#That lollipop was stolen from a baby thanks for asking!

[devildarlindumbass]

How it feels to be The devil's advocate

[rutlancecf]

My sweet little baby, who is your favorite hero?

At the Charm City police station, Superman, whose secret identity is Jonathan Samuel Kent, seemed to be lost in thought. Which was to be expected after witnessing what had happened half an hour ago.

A little three-year-old boy, running down the street after his kitten, had stopped a moving vehicle using only his little hands.

The car in question had been stolen during a robbery of an antique store, and had fled at high speed. A puppy that age would not be able to stop it with his bare hands.

Unless... the infant was a metahuman.

There was no other explanation.

And at the same time, that explained a few things.

You see, that wasn't the first time Jonathan had seen the little puppy, no. He had met him a couple of weeks ago, when an incident with a latte had caused the reporter he was assisting to cancel an important interview with the Wayne Security staff. He was sitting on a bench in a park near the place, when he saw the little boy follow a white kitten with blue eyes, with black spots on its head and tail, until it climbed a tree. And the boy did the same, and just when he managed to catch it, they both fell from the branch they were holding on to. Frightened, Jon managed to catch them, using his super speed, thus avoiding the possible accident, without anyone suspecting. But as soon as he put the boy and his cat on the ground, that's when something happened that left him with many doubts.

Dick Grayson, also known in the heroic community as Nightwing, came running almost out of breath, and lightly reprimanded the boy for suddenly running away.

That's when things got awkward between them as soon as Dick noticed his presence, since they hadn't been in contact for years, after what happened between Jon and Damian. Even more so, when the little boy, who was called Karim, started calling him uncle.

Before he could ask who the little puppy's son was, Dick explained that he had actually been asked to take care of the boy, since his mother was working with the security branch of Wayne Enterprises, and since he was visiting for a police case, he gladly accepted. After that, he quickly said goodbye and left with Karim, but not before the boy thanked him for saving him and his kitten, Mr. Baubles, giving him a cherry-flavored lollipop.

And once again, Dick Grayson was there, not with the Charm City police, but once again he was taking care of little Karim, who had once again run after Mr. Baubles.

If the boy was a metahuman, and his mother worked in partnership with Wayne Enterprises, it made sense that he was being watched by the Bat-family, given the degree and level of both control and paranoia they displayed. And Dick would be the only one he could talk to about it, given that the others only spoke to him the bare minimum during an alien invasion, or other threat of colossal proportions.

- Superman. Superman.- One of the officers then spoke to him, who interrupted his train of thought.

- Huh? Yes, tell me, officer.-

- If you want, you can go. There's no need for you to stay here, I mean, in case you have something more important to do.-

Jon stared at the officer, and then looked at the little boy sitting in one of the chairs in the hallway, drinking an apple juice that someone had given him. It was true that he didn't need to stay there.

But he needed answers, and he wasn't going to leave without them.

- Actually, I need to talk about a case with Officer Grayson.- He said trying to justify his presence there.- I'll only leave if an emergency arises.-

But he hoped that wouldn't happen, he didn't want to lose the opportunity to know how dangerous Batman considered the three-year-old puppy to be, he had been through that, and it wasn't pleasant at first when he couldn't control his powers. He didn't want to imagine how Karim would feel when he found out, and he hoped that extreme measures wouldn't be taken, like separating him from his family at such a young age, that would be counterproductive for someone so small.

- Oh, okay.- The officer agreed without further ado.- If you need our help, just let us know.-

- Of course, thank you very much.-

- Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!-

The laughter made him turn his gaze to see what was happening, and what happened was that a female officer had put her police hat on Karim, who was laughing partly because it was too big for him.

- But just look at that!- The policewoman commented.- What a handsome guy we have here. Quite a hunk, just like his uncle.-

Karim covered his face a little embarrassed, what they found very cute to everyone present. And since Dick had already taken a while, Jonathan saw nothing wrong with starting a conversation with the little one.

- Hello, do you remember me?- He asked him while sitting down.

- Yes. You helped me save my kitten. Thank you.- The little one answered.

- It's nothing, it's part of my job as a superhero.- He clarified.- But next time, be more careful and don't walk around alone, you also have to look before crossing the streets. Your parents would be very worried if something were to happen to you.-

When he said that, Karim's face changed, becoming sad. But in a second, he became serious and determined.

- Yes, sir. I'll be more careful.-

This did not go unnoticed by the half-Kryptonian, so he changed the subject.

- Tell me, who is your favorite superhero?-

It was a safe topic, since he believed that it was a topic that all children liked, and if he was related to a metahuman, it was an easy way to find out who he could be related to without having to force him to confess.

- Mmm, I don't like superheroes.-

The answer surprised him, if he wasn't a hero, then the child would be related to a villain. It wasn't something unusual, because even criminals had their own family. But he wanted to make sure.

- Really? Not even Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman - And something a bit dramatic.- Not even me? -

- No. - And then he added. - Well, there is one. -

- Really? And who is it?-

- Sock with Diamonds Man!- He exclaimed excitedly, standing up in his seat.

Of all the beings in the Universe, it was not what he expected to hear.

- Sock... with Diamonds Man?- He asked bewildered.

- That's right! - He waved his little arms. - He's the best and he has powers! He can fly, and he's very strong, and, and, he has giantosis, and he's very smart! And he has a song -

- Oh!- One of the policemen joined the conversation.- Do you like Sock with Diamonds Man? He's my favorite hero too! -

And while they were recreating the scene where everyone turned to look at the screen when they mentioned this "hero", another of the officers explained in a low voice to the half-Kryptonian.

- He's a character from a Spanish-speaking children's show, where there are puppets and other things. Literally, he's a checkered sock with goggles.-

Jon covered his face with his hands, partly to control his laughter. The face Batman would make when he heard that a child preferred a sock more than him.

- But it's just a sock!- He said out loud without realizing it.

- And he's very good!- The puppy argued.- He always helps those who are in trouble, and he talks about children's rights when he appears on television.-

- The Justice League also helps those who are in trouble.-

- But they appear on television!- Karim continued to argue.- Just like Sock with Diamonds Man!-

Seeing that the little boy thought that the rest of the heroes seemed more fictional than real characters, he changed the subject again.

- Well, tell me, what do you want to be when you grow up?-

Contrary to what he expected, he got another big surprise with Karim's answer.

- I want to be a dinosaur's tooth doctor!- He exclaimed with a huge smile.

- Dinosaur's ... dentist?-

- Yes! Tooth doctor!- He confirmed.

- And... why dinosaurs?- Asked another of the officers.

- Because they can't brush their teeth, and if they don't brush their teeth, it will hurt a lot when they grow up.- He explained to them with his childish logic.- My uncle 30-30 when something hurts, he gets very angry, and if dinosaurs have tooth pain, they will get very angry, and they will fight with other dinosaurs, and they will destroy the city, and they will eat people, which will make their teeth hurt more, and they will get angrier.- He raised his arms, waving them.- And then they will fight more, and they will eat more people! And all because they don't brush their teeth!-

Some of those present just stared at him without knowing how to react, others, however, laughed a little at the way the puppy was thinking. Jonathan, on the other hand, justified that it was a nice way of wanting to help the dinosaurs control their health and temperament, although he knew well that things didn't work like that, and he smiled a little sadly imagining that, if Karim continued with that way of thinking in the years to come, how sad he would be to see that his dream would only be that, a dream.

- I think it's nice of you to want to help the dinosaurs take care of their teeth.- He smiled at him.

- Yes! My mommy says ...-

From one moment to the next, Karim sat up in his seat, becoming serious and somewhat tense. Then, he sketched a sweet smile on his face, and almost jumping, he stood up and ran towards the doors of the police station, shouting cutely.

- MOMMY!-

Jon, who for a moment did not understand what was happening, got another surprise that day. Intrigued, and eager to meet the omega who gave birth to the infant, he got close enough to witness a person bend down to the height of the puppy, examine him desperately and carry him in his arms.

Karim's mother was an omega man, with an elegant and imposing bearing. Perhaps, he was the metahuman.

- Look, Mommy!- And he pointed at him with one of his little fingers.- He saved me! Me and Mr. Baubles!-

- Good afternoon.- He slowly approached to say hello, and if possible, study him better while being close.

It was then that he realized that Karim's father's heart stopped for a second when he saw him, possibly from the shock.

- Good afternoon.- His voice was thick, controlled, firm, serious. And he felt a strange sensation running through his spine.- Superman.-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First of all, good afternoon, I hope you have a good time. Now, clarifications and some explanations:

This is part of an Omegaverse fanfic I'm writing, called "Letting ourselves shoot to kill", but it don't will appear in the main plot. I mean, this is an exclusive gift for you.

Charm city appears in a series that was canceled back in 2017, called "Powerless", which was about the entanglements of some employees, including Bruce Wayne's cousin, from Wayne Security.

It's not a secret at this point, but for those who didn't get it, Karim is Damian's son.

Who do you think "30-30" is? Which by the way, is the name of a character from the series "BraveSTAR", from the 80's. It was one of my favorite series.

Sock with Diamonds Man does not belong to me, it is from the Chilean program "31 minutes", but I added it to the plot because apart from the fact that I like it, I feel that for a small child it is a good example to follow. I also really like the theme song.

Link:

[achoonihaachu]

Younger Brothers React to a Child asking if they are Married to MC

(Satan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Belphegor)

a/n:: and taa-daa! Here are the reactions of the younger brothers to the prompt: "the brothers reacting to a child asking if reader and them are married and reader goes with it..." from alt anon! <33 i had a blast writing this part (prolly bc im a satan simp...) so yeah! i hope u all like it! stay safe out there, alright! <3 ilya!

warnings: none again,, unless ur afraid of kids,, maybe a bit of swearing and asmo gets a lil frisky...,, not proofread!!

Satan:

Now, we are all very (painfully) aware that this man is a hopeless romantic. (Reading Shakespeare’s work for centuries does that to a person/demon)

He thinks that, out of all his brothers, he’s the best boyfriend/husband material.

He believes that grand romantic gestures are the quickest ways to a person’s heart (Don’t tell him I told you but… He may or may not be planning to take you to Italy pretty soon…)

To get you ready for a *ahem* special surprise he has in store, he takes you to the human world to buy you a few new outfits… but more specifically because he wanted to take you to an art gallery that had recently just opened.

You spent most of your morning drinking extremely overpriced water, trailing behind a fascinated Satan, and pointing at different pretty paintings that had nice color palettes.

You loved the gallery tour, sure, but you were more invested in messing around with a tiny kid you saw being dragged along by a man that you just assumed to be like… a congressman– or a CEO of a multimillion dollar company at the very least.

You kept glancing down at the little boy and when your eyes finally met, you waved enthusiastically at him and he quickly reciprocated– giggling happily as he waved his hand at you.

Your boyfriend, too busy letting the art course through his veins, hadn’t realized that you had left his side and you’d walked over to kneel beside the little boy.

His father wasn’t mean or anything; In fact, he looked relieved to let his little boy hang around with someone else for a little while. A closer look at him made you realize that his hair was disheveled and he had bags under his eyes.

“Would you look after him for a few minutes? I have to go make sure my assistant’s doing his job– I have an important client to meet with and I couldn’t leave Ryu alone at home.”

Ah, so he’s the gallery director–

You couldn’t protest being left with a young child so you simply watched as the man walked away, looking around with stress in his eyes.

He better thank his lucky stars that you weren’t a kidnapper.

You take Ryu’s hand gently and lead him to a small bench in the middle of the gallery. You see Satan look around and you wonder if he even noticed your absence.

You’d spent a total of 5 minutes with Ryu and you were already experiencing the world’s worst baby fever in recorded history. He was just an angel of a kid and he was so tiny and cute– Perhaps it was time to have a talk with Satan about how many children he wanted to have… You nod your head along to whatever Ryu was saying in the moment, unsure of how to reply to the gossip he was spilling about his kindergarten classmates. I mean, how else are you supposed to react to stolen apple juice boxes and cheap lollipops from secret admirers? At this point, Satan finally realized that you weren’t by his side and a flash of panic struck across his features as he scanned the gallery for you.

He almost fell to his knees at the sight of you lifting Ryu up to sit on your lap as the child giggled in your arms.

He scurries on over to you with an embarrassed smile, “I’m sorry about that, darling. I didn’t realize that you slipped away without me noticing… Who’s this strapping young man?” He asks, leaning over your shoulder to give you a small peck on the cheek. Ryu gasps, surprised by the voice of your boyfriend, but he quickly relaxes when he sees that you two are, indeed, close.

“Oh! Your husband’s here!” The little boy cups a hand as he leans in to whisper in your ear, “He’s handsome…”

You could feel Satan tense up behind you. Before he could say anything, you nodded and smiled tenderly at Ryu, “He is… I’m really lucky, huh?” Ryu grins and nods once before he goes back to swinging his legs. Satan’s face starts burning bright red as a lovestruck grin creeps onto his lips.

“(MC)... What did you just say…”

Just in time, Ryu’s dad comes back looking exasperated but then… He sees Satan standing behind you. His posture is immediately straight, he looks composed and reeks of suaveness–

“S-Sir! I didn’t see you walk around earlier! Did you find a piece that caught your eye?”

So… you now have an extremely expensive painting hanging above yours and Satan’s shared bed…

Satan has also started calling you absolutely disgusting (read: scarily adorable) pet names… like “My Darling Spouse” and…“Schnookums”– yeah, no… maybe not that one.

Asmodeus:

Asmo has this reputation of being… overly flirty with people. Sometimes, it worries your friends that maybe he isn’t being loyal to you or perhaps he isn’t treating you right.

They literally couldn’t be more wrong.

Asmodeus treats you like literal royalty and it feels so good to be loved so openly by someone like him.

Sure, he’s had a plethora of different lovers in the past but he has genuinely been so true to you and it warms your heart to see him try for you.

If anything, you worry that maybe you aren’t enough for Asmo– (He always whacks you upside the head when you say these things because he loves you so much–)

You managed to convince Lucifer to let you and Asmo stay in your home in the human world for about a week as you celebrated your anniversary; It took a lot of convincing and a bunch of promises of getting him a dozen new vinyls to even get him to consider.

The thing is, you surprised Asmo with this small vacation and when you broke the good news to him– and he was in tears. He was on the floor, holding you whilst simultaneously sobbing as he told you how much he loved you and how much he appreciated everything you did for him–

Woah, Asmo! Hold on! Is that a freaking ring?!

He wasn’t proposing (yet!) but he had planned on giving you a promise ring on the day of your anniversary but then the good news– He panicked! He did it too early!

Both yours and Asmo’s hands were shaking as he slipped the ring on your finger; It was gorgeous and you couldn’t help but give him the biggest kiss as a way to say thanks. (u could thank him in other ways ;) )

So your anniversary comes up and you had brought him to your childhood home in the human world and you decided that it was time for him to meet the family.

You introduced him to your folks but your little cousin was quick to latch on to your boyfriend–

“Yui! Stop! He’s mine–”

“Nope! He likes me more!”

This little brat–

You hadn’t even had the time to cuddle with your boyfriend since you got back home. He’s been too busy lugging Yui around as they did practically everything together. You weren’t jealous or anything but Yui didn’t even pay attention to you! You loved Yui and you practically helped raise her– the tiny brat was now 8! You huffed as you pouted on the couch in the living room.

Asmo’s allowed to hang out with your baby cousin. It’s fine. You just needed a hug from her, is all.

Yui and Asmo came bounding in; your boyfriend trailed behind slower than normal as he chased her around before they both fell on the couch with you. Asmo lands face first into your lap and Yui sits up beside you. You stifle a giggle as you run a hand through Asmo’s champagne hair, “Are you two done horsing around for today?” You ask jokingly. Asmo grumbles incoherently into the fabric of your pants as he moves to hold your hand.

Yui tenses up beside you.

You glance over at the small girl, concern washing over you as you see salty tears prickle in the corners of her eyes, “Yui? Honey?! What’s wrong?! Are you hurt?” You ask, moving to kneel in front of her on the couch. You inspect her arms and legs; no bruises or cuts or anything at all. Did she break a bone?!

“Y-You didn’t tell me that you married him…” Yui whispered quietly as her gaze hardened on your ring finger.

You literally had to stop yourself from dying of laughter right there and then. Asmo was worried, kneeling beside you, and he was so confused as to why you were pulling such a face… “Yes, he’s my husband. Are you gonna do anything about it?” You tease, wiggling your fingers in her face as the ring shines in the living room light.

Yui’s bottom lip wobbles before she starts crying. She jumps off the couch and into the direction of where her mom was.

“Sweetheart, that was so mean! But… If you wanted to marry me so bad… You could’ve just told me so! I look forward to the honeymoon–”

You shove him off playfully as he starts wiggling his eyebrows at you suggestively.

Your aunt only told you off playfully as Yui glared at you from behind her leg; Something about marrying Yui’s new crush was off the table… You simply showed the ring off again and stuck your tongue out at her.

(She cried.)

Beelzebub:

Now this may come as a surprise to some but I feel like Beel would be the first out of his brothers to ask for your hand in marriage. (That is if you two have an established relationship already!)

He loves kids and the idea of having kids with you makes his heart flutter– It feels better than any meal he’s ever indulged in!

As the resident respectful boi tho, he takes his time and respects your boundaries and needs as well so he holds off until you two talk about it.

That being said though, your relationship with him is already very domestic and you two lowkey already act like newlyweds.

In the words of Belphegor, “You two are so sweet… Stop being sweet in the attic because I’m about to vomit. I want to sleep.”

Beel: “Oh, Belphie ^_^ what do you mean? <3 ^_^”

You lost your attic cuddle room privileges after Beel snuck a kiss on your forehead before two went to sleep.

You and Beel were actually in charge of, you guessed it, grocery shopping for the week.

You were pushing around your fourth full cart… Beel had to start lining the groceries up for the poor cashier.

Seven boxes of ramen, 12 kilograms of princess poison apples… Huh… This’d only last till Thursday… It’s already Monday.

Beel had said that he was going to look for a little snack so he left you to deal with finding the dried monstrous squid jerky…

You were about to start pushing when the cart stopped in its tracks.

You strain to look past the mountainous stack of boxes and you see… A tiny girl with the stubbiest little devil horns.

A baby demon :( <3

“She’s standing on the metal rail at the bottom of the cart, you had a few canned peaches lined there–

“Oh! Um… Hi! Who might you be?”

“Hi… I… I’m Hana…” She says quietly.

The grocery was pretty empty; Literally and figuratively because not only have you started clearing the shelves, you and Beel managed to scare off most of the other customers from the amount of food you’re getting. (Beel had a bit of a reputation with his obsession with eating…) You rounded the heavy cart and lowered yourself so that you and Hana were at eye level to each other, “Nice to meet you Hana. My name’s (MC)... Where… are your parents?” You ask, looking around to see if there were any frantic moms or dads looking for their adorable little girl.

“I– I think I’m lost.” Her voice was soft and timid; She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

You soothe her as best as you could, you ask her permission to hold her and you wait with her for either Beel or a security guard to walk over to help with the finicky situation Hana was in. Just as you were about to phone one of the other brothers to help, your big sturdy boyfriend comes into view, a roasted phoenix leg in his hands.

“Beel! Hey! I need a little help here!” He immediately rushes over, phoenix leg forgotten on top of one of the many boxes and he has to make himself look physically smaller so as to not frighten Hana.

“Hello. I’m Beelzebub. Who are you?” He asked; He sounded a little bored but you could tell he was simply trying to keep her from crying.

“Y-You’re not going to hurt us?” She asked worriedly, “Are you her… husband?”

You nod quickly, “Yes, he’s my husband. He’s a little big and scary but he’s nice. You’ve met big scary demons before, right? They’re not all bad!” You say sweetly. Beel stares at you, a small smile on his face as he stands back up to look for some help.

Hana seemed comfortable with you anyways, he could at least help out in any way he can.

A few minutes pass, Hana’s sniffling in your arms and you hear a loud cry of relief come from behind you as bounding footsteps grow louder and louder in your ears, “Hana! My little devil! Here you are!” A female voice calls out.

Hana crawls out of your arms in an instant and rushes over to who you can only assume is her mother. The reunion was tear-jerking and was like a scene straight out of one of those coming-of-age movies you used to love watching.

They’re both grateful and leave the store together, Hana seems to be in a much better mood as she waves goodbye to you. (She even gave Beel’s leg a quick hug!) That leaves you and Beel alone to deal with finishing your grocery shopping.

Wordlessly, Beel wraps his arms around your middle, “I like hearing you say to other people that I’m your husband.” He says bluntly.

“You’d make a great mother to our kids in the future.”

“Oh? Our kids?”

“Yes.” :)

Belphegor:

So, manchild :) Who needs kids when you can have Belphegor?

Kidding aside, I think Belphie’s the chillest to be in a relationship with. He’ll simply love you in the moment, without pressuring you to moving quickly to the next big step, he doesn’t ask too much of you– simply that you love him regardless of who he is and what his sin stands for…

That and also unlimited cuddles and that he’s your designated cuddle buddy.

And also 96% of your attention.

Like I said, so easy :)

He’s also not the type to want to do too much… Why on Earth would you go out to watch movies when you could watch it at home?

With that being said though, he knows that you’d still want to do things with him and go out on dates soooo… he indulges you every now and then!

He managed to surprise you with a carnival date to the traveling circus that was in the area. You were literally so surprised to see him all dressed up with flowers and casual outside clothes that didn’t include his blue jacket and khaki pants–

He looked like the perfect boyfriend! Oh no! Your heart!

His teasing was relentless all day but that was a small price to pay for a really fun date for the first time in a while. In all honesty, he seemed to have toned down the teasing and the sly remarks, he was gentler and he seemed to have been taking this date seriously!

(unbeknownst to you, Beel and Mammon were watching from a few feet away– They told him to be a cooler boyfriend or else… What that “else” meant was unknown to Belphie but he wasn’t sticking around to figure it out.)

He had bought you a huge serving of fuego cotton candy that was literally on fire and you were having such a blast.

The lines were a tad long though…

Oh! That ride with a bunch of kids seemed like it was a tolerable wait…

You honestly had no idea on what the ride was about when you first dragged Belphegor along with you but then you saw that it was a a tilt-a-whirl of sorts; there were little booths on a platform that spun around at speed you weren’t sure your human body could handle– This was the best way to go out though.

You realize that a bunch of kids seemed to really enjoy it so you decided to join in on the fun!

You realize then that you were a little too old for the ride. Despite being weaker than these kids, the tilt-a-whirl was seen as a bit of a baby’s ride.

“Hiya Miss! What're you doing riding this?” One of the kids asked obnoxiously. The others then turned to look at you.

You could hear Belphie groan under his breath. This was going to be fun!

“I just haven’t been able to go to carnivals in a while. I hope you all don’t mind riding this with a pair of old farts like us.” The kids all giggle quietly, a few of them whispering to each other as they very obviously point at your boyfriend.

“Who’s he? Is he like… Your brother or something–”

“Don’t be dumb, Suki! He’s obviously their husband.” A boy says loudly, rolling his eyes.

Belphie choked on his spit, eyes wide as he glared the boy down; If he wanted to scare the kid shitless, his plan… failed miserably. The kids all start laughing at him, taking turns calling him your husband and whatnot.

You, never the type to miss out on an opportunity, obviously join in to start picking on Belphie.

“Guys, c’mon! Don’t pick on him! We’re newlyweds. He’s still a little shy about it.” You say with faux embarrassment.

The kids break out in oohs and happy cheers. You swear you could see one of the young girls pout in the corner of your eye.

Before you could continue entertaining the group, Belphie grabs your arm and pulls you away. The kids sound indignant as you two walk away but you wave goodbye to them as you trail after a red-cheeked Belphie.

He sits you down at an outdoor restaurant and sits across from you. He buries his head into his arms and he sounds like he’s muffling a scream.

You laugh lightly and pet his head.

“Do you really not want to marry me?” you say in a teasing sad voice.

“Pfft… Of course not.”

“Belphie! That’s mean!” :(

“I’m kidding… Of course I want to marry you… Not here though.” :)

[peculiarpatches]

𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 - 𝑛𝑎𝑡 𝑥 𝑏𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑦 𝑥 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑥 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟

I originally wrote this for another pair within a fandom I’m in but decided to use it for these three instead!! 

So, a few notes: Bucky and Natasha are lovers in this because not going to lie, I actually really like the thought of them together..... so, if that isn’t your cup of tea, don’t like it = don’t read it :)  

That’s honestly about it, though. 

If you want to help support me and my writing, here’s a link to do so. 

(I will, once I get my own place and am settled down, will also begin to do commissions!) 

WARNINGS: this story includes  PWP. Not really a plot whatsoever. There’s fingering, anal, oral, dirty talk, uhhh... I’m not sure what else. Male on Male, Female on Female. That’s about all I can think of..... enjoy!!

Silence fills the air, other than the obvious breathing pattern of each person's  chest falling up and down. If you listened closely, however, you could hear the faucet dripping into the sink, each drop reverberating around the room like a cymbal, yet nobody hardly blinks or moves to turn it off. More than likely, nobody acknowledges it.

 Nobody other than (Y/N), of course. The sound was obnoxious and if she wasn't so scared to move a muscle, she would have gotten up by now and turned it off before attempting to bolt out the door, not wanting to deal with the fight that was, most likely, bound to explode.   It was driving her crazy  — the silence within the room, the quietness all around her. She felt as if she were choking, the hands belonging to nothing other than her anxious thoughts.  It was her and her boyfriend, Steve Rogers and his best friend, Bucky Barnes then finally, her best friend, Natasha Romanoff.   And nobody was saying a word.  And finally, when somebody did, Steve was the first one to speak.    "So... can one of you, please, just tell me what the fuck happened?"  As the question is asked, he turns to (Y/N) and Natasha,  his eyebrows knitted together, while his lips are pressed in a thin white line as he waits for an answer.  "Nat, what happened?" Bucky questioned, clearly as confused as Steve was, if not more.  "I don't know, okay? Steve, why don't you ask your girlfriend, huh? She isn't as faithful as she seems to be. She's the one who started everything." "Huh?" Steve's face paled over as he turned to look at (Y/N). "What's she on about?"  "Gee, Nat, thanks a lot. You're so great at keeping a secret... well, Nat wasn't supposed to mention it but.... well, you see-" "(Y/N) and I slept together." Natasha blurted out, a look of relief replacing the once look of fear on her face as she sighed and threw her face into her hands, murmuring apology after apology. 

Who it was directed for, nobody was sure. Most likely the statement was meant for Bucky but if (Y/N) had to take a guess, it was to everyone, herself included.  "We got slightly drunk... okay, we got trashed.....  and, uh... one thing lead to another. And Nat is right, I kissed her first but I actually didn't mean to," (Y/N) confessed. 

 "Okay, I take that back.... I did mean to do it but listen, we were drunk and she spilled half the bottle of wine on her shirt and we went to go clean her up and she took off her shirt and I  never really realized how pretty another girl was until Nat and-" "Okay, okay, spare the details, please." Bucky shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He exhaled a breath before dropping his hand down at his sides, looking over at Steve, Natasha and (Y/N). 

 "Look.... it's obvious. (Y/N), you love Steve and I know he loves you back... Nat, I know for a fact you love me, and I love you. It's alright, okay? I'm not mad. I'm not upset, either. I'm glad you actually told me the truth rather than kept it as a secret." Bucky admitted.   All three turned to Steve who looked deep in thought and once he realized everyone was staring at him, he was quick to snap out of it and come back down into reality.  "I'm not too upset about it, either. I mean... it's someone we both know, right, Buck? It wasn't a stranger. I guess that has to count for something.  I know neither of you meant to hurt us and let me just say, you didn't hurt my feelings either, baby... Neither did you, Nat.   "However.... you two acted like dirty whores therefore I think  Bucky and I need to show you who you belong to and although you might've made each other feel good, we're here now to make you feel even better. We're here to teach you a lesson." Steve's eyes sparkled with seduction while Bucky's eyes were blown and wide, as if he never expected that to happen. Which, nobody expected that to come out of Steve's mouth.  "Bucky, did you hear what I said?" Steve turns and glances at Bucky. "You do want to show Nat who she belongs to, don't you?" "I... I mean-" He stammers, face flushing a crimson before he's being talked over by Natasha. "Please? I'm all yours, only ever want to be yours.... and I-I'd like for you to show me who I belong to," Natasha  begged, giving Bucky  a pout, her eyes nearly glistening with tears as she speaks.   "Punish me, I deserve it for disobeying you."  "Shit... Okay, yeah." Bucky says, nodding his head rather rapidly.  "I.... uh.... is it okay if Steve takes the lead, though? I-I'm not quite sure what to do."  "No worries. Just do as I do but with your girl," Steve said with a smile. He then turns his attention back onto (Y/N) before gesturing her over with his index finger. 

 Like a trained puppy, (Y/N) is quick to oblige and get up from where she was sitting at and walks in front of her boyfriend. "Baby, listen, I really am sorry about all of this, I couldn't help-"  (Y/N)'s cut off due to Steve pushing her down onto the floor, her knees hitting the ground (which luckily was carpeted). 

 "I will only ever say this once, alright? Shut up." He growled, the look of seduction now growing darker in his pupils. (Y/N) had never seen him full of such hunger and fire before... she was ready to be burnt, however, if Steve was the one that sparked the first flame.   "If you'd like to regain my trust back, put that mouth to good use, hm?" 

 Undoing his belt, pulling it through the loops and unbuttoning his jeans right after he's gotten his belt off,  Steve takes his cock out which was already leaking with precum. He holds it up to his girlfriend as if his cock was a prized possession he was rewarding to her. And in a situation like this, it very well might be considered as such. "Come here, pretty girl. Take my cock, suck it like a lollipop, yeah? Give Bucky and Nat here a show." (Y/N) was quick to hollow in her cheeks and give Steve a blowjob, licking away as if his dick truly was nothing more than a lollipop from the store. 

While she gave her boyfriend a blowjob (and was trying not to gag around his wide and thick length) Natasha and Bucky were quick to strip out of their own clothes, dropping it onto the ground once they were fully embracing their birthday suits.  "You like that?" Bucky asked, grabbing ahold of Natasha's hair, making her turn to look at (Y/N) and Steve. He felt awful, at first, not wanting to be too rough with his girlfriend but the moment he had done it, a moan slipped right past her lips which.... okay, wow, he'll have to do that more often, considering she had liked it so much.   "Like to see your best friend's mouth wrapped around her boyfriend's cock? Was that mouth of hers on your pussy?" Natasha whined in response and nodded rapidly. "Uh huh, ye-yes. it was."  "Fucking filthy girl you are, Nat." Bucky pushes Natasha's face back into the couch cushions as his hand comes down in contact with her ass. "Nasty, dirty little whore couldn't wait for me, could she? You had to go and have your best friend do the dirty work you, oh so, badly were seeking." Bucky slaps Natasha's ass, once, twice, thrice. "Aw..." He cooed, his fingers dipping into Natasha's slit as he glides his digit across Natasha's  throbbing wet pussy. "My gorgeous girl.... are you getting turned on by this, huh?" Bucky chuckled huskily as he looked over at Steve and (Y/N). "What about you, Rogers? Your girl all soaked from being a bad, misbehaving bitch?" Steve, who was fucking his girlfriend's face, nods and grunts in reply. "Yeah, fuck - she is... What should our punishment be for them?" Steve questioned as he pushed (Y/N) off of his cock as he fisted his throbbing, aching dick which was just begging for a release and before either one realizes it, thick ropes of cum are being thrown all over (Y/N)'s face and being the cumslut she was, she's more than happy to lick it all up and swallow every last drop of cum that was splattered onto her face.  "I'm not sure," Bucky admitted.  "We could always fuck each other..... So, how about you and I do the same?" Steve suggested. Bucky's eyes widened, even more than they had done earlier.  There was no way he was being serious.... was he? "Steve-" "You'd look so good,"  surprisingly, it was Natasha that said this.  "You'd look so good," She repeated, sitting up a bit therefore her voice wouldn't be too muffled against the couch.

 "Taking Steve's semen in your ass.... his cum dripping down your cheeks and your thighs, please, baby? Wanna see you being fucked by Steve. If you do this, I promise I'll be a good girl from now on. I won't touch any guy or girl ever again, for that matter. Only will touch you. How about you be a good boy for Steve, hm?" "Please, Bucky..... if I had known (Y/N) and I were going to do what we did..... I would've stolen your camera and recorded us. I know you would've loved that...  would have loved seeing your girlfriend getting her pussy ate by her best friend. (Y/N) and I grinding against each other's cunts.... cumming all over each other like two, bad girls..... maybe, fuck.... if you want, we can show you two exactly it was we all did? My memory is still kind of in a haze, blurry from that night but.... I'm sure (Y/N) will help bring back those memories, won't you?" (Y/N) hardly was listening to a word Natasha had said. Truth be told, the sight of Steve being behind Bucky shouldn't be such a turn on, yet for some reason, it was. She just hoped that little fantasy of hers would become a reality.  And listen, the same thought was running in Bucky's mind.

 It shouldn't turn him on but it does and before he knows it, Bucky is making his way over to the opposite side of the couch,  pulling his pants down to his ankles and bending forward, his ass up for Steve to do whatever he wishes to do with it.     Steve actually didn't expect this scenario to happen,  - AT ALL - he can't lie and say he too wasn't a bit turned on at the way Bucky was so willingly allowing him to fuck him from behind. As Steve preps Bucky up with saliva and his fingers, Natasha and (Y/N) are sat next to each other, toying with their pussies. (The same way they had done when they slept together.) Natasha's fingers were on (Y/N)'s clit while Natasha was currently being fingered by (Y/N) who was thrusting her fingers in and out at a painfully slow pace.

     Once Steve believes Bucky is slick enough with spit and stretched open enough to put his cock in his asshole, Steve pushes the tip of his head inside, a low groan bubbling up out of his throat.

 "Oh, God."  "Fuck!" Bucky whimpered, biting down on the pillow that had been lying in front of him.  "It'll be okay, I promise." (Y/N) said like she knew the pain that he was going through. Which she did. What? Her and Steve's sex life could get pretty kinky. 

 "Listen to her, Buck.. It gets better." Natasha promises because she too knew how it felt. (Of course, she never admitted that until this very moment.)  "Listen to our girls, Buck... It's going to get better." Steve said in between groans, grabbing Bucky's hair, he thrusts in and out, all slow and at a gentle, steady pace until the pain that Bucky is feeling is replaced with pleasure rather than pain. 

 "There we go," Steve smiled, feeling Bucky practically grinding back against his cock. "You're  a good boy, aren't you, Buck?" The two fuck like horny rabbits then, Steve fucking into Bucky's tight ass while Bucky grinded down against the couch. 

 The girls, meanwhile, were whining and fingering themselves now at the view. Everyone, truly, forgot that this was supposed to be a punishment. 

 "I'm going to come, I'm going to come." Steve announced, his eyes drooping closed as he latched his bottom lip inbetween his teeth.  "Cum for me, cum for me," Bucky chanted, his words slurred together as if he were drunk. Steve, with a loud piercing wail, comes undone and releases a flood of white,  filling Bucky's ass up with his orgasm.   Bucky cums not too long after, eyelids shut and breathing heavy as he makes a mess all over himself and the floor. While the boys tried to get their breathing back under control, (Y/N) crawls over and positions herself on Steve's cock, sinking herself down on his length. (Of course, not without grabbing a nearby shirt and cleaning his cock off, as it just had been inside Bucky.) "Come here, Nat, Show me how you rode (Y/N)'s fingers last night. Ride my cock, babygirl." Natasha does the same thing as her best friend had done and with a trembling moan, she sinks down on her boyfriend's cock, throwing her head back at the sudden overwhelming sensation that makes her body wither and shake. "That's it, fuck.... Fuck yourself down onto my cock, angel. Ride my dick so good, take me in so good." Bucky praises, hands reaching up as he strokes her nipples with his thumb, making them as hard as ever as he brushes them over and over. Steve, meanwhile, was growling in (Y/N)'s eat as he thrusted up inside of her, getting her closer and closer to the reach of her orgasm.

 "Though, the visual of you eating out Natasha is hot, you are still Daddy and Daddy's only cumslut, you are mine, do you understand?"  (Y/N) nods weakly, nails digging into Steve's chest as she murmurs, 'yes, yes, yes'.  "Yes, what?" "Yes, Daddy." (Y/N) whispers, tucking her face into the crook between Steve's neck and shoulder and while biting down at his skin, she thrusts down against his swollen, eager to cum cock as she builds up her orgasm.  Everyone does their own thing until they reach their peak and cum. The girls then ease themselves off of their boyfriend's cocks, their eyes wide and their hearts thumping wildly against their chests.

 "You know.... maybe, one day, we should all do this again. The four of us, I mean." Steve turned to look at his girlfriend, a worn out smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he grinned over at her, chuckling at how exhausted she appeared to be.  "I think I like that idea too, Steve." Bucky admitted sheepishly.   "You know what they say.... one is good but four is better."   "Very well said, Barnes." "We'll have to do this again," Bucky said, echoing what Steve had said as he tried to get his breathing back under control. Steve nodded in agreement. "Yeah, without a doubt.... I know this won't be the last time we do this." He said with a seductive smile.

[korissideblog]

[does a sillie little tictok dance but instead of music it’s just the sound of all my joints poppin]

ughhh idk how to tag this, just cw for sadness and the use of second person

I was like you, once.

You, walking down the street, looking a bit too closely at your phone. Your mother says you need glasses, but for whatever reason you refuse to get your eyes checked. And because your eyes aren’t checked, you don’t notice the man sneaking up behind you.

And you find yourself in a darkened alley, and you turn to see him. He’s a man. Or he’s a monster. You can’t tell. Your eyes really do need checking.

And you’ll look up at this man, or monster, or both, and you’ll find him a wicked thing, villainous to the core. And you’ll wonder if he really can be blamed for his crimes, if this was all that was offered to him. And you’ll scream- wheather out of the injustice of it all, or threat of violence he imposed, or a mix of the two, some could most likely guess.

But you’ll hear another voice.

“You- you brute!” And you’ll see a white cane come down from the heavens, and like a miracle, it will strike the head of your attacker. He will scream, and turn to face her.

Her, dressed in soft yellows and whites, curly hair tied with a bow, horns sprouting from her head like tree branches reaching for sunlight, and yelling in the vague direction of you and your attacker.

She looks barely 55 kilos soaking wet, and you’re thankful for it as you run past the villain and lift her over your shoulder, both of you yelling for very different reasons.

And you’ll take her to the police department, and you’ll file a report, and she’ll wait for you by the door.

“This feels like…” she’ll whisper, waving to the bars on all the windows of the building. “That place… the one with animals and the cages.”

“The zoo?” You’ll ask, noticing how her Japanese sounded… uncomfortable in her mouth. She knows the words and grammar and phrases but… it’s clearly not her first language.

“Ah yes! I would like to go with zoo!” She would say, smiling with a blinding confidence.

“N-no, it’s: you would like to go to the zoo.” You would correct, trying to be soft as you to memorize her smile, expecting it to fall.

But it didn’t.

“Yes!” She would giggle, putting her hand in yours. “I would like to go!” And you’d watch as her smile grew wider, and realize that learning more than one language takes a very clever person.

————

And one day you’ll watch as she spins around your kitchen, her flowy white dress following her legs as she runs back to you.

It’s been very long since the attack, and the zoo, and the first kiss in the park. It’s been long, and now you’re older, and now she’s heavier, her body gaining weight as her smile gained beauty. You can’t lift her over your shoulder now. You can however hold her at night, and promise her your tomorrow will be for her. Because it was, and it is. Because it always has been, and it always will be.

And you write that into your vows.

————

“You…you’re in love with me?”

”That's usually what ‘will you marry me’ implies, yes.”

You’ve spent money on her ring. You watch as tears fill her eyes as she embraces you. She’ll meet you on your knees and together you’ll worship your mutual love, baptized in tears of holy water.

And she’ll remind you that biblical metaphors wouldn’t get you extra points in her class.

And tomorrow she’ll tell you that her students asked why her finger was adored the way it was.

And she’ll tell you that she said

“Because he loves me.”

————

And you’ll have the wedding.

And it will be perfection.

And you won’t sign papers

Because it’s just easier that way.

And all you want right now is easy.

Because they’ll ask if she’s yours.

And they’ll ask you’re her’s

And everything should be as easy as saying yes

————

And you’ll make a mistake one day.

One that leaves you frightened, and one that leaves her overjoyed.

“I hope it’s a boy.” You’ll offer, unsure of what else to say that won’t betray your feelings

“As long as it's ours, I will love it!” She’ll giggle, dancing around your home in her unabashed joy.

And you realize that, boy or girl, all you really hope for

Is that they have her smile.

————

The child has her smile. And the child has your eyes. And the child has her nose. And the child has your heart wrapped around their tiny little fingers.

And you take back every worry.

Because they’re yours’. And you’ll love it.

————

The child grows up rather elfish in nature. They’ll run and play more than they breathe, and will bump their little head against your thigh if you take too long with dinner.

You’ll teach the child slight of hand. Something you learned in college that makes her very angry with you. But you laugh. Because the child is giving you back your stolen wristwatch. And they tell you they did it hours ago.

You’ll start to notice little bumps on his head, and you cry as you realize that the little child in your arms will one day have powerful horns, like a growing sapling in the protective shadow of her.

And you let them go. Go to play with the dog in the yard. You’ve seen animals react poorly to your elfish child before, but your dog sees your child as its own. Your dog loves and protects your child, and will love and protect them while you look away for just a second.

————

You’ve always been a charming guy.

You could always talk your way into anything you wanted, and out of anything you didn’t. But it was a learned trait for you.

Not whatever this is.

This that your child has inherited, this that lets your child ask the nurse for three lollipops and receive them, this that makes you start to chastise them, but in the next moment you’re sitting in your car, three white sticks poking out of your child’s smiling mouth.

And they still have her smile.

————

And what else is for you here.

You know you love her.

But does she love you?

You only really know two things.

That you love this child in your home, one you’ve raised since birth as yours, and they love you back.

That you love that child so much that you have to leave.

————

And you do. On a simple ruse.

You wish you didn’t have to see the child. you look over their shoulder as you tell them you’ll be right back

You’re happy you did. You saw your baby one last time, before you had to go.

Because you really had to go

And that’s what you tell yourself

And you pray that you’re right.

[sooibian]

The Spy Who Loved Me

gif credits @byunvoyage​

Pairing: Spy!Baekhyun x Assassin!Reader ft. Chen, Chanyeol

Description: It’s an obsessive cat and mouse chase

Themes: Dark comedy, angst, heavily inspired by season one of Killing Eve

Warnings: Violence, strong language

Word Count: ~2.8k

A/N: This one-shot comes during a very busy season for me so if you can make time for feedback, I’d be very grateful. Thanks :)

———————————————————————–

It’s the way light escapes their eyes.

Fear. Despair. Hope. Then…nothing.

They hope to be spared. I have a family…what about my children…please…why are you doing this to me…. The utterly foolish ones even offer you money. This imbecility makes the corners of your mouth curl upwards - especially when they’re out of breath from running or begging or whatever it is that gets their heart rate up. Eh. Factor in some cardio before dissolving into a permanent state of slumber, maybe? Poor things always mistake the twitch of your lips for impending clemency…what they don’t know is that it’s always been the breathy ones that peak your excitement.

There’s not a single hit you’ve regretted.

Mostly because you don’t bother with the futility of why. They give you a name and you jet off. To you, it’s really a fun job involving travel, costumes, languages, a hefty allowance, sticking pointy objects in the right places and theatrics. You’re not one to just do your job and slip away quietly. No arterial air embolisms, no unidentifiable fumes or poisons. No boring and discreet.  Where’s the fun in that? Flamboyant is your middle name. Every assassination is a heroi-comical poem for you - killing an asthamatic nez with a fatal concoction of perfume or a feeble-hearted fetishist with clamps that turned out to be a wee bit too intense for him.

You’re good at this. No, infact, you’re the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever  will be.

“The NIS has deployed a team of four to hunt you down because of the mess you left in Beijing. So you’ll be working with a team now. No more flying solo.” Your handler Chen says nonchalantly. 

Shit.

Beijing. “Make it look like a suicide”, had been the directive. The assignment Kasia had been put under witness protection after you’d murdered her mafia boyfriend. She was in a hospital - injured and deranged from the shock of it all, watched over by armed men. Things obviously didn’t go as planned and the security detail bloodbath was, well, collateral damage.

You saunter towards Chen with an intentional swing in your hips, a pout on your lips. You sit a little too close to the astute man, almost purring with seduction, “NIS, you say. Give me a name." 

“Byun Baekhyun.” His lips curl into a cat-like smile as he stealthily adds a foot long distance between the both of you.

“Never heard of him”, you say neutrally, gliding closer to his stoic form.

“He was a security officer before this. A nobody. In fact, he was fired right after the Kasia debacle in Beijing. She was his responsibility.” Letting out an exasperated sigh, he gets up on the pretext of fetching a glass of water.

“Why the sudden promotion, then?”

“A change of jobs. He’s heading a team…Operation Jinseong, they call themselves. Apparently, he’s the only one who believed that the murders have all been executed by a woman. If they can get to you, they can get to them. The organization. This conjecture has seemed to have impressed a higher up. After firing him, they swept his computer and found hoards of theories and all the intelligence he could gather about the faceless demon that’s actually…you. An insider thinks he’s fascinated. And a little cuckoo.” Chen’s laughter is throaty and taunting. 

He takes a sip of water and places the glass carefully on the counter, eyeing you the entire time. Chen. It’s a nom de plume. He’s a ghost - a shadow of a shadow, if you will. You know nothing about Chen but you know better than to snoop around. He’s always been affable yet distant, but he has this maddening habit of scrutinizing people. The changes in the expression, the dilation of the pupils. The man doesn’t miss a beat. And he stares unapologetically. You wonder what he thinks when he looks at you. You wonder how he feels. Disgusted? Lustful? Terrified?

He wants to know everything that’s behind those vacant eyes. With him, you feel disrobed.

“You’re only as good as your last”, he says finally, in his threateningly soft voice, thrusting a thumb drive into your hand. But you don’t feel threatened. The truth is, you feel nothing at all.

He’s at the door when you exclaim, “You never have sex with me!” Feigning annoyance.

He laughs and states matter -of-factly, “I’m married”, before closing the door behind him.

Like that’s ever stopped a man before.

***

Byun Baekhyun.

You search the thumb drive and a fresh faced man with luminous eyes smiles at you from the screen. His arm is wrapped around a slender, honey-skinned woman with big hair and big teeth. They look like an advertisement for home buyers.

A wave of recognition floods your mind.

He was there. 

He was there at the Beijing scene. The beautiful man who helped you with the coffee maker in the hospital. The very same coffee you doused barista Kasia with. 

There’s an inexplicable swell in your chest.

.

.

.

You’re no team player.

The undertaking with your ex and her boyfriend didn’t go as planned. Chen should’ve known. 

After a disagreement, you instigated her to off him, your shin getting injured in the scuffle. Then you ran her over with the jeep - once, twice. The third time was just to be sure. This commotion affected the escape of the NIS Agent you were after.

The mole that ratted out Baekhyun’s Operation Jinseong. 

The murders of your “colleagues” you could manage to explain - you’d tailored them to look like accidents. However, the assignment’s escape was sure to reflect poorly on you.

You’re only as good as your last.

The Agent scurries across a field of dead grass towards the feeder road, putting considerable distance between him and an injured you, where someone sat waiting anxiously in the driver’s seat.

Oh, Baekhyun…

It’s the first time you look into each other’s eyes, the moment stretching between you. It is like standing on the ledge of a skyscraper. With the wind in your hair, the world at your feet but in this space exists trepidation. A fear of falling.

Your gun wielding arm suddenly feels too heavy and your legs threaten to give up on you. Your heart rate escalates as the hot embers of his gaze gloss over the stretch of your skin. 

The mole slips into the backseat of Baekhyun’s compact Kia Morning as you continue to take aimless shots at his vitals - eyes still intertwined with Baekhyun’s. 

What good was a mole to the NIS?, you wanted to ask. Especially one that looked like a sewer rat.

You were only doing them a favour.

Aiming the gun at Baekhyun, you fire, only to realize he isn’t fearful or panicky. On the contrary, there is a sense of purpose in his eyes as well as something you could only identify as a glimmer. A spark. 

Even from a twenty foot distance you can tell Byun Baekhyun is in awe of you.

This…thing…this electricity surges through your veins and you sprint towards your jeep - as fast as your good leg could carry you. 

Oops. You didn’t mean to run over her for the fourth time.

***

Reverse. Acceleration. A few well thought out turns and your jeep is hardly a hundred meters behind Baekhyun’s car. You continue to fire and he continues to dart, swerve, sidestep. A good driver.

Suddenly, his car comes to a screeching halt.

He steps out of his vehicle amidst shrill cries of protest from the mole in the backseat and you follow suit.

Weaponless, crouched, he inches towards the gun pointed at him. 

“I mean no harm”, despite his scared posture, his voice is confrontational. “Leave the man alone. He has a little girl.”

Oh, Baekhyun…

You smile at him. He smiles back.

A genuine smile. Like the one your father used to give you when he saw you relishing ice-cream as…a little girl.

In a flash, you aim the nozzle at your temple and Baekhyun cries out a loud, pained, “NO!”

Laughing, you lower the gun and fire at his feet. He ducks. 

You vanish.

.

.

.

It was exhilarating to use the alias ``Mrs. Byun ” for your next job especially since the man and his giant partner have been on your tail for three months now. 

But, maybe, you shouldn’t’ve stolen Baekhyun’s luggage as soon as he landed in Tokyo to investigate the mysterious death of a Chinese colonel. He and his team knew perfectly well whodunnit. But one can’t bring faceless demons to book now, can they?

Who knows how this easily distracted giant of a man is supposed to protect Baekhyun if it should ever come to it. He couldn’t even watch his luggage for a measly five minutes.

***

You watch Baekhyun and the giant from your apartment overlooking the crime scene. He looks frazzled and the giant slightly apologetic. ‘You’ll have your bag back soon, baby’, you whisper, sucking on a bubblegum flavoured lollipop.

Thirty minutes roll by and the investigation seems to be heading nowhere. Bored out of your wits, you slump into your bed and toy with the contents of Baekhyun’s bag - shirts, slacks, underwear, toiletries.

Dull, tedious, and soul-destroyingly unimaginative. 

Save for one green scarf. 

In a sea of monotones, the scarf stands out. Demanding attention. Fluttering your eyes shut, you slowly bury your face in it - your senses entirely enveloped in his heady scent. 

***

“Excuse me, if you don’t mind me asking, where did you get that scarf from?”

Day two in Tokyo. You’ve been following Baekhyun (and, by extension, Chanyeol). Studying him. It was like adopting Chen’s personality. Apart from the occasional loud laughter, his demeanour, you learn, is self-effacing, gracious, and polite. He’s a picky eater who only eats to live and not the other way round. He’s also very observant and intuitive. But not enough to know that he’s being watched. 

Also, he’s thinking. Constantly. He’s thinking about you. 

“Excuse me?”

Chanyeol asks again - large, deep brown eyes focused on your neck trying to stop you from getting onto the same train as Baekhyun. 

Very subtle.

“It’s from my mother’s store. I could give you the address if you like”, smiling, you crane your neck to look into his disturbed eyes as you both pretend not to know each other amidst a swarm of dog-tired people on the platform at six in the evening.

You slip into the crowd but the oaf chooses to follow.

What does he think he’s doing following an assassin through a strange city! Unarmed.

Forty minutes elapse and he continues to chase you through the streets of Tokyo, keeping up with your brisk pace. With your easy charm, you breeze into the club called Camelot and wave Chanyeol goodbye as he’s stopped by the bouncer and sent to the back of the line. His eyes are dark with a murderous rage.

The club is loud, dark…stuffy - the air thick with over-the-counter happiness. Definitely not to your taste but you stay to give Chanyeol a head start. He’s pissed you off and he’ll pay for it later. Not today. 

You really didn’t want to upset a tired Baekhyun. At least not until you feel a beefy hand weigh down your shoulder.

“I didn’t want to do this”, you rise on your tippy toes and whisper into his ear before sticking a short blade into the side of his stomach. He’s heaving as you stare into his round, childlike, startled eyes while supporting his stumbling weight and stabbing him repeatedly until he finally collapses.

You leave him to bleed out on the dance floor and on your way out, you grab the arm of a medium-built man, your blood-dipped, glistening lips stretched into a lascivious smile.

“Let’s put you in a costume first”, you say to the unassuming moron, excitably thinking of Baekhyun’s dull shirts.

.

.

.

Grief draws people closer, your grandmother used to say, every time someone died of sickness in that impoverished little village of yours.

Baekhyun’s grieving the oaf who was slowing him down. He’s looking for company. So..he’s snooping. 

He’s in your apartment.

The “trusting old lady” - your next door neighbour, who actually works for the same organization as you handed him the key exactly as instructed. You’d been expecting him, this meeting was long overdue. But you wait in the cute little French cafe just around the corner - watching him scout out your apartment through your phone, while devouring a Charlotte Russe cake - dressed pretty in a flouncy pink dress.

He’s careful not to make a squeak. Walking on tippy toes, running his beautifully slender fingers along the drapes, the furniture, the walls as he goes. Your skin tingles all over. Oh, how you wish to be a piece of furniture in the moment. Only Baekhyun could make you want to be something muted and inanimate. Furniture, mattress, drapes.

He saunters slowly to your blackwood Georgian cupboard. The one you use for your wigs, costumes, weapons, and his own green scarf. He wears the scarf around his neck, ruffles the costumes but he’s gentle with the wigs. Stroking and caressing. 

From the drawer he picks out a .38 and shoves it in his waistband. Right behind his hip bone.

Oh, Baekhyun…

Pretty boys and their dangerous toys.

He finds himself in the kitchen. The revolver seems to have straightened his spine and suffused his step with a very welcome spring. Mi casa es su casa. 

In the fridge he finds exactly what he’s supposed to. No food. Only a dozen bottles of celebratory champagne of the best kind. What comes next from him is a scornful snicker which fills your mouth with a bitter taste. The Charlotte Russe doesn’t look very appetizing anymore. He draws a bottle out of the fridge, studies it and smashes it onto the floor. Then another, then another until all the bottles are reduced to shattered glass dripping in gold strewn across your kitchen floor.

Playtime is over, Baekhyun.

You make a run for your apartment.

***

He’s exhausted. 

Breathless, air tousled, shirt crumpled, eyes droopy, beads of sweat lined across his forehead and upper lip - standing clueless, smack-dab in the middle of the mess he’s made - clothes torn off their hangers, furniture overturned. You can’t recognize your upscale Seoul apartment anymore. Careful around the glass, you make your way towards his still frame, withdraw the weapon from his light, jaded grasp. 

You take his hand in yours and lead him to your bedroom - which is entirely ransacked just like the rest of your house. Save for the bed.

He lies down on his back and his first words are, “God, I’m tired.”

“Me too”, you say, as you lie facing him, “Are you wearing the cologne I gave you?”

You’d sent him a bottle of cologne along with the bag you had nicked in Tokyo, as a token of appreciation. It was handcrafted to smell like power.

He hums, turning to the side to face you, nestling into the depths of your irises.

“Are you going to kill me?” He asks, eyeing the revolver in your hand.

Your heart falls to pieces at the ache in his voice.

“No”, you say simply, tossing it to the side.

“Really?”

“I promise.”

Relief ripples across his soft, boyish features smoothing the lines of worry as it goes.

“You’re all I think about”, he says, studying your face. And you’re left wondering yet again, about his thoughts. His feelings.

“So you trash my apartment?” You sound as gentle as you can. But if you’re honest, you don’t even have to try that hard.

“I lost my job, my partner, my wife left me, and I even lost my sanity because of you.”

With his dulcet touch, he traces along the edge of your lips.

“Fair enough. I think about you too. I mean, I to you masturbate a lot.” You say as your thumb rubs his cheek lightly.

He lets out a loud, embarrassed giggle that makes him look a decade younger.

“Too much?” You ask, apprehensively.

“No, I just wasn’t expecting that.”

And with that you’re both inching closer to each other, like magnets.

Baekhyun’s soft gaze darkens and simultaneously you feel something sharp poking at your stomach.

“You can’t do it”, you wrap your hand around the blade, almost mocking him. He’s too nice for something this abominable.

“I can”, he whispers, his eyes still nestled in yours, as he plunges the blade deeper, tearing you apart. 

He places a chaste, soft kiss on your forehead.

Fear. Despair. Hope.

“Sorry, baby.” 

Continuation - My Lovable Curse

[catboymingi]

lollipop rings

navi/masterlist

pairing: mingi x reader

genre: fluff

word count: 2.1k

warnings: not a single one we stan happiness in this house

lupaan olla sun / kun päivää kääntyy iltaan / kun pöly laskeutuu / ja ollaan ihan hiljaa / lupaan olla sun / ja sanoo senkin ääneen / ei tuu tarpeeks sanottu - i promise to be yours / when the day turns into night / when the dust settles / and we’re so quiet / i promise to be yours / and say it out loud, too / it’s impossible to get sick of saying it

mingi had been waiting for this day for ages now. and when it was finally there, he surprised you by how excited he was. he got up early, something that you’d never witnessed before, running through the flat doing this and that and whatever he found necessary while you watched him with adoration in your eyes. you had no idea what he was so excited about, he hadn’t exactly told you a lot about his plans for the day, telling you that it was a surprise and if you ruined the surprise for him you’d have to deal with him being sulky for the rest of your life - a threat that convinced you to not even try. you loved him, but you could confidently say that him being sulky for more than even just an hour would be impossible to stand, both because he acted like a baby and because you couldn’t stand seeing him feel bad. so his surprise had remained a surprise, and seeing him happy how he was now was worth the excruciating wait and curiosity that was eating away at you.

“will you tell me where we’re going now, or will i first see when we’re there?”, you asked him while you stood in front of your closet, unsure of what to even wear since you didn’t know at all what was expecting you.

“we’re going to a petting zoo!” the smile he gave you made your heart skip a beat or two. he was so beautiful, and it was your third anniversary, and he still looked so happy to be with you. you were the luckiest person in the world, and you wouldn’t let anyone disagree with you on that. neither of you were perfect, but your imperfections merged in just the right ways, and you were one hundred percent certain you’d found your soulmate. and this soulmate was now looking at you all excitedly, eyes barely visible by how much he was smiling but still shining brightly, body seemingly vibrating in anticipation.

“i love you”, was your reply to his reveal, and his smile got even bigger, if that was possible at all. you’d mentioned somewhen at the beginning of your relationship how petting zoos held good memories for you, memories from a childhood you no longer had any access to, memories from before things turned bad. and he remembered. he was taking you there now, today, years after you mentioned it. the attention he paid to everything you said made you so happy, made you feel like you mattered, at least to him you mattered.

you were brought back to reality when he picked you up, having made his way to you while you were deep in thought, and kissed you quickly. then he let you down and told you to get dressed, making you laugh - usually it was you who had to force him to get ready in the mornings, lots of bribing and emotional blackmail and the threat of cuddle withdrawal involved every single time. this was cute. and you quickly did as told, putting on one of his shirts that you loved because it was soft and big and you’d worn it after you’d accidentally spilled milk all over your own when you were baking cookies on your first christmas together. you wore a skirt to go with it; you knew he thought it looked cute when his shirt was so big on you that you had to tug it into the skirt to prove you were even wearing any bottoms at all. and you had to agree, thinking that it gave you a casually cute kind of vibe. and you also just really loved wearing his clothes, having stolen roughly half his wardrobe at this point, him stealing back his clothes for a few days before they magically made their way back into your part of the closet.

“you ready?” you could see the please say yes in his eyes. he really wanted to get going, and you didn’t want to let him wait. grabbing your phone and wallet you moved towards the door, grabbing his hand on the way and pulling him with you for roughly two steps before he was the one pulling you, having an unfair advantage due to his long legs. it was okay though, he kept the height difference in mind and made sure he wasn’t too fast for you. that was, until you actually reached the petting zoo. at that point there was no stopping him from all but running towards the entrance, his entire face lighting up at the sign and the animals he could make out from here.

“mingi”, you laughed with just a hint of desperation in your voice, “i can’t keep up!” first then did he slow down, looking at you apologetically, but you quickly pecked his lips.

“let’s go.” by now you were 90% certain that he was genuinely vibrating, the amount of excited energy in his huge body immeasurable. he rushed to get you your tickets before you could utter so much as a single word of protest at him paying for both of you, then he got several packages of animal food as well, and you were convinced that not a single animal in this zoo could be cuter than your boyfriend.

he dragged you from animal to animal, seemingly aimlessly, needing you to tell him to be careful with the food because if he gave it all to a single animal he wouldn’t be able to feed any others, but secretly you were just as excited as him, being thrown back into your happy childhood memories while you were making new happy memories with the man you loved. you were glad he was taking the lead, in a way, because you could already feel the sentimentality make its way to your eyes in the form of small tears, and you knew that if he wasn’t keeping you busy like this you’d be sobbing before long.

when you reached the llamas and you warned him not to get too close because they had a tendency to spit at people he told you confidently that they only spit at people they didn’t like so he wasn’t in any danger since he was ‘the coolest guy they’d ever get to see’. really, he’d spotted a pretty flower near the fence, and getting spit on was a risk he was willing to take in order for the next part of his anniversary date plan to be perfect.

he knelt down to pick the flower and you smiled at him, but your expression quickly turned into one of confusion as he remained kneeling when he turned towards you, shuffling until he was in the right position, one knee on the ground and the other propped up in front of his body, holding onto the flower tightly while looking around nervously. oh.

“uh… this is awkward.” he laughed, but quickly continued speaking.

“y/n, this is our third anniversary, right? and you always said how three is your lucky number so i thought this might be the right moment to ask… if you’d like to marry me? it’s fine if you don’t but i’d love it if you did.”

you looked at him wide-eyed, not really sure how to react or if you’d even be able to react at all. of course you wanted to, of course you would, but you hadn’t expected this, and the fact that it came so sudden left you speechless. but you started nodding, fast and with an intensity that might break your neck, not wanting him to doubt even for a second what your answer would be.

“yes?” he was still on the ground, looking up at you with hopeful eyes, and you wanted nothing more than to marry him right there already. your frantic nodding continued, tears that had been starting to form in your eyes since earlier now spilling, and a smile lit up his face, lit up the entire park, lit up the entire world. you didn’t need the sun as long as you had him looking at you like that. he got up, lifted you up and twirled you around, the flower in his hand forgotten, discarded to the ground, and you wrapped your arms around him tightly, never wanting to let go ever again. but you sadly had to as he let you down, starting to search in his pockets for something. the ring? you were about to tell him that you didn’t want a ring, didn’t need a ring, would rather that money was spent on your future - you knew these rings were ridiculously expensive, and you didn’t like the thought of spending money on something like that, something that would only be temporary. but he surprised you once more when he got out a blue lollipop ring, giving you his signature goofy grin.

“i didn’t know your finger size and i thought this would be more personal. it’s your favourite colour. if you want a real one we can go pick one out, but i didn’t want to get one that you maybe wouldn’t even like, so…” he looked a little anxious about your reaction, but he had no reason to be, your smile at least as bright as his now.

“please put it on, will you?” you held out your hand (the wrong one, but neither of you noticed nor cared), and he grabbed it with a softness that felt like he was scared you might break under his touch if he held it too hard. then he brought it to his lips, giving it a small, soft kiss before putting on the lollipop ring which really only fit because you had small hands, but he knew you did. laughter bubbled out of you, the situation first now really hitting you. you were engaged. you were going to marry him, mingi, the love of your life. and the laughter increased when the llama next to you had used you admiring the way the silly ring looked on your hand as its chance to lick at it and, subsequently, also your hand, making you squeal slightly but then only laugh even more as your now-fiancé swatted it away, laughing as well.

“this one isn’t for you!”, he told the animal sternly, scolding it as if it could understand. then he turned back to face you.

“thank you. i know i’m not perfect but i promise i’ll be yours, i’ll promise i’ll tell you every single day and i promise i’ll tell everyone i meet, i’ll say ‘hello, i’m mingi and i’m engaged to the most perfect person in the world’, and then when we’re married i’ll say ‘hello, i’m mingi and i’m married to the most perfect person in the world’, and everyone will be so jealous because i’m so happy and they can only dream of having someone like you, and i’ll tell you every single day ‘hello, love of my life, today another person was jealous of how lucky i am to have you’, and then before we go to bed i’ll tell you ‘goodnight, i’m your husband’ just in case you forget, and when we wake up i’ll tell you ‘good morning, i’m still your husband’, and i’ll do that every single day because i just can’t believe it’s real and i got so lucky, and you’ll have to deal with it.” he was rambling, as he did when he was nervous, but you could tell that he was incredibly happy, no matter how nervous he was. and so were you, starting to full on sob at his little speech.

“are you okay?”, he asked worriedly. “do you not want to anymore?” the fear was apparent on his face as he looked at you, scared you’d changed your mind, but you hadn’t and you knew you never would.

“i love you. i love you so much, mingi”, you let him know in between your sobs, wrapping your arms around his ribcage and hiding your face in his neck. and because he knew you, because he knew you better than anyone else, he knew you just needed a moment to realise all this was real and happening, and he gave you that moment, pressing small kisses onto the top of your head as he let you cry until you were done. then you moved away from him slightly, lifting the hand with the lollipop ring in front of your face again and smiling up at him, and he was convinced he’d never seen someone as beautiful, even with the tears still on your face and your eyes red. you were the most beautiful person in the world. you were his world. and he feared his heart would burst with love at your next words.

“we need a matching one for you, if they make them in your size.”

[roseworth]

All Was Golden in the Sky

Description: Flynn Rider was 13 the first time he saw the lanterns. They were everything he thought they would be and more. What he didn't expect was for them to change his outlook on life. (Title inspired by "When the Day Met the Night" by P!ATD)

Word count: 2322

Relationships: Lance & Eugene, Rapunzel/Eugene

AO3

Flynn was 13 the first time he went to Corona.

He was excited to finally go somewhere where no one knew him as Eugene. In Vardaros, there were plenty of people that still thought of him as “poor orphan Eugene.” He hated it. He didn’t want to be known as an orphan, he wanted to be known as a legend.

That’s why he liked going by Flynn Rider. Flynn Rider was rich and famous, Eugene Fitzherbert was neither of those things.

He and Lance had just left the orphanage a few days ago. He planned on going back eventually, he just wanted to see more of the world than an orphanage. He also figured that they could get some nice things in Corona. They had heard about some big festival happening, and when they found out it was only a few days away, they decided to sneak out and go.

They were immediately met with crowds of people. Flynn had never seen so many people in one place. Might make it easier to take some things off their hands, he thought. If people were bustling around, there was no way they would notice a few dollars gone from their pocket. Lance and Flynn had done a little bit of thieving before, just some pickpocketing here and there, but Flynn wondered what it would be like to take something big. It’s not like any of those rich people would miss it.

Lance nudged him out of his thoughts and pointed to a shop across the street. Flynn squinted at the sign. “A Sweet Shoppe?”

Lance nodded. “Come on, when was the last time we had something good?” he said, walking towards the shop.

Flynn started following. “So what’s the plan?” he asked. Lance shrugged.

“I guess we’ll just take it and run,” he answered.

Flynn sighed. “We’ve been in this kingdom for 5 minutes, we don’t need the guards on our trail already.”

“Well, do you have a better plan?"

He hesitated, trying to think of something. “What if you distracted the owner while I took the candy?”

“See, now we have a plan! That’s called teamwork.”

“What? But I made the plan!”

“Yeah, and I was the one that decided to go to the Sweet Shoppe. So it was a team effort.”

Flynn rolled his eyes. They made it to the door and walked in, and he immediately felt out of place. Most of the other kids here were dressed in nice clothes (well, nice compared to the rags that the two of them were wearing). The kids there all had their parents with them, too. He watched as a kid tugged on her mom’s hand as they looked at the chocolate sculptures on display. His stomach flipped a bit watching these kids interact with their parents, but Lance was focused on the food.

He was ready to put the plan into action before the owner came up to both of them. “How do you boys do?” he asked. “I don’t think I’ve seen you here before. I’m Monty, but most people call me Uncle Monty.”

Flynn started to smile. He started to feel bad that he was planning on stealing from this man. He seemed to be nice, and he wasn’t trying to kick them out. That’s when he came up with a new plan. He glanced at Lance, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“Hi, Uncle Monty. My name’s Lance, this is Flynn. We came all the way from Vardaros for this festival.”

“We’re from the orphanage,” Flynn added, hoping to score some sympathy points.

“And we just really wanted some candy… because we’ve never had any before,” Lance sighed dramatically. That was mostly a lie, they had had candy before, but only on rare occasions.

However, it seemed to be working on Uncle Monty. “Well, gosh, I’ve got plenty of candy here, just take your pick!” he exclaimed.

Flynn did his best to make his eyes tear up. “But we don’t have any money…” he said sadly.

“No problem, it’s on the house!” he told them. “Everyone could use a little sweetness in their life.” Lance and Flynn smiled at each other and thanked Monty as they went to grab some lollipops. Then, they sat down near the cash register to continue talking to Uncle Monty.

“So what’s this festival for?” Flynn asked. “I know there’s something with the lanterns and the princess, but what does she need the lanterns for?”

“Oh, see, the princess was taken from her family as a baby, and now the king and queen send lanterns into the sky so she can see them and return someday,” Monty explained.

“Do you think she’ll see them?” Lance asked.

Monty shrugged. “We can only hope.”

Lance and Monty soon changed the subject, but Flynn couldn’t stop thinking about the lost princess. For all anyone knew, she could be dead, but they still threw this party to try to find her. He wondered why anyone would want to steal a baby in the first place, and he wondered what you would do with a stolen baby.

What was so great about a stolen baby anyways? If the kidnapper wanted a baby they could have just gone to the orphanage, there are plenty of kids there. What makes a princess baby better than any other baby, especially if the baby doesn’t even know she’s a princess?

He thought about Flynnagan Rider. In one of the books at the orphanage, Rider saves a princess from a fire breathing dragon, and the whole kingdom rejoices. The princess even offered Rider gold, but he said no because he just did it to save her.

Flynn wondered if he could do the same. Maybe he would find this princess and save her from whatever lizard monster or witch that trapped her, and the whole kingdom would regard him as a legend just like Flynnagan Rider (though if they offered him gold he wouldn’t turn it down like Flynnagan did).

He shook his head at himself. He couldn’t get his hopes up. The princess was probably far away by now, and everyone only knew her as a baby. He didn’t know how long she had been gone, but she definitely didn’t look like a baby anymore. If she didn’t know she was the lost princess, no one would.

“Flynn?” Lance said snapping him out of his thoughts. “You’ve been quiet for a while, that’s not like you,” he joked. “Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

Flynn smiled and shrugged. “Just enjoying this lollipop.”

Flynn and Lance spent the rest of the day talking to Uncle Monty. Monty looked out the window as it started getting darker. “You boys better get going if you want to get a good view of the lanterns. You never forget the first time you see something like that.” The boys thanked Monty for the candy, then were on their way to find a good spot, preferably in a large crowd. They planned to make some money off of this trip too. Just like they had done during the Empyrean Showers, they would wait until the lanterns were in the sky and do a bit of pickpocketing while everyone was distracted.

Suddenly, he looked up and saw a lantern in the sky. As soon as he saw that one, lanterns started raising all around him. “Wow,” he said. Lance was looking up too. The sky was entirely lit up with these lanterns. It looked amazing.

His mind wandered back to the princess. The king and queen were willing to do all of this for their daughter because of how much they cared about her. The people of Corona sent out hundreds of these lanterns into the sky because they all cared about this baby that they hadn’t seen in years.

It made him think about his parents. He had always thought of them as rogues like he wanted to be, and that they would come back to the orphanage soon enough. But seeing this made him think that wasn’t meant to happen. The king and queen worked so hard to find their daughter, and his parents had left him at an orphanage.

His parents didn’t really love him. He hadn’t exactly made himself hard to find, that’s why he always came back to the orphanage. He was ready for his parents to come back to get him at any moment, but seeing how much effort the princess’s parents put into finding her, he realized that his parents didn’t care.

His eyes started to well up with tears, but he quickly blinked them away. He’s Flynn Rider, Flynn Rider doesn’t need anyone. All he needed was money and fame. Flynn Rider, legendary thief. He liked the sound of that. And once he stole enough that he didn’t need to steal anymore? He would get himself an island all alone. He still wouldn’t need anyone, he’d have his own island. With lots of money. And maybe girls.

He and Lance had both gotten distracted by the lights and didn’t do any pickpocketing, but Flynn was thinking past pickpocketing now. No orphan pickpocket was ever thought of as a legend. “Hey Lance?”

“Yeah?”

“What would you say if we didn’t go back to the orphanage? And started stealing more instead?”

Lance grinned. “I would be on board. Lance and Flynn, legendary crime duo, right?"

Flynn nodded and grinned back. But he and Lance wouldn’t be a duo forever, Flynn Rider didn’t need anyone else. Every man for himself, he thought.

**

“What are you thinking about?” Rapunzel questioned, slightly nudging his side. Eugene had been silently staring at the lanterns for a while. They were sitting in their boat as the lights floated in the sky, his arm around her as her head rested on his shoulder. Eugene turned to her and smiled. “Just thinking about the first time I saw these lanterns.”

“When was that?”

“I think about 15 years ago. It was the first time Lance and I went to Corona. It was… bittersweet.”

“Why bittersweet?”

He sighed. “It was the first time I think I truly understood my parents weren’t coming back for me. I saw what your parents were willing to do to find you, and I realized that my parents weren’t even looking for me.”

“Eugene…” she said softly, grabbing his hand.

“It’s alright, though, that’s when the “sweet” part of bittersweet comes in. Because of that, I realized that I wasn’t gaining anything waiting around at that orphanage, so that’s when Lance and I decided to go out on our own and start living life,” he said. “If that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have met you. Plus, meeting you did end up leading me to meet my dad, so it all worked out in the end.”

Rapunzel frowned. “I still don’t like the thought of little Eugene giving up all the hope he had, even if it did lead to us meeting. I would live in that tower for the rest of my life if it meant you could live a happy life.” He gave her a small smile.

“Sunshine, I’m the happiest anyone could ever be because you’re not living the rest of your life in that tower.”

She leaned further into him and smiled, but she couldn’t get over the fact that Eugene stopped dreaming because of a lantern ceremony thrown for her. But it didn’t matter what happened in the past. They couldn’t change it, they could only love each other in the present. They were there, and they were together watching these lanterns for the fifth time in a row.

“You know, we’ve probably been watching these lanterns together for years without knowing it,” Rapunzel thought out loud.

Eugene looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“You said you were watching these lanterns 15 years ago, I was at my window watching them too. We were watching the same lanterns for years before we met.”

He laughed. “Well, when you put it that way, maybe we really were meant to be. Along with the hundreds of other people watching, too,” he teased.

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean,” she retorted with a smile.

“What’s even better is when I first heard what happened to the Lost Princess, I decided I would be the one to save her. It was gonna be an epic Flynn Rider quest, save the damsel in distress and earn the gratitude of the kingdom.”

She giggled. “Was the real quest everything you dreamed it would be?”

“Well, I gotta say, when I played it out in my head I didn’t think I would die. Not to mention, I’ve been the one in distress far more than you,” he quipped.

Rapunzel laughed again, then lifted her head up to kiss his cheek. They fell into a comfortable silence as they continued to watch the lanterns light up the sky. She thought about how every lantern in the sky was released by someone. Each person had their own story of why they were there and what the lanterns meant to them. The lanterns were more than just her way home, it was a way of connecting for all of Corona.

She looked at Eugene. He was her dream and the love of her life, and it all started because of the lanterns. She didn’t want to think about where they could both be right now without these lanterns. Too much of life is spent on “what ifs,” and all she wanted to focus on was “now.” Right now, she is happier than she ever thought anyone could be, and didn’t even want to imagine her life differently.

“I love you,” she said, beaming. She didn’t know how to tell him everything she was thinking, she hoped those three words encapsulated it enough. Given by the look he gave to her in response, they did.

“I love you too, Sunshine.”

[yfere]

Shipping Calculus! Live Updates from C2E67

A Battle heavy episode, but not one without its Shipping Moments! Thank you to @alarnia, @softazelma, and @drinkingdeadpeopletea for helping with data entry. Masterpost here.

+23 to Caleb/Jester/The Silver Thread of Fate They get equal credit as Caleb did this with Jester’s suggestions and guidance, even choosing the ankle—then the pinky to tie everyone together with! They knew what they were doing. This is polynein at work, my friends.

+15 to Caleb/Channeling His Inner Druid as he polymorphs into a spider, and a giant eagle, and in general has seemed to decide that he much prefers being an animal to a human wizard being.

+16 to Caleb/Caduceus …An inclination which happens to be very compatible with a Caduceus romance, as dear Cads is the only one Not Quite A Druid!Caleb can understand when he’s being his dumbo polymorphed self. These two did pretty well on the Battle Points—despite a few missed opportunities Caduceus did Bless the Spider, and Caduceus is very, very appreciative of Caleb’s searching the Spider Lair. Caduceus in general trying to stick by Caleb, though point loss for Caleb rebuffing him by insisting that the blind folks Should Not Be Beside Each Other. Both of them sharing an attitude of respect for the dead…

+6 to Jester/Caduceus…and Jester makes an effort to respect the dead as well, when asking for Caduceus’ advice on the optics of stealing an angel skull to interrogate. Some Battle Points with Jester also smashing up attacking spiders and so on, Caduceus confusedly letting Eagle!Jester carry him to safety and staying by the door until she herself was safe.

+8 to Caleb/Jester which would be more, what with Caleb tossing all Keys and Goods in her direction, them both turning into Eagles together, Caleb hanging on every suggestion of Jester’s and staying behind even while on death’s door himself to make sure she made it back safely and Fireball her foes…however, there is no better way to drain all the points out of a ship then to reject hand holding when it’s offered to you. Shame on you, Jester!

-1 to The Mighty Nein/No Jester Left Behind Act as Eagle!Jester rescues literally everyone—Nott, Caduceus, Yasha—to be, once again, the last to get to safety, the closest to being left behind. Points gained for Caduceus and Caleb hanging out by the door for her

+5 to Nott/Never Letting Shit Go as she pokes at Caleb by asking if they’re going to do the thing where they take scrolls without telling anyone else. The day Nott fails to bring up old drama is the day she has been murdered and replaced with a doppelganger.

+0 to Fjord/Jester/Caleb as Fjord says he “always loves doing two at a time” (!!!!!!) and working together with Caleb to craft the perfect message for Oban. Unfortunately, point loss as Fjord is also Horrified And Not At All Pleased with Jester and Caleb’s Eagle! antics, since all animals Especially Those Resembling Rocs in Fjord’s book are to Be Hated And Feared. As such this episode births the first Anti Ship Mascot.

+13 to Nott/Yasha Surprisingly, these two actually have an excellent week. Despite Nott continuing to interrogate Yasha over her flask, Yasha is sweetly protective of Nott and draws her sword to the sound of Nott’s distress. She is the most effusive in complimenting Nott’s Murdering Skill, and adorably offers her own title of the Orphanmaker up for Nott to use—and then they talk about making a band of it! Iconic.

+6 to Beau/Yasha/Jester as they all blow and use their cloaks to beat back the fog while looking for traps, though they didn’t exactly succeed in their stated purpose

-25 to the Mighty Nein/Traps Of course, at this point it’s more surprising for them to not set off a trap than the other way around, but between Nott getting characteristically caught in webbing, Fjord setting off an electronic trap that nearly killed everyone, and Beau and Nott both making noise to disturb an awful psychic nightmare of a cliffside trap, twas a particularly awful week for this group.

+11 to Fjord/Jester as they have a great, if understated week, with Jester doing relatively well on the Battle Points those times when she prioritizes smashing up/fooling spiders and zombies attacking Fjord, and Fjord thinking her zombie murdering skills are amazing. Fjord is also very sweet about not wanting Jester to feel like she’s wasting her spells knowing that she always worries about just that, Jester worries (justifiably) over Fjord pressing forward alone, and with Fjord attempting to join Jester and co’s band with his sightreading skills. Point loss for apparently not actually being able to sightread, Fjord your powerful pokerface is why no one trusts you, you know that right? Also point loss for Jester once more taking joy in Fjord’s squeamishness over spider egg sacs.

-20 to Caleb/Penetration as he Shields that suggestively-placed stinging protrusion from the demon-spider! Take him out to dinner first, you animal (somewhere he isn’t on the menu)! Admittedly Caleb turning into a charming spider in response may have sent a couple of mixed messages, but the Queen Spider was murdered before anyone had the chance to find out whether it would have gone anywhere

+10 to Beau/Jester as through pure Sapphic Intuition they identify a hole in the ground before anyone else. Them goofing off and spelling their names in the fog, Beau missing Jester’s unicorns, and them discussing body farms, that most romantic of detectively topics.

+7 to Jester/Nott and -10 to Jester/Anatomy as Jester is now imitating Nott’s thunking breasts pantomime when talking about “big racks.” Jester discussing Buttons, rescuing Nott in eagle form, and alongside Yasha being Incredibly Though Ineffectively Supportive of Sober!Nott, similar Battle Couple Shenanigans of Jester popping zombies like balloons while Nott uses her mage hand to scoop up the hearts for the Creepy Puzzle Door.

+18 to Beau/Yasha as it is Shipping Law that tearing out monster hearts together is Peak Date Material, not to mention them coordinating killing/heart-snatching moves with Peak Battle Couple Efficiency, and Yasha being Very Impressed with Beau’s ability to quickly finish the lightning trap with the power of her fists. Those are some talented hands Beau has there

+3 to Beau/Unnecessary Apologies as she apparently thinks she needs to say “sorry” for not having stolen Nott’s flask. Sorry. She didn’t. Steal Nott’s flask. And then gifts her the last drops of her family’s wine. Beau!

-4 the Mighty Nein/Spoilers This week Oban is looking out for them and preserving their sense of surprise, with only a vague “be careful” as a warning of what is to come

+2 to Fjord/Caduceus as Caduceus defends Fjord’s caution to the rest of the group, and them intently seeking Bindings of One Kind Or Another together. Sadly, their potential to gain more points was cut off by Fjord deciding not to take first watch with Caduceus after all.

-2 to Nott/One-liners as she feels the need to downgrade the coolness factor of her terrifying one-shot finishing blows by stumbling over jokes with no punchline, demonstrating maybe one thing suffering with her newfound sobriety +2 to the Mighty Nein/Totally Not Anachronisms for Nott inventing the internet, though.

+16 to Jester/Yasha as these two continue to be embarrassingly adorable at all times, with Yasha complimenting the blue feathers of Jester’s Eagle form while being rescued, and alongside Nott discussing the Orphanmakers band together. Jester defending Yasha first in battle with the spiders, and Yasha adorably thanking her for the lollipop assistance afterwards.

+8 to Caleb/Fjord as the Full Spectrum of Fireball Shipping Power was used, ranging from using it to save Fjord and the rest from Baby Spider Hell and earning a “that’s hot” from Fjord which, can be interpreted in many interesting ways, to Caleb’s fireball destroying a bunch of zombies but nonetheless ruining the moment and losing points for getting Fjord slapped around by torn-up limbs. Fjord pulling a Classic Fjord Ship Maneuver in yelling at people not letting Caleb do His Thing. Caleb, for his part, pulling a Classic Romance Novel Maneuver by crashing into Fjord on the stairs and saying hello in a supremely awkward manner. Sadly not many classic Battle Points, with *sighs* pragmatism in target choice getting in the way.

+1 to Fjord/Spiders We all know Fjord has a tendency to fuck things he’s frightened of, but unfortunately this week he was not willing to take a full action to do so in battle. Too many eyes on him, apparently.

-500000 to Sam Riegel/His Presidential Campaign At this point, Sam’s official flag should be his white burial shroud tied to a stick and waved around in surrender #VoteWithYourJohnson #LiamForPresident

[cami-chats]

Lovin’ Me Good

Fandom: Marvel

Pairings: Bucky Barnes/Natasha Stark (fem!Tony Stark) 

Summary: Bucky loves Natasha Stark so much he forgets that people have shit ideas about her.

Author’s Note: Commission for someone that wanted fem!Tony but still older than Bucky :D Starring: Natasha Stark as middle aged, trans, and gorgeous, Bucky as super in love, and a random asshole who exists to get the story kicking. (PWP)

Link to AO3 

They were at an event when Bucky heard it. It wasn't rare for them to be at an event together, practically a bimonthly occurrence for him and Natasha. Right after they started dating, paparazzi got a picture of them at a restaurant, and it was plastered everywhere for weeks. So called 'news stations' were doing pieces about them, speculating on how long ago this had started, if the Winter Soldier killed the Stark parents had been motivated by possessive jealousy, if she had stolen him from Steve, that sort of bullshit. 

Bucky had expected all of that. He'd been given the run down on modern media when he became part of the Avengers, and Natasha had told him again when they got together. The problem was that Bucky had never heard someone that wasn't a paparazzi or trashy journalist saying those things. He was at the event, expecting the usual snide comments and backhanded compliments. What he got was someone saying, to his face while Natasha was in the ladies' room and he was grabbing some water, "So how much does she pay you?" 

Bucky looked at the man-- suit nice, but the way he was attempting to lounge in it made the material look unfitted-- bewildered. "Excuse me?" 

"Relax Bucky, I'm just joking." Uh, yeah he was clearly joking, but not in a way that would have made Bucky forgive him. Also, Bucky had never met this man before, so him calling him by his first name wasn't going to earn him any points. People just decided they could do that every now and then though, called him by his first name like they were old friends instead of strangers. "I'm sure Stark has other assets that make her fun to be with even if the MILF look never did it for me." 

Bucky just stared at him. Was he actually saying these words? "What the hell is wrong with you?" 

The man spluttered a bit, trying to save face since he finally figured out that he wasn't making a very good impression. The bartender slid Bucky's drink in front of him, so he grabbed it and left without another word. Natasha found him a minute later, looking absolutely gorgeous in her dress. Red and slinky, the blue light of the arc reactor not detracting from the overall look. Her hair was pinned up with a blue clasp that Bucky knew had pieces of an old arc reactor in it. She had little crows feet at the corner of her eyes, laugh lines curving against the inside of her cheeks, and the natural maturity to her face that came with aging. Her long hair didn't show any grey yet, but he knew it was going to happen soon. He hoped it happened soon, because she would look incredible with little streaks of silver through her otherwise dark hair. Bucky was tempted to find that guy just to punch him in the teeth, but it was a much better use of his time to wrap an arm around her waist and press a kiss to her cheek. 

"Hey darlin'." 

Natasha, of course, knew that something was off right away. She put her arm around him in kind automatically, leaning into him. "What happened?" 

"Nothin'," he said automatically. She raised an eyebrow, and Bucky sighed. "Someone just... talking shit about you. Us." 

Natasha's expression turned sympathetic. "People are always going to do that, Bucky. You can't let it bother you." 

"Yeah, so you and everyone else on the team keeps reminding me." 

"If there's a dumb opinion, someone out there has it and they're going to yell it like an edict from god." 

Bucky chuckled, kissing her cheek again. "I guess." 

"Besides, it's not like they don't have half a leg to stand on with us." 

"Huh?" 

"Nothing personal babe," she said, patting his chest absently as she looked into the crowd, "but I am sorta rocking the cougar dream here." 

"I'm older than you," Bucky said, frowning. 

"True, but you don't look it. As far as everyone else is concerned, I'm another rich person with a partner twenty years younger than me." 

"You're a billionaire, not 'another rich person'. You're better than them." He paused, then added, "I'm much hotter than any of their trophy wives, so they can suck it." 

Natasha grinned, giving him a quick squeeze. "That's why I love you." 

Bucky tried to forget about it like Natasha suggested, but for the rest of the night he couldn't get it out of his head. Any time he wasn't talking, he wondered if that was really how Natasha thought about their relationship. She cared about him, no question, but did she know how much she meant to him? Natasha was a goddamn miracle, and perfect besides. She was strong and smart, and even though she hid it behind a curtain of snark, she was one of the kindest people he'd ever met. He never would have made it a month without her help, and while he could stand here trying to wax poetic about her all day, that didn't really help her know how much he loved her. He was supposed to shake it off when people talked shit about her, and he didn't know how the hell he was supposed to manage that when she was so ridiculously incredible. 

When the night came to an end, they climbed in the backseat of the car. Happy rolled the partition up out of habit, then started driving. All of Natasha's cars drove smoothly, and Happy was so familiar with them that it didn't feel like they were moving at all. The party had been on the far side of Brooklyn, so it was going to take them a while to get back to the mansion. "God," she groaned, taking her shoes off and rubbing at her feet. "Those things don't get any more comfortable the longer you wear them." 

"C'mere," Bucky said. 

Natasha turned, setting her feet in his lap. When he pressed his thumb into the arch of her foot, she moaned, relaxing back against the car door. "This is the real reason I keep you around, my god." 

"Stop wearing heels, doll. Your feet will thank you for it." 

"Yeah but I like them. I look so pretty in them," Natasha joked, but she went absolutely boneless when Bucky rubbed deeper into her foot. It was like every future ache she would have was already gone. "If you ever decide to give up superheroing, find a job as a massage therapist; I guarantee you will never go hungry, sweet jesus." 

Bucky felt interest, hot and molten, sliding into place in his abdomen. It was hardly the first time Natasha had given him a compliment, and if the trend held, it wouldn't be the last. He curved one hand around her ankle, stroking the skin up her shin with short motions of his thumb. 

"So correct me if I'm wrong," Natasha said, not bothering to open her eyes, "but is this your way of saying you want to get it on in the car right now? Because I am all for that." 

"Yeah?" 

"Definitely," she said, bringing up the foot that wasn't currently in Bucky's hand to pat against his leg. 

Bucky grinned, sliding her dress easily to the top of her legs. It's not like the dress had taken up a lot of space in the first place since Natasha liked to go for the slinky look, and it puddled along her hips like water. He slid as far away as he could get, bumping into the car door, and spreading her legs wider but taking his sweet time. They were getting started in the car, but they weren't finishing here; Bucky had too many plans for this night for it to end so quickly. Her ankle bone jutted out just above her foot, and Bucky pressed a kiss there. He skimmed his lips up her calf, kissing at the thick bound of muscle there. She did so much work as Iron Man on top of wearing heels every few days that her legs were nice. Bucky thought it might be his favorite part about her, but he did this every time. His favorite part of her was whatever he kissed first, and it changed with every new place he touched. A kiss right on top of her knee, and he smiled to himself, kissing it again just to feel the rough skin against his lips. "You're so goddamn gorgeous, y'know that?" 

"I think you've said it once or twice." She nudged his shoulder with the side of her knee. "Car sex is supposed to quick and dirty, baby. Make a mess of my hair and rip my dress." 

"Tempting," Bucky murmured, considering for a moment to change his plan. But no, this was to help show Natasha how much he loved being with her, not to get off. Although, getting off was going to be a definite plus, one he was going to make sure she enjoyed. "But I've got plans for you, so your dress gets to survive the car ride." 

"Not the whole night?" Natasha asked with a knowing smirk. 

"Nah." He moved his way up her thigh, lazily sucking a mark on the inside. 

"You," Natasha said, eyes fixed on him, "are a menace." 

"Am I?" He kissed his way higher. "Mm, good thing you're takin' care of me then. Saving all those other women from gettin' their feelings hurt." 

"Oh yeah? You think you'd be a heartbreaker without me around?" 

"I wouldn't say that." Bucky rubbed his cheek against her underwear, silky smooth against his skin but just a tease to her. "More like I'd keep gettin' tired of all the people that aren't half as amazing as you." 

"Flattery will get you everywhere." 

"Only one place I wanna be, and I don't think you'd kick me out of it now." He licked a broad stripe up her length through the underwear, smugly satisfied when her hips twitched up for more. He pulled the elastic band down, wrapping his lips around the head and slowly sucking down as he pulled her underwear further and further down. 

"Fuck." She knocked her head back against the door, fisting a hand in his hair. She wasn't forcing him down or anything, but she liked tugging on his hair-- and even better, he liked it when she pulled on his hair. 

He slurped as he made his way back up, holding the base in his hand and licking at the head like a lollipop. 

"You are evil," she whined, but she didn't make any move to take matters into her own hands. "C'mon baby, don't tease." 

"I ain't teasing, I'm just takin' my time." 

"Well take my time and get a move on, fuck's sake," she fake-complained, ending with a gasp as he took her in suddenly. "Shit, Bucky!" 

He inched his way down her length. The tip nudged the back of his throat and he eased off for a moment, then went down slowly, his throat tightening around her. 

Natasha's mouth dropped open, and her throat worked, trying to say something, anything to let Bucky know how much she loved this, loved him, but the words got stuck. Bucky swallowed, and she let out a ragged breath. God his mouth was so hot and wet it was like living in fucking ecstasy. New rule: heaven had to be like this and nothing else. "F-fuck," she stuttered out, feeling entirely too warm. Her cheeks were flushed hot, and from her toes to the tips of her fingers there was a warm tingle-- like that time she'd taken a bath with a fancy bath bomb before she realized she was allergic to lavender only this was a hundred times better. "Bucky baby, you're killing me." 

He didn't move, and Natasha was vividly reminded of that time he'd tested how long he could hold his breath. Surely he wouldn't do it now, right? Before the thought could take root, Bucky slowly pulled off, looking smug as all hell. "Nah, I wouldn't do that to ya." He gave quick little licks up her shaft before kissing her stomach. "I love you so much, y'know that?" 

"You never let me forget," she said, looking down at him fondly. 

"You sure about that?" he asked, continuing to kiss along her stomach. 

"What do you mean?" 

He skimmed his nose across the edge of her hipbone, enjoying the closeness. "Earlier, you called yourself a cougar. Made it sound like I was with you f'r the money or somethin'. There ain't any truth to that darlin', and I wanted to make sure you knew that." 

"Of course I know that," Natasha said softly. "I was only teasing, Bucky. If you were with me for the money, you'd actually spend it every once in a while." 

"Or how 'bout I'm with you cause I love you? I ain't ignoring your money or your age or anything, I'm here for you." 

Her expression softened even more. "I know." 

"Then lay back and let me love you a little, yeah?" He pushed her dress further up, the fabric in a bunch under her breasts. "I don't need a reason to make you feel good, but I actually have one tonight so let's enjoy it." 

"I always enjoy it." 

"That's the aim," Bucky said, shooting her a grin. Natasha's dress either could be pulled up over her head, or it could be unzipped on the back. The car was nice and big, but it wasn't exactly a limo. They could finagle around so he could reach the back zipper, but this wasn't fucking in the car, this was making out like horny teenagers with no supervision until they got home and could make it inside. He slid the strap off her shoulder and pulled the fabric down to expose one of her breasts, covering the newly exposed skin with his mouth. She wasn't too sensitive, but she could feel the warmth from his tongue as he swiped it across her nipple before covering as much of her with his mouth as he could. 

Natasha arched her back without meaning to, pushing further into him. "Oh fuck," she breathed. The handle on the side of the door was poking uncomfortably along her shoulders, her neck was craned at a steep angle, and she was half falling off the seat because it didn't matter how big her back seat was, there wasn't enough space for her to spread her legs this wide and stay centered on the cushion. None of that mattered right now because Bucky's mouth on her felt divine, but it was going to matter soon unless she changed how she was laying. She didn't say anything for the moment because she didn't feel like moving. She just threaded her fingers in Bucky's hair and held him close as he left a hickey on the bottom curve of her breast and kissed his way up her shoulder. "You are- mm- too good to me honey." 

"No such thing," he muttered, lips not leaving her skin. "You deserve the best." 

"Then you wanna help me sit up so I don't get a crick in my back?" 

He slid one hand under her back and lifted, tilting her to a more comfortable position immediately. 

"Thanks babe." 

"Mmhmm," he hummed, hiding his face in her neck and mouthing at the sensitive skin there. She tilted her head to encourage him, and he scraped his teeth over the extended tendon, making her shiver. 

"I love you. Have I mentioned that recently?" 

"Once or twice," he said with a small smirk. She dressed up too often for him to leave a hickey that high, but he toyed with the idea for a minute, biting down lightly and licking at her skin to soothe it. "I wouldn't mind hearing it again though." 

"So needy," she teased. She turned her head and kissed the top of his head. He looked up, catching her in a kiss. It was familiar, but never boring. His stubble scratched around her mouth, and she leaned into him more fully, moaning when he gripped her hip and pushed himself up so they weren't having to reach as far. Even so, the angle wasn't quite right, and again: back seat of a car. Space was at a premium, so Bucky broke off the kiss after a minute and dropped to the floor mats. 

He winced at how carelessly he'd landed, adjusting himself through his trousers. 

"You know," Natasha said, "if you'd come back up here I could take care of you." 

Bucky shook his head as she readjusted to face him. "We ain't goin' anywhere yet, no need to rush." 

"Rush? Nothing rushing about it baby," she said, hooking one of her legs on his shoulder so he was in close. His eyes darkened, and one of his hands creeped over her thigh like he didn't notice what he was doing. "We went through a fucking horrible party to get to the nice fucking part of our evening, didn't we?" 

"Yeah honey," he breathed. 

"So I don't think it's asking that much for you to plow me through the back seat, do you?" 

Bucky hummed, licking along the length of her clit as he considered. He ran the flat of his tongue on her slit, loving the way her hips jerked and she moaned like it was all she wanted in the world. "I'd love to Natasha, but I'm gonna spread you out on our bed and do you right, this time." 

"Ah- but, car sex is so much fun." 

"Fun, but it ain't sweet." 

"Aw c'mon, who needs sweet when I can be reminded of how big your cock is in my ass." 

"You'll get that when we get home just as well as you would in here." 

"It's not the same," Natasha mock-complained, but even that was gone when Bucky rubbed a finger against her perineum. "Fuck Bucky, come on, come on, I want you." 

"Want you too sweetheart, but we can make it." 

"You're such an ass," she groaned, knocking her head back as he kept licking and toying his fingers along the spots where she was sensitive. "You keep throwing around this 'we' word," she said, rolling her hips towards him in a futile attempt to convince him to touch her more, "but I'm the only one suffering." 

"You think it's not killin' me to not touch you the way I want to?" he murmured, hugging one of her legs to him as he continued. "Nothin' about this is easy for me honey." Wanting Natasha was like a low flame in his gut, always there. Sometimes it flared or spit sparks, but it was a constant companion, something he'd gotten used to handling otherwise they'd never leave their home. It wasn't easy to not press her down and fuck her slow and smooth, but it was familiar. 

"Then throw a girl a bone." She paused, shooting him a shit-eating grin that was in no way diminished by the makeup that was smudged all over her face. "Get it? Bone?" 

Bucky chuckled. "I have an idea." 

"Great!" 

"You're not gonna like it." 

"Aw Bucky, come on," she said, pouting. It was a tits out look, and Bucky loved her that much more for it. She heaved a put-upon sigh and flicked her fingers, gesturing for him to come back on the seat. He did, and she picked up handfuls of her skirt so she could slide onto his lap. "See? Much better," she grinned. Then, because she wanted to tease him a little too, she positioned her ass over his cock, rubbing herself on top of his trousers. 

"God honey." His hands went to her hips, and they moved together for a while, kissing leisurely. Bucky didn't mean to, but he started gripping her tighter. By the time they stopped, he had to relax his hand enough that he knew she'd have a bruise in the morning. He smoothed his fingers over the skin like it might heal her. He licked his lips, glancing out the darkened window. No street lights or lit up signs, just the even lighting of Natasha's garage beneath the Tower. "I guess we're home now." 

"Looks that way," she said, sucking on the hinge of his jaw. "Let's get upstairs." She rolled off to be sitting next to him and pulled the straps of her dress back onto her shoulders. 

"Good idea." Bucky gingerly adjusted himself through his trousers, following Natasha as she opened the car door and stepped outside, letting her dress fall down to cover herself. He grabbed the discarded underwear and shoved it in his pocket so Happy wouldn't have to pick it up later. As they were walking, he slung an arm around her hips, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Love you." 

"You're about to love me more, remember?" she said with a grin, dropping her hand down to grope his ass. 

"Course I do. I can't forget a damn thing about you, and I like it that way." Bucky scooped her up, relishing the surprised squeak she gave. He grinned as he hurried to the elevator, and she halfheartedly swat at his shoulder. 

"A little warning wouldn't kill you." 

"Yeah but that's not as much fun." He jabbed at the up button, stepping inside when they opened a second later. "Does this count as a warning?" 

"Huh?" 

He dropped her back to her feet, crowding her against the wall in an instant, before she really had the time to be indignant with him. The elevator ride was a hell of a lot shorter than he remembered, but maybe he'd lost himself in kissing her-- which had been known to happen. He moved to walk out of the elevator, pulling up short when Natasha grabbed his sleeve. 

"Not going to carry me to our room?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Well if you insist, honey," he grinned, picking her up again. She gave a delighted laugh, striking a pose with her foot in a point. Bucky hurried to their room, kicking the door closed. He set her down long enough to push the straps of the dress down and shimmy the rest off and over her hips so it fell to the ground in a puddle. He leaned down to put an arm under her ass and lifted, taking the few steps to get closer to the bed, and tossed her on. She gave a comical little bounce, bits of her wiggling in a way that should have made him laugh but instead made him more desperate to touch her. 

Bucky started pulling at his clothes, in such a hurry that he was pretty sure he ripped a few seams on his criminally expensive suit that Natasha had bought him. The second he was naked, he climbed on the bed, hovering over her. 

Natasha moaned as he licked into her mouth, putting her hands on his back and yanking him down so that he was covering all of her. They rubbed together and she moaned louder, thrusting her hips up for more friction. "If you don't grab the lube and fuck me, I'm going to do it myself." 

"Shouldn't you have learned patience when you've been alive this long?" 

"Fuck you," she gasped. 

"Guess not," Bucky said, equally breathless. He pressed another searing kiss to her mouth before reaching into the nightstand. They only had lube and condoms in there, but every fucking time he tried to grab them it's like they vanished. "You've got to be fuckin' kidding me," he growled, rolling off of her so he'd be closer to the drawer and could see inside. Now that he had eyes on it, it was right underneath his hand. "Of fucking course." He threw the lube on the bed and grabbed a condom from the box, slapping it on the tabletop so he wouldn't lose it in the blanket. 

"Seeing you all hot and bothered is always the best," Natasha teased. 

Bucky went to say something in reply-- hopefully witty but the more turned on he got, the less likely that was-- but his mouth went dry. She had her legs bent at the knee and spread, pressing a dry finger at her entrance. It wasn't much, just a flutter to get her to relax a little quicker. One of her legs was angled close to him, so he curved a hand around the inside of her thigh and pressed a kiss to her knee before moving back into place between her legs. 

He grabbed the lube and poured some into his right hand, coating the first two fingers on his left hand. He pressed in slowly, knowing that she could take it so long as he took his time. He nibbled at her hipbone as she loosened up, sucking a hickey into the skin. He moved his fingers out and back in leisurely, moving his mouth up and making another mark. 

"That's good," she breathed, chest heaving. "Add another." 

He took his fingers out and spread more lube on them, adding a third finger. 

All of Natasha's breath left her like a punch to the gut, and she started rocking her hips before her body was truly ready for it. "Fuck. God, Bucky." 

He dipped his tongue in her belly button and kissed his way higher until she fisted a hand in his hair and yanked him up for a proper kiss. Bucky moaned, opening his mouth wider as she kissed him filthily-- all tongue and teeth and sharp desire. He twisted his fingers and she whimpered, her hips thrusting down involuntarily as she held him tighter. Bucky's hand grabbed at her leg, forgetting about the lube on his hand and smearing it all over. 

Natasha broke off with a laugh, glancing down at her leg. "You do know how to make a mess baby." 

"I'll clean it up," he promised kissing her again. He curved his fingers inside of her, waiting until she gave a jerk and gasped as he massaged her prostate. Maybe he was a little evil, because he didn't stop until her face was flushed completely red and she was shaking underneath him. He pulled his fingers out gently and headed to the bathroom, grabbing a handful of washcloths. He gave a haphazard wipe to his hands and threw it in the laundry bin, then brought the rest out. Bucky wiped her leg as clean as he could, but they both knew the only thing that would get her clean was a shower. 

"Fuck you and your niceties," Natasha mumbled, licking her lips and trying to put more feeling back in her limbs. 

"Nah honey, you love it as much as I love you." 

"Sap." 

"Yep." He grabbed the condom from the top of the nightstand and opened the foil packet, rolling it on. He spread some lube over his cock and wiped off his hand on one of the clean washcloths. Natasha hooked a hand under one of her knees and pulled it higher in clear invitation. Bucky pressed the head of his cock at her entrance and rolled his hips, sliding inside. 

"Bucky," she groaned, throwing her head back. "Fuck fuck fuck, now is not the time to tease once you bottom out you better make me forget my name." 

"You got it darlin'," he said. His eyes were dark as he looked down at her, thrusting in an inch at a time until he was close enough to bend down and kiss her again. 

"For fuck's sake, move." 

Bucky rolled his hips, then pulled out a little and thrust back in. Rolled his hips, leaned down and kissed her. He leaned up, grabbed her legs for leverage then did as she asked and started fucking her in earnest. When Bucky thrust in, he pulled her back against him. Natasha put an arm up to brace against the headboard and started moving with him. 

The room filled with the sound of skinning hitting skin, Natasha's higher pitched moans like a harmony with Bucky's lower ones. He started moving faster, pounding into her. He didn't realize how keyed up he'd been because he was so focused on her, but he could already feel his orgasm in reach, molten heat pooling in his abdomen. 

"Bucky," Natasha whimpered, reaching one hand to start jacking herself off. "God, Bucky." The blue glow of the arc reactor was lighting up her face, not hiding how red her cheeks had gotten. Her makeup was a goddamn mess and Bucky wanted to remember how she looked like this forever. She stiffened and clenched around him like a vise, biting her lip hard as she came all over her stomach. 

"Fuck," Bucky bit out, slamming into her and grinding his hips against her ass as he came, filling the condom. He kept rolling his hips against hers as he rode both of them through it, panting. That was a hell of a lot more intense than he'd gotten used to. It was always good, but it usually wasn't like that. 

By the time Bucky caught his breath, Natasha was grinning at him. "I must have done something great to deserve that." 

"Oh yeah," Bucky said, easing out. He carefully took off the condom and tied it, stumbling over to the bathroom to toss it in the trash. She wiped herself off lazily and threw back the covers-- laundry was a problem for tomorrow or possibly later tonight depending on much a mess they'd really made. He got back to bed and collapsed next to her, throwing an arm over her stomach and pulling her closer. 

Natasha hummed and wiggled around until she found a comfortable position, pulling the blanket up to their chests. 

"I love you so fuckin' much," Bucky murmured, kissing the top of her head. 

"I know," she said, smiling softly as she returned the kiss to his shoulder. "I love you too." She yawned, stretching then settling to where she was more on top of him. "And not just for the sex, though that's good too." 

*

Bucky was walking back from a trip to buy chips, and he saw a tabloid. Plastered to the cover was a grainy photo of him and Natasha, and the headline screamed that they were breaking up because she was done with her boy-toy. Bucky rolled his eyes and kept walking. "Bullshit," he couldn't help but mutter, even though it wasn't getting under his skin anymore. 

He'd started saying "I love you," to Natasha all the time, and she'd started saying it just as often. It was hard to feel insecure about their relationship when less than an hour ago, she was looking at him with little hearts and sparkles in her eyes as she told him that she loved him. 

He switched the bag from one hand to the other and continued on home. He had one incredibly gorgeous girlfriend waiting for him, and he wasn't going to spend extra time away from her. 

[dreamsparkle]

Sensualist Wells

For HarriscoFest2019 and the prompt Sensualist Wells.

Sensualist (noun) -

A person devoted to physical, especially sexual, pleasure.

Cisco Ramon / Harry Wells

NC-17 / NSFW

Dub!con kinda

This is my understanding of the prompt so sorry if I misunderstood. :) Please keep negativity to yourself please.

Harry's mind has always behaved like a well oiled machine. Nothing had ever slowed it down. 

Not even Tess. Being near her made his brain work twice as fast. He wanted so much to impress her, not just with his equations and designs  but with his plans for the future, to make her happy for as long as he is able.

Not even Jesse. Her first smile as a baby and his brain didn't stutter once. Instead it spread out every conceivable threat that could possibly harm this little treasure and how to neutralise it in an instant. He knew he would die rather than let anyone hurt a hair on her head.

But then there was Cisco. And he seemed to strangely have a different effect. Cisco was like an error in fluid code. To look at any part of him trapped Harry in a loop with no exit. 

He would be working on a design and be distracted by a flick of satin, black curls. His gaze drawn over against his will to trace along the pretty slopes that Cisco had so carefully crafted. 

It was just hair. Harry told himself annoyed. Everyone had it. In fact Iris had some that was very similar and he never found himself looking at her hair in any special way.

And instead of working, he found himself, for the next hour, trying to identify using logic what the difference was. Why Cisco's hair caught his attention when Iris' didn't. 

Why when he followed the curve around Cisco's ear he felt the strange bliss of taking a gentle turn in a car on a scenic ride and that beautiful sense of gliding.

---

Cisco wasn't exactly special to look at. Among even his group of friends, Harry doubted in a survey anyone would place him at the top in terms of looks. Even Cisco himself.

Yet Harry kept looking, despite logic.

If pressed, he would have to say Cisco's eyes were the most captivating part of him, if anything. Though he wouldn't be able to confirm why. 

They were brown, like the majority of people. Not especially large or small. If he were being unscientific he could compare them to chocolate. Not necessarily the color, though that too, but mainly the texture. That soft solid that melts under your touch. Cisco's eyes were soft and so much kinder than Harry deserved.

With that apt metaphor stored away he tried to get back to work. But now he had given himself a craving and he really wanted something soft and sweet, that melted.

Not something he eats very often. He doesn't really have feelings for the candy either way but he really wanted some now.

He went over to Cisco's secret stash, relieved he wasn't in the lab today. Underneath a pack of twizzlers and between two lollipops was a Hershey.

He brought it back to his desk and stared at it for a moment. Wondering where his sanity had left him. Still he opened it. Put a piece in his mouth. And rather than just chew it, he tried to savour it, for once.

It was soft; rapidly disappearing on his tongue. Turning creamy at the edges. He swallowed down the excess. Sugar so sweet, it was making his mouth water. He licked at what nub of chocolate was left and was overcome with the sudden idea of how it much better it would taste coming off of mocha colored skin. 

Harry inhaled the last bit in alarm, refusing to finish that thought. Knowing where it led. His cheeks were burning and he was left with a bitter taste in his mouth. He shoved the rest of the chocolate bar in his desk drawer out of sight. Easier then to erase the memory.

His heart was beating too fast and he was shamefully turned on. The feeling buzzing under his skin, painful and unwanted.

He stood up and went for a walk. Some Big Belly Burger might get rid of this leftover flavor.

---

Cisco was glaring at him. He'd probably correctly guessed who had stolen his chocolate and was showing how he knew by displaying a lollipop between two lips.

Joke was on him. Cisco's lips were sinful. Harry couldn't really deny that. Harry had thin chapped lips while Cisco's were like peaches and so easily turned red.

A full grown man should not be eating a lollipop. 

He was so unashamed about it. Harry supposed everyone he met liked him too much to pick on him for it. And it didn't look remotely feminine like Harry would have guessed.  In fact, when he was hacking for the Flash with fervor and that lollipop stick swung from one side of his mouth to the other so he could speak, Harry was reluctantly reminded of a cowboy with a toothpick clenched between unbroken enamel, all ready to fire.

He wasn't even putting on a show, really. It was a lollipop. He was eating it. End of story. Like he had no idea.

He probably didn't. Cisco. So modest. So unassuming. It irritated Harry to no end because Cisco was brilliant. So utterly mind blowingly beyond expectation. And he received less than a tenth of the recognition that he rightfully deserved.

He fought for credit when it came to who named the meta of the week. But single handedly discovering the plan to stop said meta in his tracks and it was suddenly all blushes and "Team effort, guys." 

Harry despised it.

The lollipop taunted him too. Stupid to be jealous. Yet he wanted to lick into that mouth and drag along his tongue, all dance like. Cisco's oral fixation was evident a mile wide. Harry bet his mouth was super sensitive. He bet if he sucked on one of those lips just right Cisco would shudder against him.

The real Cisco, instead, was reading something boring. His eyes were staring far off into the screen, expression blank while he rolled the lollipop over the tip of his pointed tongue. Truly bored then.

Harry broke to temptation and walked over before he could talk himself out of it.  He pushed the hand holding the lollipop out of the way.

"Harry, what?" Cisco said shocked as Harry leaned closer. 

"May I?" He asked but not giving anytime to respond, licked his way into Cisco's mouth. The younger man breathed in shocked but didn't stop him. Maybe too surprised. 

He immediately chased the taste of cherry. He captured Cisco's tongue and sucked on it like a treat. The noise Cisco made then was distressed but he still didn't move to push Harry away. Nor did he move closer.

His fingers found themselves twined in those sooty strands. And then he was kissing down from his mouth. His teeth biting into Cisco's jawline. Not too hard but hard enough Cisco maked a choked sound.

He pulled back. Cisco's eyes were open and so shocked. His mouth red from abuse and bite mark stood out sharply. He was so fucking hot and Harry could try and explain it forever but Harry knew his attraction wasn't normal. He shouldn't be this affected by a kiss.

Even now all he could think about was kissing him again and not complex plans on how that could come about. But thoughts of flashes of the heat under plush lips. Harry's fingers followed the curve from buttery soft hair down the warm skin of his neck. Cisco shivered.

He forced himself to let go, then stepped back. He escaped the room as quick as he could. Cisco only attempt to stop him a soft, "Harry."

---

Cisco gave up trying to mention the kiss after the third time Harry changed the topic. Though he kept watching Harry now and that was bad because Harry was still getting lost in thought about the most beautiful parts of him. He was quickly discovering that was every part of him.

His hand wrapped around a mug. A wicked quirk of an eyebrow. A flash of dorky teeth. A flamboyant wave of an arm to express a point. 

Those arms were gonna be the death of him. The cheap cotton of his comic shirts riding up over his belly and becoming tight over his upper arms as he stretched. Harry just wanted to touch. Wanted to get rid of that rough fabric and replace it with something deserving like silk.

---

Harry was working on something, for once not distracted because Cisco had gone to the lake for a picnic with the rest of the team. Harry hadn’t even seen him today and he was able to get on with some blessed projects he’d been procrastinating on.

That was turned on its head when late afternoon Cisco portalled into the lab and he was drenched through. Still dripping water from whatever had flooded him.

"Don't laugh." Cisco threatened when he saw him. "And no comments. Barry and Caitlin have already made plenty. Thank you."

Like Harry's reaction would be to laugh at this.

Cisco's clothes were plastered to him. His tiny white shorts were all but see through and dripping water droplets down thick thighs. Harry felt so parched. He swallowed painfully, mouth drier than a desert.

As Cisco left, Harry found himself following, almost compelled. He'd caught up and pressed Cisco against the wall to stop him. This time, Cisco was no longer surprised and kissed back right from the start.

Harry's brain was focused on other things rather than kissing. He licked a droplet from Cisco's throat then sucked hard to get whatever had already sucken beneath the skin. He tasted a bit like salt. Cisco gasped so prettily.

"This is what gets you back to that place again, seriously?" Cisco complained. He writhed as Harry's burning hot hands raised his shirt folded it up so he could feel the bottom of his stomach. The shirt stuck together so easily from being so wet. And Harry's hands were on his hips. 

Then Harry was kneeling. 

"Harry." Cisco said shocked.

The hands down to his thighs and his mouth replaced them on his stomach. Sucking a spot shiny with water. Cisco felt dizzy from the flush as all the blood in his body flooded down.

Those fingers gripped his thighs. Harry admired the give of them. Felt the give of them with his tongue and teeth as Cisco cried out above him. 

Hands were in his hair, yanking. But he wasn't about to be torn away from what he had been fantasizing about for months. Not when Cisco was responding so beautifully.

He pressed his entire face against that reaction that was tenting Cisco's shorts. Sucked more water from that wet, white fabric. Mouthing at what was hard and purely Cisco underneath. Because he wasn't wearing boxers. Of course he didn't. Why would he wish to help Harry's sanity any.

He was basically holding Cisco up now. His knees had gone weak and Harry was holding him against the wall by his grip on his thighs alone. He couldn't let go. 

So instead he almost broke his teeth undoing the top button of those shorts with his mouth. But it was worth it because now he got access to all that bare skin.

Cisco's cock rose to meet him. Mesmerising by the way it twitched. He pressed a long open mouthed kiss along the side of it. Cisco was making noise. Harry wasn't sure if it was English, Spanish or something not so comprehensible.

Dragging his tongue up the hot and hard silky skin, he wanted to suck. Lined up his mouth and sunk down. Smelled salty, musky. He was almost drooling from how much his mouth watered. 

Sucking and swallowing around Cisco's cock felt incredible and he didn't stop even when he felt Cisco try and squirm away from him.

He understood when his mouth was suddenly filled as Cisco cum.

Cisco almost fell over and Harry put one hand on his chest to and the other under arm under his bum to hold him up. He didn't release Cisco's cock and continued sucking until the younger really started struggling.

When Harry let go Cisco slid down the wall to the floor and when that wasn't far enough, wiggled to lying down on his back because he didn't have any energy or will to hold himself up anymore. 

Which was fine with Harry. The view was fantastic. Cisco's hair was fanned out like an ink spill. Eyes closed and red lips gasping. Tight shorts were stuck with water halfway down his thighs and his shirt was still rucked up revealing his belly button. His cock spent leading up to it. 

Unable to resist touching, he went for the area of stomach on show, thinking it was the least offensive to Cisco's overwrought senses right now. But was proven wrong when Cisco flinched and a hand pushed him away.

"Harrrryy!" He whined. "Knock it off." He pursed his lips in annoyance and Harry decided to take it as an invitation. Pressed a gentle kiss there.

Cisco didn't look annoyed at that but he looked vulnerable. Like he was trying to figure Harry out.

"You're perfect." Harry told him. It hurt Cisco's modesty and self depreciation of course. He could see it in the slight frown that formed. He wasn't accepting Harry's words anytime soon. But touching him was addictive so hopefully, maybe, he would be allowed to do more of that.

---

Cisco asked some questions, Harry answered as simply and awkwardly as he could and now they were allowed to kiss…and other things too.

Just not at Star Labs. 

That was fine. Harry could be patient but honestly as soon as they were at Cisco's place he would touch as soon as he was allowed. He was so horny all the time and he didn't know how long Cisco would allow this to go on before realising he could do better so he was taking full advantage.

He had to fight Cisco every time. The engineer wasn't used to the attention. Tried to make things equal. That Harry got the same attention too. Like Harry wasn't and hadn't always been a selfish bastard. As he sucked a hickey into a rather generous bubble butt, wondered how anyone could imagine he was getting the short stick out of this deal.

Cisco always caved in first. Once Harry had touched, tasted every part of him and he was raw like a string close to breaking from too many orgasms, Harry did his best to stop his compulsion and just held him close and breathed in the scent from his skin. But it was hard. Even after he was satisfied. Because it wasn't just about sex. It was about comfort. 

Trailing patterns over his skin while he slept. Feeling the slight rises on each breath. His mind jumped at being caught by these slight things. No calculations left to be made but his mind still found it endlessly fascinating. Instead of thought it gave way, for once, to feeling…

...and what he felt was happy.

[chaniters]

Clocked

New one is up! Awan takes matters into his own hands.

___________________________________________

It hurts.  Of course, it hurts. But you have to get up.

You can’t give up, you’re not going to end like this even if you have to crawl your way out.

You steady yourself against a wall and begin trying to stand. Your leg fails to respond at the last second and you fall again.

But you won’t stop.

You aren’t going to be Nathaniel’s slave,  doll, or whatever else his fucking mind believes you are supposed to be.

You are your own person. You always dreamed about taking your own decisions and you just happened to make the mistake of thinking Nath was on your side, giving you the space to grow. You wanted to believe him when he said he had great plans for the both of you.

But in his plans, you're not a partner or a friend. You are nothing more than his little pet.

You bottle up the anger,  sadness, betrayal, and disappointment and put a cork on it. And then you store it in the darkest corner of your mind with a large  "Unresolved" label on it. You'll deal with this later, in your own time.

Crying or depending on others never got you anywhere in the past.  

You have more important things to do right now.

Things have changed. You've tasted freedom and understood a fraction of what it's about. You aren't going to go back with him, the Farm, or anyone else knocking at your door.

Finally, you are standing again.

It’s true, you might have picked up your name Awan from that old fantasy novel one of the scientists brought in without authorization.

And perhaps you took your last name Cormac from the Cormac & Brothers Car Wash from which you stole those clothes while you were on the run…

But even if they are stolen you've made those names work as your own.

You’re no longer 412, the doll, the re-gene, the freak or the Androsynthetic life-form.

Humans. They are good at coming up with names. Placing themselves on top so they can stomp you.

You flex your arms. They are numb… He must have used a lower setting energy shock…just enough to capture you.

Good news, it will wear off soon and then…

A cold smile reaches your lips. His mistake. He should have killed you while he had the chance.

You take one step towards the door… and another… and another…

You’re never going to place your trust in humans again.

And you swear it by the…

*KLAAACK!*

The door breaks apart and is pulled off its frame…

A figure on the other side…

Your mind races.

Lord Ember? You sense another mind as well...

The larger figure takes a step inside.

No…! You won’t let him…

You turn your hand into a fist…

And you STRIKE!!!

“Ow,” The figure complains as it takes your weak punch on its cheek.

Your legs fail under your own impulse and you fall down, limp once more.

Pathetic.

Shit. You’re done for… they are going to…

"Wow! You totally got clocked Marshall!" a cheerful voice says, snorting.

You turn and look up. Marshall Charge...? And someone else you haven't met before.

“Was that really necessary kid?” Charge asks holding his cheek. “Also, what even was that? It felt like a ping-pong ball hit me” he says looking at the other figure.

Both of them step inside your cell.

“W.. what are you…”

“What are we doing here? Following you obviously”

"Hey, pleased to meet you! I'm Anathema!" the younger guy takes your hand, which right now feels like spaghetti, and shakes it. "I'll help you up... " he adds, giving you a rather strong pull.

You stumble back on your feet, but he holds you steady. You're about to complain, but you cling to him. If you let go you'll end up on the hard floor again.

"Darn... they did a number on you," he says helping you stand

It takes a moment before you feel confident enough to stay on your feet.  

Charge approaches you, and snatches your lollipop bag without warning.

"Hey! That's mine!" you complain.

"I can't believe you actually took candy from a baby Charge" Anathema chuckles "Tough he's not as young as you keep telling me!"

"He's a kid," he says without even looking at you. "And he's clearly above his head in this. I’m going to take this little one back” He says taking a small electronic shaped like a plastic lighting bolt from it, then handing the bag back to you.

“You tracked me?!” you say, indignant.

“Well yes! You were so smug announcing you knew Ember’s hideout, what did you expect me to do?!”

“I… wanted to do it alone!”

“Ohh… and how’s that working out for you? Is this all part of your plan?”

“I was about to escape!” you complain

“Oh… Oooh, I see. Maybe I should put the door back where it was, and you can have another go at it?” he says crossing his arms

“……. no……….” you simply say in the end

"Point for the Marshal I'd say" Anathema laughs.

“What’s the deal between you and The Void?” Charge asks.

“None of your business,” 

“Look I’ve seen abusive relationships, but you and him… kid that’s just special next level fucked up… So speak to me, what happened?” he insists.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” you say looking away.

“Come on! I heard what he said... You are trying to walk away from him, and he won’t let you?”

“I SAID IT’S NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS! FUCK YOU!” you bark at him angrily, balling your hands into fists again.. 

He’s about to say his comeback when…

"Hey Hey" Anathema stands in between "Give him some space... jeez. You told me yourself his boyfriend just shot him and threw him in here! How do you expect him to process that?"

“Oh,” he says, his expression changing

Oh. Oh … he can see the dry tear traces on your eyes and face. Fuck. His whole expression changes. You can see… concern.. pitty? Shit, why can’t you read his stupid mind!

“Sorry kid… I…  mierda, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to come off like that. This is just fucked up, I didn't expect you'd be involved with the Void... This just adds another layer of reasons to kick his ass... Just relax... We are here to stop Ember, and we can help you... We'll take care of The Void too” he says putting an arm on your shoulder.

Oh, now you just want to punch him again… for real.

“Leave me alone!” you say swatting his hand away. “ I don't need help from you! ... I will… I… will…”

“Yeah... what's your plan now?” Anathema asks crossing his arms.

You glare at them both

“None of my fucking business?” Ortega asks with a smirk. Ugh.

“I don’t…know … ok? I don’t fucking know what comes next!”

“Wait… Is the void the person you thought  Ember had killed?” Ricardo asks widening his gaze

Your logical mind picks up the pieces… He must have overheard a part of your conversation with Nath… that static buzz you picked up wasn’t a migraine, it was him This is a nightmare… and he thinks Nath… The Void is your boyfriend… what a clusterfuck…

“So you came here to kill Ember to get revenge on your dead boyfriend… and now you find he’s alive and working for him the whole time?!” he asks piecing together the story.

“I…” On second thought, your practical mind brings to your attention that he’s assembled a pretty good and convincing backstory all by himself, and it saves you from coming up with your own.

“Yes! Yes, that’s it. You’ve figured it out now genius. Are you satisfied?!” you say angrily. “I have no CLUE what the hell comes next because I didn’t plan for ANY of this!” pretending to be furious isn't hard, you just have to pull the cork on that bottle of emotions a little.

"Crap... I'm sorry" he apologizes again. You are hating it every time he does it. "THat's just... among the most awful things I've heard," Anathema says giving you a sympathetic look "You should get out. We'll deal with Ember now"  

"I'm... I'm Staying. The Void is MY problem to deal with. And also, you will need my help"

"What? No way. You can't even move! You are leaving right now, end of discussion" Charge objects  

" The shock's wearing off already. And also, I made a grenade, to deal with Ember. You won't defeat him without it"

"I'm Invulnerable" Anathema explains "I'm not afraid of his fire tricks"

"Well maybe if you had done your research you'd know that Medea joined them".

"WHAT?" Charge seems surprised. "Medea turned?"

"Yes. She's been working for Ember for a while now. And Na... The Void is loose too"

“That's not important. You're NOT coming with us" The Marshall scowls

“Well you just try and stop me!" you say defiantly. Your muscles are working again. You’ll show him if you have to...

You glare at each other for a few seconds until...

"Hey, you! Stop right there!!" The guards spotted you... they approach with weapons drawn.

------------------ A brief, but violent battle later------------------------

"How in the HELL did you do that?" Anathema asks as you knock down the last enemy.

"Do what?" you ask.

"You were dodging fucking bullets!"

"Oh... that. Well, it's my boost. Martial arts. THat's what they call me... The Sidestep!" you give Charge a smug smile. Now that you have a hero name too, he can't keep treating you like a kid. While you are still sore from the shock it's really easy to dodge bullets if you can aim their guns away from you by a few degrees with your telepathy each time. "Follow me," you say, leading the way to the lab once more.

"Really? You're going to use THE before your name? Because that gets tedious fast, let me tell you.

"You really think so?" you ask. Perhaps he's right... if Nathaniel wants to be THE Void, maybe you shouldn't use THE Sidestep on your name...

Charge groans, and follows the two of you.

______________________________________

My Fanfiction: https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/181692759294/my-fanfiction-for-fallen-hero    

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and the setting of the Fallen Hero: Rebirth and upcoming Fallen Hero: Retribution games written by Malin Riden. I do not claim ownership of any characters from the Fallen Hero wold. These stories are a work of my imagination, and I do not ascribe them to the official story canon. These works are intended for entertainment outside the official storyline owned by the author. I am not profiting financially from the creation of these stories, and thank the author for her wonderful game/s, without which these works would not exist.

[whimsically-ominously-auspice]

William/Mark was ostracized the other night

Thats why the news about the non-rapes occurred in Oklahoma news because it was regionally broadcast that it occurred in 1999 by qE2

Before a longer story; I just want to say we understand. And no one blames you nor harbors ill will towards your prior belief of understanding.

I just hope you understand the truth and you welcome him in your community as he wishes to be. I further wish you understand he's a true hero and none of this would happened without him. But if youd like to treat him as a normal person no different than you, then thats great. It is what we prefer most because we want everyone to be treated like kings and queens.

He is my true soulmate and he has had to hide that from me and all that hoopla.

I and a previously legless Abu burned down the eQ2 Okmulgee & Oklahoma buildings she owned while he was in jail over a stolen bike that he did not steal.

Jennifer Landsberry had a clone as did William.

Like he's some planet needle like grass needs to grow on.

eQ2 was not quite able to perfect chest hair back then. It was always like a porcupine. She also didn't know how to not make it grow on clones. She could get the scientists to pick out the eggs without for humans but could never do clones.

Clones come from the prostate and sperm for men and for women, where girls wetness comes from and her ovaries. That's all I'll say. Because she did some crazy after that. And that's way too much information even if no one says they're gonna do that... Its been happening since the 70s but i figured it out in 1984 and 1986 then some one listened in 1994.

So Mark William knew he had a twin But not a clone... Nor did anyone know Jen was a clone. But she was. Then a Stephanie clone kept messing me up and kept me and Mark William apart for enough time for the qE2 to realize she could do more in her plans.

The whole William clone was a mess... He would beat Jen up and she would call me and he would hit her in front of me.

And a whole lot of shit.

And since my real man was in jail and the clones would constantly lie and covet for the qE2... I was lost. And so was all of Okmulgee.

So I came out here to New Mexico. And for the last 19 years I've lived like any lost Okmulgee person. In misery and Hell. Poverty and sadness. Alone but not lonely.

So, i understand believing lies. I wrote William only when I was getting married and pregnant but not after, just 2 baby pictures. Because then i got legally married.

Once after my divorce and told him not to write me if he wanted anything more than pen pals. So he did not respond.

In the last letter i wrote him how escaping jail (with his clone that was arrested for arson) was his choice but how all the cops knew Jen did drops and how the clone had a cell phone and called Jen everyday. And so in legal belief a jury of 10 would 100% decide without discussing that he should be set free. So he should demand a better prison and early release but not parole nor probation. Just release, by the time he was 30 or 40, his choice.

Look at that baby face. He was just a little lamb when they locked him in.

So I did check about 2 years later and he did indeed make two moves and was at a low security prison in 2014.

Alexis Dejoria and William LeGrande began exchanging emails in 2016.

She and Kim Kardashian got him permanently released this summer by paying cash for his release. Which then he turned around and demanded 2x the amount from qE2 and he paid them back exactly what they paid the queen.

He had to promise not to approach me until she was dead. Because i don't approach people or talk to people in like stores unless i see they need help making a purchase or reaching something. Then i offer advise if I know the topic or my arms if i can reach.

And I certainly wouldn't approached him not being aware of clones.

I only found out he was released 6 days ago but i have seen him all in my neighborhood walking around sucking on a lollipop.

Which made me always think "one of us is a sucker but Idk which one of us" because im so used to people following me for different reasons, rapists not wanting to get caught and hiring people to intimidate me, undercover law enforcement, hired hitmen, qE2 I know now, Abus, and all kinds. So I knew he was a follow but how or why i Didn't take my time on.

I would more focus on the times I saw them. I thought that was more important than as to why.

Eventually someone would try to kill me to my face or wouldn't. And if law enforcement did their job, i wouldn't even notice.

So that's why i would count so i could find out how they bypassed security to Kill me to my face. Just in case they did get that far.

So there's a whole ton of his clones under the bunker at my Uncle's. All ready to rip people apart at any time. Of course they're good clones so they have Armageddon protection on top of the qE2 so even Fire don't bother them.

His twin always has a yoyo. And William has always carried an old old yoyo string in his pocket. Until Declan lit it on fire (to prove he was human) after doing karate moves on it. In 2008.

He was fucking lit crazy trying to get the string while JJJR held him back with Matt's help. And I thought it was hilariously funny.

So Declans sub father bought a whole yoyo for William to get the string out of. And Declan made a string ring and bracelet for him.

And he was pleased but was not happy his string was murdered and burnt. So i held his hand although he tried to take it away like i allowed his string to be and I explained "I know how that was the link to your only family" and he wanted to prove his point in loud breath "now now you've proved your point you won't even give me your hand" he slid his hand closer to me but looked away pouty "or even look at me" he slid his eyeball to the corner "now thats better." He wiggled his fingers of his hand i didn't touch "oh now you want me to hold it?!?!" He nodded so I held his fingers "I know how that wa the only link to your family" and he yanked away his hand and turned away to pout. Then sighed and reached deep into his other pocket

"I had two! One for me and one for him!"

"Oh forget it! Now my speech is ruined!"

"Uh no! Im not! Give me the other yoyo!" Said Declan "the other yoyo! I need it! So you can match don't worry about it"

"But I needed two to prove it was -- wait finish your story i bet it was magic..."

"What? Oh. Well Declan burned it for proof you're not a clone, you know after he... Killed it... And So what I was going to continue to say. Honey are you even listening?"

"Shh" he told Declan "let her finish"

"I can't. I need to see little Declans face when i finish, now that you mention it."

"No You don't! I'll be fine!!!"

"Then you'll need a tissue I'll be right back" Declan always turns so no one sees him crying. Just like I do

"Okay as i was saying. Now you have a new family. With us and with--"

His mouth dropped open and he jumped up and ran from where he moved to let Declan size the jewelry to where I stood after dropping his tissue for him on his back like a half sash like George of the Jungle

"I knew it!! I knew it!! That's what he was just saying too!! He said Annie had told him when they were in the room. He wanted to know why you were laughing and why you were happy when he did something bad thats why he made the ring for me! Why do you look so ... Do you want to finish?!? Here measure me!"

"Dec..lan!"

"Oh thank God. I needed that. Wait. I got snot"

"Why do you look so... What? Is it shock??"

"Uh huh" i sunk into the couch and began to cry droplets of tears like rain

"Honey! What's wrong?!"

"Nothing! Every thing is just perfect!!"

Declan gasped and jumped up from his squatted position and gsve me a hug and kiss on the cheek "thanks. I needed that!"

.... See i had been dealing with clones for a few years and a bunch of Declans dad's clones and twins so I was used to people looking familiar. He told me his name was Mark. So I didn't ever realize I was talking to William LeGrande.

He went by Mark because they did like CIA codes to escape. You didn't want to miss your "mark" in their Harriet Tubman land.

And he didn't sleep in my bed.

But I felt more comfortable with him than I did with anyone in my life. Only a bit more than my daughter. Tiny almost unnoticeable amount.

*Declan's soulmate was murdered by an evil clone for punishment for being independent. So Declan's independent ass told me. So I told him i would give him a soulmate because we were both similar thinkers. When he asked. So William got a free pass out and a "regrowth" which they used an injection for. And we made my kid. But inwas drugged then on Xanax so.

[stuffingprize]

@agonhirublog 

here’s the fic! It’s been ages but I still find it hilarious so I hope you enjoy it too. Also, the print didn’t have the author name so ;;;; so sorry author-san!! thank you for writing this story ;;; anyways, NOT MINE, just archiving this for personal AgonHiru enjoyment~~

Title: Death to All Rating: M, Humor/Romance Summary: Sort of Agohiru. Just another day in their life. Y’know another day where Unsui claims he’s going to go insane.

~

The apartment showed all the signs of being occupied by three lazy teenage boys.

Dishes mounted precariously in the sink. Clothes thrown over all the furniture. Mixed smells of sweat, burned food, and too much cologne. And a dent in the wall where Agon finally got fed up and put Hiruma’s head through it.

They had what could so loosely be described as a routine. Hiruma screamed about cthulus, Agon acted like a vain little girl, and Unsui pretended to be the sane one. Indefinitely, until death do us part, but preferably before.

Today, however, there was something new added to the décor. Instead of the usual, oppressively frightening ‘cult’ movie playing on the teevee (Donne Darko, Clockwork Orange, Rocky Horror Picture show, etc.), Agon was slumped on the couch watching MTV with the sound turned off.

Actually, he wasn’t watching the teevee at all. His head was resting on the back of the couch, an icepack pressed against the left side of his face. His trademark sunglasses were temporarily stashed in his thick brown dreadlocks.

“I tried watching it with the sound on, but I hate all the music,” He said when his one free eye landed on his brother, gesturing vaguely to the teevee. A blonde black woman wriggled her voluptuous bottom at the screen.

“Nothing like Bob Marley, huh?”

“Hey! Bob Marley was more than just another get-rich-quick superstar, okay? He had vision. Not like any of these-” More vague gesturing- “-Wannabe five-second ‘pop’ stars. Whatever. Nobody respects reggae anymore,”

“Huh,” Unsui said, less then interested about his brother’s fetish for slow-beat Jamaican music. He tried to peel the icepack away from his face and saw enough of the angry red bruise to get a quick summary of what happened. “So how hard did he deck you?”

Agon made a face and flicked a handful of dreadlocks over his shoulder. He and Hiruma had a weird relationship to which there was no description. They screamed, they yelled, they tried to tear each other’s faces off. It was pretty amazing to watch- weapons flew overhead, blood splattered onto the walls and every weapon at their disposal exploded in a fiery display of testosterone-fueled frustration. Most of the time, Unsui let them go at it and then quietly cleaned up the disaster when they’d fainted from bloodloss, but when the fights got particularly gory (the time when Hiruma succeeded in ripping of Agon’s nose being the most memorable and recent), he figured it was best if he intervened. Still, when the screaming stopped, whoever was in the best condition staggered to his feet and patched the other one back up.

“Not too hard. It wasn’t so much to break anything as to distract me- he’s gone, if you didn’t notice,” Agon said. He picked up the remote and turned the sound back on. A high-pitched, out-off-tune whine oozed from the screen, followed by repetitive hiphop beat. He shuddered. In a quick flurry of buttons and remotes, the teevee turned off and the CD player turned on. Immediately, one of Hiruma’s Gorgoroth CDs came on. Agon groaned and sunk deeper into the couch.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Unsui said instinctively, although he had no idea whether his statement was true or not.

“I know that,” Agon snarled, gnashing his teeth and pressing the icepack against his face. “Motherfucker freaked out and trying to get out of the apartment anyway he could. He even tried jumping out the fuckin’ window,”

“Huh,” Unsui said, trying to remain unattached to the human drama. What he remembered from past dramas was that Agon liked to exaggerate. It was easier to just stay in the dark and accept that what was directly in front of him was all that he would ever know about what had happened.

“I tried calling him, but he isn’t answering his phone.”

Pause.

“What was he upset about?” Unsui asked, fully aware that Hiruma didn’t always need a reason to blow his top. Agon snorted.

“‘Upset’? God, you have no idea. He was ready to explode. Fucker was waving every gun he had around. When that didn’t work, he tried clawing out my neck. Look at this- look at it!”

Agon peeled his shirt back to show deep, angry red gashes on his neck. It did indeed look like Hiruma had tried to peel out his vocal cords.

“But why?”

“When I get my hands on him, he is so dead. But what to do with him? I could always try cutting off his thumbs...”

“You pull that stunt again, I’ll do the same thing I did last time you tried it. Why was he so pissed off?”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him, it’s like no matter what, he just-”

“AGON!”

Agon jumped in his seat.

“He found out about Reiko,” He whimpered pitifully.

“Reiko who?” Unsui snapped, in no mood for his brother’s innocent act.

“Reiko Yamamura. She’s this girl I’ve been seeing for a couple of weeks and-”

“Oh my gawd,” Unsui groaned. He threw his bag as hard as possible on the floor. “That’s it- I don’t care anymore. You two can kill each, for all I care. Just don’t get any blood in my room,”

“What? What?” Agon barked, jumping to his feet. Gorgoroth CD and icepack suddenly forgotten. “Don’t tell me you’re seeing his side of the argument!”

“I, personally, think it’s rude to cheat on someone, particularly with a member of the opposite sex,”

“Oh come on. It’s nothing serious, we just go see a movie once in a while and- Holy shit, this is the same conversation I had with Hiruma.”

“It isn’t making too different an impact on me, either,” Unsui snarled.

“It isn’t a big deal!”

“You keep saying that- that big bruise on the left side of your face is saying otherwise,”

“Gimme a break- it’s just so people don’t start rumors behind my back. I don’t want to deal with stupid questions and stupider people. Reiko’s more like protective camouflage than anything,”

“The fuck are you talking about, ‘protective camouflage’? You hold his hand in public!”

“So?”

“So if you don’t want people to start rumors, maybe you should dump the bitch and cut back on the gay PDA,”

“But I like holding his hand,” Agon whined. Unsui rolled his eyes.

“Make up your fucking mind! Do you want people to think you’re gay or not?”

“No,” Agon said, a little too quickly.

“And yet you are,”

“No I’m not. I like girls,”

“And guys,”

“And guys, yes,”

“That makes you gay,”

“That makes me bi,” Agon said defensively.

“Y’know, I hope Hiruma kills you,” Unsui snarled. “You’re slime. You don’t deserve to live,”

“Fuck you! You’d say that about your own brother?”

“If he turns out the way you did, then yes!”

“We have the same DNA!” Agon proclaimed dramatically. Classic tactic.

“But not the same ego,” Unsui shot back.

“Unsuiiii-ii-iii,” Agon whined, the huge bruise on the left side of his face disfiguring his ‘pleading’ look.

“What?” He snarled.

And then, like a sign from God signaling Unui’s temporary dislodgment from the argument, the phone rang.

Once.

Twice.

“I’ll get it,” Agon mumbled, staggering over to the phone. “Hello...?”

Unsui took the break in the conversation to toss his bag onto his bed and inhale a handful of aspirin from the industrial-size bottle Musashi had so kindly stolen from the pharmacy across the street when he saw the state of the apartment. Most of it was already gone.

When he walked back in the the living room, Agon was arguing with whoever was on the other end of the line.

“What? ...but baby- No, I’m- But I thought- Look- Look- Let me finish my goddamn sentence!”

The high-pitched howling coming from the other end of the tiny speaker didn’t let him finish his sentence. It didn’t even let him start one. Unsui watched Agon’s face twist into a whole spectrum of emotions as the screaming went from fury to desperation to dejected sobbing, without him having to say a word.

And then the phone abruptly cut off and Agon was left staring at the receiver like it had the plague.

“God-”

Agon lifted the receiver over his head, his knuckles turning white from the tension. Unsui quietly shuffled out of tantrum range.

“DAMMIT!” He howled, throwing the phone full-force at a wall. It shattered like glass, raining phone organs onto what Unsui immediately recognized as the ominous Pile of Unpaid Bills.

Unsui counted to a high number, took a few deep breathes, went back into the bathroom, swallowed some more aspirin, and tried to summon up enough rage to match Hiruma in a screaming match.

When he walked back into the living room, Agon was throwing himself against the wall and screaming obscenities. He kicked the Pile of Unpaid Bills and stamped his feet like a little kid who’d just dropped his lollipop.

His sunglasses fell out of his hair and to their doom under his pounding feet. Cheap plastic sliced into his foot and he howled, throwing himself theatrically back against the couch. Unsui waited for the bawling to die down.

“SHUT UP!” He roared.

Agon’s mouth clamped shut instantly. Unsui massaged his forehead. When he looked back up, Agon was picking plastic out of his foot.

“That’s gross- knock that off. I’ll get some antiseptic,” Unsui grumbled. He slammed the industrial-sized aspirin bottle on the nearest flat surface and stormed back in to the bathroom. The antiseptic was waiting for him, perched in the medicine cabinet expectantly. He swore the little can looked smug.

“You shut up, too,” He growled at it, snatching it up and storming back into the living room. Agon was picking at his foot with a pair of tweezers.

“Didn’t I tell you to knock that off?” Unsui snarled, snatching up the tweezers out of his hand. “You’re gonna get it all infected and shit,” He sprayed some antiseptic on the cut, then handed Agon the tweezers.

“There- knock yourself out,”

“What, that’s it?” Agon whined.

“Yes that’s it! I’m not digging around in your nasty foot just to peel the plastic from your sunglasses out of it,”

“Damn, I coulda done that myself,” Agon grumbled, bending back over his foot.

“But you didn’t,” Unsui snapped. He slammed the antiseptic onto the table and snatched the aspirin up in the same movement.

“So what happened?”

“Now Reiko found out about Hiruma! Jeezus. I can’t believe this,”

“How?”

“How do you think? Next time I see him, I’m gonna kill him. Oh, and you won’t believe this- she was going on and on about how much she liked me and how many of her friends she was going to tell and shit like that. Like I fucking care!”

“Wasn’t the whole reason you were going out with her in the first place because you cared about people starting rumours?”

“Traitor! Judas! You’re next, y’know that? After them, I’m coming after you! You’re all gonna die!” Agon roared, waving the tweezers like a baton. “Right after I’m done picking plastic shit out of my foot,”

“Shut up,” Unsui advised. He slumped on the couch next to his brother and waited for him to finish picking plastic out of his foot.

He let his head fall back and stared quietly at the ceiling, doing his best to ignore Agon’s muttering. He didn’t need this. Not every day, at least. Maybe every once in a while he could pack up a change of clothes, some money and his toothbrush and go crash at a friend’s house. No need to sit here every night and wait for the roof to finally give up and cave in.

And the whole thing was Agon’s fault. Completely and totally. Unsui would never have offered that Hiruma sleep on the couch, no matter how cold the weather outside was getting. In fact, he probably would have let the fucker freeze. But Agon was insistent about the fact that Hiruma be given a place to sleep.

The original arrangement was that after school, Hiruma would unrolled the sofabed and then protected his personal space with homicidal ferocity. Then Agon convinced Unsui to sleep on the couch and Hiruma’s highly-protected personal space started to shrink rapidly.

Agon poked him in the ribs.

“You hear that?” Agon hissed.

Unsui sat up a little straighter.

“Hear what?” He asked. That was a stupid question. He knew exactly what he was supposed to be listening for, because he could hear the footsteps storming up the stairs just as well as Agon could.

“It’s him. I know it’s him,” Agon snarled, setting down the tweezers with every intention of walking over to the door and smacking whatever was walking past clean through a wall, regardless of foot injury or the possibility that it wasn’t Hiruma.

“Sit down!” Unsui barked. “You were in too much pain to so much as pick up the tweezers five minutes ago, remember? Stay that way!”

Agon snatched the tweezers back up and gave Unsui a look of pure loathing. Unsui ignored him, turning his attention back to the sounds of footsteps in the hall way. Please keep walking, he prayed silently.

The feet stopped at their door. Unsui squeezed his eyes shut and gave God one last chance to prove to a life-long atheist that he really did exist. Maybe it was one of their parents.

Agon rose slowly to his feet, hissing softly.

“Sit. Down.” Unsui said dangerously. Agon glared at him, then sunk back into this seat. Someone was rattling with the doorknob. Mr. and Mrs. Kongou had keys to the apartment, but Agon had never bothered getting Hiruma a key. Either Agon dragged Hiruma back into the house, or he picked the lock open. And somebody was picking the lock open.

Unsui dove for his room. The door slammed open.

“Bastard!” Agon roared, tossing the tweezers full-force at the entrance. Unsui hit the floor and rolled into the doorframe of his room.

~

[bellabooks]

“Pretty Little Liars” recap S7 Ep20: Til death do us part

Pretty Little Readers, this is it. The last PLL recap I will ever write…until the inevitable reboot in 2032 that follows the adventures of teenage twins Lily and Grace DiLaurentis-Fields. But I’m getting ahead of myself. This was a two-hour finale with buckets of exposition, so let’s dive on in! I’m glad this show finally upped their budget and gave Jenna a pony   We open on a deserted Rosewood street, where the Liars are all drinking coffee and bemoaning the drama-less state of their lives. It’s swelteringly hot, but all anyone can talk about is how boring everything is without any mysteries to solve. Oh, and Lucas tap dances by in a white tuxedo. And Jenna rides by in a decorated horse like she’s a circus performer. And then it starts snowing.  Is that snow? NO IT’S COCAINE!!!   The Liars look to the heavens, and the camera zooms out to reveal they were inside a snow globe, which was no joke my fantasy ending for this show. But who is holding the snow globe? Mona Vanderwaal, queen of the heavens, runner of the games, genius among geniuses. She’s locked up in Welby with only her snow globe, which she drops to the floor when she’s confronted by a black hoodie. She asks them if they are there to kill her, and she smiles that Mona smile. Then the opening credits run for the last time, and all the Liars do the “sshhhh” together. TOGETHER!  For real though guys, who is in this coffin?   We then cut to ONE YEAR LATER, and check in on the gang. Ezria is on the Warner Bros. lot (which is incidentally where they shoot the show- so meta!) because their book is being turned into a movie. They are also getting married in a week. Spencer is rescuing horses with Melissa and bonding with her, and Toby returns to town after a long Eat, Pray, Shave tour of the world. Spencer is rehabbing a cute pony named Bashful, who is skittish around everyone but her. Don’t worry, this will come back later in a big bad way. Emily and Ali are juggling twins, Lily and Grace. Also, Ali has the worst bangs and it’s so distracting I had to rewind this scene twice just to focus. Ali meets up with Pam Fields at the Radley, and they have a secret conversation about taking care of/loving Emily. Ali continues teaching English at Rosewood High, where she discusses literary endings (wink wink) with her class. She’s still teaching mini-bitch Addison, who disrupts the class and calls Ali a lesbo. Ali is in no mood, and grabs Addison after class. Addison isn’t scared of her, but she IS scared of Jenna Marshall, who is now a life skills teacher at Rosewood. What life skills is Jenna imparting to these children?! How to seduce men and women alike into doing your bidding? Firecracker dodging? I have so many questions, the first of which is, where do I sign up? Addison tries to sass Jenna by waving her hands in front of her blind face, but Jenna grabs her by the wrist like she’s Dare Devil and tells her that she while she can’t see, she can smell a bitch from a mile away. In a world where teachers can sleep with and marry their students without censure, I guess calling someone a bitch is small potatoes.  BITCH CAN SMELL   Meanwhile, things aren’t sunshine and lollipops with Hanna and Caleb. Mona is being discharged from Welby, and Hanna invited her to stay at the loft without running it by her husband. Caleb is upset that the woman who tried to push his wife out of a bell tower is now their new roommate, but Hanna knows that while husbands come and go, ride or die BFFs are forever. On cue, Mona shows up at their door and Hanna welcomes her. Mona seems fragile and forgetful, and tells them that with her new meds, she isn’t as sharp as she used to be. If this series ends with a neutered and sad Mona I will never forgive Marlene. Why is the wifi password Hanily?!   The Liars and friends meet up at the newly renovated Lost Woods resort, which Spencer and Ali are re-launching. Everyone’s gathered for a surprise bachelor/bachelorette dinner for Aria and Ezra. There is wine and laughter and memories, and everyone is having a good time…except for Haleb, who can’t stop squabbling. Spying on them from the bushes is a black hoodie, who turns around to reveal MELISSA HASTINGS…or is it? Everyone is enjoying drinks by the fire pit, when Emily remembers that this is their first night without the babies and drags Ali to their room for some sexing. Then everyone else pairs off to hook up, except for Toby and Spencer who decide to play scrabble like a couple of nerds. We find out that Spencer is going to law school, working at her mom’s firm, and rebuilding her relationship with her family. Isn’t it nuts that we’re 25 and have two kids?!  Tell it to my bangs: they’re already 45.   While everyone else gets a lengthy sex scene, complete with saxophone music, Emily and Ali press their cheeks together and touch legs because that is how lesbians have sex on Freeform. At least, they are trying to…Ali is feeling all sentimental while Emily is trying to get it on. I feel like this would be a totally adequate sex scene by itself, but pairing it with Ezria’s lengthy romp only highlights the double standard when it comes to queer sex scenes.  Nothing says sex scene like closed mouth kissing!   Despite this disparate treatment, let’s all take a step back and marvel that this series is ending with a happy queer couple, where no one is dead or heartbroken. It’s 2017, but there is still something delightfully revolutionary about the awkward gay jock winning the heart of the most popular girl in school and living happily ever after. It’s kind of lovely until you remember what they did with Maya and Shana and Charlotte. In a less romantic sex scene across town, Hanna and Caleb are still fighting while Hanna sits with her legs up, trying to conceive. Yup, these two dummies are trying to have a baby. And in sadder fertility news, Aria gets a phone call from her doctor and finds out that she can’t have children. Why is everyone so baby crazy on this show?! Y’all are 25, settle down. Aria wants to call off the wedding, but the Liars convince her that Ezra won’t care. She tries to keep it a secret, but ends up telling him the next day, and he responds as he should: that it doesn’t matter, and there’s more than one way to make a family. Melissa watches the Liars comforting Aria from the bushes, and removes her mask to reveal MONA underneath. Dun Dun Dun! I would love it if A.D. turns out to be a Russian nesting doll of masks leading to an empty hoodie. Mona Facetimes with A.D. and demands to know who they are. You know what would really take this party up a notch? Jenna Marshall on a damn horse!   The next night is Aria’s rehearsal dinner, and Hanna brings along Mona, which is rude as hell. You don’t just bring your crazy hyperadrenalized murderer BFF without RSVPing for her first! No one is more shocked than Ashley Marin, who separates from the Wine Moms to give Hanna a talking to about co-dependency and toxic friendships. The Wine Moms keep talking about that time they got locked in a basement, yet another spin-off show that we’ll never get from Marlene.  A toast to the best parent on this show: Chardonnay!   Emily sees Alison sneaking around with Pam and assumes that Ali is hiding something from her. She gives Ali the third degree until she reveals that Pam gave her the family engagement ring—she was planning to propose to Emily somewhere romantic, but instead she’s doing it right this second in her pug dog sweater. Ali thanks Emily for loving her unconditionally, even when she was a zombie bitch who communicated through stolen birds and old witches. Even when she was flying a plane in a Vivian Darkbloom wig. Emily says yes, and they kiss.  If you can love me through these bangs, you can love me no matter what   Meanwhile, Spencer goes back to Toby and they have a lengthy sex scene of their very own. Spencer steps out of the shower and finds Mona in a black hoodie in her room. Mona says “Déjà vu bitch!” and knocks her unconscious. Spencer wakes up in a prison cell, disoriented. She looks in the mirror and checks herself out, until the mirror Spencer starts moving on her own. Holy crap, Twincer is real! And British! Kudos to everyone who predicted this twist, I honestly thought it was going to be someone else. This British twin is Alex Drake, aka A.D. and she’s busted Mary Drake out of jail for a family reunion. Put some pants on, we need to talk about Spencer’s accent: it’s not just British. It’s Eliza Doolittle meets Burt the Chimney Sweep meets Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd. It’s SO over the top and terrible and delightful. Just like this British evil twin conceit: soapy and ridiculous and I am so on board with this nonsense. ‘Ello Guvnah! I’m your twin I is!   In a series of flashbacks, we get the sordid tale of Alex Drake: When Mary was in labor at Radley (in the 1940’s) she gave birth to Spencer, who was quickly whisked away by the Hastings family. So quickly in fact, that no one stuck around for Spencer’s twin sister Alex to be born. To buy her way out of Radley, Mary sells Alex to a fancy British family who raise her across the pond…until they realize that she is the baddest of bad seeds and dump her at an orphanage for evil geniuses. Flash forward, and teenage Alex is pulling pints in a bar where she runs into Wren. Wren can’t believe he’s found a British Spencer, and tells Alex of her true parentage. They fall in love (eww) and Wren arranges a meeting for Alex and Charlotte. Once the half sisters meet, they become thick as thieves, each finding the family they were searching so long for. Charlotte falls in love with Archer, and they proceed to double date their way around Europe. It’s like The Parent Trap, but with more wigs, murder, and asylum stays.  This is my Sarah Manning cosplay…fancy a shag?   But Charlotte can’t handle being away from the game, so she goes back to Rosewood to play with her dolls, where Mona murders her in the bell tower. Consumed by revenge, Alex sets out for Rosewood and picks up the game where Charlotte left off. In her quest to find out who murdered Charlotte, she gets a glimpse into the charmed life of Spencer Hastings, and wonders what could have been if she had that life. You know, that idyllic suburban experience where your father bangs every mom in town, you’re related to all your friends, and you spend your entire adolescence being terrorized by a maniac in athleisure wear. Ah, the stuff that dreams are made of! Alex starts cosplaying as Spencer and pops up in a series of flashbacks: Alex was the one who held Hanna when she was locked in that barn. Alex asked Toby for the goodbye kiss. Alex also banged Toby and fell for him. Soon enough, she decides she wants to be Spencer full-time, so she’s locked Spencer in her new dollhouse and takes over her life. She’s so into mirroring Spencer that she makes Wren shoot her in the shoulder so she has the same scar. She also uses Wren’s sperm to father Emily and Ali’s babies, before killing him and turning him into a diamond necklace. Which she wears around her neck. EVERYWHERE SHE GOES. I mean, it’s no bracelet made of teeth, but it’s still pretty bonkers.   Does this seem like a lot of exposition? Because it’s an insane amount of exposition. Alex isn’t revealed until at least halfway through this 2-hour finale, and she hits the ground running, checking off every unsolved mystery this show ever made up. Bitch can summarize! Alex heads off to Aria’s wedding, where no one notices anything different about her. Aria comes out in her bridal gown, and it is some wacky vintage nonsense that only Aria could cook up. Frankly, I’m surprised it was missing her signature leopard print pattern. It’s the last ever Emily Fields cleavage appreciation post!   Meanwhile, Mary tries to comfort Spencer by making her Peruvian chicken and assuring her that living life in a jail can be fun. Spencer begs Mary to release her, and Mary gives her a hug. Instead of bum rushing her birth mom out the door, Spencer cries in her arms. Once Mary locks the door, we see that Spencer has taken a bobby pin out of her hair. Someone is about to Nancy Drew her way out of this underground prison! Back at Wedding Central, Ezra still hasn’t shown up. Aria is crying Byron is threatening to beat up Ezra, and everyone is confused. Did Ezra have a crisis of conscience and decide not to marry the girl he seduced at 15? Of course not! Alex abducted him and threw him in a jail cell next to Spencer. Does Ezra help Spencer escape? Nope, he just mansplains lock picking to her with a pissy attitude. Back at Radley, the Liars are all sharing a room and consoling Aria. Alex climbs into bed and strokes Aria’s hair, telling her that they’ll be the closest of all. How did she find out about Team Sparia all the way in England?!  Team Sparia for Life   The next day, Alex meets Toby at the stables, where the horse starts freaking out because he knows she’s not Spencer. That, or she’s a vampire. Toby starts putting the pieces together. Later, Jenna meets with Alex and can tell just by smelling her that she’s not Spencer. Finally, Toby takes the book of French love poems Alex gave him, and realizes that it can’t be Spencer’s book because there aren’t any notes in the margins. Toby brings this information to the Liars, and everyone is like, “evil twin? Yup, sounds about right” and they go off in search of the real Spencer.  YOU’RE NOT MY MOM!   Back at the bunker, Spencer picks the lock and frees herself and Ezra. They try to escape from the bunker and run outside of the house…only to realize that they aren’t outside at all. The ceiling is painted to look like the sky, and there is fake grass and everything, but it’s just a dollhouse within a dollhouse. Mona confronts the Liars and tells them that Wren tried to kill her in Welby, but she convinced him she could help bust Mary out of prison. Mona has also tracked Spencer’s coordinates to Toby’s house, because she is in this damn game to win it.  Here I am, explaining this game to you dum-dums one last time!   The Liars bust their way into the bunker, where they stumble onto the classic twin face-off: Spencer and Alex wrestling, and trying to convince the Liars that they’re each the real Spencer Hastings. Oh, and Ezra hits his head on a rock. Toby grabs one of the twins and demands to know what their favorite poem is from the book, and the real Spencer (in classic Spencer fashion) starts reciting it in perfect French. The cops rush in and arrest Alex and Mary, and Spencer is reunited with her friends.  I’m the right real Spencer, you barmy old chaps!   The Ezria wedding gets a do-over, and everything goes smoothly, even Marlene King’s cameo as a photographer who didn’t turn off her cell phone. The Liars walk around the only square in Rosewood, and talk about how much they’ll miss Aria while she’s on her honeymoon. Spencer is back together with Toby, and Hanna reveals that she’s pregnant. They all hug and it’s very sweet.  So long Rosewood…you’re the 6th bitch at this table!   But what of Miss Vanderwaal? We find Mona living in Paris, selling antique dolls and making out with a beefy French dude. She steps into her backroom, where she has dollhouse decorated with two brunette dolls. The camera pulls back and we see Mary and Alex Drake imprisoned in a dollhouse of their very own. Looks like Mona won the game after all.  Praise be to VanderJesus, for ever and ever, amen.   Then the final scene is a rehash of the pilot opening, with Addison’s mean girls at a sleepover (with Maya’s cousin) waking up to find their queen bee missing. Nice try show, but I’m not spending another seven years with this hot nonsense. And that’s it: seven seasons of masks, wigs, doll parts, Grunwalds, and interchangeable white guys. Seven seasons of Shay Mitchell’s shiny pony-like hair and two facial expressions. Seven seasons of that same damn yellow top that Ali wore on the night she died a thousand times. I started this show the way most of us did, by reading Heather Hogan’s recaps and laughing along with the #BooRadleyVanCullen crew. I didn’t know then that I would go on to write recaps for Autostraddle and AfterEllen, nor did I know that AfterEllen would meet a cruel and untimely end. I didn’t know that I would meet my very own Twincer, Dana Piccoli, who would bring me here to the Bella Books blog to complete this ridiculous journey. To everyone who edited my work, gave me encouragement, and provided me with screengrabs (shout out to @PLLBigA) I want to say thank you. Bitch can appreciate! At its best, Pretty Little Liars was campy frothy fun with some serious heart. It gave the queers of the world Emily Fields and Paige McCullers and Alison DiLaurentis. It also gave us Ravenswood, Ezria, and oh so problematic treatment of Charlotte. Most importantly, it gave us an online community, a world of inside jokes and memes that bonded us nerdy, pop culture obsessed queer folks together. Visibility still matters, now more than ever. I will miss recapping this show, but more than that, I will miss the weekly check-in on Twitter, and laughing my face off at all your hilarious comments. I’m taking a break from recapping to work on my own writing, film my web series, learn how to fly a plane, assume an alias, speak to birds, and life-jack my twin. But just like Alison DiLaurentis, I’ll be back. I hope you’ve enjoyed these recaps over the past couple of years: I’ve enjoyed writing them and getting to know all you beautiful weirdos. Ending these recaps is a real mannequin leg to the heart. What else is there to say but…XOXO bitches! http://dlvr.it/PRGG7Q

[pierogidreamteam]

Flashlights // Criminal Minds (CHAP:1)

I’ve been working over this story in my Wattpad account, but I feel that the story would end up better on here in pieces and scenes, maybe episodes once in awhile.

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Chapter One:

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."  - Eleanor Roosevelt

"Vivianna Donnelly, the unit you’re looking for is on the sixth floor, as I’m sure you already know.” I put my bag back on my shoulder, and took my hair in my hand, pulling it out of my face. I eyed the security guard, smiling at him. 

I had always been sold the lie that people outside of my hometown, in cities bigger than South Omaha, were not nice, and not to be trusted. Every day I spent out here in this world proved them wrong.

“Thank you,” I whispered. I walked towards the elevator, struggling to zip up my purse, my chapstick falling out. I closed my eyes, and crouched down to get it.

“I believe this is yours.” I nodded at the blonde girl with the curly hair, red glasses. I reached out my hand and she put it in, grabbed my hand and shook it. She nodded back at me, before scoffing and apologizing. “I’m Penelope Garcia. I’m the technical analyst for the BAU. And you are?”

“I’m Vivianna Donnelly. Formerly Omaha Police Department, then Crimes Against Children in Omaha.” We walked towards the elevator together. The doors closed, and I found myself tapping my shoes against the floor. “Now, I’ve been finalized for my transfer to the BAU.”

“That’s so great! Can I call you Viv?” Penelope exclaims. She looks over at me smiling. I shrug my shoulders and nodded my head. People have been calling me Viv for the longest time. “Aren’t you a little bit young for the FBI?”

“Well, I’m only 26. But I do a hell of a job, Garcia.” The doors opened onto the fifth floor. I licked my lips, gently nipping at them. The doors opened, and I smiled at Garcia.

“I don’t doubt for a second.” She put her hand on my shoulder, and wished me good luck. I asked her where the Unit Chief’s office is. She started to give me directions as we walked into the bullpen, but she led me straight to the door of Aaron Hotchner. I thanked her, took a breath, and knocked on the door.

“Sir.” I introduced myself, slightly leaning in the doorway. The agent looked up from his paperwork, standing up. I walked in and reached out my hand. “I’m the new transfer, SSA Vivianna Donnelly, of the Omaha field office.”

“To be honest with you, Agent Donnelly, we put in for your transfer into the unit a long time ago at the advice of someone who has since left the Bureau.” He barely looked up from his paperwork. He resumed his work, not paying me any mind.

“So, you weren’t expecting me. I was asked to do a job, Agent. I’m here, you just need to tell me what to start with.” I blink, and repositioned my purse on my shoulder. He nodded at me, and handed me a file. He told to evaluate it, see if the local police really needed us there.

“If you need anything, the team is right down there. I’ll be expecting you to introduce yourself.” He continued to write intermittently. After a few seconds, he looked at me as if to ask what I was still doing there.

I walked out of his office, and spotted a coffee maker in the far corner. I sighed, rushing down the stairs. My sleeping eyes had been a battle all this morning. Coffee would be my best friend.

I grabbed a cup, and poured some room temperature coffee. At the least, it was better than nothing.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned around. My best friend from the Academy was standing there. He hadn’t changed much. We were immediately put together in the Academy as partners and friends since I was just 17, and he was just shy of 20.

“Vivi?” Spencer whispered, before engulfing me in a hug. He rocked me back and forth in place before letting go. “I knew that we were getting an extra agent, but I didn’t think it would be you! I told you that someday they’d figure out that you needed to be here in this team. I still remember that day.”

“Our first day of the agents from the different departments coming and talking to us.” I put a sugar cube in my coffee, crushing it and stirring it around until it was dissolved. A faint smile played on my lips as I remember the first day Agent Gideon came to visit us. “So, Spence, do you know where my desk is?”

Spencer walked me over to a blank desk, across the aisle from him. I put down the file Agent Hotchner wanted me to look over. I reached into my purse, and pulled out a few things I had brought to add a little bit of life into the bare Bureau desk.

My victim board was first. I had always had small pictures I would carry with me when I was looking for victims. If I had been able to save them, get them home alive, their picture had found a place on it. They were the reason I wanted to do this job in the first place. To be out there looking for them even if they thought nobody would go looking for them. So far, my board has been happily filled.

Everyone has that one case that sticks with them. This one case has always stuck with me. The little girl with the pigtails and butterfly barrettes and purple flowered shirt had always found a place in my heart. Maybe I always remembered because that victim was me. The little girl in the framed picture was me.

“Hi, I’m SSA Emily Prentiss. You are?” The woman sitting across from Spencer asked. She got out of her seat, and walked over to me. Her bangs covered her eyebrows, her hair was very straight. I gave her a toothy smile and reached out my hand. I got out of my seat.

“SSA Vivianna Donnelly. Nice to meet you, Emily.” We both nodded at each other and went back to our seats. I introduced myself to JJ, and that’s when the agent Reid had been telling me about entered.

He walked in, sunglasses still pulled over his eyes. He was running kind of late. His face read a hangover, at least a little one. He put his things down, and looked over the divider at me. He turned to Emily and Spencer, and pointed at me, asking who I was.

“This is SSA Vivianna Donnelly of the Omaha Police Department, and the Crimes Against Children Division out of Omaha,” Spencer introduced me. He reached his arm around me and placed his hand on my shoulder. I smiled at this new person.

“Omaha?” The agent responds, pulling the glasses off the bridge of his nose. He makes a face as the light hits his eyes and sits down into his chair. “The place where the cattle would slaughtered before being taken to Chicago to be packaged.”

“The stockyards closed years ago, but you can still smell it. You’d be surprised. If there is anywhere to catch a child trafficker, I’d bet on Omaha any day,” I chided, shrugging my shoulders and smiling.

MORGAN’S POV

I walked into the office, carrying my bag and a brown sack of pastries for the team. I pushed open the glass door, and saw a new face sitting at the empty desk space across from mine.

She heard my steps and looked away from Prentiss and Reid. She smiled, and turned towards me. Her brown eyes were shining, she must be very excited to be here.

“And who is this?” I point towards the girl. I look over at Reid, who moves over and puts his arm around her. His smile is beaming as he introduced her.

“This is SSA Vivianna Donnelly.” She looked up at Reid and over at me, smiling widening for a second before falling into a more normal and sustainable grin. “Formerly of the Omaha Police Department, and then Crimes Against Children in Omaha.”

“Omaha?” I chided. I mentioned something about cattle and them being slaughtered to be packaged in Chicago.

Her response was almost melodic. Her voice for some reason astounded me. She brushed her hair back out of her eyes, and reached out her hand to mine. I reached mine out and we shook hands. She looked down at our hands, and looked back up at me in the eyes. Her grin widened.

“I still don’t know your name, Agent,” She chided back. I sat down at my desk, a little taken back. She walked around her desk, and leaned up against my desk. Her pinstriped legs were crossed at the ankles, her arms folded across her chest. I scoffed. For a girl on her first day, she was really making quite the impression.

“Seems like you’ve met your match, Morgan.” Prentiss laughs. I shake my head, putting my tongue in my cheek. “Donnelly, this is Derek Morgan. The living embodiment of machismo on this team.”

“I guess he has.” She shrugged, smiling. She went back to her desk, and sat down. She looked already relaxed, in her element. “And the true question is, Spence?”

Reid looked back at her and scrunched his eyebrows. “The true question is if you are the same person you were in the Academy.” He walks up to her desk, looks at her photographs on her desk. “I mean if you are, Morgan, I’m quite afraid you just met your carbon copy in white girl form.”

Emily and Reid laughed, but Vivianna just gave me a nod, got up and walked away. She sat down at her desk, flipped all of her hair to one side of her hea. She stood up and grabbed a pencil out of the cup I kept on my desk.

She opened the case file and began to thumb through the papers. She bit her lip and grabbed the pencil she had stolen from me and began to write out a recommendation on a blank sheet of paper.

I got up walked out of the bullpen and down the hall towards Garcia’s office. I closed the office door behind me and Garcia pulled off the headphones she had on.

“What do you think of this new agent, baby girl?” I had folded my arms. I meandered over to Garcia, watching the cat video that she was watching on her laptop. Garcia had a lollipop in her mouth, grabbing it out of her mouth to talk to me.

“I mean I like her so far. But, you know, it doesn’t take very much for me to like people.” She turned her chair back to her desk. She chuckled and popped the lollipop back in her mouth. Mumbling, she said, “unlike you.”

“Very funny, Garcia.” I shook my head. I unfolded my arms and pointed at the cat in the video. Its paws were getting increasingly caught up in the baby blue yarn. “He’s going to choke himself out soon, you know?”

“Morgan!” Garcia reaches out and hits me on my arm, I feign that it hurt and she just looks up and smiles before returning to her computer and clicking on another video. “Either you come in here because you want something, or someone, me, or you have gots to go.”

“Reid said that Donnelly was a carbon copy of me, and I want to see in which ways he was suggesting.” I thought of the board she had, all of the pictures relatively the same size except for the framed picture of the girl who couldn’t be more than four or five. Finding out why that case was so important to her would help the team make sense of her.

“Profile her? Isn’t that against the BAU unwritten code of absolute no-no’s?” Garcia fake gasps, and presses her hand to her chest. She throws out the lollipop stick and turned to her computer. Her fingers scrambled over the keyboard, pulling up Donnelly’s personnel file.

“Well, she doesn’t know that, does she, baby girl?” I chuckled. I unfolded my arms, and reached out for the pen in Garcia’s cup that had the fluff ball hot glued onto it. I tossed it to her, and she brushed it onto the floor to get it out of her workspace.

“I guess not. But I have always felt weird looking into the team’s life. Like when you were arrested in Chicago and our snooping led for you to have to share stuff you were not ready to talk about.”

“You know there’s got to be a pretty damn good reason that she was so determined at seventeen to get into the Academy and leave her family in Omaha, Morgan,” Garcia continued. She looked up at me with pleading eyes, begging me to tell her to stop. I wouldn’t. “I think we’ll find things we don’t want to know and things we shouldn’t.”

“No secrets are kept for long here.” I sat back on the desk, watching as Garcia continued to open up parts of her personnel file.

“Well, she’s from Omaha, when to Omaha Central High. Graduated as a sophomore at fifteen. Joined the Bureau after getting a bachelor International Affairs degree right here in the District in under two years.” Garcia was clicking through her school records. All I could see was exemplary grades, only one B in her whole academic career. “She seems like your garden-variety kickass woman, Morgan, with an IQ  that rivals Reid’s.”

“What’s that?” I said, when Garcia was sorting through the cases she collaborated on in the Omaha FBI office.

“That is a link to…” Garcia voice stops as a gallery of photographs pop up. Donnelly is posed in black lingerie, her hair pulled over her shoulder in pigtails. Garcia mutters under her breath before closing out of the window. She was hoping to bury those pictures. “Why are those there?”

“I guess we’ll be finding out soon enough.” I leaned over Garcia, looking at the computer screen, seeing that there was something else on her personnel file. I pointed to it and asked Garcia what it was.

Garcia clicked on it, and pictures of a bruised little Vivianna popped up on the screen, along with a police report of what her father did to her. Her mother had the case closed by saying that the bruising on Vivianna’s face and stomach were a result of her playing a rough soccer game and not her father kicking and beating her as Vivianna had said.

“I told you, Morgan.” Garcia grumbled, closing out of all the tabs with quick, loud hits on her mouse. JJ walked in, carrying a case file. I threw my head back a bit, and JJ shrugged with a slight grin on her face.

“Come on, Morgan. We’ve got a case. We’re meeting in the conference room.” I followed JJ out of Garcia’s cave and into the conference room. Vivianna sat in a chair that was pushed inbetween JJ and Reid. Her hair was parted again.

“So, here’s that, Hotch.” Vivianna handed him the case she had been reviewing before. It was the dummy test case that had been given to all of us when we first joined the BAU.

“Done already?” Prentiss looked at Vivianna over the case file. Vivianna nodded, and picked up the new case off of the table, flipping through it really quickly.

“I’ve got a photographic memory. And I can recall everything I’ve ever heard ever since my memories were able to be in my mind.” She grinned, still browsing the case file. “Oh, and I have a really good ability to think about things spatially. I recreate the crime scenes from the photographs taken in my head.”

“We cannot handle another Spence,” JJ remarked, her hand placed firmly on her bump. She leaned back in her chair and grabbed up the clicker.

“Oh, don’t worry, she isn’t me” was covered up by Vivianna’s louder “I am not anywhere close to Spencer Reid.”

The team shook their heads, chuckling a bit, as JJ clicked the remote and the pictures of the victims appeared on the screen.

“This is Beatrice Wheatley, 32. She was raped, then strangled. She was a single mother, a teacher, who was discovered in provocative dress in a motel in Kansas City.” JJ clicked through the pictures that had appeared in the case file. “We’re going there partly because the dressing of her body as a prostitute would does not fit with her lifestyle in the suburbs of Kansas City. Also, this word was written in some kind of blood above the door.”

Vivianna’s POV

I got up from my chair, my eyes squinting to read the word that was written on top of the door. “Dziewka. It’s the word for a whore or prostitute in Polish. The fact that this is in KC is interesting. A lot of people do not speak Polish fluently, but almost every single person with a Polish family will know words like that.”

They all looked at me weirdly. Their eyes widened and they made eye contact with each other before they looked at me.

“I’m conversational in six or seven languages, fluent in three.” I sat down, with their eyes still trailing me. I picked up the case and left it open on the first page. “Sorry, I like languages.”

“The reason I thought we should go is that there were a couple of killings about three years ago in Lincoln, Nebraska. Same modus, same signature.” JJ clicked to the photographs of two girls, most likely in their twenties.

“This is Abigail Kuthers and Miranda Morada. Their bodies were discovered in the same way, in their off-campus apartment.” JJ clicked to the pictures of the murders. “No surveillance because of the age of their building. Same word written above the door.”

“The thing that is interesting about the blood over the door is that it is reminiscent of the Passover of the Hebrews in Egypt.” I say, bringing up the obvious to me. “And this time, the blood does not signal to pass over, it signals that the unsub has struck. Taking a Biblical story important to two religions, and making it evil, could suggest narcissism.”

“Wheels up in an hour. Donnelly, do you have a go bag ready?” Hotch closes the case file and stands up. He looks down at me and I begin to nod.

“Of course. It was in the requirements.”

“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.” - Anne Frank

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