#I’m getting big fucking teeth and maybe also claws so I can rip them apart

[k1ngj0ve]

Remember that thing where Patrick Stewart said that Picard didn’t get body mods to keep from going bald in the high technology space future’ because in that utopian future no one would care that you’re bald?

Yeah :(

Tonight in ‘reddit headines that made me laugh’

[gogo-the-king]

Werewolf AU | Ymir x Reader | Fluff - One-Shot | 1.1 k Word count

Based off of @leonhardt-simp s Head cannon on 'Comforting a newly turned reader' (I hope it's good!)

CW: Blood ! Injury A/N: I'm not good at this. at all. so yeah um enjoy??? And I tried to make this as gender-neutral as possible so yeaaaah

“Ymir,” You groan, “I didn’t...I didn’t want this.” You had been touching your scars for half an hour, face scrunched up in your discontent. You were scared, angry, and so confused.

Ymir understood you because she wasn’t even born as a wolf. “You have some dope ass scars though.” You scoff at this, “Of course the scars are what you’re worried about,” you mumble. Ymir walked out of the kitchen with a pack of crackers in her hands, “Huh?” she popped a cracker into her mouth, “Sweetheart you act like I can change what happened!”

“Well, you can’t.” “Exactly, listen I’m gonna be here for you, especially with this.” Ymir takes her spot on the couch right next to you, “I have lived this,” Your hand slipped down into your lap, and Ymir holds it after some thought. “And I still am, so what am I going to do for my wonderful partner who’s going through the same thing?”

Ymir gives a gentle squeeze to your hand, “Support them every step of the way.” She smiles against your hand making you lean back into the cushions and sigh. “At least death spared me this time,” Ymir laughed at that, “See! That’s the spirit!”

Then you both sat in comfortable silence, Ymir the one to break it. “Now, there’s a full moon tomorrow and I wanted to be there for your first,” You winced at the news, you had forgotten about that. You had been too focused on your transformations in public that you had left out being forced to transform during the full moon.

“Is it going to hurt?” the brunette shook her head, “Not necessarily.”

“It’ll be very odd,” she starts, “You’ll very anxious, nausea is bound to happen, clothes might get uncomfortable too.”

“You might feel hot but also feel cold, want to be under blankets one second and then throw said blanket off the next,” Ymir went into fine details of what she feels during full moons. “BUT, and it’s a big but here, that’s just what I feel, so don’t think on it too hard.”

You just nodded, “God, this is gonna feel so weird.” You weren’t ready. At all. But Ymir was here with you so it wasn’t going to be all that bad.

“Do you have any favorites?” Maybe ask some questions, kill some time, distract yourself. “Spots I mean...In the forests?”

“Not really, never had time to take them in, I can barely remember them since I usually go on hunts with the others.”

Right. The others, you would have to meet up with them, but that was for another time. Think about it when the time finally comes around.

“And what about tomorrow?” “Eh?” “Tomorrow, when we go out?” Ymir chuckled and then frowned, “Sorry sweetheart, but I don’t think you’ll remember most of the night.” She sucked on her teeth and sneered at the empty air, “Damn wolf brain won’t let you, it would be a damn miracle if you do.”

“I do remember some of my first full moon!” She smiled at her first kills, thankfully she was on a full moon high so eating was on top of her list, fur and all. Ymir shivered as she remembered that she ate a rabbit whole but she was full and had a nice ten hours of sleep after so she couldn’t complain.

“We’ll just have to hope for the best, see what I can do!” Ymir wanted to grin ear to ear at your words, finally. Acceptance.

You would probably be so sore after tomorrow, you would hate that but Ymir would help you out

“My scars are probably gonna be so cool,” Ymir nodded in agreement, “With that big ass scratches hell yeah!”

“Your scars aren’t going to be covered in fur, with how big that wolf was, they probably destroyed most if not all of the hair follicles.”

When you had been running that night you had been thinking about your promotion, thinking about how much money you could bring in. How much you could provide for Ymir and yourself. As an added bonus you got to work from home unless you were called in for something important.

Running into those woods was both stupid and smart. You knew the damn place like the back of your hand so hopefully, you could make it to the cabins and have Pieck or one of the others help you out. And then the motherfucker had his damn claws on you, bit into your shoulder, and ripped apart your clothes, sealing your fate to live the rest of your life as one of them.

You screamed and kept screaming and then? You passed out, too much blood loss and a lack of oxygen made you too woozy.

Ymir was horrified when Pieck had called her. Annie was fucking livid, the Yaeger brothers stayed with you while you recovered until Ymir could take their place, the entire pack was furious when it had spread that you were attacked. You were good to them (too good) so naturally, most of them felt guilty for not being able to protect you even when you told them you knew better than to go out during the full moon.

You wanted to laugh for walking to a Mcdonald's at midnight. You had a working car but like an idiot, you hadn’t been paying attention to the moon and its cycle.

When Hange had that one on one talk with you about your injuries you knew it wouldn’t be good. They held themselves upright like everything was fine but as soon as they took off their glasses you could see it in their face. A mix of anger, sadness, and fear on their face, she couldn’t do anything but treat your wounds, keep you fed, and hope for the best.

You were silent on the outside but in your mind, it was so loud. You wanted to scream and be angry at the world but you couldn’t. Your stupid decision cost you a semi-regular life.

You sigh, “I’m gonna get a snack and head to bed, get my work done tomorrow…” You kept on mumbling about your plans leaving Ymir to pout about the lack of warmth. “No, come back,” Ymir had followed you, pouting like a child and wanting your attention. You give a warm smile, “Don’t worry, Dog-Breath, we can cuddle in a moment.”

You wince at the use of the name and it doesn't go unnoticed, “Oh goddammit.” Ymir bursts into laughter, you sighed as you realized Ymir could tease you like you did her. You had been doing that for years so you were in for a fair amount of jests and jabs.

[hpalways]

Yaksha’s Destiny || Xiao

DARKNESS was the biggest fear held by fellow Yakshas. This power bestowed upon you and many alike gave an opening to the pitting shadows that raged within your chambers. Some days, it wasn't as bad -- other days... it felt like you were getting ripped apart into shreds, taking in all your willpower to battle against it. It was tempting, to give in and call it quits. Life for a Yaksha wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. There were always too many demons and not enough heroes. Especially for a weaker one like you, anger and frustration would stem from these battles, only to eat at you later on. 

Today was one of those days. The sky was a stormy sea of clouds, with the Gods crying from the heaven above. Droplets prickled down your bare skin, cold to the touch. While in the mountainside, you had stumbled upon demonic energy, so there was no choice but to finish them off. 

Dodging the monster that lunged at you, you took out your polearm. The hydro vision on your hip gleamed brightly in the setting. Taking a turn, you could feel power surge to your arms. As you were about to jab your weapon into the demon's abdomen, they had ducked in time. Shit. You had underestimated this one.

Its body rammed into you, knocking you off your feet. Air left your system, causing you to groan in pain. Just as it was about to sink its teeth into your arm, you rolled over on one side and jumped back to your feet. Fingers clenching tightly around the metal stick, you pushed your hind legs and tried to stab at it another time. Your speed and reaction time was too slow. Too damn slow. Too damn weak. Gritting your teeth, you began to use up more of Yaksha's power, drinking the exhilarating taste of freedom. It was so addicting... often times, you'd wished it'd never stop. 

A burst of water shrouded from the weapon, circling the demon until it was surrounded. With one, clean fell swoop, you sliced the demon and the energy faded away. The deed was done. 

Falling to your knees, your entire body was shaking. Face contorted and in pain, nails dug into the earth to feel wet mud. Your body would not move -- it could not. Stilling there as if you had just been paralyzed, hungering thoughts plagued your mind... Thoughts you wished weren't yours. Letting out a disgusting whimper, similar to that of a wounded animal, you bit down on your lip, hard. Blood dribbled down your chin, painting the grass in crimson. Tugging at your mask, you stared at it for a moment. A sigh let out. 

That was a close one. Crashing to the ground, your chest heaved up and down in exhaustion. 

A figure suddenly entered your peripheral vision. Climbing up to the ridge of the mountain was Xiao, his dark teal locks blowing along with the harsh winds. Donned in his usual robes, he was as attractive as ever. The first time you stumbled upon him -- one of the famous five -- you nearly forgot to breathe. You had referred to him as Alatus then, starstrucked by such a powerful being. 

You would never not awed by him. The way he held himself would always come to remind you of the big gap in strength between the two of you. Maybe you did establish a relationship with this all-mighty Yaksha, but this inferiority complex was tugging your strings more than you'd like to admit. 

At the same time, he provided you the distraction needed. He kept you grounded, which prevented you from going mad. He was the only one who made you feel human, if that was even possible. 

Golden amber hues landed on you, withholding an unreadable expression. He walked up to your beaten up form and sat down, unbothered by the rain. Struggling to get yourself into a sitting position, you looked out at the view in front. 

"You used up too much of your power again," he murmured. 

"Do you think I don't know that? I had no choice," you sighed. 

His sharp eyes narrowed further. "You were being careless."

"It happened. There's nothing I can do to change it." His anger barely dwindled and the scowl only deepened. "Come on, Xiao. I don't want to talk about my mistakes when I'm with you. Busy as we are, I barely get to see you as of late. Can't we just enjoy our brief time together?"

That got him. His eyes softened at your words and he reluctantly nodded in agreement. Seizing the victory, you laid your head on his shoulder, feeling warmth even upon this cold weather. The rain was starting to let down too -- perhaps Xiao was the lucky charm.

"What have you been up to?" you inquired. 

"Demons. Monsters. The usual," he responded. His cheeks tinged with a soft pink all of a sudden. "I... I also got you something."

Your ears perked up at the sound of this. Lifting your head, you watched him in curiosity. He took something out from his robe pockets and slowly opened his palm. Laying there was a blue, glowing object. Shaped as a butterfly, it was gorgeous. You had never seen this kind of butterfly around these parts. He must have traveled far to have found it. 

"It's a crystalfly," he mumbled, averting his eyes in embarrassment. Your heart raced at his actions. He was too cute. Before meeting him, you could have never imagined the Vigilant Yaksha to possess such qualities. "I saw it and... thought it would look good in your hair."

"Oh, I love it. Thank you," you whispered breathlessly, touched beyond words. This was exactly what you meant with how Xiao could easily brush your problems away with a smile.

Before you could stop yourself, you leaned in and kissed his lips. They were soft as petal leaves. He returned the gesture immediately, arms wrapped around you in a warm embrace. Digging your fingers into his hair, you kissed with a ferocity that was never present in your fights. This was to release the pain you dealt with today. As long Xiao was here, you were going to be okay. As long as he was by your side, you were going to be okay. This era of demons and gods will end someday, leaving you a happy future with him. 

You tasted him. His lips. His mouth. His entire self. He tasted of mint. He tasted of life. He tasted of iron. The kind of metal tang found in blood. Sighs were exchanged upon each kiss, breathless but the two of you would not let the other go. Your lips trailed down to his jaw, peppering his baby-soft skin with a few nibbles here and there. He let out a gasp. 

Finally you pulled away, giggling at his flustered state for your bold moves. 

The end was nearing. He picked up the crystal fly and reached up to your [h/c] hair. While he gently pinned it down, you could only focus on his swollen lips. He was beautiful... and you loved him so. 

"[Y/N]," he said, interrupting the honey silence of the mountains. "If you are ever in trouble, just call my name and I will come to you. In any circumstance, avoid overusing your power."

This bliss that left you giddy disappeared as quick as it came. All that remained was the harsh, cruel reality. Brows knitted together in offense and you quickly shook your head. "Why would I do that? I'm a Yaksha. What kind of Yaksha seeks help from another? This wounds my pride, Xiao. Is your faith in my skill and strength that low?"

"No. That's not it," he argued, features twisted in desperation. "Why won't you let me protect you?"

"Unbelievable," you merely scoffed, staggering up to stand. "I have to go. I'm sure you do too."

Ignoring his blubbering protests, you jumped down upon ledges until you reached ground level safely. He didn't understand what you had to go through. He never had to face judgement from those who didn't believe in you. Strong enough to battle the demons both externally and internally, Xiao was different from you. But even so... even if his words meant that he only cared for you, it hurt like you had been just stabbed. 

You were willing to prove to him that you could stand on your own feet. He was going to eat his own words. So would the other Yakshas who looked down on you your entire life. If you trained hard enough, surely improvement could be gained. Right? It wasn't as if destiny could determine what you could accomplish already. 

Approaching the forest that was said to contain many strong demons and monsters, you surged ahead, with eyes filled of challenge. 

There, sitting in a nook was a cave, Sensing a suffocating presence, you knew you had hit a jackpot. Sneaking across the grassy lands, you stayed silent. The tall, towering trees were beginning to look a lot more ominous. Tiptoeing to the edge of the cave, you peered in to find the energy unbearably strong. One staggering breath later and you went forward. A roar let out, signaling that it knew of its intruder. Shoulders tensed up and sweat beaded your forehead, but you couldn't stop now. No matter what, you were going to go through with it. 

It was a beast. Fangs gleamed in the darkness, nearly the size of your weapon. Having woken from its slumber, its terrifying eyes landed on you. Claws swiped the air, which you barely avoided in time. Fear had seized you with a hand, choking you until you could barely move. This was a terrible, foolish move. There was no way you could beat such a demon. 

Calling in more power, it filled you up at the core. To waste no time, you delved right into battle, slashing at the monster. It had little to none effect on it. With a lazy swipe of its arm, it slammed you right into the cave's walls, causing you to spit out blood. Pushing yourself up, you tried again, putting in more power to your weapon. Adding hydro to the mix, the weapon hit its arms. It caused the monster to roar in pain, but that only made it more angry. Barreling straight to you, similar but much more frightening than the last demon, it pounced on you, pinning you down to the ground. 

Drool left its mouth, splattering all over on your face. Its claws dug into your side and you let out a piercing scream. You were so fucking sick of this shit. Why was it destined that you had to stay weak? It was so unfair you wished to cry your heart out. 

The last of the powers was used. Pushing the demon's hold on you, you stumbled up and felt thrill run through. It was delicious, but your mind was also beginning to grow hazy. "X-Xiao..." you uttered out. 

The Conqueror of Demons arrived as soon as you called, anxious to apologize for his insensitivity. What he didn't expect to see was a battlefield. A large and strong demon was torn apart to pieces, the iron smell of it so strong, it was gagworthy. Sitting on the pile of bones was you, dark, gruesome scratches decorating your arms and legs. A deep gash was bleeding from your torso and your [e/c] eyes were dimmed; at the same time, they held a crazed look in them. 

His face paled and his body grew cold at the sight. You did the thing he last wanted to happen. Already too far in and consumed by the darkness surrounding your whole life, you were looking at him not with love, but with bloodlust. "I'll kill you, Xiao!" you screamed at the top of your lungs. 

Climbing down, you tried to run to him. But your footsteps halted and you crashed to the ground. Spazzing out as if you had just been electrocuted by lightning, the Vigilant Yaksha slowly approached you, tears streaming down the side of his face. He kneeled down, cradling your head in his lap. "Don't leave me..." He hit the ground in fury. "Dammit! Why didn't you listen to me!?"

Consciousness returned but you were on the brink of death. The wound was deep, but so were the demons. It was raining again, so you forced a small smile out. "I'm weak. It's my fate," you whispered. "At least I won't have to suffer through this darkness any longer. It's over. I quit. You won, my demons. I am yours to keep."

"Shut your mouth," he snarled. The rain had turned into a storm, adding fury into the mix. "Please. You can make it through this. Don't leave me yet. It was going to get better. An era with no more demons to haunt us. You said so yourself." 

"That was just a stupid dream."

"Don't fucking say that," he growled, flinching as if he'd just been slapped. You were supposed to be the optimist here. It meant that this death was real... and that you would accept it with open arms. "It's going to happen. So hold on. Let me find someone to save you."

Your head shook and you winced. "We all learned this since young. We'll die if we let our power consume us. It's impossible and you know it."

"Stop," he choked out, lowering his head until his hair covered his broken expression. "Then don't talk. Save your breath."

You ignored his words. "Thank you... for the crystalfly. Does it look pretty on me?" you murmured.

He heaved out a sob and slowly nodded. "I've never seen anyone more beautiful."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"And I'm sorry."

"I am too."

"Protect... the people... like you always do, my sweet, Vigilant Yaksha." Your voice grew more raspy by the second, for the pain was getting unbearable. 

You fluttered your eyes shut and the pain faded. On the other hand, Xiao's pain grew, the scars and trauma there to haunt him, for a life and infinity.

[seasonofthewicth]

A Groovy Kind of Love - Epilogue

AN: It’s here... THE END!!! I’m almost sad to finish this fic off but I have absolutely loved writing it. Thank you so much to everyone who reblogged/commented/sent asks or spoke to me about this fic it means so much to me and I really appreciate you!!

warning: adult content ahead

previous chapter - masterlist - ao3

-- 

~1 year later~

“You need to rip the band-aid right off.”

Rowan could barely hold in his sigh at Lorcan’s pronouncement. He shared a look with Aedion who looked as baffled as Rowan felt. 

“What the fuck?” Aedion shook his head. “This is not the kind of thing you just ‘rip off’.”

“How do you have a girlfriend?” Fenrys’ bewildered voice came from Rowan’s side. 

Lorcan shrugged, unbothered by each of their reactions. “Don’t mess around. Just ask her, simple. Then it’s done.”

“Gods, above,” Rowan muttered. 

“I should never have asked you three, I should have gone to Aelin. Or even Dorian.” Aedion sighed before clasping his hands in front of himself. “Okay, serious suggestions only.”

“That was a serious suggestion.” Lorcan said, not attempting to hide his indignation. 

Aedion ignored him. “Fenrys go.”

The golden haired male took a moment to consider, barely holding back from stroking his chin as he considered the prompt. Of all of them, Fenrys had been in a relationship for the shortest amount of time, he and Dorian had only declared their relationship a few months earlier, even though Rowan knew things had been brewing for far longer. 

It was strange to think that all four of them were in committed relationships, especially as they all still lived in what had been the bachelor pad of their first apartment together.

Rowan would never admit it out loud, but he felt sentimental to the old loft, even with it’s broken window and ever leaking shower. The draughty exposed brick would always remind him of the parkour phase Aedion and Fenrys had gone through not long after they had moved in. They had taken every opportunity they could to throw themselves around the loft without any kind of skill and they had only stopped after their neighbour complained of unexplained banging noises.

The red stain on the hardwood floor, now covered by a blue bean bag chair, would always remind him of the time Aedion had brought home a girl who had–for reasons still unknown to Rowan–thrown a bottle of red wine at his head. None of them had bothered to clean the stain, in fact Lorcan had posed for a photo with it and Fenrys had framed it on their refrigerator where it had stayed for years. 

His main memory of their loft however, would always be their front door. The slab of wood, with it’s peeling grey paint and the lock that often stuck shut unless it was jiggled just so, would always remind him of Aelin. Rowan knew he wore a ridiculously soft smile at the thought, but he would always be grateful for the loft for bringing him to Aelin. Or more accurately, for bringing Aelin to him.

He swallowed the sly smirk that threatened at the memory of the time he had taken her against the door. She had wrapped her long legs around his waist as he had pounded into her and her nails had clawed his back as she had moaned in his ear. He had buried his teeth into her neck, savouring the salty and sweet taste of her skin on his tongue. He hadn’t been able to leave the loft without getting semi-hard for weeks. 

“What are your first memories of Lysandra?” Fenrys asked eventually, somehow pulling Rowan’s thoughts from Aelin. It was a difficult task, even over a year into their relationship Rowan was still completely enamoured. “If you want to go big you could do something to do with that, girls love sappy shit.”

Rowan smiled as Lorcan nodded solemnly, finally appearing to take Aedion’s request for help seriously. His best friend seemed to consider the suggestion, crossing his arms over his broad chest and surveying the three of them where they sat before him. 

“That could work.” He said slowly. 

“Great.” Fenrys grinned. “We need to brainstorm. What are your big moments with Lysandra? Like when did you and Lys first meet?”

Aedion shrugged again. “I knew of her for years through Aelin but I only remember meeting her properly when Aelin moved in.”

Fenrys’ enthusiasm was rapidly gaining momentum. “Right, and any special memories from then? Any big gestures you could make as a throwback?”

Aedion’s eyes widened before a burst of laughter sprung from his lips. Rowan shared a look with Lorcan who shrugged. 

“I told her I’d marry her then,” Aedion said, shaking his head and running a hand through his shoulder length hair. 

“What?” Rowan barked his disbelief.

“You’re not serious.” Even Fenrys seemed bewildered.

Aedion only laughed again. “I said ‘girl, imma marry you’.”

Rowan groaned as he lifted a hand to cup his forehead before dragging it down over his eyes. 

“You’re no better than him.” Fenrys said with a shake of his head as he gestured to Lorcan who did nothing but smirk back at him. 

Aedion flipped him off. “I don’t come close to his level of inadequacy, at least I can actively take steps towards relationship milestones. Have you even brought up moving in with Elide to her yet?”

Lorcan scowled, before muttering, “don’t change the subject.”

Aedion took a sharp intake of breath, reading himself to speak, and Rowan dragged his hand away from his eyes. There wasn’t time to let those two get into it.

“Not to in any way agree with Lorcan but I think he could have a point,” He said quickly. “You love her and want to marry her, tell her that. Down on one knee with the ring, I doubt she’d say no.”

Rowan knew his words were the truth. He had known Aedion for a decade now and he had never seen his best friend as smitten as he was with Lysandra, nor had he seen him so secure. Aedion and Lysandra played off each other, she settled him and he excited her. 

Rowan knew Lysandra would say yes but he understood Aedion’s need to over-prepare. While it was standard for Aedion to mull over the details, his mind was one for strategy and weighing-up the risks and it was part of what made him so good at his job, and Rowan knew that while this wasn’t a risk, it was important to his friend to get it right.

Proposing to Aelin was a thought that had drifted around the edges of Rowan’s mind for a while. From the start Rowan had known Aelin was it for him and he knew he wanted to marry her at some point in the future but the pressure of how to do it right, the way to make it right for Aelin was a task he knew he’d work hard on. 

He knew Aelin would say yes even if he asked her over a mouthful of food at their kitchen counter but he also knew that she was a princess at heart with a taste for finery and he wanted to spoil her. It was a luxury in itself for Rowan that he could. Since taking over the bar, even with the large loan he had taken out, his bank account had a healthy level of cushioning that he loved using to take Aelin for weekends away or to fancy restaurants. 

There was a savings account that he and Aelin threw money into every month for whenever they felt ready to move out of the loft, but there was also a separate savings account that Aelin was unaware of that Rowan was saving for something shiny. 

“Thanks,” Aedion said, shaking himself somewhat. Rowan nodded, amused at the level of detail and reassurance Aedion appeared to need.

“You need to relax,” Fenrys’ chimed in, voicing Rowan’s thoughts aloud. “You’re overthinking it.”

“He’s right.” Rowan swallowed. “Just tell her the truth. Tell her you love her, how much you want to spend the rest of your life with her and how much she makes you smile every day. Tell her how you want to be eighty and still holding her hand, or how you hate the thought of going a single day without her.”

“Gods,” Fenrys scoffed as Lorcan snickered. “You’re making me want to marry you.”

Rowan narrowed his eyes. “You’re welcome to take notes.”

“Thanks, but I don’t need to.”

“Really? Not thinking of getting down on one knee for Dorian?”

Fenrys smirked. “I get on my knees for Dorian plenty, but no.”

“Why not?” Rowan asked, ignoring the comment and daring to bite, knowing he’d likely regret it.

“He’ll be the one proposing to me,” Fenrys explained as if it were obvious.

Rowan laughed, Aedion and Lorcan’s laughter echoing his own.

“I don’t know why you’re laughing,” Fenrys turned to Lorcan. “Your proposal skills need some serious work.”

Lorcan shrugged, unfazed as ever. “Maybe I’ll let Elide propose to me too.”

Rowan snickered at the image of the tiny woman on one knee before his giant of a friend. He sobered when he paused to consider it, Elide probably was the kind of woman who could propose to Lorcan, she had him wrapped completely around her little finger. 

“I can see it.”

“She takes what she wants, it’s hot.”

Rowan laughed again. “You could take her name too, Lorcan Lochan has a good ring to it.”

Fenrys’ howl of laughter from his side brought a grin to Rowan’s lips as he looked to his friend who’s eyes darkened at the ribbing. 

“Lorcan Lochan,” Aedion repeated through a laugh. “Please, I’d pay money to see it.”

Rowan smiled as his friends continued their teasing and his mind wandered through the possibilities. Aelin had a number of surnames already but he quite liked the sound of Rowan Whitethorn Galathynius. 

-- 

“You are not allowed to move in here.”

The panic in Lysandra’s green eyes as she hurtled around the corner was almost comical. 

“Why not? What’s wrong?” She demanded.

Aelin ran a thoughtful finger along the sleek, oak mantelpiece admiring each of the twisting lines running through the wood. To the side of the fireplace sat a tall window, letting in plenty of warm daylight that reflected off the shining hardwood floors and crept into each of the corners of the large room. The archway Lysandra stood under led to the open plan kitchen-diner with it’s sleek marble countertops and extended dining table that could seat their whole group of friends. 

“If you move in here I’ll be too jealous.”

Lysandra slumped in relief, leaning a shoulder against the archway as she smiled. “He’s done well.”

“I didn’t know Aedion had this in him,” Aelin said with a snort and Lysandra waved a hand. 

“He has spent months putting it together,” her friend admitted and Aelin smirked. 

“How much did he let you choose?”

Lysandra winced. “It was fifty-fifty.”

Aelin waited. 

“Forty-sixty.”

Aelin only cocked her head as she waited a moment longer. 

“I won’t go any lower than thirty-five. And I picked the paint for the bathroom walls.”

Aelin’s poker face cracked at her friend’s admission. She knew her cousin wanted their house to be perfect but he had taken his attention to detail to the extreme. The number of interior design magazines that were littering the coffee table in the loft was well into double figures and Aelin had been dragged on multiple trips to a number of shops to offer her opinion on almost identical shades of paint and patterned wallpapers. Lysandra had been content to sit back and let her boyfriend take the reins, confident that Aedion would choose well. 

He had. The house was beautiful, and the dedication her cousin had offered was obvious. Each room had a multitude of tiny details that revealed the love Aedion had poured into the house, in the kitchen it was the large window that overlooked their garden, offering a glance at the wildlife that flocked to the numerous native plants Aedion had selected. In the living room it was the stuffed bookshelves, housing almost anything from Aedion’s old college textbooks to Lysandra’s abundance of romance novels. 

Aelin’s favourite was the study her cousin had decorated for Lysandra to house her newly developed modelling agency. Lysandra had chosen more recently to take a step away from posing in front of the camera and had opted to manage a small group of models. The office was bright and welcoming, with splashes of soft green accents that suited Lysandra. The office sat next door to a room that was carefully neutral, but Aelin knew it wouldn’t take much work for it to be converted into a nursery. 

Aelin took another glance around the living room they stood in, Aedion had truly curated a home. She could see herself and Rowan curled up on the loveseat in the corner with Aedion on the armchair by the fire and Lysandra perched in his lap. She could hear the sounds of Fenrys rummaging through their fridge as Lorcan barked orders from his space on the sofa. 

Aelin was going to miss having them all under one roof, even if it meant her and Rowan having the loft to themselves. But she knew that as quiet as the loft would feel without the others, she was excited to make the space their own. And to get some much awaited privacy. 

Lysandra watched her with knowing eyes as she surveyed the space. “You’ll all be welcome any time to come and visit.” 

Lysandra plopped down onto the plush couch, a soft sigh escaping her lips as she settled into the pliant cushions. Aelin took the seat opposite, throwing her feet onto the footstool set carefully in front of the sofa. 

“Just make sure your doors are locked at night, I think Fenrys could take your open door policy a little too liberally.”

Lysandra shook her head. “I’m not sure Aedion would mind, he’ll pretend he won’t but he’ll miss having the guys around. He’ll give them all a key.”

“What about me?” Aelin gasped, pressing a dramatic hand to her chest. Lysandra rolled her eyes as she settled further into their couch, it was an agreement that didn’t need to be stated that Aelin would get her own key to the new house. “I’m glad you’re not living with Blackbeak anymore.”

Lysandra’s eyes stayed shut as she laughed. “She’s really not that bad. You’d know if you ever bothered to get to know her the entire time I lived with her.”

“Lys, she’s awful. She’d strut about as if she was the queen or something whenever I came around. Making sly comments to… I don’t know,” Aelin waved a hand, searching for the words. “Assert her dominance or something.”

Lysandra cracked her eyes open to level Aelin with an unimpressed stare. “And you wouldn’t?”

Aelin shrugged, whatever displays she and Manon had put on were in the past. Hopefully she’d never have to see the scarily beautiful woman again. “I’m your best friend, I don’t need to try and posture.”

Lysandra grinned. “And yet you do anyway.”

Aelin stuck her tongue out at her friend, knowing the comment was too true to justify a middle finger. Her phone buzzed in her lap, signifying the text Aelin had been waiting for.

I’m 5 minutes away.

Aelin fought to keep her face neutral as she tucked the phone back into the pocket of her jeans and stood from her comfortable seat on the couch. 

“You’re leaving?”

Aelin nodded, “Rowan just texted, he needs help with something at the bar.” A lie. “Meet us there later after the delivery has come?”

A serious invitation hidden within a number of half truths.

Lysandra dipped her head in a nod as Aelin swept to the front door, calling out her parting words as she did.

Once out the front door she allowed her smile to break through and it widened again as she spotted her cousin walking up the path in front of her. Aedion wore a shirt, and his golden hair was carefully styled. He was practically vibrating with excitement as he approached her.

“Good luck,” she whispered, not wanting to ruin the surprise.

“I don’t need it.” Aedion flashed an easy grin before wrapping one arm easily around her. “Thanks, Ae.”

Aelin drew back soon after. “Don’t make us wait too long to see you guys.”

Aedion only smirked.

“Gross,” Aelin couldn’t help screwing her eyes shut before turning away to make her exit. She flashed her cousin a final thumbs up as she got into her car and headed to where she knew she would find her boyfriend.

— 

Rowan hadn’t changed much when he had taken over the bar, but what he had changed made it even more enjoyable. The first thing he had done was replace the ancient jukebox in the corner, he had replaced the jukebox with one that didn’t need to be turned off and on again every fifteen songs and had updated some of the music in its catalogue. 

Each of their loft-mates had been allowed to offer suggestions for the updated library and Rowan had criticised every single one, his own music taste leaned into older rock songs Aelin had never heard, but the choices had all made their way in there anyway. 

All apart from Lysandra’s only half-joking suggestion of a best-of-boy-bands compilation. That suggestion had received a hard no.

One of Lorcan’s choices, some alternative track with lots of drums, was playing as she made her way to the small office in the back corner of the bar. She nodded at the bartender who nodded back with a soft smile. He was a young man called Luca and he had been recommended by Malakai upon his exit. Aelin liked him, he was young and sweet but competent enough to make a mean drink.

She pushed through the door to the office and smiled as she took in the sight of her boyfriend. Even just the sight of him made her smile, and he smiled back as he dropped the papers he held. 

Aelin flopped into Rowan’s lap, looping her arms around his neck as he leant in to kiss her. Even the softest brush of his lips against her own loosened every muscle in her body.

“Hey,” he murmured against her lips, unable to resist pressing another kiss to them. 

“Hi.”

“Missed you.”

Rowan shared comments like that with a regularity that made her heart squeeze. Each one brought a kernel of warmth to her chest. 

“You saw me this morning.”

“And?” His gaze was unwavering, and his sincerity made Aelin bite her lip. 

“Everything all set for Aedion and Lysandra?” He asked smoothly. 

“I left just as he arrived,” Aelin confirmed.

Rowan ran a gentle hand up and down her side as he spoke. “I’ll be relieved when it’s over and he’s finally asked her. I can’t give any more thought to the best way to propose to Lysandra.”

Aelin snorted as she pressed a kiss to his temple. She loved that her friends and family were all so intertwined. “He’s nervous, give him a break.”

“Why?” Rowan asked. “She’ll obviously say yes.”

Aelin cocked an eyebrow. “And you wouldn’t be nervous if you were proposing to the love of your life?”

Rowan shrugged. “Nope. I’m sure she’ll be very lovely and not at all scary. I’d have no doubt in my mind she’d say yes.”

She pinched the skin of his bicep and he hissed a laugh through his teeth. 

“I can go if you need to find someone sweet.”

Aelin made to move off his lap but his hands tightened around her. “Don’t you dare.”

He skimmed his nose around her hairline, brushing the gentlest of kisses to her ear. A soft gasp crossed her lips at the sensation. Aelin leaned into the warmth of his hands at her hips and the touch of his lips at her neck as she turned to survey his desk. 

“Working hard?” She asked playfully and Rowan buried his face in her neck and groaned. She ignored the heat that stirred in her at the sound and laughed as she petted his hair. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Invoicing is the worst. I have no idea how Malakai did it all on his own for so long, I don’t know how I haven’t made a catastrophic error yet.” Her boyfriend’s eyes widened. “Would I know if I had?”

Aelin laughed. Rowan worked hard and Aelin was confident he was handling the management of the bar well even if Rowan himself wasn’t. Financially there were no problems, the re-branding that had taken place after Rowan had assumed ownership had managed to attract a number of new regulars as well as large numbers of casual visitors that kept the bar easily filled with patrons. 

One night, not long after Rowan had signed the papers giving him majority ownership, Fenrys had suggested a weekly karaoke night. The idea had started out as a joke until Elide had brought her tiny karaoke machine one evening and the bar had ended up packed with people cheering others on, so much so that Rowan had invested in a proper system and every Thursday hosted a karaoke night. 

“Anything I can do to make it easier?” Aelin asked, scratching her nails against Rowan’s scalp. 

He groaned again at the sensation and this time it was harder to ignore the heat stirring in her core. He looked up to her, his fingers curling more tightly around her hips, as his tongue darted out to moisten his lower lip. 

“Do you know anything about accounting?”

Aelin laughed again. 

“Absolutely not, but I know a lot about relieving stress.” She shifted where she sat in his lap, making sure to grind her backside against his groin. “And I have many techniques that I know are effective in releasing pressure.”

Rowan let out a deep, throaty sound at her words, pulling her hips down as he leant in to kiss her neck. 

The start of their relationship had been a blur of passion. About a month into their relationship Aedion had attempted an intervention when he had walked in on them in a state of undress for the third time in a week, and Aelin loved that it hadn’t faded. She wanted Rowan every single time she was so much as in the same room as him, and even when she wasn’t. 

Aelin tugged at the silver strands of Rowan’s hair as he trailed hot, wet kisses down her throat. She gasped as he scraped his teeth down across her jawline to nip lightly at her pulse point. She shifted impatiently in his lap and tugged his face up by his hair to press her lips to his.

His tongue caressed her lower lip and she eagerly opened to let him lick into her mouth. Each stroke of his tongue set her skin on fire and it wasn’t long until she was writhing in his lap.

“We don’t have long until the others are due.” Rowan slid his face back down to her neck, unable to draw his lips away from her skin. 

“We have enough time if we’re quick.” Aelin heard the desperation in her voice, and Rowan did too if the way he rocked her across his lap was any indication. 

“I don’t want to rush,” He said, his voice a low growl in his throat. “I want to take my time with you.”

“And you can.” Aelin pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “Later. First let me be quick with you.”

Aelin stood off his lap and Rowan moaned his disappointment until she leaned back in to caress her hand over the bulge in his jeans. His head rolled back as his eyes fluttered shut and his hips jerked into her hand. 

Aelin loved having Rowan at her mercy like this, usually he was the one who liked to take his time and watch her fall apart under his teeth and tongue until she was shaking and gasping his name, but Aelin loved to take care of him too. 

She slid to her knees between his thighs and ran her hands up the thick muscles she felt straining against the desire to take her. She knew they didn’t have long so she wasted no time before unzipping his jeans and sliding a hand beneath. 

Rowan’s head fell backwards against the back of his chair as her hand dipped into his boxers. Aelin bit her lip at the feeling of him, already hard and heavy in her hand. She gave a few pumps of her hand, enjoying the catch in his throat as she did, before tugging him out of his trousers. 

Aelin trailed her hand along the length before wrapping her hand tighter and twisting slightly the way she knew he liked, enjoying the way his hips jerked off the chair slightly. She pressed her free hand to his hip, holding him in place as she leaned in to run her tongue up from his base to tip. At the first touch of her tongue his hips jerked forward and his hand slid into her hair.

“Easy,” She chided with a wicked smile. Aelin loved the way he reacted to her, the slightest touch would have him solid beneath her and kissing her forcefully the way she liked.

Rowan brushed his free hand along her cheek, before tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear. 

“Beautiful,” He murmured, his voice low and thick with arousal. Aelin smiled up at him as she worked her hand again, and she let her gaze fall to where she held him, enjoying the contrast of her red nail polish against his skin.

He let out a curse under his breath as she leant in to press hot, open-mouthed kisses along his considerable length. His hand twisted more securely into her hair as she took him fully into her mouth, using her hand to work the base. He didn’t force her head, which she appreciated, but she loved the feeling of his hand holding her to him as she moved. 

Aelin felt her eyes flutter shut, she loved doing this for Rowan, it made her feel sexy and the sounds he made were hotter than anything.

“Fuck,” He hissed. “You look so good like that.”

Aelin moaned, breathing in deeply through her nose as she bobbed her head. She loved how vocal Rowan was, how he would curse her name and anything he could think of as she worked her mouth around him. 

She pulled back to press her tongue right under the tip, the way she knew sent him wild, and she was rewarded with a sharp thrust of his hips. She looked up to him finding his deep green eyes blown with lust as she swallowed around him. She read the question in his eyes and nodded as best as she could. 

Rowan let out a groan. “Gods, I love you.”

His thumb trailed the corner of her lips as they stretched around him before sliding to join his other in her hair. Aelin moaned as he began to fuck her mouth, lifting his hips in a torturously slow rhythm that had Aelin grinding her hips against the air. 

His pace increased as his hands twisted more tightly into her hair. Aelin moaned around his cock and he hissed a breath at the sensation. She slid her free hand down into her own jeans, matching her own strokes with Rowan’s thrusts and it wasn’t long until she felt her own climax building. 

“Aelin,” Rowan cursed. “Oh, fuck.” 

His eyes screwed shut tightly as his hips stuttered, Aelin moaned her permission as she stroked herself even faster. She was close, and the pulling of her hair combined with the hard thrusts into her mouth, timed perfectly with her own fingers, sent her quickly to a climax. Rowan’s hips jerked as he groaned, his head tipping to the side as he gasped her name. 

“Gods.” His chest heaved as his jaw strained. “Fuck, Aelin I-I’m close.”

Aelin met his gaze and offered a shallow dip of her chin. Rowan clenched his jaw and screwed his eyes shut, each muscle in his powerful body straining beneath the touch of her tongue.

He spilled into her mouth with a groan, and Aelin swallowed around him, allowing her tongue to coax him along. He gave a few final shallow thrusts as he settled back into his chair, his eyes blinking open slowly to meet her own. 

Aelin slid her hand out of her trousers as she drew her lips off him. She tucked his still half-hard cock back into his jeans and stood to press her lips to his, revelling in the blissed out expression on his handsome face. She crawled back onto his lap as his breathing evened out. 

Finally, he blinked his eyes open and brought her hand to his lips to press a kiss to her fingers. 

“You’re phenomenal, thank you,” He said, his voice still breathy. “But you did my job for me.”

Aelin smiled at the disappointed tone in his voice before she pressed her lips to his once more. “You can make it up to me later.” 

He cocked a brow in a way that she knew meant he wanted to splay her out on this desk and taste her the way she had tasted him, but at that moment her phone chose to buzz. The second signal of the day. 

“We have to go,” She said, beginning to slide off his lap. “We have a pair of fiancés to congratulate.” 

Rowan grinned, a crooked flash of his teeth. “How long, do you think, until he asks me to be his best man?”

“I think he’ll ask Lorcan.” 

“Right,” He grinned. “And Manon Blackbeak will be Lysandra’s maid of honour I assume.”

“That’s not funny.”

“It’s a little bit funny.”

“I think you’d prefer me being the maid of honour to your best man, much more than Manon. If it’s Manon your night won’t end up like today.”

He cocked a brow. 

“You know, it’s tradition for the best man and maid of honour to hook-up in the bathroom and Manon would bite your dick off before she blew you.”

The fear in Rowan’s eyes drew a cackle from her chest. 

“Don’t worry,” She patted his cheek with a hand before fully rising to her feet. “I’d protect you from the evil witch.”

Rowan smiled as she pulled him to his feet. 

“And then I’d definitely blow you in the bathroom.”

“You’re filthy.”

“You love it.”

Rowan nodded, a sincere light in his eyes. “I do.”

He slung his arm around her shoulders as they made their way out into the main part of the bar to discover their friends already gathered in a booth. Lysandra sat in the center as Elide examined the sparkling diamond now gracing her left hand, Lorcan frowned at the same ring and Aelin barely managed to conceal her snort at the sight. She was sure Lorcan would get there someday, but she’d enjoy his discomfort in the meantime. 

Aelin snuck out from under Rowan’s arm to throw her own around Aedion and Lysandra, unintelligibly cooing her congratulations and excitement. It was almost hard to believe sometimes, that her cousin and her best friend were together and now getting married. 

“Nice of you to join us,” Fenrys snarked as she released her friend and collapsed onto Rowan’s lap. Aelin flipped him off, despite the wide grin she wore. 

“We were barely late, we had things to finish off.”

Aedion winced as Lysandra and Fenrys cackled. Rowan hid his smile in her shoulder but she could feel his body shaking with laughter beneath her.

“Tell us more about these things you were finishing off Aelin.” Elide had a wicked glint in her eye.

“Please don’t.” Aedion sounded pained and even Lorcan grinned. 

The booth was filled with her friends and roommates and Aelin wasn’t complaining as Rowan slung his arm around her waist, holding her tightly to his chest. Aelin pressed both of her palms to the table as she surveyed the group. 

“I propose a toast,” she said. “To the happy couple.” 

She made a gesture to Luca who flashed her a thumbs up and immediately made to collect enough glasses for the group. 

“On the house I hope,” Lorcan quipped as Luca brought over a couple of bottles of champagne.

“When do any of you pay for drinks in here?” Rowan questioned as the group laughed. 

Aelin leaned back into Rowan and lifted her glass in a toast. The sounds of her friends bickering wasn’t enough to damper the happiness she felt for Aedion and Lysandra, and the old Phil Collins song playing on the jukebox only added to the contentment she felt sitting in Rowan’s lap surrounded by her friends. 

--

tags:

@jesstargaryenqueen

@maybekindasortaace

@slytheringalathynius

@http-itsrebecca

@morganofthewildfire

@in-love-with-caramel-macchiato

@fictional-horan

@dressedindustandshadows

@sleeping-and-books

@perseusannabeth

@ireallyshouldsleeprn

@superspiritfestival

@spyofthenightcourt

@jlinez

@queen-of-glass

@booknerdproblems

@sjmships

@elriel4life

@bamchickawowow

@woollycat22

@claralady

@SHINYA-HIIRAGI

@fangirlprincess09

@darlinminds

@thenerdandfandoms

@danibutterr

@inthecityair

@autophobiaxx

@imaginedhaven

@endlessdaydream - I’m having an issue with this tag not sure why :(

@rowaelinismyotp​

Thank you!

[falcor-thee-luck-dragon]

Klaus x Powered Reader

Summary: Reader is part of the umbrella academy but came when they were 12 due to parents needing help for them, ya know controlling powers and whatnot. They can shapeshift into any animal and their senses are heightened n such.

Warnings: bloody, fighting bad guys, bit of Klaus fluff

You know that moment in a movie where they freeze frame and then the character says something like “you’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.”

Yeah with Klaus you have those moments more times then you could count. In fact, if you had a dollar for every time Klaus has gotten you into a freeze frame moment. (And you’ve thought about this often.)

You could probably afford a real nice apartment with actual food in its fridge. Instead of living at the Academy with some apples and Klaus’ latest alcoholic beverage.

But alas, here you are in a back alley as Klaus’ bodyguard waiting for some Italian mafia members to come get their money that he owes them. Well that’s what you’re assuming but Klaus insists they’re just some moody tough guys. Okay sure.

You watch Klaus as he paces back and forth in front of you counting his cash for about the 50th time in the past 10 minutes.

Klaus stops abruptly and turns to you with a smile, “You know what I love about you, Y/N, every time I think things could get worse I look at your pretty face and I know you got me.”

Sighing in knowing annoyance you look up at him, “Are you short.”

Klaus snorts, “No actually I’m pretty long.” He says with wink.

You look up to the sky trying not to crack, you couldn’t give him the satisfaction even if it was funny, not the time or place. Especially considering his dumbass is short some cash he definitely owes very soon.

You look over to Klaus again and raise an eyebrow.

“Alright how much?”

He twiddles is fingers while avoiding your curious gaze. “Oh you know...a couple hundred or so.”

“So that’s why I’m here, emotional support my ass”, You say rolling your eyes a bit amused nonetheless.

Klaus may be an idiot but he’s funny and kind and you love him. Also you do enjoy beating up gangsters or whoever these thugs of the hour are.

Folding your arms while giving Klaus a smirk you tell him, “Well your friends better get their asses here cause when they do. I’m gonna knock their teeth in for making us wait in this shit ally. I’ve been suppressing the urge to vomit for 10 minutes.”

He nods in agreement, glad you’re not about to rip him a new one for his latest antics.

“Wait, does it really smell that bad, I mean the dumpster is at the other end of the ally.” He says in confusion.

You put your hands on your hips glancing at the dumpster and then focusing on Klaus.

“I’ve got the whole animal kingdom inside me Klaus, I know you can kinda smell that dumpster from here, but listen. For me it’s 1000x worse and let me tell you it doesn’t smell like a bath and body works around here.”

Klaus laughs scratching the back of his head, “Right, right, sorry.”

Suddenly a sketchy looking black car rolls into the ally, coming to a halt as three angry looking men walk out. Clearly hiding something within their coats, the “leader” it seems steps up and speaks.

“You betta have that 1,000 you owe us right fucking now you little theif, I don’t appreciate you takin’ my mother’s gold necklace, rest her soul.” He growls.

Klaus raises his hands up, “Listen buddy, you stole that from your own mother at her funeral...and let me tell you she’s not to happy about it.” He says looking to his left where you assume this guys dead mother is standing.

The bald guy behind him shakes his head and says, “So fuckin what? We needed that shit for other important purposes raccoon eyes.”

Klaus now lost as to where this situation is about to turn looks over at you clearly needing assistance. While mouthing “help me”.

Walking past him you hold your hands up showing you have nothing to hide, “Now that’s not very nice, a real shit personality, your mother would be very disappointed in how you’ve turned out. Cause let’s be honest it’s not like your looks are doing anything for you either.” You say snickering trying to see how they’ll react.

The first guy smirks reaching into his coat to pull out a nasty looking knife. “See this right here, I’m a good old fashioned man, I don’t believe in guns.”

You raise your eyebrows at him, “Oh well in that case we should all be quite relieved then.”

Looking behind him you notice as his two friends pull their own weapons out, which consists of a hammer and some type of meat hook.

“Klaus couldn’t have picked an easier bunch of idiots to fuck up then these psychos.” You thought.

The bald one begins to move brushing past the first guy looking like he’s seeing red.

“Jesus, man I didn’t mean to offend, I’m just making friendly conversation.” You muse.

Baldy begins to charge holding up his hammer ready to strike. “Come here you bitch, that’s my husband you’re talking to.”

He swings as you side step him, tripping him as he falls directly onto the concrete. Conveniently dropping the hammer in the process. Klaus being the ever troublesomely fantastic sidekick, picks up the hammer and throws it at you.

Gripping the hammer tightly, baldy rises from the ground faster then you’d expected mouth bloody and boiling with rage.

But in a hot second his bearded buddy in crime sprints towards you with his meat hook seemingly out of nowhere.

Klaus yells for you to watch out but you didn’t even need to look, this guys heart beat is louder then a firework and you’re faster then a viper, your senses on overload. As you turn around in record time to grab the guys right arm with the meat hook.

With your left hand tight around this guys beefy one you hold on and push his assault giving him more power. Effectively fulfilling your plan and leading the hook right into baldys chest. Who was fortunately running towards you.

A split second later with the hammer in your right hand you swing it forcefully into the guys shins. Hearing a sweet sickly crunch sound and the wild howls protruding from your assailants throat.

“Sorry I didn’t know you were married.”

“Fuck you!” He screams.

You look up hearing the sting of metal being swung in the wind, to see a knife heading straight for your throat.

With lighting reflexes you grab his wrist, the knife inches from your vulnerable skin.

Klaus gasps in the background terrified and relieved at not getting your throat slit.

You turn your fingernails to sharp cat-like claws that dig dangerously into his flesh, causing hot blood to drip out. The man drops the knife and grimaces in pain.

“I don’t know about you but I don’t think my boyfriend owes you three motherfuckers shit.” You growl, eyes beginning to glow an electric blue while the whites of your eyes shift to black, something that happens when you start to use your power.

“Fuck you, and fuck that thieving piece of junky shit crying in the corner.”

Your mood darkens, “Wrong answer.”

Letting go of his bloody wrist you grip his throat with your left hand lifting him off the ground. He begins to choke and struggles against your tight grasp.

“I know you’ve heard of me from other friends of yours, so listen very closely. If you touch Klaus again or anyone else around here who’s just trying to survive in this city. I won’t be so generous next time. Or maybe I should rip your fucking face off right now.” You squeeze tighter drawing blood.

“Y/N.”  Klaus says softly.

“Let’s go home.” He asks with pleading eyes and you snap back to reality smelling the iron scent of blood on your hands.

Sometimes you can get carried away feeling the rush of the hunt, a taxing side affect of your power, one you’ve always struggled to control.

Letting the man go he slumps to the ground coughing and sucking in straggled breaths.

“ Alright, me..me and the boys...won’t do nothing....you have my...my word....no bullshit nothing....I swear.”

“Good cause your friends are gonna need more then some stitches.”

You quickly leave the ally and start walking down the street towards the Academy.

Breathing heavily, you look up at Klaus who’s at your side as you start to feel a bit embarrassed that he saw you lose it a little.

He holds onto your arms stopping you, “Don’t worry, we’ll have a bath and watch some movies...hey you like that Museum one?”

“The Night at the Museum.” You say smiling still feeling off.

Klaus’ face lights up, “Yeah that one, with the big T-Rex skeleton and President Roosevelt on a horse.”

He links your arms together and you both begin walking again.

“Y/N, I’m not afraid of you, you know. I never have been, I actually find it pretty sexy of you to beat up bad guys for me and keep the neighborhood safe-er. Ben thinks so too, minus the sexy part of course. Only I get to enjoy that.”

You relax more into his side and once again start to feel a bit more at ease with yourself.

“Oh wait a second, here put these sunglasses on, your eyes are still playing mood rings with us. Don’t wanna freak out the civilians” He laughs.

“Thanks, I did wonder why that kid back there looked like he just saw a ghost.”

Klaus winks, “Maybe he did, cough cough..Ben...cough cough.”

“You’re an ass.” You say while rolling your eyes

“Yes indeed my love but remember I deal with the supernatural of all sorts, from ghosts to monsters, nothing phases me.” Klaus states proudly.

You laugh, “ Okay Van Helsing, this monster wants a bath with her hunter then.”

Klaus kisses your cheek, “That can be arranged my dear.”

Smiling up at him you hold him tighter and think to yourself how weird your life is, but you wouldn’t change it for anything.

- okay wow alright, first story ever I hope it’s good or at least some people like it. It was honestly fun to write ngl.

[theficplug]

|Next Lifetime|Erik Killmonger|

previous chapters : Part 1 Part 2  Part 3 

erik killmonger x black reader

|part 4|

warnings: um definitely smut this chapter at the end. so 18+ for this chapter! and a possible trigger warning for grief but i promise it gets better and its a romcom.

synopsis:  reader grieves Erik until she doesn’t (i’m trying not give too much away). This one is a long ass chapter. So, grab you a snack and something to drink! I hope y’all like it.

“You promised on our birthday that you would give me something far more special than the charms you would gift to me. In 2018, you wanted to avenge your birth parents and you went off and did something foolish and when you- when they returned you to me you were-.” you struggle for a bit to find the words to explain it all to him as he takes a step back to gather himself. 

He rubs his eyes before grabbing your arms gently and massaging them . He leans down to look you in your eyes before asking “Ma, did you take something before I came to pick you up? You alright? Cause what you saying don’t make no sense at all... Your pupils don't look dilated though.” 

“I know how this must sound. Batshit crazy. I know it sounds crazy to me too. I’m still trying to figure out if I’m losing my own damn mind. I don’t know how or why. I just know that you came back to me.” you say to him and he shakes his head. 

“Erik. You’re talking about your ex boyfriend...The one that passed... . Alright, I’m going to take you home now... I still don’t understand what’s going on here and I’ve had about all I can take of trying to understand what’s going on here.” N’Jadaka says quietly to you before going around and opening your car door. 

The drive was silent as you picked at your nails and let the soft r&b roll over the tension between the two of you. 

Your own thoughts were going in about a billion different directions again. It didn’t feel right to just sit on all of that and not say anything at all. As ripped from a science fiction film as it sounded at least he knows. 

He was never one to think quietly because you could practically read his thoughts with the changing of expressions across his face.

The relief of seeing your building washed over you as he offered to walk you to your door. 

It was bittersweet because there was still so much of him in this different version of him. Even when he was upset with you or livid with whatever ghost that was haunting him back then,  he still showed nothing but tenderness to you.

You nod and give him a small smile before following him up the stairs , to your elevator, and finally your door. 

“I know that this is a lot. I mean who in their right mind would be able to process all of that.I wish there was any other way to say it... But thank you, I had a really nice time.” your soft words snap him out of staring at your face as if he was trying to piece it all together.

He knew deep down that there was something about you and what happened that weekend while dreaming in colours and other worlds but he couldn’t wrap his head around all of this happening in real life.  

You lean up to kiss his cheek and he grabs your shoulders softly. “With all due respect. You seem like a lovely person and a good woman, but I just - this all a lil too weird for me and I don’t think it’s a good idea that we continue seeing each other.” 

He kisses your hand and leaves with one look over your shoulder as you call out “Meet me at our spot. If you are still anywhere in there. You’ll know what I mean.”

“What the hell happened ? I didn’t expect you back until tomorrow morning?” Iri says as she settles on the other side of the sofa and patted the spot next to her as you kick off the sandals and lay your head on her lap with tears already prickling your eyes. 

“Oh you didn’t? Please don’t tell me you told him about the soulmate reincarnation thing? Sweets, you probably scared the hell out of that man. We needed you to keep that waaay down in the vault.” Tiki adds as she pops the cork off the bottle of wine in her hand and pauses the movie playing on the screen in the background. 

“Here’s what we’re gonna do . You’re gonna text him and tell him that you had just gotten your wisdom teeth removed earlier today and the meds had you unexpectedly zooted as fuck. “ Iri suggests and you chuckle softly.

---

Meanwhile at N’Jadaka’s house he was already being pestered by Lina and Penn for some type of details about what happened during the date. Orleans was already in the kitchen cooking and ear hustling but went back to his conversation on the phone with Big Mike when he realized there wasn’t any tea. 

“I don’t feel good. I’m finna go lay down. I’ll talk to y’all in the morning”. He says simply to them before trudging his way to his part of the house.

They had been friends since college and just got used to the idea of living together as they did in the dorms so they made it work after graduation. 

It helped them save money for when they finally separated and all of their schedules kept them busy so they didn't have time to get sick of each other. They also knew him well enough to know when something was bothering him and to leave him alone when he gets this moody.

"What the fuck?" He whispered under his breath 

"What the fuck was all that?" He continues talking to himself as he strips and walks past the bathroom mirror to the shower. 

He stops when something catches his eye. He sees a birthmark on his chest that almost resembles the shape of claw marks. He lets his fingers linger over the mark for a second. Thoughts of a panther mask clouded his memories for a moment before he shook his head and entered the shower. 

---

A few hours later of talking through it with your girls about possibly seeing a therapist about all that's going on and you were ready for bed. 

It didn't take long to drift off, you were ready to put the whole thing behind you. 

The familiar setting of purples , pinks, and hues of blue came into focus and you looked around letting the butterflies land on you again.

 You walk through the flowers and find Erik sitting by a stream of water weaving some of the flowers together. 

"What the hell, E?" You ask as you run over to him and wrap your arms around his neck

He turns to you and smiles big , his dimples on full display before shrugging. 

"It ain't perfect but it's the best I could do. They said it's like a do-over or something like that. I get a second chance but as a result of the way I did things the first time it's a lil different. Like when you restore a computer and it lose all it's files and shit. I get a new life but I'm still kinda stuck. I kinda like it though. I don't remember all the other shit when I'm awake. It really is like starting over. Shits crazy to explain when you think about it. But for you , you already know. I'd find you in this life and the next and the one after that. I don’t think I’mma ever fully remember what happened with all of that when i’m awake. I’m cool with it. It ain’t something I’m tryna remember." He says tipping your chin up to look at you and kissing you softly 

"I know. At least I get to hold you in the real world. It's just different. But guess what I saw today? I seen that bench that you and me signed all them years back. It's still there." You say to him and he places the lil flower bracelet around your wrist as y'all sit and talk for the rest of the night.

By the time you wake up with the aroma of breakfast wavering throughout the loft you feel a little better about the whole situation with Erik, not Erik. 

You opened your phone and sent him an I'm sorry gif with a few extra words inspired by Tina's wisdom tooth lie. 

 After easing into the kitchen and standing in the doorway you see the two lovebirds dancing around the kitchen singing to each other and laying food on the plates. 

"Morning lil sleepy head. Don't forget that I'll still be coming down to the center with you today for the seminar. You hungry?" Iris asks as she places the plate in your hands with a kiss to the top of the head. 

"Of course. There's a young girl, Sophie there that I really think would love to talk to you. She's just starting her transition. And her parents are wonderful but they don't really have much money. She hasn't really had the chance to get more “feminine” presenting clothes and she likes makeup.  " You say and she nods catching your drift.

"Well it'd brighten anybody's day seeing a beautiful successful trans woman like myself honey. But let's lift her spirits even more. I'm gonna bring some of the makeup I got from pr packages and some of the clothes from this collection. I really hope it helps." She answers and Tika just saunters over to her proclaiming her love for her. 

"Alright alright alright. I get it. I'm single as hell." You say laughing softly

---

Two weeks ticked by with radio silence on N'Jadaka's end. After the 4th day when he gave you the cold shoulder at a coffee shop, you decided to stop trying.

Maybe it wasn't fate and maybe you were just believing what you wanted to believe. 

You reason with yourself as you walked around the loft making notes about the new housing project you were working on. 

Finally having the house to yourself with the lovebirds gone for the day on a little adventure. You got to work budgeting and calling different areas to rent out apartments to you for women and lgbtq+ with housing insecurities. 

Your ramblings and thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door , thinking that Iri or Tika left something behind. 

"I told you to take your sunscre- Daka?" You question as he stands in front of you

You cross your arms and furrow your brows while waiting for an answer from him.

He stands for a moment like he’s trying to gather all of his thoughts together in a way that makes sense to both of you. 

"What're you doing here?" You ask putting your hand on your hip. 

He drops his shoulders and lets out a soft sigh before looking at you.

"I didn't wanna believe it. What you said that night cause like how the fuck does something like that happen? I’mma be honest.  I wanted to just believe that you were a lil off and leave it at that but something keeps telling me that you right. I can't remember shit before college and all I wanted to do was be with you. From the moment I met you in the store. I was like, this is it. This is what's missing. A piece to a puzzle that's all jumbled up." He admits and you nod slowly before letting him in. 

You walk around the kitchen getting a cup of tea for yourself and sitting a cup of coffee down on the counter for him.

“Don’t worry it’s black, I know you dont like it sweet.”

"You know I didn't exactly expect my fiancee that I buried months before to show up at a damn supermarket of all places. This isn't some movie or fanfiction. These kind of things don't happen in real life. Daka you, you had claw marks all over you. The last time I laid eyes on you. And now you're here in front of me. I thought that I was losing my mind." You say and he starts to unbutton his shirt.

"These." He says peeling his shirt off and showing you the birthmarks on his chest and shoulder.

You trace your fingers over it before leaning your head on his shoulder. 

"I asked my parents about my childhood and when I passed by my old neighborhood a few days ago andI remembered some things. I remember what happened to my other parents, in pieces. Shit’s brutal." He says dropping his gaze

"It's okay." You whisper to him and wrap your arms around him. You rocked him for a moment letting him let all of those feelings wash over him. 

He embraced you for a moment before kissing you tenderly. You tug at his bottom lip before deepening the kiss when he press you against the counter. 

"We'll figure it out... Something telling me I'd be a fuckin fool to lose you again." He says quietly against yours lips. 

"Are you gonna make love to me or are you going to keep looking at me like that?" You ask as he studies your whole face like he's looking at art. 

"A memory. It's you. We stood right here and I kissed you the same way. You were saying something like "you bring yourself home to me"." He says and you nod frantically, holding him closer to you.

"I did. It was right before you left." You admit and he nods before lifting you up onto the counter and kissing you heatedly this time. He kisses down to your breasts before looking up at permission from you to unhook your bra. 

Always a man that knows what he's doing. He takes kisses around your breasts and nipples. He takes his time to lick and caress you until he works his way down.

You shake your head yes before moving to slide off your panties but his kisses and his mouth is already beating you to it as he kisses down to your thigh.

He slides your panties off with his teeth and tosses them over his shoulder. 

You tilt your head back as you feel him wasting no time massaging over your clit and working you over with his fingers, curling them and stroking you gently. 

Your soft moans fill the room when he hooks your leg over his shoulder and begins to suckle your clit softly , swirling his tongue over it. 

"Tika will kil- Ooh god. How does your tongue feel like it's vibrating?" You ask and he only chuckles and grips onto your cheeks to bring you closer to him.

He was feasting on and devouring you like he was going to lose again and you could grind your hips down against his tongue and moan his name sweetly.

He didn't stop his tongue or fingers working in you until your legs are shaking and you're gripping at his head. 

"You have- fuck. I'm a squir-" you moan his name brokenly while trying to get out your words and lean back for a moment licking his lips before realizing what you're trying to say.

"Hold that for me. I wanna come with you." He says to you and you pout and protest as he removes his fingers. He picks you up off the counter and carries you bridal style asking you which room is yours.

"Left , left." You giggle into his shoulder as he helps you slide your dress off and you unbutton his jeans for him. 

You capture him in a kiss for a moment feeling his soft plump lips against yours again for the first time in what feels like forever. 

"It's been a long time since I've done all of this. . . Gentle." You say and he runs a calloused finger over your cheek moving a curl away from your face as he looks at you. 

He gets a quick flash of a memory of you and him in bed. You wore a smile on your face before telling him "happy anniversary".

He trailed his fingers down your body remembering almost every scar , every moment. 

When Erik got to a scar at your side. He chuckled, unlocking a memory of you two running from the neighborhood rottweiler , Smokey. 

That old ass dog hated you and he hoisted you over the fence first after being out late one night in high school. The gate had caught your side when you jumped. 

Erik felt so bad he brought you food from anywhere you wanted everyday from to school for a month. 

He leans down to place open mouthed kisses to it. 

He traced over your thighs to the cellulite and stretch marks remembering when you first got them. 

He was moving homes at the time and he wasn't ready to be further away from you yet.  You two just sat for hours at the park in the grass, talking. 

" You know white men behind all of that anyways. They want y'all to feel like you gotta look the same way. That's how they make them billions. My mama had 'em . Yo mama , and generations back. And it ain't ever stop them from being the women they are. Besides if any dirtneck nigga ever try you , just tell me. Imma handle it." He would say as you sat with your head on his lap, staring at the sun setting, knowing good and well your grandparents were gonna ground you for being late when you get home. 

They never did though cause you were with Erik they knew you were gonna be alright. 

"Nothing to worry about. I… I've never done any of that stuff before…Have you?" you question hesitantly as you stare off. 

"Tisha. From Ms. Wilkes class. We was coming from the kick back-" 

"Uh uh . That's your business , you ain't gotta tell me all of that." You say slightly upset at the fact that Tisha of all people was his first. 

----

"I got you." He says kissing your forehead then your nose before hooking your leg over his hip and easing into you slowly while his lips are still on yours. His eyes never left yours as he cupped your face sweetly like he didn't want to lose you again. 

In this moment he gets a glimpse of prom night and how things changed between the both of you forever. 

He wraps his hands around your waist. One of his hands splayed across your belly. 

He remembers the pregnancy scare you both had afterwards with him holding your hand and telling you no matter what happens he wanna be there for both of you.

Luckily, nothing came of it but you were definitely closer because of it.

You let out an open mouthed gasp at the feeling of being so full of him after so long. 

You rest your hands on his neck and shoulder and he bottoms out fully settling into you as he moves his arms next to  balance himself. 

You close your eyes as he begins to stroke into you trying to set a rhythm for you as his praises for you fall from his lips. 

He kisses his way down your neck licking the marks that are already starting to form there. 

"My lil baby." He mutters out after licking a freshly formed hickey forming on top of your breasts. 

You open your eyes slowly , looking at him and the way he's looking at you . 

"It's been way too long since I've heard that from you. You're remembering?" You ask quietly as you let out a soft moan.

N'Jadaka's muscles flex and tighten as he picks up his pace. His abs clenched as he  pulls out almost completely and filled you at a different angle.

 The sounds of your moans filling the room with every stride and stroke of his hips,  it seems like you're closer to floating in space. The man was fucking you like his life depended on it and at this point all you could do is wrap your arms around him again to comfort you as he shutters and rolls his hips deeper into you. Your walls tighten around him as you relish in the feeling of him. 

"Fuck. I remember all of it." He says half chuckling at the way it's coming to him and half nearly in tears cause he really missed being with you. 

"I also remember that this is your favourite position cause you like to see my face." He teases before leaning down to kiss you again with them plump ass lips.

"E?" You ask , grabbing his face with trembling hands.

"Baby?" You ask again 

He moves his hands from your waist and places your hands in his. Then moving them above your head as he flashes in between making love to you for the last time and now.

You roll over with him and place your hands on your chest riding him slowly getting the rhythm as he strokes into you from below. 

He laughs softly when he realizes what you're doing. 

"Are you spelling my fucking name , baby?" He asks and you tell him that you can spell both.

You let out a whimper when he brushes your spot and let him take over as he runs his hands over your thighs to your butt and over your back as he strokes into you. 

He plants his feet on the bed and work your hips in rhythm with him. 

It didn't take long for you to orgasm with a loud shriek of his name . You had forgotten how he gets when he's close as his hands on gripping all over your thighs and your back. You were already feeling sensitive with your second orgasm coming through and this man felt like he was trying to put it in your belly. 

He rolls you onto your side giving it to you deeply. 

With a loud hiss and panting from him he cums , holding you in his arms.

"I don't think it has felt like that since our birthday last year." He says into your ear as he pulls you closer into his arms. 

He engulfs you fully in his embrace and presses a kiss to the side of your head. 

You laugh softly and roll over to face him , resting your forehead against his.

"I remember. You took me to Paris. I had never been and at the time I was obsessed with everything Parisian. We fucked on the balcony and somehow I ended up popping the straps to my favorite dress. You still owe me by the way." You tease and he shakes his head laughing. 

"I think we ended up saving they marriage from across the way though. They was arguing the whole time. Then they gon watch us like we ain't see them." Erik says laughing as he squeezes your thigh playfully.

"I know they was trying some things." You joke 

"I missed you so much. You don't even understand." You admit with a somehow saddened and relieved expression. 

"I know.  I want to start over this time. All of that Erik Killmonger shit is over with. I wanna keep the name N'Jadaka and just start over. All of that was too heavy on me to carry. I wanna let it all go. I wanna do it right with you." He explains 

"Good because if you put me through that again. Wakanda will be the least of your damn worries." You say to him and he nods giving you his word, sealed with a kiss.

"It'll be alright. Everything happens for a reason. And I think that right now a bath needs to happen and I'm gonna need you to do that thing again that you did in the kitchen cause I'm tryna figure out when you learned that-" 

At some point after the bubble bath/ shower combo you were both out like a light until Iri and Tika decide to come busting in like they usually do with little gifts and food for you. 

"Guess who's your fave- SHE GOT A WHOLEASS MAN IN HER BED" Iri announces to Tika before your pillow hits the door as she closes it. 

"Sorry about that. This is kinda our cuddle hour so they're used to just coming on in." You say sleepily and he just laughs it off while holding you closer. 

"It's all good. I remember that I ain't know them much before but when we did spend time with them, they were good people." He says, still trying to piece it together.  

----

You fell asleep more peacefully than you had in a long time. Now granted, good sex didn't fix the many layers of issues and mysticism surrounding everything.

But for now, you knew that you had him, you had your girls, family and your business. Everything felt alright again. 

Right up until the point of sleeping through the first alarm to meet the property owners.

"Bae. Bae your phone going off." N'Jadaka whispers in the dark room , voice still riddled with sleep and grogginess. 

"Shit. Shit. I'm gonna be so late." You call out , quickly jumping out of bed and stumbling around the room. 

It takes you about 25 minutes to speed through getting dressed in your best skirt suit. 

N'Jadaka sits on the end of the bed putting on his shoes and watching you shuffle around. 

He had offered to drive you there and stay with you and check out the property with you. 

He slows you down by grabbing you by your arms gently and placing a kiss to your lips. 

"Good morning, handsome. Let's go" 

You walk through the living room with Iri and Tika already posted up in the kitchen placing two breakfast burritos in a container to grab and go. 

You grab your things from the counter all while thanking them and jetting towards the door.

"Good luck pooh!" Tika calls after you. 

"Byyyyeeee Dakaaaa" they call out after him

---

"Here it is . These are the apartments. I know they don't look like much now from the outside. But from the pictures it looks great. And they'll be safe and comfortable here-" you babble on to N'Jadaka while you both stand outside of the building where Erik grew up , until you notice two women walking to  a car that clearly wasn't from this area. 

You notice Shuri and your breath hitches in your throat. 

Frozen in your anxiety, the seconds ticked by and it was too late to leave. She looked you dead in the eye and then at N'Jadaka like she had seen a ghost.

She gasped and Nakia followed the eyes before back into the car. 

"SHURI WAIT - PLEASE" you yell out to them but the car was already speeding  away. 

tag list : @doublesidedscoobysnacks @chaneajoyyy @mirandkimy @doitforthevine67​ @amyhennessyhouse @dasia21​ @depressionandfandomsinc @sinfully-dope @ambitionwood @heybriheyyy @wholelotta-melanin @theesotericqueen​ @mbakuwife​ @spookys-girl @teardropzih @bigchoose @ceo-of-baby @sweetpeachjones @lost-ssoull  @shyblackgurl @justpeachee @nijajoha @imayhavemisunderstood @beautifullmelodyxx​ @alookintohersoul @rbhp @champagnesugamama​ @just-peachee @almeda-344  @mahogany2021 

[icollectyoursins]

Demon!Risotto x Reader x Demon!Prosciutto

Anon asked for “Here for s i n t i m e could I perhaps ask for nsfw demon ris and pro for the monster week thing? Submissive reader, if possible”

I am so sorry this is so late! Exams are happening and it’s stressing me out because I feel like the only one who’s prepared (I’m an acting student, so I not only have to rely on people showing up, but also knowing their lines in order to perform my best). Anyway! I have a small break where I can hopefully get stuff done. Sorry about the wait!

You were far too horny for you own good right now and somehow came up with the terrible idea of summoning a couple of demons to satisfy you, considering most of the men you met were less than pleasant. You knew what you were getting into, sort of, you just... weren’t expecting them to be so big.

Have a character, but no idea? Prompt list here!

Looking for more? Master post here!

WARNINGS: Summoning demons and fucking demons, cunnilingus/eating pussy, claws, nipple play, biting, oral play (sucking on fingers), cumming on stomach, breeding, light implication of kidnapping? Uh... maybe new found partners in some questionable demons at the end.

Word Count: 1751

     Your jaw fell open at the sight in front of you. Two very tall and very gorgeous men-demon things stood completely bare. The taller one’s skin was dark with flecks of red and black dotting his shoulders, white hair settling around his face which was broken apart by long dark horns. Stunning gold bands wrapped around the base of them. His red eyes seemed to float on his face, you had to stop yourself from walking towards him, seemingly drawn in by them. 

     The smaller one was almost the same, but with a mix of deep blue and gold. His blonde hair was tied back into a series of buns. He had four horns a set of larger ones in the same place the other’s were, then a significantly smaller set beside them. They were also wrapped in gold, but there was more, glittering from base to tip. His eyes were a bright navy blue that swallowed you whole.

     On each of their wrists were silver shackles, minus the chain, a sign that there were bound here for the time being. They stared at you intently, waiting for you to say something but you were too awestruck. Your eyes flicked down to their members. One of them, you could for sure take, but the other... where did you put the lube again? You gulped, blushing furiously.

     They chuckled softly. The blue one reached his hand out to you, stepping closer to the boundary you had set. Their smiles were sincere, almost sweet. Tails flicked impatiently, waiting for you to move. You made a move to take off your top, but they stopped out.

     “We’ll take care of that, don’t worry. Just come here.” You did so, taking his hand in yours. He was warmer than you expected, not that you thought demons would be cold, but he was very warm. He pulled you into his arm, wrapping one around you as he walked back to the other one. 

     You were pushed gently in between them, then their hands were all over you, exploring every inch. The tall one pressed his lips into your scalp before tilting your head up and placing another kiss onto your forehead. They were remarkably gentle, littering your cheeks with light kisses while massaging circles into you. Slowly, your top was lifted off your body, blue lips following the fabric, pressing into your soft chest. You gasped, lifting your arms to cover yourself. They were quick to stop you, though, grabbing them and holding them firmly against your back.

     You began to struggle, taken out of the calmness they had built up into you. They only chuckled, kisses becoming more aggressive. You were lifted up lightly by the taller one, hands still behind your back. The other made quick work of your bottoms, taking everything off in a quick pull. Then, he wrapped your struggling leg around his waist, devilishly looking into your eyes.

     They were about to get started with wrecking you when you yelled. “No!” They stopped, a little annoyed. “No, no, no. Put me down.” They did, gentleness disappearing quickly.

     “Isn’t this what you wanted?” The blue one said, gripping your chin between his thumb and his finger. “You summoned us for a good fuck, right? I don’t see the problem.”

     The black one loomed over you, eyes narrowing. “You don’t want to change your mind, (Y/N).”

     “Stop, I summoned you, and you will do what I say.” You said indignantly. They only laughed at you. “It’s not funny. You are bound to this circle until I say so.” They exchanged a look, hiding their smiles.

     “What do you want us to do,” the tall one rumbled, drifting his gaze over your body. Uh... that was a good question. What did you want them to do? 

     “You, eat me out,” you pointed to him, then to the blue one, “you-”

     “I know what to do,” he said walking to your side. His softly wrapped his hand around your side, dragging his lips across your shoulder then kissing your cheek. He lead you back to the center, taking his place behind you while the taller one knelt down in front of you. Another arm was wrapped around your waist as they lifted you up onto his shoulders. “Why don’t you give them something to scream?”

     The man between your legs hummed, kissing your thigh. “Risotto.” He purred, low and seductive before delicately diving in, licking a stripe up your entrance to your clit. Deep, dark eyes stared up at you as his tongue slid deeper into you, clearly longer than a human’s. You tossed your head back, resting it on the blue one’s shoulder as you moaned.

     “Say it,” he whispered in your ear, “say his name.”

     “Uuuhhn~ Risottooo.” You cried out, hands tangling themselves in his hair. He lapped up your juices, using broad strokes to coax more out of you. Then, he focused on your clit, wrapping his lips around it, sucking intently. The blue one chuckled, latching his lips onto your neck, holding you tightly as you bucked your hips into Risotto’s mouth. 

     “Say my name, Prosciutto, say it.” His teeth dragged along your vein, sharp and threatening. A hand reached up to your chest, pinching your nipple. His broad tongue licked the sweat on your skin, leaving a trail from where your shoulder dipped to your neck up to your jaw line making you shudder. He rubbed your nipple between his finger extra hard.

     “Mmm~ Prosciutto!” You arched your back into his touch. The two demons groaned, in creasing the intensity of their ministrations. Risotto’s tongue elongated, slipping into your entrance, curling up into you. Moans fell free from your mouth as they lavished you, leaving marks with their claws. A blue hand slithered down to your folds, delicately brushing against your clit. Your voice got higher in pitch and more strained the closer they brought you to your release. 

     The finger picked up the pace, getting into the rhythm of moving side to side. Risotto pulled back to watch the show in front of him. He brought his fingers up to your folds, spreading them apart as well as slipping one to your hole, pushing it up into your G-spot. He could feel you getting closer, returning his lips to your entrance, careful to avoid Prosciutto’s claws. 

     Your orgasm washed over you as you screamed out their names. They smiled into you as the one between your legs slurped up your juices. The other one dug his teeth into your neck, growling into your ear as he lapped up a small trickle of blood.

     Risotto took hold of you, lowering you onto his lap, leaving sweet kisses on your cheeks as he positioned you over his cock. You wrapped your arms around his neck, holding him close. You couldn’t hold back the scream that ripped through your body as the first few inches were pushed in. He was so thick, it was only a few inches, but it was the most filling few inches you have ever had. You thought he was going to stop, let you get used to it, but he didn’t. He kept going. 

     It was starting to get painful now and there was still more to go. You began struggling, trying to break free of his iron grip. Tears formed at the corner of your eyes as you shook your head, trying to get him to stop. He finally bottomed out and you were barely able to choke out an “oh!”

     Prosciutto’s warm chest pressed into your back, kissing the marks he left on you. “What’s wrong this time? Isn’t this what you wanted?” You couldn’t talk, it felt as though the tip of his cock pierced straight through your brain leaving you dumb. He chuckled darkly behind you. “Would you like more?”

     You moaned as Risotto rolled his hips into you making his length push into every sweet part of you. A sly smile sprawled onto his face. You were pinned down by strong arms and he repeated the motion, hand slipping to your clit then rubbing circles. A cry escaped from your lips, hips bucking up to his touch.

     Two fingers slipped into your mouth which you immediately wrapped around, sucking intently. All three of you moaned this time. The pace was quickened making you jump, swallowing more of the digits. A third one was shoved in. Drool started dribbling down your chin and your eyes rolled into your head, caught up in pure bliss.

     “Fuck-so hot,” Prosciutto groaned in your ear, grinding into your lower back, barely able to get a full sentence out with this beautiful sight in front of him. Risotto’s rhythm started to falter as he got closer, head dipping into his chest to watch his cock sink in and out of you deliciously. You couldn’t help screaming around the fingers in your mouth, nails digging into the hard muscle of his back. 

     Finally, he came with a sustained, rumbling growl, pulling own and splattering your stomach with his seed. You whined at the emptiness, trying to bring him closer to you, get him to fill you again. The two demons only chuckled, blue one holding you tight against him as he took his fingers out of your mouth. Your emptiness didn’t last long, though. 

     Prosciutto folded you over, sticking your ass in the air and lining himself up, then plunging into you in one quick motion. Quickly, he set up a brutal pace to the point where you swore he would bruise your cervix. Your tongue lolled out of your mouth as you felt your whole being give in to ecstasy. He grunted above you, smacking your ass every now and then to keep you conscious.

     Eventually, he found his release, pushing himself deep inside you and filling you. The three of you panted, whipped out. Risotto stared wide eyed at the cum dripping out of you, then glanced over to his partner. They shared a look of mutual agreement. You weren’t leaving this circle.

     Warm, black tendrils wrapped around your thighs and legs, pinning you to the ground. Not that you were aware. You were essentially fucked to the point of stupidity. Soothing fingers found their way to either side of your face which traveled to your shoulders, pulling you upright into someone’s chest as another followed suit, curling in around you. Cheeks were littered in kisses as the two, now three partners, feel asleep in lovers’ embraces.

[nightmaretyrantvantas]

When tensions break too often- a dark side au story

So I got my ideas back for some angst and some tension in this au, and I just couldnt resist writing it. Plus its a good way to warm me back up into doing things for this au.

This is also a bit of a deeper dive into the dynamics of darkside! Virgil and the other dark sides and how they all bounce and thrive off each other, as well a some backstory and peeks at the full effects of Deceit leaving( jealousy is with the dark sides but is only mentioned, he currently doesnt make much of an appearance in this one in particular, he gets his own angst later)

This was fun to write, not gonna lie. Its been awhile an this is gonna be long so buckle up with me

I also got alot of inspiration to finally write this out(and revise parts of it) due in part to @aimasup ‘s recent comics and writings about their kid sides(which I love, like alot alot and I hope they dont mind me getting super inspired by it!)

ships: Past prinxiety, past anxciet, implied intruxiety, implied intrulogical, implied intruloxiety, implied one sided remus x wrath, implied past demus, implied current roceit

Im putting a trigger warning here for cussing, fighting(verbal and physical), descriptions of panic attacks and emotional breakdowns, violence, gross and inappropriate language, some body horror descriptions, as well as implied unsympathetic sides(all sides are morally grey but the perspective is biased towards the dark sides as its seen from Wrath’s view- keep that in mind)

Things are about to get angsty my friends but i promise it ends happy(for once in this au)

I hope you guys enjoy

~~~~~~~~~~

Wrath Sanders had a lot more patience then almost everyone gave him credit for. Most considered him the biggest hothead there was, going off at the first irritation. But, the truth was he was eerily patient...Sure he may simmer and seethe and hold onto things in unhealthy grudges, but he never lost his cool as often as some would want you to believe.

Wrath Sanders kept his cool during many things, even if that was the last thing he wanted to do.

He had sat back through many things, biting his tongue to hold back the venom and yelling and grinding his teeth together in anger and forced himself to sit through many many things that happened around him out of respect- out of a deep fucking respect- for Virgil’s Fear’s Anxiety’s authority. Instead, he watched shit go down over and over again and held himself back from reacting towards the problem, focusing his energy on the recovery. 

But, the most recent event was his last fucking straw.

It had happened seemingly out of nowhere, Wrath had been slumped down on their shitty lumpy couch boredly watching some dumb movie. It was getting later in the night, around 10 maybe 11 and he had one of Remus’s crappy beers partially drank in his hand. He was just getting up to change the movie or turn it off all together when the whole house seemed to shift violently, the walls seeming to tremble. There was a moment of confusion before he heard it.

“ Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” 

His whole body jolted to its feet unsteadily as the sound of Anxiety’s pain wreaked scream filled the house to an almost deafening volume as it distorted and deepened. His body moved before his mind, lurching over the couch and running for the source of the scream as another one wailed out even louder than the first, the sound muffling the breaking bottle and violently shaking the walls with their reverb. He heard other sounds too underneath, glass shattering heavy objects banging and wood splintering, wallpaper shredding. A third screech rang out, cutting itself in half with echoing high pitched sobs. 

He hadnt been the first to make it to his room.

Wrath watched as he turned the corner in time to see Remus destroy Anxiety’s door with his morning star, a wild and desperately freaked out look to his glowing eyes as wood splintered and gave out under the weapon, some sending cuts into his cheeks. The creative side was then out of sight in a flash, forcing his way into the room yelling as to be heard over the screams.

Remembering the pain, the fear the absolute panic in Remus’s normally confident voice sent a deeper chill down his spine than the screams had.

“ Virgy??!! Fuck fuck fuck fUCK!! Virgy no no! Its me dammit!! Fuck FUCK FUCK!! No no NO! Virgy virgy virgy storm cloud creepy cryptid no no nnonononono look at me no no look at me cmon honey look at me not those at me. me me me me..” His voice continued, shaky and softening as the screams faded into heart wrenching sobs and high pitched hyperventilating gasps. Remus continued to speak, morning star thudding against carpet and a softer thud sounding.

“ Hey hey hey hey hey hey...hey hey hey I got you I got you I’m here im still here....i’m always here for ya honey...I got you now I got you see? Yeah yeah thats me....just focus on me....cmon cmon stormy cant pass out on me now...follow my breathing lets breathe together...in...out...in out...now....tell me five things you can see....cmon honey you got this just look up im here right here...” 

The sight through the broken door haunted him, made his chest throb hard and bile burn his throat. 

The bedroom before him was completely trashed. It was as if something feral and destructive had ripped it from its very foundation. Every piece of furniture, big or small, was broken and smashed apart, the anxious side’s bed and couch ripped into multiple pieces. Every shelf  or flat surface had faced an even worse fate, thrown around and shattered into various pieces that had been strewn around the room along with glass fragments from anything unfortunate enough to have been made of glass. Papers and books were severed and torn apart viciously, and the wallpaper was slashed in huge wide cute, some of the slashes cutting deep into the wall underneath. And in the middle of the disaster was Remus and Anxiety. Long, protruding limb like dark shapes sprouted from the purple side’s back, twitching and trembling with adrenaline along with his heaving, hunched over shaking form. Remus was there in front of him, knelt down to the balled up figure and slowly but surely coaxing him up enough to pull him into his arms and rock him back and forth as he kept speaking to him. It took Wrath a few seconds of his vision adjusting to the room’s darkness to realize Remus had more cuts on him, and why.

Strings.

Millions of purple tinted, tautly pulled strings, like a tightly woven and intricate sickening spider web filled the room from top to bottom as if trying to shield the two in its depths. He could see parts of them hanging limp, likely from Remus forcing his way through to the other. He watched in a horrified shock as Anxiety’s body lurched and jerked with his piercing sobs, hand harshly digging into his scalp through his hood and shadowy claws threatening to rip said hood open. He could see many of the strings connected directly to various parts of his body and to the eight extra things on his back and it made him shudder. The room radiated a sort of fear and panic that was infectious, suffocating even. But he refused to leave the doorway and abandon the two there, in that too dense darkness. 

He watched Remus manage to gather up the shorter side into his chest and rock him more, practically curling into a ball over him. He was still talking, his voice softening to the point he couldnt make it out anymore from the door. But he could see his expression. God his expression mightve been what pushed him past his bullshit accepting limit.

Remus’s face was grim, any traces of his grins and normal attitude gone. His eyes were glowing in a dark, dangerously violent fury but the way they stayed trained on Anxiety kept them, for the time being at least, soft and remorseful. There was so much pain there in that focused gaze, pain regret sorrow a disturbing amount of fear and understanding. His mouth moved with words not meant for Wrath to hear, soft gentle coos and reassurances too intimate to be heard by anyone else but the one trembling harshly in his strong arms. Brows furrowed and it made Wrath feel even colder to realize his hands, hands that were holding the other up and petting his hair through that black hood and rubbing between the spidery appendages, were trembling. 

Remus was trembling.

After awhile the strings seem to fade away into nothing, those shadowy limbs following them scarily slow. Once that happened and the worst of the darkeness seemed to dissipate was when Wrath dared to take a few stiff steps into the room, debris crunching too loudly under his boots. He saw Remus stiffen and his eyes flicker up like a cornered, ready to attack animal before relaxing, glow never leaving.

“ W...wh..r...R-remus...” 

“ Des...Dessy brat...h-hey spitfire do me a solid and go open my door ok? Dont worry itll lead to my bedroom...just...go open it for me...will you...?” Wrath’s voice failed him after that and he nodded, backing out of that suffocation and away into the brighter lit hall rushing from the room to push open the dark stained door further down. He turned around to go back, to try to help somehow...anyway he could, when he watched Remus instead picking his way out of the mess and into the hall, their leader cradled in his arms limply like a small sleeping child. Not a sound came from either of them as he stalked through the hall and into his room, a single nod dismissing Wrath before the door swung shut in front of him...

That was where he was drawing a line. Enough had been enough.

Wrath had sat back through many things, too many fucking things than he should have. He held back his doubts when Virgil and Roman had first started seeing each other when they were younger and dumber, had held himself and barely held Remus back from mauling the so called “good” creativity when things had gone awry and he had broken Virgil’s heart and left him in bitter, resentful pieces for them to pick up and help mend back together. He held back every time Thomas had, intentionally or unintentionally, slighted and undermined their jobs as a part of him, of their importance, of Virgil’s and Remus’s importance to him. He had sat back through the aftermath of ever fight with the “light” sides and with thomas, through every dismissal and banishment and arguement and accusation. He had helped and been there through countless sleepless nights and previous breakdowns and panic attacks between all four three of them, and he had been here, had been forced not to retaliate as per Virgil’s simple request.

“ Dont Des....dont go after them...Im forbidding it got it? Dont do it. it isnt going to be worth it...please...” 

It had always been the please, soft and defeated that made him obey. Not the angry snaps and lashing out, not the cruel words and push and shove they all did for so long, but the plea in that word...the vulnerability it revealed. 

He had sat through Deceit’s slow distancing from the rest of them...and his eventually leaving them for the light sides and the ensuing pain and breakdown that his leaving left behind.

It had splintered them, had struck both Virgil and Remus harder and more painfully than either side would verbally admit. Wrath had been forced to do nothing but helplessly watch it break them and break himself too, and try to clean up the aftermath best he could.

But this breakdown, seeing the side that had always stubbornly refused to buckle or back down reduced to a screaming sobbing wreck on the floor, seeing the other side he had always seen be nothing but strong and indifferent to everything thrown with a grin shaking in fear and softly pleading was too much.

He had stayed down, seething, resentment festering for years. too many years without an outlet.

He remembered the hand that had been held out to him all those years ago. Remembered coming along a little bit before Deceit ever did...and looking up from where he was angrily crying on the floor to see two figures before him. One was shorter, with two sets of brightly glowing purple and green eyes and a big black hoodie that was too big for him and messy hair that fell into his face. Behind him was someone much taller, with wild hair and a single streak of white in it, eyes feral and gleeful i a way that made him tense and made him mad through his tears. He was dressed extravagantly, like a prince or even a king grinning unnaturally wide. But his focus narrowed on the purple one, whose dark claw tipped hand stretched out in front of him in an offering. When Anger had put his head back in his knees to cry more he felt an arm drape over him. His head snapped up and he saw the princely one next to him with a softer expression, hand rubbing his back a little.

“ Hey....hey its ok Anger. Whatcha crying for? You did your job! Pretty damn well too! You were amazing the way you had Thomas screaming at that bully!” A clawed hand smacked him making him yelp and he looked in front of him to see Fear knelt in front of him with a look of understanding, a bitter smile on his face.

“ He’s right you know? You were only doing your job...you didnt realize how out of hand things would spiral and thats ok. How they reacted isnt your fault...” 

They offered him a place to go, a place to thrive. Screw the others that refused to understand and stay with them. And Fear led them both deeper down the halls by the hand, making sure he didnt get lost

He was done standing down.

Someone needed to pay. 

~ ~ ~

If he was honest, Wrath wasnt sure how long he sat outside the intrusive side’s shut door, sitting slumped against the opposing wall in a thick, deafening silence. It mustve been long enough for him to drift into an uneasy, restless sleep. His dreams filled up with memories of younger years, of pranks and scuffles and violent roughhousing the three of them got up to being on their own, of Remus making meals and running around frantic to keep both Anger and Fear from accidentally killing themselves or each other on something. Of Deceit hazily joining their trio, hesitant and quiet but able to snap back just as viciously and able to rough house back just as good as the rest of them after awhile. Of days filled with shrieks, squeals, bickering and shrilly laughter, of restless nights where they all broke into Remus’s room and dog piled on his bed to sleep. Of slowly growing up and watching Virgil come out of his quiet observance and transition from Fear to Anxiety and taking charge as a leader among them, of Remus stepping back and letting him with full confidence as his right hand and partner in crime in most cases. Of seeing Deceit come out of his terrified shell and blossom into a belovedly bitchy and...supposedly self assured side...of Virgil’s echoing screams that seem to reverberate through his very core...

He jolted awake at the sound of a door creaking, and sluggishly lifted his head to see a pair of familiar scuffled riding boots, laces fraying if you looked close enough. He lifted his gaze higher and soon locked onto tired green eyes that were dark and dull from exhaustion. Lifeless was a term he could describe those eyes with and that fact made him briefly queasy and cold. He looked tired, so very tired, and older. He was older than them both....but right now he looked much older than he was...There was a silence between them for a few moments that allowed Wrath to rouse himself up a little more.

“ Dessy....for all thats unholy...what’re you still doin out here dumbass? Did you stay there all night?” 

‘Dessy’...‘ Des’ the nickname eased some of his shot nerves. Ever since they were kids they had joked that his name shouldve been “ Despair” instead of “ Daniel Williams” because of his very present pessimism and negative outlook. And soon it became so much more fitting that his nickname became “ Des” short for despair...or in Remus’s case “ Dessy” as he oh so enjoyed calling him. The annoying nickname was familiar though, and it helped him relax enough to speak. His voice was rough and awkwardly quiet in the small hallway, as if he’d been the one screaming. 

“ I....wanted to make sure he’d be ok...” He trailed off, voice faltering with a clear shake. It sounded pathetic and weak to him. 

But maybe, just this once pathetic and weak wasnt a bad thing. Because at the sound of his voice, and his dumb reason, Wrath saw some life flicker back into the older side’s eyes, some of their glow returning. Remus let out a tired, exasperated sigh and gave him a small sad smile, his expression softened into something sorrowful yet fond. That fondness, that softness sent warm tingling butterflies fluttering through his chest like it always did despite the grim circumstances. Remus let out a strained chuckle and shook his head, pulling his door shut with a quiet click.

“ He’s asleep now ya little Tasmanian devil...let him rest and we’ll check on him in a bit...now cmon, lets go make some breakfast and watch some movies or something....lets go up up.” With a grunt Des allowed himself to be heaved up by the armpits to his feet and didnt protest Remus wrapping an arm around him and guiding him down to the living room. He didnt want to see that pained exhaustion on his face...he needed to do something

and had a problem he was finally going to get rid of. 

“ No Des you cant.” 

There was that feeling as familiar to him as breathing bubbling in his chest, that hot smoldering feeling of anger or irritation igniting. It flushed out the cold he had been feeling in an unpleasant way but he ignored that part, pressing his palms flat on the table with a bit of force as he narrowed his orange eyes at the one across from him. He felt something like acid stinging his mouth and begging to be spilled free but he did as he usually did and grit his teeth to hold the worst of it at bay. Pushing it down. Holding back again.

“ Not again Remus. I refuse to just fucking sit back and do nothing again. They need to be taught a lesson! This is all their fault- all his fault--”

“ Even if it is so fucking what?! You blindly lashing out at them is only going to make things worse I can promise you that--”

“ Like hell it will!! They act like they can just walk all over us and treat us like fucking trash and cause things like last night and you think im lashing out blindly when--”

“ --When youre temper is as violent as a fucking feral mongoose--” “ Dont call me a fucking mongoose beetlejuice reject!!�� “ Oh shut up and sit back down you twerp!!” 

They went back and forth across the table, both their tempers and volumes raising as they fought. That bubbling feeling was twisting into a boiling, growing burning that began filling his chest and core. Why was Remus not agreeing with him for fucks sake--

His vision started tinging red.

“ Look brat you think I fucking like this?! You think im not pissed the fuck off?! Because I am! I’m beyond pissed off about this!! About the fact I know exact who and what caused Virgy’s breakdown and about the fact it happened at all!! I fucking get it!! But even I know you shouldnt just storm in there to take off trying to take off their fucking heads when youre too upset! Youre not thinking clearly enough for that kind of confrontation dammit im trying to protect you in this too!!” Remus’s words were loud, ruthless, and hard hitting. There were angry and forceful and made sense.

Plenty of sense. 

And somehow that made him even angrier.

“ Oh? Ooooh! I get it, I fucking get it! Now that youve been sweetening up fucking logic youre suddenly the first to fucking defend them hurting our fucking best friend--”

“--oh for fucks sake bitch Logan has nothing to fucking do with this!! Im not fucking defending them either!! I swear to god im just trying to--” “ --to what huh?! Keep on his good side so you can get in his fucking pants?! Or so you can fucking push it aside and laugh about it later like one of them?!--” “ Goddammit you fucking stubborn brat you dont know what youre even talking about--” “ I dont know what im talking about?! I DONT KNOW WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT?!?!” His voice rose much louder, his own trembling distortion coming out and getting spat at the side who had helped fucking raise him like venom.

“ I dont know what im talking about?!!  You mean like how I NEVER seem to know what the fuck im talking about?! Like how Virgil  never knows what hes talking about or how you never seem to know what youre fucking talking about when your talking to them?! God now youre even starting to sound like those pretentious bastards!! Dont know what im talking about?! What part do I not know what im talking about Intrusive Thoughts?! huh??!!” His breath was coming out in ragged, squeaking pants as his eyes began to burn “Which fucking part do I not fucking know?! The part where ive had to sit back and bottle up my rage at being pushed aside and degraded and judged and dismissed or having to sit back for fucking years and watch you and virgil get hurt and hurt and ignored and dismissed and talked down and insulted and broken and having to swallow my protests of it?! Or of knowing last night fucking happened because Deceit decided to fully live up to his fucking name and abandoned us for those bastards and left us alone without a second thought and got away with it?! Or the fucking fact youre too busy trying to bone down logic to even fucking care--!!” 

Smack!

It came so fast he hadnt had time to prepare for it before his head was snapped to the side and pain exploding in his face, on the cheek near the jaw in particular as he staggered to the ground a good foot and his eyes eerily slow dragged themselves from looking at the kitchen cabinets to Remus, who still had his fist outstretched near where it had collided with his face, his chest heaving almost like his own was, eyes wild and just as angry before a flash of realization went through them.

“ ....Des....fuck...i...you...” Nothing too coherent came babbling out Remus’s mouth, he was still way too hoped up on anger fueled adrenaline. His fist was starting to tremble and Wrath watched his pupils dilate a few times in his attempt to calm down.

And then there was something like an explosion as that burning feeling warped into a raging fire and Wrath let out a infuriated, inhuman shriek and lunged for Remus with a full intent to rip out his stupid fucking throat as his rage consumed him.

The two fighting sides went crashing into the living room loudly nearly knocking over the couch in their wake, both of them screaming and Wrath inhumanly screeching in an almost reptilian manner as he clawed and punched wherever he could reach. Remus wasnt just lying down and taking it either, yelling in loud angry spats of soon unraveling nonsense as he fought back mercilessly, throwing the other into walls, into furniture, throwing punches and kicks of his own. But nothing seemed to slow the orange side down and he struck back with slowly growing claws and fangs and something sharp growing out of his hair, angry tears burning his eyes and his voice too warbled and distorted to even be understood anymore, both their forms twitching and subtly shifting and glowing as they tried to rip each other to shreds, things fluid dripping and twisting lashing out from Remus’s back. Remus was stronger, he always had been, but Wrath had a seemingly endless stream of fury and adrenaline that kept him getting back up and charging in for more, the room being wrecked between them. Maybe things would have gone too far if it hadnt been brought to a hard, screeching halt.

By the time they could both blink they were ripped away from each other, both now uselessly struggling as they were entangled in roughly restraining strings that glowed a eye straining, furious purple color and seemed to tighten and wrap around them more the more they fought and struggled for freedom. Their indecipherable words and incoherent screams where just as ruthlessly cut short as strings wrapped warningly around their throats, not tight enough to actually choke or hurt them, but firm enough to be very present and felt, their voices being quite literally silenced the moment it touched looped once and touched the spot over their vocal cords. There was a horrifically tense silence as their mouths moved in spat insults and screams that never made a sound.

“......that....that is enough out of both of you.”  

Virgil’s voice cut through the room like a cleaver, the tone dead, cold, and just as pissed off as they were. At first they couldnt see him, manic eyes darting around until Wrath saw the Duke’s eyes trained on top of the stairs near the hallway, pupils down to small pinpricks. When he glared over in that direction he fully understood and felt all that anger draining and quickly turning into a queasy, cold dread that made him want to cower.

That radiation of fury, or bone chilling fear and a kind of suffocating anxiety that made it hard to breathe and a panic that made them both feel like they were perpetually falling and simultaneously drowning swept over the living room like a flood, the corners and ceilings slowly developing intricate pulsing webs or strings that seem to absorb the rooms light as Virgil stepped, no, half crawled down the stairs and into view. Both sets of eyes were visibly, the whites dyed a void like inky black where his brightly burning purple and green irises cut into them coldly. Something sharp and gleaming poked from his scowl and revealed themselves as fangs as his snarl curled his lips. His hood was up hiding most of his pale skin but couldnt hide the flecks and scatterings of void like, inky and purple spots dusting parts of his slowly purple tinging skin. His hands, snapping out from his sleeves to grip the stair railing were fully blotched in that void, fingers curling into razor sharp claws that strings hung stickily too. The eight dark appendages, opaque and gangly half carried him down faster than usual, the ends digging into the carpet as if for stability. A shrill hiss whistled through Anxiety’s teeth and the panic inducing feeling of being stared at at being excruciatingly examined came from every corner, growing worse and worse as he stalked closer with silent movements. 

“ What....the actual fuck are you two doing.” The words with sharp edged and cold, tone flat and tired. They both just stared helplessly, unable to move or speak and both beginning to mindlessly panic. Virgil blinked and a gust of air like an exhale swepted through the room and....left no traces of those fearful horrified feelings in its wake. Both of their feet thudded mutedly against the carpeted floor as the strings released them and retreated back into nothing, disappearing from all around them as if they had never been there to begin with...the room never dimmer than it had started in the morning light and the three of them stood there in silence. Any hints of inhumanity were gone from Anxiety’s form, leaving his two still glowing eyes losing their luster and leaving dull annoyance behind, no fangs, no extra limbs, no claws, no void dotting his skin. When he spoke he took a slow breath, as if unable to breathe just like them.

“....I...I mean it you two...what. the actual fuck did you two wake me up with.” Even his voice had returned to normal, if not for a bit shaky and hoarse from last nights screaming. Wrath saw his eyes were bloodshot, and his face was tinged with blotchy pink and was puffy from crying and something clenched in his chest, thudding hard. He looked at Remus, who was panting from lack of breath, eyes dull and exhausted and pain filled again, injuries from their fight blaring from the blood decorating his body and clothes.

He had done that....he’d lost control again...

“ Im dont want to repeat myself a third fucking time. What the fuck did you--” 

“ I...This is my fault I started it...” Both of them looked at him, gazes drilling into him. But he let his head drop as shame took over, choking him a little. This was his family and they were already hurting and look what he’d done-

“Oh piss off Dessperato. It aint only your fault I fucked up too. Look virgy we were both tired and coming off that dumb worry adrenaline shit and we started arguing...and we got waaaaaay too heated and decided to beat the living shit out of each other...sorry we woke you you were suppose to sleep later.” Virgil let out a sigh and rubbed his temples, pulling off his hood and shaking out his messy bedhead. 

“ Is that all that happened? Im not deaf and the doors arent sound blockers...” “ Then why are you asking.” Virgil and Remus as a bit of a stare off before finally, for the first time that morning all the life slowly returned to his eyes and he gave a toothy, blood streaked grin and started to laugh. The other two looked at him like he had fully lost it. Then Virgil’s lips twitched up and Des rolled his eyes and failed to stop the grin spreading across his face or the chuckles that he managed to choke out. Within a few minutes all three of them were laughing on the messy living room floor  half sprawled over each other and Jealously bemusedly deciding they werent capable of making breakfast and making it for them all instead. Des watched half delerious from his exhaustion as Remus cackled and kicked his leg, just to laugh more when he kicked back.

“ I swear to god no more violence out of you two or I swear I’ll...” Remus let out a snort and gripped the other’s chin between his fingers sensually tugging their faces closer with a smug grin

“ You’ll what Hot Topic? Lock me in the closet again? Or send me reeling with nightmares and hallucinations~ Oh please virgy baby I dare you too~” His tone was light and suggestive, quirking his eyebrows up teasingly for added effect. Virgil snorted and and grinned back leaning close as well.

“ Oh dont start teeempting me with those sweet talkins about hallucinations dr. Hideous~ I might just take you up on that...” Then he flicked his nose and shove him away, both of them laughing. Des was about to try to give them the time to themselves when Remus yanked him between them waggling his finger disapprovingly, making him whack the other’s shoulder with a affectionate “ fuck RIGHT off” and for awhile, in that growing morning light, things felt ok. 

It had taken alot of talking, and another arguement almost breaking out between himself and virgil to convince him to back down from confronting the light sides violently. Virgil brought a surprising amount of identical points to remus, while also reminding him that reacting to violently will only make them ignore and dismiss him further. Des was very reluctant, and stubborn, but ultimately he trusted Virgil’s and Remus’s judgement. He trusted Virgil’s reasoning and that he was looking out for him- protecting him. So when he asked him, softly, to refrain from trying to handle it on my own and let him deal with it Des had agreed, obeying his request.

And then a real tipping point pushed him back over the edge.

It was a few weeks later. He remembered distinctly because the mindscape was abuzz with excitement, even the dark sides were effected by Thomas’s unbridled joy. But Virgil had said he was getting a bad feeling...and headed off to the main part of the mindscape that morning. Things were quiet after, calm even. At some point him and Remus had started playing cards, though Remus was blatantly cheating and they were bickering.

Things were fine...things were calm...

Then Virgil crashing into the living room breathing harshly and in the midst of a bad panic attack. 

They both jumped up and Remus caught the other in his arms, trying to calm him down and figure out what happened. It took a long time and for awhile they only got bits and pieces out

Thomas

A callback, a big important one he and Roman were thrilled for

Patton, something with both Patton and Deceit

Neither of them agreeing but both of them fighting Virgil

some kind of important friend event on the same day

they had argued, they had fought, there had been yelling by the climax of it

Him and Roman went at each others throat despite the fact he had been trying to help roman’s cause

Deceit fought him alot too, trying to cut him off at every chance in a form of fear response, out of defense

Him and patton argued and fought badly for the first time since Thomas’s last breakup

He thought logan would try to see his side and be a neutral party

Logan was getting tug of warred into agreeing to arguments to push him out

They kept trying to shut him down and dismiss him, they stopped listening fairly

Virgil had to pull out a form shift in front of thomas

He had to use his influences and fear to get them to stop talking over him and twisting his words

it only made things worse, and arguments harsher

They rejected him and his attempts to help more

He started having a panic attack mid argument

He thought logan and patton tried to help but they were getting drowned out by Roman and Dee

There was so much yelling, things that should never be said got thrown

They told Virgil he never does anything but make Thomas worse

Thomas finally nearly screamed for them all to stop and half asked half pleaded for Virgil to just leave until everyone calmed down

He lashed out and hit someone, he wasnt even sure who before he fled, not hearing them yell after him. It mightve been patton, or thomas, or maybe logan

And then his panic attack got worse and neither of them could get another understandable word from him. 

In the end Remus eventually got him called down, after a good couple hours of trying, and it took everything in Wrath not to scream and destroy the room.

All Virgil did was try to help, and look what their....their bullshit left him. He was beyond seething at this point, he was fuming he was downright practically breathing fire and shaking from the effort to keep himself still. Remus gave him a cautious warning look, as if he was sizing up one of his many monsters in the imagination and debating if it would kill him or not and Virgil lifted his head to choke out for him to stand down, and to not do anything. Wrath had nodded silently and waited, watching Remus help him upstairs to his room to grab his headphones, and hopefully calm down more. Once they were out of sight he made a decision. He knew the consequences of it, knew theyd both be furious and Virgil would make hell for him for it. But none of that mattered to him

For the first time in many many years...he disobeyed Anxiety’s direct request.

It took a few days to find an opening, but once he saw one he took it, rising up in the big main living room, unknowingly in the middle of a video brainstorm.

Wrath always seemed to appear near the couch, between Roman and Thomas. Just seeing them made his blood boil more than it had been.

It was easy to say he scared the shit out of most of them by just appearing, his entire presence sucking the air from the room and making it hot and tense, a cracked dam waiting to break. Itd been months since he’d seen them face to face, and for a moment his senses got overwhelmed by everything.

But he let that fuel his anger further and he growled for them to fess up. Which one had said it. Roman had of course jumped to the defensive of his friends and that was all Wrath needed.

He lost it, pointing and yelling and accusing Roman. Blaming him for it. Roman didnt back down and fought back, and the fight only seemed to worsen. The others tried to interject, and maybe if Wrath’s vision hadnt been blood red from his fury he wouldve seen they were trying to diffuse the situation and calm things down, talk things out. But he ignored that, whipping around and lashing out at them too

“ Wrath you need to step back and take a deep breath! Youre getting irrational!”

“ Wrath kiddo please we dont have to yell and scream about this Logan’s right lets all take a deep breath ok?”

“ Like hell! Im not going to just let him force his way in here and yell and scream and pretend its ok and we can talk!”

“ Roman please!” “ro stop getting angry back is just making all of it worse the others are right we need to be calm or we’ll never get through to him.”

That voice. Silken and soaked with caution. He whirled around on Deceit and snarled pinning him to the wall without thinking.

“ This is all your fucking fault! Youre the reason they keeping hurting and virgil has breakdowns that put him out of commission for days!! Youre part of the reason Remus locks himself away beating himself up. they trusted you!! We all trusted you and you decided to fuck us over and throw us out like trash!! Was it worth it?!?! Was being here worth breaking the people you grew up with you and loved you?! Well?!” There was yelling around them, and he thought briefly he heard Remus’s and Virgil’s voices behind him as well. But now all that anger, that pushed down bitterness and resentment finally had a target and he couldnt focus on anything else. He didnt even heard Deceits struggling answer as he tried to claw him off, his different eyes wide and his mouth moving in words that werent registering.

“ -youre right ok?! Fuck youre not right at all--fuck fuck I get it youre angry and I fucked up with this, this isnt my fault and I havent been trying to figure out ways to fix it! I totally havent been beating myself up for what happened a few days ago with virgil and I dont regret it ok--” THe words blended together in his head, there were hands on his shoulders ripping him away the the freaked out snake and shoving him into the couch. He snarled but froze when he realized He was staring at the very formal business end of Remus’s morning star, inched from his nose and Remus standing over him with a dark look over his face...dark and upset The red faded from his vision and he blinked rapidly, eyes burning again and jaw aching from how hard he’d been clenching it or from yelling he honestly couldnt even tell anymore. From behind Remus stood both Logan and Virgil, side by side speaking in rapid low voices he couldnt decipher. Behind them he caught of glimpse of Roman and Patton both kneeling on the floor, fretting over a still freaked out Deceit as Jealously offered to help him up. Wrath was struggling to breathe, his body twitching and shaky from the quickly fading adrenaline. Soon he was left feeling cold and sick of himself, staring at Remus with just as wide and wild eyes. 

“ Easy....easy spitfire....youre...just breathe for me ok?” He couldnt even nod, he couldnt move. He vageuely noticed Virgil and Logan both looking at him before the morning star was gone and Logan was in front of him, hands palm up in a non-threatening manner. 

“ Wrath can you hear me? Good...just listen to my voice...I need you to name me five things you can see.” He blinked rapidly and barely heard Remus’s and Virgil’s murmurs of reassurance. Or maybe Virgil’s was more quiet talking, as he was standing at Patton’ side  like the normally bubbly side’s shadow. 

“u...uuh....y..youre tie...r-remus’s outfit....the stairs...the others...and the Roman’s s-sword...” Logan gave a nod, slowly kneeling in front of him with a calm, leveled expression that helped him focus more.

“ Good, now four things you can touch. Take your time Wrath.” He flexed his fingers, more of a twitch really as his breathing began to even out slowly. “ Um...My jacket...the couch...my jeans...uh...t..the carpet?” He nodded again through his faltered stammering as the deepness faded.

“ Three things you can hear?” He blinked again and listened for a moment.

“ .....your voice...Remus’s voice...the others...” “ Two things you can smell, remember take your time.” “ Bacon...from breakfast...and someones cologne..” A small smile came to his face as he adjusted his glasses in slow noticeable motions.

“ Just just 1 thing you can taste.” He managed to smack his lips once and his face screwed up at the taste lingering in his mouth.

“ ....acidic bile...” Both their brows furrowed a little but when Logan looked over his shoulder Remus shrugged at the silent question.

“Probably needs to puke Dr. Maywhoo.” Logan sighed at the nickname and turned back to him, holding up his hands a little.

“ Now, Wrath Id life for you to unclench your jaw, roll and relax your shoulders, loosen your posture if you can, uncurl your fingers and exhale please.” He blinked and slowly did as instructed, not realizing until then that he was wound up like a jack in the box. His jaw ached as he unclenched it and his shoulders slumped heavily as he relaxed, fingers sore from apparently being curled into firsts for so long, small red lines in his palms from his nails. He felt calmer, drained and upset, but calm. 

“ Logan, Remus.” He looked past them to see virgil standing up tall, if not awkwardly, besides Roman and watching them with a hard to read look.

“ I...think sitting down and calmly talking...is now long overdue.” 

~~~~~

Hours later Wrath Des found himself on the mindscapes main couch tiredly nestled besides a dozed off Jealousy Jacob and a cheerfully talking Patton. They had spent hours haphazardly strewn around the very room, just...talking and discussing and airing years worth of grievences. It wasnt easy, and things were no where near fixed or completely repaired. But, there were many small positive steps taken in that direction...and things were lighter and better as they stood at a better understanding of each other. Things werent perfect, and in the back of his mind he could list everything that could fuck up and send them back spiraling. Yet he didnt want to ruin what...whatever it was happening as dinner was cooked. Logan, Remus, and Virgil all sat together on the other side of the couch chatting among themselves and with Patton as they tried to decide on a movie and played candyland. In the kitchen he could hear Roman and Deceit cooking and giggling with each other, trying to outdo each other with some dumb food based pick up lines. But they sounded happy, so many it wasnt that dumb...Des watched them play candyland, staying relatively quiet aside from answering questions and jabs sent his way. It was comfortable and relaxed, and Des couldnt help but yawn. Without noticing , he ended up resting his head on Patton’s clearly unoccupied and underutilized shoulder as his eyes drooped shut. He felt Patton jump a little before slowly relaxing, and he didnt even need to open his eyes to flip Remus off as he let out an overly exaggerated coo at the motion letting himself relax. Patton smelled good he decided. Like fabric softener and baked goods and some kind of spice...Des also decided that the blurry sight of the trio next to them, with Remus’s legs draped across Logan and Virgil’s laps and one hand playing with Virgils messy hair as he sat on Logan’s right and Virgil contently and fully relaxed into Logan’s left side, head resting in the crook of his neck and his hand laced with the logical side’s unused hand as they played was also good. The sound of Jacobs soft snores was soothing and the joyful flirty voices in the kitchen blended into it well when combined with Pattons soft humming. If this was how things would be more often....he’d learn to add a little more patience to his supply of the stuff....

And maybe for once he didnt have to be negative, with no more tension for now to be broken.

The end.

 Ok holy shit its finally finished!! This was over 7k goddamn words of emotion and holy shit was it a rollercoaster to write

THis is what happened when I wake up before 5 in the morning after not being able to sleep much...I apparently bust out 15 whole pages worth of words

Now....to go do my chores real quick and go pass the fuck out for an hour or two of sleep

I hope you guys liked it!!!

taglist

@phantommoonpeople @sweetsweetemo @leesacrakon @amazable01 @strawberryjellystuff @heyhelloitsk @jemthebookworm @max-is-tired @seriously-a-dragon @sar-kasstic @soupspam @riarities @yalltookmyurlideas @unsocialchapeau @hyperions-stallion @aqua-mazing @pancakewithamace @dee-ree-vee @sensibleghost @ro-roowo @baby-duck-boy @wack-ismygender

[foolscapper]

Spn prompt! I have a HUGE love of incoherent/delirious Sam and panicking/worried Dean, whether it's head injury, curse, blood loss, or dangerously high fever 👉👈

Your wish is my command! It ended up... longer than anticipated... but here you are! Unbeta’d, we die like men. This is weechesters and involves a kid being hurt, so if that’s something that’d bother anyone, feel free to skip over this!

(Posted to Archiveofourown as well.)

Sylvester Sharpe turned from the beat up Ford truck he'd parked on the corner of A Street and Cotton Circle after a voice coolly demanded his attention. The boy  that met his critical stare was about half his age — youthful, maybe somewhere between sixteen or eighteen: dirty-blonde hair; strange old necklace; a charcoal black Led Zeppelin T-shirt, darker with sweat around a neckline littered with holes that implied he really loved that goddam shirt. Sylvester furrowed his brow, put out his cigarette on the lip of a truck bed full of trash and beer bottles and stolen shit he'd been selling to good buddies who know a thing or two about loose lips getting busted, and squinted at the boy like he were pea-sized.

"What?" Sylvester said, the clipped sound one of impatience.

"I said," the freckled boy replied back, terse, "Do they call you 'Sly' around here?"

Sylvester snorted, loose-limbed and careless and ready to move on to the nearest liquor store to get a new pack of Marlboros. He turned toward his open truck door to move along. He said, "Yeah, I'm Sly."

The kid lunged, and they were on ground in a few seconds flat. 

An old man in an ivy cap walking his dog watched as the teenager started to beat the ever-loving shit out of him.

**************** **************** **************** **************** 

You don't mess around when it comes to concussions. Concussions are traumatic brain injuries — sometimes it doesn't feel like that, because you think "oh, well, they just shook some screws loose; they just have some stars circling around their head, and they'll be fine in a few hours". But real life ain't cartoons. 

If there's one thing you could give their old man credit for, it was that he never undervalued a trip to the ER when it came to the safekeeping of his son's brains. Dean had a concussion before, himself. Just before he turned fifteen; got thrown into a wall by a ghost before returning back to their hotel room and vomiting his guts out in a toilet not even worth pissing in. Sam had been about eleven, casting the kindest and most worried shadow over the hunch of Dean's back, rubbing his shoulders and nervously parroting Dad about how he absolutely shouldn't go to sleep, no matter how much he slurred he wanted to.

Dad looked up the nearest ER and drove him down. 

The nurses had to stand there with their mouths in a thin, concerned line while Dean rambled on and on about how he'd caught a Chupacabra in a giant net once in Texas and ganked a vampire last week in Pasadena. And, of course, Dean also asked where Sam was — over and over and over and over — until Sam had to lean forward in his waiting room chair and wave at him, a constant reminder that he hasn't been left behind anywhere. Sam had tired lines around his mouth, then, and worry in his eyes that had been overcast with exhaustion. That's one of the few things Dean could remember about that night. Just thinking, 'Man, Sammy, why you look so tired?'

If he hadn't been so fucking concussed, the answer'd be obvious.

**************** **************** **************** ****************

Stuck in some half-dead town in Nevada in the summer of '95, Dean was more than a little restless; Dad had left them to go wipe a vampire nest a few small towns south, and apparently Dean hadn't been "big britches" enough to handle a hunt of that scope yet. Which was total horseshit, because he was sixteen; he could outdrink any old chump at the bar and he'd gotten a kill list so long that it rivaled a suburban mom's grocery list. 

They settled into an apartment with no furniture save for a two-seated couch and some mattresses — and exactly two months worth of rent covered with no plans to renew — but at least it also had a television with a few channels, too. Sweating from the heat, he traded the urge to hunt with the privilege of kicking up his feet and watching The People's Court. School had ended an hour or so before, but Sammy'd stayed behind for some extracurricular club he'd been practically vibrating to join, and Dean had no plans to shoot it down while Dad wasn't around to comment on it.

There was a small struggle at the front door to unlock it, and Dean listened with a quirked eyebrow.

"You forget how human hands work, Stuart Little?"

The door creaked open a fraction in response, and then stayed that way for a moment. Through the sliver of open air, Dean heard a small sob that made his stomach fall through the couch, and as he swung himself up onto his feet Sam walked through the door and nearly right into him — it was easy to see why, because his right eye was completely swollen shut, purpled and shiny. Dry blood clung under his nose and matted one side of his head, and he swayed on his feet when Dean's hands jolted out to grab his shoulders.  The kid's backpack was nowhere to be seen. Probably dropped and abandoned.

"Sam. Sammy." His hand reached to touch, and he found the bloody, clumped hair hid a lump the size of a golf ball, split and oozing. The kid shuddered with pain, and tears continued to leak down one side of his face. The fear mutates and splits off, leaving a new, fresh wave of emotion: fury. This isn't a monster. These aren't claw marks or some bruise caused by a furious ghost. Some punk-ass kids must have jumped him at the school and left him like this. And his brother walked all the way back here like that. He would even bet they aren't Sam's age. Sam wouldn't have let them do this without a hell of a fight.

He could barely stop the snarl of his lips, the cold calmness. "... Sam, who did this?"

"I don't..." Sam licked his lips, looking around like he wasn't sure where he was. Garbled words took time to form with a tied tongue. Dean could bet if he peeled the other eye open, the pupils would be mismatched in size. "I don't remember. I'm... I don't know. Dean."

The fury had to wait. He moved to walk Sam to the couch, planted him there and squeezed his brother's shoulder; another cold wave of outrage washed over him when Sam winced in pain, like something was hurt there, too. "It's okay. It's okay, little brother, just don't move. I'm going to clean you up, and we're gonna — get you to the urgent care. You hear me? It'll only take a minute."

He got the first aid from the bare kitchen cabinet, dug around for all the things he'd been familiar grabbing any time Dad had gotten his bell rang. He fumbled with the supplies with all the grace Sam had opening the front door. Uttered a sorry before he carefully pressed the gel icepack to Sam's eye. The other eye locked onto him, red and wet, glazed with delirium.

"Dean," Sam wept, and Dean had to focus hard to make out what he was saying: "Dean, I think I'm dead... I tried to find help, but nobody — nobody stopped... I think they can't see me. I think I'm a ghost."

Jesus. Yeah, the kid was concussed. Bad.

"No way. Not my little brother. Never gonna let that happen." His smile was strained as he grabbed Sam's wrist and raised the hand to the boy's own face. "Ghosts aren't big on crying, right? The salt would burn like a bitch."

"Dean..." 

"Yeah?"

"My ears're weird... Sounds weird," he admitted weakly, like he'd done something wrong. 

"It's okay, dude. You're concussed."

"... Oh." Sam sat for a moment. Looked around the small, unlived space. The People's Court was moving into a commercial. "Dean... Don' tell Dad. Don't tellem I messed up."

Dean pressed a palm to Sam's chest, his thumb gently rubbing the hill of his collarbone to soothe him. Usually about now they'd be wrestling over some stupid fight, or he'd be getting him into a headlock to test his reflexes, or Sam'd be throwing pencils at him for interrupting his train of thought at the kitchen table.

"You didn't mess anything up. I promise." It was a Herculean effort to keep his hands soft and caring, because all they wanted to do now was rip someone to pieces. He was gonna. As soon as Sam was good, he was gonna split his knuckles knocking someone's teeth out. He was gonna paint the dirt with it. Gonna blacken both eyes and bleed both nostrils and break a few things in someone's body.

... But only after making sure Sammy'd be alright.

Sam was missing a backpack and about forty bucks in money he'd earned from mowing lawns for the balding, dorky librarian living across the street. That same librarian ushered the boys into the back seat of her Sedan and made a beeline for the nearest ER. With Sam leaning against him, his knobby elbow jutting into his ribs, Dean answered a question nervously asked from the driver's seat.

"I don't know who did it. But I'm real good at hunting down whatever I got to."

**************** **************** **************** **************** 

There was a gratifying sound of Sylvester's skull hitting the side of his own truck after Dean threw him into it headlong. Storming forward, he doesn't hesitate to pick Sly back up by his flannel jacket to do it all over again. "Taking from the grown-ups not good enough for you?! You think you can fucking steal from kids, huh?! Think you can beat up some kid a third your size, huh?! You fuck—"

Wheezing, Sylvester tried to drag himself up into the driver's seat of his truck, a feeble effort to escape his punishments. A small crowd from a barbershop across the street formed, but kept their distance — older ladies mostly who knew better than to put their hands between a dog fight. Dean ignored them to grab Sylvester by the front of his collar and hoist him a foot up from the seat he'd slumped on. Their faces were inches apart, so that he could look into hazel eyes seeing red. "If I ever see you again, I'mma kill you. Do you understand? Do I make myself clear? I'll sleep like a baby after."

Sylvester didn't reply, but he did moan in pain, and Dean considered that an answer. He dropped him and stepped over his heaving chest with dust-stained boots to retrieve a backpack out of the truck bed. Then he reached into the man's jean pocket with swelling knuckles, digging more than forty dollars out of the billfold he finds there and shoving the wad into his own pocket. Then he chucked the rest of the wallet across the unleased dirt field. 

"Go fuck yourself," Dean said finally, and left just as he'd come.

**************** **************** **************** **************** 

Dean and Sam could barely fit on the apartment's couch together, legs crammed together under a quilted blanket while the television had cast an ever-changing glow over them. Sam's face was still a mess of Dean's least favorite colors, but now he could see both of his eyes, and that helped loosen the knot in his stomach. John had been called from the ER, told the story from front to back, and he filled the teenager with grim vindication when he complimented Dean's recent successful hunt. 

The verdict: a 24-hour observation in the hospital, during which John Winchester strode in to keep vigilant watch over Dean as he kept vigilant watch over Sam; he hadn't stopped watching him since they'd gotten home after, either. Dean could hear his father's snores through the door into the one bedroom. Who knows when the last time Dad slept had been; he'd come straight back from the end of the destroyed vamp nest, no pitstops. 

"... Dean?" Sam asked after him, wearily. If he had a nickel for every time the boy said it today, he'd be a millionaire. But there was an awareness in Sam's eyes this time that had been frighteningly missing earlier, as he stared at him from across the short couch. In the ER, it had taken a lot of coaxing and promising that Sam wasn't as dead as he'd thought he was, and now Dean was very confident he finally believed it a day late and a dollar short.

"Yeah?" 

"Your hands."

He glanced down at the bruised, scraped up knuckles, and just shook his head at the sight of Sam's apprehension; he hadn't told Sam exactly what happened, but his brother was smart. Smarter than most people who came and went in their lives. Smarter than Dean had ever felt he could be. He sighed as he flexed his hands. "Don't worry. I'm not going to jail for murder or anything. Just... rest, okay?"

Sam's chin sunk into the blanket. Not appeased, but relenting. 

The battered kid mumbled, "You're the one who looks tired," then he smiled in that way that made Dean regret his bleeding heart. Dean's mouth opened for a moment, then closed. He played it off as best he could, but the rough emotion in the way he glanced aside and rubbed a hand down his mouth  was hardly subliminal. "Yeah, well. Sometimes worrying too much is exhausting, dude."

Sam bit his lip. "I'll try not to worry you as much, then."

Dean reached out, patted the bony knee near his.

"... I might have to hold you to that."

But really? He would never.

[peachyteabuck]

sick of nothing (carol danvers x reader)

summary: Shitty, shitty bars can still have pretty, pretty bartenders. 

Carol’s got a night off and you work as a bartender while you study to become a statistician. A one-night stand situation.

pairing: Carol Danvers x Reader

words: 2,592

trigger warnings: one-night stands, daddy kink, light choking, strap ons, angst if you really squint

notes: this was written for @shay-iamiam ‘s 800 follower writing challenge. my prompt was “i have a name, and it’s not sweetheart” and has been bolded within the fic !!

ask box / masterlist / commission info / ko-fi

The walk is about three and a half blocks, the hood of her AIR FORCE hoodie pulled up the whole time as if to dare any pick pocket and low life in the city to test her self-defense abilities. Nobody she passes looks at her for more than half a second, just how she wants it.

In front of her destination is a neon sign that’s nearly dulled - as if too old to support its own brightness anymore. It’s almost hidden among the other, flashier billboards and car lights and God knows what else the civilians in this town use to be seen these days. Regardless, it catches Carol’s eye.

The stairs to the entrance are lit by a green similar to the color outside, the deep shade barely masking the multiple women making out against the wall. Carol makes eye contact with one of them who’s got two attached to each side of her neck. The unnamed woman smirks at Carol, who nods back.

When she gets to the bottom of the stairs, the heavy door she has to use all her might to push in order to get through the threshold. There aren’t a lot of people in the run-down bar, it’s much too early for the regulars to be partying. She counts maybe six people, max, along with the three exits.  

Carol spots you across the bar. Across the dirty, grimy bar she flags you down and orders scotch. She doesn’t know exactly what it is, but it was what her papa drank when he was lonely, so it’s what she’ll drink now.

Your pour the dark liquid into a glass with fluid movements, and you push it down the bar to her with equal ease.

“Enjoy,” you tell her, and she nods once before downing it. She watches you intently, tracks your wide grin and fast hands.

You notice her staring but don’t say anything, too busy stuffing your bra with the single dollar bills and wiping down the wettened wood as each patron becomes drunk enough to leave. It’s near the end of your shift, when you’ve got ten minutes left and the next girl comes to pull back her hair and change into her own t-shirt printed with the bar’s logo, that you finally make contact.

“It’s kinda rude to stare,” you tell her without meeting her eyes.

“Oh, but you’re so nice to look at,” the woman, with her shockingly neat blank olive long-sleeved shirt. She’s got blonde hair pulled back tight into a bun at the top of her neck, posture that rivals that of a Renaissance-era French noble.

Military. You note. Most of them don’t bother with the bar you have the misfortune of working at, especially with it being as seedy as it is; filled with degenerates as it is. There are better places to drink, better places to pick up hookers, better places to forget the fact they joined was just to pay for college.

The woman speaks again when you lean against the bar – the first time your feet stopped moving since your shift started. “When are you done here, sweetheart?”

You smile, the shine in your eyes especially evident in the low light. “I have a name, and it’s not sweetheart,” you tell her with a voice playful and light.

“And what is this mysterious name of yours?” she downs the last of her drink as she waits for your reply.

There’s a hesitancy in your voice, an uncertainty that isn’t scared but most definitely is noticeable. “Why don’t you take me on a date and find out?” Another pause. “I’m done here in five. You can meet me out back if you want.”

Carol smiles wide and dope, and tips you a crisp twenty-dollar bill, which she places over the wet ring her empty glass left on the dark, stained wood. “See ya then, darling,” just as she tucks her stool back out of the path of travel for the other customers, she turns back around. “My name’s Carol, by the way.”

As you tap out and grab your bag from the back room, you can’t tell which weighs heavier on your conscience: the biggest tip you’ve ever received (in proportion to the tab) or the fact that you’re about to have sex with a stranger.

Said woman is right where you told you to be, leaning against the brick wall with her hands stuffed in her pockets. Silently, you nod, and she follows you on the route to your apartment. For awhile it’s silent, almost uncomfortably so.

About halfway through the walk, Carol’s the first one to speak. “What are you doing here? In this shitty town?” A pause. “You seem way too smart to be stuck here.”

You shrug your bag closer to you, as if it’ll protect her from whatever hypercritical commentary she’s about to give. “I’m studying to be a statistician, working on saving money so I can start working on my PhD soon.”

Carol laughs a little, and for a moment you prepare to recite the speech you gave your dad when you left home four years ago, your freshman year professor who told you that women can’t do math, it’ll interfere with their natural role as caregivers to the family, your sophomore year boyfriend who you broke up with not only because you figured out you only like women, but also because he was a piece of shit who told you that if a woman wasn’t a stay at home mom she wasn’t worth shit.

But Carol doesn’t mock you, doesn’t chuckle like it’s the strangest thing she’s ever heard.

Still, you’re concerned. “What’re you laughing about?”

“Just never expected anyone so smart would allow someone like me to take them home,” she tells you, honest and sincere. For a moment her cool façade breaks and your heart along with it, but after a few seconds she’s back with that killer smile.

Your conversation remains light the rest of the walk, at one point your fingers intertwining as the silence of the night settles upon you. The action is cute, innocent, directly contrasting what happened the second you reach the inside of your apartment.

Carol’s got you pushed against the inside of your bedroom door, and you can feel each groove and nick in the old wood as she pulls off the horrendous black shirt your boss requires you to wear. The day it was handed to you, you promised yourself you’d burn it the minute you didn’t have to work at that shithole anymore. But, as Carol kisses your collar bone and bites at each square inch of sensitive skin, you wonder how bad it could be if you managed to catch her while wearing it. On impulse your nose wrinkles, thinking about the putrid scent wafting from the fabric, the piss of a thousand racoons settling over the hottest woman you’ve ever laid eyes on.

Luckily, Carol doesn’t notice, because she’s too busy pulling it off of you and catching a glimpse of the tattoos that litter your body. Her lips stop, then, and she takes a moment to look – really look – at them. She traces the normal model – located on your ribs – lightly. “Is that the mathy shit you were talking about?”

You laugh, pulling her in for a kiss. “These are equations that can determine things you only dream of knowing. You know, in World War I-“ You’re cut off with a sharp bite to your breast opposite the ink and one of her hands snaking itself down your pants. “Oh fuck.”

Carol smiles into your skin before throwing you onto the bed, her hair barely moving as she tosses you as if you were pillow rather than a person. You hit the bed with a loud thump, and in the second you take to move your thick blankets that have gathered over you off of your body she’s removed her shirt and is working on unhooking her simple, sweat-stained bra.

Her movements are fevered, her eyes ablaze. It’s the kind of fire you’ve seen in the climax of cheesy animated movies, when the pretty, hopeless protagonist is cornered against some thick free as the big, bad wolf towers over her as spit falls from its jowls. With wide eyes, the careless woman watches and whimpers as what is likely her death-bringer rips the top of her bodice open with a simple swipe of its dirt-coated claws.

The only difference between you and her appears to be her terror, because as Carol crawls over you and sinks her teeth into your jugular all you can do is moan and grab at her back.

“You’re so cute,” she growls into your ear. “Maybe I should fuck you like I’ll break you…” An evil, hungry grin spreads across her face as you shake your head, your nails dragging angry red lines down her muscular back.  “Or, maybe not.”

As she removes her thick, black pants, you notice she’s wearing a worn leather harness she claims she’s had since she first enlisted fit tight to her waist and thighs. The material is soft as your palms occasionally run over the buckles as you reach for her ass. “Please, Carol, please god,” you beg, gasping at she bites at your nipple. “Please just fuck me.”

Carol moves on down your stomach, leaving a trail of bruises in her wake. You can feel her lips spread into a smile into your skin, nipping at your heated flesh as she looks up at you. “Mm, kinda wanna have you ride me instead. You okay with that, baby girl?”

You’re breathless as you respond. “Yes.”

Somehow, in all of your breathless splendor, Carol finds a way you coax you – no, manhandle you so that you’re hovering just above the bright blue cock kept in place by the harness.

“I don’t think that’s military-issue,” you quip. The smirk on your face, though, subsides quickly when she aligns herself with your entrance and bottoms out in a single thrust. All you can do is moan, bracing yourself with one hand on the wall and one on her chest. It’s embarrassing, almost, how good it feels.

The ends of Carol’s mouth slowly spread upward as she watches you fall apart, watches your eyes roll to the back of your head, watches your jaw go slack.

“You like that?” she asks, voice thick with the arousal that comes with pleasing a partner. “You like it when I fuck your pussy this hard?”

All you can do is give her a small squeak and a nod, unable to form such a complicated thing as speech. Carol’s got one hand on your hip to keep you moving, to keep your hips grinding on her cock, while the other rests on your throat with her thumb moving just past your lips.

It doesn’t take any exchange of words for you to understand what she wants from you, and as you take the ridge between the two phalanges you flatten your tongue against the digit.

You soak the calloused skin with your spit, tracing every small detail with your tongue and basking in the glow of giving and receiving pleasure. Soon, though, Carol pulls her thumb away with a loud pop!

You pout, worrying you had done something wrong. But as you feel Carol circling your clit you forget all about your own insecurities.

“Oh fuck,” you whine, almost falling if it weren’t for Carol’s painful grip on your hip. “Oh my God!”

“You gonna come for me baby?” She hisses, voice husky and laced with godly confidence. “You gonna come on daddy’s cock?”

Her saying that word, that title, sends another flood of arousal to your center. “Yes, daddy, I love your cock,” you moan, desperate throw yourself into the pleasure you’re so close to reaching. “Please, please let me come! I wanna come on your thick dick, daddy!”

Carol doesn’t say anything at first, caught stroking her ego with a cocky smirk that somehow makes you even wetter.

“Fuck yeah, baby,” Carol nearly purrs. “Come for Daddy.”

She’s got one thumb rubbing at your clit, the other hand palming at your breast. Soon it’s too much, the tight, heated coil in your abdomen gives one last tightening before it unravels – pleasure flooding your blood. As the explosive pleasure begins to subside, Carol carefully flips you onto your back and pulls out of your hypersensitive pussy. As she pulls the toy out of you achingly slow you whimper from sensitivity and the empty feeling inside of you.

Carol moves off of the bed to pull the harness off of you, and in the absence of her body heat you shiver and whine for her to join you back in bed. She gives you a small, pitiful smile before leaning forward to a place a light kiss on your sweaty forehead. “Just give me a second, baby, you need some water.” You mmph, and point her in the direction of your shitty kitchenette.

When she comes back you’re on the precipice of sleep – eyes heavy as she props you up to drink from of the cold tap water. As you empty the glass, she places it onto your bedside table and wraps herself around you – puling the heavy, sex-thick blankets over the two of you. With the warmth of the fabric and her skin, sleep soon claims your consciousness.

It feels like a mere few seconds later when your pupils begin to move behind your eyelids, sparked by something deep in your foolhardy dreams telling you that you feel someone stirring in your room. When your eyes finally crack open, you can see the woman who fucked you into another consciousness last night pulling on her clothes in the dark.

When you click on the lamp, her movements stop like a cockroach freezes under a flashlight. A long, heavy silence ensues.

Carol’s the one to break it. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

More silence.

“I’m sorry,” she says – voice small.

The corners of your lips turn up in a similar manner. “It’s okay.”

Another beat passes before the both of you move. Carol continues to dress, and you move to write your landline number and, after a bit of hesitation, your name and address.

The silence continues as she makes her way around your room and collects her things – namely the harness, which she tucks back under her pants, just as before. As she turns around to pull her pants over the leather strap, you move behind her to tuck the old receipt into a back pocket.

When Carol notices your hands on her ass she freezes, but soon welcomes the embrace as you whisper in her ear. “Just…don’t be a stranger, alright?”

She intertwines your fingers and kisses where her skin meets yours. “I’ll try.”

You sigh as Carol steps out of your apartment complex into the pink-covered city. Dawn is just bringing itself upon the horizon, as if the sun is trying to bide you more time together. There are a few moments where your eyes meet, and she gives you a small, sad smile.

“Goodbye,” she says quietly.

You nod, once. Wrapping your robe tighter around you to keep the chills tighter to keep the chills at bay, you wonder why it would be so cool in the thick of summer. As you turn back inside to get ready for class, you try not to think about how it might not be the cold that make you shake.

[myaekingheart]

105. Claws of the Beast

Dedicated to my very difficult 80lb rescue Lab who needs tranquilizers just to get his nails trimmed. --- In all honesty, though, this was an extremely hard chapter to write and bring myself to post. I know the judgment around this sort of stuff can be harsh, and it breaks my heart to know that when other people see my dog's nails, that they're very likely judging my merit as a dog owner. The truth of the matter is that it's not an easy situation to handle by any stretch of the imagination--you want to do what's best, but you don't want to hurt yourself or your fur baby.  Sometimes the most necessary things are also the hardest. All we can manage is our best. Hopefully there are other people out there reading this who understand the struggle and can relate.

               Rei couldn’t concentrate. No amount of white noise or refocusing techniques could help her. All she could think about was Toshio curled up by her feet on the couch, dreaming emphatically. His upper lip curled as he whimpered and growled, his paws twitching to chase after imaginary prey. And that was where the distraction lie: in his paws.

               Try as she might, for some godawful reason Toshio had a thing about people touching his paws. He would immediately grow defensive, baring his teeth with a low growl. Rei wondered what could’ve been done to this poor dog in the past that left him so aggressive about it but she did her best not to anger him unnecessarily. Which would’ve been fine if not for his nails.

               At first, Rei had assumed that perhaps taking him for long walks would alleviate the issue. That perhaps the sidewalk would help file them down. By now, however, an intervention was necessary. His claws had become monstrously long—one of which was so overgrown, it was beginning to curl. How the hell is this even comfortable for you? Rei thought to herself. Sighing, she slammed her book shut and pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. She knew what would come of another attempt and yet it could not be avoided any further. She needed to trim his nails.

               Rei tried to move as cautiously as possible as she maneuvered around Toshio, desperate not to wake him. So long as he stayed unconscious, she’d have a sliver of a chance. She tiptoed into the kitchen and searched the drawers as quietly as possible for the clippers—the big ones made specifically for animal claws. It took her all of five minutes to find them wedged in the back of the junk drawer—the reorganization of which was likely a necessary project for her next day off.

               She wasn’t sure why she hid them behind her back as she crept nearer—it wasn’t like Toshio could see—but it just felt right. And then, as if functioning on some sort of radar, Toshio’s eyes popped open and and he stared at her with all the suspicion one can expect from a dog. Rei grinned at him innocently though nothing about her body language supported this theory. Toshio watched as she skirted around him, ensuring she kept her backside fully hidden. The moment she got too close, Toshio growled and leapt to his feet before retreating into the bedroom. Rei leaned back to watch him through the doorway as he wiggled his bulky body beneath the bed. Defeated, Rei tossed the nail clippers onto the coffee table and fell back against the couch, draping an arm over her eyes. So much for that.

               The entire rest of her afternoon was spent trying—and failing—to stop thinking about it. She flipped through a dusty dog manual on the bookshelf, it’s spine falling apart from years of use, in hopes of finding any guidance. After all, there had to be some way to work around this. She was certain that there were plenty of other dog owners who faced the same exact struggle that she was. How did they do it? What were their secrets? She only wished she knew.

               When Kakashi returned home the following evening, sore and sleepy, the house was a mess. Books were scattered everywhere. Sheets of paper with bizarre diagrams scattered the coffee table and couch. Rei was nowhere to be found. Furrowing his brows, Kakashi stepped over a stack of texts and set his equipment on the kitchen table. “Rei…?” he asked into the void.

               From the corner of the room, Rei popped her head out from behind yet another stack of books. “Kakashi!” she exclaimed, her voice bright and lilted like a child’s.

               “What the hell is all of this?” he asked, chuckling slightly under his breath. It was then that Rei’s face turned serious.

               “Kakashi” she repeated, voice now stern. “We have a problem.”

               “Oh…?” Kakashi asked. He skirted around the clutter, clearing a space for himself to sit on the couch. “Is the problem that we’ve been organizing our books the wrong way the entire time?”

               “Oh god, no” Rei swatted at the air with a disgusted facial expression. Kakashi couldn’t help but laugh—he knew that if nothing else, his fiancée was a master of literary organization. Her offense at the insinuation was admittedly adorable. Smoothing her bangs back, she huffed and added, “It’s Toshio.”

               Kakashi’s heart leapt into his throat as he suddenly began searching the room for the dog. He didn’t want to think about what kind of problem might have arisen. He couldn’t handle the thought of a sick dog. “W-what’s the matter?” he asked.

               Rei rose to her feet, carefully stepping over the mess she had made. “Toshio’s nails are getting dangerously long. They desperately need to get cut but he’s making things difficult” she explained. “I don’t know what the fuck to do.”

               A slight smile teased Kakashi’s lips. “Are you not strong enough to handle him on your own?” he asked, and in his voice Rei could tell he was lightly mocking her.

               Frowning, Rei leapt over the arm of the couch and whacked him on the shoulder. “That’s not funny!” she shouted. “Do you think I like knowing that I can’t handle my own dog? What the hell kind of fucked up shit is that?”

               Taken aback, Kakashi murmured a soft sorry as he rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes skated over to the bedroom door creaked ajar where he finally found Toshio’s fluffy butt sticking out from beneath the bed. “Really, though, how hard could this be?” he asked. His apparent confidence was nauseating.

               “You think it’s so easy?” Rei asked. She leaned back to retrieve the nail clippers from the pile of mess on the end table, slapping them into Kakashi’s palm. “You try, then. I’ll wait.”

               Kakashi blinked as he looked down at them, considering the situation. After a long moment, he stood up. “Alright then” he said. He spun the clippers by the handle around his finger as he strolled into the bedroom, peeking under the bed to get Toshio’s attention. The minute they locked eyes, Toshio snarled and snapped his jaws. Kakashi quickly removed himself from the situation, sneaking back into the living room with a sheepish grin. “Yeah, okay, we might need some help.”

               A sickening smile touched Rei’s lips as she leaned back against the couch with arms crossed. “That’s what I thought.”

               Toshio remained distant for the next few days, hiding under the bed or sleeping on the bathroom floor. Rei’s heart broke seeing him avoid her like this. They were supposed to be companions. And didn’t he know she was only trying to do what was best for him? She felt like such a terrible dog owner. For a moment, she considered just trashing the whole idea so that Toshio might love her again but she knew avoiding the situation wasn’t going to do him any favors. Sometimes the most necessary things were also the hardest, she supposed.

               When he finally began easing his way into being sociable again, Rei tried to act as nonchalantly as humanly possible. She encouraged him to lay by her feet or join her on the couch. Sometimes he obliged and sometimes he didn’t. When he did, however, she took every opportunity to butter him up so he wouldn’t suspect a thing. She just had to wait for the perfect moment to pounce.

               It wasn’t until one evening when he fell fast asleep between—or, technically, across—Kakashi and Rei on the couch that they knew this was their moment. They exchanged knowing glances before Rei slyly reached for the nail clippers on the end table. She steadied herself as cautiously as she could manage as Kakashi gently restrained the dog. Biting her lower lip, Rei reached out and took one of Toshio’s paws in her hand. The minute she touched him, however, his eyes flew open and his upper lip curled.

               “Rei, be careful” Kakashi murmured. He kept his eyes constantly locked on Toshio, tightening his grip ever so slightly.

               “I’ll be fine” she whispered back, shooting him a sharp glare. Then, meeting Toshio’s eyes, she cooed, “It’s okay, buddy, I’m not going to hurt you.”

               Toshio uttered a low, guttural growl as she leaned closer, a warning. Rei didn’t care, though. She doubted he would hurt her. She just needed to dive right in, no hesitation, like ripping off a bandage. She flexed the clippers and Toshio licked his snarled lips.

               “Rei, just stop” Kakashi insisted. “Don’t let him bite you.”

               “Shut up, Kakashi” she replied through gritted teeth. “He can sense your anxiety.” Just as she was about to clamp down on his worst nail, however, Toshio snapped his jaws and jerked his paw away. Kakashi leapt back, letting him escape. Toshio shook the sleep off his body before disappearing into the bathroom. Defeated, Rei tossed the clippers across the room with a groan and fell back on the couch, pressing the heels of her hands into her eye sockets. “This is pointless.”

               “I hate to suggest this” Kakashi began, “but maybe we’d be better off muzzling him.”

               “You think so?” Rei whined. Kakashi frowned as he nodded. He was never a fan of muzzles—he was never a fan of anything restrictive for dogs, really—but sometimes they were necessary and this was certainly one of those cases. He could not afford to watch Rei get hurt in her attempts. “I just feel so bad” she sighed after a few moments. “I don’t want to ruin his trust in me but I feel like if we keep this up, he’s going to hate me.”

               “He’s not going to hate you” Kakashi assured her.

               “Yes, he will” Rei countered. “I just wish I knew why he was so aggressive about this in the first place. Do you think his previous owner cut too close to the quick?”

               Kakashi pursed his lips. “Well, you know what they said about the way he used to be treated” he replied. Rei didn’t want to think about it. Toshio’s past was a heartbreaking reminder that he was still a flawed and fearful creature. That he had likely seen and experienced things that no dog should ever face. It only made sense that he was guarded, even if he and Rei had built a repertoire among one another.

               Sighing, Rei replied, “Well, I guess we have no other choice. We’ll have to try the muzzle.”

               Kakashi took it upon himself to purchase the muzzle on his own. It didn’t feel right for Rei to come with him, seeing as Toshio would surely follow suit and that was essentially the same as accompanying your killer to the armory to pick which bullet he’d shoot through your skull.

               Toshio knew something was up the minute Kakashi returned home, as if he could smell trouble from inside the shopping bag. Rei scratched behind his ear in an effort to keep him calm, asking Kakashi, “Do you really think this will work?”

               “Well, there’s only one way to find out” he replied. After Toshio had calmed down from Kakashi’s return, they made their attempt. The minute he saw the muzzle, he tried to make a run for it but Rei restrained him before he could get very far. Or at least tried to. The issue with Toshio was that he was more like a bear than a dog when it came to size and strength. Physical strength was certainly not Rei’s strong suit, either, which made restraining him doubly hard. Kakashi tried to be quick and efficient but it was no use. Toshio was too fast and too strong for the both of them. He writhed underneath Rei’s body, snarling and snapping, before shaking her off him completely and shoving his fat body under the bed.

               Rei huffed her bangs out of her face and faceplanted against the living room floor. “Oh my god” she whined, voice muffled. “We’re never going to get his nails cut.”

               Kakashi glanced back at Toshio over his shoulder before tossing the muzzle over his shoulder. “I guess that was a waste of twenty bucks” he sighed. “Maybe we should ask the Inuzukas. Hana’s a vet-nin. I’m sure she’d know what to do.”

               “Yeah” Rei sighed. She turned to rest the side of her face against the cold wood floors. In her eyes, Kakashi saw defeat. “Yeah, I’m sure she would.”

               A few days passed before Rei and Kakashi made the decision to approach Hana. Toshio accompanied them, albeit reluctantly, as if he knew deep down that they were up to something. Hana propped the door to the Inuzuka Veterinary Clinic open as she caught them walking up the pathway, ushering them inside with a warm and welcoming smile. Rei nodded once, polite but anxious, as she slipped inside. Toshio slowed his pace the nearer he came to the clinic but did not run off.

               “So, what seems to be the trouble?” Hana asked. She knelt down to let Toshio sniff her hand, scratching behind his ear once they were acquainted. Fortunately, he did not resist her. He must have known in some sense that she, as well as all the other Inuzuka’s, were dog people and therefore trustworthy. He must have smelled their camaraderie in their blood.

               Rei hesitantly sat herself in one of the chairs in the waiting room as she explained the situation. She kept her voice low, fearful that Toshio would quickly turn anxious should he hear her mention the nail clippers. Hana listened intently, nodding along in understanding.

               “Well, normally what we like to do is get the dog comfortable with the idea of the clippers” she explained. “Our goal is to ease them into trusting us by rewarding them with treats whenever we break the equipment out so that they learn these are not instruments of harm.” Rei’s face paled for a moment at the thought. She was more than willing to work through this, of course, no matter how long it took, but things were already borderline unbearable. She wasn’t sure how much more time she could spend on the slower methods before one of Toshio’s nails just broke off. Then he would surely be in even more than he might already be. Sensing her anxiety, Kakashi rested a reassuring hand at the base of Rei’s neck. Hana pursed her lips as she surveyed Toshio’s paws herself. “But in a case such as this” she continued, “our best course of action would be to utilize more drastic measures.”

               “Drastic measures?” Rei repeated. She didn’t like the sound of that. What did she even mean by drastic measures? Rei felt her chest tighten with the somber and sudden fear that even the vet-nin thought she was a terrible dog owner.

               Hana nodded as she rose to her feet. “Seeing as Toshio’s nails are in what I would categorize as severe condition, and he is noncompliant with alternative methods, our best bet at this point would be sedation.”

               Rei’s heart dropped. “E-excuse you!” she shouted, leaping to her feet. “You don’t need to put him down just because he’s—”

               “Rei, calm down” Kakashi murmured in her ear. “She said sedation, not euthanization.”

               “Oh, yes!” Hana replied, raising her hands in surrender. Her face frowned in severe apology. “We would only give him a mild tranquilizer intended to knock him unconscious for about forty five minutes so we can take care of business. While uncommon, it’s a very standard procedure and won’t cause any long-term harm to the dog.”

               Frowning, Rei gripped Kakashi’s hand and turned her gaze to Toshio. He had since made himself comfortable on the waiting room floor, tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth as he panted calmly. “Kakashi, we need to talk” she whispered.

               Kakashi excused the two of them before Rei pulled him outside, panicked. “Are you okay?” he asked.

               “Kakashi, I don’t know if I can do this” she replied. She gripped her hair and began pacing up and down the walkway, thinking. “I feel so terrible. I don’t think I can put Toshio through this.”

               “Well, what other choice do we have?” Kakashi asked. “We can’t avoid this any longer, Rei. Clearly we’re not strong enough to do this on our own and I really don’t want to put Toshio at risk if we let this go.”

               Rei chewed her lower lip as she considered Kakashi’s words. Truthfully, she felt the same way. If this was going to cause him problems, or further discomfort, it needed to be taken care of. The thought of tranquilizing him, though? It was just too much. If only there was a better way. But Kakashi reminded her that they had exhausted all other options. This was truly their last resort. Gripping his hand tightly, she followed him back inside the clinic and they agreed to the procedure.

               The sedative, a tiny pill, was given inside a wad of bread smothered with peanut butter. In a matter of minutes, Toshio began to grow drowsy and sway when he walked. Rei watched with bated breath from the corner of the exam room—Hana suggested she stay outside but it didn’t feel right. Rei deserved to be there. She needed to be by Toshio’s side if something went awry. Little did she know that things would, in fact, go haywire.

               The moment Hana reached for the nail clippers, Toshio’s tired eyes locked on her and his upper lip curled. Rei’s heart leapt into her throat as she idled, unsure of what she should do, if anything. Hana seemed completely unaffected, however. She started with the back paws, which Toshio allowed her to trim but not without complaint. When she reached the front, however, Toshio snarled, deep but sleepy. He was completely drunk and yet somehow he still had enough strength to resist. When he tried to get up, Hana encouraged Rei to stand beside him and hold him still.

               “I thought you said this would knock him out!” Rei exclaimed, terrified.

               “I thought it would” Hana murmured. She carefully took Toshio’s left paw in her hand, snipped quickly and cautiously as he wiggled under Rei’s grasp and barked out in protest. His voice sounded so low and slurred, like a completely different dog. “Based on his weight, I gave him a pill and a half. That usually knocks Rottweilers out, but apparently not him.”

               “Oh, perfect” Rei complained under her breath. She tried to keep Toshio steady as Hana moved to the other paw, assuring the dog that they were almost done and that he was a good boy. Toshio shook his head and attempted to back up against the wall but it was no use. When he turned toward Rei, she expected him to growl or snap at her but instead, he met her gaze with tired eyes searching for comfort. Rei’s heart broke.

               Once finished, Rei trudged out of the exam room frazzled and worn. Kakashi leapt to his feet immediately. “How did it go?”

               “Well, it’s been taken care of” Rei sighed, dropping into one of the vinyl chairs. “Just know that we are never doing this again.”

               Hana emerged shortly after, looking to them calmly. “Toshio should be good to go home in a few minutes. In the meantime, I’m going to give you a prescription for the sedative we used so that you’ll have it on hand for the next time his nails need to be trimmed, or if he’s ever in an any other situation where he shows signs of aggression or anxiety” she explained. She scribbled the prescription onto a piece of paper before handing it over. “They should be able to fill this at the pharmacy in the hospital” she instructed. Rei nodded and thanked her quietly as she took the paper and tucked it into her back pouch. She met Kakashi’s eyes then as he tilted his head toward the exam room, silently agreeing that it was time to bring their boy home.

               The effects of the sedative, Hana said, would wear off completely in a few hours. As Rei and Kakashi tried to bring Toshio to his feet, however, it was clear he would not be able to walk home on his own. His legs buckled beneath his bulky body so that he could only manage a few swaying steps before collapsing. All of his aggression had melted away and was replaced with a sense of dopey delight as he stared back at them starry-eyed. He turned his head with slow, sleepy movements, his spotted tongue lopping from one side to the other. With their apartment all the way across town, there was really only one option left for bringing him home. Kakashi braced as himself as he knelt down and lifted him up in his arms, a groan breaking past his lips from the sheer weight.

               “Alright, let’s get him home before my arms fall off” he choked. Rei nodded once and together they raced home as quickly as they could manage with an 80-pound beast in tow.

               As night fell across Konoha, Rei snuggled up next to Kakashi on the couch. Toshio’s sedatives had finally worn off but the excitement of the day left him exhausted. She kept her eyes locked on his chest, rising and falling with his mellow breaths, as he slept in the middle of the living room floor. “Do you think we made the right decision?” Rei asked quietly.

               “Hmm?” Kakashi hummed, looking up from his book. It took his brain a moment to register what she had said. “I don’t think we really had any other options” he then replied.

               Rei gave a single nod before leaning her head on Kakashi’s shoulder. “I just hate seeing him suffer. I hate that we had to resort to this” she replied.

               Kakashi set his book down on the coffee table and turned to cup Rei’s face in his hands. “Rei, look at me” he murmured. “I know how difficult this was, but we did the right thing. We did what was best for Toshio. Sometimes the right decision isn’t always the easiest one, but we made that decision anyway and I’m proud of us for it.”

               “You really think so?” Rei asked.

               “I know so” Kakashi replied. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, letting her settle against his chest. “After all” he continued, “we’ve made a commitment to take care of him. We wouldn’t be doing our job right if we had ignored this.”

               “Yeah…” Rei murmured. Her eyes were growing heavy as the steady beat of Kakashi’s heart lulled her to sleep. As she closed her eyes, a soft giggle escaped her lips and she then whispered, “You know, in a way I guess this is good practice.”

               “Good practice?” Kakashi asked. He tilted his head so as to look down at her. “Good practice for what?”

               Before he could get a reply, however, Rei was already fast asleep. Or at least that’s what she wanted him to believe. She snuggled up against him and sighed but Kakashi couldn’t even be bothered. They had had a long day, she deserved her rest. He brushed the bangs out of her face and kissed her on the forehead before turning back to his book. If he really wanted answers, it could wait until morning. For now, they all deserved peace and quiet.

[grumply-business]

Soooooo uhhhhhhh I wrote a bit of an angsty fic to go w this fucking song and then I sketched out a thingy for it??????? If yah wanna read the thing ig I’ll put it here but warning: It’s long.

I should also say Warning for SEVERE blood but you can guess that from the image.

Arin had noticed Dan was acting strange lately. He couldn't point out the reason as to why, but it was starting to seriously affect him. Arin was concerned for his friend, Dan was acting severely sluggish, and it was getting harder to record videos with him. At first he blamed it on his tour, which was fine he knew how draining a tour could be and gave him a day or two to recover, but Dan didn't seem to be recovering.

Arin was scared that Dan might not be getting better.

Dear Rabbit, my legs are getting weak. Chasing you.

Arin had invited himself over to Dan's house, wanting to check and make sure he was okay. He hadn't answered any of his texts from earlier and he was getting worried.

The snow fields wouldn't seem so big. If you knew…

He knocked on the door, alerting Dan of his presence before opening it. Shocked to see that it was unlocked. Arin had texted ahead of time to say he was coming over, so maybe Dan had read it and opened the door for him?

He didn't want to think of any other reason it would be unlocked.

That this blood on my teeth. It is far beyond dry.

Arin walked into the dark house, confused as to why the lights were off and blinds closed. He fumbled around for a bit before finding the light switch, closing the door next to it after flicking it on. He turned around and shock overfilled him as he looked around.

Blood coated every wall, every floor, and several broken plates and vases were thrown on the floor. The couch was in the worst condition he'd ever seen it in. Something happened here. Something bad happened here.

And I've captured you once, but I wasn't quite right.

The floorboards creaked under Arin's footsteps as he walked, careful to avoid stepping in any blood that puddled on the ground. The living room was trashed. The kitchen was broken. Not a single body was found anywhere, though he did see a few teeth that were far too sharp for his liking. Arin was scared to see what was upstairs.

So I'm telling you, that you'll be safe with me.

He gulped and began to walk upstairs, trying to be as quiet as he could. He didn't want to alert whoever… Or whatever had caused this. Arin turned on the flashlight on his phone so he could see, not wanting to risk accidentally touching blood trying to find the light switch.

He got lucky the first time, who's to say he'll get lucky again.

He opened the first door he found. The bathroom. It, like the rest of the house, was a wreck. The toilet was far beyond repair, and the sink seemed to be clogged as it was filled with a puddle of blood. The shower-tub didn't seem to be faring any better, the showerhead was torn off and the tub itself was cracked and chipped as if someone with superhuman strength had punch it… 

Or thrown someone at it.

Arin's fear grew with each step he took in this house he once called a second home.

Oh rabbit, my claws are dull now so don't. Be afraid.

He walked out of the bathroom, and continued his examination of the broken home. The next room he found was a guest bedroom, one he'd slept in a few times whenever he stayed over.

The bed was ripped to shreds, the pillows nothing but pieces of fabric and fluff. The once thick blankets were now thin and pathetic, the mattress slashed and ripped apart. Blood coated the bed so much it dripped to the floor. The window on the far side from the door was broken, leaving the only sunlight in the whole house to enter. Arin noticed that there was something under the bed, and the pool of blood seemed to signal that whatever it was was dead.

I could keep you warm, as long as you can just try. To be brave.

The third door. The final door in the upstairs hallway. Dan had to be behind this door, but after everything Arin had seen, did he want to find him? Did he want to see what was behind this last door?...

He held his breath and grabbed the handle, turning it and slowly opening the door.

Yes, I know I'm a wolf, and I've been known to bite, but the rest of my pack, I have left them behind.

The room was pitch black, but that horrid stench of blood Arin had become accustomed to within the house. He gulped and held up his phone, light radiating into the dark room.

And my teeth may be sharp, and I've been raised to kill.

The first thing his eyes laid on was grotesquely mangled body of someone he didn't know. Arin felt bile rise in his throat but he swallowed it back down. He quickly looked away from the dead body, deciding to focus his attention on the rest of the room.

This was Dan's bedroom, the ripped Rush posters showed that.

But the thought of fresh meat. It is making me ill.

"Arin?"

Dan's voice sounded frail and weak. Arin jumped at the sudden noise, his light frantically looking for the man it belonged to.

"Over here."

Arin's phone slowly turned to the side. Right next to the mangled body was the friend he was looking for. He ran over to his friend, not caring that he knelt down in a pool of what he hoped wasn't Dan's blood.

"DAN? OH MY FUCKING GOD, DANIEL!" Arin was in hysterics, his eyes wide and full of fear as he looking Dan up and down.

Dan held his blood covered arm over his abdomen, covering what looked to be a very deep wound. Arin almost lost his whole lunch at the sight. His friends face was drenched in blood, his hair more wild than usual, and it seemed like one of his legs were broken but Arin couldn't tell.

So I'm telling you…

Arin swore that Dan's eyes were a fiery red, and his teeth were sharper than they normally were, but he was a bit more concerned with the fact that Dan was currently bleeding out in front of him.

"Dan, what the fuck happened?"

That you'll be safe with…

"Arin, I need to tell you something"

"You know what, save it, I'm calling 911."

"No."

"What? What the fuck do you MEAN, NO?! DAN YOU'RE LITERALLY BLEEDING OUT AND YOUR HOUSE IS A FUCKING WRECK, DANIEL I-"

"**I SAID NO, ARIN!**"

Arin went silent. Dan had never yelled at him with such anger and force before.

"Just fucking listen to me for once, Arin. I'm not gonna die, I'm sure you've seen the rest of the house. I got attacked, as you can… See. This guy here?" Dan nudged the dead body next to him, "He was one of the guys that broke in… No, I didn't kill him, one of his buddies turned on him in the battle and, well… That."

Arin was stunned silent as Dan talked so fucking casually about the fact that he was attacked and someone fucking DIED.

Me.

Dan went silent as he stared at Arin, though he seemed to not be staring at him.

"Dan?... Are you okay?... Dan?"

Arin looked over Dan's face, puzzled as to why he suddenly went silent.

"Daniel?"

Dan's eyes snapped onto Arin, his pupils thin slits as he stared into Arin's fear filled eyes. He looked hungry.

"Dan? Are y-"

Arin's words were cut off as Dan's blood soaked hands violently reached up and grabbed him, one roughly pulling his head to the side with the other on his shoulder.

"D-DAN?!"

He got no response, just Dan pulling him closer. It all happened so fast and with no warning.

The second Arin felt two incredibly sharp pricks into his neck, everything clicked in his brain.

Dan was a vampire. Those guys that 'attacked' him were vampires. That dead guy was a vampire.

Dan was hungry.

The pain as quick to fade as whatever fucking magic Dan had washed over him. Arin's heartbeat raced for only a few seconds before calming down. All of the nerves in his body began to go numb and all he could feel was a surprisingly pleasant tingling sensation coming from his neck.

As seconds went by, Arin felt his eyelids getting heavier. He was getting very tired as he slumped against Dan, who kept hungrily eating like a starving wolf.

Arin couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, and soon they were closed, his head slumping against Dan. That seemed to alert Dan to stop and he quickly removed himself from Arin, his eyes snapping open as he heavily breathed.

So rabbit, please stop looking the other way.

"Arin?"

The new blood coursing through his veins rejuvenated Dan, and his wounds quickly healed up as if nothing had happened. Soon, the only thing left on his body as a reminder of the battle was his ripped clothing and the blood that still covered him.

"Arin, please don't fuck with me, dude. Answer me!"

Dan shook Arin, his brows knitted together as he finally regained his senses. He could feel that very familiar prick of tears forming in his eyes.

"Arin fucking Hanson, open your damn eyes!!"

Arin stayed silent, his breathing slowing down. Dan could hear his heartbeat in his ears as if it were right next to them. It was slow, as if dying…

He needed to get him to a hospital.

Now.

It's cold out there, so why not stay here.

Arin's heartbeat was fading, and Dan knew what that meant.

Tears flowed down his face as the realization hit him at what he just did… There was only one thing he could do to save his friend, and he fucking hated it…

But there was no other way.

Dan tear streaked face leaned back in to Arin's neck, hiccuping as he held his dying friend close to him.

"I'm so… So fucking sorry."

Under my...

Dan sunk his teeth back into Arin, his tears soaking Arin's already blood coated shirt.

It was the only way.

Tail.

[bunjywunjy]

THE LAST DRAGON

if you want to learn about dragons, you’re usually restricted to the Fantasy section of your local library. because dragons are made up, and don’t exist except in the minds of small children and George R. R. Martin. 

apart from the ones that live in Indonesia, of course. they may not breathe fire or threaten hobbits, but these dragons are very real and perfectly willing to rip your face off and ask for seconds.

watch out, because it’s the

I AM FIRE, I AM DEATH

Komodo Dragons are actually a kind of lizard, but one on the scale of life on earth back when the dinosaurs were in charge. they’re fucking huge. these behemoths can reach lengths of ten feet and weights of over 300 pounds. big enough to ride, if there were a human out there brave enough to try it. (DON’T DO THIS, YOU WILL DIE. THIS IS EVEN WORSE THAN THE OSTRICH THING, I’M NOT KIDDING.)

naturally these enormous reptiles scared the everloving shit out of the first Dutch explorers to reach the area, forever earning themselves the name “Dragon”. for once, those old European maps with little doodles of monsters everywhere were pretty accurate!

don’t go looking for Krakens, though. those are still mostly fake.

Komodo Dragons are the largest lizard on earth, and the largest of the monitor family Varanidae. but this wasn’t always the case! they’re actually the last and least of an ancient line of giant reptiles that once inhabited the south pacific. the largest of these was Australia’s Megalania, an 18-foot titan that died out at the end of the last Ice Age with the rest of its kind. but not the Komodo Dragon! they’re doing just fine, thanks.

like Megalania, the Komodo Dragon seems to have evolved in Australia. (OF COURSE. THIS EXPLAINS EVERYTHING.) and when the seas rose at the end of the Ice Age, it stranded a population of dragons on five remote islands in Indonesia, where they survived whatever the fuck killed off their continental relatives. (probably us, to be honest.) you thought it was just a tagline but it’s not: these guys are truly the Last Dragons.

go ahead and shed a tear, but don’t expect them to appreciate it.

their isolation and last-dragonism is very sad, yes. but don’t feel too bad about it, because Komodo Dragons are one of nature’s most dangerous predators. there’s a reason locals call them Ora, the Land Crocodile. (actually there’s multiple reasons, and they’re all terrible. stand by!)

their lazy lizard stylings and charming smirk conceal a mouthful of inch-long serrated teeth, razor-sharp claws and a nightmare bullwhip of a tail. Komodo Dragons use all of these weapons, and more! (this is the Super Cool part of the article kids, make sure to read it EXTRA CAREFULLY so you can impress your friends later during recess.)

and yes, they swim! hurray! there is no escape.

the Komodo Dragon is an apex predator, which is unusual for a lizard. they’re filling an ecological niche that would normally be taken by a large mammal predator like, I dunno, a tiger or a lion or a bear. (OH MY!) this means they have some pretty big shoes to fill (metaphorical, bears don’t wear shoes.) but they do it in spades!

Komodo Dragons will eat anything, and that’s barely an exaggeration. They eat plenty of carrion, and lots of small creatures like squirrels and really unlucky snakes. they also eat medium animals like goats, WHICH THEY SWALLOW WHOLE. (if the prey is too big to fit down their throats, the Komodo Dragon often rams its open mouth into a tree until it fits. sometimes they actually knock down the fucking tree. I wish I was making this up.) Komodo Dragons also eat animals you normally wouldn’t be able to take down without a rocket launcher, like water buffalo and uh, other Komodo Dragons. they’re cannibals, because the food chain just moves backwards sometimes.

and yes, they absolutely eat humans. good thing they’re trapped on five remote islands in Indonesia!

WAIT, THEY SWIM. FUCK, HOW COULD I FORGET.

so how does an overgrown gecko hunt animals that normally require an entire pack of lions to take down? well, there’s some Science Controversy(tm) about that. Komodo Dragons have a pair of MYSTERIOUS GLANDS (which would be a good name for a garage band) in their lower jaw, which scientists used to think were full of venom. they thought that the Komodo Dragon was basically using this venom to cheat its way into a niche that should rightfully belong to a more advanced mammal, but THESE SCIENTISTS WERE WRONG AND DUMB. 

it turns out these MYSTERIOUS GLANDS (I want this on a t-shirt) actually don’t do a whole lot as far as hunting goes! they secrete what MAY be a mild anticoagulant, but it’s not really strong enough to have much effect. yup, turns out that the Komodo Dragon just mauls the shit out of things until they die, like any decent ‘advanced mammal’ predator. they EARNED that apex niche as honestly as any predator can. (not that predators really have a concept of “honest”, or that it matters, since they’re the ones with the inch-long teeth.)

LIZARDS RULE AND MAMMALS DROOL! 

but maybe it’s not such a surprise that these real-life dragons are still on top of the food chain, because they’re some of the smartest reptiles on earth. and okay, maybe “the smartest reptile in the world” doesn’t sound like an impressive title. but Komodo Dragons and their cousins have elaborate social structures, can count to six, recognize individual humans, and play nice games of tug-the-carcass with their friends. (both humans and other dragons can be friends! friends are not for eating.) that’s a better track record than most human toddlers!

and they’re totally trainable, but don’t get your hopes up about owning one or several. (DANG.) Komodo Dragons are a protected species, so having a loyal army of them trained to lay waste to your enemies and fetch the morning paper is still very much a pipe dream. (this is a joke, they make terrible pets.)

FOR NOW.

and speaking of being a protected species, how is the Komodo Dragon doing these days? well, shortly after scaring the absolute pants off the first Dutch explorers to meet one, Europeans became obsessed with them and they were granted immediate protections by the Dutch colonial government. (please note that the Komodo Dragon was also doing just fine before the Dutch came along, thanks.) in fact, the first expedition sent to capture Komodo Dragons for scientific study was the basis for the movie King Kong! (a niche film you may possibly have heard of.)

these protections kept the Komodo Dragon from becoming just another hunting trophy for rich Europeans. (unfortunately this cannot be said of lions, tigers and bears, all of whom decorated the drawing rooms of rich Victorians.) they’re still doing pretty well today, though they are threatened by rising seawater and their limited range.

we hope these gigantic lizard genius cannibals stick around for a long time to come! and remember, if you want to avoid getting munched: BEFRIEND. (very carefully.)

HUMANS ARE FRIENDS, NOT FOOD. 

–

thanks for reading! you can find the rest of the Weird Biology series on my tumblr here, or check out the official archive at weirdbiology.com!

if you enjoy my work, maybe buy me a coffee and support Weird Biology!

and if you’d like to see exclusive Weird Biology content, check out my Patreon today!

–

IMAGE SOURCES

img1- elpais.com img2- Time Travel Turtle img3- Smithsonian National Zoo img4- Komodo Tours img5- Michael Pollack img6- Animal Sake img7- ZooChat img8- Calgary Herald

[smol-and-grumpy]

Dear Dean (Chapter 3)

Re-post

Pairing: Dean Winchester x OFC (Jamie Blum)

WC: 3.8k

Summary: After taking Saint Lo, by sheer dumb luck, Lieutenant Dean Winchester from the 29th Infantry Division, Baker Company, received a truckload of replacements for his platoon that was falling apart. Little did he know, that one recruit would change his life forever.

Chapter Warnings: Angst, hope in midst of fear, i dunno man

SERIES MASTERLIST

July 23rd, 1944

The night had a crisp chill to it, and it started to drizzle after dinner, gently at first, but by the time Dean stepped out for sentry duty it was just pouring. Dean didn’t need that, to be honest. He’d rather be somewhere dry, somewhere warm.

Standing in the dark, soaked through his combats, he wondered why he changed the sentry rota and fucking put himself in it. He should’ve lead by Sam’s example, then at least he would’ve been kept out of the rain, but Dean’s mouth was much faster than his brain, and it frequently got him in trouble. He checked his watch with a flip of his wrist, as he stood at the meeting point, waiting on private Blum to arrive. It was Oh-two-forty-seven. Bambi still had three minutes before Dean’d rip him another hole.

Dean waited under cover from the rain, and watched the water fall from the roof in streams. His socks are already damp, and he was feeling increasingly cranky. The night was going to be a disaster. He heard Bambi before he saw him, heavy boots stepping in puddles of rain and mud made their way to the meeting point, sprinting even. There was the noise of shuffling and the rain pelting against the helmet of the small private.

“I’m here, Lieutenant!” Private Blum shouted loudly and a little out of breath, but nonetheless with a grin on his face, which in turn, made Dean suppress a smirk. Someone was really happy to be on sentry in the dead of the night.

Dean fought against his urge to echo the grin but instead, he opted for a frown and a roll of his eyes. “Fucking stop shouting, will ya?”

“Shit, sir, sorry!” Bambi apologized, his voice a mutter that almost got lost in the clattering of rainfall.

Dean studied the private’s face in the dim light of the fluorescent bulb beneath the roof of the meeting point. Bambi’s eyes were still big, although they look tired and weary. He studied the little of Bambi’s nose and the high of his cheekbones. Bambi reached up to adjust his almost-too-big helmet though at was slick with rain, as he straightened up, almost to attention. Something about the private was off and Dean was still trying to figure out and put a finger on what irked him about Bambi. What it was that made Dean want to take the private under his wings and protect him?

“Lieutenant Winchester, I’ve got a joke for you…”

“Come on.” He took the private to the most western point of their route, both of them walking in silence, only the sound of rain to accompany them. It was kind of weird and uncomfortable to say the least, and Dean could kick himself in the ass for taking Bambi with him. Not only was he green, but he was also quiet, and Dean was almost bored to tears. He should have opted for Sergeant Harvelle. At least Harvelle always had a joke ready, even though it was the same kind of joke, a little lewd and all kinds of stupid, but Dean wasn’t exactly picky. He gets what he gets, seemed to be a motto that stuck with him like an old piece of chewed gum he stepped on. It was stuck to his boots ever since the day he got off that landing in Omaha.

He was lucky he got off at all, to be honest.

The bullets rained down on them on that beach. Dean had to haul himself over the sides, and he wasn’t prepared. He wasn’t prepared for the sheer weight of his equipment combined with the pressure of sea water. He hit the water feet first, and he sank and sank and sank. There was no way to get to the surface because his haversack and his rifle were pulling him down. He reached up, clawing through the water, his lungs burning, when he decided to ditch everything that was weighing him down. Dean found himself with only his bare hands to defend himself on the battlefield. He was scrappy, but not scrappy enough to last long without a weapon.

Captain Mills shouted, asking who had a weapon on them and then he asked Dean directly and Dean shouted out an answer “That bitch tried to drown me, sir!” - “Go find another one!” and that’s what Dean did, crawling over dead bodies to retrieve a functioning rifle, trying to avoid the open eyes of the fallen soldiers.

Dean and Bambi took a turn and walked in the direction of the most eastern point, the rain still coming down restlessly and sometimes, he thought the angels were weeping with them. Dean could feel the wetness seeping into his cotton undershirt. His socks were now completely wet. They were going to be soaked come Oh-five-hundred.

To Dean’s surprise, private Blum didn’t complain. Not even once and Dean wondered if he too, could feel the water slowly filling up the boots that were promised to be waterproof.

They talked a little. Dean knew now where Blum was from. “Trenton, North Carolina, sir.” How he grew up. “No mom. Dad ate a bullet. Just me and my brothers, sir.” How he was looking up to his brothers and how he missed them. “Tough motherfuckers, but yeah, I worry. Jameson always was a terrible shot.” Dean knew the feeling too well.

At almost Oh-four-hundred-hours, he got to know a lot about Bambi but he kept his life to himself, and Bambi didn’t dare to ask him questions. Even if he wanted to ask, he didn’t. Dean could see the twitch of his lip, and furrow of his eyebrow as he considered his words carefully before he let them go. Dean would have answered them if he would’ve been asked, but he knew that Bambi was scared of him. Dean wondered if he was really giving the impression that he was untouchable at times and he thought that he maybe should change. War was tough, no doubt; but private Milligan was right, they deserved to smile every now and then.

“Come on, Lieutenant! Just one joke. Just one smile, not everything has to be so goddamn serious all the time…”

He walked Bambi across the muddy field to reach their next checkpoint. It was almost impossible to cross the flooding field, and Dean felt himself sinking deeper with each step he took. He certainly didn’t sign up for this and right about now, Dean wished more than ever, that he didn’t take up that sentry duty. Mud was the worst. Hard to get off and there would be days until they would be able to wash themselves with warm water.

As Dean took the next step, squishing into the soft earth, he heard Bambi go down next to him with a heavy splat. The private landed face first in mud, sprawled out like a damn X. Dean looked down to him and Bambi looked back at Dean with his face covered in brown mess. He blinked a few times, trying to see through the mud.

“Shit, Bambi, you alright?” Dean tried to sound concerned. Bambi reached up to wipe the mud off his face, but was met with a handful of mud, somehow making it worse. Dean’s carefully placed facade slowly crumbled. The next thing he knew, he was throwing his head back in a full body laugh, one that Dean didn’t know if he’d ever recover from it. It felt good. He haven’t laughed like this in a while and there were tears in his eyes.

He could hear private Blum mutter something incoherent under his breath that sounded something like Fuck you, sir, but Dean didn’t pay attention, he was busy wiping away the tears of laughter that blurred his vision.

“Help me up, Sir?” Blum asked, holding out a muddy hand for Dean to take. He stared at the privates muddy hand, considering not taking it. “Come on, sir. I’m gonna fall again if I try to get up on my own.” He could see a young Sam in front of him then, complaining after falling down, just needing his brother. Dean grabbed at Bambi’s small hands in an attempt to pull him up.

Nobody could prepare him for what came after, though. Dean pulled, but it seemed by some grace of God, Bambi gathered his strength and before Dean could even blink, he was lying flat on top of the private, his helmet dipped in mud and it was only thanks to his reflexes that Dean could hold his head above the sinking puddle. He barely managed to avoid dipping his face into the mud like Bambi did.

Dean was taken by surprise, his mouth hanging open, and muttered out a “What the fucking fuck?” before Blum turned around beneath him. They were face to face and then Bambi smiled, his white teeth shining through the mud on his mouth and jaw, and Dean stared into doe eyes that almost sparkled through the dirt. They were so big and brown and full of laughter as Bambi’s body shook under him.

All of a sudden, Dean felt his blood rushing through his head, the pounding of his heartbeat echoed in his ears and he couldn’t hear the rain anymore. It was like the whole world stopped existing, as if there’s only the two of them in the mud and the only thing he could hear was the laughter of private Blum, light and free, but then that died down, too. Dean suddenly knew that they’d been in the position for too long, but he was unable to move.

His eyes were staring into Blum’s big ones before they travel down, resting on the private’s mouth. Bambi realized the stare and he wiped away at the mud with the back of his hand. Now Dean could see the lips. They were pink and plum and slick with rain. The flash of the edge of Bambi’s teeth were showing as his lips were still crooked into a grin. Dean noticed the heavy breath coming out of Blum’s open lips. It was warm against his own damp face. Normally when someone got this close to him he was yelling, or being yelled at. Hot, sweaty breath on his mouth. “Winchester can you tell me why you’re such an epic, fucking disappointment?” His eyes landed on a drop of rain falling down on the private’s top lip, and Dean’s mouth felt really dry, despite all the rain. Dean darted his tongue out, licking away the feeling of dryness on his lips. Bambi, unknowingly, mimicked him and licked his own bottom lip. And then a voice pulled Dean back to reality.

“Lieutenant? Sir!”

Dean jolted to his knees, scrambling up and held out a hand for Bambi to take and that time, he was fucking prepared. He wouldn’t let Bambi pull him down a second time.

“Sorry, Sir, if I was out of line.” Bambi gladly took Dean’s hand and let Dean pull him up to his feet.

Dean should have shouted. Dressed him down and probably put him on latrine duty from there to Germany, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t with those big brown eyes staring up at him like he knew he fucked up. Damn those eyes. Instead, he just chuckled, and adjusted his helmet. “We’ll be needing a fucking shower after sentry, Bambi.” His hand came up to wipe at the chunk of mud that was logged between Blum’s shoulder and neck helping the private get rid of the dirt.

They continue to walk in silence now, Dean still recovering from what was happening between them. There was a feeling in his gut that he couldn’t quite put a finger on. It was bugging the hell out of him.

When they arrived at the further most outpost, they heard someone calling. “Thunder!”

Bambi and Dean replied with a, “Flash.” Dean raised an eyebrow, he was a little impressed that Bambi knew the code, and used it correctly.

“So fucking glad, Sir!” A rough male voice said.

They could see three figures walking towards them as the guard from the 3rd Battalion let them pass.

Dean studied them as they limped towards him. There were two parachuters that supported a third one who probably broke his leg on landing. One of them stood before Dean and Bambi, as the other one still supported his friend. He straightened up to attention and greeted Dean with a nod in salutation. “101st Airborne Division, sir. We missed our target. Had to find a way around. We were hoping that you guys would be here already.” Dean could see from his suit that it was a sergeant. He was maybe as tall as Dean and as broad.

“Jim?” Bambi could be heard saying next to him.

The sergeant looked down to Bambi, his eyebrow furrowed into a knot in the middle, as if he was trying to categorize Bambi in his head. And then when realization hit, his face was blushing and Dean could see that the sergeant’s lips widened into a smile. “Jamie?”

Bambi nodded frantically before his voice broke into a laughter and then he climbed up Jim’s body in a hug and to Dean’s surprise, Jim didn’t say no. He just tightened his grip around Bambi, as to support the small private and when Bambi was up there, the sergeant spun him around, laughing.

Dean felt like he’s intruding and that he probably should step away, but he was the Lieutenant, and it was his fucking sentry duty. He cleared his throat loudly, which prompted Jim to let Bambi down and straighten himself up. Dean coughed lightly, to suppress another grin because Jim was now muddy, too.

“This is my brother, Lieutenant. Jim Blum.”

“Great to meet you, Sergeant.” Dean nodded in greeting.

Then Bambi turned to Jim, still smiling through the mud on his face. “Lieutenant Winchester’s my platoon leader.”

“Oh…” Jim Blum said and Dean could see that something clicked in Jim’s mind and then he blurted out a  “Oooohh.. Well, shit. Thank you for taking care of my brother then, Lieutenant.”

Dean nodded in reply. His heart felt heavy. Taking care of someone was not really his specialty. “Get yourselves checked at the medical tent and report to Battalion Staff. Someone should be in the tent.”

“Yes, Sir.” Jim, squeezed Bambi’s shoulder before he took his men to the medical tent.

***

Reveille’s at Oh-five-hundred and when Dean and private Blum walked to their billets, the soldiers were already pouring out of the door, walking to the mess hall to fetch breakfast.

Even though Dean was staying with the other platoon leaders and NCO’s of Baker and Able company, they still stayed in the same building. They stepped in and navigated their way past the stream of soldiers coming out of it. Some of them looked at the pair and cringed their noses. Yeah, Dean could smell it himself, thank you very much.

As they got to the landing where they were staying, Dean took off his helmet and pointed his nose in the direction of the showers. The water was cold but he liked to pretend that it was warm. He get what he gets, isn’t it? “Private, shower and I’ll see you in 10 minutes.”

“Sir –” Blum paused, as if he wanted to say more but he didn’t. Dean lowered his head and walked to his room to change for showering.

Dean was in the showers quickly, he gotta live up to his own time frame and he was hungry. Hoping that there’s something left before he had to be ready at Oh-six-hundred. However, when he was inside, Blum wasn’t there and he wondered if Bambi was so freaking quick that he finished before Dean even got a change to come in. Dean didn’t pay much attention as he soaped himself with cheap soap and washed away the mud that was stuck behind his ears. Dean closes his eyes, relishing himself under the spray rain of the shower head. It lacked pressure and yes, it was cold, but he liked to pretend that he’s back in Kansas, with high water pressure and a warmth to the wetness that soothed his pain. He opened his eyes again to Blum walking in, still in his shirt and combats.

“I..uh.. sorry, Lieutenant.” Bambi’s voice was small, almost as if he was embarrassed and Dean wondered if he’d  ever seen a dick before, because Bambi’s eyes lingered a fraction too long on his private part. Dean wasn’t a prude, but somehow it felt uncomfortable. He decided to just not think about it and finish showering. Bambi’s got 3 brothers, he sure as hell should be used to seeing dicks?

Dean noticed after a while that Bambi was still staring at Dean’s lower half and he might have been wrong, because he couldn’t see it as Bambi’s face was still a little muddy but Dean could swear that Bambi was blushing.

“Never seen a dick, Bambi?” He asked grumpily, trying to get Bambi’s attention and divert his gaze away from Dean’s dick.

“Yeah, sure have, sir. But uh.. “ Dean could feel that Bambi was trying to come up with a good clap back. “..never such a small one, Lieutenant, is all.” The grin that was on Bambi’s face was undeniably, a wicked one.

“Fuck off, it’s cold water, alright. Jeez, relax. Wanna know how you’re holding up, private.” Dean replied with a growl. It bothered him, very much so, and he could call the private out, tell Bambi to strip right here but he doesn’t. He’s a leader, not a fucking dick. So, instead, Dean finished his shower and dried himself with the little towel they provided and got out without a glance back.

When Dean was dressed and ready, he thought that he wanted to see if Bambi was finished, but when Dean stepped out into the landing on their floor, he could still hear the water running. He didn’t want to peek, he really didn’t, but the door was open a creek and on the passing, he caught a glimpse Bambi. A glimpse of his narrow waist and full ass cheek which in turn made Dean tense and there’s a flutter around his stomach. And Dean knew that he was not queer, nuh-uh.

Shaking Bambi out of his head, Dean pulled back and opted for calling in there. “See you at Oh-six-hundred, private!”

After the morning briefing, the soldiers had time to themselves for a couple of minutes and Jamie excused herself in a rush to search for Jim. She found him sitting on the steps, or what was left of it, of a fountain. “Hey,” She said, sitting down next to him.

He didn’t turn to look at her, his eyes focused on his clasped hands. “So, private Blum, huh?”

She could hear it in Jim’s tone that he wasn’t pleased to find her there. Jamie was a little sad, but she understood. She wouldn’t be pleased either. Jim wanted the best for her, and there she was, letting him down.

“Look, I’m sorry, Jim, I really am.” She bit back tears, fully intending not to cry when she was out in the open.

“Jamie, what the fuck do you think you’re doing? What the hell, I thought I made it clear that your only job is to stay behind and fucking stay alive?” Jim turned to her. He was angry and fumbled with his cigarette tin. Like a lot of men, Jim took on smoking. He never smoked at home, the money was too short for luxuries. “If they find out, you’re so fucked! Hell, maybe I’ll be fucked. We all will be!”

“They won’t.” Jamie sighed, and then she said with a calm voice, “Not if you keep it a secret.”

Jim looked at her, shaking his head in disbelief. “Jamie, you’re a fucking girl!” He hissed. “How many secrets can you keep from them? You’re fucking bleeding every month. Someone will notice! And, and… What if you die? Fuck, you’re with the 29th. You’re actually the one who goes face first into combat. You’re the first they’ll be aiming at!” Jim nearly spat in her face from the strain of keeping his voice down and being angry and wanting to shout it out.

“You’d have done the same, Jim.” She lowered her head, put it between her knees and stared at the ground. “I haven’t had my period since the day you left, by the way. Four fucking years, Jim. That’s how much stress I’m under. When Jameson left, I didn’t want to exist anymore. I just.. I..” Jamie’s voice broke, and she wiped at her wet eyes with the back of her dirt smeared hand before they could drop down her cheeks.

Jim took another drag from his cigarette and exhaled before he rubbed at his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. He suddenly started to chuckle. “Shit… Fuck, Jamie. Why are we like this? Our family is so fucked up. I don’t even know where the others are.”

Jamie looks up again, grinning. “I don’t know either, but I know that you’re here.”

“Well, not long. I’m leaving again this afternoon.” Jim put out his cigarette on the sole of his boots before he flickered it across the street. “Jamie. Take off your helmet.”

She did what her brother asked of her and Jim rolled his eyes as he saw her hair. It was growing back unevenly and he ruffled his palms through it. “Grow it out, will ya? Not all men have such short hair. A bit longer and you’d look great.”

Jamie elbowed him in the ribs before they both laughed.

“Keep close to Winchester, alright?” Jim putting his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

“Why?”

“I heard he’s a good guy. He lost a kid out of sheer stupidity and he’s blaming himself still. It wasn’t his fault.” She looked up at him, wondering how Jim always managed to make friends everywhere he went. “And I saw how he looked at you, Jamie. If looks could kill, I’d be dead when you climbed up my body last night.”

“Shut up.”

“True! Maybe he sees something in you worth protecting. I hope he does. He’ll keep you save, alright. Keep him close. Don’t try to fuck it up.” It was more a warning because he knows that Jamie tend to fuck things up. Jim probably couldn’t even count on both his hands how many times he had to come and haul her ass out of whatever shit situation she was in. The fights, he had to break, the boys he had to chase away.

“I won’t.” Jamie said truthfully.

“Good. Also don’t get dead.”

“I try.”

“Fuck you.” Jim chuckled, looking around to see if someone was watching them. He could see Winchester standing off near the building, talking to some other Lieutenants, but his eyes were fixed on them. He probably didn’t even listen to what the others were saying. Jim pulled Jamie close anyway, kissing her forehead twice and ruffled his palm through her hair.

CHAPTER 4

[splendidlyimperfect]

When a magical mishap transforms Natsu, Sting and Rogue, Gray finds himself responsible for a horde of dragons.

Chapters (1/?): 1 Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Rogue Cheney/Natsu Dragneel/Sting Eucliffe/Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel/Sting Eucliffe, Rogue Cheney/Natsu Dragneel, Rogue Cheney/Sting Eucliffe, Rogue Cheney/Gray Fullbuster, Sting Eucliffe/Gray Fullbuster, Laxus Dreyar/Freed Justine, Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox Characters: Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Sting Eucliffe, Rogue Cheney, Freed Justine, Laxus Dreyar, Gajeel Redfox, Levy McGarden, Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, Makarov Dreyar, Porlyusica (Fairy Tail) Additional Tags: Canon Universe, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Magical Accidents, Spells & Enchantments, Transformation, Dragons, Fluff and Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, kind of, baby dragons are basically kittens, I make the rules here, Fluff and Humor, Cute, like super fucking cute, it's just dumb and fluffy okay, Tumblr: FTLGBTales

-----

It had started, like most accidents, with Natsu being an idiot.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” he’d asked, grinning at Gray and bouncing on the balls of his feet. They were standing out in a field near Gray’s house, down by the river, far enough away from the town that nobody would get hurt too badly even if it all went wrong.

Which it probably would.

“You could explode,” Gray suggested, crossing his arms over his chest and staring Natsu down. “Or implode.” Freed, who was standing nearby and studying a magic scroll intently, snorted.

“We’re not going to implode,” Natsu grumbled, looking to Sting and Rogue for support. Rogue just rolled his eyes, but Sting grinned at Natsu from his spot where he was reading over Freed’s shoulder.

Gray sighed. Part of him wanted to call this off. A mysterious scroll from a curio shoppe owner who’d been paying them for their latest quest wasn’t exactly something that screamed ‘safe.’ But the look of childish excitement on Natsu’s face was enough to hold him back from saying anything. For now. Gray also trusted Freed, who had gone over the spell several times and hadn’t found anything that was likely to go totally awry.

“Not seriously, anyway,” Freed had said. “At worst they’d probably just end up with sharper teeth. Or tails, maybe.”

The idea of Natsu bouncing around the apartment with a tail was already giving Gray a headache.

“C’mon, Snowflake,” Natsu teased, bumping Gray’s shoulder with his. “You’re just jealous that you don’t get dragon powers.”

“You already have dragon powers,” Gray insisted, ignoring the jab. He refused to admit that the spell did sound intriguing – some sort of dragon magic amplifier that might help the Slayers unlock a new well of power.

“We could try it on you,” Natsu said, expression turning thoughtful. “I mean, you are a Slayer. Not a Dragon Slayer, but sti—”

“No way,” Gray said, shaking his head. “I can kick your ass without sharp teeth or a tail.”

Continue reading on AO3

Natsu snorted, bumping Gray again, who pushed him away and turned to Rogue. “I still can’t believe you’re going along with this.”  

Rogue shrugged. “You try to say no to that,” he said, pointing at Sting, who was grinning and poking at the scroll. Gray nodded; Rogue had a point. Sting’s enthusiasm was equal to – if not more – contagious than Natsu’s.

“All right,” Freed said, running his finger down the scroll one more time and looking up at Natsu. “It seems straightforward enough. But I accept no responsibility if this goes wrong. Or if Erza decides to get angry about it later.”

Gray saw a flicker of hesitation cross Natsu’s face, but it was gone almost before it appeared. The grin resurfaced and Natsu raised his eyebrows at Sting and Rogue. “You guys ready to be dragons?”

“You’re not going to be dragons,” Gray insisted, but nobody was listening, so he sighed and stepped back behind Freed.

“All right,” Freed said, scrawling a few runes in the air as he walked in a circle around the three Dragon Slayers. “Don’t step out of this protection circle until I’m done the spell.” He gave Natsu a stern look, and Natsu pouted. Before Natsu could argue, Freed stepped back and started reading from the scroll.

As soon as Freed started speaking, a bright, electric energy began to crackle around Natsu, Sting and Gray. The grass around them whipped back and forth in a wind that seemed contained to the protection circle, and all three of them scrunched their noses up at the same time, as if they had smelled something unpleasant.

The sparks of light grew larger and jumped between the Dragon Slayers as Freed kept reading. Eventually the grass began to tear out of the ground, ripping up clumps of dirt to swirl around and fill the circle and obscuring the three of them in a cloud of black and white.

A roaring sound began to build in the field and Gray winced, covering his ears as pressure began to build around him. It rose quickly, culminating in a sound like a thunderclap, and then the windstorm disappeared.

Natsu, Sting and Rogue were gone.

A flash of panic filled Gray’s chest and he quickly looked around the field and then back to the containment circle. When the runes disappeared, movement caught Gray’s eye and he frowned.

It took him several seconds to realize what he was looking at, and he immediately burst out laughing.

“Oh my god,” he whispered, stepping forward and crouching down. “I am never going to let any of you live this down.”

Three baby dragons sat in the center of the circle, all looking mildly dazed. The red one was obviously Natsu – he looked a bit like a tiny version of Igneel, but rounder and more wide-eyed. Sting, who was much fluffier than Gray would have expected a dragon to be, lay on his back, tiny feet kicked up in the air, staring up at the sky in bewilderment. Rogue had already managed to get his bearings and was sitting on his haunches, head cocked to the side as he stared at Gray with bright red eyes.

“Rogue?” Gray asked, reaching out tentatively to the tiny dragon. He was barely bigger than Gray’s hand, which he sniffed at uncertainly. His tail flicked back and forth a few times and then he headbutted Gray’s fingers, apparently satisfied with his inspection.

“Holy shit, you’re adorable,” Gray murmured as Rogue stood up on his hind legs and put both front paws on Gray’s hand. He rubbed his face against Gray’s thumb, then climbed up into the palm of Gray’s hand and sat there, staring at him curiously.

“Well, that’s… unexpected,” Freed said, crouching down next to Gray. Sting, who had finally rolled over, shook his head and let out a tiny sneeze. The force of it knocked him backward again, which caught Natsu’s attention, and Natsu immediately pounced on him, pinning him to the ground. Sting growled at him, nipping at Natsu’s neck before kicking him with his hind feet and rolling over until he was on top.

“Of course they’re already fighting,” Gray said, rolling his eyes as he brought Rogue closer to his chest. Rogue took the opportunity to quickly clamber up Gray’s arm and sit onto his shoulder instead, wobbling uncertainly before digging tiny claws into the fabric of Gray’s shirt. Gray winced at the sharp pinpricks of pain, but Rogue settled and rubbed his head against Gray’s cheek.

“Knock it off, you two,” Gray said to Natsu and Sting as he petted the top of Rogue’s head with one finger. He reached out and grabbed Sting by the scruff of the neck, lifting him up to eye level and giving him a reprimanding look. Sting’s hind legs curled up to his stomach and he made an indignant squeaking noise. “Yes, you,” Gray said, laughing.

Freed reached out for Natsu, who scrambled to his feet and immediately nipped at Freed’s fingers. Before Gray could chastise him, Freed scooped up Natsu and put a finger under his chin so he couldn’t bite.

“They don’t seem to be able to understand us,” he said, studying Natsu curiously. Natsu growled at him and Freed laughed. “I guess you got your wish,” he said to Natsu. “You’re definitely a dragon.”  

Gray pushed himself to his feet, tucking Sting into the crook of his arm and scratching the top of his head to appease the mildly irritated sounds he was making. Sting immediately relaxed and the squeaks turned to a quiet, near-purring noise.

“They’re tiny,” Gray commented as Rogue shifted on his shoulder and nuzzled his cheek. “Are baby dragons really this small?”

“I’m not sure,” Freed said, keeping a firm finger under Natsu’s chin as he accepted Gray’s hand to help him stand. “We don’t really know anything about dragons – I don’t think anyone alive has ever seen a young one.” Natsu swiped a paw out at Sting as soon as he got close. Gray flicked him on the nose and frowned at him.

“Stop that,” he said as Sting growled at Natsu, then cuddled closer to Gray’s chest. “You’re a pain in the ass no matter how big you are.” Natsu rubbed a paw over his nose and managed to look indignant. “Oh, don’t give me that look,” Gray said. Then he looked up at Freed.

“So… how long do you think it’ll last?” It suddenly struck Gray that the transformation might be permanent, and immediately the panic was back. Freed shook his head, pulling the scroll out of his jacket pocket and unfurling it with one hand. Natsu looked at it curiously, trying to bat it with his paw. Freed nudged him away, then looked down at his jacket.

“Here,” he said, tucking Natsu into the chest pocket. Natsu’s eyes widened and he scrambled for purchase, eventually ending up with both paws over the edge of the pocket and his head resting between them. The tip of his tail poked out as well, flicking back and forth as he snuffled uncertainly.

Gray felt a pang of affection rise in his chest, and he reached out carefully to Natsu. Natsu looked at him warily but didn’t bite, instead sniffing his finger as Rogue had and eventually bumping it with his head.

Sting squirmed in Gray’s arm, whining and rubbing his head against Gray’s chest. Gray looked down at him and chuckled. “You’re jealous, aren’t you?” he asked, but when he tried to take his hand away from Natsu to pet Sting instead, Natsu growled and latched onto his finger with both paws.

“Dragons are very possessive,” Freed commented, still scanning the spell. “They might not understand what we’re saying, but they know that you’re important to them.”

Gray’s cheeks flushed with heat and he looked down at his feet. The four of them had only been dating for a few weeks – it had been a bit of an accident, really. They’d been sent together on a quest to the mountains that had ended up being a trap for Gray’s Devil Slayer magic, and when the fighting was said and done, they had all realized that the bond they’d formed was stronger than just guild mates, or even friends. It was something more – more intense, more fulfilling, more loving.

Nobody knew yet, though.

Nobody except Freed, apparently.

“Oh,” Gray said, and Freed glanced up at him, eyebrows raised.

“Laxus told me,” Freed said after a moment. “Something about scents.”

Gray groaned, glaring down at Natsu. “You’re all ridiculous,” he muttered. “Smelling people is creepy.” Natsu sniffed at his hand again and he rolled his eyes while Freed hummed in agreement.

“It takes getting used to,” Freed said, rolling the spell back up and tucking it into his coat. He and Laxus had been together for several years now, but they were both private about their relationship. “The possessiveness can get irritating, although being human probably makes it easier to curb that instinct. These three… well, right now instinct is all they have.”

Natsu nuzzled at Gray’s thumb and wriggled in Freed’s pocket, eventually pushing himself far enough out that he could scramble into Gray’s palm. Then he took Rogue’s cue and made his way up to Gray’s other shoulder, making a happy chittering sound as he nipped Gray’s ear.

“That hurts, you little bastard,” Gray grumbled, swatting at Natsu half-heartedly. He looked back at Freed. “Seriously, how long is this going to last?”

Freed shrugged. “It’s not permanent,” he reassured Gray, “but I have no idea how long the effects will take to wear off. I can do some research back at the Guild, but for now…” Gray could tell he was trying to hide a smile. “For now, you’re stuck with them.”

[themangledsans0508]

Ugly Tricks

@mindless-pidgeon here ya go my friend! sorry it took so long

Mal was well-aware that the scavenger hunt Rosie had put together was not supposed to end up with animals launching a full assault on the scouts and their parents. Bees, birds, squirrels, raccoons, and rabbits unleashed the wrath of the animals upon them. Markers were uncapped and bees, which turned out to be plastic, were thrown.

In seconds, two raccoons were on Mal, running as fast as they could while trying to keep their balance. Their claws dug into her. She wasted no time, breaking a stick and swinging it to make her attackers lose balance. She swung it around carefully as to not actually hit or hurt the animals.

She kept them away for a short time; long enough for them to lose interest and leave. She was briefly proud of herself. Then she heard a shout.

“Mal!”

“Molly?” She spun around quickly, trying to catch a glimpse of her blonde hair or shirt.

“Mal!” Looking towards the source of the noise, Mal could see the dark of the woods. For once, she wasn’t scared. Nothing was going to stop her from helping her best friend. Her girlfriend.

“I’m coming, Molly!” She ran towards the darkness. She couldn’t be too far in, right?

“Stop!” Mal began to turn around, just enough to catch a glimpse of Molly and her mother, but it was too late. She tripped over a log, falling onto her back. The ground crumbled beneath her, and she was gone.

~

Mal looked up to the distant sky. She was dizzy. She could feel something warm on her left leg and right arm. Of course, she had gotten cut by branches and rocks. Even a bit of her flannel had been ripped off. Just her luck.

“Mal!” She could faintly hear Molly’s voice from far above her, like an angel or a goddess.

“I’m okay! I’ll find a way back up!”

“Baby, you stay just right there. We’ll go get help, and a rope!” her mother called down. That’s fine, better than her plan to try and climb back up, she decided. She looked at her surroundings. It was nothing she recognized.

She looked at her bleeding limbs. They were not too severe, but still enough to get a scar. She sat up, looking for anything that she could use to make a bandage out of. Her body ached a little bit, but not enough to immobilize her. 

She looked at her now-stained shirt and jeans. She sighed, but she wasn’t worried about clothes. She had more identical pairs anyways. She pushed herself up and scanned the area. 

Still, nothing looked familiar, or helpful for that matter. She saw the ominous woods looming above her. Most likely hiding something, and nothing good she guessed.

She took a few careful steps towards the shadowed forest before hesitating. She could swear she heard something rustling in the bushes. Something breathing.  Something coming towards her.

Her senses heightened. She could feel her breaths get shallower and shallower. She couldn’t keep the air in her lungs. She looked for any signs of movement while trying to calm down. A panic attack would just make things worse.

She couldn’t see anything through the densely packed trees. It was like one of her comic books, and a monster was about to leap out. Her eyes passed over something and swiftly locked back on them. Red.

Red?

How could she see red in a sea of black? Was she dying? No, that wasn’t it. Whatever those are, they were glowing. 

She stepped backward, tripping over a log once again. How did those keep being in the way? She pushed herself into a sitting position and looked back to the glowing orbs. Well, they weren’t perfect orbs, but that didn’t matter.

The orbs were coming towards her rapidly, and she had nowhere to really run. She leaned back and braced herself for the teeth that were going to tear her apart.

At least that’s what she assumed would happen.

When the orbs emerged from the woods, they revealed themselves to be eyes. Glowing red eyes for a big wolf.

Calling the wolf big was no exaggeration. It was five feet tall, far taller than a wolf should be. Fully black, its eyes completed its classification as a demon. It wasn’t a be-warewolf, she knew that right away. But it was definitely something she would beware in the future. 

If she had a future.

The wolf made a sound similar to a laugh and took a few steps forward. It sniffed her and growled a tiny bit.

That was not a very wolf-like growl, she thought. Not that she had ever heard a wolf growl, but she was almost positive it wouldn’t sound like that. 

Then the wolf tried to bite her.

Mal decided that it was tried, but felt like the wolf intentionally missed her leg, which she swiftly pulled to her chest.

Quickly pushing herself to her feet, she ran towards the woods. She knew she had no chance of getting away if she just tried to run like her mind was telling her to. She felt the wolf biting at her heels, skinning the materials off the shoes and grazing her skin. Great, more ruined clothes and blood.

She reached the forest and ran along the tree line, looking for the perfect weapon. 

She eventually saw it, a fairly bulky broken stick resting on the forest floor just inside the woods. She jumped in, grabbing the stick with both hands. She lost balance and tumbled for the third time. 

She saw the wolf panting and approaching. She waited. 

It was finally within her reach. She lifted her stick above her head and swung downwards.

“Ow! Kid, whaddya think you’re doin’!” The wolf jumped backward onto its hind legs, its form melting away to reveal a brown and orange pattern.

“What the hell are you?”

A fox. It was a fucking fox.

It laughed, sounding like a maniac on a killing spree. 

“Don’t worry about that kid; where you’re going it won’t matter,” it cackled.

Whatever that meant, she had no intention of going with that fox or getting eaten. She started pushing herself up from the ground.

“I wouldn’t bother, I could catch you in seconds if I wanted.” Mal ignored that statement, but she didn’t doubt it.

It made sense now actually, foxes are considered trickers, sly, and sometimes beautiful.

She knew a beautiful fox, and this one was not her. 

She reached down for her stick, gripping it tightly and holding it like it was a heavy sword.

“Kid, just work with me. I’m doing a friend a favor right now, I’m not gonna kill you.” It looked mildly irritated as it spoke, crossing its arms and looking down at her. Part of her believed it, the other part called bull. 

However, both parts of her agreed she had no intention of going anywhere. 

“I think I’m good right here, thanks,” she stated, trying to put as much power into her voice as she could. The fox sighed.

“Last chance. I don’t want to have to drag you there, but I will if I have to. Make the right choice girl.”

She tried to think of all her options. Go with the shapeshifting monster and probably get murdered, try to run and hide and probably get murdered, try to just run and probably get murdered, or try to fight and probably get murdered. She sighed internally. Don’t get her wrong, she was one-hundred percent terrified, but she also wasn’t naive. 

She tried to raise her stick as much as she could without being noticed.

“Okay fox, you win. I’ll just surrender…” Mal felt like a supervillain, pretending to surrender before really kicking some ass. 

The fox took a few steps for her, coming far enough within Mal’s range for her to feel comfortable enough to try and defend herself. As fast as she could, she whipped the stick at the fox. It yelped in pain, and she took the opportunity to make her escape. She ran as fast as she could, back to where she fell from and tried to find a place to hide.

She had just barely dived into a bush when she heard a howl, and something even bigger than a fox or a wolf running at her.

~

Molly was in no hurry to waste time. She had to save Mal, she just had to. It wasn’t about morals and not even about friendship, it was about someone she loved. She hadn’t admitted it to her, even though they were “basically dating”, or so April told her. She’d admit, they had held hands, and cuddled as they fell asleep, and maybe even kissed each other a few times, but she had not yet said “I love you,” or even called Mal her girlfriend for that matter. Had Mal done any of that either? She couldn’t remember.

But she knew she loved Mal, more than she had ever loved another human being. She didn’t love her mother, and her relationship with her two younger siblings was hard to describe. Somewhere she did love her father, but it was hard to truly care about someone who allowed you to get hurt time and time again.

She loved her friends, but she loved Mal just a bit more.

And watching Miss Yoo do everything in her power to find her daughter was really inspiring. 

She was running behind Rosie, Jen, and Nellie who Rosie had found on her way. It was surprising how fast the old lady could run while complaining at the same time. 

They ran to the cliff where Mal had fallen and Rosie tied a rope to a nearby tree. Molly didn’t wait to test if it was secure, or even check if the rope reached the ground before she jumped off with one hand gripping the rope.

She ignored the searing pain the rope left as she slid down it, she had one mission and nothing would stop her.

She hit the ground hard, but only hard enough to cause a small bit of pain. She looked quickly for any signs of Mal, but quickly hated what she saw.

Blood staining some of the rocks and adorning patches of dirt. A bit of flannel caught on a branch, and footprints and some paw prints trailing through the mud. 

Worst of all was the final trail of some blood, a messy line from dragging a person, and some marks in the dirt that were definitely not anything she could recognize.

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Also pidgeon (not sure what i should call you lol) if you want a part two i can do it for you