#KINDLY! nobody ever talk to me again

[dovahkiining]

just made spiff watch exit wounds for the first time with me while we both sob uncontrollably

[doitforbangchan]

sorry if it's a little long. I love to come up with plots more than the smut part

you were just supposed to meet them backstage after a concert and get a picture. but hyunjin was obviously interested so chan asked you to stay behind, offering to drop you off since you were there alone. while they were waiting for the fans to leave, hyunjin kept talking to you and managed to get you to accept going with them to the dorms with them to chill after the concert. not the type to be able to say no easily, you accepted. you ended up drinking with them. the members tried making conversations but a tipsy hyunjin was doing all he could to keep your attention on him. after a while, the others left to sleep and since it was too late for you to go home, you had to stay over. hyunjin wanted you to sleep on his bed so you'd be comfortable and he'd be in the living room but it didn't seem fair to him. that's how you ended up in the same bed. the two of you were just talking at first but as you sobered up, things escalated between the two of you...

After party - Hyunjin

Masterlist

Idol!Hyunjin x Fan!Reader (Afab)

The pics are formatting weird and I dont know why :(

CW: Light smut, kissing, grinding, thigh riding, drinking, softdom!Hyunjin, sub!reader, cursing, anxiety (Lemme know if i missed any) Not proofread :) to my requester- I hope you enjoy please let me know what you think lovey <3

WC: 2.4k

Hyunjin was enamored by you. The second you walked backstage for your VIP picture with the group he knew he was doomed. Not only were you beautiful but so kind. You were all smiles as you greeted them each, handing them each little figures you had created for them of their Skzoo animals.

For you, this was the greatest thing to ever happen to you. You had waited so long for this, counting down the days since purchasing your ticket and backstage pass. You only expected it to be a quick meeting, get a picture maybe a hug and then be on your way. You were honestly shocked when Bangchan had invited you to hang out with them for a while.

"Did you come alone?" Chan had asked you when he noticed nobody was with you.

"Yeah, I did." You answered sheepishly, "I don't have any other friends into K-pop so I'm pretty used to attending events and concerts alone."

"It just means you have good taste." Hyunjin winked at you, and you felt the heat rush to your face as you mumbled a 'thanks'.

Hyunjin was sat next to you with his arm slung over the back of the couch you were both sitting on but he wasn't touching you. He just wanted to be close to you without being weird.

The two of you sat there for over an hour as he asked you questions about yourself, of course the other boys would chime in every now and again but generally they liked watching Hyunjin try and be cool with you. It was entertaining.

It was nearing closing for the venue and they had to leave soon, but Hyunjin didn't want this to end. He looked to Chan for a quick second with pleading eyes before he looked back at you and blurted "Do you wanna come home with us?"

You were thrown off by his sudden inquiry, "Huh?"

"Not in a gross way!" He panicked as Jisung burst into laughter watching his friend struggle. "I mean, we're headed back to our dorm and we planned on having a few drinks and hanging out. Our version of an after party. Would you like to join us?"

"Oh uhhh" you looked around at the encouraging looks from Felix and Chan, ignoring the snickering from Jisung and Seungmin. "I mean, I guess if you want me too, maybe an hour or so wouldn't hurt." You were a people pleaser and couldn't say no on a regular day, but especially not when your favorite idol asks you too.

"Perfect" He smiled brightly.

The ride over was more luxury than you were used too, even being shoved into the back of the black SUV. Perspective really was everything huh?

Once back at the dorms the boys wasted no time in getting acquainted with the bottle of tequila Minho had slyly taken from the venue. Though you kindly refused to do shots, you couldn't say no when Felix offered you a mixed drink he made you with some juice from the fridge.

Time felt like it was flying by. Before you knew it, it was nearing midnight. It was easy to loose track of time, though. Since the moment you got here Hyunjin had take it upon himself to keep you company. He had only taken two shots but he was clearly tipsy; his mild slurring and glassy eyes being a dead giveaway.

Not that you were any better, being a lightweight yourself. That's probably why it took you so long to notice the latening time.

"Shit" you cursed after checking your phone, only now noticing how late it was. "It's getting really late, I think I gotta head out."

Hyunjin looked around and noticed you two were the only ones left in the living room, the other members seemingly having gone to bed or to their own dorms. "Damn, how did we not notice how late it was?" He knew exactly how he didn't notice. You were too mesmerizing for him to want to pay attention to anything else.

"I should probably try to call an Uber." You sighed, opening your phone and praying you could get an available ride. Most Saturday nights were impossible to get a ride, since it seemed like the whole city tried to get one at the same time.

Hyunjin spoke before his brain could catch up. "Sleep in my bed tonight." He backtracked at seeing your eyes widen at his proposition. "Uhh what I mean is, it's really late and getting a ride might take hours anyway, so you could just stay here tonight if you wanted.."

"Oh umm." You bit your lip, nervously. "I don't want to be an inconvenience for you."

He shook his head in disagreement, shaggy hair bouncing at his vehement action. "It's no inconvenience, hon. Really, it would even make me feel better knowing you were here safe instead of waiting for a rando or walking home in the middle of the night."

"Aren't you kind of a rando, Hyunjin?" You had a slight tease to your voice.

"A rando who you came home with, yeah." He giggles, standing up and putting his hand out for you to take. He looked at you expectantly when you hesitated to grab his hand in return. "Come on, y/n. You can take my bed and I'll take the couch tonight. No objections!"

You shyly took his hand in yours, giving up on trying to leave knowing he was right.

You found yourself unable to sleep. It has easily been 40 minutes since Hyunjin had made his bed for you and wished you goodnight, and you couldn't stop thinking of just how you ended up in this situation.

You only meant to get a picture with your favorite K-pop group- nothing more nothing less. It's what you had paid for, at least. Never in your life would you have imagined this is where you would be at the end of the night. In Hwang Hyunjins bed. The sheets smelled of him, the silk holding onto both his natural scent and traces of his expensive cologne. Honestly it was quite sobering, your buzz fading by the minute.

As if his ears were ringing, the bedroom door slowly creaks open to reveal Hyunjin, peeking in curiously. The only light in the room was the soft glow of the moon shining through his window. It was just enough for him to be able to make out your still figure in his bed.

"Pssst" his voice was a whisper, "are you awake?" He didn't want to wake you if you were sleeping so he kept his tone low.

"Yeah." You whispered back, equally as soft. "Are you ok?"

He shuffled close to you in the room, "Uh yeah, it's just that.. the couch is really uncomfortable."

"Oh, uh" You stammed, "I can go to the couch so you can have your bed back."

You went to remove yourself from his bed but he stopped you, his hand finding your shoulder to keep you in place, "Well I was thinking, if you didn't mind, I could just stay in here with you."

You blinked in surprise, contemplating it for a moment. He wasn't slurring his speech anymore so you knew his tipsiness was wearing off. " I guess that would be ok." You slowly scooted further into the bed, giving him space to climb under the covers with you.

He situated himself under the warm blankets and turned his body to face you. Now you were both looking at each other through the dim light.

"I do appreciate you coming and hanging out with us tonight." He breathed out, breaching the silence.

You balked, "Are you kidding? You brought me into your home, and now you're letting me in your bed! This whole night has been incredible, really. I should be the one thanking you." You said in a hushed tone, fighting back the urge to word vomit your appreciation.

Hyunjin chucked, "No need to thank me." He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, gathering his nerves. "If I'm being honest, something about you had immediately caught my attention the second you walked backstage to meet us. You were so... Captivating. And sweet. Those little Skzoo minis you made for us are so cute and I can tell you took your time to make them for us. I knew I wanted to know you more." He reached for your hand in the dark and you tentatively let him grab it and laced your fingers together.

Your face was burning hot at his confession. Honestly you were at a loss for words. You hadn't considered yourself special in anyway. Sweet- maybe. But captivating? Never. It was a whirlwind of emotions. You didn't doubt that he was speaking his truth, more so your heart didn't want to believe it.

As if sensing your inner turmoil he gave you a shy grin to ease your mind, "I understand if you don't feel the same. I know it's crazy to spring that kind of thing on someone you just met."

"No its not that!" You protested louder than intended, before sheepishly lowering your voice back to a whisper. " This is all very surreal to me, right now. This isn't how I imagined my night would be, but I am so glad it did. I really liked getting to know you guys, especially you... Who may or may not be my bias." You hid your eyes behind your hand.

You tried to tug your other hand from his grasp but he held on, tighter now after your confession.

"Oh, I'm your bias, huh?" You could hear the smirk on his face as his confidence grew exponentially. You turned your head at buried it into the pillow, unable to meet his gaze.

"Don't be mean." you mumbled.

"I would never dream of being mean to you, sweetheart. You're the one who can't even look at your bias. So really you're the mean one here, angel."

You took a peek at him to see his signature pout gracing his features, the dumpling shape of his lips making you want to bite them.

"You're lucky you're pretty" You huffed, feeling his other hand reach for your waist and pull you closer. You held back a squeal at his action.

"You think I'm pretty?" He abandoned his pout for a boyish grin.

"Mhm" you responded, so quietly he almost missed it.

"Well, between you and me, angel," He leaned in closer to your face, eyes flickering back and forth between your lips and eyes, "I think you're prettier."

The singer left you room to deny his advances, but when you made no move to get away he gently pressed his soft lips against your own. You felt your eyes close on impact, and sighed into him as he swept his tongue along your bottom lip, asking for entrance. Once you parted for him and allowed him entry into your mouth he let out a low moan; the sound coming from somewhere in the back of his throat.

You fisted his shirt when he let go of your hand, instead his found purchase cupping your cheeks as he deepened the kiss even further. His body pressed as close to you as he could get, letting himself get drunk on your taste as he sobered from the alcohol.

You whimpered when he wedged one of his thighs between yours, the strong muscle creating a friction on your clothes center.

"Mm I liked that sound. I wanna hear you sing more pretty melodies for me, angel." He retracted his lips from yours, choosing to instead pepper smooches down your neck. He ground his thigh into you, eliciting another whimper.

Hyunjin sucked a mark onto your flesh, the extra stimulation causing you to buck your hips, seeking more. "Hyuuunnee"

"That's it baby, ride my thigh. Fuck, I can feel you soaking through both of our clothes, angel." He really means his clothes, as he had given you a pair of sleep shorts to wear. He sped up his movements, the grinding getting harsher against your core.

Your clit was rubbing so deliciously against your panties, and you definitely knew with how much you were dripping for him that he was telling the truth. You couldn't believe how worked up you were getting, already on the verge of cumming and you hadn't even been really touched yet.

His hand traveled down to the hem of your shirt, and he pushed it up to reveal your braless chest. He let out a groan of his own at the sight. "You not wear a bra for me, angel? Being a naughty girl?"

You moaned when he latched his mouth onto the skin of your tit, "Mmmmm, no Hyun. Jus' can't sleep in it." one of your hands found his hair.

"I don't think that's true, angel." He said it between nips to your flesh, "I think you wanted me to come in here and ravish you." He nipped particularly hard and you gasped. "Bet you were laying here, soaking in your panties waiting for me, huh?" He switched to your other breast.

Your panting was getting harsher, getting closer and closer to cumming on his thigh. "Hyune, m' gonna..gonna..."

"Gonna cum, pretty girl? Gonna make a mess for me, hmm?" You nodded as best you could, "Go ahead, angel. Hyun's got you." At his permission you let go, a soft cry escaping you as you shook against him. The whole time he kept steady in his grinding, working you through your orgasm. "Fuck, you're even prettier when you cum, oh my god. Prettier than a painting."

When the shocks of pleasure faded into over stimulation you tried to give him a light push to signal him to stop. He took the hint and slowly ended his grinding. Your breathing was heavy and your pupils were blown wide, the sight enough for him to crave you even more if that was possible.

Keeping eye contact with you, he gingerly reached into the front of your (his) shorts, his long fingers finding your dripping wetness and collecting some of it onto the pads of his fingers. You bleated a moan at the contact of him sweeping through your wet folds.

You almost came again when Hyunjin removed his fingers from your pussy and brought the shiny digits up to his mouth. He groaned and his eyes rolled to the back of his head when he sucked your essence off his skin.

"Fuck angel, you really are sweet." He was quick to flip you onto your back, causing you to squeal. "Gotta be quiet, sweet girl." He scooted down your body, pulling your bottoms and panties down with him. "Can't have the boys coming in here while I'm eating my new favorite treat, right angel?"

A/n: Yesssss I know its not full smut, but honestly i liked the it this way. i think it fits better :) I hope you enjoy please let me know if you did

Comments and reblogs are very much appreciated!

©doitforbangchan

[darkness-follows]

NOBODY ASKED FOR THIS IDK WHY IM WRITING IT

Abuse of power

Shane x Female Reader oneshot

Tw: Shane is a piece of shit, if you watched the Shield or just some of it you'll know. Abusing his Power as a cop. Rough Sex. Rough Oral.

Dub Con kinda stuff guys.

Slapping each other around a bit...Beware. Mention of a bloody kiss. Creampie (Shanes favorite item on the menu)

And minors do not read please.

⚠️⚠️ ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 ⚠️⚠️

Interview time with one of Shanes favorite P.I's.

"I don't know okay.. I swear I didn't hear anything" you sigh, Shane has you pressed between him and his station car, he's always been like that, since you met him, pushy and grabby and overall way too much in your space. He might have squeezed your ass a few times or your breasts... and yeah there was that one time where he made you give him a blow job in the back of his private truck. But other than that? He never took it to actual Sex. And he might be a bit off and uncomfortable but he's never been too rough with you.

He doesn't slap you around or degrade you too much. Sometimes you even think he really likes talking to you.

"Give me something, anything Baby, you don't want me to bust you for hookin' now do you?" He teases.

"I'm not a fucking hooker?!" You try to get away from him but no way, no chance.

"Good luck tryin' to proof that to the Departement darlin' " The evil tease in his voice, the smirk on his face. He makes you sick and at the same time... blowing him wasn't the worst thing you've ever done.

"I really don't have anything Shane! I swear, not a peep at the moment. Not between me and my girls or the idiots we hook up with, alright, I can't help you on this one! Now...let me go" You try to squeeze past him again but he doesn't let you. His hands grab your hips, you can feel his fingers digging into your bones.

"If I find out your lying to me..." Shane warns. He leans in closer, you can feel his breath against your cheek. "I'm going to shove my 9 inches into every fucking hole you got" He pushes you away almost so hard that you go stumbling. But you manage to catch yourself in time. Watching him get in the car and drive off.

Fuck.

You hope that wasn't a real threat because..you just lied to him.

❤️‍🔥

"SHIT" You try to push the door shut again but no chance, Shane already has his boot and then the rest of his leg in the door. He's not alone either, feeling two strong arms wrap around you from behind. "You lied to me Angel! Im so..- heartbroken! You didn't tell me that TJ came to your fucking house to what..? Get a quickie in and hide his god damn coke?" He asks.

"Really hoping he didn't shove it up your ass but I might have to do a little search just to be sure" He grabs your face to force you to look at him.

"No...no- please I swear it wasn't like that. He didn't hide anything! I promise...Shane.. I promise. I tell you where, I tell you" You beg and thank god he nods, the arms release you, fuck, Vic.

"I got this." Shane tells him and you watch Vic slowly leave. That's either good or really bad.

"So? He fucked you and stashed his shit somewhere. Where?" He huffs.

"He didn't fuck me..." You groan. "He forced me to let him in, cried like a little bitch and told me he put the damn powder into a flour jar in the youth Center...-" You sigh. Thank god that Center is on summer break. "Oh, really? Cause he told me a different Story!" Shit. He found TJ before coming here. "What's his Version?" You ask when he looks around your place, not exactly treating your things kindly.

"His story was that he hid it here after he fucked you from behind sweetie, now I don't care which tale is true here. I just gotta know where the blow is at" He points out. After knocking some of your stuff over he walks back towards you, taking a fistful of your hair and throwing you onto your knees.

"THE YOUTH CENTER! Shane I swear! Flour Box in the kitchen cabinet." You look up at him with pleading eyes. Watching him make a phone call and moments later you hear a car leaving your driveway.

"They are going to check that out but darlin' if that is another lie...." he tugs on your hair as a warning. Sitting down on your couch with a loud sigh, he lets go of your hair to light up a cigarette. "Why did you lie, your blowing this whole god damn thing for me, you ain't gonna get any more paychecks i hope you fucking know that" He huffs.

"Because he was crying...like a Baby....I felt bad but I told him there is no way in hell he's gonna leave this shit here..So he took it over there. That's all there is to it, I didn't know you guys cared so damn much for a brick of coke" You frown. "Hey!" His foot kicks into your side "You got no idea what this is about so shut it" He uses your coffee mug as ashtray at least. This whole waiting and sitting around, him on your couch and you on the floor thing is more than nervewrecking. What if TJ moved it and it's not there? Would he...- would Shane kill you?

When he gets a call you prey a little, not being religous at all, but it can't hurt right?

When he gets off the phone you shake...hands trembling, looking up at him with big eyes. "You got lucky this time, Vic found it." Shane mumbles.

Oh thank fucking god.

"That doesn't mean your off the hook, you lied to me." Shane reminds, you watch him stand up again, grabbing a hold of your shirt and then he draws back his right arm, turns his hand into a fist.

"Please don't..- don't hurt me. I'm sorry, god so so sorry!" You claw at his jeans. "Shane. Let me Show you how sorry, please." You open his belt with a nervous smile, dragging down his zipper. He's simple like that, it will work.

His arm lowers itself and in a matter of seconds he's shoving his cock into your mouth, down your throat. Making you Violently choke on it, sob around it, gag on it, all the things you know he likes. It's better than a beating, and even though you hate his fucking guts you can't help but to moan around him. Show him how good you can be, useful, that you suck cock a lot better without a busted lip.

Shane slowly breaks it off to sit down on the couch, watching you follow and lift your arms onto his lap before your head leans back down.

He is simple like that. Which is great for you, works in your favor. Might mean you will get out of this one smoothly. He tugs on your hair but gently this time, hearing a deep rumble and moan coming out of him turns you on. Oh he's been desperate for this, he didn't get off in a while. You can tell.

But to Shane a blowjob won't be enough, not tonight. He lets you treat his dick like a candy cane for a little while longer before he grabs your head with both hand, lifting it off of his hard and aching actual 9 inch cock. You lick your lips and wipe your mouth when you look up at him, he loves this shit.

"He really didn't screw you? TJ.." He asks.

You wonder why he's so strangely curious about it. But when his hand holds your chin and his thumb wipes softly over your lips you smile genuinely up at him.

"No, fuck no, crying piece of shit like that? Im not that desperate." You huff. Licking along his cock from the base to his tip and watching him throw his head back. "Maybe he said it cause he knew it would get to you?" You suggest.

"Get to me? Why would that get to me? I don't give a shit about you or who you spread your god damn legs for" Shane huffs, he seems really annoyed at that. Botherd. So much so that he shoves you off, pulling his pants back on. Why is he always so weird?

"So the idea of him bending me over and fucking me in the ass doesn't bother you?" You ask curiously. He scoffs at you, getting up from the couch and grabbing his jacket. "No" He huffs loudly.

He's lying.

It totally does bother him. Fuck, but he's been so...ugh. That can't be how he behaves around a woman he actually likes right?

"Are you...jealous?" You get up, a teasing look on your face. "You totally are! But that would mean that you like me and- there is no way because you treat me like dogshit" You point out.

He moves to the door but his hand stays on the handle, not twisting it. You can see how he's breathing faster, the anger on his face, how he seems as if he's aruging mentally with himself right now.

"I'm not, and your right, there is no way. You mean nothin' to me darlin' nothin' . But..- you are into that, you love it when I treat you like that, when I press myself against you, when I grab at you, when I pull your hair and throw you around like some 20$ whore from the street corner." He points out. Hanging his jacket at the door before he takes a step towards you again.

"The more you squirm against me, the stronger that urge in you gets to spit in my face or clock me one the harder you make me baby. That's what you know, that's why you do it" Shane does it again, pushing you into the wall and pressing himself against you.

"Your into women spitting on you?" You question with a laugh. Then the back of his hand connects with your face, not hard enough to leave a bruise but hard enough to make you try and squirm away from him again. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't like that" He huffs back.

And then you spit into his face.

You watch him slowly wipe it off with the back of his hand, and then his tongue licks up your spit from his hand. Fucking god.

Whoever breaks first now admits to what the other accused them of. If he kisses you he's gonna admit that he actually likes you, if you kiss him first you admit that you like being smacked around a little.

Shane kisses you first.

Which is surprising considering you had his dick in your mouth not too long ago. The way he's kissing is so demanding, needy, he wants to possess all of you, your mouth, your body, every fucking inch of you. You push yourself harder against him, moaning softly into his mouth when your tongues press roughly into each other.

When the air thins in your lungs you pull back slowly, searching his eyes. "Jesus Shane, really?" You question. He looks guilty, he looks broken that he admitted to liking you. "Vic wanted me to rough you up, not a whole lot, just enough to make you understand that you can't lie to me, to us." He frowns. "He's gonna be so pissed when he finds out I screwed you instead.." He sighs deeply.

"What would that have done? Just because you are scared of someone doesn't mean you magically start yappin' the truth. It would have done nothing to me except for giving me a Black eye or a busted lip." Your hands stroke over his chest, toying with the buttons on his shirt.

"Your right and I'm sorry that I almost.. -" his hand touches your cheek. He almost did it. That's how much Power Vic and the guys have over him.

"But you didn't Shane, and that little backhanded smack-" You shrug. Feeling his hands tickle your sides "I knew it!" He laughs. "You totally liked it, I'm never wrong about my women" He says proudly.

"Can you just fuck me now, Shane? Mark what's yours? Cause I don't want..TJ or some other fucking gang banger. I want you, I want the Cop that had his hands all over me from the day we met" You kiss his jaw.

"Promised you 9 inches in every hole for that lie of yours didn't I? Let's get to work then" He grabs your pants and practically tears them down, doing the same with your panties but being as gross as he is... He takes them and brings them to his nose and mouth. Taking a deep breath.

"God darlin' how do you manage that scent, that's the greatest smelling pussy I've ever known" He comments, you take Note on how he stuffs your panties into the back pocket of his jeans..fuck.

"Remember that Collin guy? You wanted to know so so badly where he was, you pinned me to the car, I was squirming against you, you didn't leave off me and then you took a hold of my crotch. Pressed two fingers between my legs while I started talking about where he's hiding out at?" You huff.

"Mhm?" His hand moves there again, cupping you and pushing two fingers into you.

"Those are the same panties I wore that day. Washed of course but, I think it's a bit funny." You point out. "If I remember that correctly too.. you were beggin' me to stop, wanna repeat that?" He asks.

You bite your lip, rolling your hips slowly into his touch to simulate squirming against him again. "Shane stop...-" You try to squeeze your legs together but his big hand is in the way.

"STOP...- stop stop..- please I told you where he is, that's all I know" You mimic your voice from back then. The expression on his face is adoreable, he really is an asshole but god he's so fucking hot. The way he moves his fingers into you, so deep and steady.

His other hand lifts your leg up, he starts moving against you as if he's fucking you against the wall but it's still only his two fingers. "You better be honest with me from now on, I can only convince Vic that it was a mistake and you will never do it again one exact time. It won't work a second time..." and suddenly the play pretend turns into the Real Deal again.

"Don't care who's sobbing into your ear, you hear me?" His fingers move harder, rough now, Drilling into you at a not so comfortable angle.

"What's he gonna do if it happens again?" You ask with genuine fear on your face and his silence makes your stomach turn. "I vouch for you, for this one, I'd forgive you a second time, he wouldn't. I don't know how he would handle it. Bust you for hookin' somehow." He takes his hand away from your wet core. Licking his fingers with a loud 'pop' before he undoes his belt and zipper, dropping it all onto the floor.

"Turn around" He nods towards the wall.

"No" You huff, not after what he just said?! That Vic would throw you in jail for something you didn't do if you ever forget to tell the whole truth again?

He scoffs at you, hands grabbing your hips, turning you around and pressing you into the wall. "Shane! Shane don't! Im not done talking about this..." You squirm for Real this time. His ego is sickening.

"Well I am" He grobes your behind roughly, spreading your cheeks apart. When he lets go you can feel his tip at your hole. The wrong fucking hole. "No...no no! Shane! I'm serious this time, no. It's gonna hurt so bad, please don't" You hear him sigh loudly, and then he pushes into your soaked pussy. "FUCK" But a whole lot better than the other option.

The snaps of his hips are brutal, but god it's so good. You hate knowing that a piece of shit like him is so damn good at fucking, but most are, aren't they? You moan loud, hands trying to reach back to make his hips go a tiny bit slower but he simply grabs hold of both of your wrists. "God damn Baby, I should have done this so much sooner" He groans. His other hand smacks your cheeks roughly, spreading you open to watch his cock move in and almost out of you over and over.

"You don't ever fucking lie to me again or im gonna have you like this for a few friends of mine, they ain't gonna make it this good though" He huffs. And this time you really want to push him off, but he Hits the spot. He just does. His tip is thick and heated and you can feel it drag over a spot that just feels incredible deep inside of you. And with that speed? You knew he was fit but that's some Athlete kind of shit.

Your shoulder and face softly ache from being forced into the wall, you'd ask him to move it somewhere else but your pretty sure he doesn't give a shit about it.

"So good, so fucking good Shane" You moan a bit extra intense just for him, even though he really is doing a good job.

"Yeah I knew you'd like that." He grabs your hips with both hands thrusting so hard that you suddenly slam with your face first against the wall. You knew you'd end up with a busted lip somehow.

"Ow!" You groan, holding you chin not wanting to touch your lip.

Shane at least is nice enough to stop fucking you raw for a moment, he pulls out and turns you around, gentle hands holding your face. "Shit im sorry..." He seems like he does feel bad about it, but not for long. "Hold on, Hold that pose" He looks through his pants on the floor and takes out his flip phone. Snapping a pic of your face with his hand holding it. Getting a good shot of your busted lip.

"Sending that to Vic! So he thinks I taught you a lesson" He smirks wide.

"Your unbelievable. Fucking unbelievable Shane." You curse his Name, turning away from him.

"Hey im sorry, but it works doesn't it, I didn't see how close your face was to that edge there im really sorry" He turns your face to look at him. Kissing your busted lip gently, feeling his hard cock press against your hip.

You nod while he apologizes. Smiling up at him when he kisses it better. Only to smack him one back as hard as you can. You can see a look in his eyes, it's burning, you've never seen such a psycho look in someone's eyes before.

Before you know it he grabs you, lifts you and carries you to your bed. He throws you onto it, hovering above you before he forces his body between your spread legs. A hand wraps around your throat when he pushes inside of you again he picks up the exact same speed of his hips like before.

Your legs wrap around his waist and all you can do is moan, that's all he can do apparently too.

Your moans, your movements, everything is in perfect sync. His hand lets go of your throat to squeeze your breast, rubbing his thumb over your already hard nipple while he slams his fucking hips into yours. "Shane....Shane...stop!" You bite your lip with a smirk when he looks at you to confirm if you really meant it or if you were teasing again.

It's nice that he checked, you didn't really expect him to.

"Think you can just lie to me you stupid bitch huh? I fucking own you. You'd be a broke whore without me" He looks into your eyes and you can tell, for the first time, that he doesn't mean it. It's not how he really feels but it turns you on either way.

"Please...stop, please Shane" You make your voice Sound as desperate as possible and he fucking cums. He moans so loud that your shitty neighbours start banging against the wall. You can feel his cock throbbing and leaking his cum deep inside of you, shoving it in deeper with every thrust that still follows until you cum too. Your raw fucked core clenches around him while your whole body lifts off the bed with your hand and leg strenght only.

Hand in his hair roughly pulling until your done and your body falls back onto the mattress. His on top of yours.

"Shit.." You breathe out, feeling a drop of blood on your lip but before you can wipe it away he kisses it away. Licking his lips and kissing you deeply again.. a kiss tasting of your blood and he's almost ready to fucking go again. Christ.

Your breathing barely turned back to normal when his phone suddenly rings and he pulls himself out of you.

"Oh good fucking god darlin' wish you could see that, my favorite kinda pie" He chuckles, staring at the mess he made of you when he stumbles around to grab his phone. When he returns he keeps you from closing your legs with a hand. Pinning the phone between his ear and shoulder...moving between your legs. "Ya?" He's on the phone while his tongue drags over your soaked and cum leaking core.

He really is a piece of work.

Your so overstimulated but you don't know who he's on the phone with so you stay quiet.

Your hand strokes through his hair when your hips squirm once more because of Shane.

"Oh yeah she uh, she learned her lesson" Shane looks up at you, silently asking if you did.

You smirk wide and give him a thumbs up before his tongue rolls over your sensitive clit.

You could swear a finger of his is toying around with the mess he made while just casually chatting up Vic on the phone.

"Yeah I'll be there in 10" He mumbles.

But you pull roughly on his hair.

"15..Sorry" He tells Vic and you do it again.

"Imma be there in 30 alright? Gotta take care of something, okay, later" He hangs up and tosses the phone next to you.

"Got 15 more minutes out of this deal Baby, how do you wanna spend it?" He's going to need 5 minutes to get dressed and going and 10 for the ride back to the station.

"Well, 15 isn't enough to get me ready for anal so we might have to do that some other time. So, honestly?" You look down on him placing soft kisses onto your lower stomach.

"You can make it up to me now, how you've been treating me since we met." You tug on his hair again and you don't even have to tell him twice, he's so eager. "Yes Mam." He lowers his head.

And for the next 15 minutes you let him work his tongue, you make him clean up the mess he made inside of you. And give you as many extra orgasms as you desire...

You could get used to that, but god he's a dick!

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

EYY Thank you for reading, I really really hope you liked it!!! (I did not spellcheck this. Apologies)

Tags: @justme12200 @its-in-the-woods @dichromaniac @coolranchdavidian @thotslayers

GIF Credit: https://www.tumblr.com/theshieldfx-blog?source=share

[gabessquishytum]

Even more retired Dream nonsense (now with mpreg!)

I have this not-exactly-a-headcanon that after getting out of the fishbowl, Dream started altering his physical form just a bit. He was naked with his junk out on display for more than a hundred years, and now having a penis at all makes him feel more vulnerable than he's comfortable with. So he's started to equip himself with a vulva instead, and he feels more comfortable and confident that way. He can keep his clothes on now, and it's kind of a relief that nobody knows what he looks like underneath them.

When he and Hob get together he has a little bit of an internal crisis about this--he still presents as male, so Hob will be expecting a penis, right? And he might be weirded out if Dream doesn't have one? (Of course Hob doesn't mind either way, but Dream doesn't know that) So for their first time he reverts back to his old form, but he can't seem to relax and enjoy himself. Hob doesn't push, but he wonders if he's doing something wrong and it breaks his heart to think he's doing something to make Dream uncomfortable. Lots of miscommunication and misunderstandings (as usual for these boys), but eventually Dream manages to explain that he would be more comfortable with different genitalia.

This is a revelation for Hob--he didn't even know that was an option, but all he can think is "holy shit that is SO FUCKING HOT!!!" He's obsessed with Dream's pussy, and while Hob certainly knows his way around a penis, let's be real--this is the 600 year reigning Pussy Eating Champion we're talking about! He loves to worship between Dream's legs and they are both enjoying this particular form immensely. Eventually Dream even feels safe and comfortable enough with Hob that sometimes he will manifest a penis again because sometimes (often, a lot) Hob wants to bottom.

This is all working out great and their sex life is amazing, but then the Kindly Ones happens. Dream knows what's coming, so he has a chance to either prepare for his retirement or prepare for his death (Hob is not at all on board with that, but he can't do anything about it and he's freaking out thinking he's going to lose Dream (spoiler alert: he's not going to lose him. Life, uh, finds a way)). There's a couple ways this could go:

Option A: Dream has accepted that he's going to have to die and he faces the Kindly Ones, but unbeknownst to him he's pregnant. The Fates know it, though, and decide to spare him because they are the archetypal Mother and they're not just going to kill a pregnant person. They do, however, strip him of his power, leaving him as a mortal human (of course Death will grant him immortality, though, no question). So he returns to Hob, who is grieving the loss of his beloved, and he's like, "great news! Not only am I alive, but we're having a baby!" And Hob is just shocked and overjoyed and immediately starts kissing Dream all over, especially his belly. They have the baby, who also gets to be immortal (thanks again, auntie Death!) and they live happily ever after.

Option B: instead of preparing to die, Dream makes plans to retire, as seen in some fics. Hob has lots of questions about how this is going to work, like "if you're going to be human you won't be able to change genitals at will anymore. Which set are you going to choose?" He's secretly hoping Dream will choose to keep the vulva, but he would never push and ultimately he would be more than happy either way. Dream tells him he does, in fact, plan to go with the vulva, so he's psyched for that. But then he's like, "wait, what about periods? Are you going to be able to handle bleeding every month for the rest of eternity?" And Dream is like, "Hob Gadling, do you truly believe me incapable of surviving such a minor inconvenience?" Hob is like, "That's not what I meant, and it's not necessarily a 'minor inconvenience,' but ok. Wait! But what if I knock you up??" And Dream says, "I am very much hoping that you will." Breeding kink unlocked! They are both very horny about this, and after having lots of crazy unprotected sex Hob is like, "well, glad that's sorted. But we'll have to get you a strap-on. You're not getting out of topping that easily!"

(Sorry this turned into a whole outline for a fic...I just really like retired Dream and morphussy. And strap-ons.)

-🍓

Retired Morphussy is such a concept tbh!!! I also love what you said about Dream choosing not to have a penis after the fishbowl. Making a small change to his physical form actually helps a lot with his fear of being naked.

I also have such a soft spot for Dream either accidentally or on purpose getting pregnant when he's retired. Maybe everything is so complicated and crazy for a bit, neither he or Hob really think about safe sex. They're just trying to cope with Dream being a human and teaching him how to pee and stuff.

He's been human and living with Hob for about a year and really starting to adjust properly. And he's sitting with Hob one day and looking pleased but also puzzled. "I am not complaining, but it seems an awful lot of time since I last had a period." He says. And together they carefully count backwards to the last time Dream menstruated...... 10 weeks. 10 weeks!!!

He hasn't really had symptoms, though! A little weight gain, a bit of nausea, mood swings. All that stuff is quite normal for Dream though. Hob quickly nips down to the chemist to get some tests, but Dream keeps telling him - he's not pregnant. He'd KNOW if he was pregnant. Right?

He's pregnant.

And Hob starts talking about how they have options, it's all going to be ok, and then he notices that Dream is SMILING and he looks so, so happy. He's absolutely thrilled. Hob carries him to bed and practically wraps him in cotton wool, he already knows that he won't be letting Dream lift a finger for the next six months. And Dream is perfectly ok with that, but he's NOT going to give up on pegging Hob just because he's pregnant. Hob might have to put the strap on for him when he can't quite see around his belly, but they'll definitely make it work. Let's be real, Hob is going to have a horny breakdown when he gets fucked by his pregnant boyfriend <333

[pastanest]

if you’re wondering why I’m having to repost this, or why you were perhaps previously following me but no longer are, please refer to this post. I was able to retrieve this thanks to @iamburdened - thanks so much!! ♡

Daryl Dixon x she/her!reader

spoilers: set in season 3, references to previous locations

Soft Spot For Ya

Rounding the corner to the only available cell in the block, you throw your bag onto the top bunk.

“Oh, I am totally taking the top bunk, you can kiss my sugar coated ass!” You cheer, looking over your shoulder at Daryl as you climb up the ladder to the second bunk. Your best friend chuckles and shakes his head, dumping his bag on the second bunk.

“Back in a room with you again, as if the end o’ the world couldnt get any worse!” Daryl teases as he sits down on the bunk beneath you.

Gasping, you lean over your bunk to smack him in the head with a pillow.

“Hey, dont be an ass! I am your absolute favourite roommate!”

Daryl rolls his eyes. “Sure ya are.”

You lie back on your bunk with your arms behind your head, smiling up at the ceiling. “If you actually disliked me, Im sure you would’ve kicked me out of your tent, or off of your part of the farm - all this evidence is against you mister, you sure you wanna take this case to court?”

Daryl sighs in defeat. “Alright alright, I get it, I got a soft spot for ya.”

This was a statement that Daryl realised to be true the day he met you. Back at the quarry, while Daryl was out on a hunt, he found you wandering the woods all on your own. You had no weapons and barely any food or water in your bag. When he asked you how you’d made it that far, you smiled bigger than he’d seen anyone smile since the world changed, and you said “Just kept running!”

He led you back to the camp, and as soon as the two of you cleared the trees, Shane dropped whatever was in his hands and marched over, shaking his head.

“Naw, we dont jus’ let anyone stay here.”

Naturally, you had an immediate disliking to Shane, considering he barely glanced at you, let alone introduced himself. Your smile fell from your face, and you stayed quiet, not out of fear, but just to observe the situation for a little longer to figure out the dynamic of this group.

Daryl’s gestures to you. “I’ll take full responsibility for ‘er. She was out there completely by herself, she aint got nobody, ya shouldnt turn her away man.”

You smiled kindly at Daryl to thank him in a way that wouldnt disturb the conversation, and he nodded back at you in reply. Shane’s next words tore your smile from your face yet again.

“Oh, and I ‘spose her life’s been saved by some piece of shit redneck?” He seethed, taking a step closer to Daryl. It fascinated you that nobody else in the group tried to prevent this. Clearly Shane’s reign of aggression had everyone under submission, except for Daryl, and then, you.

You frowned, bravely standing slightly in front of Daryl. “Hey! Dont talk to him like that!”

Shane shook his head at you, laughing without humour. “Oh, naw, see you dont get to speak to me, you aint one of us!”

You throw your arms in the air, making big gestures as you let him have a piece of your mind. “I dont give a flying fuck if you consider me as part of your group, the fact is I’ve been here two whole minutes and in that time all you’ve done is act like an ass, and judging by the faces of everyone ‘round here, you make a habit of that, and that’s not okay! The world going to shit doesnt give you the right to think you own it, asshat. And if you could refrain from insulting Daryl - who has a name, in case all the hot air in your head made you forget - I’ll refrain from breaking your goddamn nose.”

The quarry fell silent, Daryl’s eyes had been locked on you from the moment you stepped out in front of him, and he was utterly hypnotised by you. Nobody had ever defended him like that.

Very slowly, Dale started to clap for you, then T-Dog and Glenn joined in.

Lori, Carol, Andrea and Any couldnt help smiling and laughing, a mixture of shock and of ‘serves him right’.

Shane was scowling at you. Dale raised his hand.

“I, for one, would like to vouch for this girl’s permanent residence!” He offered, throwing you a kind smile, which you gladly returned. “Who’s with me?” Dale called, and within a few seconds, everyone else in the group had an arm in the air.

Daryl walked to stand beside you, lifting his arm in the air to cast his vote before swinging it around your shoulders.

“Looks like yer outnumbered, go cry about it.” Daryl said to Shane childishly, making everyone laugh as he walked you back to his tent.

Ever since, the two of you have been inseparable. When Rick found the group, he actually assumed that you and Daryl had been dating since before the apocalypse, he was truly shocked to find out that you’d only known each other a couple of months, and you werent dating. You kept your word with Shane, and ended up breaking his nose on the farm after he made the mistake of insulting Daryl again. Considering how protective you got of Daryl, you were intending to break more than Shane’s nose, but you were pulled off him by none other Daryl Dixon himself, who took you away to calm you down and bandage your knuckles, while Rick calmed down Shane. Thankfully, it wasnt long before Shane was dead, and with him went the usual cause for your anger.

Now, things between you and Daryl are complicated in a way that is complicated to everyone except the two of you.

“Hey, Daryl?” You call down to him from your bunk after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

“Yeah?” Daryl replies, curious as to what random thought has popped into your head all of a sudden.

“You think now we’ve got a more solid place to stay, you’re gonna take me out to dinner?” You ask him, and Daryl is silent, waiting for something that he cant put words to. After a few lengthy seconds, you burst out laughing.

Daryl scoffs and pushes himself up to stand away from his bunk. “An’ ya call me an ass!”

You roll over onto your stomach you’re laughing so hard, while Daryl shakes his head and searches through his bag. He’s about to walk out of the cell, but you stop him.

“Hey! Where’d ya think you’re going?” You question.

“Anywhere away from you!” Daryl retorts sassily, turning around to look at you from the cell doorway.

You laugh, using your hand to beckon him back over, and he rolls his eyes but strolls back over to you. Daryl stands at your bunk, and you grab the back of his head to pull him close to you, kissing his forehead from your place on the top bunk.

Beaming at Daryl, you let go of him, and he scoffs, blushing and shaking his head.

“Love yooouuuu!” You call as he shuffles out of the cell.

“Yeah, whatever!” Daryl yells back, and you fall back onto your bed in fits of laughter again.

Nobody else could understand what it was between you and Daryl, but they didnt need to. You didnt need to put a name to it, a name makes it too simple, there’s no word to describe the adoration you two have for each other. The world has moved past the need for simplistic relationship titles. All that matters is that you are each other’s best friends, and each other’s sources of comfort, strength, and love. Even if nobody else understood your relationship, they couldnt deny that those things were true in everything you did for each other.

[cloudy-em]

ok mayhaps a carmen x fem!reader and she’s like his childhood bsf? then she just kinda shows up one day after not seeing him for years idk

ooh I like it!

xxxxxxxxxxx

The memories came flooding back to Carmen. He felt frozen. Richie had pulled him close, a hushed but audible sound in the busy kitchen and all Carmen could do was focus on what Richie said; "Y/N is here". Suddenly nothing else mattered, and Carmen rushed to his office, slamming the door behind him. He leaned back in the chair, breathing deeply to stall the anxiety.

Y/N, his closest friend. He remembered the day they met so vividly, it was like watching it on a screen. She was riding her bike down the sidewalk, doing her best to work with her helmet that was a little too big and her uncoordinated 5 year old body. She approached him sitting on the old wooden steps of his house.

"D'you wanna play?" she asked him. And the friendship took off flying. They took each other away from the pains of their homelives in treehouses and days playing by the creek. They grew older and stayed just as close. Carmen struggled in school and Y/N helped him with his homework, offering to do the math for him if he read the English novel. They skipped middle school dances together by sitting in that old treehouse that was quickly getting too cramped, smiling and laughing together.

But the times changed, like they often do, and Y/N's mom remarried and they had to move away from Carmen. He could feel the hurt still inside him as he wrung his hands, pacing the floor in his office. He felt betrayed; she did leave him to deal with everything alone. She had escaped the life she'd always led, moving out to some western coastal town where she would be happy without Carmen. The door opened, and Carmen whipped his head around to face it.

"Cousin," Richie said, seriously for once and not being an asshole. "She's still out there. Nobody's taken her order yet. Thought maybe the Chef would like to do the honors?"

Carmen stared back, wide-eyed, unable to speak.

"Ya can't run away forever," Richie told him.

Carmen took a deep breath, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Richie was right. His dearest friend, the one he hadn't seen in a decade, was sitting in his restaurant. He could see her again, one last time. Maybe she'd recognize him and they would make small talk for a minute or two after she paid the bill and he would have closure. Or maybe she wouldn't recognize him and all he'd ever be to her was a lost memory.

It was undeniably Y/N. He knew as soon as he left the safety of the kitchen that it was her. God, she'd barely changed. As Carmen approached the table where she sat alone, he swore time was moving slower than it ever had.

"Good evening, may I get you something to drink?" he asked, cringing at how his words sounded.

"Carmy?" She practically squealed. "Oh my god, I can't believe it's you! It's me, it's Y/N." He smiled politely and bit his tongue to keep from saying, "I know".

"Wow, Y/N! It's great to see you," he said, trying to steady the shake in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, mom and Robert finally got divorced, and mom's old, so I helped her move back to where she grew up," Y/N said, softly. "I heard about this new restaurant, got rave reviews. Figured I would try it before I head back to New York."

"Oh, you live in New York now?" Carmen asked her. If only he'd known that, they were probably in New York at the same time. This meeting could've happened so much sooner.

"Yeah, I'm in marketing for a law firm," she said. "Well, what about you? What've you been up to?"

"Me? I-" but Carmen was interrupted by Richie.

"Chef," he said. "If you'd like to sit and talk with your...friend, I'm more than glad to take her order."

Carmen didn't have a chance to answer, because Y/N answered for him.

"Oh, Carm, please stay!" She said to him before turning to Richie kindly, thanking him and ordering an appetizer to share with Carmen. Richie nodded, walking back towards the kitchen.

The silence made Carmen uncomfortable as he sat across from his childhood best friend.

"So..." Y/N began, trying to keep her smirk behind her lips, but failing. The gesture made Carmen smile softly at her; she never could quite contain her joy or humor. "Chef, huh?"

Carmen nodded shyly. "Yeah. Revamped the place, I-I'm proud of it."

"You should be! It's great, Carmy, it really is," Y/N smiled, reaching her hand across the table for his hand. He didn't move his hand, letting her skin graze his.

"I'm glad to see you, I really am," Carmen told her, hoping for a split second that maybe, just maybe, they could repair what they once had.

"I'm sorry we lost contact, Carmen," Y/N apologized. "It's no excuse, but Robert didn't want me to keep talking to you. He wanted me to find new friends, and I- god, I'm just so sorry."

Carmen, let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "It's okay, Y/N. I wanted you to find friends and I wanted you to be happy. Plus, it's just as much my fault as it is yours. We both got busy, and it was a stupid mistake. We'll make it better, yeah?"

Y/N smiled at Carmen's forgiveness and maturity and happy at his proposition to rekindle.

"Yeah, Carmy. We'll make it better."

[harrowharks-iliac-crest]

6

Sixth skull! Ohh, we might be digging deeper into Cam and/or Pal.

She said she didn’t mind what happened so long as Pyrrha got paid, because she wanted a birthday present. Then they chucked her beneath the chin and laughed a lot and Nona didn’t know why, because she had been perfectly sincere.

Had to look up the unfamiliar idiom (chuck under the chin) and I think it means that what they're trying to say is "what are you, five".

And of course Nona was perfectly sincere. Does she even know how not to be? I love her so much.

Nobody in real life would ever have the problems those people in the paper had, and the suggestions were even worse.

Nobody in your life, maybe.

Nona thought about it. “Tell me the story about how you met me again. Neither you nor Palamedes have told me that one in ages.”

Oh hell yes.

You’d disappeared. We’d been trying to get you. We found you and Pyrrha. You were hurt. Pyrrha helped us escape from an attack. We lost people. Ships. Something very important.

Did they lose Gideon's body in the attack? Did they get separated from Corona abd Judith there? But they are (presumably) still in touch, so it might have been Blood of Eden people we don't know who died, were "lost".

… back then We Suffer trusted us. We Suffer even let Pyrrha live. Pyrrha talked fast. Then I found a way for the Warden to come back.

Please say more, Camilla. I want to know how you did it!!!

You were waking up. You met me for the first time.” Nona said, “What did you think of me?” knowing the answer. “I thought I didn’t know you at all. You were new.” Nona always loved this answer unreasonably; the idea that that was when Camilla met her, that was her birth.

Camilla spent a lot of time with Harrow and Gideon. She knew Harrow became a Lyctor. She looked at Nona and immediately knew: This wasn't one of those two.

I love this answer as well, for slightly different reasons to Nona; I just love the idea that Camilla knew Harrow and Gideon both so well that she could instantly tell Nona wasn't them.

I mean, in fairness, it is pretty obvious. Neither Gideon nor Harrow could ever be sincere like Nona or show love like Nona.

“I don’t understand why We Suffer hates Pyrrha.” “Pyrrha’s best friend killed We Suffer’s boss.”

Hang on a minute -

Wake died three times. The first time, trying to deliver baby Gideon to the Ninth. The second time, her revenant was defeated by Harrow and friends in the River (or perhaps just fled). And finally, at the hands of Pyrrha herself, as she blew Cytherea's brains out while Wake was in there.

So they must be referring to the first time here - Gideon the First was on Wake's trail when she was on her way to the Ninth. That was when Wake's body died, at least.

Or did Pyrrha lie when she told people who killed Wake's revenant? She was in Gideon's body. It was definitely Pyrrha - she hid her eyes before killing Cytherea!Wake.

I reckon they're referring to Wake's body's death here. But Pyrrha could easily have lied about this, just to save her own ass. Blood of Eden would not have taken kindly to knowing, and they could torture this info out of Camilla/Palamedes. If Gideon the First killed Wake once, it wouldn't be implausible that he'd kill her again.

Sometimes it was hard not to be happy; sometimes it was so difficult when everyone else had that hard, hurt look at the corners of their eyes that meant they didn’t quite know how to carry on: the men at the dairy, Pyrrha, Palamedes, the nice lady teacher at school, Kevin.

Oh no, oh no. Even Kevin? Little Kevin, the youngest of Nona's school friends? Seven year old baby Kevin?

Man, everyone here has seen some shit, huh.

At least Nona is happy.

[fruitcoops]

WAIT CAN WE HAVE THE FIRST TIME JAX SAW REGULUS CRY PLEASE PLEASE IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY

(bonus points if they comfort him)

 Fic O'Ween Day 4: Dead End, or three times Regulus almost cried in front of his friends and one time he actually did. Thanks to @noots-fic-fests for compiling all these amazing submissions, and to @lumosinlove for a tragically beautiful Regulus <3 Jax, Kris, and Vanessa are OCs of mine!

TW for injury, and canon shitty treatment at the hands of the Snakes

I.

Regulus was really good at not crying. Not crying was the easiest thing in the world. Instead of letting himself get worked up until he spilled over, he could just…not do that. He could swallow it down. Choke it back. The problem was that once he started crying, he couldn’t stop, and since nobody would care either way, it wasn’t worth the effort and embarrassment. He was a grown man. He’d been through worse.

Worse than a B minus, at least.

He was pretty sure.

“Hey, you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” he answered mildly. “And yourself?”

Jax’s mouth turned down at the sides. “Uh, can’t complain. What’s…what’s going on?”

Regulus shrugged one shoulder. He couldn’t bring himself to close the tab of his failure. “Preparing for the week.”

“Right.” Jax didn’t sound like they believed him. Unfortunate. He used to be a much better liar.

“I always do that.”

“I know.”

Odd. He hadn’t expected them to know his habits. It had only been three months.

“You seem—” Jax broke off, setting their bag down on the floor with an unusually delicate touch. They leaned against the edge of their desk and gave him a funny look. “Do you want to talk?”

Regulus’ gut twisted on reflex. “About what?”

It came out too harsh—they shrank back slightly, shoulders drooping, dark eyes flicking away. He should apologize. He should.

“What would you like to talk about?” he tried instead.

“Dunno.” That was another thing he was getting used to: the way people started speaking just to speak, to fill the silence. Jax rarely second-guessed their words. Even now, they shifted their weight from one hip to the other only once before beginning again. “I was at the gym this afternoon.”

A strange thing to note. He waited for them to continue; when they didn’t, he mustered an encouraging noise.

“So if you’re ever interested…”

“You want me to come with you?”

“Well, I—if you’re interested—”

“Why would you want that?” What was it about college that made people so vague?

Jax gestured at him with one hand. “I don’t know! You’re in good shape, I guess I figured you were there anyways. And it seems dumb to go at different times when we live together.”

“But then we don’t have to argue for the shower.”

Regulus wasn’t always good at facial expressions, but even he could read the exasperation (though not irritation) in the set of Jax’s eyes and mouth. “I want to spend time with you,” they said bluntly. Kindly. Almost like Sirius, without his awkwardness. They tilted their head to look at him. “You don’t have to, but we haven’t had a lot of time to just hang out. I’m going for a shared hobby here, man.”

Hobby. Regulus didn’t recall the last time he worked out for fun. Never, probably. Running out his feelings on a treadmill made him less likely to curl up under his blankets in a screaming possum ball, but it wasn’t necessarily fun.

In his periphery, his computer screen dimmed. His heart went with it when he wiggled his computer mouse and the reminder of everything bad in the world glared back. “I don’t know if I can,” he said carefully. “I just failed out of English, so I should probably focus on that.”

“Wh—” Jax’s eyebrows shot toward their hairline before knitting in the middle. “How do you know that? It’s not the end of the semester.”

Regulus jerked his chin toward the screen. They followed his gaze. Looked back at him. Back to the computer. Back to Regulus.

“You’re looking at me like that explains everything,” they finally said.

“It’s a. Um.” Bitterness filled his mouth. “B minus.”

“And?”

Are you stupid? Regulus bit his tongue hard enough to make his eyes water. “It’s a B minus,” he repeated. “And so they’re going to kick me out.”

Jax let out a long breath, as if they were holding many things back. Regulus didn’t like it when they did that. He’d feel much better if they just told him they pitied him outright. “That’s not…no, that’s not how that works. Reg, no professor will fail you out of their class because of a B minus.”

The part of his brain that had been running through various explanations when he inevitably slunk back to Sirius’ doorstep came to a sputtering standstill. “Excuse me?”

“Dude, that’s not even a failing grade.”

Something next to his lungs began to shake. “Explain, please.”

“A C is considered average. You’re above average. Do you know that?” Jax’s concern crept back into their face. “It’s important to me that you know that.”

Average.

Above average.

He had been screamed at for above average. Lived in terror of doing his best and being found lacking for above average.

The fury was white-hot and all-consuming, and unexpected enough that he had to blink several times in quick succession to clear the burning from his eyes.

“Reg?”

“Excuse me,” he muttered. He tried to stand and found he couldn’t so much as twitch for fear of combustion.

“Hey.” Jax’s voice gentled. “Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Kindness was the cruelest thing university could have given him. It was too-tight shoes and a necktie done just wrong on game day. Regulus felt his nostrils flare around a few deep breaths. A pulsing rod blazed just behind his eye. “You didn’t. Sorry. Yes, we should work out together sometime. Text me when you’re free.”

He stood on unsteady feet, left the dorm, and began to walk.

II.

“Don’t move, don’t move—”

“Shut the fuck up and do not touch me.”

The pain was overwhelming. Regulus’ temple throbbed from the force of squeezing his eyes shut. He could feel them all there, crowding him, closing in with their worry, holding their breath because he was angry and scared and angry because he was scared and scared because he was angry and in pain. And in pain.

He could work through pain. He had done it so many times.

Breathe. His chest didn’t hurt. His shoulders didn’t hurt. His stomach didn’t hurt. The throbbing below his waist could wait until he had taken a few deep breaths.

“Reg?”

Analyze. His leg was too hot and too cold at the same time. Everything below his left hip echoed his pulse, but his shin had a special kind of searing to it. His palms, too. Someone’s fingertips hovered at his pulse point and he twitched away. They stopped. They left him alone.

Do not cry.

The corners of his eyes were too wet in the gentle breeze.

Step Three: Do Not Cry.

“Reg, are you alright?” Kris’ reedy voice should have grated on him.

“I’m fine.” His voice wavered, but did not break. He unclenched his fists and flexed them, wincing at the sting of scraped skin. He took a sharp breath and wiggled his toes—no immediate pain. His leg muscles constricted when he told them to, relaxed when he breathed out.

Move on.

He went to bend his knee and immediately heard four people stumble over each other to stop him.

“You’re fine,” Jax said near his right ear. “But also, please don’t do that.”

Regulus opened one eye and frowned up at them. “Pick one.”

Jax hesitated a half-second longer than his patience. Regulus muttered a curse under his breath and sat up, grimacing at the carnage. The heels of his hands were trashed from the concrete; they would need full gauze, without a doubt. The gash running down his shin bled freely onto his (favorite) jeans and was beginning to seep out onto the ground. He sighed. “That’s not ideal.”

“Can we help?” Kris asked, all big eyes and bigger heart while he fiddled with the zipper of his first-aid kit. “I’d prefer to get a bandage on that before you move much, but we need to wash it out.”

Regulus tried to keep the judgement off his face. It seemed rude. “That’s not necessary,” he said. “But thanks. Pardon.”

Standing turned out to be a bad idea after all. The first bit of weight made his entire bad leg buckle and he narrowly missed crumpling on the ground for the second time in five minutes. Pain lanced up to his hip; Regulus dug his hands into the sidewalk to anchor himself, and when that only made it all hurt worse, settled for a handful of measured breaths.

The touch to his shoulder blade was featherlight. “Let me help,” Vanessa said softly.

Regulus hesitated. Better up than on the concrete, he supposed. He just—what if she couldn’t hold him?

She waited for him to nod before holding a hand out for him to take. Deadlift calluses and a firm grip reminded him just enough of Leo to not pull away when she braced her other hand behind his elbow and hoisted him upright, catching him when he swayed into her. “Easy,” she soothed. “Take your time.”

Regulus felt himself buffer, eyes fixed on her. Thick, dark hair drifted into her face in tiny wisps where it escaped her ponytail. She frowned down at the jagged rock that had cut into him like it personally wronged her.

“Thanks,” he mumbled. The upset vanished from her round face when she looked up again; there was a light squeeze to his torso. He got his weight under him, and yet she didn’t let go. Vanessa’s hold didn’t falter as they limped their way down the sidewalk, supported on every step.

He caught Jax’s eye as they turned toward the engineering building and found them already smiling.

III.

It’s a dumb movie, anyway.

That’s what Regulus told himself, listening to Clare sniffle while Kris watched the screen in openmouthed horror next to him. Jax’s description had been vague at best—something about a house and balloons and an old man’s emotional support Boy Scout.

But here they were, five minutes in, with no sign of balloons, Boy Scouts, or emotional support to be found. Just utter devastation and the inevitable march of death in spite of overwhelming love.

Goddamn mailbox, he thought. This whole problem could have been avoided if those two didn’t love each other to the ends of the earth. Which, of course, only made him think of Sirius’ ability to love with his entire heart and he really hoped Remus didn’t die first because that would be such a nightmare for everyone involved and oh, god, Sirius was going to die someday and leave him there—

“I forgot about this part,” Jax whispered in the darkness of the dorm. Their voice was only just loud enough for Regulus to hear over the movie.

He exhaled, and was surprised by how shaky it sounded to his own ears. “Fuck you.”

“Yeah,” they said sympathetically. “Fuckin’ Pixar. Need a minute?”

Regulus shook his head.

“ ‘Kay.” They sat quietly for another few seconds. A shoulder pressed gently against his own. “Let me know if you do, though.”

+1:

On an unassuming Thursday in April, it happened. The hammer came down. The other shoe dropped. Regulus’ luck ran out, the final bits drip-drip-dripping out into the ether and leaving him in a dead end of his own making.

In a way, it was inevitable.

“Holy shit,” Kris said, quiet and stunned and slower than Jax had ever heard him. His green eyes were blown wide; what had been a comfortable sprawl across his mattress for over an hour was now tense, the catch of breath before a scream. One airpod sat snug in his ear. His phone was lax in his hand and utterly innocent from Jax’s side of the room, save for Kris’ look of growing horror among his confusion.

“Kris?” they ventured. Kris remained silent. Jax’s pulse kicked. “What happened? Come on, man, that’s ominous as hell.”

“It’s Reg.”

Jax’s heart skipped a beat and fell right into the canyon below. “What?”

“He’s—” Kris’ mouth opened and closed a few times. “I don’t…”

“Is he hurt?” Their phone was here somewhere, buried under their notebooks goddamnit their mother was right about the organizing bins— “Kris, is he hurt? What happened?”

“He’s famous.”

They stuttered to a stop with their hand buried in the mess of their backpack.

“I think—I think he is? Or was. Or something. Hey, did you know he played hockey?”

Jax stared at him, then shook their head. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Come see this.” Kris finally looked up, motioning them over with his head as if he couldn’t let go of the damn phone. “Come here, c’mere.”

“Are you seriously about to make me watch a Tik…”

“Regulus, do you have any comments on the rivalry being set up between you and your brother? Does it get in the way of your personal relationship with Sirius at all, being on the Lions and the Snakes?”

“My brother’s got a dirty game—”

Jax didn’t hear the next few words. They were a little too concerned with the sudden absence of the floor beneath their feet.

“—don’t endorse that sort of hockey.”

“And your personal relationship? How about Thanksgiving?”

“What personal relationship?”

Jax closed their eyes. It wasn’t enough.

“As far as I’m concerned, he might as well stay away with the rest of his pack of cubs—”

“Stop.”

Light music halted and left the room in the soft rattle of their ancient radiator.

“This isn’t—stop,” they repeated, though Kris had long since abandoned his phone on the sheers. His pale hands were pressed against his mouth. Jax felt their skin crawl. “This isn’t right. I’m not watching that.”

“He looks sick.”

“Yeah. Jesus, yeah.” Something was wrong in that video. Regulus’ bright, clever eyes were emptier than a scoured pot. A scrape marred his cheek. The violent green of his uniform—jersey, maybe? Or just a shirt?—washed him into a greyed-out version of himself. His hair was cropped harsh and short above his ears, hardly a curl in sight.

Someone was laughing in the background of the video. Jax didn’t like the way he looked at Regulus. There were too many cameras and microphones shoved into his space; Regulus wouldn’t like that, either.

“He doesn’t talk about his brother that way.”

“No,” Kris agreed in a murmur. “No, he doesn’t.”

Not that Regulus talked about his family often, but on the rare occasion it came up, Sirius was always the first one he mentioned. Jax had met him back in September—tall and broad and handsome, with a barking laugh and a voice that carried. Regulus gravitated to him like a magnet, though Jax wasn’t sure it was a conscious habit.

What personal relationship? He might as well stay away.

Kris was right. He did look sick in that video.

“Can you…” God, this felt wrong, but they had to know. “Can I use your phone real quick?”

Kris’ sideways glance made them swallow convulsively. Nevertheless, he picked up his phone.

Search: Regulus Black

Buzzfeed: NHL DROPOUT APPLIES TO…

ESPN: Regulus Black: Where Is He Now?

NHLWorld: Black Jerseys 70% Off—Everything Must…

Hockey Daily Magazine: Broken Contract and Rumors of Court!

#BlackBash

#RegulusBlack

#RegulusBlackSnakes

#BlackSlytherin

#BlackBrothers

#Playoffs2020

#AllStars2020

“Holy shit…”

NHLNews: Player Abuse in Sly…

#RegulusBlackCollege

#RegulusBlackSiriusBlack

@ hockeypalooza: I’m sorry but Regulus Black was the best player that team had ever…

@ slythlife: Black better not show his face in slyth ever again I stg

“When was that taken?”

Kris’ throat bobbed. He turned his phone off. “Last November.”

Jax pressed their fingers to their temples and let a sour breath out. This was too much. Too much. Their skull was going to implode. “Okay. Okay. Christ. Okay. Reg was famous, he left, he’s here now, it doesn’t matter.”

“We can’t tell him we know.” Kris stared into the middle distance—or, no, at Regulus’ bed. Always made, but a little wonky, like he was still figuring out how to do it right. A loose sock laid on the floor by one of his astrophysics books. “He doesn’t want us to know, or he would have said something. I’ve never heard him mention hockey. He said sports weren’t his thing.”

“He was a professional player.”

“For, what, half a season?” Kris’ lips pursed. “I’m not telling him we know. He left for a reason. Fine. That’s his business. He’ll say something when he’s—”

A key scraped against their door lock and Jax…Jax’s organs discovered the miracle of negative acceleration along the y-axis.

Regulus stepped in and slung his bag onto his desk chair. He opened his mouth to speak, saw them, and stopped. Stopped, like a deer staring down a Ford-F150. Every muscle primed and wound tight, as if someone had pressed ‘pause’ on the rotation of the world. His fingertip hovered in the handle-loop of his backpack.

“Oh,” he said simply. “Oh, no.”

And he left.

“Wait,” Kris called, far too weak and far too late. Jax’s brain refocused all in a rush—they both scrambled for the door, slipping on shoes and snatching wallets off whatever horizontal surface they called home.

“Shit, shit shit, shit,” Jax muttered. They shouldn’t have done this. They shouldn’t have looked. Kris was always right, always reasonable, never knee-jerk, so much better at this. They should have known better than to dig where they shouldn’t.

“I’ll check the library,” Kris said, jamming his phone in his back pocket. “I’ll—mother of fuck, this is not what I wanted. I’m deleting TikTok. And Google, fucking Google?”

Jax’s jaw throbbed with tooth-locking guilt. “I know, I know, I shouldn’t have looked, I’m so sorry.”

“Abuse cases? Abuse cases.” Kris swore again and pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes. “Fine. Alright. I’ve got the library. Text if you find him first. Holy shit.”

“I’m telling Vanessa to keep an eye out.”

“Good, yeah, whatever.”

Jax fought every urge to sprint down the hallway. Regulus was already long gone. Causing a scene wasn’t going to help. He probably wouldn’t come back to the apartment unless they found him first. Maybe ever. Oh, god, Jax would never forgive themselves if Reg left because they were a nosy little shit with no poker face.

For the first time, Jax wished NYU didn’t span a million city blocks. A fenced-in Ivy in the middle of nowhere would make them miserable, but it would be a hell of a lot easier to corner his flighty roommate when his hiding place wasn’t the entirety of New York City.

Well—well.

Regulus’ backpack was still in the dorm. He kept his wallet in the side pocket, zippered up tight. No MetroCard meant no subways. No student ID meant no twenty-story buildings to slip into. Regulus’ Ultra Panic Mode meant…nothing good, but at least he wouldn’t go far. Jax’s stomach twisted more than usual at the thought of him falling apart alone.

They shot off another text to Vanessa (whose string of ????? was the only correct response to their disaster of an initial message) and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

For a day with the potential to ruin a new and treasured portion of Jax’s life, it was quite beautiful out. The air was crisp and only reeked a little from the crusty hot dog stand down the block; the massive column sticking out of a manhole was missing its usual billow of subway steam and left the sky an unmarred blue above them. They were learning to like the spring on this coast. It was cold, sure, but if they wanted it to feel more like home, they would have gone to California. New York was their escape in every sense. They just—

They just really didn’t want to lose Regulus.

They hadn’t been sure what to make of him at first: so quiet, so reserved, every emotion leashed. But then he was kind and smart and funny in his weird way. He hadn’t fumbled a pronoun since the first day. He came home early from winter break, just so Jax and Vanessa wouldn’t be alone for their last holiday week after flights home fell through.

It wasn’t that Regulus didn’t like them. It was just that he was so very afraid of some looming shadow that had remained unnamed until that very afternoon. Jax couldn’t even blame him for it. If hockey made Regulus that ill, it was a small wonder he did everything in his power to leave it behind.

The bell of the narrow bookstore on 14th street chimed when they entered. The corner seat was unchanged, down to the burnt-orange cushion with a torn side seam. The rest of the shop vanished behind a massive chestnut shelf when they sat, folding their legs up. It was nice in here. Dim lights and a quiet heater. The owner had swapped out the winter candles for fresher springtime scents just a few weeks before.

“I never lied.”

“I know.” They stretched one leg out to roll the tension from their ankle. “You okay?”

“Non. How did you find out?”

His accent was thicker. Upset was etched in every angle in the corner of Jax’s vision. Shame wedged icy fingers between their ribs. “A video popped up on Kris’ TikTok feed. We shouldn’t have watched it.”

“I wouldn’t have told you.”

 “I figured.”

“I wasn’t—I was trying—” Regulus’ jaw ticked. His forehead furrowed as he picked at the laces of his shoes. “You have no idea what it was like. The way it got twisted up, I—and I didn’t want it, and I couldn’t leave.”

Don’t fucking cry.

“I couldn’t get out. Not until that game.” They saw him shake his head minutely. “I wouldn’t have. I wouldn’t have tried.”

“What game?”

“The…” Regulus turned to look at them then, eyes narrowed. “What was in the video?”

My brother’s got a dirty game. What personal relationship?

“You were in a room. I don’t know, there was a lot of hockey stuff around. People had stuff all up in your face.” Jax brought a fingernail to their mouth and bit absently at it. “It was an interview, something about your brother.”

“Fuck.”

The quiet ferocity of it made their heart clench in surprise. Regulus tipped his head back against the cool window. The edges of his lips had gone white with tension and Jax had never felt such regret for honesty in their entire life.

“I hate that fucking video.” It came out hoarse. Jax’s belly went Gordian. “I’m sorry.”

“What? No, dude, I’m sorry. We should have scrolled past it. We should’ve—we should have waited for you to tell us.”

“I wouldn’t.”

“Then you wouldn’t,” Jax said gently. “And that’s fine.”

Regulus’ mouth turned down at the corner. “I can be out by Saturday.”

In the throes of disbelief, all they could do was shake their head. “What are you talking about?”

“Didn’t bring a lot of stuff. It shouldn’t take long.”

“Reg, what are you talking about?”

An owl-eyed stare pinned Jax; intense, but not angry. They had been prepared for anger. Not…whatever this was. “Why are you here?” he asked carefully.

“To apologize? Because Kris and I fucked up and you left before we could say anything?”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do,” Jax insisted. “And clearly not enough people have apologized to you even once in your life, ‘cause it’s shitty when your secrets come out and it’s scary and so I’m here for you. And I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry. For this, and for all those assholes who made you play hockey when you were meant to be a space nerd.”

Of all the reactions to a sudden outburst Jax had expected, a trembling lower lip wasn’t one of them.

“Oh, god.” Panic pulsed in their chest. “Was that too much?”

“I hate that fucking video,” Regulus whispered, voice breaking. His eyes welled with tears. Jax’s tongue turned to lead in their mouth.

This couldn’t possibly be real. Not this. Not sitting in a hole-in-the-wall bookstore while Regulus took stuttering breaths around tears he didn’t seem to know how to handle. “Hey,” Jax said softly. “Oh, hey, I’m sorry.”

“No, no, no,” Regulus muttered angrily, scrubbing at his cheeks with shaking hands. “Fuck—merde, one second.”

“It’s okay.”

“Non, stop it.”

We’re doing this. We’re doing this. “Reg, it’s fine. Is this—is this alright?���

Regulus froze up at the tentative touch to his shoulder. Jax waited, heart in their throat, before Regulus gave a slight, pained nod and leaned ever so slightly into them. It was incredibly heartbreaking and also deeply weird, the way Jax supposed it would feel to pet a wild tiger in a zoo.

Worst of all, it made sense. The mottled skin of Regulus’ ankles. His careful silence, only broken in the presence of a few friends. He had hardly spoken unless spoken to until January. Jax had seen skates, just once, tucked in the corner of his closet behind his laundry bag.

They had chalked it up to the Canadian thing. One of their stupider moments, looking back.

“Please don’t leave.”

Regulus paused with his sleeve pressed below his nose. “Quoi?”

“It’s…” There was a dent in the hardwood beneath the toe of their sneaker. “I mean, you’re my best friend. So I’d like it if you stayed. If you want.”

The request felt too fragile. The wound, too raw. Would Regulus be angry that they asked?

“Why would you want that?” Regulus asked after several beats of empty air between them. He sounded mystified by the very thought.

“You’re my best friend.” The corners of their eyes stung. They gave Regulus a little pulse of pressure, the shadow of a hug. “I’d miss you if you left.”

“Oh.”

“I won’t make you leave if you don’t want to.”

A tear glimmered in the light as it fell from Regulus’ cheekbone to his jaw, where he brushed it on the sleeve of his shirt. The cuffs were stretched, like he’d been gripping them in iron hands; they matched the frayed hems of his hoodies in a rather sickening way. “I want to stay.”

“Thank god.”

A rueful smile pulled at Regulus’ mouth. “You know, you might be the first person who wanted me around.”

“That’s so…” There were no words. Literally nothing could encompass the fresh-scrape sting of each new layer of tragic backstory peeling away. “Is there any part of your life story that isn’t depressing as hell?”

“Probably not,” Regulus snorted.

He was warm under Jax’s palm. The shivering had stopped. “Well, I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

“Merci.”

“Do you—”

“No.”

They nodded and mimed zipping their lips, and it made Regulus smile just a little, so it was worth it. He hadn’t pulled away from their one-handed hug yet. Jax counted that as a victory. It was sort of like washing a wound in the ocean: it stung like a bitch, but they were better for it in the end. Regulus’ wounds had been opened and reopened for nineteen years by uncaring hands. His cleanse was going to burn more than most. But even if gifts baffled him and kind words made him grimace and hugs were—whatever this was, Jax would be there. This time, he wouldn’t have to do it alone.

[orangesaek]

Ok so I've been learning Korean recently and thought it was so cute how 포포(popo) means kiss and 포도(podo) means grapes.

So Ive been thinking of a cute scenario with Mark where his s/o is learning korean and mixes the two up when asking for grapes and it makes mark super flustered.

omg my boy mark lee 🥹 i could easily imagine his flustered face lmao should i name this "the grape mistake"? 👀 sorry anyway, thanks so much for requesting this! let me know what you think ♡ hope you liked this! a/n: not proofread. lowercase intended.

mark was working in the studio late at night when you texted him that you'll be visiting him at the company to bring him some snacks and just hang out until he finishes work since you didn't have anything to do the next day anyway.

he mentioned about craving some street food the other day, and so you went to the night market. of course, knowing how much your boyfriend loves watermelon, you started looking for the nearest fruit stand. much to your dismay, the only fruit stand that was open that time ran out of everything else except grapes.

it hasn't been that long since you have moved to korea, but you were already quite quick to learn the language (also thanks to mark's help). however, you never really bothered to learn some of the most basic words for some reason. like fruits, for example.

you were just standing in front of the fruit stand quietly for about a minute, trying to remember a word you never even learned before. you were just about to say grapes in english when the stall owner decided to speak first.

"do you want to buy some grapes? they're fresh," she said. you knew she was talking about the grapes (because obviously there was nothing else in her stall but grapes), but it was the first time you've ever heard of the korean word for it.

"i'm so sorry, but what do you call this fruit in korean?" you asked, hoping she wouldn't find your question too silly. the stall owner gave you a bit of a puzzled look before realizing that you were a foreigner.

"it's called podo," she kindly repeated. after thanking the kind lady and memorizing the word in your brain, you went on your way to mark's studio.

on normal occasions, nobody else but strictly the company staff and artists were allowed to enter the building. however, thanks to mark's popularity within the company and the company actually owing him a lot of gratitude, you were given a bit of a special treatment as his girlfriend.

you were about to knock on the door of his studio but decided otherwise, thinking he might be in the middle of recording something and end up disrupting his work. instead, you sent him a text message that you were already outside of his studio, and thankfully, he was able to immediately open the door for you.

"my babyyy," he greeted in english, clearly delighted to see you again. more often than not, the two of you spoke in english whenever you're alone together. when his members are around, however, you'd mix korean here and there.

he ushered you inside before taking the food you bought for him and placing it on an empty table. he then opened his arms wide and patted his chest for you to come to him for a hug.

"you know you didn't have to bother, but thank you so much for all of this, babe" mark said as he tightened his embrace. "really appreciate it, thank you."

right after eating, mark went back to work while you quietly scrolled through your phone. the two of you were in comfortable silence though, and that was one of the many things that mark appreciated about you. you weren't the type to constantly seek for his attention, and you knew how to entertain yourself when he's busy.

"babe, there are still some grapes left, right? can you please get them for me?" he asked. you got on your feet and passed him the remaining grapes.

"thank you," he said before putting his headphones back on. he placed the grapes on the right side, which was on the other side from where you were seated.

while you were scrolling through your phone, you could see mark pop a grape or two in his mouth every now and then while he was on his computer. you never got the chance to taste one while you were eating earlier (because you were too full), and looking at mark just eating it so deliciously made you want to have some, too.

mark was about to put another grape in his mouth when you lightly poked his left arm. he then looked at you, the grape still between his right thumb and index finger.

"podo juseyo~" you asked in an aegyo voice, both hands open in a gesture to receive. mark blinked at you twice, suddenly feeling flustered while you were there just cutely blinking your eyes at him, waiting for him to give you the grape he was holding.

"w-what?" he nervously asked, his ears turning red at seeing you ask for a 'kiss' after briefly having a coughing fit (poor boy just choked on his own spit). it was definitely not the first time the two of you have shared a kiss, but it was the first time for him to see you ask for it so cutely.

"podo," you repeated. "isn't grape called podo in korean?"

mark's mouth fell in an 'o' after realizing what you have just said. he took off his headphones and asked you again if you were asking for podo, and not a kiss.

you broke into laughter, with mark sheepishly laughing along with you for his mistake. after laughing for a good minute or two, you then took mark's right hand (which was still holding the grape).

"babe, we can get the best of both worlds," you said, still chuckling and smiling in between. mark looked puzzled, wondering what you meant.

"we get to split the grape in two and kiss each other at the same time. like this," you raised mark's hand to your mouth, placing the grape between your teeth and motioning for him to lean forward.

mark chuckled at your idea but leaned in for a kiss and a bite of the grape anyway. needless to say, it was literally the sweetest and juiciest kiss he ever had.

- end.

requests are OPEN! feel free to send me an ask ♡

[deoll]

hiii dolls <33 i think it’s my first actual draft that made it as a post in a long time so enjoy!! self-insert, gn friendly!

Scaramouche x Reader || One Bed Trope

"I'm fucking sick of this. No you listen to me, do you know who I am?'' he throws his fists against the wood. What a rowdy guy, if he keeps this up I might be the one who'll get fucking sick of this fiasco.

"I'm sorry sir, most of our rooms are unfortunately taken and our staff is overworked due to this blizzard. Could you be a little patient until we check to see what we could offer you and your colleagues?" the woman at the front desk appeared to be distressed, managing a phone at her ear with her shoulder, trying to write some notes down at the same time. Scaramouche is not having it. If it were any other day perhaps I wouldn't be this easily irritated, but unfortunately my cheeks are scarred by the cold wispy wind, I can't feel any of my fingers due to frostbite, I haven't eaten anything, tired as hell and most importantly in a need of a shower. He's not helping my condition in the slightest, not that he ever did. Not that I would want him to, but that doesn't mean that I want him to worsen it.

"..Do you even know who you're talking to? I don't care how you manage your goddamn hotel, you must have 4 rooms for Tsaritsa's Harbingers. What kind of pathetic unorganized team do you even have here that a snow storm is all it takes for this whole place to-" (Y/N) puts their hand on his shoulder, making him stop mid sentence. "I'm sorry for my partner here he's just tired, please do what you must." I pulled him back and talked with the polite lady in front of me. Unfortunately, Scaramouche did not appreciate that. I could feel him fuming behind my back, his eyes could cut if i were to turn and look at him. Fortunately I don't, trying to contain an upcoming chuckle at how ridiculous he looks right now. Insufferable fucker.

"Now now comrade-" Tartaglia tries to put his palm on his hat and almost instantly having it waved off by him. "that's no way of treating a woman! Did nobody teach you that as a kid?" he gleefully laughed, as he usually does in his off work moments. What a guy...will anyone ever understand him? He goes from idiotic happy go lucky guy to a minimal quiet death sword in such a short amount of time. Matter of fact, we're coming down from a mission where he mercilessly tortured five millelith guards for intel on the latest operations managed by the Liyue Qixing. Who knows what goes on through his head while he chooses what to say or do. He might be smarter than anyone in our team if he's acting this way deliberately. Maybe he learned this is the safest way to operate within the Harbingers. Fake.

"You're being childish again Balladeer.." Arlecchino side eyed him, tired of his shit as usual rightfully so. Her elegant form always stuns me. She, like Childe. hides her true thoughts so well that all you can see is a put together act constantly. "Yeah? Let me be childish then, at least i'll have somewhere to sleep tonight, you can stay in the lobby for all I care." Scaramouche turns, ready to get into yet another argument. "Will you stop? We're all tired and your attitude is only agitating us further-" I turn to face him, ready to snap when the lady so kindly cuts me off this time.

"We have 3 rooms available for you, please make your way to room 47, 48 and 51 on the 2nd floor" I heard that and I almost ran to the elevator without another word, without actually letting the information settle in and comprehending it. Everyone turned to look at each other. "Lady I don't know if you're blind or those badly cut bangs are in your eyes but as you can clearly see there's 4 of us." Scaramouche storms to the front desk once again. The young woman looks at him with a sour face, done with his shenanigans. "That's all we can manage at this time, what else would you want from me?" He snarls at her. "Well if you found 3 then you can find another one you-"

"ENOUGH." I pulled him by his sleeve. "Thank you ma'am. We'll manage, have a good one!" I took the keys from the counter and dragged Scaramouche all the way to the elevator, the rest tagging along.

".....Can we do rock paper scissors for each room?"...Childe. "No." I'm glad we all agreed at least on that.

"..." The elevator reaches the 2nd floor. We get out, look at each other and unbeknownst to the rest of us, Arlecchino walks away towards room 48 with a key in her hand. "See you all tomorrow." I look baffled in my hand to notice a 3rd pair of keys missing! When did she even..

"....Can we do rock paper scissors now ?" "..No" I'm glad he agreed. "There's no need for that, I think you and Scaramouche should team up for tonight" I said, crossing my arms against my chest. "What?! Why would you throw me under the bus with him ?" Scara snapped at me, offended at the idea of spending the night with his friendly comrade.

"Hey now you're breaking my heart haha...what does that mean haha.." Scaramouche turns to him, "You snore, you stink, you're taking all the bed to yourself, never flush the toilet, eat all my food, get ridiculously drunk before you go to bed, uncomfortably touchy in your sleep-" "OKAY comrade. We get the point now." Tartaglia reaches out and takes a key out of my hold, winking at us."Ohhh I get how it is, okaay alright then haha~ I'll let you two have your moment for tonight" He smiles and walks away mumbling "..I'm not even that loud when I snore.."

"..." The only thing we can hear is the wind whistling forcefully through the windows along with Childe's rapid pace towards room 47. My hand is still around his sleeve, I could've let go a long time ago but I didn't. I figured it would be uncomfortable letting go now so the only rational thing to do is to go along with it. And so I drag him to...our room, for tonight.

"What are you doing? Are you really just letting him get away with it? Aren't you gonna put up a fight for the room?"

"Well, why aren't you? I'm fine with it, I don't care that much. I just want to eat, shower and go to sleep." His eyes widened for a bit and next thing that I knew, he pulls his hand back. "I never said I want to bunk up with you." "...You're right, you didn't. And to that I say, you sadly don't have a choice...so you either bunk up with me or you can go sleep in the lobby next to your dear front desk lady." He's frowning at me now, distaste all over his face. With that being said, he takes the keys from my hand and starts walking towards room 51, leaving me behind. I rush to his side trying to keep up in fear he would lock me out, which would be completely in his character. I definitely wouldn't call us friends, we bicker more than we bond. Not that I wouldn't want to bond with him, he's simply unapproachable, and I genuinely think that's how he wants to be. He's doing it on purpose. It's not like I never tried to get him, but you can't crack open someone who doesn't want to be cracked and vulnerable. Reason why I sit back and watch him be an angry insufferable jerk.

Sometimes I wonder what goes through his mind as well, what made him act like this, respond to life this way. I wouldn't mind if he let me in for once, if he let me listen. I wonder when was the last time someone listened to him, when was the last time he felt heard.

"Why would I want to sleep next to a bitch with a bad bob" I laughed at his comment, "You're ruthless. Poor girl...you went all in on her bangs too you criminal." He snarled, "She should've had that coming, how do you leave your house with your bangs looking like that" opening the door for us, we entered and I immediately felt my shoulders relax, letting the comforting aroma of clean laundry fill me in. Without any words I plop down onto our bed. "Get down loser, you're stinking my bed." I chuckle, "That's the point jerk, so you'd sleep on the floor." moving my hands up and down taking as much space as possible, smiling. It feels kind of...peaceful. These back and forths with him, they feel so natural. "I'll go ahead and bring our stuff in here, do you want something to eat?" I rise up on an instant, my stomach making an unpleasant sound. Would he bring me something? He cares enough to ask? "Actually I'm really really hungry right no-" the door closes. Did he just?...no. No, he's evil but not this vile. I take back everything I just said about feeling peaceful. With a huff I get out of bed and rush to the bathroom, there's no reason to waste any more time so I'll just take a shower.

With that being said, I undress and fix the water just right letting it run down my body after such a long tiresome day. It's always nice how hotels give you everything you may need for a bath, except for clothes. I realized as I'm now out of the shower that I don't have anything clean to wear. Just in cue, I hear the front door opening and closing once more. "(Y/N)? Are you in the bathroom?" No...Oh Archons not like this.. "Yeah...Did you bring my stuff as well?" He laughs, "Your stuff? Why would I bring YOUR luggage." He's got to be kidding me. I roll up a towel around my form and furiously get out of the bathroom. There he stands, laughing in my face with both of our luggage and what looks like some take out? Standing in the middle of the room looking dumbfounded, I ask him "You also bought...food?" He looks at me like I said something stupid, "Well yeah, I'm hungry." That's when it clicked. Yeah right he is...a puppet with no need of food, being hungry. I smiled at him softly without another word and looked through my stuff to get dressed. "I finished showering, the bathroom is all yours if you need it." Scaramouche was confused but let it go this time "Will go shower too then" And so he did.

While he was busy showering I prepped the whole room, unpacked everything including our meal. He quietly opens the door and for a moment just stays in the doorway looking at me puffing the pillows. What a silly girl he thinks. Putting in so much effort, he feels something fill in the void inside of him. It's...nice, warm, peaceful

"..Do you wanna go to sleep?" He looks at me, nodding. Looking at him now, he's acting strange. Almost sad but at peace, quiet, tranquil melancholy. Must've hit a nerve without wanting to. He looks in need of comfort but I feel hopeless, I brought him back something he hadn't thought in a long time...I triggered him. He gets in bed while I turn the lights off, suddenly it hits me. I realize it in that moment how intimate this feels. How raw, how vulnerable. I climb up in bed on his opposite side. The bed itself is not tiny but I guess due to the snowstorm outside we're laying pretty close to one another, our backs touching.

It's quiet, as tired as I was before proved to be useless now that I'm standing next to Scaramouche, so many unspoken words kept me wide awake. And then it happened. He broke the silence "I once convinced myself that humanity doesn't deserve kindness. I had a lot of trial and errors and every one of them proved that they're all doomed by their own selfish needs anyway. Humans don't deserve care. And still I find myself contradicting that in my mind." His voice is calm, relaxed and yet so sad. So simple yet it hides details that I may never learn. On impulse I turned around and hugged his back gently. He tensed up but just as quickly relaxed entirely in my arms. "It takes a lot of courage to try again, to trust again. To want to care, even if you know there's a chance it won't be fruitful. It means that at core, you want to give and help unconditionally. It means there's a lot of love within you Scara, including for humanity. That's powerful." For a second I feel him shaking in my arms and with that, I felt my heart breaking. He turned around facing me, "I feel like I want to care for you" I opened my arms, smiling at him "Then do so. Allow yourself to feel that way!" and so he does, he allows himself to be held. Not too long after, I feel him holding me instead, playing with my hair almost enchanted by my figure. His fingers are gentle, his palms are cold and yet I've never felt a warmer hold in my life. "You're not on your own anymore. I already care for you in ways you don't even know. You're being cared for." I feel his arms tightening around me. "..I won't ever forget this, do you know that? These exact same words may as well haunt me one day." I look up at him, "Or bless you. The risk for vulnerability is high, but the reward is always worth it. Don't cage yourself in fear Scara. Live." I felt his head fall on top of mine. He fell asleep while I was talking! This guy...and just like that, the big ruthless Balladeer fell asleep in my hair.

[defodisturbed]

Mastermind - Recoms x Singer!Recom!reader

(A/N: heyy... hey.. im back :3. im sorry for leaving for SO LONG im dealing with a lot of personal stuff right now but im really trying to write more. i want to get faster at typing and i also needa feed my children. also most of this fic will be exposition and the events leading up to the climax like im not even joking its so long. hope yall enjoy this one. mwah) (and yes I based the songs on Taylor Swift and if you're gonna be in the replies being hateful, gtfo my page (kindly))

What if I told you I'm a mastermind?

And now you're mine.

I had always hid my true past from my teammates. Practically everyone. I only really had a journal, and even that was locked away under my rug under my bed. Nobody knew it was there, and nobody could access it without waking me up or making some kind of noise. It was a sacred book to me. I could talk to... something with it. I could express my feelings of wanting to go back to the way things were, but never wanting to leave Pandora. Never wanting to leave my friends. And never wanting to leave my lovers.

I'm a recombinant for the RDA. When I died in my human body, they had my DNA and were already growing my new body to be revived. I have my memories of my past life, and it was awesome. Until... my mom found out she was drafted for the mission on Pandora. I, being the best kid ever, took her place. My fans were scared for me, and tried to convince me not to. They'd heard it all, how dangerous Pandora was. Especially for a singer with no military experience or knowledge. But I accepted my fate. For my mother. For my family. I had siblings back home, and with me going on tour all the time, I wouldn't be able to take care of them if my mother was gone. So I accepted the fact that I was most likely, if not definitely, going to die on this mission.

And I did. My family recieved the news, but also learned about Project Phoenix. They were relieved to know that their kid was going to be revived, just maybe not the same.

-----

"Hey, ma. How're you?" Prager asked as I sat down at the table. It was lunch at the cafeteria. They pretty much just fed us protein-filled slop most of the time. Rarely, they would throw a cookie in there if it was a holiday on Earth.

"Oh, it's going alright, baby. Thanks. Hey, can I ask you a question?" I replied. Prager nodded and leaned in. "Do you think you could ask the Colonel if we could go out in the forest today and just... explore? He doesn't know this, but I actually have some science friends and they showed me some fruits and animals that we can harvest and safely eat. I tried some and Pandora food is good. Like, really good. I wanna surprise the team, and you know Colonel can't say no to you."

Prager agreed and once the Colonel sat at our table, he immediately started.

"Colonel, I was wondering if we could go out into the forest today and just have some fun. Explore, fuck around in some river or something?" Quaritch looked at Prager and gave that ONE sigh. (A/N: its giving "go get my purse") "Fine. But we ain't bringing a baby viperwolf home because Ja wants one." He glared at Ja. He was always the one to see a stray dog and say "please please pleaaaaase mom can we adopt it??" as a kid.

I silently thanked Prager for doing my bidding as always.

-----

We were out in the forest, going over the rules we've memorized by heart now. Once the Colonel finished up, I immediately took off. I was so excited to get some nice food that I didn't realize the cliff drop below me. I was suddenly falling, the wind rushing past my body and feeling almost painful as it hit my face and went away so fast, over and over again.

I dived head first into a lake. The drop wasn't that bad, I realized. Alicia was first on the scene, peeking over the dropoff with a worried look on her face as she hoped to God I wasn't dead. I waved my hand up at her and called out.

"Get down here, this is so fun!! Don't be afraid to get a running start either!" my voice echoed. "Are you okay??" she shouted back. "I'm amazing!!"

Alicia ran over to the others and told them to watch her. She embraced her inner child as she ran as fast as she could and leaped off the cliff. She felt the wind rush past her face as I had, and splashed in the water with me. The rest of my team ran over and looked. We were... fine? Lopez was next. He gladly jumped and plooshed in with us. Then Prager, Zhang, Walker, Warren, Mansk, Lyle, Fike, and finally... Quaritch. He took a chance and jumped.

We were playing and splashing each other with water as we finally relaxed for once. Of course, we had fear of predators. But we didn't care as much anymore. We were playing like kids and it felt so good.

-

After we dried off and got back to the forest, I took off again. This time, more careful. I found an abandoned basket in pretty good condition and took it with me to collect fruits and veggies. I collected some yovo fruit, some other stuff I didn't know the name of but still knew was safe, and finally it was time to get some meat. I was looking to make some nice Pandora burritos for everyone. I found a nice bow and some arrows, perhaps forgotten by a young hunter excited to show their family their haul.

While I was gathering food, one of my favorite songs got stuck in my head while I was thinking about my life back on Earth. I started humming... then singing the lyrics... then full belting the long notes. I didn't realize Lyle was near, close enough to hear but far enough to stay hidden. He'd never heard my songs because he was in the military before I even debuted. I'm sure he was confused who I was singing.

I got some hexapede meat, some meat from hard fruits, and I also took down a lone viperwolf. I put the stuff in the basket to bring home.

-

"What the Hell is all of this? What've you been doing this entire time? Why do you have a bow? Did you encounter a native?" Colonel asked. I said I found it and saw no booby traps so I took it. I explained that my friends at the lab wanted some samples so I got some for them. Obviously it was a lie, but I couldn't spoil the surprise.

He allowed me to take my findings and harvest home. I thanked him and was so excited to make him and our team a good meal for once.

-----

I got out my cutting board and my cooking knife and started chopping. I cooked some of that chicken-y stuff and some of that fruit. I thanked Mansk in my head for teaching me these things.

-

I radio'd everyone to come to my room. I said I had a surprise for them. "I swear to God, if we get there and you're on the bed naked again I will... actually not be mad." Lyle said back.

"This isn't that kind of surprise, Lyle. Just get over here!"

Once they all were in the room, I retrieved a tray with foil over it. The smell wafted into the room as I uncovered the gift. They were all so surprised and hypnotized by the burritos.

"For you guys! You deserve it. Take one, I insist!" I squealed. They all grabbed one and a paper towel and with the first bite, they relaxed their tense muscles and rolled their eyes back. They hadn't had a good meal like this in a good, long while.

"Hey, Y/N, what song were you singing in the forest? You were really loud... must've been one of your favorites or something. Is it on Spotify?" Lyle asked as he finished his first bite. My eyes widened. "You... heard that?"

"Yeah, I heard a little bit too. It was something about a new romantic or something like that." Zdinarsk added. "Yeah you were singing about something related to rings or something too." Mansk said. "I don't know, I could be wrong, but last time I checked, you weren't married." Lopez said.

"Um... can we forget all of that happened? Sorry, I was just getting carried away and I sang some of my own songs and-" I was soon cut off by the Colonel saying, "Wait- your songs?"

I soon shoved them out of my room, begging them to let it go and to not talk about it again. I closed the door behind me as I slid down the metal wall to the floor. I took some big, deep breaths and checked under my bed to check if my journal and hard drives were still there, even though I'd been with them the entire time. Phew! They're still there. I thought.

-----

The next day, at dinner in the cafeteria, I brought my bag with me and sat down with everybody acting like nothing was wrong. Conversation sparked when someone asked, "So what's everyone planning on doing tomorrow? Ardmore gave us the day off." I said I was planning on bingeing my favorite show wrapped in my blankets with my favorite foods. They all agreed and said they would be training, sleeping, exploring, hooking up, or something fun/relaxing.

I suddenly got a call from my friend on the phone. I knew it was something important, because my phone was blowing up with texts while she was waiting for me to answer. I hurriedly ran off to my room for privacy, forgetting my bag full of personal stuff. Including my hard drives. Zdog decided it couldn't hurt to see what I carry around all day, so she started digging. She found my sunglasses, hairbrush/comb, an unopened soda can, some loose candy, and... hard drives?

"Hey does anyone know why Y/N has hard drives in her bag?" Z asked. Nobody knew, so she decided to take them and pass them out for them to watch later. It for sure wasn't porn, Ardmore would've never let it through. It's gotta be some home videos or something.

-----

Zdog and the others piled onto the bed in her room and uploaded the drives onto her computer. They were numbered. They watched the first one and it was a black screen with the sound of a crowd cheering. It was around an hour long. They watched as a... stage appeared. A big one. It was a stadium full of people. A concert? Then appeared the person performing. It was... you. Some already made the connections, while others took a little bit. You were performing for around 70,000 people along with cameras so everyone could watch it live. they watched all of the hard drives all throughout the night, only falling asleep when they went through all of them.

-----

You were in your room, hanging up the call. turns out it was just some cute guy flirted with her at a restaurant. Only then did you realize that you left your bag in the cafeteria. You immediately went back for it, checking everything was there because people just love to snoop. You realized all of your hard drives were missing. You soon were banging on the Colonel's door, asking if he'd seen anybody take them or had anything in their hands. He wasn't there. You knocked on everyone's door and nobody answered. You went back to your room, wailing into your pillow. Those drives were the last thing you had of Earth. Of your entire life before the military. Soon enough, you cried yourself to sleep. In the morning, you slept in. It was your day off, after all. You heard a knock on the door. You recognized it as Z. You opened the door and there she was. She came in without an invite and immediately sat on your bed.

"Y/N. I am... just so sorry. When you left your bag in the cafeteria, I looked through it when I should've respected your privacy. I found hard drives and took all of them to my room and the rest of the team and I watched all of them. In order. All the way through. I am so sorry for disrespecting your right to privacy and watching the videos that were obviously private." She closes her eyes softly, looking down toward the floor with her hands twiddling in her lap. Too embarrassed and disappointed with herself to even look at me.

"Z, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been so secretive. Especially with the ones who love me most. The truth is, I was a very rich and famous singer on Earth. You probably know that by now. So does everyone else. But I'm trying to work through it and not be embarrassed to share my past."

"It's not your fault. I love you. We love you. You never have to hide anything from us, but if you don't want it to be shared, that's okay too. So... can we listen to some of your songs?" Z laughed. I said yes an radio'd everyone to come to my room. I had a surprise.

MWAH I love yall!!!! hope you guys enjoyed i've had this au stuck in my head since like last year :) 💋💋

@dyingofcookies ITS HERE BESTIE

[serenelystrange]

Summary:

In which Buck is a grocery store cashier who lives a quiet life with his sister, until Eddie wanders into his line one day looking like the saddest shelter cat in the world. And Buck? Buck has always had a soft spot for animals. (They, as always, fall in love.)

Notes:

There are no actual animals in this fic. Tis but a metaphor!

For @carolinahope - who was looking for an AU where neither of them were firefighters!

Under the cut, or over at AO3!

Buck hears the kid first, a tiny but demanding voice calling out to him as the grocery cart is pushed into Buck’s checkout lane.

“Hi!” the little boy yells to him from under a mop of blonde curls and bright red eyeglasses. “I said hiii!”

Buck’s laughing even as the boy’s father sighs at his antics.

“Hi, buddy,” Buck says to the kid, giving him an indulging grin.

“He’s really into saying hi to everyone right now,” the dad explains, “and gets louder and louder the longer nobody responds. Sorry.”

Buck is already waving off the apology as he finally gets a good look at the dad’s face and freezes in place. He’s maybe a little older than Buck, and quite possibly the prettiest man that he’s ever seen.

“Don’t worry about it,” Buck says, shaking himself from his daze. “He’s super adorable, who could be mad at that little face?”

“Thanks,” the guy says, looking up at Buck briefly before dropping his gaze back down to his cart and loading the groceries onto the belt.

Buck frowns to himself as he begins to scan and bag the items, feeling the unfortunately overwhelming urge to explain himself.

“I hope that wasn’t weird,” Buck says, placing the bananas and clementines into a bag along with boxed oatmeal. “I know I’m tall and kinda big and awkward,” he continues, “but I’m not a creeper or anything.”

“What?” the guy looks up from loading the last of his things and gives Buck a confused look. “No, you’re fine. I mean, it’s fine. I didn’t think you were being creepy. I’m just exhausted.”

“Oh,” Buck says, “good. I mean, not good that you’re exhausted, but good that you don’t think I’m creepy. You know, I’m just gonna stop talking now. Your total is $95.14.”

To his surprise, the guy just laughs at him, but kindly, and shakes his head.

“It’s nice,” he says as he’s putting his card in the machine to pay. “To talk to someone over two years old.”

“Well, uh,” Buck stammers through getting him his receipt, “you can talk to me any day. Or I guess any day that I’m here and you happen to be in my line. If you have 10 items or less. Fewer, really. These signs are not grammatically correct, but I guess less is well..less letters, and I’m rambling again, good god. I’m so glad nobody is waiting behind you.”

The guy bursts out laughing, eyes squinting as he reads Buck’s badge.

“I might have to do that. Buck?”

“Yeah,” Buck confirms, shrugging slightly. “Evan, really, but there was another Evan in orientation, and my last name is Buckley, sooo.”

“So Buck it is,” the guy says, appraising him with an open gaze. “It suits you.”

“Thanks,” Buck says, awkwardly, internally squirming at the compliment.

“I’m Eddie,” the guy introduces himself before gesturing to the kid who is now deeply invested in whatever video is pulled up on Eddie’s phone. “And that little hellion is Chris.”

“Hi!” Chris pipes up without looking away from the phone, and Buck can’t lie, he’s immediately besotted.

“Nice to meet you both,” he says to Eddie, blushing lightly as Eddie reaches out and shakes his hand firmly before pulling away. His skin is hot against Buck’s chilled hands, and Buck doesn’t want to let go.

An older woman with definitely more than 10 cans of dog food pulls up behind Eddie, breaking the moment, and Buck hate her just a little bit for it even as he gives her a friendly smile.

“Have a nice day,” he tells Eddie, and gives Chris a little wave goodbye that he doesn’t notice.

“You, too,” Eddie says, pushing Chris and their few bags away as the woman loads the belt up behind them.

Buck watches them go for a few long moments before begrudgingly getting back to work.

“He’s so damn pretty, Mads,” Buck says later that night, across from his sister at their favorite cheap restaurant, several cheap margaritas deep.

Maddie gives him a placating smile and only rolls her eyes a little bit.

“So you’ve said,” she says, mildly, “about ten times now.”

Buck pouts but Maddie just stares back unbothered, immune to his sad eyes by now.

“I know you’re 21 now,” she says as she pulls Buck’s latest drink over to herself, “but maybe you aren’t ready for $3 margaritas when you’re mooning.”

“Hey, that’s mine!” Buck says, reaching for the drink only to be slapped away by Maddie in a practiced move.

“Mine, now,” Maddie says, grinning at him in victory.

“I’m bigger and stronger than you, you know,” Buck says, still pouting.

Maddie just raises an eyebrow at him, says nothing, and waits.

“And you’d still kick my ass, I know, I know” Buck finishes, unable to not laugh at the thought of his itty bitty sister leveling him, even though he knows she’d find a way.

“As long as we’re in agreement,” Maddie says, raising her glass in a cheers to Buck before finishing the rest of the drink.

“We’re gonna have to get an uber,” she says, eyes meeting Buck’s as they both dissolve into tipsy giggles.

They’re still giggling as their disinterested waitress delivers the check, stopping just long enough to make sure neither of them are going to pass out before vanishing back into the depths of the kitchen.

“I think she needs a margarita,” Buck says, giggling all over again.

Maddie just drops her head to her arms on the table, shoulders shaking as she laughs.

It’s a good day.

Eddie is woken up by a cardboard book hitting him in the chest, clutched in Chris’s unsteady hands. He groans and squints against the sunlight streaming into Tia Pepa’s living room.

“Mornin’ mijo,” he mumbles, eyes closed again as he pulls Chris up to snuggle.  

“Story time?” Chris asks, wiggling impatiently against the hold.

Before Eddie can reply, Abuela is hurrying into the room and giving Chris an exasperated look.

“There you are!” She addresses Eddie. “Sorry, I looked away for just a minute. I was trying to let you sleep.”

Eddie chuckles and kisses Chris’ head where he’s finally settled down to cuddle. “It’s ok,” he says, “he’s faster than you’d think when he puts his mind to it.”

“Still,” Abuela says. “You need your rest. And a real bed.”

Eddie groans, and looks up at Abuela with tired eyes.

“I know,” he says. “Chris and I need to find our own place, this house is barely big enough for you and Tia. I’m working on it.”

Abuela gives him a sympathetic look and moves over to ruffle his hair.

“You can stay as long as you need,” she says, “it’s a blessing to have you both here. You know I only worry about your health, sí?”

“I know,” Eddie says, leaning up into her comforting touch. “I know.”

“Story time?” Chris repeats, pushing the book roughly into Eddie’s chest.

“Alright, baby,” Eddie agrees, “story time. What do we have this time?”

“Hungry hungry!” Chris exclaims, patting the Very Hungry Caterpiller in emphasis.

“Hungry hungry it is,” Eddie says, rearranging Chris in his arms so that he can open the book.

Abuela pats Eddie’s head once more before stepping away. “I’ll make breakfast for my hungry boys.”

Eddie thanks her as she walks away, settling himself into story time, Christopher a warm and welcome weight at his side.

“Eddie!” Buck says with enthusiasm as Eddie pulls his cart up to Buck’s checkout lane. “Oh!” Buck says in a hushed voice as he notices Chris conked out in the basket, curled up on a thick leather coat among the meager groceries. “Hi, Chris,” he whispers, smiling dopily at the adorably sleeping toddler for a moment before looking back up at Eddie.

“It’s ok,” Eddie laughs, speaking at a normal volume. “This kid can sleep through anything if he’s tired, you won’t wake him.”

“Ok,” Buck says, still quieter than Eddie suspects he usually is. “How’s it going?” he asks Eddie as he slowly scans and bags the items Eddie unloads.

Eddie shrugs. “It’s going,” he says, genially enough.

Buck takes a moment to really look at him, noticing the dark circles under his eyes and the tired slope of his shoulders.

“You don’t get much sleep, do you?” he asks. “Sorry.”

Eddie nods off the apology. “You’re not wrong,” he says. Taking a moment to make sure nobody is waiting behind him, he leans against the counter with one arm and sighs. “Been working a lot of odd jobs,” he explains. “I got hurt,” he continues, “overseas. Fucked up this shoulder pretty bad, made me useless in the field, so they sent me home with a shiny medal and absolutely no idea how to do… all of this.”

“Shit,” Buck says, frowning at him. “that’s heavy.”

“Yeah,” Eddie laughs without humor. “Too young to feel so old, right?”

Buck shrugs in commiseration, nodding.

“I really need some adult friends,” Eddie says, “sorry to just dump all of that on someone I’ve met twice.”

“Twice so far,” Buck corrects him, beaming again. “And I’d love to be your friend. My only real friend is my sister, and she’s older, with cool older friends that don’t need me hanging around.”

“What are you, 18?” Eddie asks, smirking at Buck’s annoyed pout when talking about his sister.

“I’ll be 22 in a few months,” Buck says, crossing his arms at Eddie’s dubious look. “It’s not my fault I have a baby face, old man.”

“We are literally the same age,” Eddie says, dryly.

“Perfect!” Buck says with delight, “then we can be best friends.”

Eddie laughs and hands Buck his unlocked phone. “Why don’t we start with regular friends, yeah? Put your number in.”

“Nope,” Buck grins as he types in his info, “best friends, I’ve decided.”

True to his word, when Eddie takes his phone back he sees the contact “Buck (Best Friend)” right at the top of his list under Abuela and Adriana.

“You’re ridiculous,” he says, fondly.

Buck just grins.

“And you’re holding up my line, Best Friend,” he says, gesturing to the small line of people that has appeared behind Eddie.

Eddie rolls his eyes but gives Buck another little wave as he leaves. He gets to the car and laughs at the contact name again as he buckles himself into the driver’s seat, but he doesn’t change it.

The last place Eddie expects to run into Buck is the run down restaurant he wanders into on a rare day he’s not working, but here he is. Buck is sitting with a beautiful brunette woman that Eddie really hopes is the sister Buck was talking about. He hesitates by the host podium as he notices them instead of heading to the bar for his beer and nachos like he’d planned. If it’s a date, he doesn’t want to intrude, and his nerves make him freeze up as the hostess asks if he’s ready.

“Eddie?” he hears, shaking him out of it. Buck’s waving over at him with a happy grin. “Hey!” he calls out, you want to sit with us?”

The hostess, seemingly used to Buck’s antics, just grabs the menu and leads Eddie to the table without asking.

“Hey,” Eddie says as they reach the table, the hostess putting his menu down at the seat next to the woman.

“Hi,” she says, looking up at him with an expression he recognizes from Buck’s face.

“You must be the sister,” he says as he sits down and offers his hand to her.

“Maddie,” she confirms. “And Evan’s yelling tells me you must be the Eddie he’s been talking about for weeks.”

“Maddie!” Buck whisper-yells, scandalized. “Be cool!”

Eddie laughs, looking between his outraged face and Maddie’s conspiratorial one.

“It’s ok, Buck,” he says with a smirk. “I already know you aren’t cool.”

“Asshole,” Buck hisses at him.

Eddie has a terrible and hilarious moment within himself where he debates making an ‘you are what you eat’ joke, but stops himself just in time.

“You can sit next to Evan if you want,” Maddie says, “the server won’t care.”

“Margie probably thought you were dating,” Buck agrees, grumpily.

“We are both awfully pretty,” Maddie agrees with barely contained laugh. “But your boytoy here is a little young for me.”

“Oh my god, Maddie,” Buck groans, “he’s not my boytoy. He’s my friend.”

“What happened to Best Friends, huh?” Eddie teases, grinning at the flush that spreads attractively across his face.

“Nope,” Buck says. “Chris is my new best friend. I’m gonna give him so many stickers next time you come through my lane.”

Eddie softens at that, leaning back and smiling at Buck.

“He’d love that.”

Buck smiles back for a moment before Maddie clears her throat with what Eddie swears is a whisper Jesus Christ.

“How about we get some lunch, boys?” she asks, gesturing to the menus they’ve been ignoring. “My treat.”

“Yes!” Buck says, fist pumping the air. He points to Eddie. “Order actual food, you’re too thin.”

“Ok, Abuela,” Eddie scoffs, secretly pleased that Buck seems to care.

From the way Maddie giggles next to him, he thinks she agrees.

Hey bestie

Eddie looks down at this phone and snorts at the text from Buck.

Absolutely not.

Buck’s reply comes in mere seconds later.

You’re no fun. But whatever. Working tonight?

Eddie hesitates, bone tired and drenched in sweat from a day working a construction job Abuela’s church had hired him for. All he really wants to do is shower off the day and maybe treat himself and Chris to a pizza. But on the other hand…

Just getting home. What’s up?

Buck’s first reply is just a line of exclamation points that Eddie finds annoyingly endearing.

Come over and hang out! Maddie is on a date and I’m booooored. I’ll order pizza. We can watch a movie or something. There’s a new John Wick out?

Eddie gets caught up on the or something for a beat too long, knowing just how many different somethings he would like.

I don’t think I can get a babysitter this late notice

Can’t afford one either, Eddie thinks to himself, but doesn’t type.

Bring him! We just wont watch John Wick. Maddie has Disney plus!

And well. Who is Eddie to argue with that.

“Hey buddy!” Buck greets Chris as he opens the door to him and Eddie.

Chris looks around at the unfamiliar home, tucking his head into Eddie’s shoulder with sudden shyness. Eddie has him held in one arm, the other holding what looks like some kind of wheelchair. Buck gives it a curious look as Eddie enters.

“It’s a mobility aid,” Eddie explains as he opens it up and places Chris’ legs into the openings. “Chris has CP, so he’s not as steady as most almost-three year olds. But this lets him walk around by himself, at least a little bit.”

“That’s really cool,” Buck says, crouching down to inspect the chair. It’s almost like a bouncer younger babies use, but more stabilizing than anything. “This is a pretty awesome walker, buddy,” he says to Chris.

He looks up at Eddie and catches the wondrous look on his face.

“What?” he asks, standing back up and moving out of the way for Chris to toddle off and explore.

“It’s just nice,” Eddie explains, “to see someone treat him like he’s any other toddler. Without all the pitying looks on their faces.”

Buck wrinkles his nose in thought as he nods.

“That must be annoying,” he agrees. “Good thing all you’ll get here is pizza and quality Best Friend Time.”

Eddie laughs and shoves Buck’s shoulder playfully.

“Show me around, then.”

“Is this cut small enough?” Buck asks later, fretting as he cuts up cheese pizza to plate for Chris.

“Yes, Buck,” Eddie laughs, “he has teeth, he’ll be fine.”

Buck still looks unsure, not used to little kids. “You sure he won’t choke?”

“If he does, I was a medic, he’ll be ok,” Eddie assures him. The plate Buck put Chris’ pizza on is thick cardboard with the words Happy Birthday splashed across them, probably the only child friendly plate in the place, but Eddie finds the effort impossibly charming.

“Were?” Buck asks, once they’re all settled around the little kitchen table Maddie made him load into his truck from Goodwill one day.

Eddie swallows a bite of his own pizza and nods before responding.

“Certification lapsed when I was recovering,” he says, gesturing to his injured shoulder. “And I haven’t had the time or money to fix that yet.”

“But you aren’t going back into the Army, right?” Buck asks with concern.

“Nope,” Eddie shakes his head. “Honorably discharged. But war skills don’t really translate into real world opportunities, you know?”

“Doesn’t the VA help?” Buck asks with a frown.

Eddie snorts.

“The wait list for any kind of help is years long,” he says. “America,” he finishes, wryly.

Buck cringes in agreement.

“You should be able to get help with Chris through the state, at least,” Buck offers quietly. “There’s plenty of parents I work with that have food stamps, or housing assistance. Anything that could help make ends meet.”

“I know,” Eddie says, taking a breath, “I need to look into it all, I’ve just been so damn overwhelmed.”

“What about…” Buck starts, before looking over at Chris and stopping. “We can talk about it later,” he finishes instead.

Eddie smiles at him gratefully and goes back to his pizza.

Several hours later, Chris is passed out with his head on Eddie’s lap, splayed between him and Buck on the couch. The closing credits of Aladdin are scrolling on the TV, the radio version of A Whole New World still playing as Buck and Eddie talk.

“His mom isn’t in the picture,” Eddie says to Buck’s unasked question.

“I had wondered,” Buck admits. “Is she…” he trails off.

“Alive and well, last I heard,” Eddie says tightly.

“Kinda shitty she abandoned her kid,” Buck says before he can help himself, wincing as the words come out of his mouth.

“I did it first,” Eddie admits, quietly. “I re-enlisted when we found out about Chris’ CP. I just saw all the hospital bills in the future and I think I panicked. I don’t even remember signing back up. And then I got shot a few months in and had to come home anyway. To a ruined marriage and a baby who didn’t understand why his mom was suddenly gone.”

“You’re married?” Buck asks, in mild horror, making Eddie laugh at that being the thing Buck took from all of that.

“Divorced,” Eddie corrects.

“Sorry,” Buck says, not sounding very sorry at all.

“It’s ok,” Eddie says anyway. “Things are looking up lately.”

“Yeah?” Buck asks, big blue eyes shining in the low light.

Eddie smiles. “Definitely.”

Maddie breezes into her living room a few weeks later, smiling at the familiar sight of Eddie and Chris there with Buck, ostensibly playing with building blocks, but mostly watching Chris knock them down while secretly staring moonily at each other when they think the other isn’t looking.

“You know,” she says to the room at large. “I was a pretty good babysitter to Buck when we were kids.”

Buck looks up at her with amusement.

“You basically raised me, Mads,” he says, “definitely more than a babysitter.”

“Exactly,” Maddie agrees, “so you’d agree that I can keep at least one small boy alive successfully?”

Eddie looks up at that, giving her an amused and inquisitive look.

“If I can be honest right now,” Maddie says, standing with her hands on her hips. “You two are driving me batty with your dancing around each other. Leave Chris with me and go out somewhere where kids aren’t allowed. He’ll have a great time with his Auntie Maddie.”

“Auntie Maddie?” Buck asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Eventually,” Maddie says. “Might as well get used to it now, right?”

She gives them both a pleased grin as she notes the matching blush on their faces.

“You want to hang out with me today, little man?” she asks, moving to crouch down in front of Chris.

In response, Chris throws himself bodily into her arms, snuggling up happily.

“Then it’s decided,” Maddie says, settling down to the floor with Chris still in her lap. “Me and little mister.. whatever your last name is, will have a great night!”

She looks up at Buck for the answer, who freezes goofily when he realizes he doesn’t know, and looks over at Eddie, who just laughs.

“Diaz,” he says. “Buck, I’ve literally handed you my license several times to buy beer.”

Buck ducks his head, blushing again. “I was distracted by your stupid pretty face, shut up.”

Across from them, Maddie laughs and speaks to Chris.

“Daddy and Buck are so silly, aren’t they?”

Chris nods very seriously in response, and Maddie chooses to believe that he understands.

“Subtle,” Eddie says later that night as Buck pulls them up to what is clearly a gay club.

Buck shrugs and gives him an earnest look.

“Figured I’d just jump right in and make sure I wasn’t reading this all wrong and you were really just a super chill straight guy who lets his bisexual best friend lust after him because he’s too nice to reject him.”

Eddie startles at that, looking over at Buck in amusement.

“That is so specific, Buck,” he says.

Buck just shrugs again, looking unsure.

“I am not chill, like at all,” Eddie says, “just so you know.”

“Yeah?” Buck asks, “and what about..”

“And definitely not straight,” Eddie confirms. “So are you gonna unbuckle that seat belt and kiss me, or what?”

“You don’t want to go in first?” Buck says, gesturing toward the club.

Eddie shakes his head. “Maybe another time.”

“Can’t wait,” Buck says, letting himself be pulled awkwardly over the center of the truck and into Eddie’s kiss.

It goes on for what feels like forever, time slow and syrupy in the way that only the best kisses provide. Eddie’s stubble scratches over Buck’s sensitive shaved face and he shivers at the feeling.

“I’m making you all red,” Eddie says as they pull apart, reaching up to soothe Buck’s face with his fingers.

“Worth it,” Buck says without missing a beat, “do it again.”

Eddie’s laugh dies against Buck’s mouth as they kiss again, and there’s not one part of him that minds.

Days turn into weeks and weeks into months, until suddenly they’ve been dating for almost half a year, and Eddie and Chris spend more time at Buck’s than they do at home.

“You know,” Buck says one night as they’re laying in bed, Chris tucked up safely with his Auntie Maddie in the other room. “I’ve been thinking.”

“Dangerous,” Eddie laughs, rubbing his chin over Buck’s head where Buck rests it on his chest like a contented cat.

“Mean,” Buck says, biting the skin of Eddie’s bare chest in retaliation.

“What are you think about?” Eddie asks before they can start actually squabbling.

Buck bites at his chest once more just for good measure before speaking again, avoiding Eddie’s eyes.

“I have like.. a whole bunch of PTO saved up.”

Eddie nods, rubbing up and down Buck’s back in the way that makes him pleasantly tingle. “You wanna go somewhere?” he asks.

“Not exactly,” Buck says. “I just... I know that you’ve been trying to get your medical re-certification, but haven’t had time to do it when your Abuela or Tia could watch Chris.”

“Yeah?” Eddie asks, still confused.

“I was googling it,” Buck continues, “And I definitely have enough PTO to cover the hours you’d need to put in. If you can afford to take the time away from working, obviously.”

“Wait,” Eddie says, smacking Buck’s shoulder until they’re sitting up and facing each other. “You want to what? Use your PTO to babysit my kid so that I can recertify?”

Buck gives Eddie a pleased smile and nods. “Exactly!”

“Why in the world would you waste your paid time off on that?” Eddie asks, with wide eyes. “You should go somewhere fun.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Buck says, frowning. “And I have plenty of fun with Chris, he’s my favorite little buddy!”

“He’s your only little buddy,” Eddie says, laughing.

“Shut your face,” Buck says, pawing at Eddie’s laughing face dramatically.

Eddie bites at Buck’s palm until he retreats, and then gives him a serious look.

“You’d really use up your time like that for me?”

“Of course I will,” Buck says easily, “I love you and want you to be happy, and have a job that hurts your injuries less.”

Eddie just regards him with wide eyes.

“I haven’t said that out loud before, have I?” Buck asks with a nervous glance.

“I think I would have remembered,” Eddie confirms.

“Well, I do,” Buck says. “love you, I mean. A lot.”

“I’m getting that,” Eddie says, dryly.

“Don’t leave me on read here,” Buck says, grabbing Eddie’s hand in his own and linking their fingers.

“This is a verbal conversation, Buck,” Eddie laughs, squeezing their hands together. “And I love you, too, you dork.”

“Your dork,” Buck says, laying back down and giving Eddie grabby hands until he lays down on Buck’s chest.

“Yeah, yeah,” Eddie says, nosing Buck’s collarbone, before finally agreeing. “You are.”

“How was the first day?” Buck asks as Eddie gets back from his new job.

“It’s pretty cool,” Eddie says, dropping down onto the sofa beside Buck. “Where’s Chris?”

“Maddie took him to the park,” Buck says, “in case I had to leave for work before you got back. I would’ve texted you.”

“I wasn’t worried,” Eddie says, leaning in for a quick kiss, “just curious.”

“So, private ambulance company, huh?” Buck asks, giving in to the urge to plaster himself against Eddie in a koala-like cuddle.

“America,” Eddie says, in that same tone from all those months ago. “But they hired me.”

Buck nods. “And hey,” he says, “you still get to help people, and you have regular hours now, so you’ll get to spend so much more time with Chris.”

“And you,” Eddie says, allowing himself a moment of sappiness.

“And me,” Buck agrees, grinning. “That’s definitely a bonus.”

“I wish we could afford a place together,” Eddie says. “I hate going to bed without you now, you ruined me, you bastard.”

Buck smirks. “I’m not remotely sorry.”

“Neither am I,” Eddie admits, closing his eyes and resting his head back against the couch, finally relaxing.

“You know,” Buck says. “You could always just move in here. We have that little third bedroom that is basically just storage. It’s perfectly Chris-sized for at least a few more years.”

Eddie opens his eyes at that, sitting up and looking over at Buck in surprise.

“Why are you always throwing stuff like this at me when I’m exhausted?” he asks, laughing.

“You’re always exhausted, baby,” Buck says gently. “I’m trying to fix that.”

Eddie looks at him for a long moment, eyes softening with almost unbearable tenderness.

“It’s working,” Eddie says. “Maddie wouldn’t mind?”

Buck shakes his head and gives Eddie a watery grin. “Nah, it was her idea. Three incomes is better than two, and she spends half her time at Chim’s anyway.”

“She planned that park trip, that little menace,” Eddie laughs.

“We are definitely related,” Buck agrees.

“You have the same smile,” Eddie says, thinking back. “That first time at the restaurant? She was teasing you and looked over at me with that big Buckley grin, and I knew she was your sister before she even introduced herself.”

Buck finds himself warmed by the thought.

“We don’t really look alike otherwise, so that’s nice. But you aren’t allowed to fall in love with my sister, you got it?”

Eddie laughs again and wraps his arms tighter around Buck.

“Don’t worry,” he says, “I have all the Buckley I need right here.”

“Damn right,” Buck says. “Now hush and cuddle me for ten more minutes before I go to work.”

Eddie does.

Buck ends up a half an hour late to work, kiss-rumpled and unrepentant. Not even the grumpy old people with too many items can ruin his mood today.

The End

[hisdarlingabsurdity]

Frankenstein's Monster

Pairing: Neteyam x Fem! Human! Reader

Tags: slow af. Part two otw. Bitter, jaded reader. Stressed Neteyam. Slow burn. Reader is a reader.

You haven’t been yourself lately, and you think it might have something to do with how everything is just so blue. Ever since you were so disrespectfully given birth to, you’re almost always surrounded by blue. It wasn't annoying at first, except the color never seems to be out of sight, there's always something that's blue everywhere you look. Literal blue aliens talk to you. And nobody has any idea how vexed you are at how ridiculously blue the sky is. Now the sea. Everything is just so goddamned blue. 

But you say nothing. It would be unbecoming of you to complain (about something so silly too) after all, it was the Sullys who saved you, Jake had taken you under his wing and taught you almost all he knows about surviving here as a human, so it makes sense that they would take you with them in their self-imposed exile.

They saved you from Dionysus Red, Container 12 where you were known as Subject 003. Even your uniform as No. 3 back then was blue. No wonder you hate the color.

 You really do not know where you stand with all of this. You are grateful, yes. You now eat three times a day, and not those shitty slop they served you back in Dionysus. You had a room of your own and you were free to do as you like, study, learn, listen to music, read, and use the technologies so generously bestowed upon you at Hell's gate. But you didn't belong there, hell, you don't belong anywhere on this moon you were so kindly shoved into existence on.

But you were glad that there was another human there that was your age. His name was Spider and you think he's stupid, especially when he tries to hiss. You adore him, but he gets on your nerves sometimes.

"I wish I could breathe outside like you. It's so unfair," he said one day.

You were watching a video about earth when he strutted in, and stared at you for five minutes straight, before finally speaking. You peek over the screen in favor of looking him in the eyes when you respond. "Sorry we couldn't salvage any of the tech they used to experiment and torture me for an ability I did not ask for. Though it would've been better if you waited for them to make it to subject 14, maybe by then they'd be working on people like me but with tails so they can make tsaheylu."

He shook his head, unraveling his crossed arms. "Okay, sorry. But that wasn't what I meant. You know that."

You shrug. "I don't know what you need my lungs for when you can just stay here with me and just…not go outside, to a world where everything tries to kill ya." You see him giving you a pointed look.

"But you don't even stay here all the time like that, I also envy how Jake gets you himself and teaches you how to survive here. Like, are you kidding me? The Chief himself? And he's practically adopted you." He mumbles the last part.

 You wonder if he sees the arrangement as  special treatment. You don't see it as such but of course, leave it to Spider to overthink things. If he pursues this logic, as ridiculous as it is, he might even one day think that Jake sees you as part of his family. Fool.

"He tries, and I have no idea why. I'm just going with it because I respect him and I believe he's doing it because for some reason (you sigh) he sees me as his responsibility. He's got like what, six kids? Ain't that enough brats to handle?"

"He's teaching you all that stuff because it's all you need since you can breathe their air, all that's left is for you to learn skills and stuff. Y'know, stuff scientists can't inject on you." he says as he plops himself up on a table. "And he's got four."

You roll your eyes, before they flickered to his legs, freshly smeared with spartan fruit, dyed to mimic the Na'vi body stripes. He sees you looking and sighs once again. "You see what I do to try and feel like I belong with them?"

"You certainly belong with them more than I do, you grew up here, and you get along with his children too."

"More like they tolerate me." He rolls his eyes.

"Their mom tolerates you, the kids like you." You drop the datapad on the table to completely focus on him. "That's something, isn't it? At least the kids don't hate you. His eldest glares at me like I personally offended his ancestors."

"Oh, they don't hate you. You don't exactly make it easy to approach you."

"Yeah, well I'm not that interested in making friends, ok? I've got you already. In any case, I think you might as well be part of their family with the amount of time you spend around them."

"I still think being able to breathe the same air as them would help a lot," he replies. 

Sometimes you still miss him.

You do hope that he's still alive…unless he's in a situation where dying is much more preferable.

Naturally, since Jake Sully more or less became your guardian, you had to leave with them. You didn't mind really, and you felt a kind of loyalty towards him, loyalty that's bordering on obsequiousness, and it scares you because you know you would do anything he asks of you (so you've gotten good at hiding before he gets the chance).

And that same loyalty made you feel anger again for the first time in a long while. 

"Absolutely not." Ronal says, the moment her eyes landed on you, she's already decided. 

You feel blood rush to your ears, your fingers digging into your palms as you feel everyone's eyes on you. You knew what Jake's family was thinking. That Neyteri was right and that they shouldn't have taken you with them. Now, they were moments away from finally convincing the chief to let them stay, and your mere presence ruined it. You hated the fact that they would be rejected, and sent away because of you. You knew you'd cause an inconvenience, everyone did, yet they just had to drag you along.

You were seriously even considering friendship with them, since you don't have a Hell's Gate to hide in, no Spider. Now they're all you've got. And you thought that maybe they don't hate you that much. But now the inconvenience of your presence was palpable, you realize that you've got no right to even think about friendship.

"She's one of us…" 

You could hear Jake in the background, voice too muddled because you couldn't focus, you didn't want to focus, because if you did, you'd hear what they had to say, and when you do, you wouldn't be able to help but formulate a response, and then you'd never be able to keep your mouth shut like Jake practically begged you to. So you bit your lip, kept your eyes on the ground, and held your tongue.

⌛🌊⌛

You yawn as you stretch, popping a few joints here and there. You step out of your new home with the Sullys, which was what they called a marui. You look up at the blue sky, then down at the blue sea. Then you catch some of the reef folks giving you the stink eye. You glare back and they shuffle away with a grimace, all pride and indignation. You really wanted to give those blue, lanky-ass grumps a good throttling.

"Stop glaring at the locals, dad told us to behave." The eldest of the Sully kids say as he steps out, already geared up for the day. You look up at him. "He only meant it for you troublemakers. Also, it wouldn't matter if I behaved or not." 

It didn't matter because they would always find something to be displeased about when it came to you.

 

You knew that he knew exactly what you meant and you walked away. Then you went padding right back, then past him to grab the book you forgot from inside the marui. You feel his gaze at you as you leave until you rounded a corner, walking far away to go look for a hiding spot for the rest of the day. 

You plan on making the most of your freedom before Jake masters whatever water animal it is he's practicing on, because then he'll have time to spare on you. 

You hear someone call out your name.

You turn and watch as Kiri sprints her way towards you. You squint up at her, almost blinded at the bright smile she was sending down at you. What an angel. 

"Now, where are you skulking off to again?"

"Anywhere that's far enough."

She looks around comically. "I don't think dad would appreciate you migrating off to another island for your reading time."

"Haha, very funny." You say, trailing off awkwardly, not knowing how to further contribute to the small talk she was obviously initiating.

She giggles as she proceeds to walk ahead, slow enough to let you know that she wants to walk alongside you.

"Look, I just…" she starts, waving her hands a little as she looks for the words she wants to say. "I don't think separating yourself from us is a good idea."

You say nothing, so she continues.

To be honest, it wasn't surprising of her to approach you about this. Of course they might care a smidge about you, like one would normally feel for a stray cat they occasionally give food to.

"They might see that. That we aren't that close. They might realize the distance you're creating and use it to their advantage, to try and hurt you."

"Then you underestimate people, and their capacity for cruelty."

"I think they'd be too disgusted to even try and approach me."

"Oh, I'm well aware of cruelty, I never underestimate anyone's capability for it. But I know I can be just as cruel. You can count on me to not be a pussy and let them trample on me."

"I know. But I think it's better if you don't go looking for trouble…" she says.

"What do you mean?" 

"I think it's better if you stay close to us, don't give them the opportunity to approach you. Don't give them a chance to get a rise out of you and cause conflict."

Oh but of course. Of course she wasn't worried about you, she just doesn't want you to cause more trouble for them. Fair enough. It was presumptuous of you to think that you'd even be on the same level as a stray cat.

"But I don't think your siblings would appreciate my presence around them. Believe me, I also don't want to cause anything bad for your family. Why'd you think I keep my distance for? I stay far away from you, because I know that they'll attempt to provoke me, maybe possibly even try to hurt me, get rid of me, or kill me. I stay far so no one will get involved. The conflict would be contained. Just me. Get it? " 

You stop, and she turns to you with an even more worried look on her face as she scans your features. "That's a valid point," you say.

She stammers, struggling to reply as her cheeks darkened. What she was getting worked up for, you do not know. But you do hope that your genuine wish to not cause problems for them would set her mind at ease.

You walk off.

⌛🌊⌛

You think that perhaps they shouldn't worry too much about you causing trouble, when they can't keep away from it themselves.

You hear Jake's voice from inside the tent. He was seething, and you watch as Lo'ak, the second son, walks out of the marui, his face bruised. He huffs as he pushes past you. You decide against loitering around there like a nosy eavesdropper, not wanting to come face to face with anyone from the tent. Then Neteyam walks out of the Marui. He raises an eyebrow at you, then you turn your back, about to escape from the reaches of the flame, or at least tried to.

"And you," Jake calls out. 

You turn towards him, and you see Neteyam grab this opportunity to vanish.

"You're coming with me."

"...um, no. I don't think so."

From the corner of your eyes, you see Neteyam pause, then pivot towards you, probably with a 'the fuck?' look on his face, the usual one he sends towards you.

Jake narrows his eyes as he stares you down, and you gulp.

"What I meant was, I am not ready yet, sir. I would like to have more time to gather my  courage, please." 

You hear Neteyam scoff.

Jake's brows drew together, deep in thought. You knew you had at least a little bit of a chance that he might relent when he takes his time to decide. If you had no chance at all, then he wouldn't have to think about it. You knew he was too busy for you, and you were right.

"Fine. But prepare yourself. I won't be as lenient once your training starts. You have a lot to learn." 

You, in your relief, grinned up at him. He blinks, clearly taken aback, his stern gaze softening. How it baffled you even more, when he nodded and patted you on the head, before striding off.

You almost burst out laughing when you catch Neteyam gawking at you. You try to keep your lips from curling into a smug, shit-eating grin for his sake. You failed.

⌛🌊⌛

You hate how that exchange improved your mood so much. It was revolting, the way the world seemed so much brighter after receiving a pat on the head from your saviour. You must've been a lot more lonely than you let yourself realize.

Perhaps Jake knew, because he went ahead and dragged you with them to dinner. The dreaded communal gathering that you've been avoiding.

You should've attended these gatherings sooner.

You loved watching the reef folk squirm under your blank stare. And since Jake successfully mastered riding a skimwing, his reputation improved significantly. The reef folk are more careful not to offend him and his people now, at least in front of the chief. Now you can creep them out without having to worry about getting beat up (at least not right now).

The fun was cut off though, when Neteyam notices what you've been doing. He was onto you at once, smiling politely at the people he passed, then as he reaches you,  his smile falls into a scowl. He leans down to you and whispers "will you stop doing that." It was more of a hiss, really. His smile was back again as he pulls away.

For the rest of the night, you can feel his gaze on you. You don't see your life flashing before your eyes, so it probably wasn't a glare anymore. It was unnerving, still. Especially since he's also, quite obviously hovering around you. He wasn't even trying to hide it, like a reminder, a warning.

It was a pretty nice distraction though. At least it was a far cry from the kind of looks you always get from the reef people. Granted, you kind of deserve it for creeping them out with your perfectly practiced, blank eyes, but they wouldn't receive such disturbing stares if they weren't looking at you in the first place. Since the beginning, they look at you like you were a walking direhorse shit. Except for that one girl named Tsireya. You could practically feel her curious stares like laser beams. At least they hurt less than the usual repulsion. Ah. Hurt. Yes, of course it hurts. No amount of bitterness and pretense of indifference can protect you from your very human weaknesses. The desire to be a part of a community. How completely alone you are now, without Spider, without those agreeable middle-aged scientists back in Hell's Gate, who exerted so much effort into building rapport with you. Tsireya's curious gaze is refreshing.

And as if she was summoned with the mere thought of her, Tsireya taps you gently on the shoulders. You meet her squinting eyes, sparkling with mirth, with your dead ones.

"Hi," she says

"Hi," you answer.

She looks down, still smiling. Shouldn't you say something? But she's the one who approached you, if anyone's gotta say something it should be her. 

You watch as she purses her lips in thought. Then she meets your gaze again.

"I apologize. I've never met a human before, and don't really know how to say what I want to say exactly the way I mean them."

You feel a bit warm, right in the chest because she talks so gently and she's so nice and her voice doesn't bear any disgust or hostility…

"What I do want to say is that," she continues. "I would like to be your friend."

"No, thank you."

Observe, the way her eyebrows meet but with anger so nonexistent, its absence apparent in the way her lips form a pout, her eyes glistening in dismay. You know she feels guilty because of the way her villagers have been treating you. You start to feel a little guilty yourself, but her mortification at your unexpected rejection of her offer of friendship gives you that unhinged sense of satisfaction. It gives fuel to the tiny flames licking at the hollow feeling in your knees. It was exhilarating.

You knew Neteyam was watching, too stunned to try and save the day.

You also knew that her brother was watching, his body tensing at the sight of his upset sister. He was far enough away to give you time, and you wait as he pushes himself off the tree he was leaning against, his eyes burning holes at the side of your head.

"You wouldn't gain anything by becoming friends with me. If anything, it would probably upset your parents." You explain.

Tsireya shakes her head, and she grabs both of your hands. Your eyes widened at the contact. 

"I do not think you deserve the way you've been ostracized. You are different, yes. But you are not evil, not like the demons we've heard so much about. Let me be your friend, we can show them that you are not one of those demons."

You did not expect this reaction, and you look around, hoping that no one other than her brother and Neteyam was looking, fat chance because everyone in the village has been blatantly looking at the two of you the moment she took your hands in hers.

"How do you even know that I'm not one of them?" 

Aonung reached the two of you, his lips curling in disgust at the sight of your hand in his sister's.

"I have a feeling. And let us confirm this feeling of mine by spending more time together!" She gives you an earnest smile.

You wanted to shoot her down again and reject her, this time right in front of her brother, just out of spite. But with her round, bright eyes, her genuine smile and reassuring grasp, you couldn't do it.

"If you really want to, I guess." You shrug, trying to appear nonchalant, even as she squeals, shaking your hands as she gleefully bounces up and down. You wanted to smile too.

"Do you wish to be one of us or something?" Aonung asks, clearly giving his all to appear civilized.

"No." You answer simply, and as fast as you can before you could think of a rude answer.

You notice everyone losing interest in your conversation with the chief's children. The reef people are slowly getting back to mind their own businesses. You don't want to gain their scrutinizing gaze once again, and upsetting these two kids would. 

"Then why are you trying to associate yourself with my sister?"

"Aonung," Tsireya groans. "I was the one who asked her first. I'm the one who wants to be friends."

Aonung ignores her as he steps closer towards you, his eyes flickering over to Jake before down again at yours. You couldn't help but steal a glance at Jake too, only to find him too busy talking with Tonowari, the chief. You meet Aonung's gaze once again, this time he was wearing a predatory grin.

"A human, a demon, trying to worm its way into somewhere it doesn't belong. That's what you are. Do not forget."

You take a deep breath, feeling the cool night air stretch your lungs as you try to resist the urge to deck him, right in front of his own village.

"What's up?" Lo'ak saunters toward your friendly group, both his arms resting on top of his head in a lazy manner. His clueless gaze shifting from Tsireya, then to you, then at Aonung. "Am I interrupting something?"

Simultaneously, the metkayina siblings answer a negative and a positive.

"Great, what is this? The gathering of freaks?" Aonung laughs. Neteyam winces, his eyes burning a fiery glare that you've become familiar with.

Kiri follow behind Lo'ak, sheepishly looking at you through her eyelashes.

"It must be, since you're here too." You say before Neteyam could even open his mouth.

The other three, Lo'ak, Kiri, and Tsireya blanches at your answer, the two other 'freaks' not even given enough time to feel offended. Silence ensues and you could almost hear the gears in Aonung's brain as he processes your unexpected retort. It definitely wasn't one of your best, and you cringe.

Lo'ak all but explodes in raucous laughter, causing eyes and heads to turn in your direction once again.

Aonung's sharp eyes flicker once again towards the direction where his father and Jake were, before huffing as he slowly backs away.

"That's right. Enjoy yourself tonight. It is a party after all."

He was definitely going to have you killed.

You know you've contradicted yourself when you told Kiri that you do not want to cause them trouble, only to later start provoking reef people. You managed to not make a scene (you kinda did) and ruin the party (you nearly did) though. That's something.

"What was that?" Neteyam asked, eyebrows slanted downwards in disapproval. You shrug. "Some guy walked up on me and started spouting shit?"

He huffs, clearly irritated. "You've obviously been annoying people on purpose," he says in a low voice, so as to not gain more attention. 

"It was me who approached her!" Tsireya whispers, vehemently defending you.

"What happened?" Lo'ak asks, also whispering, his head bent and leaning towards you.

"We all know you've been making others feel uncomfortable on purpose." Neteyam says to you.

You scoff. "Story of my life in a nutshell."

"What?"

"I only treat people the way they treat me, Neteyam. They glare at me and it doesn't matter if I ignore them, they'll still see me as a monster and treat me like shit. I just decided to have fun with it."

Neteyam sighs. He looks around before meeting your gaze once again. "Just stop with the troublemaking, it's the least you can do."

You wanted to rip your hair off. 

"Well, I'm sorry then. Sorry for terrorizing the metkayina people by mirroring their stares!" You flip Neteyam off, mouthing a very aggressive 'fuck you'. He gapes at you, mortified. You shake your head, muttering a tiny "shit" as you leave, already regretting the way you handled things, but still leaving as fast as you can to escape.

…

"You kinda deserved that." Lo'ak states.

Neteyam gives him an offended look, before also shaking his head as he walks off to the opposite direction, his head filled with thoughts of you.

[littleoddwriter]

Hello. I am so happy that you've started your journey to a happier and truer you.

I was wondering if you could write a Mark Hoffman fic with a male reader where the reader is another Jigsaw apprentice but unlike Amanda they try to be civil with Mark and try not to be rude. They are generally a nice/civil person so Mark starts to wonder how/why they even became a Jigsaw apprentice. Mark questions(more like interrogates) the reader and it turns out they were failed by the justice system and wanted revenge(how they were failed is up to you). Mark's reaction is up to you as well

Why Are You Here? | Mark Hoffman & Male!Reader (Platonic/Pre-Relationship)

Hey there! Thank you so much!!! <3 And thanks for the request (and waiting so patiently), I hope you like what I did with it! summary; See above. notes; Male!Reader (can be read gender neutral); Jigsaw Apprentices; Mentions of Past Abuse & Murder; Reader's ex was abusive.

Ko-Fi. Ao3.

All his life, Mark has had trust issues. It’s always just been him and his sister; and after her untimely death, his issues only became worse. He couldn’t trust anyone anymore, least of all himself. Not that he’d ever admit that to anyone. But it shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering that he failed to protect his sister. How could he ever trust himself again after failing and losing the only person that ever mattered to him?

After he’s been forced to help John Kramer, aka Jigsaw, Mark was always on edge. He couldn’t let anybody know, of course. Nobody at the police department could ever so much as get an inkling of what he was doing when he wasn’t at the station. 

So, when Jigsaw suddenly had a new apprentice, Mark was extremely cautious. He wasn’t good with people anyway. He didn’t get along with Amanda at all and never would. He found her obnoxious. But she’s been there for a while now, and Mark knew that she’d never do anything to sabotage John or his cause. Thus, Mark just ignored her as best as he could if he had to work with her.

He didn’t know what to think of the new one, though. Y/F/N Y/L/N. 

Of course, he’s already done a background check on you, but nothing came up. Nothing was sealed away from your youth, either. You didn’t even have a parking ticket. A law-abiding citizen. A goody two shoes, so to speak.

So, what the Hell were you doing here, working for a self-righteous murderer? 

For weeks, Mark worked alongside you. He didn’t say much and just went about his tasks stoically, while you were smiling at him, asking him kindly for tools, attempting to make small talk with him, and so on and so forth. It was aggravating at first. And then it became confusing because you couldn’t possibly be sincere with your kindness. Right? Eventually, he found himself… captivated by your demeanour. 

Nonetheless, he didn’t really acknowledge you most of the time, wordlessly handing you the things you asked for, or grunting in answer when you greeted him, asked him how his day’s been; things like that. 

After several weeks of this, though, he couldn’t quite let go of his curiosity, regarding your presence as Jigsaw’s apprentice. You were usually responsible for the machinery and mechanics, more so than Mark or Amanda were, now that John was too weakened to even lift up a hammer.

The two of you were alone, tinkering on a trap for the next game. John was in bed, somewhere down the halls of the warehouse, sleeping. And Amanda was near him, hovering over his sick, weakened self with a keen eye and deep anxiety. 

“Why are you here?” Mark asked bluntly after a few minutes of focusing on the task at hand. 

“What do you mean?” you retorted with a raised eyebrow, twisting a screw in tightly. 

“You know what I mean,” Mark grunted, annoyed, “What are you doing here, as a Jigsaw apprentice? You have no criminal record, no history. So, why?”

“You were checking up on me? Aw, Hoffman!” you teased him, avoiding his question. 

Huffing, Mark rolled his eyes at you. “Stop avoiding my question and just answer it,” he said lowly, but in a commanding tone, as though he was interrogating a suspect. 

For a moment, you turned away from him, twisting the pair of pliers in your hands. He could see the tension in your shoulders. And when you turned back to him, your jaw was clenched. 

“I’m here because our so-called justice system is utter bullshit. What John is doing may not be morally correct, but it’s a whole lot more just than the system,” you muttered darkly, tightening your hand around the pair of pliers to the point of your knuckles turning white. 

There was a pause before you continued. Clearly, it was difficult for you to speak about what exactly happened to you, and Mark felt a twinge of sympathy for you.

“My ex was an abusive piece of shit. Physical, emotional, psychological. You name it. He did it.” You exhaled sharply and shakily. “When I had the guts to call the police on his ass, they didn’t really do much. They said they couldn’t, but I knew why they refused to really help me. Because it certainly wasn’t the lack of evidence.

“I packed my essentials and left instead. I tried to go as far as I could with the little money and energy I had after he attacked me because of my call to the police. But he soon got a hold of me again, hurt and nearly killed the people who tried to help me, who gave me shelter. And then he almost did the same with me. I just got lucky there…” There were tears in your eyes, still unshed, but visible to Mark. 

“The police did come and apprehend him that time, but it didn’t stick for long. The trial failed because of a technicality. All I wanted was to get justice. To have him rot in prison for what he did to me and probably others before, and now after, me. Now, I only want revenge,” you finished your story. Mark couldn’t lie to himself. It hit him hard. 

“Then why didn’t I see any of this when I checked your records?” Mark asked after composing himself for a moment. He didn’t want to let you know how much your story affected him. Not yet, at least.

“I had to change my name and move states because of it all. That’s why you couldn’t find anything on me,” you responded simply. It made sense. Of course you’d be forced to do that with your ex running free. 

Mark nodded in acknowledgement of what you said. 

“I understand where you’re coming from,” he commented quietly, “After my sister, Angelina, was killed by her abusive boyfriend, I also wanted revenge. And I took it.” Mark surprised himself with how much he was telling you. 

The sympathy you felt for Mark was almost palpable to him. It made him feel sick, but deep down he knew he needed it, craved it, even. 

“Did it make you feel better?” you asked him softly.

“No,” was his simple answer. It was the truth. It didn’t feel good to kill Seth, and it didn’t fix anything. His sister was still dead, and he still blamed himself. “But maybe it’ll be different for you. Give you closure,” he added.

“Yeah, maybe,” you echoed quietly with a soft sigh. 

After that, both of you moved on from the conversation and simply continued working. All the while, Mark thought about what you told him. It explained why you were at least civil toward him. Your kindness wasn’t fake. He’s seen it a lot in his time as a police officer with the many abuse victims he had to deal with. 

Before you both parted ways that night, Mark put a hand on your shoulder and said, “I hope you’ll heal.”

He didn’t wait for your response, leaving before you could even open your mouth. 

[razorblade180]

Tea? Venting? I don’t know

Ya know it’s kinda crazy I can still find people who absolutely can’t forgive Jaune for trying to court Weiss a few times but yet these same people recognize that Weiss and Blake are no longer a racist and a terrorist respectively.

Like I would understand if he was unhealthily obsessive, Weiss was genuinely pissed about the experience or actually told him directly to stop doing what he’s doing because it bothers her, but she truly couldn’t care less at the time and chalked it up to a boy after her name.

Canonically speaking, he flirted with her the first day, asked if she wanted to hangout after school one time, and then asked if she would go to dance with him potentially. After that he saw her pursue someone else and he went about his life. Was he a little cringe? Absolutely. But he never devalued or disrespected Weiss for his own selfish reasons? Not once. He’s just a dude who genuinely liked a girl for reasons he explained and gave a few separate and respectful attempts that weren’t “date me” but scenarios to hangout and talk.

Also, nobody ever wants throw shade on their friends who kinda encourage him to try again, or at the very least not stop immediately because Weiss wasn’t actually bothered nor was Jaune legitimately going too far.

Now I know someone says “If someone says no to a hangout then clearly-” Listen, I get it, and I understand. Real world speaking, people should have that level of self awareness and respect to try once. However, the real world also has many people that have the mindset that courting should involve someone being persistent and playing hard to get must be done. It sucks. Can’t stand it, but also those people aren’t just going to go away. At best it’s a case by case basis were individuals know to be respectful and communicate.

Back to the fictional show though, I’ve also seen people comment “I can’t believe he never apologized.” Bruh, Weiss and Jaune save each other often and talk kindly to one another. Weiss has no ax to grind with him about their history so why do you? She’s not losing sleep over it. Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if both of them missed the teenage drama of Beacon Days. Would it be nice if they had a conversation and he brought up how cringe he was towards her? Yeah it would be a sweet moment but also funny from Weiss’s perspective because she’s 100% self aware enough to know that him getting hung up on that flaw is so wild compared to thinking about her former flaws. I can totally see Weiss downplaying it for her own sake by going “Don’t worry about it. We both said and did some…embarrassing things back things back then.” As she tries not to think about how she drew Sun and called him a filthy faunus. 💀

In Summary, Weiss ain’t trippin about it, so why should you? They’re literally friends.

By the way, we don’t have a have single legitimate scene of Blake acknowledging to Yang that leaving without a word letter to give was really fucked up, and yet they’re fine and dating. If you can accept that unspoken apology, you can accept this.

[artyandink]

𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚜 | 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎!𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛 | 𝟹

Summary: Ivonne Rainer hadn’t met Dean Winchester in 2006 after he was hit by a car. No, this time, this universe, they met in 2010, when the whole Apocalypse deal started and Dean was made leader of one of the only remaining survival camps in America. Little did he know, one random raid would change everything.

STATIC

I was sharpening a machete by a fire outside, sitting on a log alone while everyone else were in their tents, fast asleep, the lucky bastards. It had been about a week since my confrontation with Winchester, and I’d catch him glaring daggers at me every time I passed by or did so much as breathe the same air as him. Like I cared about what that jackass thought; he just had an overinflated sense of self-importance. I gripped the brimstone tight in my hand, sharply sliding it across the sides, then I lifted the blade to my finger and made the lightest incision with it, and with barely any pressure, I got a smooth cut. I nodded, holding it up to the light in satisfaction before chucking it into the pile of other meticulously sharpened machetes. 

I stared into the fire for a moment, watching the flames swat the air like it had something against the thing keeping as alive. My jaw clenched a little, and then I rubbed my face, my eyes closing for a second- 

Gunshots. Screams. His face as he stood above me, gun pointed at my forehead, finger on the trigger. 

I immediately opened my eyes again, jerking and almost falling off my seat as I took my hand off my face. “My god, you should be used to this by now.” Tear pricked at my eyes, but I closed my eyes, shaking them off and the moisture clearing like it was never there as I cleared my throat. Then I heard the slightest of crunching leaves, and I raised my eyebrows, smirking. “If you wanna sneak up on me, you’re gonna have to try a thousand times harder.” I turned to see James there, a small smile playing over his lips. His hair was messed up slightly by the wind as he sat down, drinking from a bottle.

“I brought you a beer.” He held up one more bottle, holding it out to me. “To thank you for… saving my ass. And dragging yours across the coals.” 

“Eh, it’s nothin’.” I smiled, taking it gladly and cracking it open with my thumb before taking a sip, then chuckled. “He’s a jackass.” 

“Language.” He grinned, nudging me slightly. “But I’m curious, cause nobody’s talked to the boss like that before. And I mean nobody. You’ve got guts.” 

“I don’t respond well to authority.” I shrugged, frowning a bit. “Being ordered around ain’t my strong suit. Never was.” I took a long sip, gulping down the liquid and exhaling as it soothed my jumpy nerves a little. “You’ve never spoken to him like that? Ever?”

”Well, being fair, I was a police officer, namely detective sergeant.” James vouched, taking a sip of his beer. “Responding to authority without question? Kinda my job.” 

“Touché.” I paused, then turned to him. “So, where you from, Serge?” 

“M’from Austin, but when I joined the force, I moved to Baltimore, then New York. Baltimore’s where I met the boss, after I arrested him on suspicion for the murder of one Karen Giles.” He grinned, swirling the contents of his beer, the fire illuminating his rugged features a little too well. “And you, Miss Mysterious?”

”I was born in Jersey, spent half of my life there before my family moved to Lebanon, though I had no idea why they’d choose there of all goddamn places.” 

“And the immune business, if you don’t mind me askin’?” 

I cast him an uneasy glance. People would not take kindly to this, but James, with his kind green eyes, seemed to be someone I could confide in. Yeah, he… did. “Well, I don’t know where it came from, exactly. It just appeared when I was nineteen and it’s been with me since. There was a brief period where Hell sent a demon that carved a rune in my arm to prevent me from usin’ it, but I got that off after a bit. And, uh, I don’t know, the one time I came close to understanding all that is when I was 26. There was this… fight to the death between all the psychics. I don’t know why I was there; I wasn’t 22 and I certainly didn’t have abilities quite like theirs, mine was more destructive. More developed, obviously. But I had to choose to protect one kid, and I chose a good one. His name was Sam, but he died that evenin’, I escaped and never heard of him since.” 

“Damn.” Was all he could manage, then a thought seemed to cross his mind. “You know the hippie cabin?” 

“The one I’ve been warned against when it’s 3 o’clock?” 

“The very same. I think I know a guy who could help.” 

…

“Huh.”

The next morning, I had my hands in my leather jacket’s pockets as I strolled up to the hippie cabin, where James was leaning against the wooden wall, his broad arms folded across his chest. He gave me a wink, pushing off the wall as he approached me casually. “Hey there, pretty lady.” 

The statement made me laugh a little, and I looked him in the eye with a raised brow. “Pretty lady? Really?” 

“Can’t fault a man for speaking facts.” 

“Let flirting, more walkin’, sweet talker, I’ve got priorities.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” James then led me inside the cabin, where I could see a dude with tousled black hair and a beard dressed in pyjamas and doing yoga on an over-embellished mat. Is this the guy? 

If so, I don’t see the appeal. 

Then the dude’s eyes opened, and he turned to me with a rather dreamy, stoned-looking expression. “James. I hope you’ve been feeling at peace with yourself.”

”Kind of hard to, Cas, but thank you.” So his name was… Cas.

“This is the guy?” I whispered to James, who nodded. 

“Bear with him, he’s smarter than he lets on.” 

“And you…” Cas pointed at me, standing up and walking over to me, and I looked up at him. Every man in this goddamn place seemed to be taller than me. Damn bein’ 5’ 7”. “I know you.” 

“Do you, now?” I scoffed, folding my arms defensively, but I had the inkling he was right. There was something about this Cas dude that made my hands tingle weirdly, and I did not like it one bit. 

“Uh… Ivy?” James muttered, nudging me. 

“What?” 

“Your eyes are glowing blue.” I glanced in a mirror, and indeed I saw my eyes glowing blue. I hadn’t seen them do that since this whole pandemic started, and especially not when I could completely control my powers. 

“Yes, I know.” Cas pointed at me, a smile breaking out on his face. “Ivonne Hazel Rainer.” 

“He knows your name.” 

“I got that, James.” I hissed back. He knows my middle name. Only me and one other person knows my middle name. “Uh… how do you know me?”

”I can feel your power.” Cas continued airily, and put his finger on my forehead, making me jump back in shock. The hell-

“Hey, hey, easy on the contact!” 

“You’ve grown stronger than I imagined.” 

“Elaborate, please!” 

“If we are going to have this conversation, I’d rather have it privately.” He shot a pointed glance at James, who nodded sheepishly and headed out, and I looked after him. Don’t leave me with this weirdo-

“So.” I gulped, looking him in the eye. “I’ve had these powers since ‘99. That’s a whoppin’ eleven years, if you minus the one where they were taken away. You wanna tell me what the hell they are or will I have to force it out?” The threat made him quirk an eyebrow and laugh softly, which stumped me. People were usually either pissed off or scared outta their wits. This guy was way too stoned to be either. 

“I never knew you’d be this… skilled… but I also never anticipated how feisty you are.” 

“Who even uses feisty anymore?” 

He seemed to ignore me, looking me in the eye. “I’d have thought you’d be able to hear the thoughts of everyone on this camp, but you seemed to have learnt to tune those thoughts out. Bravo. Anyway, that’s not why you’re here. My name is Castiel, and I am an angel of the Lord.” 

“Angel of the Lord- is that a boy band?” 

“I wish it was, it would be a rather popular band, if it did exist, but no. I’m an angel.” 

An angel? Angel?

”You’re kiddin’ me.” I chuckled nervously, shaking my head. “You’re pulling my leg. An angel- how thick do you think I am, huh?” I then took a good look at him, and his expression told me he wasn’t lying. “You’re serious.” 

“Yes.” He nodded. “And I’m glad you decided to stay. And it seems like your good powers are amplified in my presence.” 

“They feel like it.” I gulped, my body feeling tingly. An unfamiliar kind of tingly. “And why’s that?” 

“Because those powers of yours were transferred to you by me.” Castiel admitted, taking a good look at me. “From your brother, just before his… you know.” 

“You gave me these?” 

“Yes. Your brother would have been corrupted, just like the other psychics like him. I saw that you would do a better job with your abilities, and use them for the greater good. I just wish I could have found you sooner, or if Dean had met you sooner. You were meant to play a bigger part in this than you realise, Ivonne.” 

“W-What?” I stammered, frowning a bit as I held up my hand. “Slow down. Why am I important?” 

“You are what us angels called the Saviour.” He admitted, holding up one hand with his palm flat and facing the ceiling. “But you are also, to demons, the Destroyer.” He did the same with the other hand. “To both, you are the Balance. A human, a singular human, whose actions have an equilibrium between good and bad consequences. You were meant to choose one, and fight the other side in the Apocalypse. But you didn’t make that choice. I have a feeling that all this could be prevented had you met Dean. He would need a level mind, but I sense that it’s no longer as stable.” He took a closer look, stepping forward. “You’re troubled.” 

“Never mind that.” I snapped defensively, shrinking back a little. “Just tell me, is there any point in making the decision now?” 

“Not anymore.” Cas shook his head solemnly. “Even if you did choose the Saviour, Lucifer is far too powerful to be stopped with your powers alone. And we may need your… evil… powers as well.” Then he stepped forward again. “Be prepared to use your powers. They will come in handy. And while you’re still here, the orgy is at three o’clock, if you wish to join-“ 

“And… we’re done here.” I coughed, now aware of what goes on at three in the afternoon. “Thanks for the help, really appreciate it-“

”Ivy.” Risa popped her head through the door, smiling slightly at Cas. “Dean’s calling you.” 

“Right.” I groaned, stepping out of the tent and following her. “Please remind me to stay calm and not deck him.” 

“Stay calm and don’t deck him.” She laughed. “Look, I know he gets under your skin, but just trust the guy. He’s kept us alive thus far.” 

“Trust is a goddamn privilege, Risa.” I scoffed before reaching Winchester’s cabin. I knocked on the door, and heard a grunt from the other side. 

I’ll take that as an invitation. 

I walked in, hands in my pockets as I expected to see the bossman glaring at me, but no, he was smirking. I frowned a little; why’s he so happy to see me? 

“There she is.” He chuckled lowly, his fingers tapping the table in an insistent rhythm. “Miss I-Don’t-Care.” 

“Missed me, jackass?” I retorted, tilting my head slightly. His smirk was almost too smug, he had a glint in his eye and he was looking at me as if he was ready to see me pissed off. He’s up to something. 

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t dream of it.” Winchester then took a good look at me, and I shifted on my spot, slightly uneasy. The hell is he thinking? “I did some digging. Went on the radio, fetched some contacts. Turns out you’re not quite the Miss Golden you play yourself out to be.” 

“The hell are you talkin’ about?” 

He rubbed down his mouth in one stroke as he did, taking a sharp breath in through his nose. “There were seven years.” I froze; I knew what seven years he was talking about. “Seven years, from 1999 until 2006 where there were some pretty whacked up crime scenes left of monsters across the states. They were kept quiet, but other hunters knew what was happenin’. Vampires, werewolves, djinn, all found dead in abandoned lots and/or buildings, and the death was quick. Painless. Done before the hunters even got wind of the case. Now, they all fit one M.O., of one hunter called Michael Rainer, but there was a big problem with that- he was dead. Now, those guys knew that he had a daughter who he trained to be the best of us and my pops knew it too, so they chalked it up to pretty, little, lippy Ivonne Rainer.” 

“That’s crap.” I retorted quietly, but it was far from. It was the truth. My hand balled into a fist, and he seemed to notice that, the satisfaction evident on his face at seeing me grow steadily more pissed.

“It’s reality.” He smirked, getting closer. “Now, why was Michael Rainer’s obedient little jellybean-“ My blood boiled when he used my father’s nickname for me, “throwin’ a seven year long temper tantrum? Huh? Oh, wait, you could put it down to the night her family were murdered in ‘99, ‘cept your younger sister, who died of cancer three months prior and dear ol’ daddy was found with his heart carved out.” 

“Don’t talk about that.” 

“Or what?” He challenged, and I felt like a bomb ready to explode on him. “Your pregnant mom and youngest sister were found with knives in their throats and Carter with two bullet holes in his chest, and you know what? I think after all that, you’re definitely whacked out of your gourd. I was thinkin’ it would take some time for you to go psycho, but you already have-“ I lunged forward, pinning him harshly to the wall using my forearm on his jugular. But then he twisted us around, now caging me against the wall with his hand on my throat, not squeezing but letting me know it was there in case he was driven to. 

“You asshole!” 

“Listen here, sweetheart.” He drawled, getting real close to my face, his jaw set. “You’re only in this camp because, quite literally, Bob’s your uncle, otherwise I’d have your smartass out back on those Croat-ridden streets.” 

“That’s funny, cause I’m only here ‘cause of Bobby.” I spat, gritting my teeth as my hand reached up to grip his wrist as my eyes glowed red. “Where is he?” 

“Oh, I’ve hit a nerve.” 

“WHERE IS HE?!” 

“GONE!” He yelled, and it was like everything shattered inside of me. My last remaining family. Dead. And this… this jackass, he… 

No. 

“You’re lying.” I refused, my eyes glowing a more intense red. “You’re lying, goddamnit! He’s not- he’s not gone!”

”He is, princess.” He growled. “I saw it happen.” 

“Give me…” I seethed, my eyes pricking with tears that I desperately bit back. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t tear you apart.” 

“Go on.” Winchester challenged. “Do it. See how your new buddies would take to you then.” 

I had half a mind to do it. 

To let go, and to start peeling him apart, but a part of me told me no, that this isn’t what Bobby would have wanted. For his niece to go blind with rage and kill a man who he practically raised. I gritted my teeth, then pried his hand off my neck, my eyes returning back to grey. “No.” I whispered, then sized him up, which didn’t work since he had 6 inches on me, but I did it anyway. I didn’t care who he was, who anyone was. I knew that would kill me at some point, but it’s kept me alive thus far. “You’re not worth it.” Then I walked out, looking at a Jeep that just arrived with the latest scavenge team. I wanted to break down, cry, destroy something, tear something apart without even touching it, but I didn’t have it in me. Not when Bobby…

A choked cry tore at my throat just as a small buzz of static whirred at the back of my mind, my eyes involuntarily glowing blue as it got stronger and stronger as the men unloaded from the Jeep. They all exchanged beers as my head pounded, that relentless buzzing taking over my mind and clouding it. I clamped my hands over my ears, but that only made the pounding worse. 

Risa jogged up to me, looking concerned as James tagged behind. James took my face in his hands, saying something that I didn’t hear, but my rusty lip reading skills told me he was saying ‘Look at me’, but I couldn’t, not when something was wrong. Really wrong. 

My eyes focused on one man in the back of the just-arrived group, and the static got to its worst, taking in the details of the man. His blood-splattered face, his red-rimmed eyes, the tired look on his face, and the static banging against my brain and tiring it out. It was like it was amplified tenfold, but something registered in my head. 

Without even thinking too much, I pulled out my gun, aiming at the man and pulling the trigger. The bullet whizzed through the air and got the man right in the temple, sending him collapsing to the floor as easily as I’d crush a piece of paper in my hand. I breathed heavily as I stared at the body, and the gun was instantly wrestled out of my hand. 

My mind was silent. No more static. 

Just… emptiness. 

“Ivy?!” James exclaimed angrily, turning me to face him. “The hell was that?!”