#That's not something that completely disappears overnight. Yeah enemy of my enemy and all that but...

[valeriefauxnom]

Hey big fan. How tall do you think the androids in DL are?

Not gonna lie, it's always a bit shocking to hear one has made anything to earn a 'big fan', but thank you very much nonetheless!

As for your actual question, though, I think they're roughly about human height, judging by art? Of course I've gone over how art sometimes varied wildly in height, but as mentioned in that post if you have seen that, Dragalia did seem to try and keep a 'comparison heights' straight, at least. They might not have kept straight if Euden was 4'11 or 5'9 but he was shorter than Ranzal and Luca, etc.

And what we see in the wyrmprints, they seem consistently human in size:

(Well, these are both with sylvans, but sylvans are human in height as well, ears notwithstanding, so the point stands).

As funny as it might have been if every android was big or really tiny, I think it probably makes sense that, being created and wished for them to be 'humans' by Maestro, they resemble humanity as much as possible.

Now, just because Laxi, Mascula, and the androids from their era are human sized, others might not be.

They're a recreation of the older models in another case of Dragalia's humans trying to resurrect older tech, the same tech that made the dragons Very Displeased 1k years ago.

Now, Eireene and Finni, who unfortunately have among my personal least favorite designs in Dragalia, don't really give any indication either of being a wildly different size than Laxi or Mascula. Like this art here, where they are about the same size as Laxi and in a similar 'dwarfed by Ranzal' category most everyone falls into to varying degrees.

That doesn't mean there aren't standouts.

Anassa, for example, seems to carry a much bigger presence in her art. Being something of a commander and command center for the 1k year old model androids, it stands to reason she might have more weapons built in, more data processors, or other things in greater quantity. While we don't have a model or comparative art to truly say for certain that she is bigger, she certainly looks it.

(Does she even have legs??? Is she a roomba that would be foiled by anything over a 15° incline or a sudden height change, ex, stairs??? I mean yeah, doesn't she fly and drop down the one time, but even then, there's any number of environments that might make it awkward or impossible to use it to navigate a hazard.)

Ahem. Anyways, the point is that the general androids, be it Maestro's recreations or their elder Nier:Dragalia -er, Ex Machina, a part of the Humanoid Liberation Agency/the ones living in the sky, seem to be human sized. But there might be a few special model ones out there like Anassa who serve a unique and important purpose to justify the time, energy, and resources designing and creating them to fulfill their goal.

Now, admittedly, androids in Dragalia would be a weak point in my general knowledge since they never really quite struck a chord with me enough to inspire a fixation on them, but yeah, as far as I can tell, they're human-sized with perhaps some rare exceptions. The most I can say that might not be wholly normal is their apparent tendency towards a sort of gaunt build, which, to be fair, it's not exactly as if they can build muscle to change that.

Hopefully that answered your question satisfactorily!

[annieandro]

Annieandro and Little Miss Cassie: Attack Of The Robot Fuzzies, Part 1 Autism Forest.

(Outside of Annieandro’s treehouse)

Annieandro: Hiya, Maisy!

(Maisy Jumps in air)

Maisy: Hey, Annieandro. What’re you doing?

Annieandro: I’d just finished delivering a bunch of Healthy Food and Junk Food to the new factory when I noticed it was full of giant stuff animals!

Maisy: Yay! What factory Annieandro?

Annieandro: The mysterious factory that appeared overnight and started giving out free stuff animals! Let’s see if they’ll let us visit!

(Annieandro and Maisy exit to the right)

(Outside the factory)

Maisy: What do you think it’s like inside?

Annieandro: Oh, it’ll be the most magical, wonderful place you’ve ever seen! Nearly as great as Autism Palace!

(Maisy exits to the right)

Maisy: Look! A shiny slide!

Annieandro: That’s not a shiny slide, Maisy, that’s a rubbish chute!

Maisy: Wheeeeeee!

Annieandro: Maisy?

(Annieandro exits to the right)

(Inside the factory)

Maisy: Wheeeeeee!

(Annieandro enters from left, Maisy enters from right)

Annieandro: Keep it down, Maisy! We don’t want to get caught!

Maisy: Are you trying to stifle my unbridled enthusiasm?

(Annieandro takes a few steps to the right)

Annieandro: Wow, this place is great! Look at all these stuff animals! How many do you think there are?

Maisy: Uh...one hundred?

Annieandro: Hooray!

Maisy: Hooray!

(Loud noises are heard)

Maisy: What’s that loud noise?

(Maisy takes a few steps to the right, Annieandro jumps in air)

Annieandro: Maybe it’s a super-special-secret-ultra-mega stuff animal! Let’s find out!

(Annieandro and Maisy exit to the right)

(Further inside the factory)

Maisy: It’s mine! I saw it first!

Annieandro: I don’t think it’s a stuff animal, Maisy. It looks like a robot thing. What do you think it’s doing?

Maisy: Making art and crafts?

Annieandro: I’m going to find out!

(Annieandro exits to the right, two Coldsnap enemies fall from ceiling)

Maisy: Wait for me, giant walking ice dragons!

(The Coldsnap enemies pick Maisy up)

Maisy: You’re not sweet enough! Hey, put me down!

(Coldsnap enemies carry Maisy off to the left, Annieandro enters from the right)

Annieandro: Maisy? What’s going on?

Maisy: I do not want to play with you! Annieandro, help me!

Coldheart: Mwahahahahahahaha! Phase one of my evil plan is nearly complete!

Annieandro: Evil plan? Hold on Maisy! I’ll save you!

(First room in factory)

(Trueheart Bear and Nobleheart Horse appears from flash of light)

Trueheart Bear: Well, that worked. Now to bring the others in...

Nobleheart Horse: Great Idea Trueheart Bear!

(Trueheart Bear presses button on remote, Optimus Prime, Scooter and Mr.Chips, and The Main 6 appear from flash of light)

Optimus Prime: Ouch...

Trueheart Bear: Oops! Sorry guys! Even geniuses can’t be right all the time!

(Annieandro enters from right)

Annieandro: They’ve taken Maisy! Oh, hi, everyone! What’re you doing here?

Optimus Prime: It looks like we’re too late...

Annieandro: But how did you know that Maisy was in trouble?

Scooter: The same things have been happening everywhere! Little ones have been disappearing all over the place!

Mr.Chips: Hold On Guys, and Welcome To The Team Annieandro!

Twilight: Our home is nearly empty! This is even worse than the time they were all turned into souls! Smells a lot better, though.

Nobleheart Horse: We calculated that Autism Forest would be the best place to stage an investigation, so we teleported us here using something we made during recess.

Optimus Prime: And now we’re ready to kick some evil fuzzy-wuzzy butt!

Annieandro: We’re coming best friend!

(In second room of factory)

Maisy: That was fun! I wanna go again!

(Maisy jumps in air)

Annieandro: Yippee! But first we need to find a way out of here!

(Optimus Prime, The Main 6, Trueheart Bear, and Scooter and Mr.Chips enter from left)

Coldheart: Fools! You’ll never... oh, what’s the word...

Maisy: Blueberry Shortcake?

Coldheart: Escape! You’ll never escape me! Mwahahahahaha!

Optimus Prime: Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?

Coldheart: Because I’ve hidden the key in the other part of the factory! You will never guess its closely guarded location! ... Did you just hear that?

Annieandro: Every word, mister metal box sir or miss metalbox mam!

Frostbite: ....

Trueheart Bear: All right! Let’s go get that key!

Nobleheart Horse: Good Idea Guys, Good Idea!

(All characters exit to right)(In front of giant Annieandro robot)

Optimus Prime: I knew it! This is the work of Beastly, and Shreeky! To be honest, I’m surprised they actually got this far.

Annieandro: It’s hideous! Why would he make such a horrible monster?

Scooter: Uh.... Isn’t that supposed to be you, Annieandro?

Mr.Chips: I Think That Will Be A Great Idea, Anywho!

Coldheart: Now I will use your own robotic clone to defeat you, and then I will use it to take over the world! Mwahahahaha!

Annieandro: Not on my watch. This’ll be just like 2 for 1 Tuesdays at the Autism Forest! Wheeeeee!

Maisy: Oh no! Annieandro, noooooo!

Annieandro: I’m right here, Maisy.

(Maisy jumps in air)

Maisy: Hooray! You’re not defeated!

(Annieandro jumps in air)

Annieandro: And we got the key!

Twilight: That’s great, but I don’t think this is the last giant metal snuggly friend we’re going to have to defeat. Come on! The other worlds need us!

(All characters exit to the right)

[avengerscompound]

Until the End of the World - 14

Until the End of the World: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Word Count:  1899

Rating:  E

Warnings: pregnancy, canon typical violence

Synopsis: Four years after Steve and Bucky got to the bottom of the HYDRA conspiracy that had led to you and your son being hunted for the first three years of his life, you, Bucky, and Steve have carved out a nice life together.  Things are calm and you feel like a family unit.  When Geo starts calling Bucky and Steve ‘dad’, a decision is made to try and add to your family.

Things aren’t as calm as they seem.  When your pregnancy hits the papers, HYDRA rears its head once again, and Steve and Bucky need to track you down to protect the family they had created.

Chapter 14

The morning had the chaotic energy that Steve had come to love since you’d first moved in all those years ago.  Not every day was like this.  Often he’d come back from his run to find Geo watching morning cartoons eating his cereal quietly while you and Bucky were plating up breakfast for the adults, and everything was calm and moving smoothly.  Then there were days like today.  Days when he’d get in and Bucky would be looking harried as he juggled three different things in the kitchen, and you were chasing Geo around with a towel wrapped around your head because Geo was still in his pajamas.

Steve couldn’t quite explain why he liked this kind of morning chaos.  Maybe it was because he thrived on stress and he was good at making decisions on the fly.  Maybe it was just that it felt real.  It wasn’t the fairytale happy ending.  It was a real family dealing with real things.  Given how bizarre his life could get, it was nice having something so completely normal he could rely on sometimes.  With the resistance he was hitting with getting both him and Bucky to be able to legally adopt Geo without you giving up any of your parental rights, it was nice to get this reminder that even if it had to just be a case of one or the other, this was his family and no law would change that.

“Geo, you need to get a move on, we’re going to be late,” you said, as you tried to dry out your hair.  You still had your robe on, and you were moving around the apartment like you were looking for something.

“What are you missing, honey?”  Steve asked as he came in.  You were very close to your due date, you’d been suffering more and more by what you had been calling ‘baby brain’.  The most common signs of it were forgetting simple words, going into a room to do something and forgetting what you went in there for, and misplacing just about everything you put your hands on.

“My purse,” you said.  “We have to pay for his excursion to the Natural History Museum.”

“You had it by the bed,” he said.  “Something about chapstick.”

“Shit, right,” you said, hurrying back into the bedroom.  “Get dressed, Geo,” you shouted over your shoulder as you disappeared into your room.

Steve chuckled, following after you.  “Did you want me to do the drop-off today?”  He asked as he pulled off his sweatstained compression shirt.

“No, it’s fine.  I have to go out today anyway,” you said.  “I just don’t want him to get there late.”

“I’ll just take a shower and help you both get ready,” Steve said, coming over and kissing the top of your head.  You looked up at him from your seat on the edge of the bed.  “Thank you, honey,” you said.

He left you to get ready and took his shower, making it quick and perfunctory, before coming out and getting dressed.  You were standing eating toast while Bucky and Geo sat at the table finishing up their breakfast.

You looked at your phone and thrust it quickly into your purse.  “Come on, G,” you said.  “We have to go.”

Geo shoved the last mouthful of pancake into his mouth and jumped off his chair.  He kissed Bucky on the cheek and then Steve.  “Bye, dads,” he said, grabbing his bag.

“Are you doing pick up, Buck?”  You asked.

“Yeah, I’ve got it,” Bucky nodded.

“Captain Rogers,” FRIDAY announced as Steve was pouring himself a coffee.  “You’re needed urgently in the strategy room.”

“Thanks, FRIDAY,” Steve said, putting his cup back down.  “Guess I won’t be eating after all.”

“There’s always coffee and donuts up there,” Bucky said, getting up and collecting up the dishes.  “I’ll see you up there.”

Steve kissed his cheek and followed you out into the hall.  “Hope it’s nothing too bad,” you said.  The elevator doors were opening as the three of you walked down the hall.

“We’ll handle it,” he said and kissed your cheek.  “Have a good day.  You take the elevator, I’ll use the stairs.”

“Thanks, honey,” you said, bustling Geo through the doors.  “See you tonight”

Steve veered off into the stairwell and took the stairs two at a time.  It was a dozen floors up, but he moved quickly and he arrived at the strategy room sooner than if he’d waited for the elevator to return.  It was still early, so the only people present were Hill, who always got in well before any of the Avengers, and always left much after them, and a couple of lower down SHIELD agents whose jobs it was just to make sure someone was there if something big went down.  They monitored lines of communication and passed off intel gathered overnight to the appropriate people.

They both looked nervous like they were expecting to be court marshaled for something.  “What’s going on?”

“Do either of you knuckleheads want to tell him or should I?”  Hill snapped.

They shifted uneasily and looked down at the ground as Sam came into the room.

“What’s this big emergency?”  He asked.

“About three hours ago, they got word there was a breakout at the Raft,” Hill explained.  “It was a minor breakout, but precise and coordinated.  They lost one prisoner.  These idiots thought the appropriate response would be to send two Agents out to see if they could recover said escapee.  Didn’t think to ask who it was that escaped.”

“Who was it?”  Steve asked, feeling a slow tightening in his chest.

“Ophelia Sarkissian,” Hill said when neither of the agents would speak up.

“Viper?”  Steve said, quickly moving to the computer panels.  Immediate and intense dread set it.  You would already be halfway to the school and while you had a driver with you, they were not equipped to deal with a HYDRA attack.  He could only imagine that that’s why Viper had made the break.  He began searching up the tracking on the car and logging into the police reports for incidents on the path between here and the school.  “You couldn’t have led with that?”

“Has she already left?”  Sam asked, reading his mind.

“Yes, she would have been in the car by the time I got here,” Steve said.  There were no police reports but the usual route you took to the school had been blocked off by road work and you’d been diverted down one of the smaller side alleys.  “Shit,” Steve cursed.  “FRIDAY, assemble the team immediately.”

“Yes, sir,” FRIDAY replied.

“I’ll go now,” Sam said.  “Scout ahead.  Maybe I can get to her before they do.”

“Thanks, Sam,” Steve said, quickly flicking through the possible alternate routes.  “FRIDAY, tell Geo to let his mom know what’s happening.”

“Yes, sir,” the AI responded.  Almost simultaneously the system began lightning up with calls to 911 reporting an attack.

“Shit!”  Steve cursed.  “Hill, tell the other’s what’s happening.  I’m going to suit up.”

He ran out the door and down to the armory, taking the stairs again because even the elevator couldn’t beat his quickest descent down the stairs.  He pulled on his armor as quickly as he could and by the time he was done Bucky and Bruce had come in.  

“They took her?”  Bucky asked in a panic as he quickly tried to get dressed in his armor.

“We don’t know for sure, but there’s a large attack in the city on her route,” Steve answered.  “I’m going now, catch me up when you can.”

“Tony is already on his way.  You want a lift with the Hulk?”  Bruce asked.

“Do you mind?”  Steve asked.

“For this?  No,” Bruce said.

Steve rubbed Bucky’s shoulder as he followed Bruce out.  The scientist took no time to release his anger when they reached the street, hunching over as his muscles expanded and twisted and his skin turned green.  The Hulk looked around for a moment to get his bearings, and then down at Steve.  “Which way?” He grunted.

Steve pointed and the Hulk picked him up and jumped.  The Hulk couldn’t fly, but the leaps he took were so large and so fast that it was almost as good as.  It wasn’t long until the sounds of sirens and gunfire reached them, and soon after that, Sam and Tony came into view, circling a scene of chaos on the ground.  Police were scattered through a five-block area, trying to get people out to safety, and putting up roadblocks.  Large groups of people dressed in dark green bodysuits fired into the crowd.  “What’s the word?”  Steve said when Hulk dropped him to the ground and charged into the group of HYDRA agents.

“They just swarmed her,” Sam said.  “The car is there, and the driver is dead.  There’s no sign of either her or Geo.”

“No one saw which way they went?”  Steve asked as he charged into the crowd after the hulk, throwing his shield at the enemy to clear his way to the car.

“Sorry, Cap,” Sam answered.  A lot of the witnesses were eliminated immediately, and the ones that weren’t are in shock.  There are vague ‘we saw them being pulled into a black van’ but Tony and I have been doing sweeps and the only black vans we’ve seen aren’t it.”

“What the fuck?”  Steve said as he rushed to the car.  Tony didn’t even call him on his language, and Steve almost wished he had.  The car hood had been crushed by something and the driver was dead behind the wheel.  Both doors hung open and when Steve looked inside he saw Geo’s backpack, tablet, and your purse scattered over the back seat.

Steve felt like part of his heart had been ripped out.  A group of HYDRA swarmed on him and he quickly fought them off.  “How are there so many of them?”  Steve asked.  “I thought we’d weeded them out.”

“You know what they say, Cap,” Tony replied. “Cut off one head…”

“... and two more… Yeah, yeah,” Steve replied.

Steve looked around and ran out of the alley in the direction he hoped they might have driven off in.  There were rubber marks on the road, the kind left when a car peels off quickly.  “Tony, Sam, the vehicle that took them took off to the west.  It was definitely heavy.  I’d say a van or a truck.  Scan anything that might fit that.  They may have cloaking.”

“On it,” Sam said, swooping off to the west.

“FRIDAY, we need to do roadblocks, search all heavy vehicles,” Steve added.

“Sending in the request to the NYPD now,” FRIDAY responded.

Steve was about to jump back into the fight and see if he could question one of the HYDRA agents - not that he thought it would do any good - when Bucky appeared.  “Steve, what happened?  Where are they?”

Steve shook his head, feeling that cool exterior starting to crack now that Bucky was here too.  He took a deep breath, attempting to pull it together even though all his body seemed to want to do was let himself break down in his lover's arms.  He closed his eyes for a moment and shook it off.  “We’ll get them back, Buck,” he said, putting his hand on Bucky’s arm.  “We have to.”

// NEXT

[lovestrucked-again]

Sanguine I Mafia

Genre: Mafia AU Warnings: dark themes Word Count: 3k ANON Ask: Hi I really LOVE your writing and I’d like to request the reader in the nct mafia series gets in some trouble with another company. Serious trouble. But on accident. So the boys have to really work something out to get her back – I’ve taken the idea and done a little series, hope you like it <3 Summary: You were a second year med student taken in by the house of NCT. It’s not uncommon to be the last to learn things within the house but when your safety is threatened, your forced to leave home with no option. But it only makes things worse.

****

Waking up to a loud racket in the morning was nothing new or surprising for you. After moving in, the rarity of having a silent morning was priceless and you could only dream of those days. However, for this Thursday morning, waking up so late in the morning was a disaster, finding out you’re running late to your morning lecture wasn’t what you were expecting. As a second year med student, suggested by yours truly, Qian Kun, you were crushed by the weight of content, leading to late study nights and hectic schedules.

When you were first bought in, you were still a first year student, confused in what course direction to take, what your interests were, and your own capability. As you got comfortable within the house while your first year ended, Kun suggested going into medical school, noticing your attention to detail and caring nature. Lucky for you, your studies were never an issue and getting in proved no difficulty.

Your bedside clock given as a gift from Doyoung (because your always late), showed 8:02am, 28 minutes before it starts. Quickly jumping out of bed you ran to your bathroom, brushing through the knots that had formed in your hair overnight and taking a shower. After getting dressed and grabbing your phone and bag you ran downstairs to grab a snack before leaving. Surprisingly the house seemed strangely quiet for an early morning. A few of the boys slept in during the mornings, somehow managing to sleep though the heavy noise, but majority would be up and about by now.

You sneaked a peak into the living room while grabbing an apple from the fridge, seeing the absence of people. You grabbed your usual set of keys from the row of hooks at the entrance to the garage, noticing most of the car keys were missing but too late to think deeply into it. You ran over to your favourite car within the garage and threw your backpack onto the passenger seat beside you before starting the engine and driving as fast as you could to your class.

Arriving 5minutes after the lecture started, you sneak in through the back door hoping no one would notice you. Obviously with your luck, the class happened to be completely silent when you entered and the sound of the door creaking open caught everyone’s attention. You mumbled a small apology to the lecturer who didn’t bother to acknowledge your presence and continued with his talk. You settle into your seat and pull out your laptop and begin typing away as he talks.

Almost halfway through your lecture your phone buzzes. You ignore the initial vibration felt from the phone on your desk, too immersed in typing as your lecturer continues talking without bothering to slow down. However, as soon as the continuous texts popped through, the students around you were starting to give you looks and you had no choice but to answer to your phone. You glance at the screen noticing the texts from Jaehyun.

Jaehyun: Where are you?

Jaehyun: Y/N?

Jaehyun: Y/N? Answer me.

Y/N: In a lecture, something up?

You see the three little dots typing through the screen for a minute, then disappearing, and then reappearing.

Jaehyun: No, have fun and stay safe.

Not bothering with it too much, you placed your phone in your bag this time, and tried to catch up to what the lecturer was explaining. When the digital clock above the board showed 10am, the lecturer began piling up his paperwork, and dismissed the class.

Normally you’d find the Dream group who would be roaming around the campus around the same time as you had your lunch break. The 2000s line were first year students due to their part time commitment as students. They balanced life at home with training and missions while also completing a normal life – forced upon by Taeyong. You made your way over to the tables under the shaded trees and pulled out your phone to pass time. It was almost 10:30 when you realised there was still no one here.

You pull up the group chat you had for the bunch of you who attended college; Renjun, Haechan, Jeno, Jaemin and you.

Y/N: Did you guys all ditch today?

Haechan: We got held back at home

Y/N: You’re at home?

Haechan: Yeah

Y/N: It was so quiet this morning though, I thought no one was home.

Haechan: Big meeting today

Y/N: Guess I’m spending lunch alone

Jaemin: Go make some new friends

Jaemin: Girl-friends only

Y/N: :(

You hum to yourself, putting in your earphones and grabbing your drawing pad along with a pen. The time passes rather quickly as you sketch out the trees in your view, the figures of people passing by, the group of friends gathered on the lawn. The music abruptly stops and you look at your phone, confused at the interruption. You notice the call coming through and pull out your earphones to place the phone against your ear.

“Hello?”

“Hey can you come to the car?”

“My car?” You ask, confused.

“Yeah, I’m at your car.”

“Okay, give me a few minutes.” You tell him, hanging up to gather all your belongings.

You notice the familiar car parked next to your own car and your face crinkles up confused at the unannounced visit from Lucas coming to your campus. Lucas stands leaning against the bumper of his car, staring at his phone not seeing you approach him.

“Hey what are you doing here?” You ask,

“I’m picking you up.” He simply states, putting his phone in his pocket and taking your laptop and textbooks from your grasp.

“I drove though.” You tell him.

“I know, one of the guys will get your car,” he says, motioning to the passenger side of his car for you to get in as he places your stuff in the back seat and opens the door on the driver’s side for himself.

“What’s going on?” You ask, closing the door before your fighting with your seatbelt strap to pull over your shoulder.

“We’re going on a vacation.” Lucas replies, leaning over to help you with your seatbelt. You lean back against your seat as he fumbles with it for a second and then buckles you in.

“Thanks, and I don’t know if you’ve realised but I still have lectures to attend tomorrow.” You tell him.

“Jaehyun handled them already.” He tells you.

“What do you mean?” You ask, starting to get concerned with the sudden situation. “Lucas what’s going on?” you ask again.

“Call Jaehyun, it’s better he tells you,” Lucas says, letting out a sigh as he pushes the gear stick into drive. You pull out your phone and dial his number, being sent straight into voicemail. You try again while Lucas watches, waiting for a response as well.

“He isn’t answering.”

“Try Taeyong.” He tells you. You click onto your speed dial for 1, calling Taeyong immediately. The phone rings for a few seconds and as your about to give up, he answers.

“Hello?”

“Hey princess what’s up?”

“Jaehyun didn’t pick up his phone and what’s with this sudden vacation? I still have classes to attend.”

“I’ve put your application on defer for now.”

“You did what?!” You yell into the phone. Lucas flinches from your sudden raise in voice.

“Sorry I should’ve talked about this with you.” You hear Taeyong sigh through the other end.

“Yeah, obviously. I’m not going on vacation or whatever this crap is Tae, I’m going back to class tomorrow.”

“Y/N things aren’t going very well recently and I need you to get away from everyone so your safe.”

“I don’t care about that, since when did you have a say in my education and what I do?!” You yell, “I’ll move in with a friend if I have to but I’m not leaving.”

“Sorry Y/N but I can’t let you do that, please just go with Lucas for now okay? I’m busy at the moment so I’ll call you back later.” He states, hanging up before anyone has a chance to say more.

Little did you know, the meeting that occurred earlier in the day was to discuss the current situation with enemy plans and events that have recently been going on. The members had been taking turns following you secretly to classes or trying to accompany you wherever you went without you realising it. Taeyong had been receiving threats lately regarding the entire NCT and the safety of the members. When someone sent an anonymous email to him containing images taken of you doing your daily activities outside of the house he decided it was time to separate you from the group.

Much to many of the members disliking of being separated and out of site, you were in danger to be living with them in this current situation. You leaving the city was planned last minute today and was agreed upon by majority in the meeting. Doyoung and Lucas had packed all your essentials within a few minutes before Lucas left to pick you up, leading you to where you were now. Your safety had been left in the hands of Lucas, unfortunately. Not saying that you were on bad terms with Lucas but more of his reliability seemed to be questionable.

Lucas on the other hand was even more miserable than you. The problem of babysitting you while being separated from all the action back home and being stuck inside a hotel would kill him of boredom.

The car ride was mostly silent, Lucas trying to change through the music playing and then being interrupted by phone calls coming through. He connected them to his in ear Bluetooth, trying to avoid you from hearing about the business projects he was dealing with. You rotated between sleeping and scrolling through social media for the car ride. Eventually as night falls, he pulls into a hotel within a small town. The two of you get out the car and he goes in ahead of you, tossing the keys to you while he susses it out.

The front desk lady had placed a pair of keys on the counter bench when you walked in the front door. You could see Lucas was running a hand through his hair – a habit he did when he was frustrated - when you approach him.

“What happened? Did you place a reservation?” You ask Lucas as he dials Jaehyun.

“The guys did, Jaehyun gave me the address for this place.”

“What’s the problem then?” You question, confused.

“Why did you book only one room and there’s only one bed?” Lucas complains into the phone. As soon as Lucas mentions one room you go blank. Sharing a bed wasn’t an issue for either of you, considering you’d had frequent movie nights with him which you ended up sleeping there instead of returning to your room. The problem is his sleeping habits. They want me to share a room with this loudass? How am I meant to sleep through his snoring? Your head was running through a billion problems and you were bought back into reality just as Lucas was about to hang up.

“Jaehyun what is this?” You ask, motioning for the phone from Lucas.

“Hey baby how are you?”

“Great. A little frustrated but you know, nothing new.” You tell him sarcastically.

“Yeah I know, sorry everything was too sudden for you.”

You sigh into the phone, knowing that you shouldn’t be taking your feelings out on him, “Yeah.”

“It’ll be over soon,” He says, comforting you through the phone.

“Okay,” you mumble, “Lucas and I are checking in now, be careful okay?”

“Yeah you too.” He replies, just as you end the call and hand the phone back to Lucas.

Lucas takes the keys on the counter and the two of you head back to the car to bring your belongings up. The room was simple. A large king sized bed and a TV in its direct line of sight. The bathroom connected near the entrance in a separate area and a little study desk and lamp. A little couch at the far end near the curtains covering the sight of a balcony.

“I’m going to shower first.” You tell him, searching for your pyjamas.

“Don’t be so slow, I’m tired.” He complains.

“Says the boy who spends 20minutes in there.” You shoot him a glare and he smiles at you blinking his eyes with innocence. “Also who packed my suitcase, where’s my pjs?”

“Doyoung and I did, don’t know if we packed pjs though..” he trails off. He pushes himself up from the couch and flips through his bag. He pulls out a plain white shirt and throws it across the room to you, “Wear this.”

“Is it clean?” You ask, holding it with the tips of your fingers. His hygiene routine isn’t classified as one of the best within the group and you feared he had given you a sweaty one.

“Obviously.” You give him a suspicious look and gather your night time things, heading into the bathroom. You strip down and step slowly into the tub, turning the water on high and letting it beat over your head as the steam begins to fog up the mirror. Closing your eyes, the heat of the water soaks into your skin and you lean against the cool tiles, exhausted at the day of events.

After you’ve washed shampoo and conditioner through your hair, you turn the tap off, squeezing out the water with your hands into the tub before stepping out. The towel hangs from the door hook and your easily able to grab it without getting the floor wet. You quickly dry yourself off and chuck on a bra, undies and Lucas’ white shirt. You wrap the towel around your hair as you step out and the temperature difference of the rooms immediately causes you to shiver.

“You can go now.” You tell Lucas, jumping straight under the covers of the bed. He hums in response, throwing you the TV remote while he disappears. You lean up against the bed board and flick through the channels, finally deciding to just turn it off instead when nothing seems interesting just as your phone beeps.

Johnny: Hey Princess are you still awake?

Y/N: Yeah, how is everyone?

Johnny: Everyone’s okay, there’s a training session going on at the moment so they’re all a bit busy

Y/N: Ahh okay.

Your debating whether you should ask about Taeyong, regretting yelling at him earlier and knowing he was only trying to keep you safe.

Y/N: Is Taeyong mad at me?

Johnny: He’s not mad, just a little stressed is all.

Johnny: Don’t worry about it.

Y/N: Okay

Johnny: Go to sleep now, it’s getting late, you and Lucas still have to keep driving tomorrow.

Y/N: I will, goodnight.

Johnny: Night <3.

Just as you shut your bedside light, Lucas walks out the bathroom shirtless, ruffling his hair with the towel and eyes glued to his phone.

“You’re not sleeping on the couch?” He asks, glancing over at you.

“Me?” You question.

“Well I’m too tall to fit and besides, I’ve been driving all day and I’ll be driving all day tomorrow.” He states, pulling the sheets down on the other side.

“Do you know how many bedbugs are on that couch?” You ask before answering it yourself, “too many.”

“Just don’t kick me throughout the night like last time.” He warns you, flipping over to his side.

“Wow you’re so terrifying.” You mumble, crawling more towards your side of the bed. “Don’t snore like your Santa Claus okay?” You remind him.

Lucas obviously ignored your warning as he snores throughout the night. You let out a groan as you sit up and push him over, tossing him more towards his side of the bed. He stops snoring momentarily and then it starts again after a few minutes of peaceful silence. Are you kidding me. You do your best to just ignore him and fold the pillow against your ear, making the sound as quiet as possible. Your phone rings just as you feel like you’re finally falling into sleep and you cry in frustration, rolling over to reach it and pick up, not looking at the caller ID.

“Hey baby, how have you been?” The deeper voice asks.

“Sorry, do I know you?” You mumble, still asleep in your state.

“Ouch, that hurts, how could you say that to your lover.”

You open your eyes, squinting at the light of the unknown number on your phone screen. “Sorry I think you’ve got the wrong number.”

“Do I really? I swear this was the number for Miss Y/N, the beautiful lady who happens to be living with one of the desired Mafia gangs.” You stayed silent through the phone, immediately sitting up, obviously this guy knew who you were and your relation to the boys. You glance at Lucas whose still asleep and your feet search for your slippers. Quietly you tip toe out to the hallway, leaving a gap in the door behind you. “If I’ve still got the wrong number feel free to hang up, I’ll continue chatting with the so notorious leader who happens to be knocked unconscious.”

“WAIT!” You whisper into the phone,

“Hm?”

“Wh-what do you want?” You hesitatingly ask.

“That’s what I thought.” He laughs. “Now I know you aren’t alone baby, so is anyone listening to us?”

“No.”

“Good girl.” He hums before continuing “I want you to come home.”

“What?”

“Come home, alone.” He says, “and remember to keep this a secret, or it might be bad for the present I have for you. I’ll be waiting.”

[kpopfanfictrash]

A Lie of Omission

Author: kpopfanfictrash 

Creative Content Contributor: @baebae-goodnight (thank u for this moodboard I keep using bc it’s so good)

Pairing: You / Jimin

Rating: PG-13 [ fluff + enemies to lovers!AU + Hogwarts!AU ]

Word Count: 3,655

Summary:  A series of drabbles about Slytherin!Jimin and Hufflepuff!Y/N, the sister of his self-declared mortal enemy.

A/N: These drabbles are non-sequential.

“I’m not going,” you mutter, slumped low in your chair. Before you, the Hufflepuff common room fire roars cheerily, as only a Hufflepuff fire can.

Sandra sits in the chair next to you, scribbling notes on a fresh sheet of parchment. “And why not?” she hums, not looking up from her book. “Why aren’t you attending the Yule Ball, again?”

“Because,” you inform, groaning out loud. “In order to attend, I would need a date.” Slouching even lower, you stare at the flames of the fire. “And in order to have a date, someone would need to ask me.”

Finally, Sandra snaps the book shut. “Ridiculous,” she announces.

Glancing sideways, you frown. “There’s no boggart here, San.”

Sandra rolls her eyes. “Not Riddikulus, I am calling you ridiculous. As in, your way of thinking is absurd.”

Slightly offended, you push yourself higher. “And how am I being absurd?” you demand, crossing both arms over the table. “I would be fine going solo, if anyone else were. But even you have a date,” you complain, nudging her elbow. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for you and Hoseok but it leaves me as the third wheel. That’s no fun.”

Sandra sighs, poking you back. “That leaves you as a chicken, not the third wheel.” Standing up from the table, she stretches both arms overhead. “If you really don’t want to go, you don’t have to. But you’re selling yourself short here – there are plenty of guys without dates. Or,” Sandra brightens, “you could ask Lucas to set you up with someone! What about Seokjin, in Gryffindor? He’s super dreamy, and isn’t he close to your brother?”

With a grimace, you shrug. “I guess so, but Lucas’ friends all see me as a kid.” With hesitance, you remove a certain not-friend of Lucas’ from mind. “I would sooner die than attend the Yule Ball with Seokjin and have him curse potential suitors because their ties were askew, or something.”

Sandra snorts, picking up her bag. “Well,” she accepts. “You’re on your own, then. I just feel like this is a total waste of dress robes.”

Sighing dramatically, you stare into the fireplace. Sandra is correct, you know this – you are being a giant chicken. The Yule Ball does not happen often and Filch, along with the rest of the staff, have been decorating for weeks. It has become somewhat dangerous to venture down a hallway alone, for fear of mistletoe popping into being above you.

With a twist of your lips, you scan the common room and consider your options. By the fireplace stands Greg, a fellow Sixth-year in a few of your classes. He is nice enough, semi-cute and you hear he is not taking anyone to the ball yet. When you open your mouth to mention his name as an option, Sandra cuts you off.

“Not Greg,” she responds, shoving books in her bag. When you blink up at her, Sandra laughs and shrugs. “Sorry, I saw you looking. But anyways, Greg asked Julie Quinn to the Yule Ball this morning.”

“Oh,” you exhale, slumping back in your seat. “Then I guess I’m screwed, huh?”

Even as you bemoan, a nagging voice inside you whispers you could always ask Jimin. The two of you have not spoken for weeks, not since you realized during your last um, meeting that you were becoming too attached to said fuck buddy. Shifting uncomfortably, you attempt to push his face from mind. Jimin has not asked anyone else to the ball the last that you heard and you cannot help but wonder if this is because of you.

It is a silly thought, a baseless one and you banish it instantly. Jimin does not care and yet, for some reason you continue to wonder. Your relationship has been clear from the start. A way for him to get off, and a way for you to get practice – but now, you find yourself staring down at the table. Towards the end, it seemed as though there might be more. Jimin lingered once or twice after you hooked up, helped you with spells a couple of times and then there was the feeling you had, when Jimin fucked you from behind and pulled you against his chest.

Pressing your thighs tightly together, you attempt to forget the brush of his lips on your neck, his hands hot on your body. It felt strangely intimate, in a way it never had before and you do not know what to do with that piece of information. Shaking your head, you look up from the table. Sandra is right about two things, although she does not realize that fact.

You are being a chicken about the ball, just as you are being a chicken about Park Jimin. You should have told him you did not want to see him and instead, you fed him excuse after excuse. None of which were truthful. It is only – you did not want to tell Jimin it is over. You still do not want to tell Jimin it is over.

Why that is so, you have not allowed yourself to consider.

Drumming your fingertips over the table, you stare into the fireplace and frown. “I don’t think I’m going to go,” you announce. “I’ll just stay in the common room, conjure some Butterbeer and drink myself to sleep, or something.”

“And miss the ball?” a voice asks, sliding into the empty chair at your table.

Both you and Sandra glance sideways, surprised to find none other than Kim Taehyung, Hufflepuff’s golden boy in the seat. He grins in your direction, shaking honeyed-blonde hair from his gaze.

Without meaning to, your heart beats a tiny bit faster. Upon your arrival at Hogwarts, Taehyung was one of the first people to be kind to you – to you, Y/N and not you, Lucas’ sister. He sat beside you during the sorting ceremony and cheered when you got into Hufflepuff after he did. Taehyung is sweet, kind and it does not help that he transformed overnight into one of the most attractive men you have ever laid eyes on.

“I – Taehyung,” you blink, surprised by the suddenness of his appearance. You two used to be close, but have not talked much in years. “How are you doing?”

“Oh, you know,” Taehyung sighs, waving a hand. “I’ve been better. Been so busy studying for exams, the ball completely slipped my mind.”

“Oh?” Straightening, Sandra stares meaningfully at you. “Does that mean you don’t have a date, Taehyung?”

Sadly, he shakes his head. “Afraid not,” Taehyung explains, peering at you from beneath his lashes. “And – not to be weird, but did you just say the same, Y/N?”

Staring, heat creeps up the back of your neck. Things are a bit fuzzy and for a moment, you are about to say yes – until Jimin’s face flashes, unbidden, through your mind. With a frown, you attempt to shove this aside. Jimin is not relevant to this conversation, nor is he a realistic option.

Even if you two were more than fuck buddies – which you are not, you remind yourself – Jimin could never bring you as his date to the ball. For one, dances are not his scene and for another, Lucas would be absolutely furious. If his little sister were to show up on the arm of his mortal enemy, Lucas would lose his shit and to be honest, you could not blame him. Jimin has done some shitty things to him in the past (the spaghetti hair comes to mind) but then again, so has Lucas to Jimin.

Shaking free from your reverie, you glance at Taehyung. “I – uh, yeah,” you nod. “I wasn’t planning on going at all, actually.”

Taehyung seems surprised by this. “You’re not? Why?”

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Sandra moves to leave. “Looks like I’m not needed here anymore,” she declares. “Y/N, I’ll be getting ready in the tower, okay?”

“Okay,” you agree, watching her go. Once she has disappeared, you return to Taehyung. “I don’t know,” you admit, trying not to look embarrassed. “I guess there was just no one I wanted to ask.”

“Oh.” Taehyung pauses, thoughtful. The yellow in his robe sets off the golden brown of his hair, making you stare. “What about me?”

“What about you?” you blurt out, surprised.

Taehyung chuckles, leaning in conspiratorially. “Would you want to go to the Yule Ball with me, Y/N?”

For a moment, you can only stare. “Are you shitting me?” you blurt, as Taehyung grins.

“No,” he insists, shaking his head. His expression turns incredulous. “Why would you think that? You don’t have a date, I don’t have a date and I’ve always liked you, Y/N.”

The way he says this – so easily, so casually, gives you pause. For a moment, you are floored. “As a friend?” you squeak out.

Taehyung blinks, his confidence somewhat shaken. “Yeah,” he breathes, tilting his head. “As a friend, I like you.”

His voice is soft, adamant and you stare at him for a moment. Jimin’s face flashes again through your mind, which is becoming annoying, to be honest. Here is a great guy, asking you to a dance and all you can think about is that tiny, little dent about Park Jimin’s lips.

It makes you tilt your chin up and nod. “Alright,” you say, standing up from the table. “I’d love to go with you, Taehyung.”

Expression brightening, he stands as well. “Great,” Taehyung beams. “I’ll meet you in the common room tonight, okay?”

“Sure,” you agree, turning to head towards the stairs. At the bottom, you pause with one hand on the railing. “My dress robes are silver,” you say, turning to face him. Taehyung smiles, having been caught watching you go. “In case you wanted to know.”

“Silver sounds good,” he responds, nodding as you turn and disappear out of view.

Sandra, obviously, is ecstatic about this turn of events. She helps you get ready, chattering incessantly about meaningless things while twisting your hair around competent fingers. At the end of it all, you barley recognize yourself in the mirror – in a good way. Marveling, you turn your face side to side and wonder what, exactly, Sandra did. Your eyes look larger, skin dewier and fresher.

“Wow,” you exhale, glancing at Sandra. “You outdid yourself.”

“Taehyung is gonna freak,” she grins.

She is not wrong, exactly. As you descend to the common room and find Taehyung and Hoseok already waiting, he does a double take at your entrance. “Wow,” Taehyung exhales, eyes wide. “Bet everyone is kicking themselves about not asking you first, huh?”

Ducking your head, you hide a smile. “Stop that,” you chide him, without really meaning it.

Taehyung laughs, taking your arm in his to exit the common room. A group of students head towards the Yule Ball together, talking and laughing the entire way to the Hall. Taehyung walks slower than the rest, falling behind so you can walk side by side.

“So,” he exhales, looking at you. He is beautiful in his slim, black robes and bright silver accents – Taehyung has always been adept at charms, you recall. “I’m glad you said yes. I don’t want you to think that… my bad timing means I’m any less happy to be here.”

He seems nervous, which is sweet and you smile. “You don’t need to explain anything,” you assure Taehyung, entering the Great Hall. “I’m just happy to be…”

You trail off when you see Jimin.

He looks up at the same time you do, freezing in place. While Taehyung recovered quickly from your visual though, Jimin remains frozen in shock.

He is alone, dressed entirely in black with nothing to accent his clothing. Despite this, you find you cannot look away. The blonde of his hair is swept back, a style Jimin seldom wears. You once told him you liked it. You wonder if he remembers.

Realizing you are motionless, you turn. You are not here alone, you remind yourself – Taehyung is your date and, looking upwards, you manage a smile. “The decorations are lovely,” you finish, lamely.

They are; this is true, but they are not the thing which makes your heart pound.

Taehyung glances around the room as you walk. “True,” he agrees, pulling you closer. It could just be your imagination, but you swear he looks at Jimin.

Jimin is not looking at you, though, having turned away as quickly as you did. When you leave, you glance backwards to spot him taking a sip of his drink. Jimin’s grip on the glass is tight, his jaw is clenched and you worry about this for a moment before turning away.

Tonight, Jimin is not your problem.

“Punch?” Taehyung offers, coming to a stop at the bowl.

Gently, you nod and remove your arm from his grasp. “Please,” you agree.

For the first time, you notice the room you are in. The Great Hall has truly been transformed overnight. Great, sparkling icicles hang down from the ceiling and golden baubles float by, dancing on air. The room is spiced somehow and you draw in a deep breath, reveling in the crisp feeling of winter.  

Leaning forward, Taehyung hands you a cup. “Y/N?” he asks, a note of concern in his voice.

Startled, you did not realize you were staring elsewhere. “Sorry,” you respond, accepting the drink. “I was just... looking at the decorations.”

Chuckling quietly, Taehyung follows when you exit the table. “Right,” he nods, glancing at you. “You do seem kind of distracted, Y/N. Maybe I’m overstepping, but… was there someone else you were hoping would ask you?”

The way he says this, with a gentle arch of his brow, makes you wonder if he knows. You wonder if Taehyung saw the way you stared at Jimin when you entered; stomach sinking, you hope he did not because Taehyung does not deserve that.

Tonight, he is your date and you resolve to be better. “I,” you exhale, shrugging a shoulder. “Maybe, yes. There was someone else. But the point is – he didn’t ask me, right?”

Shyly, Taehyung ducks his head. “I guess,” he admits, glancing up. “I’m glad you’re here with me, anyways.”

Warmth spreads through your chest, a second away from something more when a hand closes over your elbow. You whirl, expecting to see Jimin and instead, find your brother.

“I need to talk to you,” Lucas hisses. Glancing over your shoulder, he spots Taehyung and forces a smile. “I’m sorry, man. Could you give me a minute alone with my sister?”

Taehyung slowly nods, looking to you for approval. “If Y/N wants to, sure.”

Gratefully, you appreciate his distinction of word choice. “Yeah,” you agree, allowing Lucas to pull you sideways. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

Taehyung nods, watching you go as Lucas drags you across the length of the Great Hall. “Ow,” you complain, turning to swat at his arm. “Watch the robe, Lucas. I’m – oh,” you blink, as he suddenly turns.

“Is it true?” Lucas demands. He glares at you down the slope of his nose.

Staring back, uncertainty unfurls in your stomach. “Is what true?” you ask, suddenly afraid what he means.

Lucas could not know about Jimin; that would be impossible. You have not seen Jimin in weeks and the last time you two hooked up, no one saw. Your stomach churns though, wondering if you messed up. Perhaps someone saw you both exit the classroom; maybe someone saw, and maybe someone told Lucas.

Rolling his eyes, your brother lets out a huff. “Is it true,” he repeats, “that mom sent candy cane cookies in the holiday packages?”

A bubble of relief pops inside. “Oh my god,” you complain, pushing his hand from your arm. “Are you serious, Lucas? You’re pissed off at me because of candy cane cookies?”

“Ah!” Lucas declares, pointing a finger. “So, it is true! I should have known the moment you offered to pick up my package from the Owlery! I should have known when you took two days to give me mine! You stole my cookies, didn’t you?” he demands, thoroughly cross.

Fleetingly, it crosses your mind that if Lucas is so mad about this, god knows what might happen were he to ever find out about Jimin. This thought makes your stomach sink, heart twisting for reasons you do not understand. If Lucas is so mad over stolen cookies, you can only imagine how hurt he would be if you – literally – slept with the enemy.

Slowly, you swallow. The corners of your eyes burn and for the first time tonight, you regret accepting Taehyung’s invitation. He is a nice guy, yes but he is not – stopping yourself, you do not think his name.

“Fine, whatever,” you exhale, returning to Lucas. “Yes, I ate the dumb cookies. I’ll have mom make you more, okay?”

Lucas squints. “With extra sprinkles and frosting?”

“Yes, your highness.”

He grins, folding his arms. “Okay, fine. I declare this sibling fight over.”

“Was there ever one to begin with?” you groan, patting his cheek as you move to walk past. “Anyways, you can consider the delay in cookies payback!” you call over your shoulder, stepping out of the alcove.

“For what?” Lucas responds, his expression one of pure disbelief.

“Remember that time you broke my Rememberall?” you yell, nearly out of earshot.

“We were five!” Lucas cries, as you slip around the corner.

Laughing, you move until someone else grabs your elbow. Really, you think as you are tugged into a hallway, this is starting to become an unfortunate habit.

Jimin pushes you against the wall. “Hey,” he exhales, before kissing you.

You yelp, a tiny noise of exclamation before sinking into his kiss, thoroughly distracted by how good he feels. Without thinking, your arms rise to wrap around his neck and pull him closer. The stone behind you is cold; rough, like his hands on your body, so eager to have you.

“W-wait,” you gasp, turning your head.

Releasing a groan, Jimin’s fists clutch at your robes. “What is it?” he mumbles, pressing his lips to your neck.

Eyes fluttering, you let your head hit the wall. Jimin feels so good, you are drowning in him after being apart for so long. Something twists in your stomach at this, realizing how regularly you met up with him before.

“Jimin,” you exhale, panting from only his kiss. His hands fumble at your dress robes, needing you closer. “We can’t.”

“Oh, I disagree,” he laughs, gently caging your hips with his own. “The way you look tonight – shit, Y/N.” He says your name in a whine, a desperate groan of desire. “I’ve wanted you since you walked through the door.”

“I-I’m on a date,” you blurt out, silencing him.

Jimin slowly opens his eyes. “Oh,” he responds, careful.

Chest rising and falling, you stare at him through the silence. “I’m here with someone else, Jimin,” you mutter, not knowing where else to look. “I know that we fuck around, sometimes – but not here, okay? Not while my date is waiting for me out there.”

Jimin stiffens. “Right,” he responds, entirely unreadable. There is something dark, almost angry to his gaze. “Right, of course. We only fuck sometimes.”

When he says the last two words, they sound like a mockery. Frowning, you search his face for an answer. “I,” you pause. “I don’t know what you mean by that.”

After a brief pause, Jimin wrenches himself away. Shoving his hand through his hair, he looks out at the Hall. People are dancing now, whirling around the decorations in couples and partners.

“Sure,” Jimin states, oddly cold. This is when you realize that before, he was not cold. In the past few months, Park Jimin has not been cold to you at all. “Of course, you wouldn’t.” Jimin turns back to you. “Why are you here with him, anyways?”

For a moment, you can only stare. “I – what do you mean? Because Taehyung asked me, that’s why.”

Jimin’s eyes narrow, as he takes a step closer. “And why have you been avoiding me, then?”

“I haven’t been avoiding you,” you respond, automatic.

He snorts. “Don’t bullshit me, Y/N. It won’t work.”

Staring at him, you consider your words. “Fine,” you respond through gritted teeth. If you wanted to, you could reach out and kiss him, but you do not. “I haven’t wanted to hook up lately, that’s all.”

At this, Jimin’s nostrils flare. “Oh?” he responds, sounding strangled. “And why is that? Because of Taehyung?”

He looks up to scan the hall but you do not follow his gaze. “Maybe,” you grind out, so angry your blood boils. Every inch of you aches for him. “Why do you care, anyways?”

“I don’t care,” grunts Jimin, grabbing your waist. He yanks you forward, chests thudding together as a tiny moan escapes you. Jimin pushes a hand through your hair, dislodging bobby pins as he hovers over your ear. “I just,” he murmurs, softer. “Why him?”

“What?” you freeze, heart catching.

Jimin inhales, his breath shaky. “Why… him?”

Slowly, you turn your head to look at him. Jimin stares back, unabashed. “Who else?” you ask him, confused.

For a long moment, Jimin does not respond. Then, his grip tightens briefly on your waist before releasing. “If,” Jimin hesitates, glancing around. Never before, have you seen him look like this – uneven, uncertain. “If you have to ask me that, then you’re right. I don’t care.”

With that, he spins on his heel and stalks out of the hall.

You stare after him, finding it difficult to breathe and wondering what in the hell just happened. You did the right thing, you remind yourself. Lucas would have been livid, if he found out and you were growing too attached. Jimin means nothing to you in the long run.

And yet – if Jimin truly meant nothing to you, your heart would not constrict so tightly. Your legs would not shake as they do and you would not reach out to steady yourself on the wall.

You would not feel as though your entire world has crumbled, simply because Jimin said he does not care.

A/N: [ Master List ]

© kpopfanfictrash, 2019. Do not copy or repost without permission.

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Roguish Women Part 3

Summary: Kate Rosseau is an American who fled to Paris to escape her past life. Now she's dancing and playing the part of a courtesan at the Moulin Rouge. There she meets Tommy Shelby who thinks she can be useful in expanding his empire. But has he been blinded?

Part 3: There was a boy, a very strange enchanted boy.

          “Have you heard of the Latin Quarter in Paris?” Her voice arrived before she did, her body trailing after her American accent.

           Tommy glanced over his shoulder to see her approaching. He was out on the deck of the ship that was taking them back to London. It was late, the trip was supposed to go overnight so most passengers were sleeping. But Tommy needed to clear his head and have a smoke out in the salty air.

           “I haven’t.”

           Kate came to stand at the railing beside him. She peered down at the dark churning water below as the ship steamed through the waves. “It’s the home of the Bohemians. Artists and rebels of the like.”

           The word was familiar to Tommy. Sometimes it was passed around to describe gypsies although it was more of a loose term. He never considered himself one. Bohemians were wild as far as he knew. He made a sound of interest but didn’t think the Parisians had any importance to him.

           “I lived in the Quarter when I first came from America. They believe in four things.” Kate turned and leaned her back against the metal railing. She wore her thick coat to ward off the harsh sea winds. “Freedom, beauty, truth, and love.”

           Tommy scoffed. The list sounded flowery and too optimistic. None of those had any bearing in the real world.

           She raised an eyebrow. “You don’t agree?”

           “I didn’t get to where I am today because of love or truth or...whatever else you said.”

           Kate stuck out her lower lip, appearing to ponder his response. “I never said I agreed with them.”

           “You’re looking to find out what I believe in. Try to see what sort of man I am.” Even as he addressed her, his blue eyes looked out over the moonlit-horizon. Watching the gray clouds drift over the English Channel.

           “You don’t let much on so a girl has to be more direct.” She shrugged and sighed. “I’ll take that as you’re going to keep those things to yourself. I just thought you might want some company out here in the cold.”

           “I like to be on my own.”

           Despite the moody response, Kate snorted a laugh. “Yeah, I think I’ve caught onto that by now. Then I’ll go back to my cabin.” She pushed away from the railing and began to walk across the deck.

           “Kate.” Tommy called after her and waved her back over. As she walked back, he reached into his coat and pulled out a flask to hand her.

           “What’s this?” She unscrewed the cap and took a tiny sip.

           “To help with the cold.” He replied.

           A smile tugged at her lips. “You want me to stay?”

           “What do you believe in?” Tommy didn’t completely confess that he wanted her to stay.

           She took a triumphant swig from the flask before handing it back to him. “I believe in the things I see in front of me. Whether they be beautiful or ugly. My mother was killed by an enemy of my father’s. But I didn’t believe the news until I saw her body being dragged out of the Charles River.”

           Tommy would give his condolences but he was sure she had heard it all before. They all had. ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ didn’t mean anything to him anymore. They were just words. “What about what people say?”

           “Well, you can see it in someone’s eyes, can’t you? Whether they’re telling you the truth or not.”

           “Sometimes.”

           “Then it’s a visual thing.”

           Tommy took a drink and offered the flask to her again but she shook her head. “You trust people then?”

           “Not at first, if ever.” Kate drummed her fingers against the railing. The black paint chipping away.

           “That’s wise. You can only trust family, blood, your kin.” He tucked the flask into the inside of his overcoat.

           “I don’t have that luxury,” She let her eyes wander to the moonbeams reflecting off crests of the waves. The frigid wind stinging her cheeks and turning them red. “I lost that a long time ago.”

           Tommy realized that she was referring to her father. The man that had landed her an ocean away from her home. “What else did you learn from these Bohemians?” He diverted the conversation to something a little lighter. Perhaps that would help her open up, give her a reason to trust him in the future.

           She smiled. “There was a boy, a very strange enchanted boy. A little shy and sad of eye, but very wise was he. One magic day, he passed my way. While we spoke of many things, fools and kings, this he said to me-”

           “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” Tommy completed the words. Words of a bewitching song the Lees and Youngs used to sing. He could hear the echo of their pure voices carrying over the meadows and weaving through the trees. They sung it in Shelta, Rocka, and English. Sometimes, Tommy heard the tune in his dreams accompanied by a hazy wood. Despite it being rooted in his childhood, the forlorn song always gave him a melancholy feeling. Hearing Kate speak the words brought back that feeling tenfold.

           “You know it?”

           “Gypsy clans we used to travel with sang it.” He replied quietly. “I never understood it.”

           Kate tilted her head to the side. “I think it’s a very clear message.”

           Tommy shook his head and flicked his cigarette into the ocean below. “Love doesn’t work like that.” He put his hands in his pockets and stalked off towards the stairs. The rest of the night, the song played over and over in his head.

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

           “Polly’s gonna have a fit,” Arthur muttered to his brother. They were on their way to Watery Lane, their new addition to the company in tow.

           Kate observed the way the Brummies interacted with Tommy and his brothers. Men tipped their caps and bid the Shelbys a good morning. Women smiled at them, wishing them well and urging their children along. Some were too scared to even look the men in the eye, keeping their heads down and quickly walking past to avoid confrontation. Kate had seen the effect before. Tommy and his company had a reputation that maintained itself for the most part. She could imagine that in due time, the need for violence would decrease. Folks around Birmingham would have enough sense to stay out of the Shelbys way. Of course, there would always be outsiders or those who thought they were strong enough to dethrone Tommy.

           It was a fairly rigid cycle. One man grew so powerful that it appeared he could never be overthrown. But all it took was the right person and the right time to make him fall to his knees. Kate wondered how far Tommy would actually get.

           “Polly doesn’t need to know where we picked her up from,” Tommy replied quietly so Kate, who was a few paces behind them wouldn’t hear. “She’s an American who was seeking a job who happens to speak a few more languages than we do. But lucky for us, she doesn’t speak our language. Works for everyone, aye?”

           Arthur grimaced but knew that Tommy wasn’t going to be talked out of his choice. The minute they left France with the girl there was no turning back.

           “Kate, I want you to come meet me aunt. Polly is the treasurer of the Shelby Company." Tommy placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder and walked her into the betting shop.

           “Bookmaking?” Kate surveyed the scene. “Are you good at it?”

           “Good at bookmaking or good at making money?” Tommy brought her over to one of the office doors, letting his hand slip from her shoulder. "Because those are two very different things."

           “Hm, I guess I’ll find out.”

           Tommy chuckled and knocked on the door. “Pol, want you to come meet someone.”

           The older woman came out and frowned when she saw the young blonde standing beside her nephew. “Another one?”

           Kate looked a bit amused but Tommy simply rolled his eyes. “This is the newest member of our staff, Kate. Kate, this is Polly.”

           “Really?” Polly scoffed out a sarcastic laugh. “And when was this consulted with the board?” She questioned with a hand on her hip.

           Tommy cleared his throat. “Pol, could I speak with you for a moment?” He decided it would be better to be honest with his aunt. They could gloss over the details about finding Kate at the Moulin Rouge. Still, Polly deserved to hear about the potential information about the Americans. That way there would be no surprises. “Kate, if you would stay here.”

           The woman nodded and the two disappeared into Polly’s office for a chat. Kate took another look around, not focusing on anything too revealing. For now, the less she knew the better. Learning secrets was such a dangerous game. It was always possible to know too much. And knowing too much put a bright red target on your forehead.

           “Oi, love!”

           As Kate walked past a barred window, she heard someone whistle to her. Pausing, she glanced over to see a skeevy looking man outside of the window, pushing something through the slot below the bars. “Excuse me?” She didn’t take the greeting very kindly.

           “I said, c’mere.” The older man waved her over, his fingers were dusted with coal clearly pointing towards line of work. Kate was sure that the Shelbys relied on men like him. Poor men barely scraping by and hoping to get rich off a beast with four legs.

           “What do you want?” Kate didn’t budge.

           “What’s it fucking look like? Here to make a bet.”

           Her jaw set. “I don’t work here. I think it should be obvious enough by my accent.” She replied and went to turn away.

           “Fucking cunt.” The two words were probably meant to be quieter than they came out. The man was a coward but he made the mistake of letting Kate hear those words.

           Frowning, she turned and stalked towards the door. “I don’t know who raised you, but that’s very disrespectful.”

“Women were meant to obey, love.” The man tried to save face amongst the other men queuing up behind him. “Maybe next time you do what you’re told and no one’ll call you that.”

Furious, Kate reached into her purse and slammed a small handgun onto the counter between them. “I doubt you would say that to me again.”

           The man’s eyes widened and he took a step away from the window dividing them. “Fucking Shelbys…” He muttered and turned to make a hasty retreat.

           Only moments later, Tommy came out of Polly’s office and found Kate standing in front of the window, tucking a gun away. “You scaring away customers?” He rushed over and grabbed her by the upper arm.

           “Let go of me!” She snapped a reply and shoved the gun towards him. “It’s empty anyways, you can check. I was only making a point.”

           Tommy checked the barrel to confirm there were no bullets. He sighed and handed it back to her. “C’mon, Polly wants to talk to the both of us now.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

           Kate loved Polly’s black cigarettes. In fact, she loved a lot about the older woman from the moment she sat down across the desk from her. It was obvious from the onset that she was a woman who accepted no bullshit even from her own family. She was clever and Kate presumed that her intelligence was tested. After all, they were women. They weren’t meant to be smart. They were just supposed to look pretty.

           Polly eyed the young blonde that was apparently the newest member of the company. “So where are you from?” She asked.

           “Boston originally,” Kate answered frankly. “I met Tommy in France.”

           “Mhm. What were you doing in France?”

           “I was a courtesan.” She replied with all honesty. There was no reason to beat around the bush. A smart woman like Polly would find out eventually so what was the use in lying?

           Tommy, however, didn’t seem too pleased that she’d dropped the news that he was planning on keeping from his aunt. “Yep…” He muttered under his breath.

           “So you were a whore?”

           “Yes, ma’am.”

           Polly laughed and shook her head in disbelief. “Well she’s honest, Tom, I’ll give you that.”

           Kate smiled slightly and shrugged. “I’ve nothing to hide.”

           She did.

           “And I’m aware that Tommy says you’ve information about Americans. Information that he wants to use for the company.” Polly had been wise to warn her nephew that he was playing with fire. There were plenty of well-established gangs in America who were powerful enough to end his career in seconds. It was too early to test his luck with them. But Tommy was adamant that they needed to learn information while they could. That way, once he was powerful enough, he could make his move.  

           “I think it could be information very useful to your company. I’m not looking for much compensation, only protection from those who would wish me harm.” Kate explained candidly.

           “You have a lot of enemies?”

           “Enemies of my father.” She clarified.

           Tommy cleared his throat and stepped back into the conversation. “Pol, she knows enough French and Italian to help us with day to day things.” He tried to make the woman a more appealing worker.

           “So what happens if she double-crosses us?” Polly asked bluntly.

           “Then I’m at the mercy of my father’s enemies. You can hand me over, no questions asked.” Kate vowed with steady eye contact.

           Polly looked mildly amused but didn’t seem to dislike the woman. “Alright, but you’ll be watched.”

           “As is expected.”

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

           Tommy was a bit surprised that the meeting went as well as it did. Perhaps it was a sign that things were meant to be. He’d have his American informant and things would go smoothly.

           “I’ve rented a flat for you down this way. Take the week to get settled. Try and write down any contacts you can in as much detail as you remember.” Tommy explained as they walked down the street together. He handed her a key to the apartment.

           “Okay, thank you.” Kate was surprised he’d already put things together. “I can imagine that you’ll have my calls listened to.” She pocketed the key.

           He chuckled. Her wit was starting to become endearing if anything. “Do you have private calls to make?”

           “Well I don’t have a family left and all my friends were whores of the Moulin Rouge so I’m guessing not.” She smirked. “I’ve no secrets, Mr. Shelby.”

           “That remains to be seen.” Everyone had secrets, it was doubtful Kate was an exception to the rule.

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

           “Anything?” Tommy returned to the betting shop after showing Kate to her apartment.

           John was sat at his brother’s desk, feet kicked up. “Well, just a few things.” He handed over a few pages of notes.

           Tommy took them and smacked his younger brother’s feet off his desk. “Go check Finn’s odds. He’s got his head in the clouds, fucked up at least twice today.” He pointed to the door.

           “Well, he’s thick, that makes sense.” John snorted and went to leave.

           “You’re both thick. Close the door behind you!” Tommy yelled after him before sifting through the notes scrawled out in John’s chicken scratch.

           American birth certificate.

           Ballet companies in Boston, New York, and Chicago. Said she studied in Italy.

           Unsure of father or mother’s names. No known siblings.

           Tommy sighed. It wasn’t much to go on. If he could somehow find her birth certificate, that would give him her father’s name to go off of. Then, he could find connections in America. There was a lot of ground to search and he wanted to make sure all his bases were covered before he put trust in this woman.

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

           Kate usually knew where to find the hub of a city. Small Heath was, well, small enough that she found the Garrison fairly quickly. The night was in full swing and she dressed in one of her simpler dresses just so she didn’t stand out. But strangers always stood out in the tight-knit neighborhood.

           Upon walking in, Kate was being eyed by anyone she passed. She ignored them and headed for the bar.

           The man tending the bar gave her a funny look. “Erm, ma’am, have you got an escort?”

           “No, I’m on my own. I’ll have a gin and tonic.”

           “I’m afraid women aren’t allowed at the bar alone.”

           Kate raised an eyebrow and scoffed. “Honestly, I don’t care. Actually, forget the gin you British like it too bitter. I’d prefer rum.”

           “Miss I…”

           “S’alright. Rum’s on the house.” Tommy walked over and gave his bartender a reassuring nod. He sat down beside the blonde woman who gave him a polite smile. “You like kicking up a fuss wherever you go, that right?”

           “Well behaved women rarely make history, Mr. Shelby.” She smiled coyly. “I’m sure you didn’t get this bar by following the rules and being nice.”

           Tommy reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver shilling.“No, I won it in a coin toss.” He balanced the coin on top of his fist, resting on his flattened thumb. “Want to try it out?”

           Kate looked amused and clicked her tongue. “You like to rest a lot on bets.”

           “How I made my fortune.”

           She leaned forward, a mischievous glint in her blue eyes. “I once won a diamond necklace on a horse race and the title to a purebred Arabian stallion in a game of roulette.”

           “Then this game is right up your alley.” Tommy didn’t show her any hint of being impressed. For all he knew she was just blowing smoke. “You win, you’ll get free drinks here for as long as you want. I win, you give me your birth certificate.”

           The bet didn’t appear to scare the woman. Instead, the corner of her lip upturned into a playful grin. “I’m surprised you don’t know everything about me already, Tommy, I’m sure you were searching all day.” When the bartender returned with her rum, she took a large drink. “Alright, I’ll play tails. If you’re lucky I’ll give it to you tonight.”

           “Fifty-fifty chance.” Tommy shrugged and flipped the coin into the air. He caught it and smacked it onto the top of his hand to show the results.

           Heads.

           Kate laughed and shook her head. “Good show, Mr. Shelby. Alright, you can have it. Or I can tell you my father’s name. That’s obviously what you’re looking for.” She surmised.

           Tommy finished his whiskey and shook his head. “I’d like to see it for myself. You only believe things that you see, I tend to operate the same way.” He responded and slid the shilling over to her on the bartop.

           “Has anyone ever bested you before, Tommy?” Kate tucked the coin into her purse without question.

           “No.”

           “So you’ll just keep going until you meet the man you can’t beat.” She shook her head and waved for a refill.

           “Suppose so.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

           After a few drinks, Tommy followed Kate back to her new flat. The three floors were cramped just like most Small Heath housing. But it was furnished and was more than enough room for one person. Tommy had to share the same sized space with four other siblings at one point in his life.

           Kate dug through her suitcase and retrieved the official piece of parchment with a seal. She pointed at the inked words with her dark red painted nails. “Kathleen Lynch.” She read off. “Father, Ryan Lynch. Mother, Francis Lynch.”

           Tommy scanned the document for any tells that it was forged or fake.

           “I changed my last name every time I had to leave a city for whatever reason.” She explained and crossed her arms over her chest.

           “My brother got information from your past time in ballet companies. They said you studied in Italy.”

           She laughed and went to the tiny kitchen. Tommy heard her searching through a few cabinets. “I only said that so they’d give me a shot. I learned ballet from an older woman. She was in the Russian Imperial Academy before she moved to the U.S. Better teacher than anyone in Italy.”

           Tommy committed her father’s name to memory before placing the birth certificate on the coffee table. “When did you learn French and Italian?”

           Kate returned with a bottle of wine. Chardonnay, like she said she liked back when they were in France. “I learned Italian from a few friends in Boston. The few that lived around South End. I learned French when I arrived in Paris. There were enough people in the Latin Quarter who knew a few different languages. I know enough to get by. If it’s a romance language I can find my way around it.” She removed the cork and took a drink right from the bottle.

           “You learned a lot from these Bohemians.” Tommy noted and held out a hand.

           She passed the bottle of wine over. “I like to learn a little from everyone I come into contact with. Everyone has something to teach.”

           Tommy watched as she tugged off her heels and stockings to get a little more comfortable. She was certainly different from the women he was raised by or worked with. At least she held a measure of class despite how brash she could be. “Who taught you about guns?”

           Kate reached into her purse and pulled out her small gun. “My mother.” She allowed him to inspect the pistol. Unlike that morning, it was loaded. “We lived in a rough part of Boston. My father was a drunk so he couldn’t protect us even if he tried. My mother always kept a loaded Winchester. Those who knew her were wise to leave her be after she shot a robber in the foot.”

           “Is that what you learned from her then?”

           Kate nodded. “I’ve had more than enough men test me.” Her playful nature faded a little as her blue eyes relived whatever past that still haunted her.

           “Ever kill a man?”

           She snapped out of her daze and laughed bitterly. “Oh, Nature Boy, you’ll have to bet something good on a coin toss to get me to admit to anything like that.”

Permanent Tag: @sansajonsastark​ @giftofdreams​

Masterlist

[kagehinataboke]

todo... baku... sharing a bed... i will die

wow i’m already dead, okay let’s fucking do this, ble ss

tdbk: [1] sharing a bed

***

It’s rare for a bus to break down. It’s rarer still for said bus to be full of amateur heroes, bone tired from a training camp and absolutely dead on their feet. It’s rare, but it happens—and when it does, overnight accommodations are unsurprisingly difficult to find.

Aizawa’s solution to the lack of rooms is to have everyone share via drawing names, which goes over well with everyone. Well, almost everyone. As expected, one specific person is very against the idea.

“Why the fuck am I stuck with this shitty Icy Hot bastard?!” Bakugou demands, nearly ripping his paper in half. Todoroki frowns, but says nothing in his own defense: saying something would only piss him off more. When Aizawa, too, remains silent, Bakugou whirls on the next closest person: Ojiro. “Tail, switch with me! Oi, don’t you fucking shake your head, Pikachu.”

“Kacchan, everyone has to stick with their assigned rooms—“

“Did I fucking ask you, Deku? Shut the fuck up.”

“Nobody is switching rooms,” Aizawa sighs tiredly, finally intervening. “Bakugou, you’ll room with Todoroki. No more complaints or you’ll sleep outside.” It’s a bit hard to take him seriously when he’s busy unzipping his sleeping bag. “Now everyone go to bed.”

Bakugou surprisingly doesn’t argue, but Todoroki can feel daggers being glared into his back. He’s used to Bakugou’s hatred of him, of course, but it’s still a little hurtful for someone to dislike him enough to find the idea of sharing a room together intolerable. Todoroki has never been directly confrontational to Bakugou, but everything he does seems to be taken as a challenge or insult.

He wants to get along: it’s troublesome always fighting. Unfortunately, the two of them are always in tense situations—like this one, for example.

“Why the fuck is there only one bed?” Bakugou pushes his way past the room’s threshold to gesture angrily at the, indeed, singular bed. “What the hell is this bullshit?!”

Todoroki wisely decides to stay quiet, but Bakugou isn’t done yet. He storms back out into the hall, no doubt to seek out Aizawa and complain again. Of course something else would go wrong: Todoroki can never catch a break where Bakugou is concerned. This will only drive them further apart. Not that they were close to begin with, but still.

“That motherfucker…” Bakugou returns looking none the happier and nails Todoroki with a glare that could curdle milk. “There are no other open rooms, so looks like there’s no other fucking choice.”

“No other choice?” Todoroki repeats warily. “Are we going to…”

“Don’t even finish that fucking sentence.” Bakugou pinches the bridge of his nose with the longest sigh Todoroki has ever heard. “I hate your fucking guts, but I can’t make you sleep on the floor. I’m not a complete asshole.”

There’s room to argue there, but Todoroki is more concerned with the hidden meaning in his words: They’re sharing the bed. Bakugou Katsuki, who notoriously despises him, is willingly going to share a bed with him. As much as he hates to admit it, Todoroki is the tiniest bit pleased.

“Now you’re making an annoying fucking face.” A scowling Bakugou shoves him onto the mattress. “Just lay down so we can go to sleep, damn Canadian-flag-looking bastard.”

Todoroki ignores the insult. Sleeping in the same bed is real progress, no matter how angrily Bakugou approaches it. Not that Todoroki is very excited about sleeping together with a guy whose favorite word is ‘die,’ but it’s still progress. Maybe this marks the end of their famed rivalry. God, the mere idea of no more morning “fuck you”s or “go die”s makes Todoroki want to cry in relief.

Unfortunately, he’s getting ahead of himself: Bakugou isn’t going to make things easy. “Turn around. Don’t fucking look at me, asshole.”

“Sorry.” Todoroki flips around, nearly flying off the bed when Bakugou’s elbow hits him. “Ow. I can’t stay on when you—“

“Shut up, I fucking know. It’s small, okay? Shit. Your knee is hitting me— I told you not to fucking face this way!”

“I can’t face the other way or I’ll fall. Ow, stop elbowing me.”

“Shut the fuck— Stop flailing!” Bakugou grabs both of his arms and tugs him forward, their foreheads nearly colliding.

Todoroki can feel open air at his back: the way-too-close edge of the bed. He expects to get pushed away any second, but Bakugou’s hands have locked on his elbows to keep him from falling. Neither of them are looking at each other, but Todoroki can feel a rapid heartbeat where his ear is pressed against Bakugou’s chest. “I’m… going to fall.”

“Shut up asshole. I’m holding you up, aren’t I?” Bakugou grumbles, tightening his hold. “Don’t move.”

Half of Todoroki wants to say something about how weirdly considerate he’s being, but the other half knows it’ll scare Bakugou off. It doesn’t matter that their hearts are both beating out of their chests, he tells himself. The way Bakugou is holding onto him is definitely progress. It doesn’t feel malicious at all: in fact, it feels almost peaceful.

Todoroki never noticed before, but Bakugou’s skin is warm, and he smells a bit like melting sugar. His hands are rough, but his touch isn’t harsh. It’s far too easy to drift off, even with repeatedly-grumbled warnings not to get too close.

***

“Oh my god, somebody get a picture.”

“Quick, who’s got their phone?”

“Shh, you’ll wake them up!”

Todoroki frowns at the overwhelming sensory information his tired brain is struggling to process. There’s warmth all around, light on his closed eyelids, and quiet giggles nearby. What’s going on? The last thing he remembers is… Oh yeah: he and Bakugou are rooming together. Bakugou most definitely isn’t the one giggling, though.

“What the fuck’s going on?” someone murmurs tiredly: now that sounds like Bakugou. Equally tired Todoroki decides its better to just keep sleeping. It’s too warm to get up yet.

“Get the fuck out!” Bakugou’s voice rises for half a second before he lowers it again. Todoroki realizes the warmth he’s feeling is coming from Bakugou’s arms as soon as they shift.

How strange to think that Bakugou’s actually being considerate—not to mention that he’s hugging Todoroki around the waist. Did he wake up beside a different person? Nope: “Scram before I fucking kill you all!” The giggling and whispers disappear, leaving behind silence broken only by Bakugou’s muttered swearing. “Fucking bastards…”

There’s a long moment of silence before Bakugou shifts again, carefully extracting himself from the bed. He pulls Todoroki forward to keep him from falling, but nothing else. There are several muffled curses and quiet thumps. The door clicks open and closed again. Todoroki opens his eyes to an empty room, and he’s mad for half a second that Bakugou plans to leave him to sleep—and presumably to miss the bus. Then he notices the drawn curtains and the blankets tucked around him. 

Did he really wake up next to a different person? Did Bakugou have a change of heart? Or, least likely of all, has he secretly been considerate all along?

Todoroki tries to puzzle it out while gathering his things, but a conclusion eludes him. Even on the way to the bus, while just ignoring everyone’s giggles and stares, he can’t figure it out. Bakugou hates him. Or, no… Can he even say that anymore? Probably not after last night. Are they still enemies? He needs to get to the bottom of this.

Bakugou is sitting in a spot in the very back of the bus, scowling out the window. When Todoroki approaches, he looks up with his normal icy glare. “The fuck do you want?”

“To sit. With you.” Todoroki silently takes the seat beside him, making sure to keep his eyes downcast. Best not to refreeze the ice they’ve just broken.

“Go fucking sit somewhere else, Half n’ Half. Who the hell said you could—“ Bakugou cuts himself off to glare at their obviously-staring classmates. After they quickly look away, he gives up on his rant with a tense exhale. “Whatever. Do what you want.”

Todoroki doesn’t say anything, settling against his seat to wait for the bus’ departure. Out of the corner of his eye, he watches a red-faced Bakugou glare at the window like it owes him its soul. It’s hard to tell, but he seems calm…ish? Maybe constipated? Todoroki is a bad judge of emotion.

There’s one solid way to tell if Bakugou’s hatred of him has subsided. Todoroki is a little afraid it will get him thrown out the window, but he’d rather know that he’s despised than have no clue where they stand, so he closes his eyes. The process of falling asleep on someone is much harder when you’re doing it on purpose. How do the shoulders sag? How does the head fall? Todoroki is thinking he’s doing a pretty good job when his head hits Bakugou’s shoulder.

There’s an obvious flinch; a loaded inhale; but nothing else. Bakugou relaxes again, as if nothing has happened. Then, a moment later, he adjusts himself ever so slightly to let Todoroki‘s head fall against the crook of his neck. That tiny act of consideration settles it: Bakugou definitely doesn’t hate him.

Maybe it’s because they’ve already spent eight hours crammed in a tiny bed together, but Todoroki feels comfortable when he starts to drift off again. Compared to the uncomfortable seat, Bakugou’s shoulder is soft and inviting. Even with the bumpy road and their nosy classmates, it isn’t hard to fall asleep.

[angels17324]

The Violet Paladin Chapter 11

Word Count: 1322 Update Schedule: Every Monday [Masterlist] [Prev]

After having changed back from our paladin gear everyone gathered back into the control room, we were all surrounding Pidge’s chair watching her work on trying to decipher the information we’d taken from Sendak and the Ship that had landed on Arus. 

“You know I don’t think your father would approve of searching through and enemy’s memories,” Coran looked at Allura. 

“I know but we have to do everything we can to defeat Zarkon,” She reasoned with him. 

“Once we learn his weaknesses we can drive up to his front door and challenge him to a fight,” Lance cockily said,  “Winner gets the universe,” Everyone glared at him. 

“Anything good Pidge?” Shiro asked. 

“We need anything we can get,” I said. 

“We don’t even have a decent map of the empire,” Keith said. 

“Who needs a map, after 10,00 years of conquering I could probably fire my bayard in any direction and hit a ship,” Lance crossed his arms. 

“If we could find some troop locations or supply routes easy hit and run targets we could start freeing planets,” Shiro said. 

“Borning~ I want the big kaboom!” Lance pumped his fists up. 

“He’s had 10,000 years to build an empire we can’t tear it down overnight, especially not with six inexperienced pilots and a support ship hitting him where he lives would be a huge mistake,”

“Okay after having cross-referencing Sendak's memories with the downed ship one thing kept repeating something called a ‘Universal Station’” 

“Universal Station? Like a station that controls the universe,” 

“We are translating it from Galra so it could also just as easily mean Galactic hub,” She explained.

“I’ll pull up the location on the screens,” Coran pulled up an image of what seemed to be two planets and a large space rock? But no base to be seen. 

“There’s nothing there!” Lance complained. 

“We aren’t picking up anything on our scanners either,” Coran said. 

“Maybe he remembered it wrong?” Keith questioned. 

“Or we just stumbled upon a top-secret base in Sendak’s memories,” Pidge explained. 

“Only one way to find out for sure,” I said. 

“Let’s go take a look,” Allura piloted us towards the location but kept the ship far enough away not to be picked up.

“Seems the two planets warp the electron emission spectrum enough to keep the base off our deep space scanners,”

“So you can only see it if you know where to look,” Pidge said, we watched the base for a moment. 

“This base must handle shipments from all over the Galra Empire,” 

“If it’s just some airport where shipments come and go why is it hidden?” I asked. 

“There’s gotta be more to it then we’re seeing,” 

“We will have to go down to take a look,” Allura said, “We will need to enter here the central control building” 

“I’m sorry, Princess did you say ‘we’?” Keith asked we all turned to look at Allura.

“I’m going with you I’ve traveled through the transportation hubs many times with my father before the war began, I know more about them than any of you,” She explained. 

“Princess, I’d rather you stay here,” Coran pleaded. 

“I’m just as much a part of this fight as the rest of you. I’m going. Does anyone have a problem with that?” She looked at each of us everyone just turned away, though you could tell we all had a problem with her going we just didn’t know what to say. 

Finally, Shiro spoke, “I don’t have a problem with it,” everyone was shocked except Allura who was quite happy. Everyone suited back up and met in the green lion, at some point Pidge had added the tech from the invisible maze to it for cloaking. We were successfully able to hide her lion before exiting to take over the control room. 

We snuck in Shiro took out the Galra soldier while Lance took out the two Sentries. Pidge hooked up to the system I helped Lance drag the busted Sentries out of site. I sat next to Pidge when Hunk started to talk about a joke we heard in class. 

“Hey, guys sorry to interrupt but I think we got company,” Keith warned we all ducked under the desks when a call came in. 

“I think he’s waiting for a signal,” I whispered. 

“I got it,” Hunk dragged out one of the Sentries and did some weird hand gestures which seemed to work because the call ended. 

“Okay, download complete,” Pidge announced. 

“What’s it say?” Keith asked. 

“Nothing. This place doesn’t have any useful information. Just a schedule of the ships coming in and out.” 

“Well, this was a bust,” Lance said. 

“Let's get back to the castle,” Shiro said. 

“Wait Pidge do you know where that ship is heading?” Allura asked. 

“Uh… it's scheduled to be here for about half an hour, then head back to central command,” 

“That’s where they have the information we need, I’m going in,” Allura announced. 

“What? No way!” Lance shouted. 

“It’s too dangerous,” I tried to reason with her. 

“How are you going to get in?” Keith asked. 

Allura pulled off her helmet, “I’m going to walk right through the front.” She shifted to look just like a Galran soldier minus the uniform. Everyone was amazed and questioned her about this power which she explained. 

“I’m going with you,” Shiro said. 

“You’ll stick out like a Choferiak’s Nose,” 

“You’re going to need that nose Princess, Shiro’s arm is the only thing we can use to interface with Galra tech,” Pidge explained. After we devised a plan to get Shiro on board with Allura they were on their way. We watched from the control room when they were stopped. I held my breath and sighed out when they made it on. 

“What do you think is in all those containers?” Keith asked.

“I suspect that its sporks,” Hunk said. We all just glanced at him, “They’re an advanced species surely they’ve realized its useless to have two utensils when one can easily do the job,” He explained. While we were watching Shiro and Allura Pidge had apparently hooked up to one of the Sentries, however, it shut down. 

“Whoa, check out this guy,” Keith said, we turned back to see a scary looking dude in a cloak. 

“He might be apart of the reason that the base is being kept a secret,” I said. 

“I’m gonna go check it out,” Keith said. 

“How about we lay low and you don’t blow our cover?” Lance said but Keith didn’t listen. 

“I’m going with you,” I said. 

“(Y/n) not you too! Don’t walk through that door!” Lance yelled but I had already followed Keith out. 

“You don’t need to come with me I’m fine on my own,” He told me. 

“Yeah well like Lance said we don’t want to blow our cover besides I can fire my weapon from long distance,” I said. 

“Fine, just don’t get hurt,” He kept ahead of me as we followed the scary dude. They were leading the containers inside the base. Just as the doors were about to close we both made it in and followed at a distance. Keith and I took out the two guards and walked towards a room that had a lot of those containers. I knelt down close to the wall while Keith stood behind me and peaked out. 

“What is this?” I whispered and watched what the scary dude did with one of the containers. 

“Coran you need to see this,” Keith said as we sent a live feed to the ship and to Pidge, Lance and Hunk. In our helmets, we heard the Sentry explain that it was quintessence. “Guy’s I’m going to steal some of this Quint-whatever,” Keith said and runoff. 

“Keith!” I whisper shouted following him. Keith hid behind the first set of walls while I was behind the second. “Keith you shouldn’t be that close he could see you,” I said. 

Keith grabbed one of the containers and hid on the other side. At first, it seemed like the guy didn’t notice but when Keith turned back to look at the guy appear behind the wall in front of him I fired an arrow at him but he had already blasted Keith back making him drop the container. I ran out to help Keith attack the guy, but he was too quick and kept disappearing. 

“Stay back!” He told me 

“And leave you to fight this dude alone no way!” I shouted the guy focused his attacks on Keith, I aimed an arrow at him and fired when he thought he got Keith. The guy blocked Keith’s next attack and threw him back. “Keith are you okay?” I asked flying over to him. “Your hand!” I gasped, “Pidge we need an extraction now!” I said. The guy kept attacking us as we flew around the room. We had made it onto the conveyor belt thing and both readied our weapons the guy was about to attack but the green lion came just in time it destroyed the container splashing both Keith and I, in the quintessence we ran into the green lion's mouth. I turned to look at Keith. He was looking at his hand which healed. “How’d that happen?” I said his hand was completely healed. We joined the other in the head as we rescued a pod that Allura and Shiro were in. But only Shiro came up. 

“Where’s Allura?” Lance asked as Shiro kept his gaze down. 

“She sacrificed herself to save me,” He explained.

“So she’s still on that ship?” Pidge asked. 

“The one about to head back to central command?” Hunk said. 

“The place that’s way too dangerous for us to attack?” Keith added okay now they’re just making him feel worse. 

“We can’t let Zarkon get Allura,” 

“But you’re the one who said attacking there would be a mistake,” I said.  

“I know, but now we don’t have a choice.”  Tag List~

@somebodytouchedmysaeran @ittie-bittie-tittie @izabellah816

[thetunewillcome]

The Weight of Ice

31 Days of Ineffables Prompt #16: ice storm

Word Count: 1817

London lay under ice.  Everything was frozen in place, all the routines of all its citizens surrendered to the storm.  Schools and businesses had closed.  Most roads sat vacant.  Some motorways were littered with abandoned vehicles, not a driver in sight.  Fresh snow covered empty sidewalks.  Overnight, ice and quiet had spread in thin, fractal layers over the whole city.

The only sounds shattering the day’s silence came from parks.  The city’s normally-green spaces had become playgrounds for bored and adventurous children, excited by the prospect of a whole school-free day ahead of them.  In Greenwich Park, kids hauled sleds up the hill and then raced back to the bottom.  In Regents Park, they tested the edge of the frozen pond, shuffling away from land until fear took over and they skated, laughing, back to solid ground.  

And in St. James’ Park, a boy scraped together enough snow for a snowball and torpedoed it at his friend.  It flew through the air, narrowly missing an innocent bystander, and hit its target in the chest.  A chase ensued, complete with violent war cries, and while everyone else either ignored the boys or shook their heads in disapproval, a shivering figure in a dark coat, collar buttoned to his chin, watched with an amused half-smile.

Have you seen a sheet of ice seconds before collapse?  The surface laced with growing scars; the crackling groan of anticipation, barely audible but there.  The suspended moment when you realize it will all dissolve to ruin soon.  Don’t blink.  Don’t even breathe.  Perhaps you can hold it all together if you want it bad enough.  If you’re really still.  But suddenly, it fractures.  Shards fall, jagged edges that can never be patched together again.  You’ve lost.

To Crowley, the whole world was an endangered pane of ice.  In less than a year, a boy, who lived a few miles away and looked a bit like the one tackling his friend to the ground, would turn eleven.  If they had done their jobs well, nothing would change.  The surface would hold.  

If they hadn’t done enough – and, really, when had they ever done enough to prevent human suffering, to divert divine plans? – the world would break apart.  All this would shatter and disappear: the park, the people, the snow, the city.  For now, all existed in suspended animation.  Nothing to do but wait, keep still, and measure the cracks for signs of growth.

(Keep reading below or on AO3 here.)

From where he stood, leaning against a bare, frost-tipped tree, Crowley was barely noticeable.  His red hair stood out starkly against the white blanketing the land, but if Crowley didn’t want to be noticed, he wouldn’t be.  No one glanced in his direction, not even the parents, who were busy teaching kids to make snow angels or comforting little ones who had slipped on ice.  

Not even Aziraphale, who had wandered into the park, neck wrapped up in a thick tartan scarf, and was now standing by the edge of the ice-laced water.  Crowley smiled, tipped forward instinctively toward him, and then froze.  They hadn’t arranged to meet; they had separately been drawn to the park on this bright, brisk day.  With a hum of contemplation, he settled back against the tree.

On this day of rarities, when snow had stuck to London’s streets, Crowley seized the chance to study him.  The square, sharp shoulders of a soldier.  The light curls that matched the sunlight shining off the icy surface of the water.  The way he clasped one gloved hand in the other behind his back.  He felt pulled in his direction, but he resisted.  A few more minutes, he thought, a child in bed on a bone-chilling morning, willing extra seconds into the day so they can soak in heat just a little longer.  He’ll never know.  It was a delicacy, getting to look without being watched in return.  He was so used to keeping his guard up, minding where his eyes lingered, even when his lenses hid them, just in case Aziraphale could feel the fire of his stare.

Like a kid plunging a bare hand in the snow, covetous, foolhardy, Crowley let himself imagine.  What it would be like, walking down to stand next to him and not caring who might see.  Dusting snow off those rigid shoulders, feeling them sink a little, relax into his touch.  Tugging apart those worrying hands so he could hold one in his own.  Pressing his lips to the spot where a curl met his temple, forgetting himself in the smell of bergamot and book dust.  Hastening him home with tempting tongue until he could warm his chilled, pink skin behind closed doors.  

Aziraphale’s head turned to the side and a puff of frosted breath escaped his lips and Crowley watched, the familiar glowing embers of desire sparking to full flames.  Tell him, whispered that reckless voice in his head.  Tell him before this all falls to ruin.  While you still can.  The clock is ticking…  Crowley shut it up with a practiced shake of his head, his jaw clenched tightly to keep words from spilling out, even though Aziraphale would never hear them from this distance.  Someone else might.  Someone who could use those words against them.  So he kept quiet.

Then, somehow, Aziraphale noticed him.  Their eyes met, and his face lit up with recognition.  He waved - a little wiggle of gloved fingers - and then replaced his hand behind his back as if remembering he shouldn’t be excited to see the enemy.  Something in Crowley’s chest snapped.  Screw it, he thought as he let himself be willed down toward the water, toward Aziraphale.  Maybe I should tell him.  If we don’t pull this off… If this all goes up in flames and we’re forced into the war and he never knew…

“Crowley!”  His name on those chaste lips, something chiming in the ring of it.  Fresh from his self-indulgent fantasy, it licked wildfire down his spine.  Aziraphale turned in greeting and then went back to watching the water.   “Hello.  Should I blame you for this cold spell, then?”

“Nah.”  He may have taken advantage of the storm, bursting a few pipes here and there on his walk to the park, but he hadn’t started it.  “Too quiet.  Not my style.”

“It is quiet, isn’t it?  Rare to see the city like this, so peaceful.”

“Mmm.”  Crowley noticed that his eyes were the color of the icy water, then hated himself for noticing.  Say it, but in the dead quiet, with the city hushed and the snow muffling all noise, it felt as if finally spitting out those words would rattle it all to destruction.

A scream of delight came from behind them.  “The children do seem to be making the best of the storm.”

The boy with the snowball was now shoving a handful of snow down the back of a girl’s coat.  He swallowed a laugh.  “Yeah.”

Aziraphale studied him for a moment, a sad smile on his face.  “Remind you of someone?”

Behind his glasses, Crowley winced.  Always.  Why could he always read him?  He wasn’t one of Aziraphale’s precious books; if he was, he’d earn the touch of tender hands in exchange for all his secrets.  Instead, he felt like some flayed creature, killed and cut until his heart was on display, pinned in place.  He shrugged and shoved his chin deeper into the collar of his coat.

“I do worry about him, alone with his parents now.  Ten is a bit old for a nanny, I suppose, but he was so attached to you.  You did a wonderful job with him, you know.  Er – wonderfully evil, I mean.”  

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Aziraphale’s admiring gaze.  Crowley knew he was picturing skirts and bedtime stories and spelling lessons in the garden, and he couldn’t stand it.  His dismissal and departure still stung; his short hair felt too light, made him untethered, bare.  “He’ll be fine.”  He tried to sound as cold as the water before him.  “Gotta grow up sometime.”

Aziraphale made a face that told Crowley he wasn’t fooling him.  Course not.  Still, the angel knew to respect the lines Crowley drew in the sand – or snow – between them.  Knowing what was coming, Crowley held his breath.  “Well, I had best be on my way.  I should reopen the shop for the afternoon, though I doubt anyone will brave the ice for a book.”

I’ll come with you, he wanted to say.  But first, let’s walk the park.  Make footprints in the untouched snow, yours next to mine.  I’ve something to tell you.  I’ll keep you warm, I promise.  But Aziraphale didn’t need him for that: he could will himself warm.  They didn’t live on the same grounds anymore, hadn’t since summer.  They were back to needing excuses, one for each stolen minute together, and on this grey-blue day, with everything at a stand-still, there weren’t any left.  “Alright, angel.  Be safe.  Mind the black ice.”

Aziraphale rolled his eyes at that.  “Ah, yes, one of yours, if memory serves.  I’ll be careful.”  

He still hadn’t moved from Crowley’s side, and Crowley still hadn’t exhaled.  Silently, Aziraphale opened his mouth, then closed it, reconsidering.  The warm breath behind his unspoken words dissipated into the winter air.  After a moment, he said quietly, “don’t be a stranger.”  And then he turned, walking stiffly away, shoes crunching on the snow and ice.  

When he was gone, Crowley let himself breathe out, watching the smoke-like vapor trail out of his mouth to be blown away in the biting wind.  Ice shifted on the pond, pieces breaking off to float toward deeper waters.  In the wake of Aziraphale’s departure, he felt splintered in places that had felt whole before, or at least numb.  He watched the water for a while longer, frozen in place with the rest of London.  

What hovered between them, persistent and powerful, was surely much too heavy for the fractured surface of their world.  Aziraphale knew it: that was why he didn’t press him, hurried back to his rightful place, let him be.  Nothing to do but wait.  Hold strong.  Hunker down.  Stay the course.  Never mind how the weight of ice can snap power lines, fell ancient trees if you let it build for long enough, layer upon heavy layer.  He glanced down at the collection of footprints to his left and sighed.  How he wanted to follow them.  Not smart.  Not safe.  May as well linger, then, in the quiet paralysis of the city.

Just before sunset, the crowd of children began to thin.  Stomping in their heavy boots, dragging sleds or siblings behind them, no one paid any attention to the figure by the water, snowflakes collecting in his auburn hair as he stood perfectly still, listening for something, perhaps, or waiting for the ice to thaw.

(Read my other 31 Days of Ineffables fics here on AO3.  A million thanks to @drawlight​ for the inspiration, and best of luck at your new job!)

[southside-vixen]

Fire and Ice (Sweet Pea) 3

Chapter 3. Hold My Beer

AO3

Adrianna Rivera has just made a difficult move from Arizona to the southside of Riverdale. With the history of her life in Phoenix behind her will she be able to find a new family in the Southside Serpents? Or will a certain tall, dark, and rage inducing Serpent cause issues?

A couple weeks passed since the debacle at Pop’s. Things were quiet for the most part. Adria and Sweet Pea ignored each other like their lives depended on it. The worst being the history class that she only shared with him. But overall things were improving. She and Toni were growing closer, and she was also spending quite a bit of time with her new neighbor. When he wasn’t spending time with the enemy that is.

“Thanks for the ride home, Fangs.” Adria handed his spare helmet back to him

“Of course, Ads. We’re next door neighbors, why wouldn’t I give you a ride home?”

“Ugh. That’s going to stick isn’t it? I guess I don’t hate it.” She shivered as she watched Fangs put his bike under the car park next to his trailer “I don’t know how you guys live here. With all this…weather.”

Fangs laughed “If you owned anything aside from crop tops and ripped jeans maybe you’d survive. Not like I’m complaining, it’s a good look.” He winked at her. There was no way she would be able to buy an entire new wardrobe with her budget of 0 dollars. She’d have to ask Ness if she had anything she could use. The idea of using hand me downs was definitely a hard one to get used to.

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow” Adria smiled and walked into her new home to see Ness sitting on the couch, the screams coming from the TV indicating she was catching up on the old horror movies she loved so much.

“Hey, Ness. Can I ask you something?” Adria threw her purse down on one of the kitchen chairs and plopped down in the chair next to her aunt

“Yeah of course” Ness sat up and paused the TV, causing the room to go silent “What’s up, buttercup?”

“Well. The weather here sucks and I have nothing to deal with it. The warmest thing I own are some thin sweaters.”

“Oh, shit. Yeah your crop tops aren’t gonna keep you warm for much longer. I think I have some old clothes from a few years ago in the basement that I never got around to getting rid of. Let me bust ‘em out and we’ll wash what you want and finally donate what you don’t. You look to be about my size when I was a few years younger.”

Adria looked at Ness, her aunt looked more like her than her own mother did. At least from what she could see from pictures. Even some of the older Serpent members had mentioned that she looked like Ness from high school.

“I didn’t know we even had a basement. Or that trailers had basements in general.”

“Cool it with the classism, Penthouse Barbie” Ness laughed “First off, this is a double wide. Second, it’s a glorified crawl space filled with cobwebs. Not a place for late night parties. Don’t worry though, I’ll clean the spiders off the bags before I bring them up.”

“I really didn’t need to know about the spiders” Adria shuddered “And I don’t think anyone’s called me a Barbie before.”

“You’re a beautiful girl, Adrianna. I would know since you look nearly identical to me when I was your age.” Ness flashed a smile and got up from her seat “I’ll be right back”

Adria watched as Ness opened a door in the hallway and disappeared behind it. She settled into her phone looking at all the photos her old friends were posting on Instagram. Pictures of their recent trip to some new exclusive club in Las Angeles. Sitting in the VIP area with bottle service. She missed her old life more than anything. Brunch with her father on Sundays, Friday nights with the girls at a different club each weekend. In Riverdale her fake ID would get her nowhere, not like the Wrym carded anyone anyway.

A long sigh escaped her lips, it was easier to pretend her new life was fine when she avoided social media. None of her old ‘friends’ contacted her after her father’s trip to prison. The isolation from her old group was hard to cope with, but none of them had any loyalty to her. Hell, she wouldn’t even be surprised if they were close to her because of her family and her money. She wanted to believe that people here were different, even if they only reason they were around her initially was at her aunt’s request.

“Something wrong?” Ness threw two large black trash bags of clothes onto the floor and shut the basement door behind her

“Just in my own head, I guess.” Adria put her phone back into her pocket “When do you think my dad’ll be able to call from prison? It’s been about a couple weeks now.”

“He’s probably just settling in and spending most of his time with his lawyers, I’m sure you’ll hear from him soon.” She brought the bags to the living room and dumped their contents onto the ground. There was loads of blacks and greys with some dark blues and greens thrown in here and there. Adria plopped herself on the floor and began sorting through the sea of flannel and leather. Finding anything that stood out to her. It wasn’t her style at all, but then again Toni rocked it so maybe she could too.

“I don’t think your classmates will give you as much shit with all this. You’ll look the part of a Southside High student. Ness said “Just remember, it’s just for the colder seasons. If it’s really that bad we can check out the local thrift stores but we definitely don’t have the budget to match the clothes you brought.”

“I know, Ness. I understand.” Adria had resigned herself that this might be the case on the bus ride in. She felt a bit like Alice falling down the rabbit hole at times. Riverdale was an entirely new world and she was determined to show she was strong. Even if that meant sucking it up and wearing hand me downs and thrift store finds. Hell, she would even make them look good.

---------------

The next day Adria walked into school in her ‘new’ clothes she received from Ness. After careful consideration in the mirror that morning she decided on ripped jeans, a black tank top, dark green flannel, and to top it off- her aunt’s old, patch free, leather jacket.

For once, she blended. No Ghoulies looked at her like she was an injured deer waiting to be gutted. It was actually pretty refreshing. She sat down at her lab table for chemistry and plopped down her bags. Conveniently enough she had chemistry with Fangs. Not like it was great for either of their grades since they were both terrible at it.

“Ads?” She lifted her head to see Fangs standing wide eyed at the end of the table “Shit. You almost look like a completely different person.”

“I look like an idiot, don’t I? I knew I couldn’t pull off flannel and leather.”

“You look like a Serpent. Pretty impressive transformation for overnight. It’s a good look for you.” He set down his bag and sat next to her “You shouldn’t worry so much about appearances. They don’t matter as much as you think they do.”

Adria breathed a sigh of relief “Yeah, I’ll try. Just difficult when I feel like a kid playing dress up.”

“You’re overthinking it. It’s just clothes.”

He was probably right. Just clothes, she was still the same Adria. Even if she was wearing flannel, something she swore never to do. But it was for warmth. Not because she was trying to be something she wasn’t. Nope, same Adria. Just in a leather jacket. That was it.

By the time she arrived to lunch the table was already buzzing.

“Hey, guys. What’s going on?” Adria took a seat next to Toni. The conversation died immediately after she arrived, and more than one person’s jaw dropped to the ground.

“Ads?” Toni asked, a smile creeping on her face “Damn, girl you look great! Fangs said you had a makeover but this is something else.”

“I told you it was a good look!” Fangs walked over and slung his arm around her shoulder “what do you think Sweet Pea?”

Oh no. This is exactly what she didn’t want right now. He would open his mouth and all of her self-doubt that had been easing away over the course of the day would come flooding back.

For a long moment Sweet Pea didn’t say anything

“She certainly looks the part”

Adria was in awe. It wasn’t an outright insult. Sure, it was vaguely implied but it wasn’t outright malicious.

“Okay then” Toni nodded with a smile, “Anyway big news, Ads. Starting tomorrow you won’t be the new kid anymore.”

”What, really? Who is it? Do you know them?” Adria was more than excited to not be the newest one in the group. Maybe it would get Sweet Pea to lay off her once he had someone else to take his anger out on.

“Forsyth Pendleton Jones the Third. FP Jones’ son.”

“Who’s that?” Adria looked around at the rest of the table. Clearly everyone else knew what was going on.

“He’s the leader of the Serpents. Well. Kind of. He’s in jail right now.” Fangs responded

“Figures she doesn’t know the name of the leader of the gang she’s trying to imitate.” Sweet Pea swept some of his hair out of his face “She may look the part but she’s still not one of us.”

“Fine.” Adria slammed her hand down on the table “What do I need to do to prove to you that I have what it takes?”

“Tomorrow. The quarry. We’ll figure something out.” Pea stared back at her across the table. She was at the end of her rope dealing with his attitude. She would do whatever the idiot wanted to prove herself worthy to be part of his stupid little group. The stupid little group that was starting to mean a lot more to her than she initially planned.

The next day came quicker than she would have liked. Sure enough, Toni was absent most of the morning showing around the newest member of their group the school. She didn’t see her again until she was able to pull her into the bathroom after English.

“Toni, what did I agree to?” She looked around to make sure no one was around to hear her fear “I was up all night worried about what the hell that douchebag is going to have me do”

“Okay. Calm down and take a deep breath”

She did as Toni instructed

“You’re going to be fine. It won’t be as bad as you think, I promise. That’s all I can tell you as I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

Toni’s reassurance didn’t make her feel any better. She greeted the newest member at lunch, Jughead Jones. He seemed nice enough, although she couldn’t focus on anything aside from what might be happening at the quarry. The sand in the clock ran out much quicker than she would have liked. Before she knew it she was on the back of Fang’s bike on the way to the quarry. The only promise that Toni and Sweet Pea would meet them there.

“How are you feeling?” Fangs asked once they had finally arrived. The quarry was too cold for swimming this time of year. Adria walked over to the fire pit that he was trying to start. Waiting for something to warm her up.

“Nervous. But you have to promise not to tell that pompous asshole you call your best friend.” She whispered harshly. More of the Serpents she didn’t really talk to were starting to show up and her nerves continued to grow. She had genuinely hoped it would just be the four of them.

“I won’t say a word. Promise.” He put a hand on her shoulder and ushered her to a fold up chair by the fire.

It seemed like ages before Toni and Sweet Pea showed up. When they finally did they brought enough booze to drown a small family.

“Hope you’re ready for what’s to come, Princess.” Sweet Pea walked over and put an entire bottle of whiskey into her hands “This one’s yours. Better get started.”

This was it? Her task was to drink a bottle of whiskey on her own? This was like an average Tuesday back in her old life. This was going to be much easier than she thought.

--------------------------

Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs were all in awe about how much the small framed city girl could put away. She drank her entire bottle of whiskey without even batting an eye, then had a couple swigs from Fang’s bottle. By the end of her bender she was sitting on Toni’s lap, giggling at just about anything that was anyone said. Sure everyone else had been drinking, but she was the drunkest girl at the party by far.

“So is this it?” Adria slurred “This is nothinggggg” she laughed, throwing her head back. She barely missed bashing Toni in the nose.

“I think she’s ready” Toni peeked around her friend at the guys

“Alright, Ads. Welcome to your trial” Fangs said, trying to be serious although he was also clearly drunk.

“We don’t keep secrets in the Serpents so your first task is to go around and tell us all what you really think of us” Sweet Pea stared her down from across the fire “Let’s start easy. With what you think of Toni Topaz.”

Adria looked turned to look at Toni and smiled

“Toni Topaz. I first thought you were a huuuuuuge bitch. But you’re so nice!” Adria’s grin grew “You’re a precious angel in what I thought would be a hell hole. I love you, Toni. You’re such a good friend” she grabbed her friend around the neck and gave her a huge hug, listening to a small chorus of ‘awww’ around them.

They went around while she gave her opinion of the other Serpents that were there, not like it was much considering she barely talked to most of them. They were all superficial drunk ramblings. Then it brought around to the end, with only Fangs and Sweet Pea left.

“Fangs…Don’t think I don’t notice you’re a huge pervert” She laughed “But you’re cute so I forgive you. Thanks for being around and helping me feel like I have a home here”

“Cute, huh?” Fangs laughed and gave her a wink

“Not gonna happen.”

“Well. We’ve saved the best for last Ads. Tell us exactly how you feel about Sweet Pea.”

This one was a doozy and everyone around the circle knew it. They had been watching for weeks as the two barely spoke and when they did everyone around them prepared to break up a fight.

“Sweet Pea, huh?” Adria’s smile faded as she locked eyes with him across the flames “Sweet Pea is the biggest dick I’ve ever met. I have no idea what is issue is with me as I’ve done literally nothing to him. This is all made significantly more infuriating by his face. His stupid attractive face.”

Adria stopped dead in her tracks. The whole idea of the gathering was that getting her outrageously drunk she would speak exactly what was on her mind. And sure enough she did, even the things she had shoved way in the back. The murmurs around the circle had gone completely silent as everyone stared at her.

“This has been so much fun. Toni, can you take me home now?” she looked at her friend pleadingly.

“Well, there is one more thing Ads.” Toni gave her a half-hearted smile as she pushed her off her lap

“Strip.” One of the other Serpents said, she was pretty sure his name was Andre.

“What?” Adria looked back at Toni “This is a joke right?”

“I’m afraid not. I’ll help hold you up” and she did. Toni held Adria’s arm as she removed all her clothing down to her bra and underwear.

“Fine. Now what?” She demanded, her buzz quickly wearing off with the cold and fear settling in

“Now you jump in the quarry. Show us how tough you are” Sweet Pea stood up from his seat “That’s what you wanted, right? A chance to prove yourself?”

Adria looked down, it was only about a 10 foot jump into the water. The incredibly cold water. She was already shivering, even with all the alcohol. She looked back at Toni who gave her a small nod, urging her to just get it over with. So she did.

Adria took a deep breath as she ran and jumped, doing her best to brace herself during the small fall for her fate. But it wasn’t enough. The cold water hit like daggers and took her breath away. At least she thought it did but the scream she heard echoing through the air sounded a lot like her own. When she regained her composure she noticed Fangs standing on the edge of the water, his hand outstretched.

She swam over and her friend lifted her out of the water, placing his jacket over her shoulders. Trying to rub her arms to warm her up

“You killed it Ads, you looked tough. Screaming and all.” Fangs smiled “Let’s get you by the fire”

Fangs walked her back to the small beacon of heat as everyone around her cheered and gave her pats on the back. She stood in front the fire with another bottle of whiskey trying to warm herself up before putting her clothes on

“Holy shit, I’m glad that’s over.” Adria lamented to Toni while she put her clothes back on “I’ve never been that cold in my life”

“You held up really well. Especially for someone who just arrived from the southwest a few weeks ago. There’s no way Sweet Pea can deny you’re tougher than you look now” She took the bottle from Adria and took a couple of swigs herself.

“Speaking of, where is the devil incarnate?” Adria asked, scouting the clearing which had erupted into a full blown party now that they were done with her ‘trial’. She didn’t see him anywhere and she had a drunken bone to pick.

“Last I knew he went to take a piss in the woods. Why, what’s up?”

“Funny coincidence. I also have to take a piss. In the woods. Right now. Be right back!” Toni stood, confused, as Adria all but ran to the tree line. What in the hell was she doing?

Adria reached the trees and glanced around. She found a couple people who snuck away from the fire to go make out in the privacy of the trees. She ignored them and continued her search for who she was actually looking for. And she found him. Sweet Pea had turned around from a tree outside of everyone’s view and was zipping up his pants when Adria spotted him.

“You!” she yelled “I need to talk to you”

Sweet Pea stood dumbfounded as she strolled right up to him, chest to chest as she stared into his eyes.

“Why do you hate me for no reason? And yes, it is no reason because you’ve never even bothered to have a conversation with me.”

Sweet Pea just stared down at her for a few seconds. He was at a loss for words and the booze wasn’t helping.

“I know exactly your type. Girls like you think they can get whatever they want because they have money. But not here, Princess. Not with me or the Serpents.” He didn’t take his eyes off her

“You’ve never met a girl like me.” Aria attempted to stand on her tip toes to look taller and more imposing but she failed miserably. She was far too drunk to be taken seriously. She teetered back and her reflexes were all but gone. She made no attempt to catch herself as she fell backward.

Sweet Pea instinctively grabbed Adria’s arm to keep her from falling and pulled her back up, securing her with a hand behind her waist. Adria looked up, both of them looking shocked at the other. She could hardly feel the pain in her shoulder from being yanked so hard.

For some reason neither of them moved to correct the issue. Later, both of them would blame being too drunk. Adria stared up at the boy she told herself she absolutely despised. Hands grasping his arms. His incredibly toned arms. And then there was yelling.

“Ads?” she heard Toni yell “Please don’t be dead in a ditch” Toni turned the corner to see two people up against a tree, the dark obscuring their faces. “Have either of you seen Adria? She’s been gone for far too long.”

Both of them moved too slowly to have avoided it. Sweet Pea quickly pushed Adria back and she whipped herself around to face Toni. Both of them looking incredibly guilty.

“Uh. Hey…Toni.” Adria stood in front of Sweet Pea, putting her hands behind her back “Is it time to go home?”

[hysterialevi]

When the Devil Cries pt. 11

Author’s note: A bit shorter than the other chapters, but I hope you enjoy it anyways :)

From Arthur’s POV

MIDNIGHT

OUTSIDE SAINT DENIS

“Hurry!” Hosea urged, pointing ahead. “This way! We’ll loose ‘em in the trees!”

Snapping my horse’s reins, I rode behind Eddie and Dutch to make sure there were no more assassins followin’ us as we bolted through the marshlands, never looking back.

Even now, we could still hear gunshots thundering in the distance along with police whistles blaring loudly, and we had no idea if any of them had tailed us out of the city.

Christ, I thought to myself. What a goddamned mess.

Not only did that gala go up in flames faster than a match thrown in moonshine, we also made a new, unknown enemy tonight...and killed about a third of ‘em, from what it looked like.

Who the hell were those people? I wondered. Why did Atticus want Eddie dead so much?

He weren’t no outlaw like his daddy was. And judging by how little Eddie knew about Rose’s gang, I doubted he was even involved with their criminal activity in the first place.

Eddie was nothin’ but an innocent soul who got caught in the middle of this crossfire all because of another man’s actions...and he nearly paid for it with his life today.

I was just glad that I had been there for him. If I hadn’t-- well...I didn’t even wanna think about that.

Slowing down to a halt, the four of us stopped next to a nearby swamp as our horses’ hooves dragged through the soupy mud, giving us a chance to catch our breaths. It seemed like we had finally lost the assassins, and for the first time in a while, the air around us was actually quiet.

We had escaped.

For now.

“...Goddammit, Arthur!” Dutch cursed as he climbed down his horse, checking around to make sure we were truly alone. “What happened to ‘our guns stay holstered?”

I got off my own mount, gesturing to Eddie who had drifted away from the group slightly, lowering my voice so he couldn’t hear us.

“They was gonna kill him, Dutch!” I whispered through gritted teeth.

The older man shrugged.

“So?”

I fell silent at that, completely taken aback by the response.

I mean, I knew Dutch wasn’t as close with Eddie as I was -- and the boy didn’t even know his real identity -- but I still expected him to show at least some sympathy.

Hell, it was because of Dutch’s sympathy that he took me in as a kid. Without him, I woulda lived the rest of my limited time in this world as some street orphan, and I would’ve never been where I was now.

What happened to Dutch?

Picking up on my surprise, the man lowered his head in an apologetic manner and softened his tone somewhat, glancing over at Eddie who was now sitting on a fallen tree log, unsure of what to do with himself.

“Listen,” Dutch said sternly. “I know he’s your friend, Arthur, but we can’t afford to make sacrifices like this.”

I wasn’t convinced. “So you woulda just let him die?”

Dutch held up a finger, his expression sharpened with annoyance. “...Now it ain’t like that, Arthur. And you know it. But we’re a gang. We have priorities. And that boy ain’t one of them!”

Hosea jumped in before things could get more heated, offering some pragmatism.

“To be fair,” he added, still sitting on his horse, “a shootout most-likely would’ve commenced anyway. I mean -- good God, did you see how many assassins were in that gala? ...And I thought we was well hidden. Though, I’m happy to announce not everything went wrong. Despite all that bloodshed, we still made off with a decent chunk of money. Perhaps not as much as we were anticipating, but enough that I’d call tonight a success.”

Dutch crossed his arms. “I suppose there’s that, at least.”

I sighed out of fatigue, looking around the gloomy marsh. “Well...what happens now?”

Hosea offered some suggestions. “I assume your friend lives in Saint Denis?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Not too far from the place we just burned down, actually.”

“Well, he can’t go back home now. Not for a while, anyway. His house will be the first place those assassins check. He’ll have to stay somewhere else. Does he have any family he could contact?”

“No.” I replied.

“Well, we can’t bring him back to camp,” Dutch reminded. “We can’t risk those assassins finding out where we are.”

I thought about it for a moment, my head perking up once an idea struck me.

“...I’ll stay with him.” I said.

Both Dutch and Hosea looked at me in confusion.

“We’ll camp out in the wilderness for a while,” I explained. “Move around a bit until things calm down in Saint Denis. It ain’t the safest option, but it’s all we got.”

Dutch shook his head. “We don’t have time for this, Arthur. We need to focus on hitting that bank.”

“We ain’t hittin’ that bank anytime soon, Dutch,” I countered. “The law will be swarmin’ all over the city after what happened tonight.”

“...He’s right,” Hosea agreed. “And besides, it’ll give us more time to plan. After all, this bank is a lot more fortified than the one in Valentine. We need to make sure we’re absolutely ready before robbing it. In the meantime, Arthur can keep an eye on Mister Ryan. Make sure he doesn’t get ambushed again.”

Dutch considered the point for a minute, his dark eyes never leaving mine as the gears turned in his head.  

I could tell the man wasn’t happy with me for getting involved in a war that weren’t even ours to fight, and honestly, I understood exactly where he was comin’ from.

The gang had enough problems trying to avoid the Pinkertons and O’Driscolls. Not to mention Leviticus Cornwall was tearin’ this country apart just to find us...and now, ‘cause of me, we also had to worry about whoever the hell these assassins were. And more importantly -- who sent them.

I mean, someone had to be at the head of those maniacs. The stunt they pulled at the gala wasn’t something you just came up with overnight, and considering how organized their attack was, it was pretty clear that they had some type of leader. My only question was who.

Thatcher obviously didn’t send them. And Atticus was too far away to contact them so quickly. That meant there had to be a third shadow lurkin’ around somewhere...and I doubted they’d give up here. Great. As if we needed more people hunting us down.

Letting out an exhausted breath, Dutch finally gave in and remounted his horse, slowly beginning to make his way out of the marsh.

“Very well,” he said. “I suppose we don’t have much choice. I’m headin’ back to camp. Hosea, you should do the same. Though, it’ll be best if we ride separately. As for you Arthur...” Dutch paused, his gaze traveling to Eddie, “...just keep the boy safe. Otherwise, all o’ this will have been for nothing.”

I gave him a firm nod, bidding both of them farewell.

“I intend to.”

“Then let’s get moving. We’ll avoid Saint Denis for a few days. Keep a low profile while the city’s on high alert. In the meantime, you get that boy far away from here...and be careful. If those assassins were willing to attack him like that in the city...imagine what they’ll do in the wilds. For now though, just stay safe.”

“Good luck, Arthur,” Hosea said. “Hopefully, when you and the boy return, you’ll both be in one piece.”

I waved goodbye. “That’s the plan.”

Breaking into a sprint, both Dutch and Hosea galloped to safety, the two of them disappearing into Lemoyne’s swamplands before diverting their paths. It was still somewhat early in the night, and so far, I hadn’t noticed any stray lawmen or assassins skulking about...so they should’ve been able to get back home just fine before the sun came up.

I couldn’t lie...part of me felt like an absolute idiot and a burden for bringing this sorta trouble to the gang.

My job was to help Dutch and Hosea keep our people alive. To make sure we was safe, and we was fed. And yet, within the past week, everything I’d managed to do had been the complete opposite.

Not only was I freely giving my money away to a theater that had nothin’ to do with us, I was also wasting my time falling in love with some boy who was better off without me anyway -- when I could’ve been focusing on earning more cash for the camp. All because of my own, selfish desires.

I dragged a hand down my face, thinking back to the shootout.

Was I doin’ the right thing? I questioned. Or was I simply fanning the flames, drawing even more danger to us?

All I wanted was to protect Eddie from harm. And yet, whenever I was around the boy...trouble only always seemed to follow me.

First, there was Thatcher’s death. Then, there was the theater robbery...and now, we barely escaped with our lives from a goddamned firefight in the middle of a gala. I was hurtin’ this boy more than I was helping him.

And it was all due to the fact that, deep down, some part of me absolutely refused to accept the pathetic outlaw I really was. Almost like...I was tryin’ to be some sorta hero, even though I knew damn well I was just as rotten as the people I killed. And that was the sad truth of it.

But...regardless of whatever regrets I had, or how much I wished we could rewind time, we had come too far to turn back now.

Eddie’s life was in danger, and it was pretty clear to me that these assassins had no intentions on givin’ up anytime soon. If there was any chance that we were gonna get outta this shit-storm alive, we was gonna have to take it together.

All the way till the end.

Bringing myself back to reality, I paused for a moment and thought about what to say before hesitantly wandering over to Eddie, careful not to distress him further.

Obviously, this weren’t the first time I’d been in a shootout -- and I highly doubted it’d be the last -- but I was used to this kinda life. Fights like this sometimes occurred to me on a daily basis.

Eddie, on the other hand...I didn’t imagine he had ever been in something quite like this. And it worried me to think about the damage it was probably doin’ to him. After all, that type of fear stuck with people, and in my experience, it was rarely ever forgotten.

I slowly walked up to the boy, admittedly unsure of how to proceed.

“Hey, Eddie.” I said, taking a seat next to him. The musician let out a shaky breath, his eyes stuck on the muddy ground underneath us.

“...Bloody hell, Arthur...” he whispered, his voice quivering with fear. “...What just happened?”

I sighed, resting my elbows on my knees. “I wish I knew. How you holdin’ up?”

Eddie brought his gaze to me, clearly panicking on the inside even if he didn’t show it.

“I’m...I’m in shock. I’ve never seen so many bodies in one place. And poor Miss Powell. I know I wasn’t exactly fond of the woman, but she didn’t deserve that...” the boy gestured to his suit. “And look at me. Drenched head-to-toe in blood, and it isn’t even mine.”

I hung my head low in guilt, silently cursing those goddamned assassins for everything they put Eddie through tonight.

“Jesus...” I murmured. “I’m sorry you had to see all that, Eddie.”

The pianist combed a sluggish hand through his hair, completely drained of all energy.

“I should’ve known Thatcher wasn’t alone,” he scolded himself. “I should’ve known other men followed with him...but like the naive idiot I am, I endangered all the people at that gala because I couldn’t see the danger I was truly in. Including you. Everyone who got hurt tonight was hurt because of me. I’m such a fool.”

I stared at the disheartened man, honestly a little shocked at how critical he was being of himself. I mean, I knew he’d just been through Hell, but I had never seen him quite so dismayed. Even after we killed Thatcher, the boy held himself together pretty well, and got right back on his feet.

Now though, Eddie just seemed devoid of all hope entirely, and...it hurt to see him like this.

I mindlessly observed the dark, droopy trees around us, doing my best to calm the boy down.

“...While that may be true,” I conceded, “you can’t afford to think like that. Trust me. That kinda mindset will only eat you from the inside out, and it certainly won’t do you no favors. It ain’t gonna be easy, but you need to be strong right now, Eddie. ‘Cause lemme tell you something...”

I turned towards the boy and firmly held his hand in a supportive manner, looking him directly in the eyes.

“Those assassins might’ve caught us off-guard tonight, but the next time they come...we’ll be ready. We’re gonna let them know that they ain’t the ones doin’ the hunting no more, and we’re not gonna go down without a fight.”

I tightened my grip slightly, never looking away from Eddie as I lowered my voice.

“...They’re in our land now.”

Taking in everything I just said, Eddie held my hand back and took a deep breath, appearing a little less shaken up than before. The spark that I had become so familiar with slowly returned to his eyes, and with every passing second, he seemed to relax a bit.

Despite his faith in me however, it was evident that the boy was still hesitant about the whole situation, and he briefly glanced up at the night sky...almost as if he were searchin’ for answers.

Eddie slouched in discouragement, his hand still latching onto mine.

“But...I can’t fight, Arthur. Not like you, anyways. How on Earth am I supposed to combat this?”

“You’ll learn,” I replied confidently. “I’ll teach you.”

The pianist’s head perked up at that and he quirked a brow out of curiosity, silently asking what I meant.

“I already told Mister Kilgore and O’Malley that I’d stay with you,” I explained. “We’ll camp out in the wilds for a few days -- wait for things to cool off in Saint Denis before bringing you back home.”

Eddie frowned, though not in disapproval. “Arthur...you don’t have to--”

“--I know I don’t have to do it,” I interrupted, thinking twice about what I just said. “Actually...no. I do. I’m the one got you in this mess, after all. Them assassins woulda never come for you if I hadn’t killed Middleton. So...it’s only right I get you outta this. And besides, I can’t just leave you now. Much as I hate to admit it, we’re in this nightmare together. And ain’t nothing you can do that’s gonna make me walk away.”

Looking at me with a sense of gratitude, Eddie found himself at a loss for words as the trees gently swayed around us, filling the profound silence of the night with a soft rustling.

There was a certain fondness in Eddie’s deep gaze. One that I’d never seen from anyone else. It was a mixture of admiration and tenderness -- something I rarely ever got from other people -- and the longer his eyes lingered on me, the more he seemed to get lost in his own, somber thoughts.

Before I even had a chance to say anything else though, the boy had cupped both sides of my face and pulled me into a loving kiss, planting his lips against mine as my heart came to a halt.

I froze on the spot, completely paralyzed by bewilderment.

What...the hell just happened?

One minute, I was shooting at an army of assassins and escaping from a burning mansion, and the next, I was sittin’ in the middle of an eerie swamp, finally kissing the man I had foolishly dreamed of for so long right after evading death.

The part that really threw me off though, weren’t the kiss itself. It was the motive behind it.

Unlike my past experiences, there was no lust involved here. No hunger. No craving. It was simply a gesture of affection, and it was Eddie’s subtle way of sayin’ he needed me.

I...didn’t know if that were true. In fact, I was probably about the last thing he needed, but the poor kid had deluded himself into believing I was a good man worth stayin’ loyal to.

Despite how wrong it felt though, I also couldn’t deny that I had been wanting this for quite a while now. Eddie was definitely one of the best men I’d met in years, and the fact that, out of all people, he had fallen in love with me...well, I guessed my luck hadn’t run out just yet.

My only fear...was thinkin’ about when it would.

Breaking the kiss, Eddie pulled back slightly and bashfully glanced away, speaking just above a whisper as he recomposed himself.

“...Thank you, Arthur. I genuinely don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t met you.”

I let out a light chuckle. “You’d be dead.”

Eddie returned the laugh, beaming warmly at me. “That I would.”

Rising from the log, I helped Eddie up and whistled for my horse, guiding the boy to his own before mounting up and preparing to leave. As much as I wished we could’ve stayed here longer, it weren’t gonna be long before either the law or more of those assassins showed up, and I didn’t wanna get caught in another shootout.

Climbing onto the brute horse, Eddie took a seat and patted Bullet’s neck, earning a friendly neigh from the animal.

“So,” he said, “have you got a plan in mind? You know this land better than I do.”

I gestured outside the swamp, weighing our options.

“Well, the further we are from Saint Denis, the better. I’m thinkin’ we can head to a town called Valentine in New Hanover. It’s pretty far from here, and there’s lots of space to hide in.”

I glanced at Eddie’s bloodstained suit, pausing my train of thought.

“...Though, maybe it’s best if we both get cleaned up first. It’ll be easier to go unnoticed when we ain’t drenched in blood.”

Eddie looked around. “Where would we clean up? It’s not as if we can just pay for a bath in Saint Denis. Besides, these are the only clothes I have at the moment.”

I snapped my horses reins, leading Eddie out of the marsh as we trotted side-by-side.

“Follow me,” I instructed. “We’ll find a river, or a lake, or somethin’ to wash up in. At least for now. There’s a town just west of here called Rhodes. You can take a proper bath at the saloon once we get there. As for clothes...I think I’ve got some spare shirts in my saddlebag. They might be a bit big for you, but we can always buy some more later on.”

Eddie nodded and picked up his pace, riding alongside me as the morning sun just began to peek over the horizon.  “Sounds good.”

I grinned at him. “Then let’s the get the hell outta here.”

[whatzaoverwatch]

Well, since you asked, *gently rolls into inbox* McCree and his crush getting separated from the group overnight during a mission and she cuddles up to him because she's cold? Thanks lovely

Aww this is loving and sweet and so are you anon *takesthe sweets and wraps a blanket around anon*

Note: FemalePronouns

Cassidy and crushovernight cuddles

The mission went a bit more haywire than anticipated. Oneminute Cole and [Name] were with the group scouting out an abandonedwarehouse. Next thing the two knew they were high tailing it out and findingthemselves at the rendezvous safe house. The two waited it out until they triedcommunicating with the other half of the group just in case they were still inthe enemy territory. Cassidy looked out the window, cigar lit and his armsfolded leaning against the window frame. Looking out to the moonlit nightgetting a good glimpse of the city they hid themselves under. A sudden curseand mumble was heard making his attention towards the woman who was fiddlingwith the communicators on the table.

He didn’t know if this was the best or the worse luck hecould receive, but being in the same perimeter as [Name] was setting a fire inhis heart. Sure he had admired the determination and flare [Name] brought bothin and out of the field, but he never got the chance to really make a move onher. Sure the few side flirtations came out of the cowboy and [Name] wouldrespond back with her own cheeky comments to him. Honestly she left him smittenmore times than he could count. But he wasn’t sure if they were honest sweetwords or just something to equal his bantering wit.

So up to now he’s kept his feeling repressed in the mostprofessional way (at least in his own level) that he could muster. Anothercurse came out of [Name] as she tossed the communicator across the table andtugged at the locks of her hair. Making that his cue to intrude, he spoke uprather calmly.

“Everything alright over there darlin’?” Throwing one ofhis many sweet nicknames over, he watched as her grip on her hair loosened. Sheleaned back against the chair and folded her arms.

“Not really when the service in this safe house is uttercrap,” She cursed placing one leg over the other, “They must’ve been fried whenwe got out of there. Plus this safe house hasn’t been used in years so none ofthe connections are up to date. Until we find out where the others are, we arepretty much stuck here until morning when the ship shows up.”

Just my luck, he thought before hooking his fingers intohis belt leaning to the side. “Well I’ve had to camp out in worst locations.Why don’t ya shut down and rest up in the meantime?”

[Name] looked over to him for a second only to sigh indefeat. Turning off the holopads she got up from her seat with a stretch.“Suppose you’re right Sheriff, the best we can do is relax after everythingthat happened in the warehouse. Fuck they did a number on us.”

“No kiddin, you took a few good hits back there,” Hegestured over to the bandaged arm he had to handle for her earlier. She glancedto it completely ignoring the concern that washed over his face, “You gunna bealright?”

She lightly placed a hand over it before turning to himwith a nod and smile. “Yeah, I’ve suffered through worse. Just need some shuteye for right now.”

“Well the bedroom down the hall is all yours,” hegestures with a gentleman smirk, “If you need anything, just holler got it?”

“What about you?” He looked at her for a moment beforewaving his hand. Trying to brush away the flutter in his heart for her concern.

“Gunna keep a lookout in case anyone followed us. Youworry bout resting for now sweetheart for now.” He assures. She gave him agentle smile before getting up and heading down the hall.

“Thanks Sheriff…always looking out for me.” She yawnedbefore disappearing in the darkness of the hall.

He watched her go, feeling his heart ache to follow buthe knew he had to keep professional about all this. Letting out a sigh,scratching his beard, he sauntered over to the worn couch and kicked his feetup on the table to rest back. His hands resting on the back of his head lookingup to the ceiling. How he wanted to tell her just dug into his skin. It wasprobably not even ten minutes, when he suddenly heard her sweet tender voice.

“Cass?” She called from the room. He got up from hisspot curiously and made his way into the room. Entering the bedroom door hepeered inside to see [Name] sitting on the bed, bundled in blankets. Shediscarded most of her armor and weapons for comfort. The way she sat bundled upin blankets fluttered his heart.

“Everything alright darlin?” He asked as he noticed thenervousness in her expression as she hugged herself.

“It’s…it’s a little cold…you mind if you, join me?” Sheasked. Cassidy did everything to restrain a holler at her request. He insteadgave a grin making his way over to the side of the bed and joined her on thebed.

“Of course,” Taking off his serape, he wrapped it around[Name] and tugged her closer to his side, “You just relax and let ol Jesse warmyou up.”

She let out a snort of laughter accepting his open armswith a sigh.

“Thank you…” a soft blush could be seen on her cheeks. Helooked down at her and noticed that she had completely snuggled up to his side.Running his fingers down her side, he relaxed his heart and leaned back againstthe headboard with content.

“Anything for you…[Name].” What Cassidy wasn’t aware wasthe tender smile forming on [Name]s lips. She always imagined snuggling up tothe cowboy like this. What luck indeed she thought, to finally get close to hercrush like this. She had hoped that he felt the same way about her at least.But for right now, this cuddle would have to do. Almost wishing to let thislast longer than just one night.

[dsmadmin]

#EnemyOfThineEnemy

Written by @MyStoneIsRuby & @SWinchesterDSM

Ruby: [Everybody thought she was dead so she was trying to stay under the radar, there was angel radio and there was demon radio, she didn’t want her name to be spoken on either of them anytime soon. But there was one thing she had to do… something she had to get out of her system, one demon she had to stab repeatedly making sure she’d never show her face in any form or vessel ever again. The bitch had sold her at the first occasion. There was no such thing as friendship in the “demon community” but that had been a low blow.

Meg, the bitch, had to die.

She had a place and time and just one shot at it for if she missed, so long for staying under the radars. Little she knew she wasn’t the only one tailing her, would she had known who was in the surrounding she would have backed off, but it was to late now]

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Sam: -Sam was rolling solo these days and Dean was still pissed off at him but it was what it was. So he sat at the local diner having ordered breakfast and coffee before the sun come up. His table held his laptop which he was busy looking through articles. A guy named Anton LaVey had created The Church of Satan back in the sixties, most dismiss it as mostly inactive and completely ridiculous, but there were always a few fanatical followers. And Sam was tracking them because he felt they'd stumbled onto something real. Rumors of the Church were growing in the mountains not far from Little Rock Arkansas. Children had gone missing recently and Sam believed it was all connected, it might be legit or not that's what he was here to find out. He would be heading up to Pinnacle Moutain today, a lot of terrain but he wanted to get a feel for things and see if anything at some key points stood out. After breakfast, he put his stuff in the car and stopped by the supply store then headed up to the rangers station. He had been hunting Meg but so far he didn't have any solid leads so when this case came along he took it, one day he'd find her and end her. Parking the car he grabbed his hiking gear pack and headed up the walkway to grab a map and talk to the local ranger.-

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Ruby: [There were many things human had done in the past that shown how foolish they were. The Church of Satan was one, though supposed to be inactive it still had a few followers.. many even for it had become an international thing. A small herd of worshippers in every countries, what a great opportunity for demons… a stash of willing vessels. Whenever one got broken, to the worshipers the demon went that’s why Ruby followed that lead. She knew Meg had been badly injured when fighting the Winchesters, she’d more than probably need a new body to inhabit… And if she didn’t well she’d keep searching but for now, to Arkansas she’d go]

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Sam: -After chatting to the ranger Sam took the map and headed up the trail to make his way up to Pinnacle Mountain, the ranger had warned him about animals etc since they’d had a couple guys go missing lately. He’d planned on camping overnight at the top and had his gun. Eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary.-

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Ruby: [Ruby was on her way to the top knowing there was a hunting cabin there where the worshippers gathered and the demons harvested.

Using the night to cover herself she walked on a trail not that many people used, she was worried though for the moon would be full soon and maybe some were already up there preparing for one of their stupid rituals.]

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Sam: -Sam had to admit this was kicking his ass a bit. He needed to work out harder. Taking a small break he decided to make camp because it was dark and he didn’t want to end up stumbling around or drawing attention to himself.-

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Ruby: [Demons didn’t get tired or it took a lot to put them down so she kept walking along the trail keeping her ears open and a hand on the dagger she kept safely secured at her belt. So far she hadn’t seen anything and she wondered if it was a good or a bad thing]

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Sam: -He didn’t start a fire and luckily it wasn’t to cold. He did apply some protection symbols to the ground though. Hopefully that would keep any inhuman thing out.-

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Ruby: [She was half way to the top when she heard something. Someone was there, not far. She hesitated she could make a bee line and avoid whoever was there or come closer to see if it was a worshipper or a demon. Good or bad idea she decided to go and check who the “person” was, from behind one tree to the other she moved closer and closer and suddenly stopped. Of all people she could have stumbled on it had to be Sam Winchester who had to be standing a few feet away…]

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Sam: -Sam heard something, a twig? He turned around and caught sight of a small figure not to far away. He reached for his gun leveling it at the figure.- Come out, hands up. I will shoot so move slow.

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Ruby: [She thought fast, you were a hunter, shoot first talk later, so she didn’t have a lot of options. She did as you asked raising her hands high enough for you to see them and stepped out of the shadows. Even from where you were you’d be able to tell it was her. It was up to you to shoot or not.]

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Sam: -As the figure came out Sam’s eyes widened a bit. Head tilted gripping the gun hand tighter. Emotions came running back to him.- Ruby..? How? I thought you were dead.

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Ruby: I kind of was, long story, I’d love to have a long conversation about how, when and more but I rather do it without a gun pointed at me.

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Sam: Yeah and I’d like to live till I’m old but you’ll probably kill me if I do put my gun down.

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Ruby: Sam, I was on my way somewhere and, believe me, you’re the last person I thought I’d bump into. I actually tried to avoid you or anyone. There’s someone higher than you on my killing list... plus if I recall well you’re the one who holds a grudge against me.

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Sam: Well in all fairness you did lie and manipulate me to free Lucifer but hey that's not anything "major" right? Tell me why you are here, who is it you're looking for and maybe I might not send you back to hell.

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Ruby: [Fair point, she had used you, bringing you down emotionally or using how lost you were to lead you where she wanted you to go]

I’m hunting Meg [She bluntly said, no need to beat around the bush, not under the menace of a gun held by a hunter who knew what he was doing]

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Sam: -He seemed to believe her a relaxed a little.- I'd love to end her. So what enemy of thine enemy this round?

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Ruby: It's definitely not a game I want her dead Sam. She tortured me in Hell, for pure pleasure, it wasn't even her job.

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Sam: So this is a vendetta because Meg’s a nut job… and how do I know she didn’t send you thinking you could talk me into false security?

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Ruby: Yeah because I’m the best person to send to make you feel safe.

We didn’t really part friends remember?

Believe me or not, I don’t care, just don’t shoot me and I’ll go my way. All I want is having her dead, once and for all.

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Sam: I remember. She’s not stupid and probably got plenty of back up. -Lowers his gun.- How about a temporary truce with us to take her on?

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Ruby: [A truce? She looked at you and remained silent for a moment then she nodded her head]

She probably has back up. Up there with the so called satanists… A vessel farm for us demons I was thinking of dismantling it as well. Kill the Meg network.

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Sam: I can live with that, they’re abducting children and sacrificing them. Any idea of how many are up there?

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Ruby: It’s not that big a coven, satanists aren’t that many despite what people think, I mean real ones. I’d expect a dozen for we're close to the dark moon. That’s why I’m expecting Meg to be there.

[She allowed herself to move closer]

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Sam: I was going to hit them during the daylight. -Sam sat down on a downed tree log.-

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Ruby: Some are there during the day but if you want to catch them all and be sure demons are there, /Meg/ is there, you have to go at night on a dark moon which is tomorrow night but preparations must be made to “call the devil” [That part made her roll her eyes]

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Sam: Alright then, guess we go tomorrow night. If there any kids in there I want your word you'll get them out of there and I'll handle the other. -He was serious about this and knew she could grab the kids up and disappear faster than he could think.-

[my-mind-is-incognito]

Protector - Cas x Reader

Pairing: Human!Castiel x Reader

Inspired by the song Something Just Like This by the Chainsmokers and Coldplay

A/N: Finally found inspiration to write again! I was halfway through this one when I realized I was straying from the original song concept. But I’m planning to go back and write the original story as well. Also, I’m sorry if this one seems a bit rushed. I didn’t want to overthink it and end up stuck again. Gotta strike while the creative juices are flowing, right?

Warnings: Somewhat angst-y

“C’mon, Cas, try again.”

You stood behind the former angel as he lined up his shot, one eye closed and the other focused on the paper target. He squeezed, letting loose three shots, before lowering the gun. “How was that?”

“Still too wide,” you said, patting him on the shoulder. “But a little better than last time.”

“This is pointless,” he retorted, putting the gun down. “I’m never going to learn this.”

“Hey, if you want to come out on hunts with us, you need to learn how to at least shoot a target.” You picked up the gun. “Look, sometimes it’s better to take a breath before you shoot. Makes it less likely to tense up and overshoot.” You demonstrated, firing a shot into the target’s shoulder and two headshots for good measure, all without so much as a flinch.

Cas just sighed. “You make it look so simple.”

You sheepishly lowered the gun. “Well, try not to compare yourself to me, Dean, or Sam. We’ve been human a lot longer than you have, so we have quite a bit of experience under our belts. But you gotta remember that we didn’t get this way overnight. We had to practice constantly, just like what you’re doing right now.”

You held out the gun to him, flashing a reassuring smile. “C’mon. Let’s try again.”

Cas just stared at the gun before shaking his head and turning away. “Maybe later.”

You faltered, but nodded in understanding, holstering the gun. “Okay, that’s fine. We can pick it up again later.”

You wanted to offer more words of encouragement, but Cas was already heading for the door. Your shoulders sagged at his abrupt exit.

“How is he doing?” Dean later asked that evening. The two of you were sitting across from each other, cleaning your guns for an upcoming hunt.

“As much as you’d think in his situation,” you replied, setting one gun aside and starting on another. “And I don’t think we’re really helping with our insistence for him to train.”

“Well, until we can find that douche Metatron and un-clip Cas’s wings, he’s gotta learn how to defend himself,” said Dean. “Without his grace, Cas is completely defenseless.”

“That’s not entirely true,” you shot back. “Let’s not forget, he’s been a soldier long before we were even around. He may not have his mojo, but Cas is tough and resourceful. He can handle himself.”

“Yeah, but that’s not exactly enough nowadays, is it? He’s always had his angel mojo backing him up. Now he’s without it and everyone knows it, making him a walking target.”

You bit your cheek in frustration; Dean was right and you knew it. Sure, Cas was more equipped than the average human. But that didn’t change the fact that he was still vulnerable, making things risky.

You were shaken by your thoughts by Dean comfortingly stroking your hand. “Hey, you’re still right about him being tough. He may be human, but he’s still one of us. We’ve got his back no matter what.”

You managed a small smile and placed your other hand over Dean’s. “Right.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day, you helped Sam and Dean load their bags into Baby. They were heading off to a wendigo hunt a couple of towns over. You and Cas were to stay behind in the bunker. Surprisingly, Cas didn’t argue at this decision, simply stating that he trusted your judgements and that he should focus on more training before going on hunts.

“Think he’s really okay with this?” Dean asked you as you handed him the last bag.

“Hard to say,” you answered, glancing over your shoulder at the bunker door. “I think he’s upset about being a burden.”

Dean slammed the car trunk closed. “Well, you take good care of him. Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

You smirked and offered a mock salute. “Aye aye, Captain.”

After hugging both brothers, you waved them off from the bunker door, watching Baby disappear down the road before going inside. “Hey, Cas!” you called out as you descended the spiral stairs. “What do you say to some lunch before we hit the shooting range? I’m starving.”

When you finally reached the foot of the stairs, you were met with silence, Cas nowhere to be seen. “Cas?” You glanced up and down the immediate hallways, but received no reply. Curious, you started walking down the south corridor, which led you to the library door. You nudged it open and found Cas sitting at one of the tables, staring at an open book with his back facing you.

“Cas?” you tried again, approaching him. “You okay?”

He didn’t reply, merely flipping a page in the book. You came up behind him and glanced down, coming to the realization that he was looking at an angel lore book, studying the portraits of various angels. “Castiel…”

“Look at them,” he stated, turning another page. “My brothers. Granted, these are nothing but artists’ renditions of what they could never fully comprehend. And yet, there is still a sense of power resonating in these caricatures.” He gazed down at the picture of an angel decked in armor, a golden sword clutched in his hand and a shield in the other, ready to fight as necessary. “I was a mighty soldier. I fought in countless wars, slayed many enemies with only my power and wits. I was formidable. I was strong.”

He suddenly snapped the book closed and threw it down on the table, causing you to flinch at its harsh sound in the otherwise quiet room. “Now look at me. Look at what I’ve been reduced to. Weakened and vulnerable…and useless.”

“You’re not useless,” you said softly. You tried to reach out to him, but he ducked away from your touch. “This is all Metatron’s fault, and once we find him, we will find your Grace and get it back. Until then, you’re still here, Cas. You’re a fighter. You’re gunna beat this, I have no doubt about that.”

“It’s hard to say,” he said, still refusing to face you. “You humans are resilient, even when the odds are against you. You’ve been doing it for millennia; it’s practically your nature. But I am nothing like you.” He stared down at his hands. “I don’t feel strong or powerful. I feel like a burden to you all. I can’t defend myself anymore against our enemies. I can’t even shoot a gun right.”

You stepped in closer and tentatively placed your hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles. “Cas, no one expects you to be well-adjusted as a human right off the back. Hell, the odds were never really in our favor, even when you still had wings. But that doesn’t mean we just roll over and give up. We keep fighting and preparing until we catch that sonuvabitch Metatron and show him that, angel or not, he messed with the wrong family.”

Cas finally turned to you, and you could see the desperation shining in his eyes. “How?” he croaked. “I’m a liability like this. How can I help when I can barely shoot a gun?” He took your hand in his. “How…how am I supposed to protect you?”

A lump formed in your throat at his words, but you forced it down. Cas had always covered you, protected you, had your back when you needed him. And now he needed you. “Cas, you mean everything to me,” you said softly. “Angel, human, none of that matters to me. You’ve saved me countless times, and I can’t even begin to describe how much you mean to me.”

You took both of his hands in yours and gripped them tight before looking him straight in the eye. “Now let me return the favor. Let me protect you for once.”

In one fell swoop, Cas had leaned over and pressed his lips against yours, an action you graciously returned. There was no motion, no action between the two of you. And yet, you could feel every ounce of emotion behind it, such a strong bond, made tenuous with fear of the unknown.

As you slowly parted, you pulled him into an embrace, which he returned, grasping you tightly against him. No more words were exchanged between you. They were unnecessary. All that mattered was the unspoken message hanging in the air, that in the face of the future’s uncertainty, what remained clear was your devotion to protect each other from what was to come.

No matter what.

[lostmyurl]

This is a personal post about my own identity, about some realizations I have long since been coming to, something I need to get out and organize and get off my chest, so please don't come here with any generalizing comments, or about how I'm generalizing people. This is me, my experience, my dysphoria, my life. If you want to reblog or leave a comment or something, or inbox me, or something, you're more than free to, just please, please realize that this is about a post me and my self-image alone. As a kid, I always wanted to be a scout. Always. I never did, though. We only had Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts back in Texas, and in Poland, too. Idk. It just didn't sit right with me to be included in "oh, just girls here" or "oh, just boys here." I don't like gender-separated areas, and I never did, even if I didn't know why it put me off so much. I mean, I guess I didn't know when I was that young that it was dysphoria speaking up? But as I got older, and I started to hit puberty, shit just started getting a LOT worse. I had a period of time where I decided, nope, you're DEFINITELY a cis girl, I wore so much pink it was bizarre and outrageous. I like the color still, just… I feel bad because I associate it with that period of time really intensely. So I can't wear it at all or I just… hm. It's a shame, really. It's such a nice color. But it's just tied to so many memories of trying to wipe out anything I felt that didn't fit. After that, it was a period of 'so what the fuck are you?' Anybody who knew me about two years ago knew I kept changing my mind, trying to figure out what was going on because nothing felt right. A friend had to suggest it, if maybe I wasn't just imagining things/had low self esteem/was gnc, and really, for the longest time, I wondered if I was a closeted trans boy. But while being addressed as "he" helped, it didn't feel right, either. It was SO LONG until I realized that what actually felt right wasn't the decision to use "he" or "she," it was the actual moment of hesitation, the fact that I was presenting androgynously enough for it to be unclear. It's… still really really frustrating and muddled, but I've figured out enough about reading testimonies from trans people to know that what I'm experiencing is definitely a combination of dysphoria and euphoria. Here's the thing, though. There's a distinct line between nonbinary and gender-nonconforming (gnc). Being gnc would mean that I wouldn't feel uncomfortable or wrong when somebody used a set of binary pronouns for me in accordance with my assigned sex, or even the one across the binary. You can be gnc and cis, or gnc and binary trans, and one doesn't preclude the other. And neither of those means nonbinary. It's an identity that's… okay. TMI, I guess, but ideally? In a world of people who identify as men and women, I'd like to inspect my own body, go on a character selection screen, and remove all primary and secondary sex characteristics traditionally thought of as belonging to binary genders. Penis? Wrong. Vagina? Wrong. Boobs? Wrong. Facial hair? Wrong. Hourglass figure? Wrong. "Dorito" figure? Wrong. Et cetera. Et cetera. I'd like to be freed from all of those and I don't know why it's weighing on me so heavily. Delete, delete, delete, even if it meant leaving me a near-featureless default doll. Before anybody accuses me of hating people, I don't mind any of those traits on anybody else. This is my own body I'm talking about, a truly personal experience and an idealized dream. In dreams, I am occasionally perceived as male, rarely as female. Regardless, whenever I can remember, I have always been "other" in my dreams. You know- like on multiple choice exams, 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' 'D,' 'none of the above is correct'? Like that. I first learned that nonbinary genders were a thing from a classmate. Pejoratively. Like they were other, lesser, freaks. "What do you mean, neither? You can't be neither." It was religious studies class, that I remember. Of course, that wasn't the word they used. It was "homo-niewiadomo," a partially reclaimed slur that literally translates to "homo-who knows really" and doesn't just refer to gay people but any people falling under the queer umbrella as a whole. I was torn between "what???" and this kind of "that's a thing?" My next experience was on tumblr. I met a wonderful person who actually lives in my city. We've met nowadays. Years later. I was a kid then, maybe 15? 16? They said… I don't remember what it was. Gender-questioning? Something like that? I didn't pretend to understand, not yet, but I wanted to know more. All this sounds like I've had a lot of influence, but really, so much of it was based on introspection, questioning, doubting. Yeah, self-harm happened, too, whether by actually drawing blood or intentionally forcing myself to embrace hyperfemininity or by pushing myself to the point where I can't wear a color I love because it has all those negative associations with things I did to myself, things I said, trying to cut off unwieldy and inconvenient parts of my personality and decide I'm "moving on." I did the same thing about being autistic, about being ADD, and I look back on that now and realize that all I was doing was ensuring both my mental health and my physical health suffered. And my grades. Those dropped too. Performance in all respects. I ruined a lot of friendships that way. I guess some of that is a behavior learned from my parents. Forbid anything that's not productive or conductive to school that you're too "dependent" on. It's… really the worst fragment of their parenting (I think it's how they approach themselves, too) I could've possibly internalized. And something that disappeared basically overnight as soon as I was old enough to point out it wasn't actually helping, it was hurting. Now it's just there in my head, eating at me. They're not bad people. They're not bad parents. They treat us like human beings, instead of like enemies to trap in a maze of "because I said so" and arbitrary obstacles, like so many fakey-nice perfect suburban American families I've seen. They're learning, too, their home lives weren't perfect and they're not prepared to deal with a neurodivergent (not "normal") kid at ALL. They're always so confused about how "brilliant" I am and how I have trouble with "easy" stuff, about how I get overwhelmed with too much input. About how no, exposing me to that input doesn't help, it just increases the chances of a grown adult having to lock themselves in a dark room bawling into a pillow because it's /too much/. The truth is, I don't know. I know that what I need to alleviate dysphoria is basically impossible. That unlike a binary trans person I do not have the possibility to transition and eventually attain the body I identify with. This is why I can't go back to the Bible Belt, or attend a super-religious school I might've gotten a good scholarship from. I can't. If I had to go back to all that, to dressing up and doing makeup and "girl talk" and asserting over and over and over that I am like you, I am like you, I am like you, I would lose my sense of identity completely. What fragile sense I've even built up for myself. A person I can be now, somebody I almost like. Not quite, but almost. It's progress. So much progress. I'd go back to hating myself for not being like you, yes, of course I'm crushing on a boy, oh, yes, absolutely, please help me look more feminine more often, I'm just a clueless tomboy who doesn't know what she's missing :) :) :) If you're a girl who loves engaging in typically feminine activity, I support you and your interests, as I would if you were anybody else and your interests didn't hurt anybody. But it's not for me, and honestly, it's silly, but so many of my nightmares involve people turning on me and deciding they'll help me look more like I'm supposed to, be like I'm supposed to. "You have such a beautiful woman's body! Don't throw it all away!" you can have it you can have it you can HAVE it please take everything, take the horrible breasts, take the horrible curves and the horrible cinched waist and the awful "delicate features" right off my face. I don't want these. I can't be grateful for something that I look in the mirror and I feel can't belong to me, it shouldn't. It's wrong. That's not me. Please don't tell me "you're a pretty girl, you should appreciate it," don't tell me I'd like it more if I wore more skirts, I promise, I TRIED that. I did. I tried all the possible ways of loving myself and embracing a female identity in both gender-role-conforming ways and not. It doesn't work. It's like a software patch called "gender" was installed in almost everybody's brains except my own. All I'm left with is extraneous hardware that acts as malware without the driver patch. In a way, though, things are looking up. I've managed to figure out a thousand and one ways to avoid the entire (gendered) past tense in the language I speak at home. I've figured out a thousand more ways to avoid revealing, I've learned to see when I'm succeeding and when I've slipped up, when their eyes shine in triumph and they finally use binary pronouns without asking. Would it be so hard to ask? I'm not even sure what I'd say except "thank you." It's only happened once to my face without snark and it was the best thing I'd ever heard. I blew it. I wasn't expecting it. I shrugged and said "whichever you please" because I got so flustered, I didn't know how to respond. It was unexpected. It was wonderful. I should've said "neither, really." I could've said "I'd prefer not to say." If I hadn't been speaking Polish, I would have asked for “they.” Maybe. If I had the guts. "Whichever you please" was a step in the right direction though… right? This post doesn't have a point. Not really. Just laying some stuff out in text because they finally make sense that way. If you want to send hate, save it for other posts, okay? Have a shred of dignity and comment on posts tagged discourse, or posts in which I express an opinion about something that isn't this introspective.

[newtie-patootie-bootie]

Bucky² (Part 2)

Summary: You’re a mutant with the power of dimensional, spatial and time manipulation, meaning you can travel to and from dimension, spaces and different times with ease. But one day, when you’re coming back from a particularly long mission, you brought something back that should never have come with you in the first place.

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything that Marvel has created and I certainly don’t own Sebastian Stan.

Warnings: Swearing, angst and a lot some flirting.

40′s!Bucky x Present!Bucky x Reader

||Please don’t repost anywhere or plagiarize||

Two weeks had rocketed past with no signs of change from my watch, but outside, in the sky. I could see the difference. 

This is all my fault. 

It didn’t matter what the others would say to me, this is my problem. 

I’m the only one that can fix this. I did this. I put this unnecessary burden on my teammates’ shoulders. I’m putting Bucky the pain of having to see his younger self every time he wakes up in the morning, having to remember the better memories that were unbridled with pain and blood. Yearning for the complicity of his former life.

I’m also responsible for Sarge’s pain of knowing what’s going to happen to him in the next year, what he’ll go through. To go through it is one thing, but to know it’s coming in the next year, is a whole other thing.

To know that you’ll be conditioned and trained, used to become a weapon for the very organization you swore to put an end to, to know you will become an enemy of your country. You’ll be wiped to forget everyone you’ve ever loved, every single memory you’ve ever had, all your morals and your boundaries. Every single thing you know and who you are. 

Gone.

The sliding door to the balcony opened.

I jumped at the sound, a gasp working its way through my throat and out my mouth.

I turn to see Happy Feet standing on the other side, his hair tousled and damp. He had on a white tanktop and a pair of gray sweatpants, his feet bare as he stepped out onto the cold concrete, closing the door behind him “you okay, kid?”

I turn back to to look up at the sky without another word, trying to calm my racing heart, “the stars are going out. There’s less than last night.” I muse, my voice quieter than I’d like it to be.

“Maybe the clouds are in the way and you can’t see them.” Bucky offers, moving so he was next to me, leaning on his elbows on the ledge of the glass barrier, also looking up. 

“Look,” I point, “no clouds. Trust me, Buck, I know every single star out there and millions are missing.” I pull the watch from my hoodie pocket and I look at it, “the container is starting to open.” 

Bucky sighs, “how long?”

“Judging by the rate the stars are decreasing,” I bite my lip, opening the watch to see its frozen state, “a month.” I glare at it before closing the latch and I shove it back in my pocket.

“Jesus. H. Christ.” Bucky blows out a deep breath, “cutting it kinda thin, aren’t ya, doll?”

“Trust me, if it was up to me, I would have taken Sarge back instantly.”

“I know you would have, doll. I know you would.”

I hum my agreement, before lolling my head to the side as I look at him, “you’ve sort of broken out of your shell when Sarge came through the portal.”

Bucky chuckles before looking up at the stars, contemplative. “How are we gonna pull this off, kid? I mean, the short amount of time we have is going to make this tough.”

“We?” I question, the word foreign to me when it comes to matters concerning my own mutation, “this is my fault, okay? I take full responsibility, therefore, I’m the only one that’ll be figuring out how to save your hide.”

“What? Only one?” Bucky asked, lifting up to face me, one brow lifted in question.

“I did this. It’s my problem to fix.” I answer blankly. 

“Sorry, doll, it doesn’t work like that. You may have had to fix what you did the last time, but, Y/N, you nearly died the last time, you told us.” Bucky growled, his large hands grabbing at my shoulders and suddenly he was nose-to-nose with me. “You say how you refuse to chance it with me or my younger self, well guess what?” Bucky’s teeth clenched, I could feel his minty breath wash over my face and his piercing eyes burning holes into mine, “I am not going to have you do this on your own, do you understand me, kid?”

“This is my problem.” I say, looking into his eyes. I must look so blank to him.

“No,” Bucky refused, “it’s centered around me, so, it’s also my problem. And what my problem is, is also Steve’s problem and what his problem is, is everyone’s else’s. I’m not letting you do this alone. Can’t you see, I’m tryin’ to protect you, doll! ”

“I’m not asking for your permission, Buck.” He huffs, letting go of my shoulders as he turns back to the balcony, running his hands through his long hair. He always does that when he’s frustrated. “I don’t need to be protected! I can do this on my own!”

“Well, you ain’t.” The same voice spoke from behind me. I turn to see Sarge, his dog-tags shining in the moonlight, his own undershirt fit his toned torso and he was wearing a pair of dark sweatpants with socks. His hair had no product in it, so his hair fell into his eyes, he was leaning against the rim of the open sliding door. “You got both of us.”

“We’re right, you know.” Happy Feet agreed with himself as I felt a warm hand against the small of my back as Sergeant leaned his hip against the fence as he rested on my left while Happy Feet was on my right.

“Do you have any idea of the danger there will be?” I look to my right, my eyes finding Happy Feet’s instinctively as I look to my left, “it’s not easy by any stretch and doing it in this tight of a time frame is nearly impossible!”

“So? What’s your point, doll?” Sarge mused, a crooked grin taking over his face.

We had spent quite a while together, since Happy Feet was on quite a few missions with Steve and the others. I couldn’t be of use to them without my watch and I was fine with that. I was getting a long-needed break and I was spending it with someone who needed me more than the missions. “You’re speaking to someone who doesn’t give a shit.” Happy Feet slowly slid his mechanical hand over my own, “and nearly impossible, not completely.” He threw my own words back at me.

I have never hated my own words more than now.

“God, I could seriously kill you two.” I growl, turning my gaze straight ahead, I could feel a scowl morphing my features.

“Can’t, It’d be paradoxical isn’t it, baby-doll?”

“Shut up, Sarge! Happy Feet, stop laughing, that was not funny!”

“Then why are you smiling, Y/N?”

“. . .shut up.”

The next day, I had to tell everyone what I knew.

Otherwise Happy Feet and Sarge would have ratted me out to Steve, and I didn’t want to face a disappointed Steve. It actually breaks my heart to see Steve like that. So to spare myself, I caved.

It didn’t take long into my explanation until Bruce and Tony were sprinting toward the lab, trying to calculate how long it would be before the watch couldn’t contain the paradox. Nat and Clint would go searching for more information by way of their contacts, Thor had gone back to Asgard to collect information and Steve was on a mission that morning with Wanda, Pietro and Sam, so they couldn’t do anything.

I sat with Tony, pouring over books with astronomy, looking at local star systems. “Look at that.” I point to one, “this one’s gone.”

“Yeah, she’s right. That makes the count to-”

“twenty million.” I say in unison with Bruce, “that’s just in the Milky Way, may not seem like much, but that’s a significant amount for our solar system. No doubt some astronomers have taken an interest?”

Tony checked his phone before switching the screen up so we could all see, “see for yourself.”

Clicking on the play button, an official from NASA starts speaking, ‘we do not know how this phenomenon has occured, but I assure you, we will find why and how and we’ll get to the bottom of it. We’ve got some of our best astronomers working on it, we will find out what’s going on.’

“Don’t listen to NASA, remember what they did with that team on the Hermes?” I remind them, turning the page on one of the books, “plus, we’ll never get anywhere with them, we know the reason, they don’t.”

“That’s true.” Tony answered.

“We got a conspiracy theory, listen to this,” Bruce started, “’the cause of the stars disappearing overnight is the result of extraterrestrial beings coming to launch an attack for our resources, like the invasion in Manhattan five years ago.’ He or she is serious about this one. What do you think? Intergalactic war?”

“I wouldn’t put it past those pesky aliens. We’re in need of a Time Lord now.” I comment sarcastically, making the two mad scientists chuckle. 

“I’ve got FRIDAY surveying the satellites. She’s searching above and below for anomalies, if there’s anything, she’ll tell us. Don’t beat yourself up over this, kiddo.” Tony reassured, touching my shoulder gently and I smile at him. 

“Thanks, Tony.” I answer him honestly.

“Y/N! We got a problem!” Happy Feet roared, carrying a mountain of books with Sergeant right behind him, looking flustered. 

My heart stopped. 

Were they hurt?!

I whirl around as Happy Feet dumps the books on the table, “boys, what’s the matter?” I ask, looking over both of them quickly. 

They weren’t hurt, thank God.

Sarge came forward and flipped the history book over to show me, “it’s not just the stars anymore.”

I look down to see the first few chapters, completely wiped.

The only section left untouched, you ask? 

World War II, 1944.

Thank you so much for reading you guys!!

tags: @hotcheetosandsalsa @arabellaaurorabarnes @heyitsdestinyhun