connection started to close right behind Chris. As Chris saw the time connection close up, he knew that he had to travel to a time period more recent then what he originally planned or he would be toast. So without thinking Chris threw the other smaller time trampoline just right infront of him and narrowly avoided his ultimate doom.

June 20th 1969 (9:52pm) Warren NJ

Chris found himself in a tree with the trampoline just under him. As Chris jumped on to the trampoline he couldn't help but feel that where ever he was at felt familiar in a way but he still didn't know where or when he was at, so he just packed up the trampoline and started to wander the streets. After walking for about an hour Chris began to feel tried and hungry and the feeling of being lost and alone didn't help. Just then, as he was walking near an alley way he felt a large tug on his arm and with one swift move he found himself on the ground being beaten up by a small gang of thieves. He could feel them snatch the time trampoline away as they ran away. Chris continued to lie on the cement motionless until he found the courage to get up and keep walking. He was still in shock and didn't know how badly he was hurt, and couldn't tell if he was sweating or losing blood but as he kept walking, everything kept becoming more and more familiar. Chris finally found himself infront of his childhood home and because of the pain and exhaustion he had felt, he clasped in the front yard only hidden by a bush.

Chapter 3

"CHRIS!" Martin screamed as he gased up at the time connection which had just closed. "Zach! Look what you have done now!" Martin looked at Zach with a murderous intent in his eyes. In a split second Martin leaped towards Zach and proceeded to put him in a choke hold. The rest of the Wild Kratts gang had to pry Martin off of Zach. But before Zach could escape, Aviva used the robotic arms to keep a hold on Zach.

"So Zach, What in the Creature World was that all about?!?!" Martin angrily asked.

"I don't have to say if I don't want too." Zach responded with a smirk on his face.

"Listen here you little sh-"

"MARTIN, LANGUAGE!!!" Koki said to quickly interrupt Martin.

"Dang, Martin. Sombody please remind me never to mess with Chris." Jimmy said in a kind of joking manner.

"Jimmy?"

"Yes Martin?"

"Shut up."

After a moment of awkward silence.....

"Oh Martin I was able to pick up a signal coming from the other trampoline." said Koki.

"Really? Where at do you know if Chris made it?"

"Well there was activity after the trampoline made it so he was able to escape the closing of the time connection, however I cant pinpoint where he is at but I know when."

"Well when was it?"

(Back with Chris in 1969.....)

It was 8:00 on the 21st day of June and it was a beautiful first day of summer. Linda Kratt who was 8 months pregnant with her 4th kid decided to sit on the porch outside and relax in the summer breeze. That when she noticed something on her front yard. As she walked closer to it thinking that it was probably a possum or a raccoon, to her suprize it was a man who's face was very swollen. At first she thought about calling the authorities, but saw that he had probably had gone through enough and probably needed a proper place to heal back up. So using a little bit of ingenuity she used her eldest son's wagon to put the man in and she pulled the wagon inside and she put him on the couch to rest up.

Chapter 4

Chris finally started to come around and the first thing he noticed was the kid who was staring back at him.

"Martin?" Chris said in a quiet raspy voice.

"Martin! what did I tell you don't disturb the nice young man!" Linda sternly told Martin as she shooed him away. "I'm so sorry about that I hope he didn't wake you."

"Oh, no he didn't wake me Mom" Chris said still a little dazed.

"Mom?" Linda said confused.

"Oh! I meant Mamm sorry."

"Oh that's alright dear, say you look familiar, do I know you from somewhere?"

"Um no I don't think so" Chris stuttered as he tried to get up. "I would like to thank you for your hospitality but I need to be on my way" as Chris stood up he became very light headed and he stumbled as he tried to walk, almost falling again for the 2nd time.

"Oh no I insist you must stay here and rest" she brought Chris back to the couch and it didn't take long for him to fall back asleep.

Linda then tried calling her husband Bill Kratt at his work but there was no answer. A few hour later Chris woke up again and started walking towards the kitchen to get something to drink but he would struggle with trying to stay awake. His head was pounding and he would black out at times but eventually he made it into the kitchen and got himself a glass of water. As he was walking back to the couch, Bill came back from work.

"What the hell are you doing in my house!!!" Bill shouted as he ran towards Chris and tackled him.

Chris was to weak to respond and passed out in fear.

"Bill! Get off of him he's hurt!" Linda screamed.

"Linda you and the kids stay back!" I'll teach him a lesson not to enter the house of Bill Kratt!"

It wasn't easy but eventually Linda calmed Bill down and explained him the whole situation. Chris once again woke up on the couch but this time it late at night.

He could hear Bill and Linda taking in the room next to his.

"I don't trust him Linda, he seems like someone who goes out looking for trouble"

"Well, what makes you say that Bill?"

"You saw how badly beaten up he is, he was probably looking for it. I'm just glad that no son of mine will ever end up like him."

"Bill, what's the real reason why you don't like him?"

"I guess I'm just worried about you,the kids and the baby. when I saw him in our house I thought something terrible happened."

"Oh I'm so sorry Honey, I tried calling your work phone but there was no answer.

"Its ok Love, I'm just glad you're ok."

Chapter 5

(Back in Present day.....)

Martin couldn't sleep that night. All he could think about was how would Chris ever return home. Aviva and Koki spent the whole day trying to figure out a way to fix the time trampoline as quickly and efficiently as possible, Jimmy was keeping a guard on Zach, and Martin was mostly trying to figure out where Chris could be. It was very odd though, Martin started recalling a moment shortly before Chris was born when a man came and visited his house for some reason that he couldn't remember, he didn't know why he was recalling this memory or why it came to mind just then but he tried to not pay attention to it and continued on with his day.

"How's the Time Trampoline Aviva?"

"Well, its coming along, luckily Zach wasn't strong enough to break the main part of the trampoline but its gonna take a while to fix it well enough to get Chris back."

"How long would that be?"

"About 2 weeks"

"2 weeks?! How would we know if he's even still alive in 2 weeks?"

"Ha! Wow most of my plan worked better than expected" Zach yelled out loud.

Martin didn't take that very well and the team had to restrain him as well before there was any bloodshed.

For the next few days The whole Wild Kratts team did their part to fix the time trampoline.

(Back in 1969.....)

Chris continued to slowly get better and even helped Linda out with some of the chores when she was to tired to do them.

"So when is the baby due?" Chris asked even though he knew the answer

"In about another month or so. But sometimes, I wish it would come sooner then later. It's not easy having to be pregnant and also have 3 other little ones, but I love my children and wouldn't want it any other way."

Just then Martin ran up to his Mom.

"Mommy can I go outside?"

"Sure Honey" just make sure when you go outside where stay in the front yard where I can see you."

"Yes Mommy I will. Come on Heidi!" Then a Saint Bernard puppy ran out of Martin's room and went outside with him.

Chris really missed Heidi and was very happy to see her, but he had to contain his excitement in order to not act suspicious.

"Heh, Heidi that's a cute name for a dog"

(Back in present day)

"Martin are you alright?" asked Jimmy

"No"

"What's wrong?"

Martin glances at Jimmy with tears in his eyes.

"I let Chris down Jimmy, I'm a terrible brother, I was supposed to protect him, and I failed."

"Martin this is not your fault. We're going find him and get him back."

"Well, if he's not dead by then!" Zach blurted out.

(Dead silence)

Chapter 6

(Back in 1969.....)

Its been one week since Chris went back in time. Chris was still recovering from his injuries but has since gain the trust of Bill.

"So um Chris that your name, right?"

"Um yes sir."

"Where are you from Chris?"

"Oh um I travel a lot but I grew up here and I was supposed to um meet my brother at a um a bus station I waited for a while and so I thought he might of been talking about the other one that's not to far away from here but as I was walking over there I got mugged and the next thing I know it, I wake up on the couch."

Chris knew he couldn't tell the truth, he knew that every action he does could affect the outcome of the future, even his own. All of a sudden Chris had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Bill.....Bill!...BILL!"

"Linda what is it?!"

"Bill! We have to go to the hospital, it's the baby, something's wrong!"

Chris sinking feeling turned into a pain and then into agony. He felt like throwing up, he wanted to scream, the pain was starting to become unbearable, he didn't know what to do.

"Chris are you ok?"

"YEAH BILL I'LL BE FINE JUST HELP THE BABY!"

"Ok, Chris I'm going to take you both to the hospital."

"NO JUST TAKE YOUR WIFE! I'll be fine just take your wife and I'll be fine, ok?"

"Alright, let's go Linda"

A few hours pass the pain was still there.

"Where's Mommy and Daddy?"

Chris looked up to see Martin stareing back at him.

Chris didn't know what to say, he was in so much pain. He didn't know if he would survive. He looked back at Martin.

"Mom and Dad are at the hospital, But don't worry, they're going to be ok."

After saying those words, the pain started to go away.

"Martin, I need you to remember something."

"What is it?"

"When your older, you are going to feel like you have to protect your siblings from danger, and that's good, but sometimes when you can't, don't feel like it's your fault, ok?"

(Back in Present day....)

"Oh my gosh I know where Chis is!"

"Martin it's 4:00 in the morning, where do you possibly think he's at?"

"He's at my house, in 1969, I remember him, but I don't know how, but he possibly can be the same man."

"Unless he's currently changing the past and adding new memories, that would explain why you keep having these new memories from your past!"

After a lot of thought Aviva just released something.

"This isn't good"

"What is it Aviva?"

"If Chris keeps talking or interacts with your family, this could jeopardize our past and present day selves. The Wild Kratts team might not even exist."

"Well there isn't any time to waste!" Koki piped up.

"Koki is right let's get to work."

Chapter 7

(Back in 1969.....)

After a while Linda and Bill came back from the hospital

"How's the baby?" Chris asked

"The baby is fine, thankfully"

"That's good"

"Chris, I would like to thank you for watching the kids for us, I hope there wasn't any trouble."

"Oh no there was no trouble at all"

"Are you sure we don't know you from somewhere?"

"Ummmm not that I'm aware of? But you guys have been so kind to like if I was your own son *cough*"

"I just hope your brother isn't worried about you"

"Oh I'm sure he's not that worried about me."

(Present day)

"ARE YOU GUYS DONE YET?!?!?"

"Martin, CALM DOWN! We need about a few more days until we're done fixing it."

"A FEW DAYS? A FEW DAYS?! WE DON'T HAVE A FEW DAYS WE HAVE TO GET HIM BACK ASAP!"

"Look were trying to do the best we can, but time travel is complicated stuff"

"I know, I know, but I'm just worried about him. I just want to protect him, I want to know if he's safe."

"I think I've got it!"

"What is it Koki?"

"I fix the time trampoline just enough to get Chris back!"

"How?"

"I took a few short cuts and was able to allow the time trampoline to go back to the year 1969, which we know is the same time where Chris ended up in history. We just need to make sure we have a connection to the other trampoline for the time connection to open which might take about 6 or 7 hours to complete and 2 to 3 hours to locate the signal from the other trampoline."

(A few hours later)

"Alright I was able to track down the other time trampoline and it tells me that it was last used on June 20th 1969. However the time trampoline can only go back as far as July 4th 1969, Chris would most likely still be stuck in the past but it would still be a risky thing to do, considering that every action he make could affect our Present."

"If it's the best we can do so be it!" Martin said

"Ok let's go then"

So Martin went on the time trampoline as the rest of the team stayed behind to make sure absolutely nothing goes wrong. So Martin went through the time connection and went back to Warren NJ July 4th 1969 (9:00)

To Martin's surprise he landed in a junkyard.

"Hey Martin can you hear us?"

"Yea loud and clear, it's a good thing that my Creature Pod still works."

"Listen, you only have 1 hour to find Chris and get back here or else the time connection will close again and it might take a longer time to get you guys back to Present Day."

"Wait today is the 4th of July, right?"

"Yeah why?"

"Oh man I was afraid of that"

"Why?"

"For as long as I remember, my family would drive a half an hour to go watch the fireworks near the beach. If they had already left there's no way I can make it back in an hour."

Chapter 8

"Well, what if they didn't leave yet? Shouldn't it still be still light out?"

The sun was still out but was quickly setting.

"The sun is starting to set, I don't know where I am or how far away I am from where Chris is!"

"Martin, there's no time to lose! You only have one hour to find Chris before the time connection closes"

"I know, I know..... (sigh)"

So after a while of finding a way out of the junkyard he finally made his way onto the street. Martin looked at his watch. (9:05)

As Martin continued to roam the streets his surroundings became more and more familiar. A lot of memories began to flood his mind, some good and some bad. Martin eventually found himself infront of his old school that he, his sisters and Chris would walk to and from. Martin looked at his watch again (9:15). It was a 20 minute walk from his childhood home, if he was going to make it, he would have to make a run for it.

(With Chris 9:00)

Chris found himself looking out the window, something he did often as a kid. It has been just over 2 weeks since he got trapped in 1969, a lot have happened during those weeks. Chris figured that Martin would be here by now, the situation was probably worse than he thought. What if he never returns home.

"Chris?"

"Oh um... yes Linda?"

"Is everything alright?"

"(sigh) yea...I just. I've been waiting for my brother for over 2 weeks but I've heard nothing. What if he thinks I'm, um kidnapped or um dead? I'm just worried about him not being able to find me.

"Oh Chris you have been such a wonderful guest, and you can stay for as long as you need to until we can find your brother. What's his name, anyways?"

"Mar....vin, Marvin"

"Well I'm sure we'll find your brother Marvin soon"

"Thanks Mo....Mamm I really appreciate it"

"Linda are you and the kids about ready to go?"

"Almost Bill, I'll be ready in a bit. Chris are you sure you don't want to come with us to the fireworks show?"

"Actually yes I'll go with you guys ot might take a little bit of time to get ready"

"Great, just make sure you're ready by 9:30"

"Ok" Chris said as he looked at a nearby clock. (9:05) "that should be more than enough time to get ready"

(Back with Martin 9:20)

Martin's lungs started to burn after a minute and a half of running but he didn't stop him but after 5 minutes of running it was more than he could take, he was at the half way mark between the school and his house but his lungs felt like they were on fire. Martin slowed to a stop to catch his breath, but the words "Martin there is no time to lose" echoed in his head, he had to keep going. So after a quick break he trudge on.

Chapter 9

(9:27)

(With Chris)

"Ok I'm ready to go"

"Oh good, is everybody ready to go?"

"Um Mommy?" Little Martin said

"Yes Sweetie....Oh Good Heavens!"

While nobody was looking Martin decided to try to pour himself a glass of grape juice and accidentally spilled it all over the floor.

Linda rushed over to where the mess was grabbed a mop and started to clean the mess up as quickly as she could.

"Linda you are in no shape to clean this up" Bill said as he went to where Linda was. "Here, let me clean it up Dear."

"No Bill I got this! I can do this"

"But Linda you know what the doctor said, you need to take it easy during this last month."

After pausing for a while Linda gave the mop to Bill.

After Bill cleaned up the mess and was able to get situated once again, a faint knock was heard at the door.

"I'll get it!" Linda said as she speed walked towards the door.

(With Martin 1 minute before)

Martin could see the house in his sights, but was still very far away maybe even to far away.

"Come on Martin you have to get over there, but how?" Martin said to himself as he started to scan the area.

Alas, Martin finds what seems to be a scooter. "I hope who ever this belongs to won't mind me using it" he rode the scooter until he makes it infront of the house. As he walked up the steps to the door Martin felt a rush of relief as he made it just in time.

Linda opened the door and once Martin and her made eye contact she was utterly speechless.

Martin, also being very weirded out, barely able to collect his thoughts said "Good evening um Mamm, I've been looking for my brother have you se-

"MARTIN!" Chris yelled out as he ran and embraced him.

"Chris I'm so glad you're ok!"

Bill comes to see whose at the door and when he also saw Martin he too had become speechless. Little Martin confused by all of the silence from his parents goes up and introduces himself

"Hi my name is Martin,what's your name?"

"My name is Mar-"

"MARVIN!" Chris blurted out

"Yea Marvin..."

Martin looks at his clock, it was 9:33.

"Oh look at the time! Me and Chris have to go we were supposed to meet with a couple of friends two weeks ago but ever since Chris got lost we spent our time searching for him but we best be on our way."

"I would love to thank you for your hospitality Mr and Mrs. Kratt and I hope we can visit you in the future " Chris said as they headed out the door.

"Bye Chris! I hope you can visit us soon"

"Sooner than you think" Chris thought to himself.

As soon as they were out of sight Martin and Chris had the opportunity to tell there sides of what happened with them.

"Why didn't you tell them my name was something cooler?" Martin asked

"What name would be cooler?"

"Anything but Marvin"

They both laugh and after a while they were able to make it past the halfway point. Martin looked at his watch again and it was 9:45

"Come on Chris we need to pick up the pace if were going to make it to the time trampoline on time" when Martin looked up Chris was nowhere in sight "Chris?"

"Martin.....help me"

The same pain that Chris felt a week ago was back however it felt 10× worse he tried to breathe but it was like he was getting stabbed in the lungs. He became numb and weak, Chris looked up at Martin with terror in his eyes he knew what was going on.

"Martin I'm dying"

Chapter 10

"Chris......Chris........come one stay with me buddy..........Chris!"

Martin knew time was limited, so he lifted Chris and carried him on his back. He could feel Chris struggling to breathe, he didn't know how his brother who seemed healthy just a few minutes ago, to just trying to hang on to life.

"Come on Chris we're almost there just hang on"

They finally made it to the time trampoline. It was 9:55, Chris wasn't looking so well. Martin started to jump on the trampoline with Chris on he back, which made it a lot longer to get through the time connection.

"Martin, Chris, thank goodness your back" Aviva said with excitement.

"Aviva you have to help Chris! I don't know what wrong he was fine when earlier, but when we were on our way here he all of a sudden....."

Martin broke into tears

"Don't worry Martin, we will find out what's going on"

Chris was laying almost motionless barely able to comprehend what was going on around him. He couldn't feel anything as both Aviva and Koki hooked him up with tubes.

"His heart rate is very irregular, I don't know if he's going to make it"

A new memory popped into Martin's head.

"Wait, I think I know what's going on"

"What is it MK?"

"Both past and Present Chris are connected..." (to be continued...) tumblr won't let me finish.

[marshmallowprotection]

Tangled AU

Hi, this is a mess.

Let's say that the Choi boys were the children from a neighboring kingdom but their parents were killed, and thusly, they were just taken in by Rika and V.

Rika and V soon discovered that the youngest twin was blessed with hair as white as snow, as white as the moon. Research into a lot of old fables and stories told them that Saeran was blessed by a rare flower that bloomed from a mystical force, and although it saved his life, people found out about the power and killed their parents for it.

V and Rika tried to keep the boys safe in the castle area but Rika became more and more consumed by the power of Saeran's abilities and stole him away in the night. She had always dabbled in magic but this was intense and true magic that could power her and gift her enough power to... control others and force them to be happy forever as well as alive to worship her out for a long time.

V tried to help her and show her that the world wasn't cruel and she didn't have to abuse magic like that, but she took Saeran when he was two or three and ran off. V was distraught but they could not find him or Rika.

They continue the search but the queen and the prince were... seemingly gone from sight. Saeyoung is the one that says that lanterns would be a smart idea to pull them back if they're out and lost. It's smart, and it shows that he just wants his brother back and safe. 

So, they do that for years on end until their eighteenth birthday comes around, and Ray finds a chance to see the floating lanterns in person thanks to the help of this mischievous but curious thief who only does it because she wants that crown back before the team that she's working with come after her for their prize.

To be fair, she was very nice after he did bonk her with a frying pan the way that he did. She just tries to get him to go home and turn around so she can escape but God, they wind up getting chased by some determined guards and ruffians along the way while this boy—

Is fawning over flowers and the scenery!

Taking him to meet ruffians didn’t help. Judas and Minji were far too cool for their own good. 

“Hey, stop doing that! Have you really never left that tower?” 

“...No, never, I can’t remember ever leaving my tower.” 

“Oh. Well, jeez, Rabbit.” 

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

“Your hair reminds me of a snow white rabbit.” 

Well, Ray did have company up there, and that’s with a little chameleon that he decidedly called Vanderwood. Weird name, but hey, Lila’s not going to judge the dude if he’s been sheltered all these years. Sassy little thing but at least Ray has had some company over the years. 

Not evening dragging this boy into a ruffian bar was enough to take him down and get him to stop chasing his dream. What’s Lila’s dream anyway? Well, she doesn’t like song and dance but she wants some money to finally live without struggling to get by after she ran away from her bad household. That’s all fine and dandy, but— 

Now, if only Lila hadn’t had the misfortune of enraging one angry stallion named Zen, they would be great. The two of them manage to escape peril after the uh white horse gives chase for quite some time, and they narrowly avoid the guards that he brought with him, al a Yoosung and Jaehee. Of course, that lands them trapped in the process. 

“This way!” 

“...Now, did you plan to trap us in a flooding cave?”

“I’m doing the best I can on the fly!” 

“...Uhuh.”

“Your little friend there is giving me a judgmental look.” 

“You think?” 

Which, of course, is a great time for them to remember that Ray has literal magic hair that glows and sustain life. Lila didn’t know how to feel about that but like, it is working and that’s something that she can’t deny. Like, wow, there really is a magic boy living in the woods with his mother for some fucking reason that she does not understand. It sounds fake, and she’s always been a realist but this is definitely real. 

Well, she can’t deny that he’s not stealing her heart the more that she’s around him, his smile is just... hard to ignore. His manners are great but he’s got that tendency to just be honest and sincere. Of course, Rika has been following after them and she catches Ray when he’s alone and warns him that this girl is just going to leave him high and dry. 

Ray can’t imagine that she would ever do that. 

Not even or some silly crown. 

“Mother knows best, Ray.” 

“She’s not like that.” 

“They’re all the same. I know, Ray. I’m a woman. I know how dangerous we can be.” 

“I won’t believe it.”

A promise is a promise, so, they do spend the day together getting ready for the lanterns. Ray finally gets to see and do so many things that he’s only thought about. And yes, he’s getting his hair done because he deserves to feel pretty and have flowers. And God, holy fuck, if Lila doesn’t feel her heart racing when this boy smiles and seems so happy. 

Yet. 

Something about this town... something about the colors... something is telling Ray that he should be paying more attention to his surroundings but at the same time, he’s having so much fun learning and taking in the sights that he doesn’t think about it too hard. Maybe it has something to do with what he heard about the lanterns being for a missing prince. 

Ray does get to see the lanterns up close, and it just feels right. His dream is really right in front of him and yet, his heart quickens when he sees Lila smiling at him, too. His mother wasn’t right. She wasn’t right for once in his life. Rika isn’t right. 

“You’re beautiful,” she says, quietly. 

“Huh?” Ray glances back at her, “Did you say something?”

“I said... it’s beautiful, your dream.” 

“...Yeah, it is.” 

They almost kiss. 

Almost. 

Lila just gets too nervous. 

Ray pulls away, unsure of what to do. 

The return to shore briefly and separate for only a moment. Yet, that moment is enough for the goons to get knocked out before they can attack Ray who can’t believe they’ve said that Lila just left him with the crown, but there’s a boat just leaving with a figure on it. Rika appears, and saves him, and as much as Ray is upset, he can’t deny what he saw.

Those ruffians, by the way, I’m firmly stating that it’s probably Echo Girl and one of the Glam Choi girls. Anyways, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way. Well, it earns him a trip back to his tower where he assumes that he will stay forever from now on. He takes a deep breath and thinks that this is it for him for the rest of his life. 

He trusted and it got him hurt. 

Until the moment comes that he realizes something. 

The clues.

The signs. 

Everything that he saw. 

He’s...

He’s the missing prince. 

Rika comes into the room and he confronts her about it. She stares at him for a long moment as he demands to know the truth. 

Fortunately for Lila, she may have been double-crossed but she’s got ruffian friends on her side, you know, like JUDAS AND MINJI, who break in and save the day at the same second, as well as Zen, you know, poor guy had a change of heart about the criminal. By the time that she makes it back to the tower in the knick of time, she found Ray tied up, and Rika knocked her down a firm strike of magic—

Oh, God, there’s blood. There’s so much blood in a matter of seconds and Lila just hits the ground. Ray manages to get rid of his gag, and he begs Rika just to let him save her life, and he won’t ever fight back. Rika considers it, and sighs, it is a bore for her, but she can’t have this boy fighting her anymore. It’s nothing so she’ll allow it. 

“I’m sorry.”

“No, Ray, I’m sorry. I wish that I had told you that... I found my dream. My real dream.” 

“...?”

“You. I decided that I wanted my dream to be you.”

“Lila, please.” 

Ray apologizes for thinking that Lila would willingly go out of her way to leave him and she apologizes for leaving him alone for even a moment. She does care about him and that’s why she has to do something. Ray leans in, and she just swoops in and cuts his hair with the shard of glass that she gripped so tightly with her hand that it cut into it. 

Rika screams as his hair reverts to the same color of red that belongs to his skin brother, and in her tirade, she manages to stumble out the window and plummet to the ground and her doom. 

Ray is left begging for Lila not to go, for her to not have done that at the cost of her life. He thinks that it’s all for naught. He may be free but the person that made him happy is gone. Well, maybe not, he thinks, as he cries and the room is illuminated in the color blue for the flower that powered and cursed his hair from the start. 

And suddenly, she’s awake again and she’s breathing. 

“Lila...” 

“Look at you, guess I can’t call you a rabbit anymore.”

Ray snorts, a stupid laugh leaving his lips at her poor attempt at trying to make the situation lighter at hand. 

And well, Ray is able to make his way back to the castle where he presents himself to the palace, people are shocked and let him go in right away without even questioning him. Ray doesn’t know what to think of that. At least, until they reach the throne room and he’s left staring into a mirror. No, not a mirror, he is looking at a twin. He is looking at his twin. 

They both burst into tears and hug each other, because their missing piece is now once again whole. V is just relieved to see that the boys are happy and safe once more. 

THERE’S MORE BUT MY BRAIN IS FRIED

[ladypyb]

Kiss-Me-Quick

Rating: T

Relationship/s: USUK

Note: I missed writing fanfics for my otp... I hope you like it!!!

|ao3|

Arthur is aware the duke was his neighbor. But that didn't give the blue-blood an excuse to summon him so suddenly in the morning! Even if, this has been happening for a few months... or that he's got a little crush on the man.

Something wet dripped onto his left hand as he reached for the scrambled eggs. Alfred paused for a moment, slightly irked at the wet circle on his skin before continuing on. Plop! Another dropped on his mango juice, noticeable ripples rocked against the glass. Okaaay, he was not imagining that. The young man looked at his breakfast, suspicion rising. And fear. He knew he was a sought-after bachelor (often an asshole), but no one would go that far as to--

He felt it again on his hair, wet and large. 

Alfred slowly placed his fork and knife with such gentleness and quietness that even the dowager queen would have raised a brow as nothing about him was ever that gentle and quiet (Now, that wasn't true!). He watched as a droplet fell on his barely eaten breakfast. The duke thought, 'Well, shit', and braced himself before looking up.

As he raised his head, he realized it wasn't some sort of monster or demon creeping on him from the canopy of his bed. But he still wasn't relieved when he noticed an angry cloud above him. Slowly swirling in a stormy gray as big wet drops began trailing down on him, his bed, and his breakfast. 

The frightened duke shoved aside the breakfast tray. Standing up and away from the bed, he watched as the little angry cloud followed him. "Toris!" 

The cloud got bigger and bigger as Alfred tried to cover himself from the rain inside his own bedroom. He looked at his now-soaked breakfast forlornly before yelling again for his butler. "Toris!" Alfred heard quick steps and an anxious "Sir?--"

"Toris, help!"

A brunett opened a door to a flooding room of Alfred shielding himself with a pillow from a storm inside his bedroom. Toris back away from the door as Alfred began running out of his drenched chamber with his equally soggy pajamas. "Sir, what's--?"

"No time! Call for him!" He narrowly avoided crashing down on his butler before regaining balance.

"Sir--! I'm sorry but did you mean--?!"

The duke bolted down the corridor, the large raining cloud was following him. Alfred noticed it immediately and flung open a window that faced the gardens. "Yes, him!" He threw his legs over the window, "The wizard in the backyard!" Alfred gripped the window frames, preparing for it as the rain pattered on him.

"ARTHUR!"

And the duke fell. From the window on the third floor.

Sir Arthur,

The Duke of Sableon is currently under a situation that can only be relieved by your powers of such caliber. I wish to ask for your time to identify the cause and, hopefully, cure such troubles that have befallen the lord of the house. 

I hope for you to come visit today or at your earliest availability.

Head Butler of the House of Sableon,

Toris Laurinaitis

Arthur gave the soldier that had given him the letter with a long bleak stare. The dark-haired man avoided his eyes. The wizard scoffed as he threw the letter on the pile of leaves beside him. Arthur was just having a peaceful morning watering and tending to his quaint garden of herbs and flowers when a soldier rudely interrupted his conversation with a little dryad. The soldier had shoved it to him with such 'urgency' he scared off Arthur's new friend!

He had to give some credit to Toris. It wasn't often a butler could write a letter with more formality and propriety than his master. Though, formality and propriety aren't exactly what Duke Jones is recognized for. Handsome? Yes. A gentleman? Arthur was dubious. But polite and refined? Ha, no!

He snapped his fingers and the pile of leaves with the letter was on fire. The soldier audibly gulped when the burning pile crackled. The bright red flames didn't spread nor did it smolder the grass beneath.

"Wait here," Arthur commanded the other with a finger pointed to the ground. Daring the man to follow him to his house.

Arthur took his sweet time looking for his satchel. After all, he was requested (more like ordered) to go solve another person's problems so suddenly without much thought to whether or not he was busy himself. Well, he wasn't really busy as the wizard had nothing to do except restocking a few not-really-needed potions here and there. But he was curious as to what mess the manchild of a duke had gone up to. Sighing, Arthur hopes it was not as worse as the curses he was afflicted before.

When he heard the loud yell of his name from the other side of the hedge, Arthur was tempted to peek in and sneer at who dared to scream the wizard's name so early in the morning. And, perhaps, curse the fellow that ruined the peace. The incident was strange, but he refused to break a personal oath of being someone a bit more 'proper' than his previous years.

From what was implied in the letter, it may have been the young lord that had caused him to over-water his Forget-Me-Nots.

As he locked the front door, he couldn't help but not deny himself of the satisfaction of delaying the summons to the estate that was just beside his little cottage. Just out of spite (and anxiousness to what problem Alfred had gotten himself into). So he turned the keys ever so slowly it rivaled that of how the hour hand of a clock moved. He saw the soldier shifting his feet with impatience in the corner of his eye. Click!

"Well then," the wizard grumbled as he adjusted the satchel over his shoulder, "Lead on."

Arthur has been inside the mansion of his neighbor a few times, which was a lot more than he would have liked. He can practically draw a map of the whole mansion on the back of his hand. The wizard liked the interior though, who wouldn't with such wonderful and meticulously planned furnishings, he didn't like the owner just as much as the aesthetic that seemed to vary but connect each individual room. He liked the duke's ability to connect such different pieces much more than he'd like to admit himself.

The green-eyed wizard was led to a corridor that only led to the most beautiful garden of the Sableon Fief. Huh! Arthur doesn't agree with that sentiment. 

The soldier nodded at him to proceed to the hallway. The familiar face of Toris greeted Arthur as they neared the glass doors to the gardens. Once again, the brunett's face was the same nervous mess Arthur had seen the last, what, thirteen times during this month only? And it was only the third week! The duke certainly had a less-desirable streak with curses, didn't he?

"Sir Arthur!" The butler's face was of pure relief when he turned to see the wizard calming treading down the hall. "I'm sorry that I interrupted your morning again but--"

Arthur waved his hand. "Oh, that's alright. Is it still the same case of dog slobber?" Ugh, that one was a fairly common curse. Easy to brew, difficult to make the afflicted person drink. 

The butler shook his head. Arthur drolled on. "Frog Vomiting? Blue Dues? Vampirism? ..."

"Err, nothing that has happened before actually." Toris tugged at his collar. The wizard's presence was always heavy, though it was perhaps the overly-large cloak. 

"A new one, then?" Arthur sighed in annoyance, "Was it severe enough that you had to move him outside his room?"

"No, definitely not as serious as the one from last week, though, " Toris reached for the doorknobs, "It's as equally messy-- It's better for you to see for yourself." 

The stained glass doors opened to a garden with such colorful vibrancy and a drenched man sitting on the chair under the roofed table set. A man who was... rained under the roof of the outdoor terrace. Arthur barely restrained an amused whistle. Now that was new.

The rain was falling freely from the sloped ceiling to the visibly upset man in front of Arthur. The stormcloud was a familiar sight. The wizard can't help but smirk at the soggy mess his employer had gotten himself this time. "So, " Arthur wheezed to control himself from outright laughing, "Who did you piss off this time, my lord?"

The duke pouted like the man-child that he was, not at all happy but used to the curses inflicted upon him. "How 'bout you guess, Arthur? I'm sure it won't be that hard with all the rain on me!" Alfred locked his eyes on the wizard's daring the other to even chuckle at his predicament.

Arthur coughed to hide the laughter that found its way to escape from his lips. He was getting paid a handsome amount if he was civil, after all. Still grinning in hilarity, he chided the young duke, "I take it you didn't heed my advice to not attend the party held by the Kirklands then?"

Alfred huffed, denying another mistake he made, "Your sister doesn't exactly take losing in an argument well." Thunder rumbled from the stormclouds as if to grumble along with the cursed aristocrat.

The wizard thanked Toris as the butler offered a seat and excused himself. The green-eyed man sat across Alfred with a humph and a cringe. "Half-sister. We share only the same father and the name 'Kirkland'. Nothing else."

"You forgot the eyebrows."

"Yes," Arthur hissed, "Be that as may, at least I know the right potion to help your drenched arse." The wizard vaguely gestured to the flooding side of the patio. "Lady Aisling often used the same rainstorm curse on those that pissed her off. Often enough for me to memorize its breaking potion."

The duke perked up to Arthur's statement. The man's blue eyes were filled with tired relief. Arthur understood that; he was once victimized by his older sister by the same curse years ago. The rain and thunder were very uncomfortable. And freezing his bollocks off.

Huh, this was the first time he had seen Alfred without his glasses. The duke was starting to turn red from the cold water. He must be going under a fever, too. But that wasn't his problem! Not at all. Not even when his companion's golden complexion seemed to turn gray under to the constant raining on him. Nor when the younger man almost died from last week's curse. Arthur thinks that Alfred may as well have been cursed to be cursed almost every waking moment. At least the wizard has a reason to see the duke now and then if only to remove or break said curses. Arthur will keep that to himself.

"I'll come back this afternoon with the breaking potion."

"Oh thank the gods. I don't think I can handle being wet any longer."

The wizard scolded himself to not think about something that would rather like to be wet in the presence of a sculpted young man. "Hm. Oh!" Arthur looked around to the multitude of flowers and plants in the garden recalling that he didn't have a particular ingredient that was needed for the removal but was present behind Alfred, "You don't happen to mind if I ask a Kiss or two from you, my lord?"

Alfred suddenly slipped in his seat and spluttered in surprise, "Wha-what! ...I think I, uh,  misheard you... ?"

The wizard rolled his eyes, "A Kiss. I'd need one for the breaking to work." Arthur raised a regal brow at the flushing and squeaking man in front of him. The rain was pouring buckets now. At this rate, Alfred is definitely going down with a cold. 

"Uh, I- Wha..." The duke adjusted himself on his seat. Alfred was being difficult again, was he stingy about plucking a single flower? Arthur admires a person that takes care of their garden but this is actually important!

"I only need one Kiss."

"Now?! As in, right now?"

Arthur pursed his lips. "No, it's alright if I take one when I'll come back in the afternoon."

The other was silent as if his life depended on the choice he'd make. Arthur watched as his companion took a deep breath and raised a finger, face, and neck a flattering shade of pink. Oh, he wasn't actually furious, was he? 

"One kiss... Just one."

"Yes. Kiss-Me-Quick and nothing else. Just that." Arthur gathered himself and stood up. "I expect it to be vibrant and not messy this afternoon, my lord. I'll see you then." He turned and walked his way back to his cottage, reminding himself to not forget to put a few sunflower seeds this time.

The wizard was completely unaware of the crimson mess he'd left the duke in. Muttering and covering his face with his wet, wrinkled hands.

"... He, he actually...! Expecting me to--! A kiss! ... My first...!"

The wizard speed-walked his way to the back garden, absentmindedly shaking the contents of the bottle in his nimble fingers. Today's problem was easier to break compared to the other curses. Granted it was because it was Aisling's most-used spell. And that he had lived in the same household as her for over half of his life. 

Nonetheless, an early breaking meant early payment. And a saved blond blue-eyed hunk of a duke. Though, Alfred really should his mouth shut half of the time. If Arthur wasn't living nearby, the aristocrat would have a hard time finding a competent magician and herbalist in the area. The fief was known for its industrial strength, not a heavy reliance on magic. The young Duke of Sableon was both lucky and unlucky at the same time.

Arthur twisted the stained glass doors open. Alfred was there, standing near the multitude of flowers. As the wizard got closer, he saw the duke pluck a bundle of Kiss-Me-Quicks from its bushes. 

A large cloud was still situated atop the golden hair of the lord of the house and almost half the overly-huge beautiful garden. Arthur watched the big and hurried way the droplet hit the sun-kissed skin, now turning a pale tan due to the cold rain, and on his nearly-transparent shirt. Even in the distance, he could make out the other man's musculature. The wizard felt the tips of his ears heating up and Arthur was sure it wasn't because of the three o'clock sun.

He marched over to the cursed duke, pulling the hood of his cloak as he did so. The cold drops of rain were cold as it began to soak through the think fabric of his cloak. "Good afternoon, my lord. Are you ready?"

Arthur didn't mean to be near soundless when he made his way but the younger man flinched at the sound of Arthur's voice, dropping the flowers in his hands before facing his neighbor. Arthur groaned as he bowed to pick up the bunch. He plucked a single flower and mixed it inside the potion in his hands.

"Uh-Um, Arthur... ?" Alfred had said it so quietly, Arthur could have not have heard him if it weren't for their close distance. When the green-eyed wizard rose and looked back up, he was greeted by a wonderfully cute side of Alfred. Flushed and soaked with rainwater from the tips of his hair to his bare feet on the ground, twisting the fabric on the edge of his sleeves. Blue eyes that not shrouded by his thick glasses were staring back into his own greens. 

For a moment, Arthur stood there blinking and unmoving as Alfred fumbled with his words. Suddenly, he couldn't hear the words from the lips of the other man but only the pitter-patter of the rain on the grass beneath their feet. And then, under the unforgiving storm on their heads, Arthur heard a: "If-If you won't, then I will!"

Strong arms had gripped his waist and shoulder and he was promptly pulled into cold but soft lips. 

Wha- What...

It took him the whole kiss to process that Alfred, the duke who was also his neighbor and employer was kissing him in the middle of the gardens where cursed rain was pouring down on both of them. And he responded by leaning onto the drenched form of the taller man. Arthur wasn't sure when he closed his eyes but when those cloud-soft lips left his own, his grip on the glass bottle of the potion slackened. Its dull thud on the grass went unnoticed to him and Alfred as his hands reached to the nape of the other's neck to cut the little distance between them for another touch of those sinfully sweet lips. Their teeth knocked into each other but both neither gave a damn. The wizard titled his head and their kiss deepened. 

For a moment, they just stood under the cursed storm cloud, kissing, and just feeling. The fact that the rain on their bodies was a curse and the potion to break it was on the wet grass was ignored. Eyes half-lidded and lips covered by the other, Arthur wouldn't have this kiss from the man he'd wanted for months any other way.

Something wet and rough suddenly swiped across his bottom lip. Arthur jolted in the realization that he was kissing the Duke of Sableon and pushed the other away.

Oh. Oh, Alfred kissed him. He kissed Alfred.

"... Arthur?"

The wizard back away from the duke, mumbling, and crimson red from the events. 

"Arthur, what's wrong?"

...

Arthur crouched and reached for the potion he dropped earlier and shoved it to Alfred's hard chest. He kept his eyes on his rained-on sleeves as he shouted in embarrassment. "Here! Drink! You idiot!"

The wizard turned away and ran faster than he ever did in his whole life.

That stupid git! Kissing him out of the blue, he really was a player. He shouldn't have let his guard down. Arthur took out a handkerchief and wiped his nose as he exited the sprawling estate. 

Confused and embarrassed and still feeling tingly all over from the kiss, he wonders what was going through Alfred's head when he was about to give him the potion.

Certainly, it wasn't because the other felt the same-- No. Arthur shook his head, there was no way Alfred would. Perhaps it was because of the Kiss-Me-Quick flowers? The name must have confused him! Yes, that was probably it.

Inside, he hopes it wasn't that at all.

[shit-uhm-sorry]

It all starts in one of Andrew's criminal justice classes. It was specifically for analyzing the sociology of criminals. (how victim-abuser relationships work, criminal empires, the structure of how criminals interact with other people, etc.)

Andrew likes his degree. He really does. And having to admit that, even to himself is as Bee would put it: a big step forward

He doesn't care enough to shove it away. It feels... interesting. The whole field is interesting.

But then theres times like- this.

That makes Andrew want to commit another felony himself.

It was not long after the Baltimore incident.

Only a month after.

And his sociology professor comes in with a peculiar pep in her step.

She sets down her notes for the day and waits for the rest of the students to file in.

Once everyone is settled she plastered on this big grin

"Everybody, I have something to share." She said it as if she was trying to contain her excitement but everyone knew she was practically bursting with it. "If any of you are avid on keeping up with news involving big criminal networks you would have seen an absolutely astounding albeit vague breakthrough about a month ago."

Andrew felt his stomach clench. If she was going where he thought she was going with this...

"Some of you criminal conspiracy theorists out there know all about infamous Wesninski scandal."

Andrew felt a spark of anger begin to boil but he absolutely refused to show anything outwardly. He heard some classmates that were the avid conspirators start to also whisper excitedly. Andrew clenched his hand into a fist under the desk so hard he could feel half moon marks forming on his palms.

"For those of you who dont..."

She then pressed a button on her remote and the projector started to turn on.

An article titled "The Blood of the Fallen Wesniski Family" appeared on the screen. It had the picture of a giant house-closer to a mansion-on the front that Andrew could only assume was the Wesninski's.

"This article was published this morning. A month ago there had been a news story about a big bust in the Wesninski house reporting several murders of the occupants inside, but the police refused to release any more information than that. It was huge, considering many had speculated exactly what has been happening involving the Wesninski's for years."

"But this morning the FBI finally released information about what had happened."

His professor scrolled down past the picture to start reading the article outloud.

"Nathan Wesninski, Lola Malcolm, Patrick DiMaccio and 7 other victims have been reported dead, found around and mostly in a hidden basement of the Wesninski household."

It then went on to talk about the cause of death, why the FBI had been withholding this information, and the speculation on who killed them.

Suddenly she scrolled down and a picture of Neil showed up. There were a few audible gasps in the room. A select couple were from recognition, the rest were from the shock of the images.

Andrew had seen Neil in the hotel. But that was after he had gotten medical care.

This was when the police and press had arrived right after he narrowly escaped death.

Andrew felt such a white hot rage that he could feel his lips curling upwards in a snarl.

Neil was being man handled by a cop in the image, his hair a matted mess and blood was everywhere. The lacerations and burns on his cheeks were stark against his pale face. The shirt- the fucking shirt that Andrew saw Neil leave in before the riot was stained with so much fresh blood and sweat.

The worst part-

The worst part though was that in the image Neil was doubled over laughing. His eyes were filled with panic and hysteria and his mouth was wide. Andrew could hear his own laughter filling his ears when Drake-

Andrew pushed that aside in favor of trying to contain his immense anger. To contain the temptation of burning this fucking school into the ground.

"Some of you might recognize this man. He actually goes to our very school" the professor informed the class with such elation.

"This is Nathaniel Wesninski. Nathan Wesninski's son. He barely survived the events of what happened that night, and informed the FBI that the suspicions the police and other crime enthusiasts have had over the Wesninski's were true."

Andrew tuned out the rest of his professors ramblings on the theories and the confirmed murders and tortures the Wesninski circle was involved in until the name Nathaniel was mentioned again.

"Nathaniel is actually on our Exy team-"

Andrew surprised himself when he heard himself snarl "His name is Neil Josten."

Suddenly all eyes shifted onto him. The woman then had a look on her face like she just realised who exactly was in the class room.

"Ah.. uh, yes Mr. Minyard is correct. Nathaniel and recently changed his name to Neil Josten in an effort to distance himself from the Wesninski history and name."

She seemed to realize how insensitive this entire situation was because her joy and excitement noticeably dimmed.

After a few more words she went on with the actual lesson that day.

Andrew couldn't pay attention. His focus much more attuned towards Bee's breathing exercises that weren't working in calming him down.

After class was over Andrew was just about to be leaving when his professor stopped him. "Ah Mr. Minyard, a word?"

Andrew turned his head but didnt come near her.

She sidled up to him instead and said "I know you are on the college Exy team, and I have seen you with Wesnin- ah Josten in the halls."

Andrew felt himself clenching his fists again

"I was wondering, if it is alright with him of course, if you could possibly talk to Mr. Josten and ask him if he'd be able to guest speak on the next lecture?"

Andrew stared at her in disbelief, but to her in must have just been a blank mask.

"How about this." Andrew started

"The next time you decide to use a student, a human being, that you are trained to teach and to respect and coincide with as something for you to squeal over like a scientist dissecting a specimen, ask yourself this. Am I being professional? Am I being a person with common sense? Am I being someone who can fall asleep without crying over how pathetic my life has become? I can already guess that the answer to all these questions is no. No you are not. So stow away this asinine facisnation with other people's serious trauma and act like a goddamn fucking professional."

Andrew then turned around and left without a word.

Later that day Andrew entered the dorm after his classes were done and set his things down.

Neil was on the couch already, spacing out looking at the wall.

"Browning called this morning." He said after Andrew had settled himself on the arm of the couch.

"Said that they released the information to the public about Baltimore."

Andrew showed no reaction to this information, which he knew Neil would interpret as Andrew already knowing.

Neil gave a cruel smile and looked at Andrew. "Do you know how many people have approached me today? Asking about it?"

Andrew kept his face blank, giving Neil the foundation of nothingness he needed.

There was a tense couple of minutes of just staring before Neil's smile finally cracked and he looked at his lap in defeat. Andrew could see how tired he was.

"They asked. They asked why I laughed."

Andrew finally moved to sit next to Neil and put a hand onto his neck for much needed comfort.

Neil side eyed Andrew and started elaborating "...There was an image the press took that had been withheld by the FBI until now... it was of me-"

He couldnt hear Neil say it. Couldnt hear Neil relive it. "I saw." Andrew interrupted.

Neil looked at him fully, twisting his body towards Andrew.

"Yes or no?" He asked in a quiet and weakened voice.

Andrew saw the fresh scars on Neil's face. Saw the black armbands he wore proudly. Saw the eyes that usually held such a burning fire but now only held a dim flame. He saw a man who has survived so much. He saw a man that he knew better than himself and he saw a man just like him.

"Yes."

Neil, very slowly, learned towards Andrew until his face was buried in his neck and his weight was on Andrew completely. He kept his hands to himself.

Andrew buried one of his hands in Neil's hair, rubbing circles in the scalp and with the other hand he gently grabbed one of Neil's to lace their fingers together.

A sighed escaped Neil's lips and tickled Andrew's neck, effectively giving him goosebumps all over his arms.

Andrew tilted his face into Neil's hair and murmured "I did too."

He knew Neil knew what he meant.

He knew Neil had heard his manic laughter when they discovered him bloody and numb and high on his pills.

Neil nuzzled in further, not responding.

The message was clear anyways.

You're like me.

We are both damaged and the world will never understand,

But at least we have eachother.

[nancywheelxr]

i know half the fandom is writing these but could you write something about aziraphale and crowley the night after the almost apocalypse? maybe they go back to crowley's flat together? i just need more content and your writing is always perfect

Ooh, anon, I love this, everyone’s take on the missing scene is so valid, but I’m so glad to try my hand on it! Thank you so much, and I hope you love this one too!

*

The bus ride back to London is quiet and ordinarily uneventful; as if the World itself had exhaled deeply and retreated early after being forcefully faced with imminent destruction and escaping only very narrowly.

That sort of thing really does take a toll on you, Crowley thinks.

It also takes a few more minutes than necessary wandering the streets of London; first towards Aziraphale’s bookshop before Crowley remembers it burned down, then a couple contradicting turns around downtown before Crowley realizes Aziraphale is also doing the persuading but seems to have no idea where Crowley’s flat is or how to go about it on wheels.

Finally, the bus does what it always does when faced with confused passengers that don’t quite know what to do with themselves– it takes them to the nearest hotel, leaving shortly after with half a dozen people still inside wondering why on earth they detoured so.

“Room?” Crowley asks the receptionist hopefully, and she gives them a key without asking for any personal information. She forgets why Room 308 is booked seconds after they slip past her desk.

The silence hangs on steady during the elevator ride; it does try to play its usual cheerful elevator song, but Aziraphale huffs once, reproachfully, and it ceases and desists, properly remorseful, taking them straight to their floor.

It’s only when he’s finally inside the room, staring blankly at the bed and the quaint wallpaper and the tacky curtains that it hits Crowley.

Armageddon came and went, and yet they’re still here.

Freedom is a tangy taste on the tip of his tongue, intoxicating as a good wine, and Crowley feels drunk enough as it is.

“D’you reckon they’ll look for us here?” He says, sitting down heavily in what he refuses to think as his side of the bed. The blankets are a bit rough and a ghastly green color, but Crowley has just seen Satan get told off by an eleven-year-old, so he supposes his worldview can shift enough to allow for a bit of ugly in it.

“No, we bought ourselves a small reprieve, I believe,” Aziraphale answers absently, in that soft voice of his that shouldn’t travel so well in the space between them but does. He stays there, standing by the small desk as if considering the merits of remodeling the whole thing. “For all that it’s worth,” he adds even quieter.

Aziraphale looks tired, unbearably so, and it’s ridiculous how much Crowley wants to reach for him.

It occurs to him then, suddenly and striking, that there’s no reason not to, not from now on; however long that lasts.

“It’s worth enough,” he decides. Somewhere inside his chest, an unnamed emotion unfurls– well, not unnamed so much as ignored, stomped on, and hid snugly between his ribs where he daren’t look. Now, it flutters, and Crowley doesn’t have to breathe but his lungs still ache terribly. “Come on, angel.”

He leaves the invitation intentionally open-ended, lets Aziraphale choose how to interpret it. In his experience, all six thousand years of it, it’s best to let the angel be at his own pace; Crowley may prod and push, but ultimately it’s always Aziraphale that sets the tempo to their dance.

And it would be so easy– he sees the possibilities playing out in Aziraphale’s eyes, laid bare by their shared exhaustion and bubbling nerves from nearly dying mere hours ago.

Aziraphale smiles, a small and quiet thing that illuminates the room. Ineffable, indeed.

It’s a good thing Crowley still has his sunglasses on.

“Should’ve asked for a bigger bed,” is his only comment before taking off his suit jacket, leaving it meticulously folded over a chair. Crowley twitches, coiled tight on his skin, feeling drowsy and wide awake at the same time. “Are you planning on sleeping?”

Crowley considers this. He’s tired, exhausted, really, dead on his feet and his body still smells faintly of smoke and grease. “Yes, possibly until the next century if I could,” he says honestly, following suit and discarding of his jacket and shoes. After a minute of deliberation, the sunglasses go as well. “You?”

“I don’t normally indulge– never quite seen the point, truly– but if there ever was an occasion,” Aziraphale trails off, perhaps realizing there was no need for an apology here, or even an explanation. It had been a simple question, yes or no, and the answer is, perhaps, both a given and not at all, like many things regarding them are. “I do believe a couple hours of rest would do us well.”

The mattress dips, creaking as Aziraphale gets under the ratty covers, and Crowley sighs– the full-body kind, the we nearly died for good and where do we go from here? kind. You see, it’s a very heavy sigh. “I’m assuming we’ll figure out things in the morning, then,” he reminds him, thinking of the displeased, angry snarl in Beelzebub’s face and the incredulous one in Gabriel’s. They’ll be coming for them soon, that’s a given. “Regarding the whole implied doom situation.”

“Yes, yes, my dear,” Aziraphale says, almost shushing him, the bastard, and Crowley would have things to say about that, capital letters Things, too, if he hadn’t shifted, hand closing over Crowley’s in that tentative sort of way Aziraphale gets whenever he ventures in taking first steps of any kind, and it all gets jumbled in Crowley’s throat. “We’ll sort it out in the morning. Dawn is only a few hours away.”

Crowley sighs again. It’s as heavy as the first but perhaps a little shakier; his plants would lose all respect for him if they ever heard such a forlorn sound coming from his mouth.

They lapse into an easy silence, warm and familiar, lulling them back from the keyed-up state this whole Apocalypse mess had put them in, only broken when Aziraphale suddenly breaks into giggles. “It’s funny, isn’t it? When you think about it, now that it’s all settled.”

“What’s so funny?” He drawls, wary. This level of childlike glee is too similar to the cheap coin trick to be any sort of good.

“You and me,” Aziraphale says simply, like it’s perfectly obvious, “looking after some… some human child! For eleven years! And for absolutely no reason at all!”

Well, when you put it like that, and when Aziraphale is still giggling quietly into the night, Crowley supposes he can’t be blamed for cracking a smile or two, or snorting into his pillow. There are some things that are too infectious to be resisted– some types of bacteria, black mold, invading species in areas without natural predators, and, specifically in Crowley’s case, one very particular angel’s laughter.

“It was awful,” Crowley agrees, grin still infuriatingly in place, and gives up pretending today’s events haven’t shaken up things in the Arrangement and derivations thereof. His arm wraps around the angel, tugging him to his chest, and Aziraphale goes easily, no complain at all, if anything, he snuggles closer because his ultimate goal is clearly to end Crowley for good. “But it could have been worse, all things considered.”

“It wasn’t so bad, was it?” Aziraphale sounds almost wistful, as if he’s reminiscing a time long past and not the blink of an eye for immortals like them. “Then again, it wouldn’t have been half as bearable if it hadn’t been with you.”

The same viciously unnamed feeling from before swells on Crowley’s chest. It cackles, singsonging its name even though Crowley had refused to hear it the other hundreds of times during those 6000 years. It should not be possible for it to exist at all, not in Crowley and not over Aziraphale, and it should not be so light, and good, and true. See, those are not qualities you usually find in a demon.

Still, it grows.

“Go to sleep, angel,” he says, hoarse and too aware of how far from over this whole ordeal is. How it’s too soon to say to hell with it all and skip along to any sort of hopeful ending, to say anything along the lines they’ve been dancing around since the Beginning. “You’re talking nonsense.”

“Of course, dear boy,” Aziraphale relents with a final huff, relaxing further against Crowley, their hands remaining tangled, but something in his voice is insufferably knowing. “Tomorrow, then.”

“Tomorrow,” Crowley agrees, and it sounds an awful lot like I love you.

[vulpinmusings]

Letters from Buxcord #8 - Werewolves of Buxcord

The title says it all, really.

Samantha,

This one’s going to hit real close to home for you.  There are werewolves in Buxcord.

Spring has officially arrived here, heralded by a popular music festival, and this incident occurred on the very day.  I didn’t initially plan on attending, but in the days leading up to the festival I had gotten my hands on Simone’s book of magic family secrets.  I went at it with too much confidence and not enough preparation, and the “no peeking” spell made the text totally illegible and so disorienting I felt my magic senses fall even more out of sync with the local ley-lines than normal. I eventually decided to attend the music festival to get some fresh air and try to clear my head.

Oh, and Lea has asked me to try and determine once and for all if she’s human or Fey, and help locate her family if the former.  I don’t have much to go on with that task, but I couldn’t really say no.

Anyway, on the day of, I overheard a lot of stories about animal maulings being discovered around town, with the general consensus being that some kind of rabid dog was responsible.  I didn’t consider it worth my personal attention, but I filed the news away in case something more came of it later.

Which, of course, occurred.

The festival wasn’t going to get started until that evening, but I decided to head over to the park after lunch to poke around for trouble.  I wasn’t looking for anything particular, but large gatherings and party scenes can be good places for nefarious things to hide in plain sight.  Among the stage crews and other early hangers-out, I noticed a pair of men in very crisp suits and an air of authority, and then spotted Lea wandering around with a look of being hungover on her face.  When Lea saw me she came straight over, a mixture of worried and relieved.

Lea recounted her adventure of the previous night after she’d finished her bar hopping.  She’d been wandering about looking for a place to crash when she entered an alley and found it full of thrashed garbage cans, broken fencing, and a substance like fresh blood on the ground. She also showed me a name tag she’d found stuck on the fence, bearing the name of Tyler.  Lea said that was the name of a bartender who’d failed to show up for his shift.

Now that caught my interest, but before I could ask Lea to take me to the scene, those two sharp-dressed men approached us and identified themselves as agents of the FBI, the interstate police agency of the area.  They asked us some questions about the spider-hive-man incident.  After trying to tease the reason for the investigation now out of them and getting rebuffed by their strict professionalism, I provided a brief summary of the facts.  They took it all in with no sign of finding it unbelievable, and then let us return to the business at hand.

We bumped into Mr. Penn on our way out of the park, and he also took an interest in Lea’s discovery as he’d seen local police investigating more animal maulings near Bayou Boating.

The alley was still a mess when we arrived, and one of the Sheriff’s deputies was checking it out.  I prompted Lea to hand over the name tag to the deputy before beginning my own study of the scene.  There was definitely blood on the ground, and our search turned up a fair amount of shed black fur and the distinctive claw marks of an active lycanthrope throwing a tantrum and not caring if they leave a clear trail to follow.  The trail led us back to the park, where we lost it among the milling crowds.

Penn suggested that Lea fly up and study the crowd from the air to try and locate Tyler, but Lea refused flat-out since it was broad daylight and there were people everywhere.  I had to agree with Lea; given the general attitude toward magic in this wold and the unknown disposition of our werewolf quarry, it was best that we try to keep a low profile.  Unfortunately, that left us with the unenviable task of trying to spot one man among hundreds while in the midst of the crowds ourselves.

We saw Piper among the people, but she avoided us when Lea tried calling out to her.  Lea then tried to pick out the werewolf’s aura and found two suspicious feelings too vague to track down.  Penn then noted that Piper had missed her shift at the boat tours that morning, which was out of character for her.  That seemed like a suspicious correlation, so we set out to track down Piper.

We caught up to Piper on an isolated path in the woods at the edge of the park, and she tried to get away from us until Piper caught a hold of her wrist, applied some Faerie charm, and got the story out of her.  Seems Piper had been bit by a werewolf a few years earlier, the initial transformation had ended in the deaths of her parents, and she’d come to Buxcord seeking a cure.  At this point, I stepped in and, without needing to name names, convinced Piper that I knew enough about her condition to be able to help her deal with it properly.

Of course, finding a peaceful pack of werewolves to take charge of her would be ideal, and creating an amulet to help restrain the wolf’s rage a close second, but our time was short and needs must.  We took Piper back to her apartment and I fought through my magical malaise to weave strength into the walls and a seal on the door so that she wouldn’t be able to get out and run wild that night.

Returning to the park, we found that the festival was starting up.  Time was getting even tighter, and I had to be ready for the possibility that the remaining werewolf wouldn’t be as reasonable as Piper.  We needed to get our hands on some weaponizable silver.

Lea recalled hanging out with the festival’s main act earlier in the day and noticing the lead singer wearing a silver necklace, so she went off to work her magic on obtaining that while Penn and I tracked down the FBI agents to gauge their potential usefulness.  They didn’t commit to assisting us, but one of them did remind me of how a werewolf’s eyes always reflect light back, even in their human form.

Penn and I spent several minutes discussing potential light sources and how to get our hands on them, until I realized Lea still hadn’t come back with the necklace.  I went to look for her, leaving Penn to handle the light situation.

Despite my worries, Lea was in perfect health.  She’d just gotten distracted with chatting up the member of Killer Thriller, drinking their beer, and making out with the lead singer.  I made my presence known with a few sharp words, and Lea quickly got back on task, using her fey magic to charm Thrax into lending us his necklace.  In the conversation that followed, I learned that the band’s groupie, Nightshade, had been missing for quite some time despite being all professionalism earlier in the day. Not wanting to leave anyone unaccounted for, Lea and I headed for the parking lot to check the band’s truck.

While I was fetching Lea, Penn had managed to sneak backstage in between the opening acts switching out.  After some consideration, he grabbed a flashlight and proceeded to run out into the audience and quickly but systematically flash every person in the eyes.  Naturally, this shenaniganery attracted the attention of festival security, and Penn narrowly escaped being apprehended after running back to the stage and checking Killer Thiller as they were setting up.  Penn then slipped away and met up with Lea and me in the parking lot.  Quite an impressive performance, I must admit.

So, with all but one person accounted for and cleared, and with the trail from earlier now easier to see, it was clear that we were approaching a large truck containing a werewolf on the verge of full-moon transformation.  The truck was closed up when we found it, and we engaged Nightshade in conversation through the shut gate.  Lea and I offered assurances and help, but Nightshade’s responses made it clear that she had embraced the monstrous and fully intended to cause mayhem at the festival.  Still hoping for a peaceful resolution, I bespelled the truck’s gate to be immovable so that Nightshade would be locked up and harmless until morning, at which point I intended to turn her over to the FBI agents.

There were clues that things weren’t as simple as we’d assumed, but I can only see them in hindsight.  There had been a moaning sound early in the conversation that I thought had just been from early transformation pain.  Nightshade said something about running an experiment.  The trail of blood leading to the truck, and Tyler still hadn’t been located.  After the success with Piper, idealism had clouded my judgment a little.

The three of us still stood guard as the transformation took hold.  I hadn’t become that idealistic.

I had focused my spell on the truck’s gate, trusting that the magic spreading through the rest of the trailer would be enough to restrain a single werewolf.  Maybe it could have, but it was no match for two. They burst out of the side of the trailer and the more feral one – Tyler, recently turned and transformed – made a break straight for the festival.  Penn, perched on the top of the trailer, produced a whip and caught the wolf by the leg, holding it back.  Tyler swiped at Lea, triggering Lea’s panic response to animate a nearby tree.  She managed to control the tree’s actions, sending it to slam and pin the feral beast to the ground, and then somehow caused the asphalt of the parking lot to flow up and around the wolf’s legs.  I caught Nightshade in a Tangler as she pounced at me, and then I let out my frustration in a blast of fire.

Penn wrapped the silver necklace around one fist and leaped down to try and punch Nightshade into submission.  He landed some solid blows, but got bit twice for his efforts.  Lea also took a light bite to the foot in her efforts to get away from the feral Tyler and over to apply a light healing spell to Penn.

Penn broke off from his brawl with Nightshade, using some flash powder to stun her, and I threw a Tangler onto Tyler just as he broke free of the asphalt.  I then went over to Penn and, realizing the necklace wasn’t suited for the job, Wove a spell to merge the silver with the bullets in my revolver.  Lea tried to fly away to fetch help from the FBI, but she turned back when Nightshade broke free of her Tangler and made chase.  Instead, Lea decided to fly about, taunting the wolves to keep their attention away from the innocent and blissfully ignorant crowds.

Penn took my revolver and shot Nightshade through the chest, but she was still kicking.  In a momentary fit of insanity, I reclaimed the gun and made a shot of my own.  I aimed too hastily, and the bullet appeared to go high, straight toward Lea.  By pure luck, Nightshade chose that same moment to lunge for Lea and jumped right into the bullet’s path, which killed her.  Penn and I then turned our attention to the other werewolf, restraining him and putting a silver bullet in his head.

We assessed the damage, and I promised to provide doses of the lycanthropy antidote (and boy do I hope I can remember how to make that stuff, since I’ve only read about it a couple times) for both Penn and Lea.  I’m not sure if Faeries can contract lycanthropy and I’ll admit I’m curious to find out, but I’m not going to experiment on someone who was unwillingly infected (and may not even be Fey in the first place).  Lea then went to fetch the FBI agents for help in concocting a cover story, while Pen and I dragged the corpses into the woods and buried them as best we could in a short time.

Yes, I know, but I am not going to lie and I do acknowledge that spreading word of werewolves in Buxcord would only cause a panic among the ignorant masses.

The agents returned without Lea, claiming she was too distraught by the events to want to come back, and then asked for an explanation. After we explained, the agents took us to a more secluded spot and brought out these strange little pen-sized devices.  The devices produced a blinding flash, and I felt my mind reflexively reconfigure to deflect foreign alterations, although I think that protection Mnemosyne gave me actually dealt with the attack.  They had tried to wipe our memories.  Penn’s reaction to the flash convinced the agents it had worked, and they left after instructing us to return and enjoy the festival.  Once they’d gone, Penn revealed that the devices hadn’t affected him either, which is… interesting.

We did return to the festival, but mainly to find and check on Lea.  She had been memory wiped, recalling nothing after we’d finished helping Piper.  We filled her in on what had happened, both to let her account for her wounded foot and to warn her away from interacting with Killer Thriller, seeing as their groupie was dead, Thrax’s necklace was gone, and their truck was a mess.

So, in the end we managed to help one werewolf come to grips (albeit that’s an ongoing project), took down one werewolf willfully intent on being a monster, and failed to save a third who’d only just been changed and never got a chance to understand what had happened to him.  A mixed bag, but after some consideration I don’t think you’d be too disappointed in me.  After all, I started from the stance of wanting to help them all adjust and make peace.  That’s better than when we went through it, right?

-Ash.

[its-2am-bois]

I wrote a fic so long story short here’s oswald riding ed please enjoy (NSFW btw)

“Ouch.”

“Agreed.” Ed grumbled, helping Oswald limp through the lounge. They’d have the staff clean up the trail of bloody footprints before they opened for the night. “Sorry I can’t get the cuffs off yet.”

“I’d rather wait until you deal with that.” Oswald glanced at the bloody rag they had wrapped Ed’s hand up in. He had maybe been a bit impulsive, punching through that car window the way he had. “I think we still have some thread left, if you want to stitch it up…not sure about needles, though.”

“I put in a new pack last week. We keep running out.”

Was that concerning? It probably was, but Ed wasn’t going to think too hard about it.

After a quick detour to the bar they both collapsed on the leather couch in his office, Oswald sprawling on top of Ed with his head thrown back over Ed’s shoulder, Ed sewing up his cut hand while he nursed a split lip and a glass of bourbon. For awhile they just lay there in a heap, then Ed realized there was something buzzing in his lap and gave Oswald a nudge.

“Someone’s calling you.”

“Oh.” Ed raised his head when he heard the sheepishness in Oswald’s voice. Was that a blush in his cheeks? “It…that’s not my phone.”

Now that wasn’t suspicious at all. Ed blinked, pushing up his blood splattered glasses and squinting at Oswald. “Alright then… so what is it?”

“None of your business, that’s what it is.” With a bit of a struggle Oswald staggered upright and headed over to his desk, and Ed couldn’t help but notice he had a bit more waddle in his step than usual. Couple that with the way he slumped over his desk like he couldn’t hold himself up, the blush in his cheeks…from there it wasn’t hard to put two and two together.

“Oh, Oswald.” Ed smiled, his voice trembling with laughter. “You’re telling me you went through a hostage situation, blew up the Moehler family’s weapons cache, stole a patrol car, and the whole time you had a vibrator-“

“Yes, you idiot.” Oswald snapped, glowering over his shoulder at Ed. Admittedly it was a bit difficult taking him seriously when he was bent over the desk with his ass sticking in the air. It wasn’t like Ed was going to complain about the view, though. “And I can’t get it out because of these goddamn cuffs…Why are you laughing?”

“I’m not, I’m not…” Maybe he was. “Just hold still, okay? I’ll get it out.”

Oswald let out a huffy breath, his fingers twitching as he grabbed a silk handkerchief out of his jacket. “It’s been driving me insane.” he complained, shakily wiping the sweat from his brow. “They were threatening to cut my damn fingers off and I couldn’t pay attention because I was about to come in my pants…”

“You think they noticed?” Ed pulled off his glove and smoothed his thumb over Oswald’s pudgy hip, reaching around to undo his belt. His clothes seemed to be getting a bit tight, but his tailor was locked up in Arkham at the moment so there wasn’t much that could be done.

“God, I hope not…” The second Ed popped the button Oswald sighed in relief and slumped forward, letting Ed pull his pants down. “Moehler’s thugs turned up right after I put it in. I was just hoping the batteries would die.”  

“No such luck, clearly.” Ed hummed, rubbing the underside of Oswald’s belly where his belt kept chafing the sensitive skin. He bit his tongue when Oswald pressed back against the front of his pants, his cock giving a sudden twitch of interest. “Now why were you walking around with a vibrator in there, huh?”

Oswald seemed to contemplate whether or not that even deserved a response, then he huffed and propped his chin up on his hands like a grumpy schoolboy. 

“I know what you want me to say, so I’ll just say it. I got lonely ‘cause you decided you just had to rob that bank today, and I needed to distract myself. So here we are.” Oswald pouted. He swayed his hips lazily as he spoke, rutting up against the desk for just a bit of relief. It was hypnotizing. “Which means this is all your fault.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll take full responsibility.” Ed couldn’t help but grin as he inched down Oswald’s boxers, running his fingers over the creamy, quivering skin. He could almost feel the vibrations sending a tremor through Oswald’s body, slight but definite. “So…while you got this in here…”

Oswald actually laughed, cracking one eye open and smirking back at Ed. “Opportunistic, much?”

“You can’t deny that it’s convenient.” Ed pointed out. He spread Oswald’s ass and ran his thumb over the base of the glossy black vibrator, feeling it purr away under his touch. Was it strange that they were horny after narrowly escaping death? It was probably strange. But no stranger than anything else that happened to them, honestly. “So is that a yes…?”

“Alright, alright, have your fun.” Oswald couldn’t quite stifle a gasp when Edward started to thrust the vibrator, his knees nearly buckling while his grip tightened on the desk. He buried his face in his arms and moaned, his back arching and pretty blond lashes fluttering. “Goddammit…”

“You okay?” Ed leant in and kissed along Oswald’s jawline, mouthing lazily at the pudge spilling over his collar. Oswald shivered and rolled over to kiss him properly, Ed just barely managing to shove aside a stack of paperwork and the highballs from earlier before their lips were pressed together, a smoky hint of blood and bourbon still on Oswald’s lips. His cock was laying up against his belly, flushed pink and achingly hard; just looking at it made Ed’s mouth go dry. It wasn’t like his situation was any better, though. He was feeling lightheaded. “That looks painful…”

“You think?” Suddenly Oswald sat up and pulled open a desk drawer, pushing aside a pistol and tossing Ed a bottle of lube. “You try wearing a vibrator for four hours, see how you fare.”

“Can’t really argue with that.” Ed’s eyes scanned Oswald’s frame as he kicked his pants and boxers off, managing surprisingly well despite the restraints. Oh. So this was where things were going. “Don’t you want the cuffs off?” he asked, scrambling to get himself undressed, too. You’d think he would be more coordinated, but seeing Oswald in any state of undress was enough to throw him off his game for awhile.

“Literally the last thing on my mind right now.” Oswald breathed. He shoved Ed down onto the couch and swung his good leg over his hips, the press of his thighs soft and warm, heavy against Ed’s crotch. While he got himself situated Ed traced the inside of Oswald’s thigh with his fingertip, following the path of silver and pink stretchmarks zigzagging his skin like roads on a map. “Now take it out, for the love of God.”

“Slow down, sweetheart…” Once Ed slicked up his cock he reached around and pulled out the vibrator, gasping when Oswald immediately sank down onto his cock, taking it all the way to the hilt. “Oh, okay. Fuck-“

Oswald just grunted, sitting back as he bounced on Ed’s cock, the cuffs not slowing him down much at all. He looked a wreck, his face red and shirt rucked up over his jiggling stomach, both of his pupils blown wide. Ed wasn’t doing much better, honestly. Already he could feel heat coiled in the pit of his stomach, sweat beading on his bruised chest. The both of them would be sore as hell after this, that was for sure. Not to say it wasn’t worth it.

“God, Oswald-“ he gasped, gripping a handful of Oswald’s thigh with one hand and jacking him off with the other, his thumb catching on the head of his cock, his palm getting slick with lube and pre-come. “Can’t go - shit, that’s it - can’t go any slower?”

Oswald slurred out an answer, his head falling back as he sank down again. Ed figured that was a no, so he just reached up and grabbed Oswald’s shoulder, helping guide him up and down when he started to sag forwards. But he didn’t show any signs of slowing down, so Ed started to talk, concentrating on that so he wouldn’t come first. For Oswald’s sake, mostly.

“You must have needed it pretty badly if you were wearing a vibrator at work.” he gasped out, his voice ragged at the edges. “Not very professional of you, Penguin-”

He was cut off when Oswald fell forward, pressing their lips together in a messy kiss. The fact all his weight was planted squarely on Ed’s bruised ribs didn’t even register. Most of his focus was on Oswald’s grip on his hair, the soft little moans that kept slipping out of his mouth. He gripped Oswald’s ass with his free hand, pinning him down, making him clench around his cock.

“You close?” Ed breathed against Oswald’s panting lips. When he nodded Ed managed to reach down between them and get a grip on Oswald’s cock, both of their chests heaving as they moved together, edging closer by the moment. Oswald matched every buck of Ed’s hips, his belly trembling and voice mostly gone, fingers spasming uselessly on Ed’s chest.

When they both finally came it was uncharacteristically quiet; just a whimper and the feeling of come splattering Ed’s hand and ribs. Oswald collapsed with a whine and Ed’s cock slipped out with a wet pop, come streaking Oswald’s ass in white streaks. Ed blinked the stars out of his eyes, dazedly patting Oswald’s back as he tried to compose himself.

“Okay.” Oswald wheezed after awhile. He had made no move to roll off of Ed’s chest, but Ed wasn’t about to complain. It was a bit like having a weighted blanket. “Wow, okay…”

“Mm…” Ed nodded in agreement as he dragged his trembling fingers through the mess of come drying on Oswald’s skin. Oswald let out a shaky sigh, his hole still twitching and the flutter of his lashes tickling Ed’s neck. But after awhile he sat up, looking down at the come on his belly and puffing out his chubby cheeks.

“I should get cleaned up…”

“Cuddling first.” Ed insisted, pulling Oswald back down and massaging his belly, feeling how his whole body was still quivering with aftershocks. Oswald grumbled for a bit, but once Ed got the cuffs off he sighed and wrapped his arms properly around Ed’s neck, nibbling and kissing at his sinewy neck.

“Thanks for coming to get me, Eddie.” he said sheepishly, looking up and adjusting Ed’s glasses for him. “I was worried for a minute there…”

“What was I supposed to do, let a second rate crime family kill the king of Gotham?” Ed smiled and kissed the bracelet of bruises around Oswald’s wrists, letting Oswald muss up his already disheveled curls. Once he got the rest of Oswald’s clothes off Ed hugged him tight, his lips pressed to his sweat damp hair. “That would’ve just been undignified.”

“And what exactly was dignified about getting kidnapped with a vibrator in my ass in the first place?”

“Guess you have a point…” Oswald’s nostrils flared and he twisted one of Ed’s nipples in retaliation. “Ow! What the hell-“

“You weren’t supposed to agree with me!“

“But you were right, why would I disagree when you’re right?”

“To make me feel better, jackass-“

The bickering carried on for quite awhile after that.