#This tag will never get rid of me. She did too much damage

[lion-buddy]

rat that turns you gay with her mind

[the20thangel]

The Emperor and His Lady Chapter 8 (Finale)

Summary: Arabella and Geta flee from the Chaos that Macrinus and Caracalla placed in Rome. Lucius fights for the dream that is Rome, and new beginnings blossom.

Word Count: 4K

Tags: violence, angst, and comfort.

Masterlist

Taglist: @barcelonaloverf1life @justnobodynothingmore

Arabella placed herself before Geta, “Uncle, please, We seek refuge…” 

Arabella’s uncle, the eldest of the two brothers, never had the chance to marry. So, he used his brother’s children to gain control of the family. Arabella was their last chance for glory; he would not give up easily. 

“My dear, you are confused… come, there will be an emperor at the end of the day, Caracalla or Lucius… they will need an empress, and you…” 

Growling, Geta pressed Arabella to his body, “Choose your next words carefully; I can still find ways to get rid of you!” 

Arabella watched as her uncle staggered back before forming a weak smirk: “With what army? I can yell and have Caracalla arrest you or wait until Lucius takes back Rome, and you will still lose Geta. Come, Arabella. You have done wonderful with him, but it’s time to move on.”

“No….” she protested, walking away from Geta. She glared at her uncle. 

“No… what nonsense are you speaking, stupid girl? I said, come.” commanded her uncle. 

Tired of all the stress from the day and tired of being used for men’s gain, Arabella’s face darkened, “I said NO! I am done being used as a pawn for your and my father’s gain. I have always done everything you commanded of me since I was 11 years old. You pushed so much to become Geta’s empress; what did you expect that I do not love him? I will not leave him. I love him and our child, who is growing in me. Caracalla nor Lucius would let me keep my babe, and I would rather die than lose another son. So go ahead, try to force me away from Geta, but you will only have a corpse to use or a girl so damaged she will be useless to you. I will make sure I cannot conceive another child if you force me. I want to live peacefully with the man I love and my child. So what will it be? Uncle, choose now, and I will make my choice.” 

Geta and her uncle froze their blood cold at Arabella’s words. Geta’s face hardened as he placed his hands on his lover’s stomach, glaring at her uncle. In contrast, Arabella’s uncle could only stare. All for naught, he thought, exhaling as he backed down. 

Arabella and Geta watched as her uncle's shoulders dropped. Shaking his head, he made eye contact with Geta as he spoke, “You would have made a wonderful, kind but fearsome empress; such a shame you never were made one.” 

Geta gulped, feeling the guilt returning to him; her uncle was correct. His Arabella would have been the best empress, but he was too selfish to make her one. After a beat, Arabella and Geta could finally breathe as Arabella's uncle led the two lovers to a Villa that belonged to her family—one that was away from the main areas of Rome but still close. 

Once they had arrived, Arabella’s uncle said they should relax while he returned to the palace. An emergency Senate meeting was to occur; he would return with news after the meeting. Leaving the two on their own, Arabella sighed, rubbing her belly as she calmed herself, hoping all the stress would not take a toll on her or her child. Turning, she watched Geta sit by the hearth, staring at the fire that the servants quickly lighted. 

“Geta… my love? What bothers you?” she whispered as she knelt before him, taking his hands into hers. 

Geta took a moment before turning to stare at her, “Your uncle is right. You have been a wonderful empress… I… I was too paranoid to allow it… I was too jealous; I wanted you for myself…Would it have changed what is happening now if you were my empress?”

Shaking her head, Arabella sat on his lap, cradling his face as she spoke, “It is not good to dwell on the past or what could have been. Hush, my love, take comfort that we are alive, the three of us, and take comfort that I will never… never leave you.”  

Leaning down, Arabella kissed Geta, taking his arms and wrapping them around her. Geta deepened the kiss, pressing her body to his as they comforted each other from the hectic and terrifying night. The two stayed awake for another hour to see if any news came, but once they heard nothing, they decided to retire for the night. 

The following day, Arabella’s uncle returned with a haunted look. As she led her uncle to the dining area, she watched in suspense as he placed his head in his hands. 

“Uncle… what has happened?” she asked, watching Geta enter the room and sit beside her. 

“Caracalla… he… he placed two new senators to his consul… his monkey Dundus and the second Macrinus. He gave the throne to Macrinus.” Her uncle explained, closing his eyes in disbelief. 

Arabella and Geta inhaled sharply at the news, realizing that Macrinus used both Geta and Caracalla to get to the throne. 

As her uncle raised his sight, he gave her a look, telling her there was more. Arabella gave a worried brow as she silently urged her uncle to speak. 

“Your father…he has been sentenced to be killed along with the senators who conspired to usurp Geta and Caracalla. They will be killed along with former empress Lucilla,” he spoke, massaging his brow. 

Arabella softly gasped, “But he wasn’t part of the coup… why would he be sentenced.” 

Her uncle smiled contemptuously, “He denied your hand in marriage to Caracalla. He also denied knowing your whereabouts. Macrinus convinced Caracalla to kill him, saying that your father was deliberately offending him. I’m sorry, my girl, I could not save him.”  

Arabella sniffed, having lost both fathers in her life in less than 24 hours. As Geta placed a soothing hand on hers, she proudly spoke, “My father was a servant to Rome, and he will die knowing what he did was for the betterment of Rome.” 

Arabella’s uncle agreed before stating he needed to leave for the Colosseum, promising the pair that he would return after the events. 

At the Colosseum, the crowd was anxious, not knowing who or what the cause of the games was for that day. The Senators shifted as many of their own were at stake, including the former empress. They knew if they killed the empress, Rome would eat them alive; they could only hope the gods were merciful. 

As Caracalla walked down, he noticed his people cringe before him. They looked at him in disgust or fear, and he wanted to weep. He always had his brother to protect him from the wolves. Now his brother was gone… and he was alone, with no one to defend him, and Caracalla thought, “I made a mistake…”. Macrinus, seeing the hesitation, gently pushed the emperor into his throne. 

The Gates opened, and the people gasped in outrage as they saw a cart of senators walking out with their beloved Empress Lucilla standing at the top. 

“Lucilla! Gods have mercy on you, empress!” 

“Empress Lucilla, she is innocent!” 

“Release her! Release the empress!” 

Caracalla whimpered, hearing his people shouting in outrage. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. 

Marcella looked at the royal box, smirking as Macrinus, a fool, looked like he already had won; little did he know. As the plan started, Lucius came out fighting the guards one by one, making sure to stall to give the impression he was desperate to save his mother; as he reached the top, Lucius again asked Marcella if she wanted him to save her. 

“No, my emperor, I need to die. We need the people of Rome to fight against Macrinus and Cara-” Marcella gasped as an arrow shot through her chest. 

“NO!” shouted Lucius, being caught unprepared as he turned to glare at Macrinus.

As Macrinus lowered his bow, he relished at the chaos ensuing, the people screaming and rioting as the Senators ran away. Leaning towards the young emperor, Macrinus threw his arms around Caracalla’s shoulders. 

“Well done, my imperator. You have won, but unfortunately, it's time you step down. Not to worry, Rome will be in good hands, my hands.” He sneered as he took a pin out and stabbed Caracalla. 

As Caracalla shouted in pain, he felt blood gushing out his ear as his vision began to blur. Feeling coldness roam over him, Caracalla thought of his brother, his protector. He regretted killing his brother… for Geta truly did love him. Then his mind to Arabella, sweet and beautiful Arabella. Caracalla knew his love for her was not romantic but of a brother and sister. His problem with her was that he was jealous that Geta and she were in love, leaving him behind. He had no one like they had each other. He felt regret for tormenting her all those years. He wished he could have been kinder. Finally, as Caracalla left the realm of the living, a riverboat greeted him. Terrified, Caracalla looked around when he heard someone calling for him. Seeing at a distance, he saw a woman he recognized as his mother. 

“Caracalla, come, my sweet boy!” shouted his mother. 

Grinning, the young emperor walked up to the boat and waved to his mother as he crossed the river Styx. 

Macrnius smirked at the dead emperor, staring at the floor. He saw Luicus’ glare and decided he needed to leave. Lucius, seeing Macrinus running, began to pursue the man. He would not leave Rome alive. 

At the outskirts of Rome came Lucilla, leading a horde of Roman soldiers waiting to meet their enemy. At a distance, she saw two horses coming towards them and another group of soldiers. Gasping, she saw Lucius jump from his horse, tackling Macrinus to the ground, and the two men began sparing. As Lucius tripped into the river, he held his breath and reached for his dagger. Macrinus blindly stabbed him, trying to pierce through the armor. Seeing an opening, Lucius shouted as he rushed up from the water, slicing Macrinus through his stomach. Breathing heavily, he watched as Macrinus slowly sank to the river's bottom. 

As Lucilla and Lucius took back the throne and ensured the people of Rome were calm and safe, they began to assess the damage in the Palace. Lucius, noticing his mother searching through Emperor Geta’s chambers, the gardens, and, lastly, another chamber, finally asked her what or whom she was looking for. 

“A maiden named Arabella… was my companion for many years. I grew to love her as a daughter. She was with Geta… before he was killed. Senator!” Lucilla ended shouting, seeing Arabella’s uncle walking. 

“My empress, Imperator, what can I do for you.” bowed the Senator. 

Lucius squirmed, not being used to being greeted as a royal for many years, and answered for his mother. 

“A girl, Arabella. My mother is wondering if you have seen her. " Lucius pondered, growing nervous, seeing the Senator's remorseful look. 

“I know not what happened to my dear niece. She was with Geta when Caracalla killed his brother. I fear... I fear the rumors are true; my niece threw herself to her death rather than becoming Caracalla’s empress. I am so sorry, Empress Lucilla. I knew how much she meant to you.” Arabella’s uncle lied, bowing as Lucilla began weeping for her little girl. 

“Thank you, senator. I am sorry for your loss,” consoled Lucius, who found it strange that the Senator was not distraught like his mother. 

Six months passed, and Rome began healing from the injustices she suffered. The people were healing and beginning to thrive. Lucilla, although still grieving the loss of her daughter and husband, provided excellent support for Lucius in ruling Rome. To rejoice, The Senate decided to throw gladiator games to celebrate the six-month mark of Emperor Lucius’s reign. Although Lucius was against it at first, he was later convinced by his mother that it would be a good idea. 

As the two walked to see the gladiators, Lucilla noticed Arabella’s uncle bringing supplies to a specific group of men. Knowing that he was never a Senator who paid interest in the gladiators or had any military knowledge, she walked towards him curious. As she walked closer, she heard the conversation that made her freeze. 

“How is my lady, Senator? I bet her belly must be huge by now! And Gano? How is he fairing?” 

“My niece is thriving through her pregnancy while her husband panics about everything; it is quite charming to see, " the senator laughed. His laugh, however, was cut short once he noticed Lucilla. 

“Senator, six months ago, you told me Arabella killed herself; I am now shocked to hear not only is she married, she is expecting her first child,” questioned Lucilla, growing upset with her surrogate daughter’s uncle. 

As the Senator gulped, he nervously tried to deny it, but Lucilla would not be deceived again. 

“You will bring her to me; I wish to see my girl healthy with my own eyes,” Lucilla commanded, walking away from the Senator. 

At a nearby Villa,  Arabella walked towards her husband carrying a refreshing drink. Rising from his papers, Geta smiled as he greeted his wife. 

“Wife, I am sure I heard the healer tell you not to be on your feet so often," he asked his wife, kissing her lips quickly and taking the drink from her hands. 

“Walking to my husband does not count, Geta. My back starts aching after laying down so much.” Lightly complained Arabella, rubbing her round belly as she pouted. 

Geta grinned, placing his hand on Arabella’s, his smile growing as he felt his son kick against his hand. 

As the two kissed, a servant girl told them the lady’s uncle had urgent business to speak with them. The two separated, sharing a confused look as they greeted the visitor. 

“Uncle, you were just here? Has something happened?” questioned Arabella, allowing Geta to lead her to sit down. 

As her uncle sat beside her, he grabbed her hands, “Ara…Empress Lucilla knows you are alive. She has commanded me to take you to the palace. I’m sorry, niece, but I can’t go against the empress.” 

Arabella's brows rose in shock. She had hoped that Lucilla never found out about her whereabouts. Looking towards Geta, she saw her husband furrow his brows in confusion.

“Why does Empress Lucilla want to see Arabella? Does she want to marry her to Lucius,” growled Geta, jealousy blooming in his chest. 

Arabella held a hand to her husband’s chest, hoping to calm him from his anger.

Arabella’s uncle shook his head, “No, Emperor Lucius is still adamant about not taking a wife. The empress wishes to see you healthy with her own eyes. She has missed you so much, dear girl. Please pay a quick visit to ease her and then return to your life here.” 

Nodding, Arabella agreed to visit her lady; unfortunately, Geta was still paranoid about the reason for the visit.

Geta grunted, grabbing Arabella’s hand as he commanded, “I will go with you.” 

“Geta, you are still wanted in Rome. I am not risking my husband getting arrested by the emperor; stay here, " Arabella countered, annoyed that her husband was trying to be difficult. 

“I wasn’t asking Ara… I’m going. I don’t believe the emperor just wants you to visit.” argued Get, narrowing his eyes. 

Like times before, the Lady and her Husband continue their battle through their eyes, each equally stubborn trying to win against each other. 

Arabella’s uncle chuckled, having gotten used to the young lovers' antics. “Niece, you know him better than anyone. You know he will not stay behind. He will go as he is known outside, Gano, and we will dye his hair dark brown. Hopefully, the emperor doesn’t remember how much Geta looked like, and we can quickly visit and  let it be done.” 

Arabella sighed in defeat, sending a quick glare as her husband smirked, feeling like he had won the argument. 

As the three walked through the white floors of the palace, Arabella and Geta could not help but feel nervous about their visit to the emperor and his mother. Geta looked around and saw how much his former home had changed in under six months. Nothing of him and his brother were shown or left in the palace. Sighing, he walked behind his wife somberly, missing his twin. As husband and wife entered the feast chamber, Lucilla gasped in delight, seeing her girl not only healthy but practically glowing from her pregnancy. Standing from her spot next to Lucius, Empress Lucilla greeted her daughter. 

“Arabella! Oh, my sweet girl, I am so happy you are well and with a child. You are glowing!” exclaimed the empress mother, gathering Arabella into her arms. 

As Geta stood back with his hood covering his face, he stood nervously, feeling paranoid at being close to Lucilla and Lucius. Emperor Lucius smiled at his mother, who was reuniting with his surrogate sister. Turning to face his sister’s husband, he could not help but narrow his eyes and recognize the man. 

“Empress, it's good to see you again.” greeted Arabella, bowing only to be raised by Lucilla, who waved her off.

“None of that bowing, especially with you so heavily pregnant. How far along are you?”  questioned Lucilla as she toyed with Arabella’s curls. 

Smiling, Arabella rubbed her ever-growing bump, “In a week, I will be seven months. I’m counting the days until my child rests in my arms instead of kicking every second of the day, more if he feels his father's hands on my stomach.” 

Laughing, Lucilla took a turn to rub the young lady’s bump, “Lucius was the same way; nothing could soothe him until a lullaby was sung.” 

As Lucilla turned her sight behind Arabella, she noticed the man who she assumed was Arabella’s husband. 

“Sweet girl, why don’t you introduce me to your husband? I assume he is the father, yes?” Lucilla requested, growing confused as the young man twitched and lowered his head to hide his face. 

Arabella, growing nervous, gulped as she stared at her husband. Opening her mouth, she felt tongue-tied, “Yes, this is my husband-” 

“Hello, Geta… I’m surprised you would be willing to step back into the palace,” interrupted Lucius, who was walking towards his mother and sister while glaring at the young man. 

Geta raised his eyes, glaring back at Lucius; it allowed his hood to fall off. Lucilla gasped as her face paled like she saw a ghost, turning to Arabella, who furrowed her brows with worry. Arabella placed herself between the emperor and her husband, not wanting a fight to ensue. Geta took the opportunity to grasp his wife’s waist and pull her body to press against his. 

“Hano… ah, I forgot it’s Emperor Lucius, now is it?” taunted Geta, smirking when Lucius growled in annoyance. 

“Geta, enough,” commanded Arabella, shaking her head at her husband’s antics. 

Lucilla and Lucius were both surprised to see how easily Geta backed down. Lucilla, wanting an answer, turned to Arabella.

“How… everyone in the Senate said they saw his head… Caracalla and Macrinus showed it off?” questioned Lucilla. 

Arabella sighed as she began her tale of how they evaded being killed by Caracalla and their current life situations. After the lady’s tale, Lucius shook his head in disbelief before turning to the former emperor. 

“You know, in any other situation, I would have had the guards arrest you against the crimes you did on my mother and stepfather, but I grew to care for Arabella because of my mother. I know how much my sister has sacrificed for Rome and my mother. Consider yourself lucky, Geta, that I am a forgiving man. I will pardon you injustices…” started Lucius. 

“Thank you, Imperator,” praised Arabella, feeling grateful. 

“I have two conditions for his pardon…” continued Lucius, watching as Geta and Arabella nodded. 

“One, Arabella, do not call me imperator. We are siblings; call me brother. Second, Geta is banned from ever joining the Senate. I will be gracious and not place the ban on any nieces or nephews, but you can never step foot in the Senate. Do I make myself clear?” said Lucius. 

Arabella and Geta nodded, feeling grateful; while Geta did not mind being banned from the Senate, it was never his passion. As the couple left, Lucilla asked Arabella to visit often and to keep her updated on her pregnancy, expressing her desire to be there during Arabella's birthing.  Agreeing, the couple left for their Villa peacefully, excited and nervous for the future. 

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

Screaming could be heard from a room as Arabella pushed with all her might. Collapsing on her bed, Arabella tiredly exhaled as she tried to catch her breath, preparing for another contraction to hit. Lucilla, holding her daughter’s hand, soothed the tired mother. 

“There, my sweet girl, you are doing so well. Just a few more, Ara… you baby wants to greet you,” she consoled the young woman. 

Nodding, Arabella took a deep breath as she pushed all her might, feeling sweat fall down her forehead. Taking another breath and pushing again, wishing her child could just leave her body. 

Outside the room, in the living area, paced Geta, growing nervous with each scream coming from his wife. Lucius watched in amusement as he watched a man feared by Rome be reduced to a nervous wreck. Turning to the floor, he ruffled a tuff of ginger-colored hair. Gaius, who just turned four, raised his head from his toy soldier to playfully glare at his uncle. Lucius chuckled. His nephew looked so much like his father, but that glare was all his mother.  A smaller wail joined the air as another yell broke out, making Lucius rise and Geta freeze. 

Lucilla came out with a bright smile: "A beautiful little girl with the same face as her mother and her father’s fiery locks.” 

As the men sighed, their relief was short-lived. They heard Arabella let out another yell, with the midwife exclaiming that another babe was on their way. Lucilla turned and quickly returned inside to help the young mother. Fifteen painfully long minutes passed before a little boy let his arrival know with a loud shout. 

“He has a pair of lungs,” commented Lucius, watching as Geta held his daughter, watching her as if she were the world's most precious jewel. 

Arabella smiled as she caressed her youngest son. They were perfect. While her daughter followed suit like her older brother in having fiery locks. Her youngest held brown curls much like her own. Gaius was in his grandmother’s arms, looking at his young siblings. Scrunching his nose, he sniffed and looked at his mother: " They are too pink.” 

Laughing, Lucilla kissed the young boy, “They just came out of your mother. You were as pink as them when you were born, my love. They will soon change after a few days.” 

Lucius grinned as he kissed Arabella’s forehead, “How are you, sister?” 

“Tired, but I would do it all over again for them….that does not mean you can touch me,  Geta. You will wait another four years before you touch me.” Commented Arabella, playfully glaring at her husband once she saw his mischievous smile. 

“Do they have names?” questioned Lucilla. 

Arabella nodded, “Yes, our daughter will be named Carmella Julia, and our son… he is Marcus Maximus…” 

As the twins' names were spoken, both children opened their eyes to stare at their parents. Geta’s throat dried up as tears welled in his eyes. His daughter had the brightest blue eyes, just like Caracalla. Kissing his daughter, Geta nuzzled her tuff of ginger hair. 

Lucius and Lucilla smiled tearfully as they stared at the youngest of the three. Soon, the Emperor and Empress left the family of five. As the three youngest slept soundly, Geta scooped up his wife and kissed her neck. Arabella giggled at being tickled, returning a kiss. 

“Thank you, my love,” Geta whispered as he nuzzled his face to his wife’s neck. 

“For what, my love,” pondered Arabella, caressing her husband’s cheek. 

“For loving me, for fighting for me… for never giving up on me, on us… I truly don’t deserve you,” confessed Geta. 

Arabella smiled, cradling her husband's face; she kissed him before whispering on his lips, “I was always meant to be yours, your lady. No matter where or whichever life, I will always come to you, My Geta.”

[bullet-prooflove]

The Circuit: Travis Wheatley x Reader

Tagging: Tagging: @kmc1989 @pear-1206 @keyweegirlie @nu1freakshow

You are the only woman that Travis has eyes for. He makes that abundantly clear during his most recent rodeo circuit. He’s a rockstar at these things, pulling in accolades, showcasing his best horses, it’s the reason John Dutton brought him on board. Travis is a money maker and the Duttons want in.

Unfortunately all of this brings the buckle bunnies.

Travis has been around the block with a few of them. He has a reputation, you know that and so does he, he’s been working hard to rid himself of it over the past year but it sticks like mud. He’s hopes news has gotten around that he has a girl but belt bunnies, they’re bold.

“I’m with someone.” He tells Lanelle when she tries to climb into his lap.

She’s a blond firecracker from Georgia with measurements that belong in a Playboy Magazine. The two of them have tussled a few times, she always seeks him out at events like this.

“But she ain’t here Sugar.” She says in that sweet Southern tone of hers as she rearranges her top to highlight her assets. “But I am.”

“Not my thing anymore.” He tells her, his voice tinged with disinterest and she pours her beer right into his lap. He has to say he half expected it. Lanelle doesn’t like not getting what she wants, in the past he appreciated that feistiness, now…

It’s gotten old.

She spends the rest of the night, writhing on the knee of some young gun coming up on the Bronco circuit and Travis could not give less of a fuck.

He slips away early, disappearing from the bar and heading towards his trailer. He usually goes to the break of dawn at these things before climbing back on his horse and winning his next bout but the truth is he’s getting tired.

The doctor tells him he has a good few years left in him if he takes care of himself, cuts down on the booze. Too much partying is starting to catch up with him, his liver isn’t functioning the way it should do.

You’re the only one he’s told about that, you and his Mama. His doctor says if he doesn’t slow down, he’ll be looking for a new liver in the next five years. Before you that wouldn’t have deterred him. He lived hard, he played hard, he would have died on that hill. But then you’d come into his life, a vision in a white cowboy hat and worn out plaid and he  realised he wanted to stick around as long as possible.

He’s never through of himself as an alcoholic, he’s always been a good time guy but the damage adds up and now he’s careful about what he drinks, what he eats because he know he doesn’t have a hope on the transplant list. Even if he did have the surgery it would put him out of action for over six months and he can’t imagine going that long without riding.

He's sitting on the edge of his bed when he calls you. He’s been missing you more and more lately, your smile, your laugh, the press of your soft body against his as you lie tangled up together. You’ve been together almost two years now and it’s getting harder to leave.

“I saw you on TV.” You say when you pick up the phone. “You looked good.”

“Yea.” He says pinching his brow to ward off the headache that’s starting to gnaw at his temples. “We made some real money today.”

“You sound tired.” You say softly and it still amazes him how attuned you are to him even over this distance.

“I’m missing you a little.” He admits as he lies back on the mattress, his gaze coming to rest on the ceiling. “Actually, I’m missing you a lot.”

Love Travis? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[sleepy-writer-daydreams]

Glimpse of Us

Ethan Morgan x GN!Reader

word count: 879 words

summary: you and ethan are dating, but he's not over sarah. and you can tell

a/n: image credit goes to sierra morgan on pinterest! im like so normal about ethan (not. i make him suffer but the next one of him will be fluff).

tags: angst/mild comfort ? not a happy ending

You looked into Ethan's eyes. They were entirely forced on yours, and you were both leaning in for a kiss. It wasn't until he put a hand around your waist and got you closer did he start to hesitate. You slightly pulled back from his face, your eyes staring deep into his once more.

"...What's wrong, Ethan?" You asked softly. You weren't sure how to feel about this, really. Ethan laughed awkwardly and shook his head, as if to get rid of something.

"Nothing, nothing."

You sighed, his arm dropping from your waist and going back to his side. He gave you a look, almost like a wounded puppy. You felt a stab of guilt, but you came to a sudden realization.

You had to put your foot down this time. You couldn't keep doing this, not when it was only damaging you and Ethan the longer this went on.

"...Ethan, can we talk for a second? Really talk."

His questioning eyes searched yours for an answer, but there wasn't any. There was a sense of defeat, if anything. He sat down on the couch, making sure to make room for you. You sat down beside him. You came here after school, and Jane was in her room.

So there was no good time as the present! Swallowing down a rush of nerves, you turned to face him. "Sometimes, it still feels like you have feelings for Sarah." His face paled when you said that, but he didn't deny it. You felt nauseous.

You wanted him to deny it, maybe even protest and ask why you would ask him such a thing, that you were the only person he'd ever have eyes for. But you knew that was asking him for too much.

You lightly touched his shoulder, and he stiffened, eyes glazing over immediately. You sighed. He was probably going through something, again. He never told you what he was going through in the few months you were dating, which lead to arguments almost every other week.

You weren't oblivious, ignorant, or naive. Something was weird in this time, but it always felt like you were going crazy that no one was addressing it.

A few seconds had only passed when his eyes had refocused, but it had felt like hours. He looked at you fearfully. "You're... you're not breaking up with me, are you?"

You rubbed the back of your neck awkwardly. You wanted to tell him no. But his actions had answered your question, a burning question that had been nagging for you since the day he agreed to go out with you. "I am, actually."

You waited for him to protest, again. Do something, anything, without looking at you like he had just lost something that he thought he wouldn't ever lose.

"Ethan. You're always dropping dates with me and going to Sarah whenever she needs help with something. You made me walk by myself! In the dark! You know this town is creepy, it's not safe!"

He opened his mouth to speak, but you held up a finger. "Shut up. I'm not finished. Whenever you touch me sometimes, you're always getting this dazed... look, in your eyes? Like you're not entirely here. And you either excuse yourself or go back to normal. But you almost always go to Sarah. Or Benny." You laughed. Not a genuine laugh, but a short, brief laugh.

"It's laughable. I've seen the way you look at her. And you don't have that look when you're with me. I'm sorry I couldn't be what she is. I know you say you're fine, but you're not."

You were foolish. Foolish to have a crush on an adorable dork who was into Star Wars and the X-Men and anything equally as nerdy.

"I'm breaking up with you."

"Yeah, I heard you the first time." He mumbled.

"Okay. Do you have any excuses? Reasons? Explanations? Try and defend yourself, Ethan. You can do it for everyone else but yourself. It's pathetic."

His eyes darted around. "...I'm a seer."

"What?"

"A seer, like I see things. I can see things from the future when I touch people sometimes, and--"

"Ethan," You sighed. "You're crying." You leaned in to dry some of his tears, but he pulled away.

"Don't. I-I- My friends, they're-- They're just like me, but not like me. I didn't want you to get involved, to get you hurt--" He sniffled.

"You don't have to worry about that, love." It's not like they ever had a choice, to stay blissfully unaware of everything around them. Everything really was in plain sight. It was stupid to think that he'd feel the same way as you.

"It's too late for us. I'm sorry." You picked up your backpack, slinging it over your shoulder. You went by the door. Refusing to look at him for quite possibly the last time, you opened the door. "Have a nice life, Ethan Morgan." You called out. And shut the door.

Maybe it was for the best you didn't see him crying, covering his face. Sure, he was still in love with Sarah. He never meant to hurt you. But he guessed that he did that anyways to you by agreeing to date you.

Its too late now, anyways.

♡♡♡

a/n: lmk what you guys think !!!!! i wrote this.. when. maybe a year ago? almost? insane! here's to writing more mbav fics!

[lauravanarendonkbaugh]

Word Finder Tag Game

@whatwewrotepodcast has tagged me in another #Writeblr game!

My assigned words: soft, purple, lies, coward

So let's see where this goes....

Soft

“It was his own son who caused the damage,” Lisveth protested stubbornly.

“It was.”

“By climbing through a window when he’d been told to keep away entirely.”

“That’s so.”

“And we not only schooled some poorly behaved brutes, but you nearly got your arm broken when you suddenly had to work around a child.”

“All of that is true.”

“And you want us to have done all of that for less than promised.”

Galen sighed. “Want? No. But there’s only so much water that can be squeezed from a stone. And I wouldn’t feel right leaving this man in worse condition than when he hired us, even if it’s not our fault.”

Lisveth blew out her breath in an irritated little puff and crossed her arms. Galen relaxed; she was acquiescing. “I don’t like it,” she said. “But I wouldn’t feel right, either.”

The baker ruined it by calling to them. “I’m not paying that much after my oven’s broken. And if you keep insisting, I’ll tell you to get out.”

Lisveth turned on him. “Get out? Or what? Or you’ll walk two towns over to fetch the sheriff? The same sheriff who couldn’t handle the riffraff you needed us to get rid of?”

He scowled, lacking an effective answer to that.

Galen stepped back and scuffed his foot, drawing Lisveth’s attention back to him. “Let it go. We’ll take half.”

“What’s that?” the baker called.

“We’ll take half,” Lisveth snapped. “And you can thank my soft touch of a partner for it.”

Purple

Pasiphae Jade smiled, amused by his hurry. “Don’t you think we might eat together? Discuss the kingdom and its affairs? Mend our friendship? We don’t know one another well, and I thought we might change that.”

Not even she pretended to believe her words, and Kayvin did not return her smile. “I don’t believe our friendship can be mended with a meal.”

“Our partnership, then. I don’t mind if you dislike that we must work together, but we must do it regardless.” She dipped her fingers into a proffered bowl and selected a small ball of baked dough. “And I have wanted to give you a gift, though my efforts have fared poorly so far. I thought we might talk about that, too.”

He exhaled. “I did not want what you sent.”

“I know. I was so disappointed in my gifts, because they disappointed you.” She took another bite and nodded toward the garden. “Don’t worry; there are consequences for failures. Would you care for some pork? It’s so tender; it’s the first of the season’s piglets.” She indicated the approaching servitor.

Kayvin turned toward the offered platter. The meat was white and moist, sprinkled with finely diced herbs. He selected a slice and glanced up as he lifted it. He jumped in his seat, nearly dropping the meat.

The woman holding the platter faltered, more visible in her posture than expression. Her face was too swollen to convey subtle emotion, her cheeks red and purple with bruising. Her lips were split and scabbed. She dropped her eyes from his gaze.

Kayvin stared.

“You remember Fiera, don’t you?” Pasiphae Jade said, choosing a piece of fruit. “But perhaps you don’t recognize her, though it was only yesterday. You saw her so briefly, and of course she does not look quite the same.”

Lies

A local apprentice tries to hire Lisveth for a retribution job. She's explaining why it's both beneath her and dumb.

Lisveth shook her head. “I saw revenge would only continue the disaster they had started, and I refused to do their work for them. Instead, to balance the disaster, I wanted to do something great and heroic. I dreamed I’d save a town from a landslide just before it was buried, or fight away one last dragon from a guildhall, or something like that.” She shook her head. “But I don’t have that kind of magic. All I’m really good at is lies. And lies are never going to save the world.”

Confused, he frowned. “I don’t care—”

"Shut up. My wanting to do something heroic, wanting to save a thousand lives, that was another kind of revenge. And it wasn’t any more possible than the first kind, and it still wouldn’t have changed what had already happened. Saving a thousand lives won’t undo a thousand deaths, and breaking another man’s arm won’t make you any better at turning a lathe. You need to learn that early.”

“You’re not so much older than me.”

“I am; I’m just prettier. As I was saying, then I was lucky enough to meet someone who could talk me into something else. I've realized I can’t be a great hero, and I can’t do anything to change what’s already been done.”

He started to stand from the bench. “I don’t see how any of this matters to my—”

“Sit down!” she snapped. “I’m not saying this for your benefit. I’m saying this because I need to say it, and I’m saying it to you because I can’t tell anyone whose opinion I care about.”

He blinked as he worked through this.

Lisveth continued speaking over his confusion. “I’ll never make a great difference. But I can make a small difference, again and again, and that’s worth more than a silly dream of stopping a landslide. That will do more to correct the broken world than my best revenge.” She waved her hand in a lazily derisive gesture. “I know you don’t understand. Pray you’re fortunate enough to never understand.”

He screwed up his face and delivered his best dismissal. “So you think you’re a tiny hero, now? A savior of small things?”

Lisveth leaned over the table. “Even on my tiniest day, I am still not the hero of taking up a shopboy’s petty fight in a village bar for scraped together spare change. If you can’t be enough of a man to admit someone else’s skill, then at least be a big enough boy to have your own tantrums.” She gestured with her drink, sloshing. “Go.”

Coward

Galen has just survived a fireball and is drawing reasonable but incorrect conclusions.

That would make sense. It was a gift from magicians, who wielded magic against one another. It could not have helped him against the guard Ned, who had offered purely physical threat. But the fire, the magical conjured fire, had rolled over him like a wave and left him unburned.

If this were true, then the sorceress could not harm him. He stared at it, his mind working at the realization. And if she could not harm him, he could be the one to bring her down. He could avenge the caravan’s fallen and win honor for himself. And he needed honor; he had fled, had run like a terrified rabbit, had not even thought of what he was doing. He couldn’t return to San as he was now, without any explanation but his cowardice. But if he returned with the captive Fire Brigand, it would be different. And surely there was a bounty for the Fire Brigand? He could gain wealth and renown, and he could make San proud of him.

He squeezed his fingers about the amulet until the twisted wires pressed grooves into his skin. How foolish of his uncles to argue over the thing when it was of no use to them, could never be of use to them. The Heel had not faced magical danger in generations. But now Galen, son of the Heel, could use it once more to make the world safer.

Thanks for the tag! These are all from my in-progress epic fantasy series The Poet's Eye.

I'm tagging @iamtheshriekingguineapig, @avaantares, and @amarawraith, with the words none, unbelievable, blister, and sweet.

[darkpoisonouslove]

I couldn’t decide whether to put these in alphabetical of numerical order, so I chose neither! Anyway, 11 for reluctant allies, 2 for CoL breakfast my beloved, 5 for domme AU, 9 for GxF enemies to lovers, and 10 for a WIP of your choosing 😊

Whatever works for you :D

11. Is there any scene you can't wait for people to react to when reading? Why? - reluctant allies AU

I'm going to have to go through a couple other scenes briefly first to explain the context of the one.

It's the portion of the story where Griffin is working with the Company but things are shaky with them because she and Valtor do have the habit of disappearing together (to make out) and things are shaky with Valtor because he feels that she's trying to earn the Company's trust way too hard. They are for once present in a battle with all of the other Company members and Valtor seizes his opportunity to kill Faragonda but Griffin saves her life and gets injured in the process. The Company extracts from there before anyone has a chance to react and Griffin heals slowly. The big development is that the Company now trust her because they are sure Valtor will never forgive her for what she did and she recognizes that fact as well so she has incentive to remain faithful to them and their cause.

Griffin sneaks out to meet Valtor and do damage control there. She explains to him that what she did wasn't out of remaining feelings of friendship for Faragonda but out of the necessity to earn the Company's trust. It's less trust in her than it is trust in his vindictiveness but if he remains mad at her now, he'll be doing exactly what they all expect of him. This is the perfect opportunity for him and Griffin to act without anyone suspecting them. Valtor concedes to her point but she can tell there's still indignation in him about her failing his plans to kill Faragonda. Still, they are on track with their plan so she'll have to deal with that later, when they've gotten what they're after.

However, when Griffin comes back to the Domino royal palace, Faragonda is waiting for her, fully aware of where exactly Griffin was. She is not fooled like the others and asks Griffin to leave. The argument pokes at Griffin's insecurities about her relationship with Valtor but she also figures out that Faragonda is hoping Griffin will leave because she herself cannot make herself expose her to the others and possibly put Griffin's life in danger. She still clings to her love for Griffin. Griffin uses that against Faragonda by pointing out (indirectly) that the situation with her and Valtor is the same. She challenges Faragonda to choose Hagen over her so as to lead by example. But if she does choose him and gives up on Griffin, how can she ask Griffin to choose her with a clean conscience? It's a Catch 22.

I can't wait to see people reacting to this purely for the angst factor. There's just so much juicy drama going on here and I want the readers to suffer with me. XD But this is also a really good representation of the balancing act Griffin (and Valtor but to a lesser degree) has to do to keep control of the situation. Plus, I feel that it really outlines the problems in Griffin and Valtor's relationship that will not be solved by them getting rid of the Company and the Coven, that they will have to consciously acknowledge first and work on to fix (not that I have any idea how I'm supposed to get them there but that is a hot topic in Griffin's mind).

2. How did you get the idea to write this? - CoL trying to have one normal breakfast

Because of this post that was in turn inspired by SotLK (I've written some context in the tags there). I just started thinking about the last line of the post and how they probably never had one single normal breakfast and I decided that it would be really funny if I wrote a fic about the guaranteed chaos that these people would cause while simply trying to eat breakfast and that's how the idea was born. And then I tried to figure out what would be best as chapter 1 and, of course, my brain turned to the gold mine of angst that Griffin's first breakfast with the Company has to be.

5. Is there any scene you're excited about writing? - Domme AU

All of them? This would be so much easier to answer if I had one single scene completely fleshed out in my head but as it is, there are still bits and pieces missing from the story as a whole and the characterization.

Anyway, to answer this, I am definitely excited about the scene where they discuss Griffin moving in with him because it's a complete accident. They were not trying to discuss that in the least bit. Valtor was being an ass by challenging her to "commit" to being the Domme by spending even more time with him at his apartment, which is causing some technical difficulties for Griffin. They have a fight about which one of them is more unwilling to spend their time together at her apartment and Griffin blurts out that it would be much more convenient if she were living with him. Before she can take it back, he invites her to actually do it (which she practically already has). He had reasons for not asking her himself but if she's the one suggesting it? He'll totally grab the opportunity. Griffin is not entirely sure this is a great idea but she'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about it (obsessively). They are so stupid, Your Honor.

9. Is there anything in the fic you're not so excited about writing? - Griffin x Faragonda Enemies to Lovers AU

If we don't count the fact that I'm still mad this is even a WiP and we don't count all the stuff that I have yet to come up with in order to actually complete the storyline, it'd have to be the transition between chapters 1 and 2. It's pretty much the beginning of ch 2 that's the problem because I have to summarize what's happening and at the same time I have to convey the emotional impact of that time so I don't love this mix. Especially because the end of ch 1 is supposed to be somewhat cathartic but that still doesn't change the fact that the circumstances are very much working against Griffin here and her emotions are conflicting at best if not downright depressing at worst despite the relief she might be feeling as well. I didn't really spend much time thinking that through when outlining it, though, so it might just be that I wasn't paying close attention to what emotional payoff/buildup needs to happen there. I'll definitely have to revise it.

10. If unpublished, can you show a sneak peek of what you've written?

Fallen Love is the only WiP that has any text not formatted like a script so I'm going to give you an excerpt from that. I have actually added more to it since last time!

She had forgotten there was another side to his power. Only the taste of his volatile spells that singed and curdled the breath in her lungs lay heavy and bitter like ash on her tongue, prickled her nose and eyes like acrid smoke. But his Dragon Fire caressed her skin from inside now like sun rays, light and warmth infusing her flesh to repair all damage. She moaned into his mouth, appreciation and greed tangled into the sound.

Valtor felt generous enough to reward her for it. His fingertips mapped out a path for the magic – all the way to another hidden bruise at her shoulder blade. He’d gleaned its existence from her movements alone.

A gasp broke her away from his lips. Her eyes snapped open to find his locked on them. There was a hair’s breadth of space separating them and it hurt worse than the brute force of a spell-charged body plowing into her but he wasn’t in a hurry to remedy that.

Instead, his thumb brushed over her lips to erase even the cracks the cold had carved into them. A single blemish left on her–from the most indirect of spells the Coven had cast–was yet another reminder that she’d left his side. They wouldn’t have dared to touch her otherwise. He would have killed all of them for simply looking at her wrong.

She could let herself be flattered, leave herself to the arousal of being worshiped in blood – like a goddess. Now that she was dry again, the slickness dripping down her thighs was cutting, a flood that would have swept her away if not for the tear stains on her cheeks he’d missed. It would have cost him nothing to sacrifice the whole world to her but the blood she had spilled, the blood that had stained her hands and the inside of her mind had meant something. She could fight her own battles.

She reached for his vest, unsteady hands feeling up the way to the clasps. The metal yielded instantaneously, practically breaking under her touch. It would have easily melted in the whirl of swift, sizzling spells that he’d known he’d be walking into. It was too frail to be anything but a mockery.

Battles between them had been more frantic–lethal–during the last months, with more blood shed and more scars left that time and magic couldn’t erase. Enchanted armor had become daily wear, a habit even he had adopted. He had changed before he’d come to find her, when the threat had been neutralized, and it hadn’t been enough. He had to twist the knife further, make a show of how untouchable he was to her magic and any desire she kindled inside him. He could afford to help her when she wasn’t in the state of mind to make use of either.

Her fingers curled, hooked themselves into the silk of his shirt and phased right through it. Her nails dug flaming scratches into the skin underneath, revealed further by the fraying fabric. Strips of it shed off his torso and withered into nothing midfall. The raining buttons never hit the floor, instead dissolved into the waves of her magic splashing against the walls. Any other piece of clothing obstructing her access to his naked body would share the same fate. Nothing would come between their skin until she allowed it.

She had assumed he’d heal the angry red lines she left in her wake. A strangled grunt escaped her when his power lodged itself between her ribs, burrowed into the scar tissue there to stitch the old wound anew until there was no trace left of it.

She could have done that herself. It had been a deep but not fatal injury. Received in a battle entirely removed from Valtor and the Coven. Sometimes the seemingly unconnected thefts over the dimension happened to be just that – independent magic users seeing an opportunity in the rising panic and finger pointing. The sorceress she’d faced had breached her armor and had paid for her overzealousness with a life sentence. Griffin had kept the scar as a reminder of the change not just in her affiliations, but in her purpose as well.

In the blink of an eye, it was gone and Valtor’s fingers traced the next one.

P.S. I am going to include this here for absolutely no reason at all:

[chaotic-orphan]

As I was going to sleep, I was thinking about what Ambrose would do if there was another telepath out there. So I ended up making a character.

Her names Tyler, she’s kind of the opposite of him powerwise, her powers more about sharing emotions and feelings(sometimes subconsciously), coaxing damaged brains into healing(as she did with mentor in my story but they’re still not completely fine, they’re kind of spacey and disconnected from reality). She got rid of the pain they were experiencing but a lot of the damage was impossible to heal from.

She can shield herself and others so that people can’t sense them (kind of like Bella swan, tho I hate that movie with a burning passion.) She sometimes has trouble with the more practical stuff like making someone freeze or do what she wants(she just doesn’t have the right “I’m a god” personality to make it work)

She’s fifteen and right now, working non violent jobs. She interferes with Ambrose and kits “fight”, if you can call it that, which is how he finds out about her, she was under the radar before. I’ve got a whole little ominous scene where Ambrose kind of grins and says “ hello there, where might you be hiding” and kit is like “leave her the fuck alone” and he’s like “oh so she’s a girl” and kits like fuck I gave away too much.

She loves nature walks becuase they let her get away from all the thoughts and emotions, she can sense how many people are in a specific area, she gets overwhelmed sometimes by others pain, she loves ravens becuase for some reason, she can feel their emotions. Plus she just relates to being seen as scary even if you just want to play and hang out.

I’ve got this other scene where she’s tied up and Ambrose does his creepy little lifting her face with his hand and she leans into it and he’s like “…yeah, nobody wants to touch a telepath do they” and he means it mockingly but there’s a lil pain behind it.

And maybe he comes barging into her house becuase he hears theirs another telepath around, and he’s the only telepath in this city, who would dare. So he goes in, ready to battle, and finds this wide eyed kid clutching a raven plushie. And so he’s like “oh ok your the child of the telepath, where’s your parent, and her mom comes down and he starts to attack the mom and then Tyler panics and just whammies him with a telepathic attack

…yeah I have a tendency of making my own characters in others universes like a unwelcome house guest.

*furiously opening a new word document and copy and pasting this* no, no, no don’t mind me I would never steal a character like that whaaaattt?? Pffftttt no wayyyyy (/j)

I am not joking when I say I would read fervidly about Tyler if you ever wanted to write those scenes — though I couldn’t accept them as canon unfortunately, but I really, really love that idea — I cannot spoil the coming arc but there is so much I just want to tell you rn, but all will be revealed soon👀👀

I would love to read about Tyler and seeing Ambrose being scared by a girl makes me so happy inside because he absolutely would have to control this child. And then also her helping Mentor through Ambrose’s madness… my heart is breaking a little at her. Absolutely Kit would be like a protective older brother to her and fight tooth and nail against Ambrose to protect her.

I love, la-la-la-la-love this so much!!! I think it would be a great read and I love her already!!! She would be a perfect foil for Ambrose with her love and light, while he knows hate and darkness — incredible!!! If you do end up writing anything about her, please tag me🙏🙏

[bluginkgo]

Yes hullo hullo I'm here yet again lol ^_^

I had to think hard for this one! Cause you do bring up a really good point, why didn't Doll just implode V like she did with these two.

Looking away from the absolute solver being present for the moment, I think here it's just pure vengeance. The mentality of, I will inflict the same amount of pain you have inflicted on me. It's fair to maul and destroy you as much as you destroyed what was dear to me.

Now, as for the absolute solver, you're also right! DDs have the os string for absolute solver, and admin CYN blocks it from fully corrupting them. And it pretty much is a more tame version of absolute solver, like you said. But that might be because a lot of it blocked by admin CYN too (guess we'll see if we get an answer in ep7 or 8 ^^). Something I had to see for myself too, is how Doll fought. She did not use the absolute solver on V to inflict damage. Yes, she forced the memories of V killing her parents to remind her of what she did, but there was never physical damage caused to V directly by absolute solver like with the WDs. It was always a use of knives and blades to cut limbs one by one. It does make me wonder if maybe Doll got the same warning reading "like objects are non interactive" as she did with Uzi?

Another question that's starting to form in my empty head is why did Doll not question the warning further? It was a quick pace of events sure, try to get rid of Uzi with a knife oops that didn't work, ok let's use our super sick as hell powers, oop that didn't work either, ok knives again I guess. Idk, if I was in that position I'd question it a bit further- I mean, your god-like powers of literal object manipulation and forcing memories didn't work on a simple drone? Wut? How?

Then again, this all happened pretty quickly. Doll might not have questioned it if she wasn't quite herself (as in judgment clouded by revenge). But then I was thinking, Lizzy also betrayed her not even 5 minutes ago, and Doll spared her. So Doll is in enough sound of mind to still take mercy on Lizzy... but then again, she also killed 2 WDs sooooo it's a back and forth battle there.

I'm honestly not much of a theorist myself either. Just overthink things a bit too much and start making crackpot ideas! I love theories here on MD mostly cause people pitch in a hard to notice detail like you did, and then I get to go back and see it for myself again! Feel free to tag me into any theory, I love seeing all the ideas out there ^_^ (anyone can, honestly, I just struggle with keeping up to date sometimes 😅)

There's way better theorists out here in MD tumbr tho, @absolute-solver, @haastera, @magmythedevil and MANY more (there's A LOT of people that have much better heads on their shoulders than I do, I'm mostly crackpot ideas type of person ^_^)

So we all know this means that someone with solver can’t use solver on someone who already has it. Pretty obvious right? Well, why didn’t Doll just twist V’s head off when she was hanging out with Lizzie, or as soon as she got on stage? Because V also has the solver, duh, we know that. I feel like it’s probably more of a like.. ‘tame’ version? They (DD’s) can’t use powers like the workers can, but they regenerate among other things.

Solver users can’t use their powers to physically damage same-type users, but they can inflict memories and mental damage. V was clearly in pain when Doll initiated that memory sequence.

Know this is all obvious and stated but, I just like to think about it. I’m not really a theorist or anything but I like noticing the small things and putting it together with other things.

I love @bluginkgo’s page and the stuff they talk about, I was genuinely surprised when they saw the Uzi coughing up blood post and replied to it with their stuff. Was super excited one of my favorite theorists/chatters about MD noticed a post I did!

[yellowflowerbub]

a new perspective on things

꒷︶ ̇ ̟ ෆ ‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿ ෆ ̟ ̇ ︶꒷

summary. asking a would you rather question to the first years

wordcount. 0.8k+

pairing(s). itadori x reader

tag(s). no romance, deep conversation, stubborn nobara, megumi and nobara argue, fluffy, angst if you squint

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Would you rather have no curse or be able to pick it?" You ask.

"Probably pick it if I'm being honest." Nobara lies on your bedroom floor. The beanbag behind her holds up her head as she files her nails, blowing them ever so often to rid of the dust that formed from it. Also on the floor, Megumi sat with his legs crossed and his arms behind him. “And what would that be?” 

“Yeah, spill. I’m curious.” 

“I don’t think I’d change much. Just buff a couple of my moves.” 

Itadori sat in a chair by your desk with his knees hugged to his chest, “Wouldn’t that use up more energy?” He genuinely asks . 

“No. I picked it, remember. What I say goes so for all you know, my attacks use no cursed energy.” She says matter of factly.

Megumi’s brows furrow, the irritation now being evident in his tone, “Then you're not going to do any damage to curses.” Nobara pauses and looks at the progress on evening out her nails then glares at the boy in front of her. “My curse, my rules.”

“That's not how that works. Just because you picked out your curse, it wouldn’t magically change the laws of sorcery.”

“Ok then I’ll change the laws of sorcery.” She huffs.

“That was never an option!”

“It is now.”

You leave the other two to bicker as you turn towards Itadori who was already looking at you, “What about you, Yuuji?” 

“Me? Well um, probably no curse.” You raise your eyebrows in surprise, having not expected the answer. 

“Why?”

Itadori lets his legs stretch out in front of him and ponders for a moment, in that time you begin to regret having asked in the first place. You knew no one that had a positive connection to their curse, in most cases they thought of it as a real curse- something that followed and loomed over them, a bad omen that gave them power to view the world in an unfiltered lens, one that many would rather live in ignorance than live amongst. For that moment, you thought Itadori to be one of those people too until he spoke, “I would get to go back to my old school. I… used to be in a cool club there.” 

You hum, “What kinda club was it?”

“Well, it was a Occult Reaserch Club but we would just fuck around with cool shit we’d find around the school grounds.” He spoke like he was reminiscing on his time there, like some old man talking about his youth, “It was me and two other people in the club who were just about my only friends I had at the time. Although we didn’t really do much but sit and talk I still think about them a lot. Even if I’d gotten to pick my curse I would’ve ended up here anyway so if I had to sacrifice my ‘power’ for another chance to safely be there again, I would do it in a heartbeat.”

“That’s so sweet.” You coo. He pouts a bit and dismisses it saying that anybody would say the same thing but thanks you anyway. 

“And you?” 

“Me?”

He giggles, “Well, yeah. You asked the question. Unless you don’t wanna answer! You don’t have to-”

“No it’s fine.” You also take some time to think. Now that you’ve been asked about it you realize how difficult it was to decide on. No curse would mean your old life, you’d move back with your family and live how you planned on while you were there. 

“Choose it.” 

Yuuji twists the brown hair on the back of his neck, “Why?” 

“I think I’ve grown to like my life here more than I did back home. I mean like, originally it was hard because I knew I would feel out of place as soon as I got here and I did for the most part but, I’ve got friends that make me feel a bit more in place if you know what I mean.” You explain, “For all I know I could’ve been hating my life back home right now so I’d rather be as content as I am here.”

He nods, “I see what you mean. You guys are really special to me too.”

“Itadori!” Nobara is fully sitting up now, her nail file discarded behind her and a mean scowl over her face, “It wouldn’t be my fault if one of the elders ended up falling into a coma right?”

“No, I don’t see why it would be-”

“That’s not what you said! You said that you would bring them a special grade and have them fight!”

“Same difference. I’m not the one actually hurting them, am I?”

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

a/n: a wip from like a year ago i decided to finish

Feedback and Reblogs are Appreciated!

[thetravelerwrites]

Bashir (Troll) Lemon

Rating: Explicit Relationships: Female Human/Male Troll (World of Warcraft Design) Additional Tags: Exophilia, Monster Boyfriend, Troll, Fake Dating, Hired Boyfriend, Fake Boyfriend Content Warnings: Stalker Ex-Boyfriend, Stalking, Mention of Guns, Brief Violence Series: OkCryptid Words: 6365

A commission for @floral-and-fine​​! A woman getting out of a bad relationship has moved across her home state to get away from her controlling ex-boyfriend, only for him to show up at her job. Scared, she goes on OkCryptid to recruit a "boyfriend" in hopes of frightening him off. Please reblog and leave feedback!

The Traveler's Masterlist

>Hi. I know we don’t know each other and this is pretty sudden, but I have a proposition for you, and it isn’t what you think.

Vague, yes, but it would catch his attention quickly enough, you thought. You were desperate and didn’t know what else to do.

>Oh, He messaged not long after. >What would that be?

>I want to pay you to go out with me for a while.

>I’m not a prostitute. Lol

>That’s not what I mean, You replied, rolling your eyes. >I know this sounds weird, and if I had more money I’d probably just hire a bodyguard, but I don’t.

>Why would you need a bodyguard?

You sighed. >I have a stalker ex-boyfriend. I dated him for about five months, but he was really possessive and crazy so I broke it off, and now he won’t leave me alone. I moved here last month from across the state and he followed me. He showed up at my work today.

>Ah, I see. So you want me to rip his arms off?

>No, I just want him to see me with someone who is big enough to rip his arms off. Maybe it’ll scare him away. You’re the biggest guy I could find on here. Well, I did find a cyclops that was pretty big, but she wasn’t interested.

>Have you gone to the police about this?

>Yeah, but they said unless I get proof he has intent to do harm, there’s nothing I can do. I can’t even get a restraining order unless he hurts me or causes property damage. It’s like he has to beat me up before they’ll do anything, and I’d rather not let it get that far.

>Gotcha. Why don’t we don’t meet for coffee tomorrow and talk it over?

>That sounds great. I’m free at lunch.

>Me too. I’ll meet you at Leo’s Diner, you know that one?

>No, but I can Google it. See you tomorrow at 11.

Bashir arrived right on time at eleven the next morning. He was a large troll, dark blue in color, with large, off-white tusks jutting out from the sides of his mouth and his long red hair braided in several placed and pulled back at the nape of his neck. He was muscular, thick in the waist, and around nine feet tall. He wore a suit, which was finely tailored to his body. You raised your eyebrows: his profile was sparse, so you didn’t know what kind of job he did; you’d only chosen him because of his picture. But dressed like that, you were surprised he even agreed to take this “job.”

“Hi, you’re the one I’m supposed to meet today, right?” He said, extending his hand.

“Yes,” You replied, standing and shaking his hand. Your hand was dwarfed in his. “Thanks for agreeing.”

“It��s no trouble,” He said, gesturing for you to sit back down as he took a seat opposite you. “So tell me about this boyfriend of yours.”

“Ex-boyfriend,” You said. “His name is Jake. I met him at work; we worked in the same department. He seemed nice, so when he asked me out, I didn’t think anything of saying yes. The first two months was fine, and were got along really well. As soon as we decided to be exclusive, he got really clingy really quickly. Every time I’d try to pull away, he’d clutch at me tighter. He started pressuring me to put distance between me and my friends, he wanted to know where I was all the time, he was constantly texting and calling and got mad when I didn’t respond right away. I got sick of it and broke up with him.”

“When did the stalking start?”

“Almost immediately. It didn’t help that we still worked in the same department, so I had to see him every day. He’d show up at my house after work and on the weekend. He’d either be super angry and demand that I let him in, or he’d be there with flowers and candy and cry and tell me that I was the best thing that ever happened to him, that he was sorry and he’d do better. He kicked my door in a couple of times and I had to call the police. I finally managed to get a restraining order against him, but it didn’t really help. He couldn’t come within five hundred feet, so he would stand on the curb exactly five hundred feet from my house and just watch the house. I was scared for my life. So I quit my job and moved across the state with just my savings. I found a job and I started last week. And yesterday, they said I had a new client, and it was him.”

“What did you do?”

“I freaked out and called security, telling them I had a restraining order against him. He mistakenly thinks the restraining order is void because I moved, but I called and that’s not the case at all.” You sighed in aggravation. “I really hope this asshole doesn’t get me fired.”

“Hmm,” He said. “So what’s your offer?”

“Hmm?” You asked.

“You said you’d pay. What’s your offer?”

“Oh,” You said, surprised. “Uh, fifty bucks per date, plus the date expenses. I can’t really afford more than that.”

“That sounds fair. Okay,” He said. “I’ll do it. You just tell me when and where and I’ll be there.”

“Really?” You replied. “You’ll take the job?”

“Sure,” He said. “I’ve got some free time, and the extra money will be nice. I could buy a new suit in a month.” He grinned and plucked at his own, no doubt worth several months of dates.

“That’s great, thank you,” You said, sighing in relief. “So, Friday night? Around six o’clock? Would that work?”

“Absolutely,” He said, pulling out his phone. “Give me your phone number. I’ll add it to my contacts. That way, if you see him, you can call or text and I can head over and do the arm ripping thing.”

You laughed and took out your phone.

After exchanging information, the two of you had lunch and discussed the finer points of the job. PDAs were acceptable, but you’d prefer if he didn’t kiss you. He had a nine-to-five job, just like you, but his position was flexible and let him leave the office for errands, as long as he didn’t abuse the privilege. You left the lunch feeling a little safer.

Friday night, you met him at a nice Greek restaurant, and he wore another nice bespoke suit. He offered to pick you up at your home, but you didn’t really want him to know where you lived. You were still pretty paranoid about Jake finding out.

“I’m surprised you chose this place, considering you’re footing the bill and everything,” Bashir said, looking around. “It’s pretty fancy.”

“It has to look believable,” You reasoned. “And I do like Greek food. If you like, you can pick the place next time.”

He chuckled. “Have you ever had Mediterranean troll food?”

“No, I haven’t,” You said, interested. “What’s it like?”

“It’s very similar, except there’s no bread of any kind.”

“So what do you eat the hummus on?”

“You drink it like sauce.”

“You’re not supposed to drink sauce!” You protested.

He snickered.

“I feel like you’re making this up.”

“Maybe, but you’ve never met any Mediterranean trolls, so you don’t know.”

“Are you a Mediterranean troll?”

“I am, actually,” He said. “My parents came over from Morocco when I was a tot. I don’t remember much about Morocco, but I’ve always dreamed of going on a trip there, I’ve just never had the chance.” He gave a cursory look over the menu. “Maybe that’s what I’ll use this money for.”

“Sounds nice to me,” You said. “If we both get something good out of this, then that’s a plus.”

“What do you get out of this, other than getting rid of a bothersome ex?”

“Security and peace of mind,” You said, picking up your own menu. “That’s worth the price.”

He looked at you seriously. “This guy really shook you up, didn’t he?”

You set the menu back down and sighed. “He’s never hit me or threatened me verbally. The most he’s ever done is break my door, but…” You looked out of the window. “I feel like… it wouldn’t be hard, you know? It wouldn’t be that much of a leap from breaking my door in to doing something worse. If he gets mad enough, if he gets obsessed enough, who knows what he could do. All I know is that I don’t want to find out.”

“I understand,” He said. “I’ve never had to deal with something like that, because… well, look at me…” He gestured at his massive body. “But I do know people who have, and it sounds terrifying. I’m glad I can help, even if I am getting paid to do it.”

You smiled. “Well, it helps that you’re good company.”

“You don’t have to flirt with me, you know,” He teased. “That’s not part of the deal.”

“I will throat-punch you,” You said with a grin, and he laughed.

The next date was the following Saturday, and he chose to go to a concert. He wore a black v-neck shirt and a pair of black slacks, which was as dressed down as you’d seen him, but still very business-casual. It was a showcase of up-and-coming local bands, and they were all pretty good. You didn’t know that he liked Djent and progressive metal, too, but you were happy to have a common interest.

In truth, Bashir was pleasant to be around, and you were relieved that this entire thing wasn’t as awkward as it could have been. It definitely helped make this “dating” business look real from an outsider perspective. He held up his end of the bargain really well over the next dozen dates, holding your hand and putting an arm around you as if it was perfectly normal to do so. Thankfully, it didn’t make you feel uncomfortable when he did it, as he was very warm and the height difference meant he couldn’t be too cuddly naturally. You hoped that if Jake was watching, he believed you’d moved on and had no thoughts for him.

Unfortunately, if he was watching, he didn’t take the hint.

One night, as you were turning off lights and getting ready for bed, you looked out of your bedroom window and there he was, standing on the curb across the street, Jake stood in the shadow of a tree, vaping, and looking toward your house.

Panicked, you didn’t your best to stay calm while you were at the window, not wanting him to know you had seen him, but as soon as you walked away, you turned off the bedroom lights, snatched up your phone, dashed downstairs, and frantically checked the windows and doors, making sure they were all locked.

You meant to call the police, but instead, you dialed Bashir’s number. He answered immediately.

“What’s up?” He asked, sounding caught off guard. You weren’t surprised, you never called or texted him unless it was about the next “date.”

“Jake’s outside,” You whispered. “He’s across the street, I’m looking at him right now from my living room window.”

“Are you sure it’s him?”

“I’d recognize that stupid snakeskin vape box anywhere,” You said.

“Okay,” He said. “I’m heading over. Stay on the phone with me until I get there. Do you have a landline?”

“Yeah,” You replied.

“Get it and call the police. Don’t tell them he’s stalking you because, well frankly, they won’t care. Say you’re a concerned member of the neighborhood and there’s a suspicious man hanging around outside and you’re worried about a break in.”

It wouldn’t have been a lie. “Okay,” You said, picking up your cordless phone.

After calling the police, you waited with your heart in your throat, listening to Bashir get into his car and drive. He’d heard you tell the operator your address. He arrived before the police did, his vehicle a nondescript SUV, and he got out wearing sweat pants and a tank top and pulled a duffel bag from his passenger seat. He didn’t acknowledge Jake at all, simply walked up to your door and knocked. You went to open the door for him.

“Hug me and kiss my cheek,” He said in a low undertone. Gulping, you did as he said with him turning so that your display of affection was clearly visible to anyone watching from the street. You let him in and closed the door behind him, locking it.

“What now?”

“Let’s turn on the lights and make some coffee while we wait for the police,” He said.

“Okay,” You said, your voice shaking. You went to go into the kitchen but he stopped you by taking your hand.

“Hey,” He said gently. “You’re going to be okay. I’m here, and the police are coming. You’re safe.”

Tears came to your eyes and you nodded, wiping them. He released you and you went to the kitchen, putting a pot of coffee on.

The police arrived. You and Bashir watched covertly from the breakfast nook. Eventually, Jake walked to a car and got in it, driving away. The police followed him.

“They let him go?” You asked, worried.

“Well, they may not have know he has a restraining order, and even if they did, he looked plenty far away enough to not have violated it. He wasn’t breaking any laws other than loitering, so they couldn’t arrest him. At least they made sure he left.”

You held your head in your hands. “God, I don’t want to have to do all this over again.”

“It’s okay,” He said. “I’ll stay the night to make sure he doesn’t come back tonight.”

“What about tomorrow? Or the next day? You can’t be here all the time,” You said, your voice shaking.

He sighed heavily. “Do you know how to use a gun?”

You scoffed in disgust. “I don’t want a fucking gun.”

“Okay,” He said. “Then, I’ll put up a security system. I brought one with me; it’s in my bag. I’ll set it up tonight while he’s not here.”

“It’s late,” You said weakly.

“Do you want to sleep or do you want peace of mind?” He asked you levelly.

You scrubbed your face, took a deep breath, drained your coffee cup, and stood up. “Okay. Let’s do it, then.”

It took a few hours, but he managed to get several security cameras fixed to the building, focused on entryways and the front and back yards. You helped him by holding the equipment and tools for him as he worked, handing up what he needed as he needed it. By the time the two of you were done, it was three a.m. and you both had to be at work in mere hours.

The two of you fell into an exhausted sleep on your bed. You didn’t even have the energy to be affronted by the fact that you were sharing a bed with him. The next morning, before he left to go home and get ready for work, he downloaded the security camera app onto your phone and showed you how to use it.

You went to work, checking your phone surreptitiously to see if Jake was outside of your house. So far, he hadn’t reappeared.

>Today’s Friday, You texted him. >I know you’re probably tired after last night, but do you want to have a date today?

>What about a home date at my house? He replied. >I’ll cook dinner and everything. I don’t want you to be at your house at the moment.

>I can’t argue with that, You said in return. >Sounds good to me. What are you cooking?

>I was thinking a kefta meatball tagine with couscous on the side, and a snake pastry for dessert.

>That sounds amazing. Thanks for putting me up. I know this all is a huge inconvenience, and I really appreciate it.

>It’s no problem,” He said. >It’s what I’m getting paid for, right?

You sighed. Well, this wasn’t exactly what he was getting paid for. How much would an overnight stay cost you?

He sent you a message with his address and you went home after work to shower and pack a small overnight bag. You snickered, pulling out your pretty underwear and a sexy negligee, wondering if you should pack this, too, before putting it away and just throwing some pajamas in your bag.

Checking the cameras before stepping outside, you left the house and hurried to your car, heading to Bashir’s house. His place was a two-story, bungalow style house with a dark brown cliffstone brick pattern and a detached garage. It was charming, and a lot cuter than your tiny yellow ranch-style house. The yard was well kept and three were full flowerbeds next to the wide porch. You wouldn’t have imagined he lived in a place like this.

You knocked on the door and he answered it quickly, wearing a comfortable t-shirt and pair of tight jeans. You tried not to stare, but it was difficult. His clothes left very little to the imagination. His hair was also down and cascaded down his back and shoulders.

“Come in, come in,” He said, taking your bag for you.

“Thanks,” You said. “Your house is really pretty.”

“Oh, thanks!” He said. “It was actually condemned when I bought it. I basically had to rebuild it from the ground up. I’m not quite finished with it yet, but I’m happy with the progress.”

“You should be, it’s amazing,” You said. “I’d never have guessed it was a fixer-upper.”

He grinned at you, showing off his sharp teeth. “Come on, dinner will be ready soon.”

“It smells great,” You said, inhaling the savory smell of lamb and vegetables.

“All my mom’s recipes,” He replied, heading into the kitchen. “She owns a restaurant three towns over.”

“I’ll have to go and visit it sometime,” You said.

“Maybe I’ll take you myself one day,” He said, smiling as he stirred the couscous. Your heart fluttered a little.

How long were you going to have to keep this up? “Dating” Bashir was fun, but it wasn’t going to last forever. Either Jake would give up or get arrested, so either way, it would be over. Maybe you could stay friends. He was nice enough, and you enjoyed hanging out with him. But still… why was he talking about things that might happen in the future if there was no future for the two of you?

Dinner was delicious, and so was dessert, and afterward the two of you went to the living room to watch a movie. He even put his arm around you, since the window was uncovered and anyone could look in, he said, and you felt comfortable enough to relax into his side. It almost did feel like a real home date.

After the movie, though, you both decided to sleep, since you were still tired from the night before. You decided that you were both adults and could share a bed without it being awkward, and besides, his bed was huge and could fit five of you easily. You both fell asleep almost immediately.

Sometime during the night, you got a ping from the motion detector on your phone, but when you checked the security system, it was just a raccoon in your trashcan. You sighed and put your phone down, rolling over.

Bashir was on his back, asleep, with his face turned toward you. He was breathing deeply and relaxed with one hand on his chest and the other on his stomach.

You couldn’t help but stare. He really was an attractive guy, and if circumstances had been different, you might have dated him for real. But… until Jake left you alone, you didn’t want to drag anyone else into it. Bashir didn’t have any emotional connection to you, so Jake couldn’t affect whatever “relationship” you had.

But maybe things could be different after? You weren’t sure. He hadn’t expressed any interest in you other than what he had to to make the job believable. He hadn’t been flirty or more affectionate than he needed to be. You couldn’t afford to develop feelings for Bashir, not right now.

Even still, you brushed your fingers gently against the skin of his arm, feeling the hairs that covered it, and followed the curve up to his hand, allowing yours to rest on top of his for a moment or two before retracting it and trying to fall asleep again, sighing heavily.

The next morning, Bashir recommended that the two of you spend the day together, to keep up the weekend stay appearance.

“How much is this ‘weekend getaway’ going to cost me?” You asked dubiously.

He laughed. “Don’t worry, today’s a freebie, since I suggested it. You still have to pay for last night, though. The normal fifty bucks is fine.”

“Mm-hmm,” You hummed flatly, fishing the money out of your wallet and handing it to him. “Well, what do you want to do?”

“Ah, it’s a freebie day, right? You get to choose this time.”

You smiled. “Well, let’s start with breakfast. I’ll cook it. I can cook breakfast blindfolded.”

“If you like,” He said, sitting at the bar in the kitchen and watching you putter around, looking for cooking tools.

After breakfast, you decided you wanted to go to the local botanical garden, which you hadn’t been to in some time.

“Your flowerbeds outside reminded me of this place,” You told him, walking slowly through the rows of Japanese maples. There was a beautiful and an extremely rare Chinese Red Maple behind a gate at the end of the row, the centerpiece of the garden. “Did you plant them yourself?”

“Yep,” He said with a smile. “I helped my dad do a lot of gardening when he was still alive. He had a landscaping business, but he was really passionate about it. I actually inherited the business. Gardening helps me keep his memory alive.”

“That’s really sweet,” You said, smiling softly. “Is that what you do for a living, the landscaping job? I’ve never actually asked what you do for work.”

“No, actually. I mean, I own the company, but I don’t work for it. My actual job is something else entirely.”

“What is it?”

He laughed. “Honestly, I don’t think you’d believe me.” Before you could ask, he took you by the hand and said, “Let’s take a break and get a coffee. I have to use the bathroom.”

“Okay,” You said, letting the subject drop. For now.

You got to the food court outside of the botanical gardens and sat down at the outdoor cafe.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” He said, putting some money down on the table. “Can you order me a large black coffee?”

“Yeah, sure,” You said. He smiled and headed off. You got up and put in your order, then sat back down at the table and opened the security app, looking through the cameras and checked to see if anything was out of place.

The chair opposite to you was pulled out and he sat back down while you were still looking at your phone.

“The coffee should be out soon,” You said.

“I didn’t order coffee,” A voice said. It wasn’t Bashir.

You jerked your head up and saw Jake sitting across from you. You stood up so fast that you knocked the chair over.

“Get away from me, Jake,” You said.

“Look, just talk to me,” He said, standing up and advancing on you. “Why won’t you just talk to me?”

“Get away from me!” You shouted. “Bashir!”

“Are you calling for that monster?” He sneered. “You could do so much better than him. Besides, you’re not even really dating him, you’re just paying him to keep you company, you slut. You think I wouldn’t figure that out?”

“Fuck you!” You back up. “Bashir!”

Jake was snatched back and slammed down onto the cafe table. Bashir had him pinned down with a single hand. It wasn’t hard to do: Bashir was almost twice the size of Jake in height and weight.

“Let me go!” Jake said, struggling against Bashir’s iron grip. “I’ll have you arrested! My brother’s a cop!”

“Ah, that explains how you got her address so quick,” Bashir said. “I don’t really care if your brother’s a cop. Actually, I think I do, I think an internal affairs investigation is warranted. Regardless, you’ve just violated a restraining order.”

“What does it matter to you?”

Bashir snorted. “I’m FBI, dickless.”

You gaped at him.

“Bullshit!” Jake said. “I’ll fucking sue you! I’ll ruin your fucking life!”

“Whatever you want, you’re still under arrest,” Bashir said, pulling out a set of handcuffs from an inside pocket of his jacket.

“You’re kidding,” You said slowly, staring at Bashir.

“I told you you probably wouldn’t believe me,” He said, grinning at you sheepishly. He jerked his head at his jacket. “My ID is in my pocket.”

You reached in and fished it out, opening the leather fold to reveal a… rather official looking ID and badge.

You laughed in disbelief. “You’re right, I wouldn’t have.”

The police arrived to detain Jake and took him to the station. Bashir drove you to the station, as well, so that you could make a statement.

Later, Bashir drove you back to your house.

“I’ll bring your bag over later,” He said. “He’ll probably get ninety days in jail for violating the restraining order, and hopefully you won’t have to deal with him anymore. Although, if you hear from him again once he gets out, let me know, and I’ll be here.”

“Thanks,” You said. “Really, thank you for everything.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Here,” He said, handing it to you. Inside was all the money you had given him for the dates, plus some. There had to have been almost two thousand dollars in there.

“But this is…”

He laughed. “I’m a federal official, you know. I can’t take bribes. I’d get fired.”

“This wasn’t…” You started, but stopped yourself. This could absolutely be seen as a bribe. “What do I do with all this?”

He shrugged. “Whatever you like. Go on a trip. Buy something nice. It’s your money, after all.”

You sighed a little sadly. “I guess this is it, then.”

He sighed, too. “Yeah, I guess so.” He leaned forward, bent down, and kissed you on the cheek. “Take care of yourself.”

Jake did end up getting three months in jail, which made you feel a lot better. You were worried that he would come after you, but the three months passed and when he was released, he moved clear across the country and you never heard from him again.

Finally free of him, you thought you might try actually dating again, but you could only think of Bashir. You and he had only spoken a few times, mostly him checking on you, but you hadn’t seen each other since Jake’s arrest. You missed him, but you couldn’t tell him that. He didn’t have any feelings for you, anyway. If he did, wouldn’t he have asked you out after Jake was out of the picture?

Even still, you wanted to see him again. So once Jake was gone, you texted Bashir.

>I have something for you, You told him.

>Oh? What’s that?

>I want to give it to you in person. Would it be okay to come over this weekend?

>I’m free now. Why don’t you stop by?

>Okay. I’ll be there soon.

Before leaving, you hesitated and decided to throw on your best, sexiest underwear. Just in case.

You arrived at his house to find him out in the front yard. He was digging a hole in the yard with a sapling sitting in a bucket, ready for planting. There were also stones and gravel he was going to use for a decorative barrier. He stood up and waved as you drove up into the driveway.

“Hey!” He said, pulling you into a hug. Well, as well as he could, being so tall. “It’s good to see you!”

“You too!” You said. “What kind of tree is that?”

“A Chinese Maple,” He said. “I got inspired when we went to the botanical gardens that time. It cost a pretty penny and I had to wait for the cutting to grow, but it’s finally ready to plant.”

“That’s so cool,” You said. “Can I help?”

“Really?” He said, grinning. “Yeah, sure! There’s a pair of gloves over there on the porch. They might be a little big, but it’s better than blisters.”

You ran to retrieve them, and picked up a trowel. “Why did you decide on the maple?”

“Cause it reminds me of you,” He said, digging. “When I look out my window every day and see it, I’ll think of you.”

Your heart beat faster, but you couldn’t look at him.

It only took about an hour to dig out the hole, plant the sapling, fill the hole with soil, lay the stones, and spread the gravel. Thankfully it was a cool day and you didn’t sweat too much. The two of you caught up on what had happened in the three months since you’d seen each other. You wanted to ask if he had started dating, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it.

“It looks great,” He said, standing back and grinning. “Thanks for your help! We got it done in record time. Let’s get cleaned up and have a drink.”

“Okay,” You said. “Let me grab my purse from the car.”

“Oh, right, you had something to give me, right?”

“Yep,” You told him, grabbing your bag.

He laughed. “Sorry I side-tracked you.”

“It’s fine, I had a good time,” You said. He opened the door for you and let you go into the house before him.

You went to the bathroom to freshen up and when you looked down, you realized your toothbrush was in the holder, the one you had forgotten when you’d stayed over. You had bought a new one and figured he’d just throw it away when he found it. Why had he kept it? Why was it in the holder with his?

You went back out into the kitchen and found him shirtless, water beading down the muscles of his back, and you stopped in the doorway, staring.

“Oh, sorry,” He said, laughing and throwing on a clean shirt. “Needed a quick wash. I felt a little grimy after the yardwork.”

“It’s okay,” You said, your heart still hammering in your chest.

“Iced tea?”

“Yeah, sure,” You replied, sitting at the bar. He poured you a drink and sat at the bar opposite you.

“So, what was the thing you had for me.”

You swallowed your tea a bit too hard and reached into your purse, handing him an envelope.

“This isn’t the money, is it?” He asked, smiling.

“No, it’s not money,” You said. “Open it.”

He grinned playfully at you, but it slipped from his face when he looked inside the envelope, pulling out two plane tickets.

“Morocco?” He asked, looking up at you in surprise.

You nodded. “Those are good for a year, so make sure you get some vacation time soon,” You said, anxious.

He stared at them. “There are two.”

“Yes,” You replied. “In case you wanted to take your mom. Or maybe a girlfriend or boyfriend or something.”

You kept your face as neutral as possible, but he was staring at you.

“The extra ticket is for you, isn’t it?” He asked softly.

You looked down and away. “If you don’t want me to go, that’s okay. You can take whoever you like. I just wanted you to have the trip you always dreamed of.”

He got up out of his chair, came around, and got down on his knees, so that he was face to face with you. He leaned forward and kissed you. It was firm and testing, and you responded, throwing your arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around you as well.

“I missed you,” He murmured against your lips.

“Why didn’t you ask me out?” You asked him, pulling back to look at his face.

“I thought you weren’t interested in a real relationship,” He said, pulling you against him. “If I had any inclination you did, I would have asked you out on the spot.”

“I thought the same thing,” You said. “I never expected you’d actually like me.”

“I do,” He said, kissing you again and standing up. “I like you very, very much.”

He walked you into his room and lay you down on his bed, stripping your clothes off your body.

“Pretty,” He said with a grin as he came across your lacy black underwear. “Did you wear this for me?”

You bit your lip and nodded.

“Well, it would be a shame to take it off so soon, then, wouldn’t it?” He said, palming your breasts over the fabric of your bra. He touched your slit over your underwear, and you gasped. You lifted your leg and rubbed him through his pants, and he grunted. You felt him harden under your touch. He was… uh… large.

You pulled off his shirt and ran your nails down his chest. He moved his hand away and pressed himself against you, still clothed, grinding himself into your clit, and you moaned. You reached for his belt and unbuckled it, unbuttoning it, and pushed his pants down with your toes. Because of his long tusks, he couldn’t bend down to kiss you in this position, so he picked you up as if you were a doll, kissing your body. You were always a little self conscious about your weight, being a big girl, but he seemed not to notice.

He lifted you all the way up to his face, kneeling down so that you weren’t so high up, and licked the cloth covering your slit, putting your legs over his shoulders and his tusks under your body. Using just his tongue, he moved your underwear out of the way and teased your clit. His tongue was long and thick. You whimpered and rocked your hips against his tongue. He pushed it in side of you and thrust it back and forth, and you writhed in his grip.

Carefully, he pulled you down and eased you into his lap, pressing himself against your entrance. You pressed your hands against his stomach and watched him disappear slowly inside you. He couldn’t go all the way in, but once he reached the back and knew where the limit was, he pulled back out slowly and thrust in again slowly, easing you into it. He must have had a similar size problem in the past and had learned how to overcome it in these situations. You were glad for it.

He lay you on the edge of the bed and pressed your knees back, thrusting a little faster, and you reached down and touched yourself, rubbing quickly as he sped up. He pulled the cups of your bra down so that he could grasp your breasts, squeezing gently, and grunted. You held his hand there with your own, pulling up your head and sucking on his pointer finger, looking up at him through your lashes. His breathing was erratic and he watched you hungrily, his sharp teeth biting into his lower lip and pricking the skin.

“I’m so close,” You moaned. “I’m going to cum.”

He nodded as if in agreement, squeezing his eyes shut. He grimaced as if in pain, but then shouted, roaring, and released inside of you. It was a torrent, spraying out of you. Another few hip thrusts and circles around your clit, you came too, your head thrown back against the bed, crying out.

He pulled out and turned his head, resting it against your stomach as his arms gripped your sides, breathing hard. After a moment, you both sat up, and you realized that his legs were covered with his own release.

“Wanna get cleaned up?” You asked him.

“Yeah,” He said dreamily, standing up and leading you into the bathroom. You took a shower together, helping him clean himself. He did the same for you, kneeling down and washing your body. The way he knelt in front of you combine with the way he looked at you, it almost felt like he was worshiping you. Honestly, you didn’t mind that at all.

Your underwear would have to be washed, but he said you could borrow one of his shirts, if you wanted to. Honestly, you were happy to lounge in his bed naked. He seemed happy with that, too.

“When would you like to go?” You asked him, laying on his chest and playing with his chest hair. “To Morocco, I mean?”

“Soon,” He said, entwining his fingers in your hair. “I’ll put in for vacation time as soon as I get back to the office. I don’t really take vacations, so I’m sure my colleagues will be surprised.”

You smiled and kissed his skin. “I’ll have to put in for time off, too,” You said. “Although, I only just started working there six months ago, so they may not approve it.”

“Let me know when they do and I’ll schedule for the same time,” He said.

“Sounds good to me,” He said, sitting up and crossing his legs, looking down at you. You posed a little for him and he grinned, running his hands up and down the soft skin of your torso and belly. “You know what I’d like to do right now, though?”

“What’s that?” You asked.

“I want to take you on a date,” He said, smiling softly. “A real one. I'll pay and everything. And I want to be able to kiss you.”

You smiled back at him. “Deal.”

Since my work is no longer searchable, please do me a favor and reblog this story if you enjoyed it. Help me reach a wider audience! To help me continue creating, please consider becoming a Patron or donating directly to my PayPal!

Thanks for reading!

My Masterlist

The Exophilia Creator’s Masterlist

[shoutaaizawas]

↳ pro!hero bakugou katsuki x reader → heal

summary: you’re bakugou’s best friend and work partner and you’ve been in love with him for years. after his girlfriend cheats on him you’re left to pick up the pieces.  tags/warnings:  hurt/comfort, fluff, angst with a happy ending, very minor injury (blood), cheating (not by bakugou or reader), unrequited love (spoiler but not really) word count: 3,804  a/n:  this was my first time writing any x reader. hope you guys enjoy it!

You loved Bakugou Katsuki. That was a fact that you had accepted a long time ago and you were now at peace with that. You had gone to school with him and once you both graduated you worked at the same agency. Your quirks were a good match so you had been working together ever since. When he started his own agency he took you with him.  

The thing is, you never told Bakugou that you loved him. He was always so focused you assumed that he wouldn’t want a relationship and frankly despite all the things you had accomplished you were self-conscious and it was hard to think Bakugou would ever settle for someone like you.

A few years ago Bakugou started dating. You could still remember the hurt that burned in your chest as you tried to play it off and tease him like everything was normal. You spent most nights crying yourself to sleep a few weeks after that day.

She was a civilian, who in your opinion was very unlikable. You knew it was petty and you should be more mature but there was something about her that felt off. You figured it was your jealousy. You recalled the time she had ended up in some trouble, you had been able to pull her to safety only. Not only did she not thank you but she gave you an attitude. You figured she didn’t like you because you spent so much time with Bakugou in and out of work. You could understand that to some degree but it didn’t hurt to pretend to be nice.

It was so much easier loving Bakugou from a distance when he was single, you could tell yourself that he would never date anyone or marry them and that being his best friend was the most anyone would ever have. If you could talk to him, joke with him, look after him from his side as a friend you were content.

With him dating the dull ache of unrequited love turned into a dagger in her chest, burning pain only intensified by any movement. You wondered if you should try dating around. Maybe you could find someone who liked you that you could fall in love with and forget about Bakugou. You never got around to it, every time you seriously considered it you thought it’d be unfair to whoever you dated. They deserved someone who truly loved them, not someone trying to put a bandage on a broken heart.

Last week you had caught Bakugou red-handed, a small velvet box in his pocket. Your heart dropped, you thought you had hit rock bottom but it turns out you could always go deeper.

“Is that what I think it is?” You asked, trying to play it off as teasing. You prayed he couldn’t hear the crack in your voice.

“Shut up, it’s none of your business.” He growled back but you knew it was just because he was embarrassed.

“I’m surprised I never saw you as the marriage type.” You tried to say in a nonchalant tone.

“We’re getting old. We have to settle down eventually.” He said. The words stung, you knew he meant them aimed towards himself but you couldn’t help the bile that rose in your throat. I would have settled down with you but now I can’t look at another man without comparing everything about them to you. Who could ever come close to the Bakugou Katsuki.

“Bakugou we’re twenty-six, we just barely became adults if we’re being honest.” You joked.

“Well, I don’t want to be an old parent.” He said, eyes scanning the streets for any trouble. Your heart dropped a little more.

You wondered if you were strong enough to stand by and watch the love of your life get married and have children with another woman. You wondered how long it would be until you had to find an excuse to move away.

“I’m gonna head home since patrol is over.” You said trying to keep your voice steady.

“You aren’t going back to the agency?” He asked giving you an odd look, sensing something off. You knew each other too well.

“No, I have plans later I need to get home fast. I’ll get my paperwork done tomorrow, boss.” You lied about the plans, you needed to get away fast.

It doesn’t get rid of the suspicious look on his face but he doesn’t question you further and you quickly make your exit, barely able to keep it together until you get out of sight. You duck into an alley as tears stream down your face.

You haven’t seen Bakugou today. That concerns you, he never misses work for anything. You can’t count how many times you’ve had to drag him home and force him into bed after he comes into work with a high fever. You make sure things are covered at the agency before heading over to his apartment. Your heart beats quick, he hasn’t replied to your texts. It’s hard to keep the worst-case scenario out of your head.

Knocking on the door to his apartment you get no reply. Pressing your ear to the door you can hear a commotion, fear grips you, and you almost kick the door down before your rational sense tells you to use the key he gave you.

Bakugou’s apartment is a war zone. Furniture is turned over, glass smashed across the ground. You can smell the familiar lingering scent of his quirk. You would have thought he had been robbed if it weren’t from the sound coming from the bedroom.

Opening the door to his bedroom it’s even worse in here somehow. Bakugou is currently smashing picture frames against the wall. It’s distressing to see him so upset and not have a clue what’s going on.

“Bakugou!” You shout hoping to get his attention but he’s blinded by his anger. You let out a huff of frustration before moving closer to him, grabbing his arm as he goes to slam the already mangled frame again.

You’re startled but not shocked as he turns around in the blink of an eye and grabs onto your bicep, fingers digging in you can feel your skin under his hand start to burn.

“Bakugou! Snap out of it!” You shout again. Recognition crosses his face and he looks a little more coherent. You’re waiting for him to say something but he drops to the ground like dead weight, his hands pressing into his palms. You kneel, careful of the glass on the ground.

“Bakugou? What happened?” You ask in a softer voice. He takes so long to reply that you wonder if he will answer.

“She cheated.” You can barely make out the words through his covered face.

“What?” You ask.

“She was cheating on me!” He yelled pulling his hands away, the anger returning. “She was cheating on me for months like it was some game. When I confronted her about it she didn’t even try to defend herself. She wasn’t even upset.”

“Bakugou, I’m so sorry.” Your heart is breaking but not for yourself, this time it’s for the man in front of you that looks broken. You realize that he has cuts all over his body from the damage done to the apartment. “C’mon.” You say holding your hand out to him.

He looks at you confused but takes it. You lead him to his bathroom, sitting him down on the edge of the tub. The first aid kit is under the bathroom sink, you had patched him up here before.

Returning to him you kneel on the ground in front of him. You begin cleaning the cuts that litter his arms, wiping up the blood covering his arms. You look up at him and his eyes look so empty as he stares at the ground past you. Your overwhelmed by the urge to take him in your arms but decide against it. No, you should patch him up first.

You put band-aids on the ones that need them and leave the smaller ones uncovered. You lean up so your eye level with him, he has a cut across his cheek. You’re careful as you dab at it with a cloth, he doesn’t react if it does hurt. You put a band-aid on it before looking him in the eyes, his gaze still on the floor.

It hurts you so much to see him like this, it breaks you. What you would give to have him insulting you about something dumb you did or yelling about how you left your coffee mug on his desk again. Anything other than the painful silence. You lift your hand and softly cup his unharmed cheek, his gaze slowly raises to meet yours. Your thumb gently strokes the skin there hoping that it will soothe him in any way he can be at the moment.

You finally lean forward and embrace him, pressing your face into his shoulder avoiding any of the cuts on him. Your arms circle around his torso and you squeeze him tightly. You wish you could hug him tight enough to put him back together. It takes a moment but he eventually rests his head against your shoulder and he returns the hug. His grip is tight on the back of your shirt and you know he’s trying to pull the broken pieces back together himself. I would do anything for you to make this pain stop, you think.

You don’t know how long you stay there, holding each other tight but eventually you decide you should leave. The last thing he needs is to be stuck in the apartment that he shared with his girlfriend, the one that was currently trashed.

“Let’s go to my place.” You offer. “You can stay as long as you want, you shouldn’t stay here.”

He nods and your stomach drops, normally he would protest even if he agreed with what you wanted to do. It made you feel sick that he gave in so easily. You nod back before standing up and going into his room. You grab a duffel bag and grab his clothes and other things he’ll need while away from his home. By the time you’re done, he’s standing there watching you wordlessly.

“Let’s go.” You say you take his hand in yours. You had known Bakugou for years and worked by his side for most of them, this wasn’t the first time you had held his hand but the conditions were usually different. Normally you were dangling off the edge of a building as he pulled you up or you were dragging him out of harm’s way.

Holding his hand now was different, you could actually take note of what it felt like. His hand was much larger than yours, the callouses on his hand rougher than your own. It was easy to pretend that the circumstances were different, that you were dragging him out of his apartment to your favorite place to grab dinner together instead of taking him home with you to help console him from what had happened.

The car ride is silent, he’s still processing everything that’s happened and you have no words to say. You know that he needs time to think about everything, you refuse to push him to talk. Growing up you had to if you ever wanted him to process his emotions but Bakugou had matured a lot as he grew up and you knew that when he was ready he would talk.

“Here, you can take a shower if you want or you can change into something less torn up.” You say as you press the bag of clothes into his arms. “I’m going to make us lunch.”

“I’m not hungry.” He says. His retort gives you hope that he’s beginning to return to himself and not the empty shell of person who sat on the edge of his tub.

“I doubt you ate breakfast, I know you probably don’t want to eat but I’m making food and you’re going to eat at least a little bit.” You say. He doesn’t argue again, he heads towards your bathroom needing no directions.

You’re glad that you went grocery shopping yesterday. Even more glad that you always make sure to keep the ingredients to make Bakugou’s favorite dish in your fridge in case of emergencies. Or him demanding that you make it for him, as he does at times.

He’s in the shower for a long time. You’re finishing up lunch and you’re about to go check on him when you hear the water stop. You’re plating up the food when he walks into the kitchen wearing a fresh pair of sweat pants and a black shirt. His eyes are red but you don’t comment on it. You shove the bowl of food in his hands.

“Extra spicy, just how you like it.” You tell him as you grab your food. “Let’s sit down.”

You sit down on the couch in your living room eating in silence. Despite his denial of being hungry his food is gone in minutes. You grab his empty bowl from him to take it to the kitchen but before you can get up his hand is grasping your wrist. You look at him and his gaze is on the mark he left on your bicep when you pulled him out of his rage.

“I’m sorry.” His voice is raw and the guilt is clearer than day on his face. He slowly reaches towards your arm, his thumb softly glides at the edge of the minor burn.

“It was an accident.” You tell him in the most genuine tone you can manage, he’s been through enough the last thing he needs is to feel guilty for this. “Besides, I can handle you.” You tease trying to lighten the mood. Your hand covers his own on your arm and you squeeze it to emphasize your point. His hand drops back to his lap after a moment and you leave for the kitchen.

When you return to the living room you see him sitting there, he looks less empty but more annoyed. You figure he’s had enough time to process most of his feelings.

“How did you find out?” You ask, testing the water. If he didn’t reply you’d know he wasn’t ready.

“She left her phone when she left for work, I grabbed it to give it to her before she got out of the building but I saw her notifications.” He said. Pain stings in your chest for him, you can’t imagine how upsetting that would be. “She came back for her phone and I confronted her.”

“What did she have to say?” You ask.

“She acted like she got caught sneaking a cookie before dinner, she barely even cared.” He said, anger returning to his tone. “She’s been with him for six months, she said that she was only ever with me for my money and status. She wanted someone she could brag about.”

“Bakugou,” You said putting a hand on his arm.

“I guess it’s only fair.” He scoffed. “I never loved her either. But I’m still pissed off she made a fool of me.”

“You didn’t love her?” You tried to keep your tone even but it comes out like an exclamation. “Bakugou, you were going to marry her!” You nearly shout. Had you really spend the last year suffering while Bakugou dated someone he didn’t even care about?

“No, it was just convenient.” He answered. “The person I loved, they would never want me. I figured I should just get over it and move on.” His gaze is on the floor.

Your sick again, he didn’t love his girlfriend but he loved someone else. You really couldn’t win, could you?

“Bakugou, why wouldn’t someone want you?” You ask. How could he believe that.

“I’m loud, angry, and rude.” He says. “I’m not good at relationships, I just screw everything up. She deserves someone who will make her happy not burden them with their crappy personality.”

“Don’t say that about yourself!” You scold him. “You’re an amazing man, you’re strong and determined. Even if you don’t show it like other people you care more than most people do about your friends. You would go to the ends of the earth to help them even if you don’t admit it. You’re the best hero I’ve ever seen. You’ve matured so much since we were in high school, you worked on yourself and became a better person. I’ve been by your side for years, don’t you dare say that you aren’t good enough. If anything, anyone you date will never be good enough for you. You’re the best man I’ve ever met, you deserve everything you want in the world.” You take a deep breath after your rant, it takes a moment to realize how much you spilled out.

His eyes are off the floor and he’s staring at you in shock. There’s something in his eyes you don’t recognize but he doesn’t say anything.

“Who’s the lucky lady?” You ask, trying to steel yourself for his answer. Whoever it was you would help him as much as you could to get their affections. It would kill you to watch him fall in love with someone else but more than anything you wanted to see him happy even if it cost you your own happiness.

“It’s you.” He says and the silence is deafening after his words. At first you think you misheard him. You feel dizzy at his admission. This had to be a dream, there was no way. “It’s always been you.”

“I-” You try to speak but there are no words. Your head is spinning, the world falling apart around you in the best of ways.

Bakugou moves slowly, one hand holding your face like it’s delicate glass, the other reaches behind you and pulls you softly to close the distance. He leans in, a breath in between you, you know he’s waiting for you to close the distance. To answer his confession without a word. Once your brain processes it all you lean in a little too excitedly almost knocking your forehead against his.

You move your arms around his shoulders as your lips meet.

With one action the dagger in your chest is suddenly gone and the pain there melts away. You feel like you’re submerged in warmth, laying in a grassy field in gentle sunlight. You kiss him until your lungs can’t take it anymore. As you part you stare into his eyes, they’re filled with so much warmth and love it makes you tear up. You lean back in for another kiss.

“Bakugou-” You say as you pull back.

“Katsuki.” He says. You had used his given name on occasion but it always felt too personal, your heart couldn’t take it.

“Katsuki-” You repeat, it feels right now. A small smile lights up his face, it’s like staring into the sun. “I love you, I’ve loved you since we were kids.”

“Me too.” He replies. You let out a laugh.

“We really wasted a lot of years.” You said, nose brushing against his, arms still around him. It was almost sad the time you could have spent happily together but you’re too excited by the years you’ll get to spend with him going forward.

“We did, I’m not going to waste any more time.” He said before moving in for another kiss.

Bakugou stays at your apartment for two weeks before he mentions moving into a new apartment. With your heart in your throat you offer for him to move in with you, he doesn’t hesitate to say yes.

You help him go through his stuff, tossing anything that was hers but she hadn’t taken or things that remind him of her. You stand at his side as he tosses the ring he bought for her off a bridge even though you told him he should just sell it. He refused, not caring about the money and definitely wanting to avoid the shame of selling an engagement ring.

He didn’t love her, he never did but he still bares the scars of her infidelity. His self-esteem in a relationship was already low but some days it feels even lower when he things about what happened. He knows you would never do the same but regardless you still hold him tighter on those days and you don’t hold back any of your love or admiration for him.

Sometimes he feels embarrassed that it went on so long without him knowing but you reassure him that the only person who should be embarrassed is her. You don’t call him a victim, no he would hate that, but you tell him that he deserves better. You can’t hold back your smile when he says he already has better now that you’re together.

You spend your workdays out on patrol together, your usual banter filling the day as you fight off any villains who dare make a mess in you territory. On your days off you spend time in each other’s arms, basking in the happiness you finally found together or out on dates. Sometimes he drags you hiking even though you hate the bugs and other times you make him go to theme parks and force a pair of mouse ears on him.

It doesn’t take long for Bakugou to propose. Your relationship had been so close for so many years that it becoming romantic didn’t change much. You already knew everything about each other, you knew how to work with each other at your best and your worst. Making it official was a natural step.

Watching him tear up as you walk down the aisle is something burned into your heart and mind and you refuse to let it go as long as you live. Spending the night dancing, eating, and drinking with your closest friends who all were relived you finally got together was an unforgettable time.

You lay beside Bakugou, arms wrapped around each other, legs tangled together. Your head rests on his chest, listening to the steady sound of his heartbeat. You hold onto each other as if you would lose each other if you let go. You can’t get rid of the big smile on your face as his hands move lazily through your hair nearly lulling yourself back to sleep.

You love Bakugou Katsuki. That was a fact and you were more than happy to spend the rest of your life at his side not just as a friend or partner but as the love of his life and that made you happier than anything ever could.

[bakugohoex]

congratulations on 1k oh my goodness!! may i please request jean with “it’s you, it’s always been you”? congrats again and keep up the good work💞

“it’s you, it’s always been you”

pairing: jean kirchstein x female reader

cw: mentions of blood, fluff

word count: ​1500+

a/n: thank you so much my lovely, and i hope you enjoyed this little oneshot

summary: in which after your own near death experience, jean realises that he needs you to know just how much he loves you

1k event masterlist

↞ back to attack on titan masterlist

His fingers stayed firm in your blood coated hair, the way you were going in and out of consciousness. Waiting for death to arrive and take you away from the hell hole of the walls, “Y/n, come on, stay with me.” Jean’s voice felt like a distant memory as you finally dozed off in the back of the cart.

Jean eyed your frail body, you had been hit by a titan, plummeting you into the ground, just as it was about to eat you. Jean had killed it but the way it had held your nimble body, the way it squeezed you its hands ready to devour you made Jean sick. If he had been a couple seconds late you’d be fine, his love, his crush, his friend would disappear without a trace. Jean held you in his arms, feeling how you were still breathing on top of him. Blood from your head spilled out, and he knew you’d need stitches to help you out.

If it wasn’t such a public space with Eren and Mikasa sitting on the other side and Armin and Levi on horses. He would have cried, sobbed even into you, he wanted to but the feeling you’d see him vulnerable at the sight of your limp state would make you worry even more. “Jean is she doing okay?” Armin questioned from his horse, holding the light up to get a better view of you across Jean’s legs.

“She’s still breathing, just o…out.” He choked up at the last word, Armin gave a soft smile knowing not to ask anymore questions. Levi looked sternly at how Jean held you, how you had moved your horse to get the titan to follow you instead of your captain. You were a stupid brat for doing that, knowing he was going to have give you some sort of punishment for your ill actions.

Jean kept you firm, your head nestled between his arms as he whispered stuff into your ear, “If…if this is the only time I get to say this Y/n, then I love you and if…if I ever lost you I don’t know what I’d do.” He continued on with his confession of love, glad you were unaware of it all. Glad that once you got the proper help you needed within the walls you’d never remember this conversation.

Jean watched the doors open to Trost, in a matter of seconds a medic came and took your limp body, if Jean hadn’t known you were breathing he'd assume you were just another corpse ready to be buried. He went to follow the medic, needing to make sure you were safe, but Levi stopped him in a matter of seconds. “She’ll be fine, and we need to re-group.”

“But…yes sir.” Jean easily saw the glare Levi had given as he followed the group, he turned back to just see the glimpse of your scathed leg before you were taken away to a bed.

How could he attend a meeting to regroup and talk about the latest expedition when all he could think about was you. Were you being treated okay? Was there any damage? How long would you be immobilised for? He had stopped paying attention to the meeting, instead staring at the door, as soon as Hanje gave the signal he was going. He was going to find you, okay, with nothing wrong except a little bruising.

He’d see that sweet smile you’d give him with a coy remark, and he’d fall even more head over heels for you. Jean looked at the door with such intensity, Armin had noticed nudging him softly after Hanje had asked a question directed to him. “Sorry, what did you say?” He tried to be apologetic, but his mind was somewhere else.

“Jean we know you want to see her.” Hanje tried to give him a reassuring look as they looked at him with pleading eyes to explain what happened. He tried to do so but his mind couldn’t let him speak, Hanje gave a nod before dismissing him, “go and check on her.”

It was all Jean needed to hear as he ran out of the room, he needed to see you. Needed you to be okay, he rounded the corner meeting the eyes of the civilians of Trost who surrounded the dead. Jean hadn’t realised just how many men had died on this expedition; how many had risked their lives to rid the area of titans for good. It may have been a success after years of trying to gain land back, but the ability to now see the sea freely was evident.

He ignored the passer-bys, tears staining their cheeks as he saw the medic who had handled you with a mother. “Excuse me.” Jean may have been in a rush, but the medic clearly wasn’t, ignoring him, which made Jean even more annoyed. “Hello.” He tapped the man's shoulder which made him turn around to meet the tall boy.

“That girl you took, where is she?” The medic gave a confused look before nodding and bringing some papers out.

“She’s in the next room over.” Jean nodded and before the medic could even ask who he was, Jean was gone. He had seen the tortures of death around him, the families that cried for the fallen soldiers. He finally met the door that held you, he needed to see you, needed you to be alright. Needed to confess, he needed to make sure you were loved and protected.

He didn’t bother knocking on the door, instead brashly entering. He saw you face away looking out at the blue sky of Trost. With land regained and the lack of titans, Jean thought of the security you both could have here. “Y/n.” He spoke hesitantly.

You didn’t turn around still looking outside, he saw the bandage around your head. He didn’t know what to say, your back was facing him, and you might have been asleep for all he knew. Jean moved closer to you, before moving in front of your body. He took the seat that sat in front of your sleeping body, he could hear your breathing and knew you hadn’t had any critical damage. It was now the minor damage that worried him more.

“J..Jean.” You softly whispered, his hand had moved instinctively towards your hair, moving the strands away from your face as he looked at you with love.

“I’m here.” He cupped your face gently looking down at you as he moved away from the chair and on his knees. His face close enough to feel your breathing against him, “Y/n.”

“I’m sorry…I should’ve been looking whe…” Tears welled your eyes at how Jean looked at you, the way he had never expected an apology.

He caressed your face soothingly, “there’s nothing to apologise for, you tried to protect us all, I should be the one apologising…I only just made it to you.”

You moved your face further into Jean’s hands, he tilted his head to see you properly leaning against the small bed. “Thank you for saving me.”

“I’m always going to protect you.” He knew you had no minor problems, the bleeding stopped as you looked fresh and rejuvenated. “I was so worried about you.

“You were?”

“I was, I have to protect you because I’m in love with you.” He whispered the last part out, you had heard it all, even after he had promised himself to hide the confession. Here he was confessing to you of his love.

“I always thought you liked Mika…” He interrupts you with such ease.

Looking up into your eyes, the pools of warmth cascading from them, “It’s you, it’s always been you.” It was heaven to your ears, the sound of his love finally reaching your own. The way he always protectively stood by you, how his hand lingered against yours whenever you both stood together. The way that the love of your life, loved you back.

“I love you too Jean.” You whispered softly, meeting his lips that had been lingering against your own, it was passionate and sweet. Everything you had wanted from a first kiss; emotions ran through you as his hand caressed your cheek lovingly. His lips softly against your own as if they meshed together perfectly. It was a necessity more than a want now, the fact that the boy who had been your first love was now kissing you sent a bolt of electricity throughout you. You saw him give one final haste kiss before his mouth let go of your own still lingering close by as he knew you needed rest.

He stayed near you, his body leaning against the bed as his head was on the bed, his hand in one of your own as he looked up at you with such love. “I’ll always be here.”

“Pinkie promise.” You whispered through your tired state.

He looked down, shaking his head in amusement before nodding, “pinkie promise my love.”

i’d really appreciate if you guys could leave a like, reblog or comment, thanks x

if you guys want to be a part of a tag list, just reply to any post and i’ll add you xx

@samusimp @alainarose13 @crispychannie @underratedmage @jennammaee @cathy8taffy @sugacious @moonlightaangel @kat-sukis-hoe @effmigentlywithachainsaw @swankiifiied @maat-the-prescriptive @missmultifangirl @tvwhoresblog @kuroos-world @chrrylevi @katsuhera @answer-the-sirens @animexholic @wapbenders @the-shota-king-masayuki @bakugousmrs @crystal-lilac @dai-tsukki-desu @fandomsinthegalaxies @crimsonbows-and-arrows @admin-in-residence @otterlockholmes @gabrann @zlatanakermann @c0urtn3y @bakuhoesworld

[attllhak]

So I just got settled after getting home from camping, and I had forgotten that I hadn’t posted this before I left. I remembered in the middle of the weekend and felt bad, but I ended up not having time the morning I left. So have it now, since I did promise it!

Also, @tortilla-of-courage I promised to tag you in all the merAU stuff I posted, and so I’m tagging you. We now figure out what happened to Warriors.

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

“Is he alive?”

“Yeah, you can see him breathing,”

“What is he even doing here?”

“I don’t know, I just found him,”

“We should tell Grandma,”

“Obviously, but we can’t leave him either,”

“Oh, I can go tell her, and you can watch him!”

“Oh that’s a good idea!”

“Okay, I’m gonna, hey! He’s waking up!”

“Huh?”

Warriors squeezed his eyes and blinked, squinting at the sun above him.

A pair of round faces appeared over him. Kids, probably.

He groaned, reaching a hand up to his head. He tried to remember what had happened.

He’d been with his pod, and a ship came by. Poachers. They singled him out, and their captain had him fished out of the water. The rest of his pod tried to help, but the poachers had guns and harpoons. He had seen at least one of his pod mates impaled by one of the harpoons through their tail.

His pod had no choice but to flee.

He remembered sitting in a net for hours under the sun until he’d dried and his scales began to flake.

Eventually he was swung onto the deck and dropped there. He had managed to pull himself onto shaking arms when his face had been wretched up, sharp nails digging into his cheeks.

He immediately felt sick when the woman, the captain of the ship, looked at him. It felt like he was being examined, like some kind of object on display. He felt oddly exposed under her gaze.

It was only years of training as a guard for his pod that allowed him to keep from panicking.

“Oh aren’t you pretty,” the human purred, and Warriors struggled to swallow. “You’ll look so pretty in my home,”

I’m going to die, he had thought.

Her plan for him was worse.

This woman, Cia, wanted a pet. Some pretty mer she could dress up in fancy things and put on display for all her guests to awe at.

He learned this after he was shackled to the deck with a thick chain attached to a cuff on his arm. Occasionally someone would be by to dump a bucket of water on him, but only after another woman, who looked very similar to the captain, warned that he’d be dead by the time they got to shore if they didn’t.

By the time the sun finally set, he’d been laid out flat on the polished wood, his skin and scales burned from the sunlight and lack of water, feeling dizzy and unfocused.

Sun sickness, he’d heard some of the merrow in their pod talk about it. He never thought he’d have it.

Once the sun had well set, the woman who had told them he needed water returned with keys.

Had he been stronger, he would have tried to fight her off. As it stood, all he could manage was to bare sharp teeth at her.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t realize she’d be so cruel. I’m going to report her when we dock, but the authorities don’t release poached mer. So I’m getting you out tonight,”

He watched as she undid the shackle on his arm, and he dragged it slowly back to himself, trying to comprehend that.

He hissed and squirmed when she started dragging him, his burned skin and scales awake with pain as they ran over the unforgiving surface.

They got caught by one of the other poachers, and he and the woman argued and shouted. The poacher had some kind of fire, and didn’t hesitate to attack them.

He was thrown overboard, but the fire still hit his arm. He screamed, the first sound since he was brought aboard, and fell.

The cold water was a shock to his sun burned body, and he was out in an instant.

Well, the sun sickness explained his headache. And why his body was aching.

“Who,” he tried to croak, but his throat felt like it was lined with coral and filled with sand, and speaking hurt.

He went to move his hand to it, but cried out in further pain as the fire burns shifted on the sand. He squeezed his eyes shut to beat back tears, all but whimpering in pain.

“Go get Grandma! Now!” One of the kids, the boy, shouted, and he heard a splash as the girl left.

He was on a shore, not land, since he could now feel the water lapping at his tail. He moved his right hand over his body, reaching for where his left arm stung and stabbed with pain.

“Hey! Don’t do that!” Small hands grabbed his wrist and he opened his eyes again, blinking to see around tears at the boy leaning over him. “Don’t worry, help will be here soon,”

He decided to believe that, focusing on the boy’s face to try and distract himself from the pain.

The boy was young, maybe twelve or thirteen. Big, bright blue eyes, and sun bleached blonde hair. The boy was grinning, but visibly nervous.

‘Who are you?’ He flashed, not wanting to deal with his damaged throat.

“Me?” The boy blinked. “My name is Link! Do you have a name?”

Warriors smiled. ‘My name is also Link, but I’m not the only Link in my pod. They called me Warriors,’

“That’s such a cool name!” Link grinned.

Warriors smiled.

It took too long, as far as he was concerned, for help to arrive. Wind, Link’s new nickname since he wanted a cool name too, had done his best to keep Warriors distracted, when a very old mer climbed onto the beach next to them.

She hissed when she pressed a hand to his head, and Warriors found himself following her hand when it pulled away, chasing the cool wetness with a weak whine.

“Sun sickness,” she pronounced in an old, creaking voice. “And some very bad burning. He needs medical help,”

She slipped back into the water and the young girl replaced her.

Not long after he found himself gently, but no less painfully, picked up by a pair of merrow and transported back into the water.

He couldn’t help the whimper of relief as he felt the water around his body again, and did his best to bite back any cries of pain as they washed the sand from his body and burns. His spaulder was removed so they could treat his injuries, but he was promised its return.

He was far too gone to care about his property anymore, gripping the arm of one of the merrow supporting him with his good hand and pressing his head to their soft, cool skin.

They helped him down into the water, and set him up in an underwater cave where the sun couldn’t reach him. It was cool, and dark, and Warriors almost instantly curled up and passed out again.

He was in and out of consciousness for the next few days, hiding curled up in the coldest corner of his cave and letting healers come in and out to treat his burns. His skin peeled and scales flaked due to the sunburns, and they rubbed cooling salves into the burns. They treated the burn on his arm with even more care.

When he finally properly came to, he spent a long moment sitting in his cave and looking himself over.

His left arm had been pretty badly scarred, and the fin was frayed and damaged, but hadn’t been cut short. That surprised him a bit, he knew a few people whose fins were so badly damaged that it was better for their health to cut them shorter and he would have figured that had happened. Maybe this pod didn’t do fin cuttings for some reason?

The rest of his burns had healed well, and his throat didn’t feel like hurting him anymore.

He looked up when a mer snuck in, and he smiled when he saw Wind.

‘Hi, Wind,’ he waved, smiling.

This was when he noticed Wind’s fins were much smaller than his, and his scale pattern was different.

Wind was a coastal mer.

That explained the lack of fin cutting.

‘Are you feeling better?’ Wind asked, giving up all form of secrecy as he approached and plopped down right next to Warriors. He guessed Wind wasn’t supposed to be here.

Warriors shrugged. ‘More aware than I was before,’

‘That’s good!’ Wind grinned. ‘I’m sorry we couldn’t fix your fin,’

Warriors lifted his arm, frowning at the damaged fin. ‘You tried to fix it?’

‘Yeah?’ Wind tilted his head, equally confused. ‘Why? What did you expect us to do?’

‘Cut it back,’ he answered honestly. ‘It’s too damaged to save, so back in my pod we would have just cut back the fin and got rid of the damaged parts,’

Wind looked horrified. ‘Why would you do that?!’

Warriors blinked back, not sure what was so bad about what he said.

‘We have very big fins,’ he tried to explain. ‘Dragging around damaged fins can be really annoying, and sometimes detrimental to your health. So anything we can’t heal, we usually cut back,’

Warriors and Wind shared a long look.

They agreed not to talk about it anymore.

‘What happened to you?’ Wind asked instead. ‘Aryll and I found you on the beach and you were really out of it. Gran said you might not remember that,’

‘I do remember that,’ Warriors smiled. ‘Thank you for that, by the way. You didn’t have to help me, but I’m grateful that you did,’

Wind shook his head. ‘Of course I had to help you! You needed help!’

Warriors ruffled Wind’s hair, laughing at the squawk Wind made. ‘You’re a good person, Wind,’

Wind huffed, fixing his hair. ‘So, what did happen to you? We don’t get a lot of tropical mer around here,’

Warriors frowned. Just how far was he from his pod?

‘I, uh, I didn’t leave my pod willingly,’ he didn’t want to scare Wind at all, considering he didn’t know if poachers frequented this area or not.

‘You were kidnapped,’ Wind nodded.

Sure, they could say that.

‘Something like that, yes,’ Warriors nodded. ‘I was on a ship for a while, and the humans weren’t very good at keeping me hydrated. One of them took pity on me, and dumped me over the side once the sun set. I, don’t remember anything after that, until you and your sister found me on the beach,’

Wind reached out and, after a second of hesitation, wrapped his arms around Warriors in a hug. ‘I’m sorry. Usually the bad humans don’t come here,’

Warriors startled a bit, he didn’t usually get hugs from people, but he carefully set his arms down around Wind in turn, not even trying to fight the soft smile on his face.

He liked this kid, he thought.

Wind was chased out by healers not long after, apparently he’d been slipping in and making a nuisance of himself since Warriors arrived, and they looked him over and asked more questions.

After a while, the healers left and the very old mer from earlier returned. Her blue scales had been dulled by age, and her grey hair was pulled up in a bun. She squinted at him through the wrinkles in her face, and he instinctively straightened up. This woman was the matriarch of her pod.

‘My grandson told me you were aware,’ she flashed at him.

He nodded, trying his best to be polite.

‘He also told me you were kidnapped,’ she continued. ‘By humans,’

‘Poachers,’ he confirmed. ‘I got lucky,’

She nodded. ‘Do you know how far you traveled?’

‘I don’t,’ he shook his head, and looked down to his hands. ‘I don’t even know how long I’ve been away from my pod,’

‘A while at least,’ she said once he looked up again. ‘You’ve been out of it for a few days here, and we don’t know when you washed up on the beach. Not to mention that there aren’t any tropical mer pods nearby,’

Warriors nodded, looking down again.

He was probably very far from his pod, and it would take a long, long time to find them again. He wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of heading out into the open ocean with no direction either. Who knows how far he’d traveled. Who knows how far he’d travel in order to find his pod again. If he found his pod again. He might never get back to them.

He looked up when a gentle hand rested on his shoulder.

‘Don’t look so defeated,’ the old mer smiled at him. ‘We’ll help you get back to your pod. And until we find them, you can stay with us,’

Warriors looked at her, kind and helpful and comforting, and smiled back. He nodded.

He could do that.

(---)

Warriors got his spaulder back, and was quickly sussed out by this pod’s, very lacking, guard, and ended up employed. Mostly he was just retraining them, since they needed some help.

He liked having a spear in his hands again. It was a relief to be able to have a weapon.

Wind and Aryll had both attached themselves to him as well, and after a week they were introducing him as their very pretty big brother. Wind had even managed to convince Warriors to teach him how to fight.

Some days Warriors didn’t even mind that he might never get back to his original pod.

He did learn that Wind happened to be friends with a human pirate, however, and that stressed him out immensely.

Maybe he should talk to that therapist Gran had suggested he see. He hadn’t had issues with his podmates speaking to the marine researchers before he was poached.

But, pirates.

It never hurt to be cautious.

[30secondstoanime]

The Birthday Present

pairing: Pro!Hero Midoriya x Fem!Reader

genre/warnings: Reader Insert, Birthday Sex

Kinky Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku Gets Out of His Comfort Zone, That's Not How You're Supposed to Use Your Quirk, Porn With Plot, praise kink?, very smutty, Rough Sex, role-playing, Oral Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Teasing, Light Bondage, Light Masochism, Light Choking, Doggy Style, Fluff and Smut, after sex cuddles

word count: 7,467

→ summary: Your birthday is around the corner. What better gift than your boyfriend, the #1 Hero Deku, finally giving you what you want the way you want it: rough and kinky. But first plot!

a/n: Sorry about the crap summary and title, I'm working on that lol. So this is my first fic for the bnha fandom and first attempt at writing very explicit sex scenes and venturing into kinks/BDSM, so please be kind, but also I’d love feedback! This was supposed to be a cute four-page oneshot but turned into a sixteen-page, 7k+ word behemoth, hence the self-indulgent tag ‘cause I couldn't stop writing. I hope you enjoy the fruits of my labor ;)

In a few days, you’ll be turning twenty-four. Your birthday has always been an odd day you think for someone with your quirk because age really was just a number. That’s not to say you weren’t planning to do something fun, at least if you could figure out what you’d like to do. Okay, so that was a lie. You knew exactly what or should you say who you wanted to do and that it involved getting your back blown out. As soon as the thought pops into your head, your epiglottis forgets its job, and you choke on the sip of UCC coffee, you had tried to swallow. You cough to clear your airway, gasping when air finally expands your lungs. You tap your pen nervously against your desk, eyes scanning the other pro heroes’ faces in your agency. It seems your sudden outburst hadn’t disrupted the comfortable silence of the natural lull of the workday. A beep from your hero pager pulls your attention away from people watching in the office. Coordinates flash in five consecutive seconds before the transmission ends. You stand grabbing your toolbelt and strapping it across your hips; you make your way to the front. As you near the exit, you hear your hero name being called. You turn and see Yaomomo briskly walking towards you.

“Hey Creati, you got the page too?”

“I did, sounds like they’ve made a bit of a mess of things.” You scoff good-naturedly.

“When do they ever not. Were they really like this during your time at U.A.?” She giggles and nods her head. You wonder if you’ll ever stop cleaning up after the nation’s top three heroes.

“Better get going then, we both know they share a singular brain cell, so there’s no telling how much time we have to fix things.”

“Atomic!” You laugh at Yaomomo’s weak attempt to scold you — the amusement in her black eyes softens the tone.

              −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

“Oh my.”

You blow out a low whistle. Ice and scorch marks are scattered across the street and surrounding buildings. Explosive ash is still gently falling from the sky, and black tendrils are haphazardly keeping electric poles, exposed building foundation, and an abundance of wrecked vehicles from collapsing.

“Creati, check the building foundations. Create new beams and weld them together if necessary. I’ll get started on the pole, we can’t have a live electric wire falling.” She nods, and you split off. The work is slow and arduous, but the orderly nature of reorganizing and coaxing atomic particles back into place helps the time pass quickly. You’ve just finished rearranging the anatomical structure of a car hanging from a, thankfully, undamaged light pole, so that it falls to the ground weightlessly. You touch the damaged side, pull it back together, and return the car to its original density. You give the car a quick tap with the toe of your foot to test the structural integrity, satisfied you step back taking in your handiwork. What had a few hours ago looked like a DEFCON 3 military mission gone awry is now back to looking like an ordinary Japanese street. Well, as normal as you and Yaomomo could reconstruct — you weren’t miracle workers, and Ground Zero’s explosive residue was hard to get rid of. Instead, the way it collected and hung in the atmosphere made it difficult for your quirk to erase without condensing the air. That was out of the question unless you wanted to suffocate Yaomomo. Which you didn’t, so the employees of these buildings would be dealing with the smell for at least a week. Sighing, you tuck your hands in your pockets and make your way over to Creati. Her welding mask obscures her face, but you know it’s in deep concentration. After she cuts the torch and pushes the protective gear up, she gives you a smile.

“All done?”

“Just about.”

“I’ll page H.Q. Might even lodge a formal complaint against those three bird brains while I’m at it.”

“(Y/N), you can’t be serious.” She shoots you an incredulous look.

“They make this huge ass mess and don’t even bother to wait for us to arrive before dipping. Total dick move.”

“Ah-huh.” You don’t like the teasing note in her voice.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing.” You cross your arms defensively.

“Spit it out, Yaoyorozu.”

“You sure your foul attitude has nothing to do with not seeing Deku?” You roll your eyes.

“I’ll see him at home like I do every day. So no, I’m not upset about not seeing him.”

“If you say so.” She gives you a look, and you let out an exasperated puff of air.

“You cannot still be stuck on that!”

“Hmm? What do you mean?” She bats her eyes at you innocently while creating a duffle bag to transport the welding equipment.

“That God awful theory you and Ashido have about me having a hero kink for Izuku." You begin to walk side by side back to the agency. You hand her an energy bar from your utility belt.

“I mean, you do get very flushed whenever you see him on patrol. Like, if it were a hentai video, you’d definitely be drooling with your tongue lolling out of your mouth.”

“Ugh!” You shove her with your shoulder. “That is so gross.” Both of you laugh, and after a small lapse into silence, you give.

“Okay fine. I might get instahorny whenever I see Izuku in costume, but I can’t help it. He just looks so good, and it’s heightened because I know what he looks like out of costume, and then all I want to do is jump his bones, but of course, I don’t because propriety. So I’m left with all this pent up sexual frustration!”

“So, are you going to ever mention this to him? Your birthday is in a few days and if I may be so bold —”

“It’s never stopped you.” You mumble under your breath with a smile.

“I’d suggest you request it be your birthday present.”

“Pfft. Yaomomo, we’ve been together almost a year and a half, and while our sex life is fucking phenomenal, I’m talking multiple orgasms almost every time, amazing — it’s been very strictly vanilla. Not from any lack of trying on my end, but every time I’ve tried to spice things up, he gets as close as humanly possible to spontaneous combustion. Don’t even get me started on the one time I tried to get him to choke me while I —”

“(Y/N)! Stop, goodness, I do not need the play by play of your and Izuku’s sex life. I just,” she massages her temples, “wanted to make a suggestion. While I’m relieved you feel so secure in our friendship to be so open, please remember I went to high school with him. He’s like a little brother.”

“Oh, Yaomomo, there’s nothing little about him.” Her face pales, and you can’t stifle your cackle. It quickly becomes a full-blown laugh that rattles through your body.

“I went a little too far with that last comment, gomen. On a serious note, though, how would I even go about asking him? ‘Hey babe, it’s my birthday so I want you to fuck me until my knees are jello while in your hero costume because it gets me all hot and bothered oh and since I’m risking it all I’d love it if you tied me up and maybe choked me too.’”

You glance over your shoulder, a look of profound regret is plastered over Yaomomo’s face. You give her an impish grin.

“Doesn’t quite roll off the tongue does it.”

“Oh (Y/N).” Your friend shakes her head. When you finally turn the corner onto the street, your hero agency is housed, you catch sight of a mop of green hair. You pick up your pace, a mischievous grin on your face. Using your quirk, you redistribute your mass, so your footfall’s noise against the pavement is silenced. Izuku is talking with someone, his back turned to you. The goods were on display. When he’s in reach, you stretch out your arms, hands cupping his butt you feel him stiffen as you whisper against his ear.

“You’re under arrest for transporting illegal buns of steel.” You watch the blush creep up from his neck before capturing his entire face. He turns his neck, trying to get a good look at you.

“Wh-what!” You begrudgingly let go of his ass, and he turns his body to face you, his freckles standing out against the pink hue of his flustered expression.

“Sorry hun, I don’t make the rules.” You shrug your shoulders.

“I- I, (Y/N) that’s not even a legal penal code! A-and there’s no way I could transport enough steel on my person to warrant a body search.”

“Ooh Deku,” you loosen up the state of your atoms, allowing them to vibrate in mock arousal, “I love it when you talk legal code at me. Repeat it: penal.”

He flounders for a reply, mouth agape at a total loss for words. You giggle at his expression, a total deer in headlights. The person he’d been talking to finally makes themselves known.

“Atomic, you’re still teasing the living soul out of Deku per usual. Glad to know things haven’t changed ‘round here.” His shark tooth smile pulls an equally toothy smile from you.

“Eijiro! When did you get back? I’ve missed you.” You rush to the redhead, and he reciprocates your hug, holding you tight.

“Man, I’ve missed you too (Y/N). The States were cool, but there’s no manlier place than home sweet home.” You pull back and take him in. He looks the exact same if not a little bit more tanned.

“Damn straight.” Yaoyorozu arrives at the end of your reunion. Her excitement at seeing her old friend is nearly palatable. They catch up enthusiastically, and you saddle up next to your boyfriend, who’s finally gotten his blush under control.

“Hey, babe.” You give his cheek a chaste kiss, and he smiles.

“Hey, love,” Izuku gives your hand a squeeze, “How was your day?”

“It was pretty run of the mill except for the utter shitstorm Yaomomo and I had to clean up in Minato City.” You glance down and watch his feet shuffle from side to side.

“Huh, sounds pretty epic.”

“Not the first, second, or even the third word I’d use, but we’re all entitled to our opinions. And don’t you try acting coy with me, Izuku! That blonde ticking time grenade, the confused weather pattern, and your quirk were all over that place.” Izuku gulps.

“I expended a lot of energy cleaning up after you and your friends baka. As compensation, you’ve gotta cook me curry rice. Deal?”

He kisses your cheek in assent.

“Great!” You beam. “I’m gonna go change, be back in fifteen.” You disappear through the agency’s massive double doors. Yaomomo watches until you’re out of view before she walks over to Midoriya.

“So about (Y/N) ’s birthday . . .”

              −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

When you come out, you find a peculiar scene waiting for you. Yaoyorozu has crafted a fan for, you presume, Izuku, who is so red you could almost see the light refraction from his face’s heat and sweating by what looks like the gallon. Eijiro is by his side, trying to calm him down. You heighten the sensitivity of your cochlea to pick up the tail end of their conversation.

“It’ll be super manly, dude!”

“Bu-but I’ve never . . .” Your boyfriend seems tongue-tied.

“You’ve definitely got it in you,” Eijiro slaps Izuku on the back, “Plus Ultra!”

Izuku echoes Eijiro, but you can tell his heart isn’t in it.

You return to your average level of hearing and walk up to the trio.

“Everything good?” They all look at you with expressions that clearly scream, ‘No, everything is not good dumbass.’

“Riiight, foolish question. Izuku, babe, do you need me to help you?” He squeaks, and that stops you dead in your tracks. The last time he had squeaked in your presence was when he’d asked you out on your first date, and you think it was mostly because you had bluntly told him you had every intention of having sex with him if not after your first then for sure after your second date. He didn’t even squawk when you made good on your declaration, and you had been positive he was going to. Your assurance cost you a ¥2,000 bet with Ochako and Shoto. Whatever had transpired while you were changing had him spooked.

You crouch down and gently take his face between your hands. His cheeks are unnaturally warm. Closing your eyes, you reach out with your quirk to scan his vitals. What the actual fuck? Izuku’s pregenual anterior cingulate cortex is enormous. Your boyfriend is next level embarrassed. His heart rate is in the 200bpm range, which should have been impossible because it only ever got that high when he was exercising, and you were quite familiar with getting it there.

You’re honestly shocked his heart hasn’t started to palpitate with the sky-high levels of cortisol in his blood and high heart rate. Taking a deep breath, you begin to gently persuade the firing neurons near his PACC to chill, its size slowly decreases. You travel down to his hypothalamus and rearrange some of its chemical balance, so it stops producing corticotropin-releasing hormone, creating a negative feedback loop that would lead to his body to drop its cortisol production. You vasoconstrict a handful of the blood vessels in his face for good measure, hoping to cool it down. Your eyes flutter open, and the ruddiness is gone, and his cheeks feel cool against your palms. He gives you a weak smile and gosh that smile, these freckles, those lively emerald eyes. You lean your forehead against his, taking a moment to collect yourself. You kiss the tip of his nose before pulling yourself up, stretching once you’re fully upright.

“Well damn, I’m starving now. I know I said you had to cook for me, but I don’t think I’ll last. What do you say, Number 1. Hero, care to take me out to eat?”

Izuku gets to his feet, with a bit of help from Eijiro, who keeps a hand wrapped around his waist to keep him from stumbling.

“Yeah, of course, love. Just tell me where you want to eat.”

You grin in delight. Before making a decision, you turn to your two other companions. You’re not sure when Yaomomo had time to change, but she’s no longer in her hero costume.

“Would y’all like to join us? Izuku’s treat.” Your cinnamon roll’s protest is drowned out by their loud acceptance.

“I mean, if my bro is gonna treat us, then how could I say no?”

“How gracious Izuku, I’d love to share a meal with everyone.”

“Let’s get going then!” You grab Izuku’s hand and turn around, heading in the direction of the train stop. The walk will give you time to decide where you want to eat.

              −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

“Hold on one sec, almost got it.” You pace next to Izuku; the pressure on your bladder almost debilitating. At the click of your front door unlocking and seeing Izuku push it open, you rush through over the threshold. You kick the heels off your feet, your slippers abandoned at the entryway as you make a break for the bathroom. You can’t get your underwear off quick enough. The relief is almost pleasurable. You’d forgotten what it felt like to pee while exceedingly inebriated. Typically when you go out drinking, you elevate your liver’s production of alcohol dehydrogenase so you can avoid getting drunk, but tonight was your birthday celebration, and you wanted to get shitfaced, so you dialed it back. Now that you’re home and not interested in a hangover, you make the necessary adjustments to your liver. The night out had been a pleasant surprise. More people had shown up than you’d been led to believe would, most importantly, your younger siblings had stopped by — you hadn’t seen them since moving to Musutafu to pursue your hero career. You finish reminiscing over the night’s events. Quickly wiping, you flush the toilet and wash your hands. When you open the door, you find your slippers are there waiting. He was a total sweetheart.

You slide your sore feet in and sigh at the fluffiness. You make your way to your bedroom, surprised to find it empty. Where had Izuku gone? You take off your earrings, dropping them into your jewelry box. Making your way to the main bathroom connected to your room, you’ve just finished wiping away your makeup when you hear the door open. You walk to the bathroom door to peek and gasp as soon as you spot the figure closing the door behind them. Now you’d be the first to admit you are a horny bitch, but never have you felt your pussy throb with such a deep longing the way it was throbbing now. You stand still dumbfounded at seeing Izuku in his hero costume in your bedroom.

“Babe?” You try to suppress the quiver in your voice.

“Ma’am,” He tilts his head in greeting, “I got reports of a villain in the vicinity. I’m Deku, and I’m here to take care of you.”

Why the fuck did he just introduce himself? And a villain? You reach out with your quirk but don’t feel an unknown presence nearby. You start to walk towards him but stop at the foot of your bed. He meets you there, and you don’t know what to expect, but it definitely was not him pushing you onto your back. You fall with a muffled thud against the comforter. You stare up at him at a complete loss. You then become hyper-aware of what you’re wearing. The sparkling strappy mini dress leaves little to the imagination, and you’re positive that from his angle, Izuku can see your panties and the growing evidence of your arousal.

“Apologies, ma’am, but I’ll be using my quirk to restrain you as a precautionary measure.” Your mouth goes dry as you watch Blackwhip manifest wrapping around your wrists, pulling your arms above your head, and adhering to your shared bed’s headboard. You have to scoot yourself back a few inches to ease the tension in your shoulders. Holy shit. He just tied you up. This whole time he’s been standing at the end of the bed taking you in. You know your face is flushed, and you can feel your nipples brushing against the material of your dress now that you’re so turned on. Izuku’s hands come into view, and that somehow gets your mouth to work again.

“What are you going to do?” You arch an eyebrow and part your lips to let your tongue dart out and wet them. Fuck Yaomomo wasn’t off the mark with her comment.

“I’ll need to do a full-body search to ensure you’re not concealing anything illegal on your person.” You don’t have time to respond before his gloved hands caress down your pinned arms, across where your neck and shoulders meet. Leaving goosebumps in their wake. He cups your breasts, his thumbs brushing over your hardened nipples. You groan as the sensation travels down, pooling between your legs. He moves down your sides, slowly over your exposed thighs sticking strictly to the outside of your legs until he reaches mid-calf. You feel his hands move, and suddenly their inching closer to your aching cunt. Using his right hand Izuku runs a finger teasingly up between your clothed slit and your hips give an involuntary buck. He removes his finger and tuts at you, that pisses you off.

“What the fuck Izu —” You stop yourself when you see another tendril of black materialize near your face.

“Don’t make me gag you. My name is Deku, and you will address me as Deku-sama.” There’s a finality in his tone that leaves no room for argument. You’re torn between being really fucking aroused and very vexed at this role reversal. You’d always been on top, literally and figuratively, and now here he was, your cinnamon roll, threatening to gag you and not even blushing about it. He takes your silence as understanding and begins to hike up the bottom of your dress. With your midriff exposed, he finally settles between your legs, his toned abdomen flush against you. He places an open-mouthed kiss just above your belly button, his tongue flicks out to taste your skin. Izuku’s lips continue to roam over every inch of your exposed abdomen, sucking and biting. He’s going to leave love marks all over your stomach, you’re sure. His hands travel up under your dress, coming to rest just below your breasts. You feel the flat of his tongue working its way towards his hands. When you can feel his breath tickling you already hard nipples, he pulls his face away. You squirm and pull against your restraint — you feel them tighten.

“What is it you want, villain?” Fuuuck. The word falls from his lips wrapped in sinful promise sending another steady pulse of need through your body. Your nervous system was on fire.

“I want you to touch me.” You try to taper down the pleading in your voice, but the mildly amused expression on Izuku’s face says you failed.

“Like this?” His hand runs down your neck, over your dress and through the valley of your cleavage, past your naval stopping at the band of your panties. It dawns on you that he was teasing you.

“Or like this?” You’re not sure when his gloves came off or how he managed it, but one second you’re covered by the flimsy dress material next, the straps keeping it up are torn, and the dress pulled down. You hiss at the shock of the sudden temperature change, but quickly warm up as calloused fingers massage your breasts. A greedy moan is the only answer you can manage as you arch your back into his touch. He leans closer, breath warm against your neck, and moves a hand down to grip your ass,

“Let’s see if these are illegal buns of steel.” Even with how incredibly husky his voice is, you almost laugh at his remark’s absolute absurdity. Still, having maybe foreseen your reaction Izuku wraps one of your nipples between his lips before you can utter a sound.

“Deku-sama.” You inhale sharply coming completely unwound as his tongue flicks and swirls. His mouth sucks and pulls playfully. When his teeth graze your nipple, you contemplate making your hands boneless to escape the restraints just so you could tangle your hands in his hair; even with the undercut, you knew you could make him moan. The idea is quickly dashed as Izuku releases your now overly sensitive bud with a resounding pop that sends the ache in your pussy into a frenzy. Good god , he hasn’t even gotten inside of you yet. He treats your other nipple with much the same attention. However, this time, he lets his teeth give it a gentle nibble, and the shock of the feeling causes your skin to prickle. You feel him grin at your reaction before giving your nipple a farewell lick. He captures your lips, shoving his hips down against your own, as his hands’ ghost over your neck. You hook a leg around his hip, pulling him closer, trying to create as much friction as possible as you roll your hips upward. He lets out a breathy chuckle, as his mouth moves to replace his hands. He kisses up your neck, his breath tickles your ear, and you stutter out a needy whimper.

“Someone’s eager.” You groan in frustration as he pulls back. His hands grab hold of what’s left of your dress, and you help him get you out of it. He runs a finger up your stomach, stopping just below your sternum. The tip of his index finger traces a lazy circle before leaving a trail of goosebumps back down to your hip. The pressure of his finger is replaced by his mouth, biting the flesh of your hip crease hungrily. He kisses his away across to your opposite hip, traces of his kisses wet against your skin. You feel his fingers toying with the lacy hem of your panties before he hooks them in the elastic, pulling them down. You lift your hips as they pass over the curve of your ass, and you wriggle in anticipation. Izuku braces his left forearm against your right thigh, pushing your legs wider. His index finger explores your wet folds, dipping briefly into your slit, before brushing against your swollen clitoris.

“Deku-sama, please .” You don’t care how desperate you sound, the ache in your pussy is becoming unbearable. The slow burn was killing you.

“Since you said, please.” He slips a thick finger inside of you, curling it just so it massages the soft and spongy spot that makes your toes curl and lewd obscenities fall from your parted lips.

“Aah, fuck. Fuck, yes, there, right there. More. Izuku give me more.” A second finger is roughly inserted. You cry out as a jolt of ecstasy consumes every inch of you. He begins to scissor his fingers back and forth, “It’s De-ku sa-ma,” each thrust emphasizing the syllables of his declaration. You rock your hips up, trying to get his fingers deeper because you are close. You can feel the dam getting ready to burst. When his thumb circles your clit, you feel yourself clench around his fingers. He inhales sharply. You bite back a moan as stars begin to dance across your vision. The rhythm of his fingers picks up, and the pressure on your clit begins to be too much.

“You’re about to cum.” It’s not a question, but you manage to pant a yes, and it becomes your undoing. Tongue replaces fingers before you can bemoan feeling empty, hands wrap under your thighs, keeping you exposed when they instinctively try to shut. His fingers dig into soft flesh, and the pain leaves you dizzy for more. He unhooks his left arm from your thigh, again using his forearm to keep your leg down. Two fingers spread you open, and his breath is warm, and you screw your eyes shut because fucking hell, you feel ready to erupt. You feel the warmth of his tongue as it slips inside you and starts to lick around. His nose brushes against your clit as he laps up your wetness. When he takes your clitoris in his mouth, you feel yourself at the edge of a precipice.

“Y-your fin-fingers. Deku-sama.” You frantically tug against your binds as you arch your hips rutting into his face. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. You feel yourself drowning in pleasure when his fingers join back in the fray. You’re full, and his tongue is everywhere. Inside you along with his fingers, pressing in all the right places. There’s no room to be embarrassed by your body’s wet sounds as you thrust against his fingers or the sounds he’s eliciting from you — loud, throaty, and gluttonous. He laps up the juices wherever they end up, on your thighs, in your folds, the space between your pussy and ass. At your clit he teases with nibbles, quick flicks of his tongue, and long flat strokes. He was treating you like you were his favorite meal. Coming back for seconds, thirds, fourths. You lose track of time. The air crackles with electricity, Izuku, the electromagnet to your copper coils. It sparks against your skin. Were you doing that? You couldn’t tell, but it didn’t matter because something was building. You feel it in your core, your quirk causing your atoms to buzz in excitement. He lets you hook your legs around his back, locking your ankles. You make a strangled noise when a particularly aggressive thrust combined with the head-splitting euphoria of Izuku’s tongue on your clit brings your Earth stuttering on its axis.

“Oh fuck, oh kami. Shit, Deku-sama!”

You flicker in and out. One second howling Izuku’s name like a prayer to the Gods, hips rolling up to meet his mouth. The next, you find yourself weightless in a void no longer in a corporeal form. What the fuck? It lasts no longer than a second before you return to your body and the sound of him cooing against your aching cunt.

“That’s it, cum villain. Cum for me.” And cum, you do. Waves of fiery ecstasy set your body aflame. You clench your fists and use your legs to pull Izuku’s face further flush against you. When you think you can catch your breath, Izuku surprises you by coaxing you into another smaller orgasm. You don’t know how he did it, but you really can’t complain, you’re feeling blissful as fuck. The bed creaks as he shifts back onto his knees, unwrapping your legs from around him. Blachwip is deactivated, and your arms fall uselessly to your sides. You feel your legs quiver from exertion, and you watch your chest rise in fall sporadically as your breathing levels off. You prop yourself up on your elbow to give Izuku a once over. He’s got a bit of sweat on his forehead, you can see the outline of his erection against the front of his hero costume, and your cum glistens on his nose, mouth, and chin. Not sure how you manage it, with your body feeling so close to putty, but you scoot back, pulling yourself up into a seated position, and rock forward onto your knees so you’re facing him.

You move closer, so your knees brush against his. Now that you’re close enough, you can see how blown his pupils are. They almost wholly eclipse the dark shamrock of his irises. He had it bad for you. You could fix that. You grab his chin between your thumb and forefinger, tilting it down to your lips so you can lick it clean. When your tongue traces the outline of his mouth, a low moan rumbles in the back of his throat. You get his mouth open with a hard nip to his bottom lip. Tasting yourself in his mouth and on his tongue makes you squeeze your thighs together briefly before you let your free hand wander between your legs to stroke your clit and moistening labia. You give the tip of his nose a cutesy peck that almost brings a blush to his freckled face, but he remains in character, so you palm his cock with your damp hand grinning devilishly when he stutters an exhale.

“I want you, hero.”

Izuku’s chuckle is rich, and you can feel it reverberate against where your chests connect. You start to toy with the hair at the nape of his neck, the short buzz of his undercut tickles your fingertips. Sliding your hand up, you finally get to tangle your fist in his hair, your grip tightens, and you pull his head back, exposing his neck. Your tongue darts out to lick a stripe up to just below his earlobe, all the while your hand strokes him into fully hardening.

“I’m not fucking around, Deku.” Your voice is thick and your tone dark, dangerous. He grabs the wrist of the hand that’s between his legs and growls,

“Neither am I villain slut.” You swallow hard at his inflection on the word slut. You’d never been called a slut during sex, and under any other circumstance, you’re sure it wouldn’t have sent a thrill of arousal pulsing from your fingertips down to your toes. He brings the hand up above your head, reaching behind his head to grab your second hand. You give him a feral grin, and his eyes flash before he sends you to your back. You’re about to stretch out your legs when he commands you to flip over onto your hands and knees. You do as you’re told, biting your lip as warmth begins to once again pool between your legs. You wish you could help him out of his costume, but it sounds like your help wasn’t needed. His dick grazes against the back of your thighs. A finger follows the curve of your spine. You arch into the touch and moan when it dips at your hip to tap your clitoris.

“You’re so wet already. You villains really know nothing about bedroom decorum.” He skims a hand over your stomach, stopping to grope and tease your hardened nipples.

“Oh? Keeping a woman in suspense isn’t exactly proper in my book De-ku sa-ma.” You look over your shoulder with a smirk.

“You’re,” he thrust into you without warning, quickly turning the grin on your face into an open-mouthed ‘oh,’ “not,” he pulls out, so the tip of his head just barely touches your cunt, “a woman.” He pushes into you, swearing under his breath as you push your hips back to meet his momentum. A ragged breath escapes your lips as you adjust to him, filling you. Shit, the boy is thick. His nails dig into your hip as he continues to fuck you at a painfully slow pace. Fingers tweak your nipples, and you feel your whole body flush with pleasure. You clutch the bedsheets in two tight fists when he starts to quicken his thrusts. His chest is slick with sweat against your back, his tongue tracing circles into your shoulder. An aggressive stroke sends the head of his cock rubbing up against your G-spot, and you feel your walls squeeze around him.

“Shit, shit, fuck Deku. That’s it. Just keep putting pressure on that spot.” You feel your elbows buckle, and you expect to crash into the bed. Instead, black tendrils wrap around your arms to keep you upright. This is definitely not how Lariat intended Blackwhip’s tendrils to be used. The thought makes you giggle. It seems that this was not a sound Izuku wanted to hear coming from you. He bites down on the spot of your shoulder he’d been suckling, making his displeasure known. You feel him adjust himself behind you, perhaps too quickly, because he slips out of you, and you protest immediately with a loud whine.

“I’ll give you something to whine about.” He thrust back into you, your knees go weak, and your pussy’s stimulation begins to pull the taught rope of your impending orgasm closer to snapping. One of his hands grabs the hair at the base of your neck, tugging with just enough force to tease a guttural mewl from you.

“That’s more like it.” You’re so overstimulated, with the rhythm of his dick coming in and out of you. The attention he’s paying to your clit, you scarcely have the headspace to be shocked by the personality change. Izuku doesn’t release his hold on your hair; instead, he deactivates Blackwhip and uses the grip to guide you, so your back is flush against his chest. You can smell the muskiness of his sweat with him so close. It mingles in the air with the scent of your arousal. Sex, the whole room smelled heavily of your fucking. He brushes a thumb over your bottom lip, pulling it down gently. You open your mouth, taking it in, holding it gently between your teeth, your lips acting as a cushion. You suck on Izuku’s thumb, letting your tongue swirl over the tip treating it how you would if you were instead sucking on the head of his cock. You hollow out your cheek and release his thumb with a satisfying pop. Your reward is the sound of Izuku’s heated gasp. The sound tightens the coil in your groin. You feel his right hand lightly trailing up your side. You expect him to stop to cup your breast, but a tingle runs up your spine when he skips it entirely. His thumb rests a few inches under your right ear, the fleshy part of his palm rests against your trachea, the remaining four fingers occupy the same spot under the opposite ear. You can’t hide your excitement as he begins to apply light pressure to your neck. It’s amplified when he whispers in your ear,

“Whose slut are you, villain?”

“I’m yours. All yours.” He squeezes a little tighter, and you squirm, gripping his left hip for stability.

“Yours, Deku-sama. I’m all yours.” You choke over the words while he loosens his grip satisfied with your correction. The brief bout of intoxicating lightheadedness dissipates quickly, but he keeps his hand around your neck.

You feel him, hard and slick, throbbing inside you, and you know he’s close. You prepare to ride out the coming crescendo that you’ll set off with your silver tongue.

“You’re getting close, aren’t you, hero? I can feel your cock pulsing.” He squeezes your neck tighter than he has before reminding you who was in charge. You dig your nails into his hip and bite your lip. Was he turning into a masochist, or were you?

“I want you to cum in me. Make me your bona fide villain bitch — think you’re up for it, big boy?” You were being so bold, goading him. It does the trick. He releases his hold on your neck, you’re a little sad, but are swiftly distracted by a sudden burst of heat and green energy crackling, the telltale sign of Full Cowl being activated. What the hell was he up to? Your answer comes moments later when his hands push your bent legs further apart, hooking his arms under your thighs to lift them up. You feel weightless, free, and so very wanton. Then like being dosed with ice-cold water, you come back to your senses; you’ve always been terrified of being picked up during sex. Your arms flail, searching for anything to grab hold of. They settle awkwardly at Izuku’s neck. Your breathing is a little erratic.

“You’re not scared of heights, are you?” Oh, he was being a total ass.

“Absolutely not.” You bite back.

“Heh.”

Sensing your discomfort, he places you back down on your knees, his hand returning to your neck — where it belonged. Shit, it was you, you’re the masochist. You feel him throb inside you, the head of his penis gets a little bigger and his cock harder. His movements become more sporadic. You take his free hand and lead it to your clit, you’d be damned if he cums before you. His groans become music to your ears, loud and ravenous as you roll your hips to meet his thrusts. Soon that’s all you can feel, like tunnel vision nothing else matters, there are no other options, but his cock burying itself deeper and deeper inside you as his fingers dance around your clit. He flicks and pulls, rubs circles, and you savor every second of it. Everything cumulates into a blinding flash of white-hot light as if you’re staring directly at burning magnesium. You hear him crying out your name, and it mixes with your carnal pleas into a cacophonous soundtrack to your mutual climax. He finishes inside you, the thick viscous liquid of his orgasm, filling you with more warmth than you anticipated. As you ride out your orgasm, you don’t stop gyrating your hips until you feel Izuku become soft. You let out a shaky breath as you come to a stop to catch your breath. You’re thankful that he doesn’t seem eager to pull out quite yet while you bask in the quiet exhilaration of having orgasmed three times this night.

“I’m going to pull out now, okay?”

You nod your head slightly, words out of reach with your euphoria’s hum still clouding your mind. Cum trickles down between your thighs, the sensation almost ticklish, but far more erotic. With nothing connecting you to Izuku, your body gives in to its exhaustion, falling forward unceremoniously. He wraps an arm around your waist, setting you gently down on your stomach. Rolling onto your back, you shimmy up onto a pillow to support your head. You glance up at Izuku and sigh in content. Hair stuck to his head, abs contracting as he slows his breathing (his heart rate close to 180bpm), and his left-hand traces the scars on his right arm absently. Even in such a worn-out state, he looked otherworldly. You lock eyes, and you pat his side of the bed next to you.

“Cuddle with me.” At hearing those three words, he sheds his façade, his eyes soften, his jaw loosens, and he eagerly obliges your request. He rests his head on your chest, your fingers playing with his hair as he gently brushes your side. You stay like this for a few minutes until he starts out of your arms like someone’s lit a fire under his ass. He sits up, you follow suit intrigued by what’s got him so worked up. You watch him reach across towards his nightstand. He pulls out a notebook and a pencil. You have to suppress your snort as he begins scribbling furiously. You couldn’t even pretend to be surprised, catching bits and pieces of his muttering.

“. . . dominated . . . choking . . . loud . . . buns of steel. . .” You can’t stifle the laugh that escapes you. He glances up and gives you a sheepish grin, his face like he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t.

“You fucked me into another dimension, jot that down in your sex notebook.” A blush erupts across his face.

“I-I what? Seriously?”

“Mhmm, as seriously as my orgasm.” Embarrassment flickers momentarily in his eyes, quickly replaced by intense curiosity. You dare say you see a little triumphant gleam too.

“What happened, tell me everything, love.” You recount what he’d been doing with his tongue and fingers. The feeling leading up to it and what it looked like in this other dimension.

“Sounds like you’ve unlocked another facet of your quirk.”

“Looks like it, but it’s not really useful.” He gives you an inquiring look; you roll your eyes. He could be so dense sometimes.

“I can’t exactly have you eating me out in public every time I want to astral project now, can I?” His blush returns full force.

“Maybe there’s another way.”

“Possibly, but I’m beat. My legs feel like jello, and I’m starting to feel sore.” You massage your neck, glancing at your exposed breasts and the marks that speckle them. Izuku looks at you with worry.

“You can’t fix it with your quirk?”

“I can, but where’s the fun in that? One of my favorite parts of sex is feeling it the next day. I’m definitely going to tomorrow and maybe the day after thanks to you.” You give him a wink and admire as he fumbles with his words.

“Oh! Well, I mean. Yeah. No problem. I think?” He was definitely back to being your cinnamon roll. You giggle quietly.

“Before I go clean up, I’ve gotta know. How did you do that.” You motion with your hand, hoping he picks up what you’re putting down. He does.

“Simple, lots of research.” You squint at him, touching the pulse at his neck. It was slightly elevated.

“Ah-huh, and what else?”

“No-nothing!” The pulse quickens a little more.

“Did you role play with someone?” The idea sounds absolutely preposterous, but when he pushes your hand away from his neck and gets up off the bed, you know you’ve struck a nerve.

“You’re using your quirk, that’s not fair.”

“All’s fair in love and war. So, who was it with? Shoto? Eiji? Or was it Katsuki ?” The light hue of pink that creeps up his neck is all the confirmation you need.

“Ah,” you bob your head sagely, “it makes sense, babe, he gives off a total masochist vibe. I’d have practiced with him too. What was it like? Would he be open to a threesome? Or would it be a foursome since he’s got that not, so secret thing going with Eiji? Could I even handle the three of you?” You wonder out loud.

“(Y/N)!” Izuku rushes into the bathroom, adamantly trying to end this conversation. You weren’t letting this go, oh no siree, so you get out of bed and walk to the bathroom where Izuku’s turned on the shower and is standing under its current.

“Nice try. You’re giving me the details.” He sighs defeatedly.

“Can it wait until we’re in the bath.” You cross your arms in a huff, pouting.

“I guess.” Izuku grabs you, pulling you into the shower with him. You wrap your arms around his waist, resting your cheek against his chest. He gives the top of your head a kiss.

“Happy birthday, (Y/N).”

Happy fucking birthday to me. You smile to yourself.

[sapphireblondie]

Chapter 7 (Final Chapter)

Warning: Violence, Swearing. this chapter isnt bad but the tagged chapters are not minor friendly so MDNI

Word count: 8.1k

The tiger roars and throws Viper's body across the parking lot. Kirishima, Mina and Bakugou stare at the beast that sits before them.. Mina looks at Kirishima "Red, what should we do?" Kirishima looks at Bakugou... Bakugou tries to stand up painfully trying to speak "We need to figure out who's quirk this is." Aizawa, Deku, Sero and Shoto come running down the parking lot. Deku immediately asks "What's going on?" Kirishima looked worried "Were not really sure, Bakugou never showed at his place so I told you guys I was going to call Mina and see if she's heard anything from Y/n. Neither of them were answering their texts so Mina checked Y/n apartment and she wasn't there either. Then Mina called Y/n, from what we could hear and make out, Viper Bakugou's old side kick went rogue and tried killing them out of jealousy. We rushed down here to help but by the time we got here things were already getting out of control. Y/n screamed and then snow began to collect and created a cyclone. Once the snow began visible through this showed up." Aizawa tried to use his quirk on the Tiger but nothing happened then he looked at mina... "Mina, I was a couple blocks down with Present Mic when I heard the scream and roar, I did notice Tokoyami, Momo, Denki, Tsu and Uraraka headed this way as well. Get with them and evacuate this area. Sero and Deku you're with me, were going to try to restrain it and gain control of the situation before too much damage is caused. Shoto, it's strength looks like it comes from the snow, can you and Bakugou try to get rid of the surrounding snow to weaken it." Everyone agreed to the instruction they were given. Sero and Deku rushed to Aizawa's side while the other went to meet up with their friends to evacuate the surrounding area. Shoto found Bakugou "Hey, Are you going to be ok? Let me help you up." "Damn it, I'm fine icy hot. I need to find her. I was supposed to protect her.. And I failed. How did shitty hair protect her for 3 years and I couldn’t protect her for 3 days?" Shoto looked at Bakugou "I don't think that’s the case here, I think your side kick was building up to this, I don't think it's a who protected who and who didn't, I think it was just she finally snapped." Bakugou looked at Shoto with fear and pain covering his face "I can't lose her... She's the only thing I've ever cared this much about."  

Aizawa looked at the boys "Deku use black whip and try to pull it to the ground, Sero strap it down once the beast gets there." Both of them nodded and took off in different directions. Deku grabbed the tiger's front legs and pulled attempting to throw it off balance, Shoto melted the nearby snow. "I'm going try locating where the source of the power is coming from. If I find who's quirk it is, I can take control of the situation." Aizawa explained as he swung to the top of the pub. Sero and Deku managed to pin the tiger to the ground, then within seconds, snow began to accumulate, circulating and collecting from within the surrounding rooftops and roads that weren't cleared. The crucial winds broke Deku's hold on the tiger and Sero's tape. The tiger stood full height again letting out a an ear piercing roar. Bakugou started to walk towards the tiger. Shoto grabbing Bakugou's arm "What are you doing?" "DON'T TOUCH ME ICY HOT! The last place she was at was right there and now the ice shell is there... I want to know if she's inside of it.." Aizawa came back off the roof "Bakugou, do you think this is her at work?" Bakugou responded "If it is, she isn't in control... It's consumed her." The tiger growled as Bakugou walked closer. "I'm not going to hurt you..." The tiger released a deafening roar and swung knocking Bakugou across the parking lot and into the wall. Aizawa, Deku and Sero immediately retaliated and attempted to restrain the tiger, but at this point the tiger had become too powerful. The tiger continued to defend the dome of ice under its stomach, refusing to move from the immediate area around it. Shoto helped Bakugou back up as he attempted to catch his breath. Blood running down his head, he coughs losing balance and leaned on shoto for support. "Bakugou, this is insane, we need to get you out of here." "Damn it you guys, she isn't doing this on purpose, haven't you noticed yet, the beast hasn’t moved from the area by that dome, IT'S PROTECTING SOMETHING! She has to be inside of there, I just need to get to it." Aizawa, Sero and Deku step back from the fight, allowing the tiger to calm momentarily. Aizawa looked at Bakugou "So what are you thinking?" Bakugou wiped the blood from his face and said "I think I need to get closer to that dome to find out if it's the source of this quirk or if it's her and it's protecting her or both. I just need you to buy me some time and distract it." Aizawa and the guys looked at Bakugou and could only see fear in his face, they knew they had to buy him time to try to figure things out. Deku looked at Aizawa "I've never seen him this scared before, he's always been so fearless.." Aizawa looked at Deku "What if it was Uraraka?" Deku's face turned red.. "I wouldn't stop until I knew she was safe, no matter the risk." Aizawa nodded "That's how Bakugou feels, you gotta remember, they spent years together training just like all of you in class 1-A. So the bond you have with Iida, Tsu, Koda, Mina, all of your friends... that’s the bond he made with her, but it became romantic because it was one on one, he trained her, he watched her grow into the person she is, he took responsibility of protecting her." Deku nodded and looked at Bakugou who was trying to get closer to the tiger. Deku ran towards Bakugou "Kacchan, I'm going to grab its front legs and swing to the back of the tiger and we'll pull, see if I can pull it off balance, Sero I need your to help. Kacchan that should give you a very small window to get underneath." Aizawa ran to catch up to Bakugou "Bakugou, you will have a very little time, you are injured so don't stay under there, just collect the necessary information and get back out. Once we know what were up against we can address this properly. I'm going to help Deku buy you as much time as possible." "Got it" Bakugou said as he nodded and started walking towards the tiger.

The three guys ran towards the tiger, Deku using black whip grabbed the tigers legs, Aizawa using his binding cloths trapped them together and Sero using his tape created straps that attached to the bindings so they could pull on the tigers legs to cause the beast to fall. The tiger roared and ripped at the bindings trying to release its feet, but between all the binding the beast lost balance and fell, it laid calmly for a moment with its eyes closed. Bakugou took his opening and ran towards the dome, Shoto followed to make sure he didn’t get hurt again, keeping a flame lit hoping it will weaken the beast. Bakugou reached the dome and inside there you laid, motionless... lifeless. Bakugou slammed his hands on the dome "Y/N" Your eyes immediately open startling both Bakugou and Shoto. "Her eyes..." Bakugou said under his breath. The tigers eyes opened and ice began to cover the ground.. "Icyhot what are you doing?" "This isn't me Bakugou, we gotta get outta here!" Shoto grabbed Bakugou's arm and they both started to run as the tiger began to growl. Ice covered the restraints and the tiger began growling and biting in every direction. As the ice reached Sero, Deku, and Aizawa they released the restraints not knowing what would happen if they were touched so instead they retreated back to Bakugou to find out if he figured out anything.  

"Bakugou, Shoto! What did you see?" Deku asked as they all grouped by the road away from the beast knowing it wasn’t going to follow due to its protection over the dome. Bakugou looked disappointed "It's her.. This is her quirk, but she's not in control. She's alive and conscious but all her wounds are healed.. I think that dome was tending to her injuries. When I hit it and yelled to her, she opened her eyes and they were icy blue just like the tigers." Shoto sighed "Guys... I don't think we've been dealing with its full strength. Think about it, the tigers strength has been divided between y/n wounds and us and when Bakugou hit the ice shell and woke her up and her injuries were gone the beast became even more powerful. I think we're going to need to rethink this and wait for more back up." Aizawa nodded and agreed with Shoto. Bakugou looked towards the parking lot, "I don’t think that's the case. I think it's been on defense this entire time. I think it finds us as a threat because we made ourselves a threat. I think we need to make ourselves known as her friends. Aizawa, Sero do you think you could round up Kirishima and Mina. Kirishima created a bond with her when he chose to track her down and protect her. The tiger might recognize that and allow him to get close. Deku can you track down Uraraka and the rest of the gang." Sero smiled and gave Bakugou a thumbs up as he pulled out his phone to call Kirishima. "Hey man, where are you? We figured out who's quirk it is and were going to need your help." Sero pulled the phone from his face "Aizawa, he's about 1.5 miles south of here." Aizawa looked at Shoto, "We'll be back, don’t do anything crazy." Sero and Aizawa ran to Sero's car and headed south to grab Kirishima. Deku called Uraraka to locate Mina, "Hey doll, is Mina with you? Great! Can you guys head back, we're gonna need all the help we can get just in case things go south. On your way can you text everyone else and have them meet us back here. Thanks. Stay safe." Deku hangs up the phone and says "Well Uraraka and mina are about 10 minutes out, and Kirishima is about 5 minutes from here. What are you thinking Kacchan?" Bakugou starts to walk back towards the tiger who is circling the dome as ice and snow accumulates and begins to rotate at a vicious speed around them both. "I'm thinking I have to get her to realize who we are. I need to get close enough to it for it to understand I'm done fighting, I'm done attacking." Deku looked at Bakugou "And what if it's not willing to let you in..?" Bakugou looked at Deku "Then I keep trying."

Kirishima, Aizawa and Sero come walking back. Kirishima walked up next to Shoto who was keeping close to the situation just in case he was needed. "Hey man, what's up." Bakugou turned around hearing Kirishima's voice. "Hey shitty hair, I need your help. You've created a bond with her as a protector, I'm hoping that bond carried over, walk with me, but stay out of reach. No one is to get hit or hurt." Kirishima smiled "You got it!" They both began to walk towards the tiger as it was distracted by the dome, Uraraka and Mina came walking down the parking lot, behind her followed the rest of their friends. Mina instinctively yelled to Kirishima "What are you doing, are you crazy?" The element of surprise was now gone. Mina's voice caught the tiger's attention as it now shifted its focus to the guys and the snow has begins to disperse. Bakugou froze in place stopping Kirishima in his tracks "Are you fucking serious pinky! Kirishima, this is as far as you go." The tiger staring directly at Bakugou, all teeth showing as saliva dripped from its glistening white k-9s. Bakugou began to walk forward "I'm done ok, I'm done attacking, I'm done fighting, I love her too, Please just let me save her. I promise I'll protect her from now on, I'll never let anything happen to her... Please.. I can't do this without her..." Bakugou and the tiger stood just a few feet apart, the tiger still growling. The tiger roared and lifted its paw, Kirishima ran towards Bakugou "Yuki NO!" The tiger stopped in place. "Isn't that your name? You were smaller when you visited her at college. You were just a cub, she ran into you in the woods when she was going for her walk on winter break, she said she hadn't seen you in a few year. She thought you were someone else's quirk watching over her, like Koda's. But you were really hers watching over her to make sure she was safe. I noticed you all the time watching from a distance when I visited in the winters. She called you Yuki. You know this isn't what she wants." The snow stopped moving and the ice began to thaw and the beast stepped back and sat down keeping the dome under its enormous snow white and black striped body. Bakugou looked at Kirishima "You once again knew how to stop this and control the situation the entire time and you neglected to share. WHAT THE FUCK !!??" Kirishima walked towards Bakugou "It's not like that. I honestly took a shot in the dark man. Last time I seen the animal it stood no more than two feet off the ground, now its taller than a two story building. It doesn’t look the same but it protects her the same. I just said what I did to hopefully save you, you're my best friend and you're hurt enough. I don't know if you could of survived another hit from her. Bakugou turned to Yuki, "So your name is Yuki? You've been protecting her since she was a child... you're her quirk... she has the elemental guardian of water. Listen I'm sorry I hurt her, and I'm sorry I let her get hurt, but I'm not leaving here without her... she's my everything, and I willing to die trying to get her back, so if that's what it takes, let's get it over with...." The tiger lowered its head to the ground and looked at Bakugou in the eyes. Yuki let out a thunderous roar and then stood back up and unwrapped it's beautiful tail to uncovered Y/N. Y/N stood slouched against Yuki's stomach. "Teddy bear" Bakugou ran towards Y/n. Kirishima walked towards Yuki, "You were always there protecting her and she never realized who you were.. Are there others for when you can't be there?" Yuki looked down at Y/n who was now in Bakugou's arms. Yuki roared and snow flooded towards her and rotated around her in a speed that made it impossible to remain close. Kirishima and Bakugou were trapped in the snow and couldn't see. Their friends began to run towards the snow to try to get through to help but before anyone could get too close, Kirishima and Bakugou emerged with Y/n.  

Everyone expected Yuki to disappear now that the threat was gone but instead once the snow gracefully fell to the ground and settled, a stunningly beautiful young woman who looked about your age stood there. Her eyes were a gorgeous icy blue and her hair was a clouded white. Although she looked similar to human, you could definitely tell she wasn't. She had fuzzy white ears that came to a rounded point, with a single black strip that outlined the edges on her ears. She also had an exquisitely long elegant white tail that was decorated in black stripes. Everyone looked at her and Aizawa mesmerized by the beautiful woman standing there he walked towards her to ask questions. She smiled and walked past him and over to Kirishima, "I've seen you many times protecting her and  I wanted to say thank you.. My name is Yuki and y/n is the holder of an elemental guardian. I've been with her since she was 4, I was not allowed to tell her anything more than I wanted to be her friend and my name was Yuki. She thought my ears and tail were part of my quirk and I could not tell her otherwise to avoid frightening her she was far too young, and once she was old enough I didn't know how to tell her without her feeling like I betrayed her trust. I appeared around her age to make her feel more comfortable around me although I am much older due to being a guardian. There are others, but she is in possession of the water form. She has me for snow and ice. . Once she learns to control the power of the quirk I'll be able to be around even when it's warm out because she'll be able to create her own ice or snow from any amount of water. Right now it's all or nothing unless she's in the snow then I for the most part can wonder off of what energy she gives off. She's strong but when she loses control like this, it puts her life at risk.. So it can't happen often. I need you guys to help her.. Yuki turned and looked at Bakugou, who was on the ground with you while you regained consciousness. You opened your eyes and Bakugou pulled you in for a hug. "Teddy Bear! I'm so sorry I failed to protect you." You sat up and hugged Bakugou moving his head and gently placing it on your beautifully bouncy boobs. "Babe, it wasn’t your fault, I'm just as responsible, she's been following me for a very long time and I never paid enough attention." Yuki stood beside Shoto, Kirishima, and Aizawa "I think it's time to explain to her...." Yuki fell to the ground grabbing her head. "Are you ok?" Kirishima and Shoto asked worried. "Teddy Bear?.... Y/N!!! " Your eyes flashed Icy blue for a moment and you fell limp. Bakugou picked you up and carried you to Yuki. "What do I do??" You could hear the panic in Bakugou's voice. "She's overflowing with power.. I've neglected to train her and teach her how to control this so over time its built up... normally when were one, I usually am able to release a small amount to keep her from losing control which is usually in the winter and how I can appear freely.. But I haven't been with her for about a month now, I've been trying to track down the bitch I could smell following her. I knew it wasn't Kirishima, because I knew his scent. I separated from her taking a majority of her stored up energy so I knew she'd be ok until I got back. Unfortunately she regained her power faster than I had expected... she's getting stronger with no control.. When I'm full animal and size and we merge which is when our eyes are the same icy blue, I become part of her, her power build up is at my disposal.. Once she gains control our eyes will match but they’ll be a little more faded, calmer. I used a good chunk healing her.. But it looks like she's already regaining the power back. Aizawa.. I need you to shut her quirk down so I can go back." "Yuki!?" Kirishima grabbed her hand.. "Will this hurt you..? When will you be back?" Kirishima said with concern flooding his face. "My dearest red riot.. It won't hurt. And I'll try to be back soon. I need you guys to explain everything to her. I need Bakugou to take care of her and love her and help her train. Shoto... Your ice could be really helpful if you could also lend a hand.." Shoto smiled "I'd be honored, I owe her anyway for helping me with Momo, and she's a dear friend to all of us." Yuki smiled at Shoto "Thank you. Momo's very lucky to have such a gentleman as her man. Yuki turned to Bakugou.. "Her eyes will go back to normal once I return, she may show some discomfort for a moment but it's just me trying to figure out how to get her over active power under control, comfort and love her ok." Bakugou nodded.. "I'll be waiting to meet you again in training." Yuki giggle and turned back to Kirishima "Listen, you have one hell of a woman over there, better take care of her.. Thank you for watching over y/n so much.. I honestly didn't even recognize your scent... It was your voice that caught my attention." Yuki leaned towards Kirishima and kissed his cheek. "I will look forward to training with all of you soon. Take care of yourself and Mina." Yuki smiled at the girls "Thank you for not giving up on her and sticking by her side, I can't explain to you guys how much all of you mean to her." Aizawa walked up to Bakugou who was still holding you.. You were cold to the touch and only one of your eyes were icy blue, but you weren't responding to questions. Yuki turned to the rest of your friends "Thank you for being there for her even though she can be quirkless at times. Tokoyami.. I hope you know how much she adores you, out of everyone here, you are the only one she's afraid won't like her that she wants to be friends with, so try not to be so hard on her, she just wants to be like a little sister to the group. Yuki walked over to Aizawa.. "Thank you and will you help her as well, she's going to need your help controlling it." Aizawa nodded. "I will inform Principle Nezu and Recovery girl of the situation, I'm sure they will be happy to allow us to use the arenas to train her into the proper hero." Yuki blushed "You always did watch over her more than I expected you too.. Always from a distance even when you assigned her to Bakugou, you'd sit in the shadows just in case she needed you. You're a great man Shota." Yuki eyes flashed dull and then bright blue again and she lost balance. "Yuki." Aizawa said as he caught her. Yuki giggled and hugged Aizawa then whispered in his ear "I'm ready, I need to go back before she loses it again." As Yuki pulled away, her lips grazing Shota's cheek, Aizawa's eyes turned red and his hair stood up and the sweet young woman who was once in his arm vanished.

You let out a scream of discomfort. Bakugou looked helpless and confused. "What's wrong!" Aizawa walked towards you "Give Yuki a minute she said she had to regain control of the situation." Seconds later, your eye return to normal and you woke up. "What's going on?" Everyone rushed to your side. They were all so happy to see you ok again. Aizawa released you from his quirk. "We should get you to recovery girl to get you checked out, it's late the rest of you should head home to get some sleep before you have to return to work. And although I know I'm saying this, I also know that all of you are going to completely ignore me and follow Bakugou and y/n to Recovery girl and Principle Nezu since they will both be at the school by now since class start in about 2 hours." Aizawa and Bakugou helped you into Bakugou's truck and Bakugou ran to the driver's side to jump in. Did you wanna ride with us? Bakugou asked Aizawa trying to hurry. Kirishima ran up behind Aizawa "He can ride with Mina and I, we'll be right behind you." Aizawa turned around "I should expect nothing less from my class 1-A." Aizawa closed the truck door and Bakugou headed for the school. It was a 30 minute drive away so he took that time to explain everything he could about Yuki. "So she's my quirk?" You asked confused. Bakugou nodded. "Yes, you've been releasing power since you were 4 so she was able to use that to come out to be your friend. So she wasn't a stranger when you did start using your quirk." You looked out the window at the snow falling from the sky.. "An elemental guardian... I honestly thought she was just another person with a quirk. Did she tell you how I could control it enough to bring her back? So we can train together." You asked eagerly. Bakugou looked disappointed "No she said just to train with you. Shoto is going to help since you're more powerful in snow and ice." You reached the academy, Kirishima and Aizawa not far behind you with mina. The five of you walked to recovery girl's office. "Everyone wait outside while I check her over and talk to Mr. Aizawa" Recovery girl said while shooing everyone from the room. The others began to pile in to the waiting area as well to make sure you were ok. "So explain from the top what's going on." Recovery girl said to Aizawa as she walked back towards you to check your vitals. "I think we should get Principle Nezu in here first so we don't have to do this again" Aizawa said grabbing the phone to call him. "Hi, Principle Nezu, can you come to recovery girl's office, I'm here with Y/n and she's activated her quirk." Within a few short moments Principle Nezu walked in. "Good morning Y/n, How are you feeling?" You smiled at him, you miss how gentle his voice was. "I'm well, I don't remember much so I wont be much help but Aizawa and Bakugou seem to have a lot of information." Principle Nezu turned towards the door "Then I will grab Bakugou to make sure we cover everything on the first go." Principle Nezu walked to the door "Katsuki Bakugou, I was told you could be of assistance in explaining everything so if you could join us, I'd greatly appreciate it. "Yes sir, Kirishima will honestly know the most about Yuki, he's known her the longest outside of Y/n." Nezu smiled "The more information the better, Eijori Kirishima could you please join Mr. Bakugou in her so we can get all the information we can about this." Kirishima looked back at mina "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my trips. Of course Principle Nezu, I'll help any way I can." As Bakugou and Kirishima walked in, recovery girl finished writing down your vitals. "She's a little colder than normal but I'm assuming that has to do with her quirk since it's snow and ice related. The rest of her checks out." You smile and stand up, then run to Bakugou sinking into his arms and melting into his beautifully intoxicating melted caramel scent. "Is everyone ok? What about Tokoyami? I know it was dark out.. And dark shadow can be a pain sometimes in the dark?" Bakugou smiled "Everyone is ok." Aizawa and teachers sat down and went over everything, Bakugou and Kirishima would speak up when they had helpful information but for the most part sat quietly. After 45 minutes of explaining everything the teachers come to an agreement. Principle Nezu then exited the room, and  stopped at your group of friends "If everyone would join me in the arena, I would greatly appreciate it." The three of you catch up with your friends and continue to the arena. Walking down the hallways brought back so many fun memories, you began to lose yourself in them, but then you felt a tap on the shoulder. "Tokoyami?" "Hey, so Yuki said "you were afraid of me not liking you, when it's quite the opposite. I have great respect for you never giving up on your dream. And I know what it's like to have a part of you that’s over powering in a specific element or situation. So if there's anything I can do to help or any advice you want, don't be afraid to ask." You blushed and threw your arms around Tokoyami "Thanks, I just really like how stubborn you are, it's super adorable. You remind me of a big brother." Tokoyami hugged you back "Well then I guess I'll be your stubborn older brother and you can be my annoying bubbly little sister. Hope Kirishima's willing to share his big brother role." You both chuckled and ran to catch up with everyone.

Once you reached the arena, everyone waited to get directions. Nezu looked at shoto. "Shoto Todoroki, could you give me some ice." "Of course Principle Nezu." As ice covered the ground, Nezu pointed at Kirishima "Could you turn some into snow. Enough to make a decent pile. Kirishima nodded "Harden!" He began chipping away at the ice and quickly forming a pile of snow. "Bakugou, Take y/n to the snow and put her in the center. Y/n I'm going need you to focus on the snow...." Bakugou walks beside you as you both walk towards the snow. "I've always wondered why I like snow so much...This all makes sense now." You said giggling. Bakugou smiled "Teddy bear, don't over work yourself, you've been through a lot. Just focus on yourself." "Alright now everyone leave." Everyone turned to Principle Nezu. "What?" Kirishima, Bakugou, Deku, and Tokoyami both immediately replied "No!?" Principle Nezu replied "She isn't going to be able to focus with all of us staring at her, we have to leave her alone." You sit down and most of your friends exited the arena. But the 5 boys didn't wanna budge. "Guys I'm ok. You're just outside the door. Now go." The guys came up and gave you a hug and reminded you they are just a few feet outside the door. You sat in the snow of over three hours and nothing happened. It was now 2 hours into the day. You got up and walked towards the door. "Hey guys I'm tired.. I'm gonna call it a day." Everyone agreed. Principle Nezu pulled Aizawa aside, "If you'd like to get them together again today after school you can, just make sure you keep them in line. Even though they're not our students anymore, they are still your responsibility in this building." Aizawa agreed to the terms "Everyone can meet back here at 9pm tonight, until then go home and get some rest." You walked over to Bakugou "Hey can you take me home, I'm going to crash at my place." "Sure teddy bear, do you want me to stay with you?" Everyone began saying their goodbyes and heading home. Bakugou walked you to his truck and headed to your place. "You can stay at my place if you want, I'm sorry I'm probably gonna fall asleep as soon as I hit the bed." "Teddy bear, that's honestly exactly what I'm hoping for." As you pull into your driveway you unbuckle your seatbelt. Bakugou turns off his truck and leans over and kisses you on the cheek. "C'mon let's get you in bed." You both head into the house and to the bathroom. You grab a rag to wash the little bit of dirt off your hands and Bakugou jumps in the shower. You strip the clothes off you had on and put on a silky short baby doll then you decided to lay down to wait for Bakugou but before he even made it out of the shower, you fell asleep.

You wake up, the sun looks like it's either rising or setting which alarmed you. "Crap, how long have I been sleeping!" Bakugou isn't next to you, the bed actually looked undisturbed. You jump out of bed and run into the living room where you weren't expecting to find Bakugou, Aizawa, Kirishima, Tokoyami and Shoto talking about your quirk and Yuki. Kirishima, Tokoyami and Todoroki's face turned red and they immediately looked the other direction. Bakugou and Aizawa jumped up, Aizawa grabbing the blanket on the back of the chair he was sitting in and Bakugou taking his off shirt and running towards you. "Babe! I didn’t know you were awake." Aizawa tossed bakugou the blanket "Katsuki, Here." He catches the blanket and wraps you in it. You then remembered what you went to bed in and realized why everyone reacted the way they did. Your face flushed red and then you grabbed the blanket from Bakugou and apologized to everyone and rushed out of the room. Bakugou looked at the guys "I'll be back guys, I gotta go check on her."  Bakugou walked through the house and into your room where you were seated in the corner crying. "Teddy bear, it's ok, no one saw anything." "Bakugou I feel like an idiot. I woke up and you were gone and I was worried I slept through our training so I ran out to the living room to see if you were still here, I completely spaced what I was wearing." Bakugou hand you his shirt "Here put this on, I'll go grab you some shorts." You put Bakugou's shirt on, "I just hope no one's mad at me." Aizawa walked in "No one's mad at you, you were freaked out, and this is your home. Anyway if you'd like you can go get dress and we can all meet at the arena. You smiled at Aizawa and agreed. Everyone headed out and you went and got dress in clothes that were comfortable and a pair of tennis shoes. Bakugou drove you both to the arena and outside waiting stood Aizawa. As you got out of the truck snow began to fall.. Bakugou was talking to Aizawa when you had stopped to watch the snowflakes. Your eyes shifted Icy blue and you made eye contact with Aizawa.. The wind began to pick up and snow began to rage. "What's happening? Teddy bear?" "Bakugou I know we said were trying to trigger it but she isn't in control, I'm going to stop her quirk before I can't see her anymore." Aizawa triggered his quirk and your eyes went back to normal. "What happened?" "Nothing, You didn't have control of your quirk and it was activating, Yuki said when it involuntarily activates, it can harm you." Bakugou rushed to your side "Let's get you inside."

The group spent most of the night trying to reactivate your quirk but nothing would trigger it. No matter how much snow or ice was made. Nothing was working. Months go by with no luck on activating your quirk. Everything else was going great, you hung out with your friends every free chance you had. And Katsuki was very passionate about always making it home or to your house at a decent time to give you well deserved attention. You’ve decided to pursue more into music. You started writing more and taking lessons to learn how to play more instruments while everyone was busy with hero work. It's well into fall now, leaves have begun to change color. First snowfall should be in a couple weeks. You honestly couldn't wait, winters always been your favorite. Today Bakugou was planning to take you to a movie and dinner, and with it being later October there was a bunch of new scary movies out. It was 6:30p, you guys cancelled tonight's training to get a break. It was already getting dark, you were dressed in a warm maroon and gold sweater dress and black thermal leggings. Bakugou opened the door and a breeze came rushing in "Oh shit! That's colder than I expected." Bakugou mumbled pulling out his phone to check the temperature. "It's only fucking 27 degrees!!!!" You laughed at Bakugou's hatred towards cold temperatures. "Well winter is sneaking up on us baby." You lean towards Bakugou and give him a kiss, he grabs your waist and pulls you towards him for a more passionate kiss. You close your eyes and melt into his arms and drown in his intoxicating caramel scent. Bakugou pulls away for a moment "Hey, how about we cancel the movie and dinner and go for a walk on the trail through the woods by the park? I know you like being outside on cold nights like tonight?" You blush "Yeah but you hate the cold." "I'll go grab my scarf and gloves, I'll be fine." You giggled "I'd love to go for a walk. I'll wait in the truck while you grab them." Bakugou kissed your forehead before you walked out the door and headed for the truck.

Bakugou headed to the closet where he kept all of his winter stuff, he pulled out his scarf and gloves and before he put his gloves on he pulled his phone out. *To Aizawa, Kirishima and Tokoyami* "Hey, were going to the trail by the park that goes through the woods since it's cold outside and she enjoys the cold weather. My location is on and I'll check in every 30." Aizawa immediately responded "Keep me posted if you need me." Bakugou slips his phone back into his coat pocket and heads to the truck. "So to the woods?" You smiled brightly with excitement "Yes, Please!!" Bakugou chuckled and leaned over and kissed your cheek.

On the way there you asked him how work's been and he asked you how your songs are coming along. Things you both already knew the answers to since you see each other every day but it helped filled the silence of you both knowing that winter was quickly approaching. As you guys pulled up to the entrance to the trail, you could feel the excitement buzzing through you. Both of you exited the truck at the same time, you were far too excited to wait for Bakugou to come open the door for you. You sprinted to the trail, Bakugou chuckled as he tried to catch up to you. He watched as you danced around spinning in circles on the trail giggling. He checked his phone to find both Kirishima and Tokoyami replied "Keep her safe, let me know if you need me." Bakugou chuckled then ran up to you and wrapped his strong arms around you and picked you up continuing to spin you around as you giggled. He was lost in your beauty, as your hair moved with the wind and your smile shined brighter than the moon.. He couldn't help but notice how at peace you were. He hasn't seen you this peaceful ever. You looked down at him and leaned toward him, he let you slide down enough until his lips met yours. He gently placed you back on the ground without interrupting his kiss. You wrap your arms around his neck and he pulled you closer to him. You felt his tongue slide past his lips and just as you went to meet his tongue with yours, everything froze, your body wouldn't move. The peace you had shattered in a single moment. You felt a cold drop on your cheek.. "Teddy bear?" Bakugou was staring at you but you couldn’t move, you couldn’t get anything to happen then your eyes opened. "No.. No... Fuck.. Please no...." Bakugou began to panic... You could hear him and could see him but you still couldn't move. "Why was he so afraid? What's happening.." Bakugou stood there for a minute.. "Ok so Yuki said it has to be triggered.. What triggered your eyes to turn Icy blue!?" You stood there "My quirk activated?" Then Bakugou noticed as he watched a large snowflake land on you rosy cheeks. "It's snowing... the drop in temperature and snow triggered her quirk. Yuki!? Please tell me you have this under control. The snow started coming down heavier and the snowflakes were bigger. The wind started to pick up, Bakugou could barely see the sidewalk under his feet. He held you close to him refusing to leave your side. You gripped Bakugou's hand, he immediately looked at you.. "Y/N!" He watched as your eyes faded to a calmer icy blue. "Bakugou, what's with the storm?" "Honestly I thought it was you..."

"I see she woke up, good then I do have everything under control." Bakugou looked around. Yuki stepped towards the both of you. "Yuki." "Y/n" Yuki responded softly. You smiled "It's been a long time. How are you here? What triggered my quirk?" Yuki giggled "A couple things sweetie, You were finally at peace, you weren't stressed out or mad or anything, your soul and your heart were open and free and it became one with the quirk. And all it took was snow to trigger it. Snow will always be your strength. The moment you come into contact with it, I will appear." You hugged Yuki, "I've missed you! We had so much fun as kids in the snow." Yuki smiled and pulled away "Shota, you do realize, I'm part cat. My sense of smell is 14 times better than a humans. I could smell you the second I got here, I can also smell Kirishima and Tokoyami in your car parked a mile from the park so they didn't know you followed them." You look at Bakugou confused. Aizawa jumped down from a tree branch, "I Shouldn’t of underestimated you Yuki." Bakugou smirked "I thought it was you following us." Aizawa moved his scarf "I apologize I didn’t want to intrude unle.." Yuki interrupted him wrapping her arms around his strong lengthy torso. "Thank you for always watching her." Yuki looked up and was immediately lost in him. How his hair delicately hugged his face and how his scruffy facial hair made him look so mature and valorous. "Oh, sorry. I'll stop hugging you now.." Yuki blushed letting go of Aizawa. But Yuki wasn’t the only one lost. Shota was already lost in her icy blue eyes, and her beautiful gentle body. Before he realized it, Yuki was pulling away and apologizing. He wasn't sure what for though, as the chill from her snowy laced body left him, he finally realized what was happening. He wasn't ready for her to let go. She began to walk back towards Bakugou and you and Aizawa mumbled in his low raspy voice "Of all the things to happen, and all the people to let in.. Why you?"

Aizawa grabbed Yuki's hand and pulled her back startling her a little. He placed one hand on her cheek and the other on the back of her neck. Yuki looked at Aizawa and blushed "At least I wasn't the only one with the crush." Yuki leaned forward and pushed her lips against Aizawa's. Aizawa's face blushed red. Yuki pulled away and smiled "Your face is so scruffy and cute". Aizawa's face began to turned bright red. "Holy fuck! Are you blushing Erasure!" Aizawa's focus switched to Bakugou in frustration and embarrassment "CAN IT KID!!!!" Yuki giggled and walked over to you. "Hey, so you ready to start training." You smiled "Yeah but where do I even begin?" Yuki gathered snow.. "Since you can't control it, I can use it through you, but it takes a lot out of both of us, although were strong together we can't keep up a fight long before we exert ourselves." "Ok and once I learn this, what about Aizawa and you... I didn't know you guys had a thing?" Bakugou interrupted "If you would of see the way he looked at her last time they seen each other, you definitely would of known. Gotta remember protecting you meant protecting Yuki. Until you both build your strength she won't be able to come here whenever she wants. She currently relies on your stored power and that stored power sucks you dry faster than if you two stored power together. So although she plays it off like she's strong.. She isn't strong without you. Am I wrong Yuki?" Aizawa looked furious "You have some nerve talking lik…."

Yuki looked at Bakugou saddened "It's ok Shota, he's right. Being here right now is only possible because I'm running off her stored power. I have training myself to do to learn to store my own and to learn how to fight with y/n. Right now I only know how to use her power while I protect her, that's why her eyes turn the same as mine because I've taken over her power source/supply. When I'm here in human form, it takes very little power but even collecting that snow pushes me over my stored limit. I could easily stay here for weeks just in human form. In the winter I can stay from first snow fall until final snow melt. If we train through the winter I can remain by her side and I want her to get used to viewing me as my tiger form in battle so she isn't afraid to shout commands and be on my back so we can get places faster" Bakugou looked at you "What do you think Teddy Bear?" You looked at Aizawa who was standing a couple feet behind Yuki "I think they make an adorable couple" Aizawa smirked "I don't think that's what they were asking Y/n." You laughed "Yeah I know, I'll get a leave of absence from my lessons and keep writing lyrics in my free time. Bakugou I'll probably move in with you until I start hero work and get an income of my own so you aren't paying for two apartments still." Bakugou looked at you confused "Babe it was never about the money or rent, I don't mind plus you and Yuki can crash there...unless Aizawa had other intentions. Aizawa and Yuki's face both blushed, Aizawa spoke up "Yuki can stay where she is comfortable, I am currently located in the teachers dorms at UA because I'm still teaching, I could talk to Principle Nezu and see if we can use an outdoor arena that way we have the snow element but it's still in a controlled location." Yuki smiled "So many options, If you are keeping y/n's apartment, I would like to have that as an option just so I'm not too much for Aizawa, considering from what I've observed through y/n, he's not much of a people person. So staying a couple days away from me might be a healthy start to our.. Friendship?" You laughed "friends don’t kiss like that Yuki." Yuki looked embarrassed "Oh, did I step out of line." Aizawa walked up to yuki "No, you were fine, I don't mind if you want to stay at my place for a few days and then the apartment for the rest of the week, that way the school life doesn’t overwhelm you." You looked at Bakugou and he laughed "Then it's settled, I'll keep both places so the girls have somewhere for girl time." Both girls smiled and nodded "Sounds perfect!" Kirishima and Tokoyami come walking down the path through the woods. "YUKI!" They both shouted! She smiled, I thought I smelled you two coming! I'm glad the gangs all here.

"So would you like to try to train tonight or just enjoy the walk?" Aizawa asked all of you. Yuki grabbed your hand and both of you started running. Bakugou chuckled "Guess that answers that" as him, Aizawa, Kirishima, and Tokoyami ran after you. Yuki let go of your hand and switch into a tiger, this time she wasn’t huge but she wasn't a cub either. Yuki's tiger form stood five feet tall and was ferocious looking, she crouched to the ground and allowed you to get on her back. Yuki sat there and waited for the guys to see her and then took off. You let out a burst of laughter, Bakugou smiled "looks like we're getting competitive and using our quirks." Aizawa smirked. You yelled behind you "LAST ONE BACK TO THE SCHOOL BUY DINNER AND ICE CREAM!!!!!" 

This is the end of the series. I have dropped the links to chapters 1-6 for people just finding this. IT’S NSFM!! IT’S A SMUT IN SOME CHAPTERS!! I will continue to write, I have already started my next series. 

https://sapphireblondie.tumblr.com/post/670019979137187840/4-years-ago

https://sapphireblondie.tumblr.com/post/670330431210766336/chapter-two

https://sapphireblondie.tumblr.com/post/670652467750535168/chapter-3

https://sapphireblondie.tumblr.com/post/671729667104964608/chapter-4

https://sapphireblondie.tumblr.com/post/672843957889368064/chapter-5

https://sapphireblondie.tumblr.com/post/675734317195001856/warning-violence-sexual-content-nsfm-smut

[writersrealmbts]

Lonely Little Jack-o-Lantern

Description: Yoonkook x reader, Hybrid Au, Zombie Apocalypse Au. You operate your own little farm, living in an area that doesn’t have as many zombies as other areas, but one day a group of hybrids show up, and the changes are immediate, especially where Yoongi and Jungkook are concerned.

Warnings: Mild language, mild blood and gore (very mild)

Posted: 10/30/2020

Tags/Genre: Yoonkook x reader, hybrid au, zombie au

Sort of Fluff, Sort of Angst: 12,331 words

A/N: This is long as heck, so I hope you guys enjoy it, it’s not the normal zombie au type so bear with me, and I got caught up in details. All the details. But here is your story, @ditttiii​, my baby bird. And It’s technically still the 29th, but I was formatting it anyway and thought, hey, only a few hours away for me! Happy almost halloween!

You walked carefully, furtively looking around.

Then you spotted it, lifting your machete….

And quickly sliced down and through it, cutting it off at the neck.

Severing it’s lifeline.

How else would you dispatch it?

You straightened up with a grin, putting your machete again. “Perfect! You’ll make a fine jack-o-lantern! And your buddy will make a fantastic pumpkin pie!”

The pumpkins didn’t respond, not that you expected them too.

You picked the smaller one up by the vine and cradled the other in your arm, humming happily as you headed back toward your home.

Sure, there was a zombie apocalypse going on. In fact, most people had retreated to the shelters and military safety zones.

But…you hadn’t actually seen another soul for a couple months, or a zombie since last spring.

Cold was surprisingly effective at getting rid of zombies. They had all migrated to warmer climates, except for the odd straggler that moved so poorly due to frostbite damage that you easily dispatched them.

You’d taken up residence in an abandoned farm-store, with an attached greenhouse that you utilized to maximize food production (plus several extra greenhouses a ways away which definitely helped, but you didn’t use all of them for obvious reasons). You went on your merry way, making enough food for yourself, plus extra just in case, and setting aside extra goods for anyone who happened to come your way. You’d give them shelter plus some dried foods to take with them as they journeyed onward, and they usually repaid you with a couple days of help around the farm or kitchen.

Heck, last summer, you’d hosted an impromptu wedding. The group had been traveling together, both families having been together to meet one another before the wedding, and the groom’s father was a priest. He basically ordained you before he left, even told you where to look for legal documentation at the courthouse for if you ever needed to conduct another wedding.

At this point, the ceremony was more of a comfort sort of thing. A long-held tradition to bring a sense of normalcy to the abnormality of the life everyone now lived.

You paused once you reached your home again, feeling as though something were off.

Slowly you lowered the one pumpkin to the ground, grabbing your machete again.

Then you spotted them. Five figures, moving slowly, just shapes at the moment.

You scooped up the pumpkin again and quickly went inside, putting up your defenses just in case after depositing your pick onto the floor. Then you went out around the back to secure your livestock, which mostly consisted of birds that you had adopted from the abandoned homes and farms around you, a few rabbits, three goats (that you honestly only sheltered for the night, they did their own thing and you let them), and a little piglet that a passing family had left with you a few months ago (the runt of the litter, very weak at the time but slowly growing under your care). You went down the street every morning to milk some of the cows that lived there. You didn’t know enough about them to fully care for them, so you weren’t entirely certain what to do for them, but there was a farmer that came up once or twice a summer to check on you and the cows, and the small herd of cows hadn’t suffered yet. And you had butter, cheeses (when you didn’t mess up the process), canned milk, condensed milk, sweetened condensed milk, and had even tried to make yogurt once or twice (it didn’t go well).

Your next foray would be trying to milk the goats, something you’ve been avoiding because you’d never liked the goat products your family had always pushed on you when you were younger, but desperate times and all.

But that depended on you protecting your home today.

They were moving pretty slowly for humans, but not quite as sluggishly as you would have expected of zombies.

You would have to wait until they were closer.

Whatever they were, they still hadn’t spotted you, even as they got within a 100 feet of you.

“Halt! Identify yourselves!” You called out, pointing the rifle at them.

They stopped, some of them raising their hands, most of them looking surprised.

“We’re just passing through, trying to find our way to the sanctuary!” One of them called.

All of them were men, which made alarms go off in your head.

“You know you’re going the wrong way, right?” You asked, really not buying that story.

Until they all drooped and started griping at each other in a foreign language.

“Hey!” You yelled. “Still waiting!”

“Right, sorry, sorry, um, we were at the Cherimo base, but it was being evacuated, and we were on a smaller plane and it crashed…and…we’re lost…” The one that had spoken before said.

You studied them for a while. You had heard over the radio that something was going on due to resource loss, but the signal had been fuzzy and you weren’t sure why they would….

Was that a tail?

Oh.

Oh.

“Are you hybrids?” You asked, lowering the rifle carefully.

One of them nodded before the spokesperson, then nervously halted when he saw the others weren’t nodding.

You lowered your guard a little more. “Let me guess, autopilot failed?”

They all nodded this time.

It made sense. If there were limited resources, why wouldn’t they get rid of lifeforms they deemed less useful. Nevermind that so far hybrids had shown more immunity to whatever it was that made people zombies. If one of them were bitten or injured by a zombie, as long as they cleaned the wound thoroughly and quickly they wouldn’t turn.

“It…it seriously hurt one of our friends. The other stayed behind to take care of him, and we were supposed to find help. That was a couple days ago though….” The spokesperson said, voice trailing off or choking up.

You bit the inside of your lip, looking at your home from the corner of your eye, then sighing and putting the safety on. “Alright. I’ll get the truck ready, but if there are two people there, I can only take two extra people. The rest of you will have to stay here.”

“You’ll help us?” The spokesperson said, sounding completely surprised.

You nodded, heading toward the door to unlock it. “But there are going to be so many ground rules. First of all, I’m allowing you into my home, don’t make a mess of it. Drink as much water as you like, it’s clean, and I’ll cook something when I get back. But you can’t sleep here. It’s too dangerous for me. You can sleep in the greenhouse, or you could try the farmhouse down the street. I’ll make an exception for your injured friend and one other to keep him company. And I’m still going to be celebrating Halloween in a couple days, so deal with it.”

He was translating, but they already seemed to be agreeing.

You ushered them in while you got the keys to the truck. “Names?”

“Kim Namjoon,” The spokesperson said, “Fox is Jimin, Otter is Hoseok, red panda is Jungkook, and Taehyung is the bear.”

You paused to study him. “And what, exactly, are you?”

“White-nosed coati,” He answered, nervously.

You blinked at him, then shook your head and kept moving. Grabbing your first-aid kit (had you raided the emergency medical center a few miles from your home? yes, yes you had) and heading out to the truck, you didn’t bother looking to see who would join you.

It was Namjoon and the red panda, who thankfully looked strong. Jungkook?

They guided you back to where the plane had crashed, which wasn’t too hard after you got in the proximate area thanks to whoever it was that had stayed behind keeping a nice, smoky fire going.

But they hadn’t been joking.

Their friend was seriously injured.

The other looked up, obviously scared and desperate, relief visible when he smelled his friends, calling out to them in their language.

You hurried over, not caring about the snarl he emitted as you got close.

They had strapped him down carefully, so he couldn’t injure himself by moving, which was good, but….

“Yoongi, she’s here to help,” Namjoon said, more firmly.

You bit your lip. “Get him in the bed of the truck. We need to get him back to a clean environment, get him fully hydrated so that he can replenish any blood-loss, and then I’m going to have to clean and suture his wounds. Someone get the tailgate.”

The four of you quickly moved, but carefully got him into the truck and made sure he wouldn’t get jostled around too much. Then you drove carefully back to your home, parking as close to the door as possible.

You hopped out and hurried inside, rushing to the basement to grab some of the supplies you kept in the cold down there.

It was a slow process, especially since you kept double checking with the medical books and manuals that you were doing the right thing, but the other boys were patient. Namjoon reading it again aloud if you were uncertain, and reassuring Yoongi that you were being careful and doing your best.

So you had his wounds sanitized and stitched, had carefully given him some medicine to fight any infection that may have started despite the dedicated care Yoongi had provided, and all of you had decided that an I.V. was too dangerous to attempt without further research and verification.

And he was partially conscious by the time you finished, so you all just resolved to carefully give him lots of water (he was no longer strapped down, they knew his neck and back weren’t broken, they were just trying to keep him still), and he was carefully propped up in your guest bed by two in the afternoon.

You left Taehyung carefully giving him sips of water, closing the door softly to limit the stimulation.

“Thank you,” A voice said quietly, accent present.

You turned toward the voice and spotted Yoongi, head down. “No problem. He’s okay for now, I think. I’m not exactly a doctor or a nurse, but I’ve done everything I can.”

He nodded slowly, but you weren’t sure how much he actually understood. You thought he must have understood most of it, though.

You nodded as well, then took a deep breath…and turned away, heading for the kitchen. “Let’s get you all something to eat.”

They hesitantly followed you into the kitchen, peeking around furtively, and sticking to the spots that seemed to be out of the way.

You glanced at them, then grabbed a couple jars of chicken broth. “Well, are you going to stand there, or are you going to help?”

“Help,” Yoongi said immediately, stiffly walking a little further into the room.

You nodded, then pointed toward the pantry. “In there are potatoes, carrots, and onions. I need two onions…eight red-skin potatoes…and ten carrots. Could one of you go into the greenhouse, through that door, and get me three stalks of celery?”

Namjoon relayed the message and Jungkook nodded eagerly, heading that way.

“Garlic?” Yoongi asked, bringing out the other things.

You contemplated, then shrugged. “Sure, but only one or two cloves.”

He nodded again and headed back into the closet.

You glanced at the other three, then pointed toward the pantry. “In there, rice. Fill this.” You set a measuring bowl out.

Jimin (?) nodded and took the bowl, heading in to find the rice.

You got the jumbo-sized pot out and some of the butter and oil, but didn’t turn it on yet.

Jungkook came back with the celery and you smiled your thanks, getting a cutting board and a knife to carefully cut it up. Then you turned on the stove on a low setting to let the celery cook a little longer.

You had Hoseok (?) peeling the carrots, with instructions on how to chop them afterward.

Namjoon was washing the potatoes.

Jimin was carefully washing the rice.

Yoongi was chopping the onions.

You set Jungkook to mincing the garlic so you could pay attention to the cooking celery, and trying to remember what else you put in the soup. “Jimin, can you go pick some spinach? Fill this bowl, the tiny spinach, though.” You set a bowl down on the counter.

Jimin looked uncertainly to Namjoon, who translated, then he nodded, and headed out into the greenhouse.

Hopefully he knew what the spinach looked like.

Yoongi brought you the onion and you dumped it into the pot.

“Can you go get green onion? Just a small one,” You asked.

He blinked, then nodded, heading out.

You grabbed some eggs setting them nearby for when the onions were ready, and accepting the garlic from Jungkook, but keeping it to the side for the moment.

You handed the spoon to Jungkook. “Stir now and then.”

He nodded confidently.

You grabbed a pan and some of your cherry peppers and mini-sweet peppers. You cut them into chunky pieces, not too big, then coated them in some oil and put them in the oven under the broiler for five minutes, initially.

Jimin came back with the spinach with Yoongi, who had the green onion you had requested.

Jimin took all of it to the sink to wash it, asking something in Korean.

“He wants to know what you need done with the rice and the spinach,” Namjoon translated.

“Spinach can be coarsely chopped, just keep the rice set aside. The potatoes can be cut, somewhat large…um…” You looked around, then pulled the pepper chunks out of the oven. “Slightly bigger than this.”

Namjoon translated.

Hoseok nodded, grabbing the scrubbed potatoes and waving Namjoon away.

You continued watching to make sure they understood, then nodded and went back, checking to see how the onions were cooking, then adding the garlic.

Jungkook looked curious, but also frustrated, like he wanted to ask something but wasn’t entirely certain how.

You cracked half of the eggs into a dish to whisk them up, opting for more eggs since it meant more protein and you had a ton of them anyway. Then—pushing the onions, garlic and celery to one corner—you poured then eggs into the pot and then plonked the lid on for a couple minutes to let the egg cook a bit.

Jungkook stared at the lid, then looked at you, still seeming to lack the words to inquire.

You shrugged, gathering the peppers, and then quickly chopping the green onion, the green part a little bigger than the white, and tossed both of those into the pot when the egg seemed to be the right amount of cooked. Stirring carefully, not wanting to break up the eggs too much, but also wanting to let any uncooked egg have a chance and free the onions, garlic and celery from their eggy prison.

Dear god you hoped this would taste okay.

You boldly poured in the chicken broth, making sure nothing was clinging to the bottom. Then you added the rice, spinach and potatoes and left it to come back up to simmering while you pulled the extra chicken you had cooked out of your cooler. You had planned on making chicken stew, maybe cooking up some dumplings, but…you could tell they were hungry and this would be faster than chicken stew and less nitpicky.

You paused before starting to cut the chicken, quickly going to grab some seasoning and being very careful about measuring that up.

“What is this called?” Namjoon asked, gesturing to the pot.

“Would you believe chicken and rice soup?” You asked, going back to the chicken with a knife. “If you hadn’t noticed, I was kind of winging it. Hopefully it will taste okay.”

Yoongi gave you a thumbs up. “Thank you.”

You nodded. “It’s not much. We don’t even know if it will be good.”

“Still,” Yoongi murmured, shrugging and looking away.

You quickly looked back down at the chicken. “You all are the first people I’ve seen in a couple months. Don’t get me wrong, I love living here. It’s probably safer than even the military zones. The zombies can’t withstand the winters and it makes them easy to dispatch.”

“Lonely,” Jungkook murmured.

You shrugged. “Even in a crowd, people have the ability to feel alone. I think actually being alone is better. Then at least I can’t resent others for not noticing me. It’s an apocalypse. At least I chose this life. No one forced it on me, not the apocalypse, not a plague. I chose this for myself. There’s a sort of satisfaction in that.”

Yoongi came beside you, cat-like eyes flickering over the chicken you were shredding. Then he met your curious gaze, holding it for a long moment.

“I suppose that makes me lucky,” You added. “To be able to decide my own life.”

He blinked slowly.

You shifted on your feet, unnerved.

“Uh, the pot….” Namjoon said, voice nervous.

You broke away from Yoongi’s gaze, and turned toward the pot.

It was boiling, so you turned down the heat for the moment and gave it a stir, then went back toward the chicken.

Yoongi had already taken over.

You stared for a moment, then went to wash your hands. “This place runs on solar power, and has a well. Normally, when I have people here they exchange work for a place to stay for a few days. Your friend is in no shape to be moving anywhere—”

“We’ll happily help you with anything you need,” Namjoon said quickly.

The others were nodding in agreement as he quickly translated, all looking scared and somewhat terrified.

You held your hands up to stop them before they continued down the panicky path they were treading. “I was just going to say, that you can stay as long as you need while your friend is recovering. I’m going to go check on your friends.”

They nodded.

Jungkook followed you out and into the bedroom again.

Taehyung and Jin were asleep.

You carefully closed the door, then studied Jungkook for a moment, noticing a tear in his shirt that looked pretty big. “Are you hurt?”

He glanced down, then looked sheepish and shrugged.

You pointed to a chair. “Shirt off.”

He carefully removed his shirt, obviously in pain from the gash on his ribs.

You could just hit him upside the head. All that lifting he did!

So you did. “Don’t do stupid things like lifting people when you’re injured.”

He looked at you with wide eyes, and you don’t know how much of it he understood, but his cheeks turned red and he looked away quickly.

You went and got water and a cloth, then knelt beside him to carefully clean the wound. You tried not to notice how well-muscled he was, or how he looked much less innocent like this. Sure, he still had an adorably bushy tail, but—

You flinched as a hand rested on your head, lightly stroking your hair, peeking up to see Jungkook mesmerized by your hair.

He grabbed your free hand, which you’d put out to balance yourself when he startled you, and brought it to his heart.

You could feel it racing, and you locked eyes with him.

He shyly looked away after a moment.

You swallowed hard, then finished cleaning his cut, wiping some antibiotic ointment on it carefully, and then bandaging the area. “There. No heavy lifting for a while. I see you overworking and we’re binding your whole ribcage.” You stood up and packed the first aid kit up again, then hurried back into the kitchen.

You stirred the pot, pulling some rice to test it. “Not yet. Tomorrow, I thought a few of us could venture to the local stores and get all of you some extra clothing and shoes and other supplies. Only those of you who aren’t injured, though. There are monsters hiding out in some of the stores still. That means no Jungkook, and no Jimin—I saw you limping.”

“Jungkook?” Yoongi asked, eyes widening.

You nodded, turning to glance at Jungkook as he followed you in, shirt back on. “He has a nasty cut on his ribs. He shouldn’t have been doing any of the lifting he did.”

All of them started ragging on Jungkook, who was sheepish.

Yoongi was over beside the red panda hybrid talking lowly, quickly, and somewhat sternly.

Jungkook nodded, slouching to rest his head on the cat’s shoulder.

You added the chicken to the pot to distract yourself. You’d never really met any hybrids, except a couple of your childhood friends’, but you figured the scenting you were witnessing was more of a private thing from the way the others sort of averted their gazes.

But you were also morbidly curious.

Yoongi came over a few minutes later. “Seokjin?”

“Sleeping still. It’s good for him to rest. How much English do you understand?” You asked, turning a little.

He sort of shrugged.

“Sorry I can’t speak your language,” You said a little more quietly.

He shrugged again. “You…nice. Keep going.”

You blinked at him for a moment, barely registering Jimin in the background making a lot of complaining-type noises. “I’m not sure what that’s supposed to mean, but…thank you?”

He nodded, looking embarrassed, then mumbled something to Namjoon.

Namjoon looked reluctant.

You studied the room.

Namjoon finally turned to you. “Yoongi was wondering how much you understand about hybrid situations during this…pandemic.”

You carefully tasted the broth as you debated how to answer. “I know…that many hybrids have been used as…stress relief for certain clientele to boost morale. Illegally. Others trained as foot-soldiers in the war against zombies. Sent to a slaughter.”

“Yeah. We were transferred to Cherimo six months ago. We were more for shows than anything too….” He didn’t seem to know how to continue.

You stirred the pot nervously. “Shows?”

“Music,” He reassured you. “But…they were talking about us…taking on second jobs. Just before the crisis. Then we were determined to be expendable.”

You nodded. “I understand. Well, once you’ve recovered, we’ll see about getting you all set up on your own, where no one can determine what you can or can’t be. With any decency, you’ll never have to face such threats again.” You tasted the rice again and nodded firmly. “Well, threats from zombies always exist nowadays. Soup is done. Someone grab the bowls from that cupboard.”

Jungkook was hurrying to do as you asked, getting out the four bowls you had, and then looking worriedly in the cupboards.

You went over, opening the one he hadn’t looked in and pulling out assorted other bowls. “They’re all sort of scavenged. I’ve never really needed more than six bowls before today. Guess we should pick up more when we break into the store tomorrow. I think Seokjin should just have broth for now.”

Jimin nodded, taking the bowl of broth you’d ladled out and heading back toward the room.

You gestured for the other boys to get food for themselves, not exactly hungry yourself since you’d had a decent breakfast and instead opting to bring up your pumpkins. One to carve, one to eat. And then you’d also be able to roast any pumpkin seeds to munch on throughout the winter.

Jungkook, Yoongi, and Namjoon stayed in the kitchen while they ate, mostly watching you as you prepared to cut open the pumpkin you were going to carve.

“What…are you doing?” Jungkook asked carefully, quickly filling his mouth afterward.

“Making a jack-o-lantern. I’m going to gut this, then carve a face into it and pretend it’s a normal Halloween occurring in a couple of days.” You managed to get the knife through the thick rind, then carefully cut open the top of the pumpkin.

It took a while for Namjoon to translate since he’d been in the middle of inhaling his food, but after he did, Jungkook nodded, still looking curious.

Yoongi seemed indifferent, mostly muttering something that alerted Jungkook to the fact that his soup still existed, and giving Jungkook a big chunk of chicken.

“Where do you get things like flour and rice?”

You made a face. “Well, most of it I pilfered from stores. I was lucky to find this place early on, lived about a half-hour drive from here, and they had some things. There are stores equidistantly around here: One to the south, one to the north, and one to the east. West is more farmland and forest mix, as you probably surmised by the drive to your crash site. And there’s a farmer to the south that I do work exchange with. He grows wheat, corn, and sugar-beets, and helps me with some livestock. He in turn knows a guy to the east that’s been running some flour and sugar-beet processing, so he’s been providing me with some flour and sugar when he gets the chance.”

“And what do you do for him?”

You pointed to your basket of eggs. “His wife is allergic to feathers. I provide them with bird meat, and eggs. And I can grow things here throughout the winter, and I have a pretty efficient canning process going here. We just exchange goods and services. Nothing else. His son came with him once last winter. They were out of greens. Thankfully, I had enough for what they needed, and sent them home with plenty of greens and some extra goods to help them out. There are benefits to being a party of one, just as there are downfalls.”

“Being lonely,” Yoongi said quietly, not missing a beat and not looking your way.

You shrugged. “But I get a lot done. And I know that if I need company, it’s not terribly far to where his family is. The rule is to bring some goods though. Like, his wife came to visit me sometime in January—they have a horse and wagon that he rigged a heating system in—and she brought me a cherry pie. I spent Christmas with them, and took an apple and a pumpkin pie. That sort of thing. And if you guys settle near here, then we’ll probably do trades with you guys as well. And if you don’t, that’s fine too. What I’m saying…is that solitude isn’t quite so terrible when you know that there is someone around if you really need them.”

Jungkook had moved closer, watching you scrape out the pumpkin guts with clear curiosity.

You glanced at him again, then turned your attention to carefully cutting slices of pumpkin flesh from the inside of it, not wanting to waste any of it. You were determined to experiment more this year, try not to waste anything because it was…hard. Hard to make everything count, and with seven extra mouths eating you were going to need to make every bit count. You had multiple foods curing in the sun so that you could store them on the shelves in the basement, but still…even though you’d been doing this a while, it was always a curious thing trying to figure out if you had enough food for the winter. And it wasn’t as though you could do much about it with it being the end of October.

“How much warning did you get?” Namjoon asked, the first question he seemed to have himself.

You gave a half-laugh. “Well…we knew about the outbreaks in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa…and my family was already taking it seriously. My parents decided to move out to live with my brother. I was still working, and printing off binders worth of information. No one ever thought to hit bookstores. My dad had started buying gas-tanks and filling two whenever he went to get gas. Left that for me since mom wanted to be by my brother and his family.”

“You didn’t go with them?”

You shrugged. “Half-brother? Not on the best terms. We would have killed each other. As it is, we talk on the sat-phones on Mother’s Day and Christmas. Everyone thought the world would shut down completely, but it didn’t. Anyway, I was banking on them surviving. As much as we don’t get along, my brother is a former marine and his neighbors are well spaced and consist of an older trapper and his wife, a marine buddy of his with his wife, and a cattle ranch. They’re doing great. And I got enough plants and seeds and information, not to mention people raced to get out of the area when they were told it was safest to get to a fort or the nearest Military zone. I hid in the basement for three days after that announcement, but nothing happened to me. I stayed at the house for a month after, packing the truck and trailer. I had my car still, with a full tank of gas, and I went around to see what things were like. There were still a few groups evacuating, but no one really paid attention to me. Met the owners of this place, asked if they were staying or going. They were older, and had been planning on selling the place before all of it went down. I gave them a wad of cash and a box of canned food, they gave me the keys. Everyone I did meet thought I was crazy. I was very careful about moving everything, and I kept everything locked up tight.”

“When did the zombies hit?”

“About this time that year. I remember because I thought it was ironic that the zombies would finally show up around Halloween. They were pretty bad that fall, and into December because it wasn’t as cold of a winter as normal. But January swooped in like a champ with below-freezing temperatures and lots of snow. I was lucky. Very lucky.” You finished picking the seeds out of the guts (at least, you were fairly certain you had removed all of them). “The cell towers were still work intermittently, so I can look up information quickly if I want. And the powerplants…they were still running until December. But hey, I’ve got three generators, and a crap-ton of car batteries for powering extra things, like the greenhouses.”

“Did you farm before this?”

You wrinkled your nose as you thought about it. “Honestly? Not to this extent. I’d thought about it, but the most we ever had was a vegetable garden and a couple of fruit trees. To say there was a learning curve would be an understatement. But I got through it.

“Scared,” Jungkook asked, gaze locked on you.

You shrugged. “Who isn’t? Would you like more soup?”

He looked at his bowl, then looked toward the pot.

“You guys can just help yourselves. I’ll probably eat later.” You picked the knife up again, seeing the end of the conversation in sight once more. Less distraction while holding a sharp object. Sure, what you were cutting out of your jack-o-lantern wasn’t going to be pretty, but you could roast the, up like fries and that would be really yummy. Or you could try to make a pumpkin spice something or other. You weren’t really sure what you would do with all of the pumpkin innards you were breaking out.

You just knew the shell was getting a face.

You paused, turning back to the egg basket. “I never let the animals out again.”

Someone followed you as you rushed out the back door to the small stable/barn/shed that you had shooed the animals into (that weren’t already secure in their own pens, mind), opening the doors to the fenced area for the pig and goats to run around, including your favorite pygmy goat that you honestly rescued just because it was cute. Whoever it was helped you shoo the ten chickens, two turkeys, three ducks, and one grumpy goose out into the bird run.

“Go on chicks. Guster! Get your tail-feathers through that door,” You scolded, picking up the grumpy goose and essentially tossing him through.

He landed just fine, honking angrily at you.

The ducks were happily settling near you, but you carefully shuffled them through the door.

The turkeys had gone through the moment you opened the door, the smarty-pants.

As for the peafowl in the pen on the other side of the property…well…as pretty as they were, you pretty much just fed them and cared for them because you felt bad for them. Sure, you had lot of pretty feathers for crafts in wintertime, but they were loud. And picky. And they ate so much, and needed warmer, dryer, well-kept pens.

But they were also very sweet and probably hand-raised because they always came right up to you.

Without a feed source to purchase for them, you hadn’t thought they would survive this long, but they were still plucking along. You let the male out during the hot days of summer to roam, but he always came back just in time for you to put clean water and whatever treat you’d scrounged up.

You’d let all of the birds out when you’d been tilling, letting them get the grubs and ants and other insects that were in your way.

The ducks would usually go down to the pond, but you’d just cleaned out their swimming pool, so you figured they would be fine as long as Guster didn’t decide they weren’t allowed to be there.

You would have to add more minnows to the pool.

There were so many things you hadn’t considered when you were setting up everything and rescuing the animals you did, that you just sort of figured out as you went. Like, hey! If you capture some minnows and raise them you can give them to your ducks and geese and they will adore you for centuries.

You had to raid the U-Haul and get a bigger transport vehicle, then raid a bunch of farm and pet supply stores. Then again that would use up a lot of gas as well.

“Uh…sheep?”

You turned around, looking at Jungkook, then at the goat that was trying to eat his shoe-laces. “Goat. Carl. Just push him.”

He did, and Carl plodded away.

Yoongi was also there, holding an egg and looking curious.

You glanced around, then grabbed an egg-carton. “Guess we should check for more eggs while we’re here.”

They nodded and helped you search, noses twitching and active as they explored the nooks and crannies.

Four eggs wasn’t bad considering you’d just collected eggs that morning. You’d put them in with the broody turkey. She’d hatched at least half of your chickens, and your third duck. She was your most valued asset.

The boys stood well-back while you carefully pushed her from her nest from behind, and placed the eggs before she could attack your hand, then closed the back hatch.

She was happily situated once more when you peeked in.

“Great. Okay. I need to make the trip across to the other pen, and then go down to see the cows this afternoon. But I need to show a couple of you what to do since we’ll probably be gone most of tomorrow,” You spoke, not really expecting a response.

Jungkook caught your wrist. “Me.”

“Alone?”

“You are alone.”

“But I’ve had practice. At least get Jimin and…who else is staying behind tomorrow? Besides Jin.”

Yoongi shook his head. “Jungkook and Jimin.”

You nodded. “Okay, then at least get Jimin to come see what to do as well. Don’t rush. We’re heading toward that building.”

He looked and nodded, then jogged away.

You huffed. “That boy.”

Yoongi made a soft sound, like he agreed but was also amused.

You turned to him. “Does it bother you when I just ramble on?”

He shook his head, a certain intensity in his gaze as he met your eyes that made it hard to continue meeting his gaze.

But impossible to look away.

His ears twitched, but they were angled toward you. His tail flicked as he stepped closer to you.

Warning lights went off in your head. Seven men. One girl. Alone.

You whipped around as fast as you could and started walking, grabbing the bucket of feed you’d prepared earlier. “Welp, let’s go. I’m sure they’ll catch up with us soon.”

And you swore you heard him hiss in surprise, and you just wanted to laugh at how ridiculous you were being and how ridiculous this situation was, but honestly who would have thought—

You squeaked in alarm dropping the bucket and running back toward the house to grab the rifle and the axe, then racing back toward your peacocks to save them from the zombie.

Yoongi gladly accepted the ax, hurrying after you, but also staying a good ways back so that you would have time to shoot the thing so he could chop it’s head off.

You’d become a very good shot in the past two years.

Yoongi looked like he might be sick after cutting its head off.

You didn’t blame him.

Wordlessly the two of you dragged it a place where you could bury it when you got the chance.

Jungkook and Jimin were there when you two returned, with Namjoon to translate.

Poor Namjoon.

When you were finally done instructing them on the peacocks, and the other animals on the property, you all headed down the street to the cows.

Jungkook fascinatedly touched the cows, while Jimin and Yoongi crouched beside you to learn.

And Yoongi was only gulping several times while he watched the milk tin you and Jimin filled, one cow after another.

The boys were also teasing him, and though he refused to give them much of a reaction, his cheeks were a little red and there was a twitch at the corners of his mouth that hinted at a smile and man that was adorable, especially with how his eyes closed slightly and his hair—

Oh no.

Oh no no no.

Nope.

Nuhuh.

Stop it.

“So, what do you do with it now?” Namjoon asked.

You shrugged. “Take it home, separate the cream, pasteurize the milk. Then I’m either going to drink it or make something out of it.”

“Cool,” He replied, then translated, but you got the feeling that only Jimin really needed the translation as the two of them walked away, Jimin carrying the container effortlessly.

Jungkook and Yoongi walked with you, looking around at the farm while you got the cows some fresh hay, and inspecting the houses that the three of you walked past on your way back.

“Where did they go?” Jungkook asked carefully, looking at each abandoned house.

“I don’t know,” You answered quietly. You’d been to each house. When you finished your chores in the winter you amused yourself by inspecting the houses around you. Gathering furniture and supplies that you decided were needed.

“You live there,” Jungkook asked.

You shrugged. “Yeah. It made sense. Live where you work. I was just lucky that they had an extra room attached to the store area that I could turn into my room. I’ll probably just sleep in the kitchen, though. It’d pretty comfortable there once I set up the cot. Nice and warm.”

Jungkook paused by one of your smaller pumpkins that was sun-cured and awaiting transport to where it would be resting for winter or for later processing.

You paused as well, then picked it up. “Come on, panda boy. You can carve one too.”

Yoongi started purring but quickly coughed to cover it.

The other boys were distracted, talking with Taehyung quietly but animatedly, and the door to the room where Seokjin lay was propped open slightly. Seokjin was asleep and Taehyung was eating, cheeks bulging slightly from how much food he’d shoveled in.

Felt good to have your food appreciated, even if they were only eating it because they were half-starved.

Yoongi and Jungkook followed you into the kitchen (Yoongi moving the milk pails, that Jimin had left on the floor near the sink, onto the counter for you).

Jungkook went at his pumpkin carefully, but the one time he didn’t do something carefully he earned a low growl from Yoongi. He proceeded to stick his tongue out at the feline, and continuing carefully.

You pushed the bowl of seeded gut, unseeded guts, and seeds toward Yoongi with a grin.

He winced, but didn’t fight it. He did get a fork and spoon to help him sift through though.

Jungkook hummed as he worked, filling the slight-awkward-slightly-comfortable silence, sometimes murmuring a word or two in Korean.

And you believed that they’d been in the music industry, because there was no way they would pass up the chance for a rare hybrid that could also sing. And Red panda hybrids were rare.

There hadn’t been much of a hybrid-culture around you growing up, so you were aware of it, and had met a few hybrids that were therapy hybrids, but you’d never had significant exposure to them aside from your one road trip with you friends when you broke down in a hybrid town. The hybrid women that came to your rescue been extremely kind to you and your friend and had gotten you on the road again. But they’d told you to avoid hybrid males, “For everyone’s sake” and now…you still weren’t certain what it meant.

You wondered how they were doing during this apocalypse. They’d probably just stayed put and established more defenses. They were already mostly self-sustaining, with their own power supply and water system. Most people wouldn’t have even passed through there unless they were very, very lost.

“There’s a hybrid town…there was a hybrid town, to the east of here. There were completely self-sustaining. After your friend heals up, you might want to head that way,” You said in the silence after Jungkook finished his song. You were finished with your jack-o-lantern, just peeling the skin off of the bits you had carved out to add to the pile of salvaged pumpkin flesh.

Jungkook went rigid, and his tail fluffed out.

Yoongi also looked…tense.

“Or not. Do whatever you guys want,” You quickly added, a little alarmed at how alarmed they got. You’d just wanted to let them know that there was somewhere they might have a better chance. They’d said they wanted to go to the nearest safety zone, but that would also mean returning to servitude, discrimination, and possibly worse things.

Jungkook and Yoongi started having a rapid conversation over the workspace, Jungkook looking desperate and despairing, Yoongi looking uneasy and reluctant and adamant.

You weren’t sure what it was you had said, but they seemed to be quickly heading toward some sort of dispute and Jungkook suddenly turned adamant as well and Yoongi got a fed-up look.

“Namjoonie-hyung!” Jungkook finally called loudly, slamming the knife he had been using down on the counter and turning to head toward the main room.

Yoongi’s eyes widened and he hurried after the panda. “Yah, Jungkook-ah.”

You watched them go, then quickly grabbed the knives and put them in the sink in case they came back. Then you started sorting the seeds out of the guts of Jungkook’s pumpkin as the debate appeared to continue in the next room with lots of shushing.

You really wished you’d gotten more language textbooks and dictionaries. But honestly, there was no way you could have foreseen needing to know Korean.

———

Seokjin was already looking better the next morning, and more aware. Taehyung was carefully feeding him, and between the two of them they managed to tell you about the other pains—possibly broken bones—that Seokjin had. But all you could really do about them (aside from feel them and see if you could feel any displacement, which you didn’t) was splint them and tell him to not take any risks. Unfortunately, at least one of his legs appeared to be broken. You had a brace that he went into comfortable, but that was the best you could do for him.

At least they weren’t avoiding you like the others.

You weren’t sure what it was that you had said that set them off, but, after the…discussion yesterday afternoon, most of the boys sort of avoided you. Looked nervous.

But as it got later in the morning, you gathered and loaded some supplies into the truck. You’d already hooked up the trailer

Jungkook met you there, looking determined.

“No,” You said firmly. “I told you, no injured people on this trip. Too dangerous.”

His brow furrowed.

“No,” You repeated. You were not going to be fought on this. No way.

Finally he stalked away.

You wished you felt victorious.

Namjoon, Yoongi, Hoseok, and Taehyung were set to go with you—though Taehyung appeared to be giving very detailed instructions to Jimin and Jungkook about Jin’s care—and soon packed into the vehicle.

It was very awkward. Yoongi sat in the back with Hoseok, but he wouldn’t look at you.

Namjoon and Taehyung were crammed in the front and Taehyung had apparently tired of practicing his English because he was talking with Namjoon.

Your hand went to the pocket with the list of things you wanted to look for, as if the list would reassure you that everything was okay.

You could feel someone’s gaze burning into you, and you knew who it was without looking.

You knew it was Yoongi.

You just wished you knew why.

You’d gone east, since that town was fractionally closer, easier to navigate, and hadn’t been raided as much.

“What’s the plan?” Namjoon asked as the houses started giving way to more business stuff.

You started to reply, then pulled into the hospital that was there (just a random specialist center, not a full one, but you thought it still might have some things you could use). “First we see if we can find Seokjin a wheelchair, crutches, or more braces—anything that might help. You have your weapons?”

They nodded.

You parked the vehicle, studying the building for a moment. “Okay. We stick together. Two people look, the other three guard. Got it?”

A smattering of agreements and a queasy nod from Hoseok let you know that they agreed.

“Hoseok and Yoongi, you want to look for the equipment?”

They nodded, though Yoongi was slightly more reluctant.

“Yoongi thinks I should help look for equipment and he should help guard.”

You gave Namjoon a quizzical look.

He rubbed his neck sheepishly. “I’m a little clumsy. They call me the god of destruction. He doesn’t want me to destroy everyone.”

You nodded. “Okay. Also, guys, if you see medical things that will fit in our bags, go ahead and carefully grab it. Especially gloves.”

He nodded, translating for everyone, then listening to a few follow ups. “Okay, so, just to be sure we’re all on, uh, the same page—Hoseok and I search and gather large and small supplies. Taehyung and Yoongi guard, but also grab things as they see them, and you’re guarding and searching as well?”

“That is correct,” You answered, curious. Had that not been clear? “I mean, I can also push one of the carts we brought but…I don’t even know if this place will have zombies. It was mostly an rehab center for old people, and I mostly think we’ll find gloves and hopefully a wheelchair or walker.” You shrugged.

Famous last words?

There were definitely a few zombies.

And by a few, you mean a few dozen.

Also, Hoseok was completely terrified of both the zombies and his weapons. No wonder he looked queasy.

You found a room that was empty and the five of you managed to get inside without zombies , locking and then barricading the door so you all could catch your breath and double check for injuries.

Yoongi grabbed you, moving you around and frantically checking you over, then sighing wordlessly.

“I’m fine. Were any of you hurt?” You asked, trying to visually assess Yoongi since he blocked your view of the others.

“We’re good, Tae had a close call, but he wasn’t bitten.”

Hoseok moved into your line of sight and pulled on Yoongi’s shirt, which somehow effectively pulled him away from you.

Which was good.

You were starting to feel a little nervous.

“Wheelchair!” Taehyung suddenly shouted, all signs of fatigue gone as he rushed toward a whole stack of them.

You looked around at the supplies, then met Namjoon’s gaze. “I guess this would be the supply room.”

Namjoon just grinned.

All of you quickly dispersed to fill your bags with supplies, Namjoon grabbing the different braces and checking how big they were, Hoseok carefully grabbing boxes of gloves and carefully looking over bandaging and such, and Taehyung still playing with the wheelchair.

Yoongi was trying to decipher the labels on the medicine.

You started bagging rubbing alcohol, peroxide, other creams and liquids that you recognized.

Which led to you being beside Yoongi helping grab medicines.

Yoongi seemed to look you over again. “You’re okay?”

“I’m okay,” You answered again, shrugging.

Yoongi nodded, then showed you a label.

You nodded, then went to check on the other boys.

But Yoongi stopped you, a strange desperation in his eyes. “Stay by me,” He said firmly, anxiously.

You stared into his eyes for a moment.

“When leave, stay by me. Please,” He begged, grip on you tight.

You weren’t certain what it was about the way he asked, but the moment he asked, you knew you would say yes. “Okay. When we leave.”

All of you jumped when something banged on the door, but it didn’t sound forceful, and a glance toward the door proved that it was just one of the zombies lightly hitting the door with a cane. Geriatric zombies, those were a thing now. Zombies who used canes and possibly walkers.

Now if only they weren’t interspersed with other zombies that didn’t need such aids, getting out of there would be a cake-walk.

But like most of your life since the pandemic, of course it wouldn’t be easy.

“He should be fine,” Namjoon reassured you, pouring more peroxide over the nasty bite and ignoring Yoongi’s growl of pain.

“Why would he do that?” You asked in a whisper, shaken to your core. The five of you were in a different parking lot now, treating his bite since the coast was clear.

The boys just exchanged glances, then shrugged or muttered something.

“Well…he can take a bite and survive as long as we sanitize fast enough, whereas if you were bitten…that’d be it for you,” Namjoon said carefully, watching as Hoseok meticulously cleaned the wound and then applied antibiotic cream. “It’s preferable.”

“It’s still dangerous,” You whispered, then scanned the surroundings again for any interlopers. “And we’ll give him some antivirals just in case. I still don’t understand why…why he acts the way he does around me. One minute he won’t look at me, and the next he’s getting bit by a zombie so that I won’t be bitten.”

Namjoon looked uncomfortable, like he was hiding something.

Hoseok’s gaze darted up at you, and Yoongi was definitely looking a little red.

Taehyung was checking out the store-fronts, only a couple of steps away from the group. He pointed at one of the stores. “Why…why?”

You followed his gaze, noticing the door that you had marked. “I did that. I barricaded it and marked it. The back door too. I cleared it out. It’s safe to go in there. We’ll get you guys clothing, shoes, coats, and other extra things. But they may have gotten in through the back, so we should secure that before we start grabbing things. And I get to approve of the coats, because there’s a certain type you’ll need to make it through a winter here. Hats. Scarves. Gloves. Blankets. Sheets. Pots and pans. Dishes. You should stay in the truck,” You said pointedly, looking at Yoongi.

He rebelliously looked back, stubbornness in his features. “No. You go, I go.”

You huffed, and folded your arms, but you weren’t about to fight him as well. “Fine, but you’re staying back.”

His eyes narrowed, but that was the only response he seemed to give you.

Once Hoseok had bandaged it, and used one of the compression sleeves you all had liberated from rehab center to hold the bandaging in place and give it more protection, all of you carefully removed your barrier and then cautiously entered the store.

But the barricade on the back door was still in-tact, so you all blocked up the front door for while you were shopping, and each of you took a grocery cart or two with you. You went to the kitchen stuff first and filled a cart, then the home goods stuff and filled a cart. Checked on the boys, but they were trying on clothes and shoes together and seeming to discuss the sizes of the others.

So you went and got yourself some more clothing, your gaze continually catching on the night clothes and intimates.

But that was ridiculous. You didn’t need that stuff. You had no one to impress or dress for.

Then again….

After you put those carefully packed suitcases near the front with the carts you’d filled, then started going through coats, grabbing a few for yourself, but mostly pulling options for the hybrids. The warmest brands. Sturdy ones.

You flinched and jumped at the sound of someone sighing just behind you, staring at Yoongi as he examined one of the coats you’d set aside.

Yoongi met your gaze, looked back to the coat, then stepped closer to you. In your space.

You held your breath as he held you in his stare.

He stepped closer, body right next to yours, and then he ducked and tucked his face against your neck.

You froze, feeling his nose brush against your neck, his furry ears tickling your cheek.

Then his lips pressed to your skin and he pulled away, hand resting on the other side of your face, cupping it so that you didn’t look away as he pulled back.

After a second, amusement sparkled in his eyes and he smirked slightly.

Then he was walking away.

And you were frozen. Absolutely frozen.

Because what the hell was that.

Once you had a coat for each of them, including the ones that were waiting at home, they all sort of went to explore since they could.

You grabbed hats and gloves, some beauty products that it carried (which weren’t numerous). Socks. Boots for when yours wore out.

Then you and the boys carefully packed everything into the trailer before heading over to a farm store that you’d raided and secured before.

Except this time you had extra muscle power to load those wood-burning stoves into your trailer. And extra lumber, chicken wire and other fencing supplies, tools, oils, kerosene, butane, propane, rope, nails, screws, sleeping bags, tents, flashlights and lamps, brooders, feeders and waterers for all of your animals, extra chicken coops and rabbit hutches and just so many different and various things you needed or would need. And lots of seeds. And heavy duty work-boots, overalls, and other labor gear for everyone (yourself included, because you would wear through those boots eventually and your father had drilled in you the importance of good footwear).

Not because you couldn’t come back. With the gas you’d managed to salvage, you probably had enough for another eight trips if you kept decent speeds and your car stayed maintained. And your neighbor had been talking about rigging vehicles with alternate fuel sources, so if he ever got that working….

But you had to assume that he wouldn’t, which meant getting as much as you could while you were in town.

Which is why you thought it couldn’t hurt to see if that little oriental market that had been near there had anything that kept that they might enjoy. But it was smaller, so you told them only one other person could go in with you and still be able to fight, and that you’d prefer it be Namjoon since the two of you could communicate more easily.

There was extreme reluctance, especially since you hadn’t specified where you were going and there were several stores in that plaza, but with the walkie talkies that you all had acquired they finally agreed.

And you got five sacks of rice that still seemed to be okay.

Then you guys hit the plaza with two big-box stores. Getting storage containers, mattresses (because none of you trusted the mattresses left behind in the houses, and the boys insisted if they get one [bless them, they planned on sharing one] that you get one as well and Yoongi wouldn’t let you say no so you made them get two mattresses for themselves), and then you all split up to search the many food isles for unexpired goods.

And of course you got paired with Yoongi.

Neither of you said anything as you started walking up and down the isles, you pushing the cart because he was insisting on being the guard. Not that you guys thought there might still be zombies lurking around (you highly doubted there would be any still hiding after the way Taehyung had run around yelling happily once the group had finished killing the four or five zombies that were in there), but it was better to be safe than sorry.

So there you were, chucking snacks that had been chock-full of preservatives into the cart, and wondering if the cereals would be stale or if they could still be good after two years.

Wondering if he was ever going to say anything.

Grabbing just about every canned good after checking expiration dates.

Taehyung said more when he brought you guys two carts, speaking mostly to Yoongi, who translated roughly. Something about the other boys and medicine.

And then Taehyung was gone with the other two carts he had been pushing, and dragging your full cart away.

The store next door had yarns and fabrics that you all just packed right up, regardless of pattern or texture, as well as all of the threads and pins and beads, packing everything in more boxes and such. Raiding the notebooks, pens, pencils, books (including text books, which included English textbooks that Yoongi grabbed several of, and a Korean-English dictionary and textbooks that you grabbed since you figured they’d be there for a while and hey, what’s another language to pass the time), clothing (again, what could you say, you didn’t know how to make socks or comfortable underwear), instant-photo cameras (Taehyung was especially excited about those with main mentions of Jimin in his ramblings), another pharmacy raid, shampoo and soap, and all of the hybrid stuff that they could ever want, extra furniture that was easier to move, more dishes and cookware, candles, canning supplies, solar panels, solar batteries (could never have enough of those), more foods that you knew would keep (because you were now feeding eight people and Taehyung liked to snack, he was doing it in the store the moment you said something was still good), and then if the boys secreted some things into what you all got you didn’t pay attention since they also didn’t pay attention as you checked out the period supplies because that didn’t stop with the pandemic and though you had alternatives (which you picked up more of, thank the heavens) sometimes it was just easier.

And Taehyung had a cart full of ramen that you weren’t about to fault him for.

Yoongi was the only one awake on the drive home.

“What was that earlier?” You asked. “At the coat store.”

He sighed and you heard pages turning. “True partner.”

You waited for more, but that seemed to be all he was going to say on that front. “What does that mean?”

He sighed again, this time more aggravated and with a slight hiss to it. More pages flipping and you could see his frown in the rear-view mirror.

Finally a frustrated growl and the thunk of a book closing. “Home. Jungkook.”

“We’re almost there,” You replied quietly, sighing. “Almost there.”

Jungkook rushed out when you all arrived, grinning with relief. “Hyungs!”

“Jungkook-ah,” Yoongi called back, hurrying to him and grabbing his wrists.

Jungkook immediately nuzzled Yoongi’s neck while Yoongi started muttering something, with glances toward you that soon had Jungkook staring as he gently fingered the fabric over the bandaging.

Taehyung raced inside.

Namjoon gestured to the load. “Unload today, or tomorrow?”

“Unload light stuff, leave the heavy stuff for later.”

He nodded, translating and calling Jungkook and Yoongi over.

You grabbed an old pumpkin cart and brought it over for them while Jimin brought over a couple of the grocery carts.

And Jungkook….

You had to scold him about eight-dozen times not to lift things that were too heavy, but every time he just grinned at you and cutely said “no speak English” and carried on (but it usually gave the other guys time to get over to him and at least help carry the heavier things.

Jimin was parked in the basement stacking canned and jarred goods on your food shelves and medicines and other non-food items on your other shelves, since it required less movement and he apparently aggravated his injury while all of you were gone. You were guessing one of the goats tried to get him, but Namjoon didn’t seem to know how to translate what was said, so you just left it at that.

Taehyung had rejoined everyone in unloading, and was working with you as a two man conveyor system for Jimin.

You swore Jungkook was trying to show off.

Yoongi took the suitcases that all of you had filled with clothing and coats and stacked them in your bedroom to go through later.

And before you knew it, the truck and trailer were almost completely empty.

Jungkook had ingredients out like he was about to cook, and he looked at you happily, as though inviting you to cook with him.

You nodded, gesturing for him to lead on.

He grinned and then brought you some vegetables. “Chop.”

You nodded, not even surprised as Yoongi also joined you and Jungkook and everyone else disappeared to ‘go check on Seokjin’. Because you could see Taehyung and Jimin playing outside and exploring one of the greenhouses, looking at the pumpkins, and Namjoon was just through the door, looking through a stack of books. Which meant Hoseok was probably the only one who actually went to check on Seokjin.

Yoongi and Jungkook somehow managed to give you enough instructions that you managed to help them, and when they couldn’t find an ingredient and couldn’t name it, you would play a guessing game with Yoongi. The hardest was probably soy sauce.

But the most surprising thing was probably how…touchy they were with you.

Or when Jungkook just came up behind you, wrapped one arm around your waist, shoved his face in your neck, and licked you.

Licked. You.

And you yelped, because all of that happened in about two seconds, and you could feel their surprisingly stunned stares as you booked it out of there.

You walked quickly across to one of the greenhouses, cursing frantically and pretending you were doing something completely routine by getting treats for your animals.

Namjoon found you, looking nervous. “Hey. Yoongi sent me to find you.”

“Fuck,” You hissed, picking up a pumpkin. “What the hell is going on, Namjoon? And I am not in the mood for and BS.”

He winced. “Um…what do you know…about…mates?”

“I suppose we aren’t talking about the British or Australian definitions, and more biological definition?” You led the way toward your rabbit barn and hutch.

He nodded, looking anywhere but you. “Definitely more biological.”

“Sorry you got caught in the crosshairs as translator,” You muttered, dropping the pumpkin so that it would break, and then putting pieces of it in the different hutches with some of the seeds for them to enjoy, but also giving them lots of fresh grasses and greens so that they wouldn’t overindulge. You’d give the rest of it to the goats and pig.

He shrugged, peeking at the rabbits. “Cute. So, for hybrids, potential mates are identified by smell a lot of the time. Jungkook and Yoongi are technically mates, but…they also identified you as a potential mate. So…they…want to stay near you.”

“So, hypothetically, if I had told them about a hybrid city that you all may have wanted to go to after leaving here and they reacted poorly to it, it would be because it was almost like an unconscious rejection of them?” You asked, darting glances toward him.

He snorted, and then started laughing. “Is that what happened? Geez, they’re so dramatic. Look, I already told them to take it easy around you because you are human and it might not be something you want for yourself. But…even if you aren’t…we would all like to stick around. Maybe not here exactly, but we could be close by and help you out when you need it. You’re the first person, hybrid or human, who has ever been kind to us. And we feel safe here. Would it be okay if we stuck around?”

You considered it for a moment, wondering what it was that made them feel so safe or comfortable. And if you were okay with what he’d said. Yoongi and Jungkook wanted you as their mate. As proposals went, you’d heard worse, but you also hadn’t known them long enough to commit to anything. “Tell them they have to play the long-game. And…I kept a couple of the nearby houses from having burst pipes the last two winters for when people pass through. If we get the one across the street set up with a power supply, you guys can live there. The house next door is for refugees on the move, and me. It’s easier to bathe there.”

He grinned at you. “We can stay?”

“Yeah, sure. Why not. But that means we’ll have to be frugal. I’ll need you guys to help me get two more greenhouses planted.”

“Sure! We can do that!” He grinned happily, bouncing on his toes.

“Great. Now, go tell the boys to stop attacking me with affection out of the blue.”

He laughed and hurried off to tell the others.

What had you just agreed to?

———

You weren’t sure what it was about Halloween that always brought more zombies around than normal. Maybe it was the swift approach of winter. The hard frosts. Urging them to migrate.

Either way, you’d had your work cut out for you from the moment you woke up.

Thankfully, the boys hadn’t wandered off alone at all, and never unarmed after you woke everyone by shooting the rifle.

You did lose another chicken though, the one that refused to go into the coop once she’d escaped the previous evening.

“Is that coffee?” Yoongi asked, gaze locked on your mug.

“Sort of,” You answered, gesturing to the pot. “There’s coffee in it, if that’s what you’re asking.” You’d combined your coffee-tasting tea with some of the frozen coffee grounds you had. You hadn’t resorted to your instant coffee yet. You weren’t ready to admit defeat. You weren’t ready to say goodbye to coffee.

But that day was fast approaching.

You would have to bid your vice goodbye.

Another gunshot alerted you to an issue out front, but you waited for the holler for assistance.

“We’re good!”

You nodded and poured Yoongi a mug of the sort-of-coffee sort-of-tea.

He took a sip and sighed. “Good.”

“Glad you like it,” You replied.

He nodded, then sat back beside you, surveying the fields for more zombies.

Jungkook came and sat between the two of you on the ground, leaning against Yoongi’s legs.

They sat with you in comfortable silence, though Jungkook was also tracing the seam along your calf. Barely touching, seemingly an absentminded action, but slowly capturing your full attention.

Jungkook peeked up at you, then back down, tugging on the seam. “Okay?”

You smiled. “Sure.” It was amusing that he wanted permission to play with a seam.

Yoongi glanced around, then got up. “Can see house?” He asked, pointing toward the house next door.

You looked around seeing Jimin and Hoseok coming around to relieve you and Yoongi from your watch. “Sure, just tell them where we’re going.”

Jungkook nodded, hopping up and racing to meet them, glancing back multiple times as they continued walking over.

Jimin gave you a thumbs up, and they took your places.

You led the two curious hybrids over to the house, glad you’d kept up with cleaning it once a week. It was chilly in there, but not freezing. And honestly, during winter, you preferred staying in there because of the bathroom. You’d set up a shower in the store, and a sort of bath, but usually if you really wanted to feel clean and bathe in nice hot water, you came to the house and indulged because it had an energy efficient water heater that could run on the power supply you generated all through the year.

Either way, the cozy house was clean and well-furnished.

Jungkook looked around curiously, straying a little.

Yoongi stayed close to you.

“Not much to see. I put overstock food in the basement when I need to.”

Yoongi nodded, then got closer to you, seeming to ponder his words carefully. “Namjoon told you, scents and things.”

You felt a decently strong urge to start running. “Uh, yes. Did he tell you what I told him?”

He nodded, then rolled up his sleeve. He rubbed against certain parts of his wrist and arm, then held it out to you.

You blinked at him, confused beyond reason.

“Smell,” He said quietly.

You looked between him and his arm skeptically, then leaned forward and casually sniffed his wrist.

Then you sniffed again, because who the heck smelled like petrichor?!

Jungkook eagerly joined the two of you, offering you his wrist.

Jasmine.

Your weaknesses.

Yoongi gently pressed a kiss to your cheek. “You smell nice with us.”

You closed your eyes.

“Oranges?” Jungkook guessed, nuzzling up to your other side.

And oh, those sneaky fluff-butts.

And didn’t they know that there were zombies around.

But of course they could tell how you felt about all of this thanks to their superior sniffers.

Which was probably how you ended up kissing Jungkook while Yoongi kissed your neck.

All of you stopped at the sound of a particularly loud gunshot.

Shortly followed by two more shots that had all of you hurrying out to make sure everything was under control.

You carefully avoided them the rest of the afternoon, not entirely certain you trusted yourself around them and their stupid petrichor and jasmine which were your favorites. And they said you smelled like oranges and what did that even mean aside from Yoongi saying that you smelled good with them. Were oranges a desirable smell?

But whenever you passed by them, or were near, they found a way to lightly touch your arm, brush their hand against yours, rest their hand on the small of your back, tuck your hair away from your face and you totally didn’t end up kissing Yoongi when he went with you to feed the broody turkey.

And you both definitely wouldn’t have been overtaken by a zombie if Jungkook hadn’t conveniently come by and shot it.

Jungkook peppered you both with kisses, as though those would help calm you from the close call, and then pointed out that he had set out the jack-o-lanterns.

You stared at the glowing pumpkins and started laughing, because, of all the things to prioritize that day, with zombies all around…he made sure the jack-o-lanterns were put out.

So maybe when all of it was you were assigning watch duty for the night, you made sure those two would be with you, because you felt safe with them looking after you. Both of them had saved you.

“Lonely?” Yoongi whispered, staring up at the stars.

“No,” You whispered back, fingers running through Jungkook’s hair. But this time that was all you needed to say. It was enough.

“Good,” Jungkook sighed, giving a sort of rumble of approval and melting further against you as you gently scratched behind his ears, fluffy tail wrapping around him and eyes drifting shut.

There was a long trial ahead of you. Learning their language, fighting zombies, making sure there was enough food to eat, fighting zombies, caring for the livestock, fighting zombies, and exploring whatever this was with Yoongi and Jungkook. Maybe even convincing them to try and make it over to the hybrid town, just to try and initiate trade or something.

There were a lot of things to think about, and consider, questions to ask and have answered.

But in the glow of the three jack-o-lanterns, with soft smell of petrichor and jasmine surrounding you and the sounds of the others talking and laughing inside, you weren’t worried.

You weren’t lonely. “Not anymore.”

--

Next

--

Zombie Apocalypse Masterpost

Tagging: @lost-xim, @bryophytas, @young-yellkie, @alex--awesome--22,  @missmoxxiesworld​, @knjhe​,  @i-dont-even-know-fck​,