#I was shaking while drawing this bc I couldn’t stop laughing over my own stupid idea 🤭

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

revenge

extremely themcore

[adorerdraco]

Not My Type (Like You) ✧ Draco x Reader

Request: you should like do a one shot or even another mini series about amortentia/love potions in general. i’d soooo read that

AU SEVENTH YEAR WHERE VOLDY NEVER CAME BACK <3 f**k that mf !

italics are for flashbacks <3 i love them if you couldn’t tell 

Warnings: mean!draco, cursing, more mature themes/ideas, little bit of spice towards the end teehee but not too much bc idk how to write smut to save my life

Words: 4.5K

A/N: I saw a tiktok that kinda inspired this and i couldn’t get the idea out of my heaaaad if anyone knows which one im talking ab send it my way so i can show !!!! ALSO I LOVE THIS ONESHOT I LOVE DRACO AND I AM IN MY FEELINGS this might be my new favoriteeeee

Draco Malfoy was insufferable.

The Prince of Slytherin was unbearable for many reasons, things you've been taking notice of since your first year at Hogwarts when you accidentally had the ”pleasure” of interacting with him when he called you stupid in a class for reciting a spell incorrectly. That day, a hostility blossomed. A hostility that ensued nothing but teasing, mocking, and criticizing that would sometimes go too far and you'd both have to be pulled away from each other by your friends’ before either of you said anything excessively harsh that had no return.

You often felt like Malfoy sought you out to bother you and only for that. You could be sitting in the Quad with friends, conversing and laughing like nothing in the world mattered, and a few minutes later you'd be hurling insults towards the blond across the courtyard after he would yell something infuriating to you with that smug smirk on his face and his goons laughing wildly beside him as if he just said the most hilarious thing they've ever heard. 

On the days you’d ignore him, not having the patience or the energy to deal with him, he would still somehow find a way to push your buttons. Little things here and there like passing you in the corridors and tugging at the ends of your hair gingerly like a child but enough to tick you off or sending you notes from across the class in the form a small fluttering bird with a lousy drawing of you usually with a message along the lines of, “Y/L/N, hopefully, this note finds itself in the nest of hair you have today xx DM.”

In all honesty, there wasn’t a day you didn’t encounter Draco and it’s been that way for seven long years. Neither of you ever gotten tired of mildly or spitefully bullying each other and neither of you ever dreamed of stopping. He was one of the few constants in your daily life, and you in his. It was like you both lived on annoying the other, and in the midst of all the chaos that you brought to one another; there was a small, teeny, tiny acquaintance - not that either of you would ever admit it. You may have noticed it the time you bet each other ten galleons for who would win in the Triwizard Tournament your fourth year and he bet on Viktor Krum while you on Cedric Diggory. (he’s very much alive i refuse to think otherwise.)

“So you’re telling me, your mother is the reason why you’re not at Durmstrang,” you scoffed. “This whole time I could have been saved four years of headaches.”

“You’re just jealous some of us have more opportunities than others,” he snarks back pompously. “Unlike you, I hardly believe you would be graceful enough to even be considered admission into Beauxbatons.”

You had gone to see the last task of the competition just like the rest of the schools, all packed tightly onto the stands and watching carefully the exit of the maze. Naturally, you had arrived with your own friend groups, but somewhere during the time of sitting there and even being a few rows behind the blond and his minions, the two of you had met in the middle bench after he was trying to prove something wrong to you. 

When Cedric appeared back in front of the stands with the glowing Triwizard cup held high over his head in victory and every Hogwarts student loudly celebrating, you had jumped up from your seat and shook wildly an irked Draco beside you. He roughly shrugged your hands off his stiff shoulder, looking up at you with a sneer that you met with a bright beaming smile.

“Pay up, Malfoy!” You held out your hand towards him, opening and closing your fingers to receive the bet money. “I believe it was ten galleons you owe me.”

He begrudgingly reached into his coat pocket and fished out the coins, counting them defeatedly before tossing them into your palm. “What a waste of galleons.”

“Hey, you made the bet,” you reminded him with a still very bright smile. You shoved the money into your pockets, keeping one of the gold coins in between your fingers, and gave him a small hair ruffle that he harshly recoiled from before you turned to jump back up towards the level of stands your friends were originally sitting at.

“Were you really sitting with Malfoy this whole time?” One of your friends questioned when you reached them, a goading smirk on his face.

“Ooooh, she definitely was,” another friend piped up, wiggling her eyebrows. “They’re obsessed with each other.”

“Shut up,” you smack her arm casually, showing the pair the one gold galleon you were holding. “We are not. I was only sitting with him to get my bet money.”

“Sure,” they drawled in unison, sniggering when you threw your head back in annoyance.

You looked down the rows to see the mop of white hair you just sent into disarray. He was slowly descending the stairs of the stands with Crabbe and Goyle following closely behind him. Almost as if he felt your eyes on his back, he turned back to look at you, his cold gray eyes gazing into yours. It was like everything around you went quiet, the only thing in your focus was him and all you could do was stare back. It wasn’t until your friends started stifling laughter and whispering “aww’s” that you snapped out of the short-lived and odd few second trance you were in. He waited for you to do something before he turned back around, and you did - by holding up both hands; the one golden galleon on your left and your middle finger on your right, grinning to yourself when he rolled his eyes throwing you the finger right back before he finally disappeared into the mob of people below.

You were briskly walking down the corridors, books held tightly to your chest with your friend at your side while you made your way to Advanced Potions with Slughorn after Snape finally made his way into the DADA position. It was an easy class, potions being something you had a knack for and it gave you enough leisure to mess with your “favorite” Slytherin who shared it with you. 

“Look there goes your boyfriend,” your friend teases, elbowing your upper arm roughly and nodding her head down towards the hall to the tall blond appearing around the corner and entering swiftly into the class.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you hiss. “I’m tired of everyone saying that. I hate him and he hates me, end of story.”

“You know when you say you hate him, it just sounds like the opposite,” she says tauntingly. “Besides, hate is a strong word and very misplaced. Maybe, it’s just years of built-up tension that both of you have been too nervous to do anything about.”

“Tension? Yeah, I want to strangle him,” you laugh to yourself at the thought.

“Not that tension, idiot,” she shakes her head, “I mean sexual tension...clearly.”

You gave her a horrified look mixed between being disgusted and being offended. You held your hand over your mouth and pretended to gag as dramatically as you could. “I am appalled that you would even say that. I would rather be locked in a room with Filch and Peeves and hear them argue and fight all day than to be with Malfoy like that.”

“Come on, think about it,” she encourages, stopping the two of you a little ways away from the classroom. “You guys 'hate' each other?” She finger quotes the hate, looking at you with a raised eyebrow. “When you hate someone, you don’t go out of your way to talk to them every day.”

“It’s not like that,” you wave a hand dismissively. “Also, this isn’t a cliche, this is real life. We hate each other, that is all there is to it.”

You picked up the walk again, your friend to following behind you while letting out a deep and exhausted sigh. You couldn’t help but think about what she said, sure, perhaps at one point you thought Draco was attractive with his bright silver hair, his glittering gray eyes, his little button nose that he would crinkle up every other word he spoke in his charming haughty voice, or the way he’d tower over you in the middle of a conversation gone wrong and he’d be talking lowly to you but all you’d be able to focus on was the sweet scent of apples and cologne that radiated off of him.

“No,” you whispered almost silently to yourself, forcing yourself out of your thoughts and shaking your head from side to side as if it was going to get the image out of your head. He was mean, disrespectful, arrogant, and insulted you daily - even if you both laughed about it or gave props for the perfect jabs.

The first thing your eyes landed on when you walked into the dingy Potions classroom was Draco, his focus trained on the ceiling as if he was deep in thought. Just as his eyes were about to flicker down towards you, and sensing that he was about to, you quickly avoided his gaze and concentrated onto Slughorn who was waiting patiently by his desk with a bubbling cauldron for you and your friend to join the crowd in front of him.

“Great! Now that we’re all here,” Slughorn began excitedly, fixing the sleeves of his robes as he grabbed the ladle in the cauldron and began stirring it while continuing his lecture. 

You were trying to listen, capturing only the professor’s last sentence as he called on someone who raised their hand. All attention was thrown out the window when you realized Draco was standing near said classmate, a look of annoyance suddenly clouding his features when his pale eyes met yours.

“What?” He mouthed. You ignored him, trying to turn your concentration back onto Slughorn but nothing he was saying made sense, and right as you caught a word you did understand, a shuffling and an abrupt arm knocking into yours threw you right back out of the loop.

“Watch it,” you snap hushedly when you notice who it is. “Why are you over here?”

“I can’t say hello to my number one fan?” He whispers back, snickering slightly when you scoffed quietly.

“Fan? Says the one who shoved his way through the crowd to come over here,” you grumble, crossing your arms. 

“I hardly shoved,” he mutters. “I only moved because I couldn’t see Slughorn from where I was standing. Not everything’s about you.”

“Really? Because to me, it seemed like you came over here for my attention.”

He let out a breathy chuckle, a patronizing smile making its way onto his face. The type of typical boy smile where his mouth is half agape with his tongue smoothing over his teeth as he stared off across the room with his fingertips rubbing thoughtfully against his jawline as he thought of what to say. You stood still as he bent down, nearing his mouth towards your ear and whispering hotly, “you wish, darling.”

Slughorn sent everyone to their paired tables, and as everyone began moving and Draco sauntered off away from you, you stood stuck there, shocked with the lingering chills that were sent down your spine from your archnemesis’ comment.

“I told you, you’re into each other,” your friend sang expectantly from behind you, grabbing onto your sleeve and directing the two of you towards your table. 

You were working peacefully at your workspace, cutting up, peeling, and crushing the ingredients that your friend was sliding across the surface to you. In the table behind you was where Draco was working annoyingly quiet, tossing the stripped stems of the roses at you that you had to peel, tiny thorns pricking at your ankles through your socks since the bigger thorns had been taken off for the potion. As payback, you would throw back loose extra pearl dust you ground up, giggling tauntingly when he would frown at you for getting the coarse white powder all over his Italian leather shoes and most definitely inside of them as well.

When you, and seemingly the rest of the class, had finally thrown in all the ingredients and the potion promptly finished brewing, beautiful clouds of white and pink smoke began rising from the cauldrons, each one having a lovely scent of first; freshly pressed high-priced linens, then a faint smell of a brand new racing broom out of a box with a freshly polished wood handle that then quickly transformed into a sweet harvest of apples, green specifically, and finally...

“Ugh, gross,” you pinched your nostrils closed, turning your body around and sending a scowl towards Draco’s way. “Malfoy, we get it, your cologne is expensive, now stop spraying it. I was smelling all these wonderful things and you ruined it.”

He arched an eyebrow at you, looking at you as if you were crazy. “Are you mad? I didn’t spray anything, I think you’ve finally lost it.”

“Well you laid it on too heavy this morning then, it reeks in here.”

“You’re one to talk, Y/L/N. Did you bathe yourself in that dreadful perfume you wear just now? And that ghastly lip shiner thing you use,” He sneers, crinkling up his nose. “I can’t even think straight, I might vomit.”

“Lip shiner? It’s called lip balm, you prat,” you retort, crossing your arms angrily. “Either way, I haven’t used or sprayed anything either so-”

“For Merlin’s sake!” Your friend suddenly exasperated loudly from beside you making you briskly whirl around to look at her, a look of pure annoyance etched onto her face. “Are you two really that daft? Honestly? Have you been paying attention to anything other than each other? For instance, the potion we just made?”

This gained the attention of your classmates around you in the surrounding tables, turning their heads slightly but not obviously with small knowing smirks on their faces while they snickered quietly and listened. It was soundless as you reached towards the book in front of your friend, pulling it painstakingly slow towards you in fear of the words that were written on the open page.

“Amortentia,” you muttered glumly as you read the page, pushing it away from you dejectedly as everything began to click.

“The reason you’re both smelling each other is because you’re what the other desires and is attracted to. Wow, what a revelation! As if the whole school didn’t already know.”

You were afraid to turn around. You could feel the cold and hard pair of eyes burning holes onto your back and the immediate amount of whispers and giggles of the people around you. Luckily, Slughorn was busy at the other end of the room, working diligently with another pair of students who managed to mess up their potion. 

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Draco announces finally.

“What’s so ridiculous about it?” You questioned, your heart falling to the pit of your stomach when you turned again and took notice of the way his lips were curling upwards as if it was the most disgusting thing he could have ever heard.

“Think about it, Y/L/N,” he deadpans. “Why would I ever desire someone like you?”

There had been occasions over the years when you were in this situation. None as drastic and as revealing, but there would be times when friends and others would poke fun and say the exact same thing your friend told you earlier. The usual, “they got the hots for each other!” and you would always brush it off and joke about how you could never, and he’d do the same. It was always amongst laughs and jokes, but as you looked at the Slytherin in front of you - there wasn’t a hint of amusement on his hardened face.

“Piss off, Malfoy,” you seethed, biting down hard on your lip to refrain from lashing out either in tears or in insults, you couldn’t decide. “If I’m so revolting, leave me alone from now on, I mean it.”

“I never said that,” he argues. “You’re just simply not my type.”

For some eerie, awful reason, the words tore into you like a sharpened knife going easily through butter. You were used to his insults, his mocking, his comments about your appearances - but this hurt, and you couldn’t explain why. You thought, for a second, possibly, that maybe your friend was right. Maybe there was a hidden attraction you had for the platinum blond that you buried deep away and one that he had for you. There was no way that was the case now, not at all. 

And for the first time in your life, you couldn’t be more sure of a simple little fact.

You hated him.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

You don’t know how long you spent sitting in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, back against the cold tiled wall with your knees brought up to your chest. Your friends had tried to console you after the public rejection and humiliation, but their words only made you feel worse. You felt silly for being so bothered about being rejected by Malfoy, he wasn’t exactly someone you fancied, to begin with.

After dinner, you went off the grid and found yourself where you’re now sitting. The ghostly girl flew restlessly around you, popping out of her stall now and then to chat but then going back into her abyss of nothing when she learned you were still upset. You noticed it made her a little too pleased, considering the fact it was always her who was miserably wailing about her problems in the bathroom. She tried to hide it and let you talk to her about how you felt, but she gave terrible advice most of the time. 

“Well, if it was me, I would have never started fancying someone who was mean to me,” she mumbled. “Like when Paul Wighorn made fun of my hair for a whole year and laughed when I cried. I hated his guts then and I still do now.”

She had a point, but she was also Myrtle. Nothing about the overly dramatic ghost made sense.

“I don’t fancy him, It’s just weird,” you trail off. “I can’t imagine a day without him, even if he is a complete arse. We always joked about how we hated each other, but I didn’t think he actually meant it, I guess.”

“I think you do fancy him, though,” she whispers knowingly in your ear, making you flinch from her cold draft. “Stop denying it, it’ll only keep making you feel worse. Amortentia doesn’t lie, silly. Maybe when you drink it, but before that, all real feelings are there, whether you know it or not.”

You sat quietly, taking in her words before something came crashing down onto you like a wall of bricks.

“I suppose that means he’ll have to stop denying it too,” she adds thoughtfully. 

“Myrtle,” you rush to get up, smoothing your hair down profusely and fixing the wrinkles in your clothes. “You’re a genius.”

“I am?” She asks excitedly. “What did I say?”

You waved her off, giving her another thank you before rushing out of the bathroom and into the empty corridors. You were trying to go back to your dorm to sleep, hoping that when tomorrow came you would be bold enough to confront the Slytherin Prince but it was thirty minutes past curfew, something you didn’t notice until you were bustling down the steps in a rush and came face to face with the man of the hour himself doing his Prefect patrolling duties.

“Go to your dorm, Y/L/N,” he sneers. “I’ll take away house points, don’t test me,”

“I don’t believe you.”

“That I’ll take away house points? Watch me. Five-”

“No, you twat,” you groan, swatting his arm with your hand. “I don’t believe that I’m not your type.”

He stayed wordless for a moment, biting the inside of his cheeks and clenching his jaw as he peered down at you from his lanky height. “Why not?”

“Because I didn’t think you were my type until the amortentia made me aware of it,” you answer quietly. “Actually, my friend had a hand in it, but it was mostly the potion.”

Silence, again. Still and deadly. You could hear the large clocks around the school tick and tock, the hundreds of paintings snoring peacefully or chattering quietly. You avoided looking up at the boy in front of you, all of a sudden feeling small under his gaze until you felt cold fingers brush against your cheekbone and then softly through your hair causing you to finally look up into the soft wandering almost blue eyes. 

“I didn’t find out with the amortentia,” he muttered almost reluctantly as if it was the most difficult thing he had to reveal. “I’ve known I’ve liked you for a while.”

“How long is a while?” You curiously wonder aloud.

“I’m not telling,” he smirks. “Perhaps you’ll figure it out one day.”

Both hands came up to rest on your cheeks, slightly cold but soft and tender. It sent chills throughout your body as he took a step closer to you and then closer, backing you carefully into the diagonally ascending stone wall that went in the direction of the stairs. Your breathing was getting uneven, you noticed the way you accidentally switched to manually forcing yourself to inhale and exhale normally when he leaned down with his face now being mere centimeters from yours. It was torture, having your eyes closed and feeling the way his nose was brushing against yours, minty breath warm against your lips as he ghosted over them with his. He was so close, you smelt everything that was in the damn potion that got you here. It sent flutters of warmth down your body, trickling down and seeping deeply into every bone in your body as if this is was the remedy its been needing. This is what you’ve been missing.

When you finally felt a soft pair of lips being pressed into yours, it felt almost unreal that you were there. It was awkward the first couple of seconds, both of you wondering how in the world had you gotten yourselves in this position, but after you relaxed and he found his Prince of Slytherin confidence - it was magic. His lips moved languidly against yours, affectionately and full of longing. He kept his hands on your cheeks, still timid to move anywhere else while you kept yours resting lightly on his sides. It scared you a little, how fast and how easily you melted into each other, like if this was something you’ve been doing with him for years rather than torment the other for laughs. 

You hated the feeling when he pulled away, a gust of freezing castle air passing through the space between you and cooling your lips and face from his contact. His hands dropped down to his sides and he looked down at you with a small smile, a teeny bit smug, but happy. You wanted to feel the same way, but a question still loomed over your head, overpowering the giddiness you were vividly feeling.

“Why did you lie earlier?” You question softly, directing your gaze to the floor. “In class, I mean.”

He thought about his answer for a second, sighing deeply when he realized he had to uncover more truths about himself to you. You took a mental observation at that, he didn’t like to talk about feelings. “You didn’t say anything. Didn’t even look at me. I thought I’d beat you to it and reject you before you could reject me.”

“What made you think I’d reject you?” You coaxed. “Other than the fact that I made you a sworn enemy at eleven.”

“Exactly that,” he laughed lightly. “You’re unpredictable, Y/N.”

You smiled to yourself at the realization that he finally used your first name. “So are you, Draco.”

“Not really,” he grins. “Like in just a few moments, for example, I’m going to start snogging you.”

You opened your mouth to encourage him but shut it quickly when he closed the space between the two of you again, this time much closer than he was before. He was flush against you, and when you say you could feel everything; you could feel everything. You were almost begging for him to lean down and kiss you again by the time you felt his hands on you again, running delicately around the exposed skin of your hips when your shirt hiked up an inch on accident. He leaned down again, and with the advantage of his lowered height, you let your hands slide up his arms, biceps, and ultimately the nape of his neck where your fingers continued up into his hair. The breathiest gasp escaped his throat as you tugged at the ends gently, smirking to yourself when he closed his eyes in delight at the touch.

His lips came down onto your fast this time and hastily, pressing himself impossibly closer into you. You could feel his grip tighten against your hips, his hold moving upwards onto your waist as he continued to kiss you fervently. His teeth bit down softly on your bottom lip and you wasted no time in parting them slightly for his tongue to meet yours. You tugged at the platinum strands of hair again, feeling triumphant when a low groaning sound emitted from his throat at the sensation as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss further.

You knew you were done for when one of his hands slowly slid up your upper body, stopping first at your collarbones with warm fingertips fluttering over the skin, before he moved it upwards completely and he now had his large hand wrapped comfortably around your neck. You gasped in delight into the kiss, a swarm of butterflies going directly to your lower stomach as he squeezed against the artery in your neck meticulously, the coldness from his Malfoy family crest ring only adding fuel to the fire. He tore his mouth away from yours with his hand still clutched firmly around your throat and you were almost sent into orbit with the look he was giving you. A look filled with desire, adoration, and intensity - his pale gray eyes were much darker, almost a dark blue that resembled the starry night sky on a summer night.

Lips reattached themselves roughly and feverishly against your jawline, peppering long and tender kisses all the way towards your ear and then down towards your collarbones where he was beginning to undo the rest of the top buttons of your school dress shirt. You felt him smile against your hot skin when you’d writhe underneath him, emitting weak whimpers that you couldn’t hold back that he ended up having to clasp a free hand over your mouth as he whispered into your ear to stay quiet.

It didn’t matter that you were in the middle of a poorly lit corridor where anyone could walk past and see the frenzy that was unfolding, nor did it matter to Draco that his Prefect duties were long forgotten. Your friend was right, and everyone else for that matter; it wasn’t hate you felt for the blond at all, it was years and years of a craving and a hidden yearning packed with displaced tension.

And now, you were both exactly where you wanted to be; together.

[skiesofthesketchy]

Midsummers

Pairing: JJ Maybank x kook!reader

Summary: You drag a poor, unsuspecting stranger to be apart of your little scheme, but JJ doesn’t mind all that much. 

Note: Yoooooo how are you guys? This fic is dedicated to my bff @rafej-cambanks​ bc it is her birthday today!! Go send her some love! I figured this might be a nice lil surprise bc it is 1 of the maybe 2 unpublished fics that you haven’t read yet lol. Anyway, I love you SO MUCH and hope you like this :)

Still working on blurbs for my 1k celebration! Sit tight, they will be coming soon :)

Warnings: language, hella fluff, uhhhh yea Word Count: 4k

gif by @toesure​

***

Standing in front of the full-length mirror and gazing at your reflection, you couldn’t keep a straight face. The pretty emerald fabric of your dress adorned your figure perfectly, considering the thousands of dollars your mother spent on it plus having it tailored to fit you so. The hem fell to your ankles, showing off your expensive six inch heels and perfectly painted toenails. Your jewelry consisted of a simple diamond necklace and matching earrings, the sparkle adding to your already glowing complexion. You assumed your makeup would look cakey, but it actually looked quite flawless. That’s what you get when your mother hires a professional to do your makeup and hair for the most prestigious Kook party of the year.

Midsummers. Tonight was the night every Kook family planned for months beforehand, and then talked about the months following after. The party where rich socialites gather to brag about their wealth and successes over lobster and expensive champagne, playing fake nice to uphold their own powerful and pleasant reputations. You hated Midsummers with every fiber of your being, but alas, it was the one event you couldn’t get out of, and you had to attend. 

You bubbled with laughter as you gazed at your appearance, hardly looking like yourself at all. A silly flower crown in your hair and an elegant dress that could probably pay for a trip to Europe. “So this is the daughter my parents have always wanted,” you sighed, coming out of your laughing fit. 

Your parents never really understood you. All they ever wanted was for you to be their perfect princess, hanging out with other Kooks, going shopping, finding a suitable boyfriend from a wealthy family, you know, the whole shabang. And of course, keeping your grades up at the academy so that you can one day work for your father’s multi-million dollar company. It was what all Kooks expect from their kids, but you weren’t about that lifestyle.

Sure, you were grateful for your comfy upbringing, but you couldn’t care less about any of that stuff. You just wanted to have fun, travel the world, figure out who you are. You’d jump off a cliff before you had to be tied down to this boring, money-obsessed world that your parents live in. 

With a quick wink to your alter-ego in the mirror, you sauntered out of the large bathroom, your heels clacking on the white marble floors. You made your way to the extravagant lobby area of the Island Club, staying close to the wall in order to not be noticed. Your parents were thankfully already at the party outside, but there was still someone you were trying to avoid: the pathetic boy your parents had set you up with. 

He really wasn’t that bad, just boring like every other Kook boy your age. Only caring about parties, drugs, and tormenting the Pogues on the island. According to your parents though, he was a “suitable young man” because his parents were wealthy and respected on Figure Eight. 

You spotted your date, Topper Thornton, leisurely scrolling on his phone, his other hand in his pocket. He was waiting for you so that you two could walk down the glorious staircase into the party together. It was tradition for ladies to be escorted down the steps, which is exactly why your mother took finding an escort for you into her own hands. The stupid tradition made you gag. You didn’t need a pretty boy to escort you into a lame-ass party, and that’s why you were hiding from him.

With Topper’s gaze fixed on his phone, you took this opportunity to slip through the large room and onto the balcony, the party happening just down the stairs. With a sigh, you started your descent down the staircase, taking in the scene in front of you. There were pretty lights hung up around the huge tent covering the dining area. People were dressed to the nines, champagne flutes in hand as they giggled and chatted to one another. The live band played classy music while some couples danced, and staff members ran around serving drinks to the attendees. 

Casually walking down the last few steps, that’s when you noticed your parents watching you, and you grinned brightly at them. You knew ditching your date for the grand entrance would piss them off, which is mostly why you did it, and it was confirmed by the sour expressions on their faces.

“Mom. Dad. You guys look great!” you smiled. Your mother only scowled in response. 

“Y/N! What on earth are you doing? Where’s the Thornton boy?” She spoke through her perfect teeth clenched in a fake smile, trying not to draw attention from others. 

You shrugged. “I dunno. Great party though,” you said nonchalantly as your eyes wandered, obviously not bothered by the disappointing looks your parents were giving you. 

“You know your mother wanted you to walk in on a man’s arm,” your dad said. He was trying to console your mom by rubbing her back soothingly. She was not taking this well, her chest rising and falling rapidly in anger. She wanted to yell at you, but wouldn’t dare to make a scene with all of these people around. 

You rolled your eyes. “Why do I have to be escorted by some boy? That tradition is dumb, and sexist, quite frankly.” 

“Y/N, you’re embarrassing us!” your mom whisper-yelled. Her eyes were wide and her lips twisted in displeasure. She’s more pissed than you thought she’d be, and you smiled. “You couldn’t have done this one thing for us? Why can’t you go one night without embarrassing your family?”

“You’re being dramatic,” you sighed. You loved pushing their buttons. They have to figure out you don’t want to live in this Kook bubble for the rest of your life sooner or later. It sucks that they aren’t accepting of who you are and only want you to be their little Kook Princess, but that has never kept you down for long. 

“Don’t talk to your mother that way,” your dad warned in a low voice. You scoffed.

“Tell me why you ditched your date,” your mom whispered, the anger still apparent even with how quietly she spoke. 

“I ditched him because I already have a boyfriend, Mom.” You didn’t really have a boyfriend, but the lie rolled off your tongue easily. Lying to your parents was something you did quite often, and not just to get away with the stupid shit you do sometimes. It was fun to mess with them. They get so upset over silly things, especially your mom. 

A smirk found its way to your mother's face, and you knew she didn’t buy it. “Oh yeah? Then where is he?” You weren’t going to give her the satisfaction of catching you in your lie, especially if it meant she’d make you walk back up those damn steps just to retrieve Topper and do the whole entrance all over again. 

You were already disinterested in this conversation, but you couldn’t just walk away now. Your eyes wandered the party briefly, and that’s when you spotted a waiter heading in your direction. He didn’t seem too busy at the moment, no drinks or plates of food in hand, so the gears in your head started turning. Before you could even second guess your plan, you were stopping the boy’s strides by grabbing his hand and dragging him to the spot next to you in front of your parents.

“Right here,” you said. “Mom. Dad. Meet my boyfriend.” An innocent smile graced your lips as you stared at your parents, awaiting their reactions. You were happy to see surprise and displeasure taking over their features, and the blonde boy next to you looked just the same. You ignored him though and the way he turned to you with confusion dancing in his eyes. You didn’t even care if the stranger went along with it. Even if he walked off and this all blew up in your face, the shock on your mom’s face right now has already made it worth it. You found it all fucking hilarious.

Registering the silence and how nobody seemed to know what to do, you turned your smiling face towards the boy, squeezing his hand in yours and trying not to laugh at this whole situation. You finally noticed his beautiful blue eyes and the way they seemed to ask you what the hell is going on. You shot him a wink, and after quickly scanning your face, something in him seemed to change.

“Mr. and Mrs. Y/L/N. It’s so great to finally meet you.” The boy had turned his attention back to your parents, and reached to shake your father’s hand. You couldn’t help the happiness that swelled up inside of you. He’s actually going along with your idiotic plan to piss your parents off even more.

Your other hand came up to rest on the boy’s bicep as you watched him shake your dad’s hand. Your dad couldn’t form words as he looked at the waiter you clung to. Your mom had plastered on one of her brilliant fake smiles after a few seconds, and nodded her head in acknowledgement. 

This was almost too good to be true. You didn’t know the boy standing next to you, but considering he was part of the staff, he had to be a Pogue. Your parents never allowed you to hang out with Pogues before, so you could only imagine their fury after learning you were dating one. You only caught a quick glance at the blonde, but you noticed the bruises on his face and the cut on his lip. You didn’t know his story, but you knew your parents only saw him as a trouble-making Pogue, and his beat up face only made it better. Not to mention you were in the middle of the biggest party of the year. Your parents wouldn’t dare do anything to make a scene, not here. Sure, you’d be getting an earful at home later, but you were already basking in the pleasure of seeing them so utterly angry and not being able to show it.

“And what’s your name, young man?” your dad asked. 

“JJ Maybank, sir.” You turned your gaze to the boy again, and he smiled charmingly at your parents. “I’ve heard lots about you both, from your lovely daughter here.” He suddenly turned to face you again, the same cute smile on his lips, and released your hand to instead wrap his arm around your waist. Fuck, he’s doing a great job at playing along even though you dragged him into this mess that he had no business being in. You were loving every second of this. 

The way your mom was struggling to keep her calm composure had laughter bubbling in your chest, but you kept your lips shut tight to hold it in. “JJ,” she said through clenched teeth. “Are you working the party?” As polite as she was trying to be, her distasteful glance at his work attire didn’t go unnoticed by anyone. 

JJ wasn’t disheartened by her question, and only smiled bigger. “Yes ma’am, I work at the Island Club for such events. I also deliver groceries and mow lawns. But don’t worry. I still make plenty of time to take Y/N out on dates and treat her like the princess she is.” You found his gaze once again, and you swear you could kiss him. He’s really milking this whole encounter with your parents and you promised yourself to thank him later. 

“Oh, that’s nice,” your dad responded for your mother. She was practically seething underneath that perfect mask of hers, but your father looked quite uncomfortable as well. And here you thought Midsummers would be boring. 

You listened in on the awkward conversation a few minutes more before you spoke up. “I’m glad you guys finally met, but we’re gonna go now. Enjoy the party!” You grinned one last time at your parents before grabbing JJ’s hand and dragging him away, leaving them to simmer in their shock and anger without you.

You had made it all the way to the other side of the dance floor before you burst out laughing. Giggles poured out of you loudly, and JJ couldn’t help but join in. You didn’t even care how awkward that whole situation was, you found it absolutely hilarious and you were happy to see that JJ seemed to think so too. “Thanks for playing along with that, man,” you smiled. “I totally owe you.”

JJ Maybank was confused to say the least. He caught on to your little plan and used his superb improv skills to play along, but he didn’t really know why. He’d never met you before, and couldn’t possibly figure out why you would claim him as your boyfriend. And though you two had never met, he knew exactly who you were. Everyone did. You were Y/N Y/L/N. Your parents were among the richest Kooks on the whole island, and you were their perfect Kook Princess. Why on earth would you ever tell them that he was your boyfriend? He was a low-life Pogue. None of it made any sense. 

He wanted to ask you for an explanation, but he was too caught up in the moment with you. He had never seen you up close before, and had to admit he found you intriguingly beautiful. Your eyes gleaming as your whole face lit up, your dress showing off your nice figure and complimenting you perfectly, even the giggles escaping your lips screamed beauty. He had his mind made up about you, thinking you’re no different than every other rich girl on the island, but now he’s not so sure. From the moment you abruptly grabbed his hand, he could tell you didn’t give a fuck about anything. You seemed fun.

“Do you always try to freak your parents out like that?” he asked with a laugh. 

You chuckled too with a nod. “Yeah. They’re too comfy in their dumb Kook lifestyle, so I like to scare them every once in a while.” You looked up at him with your pretty smile, and he could only smile back. Your words suddenly made him like being in your presence a whole lot more. 

He watched as you messed with your flower crown, the flowers getting caught in your hair as you unceremoniously pulled it off of your head. “Stupid fucking flower crown...” you mumbled before tossing it off to the side on the ground. JJ laughed at your messed up hair, but reached his hands up to fix it for you. You couldn’t care less about what you looked like, which he found odd about you, but you enjoyed the feeling of his fingers running through your hair, patting down the wild strands. 

You took this opportunity to really look at him. His blonde hair was messy and the locks fell over his forehead. The bruises marking his face did little to hide how attractive he was, the cut on his lip seemed to make him even more attractive to you. Even his work uniform was tattered and wrinkled, but he still managed to look good in it. He finished messing with your hair and tucked a strand behind your ear, eyes meeting yours, and neither of you could hide your curious smiles. “Thanks,” you hummed. He only nodded in response.

Your eyes wandered as you tried to figure out what to say, but you caught sight of Topper bounding down the staircase, his gaze searching through the party, probably for you. “Shit,” you muttered under your breath, grabbing JJ’s shoulders and positioning him in front of you. You stepped closer to him as you peaked your head over his shoulder to keep your eyes on the Kook you ditched.

“Hiding from someone?” JJ asked, looking down at you with amusement. 

You nodded. “Just the guy my parents tried to set me up with. I may or may not have ditched him,” you laughed sheepishly. Maybe you should’ve felt bad, but you didn’t.

JJ spared a glance over his shoulder. “Which one of these unlucky bastards was it?” 

You giggled, still trying to hide your frame completely behind JJ. “Topper Thornton. Frosted Tips. Looks like a lost puppy.”

JJ laughed and you could practically feel the warm vibrations from his chest. His pretty eyes met yours again, and he surprised you by wrapping his arm around your waist while his other hand found yours, bringing the pair of you into a waltz position. A smile tugged on your lips as you placed your other hand on his broad shoulder, and you both began to sway. 

JJ never pictured himself in this position before. Slow dancing with you, the Kook Princess of all people, at the Kookiest party of the year no less. He felt a strange sense of pride knowing that you had ditched Topper and are instead dancing with him. Being this close to you, he found himself trying to memorize your features, the color of your eyes, the softness of your hand in his, and the enticing curve of your waist which he had the pleasure of holding onto. 

“So,” JJ spoke softly. “What do you normally do when you’re not attending fancy parties and pissing off your parents?” He didn’t know why, but he wanted to find out more about you. You’re already quite different than what he made you out to be.

“Getting into more trouble,” you responded with a wink. 

He chuckled. “Oh yeah? Like what?”

You shrugged. “Last month, I ran off to Cuba for a week without telling anyone.” You didn’t think it was a big deal, but you noticed the waves of surprise in JJ’s eyes. You giggled at his expression. “What about you? When you’re not serving drinks, delivering groceries, or mowing lawns,” you paused to admire the bruises on his face. “What do you do?”

“Get into trouble,” he laughed, shooting your words back at you. 

You played along. “Oh yeah? Like what?” You don’t know when it happened, but you realized now that you guys were closer than before. Your chest was pressed into his, and his face was so close you could kiss him with the slightest lift onto your toes. 

“Picking fights with your Kooky friends, usually,” he chuckled. 

“If you’re referring to Topper and his goons, we’re not friends.” JJ’s lips lifted into a small smile at your words. If he wasn’t mistaken, you were about as fond of those assholes as he was. 

You both were just staring at each other, choosing to put the small talk to rest and just enjoy the moment. JJ’s eyes never left yours as you brought both of your arms around his neck, leaving him to wrap his arms around your back, diminishing any space there was between your bodies. You thought he might’ve kissed you with the way his gaze flickered between your eyes and your lips, but he didn’t. Instead, his hands found yours and he spun you around so that your back was against him, your arms crossed over your body as you continued to sway. 

His lips hovered over your neck briefly, and you released a sigh, trying to remember the last time you felt so close to someone, so content and in the moment. Something about the boy holding you in his arms gave you butterflies, that warm and exciting feeling spreading through your veins. He suddenly released one of your hands and pushed you so that you were spinning away from him, but then caught you and pulled you back.

You giggled as he twirled you around the dance floor, pleasantly surprised at how good of a dancer he was. Staying hidden from Topper wasn’t even on your mind anymore. With his grip on both of your hands, you both spun around, making the other dancing patrons have to move out of the way. Your laugh bubbled louder, and you couldn’t care less about the other guests. JJ found himself laughing along with you, even though part of him still wondered why he was here, dancing and having fun with you. 

After a moment, he pulled you back against him and you both fought to catch your breaths while the laughter died down. He admired your features again, and the question he’s been dying to ask finally escaped passed his lips. “How come you’re not embarrassed to be seen with me?” He didn’t mean it to sound so insecure, he was rather genuinely curious.

Your brows furrowed slightly in confusion, your grin turning into a frown. “Why would I be embarrassed?”

He scoffed lightly. “Come on, Y/N. We’re from two different worlds.” His eyes wandered for a second, noticing the amount of eyes on the two of you, probably floored at the scene you guys had just made. “Everyone is watching. The Kook Princess dancing with a Pogue...” He didn’t mean to bring down the mood, but he couldn’t help it. He was used to being dismissed, used to being viewed as a disgusting Pogue that only got into trouble. 

You brought your hands up to brush his hair away from his face, your bright smile returning. Your hands then cupped his cheeks, your thumb gently brushing over his split lip. “I don’t give a fuck about these people.” JJ chuckled, feeling his spirits lift once again. Your fingers dragged down his neck and landed on his collar, which you straightened for him. 

“You know,” you started, eyes fixed on the buttons of his white shirt. “I expected tonight to be the absolute worst, but I’m actually having an amazing time.” You peered up at him through your lashes, and JJ smiled. 

“Oh yeah?” he smirked, his usual flirty persona returning. “And why is that?”

You giggled, deciding to humor him. “I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my handsome fake boyfriend has some damn good dance moves,” you winked. Your chest became warm at the sound of JJ’s deep chuckle, his breath fanning over your face.

Among the many judgy looks the pair of you were getting, your parents were also watching from a nearby table. JJ noticed their burning glares, and an idea popped into his head. Gazing into your pretty eyes, he smirked with a nod of his head to the side. When you glanced over and was greeted with the sight of your very angry parents, a grin creeped onto your face. You were making quite the spectacle, but really, who cares? “Want to give them something to be really pissed about?” JJ asked.

You looked at him curiously, but nodded nonetheless. You were already thrilled with how the night was going, and wondered what else he could possibly have up his sleeve. He leaned forward and suddenly, his lips were on yours. Your surprise was soon washed away and you allowed yourself to melt into the kiss, arching your back to press your chest into him. 

His hand rested on the back of your neck, pulling you in even closer as you both indulged in one another. His other large hand squeezed your hip, and you squealed softly against his lips. After a few more seconds, you pulled away from each other, gleaming smiles on your faces. Yeah, that sure made your parents fucking livid. Your mother had excused herself from the table they were sitting at, and your father followed after her, but you weren’t paying attention to them. 

JJ had rested his palms on your cheeks, just looking at you, and he knew then that he wouldn’t be able to get you off of his mind no matter how hard he tried. Your hands gripped his wrists, and you felt sad for a moment, thinking about how JJ probably needs to get back to work. He needs to get back to his life, and you need to get back to yours. “I’ll see you around, JJ?” You held your breath, hoping that this wouldn’t be the last time you saw him.

He kissed you once more, short and sweet, before pulling away again with a smirk. “Definitely.” And with that, he made his way back through the party and into the building while you watched, not being able to hide your giddy grin.

***

Pls let me know what you think :) love you all

Masterlist

***

Obx tags: @sportygal55​ @jazbarnes05 @lovelogan @lannxyz @caseyabel28 @falling-perfectly @thisismynerdyself @mattelblake @justanotherbooklover @hemmingsness @queenofthepouges @dontjinx-it @pink-meringues @outerbnx-stiles @little-miss-rebel3  @shreckluver7​

JJ tags:  @kaylinfayezink​ @unfortunatekiwitrash​ @shy-1234​ @bijleegiregi​ @cheshirecat107​ @yami5525​  @folkloverr​ @dracoswhore007​

[honeypirate]

Concussed

Pro hero Red Riot/Kirishima x Pro hero y/n.

Reader is a higher hero than Kirishima and the public likes her more. I didn’t specify her quirk but I’d say it was more power type.

(When I had a concussion before i couldn’t walk all day bc of being insanely dizzy and I talked a lot, said anything I wanted to say and didn’t think of it. So I went with that and exaggerated just a little with it)

I like to think he hair doesn’t harden with his quirk even tho I can realistically see how it would. It’s just my preference for this fic.

💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

You were in his strong arms as he carried you to where the ambulances would be. He had his fair share of concussions, and so had you actually, but this time yours wasn’t too bad. he was concerned mainly because you weren’t acting like yourself, you were blunt and mischievous, he knew you were always talkative but it was never like this, so before he took you home he was going to have one of the EMTs look at you.

For the first time in your life you don’t even think about consequences you’re not thinking of tomorrow or when you’re all healed, you are doing and saying what comes to mind immediately. Which is why you currently had on his hero costume mask and your hands buried in his silky hair.

“How is his hair so soft?” He chuckled as you raked your fingers through his hair “oh shit did I say that out loud? My heads kind of fuzzy still.” You never stopped playing with his hair. “Since I’m saying everything out loud anyway, how come your quirk doesn’t work on your hair?” You wish you could feel the softness of his hair on your face “How can you be sure it doesn’t?” He laughs as he responds and you notice the pink on his cheeks “it doesn’t. I’ve noticed. I notice everything about you Kiri” your hands quickly go to his face and softly touch his deep red blushing cheeks, the action jostling you in his arms “Kiri I am so dizzy, I think I have a concussion. That guy hit my head so hard” you burry your head in his chest, the action causing his hero mask to fall down around you like a necklace. “Y/h/n, i know there isn’t anyone around and that you have a concussion, but please try and remember to call me Red, at least while we’re out, okay, sweetheart?” Your head shot up to look him in the eye, it felt like your brain was the last to follow, sloshing around in your head, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t even notice. I’m sorry. Red” you nodded as you said it even tho you wouldn’t remember.

You loved his name so you tried to say it as much as you could in normal life without it being weird. You lay your head back down on his chest and close your eyes, your hands on his neck drawing little designs on his skin with your fingers “hey don’t fall asleep on me. Not until we get you checked out and healed up” you laughed “and then after you’ll let me fall asleep on you? That would probably be the best sleep I’ve ever had” you sigh and with your ear against his chest you notice his heart beat quicken. “I love you my Kiri” you whisper into his chest before you fall asleep and he hardly caught it. His eyes widen and his breath hitches.

“Hey hey don’t fall asleep come on baby wake up!” He tries to wake you up but you’re too far gone, luckily he’s just made it to the ambulances. It was a small villain fight so there was only a few of them around on different streets. Fewer now that the fight has been over for a while.

One of the EMTs ran up to him “how is she hurt?” “She’s got a concussion but I think that’s it” “follow me” kirishima and the EMT take you to the ambulance and he lays you down on the bed “with my quirk” the EMT says “I can assess her injuries and if they are small I can heal them. The only consequence being she’ll be very tired and weak. You’ll have to help her home.” Kirishima nods “okay.” the EMT puts their hands on your head and closes their eyes, nararating what they sees with their quirk. “She’s got a nasty concussion and some fractured ribs. Should be easy to fix. I seeee.... no other problems.” When their hands fall from your hair your eyes open and you look around until you see him, his eyes full of worry when you sit up and look at him fully. “There you are. I was just dreaming of you.” He smiles as he looks into your tired eyes “she needs to get some rest now” the EMT says to Kiri and he nods. You go to stand and you wobble a little so Kiri picks you up into his arms once more.

“You don’t have to carry me I think I’ll be okay now” he just shushes you so you lay your head on his chest and draw shapes on his chest absentmindedly with one of your hands. “I want to help you out until you’re feeling yourself again so you’re coming to my house.” He says and you feel your cheeks blush “okay. Thank you Red Riot” you say quietly. Remembering how stupid you were when you had a concussion. You were so grateful to him for carrying you, even more grateful that it was in the middle of the night and no one was around to see. The one thing you didn’t need was this in the newspaper. (Just wait until you see next mornings headline because you’re already there)

When you got back to his place he sets you down gently in the living room. “Kiri, do you have like some sweats and a shirt I could borrow so I don’t have to stay in this?” You ask quietly and gesture down at your dirty suit. He blushes and nods “yes I do. Come with me and you can shower too if you want”

After a nice long hot shower, you put on a pair of black sweats and a faded gray UA High teeshirt. You were surrounded in his scent like it was hugging you in. You fold your hero suit and walk out of the bathroom to find him in the kitchen making some tea and a late night snack. You place your suit down on a kitchen chair

“There’s my girl” he says with a smile and your heart beat quickens. “Hey” you say shyly and he comes and pulls you into a hug “god you scared me. I thought you had like terrible brain damage or something. You were talking and acting crazy until I got you to the healer” you laugh awkwardly “was I really that crazy?” You ask worried about everything you said. Worried that your real honest thoughts about him he thinks are crazy. He pulls back and gazes down at you “no. Not really that crazy at all.” He smiles sweetly down at you holding your face in his hands. He takes a deep breath and then ends the moment, secretly because he was terrified your words were only because of the concussion and not the honest truth. “I made you some tea” You take the tea he hands you and he takes you into his room to lay in bed and watch a movie.

You sit cross legged and drink your tea as he sets up some new Christmas show on Netflix. Your tea is finished by the end of episode one and you’re hooked on this show. You lay on your side and hug one of his pillows to your chest. He lays on the other side of the bed, one arm behind his head and the other on his stomach. He isn’t really watching any of the show, he just watches you. Your smiling face when cute things happen, your eyes are bright and happy. He loves it. He’s extremely jealous of the pillow you’re using to hug. He wishes you were holding on to him that tight. He moves and is now sitting with his back against the headboard and hands in his lap.

“Y/n?” You pause the show and sit up, turning towards him “Kiri?” He smiles and tucks your hair behind your ear. “Do you remember what you said when you were concussed?” You swallow hard, remembering telling him you loved him, and whisper “yea” his hand hasn’t left your cheek, he’s softly rubbing your skin with his thumb “did you mean it?” He asks just as quiet.

Your mouth goes dry as you look into his eyes, your hands start to sweat and your heart races as you try to gauge what’s going to happen after you say yes. He’s either going to say he loves you back or he’s going to shut you down. Either way at least you’ll be able to move on.

You reach up and cover his hand with your own, before gently placing it in your lap and running your fingertips across his, you watch your fingers trace his callouses, afraid to meet his eyes. “Yes, Eijiro, I meant it” you whisper.

“Y/n. Please look at me” he whispers and takes your hands in his. You look up into his eyes with your brows furrowed. He smiles and reaches up to smooth out your forehead “always so easy for me to read” he scoots closer to you and kisses your forehead “don’t worry. Don’t be nervous. How could I not love you back?” His voice is warm and calm.

He smiles and strokes your cheek as you stare into his eyes shocked, he loves you back... relief flooded your body followed by excitement and butterflies. He watched it all in your eyes. A smile slowly spread across your face and you felt yourself blush. “You love me?” You say quietly and reach your hands up placing them in his cheeks “I love you y/n” he says with a smile and a shrug, like he was suddenly shy to be admitting it.

You throw yourself into his arms and laugh “I love you!” You say and he holds you in his arms laughing along with you. When you pull back he looks into your eyes, you can see the pure happiness and adoraration in his eyes. “My beautiful girl” he says softly and you blush. He leans forward kissing your nose, then both cheeks, then pressing his lips finally against yours. You melt against him and he holds you tight in his strong arms. When he pulls back you lay your hand on his cheek and sigh happily. “I can’t believe that Red Riot is in love with me. This is gonna boost you hero reputation exponentially!” You laugh at the look of shock on his face “get it? Because the community loves me? And I’m always in the news? And I’m a few points higher than you?” You keep explaining what’s obvious and poking his cheeks softly with a smile on your face that said you thought you were the funniest girl. He shakes his head and laughs with you.

He pulls you into his chest as he lays down on the bed “do you wanna finish this show?” He asks and you happy sigh as you cuddle closer into him, hugging him like you were the pillow. It warms his heart to finally get what he wanted. “Yes. But I might fall asleep. I love how warm you are” you respond and he laughs “that’s okay baby. You need rest. I’ll hold you as long as you want me to” you chuckle “forever?” You ask and he laughs “anything for you”

[amethystpath-writes]

If you have the time and motivation for this, would you mind writing about the hero finding out the villain has been dating his sister? And the sister has no idea but the villain is like taunting the hero with public displays of attention and gushy romance things. The hero can’t do anything bc he thinks the villain will hurt the sister if he says anything about it. You can decide whether the villain actually loves the sister or not :)

I have been excited about this idea since I read it. Thank you, nonny!

******

Pulling up to the curb, Sister pushed the door open. How long ago did she unbuckle? Hero wondered. He hated how- how…uncaring she was. It wasn’t so much about her hurting other people with her carelessness as it was about her hurting herself. Hero loved Sister, which meant he hated to see the path she was taking. She was going to get herself killed, maybe not by going on dates, but with all her other tendencies; things like getting into car crashes at sixteen, going to skateparks in the middle of the night, and the general rebellious thing she had going on. Hero wish she could understand that the reason he was so overbearing was because their parents weren’t at all. And he wasn’t a helicopter brother; he just wanted her to be safe.

Hero turned the key counter clockwise and pulled it out, before getting out of the car himself. Now was the moment he’d evaluate Sister’s boyfriend. Yes, evaluate. If the guy Sister was dating was some jerk or something right off the bat, Hero would make him leave. He’d- uh- puff his chest and…and do the intimidating stuff.

Truth be told, Hero didn’t know how to come off as intimidating without using his abilities, but no one knew about those, and no on could know. He had watched too many movies of people with weird powers being taken and experimented on or tortured or other terrible things. It’s why he and Villain took things to rooftops, or otherwise amidst destruction where they couldn’t be seen. But that wasn’t the point! The point was that Hero was about to meet the person his sister was spending so much time with.

Sister was running up to one of the tables of the small ice cream bar, and when she got there- or to the person there- she wrapped their arms around a man, and as he looked up, Hero felt his whole body freeze. He felt his hands shake as the man- Villain- dragged a hand up and down Sister’s back, taunting Hero because he knew the shock it would cause.

It was Villain. Villain was coddling Hero’s sister right in front of him, and he even made eye contact while doing it.

After a few more frozen moments, Hero took one- two- steps forward. Villain watched, not ceasing his teases. At one point he even full on glared at Hero, stopping him in his tracks. Hero didn’t know what to do but to remain where he was and watch. He nearly spoke, opening his mouth to break it up, to get Sister away, but one flick of Villain’s hand on her neck stopped him.

The two kissed, not too awfully long- certainly not a make out session, but it was too long to be considered a peck.

“Oh.” Villain’s gaze caught Hero’s again, and he smiled. “This must be the brother you have mentioned a time or twice.”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah.” She gave a small laugh, adjusting her shirt, as it’d become somewhat crooked, and turning to face her brother while still standing beside her boyfriend- who now slid a hand behind her before settling it on her waist opposite of his own side.

Hero swallowed. Should he talk? Initiate the conversation? But with that hand on his sister’s hip…it was a threat. Villain could take off with her any second.

Or maybe he just loved Sister.

No. No, of course he doesn’t love Sister. That was a ridiculous idea and Hero couldn’t believe he even thought of it for a second.

“You never said he was mute.”

Still not knowing whether to speak or not, Hero only took very slow and deliberate steps forward toward the- the couple, if you could even call them that. “When do I need to pick you up?”

Sister’s face scrunched up. “What? You suddenly don’t want the cone and taco you made me promise to buy you before you left?” She laughed and crossed her left arm over her chest so that she could place her hand on Villain’s shoulder. “You don’t approve.”

She thought it was because Villain was wearing raggy clothing, a shirt with purposefully torn holes and bleached pants. No. That wasn’t the problem at all. Someone who looked as Villain did now was exactly Sister’s type, and they weren’t all shitty people. It just so happened to be that this one was. And this wasn’t the clothing Villain typically wore either. It was a lie, a façade, to lure Sister in. It worked.

Villain’s hand began to draw circles on Sister’s side. Hero had to take a deep breath. Another warning, or threat, or whatever you wanted to call it, to Hero to say the right thing, to play a role in the act. “I didn’t say that,” he settled for. Easy, simple, neutral.

“Your face is saying that,” Villain said. Hero could have sworn Villain held up a one with his fingers for a moment. He felt his heart thundering in his chest.

“Why don’t we all order our food and sit down, hm? Clear the air up a bit.”

It wasn’t a request or a suggestion. It was a demand.

Hero didn’t realize his jaw was clenched until he opened it to speak as he walked toward them at a proper talking distance. He kept his hands in his pockets to hide the fact they were fisted. “Right. Not a problem at all. Sister, I’ll order for you. What do you want?”

She looked up at him, then Villain.

“I told her I’d pay, but if you’d like to go order for yourself with me, then that’s fine. Maybe we can get to know one another a little more. Do you want to pick a table for us, mi amore?”

Wordless, Sister left to do as Villain suggested. Now it was just Hero and Villain standing out in the wide open.

Villain was the first to begin walking to the order line. Hero followed two steps behind, too nervous to be any closer. He didn’t think Villain was stupid enough to act out here, but it was hard telling- especially if he was apparently willing to date Sister. Hero still couldn’t believe it. The denial would have been stronger if Villain hadn’t been actively cluing threats.

“I have really rendered you speechless, haven’t I?”

Hero said nothing.

“Go on, say something. Do you think I plan to rip out your tongue?”

No. I think you might snap my sister’s neck. “What are you doing?”

Villain gave a small chuckle. “Did you ever consider that maybe I just like your sister and that’s why I asked her on a date today?”

“I considered it, then found it unlikely.”

He hummed. “Well, you’re right. I don’t despise her, but I would have no interest in her if it didn’t dig under your skin. It’s funny, the way you find me to be so threatening. A touch on her wrist makes you think I’ll break it. A touch on her neck, and you think I’ll dig my teeth into her throat as if I were a vampire and she my prey. What else, hero?”

“You would do all of those things.” Straight to the point.

“Is that what you think?” Villain smiled, stepping forward in the line now that some kid finally decided to order three scoops of various ice creams with sprinkles and syrup on top- no cherry though. “Perhaps. That only means you should continue to tread carefully. I’d hate for you to twist an ankle.”

Hero was becoming more frustrated than worried now. What was the point in all of this? The only thing Hero could come up with was that this was Villain’s form of a punishment…for looking for him, Hero assumed. But why was that such a big deal? Maybe Villain was up to something and needed Hero off his back; dating his sister and threatening her nearly every moment was the solution, and it was somewhat effective.

Silence followed through the rest of the line until they made it to ordering. “You used to buy her the toppings options,” Villain said to Hero before looking back to the person taking his order. “Add some rainbow sprinkles on top.” Having finished the order, Villain handed over a twenty- Did he just hold up a two with his other hand? - and told the worker to keep the change- all five dollars and thirty-six cents. Turning back to Hero, he began again. “She misses those times- when you actually tried to spend time with her.”

Gritting his teeth, Hero said nothing. Villain knew the reason he didn’t talk to his sister- or any of his family. Hero was busy looking for wherever Villain was hiding out when he wasn’t going into cities and attacking people from above.

They waited for their orders after Hero paid for his, and as they did this, Villain spoke up again, “You’re thinking about what to do in this scenario.”

“I’m not thinking about much of anything actually.”

Villain hummed. “I would be head over my heels in thought. I must have really boggled you up there.”

Hero said nothing. There was nothing to do.

**

Bringing the food and ice cream back, the date went as any would- with the exception that Hero was now a part of the date. It was originally meant to only be Sister and whoever her boyfriend was- which as Hero knew now, was Villain.

They all chatted like good friends, and Hero was warned subtly a few times to watch his displeased facial expressions. The unhappy expression usually only happened when Villain would hold Sister’s hand and all Hero could think was, He’s going to crush her bones. He’s capable of it. One squeeze is all it’d take. They also frequented when Villain put an arm around his sister’s shoulders, draping a hand almost carelessly. Again, Hero’s thoughts would get the best of him. Fingernails in her arm, river of blood. What did he think Villain was exactly, Hero wasn’t even sure, but evil was an easy way to define him.

Sure, they both had abilities, but only Villain was sadistic enough to ever use them against people powerless and defenseless against it. He never did it where he could be seen, but- well, Villain was unpredictable, wasn’t he? Hero certainly never expected the guy to start dating his sister. It was possible he really would hurt Sister in public.

“Hero, what did you say you do for work again?”

He swallowed. Hero could out Villain right now, just say it in the next moment and no one would expect it. And it was outlandish enough that it would be surprisingly unquestionable. Some things you just couldn’t lie about. It wouldn’t even need thought, though, because Villain would deliberately prove it…by concussing Sister with a tiny flick.

“I work with the Containment Justice Department in town.” This was what Hero told everyone, mostly his family. It wasn’t so difficult to lie about anymore, except that now Villain was smiling with the brightest beam of amusement.

Containment Justice Department, Hero could hear Villain mocking him.

“Interesting. I thought you had to graduate from some police academy or something to do that.”

“I excelled.”

“Right. Sister said you dropped out of high school. Suppose that’s why I never saw you in the halls.”

Villain tucked a piece of hair behind Sister’s ears then brought his lips to her cheek. She smiled and pushed him away playfully. Hero held his breath.

What could Villain possibly do with a kiss? What deadly thing could come out of that? His creativity was shrunken at this point, exhausted. This had been such a long day, and the sun was setting. Hero was stressed beyond relief, he felt.

“How long have you two been together?”

Sister opened her mouth to answer, but Villain beat her to the punch, his lips still on her skin. “Next week will be a year.” He put a hand on her chin after drawing his own head back just barely to make room for movement, then dragged her head to him until their lips were almost touching. “Isn’t that right, mi amore?”

A blush rose in her cheeks before he kissed her, and this time it was longer than when she and Hero first arrived.

“Right, well it was nice to meet you. Sister, we should go before it gets dark.”

“Um, I was actually…” Sister began, but trailed off.

“I’ll bring her home later tomorrow.”

“We should go home now. It’s dangerous out at night.” Hero added, “Not just for her sake, but yours.” Hero only included this for two reasons: (1) Villain would have silently scolded Hero, threatened him- or his sister, he supposed- for not wishing good will for Villain, and (2) because Hero needed his sister to agree with him, to want Villain to go home so that he was safe since they were a couple and couples cared for one another.

“My house is well lit. I think we’ll be okay. But I do hate to drive at night. Astigmatisms,” Villain said, “nasty things. Are you ready to go, mi amore?”

She nodded, and Hero didn’t know what to do as she began to stand. Sister couldn’t go to Villain’s home; she might never come back. What if he killed her? Hero didn’t know where he lived, and that meant there would be no rescue. He had to stop this now. But he couldn’t. Because if he tried to, Villain would act out now, and he’d probably find a way to make it Hero’s fault.

“You win, okay?” Hero rushed out as the distance between he and Sister and Villain grew. “You’ve- uh- been there for my sister when I couldn’t be. You are a…” Hero grimaced. “You’re a good guy.”

Villain licked his lip before dragging it in with his teeth, then looking at Sister with only his eyes- no tilting of the head, no action Sister could see.

“Thank you for taking care of her. Drive safely.”

And that was all Hero could do to ensure any amount of safety; admit defeat. Admit the Villain one, and maybe he would ease up, maybe he would break the tie he made with Sister, let her be free, even though she didn’t know she was caught to begin with.

“Will do.” Villain tossed a hand in the air- a careless goodbye.

Hero felt his heart drop. What did the carelessness mean- if anything at all? There was nothing he could do about it anyways. Villain won. Hero could only hope- maybe even pray- that Villain would show mercy. Until then, Hero hopped in his car, and before he took off, he turned the ringer on on his phone. It was the least he could do. If Sister was in trouble, maybe she would text or call him, and he would be there in a heartbeat after she told Hero Villain’s add- That’s it!

Hero opened the messaging on his phone and clicked on Sister’s name. ‘What’s his address? Just in case something happens.’ he typed and hit send.

Not a moment later, Hero received a text back from Sister, reading, ‘Seriously? How dunce are you?’

Another message as Hero began typing. ‘That’s three.’ it read. Hero squinted his eyes, looking up at the brake lights in front of him. A hand was stuck out of the driver side window. Three fingers were held out. And then? The car in front of Hero surged forward, wheels squealing with the highest screech he ever heard.

“No!” Hero fumbled with his keys, trying hard- maybe too hard- to put in it the ignition slot. “No, no, no.” He glanced up and down, watching as Villain’s car sped off until it turned out of sight. “Dammit!” Finally, the key slid in, and Hero started the car, speeding off just the same as Villain did just two minutes ago, but by the time he turned on the street Villain had, the car was gone, his sister with it.

******

Requested Part 2 here

[slutforgoodliterature]

Pietro Maximoff x Reader - Let Me Prove It To You

This was a request from one of you guys! I’m so excited to start doing more requests so feel free to send them in. 

To the babe that requested this, this one’s for you! You know who you are ;)

Summary: Pietro and Wanda are introduced to the rest of the Avengers, and he is immediately drawn to you. You, however, believe that no one like Pietro could ever be into you... until all of a sudden he really, truly, deeply is. 

Warnings: smut (slow burn), angst, dirty talk (in his accent omfggg) 

Hold on to your seats guys and dolls coz it’s gonna be a doozy

AU | that Pietro didn’t die bc that shit is sad as heck, so let's pretend he survived Age of Ultron ok :))

“Listen up you lot!” Tony’s voice rang out across the common area, where he and Steve had called a team meeting. 

They had just returned from a massive fight in Sokovia and brought with them not only a strange floating red man but also a set of arguably stranger twins. 

You had been out of action for the last few weeks due to a couple broken ribs and so had been sent on vacation by Tony. For three weeks, you were peacefully soaking up the sun in Honolulu, Hawaii, until you saw new reports of a freaking floating city with all of your friends on it. 

By the time you had flown back into New York, it was over and dealt with, but you were left feeling useless and unneeded.

“Earth to Y/N,” Steve called, bringing you back to the present, and you went red, even though he was sending you a reassuring smile and there was no real heat behind his words. The whole team knew how you were feeling and tried to comfort you, but there wasn’t much they could say to cheer you up. 

You looked towards the front of the room and were instantly drowning in a pair of cerulean blue eyes that locked onto yours. You froze in place, unable to tear your eyes away. 

The young man who owned those eyes was just as gorgeous. White blonde hair that fell over his forehead, arched brows, a strong jaw, full lips, wide shoulders, narrow hips and-

Wait, are those New Balances? 

You ignored the odd choice of runners and looked back up at this mysterious newcomer’s eyes and were shocked to find he had just down the same sweep of your body as you did to his. His lips curled up in a small grin and he once again caught your gaze, boring into your soul with his piercing eyes. 

“Team, most of you know Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, for those who don’t, this is them.” Tony pointed unceremoniously to the twins and was met with silence. “Cool, good chat.” He sent everyone a thumbs up before briskly leaving the room, probably to find Pepper. 

“He sure has a way with words.” The guy, Pietro, said and his accent caught you unawares. It was rich and silky, like honey in your eyes, and you swear you would have melted into a puddle on the floor if it wasn’t for the kitchen counter you were currently sitting on. 

He shared a smile with his sister before she edged over to the floating red dude. Speaking of...

“Is no one going to introduce floating red guy?” You blurted out, not addressing anyone in particular but finding the entire teams' heads whip your way. 

“Oh right, yes of course, sorry-” Steve began, but floating red guy cut him off with a calm hand raised and landed back on the floor before walking over to you. 

“Allow me, my name is Vision. You are Y/N.” He said simply, holding out a flat palm. You regarded it, completely bewildered as to what you were supposed to do, give him a high five? 

“Um, nice to meet you...” You said and placed your palm on top of his, thinking it was maybe a custom of his, but when his palm began to rise and fall, you were even more at a loss.

“Are you trying to shake her hand?” A sudden voice from over your shoulder made you jump. Somehow, Pietro had moved silently behind you and was watching the strange exchange between you and Vision, his eyebrows furrowed in amusement. 

“Yes. Is that not a common human custom?” Poor Vision said, making Pietro laugh and shake his head. 

“It is, it’s just not whatever you were doing.” He chuckled, stepping in front of you and grasping your hand firmly in his. He began to shake it, but you couldn’t focus on anything except his warm hand in yours. “This is how you shake a hand, Vis.” He stated, continuing to still pump your hands. 

You looked up and saw him looking straight at you once more and you quickly pulled a reign in on your emotions. 

Cut it out, a guy like him would never be into you.

You withdrew your hand abruptly, ending your contact, and thought you noticed a small look of hurt cross Pietro’s face, but of course, there wasn’t one. 

At least, that’s what you told yourself. 

Without another word, you turned around and left the room, unable to stand another second with the boy with the brilliant blue eyes and killer watt smile. 

As the weeks passed, you tried to ignore Pietro, but it proved to be a near-impossible task. 

He always found a way to be around you. Whether it was matching his training schedule to yours, or eating at the same time as you each morning and night, he was always there. 

Slowly but surely, you could feel the inklings of a crush begin to form until they became so strong you were scared you’d accidentally blurt it out in front of him. He wasn’t exactly helping the situation either; he always sat a bit too close on chairs, his hugs lingered for a couple of seconds too long, an innocuous-seeming wink or a squeeze of his hands on your as you traded gym equipment or passed the salt. 

You tried to keep your distance. You kept your conversations brief and answers blunt to the point it became borderline rude. You felt bad, but you needed to keep that layer of animosity there, lest you and your stupid emotions accidentally cross a line. 

One day, just over a month since he and his sister arrived, he cornered you in the training room. 

“Can I ask you a question?” He began abruptly. You regarded him through between your legs as you were bent over trying to stretch them. You realised the current view he had and flushed, straightening up before answering a curt “If you must,” all the while ignoring his eyes. 

“Do you hate me?” He asked in such a simple manner it had you sputtering. 

“What? No, of course not.” You shook your head, still avoiding eye contact, even though you could feel his eyes burning holes in the back of your head. You pretended to be studying the weights intensely, hoping that he would give up and leave you alone. 

I far from hate you...

“Then why are you such a... bitch... to me?” He struggled to find the right word, but when he did, it shocked you. Your jaw dropped, as did the weight in your hand. It was heading straight for your toes but before it could crush them, he had raced over to you and stopped it in its tracks. 

In a blink, he was leaning on the weights rack next to you, toying with the dumbbell in his hands with ease. 

“I am not a bitch.” You clarified, feeling your face slowly redden and heat up. 

So much for thinking he didn’t notice or care. 

“Yes, you are. At least, to me you are.” He argued and he still had a cheeky smile plastered on his face, but you could see real hurt and confusion in his eyes. 

“I...I don’t know what you mean.” You mumbled, turning away from him but he caught your wrist. You glanced at him over your shoulder through lowered lashes. 

“Y/N, please. You can drop the act. I don’t know why you do it, but I know it’s not you.” His hand slowly slipped into yours as he stepped towards you, his fingers intertwining with your own. 

“Stop it.” You whispered, silently willing your legs to move but they wouldn’t. He held you prisoner in his gaze. Your heart was nearly beating through your chest, so loud you were certain he could hear it. 

“Tell me why.” He pleaded, his head dipping closer to yours and your eyes dropped to his lips, which were mere inches away. 

“I...” you began but your tongue became dry and your throat began to close. His proximity was driving you crazy, but although he was so close, he was still so far away. “I can't...”

No one like him could ever like someone like you. 

“That’s a shame because...” He let out a deep sigh and his other hand lifted to cup your face. “...because I like you. A lot.” His confession made you blanch. 

“Don’t say that.” You whipped your head away from his hand and pulled your other hand out of his grip. You were unable to look at him and his blue eyes for fear you would see the insincerity you were sure was there. 

“Y/N-” He reached out to you. 

“No.” You shook your head and began to back away from him. ‘You don’t mean it. Don’t say that.”

“I don't mean it?” His tone was laced with anger and frustration as he repeated what you said, making you flinch. “I don’t mean it?!” In a flash, he was directly in front of you again, towering over you. 

“Pietro, you...you can’t.” You whispered, your voice beginning to shake no matter how hard you tried to hide your emotions. “You can’t like me. You couldn’t.”

He gripped your chin and lifted your head so you could see his face and his narrowed eyes. 

“Who are you to tell me what I mean?” He breathed. “Who I can and can’t like? You don’t get to decide that. That’s my decision and mine alone.” 

He stepped closer to you and rested a hand on your waist, making you draw in a shaky breath. 

“Now, if you don’t like me back, that’s fine. I’ll stay away from you.” His voice shook as he announced that, but he steeled himself. “But don’t run from this because it scares you. It scares me too.” He rested his forehead against yours, stealing your breath away. 

“But you thinking I couldn’t love you... that scares me more.” 

Your eyes widened as you realised he was serious. Your heart began to rejoice and do flips in your chest. You were silent, at a loss for words as he studied your face. 

He took your silence as a refusal and his eyelids fell shut as his lips pulled into a grimace.

“Ok, I’ll leave. I’m sorry-” He was cut off by you grabbing his face and kissing him. 

Hard. 

He froze, and for a second you were scared he was going to take it all back and yell ‘fooled you!’ but he didn’t. He came to life under your hands and circled your waist in his arms, pulling you impossibly close. 

You were broken apart by his uncontainable grin, which you couldn’t help but return. 

“That went better than expected.” He breathed a laugh, keeping his forehead pressed against yours. 

“What did you expect?”  You questioned, tilting your head to the side. 

“Honestly? A slap.” He chuckled and you blushed once again. 

“I’m sorry I’ve been such a...” you thought about how best to describe your abrasive behaviour, but he filled in the gaps for you. 

“Bitch?” He supplied with a laugh and a raised brow. 

“Yeah, a major bitch.” You agreed, laughing with him at your own expense. “I just thought that... well, no one like you could ever...you know...like me or anything.” Your smile fell and he pressed a lingering kiss to your lips. 

“No one like me? An orphaned mutant from a city that no longer exists?” He shook his head and pressed a finger to your lips to stop your protests. “Listen here, princessa.” He stared deeply into your eyes and you felt his gaze caress your soul. 

“I think you are incredible. Beautiful. Amazing. Magical. Stunning. ” With each praise, he mapped your face with kisses. On your nose, your eyelids, your cheeks, your forehead, and finally on the corner of your mouth. “Please, don’t ever doubt that.” 

His words had brought tears to your eyes and you simply nodded, a smile tugging at your lips, and your heart feeling so full it could burst. 

A month had passed since you and Pietro had become ‘an item’, and every day was better than the last. You had fallen in love with him, and in the process, came to love yourself. 

Pietro, on the other hand, was like a giddy teenager. Constantly sneaking heated kisses and touches wherever you were, whether it was in the bedroom or under the table at breakfast, he couldn’t keep his hands off you. Or his eyes.

“Brother, if you don’t quit staring at Y/N you’re going to miss the entire movie,” Wanda said with a smirk one night as a group of you had settled down to watch a film.  You were curled up into his side with your legs tucked beneath you, and his arm was circling you, bringing you closer. 

You looked up to find that he was indeed staring at you. You grinned and pressed a kiss to his lips. 

“But she’s nicer to look at.” He stated simply with a smirk. He was met with a groan from nearly everyone in the room. 

“Yeesh, you guys make me sick.” Natasha fake gagged but sent you a playful smile and a wink anyway. 

“Yeah, get a room, you rabbits.” Tony quipped, making the rest of them laugh at your red face. 

That was one thing that hadn’t happened between you and Pietro. Sex. You had done everything but. It was beginning to make old doubts bubble to the surface. 

Maybe he realised he doesn’t like you like that... 

You scowled at the voice in your head before standing up abruptly. “I’m going to get some water.” You announced to no one in particular. You raced to the kitchen, ignoring the questioning eyes you left behind you. 

You were filling up a glass when you felt him behind you. As silent as a breeze yet as fast as a tornado. 

“What’s up?” He asked, his arms circling you from behind. You shook your head in answer, not trusting your voice to be steady. 

Pietro pressed a kiss to your neck, just below your ear. “Tell me, princessa.” 

You remained silent, taking a big sip from your water to give yourself time to formulate an answer. Before you could, however, Pietro seemed to have figured it out. 

“This is about what Tony said, isn’t it?” He realised. “Y/N, listen-”

“No, Pietro, stop.” You said suddenly, cutting him off. You turned around and twisted out of his arms, distancing yourself from him. “It’s okay if you don’t like me like that-”

“That’s not fair-”

“You don’t have to pretend-”

“You can’t be serious-”

“-that you like me.” 

“Stop.” He growled, rushing over to you and clamping a hand over your mouth. 

You stood in the kitchen, staring at each other, your eyes filled with different emotions. 

Yours with sadness, his with anger. 

“Now, we are going to continue this discussion in my room.” He stated in a deadly calm voice, and before you could protest, he had scooped you up and ran you to his room on the 41st floor, leaving you standing in the middle of the room. 

“Pietro-” You began, reaching out a hand to him but he silenced you with a look. 

“No. Listen to me, Y/N.” He rounded on you and began to advance towards you. “You’re so smart, but you’re also so fucking naïve sometimes.” He growled, stepping towards you, making you take a step back. 

You stayed silent, knowing better than to talk at this point. And also because you felt guilty about upsetting him. 

“I didn’t want you to think I was just using you for sex.” He explained, running a hand through his hair. He took another step towards you, and you mirrored him by taking yet another step back

Realisation dawned on you and you felt even more guilty if that was even possible. “I’m sorry, Pietro.” You whispered sincerely.“I didn’t realise-” 

“I’m sorry I made you doubt me.” He said, taking another step forward. “I’m even more sorry that this has taken so long.”

 The next steps you both took had you backed up into the wall, the cold plaster causing goosebumps to rise across your back. 

In the blink of an eye, he was pressing you against the wall with his hips and was holding your arms above your head, trapping you there. 

“Don’t you know what you do to me?” He whispered and ground his hips against yours. 

You could definitely feel what you were doing to him. 

“Please,” you gasped, feeling his lips ghost the shell of your ear. 

“I’m going to fuck you, princessa.” He promised and you let out a moan at his words. “But first, I’m going to worship you.” 

Without another word, he dropped to his knees in front of you and yanked down your jeans and panties before you could suck in another breath. He circled his arms around your thighs and pulled your legs over his shoulders. 

You carded a hand through his hair and he held eye contact with you as he pressed a kiss on the inside of both of your thighs before placing one straight over your core. Your hand tightened in his hair.

Pietro licked a stripe up your centre, flicking his tongue around your clit. You let out a moan and your head fell back against the wall, your eyes squeezed shut.

“Look at me, princessa.” He ordered, and you complied, regarding him through half closed eyes. “I want you to watch me as I make you cum with my mouth.” 

He delved into the heat between your legs, licking and sucking and nipping. You writhed against his mouth, biting your lip in an effort to keep quiet but it was no use. 

His tongue teased your entrance before suddenly sliding inside, creating a whole new sensation in you. You gasped and arched your back, driving his tongue further inside you. 

The sensation of a tidal wave of pure pleasure building in your lower stomach was torturing you, all brought on by the man between your legs and his magical tongue. You ached to have his fingers in you, or better yet, his dick. 

“Pietro,” You moaned, which made him look up at you in question, but he never took his mouth off you. “I need you inside me.” 

He just shook his head in response and you could feel him smirk against you.  His nose bumped against your clit, sending your head into a spin. 

“Please...” You groaned, but he ignored your requests and simply sped up his tongue, eager to bring you to orgasm. 

As he coaxed you closer and closer to the edge, your legs began to quiver around his head. His tongue delved in deeper and with a speed you knew was only possible with him. 

You tried to grind yourself against him but he held your hips still with a strong grip, only allowing you the pleasure he was willing to give to you. 

He sucked hard at your clit before biting down on your bundle of nerves ever so gently, and that was it. 

The knot in your stomach unravelled, and you along with it. It was impossible to keep your eyes open, and you screamed his name as your head tipped back against the wall.

Your legs shook as he carried you through your high with his tongue. The next thing you know, the softness of his comforter replaced the hard wall on your back and your head was nestled on a pillow. 

He’d carried you to his bed and laid you down softly, lying over you and caging you in with his arms. 

His eyes were filled with adoration, but also the hint of the hardness you knew always existed below the surface. 

“Do you still doubt me?” He asked, trailing a hand up your side and under your shirt. 

“It was never you I doubted.” You breathed, still trying to catch your breath after your mindblowing orgasm. 

His eyes widened infinitesimally and he sat up abruptly on his heels, looking down at you from between your legs. He pulled his shirt off in a single tug and your eyes dropped to his chest and abdominals. 

This man is a god.

He dipped back over you, arching his back into you as he ravaged your mouth with his own and ground his tracksuit-clad hips over your dripping pussy. You moaned into his mouth and traced his abs with your fingertips, earning a low groan in response. 

His hand cupped your heat, sending shivers down your spine and causing a litany of curses to leave your mouth. 

“Who did this to you, princessa?” He growled, slipping a finger between your folds. 

“Y-You did.” You managed to get out between hitched breaths. 

“And who is going to fuck you until you can’t walk?” He pushed down his pants and boxers until he was able to kick them off, leaving you both naked apart from your top.

“You are.” You breathed and allowed him to slide your top over your head and fling it across the room with great speed. 

“Who do you belong to?” He murmured against your skin, tracing his lips across the top of your breasts. You arched your back so he could unclip your bra and skillfully remove it from you. 

He sucked a nipple into his mouth and pinched the other, sending shockwaves to your core.

“You.” You answered, cupping his jaw and guiding his lips back to yours, where he met you with a punishing kiss. You could feel him lining up at your entrance and you wrapped your legs around his waist, encouraging him closer. 

“And who loves you?” He whispered as he slowly began to enter you. Your eyes widened and you sharpened your gaze on him in shock. 

“Wha-” He gripped your jaw and pressed his forehead against yours as he slowly entered you, never breaking eye contact. 

“I said,” With a single thrust, he buried himself in you completely, laying a firm hand on your pelvis to stop your hips from writhing against him in pleasure. “Who loves you?” 

He regarded you with such sincerity that you couldn’t return his intense stare, but the grip he had on your jaw refused to let you look away. 

“Tell me.” He demanded, not moving inside you. You swallowed your fears, doubts and insecurities and levelled his gaze with yours. 

“You do.” As you said it, you felt a smile overcome your features. “You love me.”

His eyes darkened with lust, and what you knew now to be love, and he kissed you passionately. You wrapped your hands around his biceps and gave yourself fully to him. 

He drew out of you and thrust in again slowly. The little discomfort you had felt at the beginning was melting away and sheer, toe-curling pleasure was taking over.

You were still sensitive from your last orgasm, so every drag of his hips and drive of his cock in you added quickly to the coiling behind your navel. 

You dug your nails into the flesh of his back as he continued his languid strokes. You could feel every vein of his member, its pulsating heat as it pushed and pulled you closer and closer to the edge. 

“You’re mine,” Pietro growled against your lips, his hand on your hip tightening so much that you knew there was going to be a bruise there tomorrow, but you relished in it. 

As if to prove his point, he traced a trail of kisses to your neck where he began to suck and nibble a large hickey. 

“All yours...only yours, Pietro.” You agreed in moans, running your hands through his hair and tugging when the sensations became too much. 

You were so close, and you told him so. 

“Hold on, princessa.” He groaned, his hand cupped your jaw so gently that it threw you off balance; the rough snaps of his hips and the loving stroke of his thumb on your jaw. 

“I want you to remember who made you like this, Y/N.” He said, his jaw clenching with the effort it took to hold off his impending orgasm. “Every time you close your eyes, you’re going to see me fucking you into the mattress.” 

His accent along with his dirty words made your eyes roll into your head and you were so close you were certain you were going to fall off the edge with his next thrust. 

“Say my name as you cum, baby.” He growled and the hand on your hip dipped to rub circles across your clit. 

You exploded. Or maybe imploded is the right word. 

His breath ghosting across your face as he whispered his native tongue to you, telling you to cum, his hand on your clit, his cock hitting spots in you that you didn’t know could cause so much pleasure... it was enough to bring tears to your eyes as your soul detached and shattered into a million particles. 

Like you were told, you screamed his name as you orgasmed, your hands scraping down his back and your legs shaking around his waist as he continued to thrust into you, spurring on the waves of pleasure that assaulted you. 

As you came down from your high, you caressed his face gently and looked deep into his eyes. 

“I love you. I love you. I love you.” You murmured over and over again before he captured your lips with his and emptied himself in you.

His eyes screwep up and he let out a loud moan as he too reached his climax. 

The last throes of your orgasm released you as he collapsed on top of you, his head buried in the crook of your neck. 

He rolled off you and onto his back, dragging you with him and pulling you until you lay across his chest, your head resting over his loudly beating heart and your arms wrapped around each other. 

“I love you, Y/N.” He whispered into your hair and you felt like you could fly away, you were that happy. 

“I love you too, Pietro.” You tilted your head up and he kissed you sweetly on the mouth. 

“That was something else.” He murmured as you both came up for air. 

“Yeah, it was pretty...” You struggled to adequately describe the sex you just had. 

“Mindblowing?” He offered with a cheeky grin. 

“Exactly. Mindblowing.” You agreed and tucked your head back under his chin. 

“You didn’t see that coming?” He questioned playfully. 

“A month ago, definitely not.” You stated, tracing circles on his chest. 

“And now?” He coaxed and this time it was you with the cheeky grin as you raised your head to look at him and hitched an eyebrow.

“Now...I wanna see how fast you really are.” You winked at him.

Pietro was suddenly the one blushing and flipped you onto your back in less than a second. 

“Oh, you’re on.” He laughed and attacked your mouth with his. 

You never doubted yourself after that. 

[cherishtaengs]

I Hate That I... (pt. 3 - Y/N)

pt. 1 | pt. 2 | pt. 4 | pt. 5 |

Word Count: 3486

(This is so long because I’m trying my best to get my word count up for nanowrimo bc I am WAY behind the schedule I made for myself, but I hope y’all don’t mind skjdfhd)

You swept through the library doors, allowing yourself to quicken your pace into a brisk walk. For some reason, you couldn’t shake the feeling of Taeyang’s eyes staring after you, even though you knew you were safely far away from him. You also had a class to get to, but the little run in with the bane of your existence had left you dangerously close to being late.

You knew you shouldn’t have let him talk you into kissing him not just once, but twice- you knew there was nothing real in the way he practically begged for it. Not even the Devil himself could change overnight, and Yoo Taeyang was the next closest thing. But the only explanation you had to letting him sway you with a few words was that you wanted it. You wanted to kiss him again, just like you had at the party, and just the thought of that made your stomach flip. You shook your head, as if that would banish your thoughts from your mind for good. You didn’t know if you’d tell your roommate about the second and third kisses.

Thankfully, your class wasn’t too far, so you made it in right on time. Everyone else was already in their seats and looked up as you appeared at the door. Some hid their snide grins behind strategically placed hands, and others shared knowing glances with the people sitting next to them. To their credit, no one said a single word, so you took the walk of shame to your seat in silence. Your roommate and friend, Sammi, offered you a sympathetic smile. Somehow, that was worse than if someone had cracked a smart joke in your direction. You fully expected news of the little scene with Taeyang to have spread among friend groups by now. After all, there was no way that his incessant teasing and your passive aggressive response would only stay within the four walls of the library on such a small campus. Everybody knew everybody, and everybody talked, so you weren’t really surprised that you’d suddenly become a hot topic for conversations.

“You know what everyone’s talking about, right?” Sammi, leaned toward you. You shrugged a shoulder.

“Yeah,” You knew your classmates seated closest to the two of you had their attentions fully on you, but you didn’t exactly care. “I kind of expected this after the idiot made a totally unnecessary scene in the library yesterday.”

Okay, so you weren’t going to mention the second and third kisses just yet, at least not until you figured out what mess you and Taeyang had gotten yourselves into. In all honesty, you weren’t sure if you wanted to tell Sammi at all; the last thing you needed was for her to go crazy thinking the two of you were together or anything. Because that’s not at all what this was about, whatever this even was. This was about you beating Taeyang at all of his stupid little games and hearing him say sorry to you at least once for making your life unbearable whenever he was around.

“Are you gonna do anything about it?” your friend turned her attention back to her books as the professor walked in.

“What exactly am I supposed to do?” You asked, poking at your notebook with your pen. You definitely couldn’t mention wanting to get back at him. “I did what I did, he said what he said. People saw, people heard. That’s that.”

“But aren’t you going to, y’know,” she lowered her voice as the class began. “Get revenge?”

At this, you turned to stare at her. Sure Sammi had said a few questionable things about your hate-hate relationship with Taeyang before, but you didn’t think she’d actually support you getting even with him. “If you have anything in mind, let me know.”

The wicked grin on her face gave away that she did, in fact, have something in mind, and you juggled the thought of telling her your own plan.

Once class started, you couldn’t focus. The only thing going through your head was what happened in the library just a few minutes ago. You were always on high alert when you were near Taeyang, you never knew what he’d throw your way- even though mostly, it was just a snide comment here or there and nothing much more confrontational than that. But, you were always ready anyway. And yet, he’d still managed to corner you, literally and figuratively.

As images of all three kisses flashed through your mind, you felt the heat rise in your cheeks. You hated it. You absolutely despised how he’d left such an impression on you all three times. You felt it both at the party and at the library, the strange weightless feeling. Even though it was all you could think about, you didn’t quite understand. For so long, Taeyang had made you feel nothing but anger. Even if he wasn’t trying, he got on your nerves. And that insufferable grin he always put on when he realized just how annoyed you were- god, you hated it. But now, here you are, unable to focus in class because you couldn’t for the life of you stop thinking about kissing him.

And you hated the fact that you couldn’t understand what you were feeling more than the fact that it was him. Sure, fine, whatever, you kissed Taeyang. None of that meant anything in itself. Or, it wouldn’t have if you could just shake the strange feeling in the pit of your stomach. Whenever you wanted to get rid of the thought, your brain made sure you remembered every detail. From the way Taeyang’s hands had held you to how unbelievably good it had felt when he kissed you.

Well, of course Taeyang would be the perfect kisser- you knew he had plenty of experience in the field. And it wasn’t like he was your first kiss, either, but you couldn’t remember anyone having the same effect on you as he did. You were amazed at how easy it was to lose yourself in him, to momentarily forget about what was going on. The only thing on your mind was how he’d left you wanting more both times, and it made you want to scream.

“You okay?” Sammi nudged you with her elbow, bringing you back into the real world as class drew to an end. You realized that you’d spent the entire hour daydreaming instead of actually paying attention, and you felt another flush on your face.

“Yeah,” You gathered your things and stood, joining her as the flow of students moved toward the door. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just zoned out.”

“I can tell,” she had a smile on her face, and she looked you over once. “Will you tell me if I ask you why?”

You shrugged, avoiding eye contact with her as you both stepped out into the hall. “It’s nothing. I’m just tired.”

Your roommate offered you a knowing glance, which you did not need. “Were you up thinking about him all night?”

Before you could answer, Sammi pushed her shoulder against yours, turning you to the side. And, of course, just as your luck would have it, Taeyang was walking down the hall toward you. You quickly spun back to face your friend.

“No, I wasn’t,” You hissed as she barely hid her wide and mischievous grin. “I definitely don’t spend my time-”

“Thinking about me?”

You wondered if you’d get in trouble for punching an asshole in the face right then. And while it seemed like a good idea, you decided against it, instead turning around to look Taeyang in the eyes. He was standing an arm’s length away from you and you quickly saw that they weren’t the same soft eyes as before; they were back to being sharp and mocking.

“In your dreams,” you cross your arms and let a small smirk onto your lips, already deciding you’d get the last laugh. “You know what they say; when you can’t sleep, it’s because someone else is dreaming about you. I wonder if that’s why I was up all night.”

You heard Sammi draw in a sharp breath next to you. Taeyang’s grin only got wider, and his eyes narrowed, as if to acknowledge your taunt. Your heart was beating hard against your chest, and you hoped you looked as tough as you wanted to. “Then I guess I should thank you for making my dream come true. But, you had to break your promise to never kiss me again, didn’t you? Or was what happened today another mistake?”

You noticed that Sammi was very quiet and still beside you, obviously confused and unwilling to look away. You’d have to explain yourself later, exactly what you’d been wanting to avoid. But you’d handle that situation right after you finished this one.

“It wasn’t a mistake,” you shrugged, daring him to challenge you. “If I remember correctly, you were the one who begged for it.”

At that, Taeyang’s confident grin faltered a bit. It was almost imperceptible, but you caught it, the slightest twitch at the corner of his perfect mouth, and your heart jumped. There was nothing else he could say now; it was a clear blow to his ego, and Taeyang realized that you’d won this round.

“Now, if you’ll excuse us,” you continued before he can speak, momentarily basking in the victory before having to face your friend. “We have better things to be doing, and they don’t involve you.”

With that, you dismissed Taeyang and pulled Sammi along in the opposite direction. She still hadn’t said a word, and that bothered you more than if she was losing her mind. Which you knew she probably was, but was also still processing everything, because you kind of were too.

“Okay, listen,” you finally breathed out as you and your roommate were safely outside. “I’ll explain-”

���Damn right you will!” she crossed her arms, planting herself firmly in front of you. “Literally what was that?”

It was like your heart beat was amplified throughout your body, pounding against every part of you. There was no way you could prepare her for what you were about to admit, so you just blurted it out.

“Taeyang found me in the library and we kinda kissed twice there because he said he wanted to know if he felt something after the first kiss at the party but he needed to kiss me again to find out but it wasn’t the same so then we kissed again and he told me it was a bet and now we’re in this unspoken war kind of thing and yeah that’s what that was.”

You caught your breath, unsure of how Sammi would respond. She didn’t for a few moments, just stared at you blankly while the information settled in her brain. And when everything finally made sense to her, you saw the expression on her face change ever so slowly, comically shifting between confusion and disbelief before finally landing on excitement. She grabbed your hands in hers, a big smile splitting across her face.

“Taeyang is in love with you!”

You pulled away from her just as fast as the words left her mouth and shook your head. “No, that’s definitely not what it is. He doesn’t like me, he thinks he’s playing me. But he’s not, because I am. Playing him, that is. I’m playing him.”

You weren’t sure why your words were suddenly coming out all jumbled, but you guess it was because you were still a bit shaken.

“Oh my God,” your roommate clasped her hands together, gasping. “Then you’re in love with him!”

You run your hand through your hair, taking a deep breath. You should’ve just left her confused. “That is exactly the opposite of what I said. No one’s in love with anyone! We don’t even know each other like that.”

But of course Sammi wouldn’t let it go that easily. “Well, if you hate him so much without even knowing him, you can like him, too.”

“I can’t hate him and like him at the same time,” you rolled your eyes, knowing you wouldn’t get anywhere by arguing with her. “Pick a struggle.”

“Wait, wait,” she waved her hands and began the shower of questions that you’d expected as you started to your next class. “Tell me all about it. Is he that good of a kisser? Was there tongue? Actually, I don’t think he’d do that this early-”

Was beating Taeyang at his own game worth dealing with this?

- - -

The rest of your classes passed by similar to the first. All you could think of was Taeyang and his cocky smirk. You silently seethed, unnerved by the way he’d suddenly claimed the larger portion of your attention. That was way too much power, and you knew you shouldn’t allow him to have it.

But, as if the universe was apologizing for being so rude to you, the end of your day brought a pleasant distraction along with it.

“Y/N!”

You heard a vaguely familiar voice call you as you walked out of your last class. Sparing a glance over your shoulder, you caught sight of Inseong hurrying toward you. You immediately stopped in your tracks, clutching your book closer to you, and wondered why Inseong of all people would be looking for you.

“Y/N,” Inseong slowed down a few feet away from you, giving you enough personal space. You only noticed that because, conversely, Taeyang seemed to have no care for that concept at all. “I was hoping to run into you.”

As Inseong paused to catch his breath, you noticed that his cheeks looked slightly flushed and his hair was tousled from the wind. You hoped it wasn’t obvious, but his presence itself made your pulse flutter.

“I had classes all day today,” you smiled apologetically. “Just got out.”

“Really?” Inseong looked at you, eyes slightly wide as if he’d never heard of having a full schedule before. But you knew he was very familiar with heavy workloads; he was one of the smartest people you‘d ever come across. Nearly everyone worshipped Inseong and his brain. “It’s already past 6- you must be tired.”

You laughed nervously, hoping it came out more casual than anxious. “Yeah, I’m exhausted. Why were you looking for me?”

Inseong’s eyebrows bounced up quickly, remembering that there was an actual reason he’d stopped you. “I just... Wanted to apologize.”

“For what?” 

Inseong lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck, dropping his eyes to the ground for a moment. When he looked back up, you noticed that they seemed to sparkle in the evening light. It wasn’t the right time, but you still felt your cheeks tingle with warmth. “For how Taeyang was acting yesterday. It was really uncalled for and he’s not... well, no, he is usually like that, but he’s nicer.”

You raised a skeptical eyebrow. There was no way you’d believe that until Taeyang himself proved it. Inseong rushed to continue.

“I know, you may not believe me,” he held his hands up, a sheepish smile lifting the corners of his lips. “But Taeyang’s not all asshole. Mostly, but not fully.”

You definitely didn’t believe Inseong, but you thought it was sweet of him to even try. Why couldn’t all of Taeyang’s friends be this nice? If they’d just learn some common manners from Inseong, maybe you’d tolerate them more. The older boy was looking down at you with expectant eyes, and you noticed the stark difference in auras between him and Taeyang. You hadn’t even been speaking to him for long, but he very clearly radiated a certain warmth that Taeyang was sorely missing.

“It’s really kind of you to try to clear his name,” you say softly, absently fidgeting with the strap of your bag. “But, that’s something Taeyang needs to do himself.”

Inseong blew out a breathy laugh, nodding his head. “I agree, believe me, I do. But knowing him, he doesn’t even realize he’s in the wrong. And I’ve, uh, heard people talking. Sorry about that, too.”

For some reason, it made you nervous that Inseong knew that things were spreading around campus, but you had also anticipated it to happen. Of course, you knew Inseong would have realized that gossip spreads like wildfire- you understood that was part of the reason he’d stepped in between you and Taeyang yesterday. 

“It’s fine,” you shake your head, face quickly growing warmer. “I mean, there’s nothing going on between us, so I’m not worried about what people have to say about me.”

“That’s a relief,” you weren’t sure if there was a faint hesitation in his voice and you thought another expression flashed across his face for a moment, but he quickly replaced it with his usual bright smile. “And there’s one more thing-”

You watched as Inseong reached into his pocket and brought out a piece of paper that looked like it had been folded several times until it was a square almost the same size as his thumb. You felt a particularly hard thump against your chest as your fingers brushed his when you took the paper from him. When you unfolded it, you saw an address with a date, and right underneath that was a phone number. Could he see how your hands were shaking? You hoped not.

“Tell your friend about it, too,” your eyes followed Inseong’s hands as he ran his fingers through his hair and brushed a few strands behind his slightly pink ears. “Let me know if you’ll be there.”

You couldn’t find words for a moment. They seemed to have gotten lost somewhere in your head, mixed up with all the other things in there. It was almost a moment too late when you finally remembered that you should give him a response. And breathe.

“Yeah,” you nod a little harder than was normal. “Yeah, I’m sure she’d love to go.”

“What about you?” Inseong asked, lightly teasing. In just a second, you felt your ears burn and your cheeks tingled.

“Right!” you nod again, hair flying into your face as a crisp breeze picked up around you. “Yes, of course, yeah, I’ll... definitely be there.”

You didn’t know why it was so hard to form proper sentences all of a sudden, but maybe it had something to do with the really pretty smile Inseong was giving you. You wanted the ground to swallow you whole.

“Great,” Inseong said cheerfully. “Then I’ll see you there!”

He gave you a short wave and turned, walking away to do whatever it was that he had to do next, leaving you silently sucking as much air into your burning lungs as you could and blinking down at the paper in disbelief.

When you later told your roommate about the party Kim Inseong had invited you to himself, she had to lean against the wall for balance as she read the paper.

“And he wrote his number down?” Sammi’s eyes darted between you and the paper. “Okay, you can have Taeyang, let me-”

You snatch the paper back from her, shaking your head. “I don’t want Taeyang. I don’t want either of them.”

“Man, this really isn’t fair,” your roommate groaned, falling back onto her bed. “How are all the cute guys giving you attention when you don’t even appreciate it.”

You shrugged, carefully folding the paper and placing it in the drawer of your table. “Listen, I didn’t even ask for this. I’d gladly switch lives with you if it were possible.”

Sammi let out a loud sigh. “No, that’s fine. I’m already putting together what you’ll wear so I can live vicariously through you at the party.”

“What do you mean?” naturally, you were very wary of whatever it was that she had in mind. It definitely wouldn’t just be a night where you and her could have fun if she was already scheming.

Sammi pushed herself onto her elbows, eyes glinting mischievously. “Don’t worry, we’ll have fun. Maybe it’ll even help you win your little game or whatever. Trust me; I have an idea.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” you exhaled sharply, turning away from her. You definitely didn’t want her to go through with whatever she was planning, but you also knew that nothing could stop her if she was dead set on making it happen.

Sammi giggled with satisfaction. “It’ll be a good night. You can thank me later.”

You knew it was risky, but a part of you was also looking forward to the party. It was a few days away, but you already decided that you wouldn’t let it end the way the other one did. You wouldn’t let this one become an embarrassing mess.

For the sake of your own sanity, you couldn’t let that happen.

[emybain]

Renegades Titanic AU: Part 4

sis may be sick posting this but I got a break today from the madness and I’ve been itching to post the next part since like Wednesday so here she is. I was going to write more but figured it would be better splitting up this part and the next part bc this would've been a lot longer since the next part will have a lot of stuff going on. also, go watch the hecking movie if you haven't already please I dont want to spoil but I also love this au and its my current obsession okay

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Part 4: The Next Day

Nova

    “I’ve been on my own since I was six, when my family died.” Nova tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as the wind picked up. “Well, not technically on my own…” she trailed off, fixing her eyes on the horizon. She didn’t want to mention the other’s names, especially Ace’s, in front of Adrian, due to their circumstances. 

    “With the Anarchists?” Adrian piped up, looking down at her. They were strolling along the first class deck, Nova feeling out of place in her old shirt and hand-me-down suspenders among the beautifully dressed ladies. Adrian had sought her out that afternoon after lunch and invited her on a walk along the deck, to which Nova accepted, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. Now, it was nearing late afternoon, and they had made a few laps around the ship. 

    Nova shot him a bewildered look, but laughed. “Anarchists? Is that what you call us?”

    Adrian blushed. Nova bit her lip, ignoring how adorable he looked. “Um...yeah, I guess. Because of their crimes.” She noticed how he didn’t include her in with them. Huh. 

    Nova said nothing in reply, remaining silent. They stayed like that for a bit, until Nova forced herself to speak again. She was bothered by last night's events, and felt it necessary to address them properly. 

    “I want to thank you, Mr. Everhart-”

“Adrian,” he interrupted, before coughing awkwardly. “Sorry. But please, call me Adrian.”

“Adrian,” Nova nodded, his name feeling weird on her tongue, “thank you for saving me last night.” Nova looked down at her hands. “And also thank you for your discretion about what really happened.”

    Adrian stopped, so she did as well. He turned to face her. “Of course, Miss McLain. If you don’t mind my asking, what made you think you had no choice?”

    Now it was Nova’s turn to blush. She tore her eyes from Adrian’s, despite enjoying gazing up at them, and made her way to the railing overlooking the ocean. She turned back around and leaned against it, hugging herself. 

    “I know what you’re thinking.” She risked a glance up at him. His eyebrows were furrowed together. She looked back down. “How can someone who causes pain be in pain herself?” She laughed humorlessly. 

    Adrian took a hesitant step forward. “No, that’s not what I was thinking at all. And besides, you're not the one causing people pain. They are.” The way he said they, with so much hostility, sent a shiver down Nova’s spine. He had no idea just how much she had done, how much destruction and pain was on her hands. How Nightmare was the most wanted criminal in Europe. 

    Nova pursed her lips. Deep down she knew she shouldn’t open up to him; he was a stranger, one of them. But his eyes were so kind, so filled with concern. Surely, since he had kept her secret last night from everyone, he could keep another. It wasn’t like he would rush down to third class to tell Honey or Leroy or Ingrid, either. 

Her arms tightened around her middle. “It’s just…” she swallowed. “It was everything, I suppose. And everyone. There’s this pressure to be what they want me to be, and-and I don’t know if I can do it. You know, not once have they asked me what I want. It’s always been about their needs and desires. I’m barely seventeen and it’s like the weight of the world has crashed down upon my shoulders and I’m powerless to lift it up.” 

    “That’s some serious stuff.” Adrian quirked his lips up, drawing Nova’s eyes to them. She looked away immediately. “That much stress would have dragged you to the bottom for sure.” 

    She knew he was trying to be lighthearted, possibly for her sake, but all she could do was hum in reply. “I have until this boat docks to figure out how I’m supposed to make them proud, but I’m frightened of failing. 

    “Do you care about them?” 

    Nova’s head shot up. “Pardon me?”

    Adrian repeated the question, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Nova blinked at him, stammering. “That’s...that’s very rude. Not exactly a question you should be asking me.”

Adrian shrugged. “It’s a simple question, Miss McLain. Do you care about them?”

She pushed herself away from the railing, a laugh bursting from her lips. “It’s an inappropriate question for someone of your rank and mine.”

“Why is it so hard to answer the question?” He smiled, but it was confused. 

“We are not having this conversation,” Nova said firmly, looking around them as people passed. “You are rude and presumptuous, and now I’m leaving.” She reached out to shake his hand, which he accepted. “Adrian...Mr. Everhart, it’s been a pleasure.” Although her tone said otherwise. “I have thanked you, and-”

“Insulted me.” Adrian grinned. Nova’s teeth clenched. Of course he found it amusing. He would probably recount the whole conversation to his little friend group later. Nova knew she should have just kept her mouth shut. Now she was paying for it. 

“You deserved it.” Nova looked down at the book-type thing he had been carrying around with him all afternoon, and frowned. She had noticed it earlier, but thought nothing of it. Now, though, she could see how he carried it close to him as if it were important. She let go of his hand, which she had still been shaking, and reached out for it, snatching it before he could pull back. “What is this stupid thing you’ve been carrying around, anyway?” 

Adrian did nothing, said nothing, only watched calmly as she peeked inside at its contents. The outside was made of fine leather, soft against Nova’s hands. Her head tilted. “What are you, an artist?” Flipping through each page, Nova slowly made her way to one of the lounge chairs near her, sitting down. “These are rather good.” In her peripheral vision, she saw Adrian sit down next to her, watching her closely. Her cheeks reddened. “They’re very good, in fact. I didn’t know rich people could have talent.” Only a second later did she realize that that probably wasn’t the best thing she could have said. Now she was the rude one. 

    He drew a lot of people. She recognized some of his friends she had seen the night before, drawn quite often. She also recognized his parents. There were others, too. A mother with her child, children in a park with a dog. As she kept flipping, she noticed the same face of a young woman, who, unlike the others, was posing for her picture. 

    “You like this lady,” Nova observed, admiring every detail of the drawing she was currently viewing. “Were the two of you-”

    “Oh, no.” Adrian chuckled nervously, and one peek at him confirmed he was blushing. Nova smiled. “She had beautiful hands, you see? He turned that paper over to another one, of the same lady, and pointed to her hands. “Also, she was around a lot when we were in Paris, the daughter of an old friend of my father. Very kind, but also very demanding about getting her portrait done.”

    Nova hummed, the smile still resting on her face as she looked at Adrian. “You have a gift, Adrian. These are exquisite. You see people as they are, and not what they portray themselves to be.”

    Adrian met her eyes, his own softening. “I see you, Miss McLain.”

    Nova’s heart skipped. “A-and?” 

    “I don’t think you would have jumped last night.”

__________

    They talked for a while after that, and Nova found herself enjoying the company of Adrian Everhart, son of her enemies. It wasn’t like talking to one of the others. No, he actually paid attention to her, hanging onto every syllable that came from her lips and never once interrupting. It had been so long since Nova had spoken to someone of her own age, but she also had a feeling she enjoyed talking to him for more reasons that just that. 

    She learned that he had travelled a lot when he was a child, before his mother passed away. And even when he was adopted, his dads took him everywhere with them. He, unlike her, had seen the world. He had even mentioned how he and his friends would often travel alone when they wanted to. 

    “I wish I could do that.” Nova sighed, gazing at the sunset before them. They were standing side by side at a railing, elbows barely brushing. “Just leave whenever I please without a care in the world.” Quietly, she added, “It must be nice having money.”

    Adrian drew back slightly. “Actually, we try not to spend too much money when we travel, at least my friends and I do.” His cheeks reddened. “We only recently came into a great deal of money, and frankly, none of us are used to it.”

    Clearly your parents are, Nova wanted to say, but she bit it back and swallowed it. As far as she could tell, Adrian was being honest, and he had seemed uncomfortable whenever she brought up the subject of wealth. Even the way he dressed, which was much more modest than the rest of the first class gentlemen, showed how he must not have liked his wealth. 

    “Say we travel somewhere together, even just in theory,” Nova mused, forcing a smile on her face. “Like, oh I don’t know, the beach.”

    “That’s oddly specific.” Adrian’s grin returned, warming Nova inside. “Let’s do it.”

    “Really?” Nova perked up, although she couldn’t quite place why. 

    “Yeah.” Adrian nodded specifically. “We can go with Oscar, Ruby, and Danna as well. You’d love them, trust me. They aren’t like the rest of first class. We’d go to one of those piers with rollercoasters, drink cheap beer, walk along the beach, watch the sunset...” He trailed off. Nova thought of his friends, who, like him, didn’t exactly fit the first class stereotype when it came to looks, based on what she had seen the previous night.

    “I’d like that. Very much, in fact.” And she meant it. Never in her life had she been allowed to just have fun, to be young. It was always study more to outsmart the Renegades, train harder to beat them, do this and do that to be one step ahead of them with the promise of their downfall. Revenge, revenge, revenge, had been implanted into her mind since her family was murdered, and had been watered carefully by Ace and Phobia and Winston and Ingrid and Leroy and Honey over roughly ten years. 

    “Screw everything,” she blurted out suddenly. Adrian blinked, surprised. She looked at him, a new excitement blossoming in her chest. “This world is a mess. The people in it are a mess. Fuck all of it.”

    Adrian looked like he was about to laugh, but he made a frantic shushing sound. “Lower your voice, people are looking.”

    “I don’t care.” Nova smiled widely at the sunset. “Let them hear. Fuck. Everything.”

    Behind them, someone cleared their throat. They both turned, and Nova’s eyes widened. It was the Council, and they didn’t look the least bit happy to see Nova with Adrian. Somehow, that made Nova happy. Not far behind them were Adrian’s friends, attempting to catch up once they saw Adrian.

    “Dad, Pops.” Adrian’s voice suddenly took on a slight strain. “You remember Miss McLain from last night?” Both of his dads nodded and acknowledged Nova with the same iciness from the previous night. Adrian introduced her to the others, who were kind if only out of politeness. When she was introduced to his friends, however, she was greeted with real smiles. 

    The dinner bell rang then, and Nova was instantly reminded that she was to join all of them tonight. Fear erupted inside her. 

    Adrian seemed to remember as well. “We should go get ready, right, Father?” He walked over to Hugh Everhart and the others, then turned back to Nova. “I’ll see you at dinner, Miss McLain?” There was so much hope in his eyes that any excuse Nova was about to make up dissipated. She swallowed and nodded, watching as he walked away with his dads and the rest of the Council. His friends, however, stayed behind. 

    One of them, Danna, she remembered, snapped her fingers in front of Nova’s face, drawing her attention from Adrian’s retreating figure. 

    “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” Danna asked, concern in her eyes. Nova bit the inside of her cheek, suddenly losing her confidence she had previously had with Adrian. These were his friends, she reminded herself. She could trust them. 

    “Not really, Miss Bell.” Nova shook her head. 

    Danna’s lips quirked up. “It’s okay to call me Danna, you know. Miss Bell is a little too formal for my taste.”

    “The same goes for me,” Ruby piped up, all smiles. “And I’m sure for Oscar as well.” 

    “Of course.” Oscar nodded. “Although, Mr. Silva does have a ring to it.”

    “What are you planning on wearing?” Danna brought back the conversation to where it began. She looked Nova up and down, not out of distaste, but critically. When Nova gestured to what she was currently wearing, seeing as she had nothing better, Ruby shook her head. 

    “Oh, sweetheart, no, no, no.” She reached forward and touched Nova’s elbow lightly. Nova jumped from the contact. “You’re going to need something more than that.” Ruby shared a look with Danna, and then they both linked arms with Nova. 

    “C’mon.” Ruby pulled her along. “We’ll make sure you shine tonight.”

[interrogatormentors]

Event Nine: Promise

[CW: death, drowning]

The weeks following the start of the emotional conditioning bore down on Sollux with the force of a dead whale. He could feel the walls pressing down on him, suffocating and claustrophobic, and half the days he found himself waking from helming daymares. 

The others fared no better. 

Ophlia didn’t seem to sleep. Zesaim sat on her bunk for hours at a time, wall-eyed, while Rosmer cried in other troll’s voices into the day. Sollux hadn’t known the olive could mimic voices, and wished that had remained a secret. Mercuo often woke gasping, holding onto his gills before tucking himself next to a stonefaced Trisia.

Ualona managed to hold himself together somehow, and often came to Sollux for help. After their now nightly emotional conditioning they huddled together for warmth, heads leaned in over their tablets. This morning however, Ualona came back to the bunks quiet. He tapped on his tablet for near to an hour before several identical text notifications dinged from all their tablets.

[actualizedClairvoytant [AC] has opened up the memo keepyourmout-| |-ss-| |-ut] twinArmaggedons [TA] has entered the chat! glorifiedCorpsification [GC] has entered the chat! chronicAcademician [CA] has entered the chat! castigatedTrepidation [CT] has entered the chat! cavortingGratuity [CG] has entered the chat! accentuatedAntimony [AA] has entered the chat! TA: the fuck UA ii can barely uncurl my fiinger2 2tiill wtf ii2 up?? AA: jus7 spi7 i7 ou7 bud i wan7 7o ca7ch some zs while i can AA: 7heyre 7hrowing new shi7 a7 us soon i can feel i7 AC: cant AC: the mics remember?

Sollux glanced up and off to the side, where the speaker produced its steady whine as usual. It would be stupid to think the connection didn’t go both ways.

TA: okay 2hoot TA: what have you got?? AC: i was digging in t-| |-e interrogatormentor arc-| |-ives and i found all our files. CG: and How does THat even Help us? CG: i don’T need To know wHaT They Think of me. CA: treasOOn.

A whimper came from Rosmer’s bunk, and Sollux looked down to see Ophlia staring the olive down with bloodshot eyes and bared teeth.

AC: okay treason aside youll wanna -| |-ear t-| |-is. AC: especially you rosmer.

[actualizedClairvoyant [AC] has sent the file flunkies.txt]

Sollux scanned the document, brows furrowed. Even in the confidential archives someone had censored the documents, black lines smeared across various points of data. Someone else, Ualona no doubt, had highlighted specific sections of each.

Mercuo Trevan: Interrogated and broke a rebellion recruiting ring in Imperial Navy recruits. Purposefully joined, goals for the BC Reichenbach. 

Zesaim Exeria: Random draw. Induce failure in time for unit on psionic alterations to the brain due to psionic projection ability.

Sollux Captor: Former helmsman, isolated rebels in brig to promote surrender; reportedly accessed the Imperial Network and ran a long-standing data mining protocol for several sweeps prior to capture and indoctrination. Brought to attention by Head Admin Eridan Ampora and ██████ ██████ [████████].

Trisia Avarae: Identified several problem spots in local drone patrol routes and took down a single unit. Promote immediately upon graduation.

Ophlia Davrot: Drowned a head subjuggulator in sacrificial blood pools following an identical attempt on her life due to poor humor. Tested on basic interrogatormentor techniques and passed with an 89%.

Rosmer Leywet: Random draw. Induce failure at convenience of instructor. Recommended for immediate cremation; has no particular talent nor purpose. Proposed: preserve vocal chords for study? Request denied.

Ualona Reshan: Hacked into the imperial network and managed to stay online for five minutes. Sent a notification to the drones through this system for two removals of traitors in apartment directly above residence in hivestem.

The chat stayed idle for a few minutes, before Sollux broke the silence with the gentle clacking of his claws against the tablet screen.

TA: 2o what doe2 thii2 mean?? TA: are the2e  TA: accurate?? AC: t-| |-ey are for me GC: *YeS.* CG: seconded. AA: you mean 7hirded!

Mercuo grabbed his pillow, reaching out and smacking at Trisia’s ankles. She managed a shaky laugh. “Fourthed!” she said, before chugging from her water bottle. Rosmer only pulled his knees closer to his chest.

CT: they told me i won a lot~tery, CT: why would they tell me oth~er~wise, AC: t-| |-ey want people to fail TA: oh 2hiit TA: that’2 where they’re gettiing the te2t 2ubject2 for all theiir traiiniing viideo2. TA: how el2e would they have 2o many liive feed2 whiithout a hiigh piing rate??

Zesaim put a hand to her mouth, looking over to Rosmer who buried his face in his hands. He started crying, in a voice Sollux didn’t recognize this time. Ophlia broke her weeks long silence in a voice like rusted nails scraping up against each other.

“You know what we must do.”

Sollux woke in a web of wires, head pounding to the beat of a familiar, klaxon alarm. He jerked in the helming harness, throwing his head back as he tried initiating a defense protocol. Nothing came to him, the only response a blinding pain from his temples that whited out his vision.

“Status report,” said a voice, somewhere off to his left.

“Helmsman A1A100 reporting system disconnect. Attempted sabotage detected. Administrator password required to proceed.” Sollux swallowed, trying to moisten his dry lips. Hang on. What happened to the humidity?

He opened his eyes, registering Rapard standing at attention just before another wave of pain jolted up his spine. Sollux almost yelled before he caught himself, sucking in a breath instead and separating himself from the sensation as he’d been taught.

“Nice work, Captor,” Rapard said, moving forward. “That’s the fastest recovery I’ve seen yet. Welcome to your next stage of emotional conditioning.”

Sollux gritted his teeth, brows furrowing before he forced them smooth. “Yes sir,” he said, forcing the words out even as instinctive terror roiled in his gut. He didn’t want to helm again. He couldn’t helm again, and this facsimile of flying left him mentally scattered. He shoved away the thought that this exercise was in response to Ualona’s discovery the night before. He’d written the code necessary for them to have private chat rooms himself.

Rapard began his usual patrol around the room then, throwing random trivia at Sollux in time with electric pulses that surged through nodes attached to his sealed ports. Sollux held firm, his face a mask of blank indifference as he forced himself to disassociate from the pain. The questions remained easy enough, all tidbits from the lessons on technique. They were so innocuous, in fact, that at first Sollux thought he imagined Rapard’s next line of inquiry as a claw traced on his chin.

“How long have you known the rebel insurgent known as Karkat Vantas, hex code unknown?”

“What?” Sollux blinked, shaking his head as he tried to return to reality. 

He yelled as Rapard pressed a button on the remote in his hand, the electric charge at least double what he’d experienced so far.

“Pay attention, Captor,” Rapard said. He leaned in close, nose an inch from Sollux’s own. “Separating yourself completely will only lead to you missing important data.” He pressed the button again, face impassive as Sollux jerked in the wires. “Now, answer. How long have you known Karkat Vantas, rebel insurgent? Where is he?”

Sollux swallowed hard. The name rattled around his pan, sending guilt and anxiety through him in equal measure. No. How did they know? He’d tried to lock away that information, bury it deep inside of himself and throw away the key during his time as a helmsman. How did they know about Karkat? Did they know about Feferi, or Kanaya? He’d seen Eridan’s named on his file the other night, had he turned traitor?

Rapard pressed the button again, and Sollux screamed as his muscles involuntarily tensed. The smell of burnt flesh hit his nostrils, and his vision faded in and out of focus. “I don’t- Shit!” Another electric charge, and Sollux’s fists clenched on nothing. He tried exercising his learned behaviors from lessons, stepping outside of the pain and attempting to retreat into his own thoughts. Karkat’s face met him there as he’d last seen him, hunched in front of his webcam and begging Sollux to run as the noise of drones echoed around Sollux’s hive.

Rapard tapped him on the nose, deliberate and mocking. “I won’t ask you again, recruit.”

“Since I was five,” Sollux said, flinching as Rapard’s finger twitched on the remote in his hand. “I don’t know where he is now.” He yelled, back arching as another charge surged through him. The klaxon alarm grew louder, reverberating in time with the pounding in his skull. “I don’t! Fuck! Alternia! Eastern quadrant, coordinates 56 by 900, bunker!” The shocks did not dissipate as he cried out, only increasing in power and frequency.

As Sollux hovered on the edge of consciousness Rapard grabbed his jaw, claws digging into the skin enough to draw tiny pinpricks of yellow blood. “Good, nice work,” he said. Sollux caught a glimpse of the seadweller’s teeth as he grinned, red light glinting off the jagged edges. “I want to make you a promise, Captor. Are you listening?”

“Yes.” Sollux gulped for air as the shocks abated for a few moments, taking the respite to separate himself from the pain and emotion in time for the pain to start anew. He did not so much as cry out, sweat beading along his forehead as he forced it away. He finally understood Ualona. What did Rapard promise you?

“You stay with the interrogatormentors, you stay compliant and devote yourself to the empire, and we won’t touch Vantas,” Rapard said. “You step a toe out of line, you get a single demerit, and you’re receiving his head on a platter. You understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

The lights dimmed then, and Sollux sagged as electricity stopped surging through the wires. He fell into his knees as Rapard cut him down, but forced his head high even as every muscle shook with the effort. As he hauled himself up and staggered from the room Sollux couldn’t find himself to feel fear, for himself or Karkat. He couldn’t feel anything at all. Even the pain had faded into the background, a distant reminder as he dragged himself to the mess hall. He sat in silence, staring at his food. Only Zesaim and Rosmer seemed themselves, with Rosmer even offering a shaky Ualona one of his classic beaker-made cookies. “You deserve it after what you found this evening,” the olive said, smiling. “It’s the least I can do to repay you.” The smile did not reach his eyes.

As per usual, physical endurance training took place the next night. Sollux moved towards the pool, hoping to exercise in a less load-bearing way, only for Instructor Pozoia to put a hand out. “Bikes, recruit,” the cerulean said, jerking his head in the way he wanted Sollux to go. “Ualona, take the pool.”

Ualona paused, blinking as he shook his head. “Huh?”

“The pool, Ualona,” Pozoia said, pointing.

“Oh, right, right.” Ualona trudged over to the pool, rubbing his eyes before jumping into the water. Sollux paused, but turned away to climb onto one of the exercise bikes. They’d all been a little out of it since yesterday.

After a half hour a loud splash caught Sollux’s attention, and he turned his head to see Ualona starting to flounder in the pool. Something seemed off-- his movements were erratic, head lolling to the side and dipping into the water a few seconds at a time. Sollux lifted a hand, catching the instructor’s attention and pointing. “Sir? Ualona needs help.”

Instructor Pozoia glanced up from his tablet, looking down his nose at Ualona’s struggle. “He can help himself, or drown,” he said, swiping his finger across his tablet.

Sollux hesitated before lifting his feet from his bike’s pedals, hopping off just as Trisia touched down from the climbing wall. “No, look,” he said. Ualona was starting to dip more and more, audibly choking every time he surfaced.

“He can’t even move his arms!” Trisia grabbed onto the instructor’s arm, only for Pozoia to jerk it away with a purse of his lips.

“Go ahead and help him,” Pozoia said. He met Sollux’s eyes, then Trisia’s, face set. “That’ll be a demerit on both your records.”

Sollux’s breath caught in his throat, and all his concern for Ualona melted away as Rapard’s words echoed in his ears. Automatically his learned responses kicked in, disassociating him from the situation at hand and rooting him to the ground until Ophlia charged past him with the surging fury of a freighter.

“Ualona!” The purple bounded across the gym’s floor in a matter of seconds, light on her feet as she made a beeline for the pool. Instructor Pozoia let out a soft sigh, and grabbed onto Ophlia’s horn as she passed and pinched at the base. Ophlia seized up, hesitating just long enough for Pozoia to drive his shoulder into the much larger troll’s chest and bowling her onto her back. Ophlia roared, eyes reddening before Pozoia stomped his foot onto her throat and cut her off. “No,” she croaked. “No, save him! Bastard! He doesn’t deserve to die!”

Ualona surfaced from a minute-long stint underwater then, screaming with a fury in contrast with his sluggish movements. “Rosmer!”

Rosmer froze in place, turning his head just enough to indicate he’d even noticed. “Yes, Ualona?” His whisper barely made it over the sound of Ualona’s splashing and Ophlia’s choking from the ground.

“Bastard!” Ualona sank again, kicking and driving himself into the wall. He surfaced again, voice burbling around the water in his throat before he could speak again. “Rat! What did you put in that cookie?” He let out a wet sob, choking. “I don’t want to die! Please, don’t let me die-- fffkrk--” Once again he fell beneath the surface of the water, and Sollux wasn’t surprised that he did not rise again. A sense of finality settled over him as he watched the water, and another voice of the doomed went silent.

Rosmer walked to the edge of the pool, watching as Ualona’s body drifted up to the surface. Without warning he spat into the water, turning back to face the others. “Sorry, that was rude,” he said. He smiled, but his eyes remained vacant and glassy. “You all saw his chat messages. He put us all in danger.”

Sollux looked past Rosmer, barely registering the sound of Ophlia continuing to wheeze and the dull thud of Trisia landing a mean right hook to Rosmer’s jaw. Rosmer’s glasses clattered in front of Sollux, but he didn’t move as he continued staring at Ualona’s body. 

For a moment he saw Karkat, curly hair floating in the water. 

Sollux blinked, and the vision faded. He tried to feel something, anything for the rust he’d considered a friend, but nothing came to him except a dull resignation. 

If he didn’t want to end up like Ualona, dead in the water, he had to play his part.

[possiblypeachy]

tea & schemes. (6)

―; summary: welcome distractions can be found in the library-- besides the books, of course.

―; pairing: jacob frye x ofc

―; word count: 4.5k

―; warnings: none(?).

―; A/N: i... love them... a lot. writing this is like playing with little dolls and making them hold hands n stuff except!! i’m a baby that has an awareness of the healthy progression of a relationship and so i keep them just out of reach of each other to intensify the pining!! how splendid and good of me!!!! :))

anyway, please do enjoy!! (also, i made a pinterest board for this so hmu if you want me to send you the link bc it’s practically an amalgamation of pictures that make me happy)

―; part: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

― ��� ―

“Freddy?”

Florence took the hat she had been wearing and placed it on the table beside the door, haste dictating each of her movements. From placing cutlery on the dining table, Lissie gave her a sidewards glance, an eyebrow quirking upwards, but said nothing yet; if there was to be a quarrel, they could get it all out first before registered pacifier, Felicity Marlowe, would step in.

“Freddy?” For a young woman raised from birth to be delicate and heavenly, Florence sure did have a set of lungs on her. If Frederick hadn’t heard her shouting from downstairs yet, he might as well have been deaf. Even Lissie flinched back at her volume.

Floorboards creaked above them. Lissie stifled a laugh when a loud sigh could be heard at the top of the stairs. When Freddy’s face finally emerged from behind the corner, practically dragging himself down the stairs, she had to leave the room, lest she further irritate the man.

“You’re doing an excellent job of annoying the neighbours, my dear sister.” He observed, trudging toward the dining table to take a seat. Florence did the same, taking a spot right in front of him. After flattening and smoothing her skirts down, she leant forward on the table, hands clasped together just before her bowl. Upon noticing the seriousness in her posture, a worry began to grow within him. He gave a quick glance down to her interlocked fingers and noticed a slip of white between the gaps. “What’s this about?”

The fingers of Florence’s right hand dipped behind those of the left and emerged with a piece of paper-- evidence of her escapades. She slid it across the table toward her brother. “I met a lovely man in the library today; he was all charm and smiles. He even quoted some of Dickens’ work to woo me.”

Brows pulled downwards, Freddy took the slip of paper though had yet to look at it. “And, you think this is a world-ending problem why? Should he have quoted Shakespeare instead?”

She rolled her eyes and thrusted her still interlocked hand toward the note. “Read the bloody note, Fredd--”

“Hey! Elbows off the table.” Lissie, who had adopted a particularly maternal tone, scolded as she waddled over with the steaming pot of stew. It landed with a jarring thump! down onto the table beside them both. A tea towel hit Florence’s arm and she yelped, eyes meeting the blue of Lissie’s. “You should know this, lovely.”

Florence gestured between herself and Freddy. “He and I have something important to discuss; I think I should be allowed to put my elbows wherever I please, mother.”

Lissie chortled at her immaturity. “Your elbows are your own until food appears on this table. As soon as that happens, I’m afraid that I--”

“Revenge?” Both women stopped in their bickering to look at Freddy, who’s gaze dragged from the paper to his sister. His expression contorted, lips parted and brows knitted together as if speechless. “What does that mean, Florrie? What’s the man’s name?”

Lissie let out a small sigh when Florence leant toward her brother, elbows on the table, but began to spoon out the stew anyway, leaving the siblings to speak without her pestering.

“Willard Molyneux-Herbert.” The name rolled off of her tongue like a thick poison. “Ring any bells?”

She could see Freddy visibly dragging himself through his memories, gaze focused over her shoulder and into the past. Florence began to idly stir the stew with a spoon when her brother, unconvinced of his own mind’s capability, pointed into nothing. “I recall a… Alan Molyneux-Herbert. I brought him in a few months ago after his horrific surgical practices were presented to my people.”

Despite the unfortunate predicament she was in, that fire flickered to life in Florence’s eyes. Freddy suppressed a sigh upon noticing it. “He could be his older brother.” She got up on her feet to lean further toward her brother, scanning over as much of the note as she could so she could point to the line that backed up her theory. “See? They must’ve been close-- or business partners of some kind.”

He gave a hum, rolling the corner of the paper as he pondered. Then, he placed it to one side, prompting Florence to sit back down, and picked up his spoon. “Did he say anything… strange to you?”

“Besides being far too forward?” One of her eyebrows quirked upwards and Freddy grimaced, taking to eating a spoonful of his meal rather than replying. “He asked that I meet him again in the library tomorrow.”

After a few moments of quiet, his lips drew into a tight line. “I think you should.”

Florence scoffed before spooning a chunk of beef into her mouth. She covered her lips with the back of her hand as she spoke. “No objections to me doing the dirty work this time, brother dearest?”

Knowing that she’d hit back with something like that, he groaned. “It’s a public library; he can’t try to do anything in there besides torment you with his flirting.” He wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin and gestured to her. “I’m certain, after your scuffle with Mister Fullmore, you can handle yourself around one man. If familial similarities tell me anything, I doubt this Willard is the largest bloke either.” Florence hummed, pointing her spoon at Freddy to confirm his point. “Besides, I can hardly take your place can I?”

She gave a small laugh. “I think I’d enjoy seeing you try.”

“I’m sure you would.” He replied with a smile-- the kind that was accompanied by a fond shake of the head.

They ate quietly for a while with only the grandfather clock on the other side of the room creating steady noise. Lissie pottered about between them as their bowls began to empty, cooing gently to Duncan who had hopped down the stairs to collect any scraps that fell onto the floor. When Freddy finally finished, he didn’t leave the table as usual and instead leant back in his chair, staring at his sister. She soon noticed this and dragged her gaze away from the remnants of stew in her bowl. Spoon still held close to her mouth, she prompted him with a raise of both brows.

He clasped his hands together and rested them against his stomach. “Mister Frye visited before you returned. He asked me to ‘apologise on his behalf for dashing off today’.” Freddy mirrored her raised brows, which hadn’t yet moved from their position. It was as though she was a rat caught in a larder.

Slowly, she raised herself up from her bowl, placing the spoon neatly onto the napkin at the side. “I was… on my way to the library and we ran into one another. He rushed away because--”

“I’ve known you since you came out of the womb, Florence; stop lying to me.” Frederick stopped her, rolling his eyes until they met hers again. She huffed but was given no time to defend herself. “It seemed like, from what he told me at the door, that he ran off without so much as a thought to you or your feelings--”

“He came to apologise--”

“-- and only had his sight on his… agenda for London. You shouldn’t want to spend all of your time with a man who doesn’t consider your emotions, Florrie.”

Florence widened her eyes and shook her head, like her brother was stupid and she was drawing attention to it. “I’m not heartbroken, Freddy; Mister Frye can do as he pleases. I’m not going to bloody marry the man.”

Frederick breathed out a laugh. “That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said in weeks.” Seemingly satiated with her answer, he stood from his chair and patted down his waistcoat and the lap of his trousers. He partly did this to avoid Florence’s scalding stare, her jaw clenched in an attempt to keep back a smile of disbelief. With that done, he turned and made his way to the stairs, presumably retiring for the evening before his sister could bite back with anything too venomous.

Florence sighed, slumping back in her chair so Lissie could collect her bowl and cutlery.

Well, at least tomorrow would be interesting.

---

Florence found Willard sat at the same table the next day. Now, she was somewhat late, though that was mostly due to the fact that she had been standing in the entryway wiping sweat from her hands for a good amount of time. Lying and acting to appease someone you know is one thing but it gets a lot scarier when you’re dealing with a man who, in a few scrawled words and a look or two, had made himself seem very… nasty.

For someone who had been sat, alone, in a library for goodness only knows how long, Willard didn’t seem to have all too great of an interest in any of the hundreds of books on offer. Instead, he played with his thumbs, strands of golden hair tumbling onto his forehead. It was stupid, Florence thought as she approached him, but she still couldn’t possibly bring herself to deny the fact that Willard was a terribly beautiful man.

When a chair scraped across the wooden floor in front of him, his head snapped upwards. For a moment, he looked almost innocent: green eyes wide and lips parted just enough for Florence’s eyes to linger on them. However, upon taking in her blush-coloured dress and the curls in her hair, that conniving twist appeared on his lips and she instinctively looked away.

“Dear lady,” he began, voice rumbling like the beginnings of a roar, “I thought it impossible that you look more beautiful than yesterday but it appears you have proven me wrong.”

Florence, in an effort to not be sucked into the whirling green of his eyes, rubbed her nose with a finger and acted like she was picking something from the skirt of her dress. “You flatter me, Mister Molyneux-Herbert.”

She sensed that he’d placed his upturned hand on the table in front of her and she finally dragged her gaze to him. His palm begged for her own. “Please, Miss Abberline, call me Willard.”

Florence smiled-- a courteous gesture though not at all genuine; it seemed to satisfy him enough. Her fingers relished in the cool wood of the table before taking their place in his hand. “If that’s the case, you may call me Florence.”

Like yesterday, he placed a lingering kiss on the back of her hand. She allowed her gaze to flicker away, seemingly flustered under the attention, her lips curling into a coy smile.

This was terrible. Horrendous. A nightmare. Florence delighted in her skill of manipulation but had never had to act so… submissive before. It seemed that Willard only held that sweet glint in his eyes when she shied away from him-- when she acted petite and enamoured by male attention. It made her want to tug her hand away and--

A cough sounded behind her and she jolted, pulling her hand away from Willard in the process. While not exactly how she had planned getting away from him, she was still grateful that it had worked. As Florence turned in her seat, ready to give the disturbance a small, thankful smile, she met a pair of hazel eyes.

Wait. She knew those eyes.

Her vision finally focused on the rest of the face.

Jacob.

Half of her said to turn around as to not make Willard suspicious of anything. The other half declared that if she simply spun around that it would look strange too. So, Florence faced halfway between them both, gaze able to dart between the pair. Though, with how peeved Willard looked, she didn’t particularly want to glance in his direction.

“Who are you? Can’t you tell that the lady and I are busy?”

So, he was an emotionally volatile man too. Great.

When Florence looked to Jacob, awaiting his response, he caught her eyes, brows twitching just enough for her to assume he was quite taken aback by Willard. “The name’s Jacob Frye, sir. I’m here to collect Miss Abberline; her brother says it’s urgent.”

A slight panic struck Florence.

What did Freddy need? Had something gone wrong? Was he hurt?

Wide eyes flickered over to Willard, her hands already arranging her skirts to make it easier for her to stand. There was a strange glint in his gaze. He was focused on Jacob; his sudden hostility had quietened. Much to her surprise, Willard didn’t open his mouth to speak again, instead leaving the conversation open to her.

“Why? What does he need?” Florence rose from her seat, eyes now trained onto Jacob. “He hadn’t said about something ‘urgent’ this morning.”

Jacob shrugged, giving an unknowing frown. “He didn’t tell me anything else-- only requested that you get back home as soon as you can.”

A hand to her forehead, she let out a heavy sigh. “Willard,” She began; Jacob seemed to be quite intent on listening in on the exchange, “I must cut our meeting short. I am beyond sorry but… Frederick never usually calls on me in such a manner so it must be important.”

“I can accompany you, dear lady. My carriage and driver should be nearby.” Willard tensed to stand but Jacob held out a hand. The blond slowly lowered himself once again. Florence could feel rage ebbing off of him-- likely thanks to being pushed about by a man of a lower class.

“Sergeant Abberline asked only for her. I can get her home safely, Will.” Willard visibly bristled and Florence could’ve sworn that she could see the beginnings of a smile playing at Jacob’s lips. “Now,” Jacob held out a hand, which Florence took, to help her out of the alcove, “if you don’t mind, the lady and I should be off.”

With that, he swept his arm in the direction of the exit-- a dramatic gesture that made Florence suppress a smile-- and the two of them left the building. She didn’t dare to even look back at Willard, lest he kill her with his burning stare alone.

When the thunder of carriages upon stone and the chatter of people returned to her senses, Florence turned to Jacob, who was still leading her along. A hand came to his arm, half to get his attention and half to give her the leverage to walk alongside him. “Right, Jacob, what’s the matter with Freddy? If he’s in the hospital for something, I swear--”

“Nothing’s the matter.”

“-- I will get my hands on-- wait. What?” Florence stopped on the pavement, expression crumpled with confusion. “What do you mean ‘nothing’s the matter’?”

Jacob, having realised that Florence had paused, reeled backwards to address her. There was a grin on his face that had an undertone of caution; he was unsure if he had made a mistake. What with the look of annoyed bewilderment painted across her features-- brows drawn together, lips parted, nose scrunched up-- it was expected for Jacob to have a genuine sense of worry settle in his stomach.

“I mean that you looked terribly uncomfortable in there and I thought, being the saint to society that I am--” Florence’s jaw shifted to one side slightly, her hands on her hips, in an attempt to keep a relenting smile from tugging at her lips. He was insufferable. “-- that I would be doing you a favour by stealing you away.” His eyes, having been thrown around dramatically while he was speaking, drifted hopefully back to her. One of his brows raised and his lips curled into an apologetic smile.

Florence said nothing.

Jacob stayed frozen in that position for a few moments more before slumping, sighing lightly. “I’m sorry for worrying you.” He held a hand out toward her, beckoning. “I’ll make it up to you with a surprise-- I promise.”

She looked between his hand and his face, then finally grinned. Jacob’s shoulders visibly relaxed and it only made her laugh, sweeping gleefully toward him. “Seems like I worried you there. Care about my feelings do we, dear Jacob? My brother was concerned that you didn’t.” Rather than taking his hand, she hooked her arm around his, leveraging herself to his side.

“You are a menace, Flor.” His smile said otherwise, however.

“Only to you.”

They locked eyes for a moment, smiles softening into something different altogether. Florence could suddenly feel her heart in her ears. There was that heaviness of breath in her chest-- a choking swell of her feelings.

No. No. Not again.

As though struck by lightning, her gaze darted away, blinking a few times like she was resetting herself. “Where might this surprise be then, Jacob?” Florence looked back to him, though she appeared to have steeled herself somewhat. When she noticed the light of concern in his eyes, a light squeeze came to his bicep alongside a smile.

Deciding against saying anything about the sudden change in her demeanour, he began to walk them both along the street. “Well, I recently met a bloke by the name of Robert Topping. Strange man, with an even stranger sense of fashion--”

“Yes, because you are the pinnacle of that area.” Her other arm moved around to tug at his untucked shirt and he batted her away, chuckling.

“You’ll see the man soon and you’ll be eating your own words, dear Flor.” Jacob shook his head, as if he were recalling Robert’s dress sense and shivering at it.

“Why? What does this Topping fellow have to do with where we’re going?”

“Will you let me speak without interrupting?”

Florence huffed out a laugh, gesturing in a forward motion with her hand. “Go ahead; I’ll try not to interject.”

Jacob nodded a ‘thank you’ as he tugged her down a backstreet, glancing from place to place to ensure he was going the right way. “Well, Topping is a bookie for a variety of events but my personal favourite are the fights. So, I thought I might bring you along to a fight club to watch a few matches-- get invigorated, you know?”

“Oh, I’ve heard of these fight clubs. Freddy often complains about them.” Florence mentioned. “I suppose he just doesn’t understand why people would fight against each other for fun.”

Jacob raised a brow. “You’ve heard of them before?”

“Why does that surprise you?” Florence glanced up at him, confused.

He paused for a moment, then shrugged. “I’m not sure, I just supposed there’d been a rule surrounding the secrecy of fight clubs or something.”

Now far too wound up in this string of their own thoughts, the pair walked in silence for a short time. Once again, Jacob seemed to have a knack for leading Florence down alleyways that she didn’t even know existed. He often gave a nod or a wave to people dressed in green-- his ‘rooks’, she remembered-- which she began to do as well, if only to seem more like a friend of Jacob’s than anything else; she supposed she didn’t want to get the reputation of ‘that bird that Jacob buys’. It appeared as though her upbringing-- filled with reminders to remain a respectable woman-- had stuck in some ways more than others.

Jacob turned to her for a brief moment, mouth opened, but no words came. One of her brows tugged downwards. “What is it?”

He looked away again and breathed out a sigh through his nose. “I don’t mean to… intrude on your personal business but--”

“Willard?” The light-heartedness in her tone relaxed Jacob and a relieved smile curved his lips.

“Yes. I didn’t realise you had a gentleman suitor, hm?”

Florence grimaced and made a noise akin to “blergh”. “No, I wouldn’t count Willard as that, despite his trying.” Jacob raised a brow, urging her to elaborate. “The first words he said to me were a quote from one of your dear old friend Dickens’ novels. Then, he introduced himself as the--” she mimicked a man’s voice, “--’third son to the Earl of Carnarvon’.” She sighed, throwing her hand into the air. “I mean, how pompous can one man be?”

Jacob had been grinning the whole time, quite amused with her ranting. “So, I take it you’re not interested then, despite his beautiful blond locks?” He acted like he was flipping hair over his shoulder and she laughed, shaking her head.

“I most certainly am not interested-- mostly because he supposedly has some kind of grudge against my brother and wants revenge by means of me.” He felt her grip on his arm tighten somewhat and realised that, although her tone sounded fairly unfazed by the idea, Florence was really quite angry. “I don’t understand why all men interested in me have some kind of criminal inclination.”

Jacob, an assassin and criminal by trade, gave a slight laugh, raising his eyebrows and averting his gaze by glancing down a nearby backstreet. “They certainly do.”

Quiet fell between them once again but only because he was considering. He took the few moments in which they descended a set of stairs to weigh up his options.

With a certain degree of courage mustered, Jacob asked: “Have you ever been with someone, Flor? Like... romantically?” as normally as he could.

She didn’t seem to pick up on the riot in his mind but still frowned somewhat. “Yes. Well, sort of. I tend not to enjoy thinking of it.”

He furrowed his brows. “Why not?” A cheeky laugh slipped passed his lips and an elbow nudged into her side. “Was he a disaster in bed?”

A harsh squeeze came to his arm and, through a chuckle, he yelped at the pinch it caused. When he looked to her, she was glaring at him but a light of amusement danced through the gold in her eyes. “No, Jacob, I’ve never even--” she paused, glancing to the side, defeated. He grinned, infuriating her further. She continued, if only to stop him from saying anything else. “Thomas Langhorne is the terrible man who I used to love but he broke my heart and is now married to my eldest sister, Harriett.”

Jacob blinked a few times at the speed in which she said this, having to rewind her words in his head. “What? He’s married to who? I feel like there’s more to this-- if you’re willing to tell, of course.”

Florence sighed quietly. It was a tender topic still and merely scraping the surface of it made her want to pummel Thomas. Though, the look in Jacob’s eyes was overbearingly patient and that little voice in the back of her head convinced her that perhaps sharing the memory might have a relieving effect.

“When I was fifteen, I fell in love with the mayor’s son, Thomas Langhorne. It was the kind of young love you read in books, you know? There were butterflies and nights stolen away and ugh!” She groaned, brows forced together. Honestly, it almost looked as if Florence could throw up at the thought. “He promised to have my hand in marriage and young me, being foolish, fell hopelessly in love with Thomas. I never understood why we had to keep everything a secret, however.” Ah, here was the problem, Jacob suspected. He could almost feel her nails piercing through his coat with how angrily she held his arm. “I figured out that little conundrum when I took a trip to our cellar and found him…” Florence grimaced and took a breath to brace herself, “... inside my sister.”

“Bloody Hell.” Jacob hissed through his teeth, looking down at her in disbelief. Her vision seemed to be glazed with fury and didn’t notice the concern for her in his eyes.

“It turns out they loved each other and Thomas had used me to get to Harriet. I was simply the idiot who thought I was in love.” Florence, feeling heavy-hearted but altogether like a weight had been loosened from her shoulders, gave a bitter little laugh. The grip on his arm lessened. “So, I have decided to stay away from all matters romance until I absolutely must marry someone, lest I have all of society frown upon me.”

Jacob felt a pang of hurt somewhere-- not at her declaration to steer clear of love but at the mere fact that such a man could take a treasure like Florence and stand on her like he did. It was terrible, he thought, that a young woman, during the years in which they all dream of falling in love, had barred herself from doing just that because of the selfish desires of this Thomas bloke.

“I don’t think you should give up on love so easily, Flor.” He mentioned to her, gesturing for her to let go of his arm and walk behind him down a tight alleyway. “Besides, this Langhorne fellow doesn’t seem like the ideal man.” There was a pause, then Jacob huffed out a laugh. “How big was he?”

When they emerged from the alleyway, getting closer to the distant sounds of a crowd cheering, the light that finally hit Florence revealed a mightily confused expression. She had an inkling of what he meant but wanted confirmation. Her eyes narrowed. “How do you mean?”

Jacob gave an impish grin. “You know: the downstairs.” He waggled his eyebrows and Florence snorted.

“I called the ordeal a ‘little conundrum’ for a reason, dear Jacob.” Amusement bled back into her eyes and the way she was smiling told him that she was keeping back laughter.

“Well then, you should forget little Thom being your first love. Let your sister have him, eh?” The pair came to a door and the roaring crowd was most certainly behind it. Jacob swept an arm forward to encourage her to go in front of him before he revealed the arena. “Find another first-- one who actually knows what’s right there in front of him.”

Perhaps Jacob was right; Thomas didn’t deserve to have such an impact on her life. He was a rat of a man and Harriett could keep him. Florence would find someone far better: someone who could make her laugh, who would calm her anxieties, who would adventure with her, despite what everyone says. Yes. Yes. She at least deserved that.

“Plus, I’m certain the next bloke you find will have a much bigger--”

Florence thrust the doors open and the two of them drowned in the roar of the crowd, bells ringing and bookies begging for bets. Despite the noise, she could sense that Jacob was chuckling behind her.

What a dastardly man, she thought with a smile.

[sirro85-blog]

Dark Horses 3

Becca felt a bead of sweat run down her face and felt it run onto her top lip, as she panted heavily it must have caught on her breath because she saw the drop fly though the air. Out of options she fell backwards and rolled desperately to her left kicking out, there was a solid connection and her on rushing attacker stumbled, Becca had a moments glimpse of an exposed jaw as both arms shot out to break their fall, she snapped out a heel and felt the crack as it made connection.

"Fucking lucky!" Yelled Sergeant Knickers from the edge of the ring as Petra jumped up to check on Barbie.

"No kidding, shit she's fast," Becca lay flat on her back gasping for breath, "I need to stop relying on being taller than all of you."

"Yes, you do," said Kovac, "you need to remember what are stopping blows and what are just pointless combatives that look pretty."

"Like you're a shining beacon of variety Mr I'll-just-punch-them-into-submission. Get in the ring and show me something that isn't counter striking," Panther jeered vaulting the ropes and beckoning Kovac.

"Hardly a fair fight, I've got damn near a foot in height on you and I'm probably twice your weight, not sure this is gonna prove much," Kovac said waving her off. "Besides I've proven it repeatedly, I can't hit girls, I remember those nuns who raised me and I can't do it."

"If we get Dorman down later?" Asked Becca.

"Oh him I'll hit," Kovac agreed, "sergeant-major, a word," he called to Panther.

"Wolf has been in touch, Fluke has successfully defended three transports. It shouldn't come as a surprise that it's the Galax. Its always a smash and grab job, any organised defence and they give up." Kovac said as he walked down the hallway, Panther having to scurry a little to keep up.

"Wolf has asked if a second troop can join him, I'm going to go out to the Towoli and take a look at the situation with the Bartuq. 2 Troop will accompany me and Gilly's aux troop is going to go out and get set up. Dorman and 3 Troop will stay here and move out to assist Wolf if necessary." Kovac pushed open his door and gave his sergeant-major a nod.

"Yes sir, And you want me to..." Panther felt her voice have a slight upwards inflection as she spoke annoyed at her uncertainty.

"To oversee all this and keep it off my desk sergeant-major."

The door closed, Panther cursed inwardly, this new position kept overwhelming her, she had served under Kovac to one degree or another for over 10 years now but this was the closest she had ever worked with him and suddenly she found him intimidating and found herself unsure around him.

Panther was heading for her office when she met Knickers, the taller woman was looking the other way as she approached and in profile the thin cheeks and slender nose made her seem particularly striking, as she so often did Panther's eyes traced the scars on Knicker's forearms.

"Sir," Knickers turned to Panther, "the captain said you'd have orders."

"Yes, 2 Troop will be heading out to the Towoli with the Major, as will 4 Troop, the auxiliaries, let Staff Frank know will you?"

"First deployment, uhh, any advice?" Knickers asked.

"Talk to the captain if you have any questions and rely on your section commanders and their 2IC, remember your job is to see them do their job, not do it for them and don't worry, you were given this job for a reason," Panther realised she should take her own advice.

Wolf nodded as Dorman entered the room, he gestured at the table and said, "you get a look at the plans on the journey?"

"Yeah, looks solid, we can probably push through their defences before you swing in, means it makes more sense for you to roll up behind us and break their centre." Dorman said.

"If you think so, you'll need to hammer them in that first assault though, we need to be amongst them before they know it or they'll rabbit."

"You worry about drawing them in, let me worry about the attack," Dorman replied, "Now, more importantly, did you know Sharon was married!?"

Wolf stared at his friend for a few moments and closed his eyes, "dude..." he said his voice pained, "in three months she never once had you round to hers, she had a patch of lighter skin on one finger and never used her communications when around you." Wolf stared into middle distance, "I think at this point bud, just assume you're catnip to bored, married women."

"I swear I'm not looking for married women!" Dorman said rather pathetically in Wolf's opinion.

"Look, I don't know what to tell you, maybe ask them outright? You're not the sort of guy who wants to date married women, you're not amoral...you're not Kovac but you are gonna get your ass shot if you keep sleeping with these women, especially on Pelcar-3."

"That's a bit hard on Kov, dude wasn't intentionally sleeping with married women," Dorman said.

"No he just slept with anyone he could and didn't care...Look at some point the five of us will sit down with some drinks and we can argue the right and wrong of sleeping with married people and we can all laugh at Becca as she ties herself in knots trying to justify being the other woman to both the husband and wife but as far as I'm concerned if you know someone's married they should be off limits. Now, are your troop ready to start a dry run or do you want some time?"

Dorman had a few more moments of looking wretched, "No it's fine I'll dig Sergeant Webb out and we'll start an exercise."

Sergeant Glover didn't like it when his men had to stop being soldiers, he had no regrets in the choices he had made in his life and he would always be proud of the loyalty in his heart but when soldiers turned mercenaries were asked not just to take off uniform but to start playing sneaks he was unhappy. That being said, Captain Wolf's plan was sound and more importantly Major Kovac had signed off on it.

"Ty, Costa you two are no longer soldiers but that doesn't give either of you leave to carry bowie knives on your damn belt," Webb snapped.

"Interestingly sir did you know that the bowie knife was named for the man who carried it not it's creator and the man it was named for may have been mostly fiction infact..." Ty began but was cut off by Sergeant Webb.

"Not now damn it Ty, a bayonet is enough, who needs so many damn blades?"

Sergeant Glover watched this exchange and knew the response before it came.

"Major Kovac carries karambit knives and so does Captain Wolf, I've seen Captain Becca carry 3 or 4 Wasp axes," Costa started up, "Not to mention Corpo I mean Sergeant Knickers carrying..."

Webb cracked his fist into the table top, his voice cold and hard, "when the operation is over, you will come to me and we will discuss the addition of equipment to your standard issue, until that time, take off the damn blades."

Glover knew this would happen, once you left the army rules were harder to maintain, order could be lost. His own men knew that to carry a non-issue weapon they had to prove they knew how to use it which is why most carried a bayonet and why the captain carried a BC-41 and a push dagger on top of the karambit knives the men knew about.

Webb joined him shaking his head, "I dunno Fluke, why do they all want to be Rumble? What's that stupid phrase the SM says?"

Glover winced at the mispronounced name, "it's Rambo, and the SM says "guns for a show, knives for a pro."

Webb shook his head again and glared at Ty and Costa, "If those two weren't my best I'd kill them and bury their bodies to save me my misery."

"Problem is Captain Dorman finds 'em funny," Fluke said as close as he'd ever get to criticising the commissioned officers he'd grown to trust.

Webb grunted and started to move off, "Fluke once we're in you'll need to come hard to keep the roll going."

Glover nodded, certain things didn't need saying in his opinion.

Wolf watched as the raider vessels came alongside the freighter, for the first time since he'd started defence they were able to pull alongside and dock. Within minutes they were on-board and moving deck to deck. Timing in his head, Wolf guessed that Glover must have moved into position, he signalled Dorman that 1 Troop were on the move.

The transmitter chirruped as Wolf's message arrived, "alright!" Dorman shouted, "the raiders are engaged, time to take out their bolt hole before they know it's engaged."

3 Troop were moving quickly, Dorman pulled his men forward while 3 section dropped back with Sergeant Webb, this first part needed to be quick and quiet.

Wolf watched as Fluke and his section sprang the trap, the Galax raiders had fallen back towards their vessels as soon as the Dark Horses had engaged, and now as they neared them Fluke - already secured their ships - struck from the rear cutting through their numbers.

The second message from Wolf confirmed they were on route, Dorman gave the command and his men launched their assault. The design of the Galax position meant that the only way in was a frontal assault but human weapons and munitions should blast through the entrance and then it should be a case of room to room and making sure the Galax couldn't escape with their equipment to continue raiding, in those close quarters the Dark Horses training should do the job.

Dorman watched as Gray led his fire team forward and placed detonators. In position now Dorman saw no point in delaying, he gave the signal.

Wolf willed the distance to close as they sped towards the Galax position, now they had engaged he had more doubts about allowing them to assault in two waves, as they slowed he sprang from his seat, Fluke moving too. They found a young riflewoman at the breach, alone.

"Mfene, isn't it?" Wolf asked, "where's your dual?" Soldiers were never left isolated like this in combat.

"Ito is inside, went in to protect the medics sir," Mfene answered.

"The medics are inside!?" Wolf bit back a curse and ran forward.

The Galax compound was basic in its layout, built into a cliff face it had a high fortified wall that Dorman had breached with a centre compound filled with the Galax raiding vehicles, behind which three tunnels ran off, the centre tunnel was known to be more heavily fortified. Dorman's men were supposed to be in the left and right tunnels but possibly a third of them were engaged in a firefight with the centre tunnel defences.

Wolf pulled up as he scanned the fight, Dana and the other medics were in one corner they seemed to have half a dozen patients, two Riflemen stood guard over them. By all evidence the remaining soldiers were in the two other tunnels.

"Banjarjee take two section and sweep the two outer tunnels, O'Shea with me, clear the outer defences of the central tunnels, Flowers, 3 section should be prepared to provide fire support. GO!"

O'Shea ran forward, Wolf close behind him, as they reached the combatants Wolf signalled to Sergeant Webb who gestured his acknowledgement of the plan and had his men pull away from the centre, smoke grenades and other ordinance sailed through the air and with a roar the men of 1 troop launched themselves into the tunnel.

The fight was bloody but over quickly, the injury count was less following the second wave but still over a dozen troopers were needing medical treatment back on base.

Little was said as the Galax vehicles were destroyed and their weapons confiscated. With the loss of their attack vehicles the surviving Galax would be arrested by local authorities and usually moved on to less criminal activities provided no other raiders tried to recruit them.

The journey back to Pelcar-3 was subdued, word passed that Kovac and 2 Troop had returned following the officers reports from the Galax engagement.

Once returned to the Dark Horses compound Wolf pulled his men to a debrief in a separate corner leaving 3 troop to handle their own injured and return certain kit to stores. Dorman was checking weapons back into the lockers when the Quartermaster approached him.

"When you're done here Hero, the Major wants to see you in his office," the derision in her voice was stronger than normal.

"I'll be there after I've checked on my men in med-bay," Dorman replied, not looking up.

"I'd avoid Staff King right now Hero, and I'd not be late for Kovac, I believe it's an interview without coffee," growled the Qm.

Dorman stared after her as around him a slight muttering spread among the men, turning to his sergeant Dorman asked Webb to take over the checking off.

Ten minutes later Dorman knocked on Kovac's door, for once closed. Inside Kovac sat behind his desk, unusual for a man who tended to sit on his desk as often as use it.

"You changed the plan, I understand it was your choice though Captain Wolf was at pains to tell me he agreed." Kovac didn't greet his captain.

"Yes sir, I assessed the enemy's strengths and concluded my troop capable of the task, which they were, I believe we would have been successful with or without the support of 1 Troop."

"You believe...this isn't 1914 Captain, we don't measure success by numbers dead, them more than us? Oh it's a victory. You believe..."

"I believed my men capable of..."

"You believed," said Kovac raising his voice for the first time as he stood up, "The hype, you believed our own propaganda," Kovac put on a sing-song voice, "Humans we're bigger, badder, rougher and tougher, believe me brother their ain't no other," his voice changed to one high and clear with careful enuncuation, "hard to stop and impossible to kill the human is a deathworlder that is capable of preternatural feats," Kovac's voice returned to normal, "damn it Dorman, you behaved like...like we're damn space orcs, expendable in numbers and unbreakable to boot, we may sell ourselves to the galaxy as the interstellar hobgoblin but we know different, we're professional and highly trained. That was bloody amateur hour."

Kovac took a long breath, and sitting down, "Dorman you're a good officer but you have a tendency to think you can do it all, and at times that's good, but you cannot put my men's lives on the line like that again. I would suggest you pay the injured soldiers bonus from your own pocket and a sizeable donation to the fund would be advisable. If you're feeling particularly contrite perhaps letting Wolf punch your teeth out in the ring would be a good idea?"

Dorman looked as though he wanted to reply but stopped himself, he nodded and turned to leave then stopped, "I'm sorry sir, I know you hate your men getting injured, I genuinely believed it was a smart play."

Kovac sighed, "I know you did mate, find that balance between impulse and hesitancy, remember to take a breath and re-evaluate and you'll be a great leader of men. Better angels and all that."

Dorman nodded and left the room.

[iambuckyrogers]

3 Nights... (Chapter 6/7)

Summary: After your friend bails on your trip to Australia a week before you were due to fly out, your best friend Steve swoops in and saves the day. Unbeknown to you, he’s harbouring the biggest crush on you, but will it get in the way of your holiday?

Word Count: 2491

Chapter Warnings: sMUT (oral, female receiving, unprotected vaginal sex ~ wrap it before you tap it)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Authors Note: ok this took a while (like a rEALLY long time sorry) bc it was my first time writing smut and i wanted to make sure it was good :) and i think i did alright yay. this is the second last part. also i apologise, the title is 3 nights but like an idiot i miscounted the number of nights i thought i had in my rough plan… but she’ll be right aha.

PREVIOUS CHAPTER

*****

Despite your persistent nagging, Steve would not tell you what he had planned for the rest of the evening. He just instructed you on what to wear and left you to get ready.

“Hey Stevie, I’m almost ready, you can wait outside if you like,” your voice called from the bathroom. Collecting the few things he needed, phone, wallet and keys, he turned off the TV and moved to wait outside. He anxiously paced along the verandah, praying that the evening he had planned would live up to the excitement of the day. It wasn’t long before he heard the door open, causing him to turn around to see you standing in the doorway. He had told you to wear something nice,“ as if you’re going out for dinner with your parents” he had said, and you certainly didn’t disappoint. You looked extravagant in a lacy maroon cocktail dress, it fell to just above your knees in curtains of sheer satin. Your hair was up just the way you liked it and your make up soft and natural. Your black heels clicked along the concrete as you closed the distance between you and Steve who was staring with an open mouth… again.

“Wow I- there are no words I can use to describe how fantastic you look tonight,” he blubbered, taking your hand and spinning you in a circle. You tripped over your own feet and fall into his solid chest.

“I could say the same to you Mr Rogers,” you laughed, looking up into his eyes. For the second time that day Steve found himself in a position perfect to just lean down and close the breath of distance between him and the woman he’s longed after for so many years. You pecked him on the cheek quickly before he had a chance to do anything and removed yourself from his arms.

“Where to?” you asked, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Follow me, madam,” he presented you his hand which you happily accepted, intertwining your fingers with his. Steve lead you down the driveway to the awaiting Uber. Like the true gentleman he was, he opened the door for you and you slid in, never once letting go of his hand. You travelled in silence but Steve didn’t have a problem with that, the whole ride he held your hand, rubbing small circles with his thumb.

*****

The car pulled up at the foot of the Byron Lighthouse, overlooking the Bay and the spectacular sunset.

“Oh my goodness, Steve it’s beautiful!” You admired as you stepped out of the car still hand in hand with Steve.

“It sure is,” Steve smiled, little did you know he wasn’t talking about the view but about you. He watched your face light up as you took it all in, your y/e/c eyes reflecting the earthy orange hues of the sunset, sparkling in a way Steve had never noticed. He lead you to a table for 2 on the other side of the Lighthouse, overlooking the ocean.

“Is this- is this for us?!” you asked excitedly.

“Do you like it?” He didn’t really need to ask, he could tell from your reaction but he just wanted reassurance that he did alright.

“Do I like it? I love it, Stevie! But it’s too much, I don’t think I’m worth all this, how did you do it?” You looked at him quizzically, but he just winked and tapped his nose.

“I know people.” He moved to pull out the chair for you, letting go of your hand before taking his seat opposite you. A waiter materialised from seemingly nowhere, pouring you both a glass of champagne. You raised your drinks, clinking them together softly.

“To friendship,” Steve proclaimed, watching as your face seemed to fall for a second before you returned the toast. You watched the sun go down, orange and pink hues dancing across the ocean as the last sliver of sun dipped below the horizon. As it did so you scrunched up your nose and shut your eyes tight, mouthing something that Steve couldn’t quite make out. When you opened your eyes you looked at Steve.

“What?” you giggled when you caught him staring at you, “I was making a wish.”

“Oh yeah, what was it?” He teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

“I can’t tell you that would break the fundamental rule of wishes,” you stated matter-of-factly.

“Which is?”

“If you share your wish, it won't come true.”

“Oh how silly of me, how could I forget that one,” he replied sarcastically, smiling at how you seemed to be back to your usual happy self. The two of you drink and laugh until the stars come out, twinkling like diamonds set in the dark black sky. After you finished up your dessert you looked across the table to him with a cheeky glint in your eye.

“We need a picture together, Stevie,” you said holding your phone out to him, “ask one of the tourists, pretty please?” you begged, battering your eyelashes at him. Steve rolled his eyes playfully, taking your phone from your outstretched hand and getting up to find a photographer. It didn’t take much convincing, the older gentleman he approached was delighted to be of service, happily snapping picture after picture as Steve held you close, beaming from ear to ear. You look at him in a way he’s never seen before, smiling a little shyly as you leaned in and rested your forehead on his shoulder. The tourist took another picture, the snap and flash of the camera cutting through the moment.

“You two really do make a beautiful couple, I can really tell that you’re in love,” he noted handing your phone back to Steve.

“Oh-ah no, we’re not um, dating,” Steve stammered.

“Of course you’re not,” the man said winking before bidding you goodbye, returning to his own wife who was looking out at the ocean. Steve smiled at you sheepishly.

“Time to head home,” he offered you his arm, which you took with a smile of your own allowing him to lead you back to the awaiting Uber. You rode the whole way home with your head on his shoulder, Steve perfectly content with the way everything was panning out.

*****

Steve fumbled with the keys, finally fishing them out of his pocket he moved to open the door but was stopped by your hand on his wrist.

“I don’t want to go inside just yet,” you whispered not looking up from your feet.

“Why not?” He asked, using his index finger to tilt your head up to look at him. Your eyes were glassy and unreadable.

“I don’t want this to end. As soon as we go inside we’ll have to start packing and I- I don’t want to go back to normal.” 

“It doesn’t have to,” he whispered as he closed the distance between your faces. He moved slowly, searching your eyes for any sign of protest before, finally, he pressed his lips to yours. It was slow and tentative at first, as if you were both scared the other would pull away. Steve cupped your face in his hands, yours wrapping around his neck as he deepened the kiss. The need to breathe caused him to pull away from you, panting slightly as he rested his forehead against yours.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to do that,” he laughed pressing kisses along your jawline. You tilted your head up to give him better access, allowing him to travel down your neck and along your collarbones.

“Same here,” you reply breathlessly. Steve froze before pulling back and holding you at arm's length.

“Wait, you mean to say that you- we both- god we’re stupid,” he sighed shaking his head.

“Very,” you laughed. He pressed a quick kiss to your lips before opening the door to the house and letting you inside. You dumped your bag on the table and slipped out of your heels. It was like a switch was flipped, as soon as Steve was inside and the door was locked you were on him, pushing him up against the door, your hands tangling in his hair as you slanted your mouth over his in a heated kiss. It was all teeth and tongues as years of pent up feelings finally spilt over. Steve walked you backwards until the back of your legs hit the bed, he gently lowered you onto the mattress, his lips never leaving yours. You began unbuttoned his shirt, pushing it off of his shoulders and dropping it onto the floor. Steve shuddered as you ran your fingertips up his chest, over his shoulders and down his back pulling him flush against your body. He ground his hips into yours causing you to moan softly into his mouth. Steve pulled away just long enough to rid you of your dress, leaving you in your matching panties and bra. Steve let out an audible gasp as he admired your figure, moving you carefully up the bed so your head was resting against the plush pillows before he was settled between your legs. In the milky glow of the moonlight, you looked perfect, your hair a mess, like a halo around your head, chest heaving slightly as you watched for what he was going to do next. He shot you a shit-eating grin before he lowered his face closer to your heat. He pressed wet kisses along the apex of your thighs but skipped the place you needed him most.

“Stevie, quit teasing,” you whined. He chuckled, finally pressing an opened mouth kiss to your clothed pussy. Steve pushed your panties to the side and licked a stripe up your heat to collect your wetness before swirling his tongue around your clit. He looked up at you, trying to gauge your reaction, proud to see your eyes screwed shut and head thrown back in the pillows. Steve alternated between drawing figure 8’s on your clit and nipping gently at the sensitive nub. You fisted your hands in his hair, pulling him in closer as you moaned out his name like a prayer. Steve slid his hands up your sides and under your back, unclipping your bra all the while never letting his lips leave your clit. He palmed at your breasts, tweaking your nipples between his thumb and forefinger working them to stiff peaks. Once satisfied with his work, he walked his fingers back down your chest. He eased his middle finger into you slowly, watching your face for any sign of discomfort. He curled his digit in a come here motion, searching for the spot that’ll make you see stars. When you arched your back off the bed, he smirked to himself, massaging your g-spot making you writhe beneath him. He moved his arm to hold your hips down, halting your movements and allowing him better access to your cunt. He added a second finger, stretching your opening in preparation for his cock which sat hard and waiting, tenting his pants. The ground his hips into the mattress to gain some friction as he doubled his efforts, determined to make you cum before he got his own release.

“Stevie. I’m close,” you warned him.

“Let go baby, I’ve got you,” he reassured you. His words were all you needed, your walls clamped down around Steve’s fingers, your thighs shutting on his head as you rode out your orgasm. Steve moved up the bed so his head was level with yours, connecting his lips to yours once again so you could taste yourself on his tongue. Your hands moved down his toned chest before coming to stop on his belt and he gave you a little nod to go ahead. You made quick work of his pants and boxers, freeing his semi-hard cock. You wrapped your hand around his shaft, pumping lazily a few times before lining him up with your entrance. He braced his arms on either side of your head as he entered you, groaning out as your walls squeezed around him. He went slowly, allowing you to adjust to his size before he was fully seated inside of you. When you were ready, you tapped his arm as a go ahead to start moving. It wasn’t fast or rushed, but slow and sensual as the years of love between the two of you were expressed wordlessly. Steve rolled his hips into yours, feeling his own release building with every thrust. He could sense you were close too, by the way you gasped and arched your back as he kissed his way down the column of your throat. His hand snaked between your bodies finding your clit and rubbing tight circles edging you towards another orgasm. You locked your hands in his hair, pulling his lips onto yours as you tumbled over the edge with a shout of his name. He wasn’t far behind, cumming himself a few thrusts later, spilling his load with a growl of your name. He pulled out of you gently, hissing at the loss of contact before heading into the bathroom. He came back with a warm washcloth and cleaned the two of you up. You threw on one of his old shirts and climbed under the covers, patting the spot next to you.

“Because I know how close you love to sleep,” you smirked making Steve laugh. He slid in behind you pulling him into his arms and kissing the top of your head. He listened until your breathing evened out before he let himself relax and drift off to sleep himself.  

*****

For the last time, Steve woke to the sun streaming through the windows and your warm body wrapped in his. He smiled to himself, remembering what happened the night before how finally, everything was perfect. He pulled you closer, holding you tightly against his chest as a sudden wave of anxiety washed over him. What if you woke up and regretted it all? He’d lose everything he’d ever wanted right when it was within his reach. As if you could read his thoughts you stirred and blinked your eyes open, looking up at Steve.

“What’s on your mind babe?” you asked sleepily, tilting your head up to capture his lips in a slow kiss. He kissed you back, his worries melting away as he became putty in your hands.

“Just thinking about how lucky I am,” he replied when he finally pulled away for air.

“I’m glad I didn’t tell you about my wish last night,” you whispered, settling back into his arms.

“Why?” He looked down at you, hoping you’d explain yourself and not leave him wondering.

“Because,” You started, looking up at him like he hung the stars, “I wished for you,” you explained pulling him back down for another kiss. The trip may be coming to an end, but it was only the beginning for you and Steve.

LAST CHAPTER

[riverdalee]

The One With Redepmtion

Pairing: Theo Raeken x Reader

Summary: When Liam brings Theo back, the pack asks for your help to get him to cooperate. But you don't believe there’s redemption for Theo since he tried to kill you after pretending to be in love with you. 

A/N: if any of u watch SKAM message me to scream!!! bc i’m obsessed!!!

MASTERLIST, MOBILE MASTERLIST (you can like it and save it for later!)

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“You’re joking,” I scoff. Scott’s expression suggested the complete opposite of a joke.

“No,” I shake my head, firmly, “You’re insane if you think I’ll help Theo.”

“You’d be helping me with Theo, not helping Theo,” Scott corrects, tilting his head, “Please? He says he’ll only help if he can talk to you.”

“So he doesn’t want to help at all, then? He just wants to harass me more,” I scoff, “No. Not happening.”

“He doesn’t want to harass you. Y/N, he loves you,” Scott says. He immediately frowns as though surprised by his own words.

I stare at him in confusion, “He loves me? You don’t actually believe that, do you? You and Stiles were the ones who made me break up with him and put him in the ground to begin with – how the hell did you even get him out?”

“Liam used the sword.”

I inhale sharply, walking over to the chest at the foot of my bed and opening it only to find my sword missing.

“Kira left that for me,” I growl, my eyes glowering gold at him, “You had to bite me to keep me alive, Scott – because of Theo. She left me that so that no one could bring him back and you just fucking did it anyway!”

“I know,” he says softly, “But we need him to bring everyone back… we need you.”

I bury my face in my hands, “You’re asking too much,” I shake my head, feeling myself tremble just at the thought of having to face him again.

The last time I’d seen him, he’d stuck his claws so far into me, trying to escape in the tunnels. Kira put him straight in the ground but with his combined powers he’d taken from his betas, Scott’s only option was to turn me.

We’d dated for around 6 months before that – until I learned his true indemnity and intentions. I was hesitant to break it off… somewhere deep down I wanted to believe he was good. But he had done too much damage and I had no option to end it when my only family was the pack.

Still, I’d never expected him to try kill me. Deep down I thought what we had was real. Out of all the lies he’d told, I don’t know why I thought our relationship was different.

One thing was clear: I would never again go near him.

Scott places a hand on my shoulder, “I know it’s a lot to ask but please just think about it. For Stiles.”

“There’s no deal without her,” Theo leers, crossing his arms over his chest, “It was your job to convince her.”

“You almost killed her,” Liam scoffs, “Did you think she’d be happy to see you?”

Theo glares and Liam.

“He has a point you know,” I say, leaning in the doorway. I try to stand still and keep a confident front despite wanting to shove Kira’s sword into the ground and send him straight back to hell.

“Y/N,” Theo stares at me with wide eyes as he inhales deeply, “Your scent… it’s – you’re a-“

“Werewolf,” I finish for him, walking until there’s a metre’s distance between us, “I take it Scott didn’t tell you. So don’t try anything because I’ll rip your heart right out.”

He grimaces at the comment, swallowing hard.

“I have no ill intentions,” he reassures me.

I roll my eyes, “If you had no ill intentions you would’ve helped Scott without making demands.”

“Was it so wrong to want to see you? To apologize?”

I narrow my eyes, “Apologize for which part exactly? The part where you lied and used me to get close to Scott? Or the part where you killed me – yeah, you literally killed me and Scott had to bite me to bring me back, Theo. So if you’re feeling good about yourself because you didn’t kill me, you did. Just think of me as dead, just like you wanted me to be and help them. I don’t want to see you,” I spit.

“Could we have a minute?” Theo doesn’t say it as a request. I feel myself grow nervous but give Scott a small nod to let him know its okay.

“We’ll be right outside,” he tells me as he pulls the door shut.

The air settles and Theo stares at me in silence, his eyes studying every inch of me. I shift uncomfortably under his gaze.

“I am sorry,” he says, his eyes sincere, “For lying to you. For hurting you. And most of all, for making you feel like I didn’t love you when I did.”

“You don’t kill the people you love, Theo.”

“The person I was a few months ago, I’m not the same now.” His voice shakes as he speaks, “These past few months… where I was… all I could think about was how if I came back, and you were okay, how I would make it up to you. How I would use this second chance to-“

“Second chance?” I scoff, slamming him against the wall, “This isn’t a second chance. There is no redemption for you. Only penance.”

“Y/N-“

“Don’t say my name,” I say through gritted teeth, “You will help Scott and then you’ll disappear. I’ll never forgive you but at least if you do this, you’ll be doing one good thing with your sad excuse for a life.”

He stares at me with bloodshot eyes as I let go of him.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” I say warningly, “because I’ll personally take it upon myself to kill you if you do.”

I said the words with confidence but I barely feel it.

I hated myself for being relieved that he was okay – even though I wasn’t.

I was glad he was there in front of me.

“Wait,” he calls out, as I head for the door. I turn around expectedly, tapping my foot against the floor impatiently.

“I love you,” he whispers.

I stand still, my hands dropped by my sides.

“I know it probably means nothing to you now but think of it as a promise – I’ll do right by you; for you.”

I nod once before walking out. Once I’m outside I slide down against the door, sobbing quietly. I knew he could hear me on the other side of the door.

But suddenly it didn’t matter that he knew he broke my heart; everyone knew it. I was too angry to try and hide it and I was angrier at myself for still letting my heart race when he says those three words.

It was ridiculous watching Liam try and talk to the Ghost Rider we had trapped but what was worse was being left alone with it and Theo while the rest of them went to look for Lydia and Corey.

“Well, if we can’t communicate with it, then what?” Theo asks in defeat slumping against the wall. I sit down beside him, resting my head on my knees.

“I don’t know,” I mutter, exhausted, “I just want Stiles back.”

“Do you remember much about him?” Theo asks. I shake my head.

“He was your best friend. He was practically your brother,” Theo reminds me, “The day he found out we were dating he punched me in the face – and that’s before he knew I was a chimera.”

“He broke his hand,” I laugh, remembering, “And you didn’t even flinch.”

“He punches like a gir-“ he swallows hard when he notices me frowning, “- a great boxer,” he mumbles.

“Mhmm,” I roll my eyes.

“Would you have punched me if I said ‘girl’?”

“Don’t tempt me,” I smirk. He shifts his leg so our knees are touching, “Did you really mean what you said before? That there’s no redemption for me? That there’s no forgiveness?”

“I was just mad,” I mumble, looking up at the ceiling, “You’ve helped everyone a lot the past few days. I’m sure they’ve forgiven you – or at least don’t hate you as much.”

“I wasn’t asking about them,” he sighs, turning to face me. I look straight ahead, avoiding his eyes, “I know.”

“So? Did you mean it?” He places a hand over mine and I quickly pull away, holding it against my chest.

“Are you scared of me?” he asks, his voice strained – panicked, as though he wouldn’t be able to cope if I was.

“You’re different since Liam brought you back.” I turn to look at him, “What happened down there?”

“Retribution,” he says, his eyes filled with the pain of past memories.

Before I can press any further, the door creaks open. Unfortunately, it’s not a pack member that fills the doorway.

I stand up first, “Mr Douglas?”

He turns to me with blood red eyes. I turn to Theo in a panic but he just stares at him – in recognition.

“He’s a Nazi Alpha werewolf – the Dread Doctors had him in a tank,” Theo explains quickly, “You need to get out of here!”

He shoves me towards the back door but I don’t budge.

“He’s right you know,” Mr Douglas says, his fingers trailing over the whip in his hand, “It’s not you I’m here for.”

“GO!” Theo nods confidently, “He won’t hurt me.”

I didn’t believe him but before I can protest, he pushes me out the door and locks it. I slam my hand against the caged part, trying to put my hand through to unlock it but he just swats it away.

“Theo!”

“Go y/n!”

With that Mr Douglas grabs him by the throat and pins him to the wall. I don’t wait to see what happens. It was impossible for me to get the jump on him – he’d clearly been around much longer. I rush to the front door. From here, his back was turned to me. I could see warning in Theo’s eyes – telling me to stop, to run.

I wanted to, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t leave him the way he left me.

I grab a pipe off the floor and just as he draws his claws back, I stick it through his back. I knew it wouldn’t hold him for long – it definitely wouldn’t kill him.

But he let’s go of Theo and I grab him, dragging him outside. I could see him attacking the Ghost Rider; eating his brain or something. I watch in fear, holding Theo in my arms.

Once he’s done, he leaves through the back door – glaring at us both as though he’s marking us.

Theo pulls away from me and stands up. I follow behind him.

“Where are you going?” I call after him, slightly shaken up – I wanted to put a helmet on – I was that scared Mr Douglas would come back for my brain.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” he yells, turning to face me. He barges towards me, stopping inches from my face. His breathing was loud; heavy.

“W-what?” I frown. I wanted to move away from him but I don’t – the closeness feels safe.

“I told you to go, to run!”

“You needed help!” I yell back. How could he be mad at me for helping him?

“I don’t need your help!”

I roll my eyes and he grabs me by my shoulders, “Don’t you get it?!”

His eyes are so angry as he shakes me, “I DON’T DESERVE TO BE SAVED! I AM NOT WORTH SAVING! ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S MY LIFE OR YOURS!”

“Theo-“ I shake my head. I push his hands off me and his eyes widen.

“S-sorry – I didn’t mean to-“ he steps towards me and then back, hesitantly shifting from foot to foot, “I wasn’t trying to-“

“I know,” I nod, taking his face in my hands, “Look at me.”

He stands still, avoiding my eyes until I tilt his head.

“You are worth it. You’re worth saving.”