#Whoever started recording in that dressing room—I love you

[not-the-coffee-machine4]

sometimes you just need to curl up in bed and watch the Great Pretender behind the scenes video

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Yandere Squid Game AU | Idia Shroud

Working for a secret organization that murdered its players on a massive scale wasn’t as horrifying as it sounds. Granted, it was truly mortifying but you get used to it. You don’t show your face, you don’t flinch, and you listen to the Frontman. If you keep quiet and stay in your lane it isn’t long before you start moving up the ladder. From triangle to circle to square–it was like any other job. Like in any typical occupation if your boss, finds favor in your physique or otherwise you naturally get promoted. Thus was your fate as you went from being a mere circle to becoming the masked servant in the VIP room where you subject yourself to the whims of the richest and most disgusting patrons.

Idia Shroud 

Not many had the privilege of seeing the identity of the Host but you weren’t a part of the many. He was a technical genius, an avid inventor, and the one who loved to switch between his position as the Host and Frontman: Idia Shroud.

Now that you knew the joyful tilde in the disguised voice was made with a toothy smile of a gamer with azure flame-like hair; it made a disturbing amount of sense. No longer could you differentiate the man from his madness when he demanded you call his name in private. 

When you first met him he gave an odd aura, speaking as though he was imitating someone or making fun of whoever he was talking to. It made for an interesting work environment, he would make oddly specific references as he commanded the squares who could only tilt their heads and agree. Usually, you’d practiced your stoicism keeping yourself as robotlike as possible. 

But one meme. 

One reference. 

That has you chuckling and answering the Frontman, who seemed to freeze behind his mask still turned in your direction. He continues on acting as if nothing happened and you worry that you may have embarrassed yourself in front of your boss. Only to be broken out of your routine by one of the squares who handed you folded clothes and gave you instructions to begin your job as a VIP waiter. 

So maybe he did like it?

“You’re the new waiter, right?”

You nodded. 

“Good. You like it, here?”

“...Yes.”

“Good.”

The interaction was so curt and quick that you missed the skip in his step. It doesn’t take long for you to realize whoever is behind the frontman’s mask is also the one pretending to dress up as whatever shape employee you need to interact with. At that point, it makes you tirelessly paranoid as you feel the possible pressure of your boss constantly watching you.

And while you think you might have hidden your fear behind your masks, guess who’s got heavy surveillance on your room? He sees the way you pace on your time off and the recordings of you whispering affirmations in the bathroom. He enjoys seeing your cute reactions when he scares you a bit or how you tilt your head when you're trying to guess if it's him. But he loves you more. And if his kitten is feeling skittish he’ll change your environment. 

“You. Come with me.”

You nod, sending a look to the other VIP waiters who express their worry with as little expression as possible. Following the Host whose appearances were so far and in between would mean instant death should you disappoint. But with as many things in your life, you expected who this was. 

“...Sir?”

The Host turns their head to you, stopping in his tracks. 

‘How dare you?’

You sighed harnessing your courage as you continued.

“I know who you are…you’re the one who's been behind the masks right?”

He stayed in place.

“The one who’s left those memes in my room. That was you, right?”

He turned fully around. Facing you with his arms behind his back.

“And if I am?”

You didn’t actually know. You just wanted to be sure. To throw away this facade of deception. You wanted the truth. 

“I would prefer it if you just told me it was you. Rather than pretending you were someone else.”

A bellied voice-modified laughter emanated from the Host. He grabbed his wrist, subtly clicking at a device on his arm. Before returning to cradle his stomach. 

“Awfully bold of you to approach your boss like this.”

Perhaps your relocation could wait.

[wildemaven]

meant to be | javier peña

-> pairing: javier peña x f!reader

-> wc: 1645

-> content warnings: 18+ blog; domestic javi, established relationship, unprotected p in v, fluff, talks of starting a family, reader has zero descriptive features

-> a/n: this was posted on my other account and i am moving it here now. it is also a rewrite of an older fic i did with frankie.

masterlist

Fall is settling in nicely in Texas. The days are still warm, but the weekends no longer hold as much daylight as they did weeks ago. 

Everything transitioning into its autumnal journey, your yard drenched in rustic hues and sunshine. 

You and Javier both loved taking advantage of the nicer weather, wanting to soak up as much of it as possible before the shift into a colder season, deciding to spend your evenings on the patio as the days wound down and the sun set behind the pasture on the west side of the ranch.  

Chores were the first thing that needed to be tackled. Divide and conquer seemed to work well for you both. You took on the inside duties of laundry, dusting, and food prep, while Javier managed the outside— mowing, tree trimming, truck washing. 

Bed made with clean sheets, a load of dirty clothes placed into the washer– the previous load hung in the backyard on the clothesline, dinner prepared and waiting– your list of to-do’s dwindling as the day went on. Now you find yourself planted at the sink of dirty dishes, your kitchen window a front row seat to the old barn, your eyes glued on your husband as he washes his truck. 

His striped sky blue shirt encapsulates every detail of his back, sleeves tight around the bulk of his arms, muscles flexing as he scrubs the soapy sponge back and forth across the metal surface– and you thank whoever designed his well-fitted jeans.  A week's worth of dirt slowly slid off the sides of the old ranch truck, a prized possession that had been passed down from Chucho when Javier had decided to take on more responsibilities around the ranch. 

It has been two years since moving into the home Javier grew up in, wanting something big with the hopes of starting a family in the future. Chucho insisted you both move in, stating the house was far too big for just him— he moved into the ranch’s guest house down the dirt road. Memories tucked to every corner of the house, old family photos still hanging in the very spot his Mama placed them.

Javier must sense he’s being watched when he turns towards the kitchen window, catching your eyes on him. His gaze lingers a bit, soap and water dripping from the sponge in his large hand. He shoots you a wink with a smile that makes you instantly weak. 

“Shit!” The mug you had been washing slips from your soapy hands into the water below, water splashing back at you, soaking the thin material of your dress, your attention drawn back to the sink and the remaining dishes. Somehow Javier still makes you flustered after all these years with just a simple look thrown your way. 

Glancing back out the window again to find Javier is no longer there, the suds freely dripping off the truck door and sponge discarded on the ground. The creak of the screen door lets you know exactly where your husband is as you proceed to dry the drinking glasses and place them in the cupboard. His shuffling around in the living room does little to help you know what he’s up to. 

“Javi?” You call out to him as you finish putting away the last of the plates and bowls, wiping the counter off before you go in search of your husband. 

The slight crackle of a record starting makes you aware of his location– the living room. His old collection of records and record player had been boxed away in the attic after he moved away. Last Spring, while you were putting away the winter blankets, you stumbled upon his music collection– something from nearly every genre. You pulled everything down one weekend while he was busy in town with Chucho, having everything set up on the bookcase and a record going when he got home. It became a habit that one of you would slip on a new record, windows open allowing the breeze to carry the songs throughout the house. 

A familiar tune begins, it instantly brings a smile to your face.

“Wise men say...”

The low timber of his voice sends a tingle down your spine any time he sings your wedding song. For such a reserved man, who refuses to indulge in karaoke, he jumps at any chance to serenade you within the walls of your home— one of the many things you love about him.

A set of arms wrap around you, welcoming you back from your walk down memory lane, pulling you against his chest as he begins to move about the kitchen with you. Your bodies swaying together as the music continues, his face nuzzled in close to your cheek as he hums along with the song.

“Like a river flows

Surely to the sea

Darling, so it goes

Some things are meant to be…”

Your body leans into him, the rest of the chores fully abandoned as you both waver about the kitchen, savoring how easy it is to create new memories in your home.

“You sure know how to get out of chores Peña.” You tell him just as he spins you around so you’re facing him, looping your arms around his neck while his hands settle on your back— Javier singing along completely ignoring your comment. 

“If I’m not mistaken Querida, I’m pretty sure you were hardly putting an effort into yours.” He teases you before grabbing your hand to send you twirling around. You can’t contain your laughter, living for these spontaneous moments of ease with the man you’re so completely head over heels for. Your body is pulled back into his, resuming the energetic flow between the two of you. A sweet rhythm of bliss now strumming through your body as you melt into his arms. 

“Hmm, I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Hiding your smirk into his warm neck, knowing full well what he’s referring to. 

“That wasn’t you gawking at me through the window—“

“I was not gawking, Javi!” As you playfully pat his chest. “I was just admiring the view.” 

“You were in fact gawking. I think I clocked you at 10 minutes from the first moment I noticed you hadn’t moved.”

“You are so exaggerating!” He’s definitely not wrong though, it’s hard to pull your eyes away from such a thing of beauty. 

“How about we take this to the bedroom, Querida– and I’ll show you exaggeration!” He taunts into your ear. 

 “Javier! Your truck is half washed in the driveway— and I know you’re going to be pissed about the soap drying on it right now. Plus, I already made the bed.” 

He’s dragging you back towards the stairs that lead to the bedroom, his infectious smirk displayed across his stupid handsome face, your body doing little to stop itself from his magnetic pull. 

“I’ll just wash it again. I’ll even set a chair up for you to admire up close. Get you one of those ice cold beers too.” He says as he falls back into the bed, pulling your body on top of his. 

“And I’m pretty sure this won’t be the last time we dirty these sheets this weekend…” His voice muffled against your neck, his lips planting kiss after kiss as he pleads his case– you easily succumb to his antics.

His hands work at the line of buttons that trail down the front of your dress, your own undoing his buckle before working at the button and zipper of his jeans– he hisses as your hands hastily move over bugle straining behind his jeans. 

Your dress is open and hanging off your shoulders as you slowly sink down on Javier’s cock, the stretch of him a welcomed adjustment, his length hitting something delicious as you settle at the base of him. 

“Fuck, Javi!!” Hands splayed over Javier’s firm chest for support, your head thrown back as a rapturous whine pours out into the room, a slight bounce to your breasts as you move— the cups of your bra pulled down, the cool air has your nipples pebbled and tight. Javier is taken by your angelic state— you're a sight to be seen. 

Javier’s fingers are digging into the meat of your thighs, the slow stuttering roll of your hips as you move over his cock has him worked up faster than he has anticipated. 

“Querida— Shit! Baby, I’m not gonna last— you look so good riding my cock like that!” His hips bucking up at the feeling of your cunt clenching around him. 

“I’m right there with you, Amor!” 

A few swipes over your throbbing clit and a string of quick thrusts, both of you cresting the euphoric peak in unison. 

You collapse on top of Javier, a strong arm wraps around your waist, a hand cupping your neck, Javier determined to keep you as close as possible— you fully melting into his touch. 

Breathing ragged and hearts racing— bodies perfectly satiated and filled with an intense love for each other. 

“I should probably get up and get dinner started. That should be plenty of time for you to rewash the truck.” You don’t show any signs of actually doing so, too relaxed to care about finishing the rest of your chores. 

“Or— we can just lay here a little longer. Save the food and truck washing for tomorrow. We can go into town later and get dinner instead.”

“A man after my heart. I’d marry you if I wasn’t already.” He rolls you off him onto your back, hands roaming over your dewy skin as he kisses you slowly. 

The lull of the record player echoes through the house as the music fades out, clothes and sheets are thrown about the bedroom, the day’s plans forgotten as you both seek out a more exhilarating afternoon. 

[lvrsparadise]

'WHY (NOT)?' - S.T

Synopsis - "There used to be six of us. Now I'm alone."

Warnings! - Mentions of death, blood, (mild) gore, fear, vomit, profanity, italics mean flash back (will write at top who's pov), depictions of murder, sharp objects, angst, crying, yelling, implied Matt x Y/N, might make a pt2 don't know yet.

A/N - You know what's the best part about being creative? THIS ISN'T MY IDEA!! I GOT IT FROM PINTEREST! But like, BANGER. I had sm fun writing this ngl. (I cried, multiple times.)

I look into the eyes of the police officer across from me, exhaling frustratedly.

"I swear! I didn't do it! Something attacked us!"

"And how am I supposed to believe you? There's no footage of it."

I groan out, even more frustrated than before. I lay my head in my palms, which are shaking from what I saw, and frustration.

I hear the cop sigh and his chair scraping against the floor, as he stands and leaves the room.

----

!Y/N POV!

I look out the window at the old and abandoned mansion we're about to head into and unbuckle my seatbelt, looking at everyone else in the van.

"Dude I'm stoked." Chris daps Nate up as they get out of the car and head to the trunk to get our stuff.

I smile softly and shake my head.

"I'm honestly terrified."

"Me too" Me and Madi say in unison to Nick.

I turn my head to Matt, in the driver's seat next to me, and we share a look for a while, just taking each other in, before I step out of the car to help Chris and Nate with the stuff we brought.

"Dude, what if some like creepy old ghost haunts this place and like, possesses one of us?"

"How can you say that with a straight face Nate?"

He shrugs with a small smirk on his mouth as he hands me my backpack.

I roll my eyes and open my bag to make sure I have everything I need.

Flashlight, food, water, clothes, a blanket, my pocketknife, and batteries.

-

Once we're all set with our gear, we all collectively walk into the mansion, splitting up into groups of two.

Chris with Nate. Me with Matt, and Nick with Madi.

We all have cameras to record our own little adventures. We all are in different parts of the hose.

Me and Matt are upstairs, looking at all of the bedrooms, studies, and libraries.

"Woah, look at this painting."

I point my flashlight at the painting above a really gaudy and luxurious bed set, with is dirty and dusty.

It's a painting of a lady in a pencil thin bodice, long dress, and her eyes hollow and sunken. Her skin pale and bruised in several places.

"Holy fuck. That's nightmare fuel." He points our camera at the painting as he speaks.

"I know." I whisper as we continue looking around the room, filming all of it.

-

"So, as I was saying guys-" My foot hits something, and I furrow my brows looking down at whatever it is, my eyes soon widening in fear.

"Matt! MATT!" I yell out for him, running to where I was with him last, thankfully finding him there.

"Woah! Hey! Hey, what's wrong?"

I gulp and shake my head, my eyes filling with tears and my eyes still wide. I feel like I'm going to puke.

I just start walking back to where my foot hit the thing on the ground. I point my flashlight down to it, gagging at the sight of Chris laying on his back, dead.

His eyes, not there, blood coming from his mouth, and many large gashes on his chest.

I feel my breathing pick up, and a hand on my shoulder, ultimately ripping my gaze away from the once fun, and bubbly guy, now laying on the floor dead.

I hear Matt gag and watch as he does a full 180 and holds his hand over his mouth.

----

I cry for what feels like the hundredth time today. Not caring about the cops and investigators on the other side of what I know is a one-sided window.

The sight of seeing everyone I love, and the guy I've been crushing on, dead, all missing their eyes. A horror I'll never forget for as long as I live.

I hear the door open again, and don't bother to look at it. These handcuffs were really starting to hurt.

I hear whoever it was plop down in the chair across from me and drop a file on the table.

I wipe my face the best I can with the cuffs and look up at the person.

It's a different cop or whatever than the many who've came in here.

"I'm not here to interrogate you or overwhelm you with questions, I'm here to help you grasp the severity of this situation and why your co-operation is valuable right now."

"I'm telling the truth! I didn't murder my fucking friends!"

She holds up her hand in a motion telling me to stop, and she opens the file, pulling our multiple photos, and angles of my friends, all dead. Pale, eyes sunken and gouged out.

I gag at the pictures. She points to one of Matt's photos, a picture of him alive and happy next to the horrifying image I'll never forget seeing.

"This is Matthew Sturniolo? Correct?"

I nod and swallow the bile in my throat and clearing it before speaking.

"Y-Yes that's him."

"Okay. And this one?" She points to a photo of Madi, looking barely recognizable. I sob quietly and nod, sniffling.

"That's- That's Madi- uh, Madison Filipowicz."

She points to a photo of a boy in a backwards hat that I recognize as Nate's. I feel more tears fall down my face at the fact he's too unrecognizable on his face that the only reason I knew it was him was by his blood-soaked Boston Red Sox hat.

"Nath- Nathan Doe."

"And this one's Nicolas? Right?"

I nod as she points to a photo of Nick.

"Y-yeah." I blow out a shaky breath.

"So that leaves this one to be Christopher." She gestures to the photo of Chris. I don't even bother to look at it, fearing I might actually puke all over this table, the photos, and the lady's nice tan pantsuit.

----

!CHRIS'S POV!

Me and Nate watch Matt and Y/N walk up the stairs in front of us, but once we reach the top, we split and go opposite directions.

"Dude! Look at this old ass record player." Nate points his flashlight to the record player in the middle of the room.

"It's so fucking dusty."

"Well, no shit. It's probably been here for a hundred years."

"Ha ha. Although, probably has. This place looks like if you breathed wrong it'd fall over."

I drag my finger along the back of the chair, and it was dusty as hell.

-

After a bit of walking around, we make it to a large hall with a long table in the middle and chairs, on every side of the table.

"What're we here for? Dinner." I snicker at Nate's joke and shine the flashlight on it, while using my other hand to point the camera at it as well.

"Damn, hoity toity ass dining table." I mumble. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a shadow, or like a figure, but I brush it off as the light from the flashlight and mine or Nate's silhouette.

"Look at that dude!" Nate points his flashlight at a painting at the head of the table. A dude in his 40's maybe 50's with chops and a bald head, wearing some goofy ass clown collar.

"Dude looks like his name was fucking, Edward or Baldwin."

"This house has to be at least 200 years old or some shit. Because there's no way this fucker existed a hundred years ago."

I laugh at Nate's words. But I'm cut off by a scream from down the hall. Both me and Nate look at each other and point our flashlights to the staircase we came up, just in case.

"The fuck was that?"

"I don't kno-" Another scream. Sounds like.

"Madi."

"Fuck." I go to run down the stairs, but I'm yanked back by my backpack. Hard.

I hit the ground with a 'umphf' and a groan, having the air knocked out of me.

I cough and hear Nate yelling my name.

"CHRIS! CHRIS WATCH OUT!"

But I feel cold on my chest and look down to it to see at least 5 large gashes across my chest.

"The fuck-?" I mumble and look up to see some whack ass thing, with fingers as long as my fucking arm. And sharp looking. Black eyes, or none at all, I can't tell. And so many fucking large teeth.

My eyes widen in horror at the sight of the thing. It's skin grey and yellow, his body thin and tall, adorned with large bone like wings and spikes in its spine and its knuckles.

I don't even get a chance to let out a full scream when I feel a sharp pain in my eyes, and everything goes black and numb.

----

I rub my wrists as they take the cuffs off me so I can eat what they gave me. Which looks amazing, but I have no appetite.

It's a pork loin, mashed potatoes, green beans, fries, some juices, some fruits like pineapple, apple, strawberry, and some baby carrots and cucumbers.

Like I said, looks delicious, but if I try to eat it, it might comeback up.

The cop leaves the room and I'm left alone with my thoughts again.

I sigh and pick up the plastic fork, scooping up some mashed potatoes and eating a little bit. But they don't taste how they should. They feel like sandpaper against my mouth. Like grit, and I have to force myself to swallow it. I know it's not the food, but me.

I push the tray away and rest my arms on the table, laying my head on them and sobbing, but no tears come out. I've dried them up. I mean can you blame me? I just watched almost every single one of my friends die.

I wish I had told Matt how I felt. Maybe I wouldn't feel like this. Like I'm missing something. Like I could've convinced them not to go. Like I could've helped instead of just watching.

Maybe then all of my friends wouldn't be dead.

It's crazy how much one little decision can cause. Like, deciding to go to that mansion in the first place. If we'd just stayed home or brought professionals maybe, then I wouldn't have watched them die. Watch as their eyes were poked out and watch as their bodies sag to the floor.

I scoot the chair back and puke under the table, unable to hold it down anymore. It's all too much.

After I vomit, I pick up the cup of water from the table and wash my mouth out. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to rid myself of those images.

-

I rub my eyes and watch as, yet another cop enters the room, accompanied by what looks to be either a journalist or a lawyer, they dress the same so I can't tell.

They sit across from me, and the journalist or lawyer lady sets a recorder, a file, and a plastic bag on the table as the cop throws down another file.

"I want you to tell me what happened Ms. L/N. In full detail. Explain what happened to your friends, as well as why you survived." The journalist, I've confirmed, speaks in a demanding tone, but still so monotone, and pushes a lock of her jet-black hair behind her ears.

"You asked for it." I shrug and scoot closer to the table, careful to avoid my pile of vomit on the floor, and rest my arms on the cool metal surface, lacing my hands together.

"So, Matt Nick and Chris are- were YouTubers, and they had a cool video idea that they wanted to do. So, they we set a date, got everything packed, invited a few friends, me included, and we set off to the old Gordon family mansion in Los Angelas. Once we got there, we all split up into groups of two, seeing as there were six of us." I clear my throat and stammer over my words for a second before continuing.

"Uh- Me, Matt, Chris, and Nate went to the second floor to explore while Nick and Madi were on the first floor, looking around there. Nate and Chris went in one direction and Me and Matt went another. We-we, we stumbled upon a series of paintings of a family, looking almost dead, and that's when I-" I take a deep breath before trying to continue. Keyword, trying.

The journalist sighs and places one of her hands on top of mine, in sympathy.

"It's okay, take as much time as you need."

I take another deep breath and continue.

"I was walking when I kic-kicked Chris's body, unknowingly. I yelled for Matt, and I ran back to him to bring him to it. Once we got to his- his body, we both just broke- broke down and soon after I had found him, Nate appears out of nowhere, seemingly hiding. With a horrified face. Just, completely pale and his eyes wide open, like they were stuck like that. And he said he saw what had happened."

"Can you tell us that?" The cop asks, and I nod.

"Ye-yeah." I drag in a shaky breath and le it out slowly.

"Um- there was this- this thing, he said. And it was at least 8 feet tall, and you could see the bones through its gray skin. It had bone like wings, spikes coming from his spine and knuckles, and horns made of bone spiking through its head. He said it had no eyes, or they were just black, and large, spikey teeth. And it had long spikes for fingers, and that he saw as the- the thing poked Chris's- Chris's..." I let out a small sob at the recall of what Nate said, moments before his own untimely death.

"It poked out Chris's eyes with his long fingers and Chris barely got a chance to scream out." I finish and sob into my hand, which is now covering my eyes and shaking again.

"What happened after Nathan told you what happened?" The cop is writing in his little flip-notepad, scribbling things down, most likely the description of whatever it was that killed my friends.

"Uhm- We heard something that sounded like a crying scream and a siren, the next thing we knew, Nate was flying towards me and Matt, he landed on me, pinning my body down as he lays on his back on top of me. The thing he had described seconds before, was now standing over me, gashing at Nate, with screams and wails of agony coming from him. Then, it all went silent, when I opened my eyes, the thing was gone, and I scrambled to my feet, pushing Nate's body off of me, and that's when I see, he's missing his eyes and he's almost unrecognizable." I let out a muffled sob into my hand as I try to hold back the sobs, my throat forming a lump in it, making it hard to speak.

'Then what?" Despite the circumstances, the journalist has a very soft and comforting voice.

"Me- me and Matt ran back downstairs, looking for Nick and Madi. Thankfully, we found them, alive, and we said in a rush and rambled mess that we had to go, something was there, we're all going to die. Something along those lines, and they were like, or Nick was like 'slow down, what's going on?' and so we slowed down and told him what happened. And it was like speaking about that damn thing summoned it, because the next thing I know, it's standing behind Madi..." I blow out a shaky breath and close my eyes for a second, but open them quickly, seeing as the only thing I see when I close them is the horrifying images of my friends dying in front of me.

"And then she's being thrown across the room with 4 to 5 gashes on her chest and then the thing seems to teleport, and looms over her as she screams in pain, fear, and pure agony. Then it's silent again. And Madi's dead." I hang my head in my hands, more tears slipping down my cheeks.

"What happened next?" I sniffle and wipe my face, looking back at the cop and journalist in front of me. Both of their faces intrigued, and full of sadness and sympathy.

"Me, Matt, and Nick start running for our lives to the front door of the house, but we can hear and feel the thundering footsteps of the creature behind us. Making that wailing slash siren sound again. We made it out the door, but the thing catches Nick just as we do. I grab my pocketknife from my backpack, and I throw it at the thing, landing right in between its eyes. And bright, glowing blue blood starts oozing from its eyes, and where my knife is lodged in its skull. I remember the fear I had in that moment. Because that means, I'm about to lose another one of my friends. And Matt is about to watch his own brother die, right in front of him." I choke out a sob and shake my head slowly. Seeing it was enough, but having to tell someone about it? Makes everything so much worse.

"Then same thing with Nick as the others. Except the thing kept Nick standing while it- it- it killed him. And I watched as his body sagged to the floor, landing with a thud and a pool of blood instantly forming around it." I gag reflexively, but I hold it down.

"Me and Matt ran as fast as we could, but it wasn't enough. It was never supposed to go that far! I wasn't supposed to lose Matt! He was the one who was to survive!" I sob and yell out, pointing my finger in the air at no one specifically.

"We- we made it to the car and started to drive off, but the fucking thing crushed the back half of the car!"

----

!Y/N POV!

"Matt! Come on! Drive! GO!"

"I'm driving Y/N!"

The car seems to shrink and then next thing I know, we're doing burnouts from not having the back half of his car anymore. I'm sobbing at this point.

"I don't want to die!"

"You're not going to Y/N... I promise."

"Wh-what?"

He smiles softly at me before he kisses the back of my hand and unbuckles my seatbelt.

"When I get out, I want you to run."

"No- no. I'm not leaving you Matt."

"What am I without Chris? Or Nick? Nate? Madi? It's better this way."

"But Matt..."

He shakes his head firmly and steps out of the car, cueing me to run.

I shrug off my backpack and run out of the passenger seat, booking it, but stopping and turning around to see Matt, and hearing his screams.

My hands fly over my mouth at the sight of Matt getting his eyes poked out. The creature dropping his body to the ground as though it were a doll.

The thing stalks back into the house, leaving me outside.

Once I know the thing is gone, I run to Matt's body and grab his hand, holding it to my face, sobbing.

"No. no, no, no, no, no." I shake my head repeatedly.

----

"Why leave you alive?" The cop furrows his eyebrows as he looks up from his notepad.

"I don't know." I shake my head and sob, almost uncontrollably, but not loudly.

The journalist nods and takes my hands in hers.

"I know what you saw is deeply traumatic, but was there Anything else that happened? Anything that could help us with this?"

"Nothing else happened. I swear." I shake my head and control my sobs, tears still streaming down my face.

--

After a few more hours of waiting in this very uncomfortable chair, a cop, and what looks to be the chief, walk in and I immediately straighten my posture, out of respect.

"Miss L/N, correct?"

"Uh- yes sir."

"We're letting you go, but we will be checking up on you weekly. You're free to go. And stay safe out there."

I nod and stand up from the metal chair, walking over to the chief and shaking his hand.

"Will do."

-

After I've gone through the whole, discharge process, I'm walking out of the glass doors of the police station.

My phone starts ringing from my pocket, and I grab it out and answering it.

"Yeah?"

"Well done. You really know how to hold a story."

"Well, you know how to play dead." I smirk.

"And you did good playing the victim. Make it home safe. See you tonight Y/N."

"See you then Matt."

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[daisynik7]

Rush

Chapter 8: Do I Wanna Know?

Pairing: Eren Jaeger x f!reader

Rating: Explicit

cw: cunnilingus, vaginal fingering, spitting, daddy kink, vaginal sex (mating press), heavy on the angst this chapter

Summary: After the events of Halloween, you finally start questioning your relationship with Eren. Meanwhile, he attempts to do some damage control to keep both you and his reputation in check, ultimately resulting in more damage. 

Notes: Song is "Do I Wanna Know" by the Arctic Monkeys

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The Sunday night after Halloween, Alpha Tau gathers upstairs in the fraternity house for their weekly chapter meeting. Tonight, Levi makes a particularly interesting announcement. 

“In about two weeks, Alpha Tau will be hosting its annual fall formal. For you pledges that aren’t familiar with this yet, formal is a special event that happens each semester. It’s essentially a dance. There will be a DJ, dancefloor, photo booth. In addition, dinner will be provided. Luckily, because of our clean record so far this semester, thanks to our partnership with Sigma Nu Kappa, the Student Affairs Committee has approved us having an overnight formal. Meaning we will be renting out a hotel for the night.” 

Most of the seniors cheer loudly at the last part, especially Mike. Eren clenches his fist, the memory of the other night still fresh in his mind. He can’t stand the guy, especially knowing he had his fingers in that beautiful body he’s made claim to. He’s not one to be possessive, but with her, he can’t help it.

Levi continues. “The cost of formal is already included in your membership fees, so I highly encourage every brother to attend. Also, each of you is allowed one guest. This can be anyone: a friend, girlfriend, boyfriend, whoever. If you plan to bring a date, make sure you get their signature on the sign-up form. I’ll be handing these out at the end of chapter. Please get these to me by next Sunday.”

Reiner turns around to face Eren. “Got a girl in mind you want to ask?”

He shrugs. “Not really.”

It’s a bold face lie. As soon as Levi mentioned a guest, he immediately thought of her. Her all glammed up in a gorgeous dress, them grinding against each other on the dancefloor, making love in their hotel room when the night is over. 

He allows himself to fantasize about it for a minute before coming back to reality. 

As much as he’d like to ask her to be his date, he can’t. As easy as it would be to just be with her, he won’t. He justifies it to “not being ready”. Asking her to be his date is another level of commitment that he’s not willing to step into yet. He needs time. This is what he’s convinced himself of. 

The more time he spends with her, he finds himself forgetting why this relationship has to be so goddamn difficult. It’s on him; he knows that. His reasons are selfish and immature. Not being ready for commitment. Caring too much about his reputation, which isn’t all that great anyways. It’s all bullshit excuses at the end of the day. 

Eren doesn’t want to fall in love. He’s afraid. Afraid of being vulnerable, afraid of getting hurt. Being in love complicates everything. He enjoys being free, unshackled, able to do what he pleases. Responsible only for himself and nobody else. Allowed to fuck up as many times as he can without repercussions. Because he will fuck up. He’s young, dumb, and selfish. Why burden anyone with his flaws? 

But when he’s with her, he’s happy. In a way, he still feels free. Weightless, liberated, unbound. As if a whole new world has been opened up to him, as cliché as that sounds. She makes him feel worthy, makes him feel loved. 

And that’s what scares him the most. 

It’s not love. How can it be? Aside from the amazing sex, what do they really know about each other? Eren has done his best to avoid revealing anything about himself. She’s kept a similar guard, probably just as afraid as he is. 

It’s lust. That’s all it is. That’s what he keeps telling himself.

He wishes he had met her in a different time in his life. Maybe after he’s gotten all this dumb, frat boy energy out of his system. It would be easier for them. It would be different. Better. 

He knows what he needs to do eventually. He has to end it with her before it gets too serious. Their time together on Halloween night felt different. He exposed himself, revealed a little too much of his feelings.

She’ll never leave him; he’ll string her along until the time is right. He’ll continue to drag this out as much as he possibly can. Continue telling her what she wants to hear, getting away with his sins until he decides it’s time to move on.

He’s got it all under his control. 

“You should bring that girl Pieck,” Reiner suggests, snapping Eren out of his thoughts. “Bertolt is thinking about asking another Delta Mu also.”

Eren shrugs again, unsure how else to respond. His big brother turns back around to face the front as Erwin makes his closing statements, ending chapter. 

On the way out of the meeting, Armin nudges him. “Who are you really thinking of taking to formal?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just because Reiner is telling you who to bring, doesn’t mean you have to take them. Isn’t there anyone else you’d like to ask?”

He doesn’t answer right away, tempted to be honest with his best friend. However, Eren is still a coward that won’t admit to anything that shows off a sign of weakness.

“I think I will ask Pieck. I hung out with her on Halloween. She’s cool.” Wanting to take the focus off him, he asks, “Who are you going to take?”

“I’m going to ask Annie,” Armin states confidently. 

“Annie? Really?”

“Yes, I like her. We have fun together,” he explains, smiling. 

Eren can’t help being envious at how easy it is for Armin to confess his feelings. Again, he questions himself why he’s making his own relationship more difficult than it needs to be. 

On their way to their dormitory, Eren gets a text message:

Mikasa is sleeping over at Jean’s tonight.

Without a second thought, Eren lies to his roommate. “I’m going to the library for a couple of hours. I forgot I have a paper due in a few days for Pyxis.”

“Oh, okay. Good luck. I’ll see you later.”

Eren turns to the direction of the library until he’s out of Armin’s line of sight. A few minutes later, he’s outside another familiar dorm building. There’s a mixture of excitement and anxiety as he waits for her to come down. They haven’t talked since that night. He abandoned her when they were caught by Hitch and Annie. In that moment, he panicked. Instead of explaining himself like any normal, mature person would, he fled the scene, hoping she would be able to fix whatever mess they created. 

She’s in sweats when she opens the door, motioning him to come in. Even in this outfit, his heart flutters at the sight of her. 

“Hey,” he greets her, a small grin on his lips. 

“Hi.” She returns his smile with her own. Warm and bright as ever. 

It would be so easy. So easy to be together, Eren repeats in his head, as he follows her upstairs. 

~~~

Up in your room, as soon as the door is closed, he steps towards you with both hands on your cheeks, kissing you passionately. Your lips smack together, tongues sliding in and around each other’s mouths, hands pressed against his chest. You kiss like this for a minute, your pulse beating fast under your skin.

He breaks away, foreheads touching, noses nuzzling. “Hi,” he whispers. 

You smile. “Hi.”

You get onto the bed and lie besides each other, his arms wrapped around your body. “How are you?” He gives you a smooch on your forehead. 

“I’m fine. Chapter meeting was quick. How about you?”

“Same. Uneventful, as always.” He squeezes you tighter in his embrace. “I’m sorry about Friday night. For running off.”

You’ve had nearly two days to digest all that happened that night and how it plays into your current situation. The rollercoaster of emotions, beginning with denial, peaking at anger, and halting at shame, is causing you to spiral. You spent hours Saturday morning, lying in bed, refusing to accept that Annie is absolutely correct: you do deserve better. You are better than this. And when the realization finally hits you like a bag of bricks, the rest of your Saturday is wasted pacing around campus, letting off steam caused by this newfound contempt for Eren Jaeger. The blatant disrespect from him that you so fervently overlooked is impossible to deny any longer. 

This leads you into Sunday, when the guilt of how you failed yourself starts to consume you. The burden of realizing that you got yourself into this mess weighs heavy on your chest; the burden to escape it weighs even heavier. 

Yet, you lie here with him on Sunday night, wishing for a sign of redemption. Anything to prove that all this was worth it. That it still is worth it. Holding out hope for some type of forlorn act of love. 

He clears his throat. “I freaked out when I saw them. I didn’t know what to do, so I just ran. I’m sorry.”

You stay silent, waiting for any additional explanation, maybe a more valid reason for ditching you. Nothing else comes out of it. Eventually, he clears his throat again, obviously uncomfortable, asking, “So, what did you end of telling them?”

You choose to leave out the details of what Annie said. It’s not the right time. You don’t want to confess to him that it’s been eating away at you for the past two days. Not yet. “I told them that we’re hooking up.”

“Did they have anything to say to that?”

“Not really. They were just surprised.”

He chuckles. “Annie isn’t necessarily the biggest fan of me, so I’m sure she’s secretly upset about it.”

She did not keep it a secret at all, you think to yourself, remembering her disgust very clearly.

“They’re not going to tell anybody, are they?”

“No. They’re my friends. They’re not going to say anything.”

“Good.” His relief doesn’t bring you comfort. Rather, it causes you more stress. He’s so desperate to keep you a secret, and for what? To save face? Protect a reputation that barely exists in the first place?

“Would it be so bad? If people know? What’s the big deal?” You’re already preparing yourself for a disappointing answer. 

Before he replies, he reaches his fingers down to your chin to tilt your head up. “I want to be with you, okay? I just need time.”

“Time?”

“Yeah, to get used to this. I’m not really a relationship or commitment person. This is all new to me. Just give me time. I promise you. It’ll all be alright.” His eyes look earnest. Honest. Sweet. 

The trouble with Eren Jaeger is that he is a master at his craft. Manipulating a situation to go his way is a skill that no one can compete with him in. And it’s taken you several weeks to recognize how easily you fall for it. 

You leave it at that, tired of hearing excuses, exhausted of empty promises. You start kissing him, palming his cock until it’s hard beneath his pants. This is how it always ends up with you two. This is the only thing you’re good for. 

A few minutes later, you’re both naked, you on your back, thighs spread open as he eats you out, pumping his fingers inside you. You’re the same obedient girl that gave your virginity to him. Allowed him to defile you, to ruin you. It’s what you wanted, what you fantasized about. And now you are dealing with the consequences. Picking up the pieces that you willingly let him destroy.

“Fuck, you’re such a good girl. Such a good girl for daddy,” he hums, flicking his tongue over your clit, middle and ring finger working overtime in and out of your cunt. 

You allow the ecstasy to smother you, because the only way to feel good with Eren is like this. He doesn’t have to know that your mind is filled with doubts, regret, insecurity. And, as he sends you into your first orgasm of the night, you temporarily forget about all the imperfections in this shady relationship. You let the lust and pleasure justify why you’re still here in bed with him. 

When you come all over his fingers, he doesn’t stop. He keeps going until his digits are wet, shiny, and sticky with your slick. He sucks on your clit until it’s swollen and sensitive. Until you’re whimpering with tears rolling down the sides of your face. Until he’s had your fill of you, and you’ve given him all that you can offer. 

Without warning, he pulls his fingers out of you and slides his hard cock up and down your arousal, spreading your cum over your clit. You hear the click of the lube bottle, the soft squelch of oil being rubbed on his shaft, the gravely moan resounding from his throat. 

“Are you ready, baby?” 

“Yes,” you breathe out.

He kneels in front of you, positioned between your legs. His cock glides into your sleek pussy easily, eliciting a low moan from his mouth as he bottoms out. He thrusts into you slowly, spreading your thighs out wider for a better angle. He watches you swallow his entire length, a satisfied smile forming at his lips, as he continues to penetrate your sloppy cunt. 

“Fuck, baby. Look at you. You’re beautiful.” His eyes drift up to meet your gaze. You try to suppress the flutter in your belly, reminding yourself that he only says this when you’re beneath him, surrounding his cock. Giving him what he wants.

“Take this cock, take this fucking cock. Good girl, good fucking girl,” he growls, sliding his hands under your thighs and pushing your knees closer to your chest. He has you in a fucking mating press, pounding your G-spot ruthlessly, determined to milk you dry. 

“Fuck!” you cry out, fists clenching the sheets, eyes shut tight as he drills you into the bed, completely lost in the heat of passion. You hear him spit twice, his saliva trickling onto your puffy clit. Suddenly, his fingers are on you, stimulating your messy bud smeared in his drool. The sensation overtakes you. Soon, you’re coming once more all over his cock, pussy throbbing around him.

“I want to fill you up, baby. Fill you up with my fucking load,” he moans. Both his hands are holding onto your legs, pushing them towards your shoulders into a goddamn yoga pose. Your cunt is so wet, you’re worried he’ll slip out any second. 

He orgasms inside you, groaning as he comes down from his high. “Fuck, baby. Wish I could take a picture of this.” He pulls out to marvel at your drenched pussy, biting his lower lip. 

Turning your head to the side, you stare blankly at the wall of your bedroom, brought back to reality. Nothing has changed. He’s still the same Eren. Your body feels good, spent and satiated, as it usually does when he’s finished with you. Your mind, however, is focused on all the problems that remain. 

He chuckles, crawling next to you, asking, “You okay?” Completely unaware of the turmoil taking over your mind. 

You nod, staying silent as you sit up, ready to make your usual post-coital trip to the bathroom. His hand grips at your wrist. “Hey. Baby. Seriously, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just have to pee,” you tell him. Not yet. It’s still not the right time.

“Okay,” he relents, loosening his hold on you. 

You slide into your pajamas, avoiding his gaze. From the corner of your eye, you see him looking at you with a worried expression. Does he actually care?

As you exit your bedroom, anxiety creeps into your chest. It feels like the calm before the storm. 

Sometime soon, you’re going to crack. The burden of it all is going to break you, cause you to snap. Unleash the hell that’s burning in your fragile soul.

Not tonight, not in this moment. But soon. 

You’ll finally be free.

~~~

The days pass and Eren’s timeline for turning his sign-up form is dwindling. He’s been debating with himself all week about how he should proceed with this. 

Thursday night, the brothers of Alpha Tau eat dinner together in the dining room. Those that live in the house are prepared food everyday by their house chef. Pledges are allowed two meals a week, free of charge, as long as an active brother signs them up as their guest. Tonight, Reiner invites him to eat with them. 

“Have you asked Pieck to formal yet?” Reiner shoves a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth, waiting for a response.

“I haven’t,” he replies, taking a bite out of the meatloaf on his plate. He knew this was going to come up eventually. 

“Well, what are you waiting for?” In a hushed voice, he leans in closer and urges, “Just don’t take a Sigma Nu Kappa. Anyone but them. A lot of brothers are already taking them. We need to add some hot girls in there or else we’ll be the laughingstock to the rest of the frats.”

It’s a ridiculous statement. Truly. Reiner is an idiot. Apparently so is Eren for going along with everything he commands. 

“I don’t even know how to get a hold of her. I only met her at the Halloween party.”

“Ask Bertolt to help you out. He’s taking another Delta Mu sister. She can let Pieck know you’re interested.”

Eren has been procrastinating doing this on purpose. Once he asks Pieck to the dance, he has no other choice but to break the news to her. He’s nervous for how she’ll react; she’ll probably come up with some smartass comment to make him feel guilty. She never stays mad at him, though. Never. He has her wrapped around his finger, and he shamelessly takes advantage of that. 

“Fine. I’ll ask Bertolt to help me set it up.” 

Reiner pats his back. “Don’t forget to sign up for a room with a single bed. I’m sure you’ll be using it.” He gives you a cocky smirk, going back to scarf down his meal. 

Eren hangs out on the couch after dinner, digesting. He checks his phone frequently, waiting for any type of text inviting him over. He hasn’t talked to her since Monday morning, when he whispered a soft “good morning” as he crawled out of bed to get ready for the day. Even though they spent the night together, she didn’t say much. Usually, they chat with each other before drifting off to sleep. She was much quieter on Sunday, only nodding along and providing short responses as he babbled on and on. He attributes it to exhaustion from the amazing sex, Eren finally trying a position he’s been fantasizing about doing with her.

On his way out of the house to retreat to his dorm room for the night, he spots Annie walking out of the Sigma Nu Kappa house. “Jaeger,” she calls out, before he can avert her.

Reluctantly, he turns to face her. “Hey.”

“Come here for a second. I want to talk to you.” Her expression is the typical scowl she wears whenever she sees him. He wonders if she’s typically like this with others or if this frown is specifically reserved for him. 

“What do you want?” 

She sizes him up, eyes narrowed. “Geez, what’s with the attitude?”

“What do you want?” he repeats, already losing his patience.

She twirls a strand a hair between her fingers. “Armin asked me to formal.”

“Yeah, he told me he was going to ask you.” He still can’t fathom how his best friend, who is a gentle teddy bear, plans to attend a dance with someone as callous and deadpan as Annie. Then again, he hasn’t been spending much time with Armin to discuss this recent development. 

“So, when are you going to ask her? I heard the deadline is on Sunday. It’s already Thursday.”

Eren plays dumb, placing his hands in his pockets and shrugging. He doesn’t owe anyone, especially Annie Leonhart, an explanation. 

She glares at him, crossing her arms over her chest. “What are you doing? She’s a nice girl. Why are you messing around with her like this?”

The accusation irritates him. Defensively, he responds, “I’m not messing around with her, okay? And I know she’s a nice girl. Why do you think I keep her around?” 

Her eyes get narrower, scrutinizing him. “She’s not a plaything, Jaeger. She’s a human being.”

“Yeah, I’m aware of that.” 

“Do you even know how she feels about you?” 

There’s a growing guilt building in his chest as he tries to remain unbothered by this hostile confrontation. He keeps silent, unsure how to react. Truth be told, he doesn’t want to know. Knowing will only make it more difficult for him to let go. To move on. 

She scoffs. “You’re pathetic.”

“And you’re nosy,” he spits out. “What the hell did you tell her anyways? She’s been really distant lately. Hasn’t been talking to me much.”

A small smirk forms on her face. “I told her the truth. Told her what she needed to hear.”

“What does that mean?”

“If you don’t know, then you really are hopeless.”

Eren rolls his eyes, having had enough of this conversation. This is typical Eren. When he’s put in a tough situation, he walks away. Sometimes runs. He turns away from her, not at all interested in being harassed any further. 

Before he moves, she warns, “There are a lot of people who care about her. If you hurt her, you will be reminded every day of how badly you fucked up.”

It sounds like a threat. With Annie, it probably is. 

Without facing her, he says, “I care about her too, Annie.” His voice is soft, maybe even a little vulnerable. Admitting it out loud is unusual; he’s surprised to hear his own mouth utter these words. 

“Then act like it. I thought you didn’t let other people influence how you think or feel. Remember you told me that? Don’t let Reiner influence your decisions. Believe it or not, I at least have more respect for you than him. Don’t be a disappointment.”

With that, he makes his way back to his dorm room, Annie’s words sticking to his mind no matter how hard he tries to disregard them. She’s right; he knows what he’s doing is wrong.

Don’t be a disappointment.

It’s too late for that. 

~~~

Friday night, Sigma Nu Kappa hosts their monthly pizza night. The sisters gather in the kitchen, assembling their personalized pies, handing them over to their chef who bakes them in a portable wood-fired oven. During these special nights, all sisters, whether they live in the house or not, are allowed to participate. 

Hange, who always tries to make the smelliest pizza possible, topped with anchovies, olives, onions, and garlic, is regulated in the corner of the room, eating her meal alone with a twisted smile on her face. Petra, Nanabe, and the other seniors talk amongst themselves as they munch on their dinner, discussing upperclassmen topics unrelated to the rest of the sisters. 

You eat with Mikasa, Annie, and Sasha on the couch, watching a comedy movie on TV. After some idle gossip, Sasha brings up a topic that catches you off guard. 

“Who else is going to Alpha Tau’s formal, besides Mikasa and Hitch?”

“Hey, I haven’t been formally asked by Jean yet. He wants to do it after a nice dinner tomorrow, bless his heart,” Mikasa explains, a sweet smile on her face. “Who’s taking Hitch?”

“Connie!” Sasha answers, proudly. “I set it up. Just call me Cupid.”

“Armin asked me. And I said yes,” Annie mentions in a quiet voice, blushing.

“Armin?! Oooh la la, Annie!” Sasha teases, resulting in a firm punch to her arm.

You notice Annie glancing at you, imploring some sort of comment. 

“I didn’t even know Alpha Tau is having a formal,” you say. Eren hasn’t mentioned it all week. In fact, he’s barely contacted you since Monday morning, when he kissed you goodbye before leaving for his morning class. In his defense, you haven’t made any effort to reach out to him either. You can’t help but wonder if he’s planning to ask you eventually. There’s still that glimmer of hope you’re holding out for him, despite how fast it’s dwindling.    

Annie glares, clearly upset. However, she doesn’t say anything, still adhering to her vow of silence in regard to your secret. 

“Mike is probably going to ask you,” Mikasa mentions, smirking. She found out about your little fling with Mike on Halloween and has been pestering you about it since.

You return her smile. “Maybe.” 

In all honesty, you wouldn’t mind going to formal with Mike. After that night, you still consider him a friend. The few times you’ve passed by him this week, he’s acted normally, greeting you with that handsome grin that he wears so confidently. If you weren’t so fucked up in the head by Eren, you could definitely see yourself falling for Mike, the way he deserves. The way both of you deserve.

Instead, here you are. Still wishing more than anything that Eren asks you to this formal. Setting your expectations so high, you can barely see the top. It’s laughable. It’s pathetic.

You spend the rest of the night at the house, watching another movie snuggled next to your sisters as you all share a big bowl of popcorn. Mikasa leaves before you, heading to Jean’s for the night. Instinctually, you reach for your phone, ready to text Eren. Before you can, Annie nudges you. 

“Hey. Let’s walk back together. I want to talk to you.”

The two of you leave the house, slowly making your way towards the dorms. You’re concerned about what she wants to tell you, anticipating it has something to do with Eren. “What is it, Annie?”

She sighs, staring down at the ground as you both take your time walking. “I’m just going to say it, okay?”

You nod, eyebrows knit together with worry. Anxious for another truth bomb she’s sure to drop in this moment.

“I don’t think Eren is going to ask you to formal.”

It’s inevitable; your heart falls. The sinking sensation dwelling in the pit of your stomach slows down your steps, as if gravity is pulling you towards the ground. “How do you know?”

“I ran into him last night. I asked him and he didn’t give a straightforward answer.”

“Oh,” is all you can mutter as you process this information.  

“Also, I overheard something.” She pauses, debating if she should continue.

“Annie,” you urge her, desperate for the truth.

She gulps loudly, admitting, “I heard he’s taking someone from Delta Mu.”

There’s a cluster of emotions rushing through your head. He’d rather take anyone else besides you, the girl he’s been fucking the past couple of weeks. He was on his goddamn knees just a week ago, begging to have you. Granting whatever wish you desired to nestle himself inside your body, the one you offered him on the fateful night that initiated it all. 

You’re as much to blame as he is, falling for his tricks. For that low voice that can lull you into a trance and manipulate you into submission. Those compelling eyes that dazzle you, hiding the true nature of his cold, frigid heart. 

While your feelings for him have always been true, there are far too many red flags now to ignore, to make excuses for. Time and time again, you’ve let the waves of pleasure purify the sins of your messy relationship, if only for a short while at a time. Not anymore. This is the final straw. 

Now, you want revenge. To hurt him the same way he’s hurt you. Pull the rug out from under him like he’s done to you in the past. Make him feel something. It may sound cruel and petty, but you don’t care. For the first time since it started, you have clarity. 

“Are you okay?” Annie asks.

“I don’t know. But I think I’m starting to see things more clearly now.”

She gives you a small smile. “That’s good to hear.”

After dropping her off to her building, you head to your room, alone. Repulsed by the idea of inviting Eren over with this new information swimming around in your head. Coincidentally, your phone rings, flashing his name across the screen. 

“Hello?” you answer, attempting to keep your cool. 

“Hey,” he greets, his gruff voice taking a different effect on you now. “How are you?” 

“I’m okay.” You keep your responses short. Not in the mood for the typical pleasantries of a phone conversation. 

You hear a sense of trepidation in his voice, as he says, “So, not sure if you’ve heard already, but there’s this formal coming up for Alpha Tau.”

“Yeah, I heard.” 

You hear him clear his throat, nervous. “I’m going to take Pieck. From Delta Mu.”

Gut punch. Annie prepared you for this, but to hear it from his own voice doesn’t soften the blow. 

Before you can respond, he continues. “It doesn’t mean anything. Reiner told me to take her, so I am.”

He’s a coward. A fucking coward. Always abiding to what his big brother demands him to do, for no good reason. And you’re a fool for letting it go this far. 

“Okay.” 

“Are you mad? It’s just formal. It’s not like I’m dating her or anything. I won’t even dance with her if it makes you happy.” The audacity he has to justify it, to make it seem like what he’s doing is no big deal. It takes all your willpower not to scream into the phone. 

“If you really want to make me happy, you’d ask me to go with you, instead of some other girl,” you state.

“You know I can’t do that.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re not supposed to be seen together yet. I’m not ready.” Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

“So, it’s okay to be seen with a Delta Mu, but not with me?” you challenge him, anger seeping through your voice. 

“It’s not like that. Just give me some more time, okay? I just need more time.”

Officially fed up, you quickly say, “Yeah, okay. Got it. Have fun at formal.” You hang up, not waiting for a response. 

Time. You’re sick of hearing this. He uses it as if it’s the magic word that erases all your problems, an excuse to prolong your suffering. You’re not even sure what he needs time for. Does he need it to get over his own insecurities? To grow up and make adult decisions? To realize he cares about you? Regardless, his time is running out.  He didn’t even have the decency to tell you any of this in person. It was all through a fucking phone call. 

Eren Jaeger truly is a coward. The biggest coward of them all.

Your limit has been reached. This is your breaking point. 

 You know what you have to do. 

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End Notes: We’re nearing the end, folks! I have three more chapters planned, plus an epilogue. Thank you again for those who have read, commented, liked, and reblogged any or all parts of this so far! 

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[kennahjune]

Some Platonic Stancy + Mike for The Heart

Nancy Wheeler, who cuts her hair short for the first time in 1984 and keeps the short hair going for the next three years until Ted Wheeler makes some bitchy comment on women with shirt hair.

Nancy, not usually the one to people please, ignores the comment. She and Mike both get them often from Ted, shit about Mikes hair being long and hers being short. So she ignores them.

Until their mom joins in with the comments, however subtle they may be.

So, Nancy starts growing her hair out. Mike, however, goes about his life with his hair. He’s never home long enough to really care about the comments— always at the cabin or with the Party somewhere.

Enter the year 1988, and Nancy has successfully grown her hair well below her shoulders. It’s pretty. She gets compliments on her curls and beautiful brown color all the time.

But she hates it.

She fucking hates it.

Three years of having her hair shirt had gotten her used to having it off of her neck. And now that it’s so long, well…

Nancy Wheeler has never had a problem with sensory issues. That was more Mike’s thing— always having to cut the tags off his clothes and downright refusing to eat certain foods— but her hair on her neck makes her want to vomit.

And sure— she can simply put it up, keep it in a high bun and off her neck.

But just the knowledge of it being there makes her sweat. Makes her want to itch the skin off of her neck.

She feels bad for making fun of Mikes hate for tags.

Now, enter year 1989 pursued by Steve Harrington, fresh out of cosmetology school.

Steve had been doing his own hair since he was little and sat with his mom and grandpa at the vanity in their dressing room (because of course the Harrington’s have a dressing room). He’d sit and watch as his mom curled her hair— or straightened, depending on her mood. He’d sit in his grandpa’s lap as he showed little Steve all the different products and tools, letting Steve chip in and help style his hair.

It was a passion handed down from Steve’s moms side, the love for hair. And he planned on finally doing something with it— even if it wasn’t exactly what his parents wanted. (Though they learned to live with it— he did start his own hair salon, after all.)

Now, where does Steve play into this scene?

Well— it starts on a Tuesday afternoon in late July.

Steve Harrington had been cleaning the house while listening to his dads old records on the dingy record player in the living room. The knocking was barely heard over the volume, even with how frantic it was. The only reason Steve— who had lost most of his hearing in his left ear— heard the knocking was because whoever it was nearly knocked a picture off the wall.

So he opened the door to Mike and Nancy Wheeler on his front porch.

Mike looked almost bored, but he gave Steve a smile and a ‘hello’ before dragging his sister in by the arm.

Nancy looked worse-for-wear; her eyes seemed sunken and the eye-bags were darker than he’d seen them in years. He hoped it wasn’t new nightmares.

“Come on in, I guess,” Steve grumbled while Mike made himself comfortable in the living room. He wasn’t actually mad, just playing into a running bit he’d had going on with the mini Wheeler for nearly two years now.

“Watch it, Harrington.” Mike pointed at him. “You’ll loose a paying customer.” But the kid was smiling wide.

Steve scoffed. “‘Paying customer’ my ass, Wheeler! You barge into my home, make me trim your hair, call me an asshole and leave!” Steve himself was grinning wide.

Mike waved him off but Steve heard the giggle he failed to hide.

Nancy stood awkwardly on the living room carpet in the button up she’d stolen from Robin, white tank top, and cut-off jean shorts. She’d been taking a bit of fashion tips from Eddie recently. She found she liked the denim a lot more than skirts in the summer.

Steve finally gave her his attention.

“Hey Nance! What’s up?”

Nancy felt herself relax with the easy smile Steve gave her. She cleared her throat.

“Um— well, Mike said you trim his hair for him every once in a while and I know you just finished school and everything so—“

“You want a haircut?” he cut off her ramble. He and her both have picked up the rambling habit from Robin. “It’s about time, Wheeler. The long hairs cute and all but… so… not you, oddly enough.” He stood with his hip cocked and a thoughtful hand on his chin supported by the arm wrapped around his middle.

Nancy sighed roughly through her mouth and dragged a hand down her face.

“Oh my god, you don’t even know! I can’t stand having it so long— it’s so itchy and scratchy and annoying and not to mention high maintenance! Like yeah it looks good but seriously what is the point other than pain?”

Steve snickered and Mike threw his shoe at her to get her to stop.

“Come on you two, the dressing rooms upstairs.”

In the dressing room, Mike was sat at the vanity first. Steve had gotten Nancy a glass of water and told her to sit on the couch at the back wall and relax.

She tried her best, sipping the water and enjoying the view of the woods in the backyard from the window next to her (even if those woods held darker memories than they should).

She examined the room closely while Steve scolded Mike for using Ted’s shampoo/conditioner (because of course the bastard uses a two-in-one) while Mike pleaded he was desperate after running out of his own stuff.

The floor was tiled for easy clean up, the only carpet being the one under the couch Nancy sat on. The couch was plush leather, the cool touch a welcomed change from the July heat. The walls were a baby pink so light it almost looks white, covered in well-placed posters and photos and even stickers that were stuck on.

The vanity and the couch weren’t the only furniture in the room; a coffee table in front of the couch, a small two-drawer dresser next to the vanity, and nice, tall dresser back by the door. There were plants on the windowsill, flowers in pots on the dressers.

The windowsill was one of those fancy ones that Nancy liked so much; the ones that were like seats with drawers/cabinets underneath. The seat was decorated in an abundance of pillows and blankets.

It was a cozy room, and Nancy found herself zoning out and finally being able to ignore the invading bun on the back of her head. She tuned out the boys’ bickering and just stared at the window. Not through it. Not in it. At it. Examining each speck of dust on the glass and staring her reflection in the eyes.

Until a hair fell loose from bun and tickled her neck. And she almost threw her water at Mike who had sat next to her in her haste to get it off.

“Hey, hey! Nance!” Steve grabbed the water and Mike placed his hands around her neck, effectively stilling her and calming her.

“Hey, yeah, over here.”

Nancy looked at Steve. She kind of wanted to throw up.

“How about we finally get ride of all that length, yeah?”

She’d never heard a better question in her life.

Nancy told Steve to do whatever the hell he thought needed to be done. Steve told her he’d go to just above the shoulders and she agreed.

Mike took a spot on the windowsill, reaching into the cabinet underneath and grabbing a very worn book. Nancy hadn’t realized how much Mike came over to Steve’s before.

“Mike you’re seriously reading that again?” Nancy heard Steve ask. Watching him in the mirror, she saw him never look away from her hair once as Mike replied with a bitchy,

“It’s a good book! I thought you liked The Outsiders!”

Nancy snorted. Of course it was The Outsiders. Nancy remembered watching it with Mike, Will, Dustin and Lucas in the basement of their house when it first came out in March of ‘83.

“I didn’t know you liked The Outsiders, Steve,” she remarked. Nancy saw a red blush ride to his cheek in the mirror.

“It’s a good movie,” he muttered defensively.

Mike snickered. “Yeah— he watched it for the plot. The plot meaning shirtless Darry and half-naked Soda—“

Nancy thought Steve was going to chop her ear off and with how fast he turned around to yell at Mike.

Nancy herself sat cackling in the chair, watching Steve get defensive over his junior year fictional crushes.

.

When all was said and done, Steve gave Nancy a new shirt from the closet in the dressing room (that she failed to notice earlier). It was a simple yellow dress shirt. Steve said it was one of his moms. She was sent to shower and told to use the shampoo and conditioner on the third shelf in the bathroom.

When she had finished and walked back downstairs to meet the boys, Mike had already changed from his simple t-shirt to a black tank top with a dark blue buttoned flannel. Everyone kept clothes at Steve’s except Nancy, it seemed.

She made her way to Steve and sat her old shirts on the couch. With her hands free she pulled Steve into a bone-crushing hug. Steve was quick to reciprocate, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.

“Thanks so much,”Nancy whispered into his ear. “This helped me so so much, Steve.”

“Anytime, Nance. You know that.”

And she did.

When Nancy and Mike left the Harrington house with a wave to Steve and a promise of letting him know what everyone thought, Nancy had never felt lighter— both physically and mentally.

.

That night, Nancy slept like she hadn’t in years.

Her hair wasn’t to bad on her neck with the new length. It wasn’t making it itchy or scratching at her cheeks wrong.

She didn’t have to have her mom braid it before bed to keep it away, ultimately ending up with a headache the next day because she could never sleep with her hair up.

No. When Nancy Wheeler went to bed, she woke up feeling refreshed and energized. No rash on her neck from scratching at it in her sleep.

When Steve heard about this later that same day, he pulled her into a hug and promised he’d cut her hair as much as she needed him to.

Nancy felt much better than she had in years.

And if she got Mike that sparkly, purple D-20 he’d been eyeing in the shop? Well— consider it a thank you.

[heykoonsy]

Word Count: 2.8k+

Pairing: Husk x Angel Dust (HuskerDust/AngelHusk), slight Angel Dust x OC

Summary: “Give him everything but your ass.” Angel Dust was tasked with one job: convince the investor to subsidize Valentino’s agency. Angel was more of a closer to Valentino, enticing the wealthier of his associates into funding projects for him. However, this latest pitch didn’t go as planned and Angel’s hubris prevented him from seeing the potential drawbacks of a one night stand with someone Valentino marked. In this slow burn love story, Angel must confront the worst parts of himself if he is going to win back his career.

Content Warnings: Rated 18+ for foul language and mentions of sex

Author's Note: Please, everyone, be wary of my rating. This work is written for adults. It is not suitable for younger audiences. Minors, do not interact. Thank you, and enjoy!

Angel stood in front of Val’s desk, his upper set of hands going to his mouth in disbelief. His jaw hung open. Did Val just say when he thought he said?

“Ya mean it?” Angel Dust said, his voice a whisper. 

“Of course, Angel Cakes, you did me quite a favor. He'd’ve slung our names through the mud if we kept him a minute longer.” Valentino cooed, bringing his hands together and interlacing his fingers. 

Angel Dust clapped his hands together. “I’m so excited!”

“Good! You deserve this night off, enjoy it.” He smiled. 

Angel came around Val’s desk and hugged him. “Thank ya so much, Val!”

Within a few moments, Angel excused himself from Val’s office and made his way to the elevator of the studio. He pulled his phone out of his purse and immediately started typing away on it. A smile appeared on his face as the doors of the elevator closed. 

It appears that after Angel Dust handed over that recording of Tezan, thwarting his plans of besmirching Val’s reputation, Val was eager to reward him. And reward him he did. Angel was free for one night. Free. 

For this one night he did not have to worry about investors, or images or keeping himself apart. He was free to booze, snort and fuck whoever he wanted whenever he wanted regardless of how it impacted the business. He could be wild. He could be himself. 

And there was only one person that he thought to share such an auspicious occasion with. 

Get over to the hotel bitch, I just got the night off!

Cherri replied almost immediately. 

I thought you up and died whore, be there soon

Angel Dust wasted no time getting dolled up in his room at the hotel. He threw on a long sleeved crop top which showed a great deal of his fluff and a matching mini skirt. His legs were clad with thick black tights that were obscured by his knee high black boots. As a finishing touch, he ran a wand of mascara over his eye lashes and looked back at himself in the mirror. He puckered his lips, the gloss shining in the light of his bedroom. 

Angel tore himself away from his vanity when he heard his phone buzz. He knew who it was without looking. 

Here

Angel rose from his chair, grabbing his phone and tossing it into his clutch. He also grabbed his mascara and the tube of lip gloss he was wearing already. He stopped by the door, eyes looking back at Fat Nuggets. 

“Daddy’s gonna miss you, Nugs,” he said, blowing a kiss towards him. 

Angel made his way down to the lobby, itching to get the night started. He passed the bar on his right, catching a glimpse of Husk as he strutted towards the doors. 

“Don’t wait up,” Angel cooed, waving at Husk. 

Angel Dust walked out of the doors, his eyes immediately finding Cherri as she stood with her hands on her hips. She was dressed to go out, but her face and body language screamed “lecture”.

“Glad to see you’re still alive,” Cherri scoffed.

“You will not believe the last few months I’ve had,” Angel said, trying to dispel her anger. To no one’s surprise, it did not work. 

Cherri gave him a few seconds to begin explaining and Angel conceded.  

“Alright, alright. But can we get a drink first?” Angel asked, eyes narrowing out of frustration. Not with Cherri, but with the situation. 

Cherri nodded and the two of them started for the nearest club. Angel used his connections well when it came to these outings. Whenever he was awarded with a night out, he always opted for the best of the best. And that just so happened to be Yazzer’s in the Gluttony ring. Angel Dust and Cherri made their way to the VIP section after being let in without issue by the bouncer out front. 

Cherri plopped down first, waving over some sheepish looking imp to take their drink order. 

“Get us somethin’ fruity,” Angel clucked as he exchanged glances with the other members of the VIP section. “Hey, baby,” he said after making eye contact with a hulking demon brooding at a table close to theirs. 

With the imp gone, Cherri gestured to Angel to begin his tale of woe. “Well?”

Angel sighed, without hesitation, he reached over to the table next to theirs and took the hulking demon’s drink. Angel downed it in mere seconds. “Fuck, that was awful,” he said, tossing the glass back on the table. 

“Angel,” Cherri prompted.

“I may have fucked an investor and made Val mad. He tanked my project with Brut and Agony.” Angel shrugged. 

“Fuck,” Cherri responded after a moment. 

“Yeah,” Angel said. “I’ve been tryna get back in his good graces ever since. Hence the ghosting.”

Cherri punched his shoulder. “You’ve got shit going on, I get it.”

“That’s not even half of it, baby girl.”

Cherri kept her eyes on Angel as the imp slapped down their drinks in front of them. “There’s more?”

Angel took a sip of whatever Cherri ordered them. He swirled it with his straw for a moment, unwilling to take a sip just yet. But after realizing everything else he had to tell her tonight, he’d forgone the straw altogether and started taking a greedy pull from the glass. 

“I might have had the hots for ‘im.”

“Are you kidding, who?”

Angel Dust grabbed her arm, pulling her face towards him and whispered Spitzer’s name. “It was a one-time thing, obviously.”

“So Val caught you?”

Angel nodded, “More or less. But I don’t care about him. Brut wrote the part just for me, and Agony–Cherri, he’d be an A-lister if not for me.” 

Angel let the regret of his actions swim between them. This was the side of him that he’d kept confined to his bedroom all those weeks ago. He didn’t want his shame leaking out and poisoning the air he breathed. Or the others he stayed with. If they had known what he’d done? Angel sighed into his drink.

Not even Cherri knew what to say. “Well, things are turning up, right? I mean, you’re here.”

Angel nodded, a small smile spreading across his face. “Yeah, you won’t believe what I had to go through.”

Cherri ordered another round now that the imp was back, probably sensing that Angel was going to slam his current one as well.

“Another investor signed on, but he was a real creep.” Angel scrunched up his face in disgust. “So I got rid of him.”

Cherri didn’t ask for clarification, or any other details for that matter. She was his friend for long enough to understand when not to ask questions. When she simply nodded her head, he knew that she put two and two together. 

“So we’ve got something to celebrate then,” Cherri said, a wicked smile spreading across her face. 

Angel looked over at her, eyes narrowing just slightly. A smirk started tugging at his lips. “We sure do,” he replied. 

“Finish your drink,” Cherri said, “we’ve got to make up for lost time!” She raised her glass and waited for Angel to raise his. 

They clinked their glasses together, and with that, the night began.

Angel Dust cackled loudly in the back of the taxi with Cherri, his arms clutching his stomach. Angel looked ahead towards the cabby that was getting a little crabby with them being so loud during the end of his shift. 

“Sorry mista,” Angel cooed, “my girl and I had a little too much fun tonight.”

Instead of responding, the cabby rolled his eyes and stopped outside Cherri’s place. Angel watched as she struggled to get out of the taxi, her arms going on either side of her to steady herself. 

“Go and sleep it off, baby!” Angel shouted as she made her way towards home. 

Cherri looked back at him, waving excitedly.

Angel waited until she made it in okay before giving the cabby the hotel’s address. During the ride, he tried to stay coherent. He watched as streetlights came and went on either side of him. The musings of the radio played softly in the cab. Looking back on the night they’d had–it was the most fun Angel had in a long time. 

Once they were done with the catching up part of the evening, they had a couple more cocktails. Then it was a round of blowjob shots, more shots, another round of cocktails. Cherri forced him onto the dance floor for a good two hours. Oh, and there was that anonymous sex with that bulky demon from the VIP section. Well, was it really anonymous considering one party knew exactly who they were fucking?

Angel smirked, he could still feel himself getting bent over in the bathroom stall. What could he say? It was a great night. Angel chuckled softly to himself, slouching in his seat as he relaxed. He looked up at the dashboard of the cabby’s car, eyes searching for the time. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust, but he read two, no, three-seventeen. 

Knowing how late it was always seemed to make him tired. He carefully planned what he was going to do when he got back. First things first, he was going to shed his clothing at the door and toss it in the soiled pile. There was booze and sex all over his outfit. Next, he’d change into some comfy sweatpants and an old stained t-shirt and pass the fuck out. 

Angel looked out the window again and recognized the street they were on. In a few minutes, the cabby stopped the car and allowed Angel to exit. He walked over to the driver’s window, his boots clacking on the asphalt below. He leaned over towards the cabby and smiled widely. 

“Thanks for getting us home safe, suga,” he winked while passing him his fare. 

The cabby took off with no more than a grunt in response. 

Regardless, Angel wobbled his way to the door of the hotel with his purse in his hand. The first thing he noticed when he got into the lobby was a familiar shape by the bar. He took his time making his way over, giggling as he struggled.

“Husky, I told ya not to wait up,” Angel said as he threw his purse onto the bar. He didn’t sit so much as he fell into his stool. 

Husk ignored him, choosing instead to wipe down the counter for what Angel could only assume was the thousandth time that night. “Looks like you had fun,” he said. 

Angel smiled, fingers intertwining as he rested his chin on them. “I did!” Angel exclaimed. “The booze tasted like ass there too!” He complained.

Husk shrugged, “Can’t trust clubs.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Angel laughed. “You spoil me, Husky.”

Husk looked over at him, watching him sway in his stool. “Couldn’t have tasted that bad if you’re that far gone.”

Angel waved him off, “After the fourth shot the long island’s went down like water.”

Husk chuckled at that, and Angel reveled in the sound. It wasn’t very often that the prickly kitty laughed so anything Angel got out of him was an accomplishment indeed.

“Careful Husky, people are gonna start thinkin' you like me,” Angel warned again with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. 

“Not sure how they’d get that impression,” Husk said, leaning his elbows on the bar. “Are you gonna be alright getting upstairs?”

Angel Dust hiccuped, putting a hand up to his mouth. “Yeah, I should be good,” he said as he slid off his stool. 

Angel started walking very slowly towards the hallway, his arm going out to catch himself on a nearby sofa. Husk watched as he tried and failed to recover. Then, Angel had the bright idea to take off his boots. 

“You sure you–

“I need help,” Angel said exasperatedly. 

Angel could hear Husk snickering behind him. 

“All you had to do was ask,” Husk said.

Angel let Husk take one of his hands and lead him to a nearby chair. Husk pushed Angel down, planting his ass right on the arm. If Angel weren’t so drunk, he’d have protested, or been more stiff–but he could barely comprehend the swirling shapes of the room so he stayed quiet. 

He watched closely, furrowing his brow in concentration as Husk raised one of Angel’s legs. Husk dragged his fingertips along the trail of the zipper, leading them all the way up to Angel’s thigh. Angel felt Husk’s claw against the delicate fluff there, and he almost gasped at the sensation. Angel moved slightly, which earned a scoff from Husk below him.

“Ticklish?”

Angel didn’t answer, all he could do was watch as Husk pulled the zipper down slowly, exposing more of the tights he’d put on. With deft hands, Husk removed his boot and quickly started unzipping the other. Angel felt all of the air leave his lungs as he watched the leather leave his legs. And there Husk was, right between them.

Husk looked up at Angel, his eyes scanning his face slowly. Without saying much, he rose from his position on the floor and stretched out his hand for Angel to grab. 

Angel cleared his mind and took it without a second thought.

After finally making their way to Angel’s room, Husk watched as Angel speckled kisses all over Fat Nuggets. 

“Did you miss Daddy my big Fat Nuggie? My precious little baby?”

Husk seemed like he was trying to keep his thoughts to himself.

“You got a problem wit’ my son?” Angel asked, a hand on his hip, an eyebrow raised. 

Husk didn’t say anything in response. Instead, he looked around at Angel’s room. “You ever do a load of laundry in your life?”

Angel rolled his eyes, “I have a system.”

Husk tossed Angel’s JUICY leggings at him and a probably clean t-shirt. He pointed to the bathroom for Angel to change. 

Angel didn’t bother arguing, and instead made his way to the bathroom as demanded. 

While he was in there, he peed before bed and tossed his dirty clothes on the floor. Angel looked into the bathroom mirror, seeing himself for the first time in hours. He checked his eyeliner–surprisingly still on! His mascara hadn’t rubbed off either. The lipgloss he put on earlier had since dried. 

Angel took a few minutes to wipe away all the leftover makeup with a remover wipe. Once he was all clean and dressed in his comfy clothes, he emerged from the bathroom. From the illuminated doorway, he saw that all of his laundry piles had been picked up and tossed into his hamper. Not to mention all of the empty water bottles and iced coffee cups were suddenly nowhere to be found. His ashtray was emptied and the trash was taken out. Holy fuck, was his bed made?

Angel walked quickly to the door and swung it open. He looked down the hallway and saw Husk carrying a trash bag full of garbage down the hallway. 

“Husky,” Angel called after him. 

Before Angel had the chance to say anything, Husk flipped him off. “Do your fucking laundry.”

The demand caught Angel off guard, forcing him to stifle his laugh. Instead of responding, he closed his bedroom door and sat down on his made bed. Fat Nuggets joined him quickly. 

“People are totally gonna think he likes me,” Angel said, patting Fat Nuggets on the head a few times. 

Then, without much fuss, Angel got under the covers and let sleep take him.

Angel blinked a few times in the light of the hallway. His eyes were bloodshot and his head ached like crazy. Not to mention his stomach was in knots. He couldn’t tell if he wanted to eat or if he wanted to throw up. When he got to the laundry room of the hotel, he realized that it was the latter. Angel stumbled his way to the sink and puked his guts out. When he was done, he rinsed his mouth out with water. 

Within a few moments, he collected the laundry hamper he’d discarded on the floor and started to dump everything into the washing machine. He sprinkled in some of his laundry detergent and set the machine. When that was done, Angel figured he had some time to kill before he needed to put in another load. He went down to the lobby to see if anyone else was awake yet. 

Despite getting to bed around four in the morning, Angel’s head popped off the pillow at seven thirty. There was no way Angel was doing anything of value today–not with a hangover this bad. 

“You look like shit,” Husk said without warning.

Angel crept over to the bar and sat down. “Thank you,” he said without much thought. “Husky, why do I never see you with a hangover?”

Husk stifled a laugh, and Angel knew exactly why. 

Angel pouted. “I am not a lightweight!”

“I wasn’t going to say that,” Husk said, putting his hands up in defense. 

“What’s your secret?”

“I just keep drinking,” Husk shrugged. “Y’know, hair of the dog and all that.”

Angel considered it for a moment. “Huh,” he said, “That’s good enough for me, one drink please.”

Husk smiled a wicked smile, “Absolutely not.”

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[siremasterlawrence]

Magical Items: Puppet Doll

It’s the night of The Midnight Gallery party of New York City built for destruction of the world of evil that surrounds us.

On the steps of The Met days of the good old world shall crumble because of my true sheer will.

I pass the guards entering in to thousands if seats filling up the rolls of the audience to the auditorium.

It is a record breaking night for the buyers and sellers of the Magical Realm within in this universe.

I sit right in front of the stage waiting for my turn for the one item that matters to me the most.

It’s about my time as I lift my arms in to the air starting my bidding for The Puppet idol winning it easily.

The crowd breaks up in a large rise of sea like roar applause watching me exit the room.

I collect my idol paying off the bill for exact five thousand dollars they with their many designer suits and dresses.

I smirk heading into the bathroom straight to the stall the impact of the next events is a sight to behold eyes.

I can see through the peep hole in the midst of a older man, so hot, perfect and I was in power.

I giggle a bit digging into my suitcase raise The Puppet Idol into my hand my eyes close as it glows.

The man in his tuxedo is in awe of himself as he models for the mirror checking out every inch of his body.

Sometime propels my body to rise to both of my feet, my eyes pop open to view him in a motionless state.

“Do a spin for me”

“Haha it works”

“Who’s the Master now?”

“Mwahahahahaha “

“By the way nice tux, I need you to bid and win every item on Auction tonight. Now go”

“Oh My Lord! Wake Up!”

“Huh! Oh Hi My Lord”

“Are you ready to sweep the auction?”

“Damn right! Old man”

“Fuck! I am hard”

“Time to move on babe”

“How may I serve you?”

“Get to work and win every one”

“Pay off whoever won prior”

“Yes my king”

“Tonight?”

“I’ll fuck your raw”

“A pep in your step now”

“HOT!”

“I’ll go mingle and bid”

“Keep me in touch of everything”

“Whatever you wish”

“You have my number”

“Hello boi?”

“Master meet in the lobby”

“Everything is being delivered tonight “

“I paid extra”

“Of course”

“Anything you want”

Back at his desk in his mansion we sit down to drink of victory his thoughts pandora off a bit.”

“Hey hey back here”

“Sorry!”

“What’s the matter”

“How come I am not more angry at you?”

“Because I am willing you “

“Zip it with the questions Daddy Doll”

“Yyyyyeeeesssssss”

“I love you sir”

“You are my world”

“Stand up, kneel and submit to me”

“My sire”

The end

[businesscasualart]

New Year’s has never been real exciting for me. Like, I live on a farm with my neighbors being family members so we can fire our own fireworks with all of the open space, and I try to dress my best whether the party calls for it or not, but that’s it. To me, New Year’s has always been family and friends lounging around, half asleep on the couches if not entirely asleep. The children are off somewhere in the far distance yelling and playing with streamers. Some weary attendees who managed to stay awake playing some boring, worn down board game, running solely on the sugar in the sweet tea and leftover Christmas cookies because no one ever thinks to bring coffee when we’re trying to make it till midnight. Me sitting at the dining room table soaking in the quiet ambience and wondering why I came when it’s just…existing in a house of exhausted people.

Then the time comes around. We round everyone up and shamble on out to the front porch, braving the cold to watch the firework shows come up off of the city line in the horizon and fire off a couple of our own. As an “early to bed, early to rise” type of person, my vision is already blurred from the sleep deprivation. I usually can barely see much of the fireworks, and my phone can’t even record them.

I can, however, see those around me. I’ll look back to tired faces those around me as the clock ticks midnight. Without fail, for the first time that night, I feel the holiday’s warmth and smile. I’m glad they made it, I’m glad I got the privilege of knowing them that year, I’m glad they’re with me at least to start 2024.

Now, I don’t have many people with me here, or how long the people here will stick around, or who I’ll meet here in the coming year, or who’s just passing through…but whoever’s reading this, no matter how long you’ve been here, no matter how long you’ll be here, I hope it’s somewhat pleasant for y’all to know y’all give me the same warmth and gratitude.

I hope y’all know, that in a weird across-the-internet sense, I’m looking from the fireworks to y’all, filled with joy. Y’all have made my holiday. The world feels brighter and a touch more hopeful knowing y’all are in it. Thank you for all the love and support you’ve shown me in these few short days. <3 Happy 2024, y’all.

[invisibleraven]

Phantom Carols

For the @jatp-adventevent prompt: Fabulous Outfits

Day Twenty: Drawn To You <-AO3!

When Flynn first got the assignment to be Carrie Wilson’s personal designer, she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Carrie was an already established star who had won several best dressed awards. But her regular designer was retiring, and she wanted someone new, fresh. An up and comer to give her wardrobe a new life.

And somehow Flynn landed the job.

She mocked up a few designs, some for every day, some for awards, some for her shows. While she wanted to give them to Carrie directly, she was in the middle of recording her next album, so it was Kayla, Carrie’s manager who gratefully accepted the drawings.

“I’ll let you know what she likes and get you a team to start production.”

Only a week later, Kayla came back with all the drawings, dumping them on Flynn’s desk unceremoniously. “She doesn’t like them. Also she needs some stuff for her Christmas special next month.”

“Did she say what she didn’t like?” Flynn asked. “I can’t just work from dislike.”

Kayla shook her head. “She’s picky about what she wears.”

“I based all of these on stuff I’ve seen her wear!” Flynn protested. “I thought she wanted something familiar but new?”

“I guess this was a bit too new,” Kayla replied with a shrug. “Just… try again.”

So Flynn did. Tweaking and re-tweaking her previous designs, doing some more out there stuff just to gauge if Carrie wanted something really new. Then, in frustration, she pretty much copies the outfit she’s seen Carrie wear to several interviews.

That design was the only one not to come back.

Flynn growled, crumpling up the designs, tossing them into the trash. She was half tempted to storm down to the recording studio and demand Carrie tell her why she had even hired her. Why demand newness when all she wanted was a rehash of everything she already had?

Instead she went down to the break room, poured herself a giant mug of coffee, grabbed some snacks, and enjoyed them on the balcony overlooking downtown. Pulls out her sketchbook and draws herself an outfit, bold lines and patterns, a funky hat to top it off. Then a complimentary outfit that she would die to put Carrie in. Full of slashes and deep cuts that would catapult her out of her bubble gum image, a lot more punk rock than princess.

“I love that,” a voice says from behind her.

Flynn turns, and there she is; Carrie Wilson. In simple sweats and an oversized tee. She motions to the chair next to Flynn and is waved over, though Flynn is certain her jaw is on the floor. “You have anything else like that?”

Flynn flips through her sketches, some of them the early versions of drawings Carrie’s already rejected, others more avant garde pieces that she knew would never fly.

“Wow, you’re really good. Much better than whoever they hired to replace Sonya. The only drawing they gave me was a copy of my least favourite interview outfit,” Carrie says, scrunching her nose in an admittedly adorable fashion.

“You mean… you didn’t get the rest of my designs?” Flynn asks. “I gave Kayla at least twenty of them.”

Carrie looks shame faced for a moment and then shakes her head. Flynn sighs with annoyance and relief before pulling them both up, bringing Carrie to her office. Smooths out each of her crumpled sketches, and delights as the pop sensation adores each and every one.

“Why didn’t I get any of these?” she wonders. “This is exactly what I was looking for! Something to shake my image up, just a little.” She turns to Flynn. “I am truly sorry for everything. I’ll get it sorted and get a team down to help you make all these.”

“What about your Christmas special?” Flynn asked.

“Bleh, don’t remind me,” Carrie said, sticking out her tongue. “I trust you to make me something fabulous, no need to run it by me.”

Flynn grinned, the ideas already forming in her head. Pulling out her sketchbook and already starting to design, lost in the world of her own creations. But she didn’t exactly complain when Carrie asked to stay and watch her design the outfit, peering over Flynn’s shoulder so close that she could smell the appley scent of her shampoo.

Kayla came in later, and was surprised to see Carrie lounging on Flynn’s couch, tapping away on her phone while the two of them debated the hottest Marvel Chris (they both agreed it was Evans, despite their respective queerness). “Carrie? Aren’t you supposed to be recording now?”

“I finished that this morning. Went to get a snack, met Flynn. Why did you not give Janine all of her designs?”

“I did,” Kayla said. “She passed them back and told me you didn’t like them.” Understanding washed over everyone’s faces. “I’ll go deal with that then,” Kayla gave Carrie a tiny smile. “You both can be wrong about the hottest one not being Hemsworth.”

“At least she didn’t say Pratt,” Flynn muttered as she went back to drawing.

By the time of Carrie’s Christmas special, she had a bevy of beautiful outfits, and their equally gorgeous designer on her arm for the red carpet. Wearing the first outfit that had drawn her to Flynn, and looking radiant.

Flynn still thought she might need to pinch herself, but when Carrie turned that gorgeous smile on her, she stalled. Because if this was a dream? Well Flynn wasn’t sure she wanted to wake up.

[natedogx15]

Kamen Rider Deku (Rewrite) Mission 3: The Mysterious Kamen Rider, Chamber

Previous Chapter / AO3 / Master List

It has been a few days since Izuku's encounter with Akira as Overdrive Nomu. He is currently brushing his teeth and getting ready in the bathroom. It's been surprisingly quiet since that fight, and Izuku is happy to use that time to collect his thoughts about the new revelations he faced during his battles with Overdrive Nomu.

It even led to him gaining a new hobby.

After brushing his teeth and getting dressed, Izuku pulls out his phone and starts recording himself.

"H-hi, everyone. Or, well, future me, or whoever finds this, it's me again. Here's day two of my video diary. I'm still getting used to learning about the pressure pro heroes have to deal with and public opinion shifting. It's just not what I expected as a kid." Izuku says into the recording with a nervous smile on his face.

After that day, his mother recommended that he make a diary to help him release his thoughts without muttering them. However, Izuku chose to do a video diary instead of a conventional journal.

"S-so yeah. Hopefully, I'll be able to adapt to it soon, and there will be no more surprises in store for me. I still don't really understand why dad chose me to wield the Hero Driver when I haven't even completed a year of hero training. But I trust him. I'm sure he knows what he's doing and did choose me for more than just familial ties." Izuku explains in the video before ending the recording and exiting the bathroom.

As he enters the living room, he sees a news broadcast with Mr. Ichibangase and Akira Ichibangase's faces, along with other members of their family.

"And investigators are still investigating the claims against Ichibangase Riku by his son Ichibangase Akira, better known as the latest Nomu to appear dubbed Overdrive Nomu. This investigation is being treated seriously due to the involvement of the number one hero, All Might." The news broadcaster explains before the screen takes away the family's images except for Akira's and pulls up a picture of his Nomu form.

"In related news, like the rest of these new-type villains, Ichibangase Akira has no memory of how he became a Nomu. Multiple types of interrogation have been used on the willing Ichibangase Akira, but the police and heroes have still yet to find anything on whoever is making these Nomu." The news broadcaster states.

That news seems to worry Izuku, especially after Hisashi groans when he hears it.

"Still nothing. I have to hand it to them. Whoever is doing this knows how to cover their tracks." Hisashi grunts in annoyance as he clicks his teeth and rubs the back of his head in frustration.

"Should I be worried about that?" Izuku asks his father with an uncertain expression.

His father looks back at him and sighs while shrugging.

"Probably. While we made the Hero Driver to combat the Nomu, it's more of a temporary solution if we can't figure out who the dealer is. But it shouldn't become a problem for a while, especially since you get stronger after every battle." Hisashi tells his son.

Izuku accepts his father's words and sits at the table for breakfast.

"So, how is your diary going?" Inko asks her son curiously as she passes him breakfast.

Izuku blushes slightly and rubs the back of his head awkwardly.

"It feels odd consciously talking to myself. But I feel like it's helped." Izuku tells his mom, who smirks slightly at Hisashi and says.

"I knew it would help. Having a way to release your feelings can do wonders for your stress." Inko nods in satisfaction at her son's words as Hisashi sighs.

"Just make sure that no one sees that if you're going to talk about your life as a Kamen Rider," Hisashi warns his son while taking a bite of his breakfast.

Izuku nods before checking the clock. When he does, he finishes his breakfast and prepares to head out the door.

"Bye, mom, bye, dad. Love you, guys." He tells them before running out the door.

"Have a good day at school!" Inko shouts as he leaves.

Izuku rushes down the stairs toward the parking lot. However, he accidentally runs into someone just entering the stairwell in his rush to get downstairs.

"Ahh!"

"Oof."

The two end up colliding and falling down the stairs until they hit the landing area of it. Izuku and the person look up at each other, and Izuku is met with the sight of a slightly annoyed Shiki.

"I-I'm so sorry. I-I w-was in a rush and didn't see you coming." Izuku immediately stands up and bows in apology to the person he ran into.

Shiki doesn't say anything. He stands up and brushes off his clothing. The annoyed expression seems to vanish as he gives himself a once-over.

"Well, there's no harm, it looks like. Watch where your going next time, though." Shiki warns Izuku as he grabs a grey school bag and continues walking down the stairs.

Izuku watches him leave for a few seconds before grabbing his bag and rushing down the stairs again. When he gets to the parking lot, he looks around for Shiki but doesn't see him. After realizing Shiki is gone, he decides to get on the Plus Striker and drive off.

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

Izuku is sitting in class while waiting for the teacher to show up. As he waits, he hears his classmates talking about his hero persona again.

"Have you heard the rumors that Kamen Rider Deku can use multiple Quirks?" A girl with long pink hair and glasses asks her friends excitedly.

"It has to be made up. I mean, how can someone use multiple Quirks?" A boy with a lion's mane states with a shrug.

"I don't know, man. Those Nomu guys seem to have multiple Quirks. And this Deku guy looks like he's only hunting them down. Maybe he's a special kind of hero." A boy with black a purple two-toned hair tells the boy with a lion's mane.

"It's so disappointing that he lost so soon, though. I hoped he'd get further before losing after his awesome debut." The girl sighs in disappointment.

"I mean, everyone has to lose at some point. Not everyone can be like All Might." The lion's mane boy shrugs.

That comment causes Izuku to tighten his knuckles under his desk.

"You should give up, Deku. You'll never be like All Might. You won't even be able to be a hero at all." A young voice laughs in a demeaning manner in his head.

Izuku quickly shakes his head to get rid of those thoughts. However, he doesn't have much time after that, as he soon gets a text. Izuku opens up his phone to see it's a Nomu alert. When he sees that, he panics as he doesn't know what to do about class. With the quickness of a cheetah, he runs out of the room with his bag towards the bathroom. Upon entering, he immediately speed-dials his father's number.

"Hey, son. What's up?" Hisashi answers him in a carefree tone.

"I just got a Nomu alert, but class is about to start. What should I do?" Izuku asks his father.

"Oh, just cut class." Hisashi bluntly tells Izuku without a hint of hesitation, shocking his son.

"W-what? A-are you serious, dad?" Izuku asks his father in shock.

"Yep. Don't worry. We already have you covered in case something like this happens. You'll be fine." Hisashi tells him.

With quite a bit of hesitation, Izuku accepts his father's words and runs out of the bathroom towards the school parking lot to grab the Plus Striker. Izuku then drives out of the school towards a nearby ally to transform.

Grabbing the Hero Driver out of his bag, Izuku places it on his waist.

"Are you ready!?" The Hero Driver asks before Izuku inserts the Rabbit Power Coin.

"Rabbit + Quirkless, blank match." The Hero Driver says before Izuku turns the Hero Driver's key.

"JUMP, JUMP, REACH FOR THE MOON, JUMPING RABBIT!" The Hero Driver exclaims.

Glowing green particles surround Izuku and the Plus Striker before transforming him into Kamen Rider Deku and morphing the Plus Striker into its motorcycle form.

"KAMEN RIDER DEKU!" The Hero Driver finishes in a majestic-sounding tone.

Deku speeds out of the alley toward the direction of the Nomu sighting. Thanks to the Plus Striker's enhanced speed, it takes less than a few minutes to arrive and see various heroes trying to stop the villain.

A hero dressed in a fire hydrant-themed costume tries to stop them by shooting a beam of water from their palm while another hero with spring-like limbs jumps toward them. However, the two quickly find themselves subdued by the shadows around them, sprouting up into blades and stabbing the two of them. The dark swords then take it a step further, in a whip-like fashion, throwing them into walls.

The one controlling these shadow blades is a Nomu with a lean figure, purple skin, navy blue eyes, and black pants over their legs. On the left side of Nomu's chest is a black fire-like tattoo. Over the Nomu's face is a black face mask that covers their entire lower face.

Izuku grows slightly nervous when he sees the Nomu's appearance since it's the most physically intimidating one he's faced out of the three. The demonstration of his power doesn't help either.

"Finally, you show up. I was getting bored dealing with these losers. Now I can get this job done and move on." The Nomu says in a deep, grim voice.

Deku pushes the nervousness in his stomach down and prepares to fight against them.

"They seem to have a Quirk that involves controlling the shadows. Usually, these kinds of Quirks are weak to light." Deku analyzes in his mind before the Hero Driver materializes a weapon for him.

"Power Blade!"

Deku pulls the Draco-Breath Power Coin out and inserts it into the Power Blade's coin slot.

"Burning Power Finish!" The Hero Driver exclaims as a spiraling flame surrounds the Power Blade's blade.

Using the Plus Striker, Deku charges forward and attempts to slash the Nomu. However, much to his shock, the Nomu seems to duplicate. When the Nomu uses that ability, it avoids Deku's charge and subsequent slash attack. Deku turns the Plus Striker around, but when he does, he is met with two pairs of feet crashing into him as the two Nomu deliver a flying kick. Deku is sent flying off the Plus Striker and crashes to the ground, dropping the Power Blade. Deku stands back up and looks at the two Nomu in shock.

"So they can duplicate and control shadows? They're like a ninja from a TV show." Deku thinks to himself as he equips the Mighty Knuckle.

"Nothing personal it's just business." The two Nomu tell Deku in perfect unison.

The three individuals charge at each other and begin to fight again. The Nomu and their clone surround Deku from opposite sides and attack him. The one behind Deku launches a kick at their back while the other one in front of Deku throws a punch at him. Deku uses the Mighty Knuckle to meet the fist of the Nomu in front of him. Upon hitting the Nomu's hand, the Mighty Knuckle releases a burst of power that sends the Nomu flying and causes it to evaporate. However, it leaves him open to the kick targetted at his back. The force from the attack sends him flying slightly, but he manages not to fall to the ground. Deku turns around to face the last Nomu, only to see them double again.

"The one in front of me was a clone before." Deku thinks to himself as the Nomu and their duplicate charge at Deku again.

The two separate and take up positions in front and behind Kamen Rider Deku again before attacking simultaneously. However, this time, Deku rapidly turns around and throws the Mighty Knuckle at the one behind him, meeting a kick with it and sending them flying. Unfortunately for Deku, the Nomu seems to have predicted that he would do that. The one Deku hit with his attack evaporates, revealing that it was the clone this time. Deku takes a punch to the back and staggers forward.

"They switched positions." Izuku thinks to himself in alarm.

He then turns around to see two Nomu again before they charge forward to attack again. They once again get behind and in front of him. However, this time Deku doesn't know what to do.

"In front or behind? Which is it?" Deku questions in his mind as he hesitates to make a move.

Unfortunately, that hesitation causes him to take two simultaneous hooks from the Nomu and their duplicate. The attacks send Deku crashing to the ground. However, he manages to keep a hold of the Mighty Knuckle.

The young hero stands back up and looks towards the Nomu and his duplicate. However, he is met with not two but three different Nomu.

"I need to keep myself from getting overwhelmed. Where's the Power Blade?" Deku questions in his mind before looking around for the Power Blade.

He sees it lying on the ground near the Plus Striker behind the three Nomu.

"I should be able to jump past them and get to it." Deku thinks to himself as he prepares to charge at the three Nomu.

The two sides charge at each other like they're playing a game of chicken. However, as they close in on each other, Deku suddenly jumps, using his enhanced mobility from the Rabbit Power Coin to effortlessly fly above the three and land near the Plus Striker. Deku then picks up the Power Blade and aims it at the three. Unfortunately for him, in his haste to deal with the cloning ability of this Nomu, he neglected to remember the other power he saw them use.

Suddenly, the shadow next to the Plus Striker rises toward the shoulder of the arm holding Deku's Power Blade with an arrow shape edge. The attack hits dead-on, but the armor covering Deku's body keeps it from piercing him too much, and it causes sparks to fly. Due to the surprise and pain from the attack, Deku drops the Power Blade and grabs his shoulder in pain.

The three Nomu take this as an opportunity to charge at Deku again to finish the job. However, to the shock of Deku, the Nomu, and the civilians watching the fight around them, someone else appears from above and lands in front of Deku. As they did, shots rain down on the group of three, and two of the Nomu are hit. The bullets cause them to evaporate, leaving only one left.

Deku looks up in shock. When he does, this feeling of surprise and confusion intensifies due to the appearance of the one who saved him. The reason for this is that they look like a Kamen Rider. However, unlike Deku, who has a nice and somewhat cute appearance with their bunny rabbit theme, this person had a much more menacing.

The person in question had a purple full-body undersuit with wavy black markings under a bulky silver chest plate with large rounded shoulder guards with brown ends. On the lower and upper parts of each arm are two armbands, with the ones on the forearms having mounted gun barrels. Their lower knees are also covered with silver knee pads. On each of their silver equipment are gaps with grey markings on them. However, the most distinctive part of them is their head. Covering their face is a purple helmet with a silver mouthpiece and glaring red eyes. However, what makes his helmet so distinctive is the purple pistol barrel mounted on their head in a pompadour-like fashion.

In the new Kamen Rider's hand is a bulky black and purple mechanical gun that seems to be a hybrid of a pistol and revolver.

The Nomu backs up in shock and slight worry as he stares at this new Kamen Rider.

"No one told me about there being two of you."

The new Kamen Rider doesn't say anything. They raise the gun and put their other hand on top of it. They then pull down the top to reveal the weapon has a collapsible barrel and turn it into a rifle. They then pull out a Power Coin with a sniper rifle design and insert it into the coin slot on the side of the ammo cartridge.

"Rifle Power Finish!" The new Kamen Rider's Hero Driver exclaims as purple energy builds up inside the gun barrel.

The unknown Kamen Rider pulls the trigger and releases a purple blast twice his size toward the Nomu. The Nomu attempts to run but only gets himself hit in the back. When the shot makes contact with them, it causes an explosion to develop the area. Much to Deku's horror, no trace of the Nomu remains when the dust settles.

"W-what have you done?" Deku asks him with a shaky breath.

However, the other Rider doesn't answer him. They only look around the area in confusion. They then pull out their Power Coin holder and look inside to see four blank Power Coins and one that isn't blank. They close the case and look around as if searching for something.

"H-hey, who are you? Why are you using the Rider system?" Deku asks him in worry.

The Rider doesn't say anything. All they do is walk away while the civilians around take pictures.

"Dude, it's another new hero." Someone says in excitement.

"Doesn't he look kind of like Deku?" Another person asks in confusion.

"They probably went to the same hero school. Some schools have their students take up a specific theme like Seijin." Their friend explains with a shrug.

Deku watches him go for a few seconds but can't help his curiosity. With a mad sprint born from worry, Deku follows after the unknown person. He jumps in the air to find the person and sees them duck into an ally. Guiding his body toward the alley, Deku lands in front of the unknown Rider and raises a hand to stop them.

"Stop. Please answer my questions. How did you get a Hero Driver? Where did you get those Power Coins? Who are you?" Deku shouts at him in desperation.

The unknown Rider doesn't say anything. They raise their hand, causing Deku to tense, expecting a fight, and turn the key on his Hero Driver. A light covers the person's body as the armor seems to dissolve, revealing Shiki standing in place of the unknown Kamen Rider.

Deku looks at the person he had run into this morning who somehow has a Hero Driver in shock. On the other hand, Shiki looks at Deku with a raised eyebrow before looking over his shoulder. He then looks back at Deku and points behind him with his thumb.

"Did you leave your motorcycle behind?" Shiki asks him in confusion.

That question causes Deku to freeze. He then jumps out of the alley in a panic while shouting.

"My bike!"

Shiki watches them go before muttering.

"Huh, what a scatterbrain."

He then continues his walk while hiding the Hero Driver in a hidden pocket in his jacket.

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

In an alley near the latest Nomu attack, the shadows inside morph to reveal the Nomu had been hiding in the darkness of the alleyway. They released a relieved sigh as they watched the unknown Kamen Rider leave.

"I'm glad I decided to let my clone fight instead of me. I wasn't expecting another one to show up. I'm going to need to make a call."

The Nomu makes their way to exit the alley, and as they do, their body suddenly starts to shrink and change color. When the process is over, it reveals a man with slightly tanned skin, brown eyes, and a shaved head wearing a light blue short-sleeve shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes exiting the alleyway.

The man reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cell phone before dialing a number.

"Hello?" The voice of the doctor hidden behind shadows answers.

"It's me. You didn't tell me there would be more than one of these guys that I needed to deal with." The man behind the Nomu tells him.

"I had a feeling there would be another one popping up eventually. However, I didn't see a reason to tell you since I figured you could handle it. It's not as though you've gotten hurt yet." The doctor informs him in a very bored tone.

"Fair enough. Do you want me to handle this one as well? If so, then the price has to go up." The man tells the doctor in a matter-of-fact tone as they casually walk down the streets.

"Yes, if you could take care of them both and bring me the devices around their waist, that would be perfect. I'll pay you double the original price if you get me both of them." The doctor informs him before ending the call.

"Didn't even give me a chance to barter and just put the same bounty on the other guy. Arrogant asshole." The man mutters in annoyance as he glares at his phone.

He then releases a sigh.

"Well, I guess I better get ready for work. I think I'll rest up and plan how to deal with them tomorrow." The man mutters to himself before letting out a yawn.

"Just another day of being hired muscle, Goro."

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

Inside the lab, the doctor has a hand on his chin and is stroking it curiously.

"Interesting. So, another Kamen Rider has appeared. We'll have to see if this will be a problem. If so, I may need to work a little harder." The doctor tells himself in a calm tone without a hint of worry.

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

Izuku returns to his school with a shocked expression still on his face. His mind was racing through multiple scenarios to explain how Shiki got a Hero Driver. Some of the suggestions seem impossible.

"Could he have stolen mine? No, I had it while fighting against the Nomu. Could he have somehow made a copy of the design? Does he have a cloning Quirk? No, neither explains how he got that Power Coin or why he helped me." Izuku thinks to himself as he parks his bike in the school's parking lot.

Izuku looks at the school for a minute before sighing.

"I'll talk to dad later after school," Izuku tells himself as he gets off his bike and re-enters the school.

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

Shiki is talking to his grandfather in his apartment on a video chat with his laptop.

"So, the Nomu you took down was also a clone?" Fumihito asks his grandson with narrowed eyes.

Shiki sighs in disappointment before saying.

"Yeah, I didn't get any new Power Coins from defeating it like the manual said I should. Sorry, grandpa." Shiki apologizes to his grandfather.

"Don't worry about it. There may have been nothing you could have done since they probably went into hiding after your arrival." Fumihito waves his grandson's concerns off.

"So, how did it go with Deku?" Fumihito asks his grandson.

This question causes Shiki's blank face to lightly blush, and he says.

"I was so nervous about my debut that I couldn't talk, and when he followed me, I ended up just pointing out that he left his bike behind," Shiki explains in a slightly embarrassed tone.

That response causes Fumihito to let out a hearty laugh and drop his cane. Shiki's blush seems to intensify from this. After Fumihito calms down, he grins at his grandson.

"You're definitely my daughter's son. She was so freaked out during her debut as an official hero that she scared the villain into submission with her glare." Fumihito explains to his grandson.

Shiki rubs his head in embarrassment at his grandfather's words.

"I'll make sure to take care of the Nomu the next time you send an alert, grandfather," Shiki promises Fumihito.

"I know you will. Keep up the good work. And be careful. I'm sure that whoever is making these Nomu will start to take notice of the Rider system if they haven't already." Fumihito gives a final warning to Shiki, who nods their head in agreement.

"Of course, grandpa. I'll be careful." Shiki promises to his grandfather before ending the call.

Shiki then reaches into his pocket and pulls out the two Power Coins he owns. When he does, he reveals that the other Power Coin had a design of falling feathers. With a deep breath, he puts them in his palm and tightly grips them while gaining a determined look.

"Next time, I'll succeed the next time," Shiki tells himself.

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

After class, Izuku rushes out of the classroom towards the parking lot. As he does, he passes Sero. Sero looks at them confusedly before shouting.

"Hey, Midoriya, are we still good to hang out this weekend?" Sero asks them.

Izuku turns around and begins running backward while shouting.

"Sure!"

He then turns around and double-times it toward the parking lot. Sero rubs the back of his head in confusion and some worry.

"He didn't even stutter this time. I hope everything's okay." Sero mutters to himself absentmindedly as he watches Izuku run away.

Izuku quickly arrives at the parking lot and gets on the Plus Striker before driving off.

"Gotta get to dad, gotta get to dad." Izuku chants in his mind as he leaves the parking lot.

It takes Izuku half an hour to get through traffic to his dad's workplace. However, when he makes it to the front desk after getting through security, he's met with a shocking revelation.

"What do you mean that dad isn't here?" Izuku asks worriedly as he runs in place in a panic.

The receptionist shrugs while giving him an apologetic look.

"Today is his day off, Midoriya. He should be back at your home or out doing something." The receptionist tells Izuku.

Izuku facepalms and immediately rushes out of the building toward where he parked the Plus Striker. He then has to get through security again before leaving his house. The drive through traffic back to his apartment complex takes him another half an hour. When he parks his bike, he immediately rushes up the stairs and slams open the door to his family's apartment.

"Midoriya Izuku, you will close that door and open it properly!" His mother immediately shouts at him as his dad casually relaxes on the couch in a long-sleeve red shirt and black pants.

Izuku blushes in embarrassment and immediately does as his mother says by closing the door and opening it again less forcefully. When he does, Inko smiles at him while saying.

"Welcome home, Izuku. How was your day?" Inko asks her son, who gives his mom a nervous smile.

"It was okay, mom. I really need to talk to dad about the new Kamen Rider that helped me today, though." Izuku tells his mom with a hint of urgency as he looks at his dad with a panicked expression.

"Oh, you mean Hikage's grandson?" Hisashi asks his son with a raised eyebrow.

"You know who it is?" Izuku asks his father in shock, and Hisashi nods.

"Yeah. Part of the deal to give you the Hero Driver was that we had to make a second one for Hikage Fumihito's grandson. I didn't see a problem with it as long as they don't try to reverse-engineer the Hero Driver." Hisashi explains to his son.

"So, they didn't steal the design from when I bumped into them in the hallway?" Izuku asks his father for confirmation that he didn't mess up.

Hisashi raises an eyebrow at his son's words before shaking their head no.

"No, wait, you already met him?" Hisashi asks his son with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I bumped into him while rushing down the stairs this morning," Izuku says, blushing in embarrassment.

Hisashi blinks in confusion at the fact that the Her Public Safety Commission's chairman's grandson seems to live inside the same apartment complex as them. That or that he's been stalking the area. However, Inko is the one to speak.

"Oh, you didn't know he lives here, Honey?" Inko asks her husband in surprise.

"Wait, you knew Hikage's grandson lived in the apartment complex?" Hisashi asks his wife in shock while staring at her with wide eyes.

Inko nods and says.

"Yes, he's a nice young man. He's helped me bring the groceries up a couple of times." Inko informs her surprised husband.

"Um, where does he live?" Izuku asks his mom nervously.

"He lives a couple of floors down in apartment 513," Inko tells her son, pointing downward to signal they live downstairs.

Izuku is tempted to go downstairs to meet them again. Hisashi sees this and grins at his son.

"Why don't you go and talk to him? You and he will be working together a lot while fighting the Nomu. So, it would be a good idea if you two got along." Hisashi tells his son.

That's all the push that Izuku needed. He quickly left the apartment and walked downstairs toward the fifth floor.

"509, 510, 511, 512." Izuku lists in his mind as he passes each apartment before arriving at the apartment he is looking for.

Izuku looks at apartment 513 as nervousness builds up inside of him. He hesitates to knock on the door for a good minute before building up the courage and finally banging on the door. Within a few seconds, Shiki opens the door and looks at Izuku with a neutral expression.

"What do you need?" Shiki asks Izuku in a calm tone, getting straight to the point.

"O-oh, w-well. I-I don't actually need a-anything from you." Izuku says while nervously rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, okay then, bye," Shiki tells him before closing the apartment door on Izuku.

Izuku blinks in surprise at Shiki's action and nervously knocks on the door again. Shiki opens it again, this time with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes?" Shiki asks him in confusion.

"A-actually, I was hoping you and I could talk. You know, b-because we're going to be working together." Izuku tells Shiki with a nervous and slightly pleading smile.

Shiki blinks at Izuku a few times before looking inside his apartment and looking at Izuku again.

"One second." He tells Izuku before quickly closing the door.

Izuku blinks at the door in surprise and hears what sounds like rapid cleaning inside. After a couple of minutes, Shiki reopens the door with the same calm expression but sweat running down his face and slightly heavy breathing.

"You can come in now," Shiki tells him as he moves back with the door to let Izuku in his apartment.

Izuku enters the freshly cleaned apartment and looks around. Besides the quick cleaning, it seems like any other apartment. There is nothing too interesting about it besides a few flowers.

Shiki motions towards the kitchen counter where two stools are. Izuku takes up his offer and sits on one of the stools.

"Would you like anything to drink? I have water, juice, and soda." Shiki asks him while motioning towards the fridge.

"No, thank you. I'm not thirsty." Izuku tells him.

Shiki nods before sitting on the stool next to Izuku. The two look at each other awkwardly as they silently figure out where to start their conversation. Finally, Shiki is the one to speak.

"Are you doing okay? I remember when I showed up, you were losing the fight. You didn't sustain any permanent damage, right?" Shiki asks worriedly while giving Izuku a once over to see if he is moving funny.

Izuku is surprised at Shiki's sudden concern for him and instinctively nods as if he's used to this type of question.

"O-oh, yeah. I'm doing fine. Luckily the armor protected me from getting injured. There are mostly a few scrapes and bruises." Izuku tells Shiki with an awkward calming smile on his face.

Shiki nods with a relieved look on his face.

"That's good. I'm glad that you're okay. I'm sorry I couldn't seem to stop them." Shiki apologizes with a sad look on his face.

"What do you mean that you couldn't stop them? Didn't you defeat the Nomu when you showed up?" Izuku asks Shiki in confusion and slight worry.

Shiki shakes his head no.

"No, that last one I destroyed was also a clone," Shiki reveals to Izuku with a slightly angry expression.

Izuku's eyes widen in alarm as he slams his hands on the counter and stands up from his seat with a panicked expression.

"What?" Izuku shouts at him in a worried tone.

Shiki sighs and nods before pulling out his two Power Coins again. He shows Izuku the Power Coins and sets them on the counter.

"These are the only Power Coins I have, and they're the ones I was given with the Hero Driver. I didn't get anything from defeating Clone Nomu." Shiki explains to Izuku as he and Izuku look at the two Power Coins on the counter.

Izuku is shocked at this revelation and doesn't even notice that Shiki gave the Nomu a name, albeit a bad one that's more of a title. He immediately begins to head towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Shiki asks Izuku in confusion with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm going to look for them before they can do anything else," Izuku tells Shiki with a determined and worried expression stemming from being worried for others' safety.

"How would you find them? You know Nomu can freely change between their human and monster forms." Shiki tells Izuku.

That revelation causes Izuku to freeze mid-step before turning to Shiki with a shocked expression.

"They can?" Izuku asks Shiki, causing Shiki to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, didn't you read that in the manual?" Shiki asks Izuku in confusion as he pulls out a teal book titled, 'How to be a Kamen Rider.'

Izuku dumbly blinks at Shiki when he says there is a manual and shakes his head.

"I never got a manual. Dad just gave me the Hero Driver." Izuku tells Shiki as he stares at the manual in Shiki's hand.

Shiki blinks at Izuku in surprise before looking at the manual, then back at Izuku.

"Would you like to borrow it? I'm almost done reading it." Shiki tells them, and Izuku immediately bolts toward Shiki and hugs him while crying waterfalls of tears.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Izuku tells him with a relieved smile as he continues to cry.

Shiki's eyes widen in surprise and try pushing Izuku off him with a panicked expression.

"Alright, you're welcome. Get off."

Shiki continues to try and push Izuku off of him with a panicked expression on his face. Finally, Izuku gets off of him, and Shiki looks at his now-drenched shirt.

"I thought you were Quirkless like me?" Shiki asks him while looking at his shirt in shock.

Izuku's watery eyes blink in surprise and shock as he stares at Shiki.

"Wait, you're Quirkless too?" Izuku asks him in confusion, and Shiki nods.

"Yeah. It's one of the reasons why grandpa gave me the Hero Driver so that I would have an easier time becoming a hero." Shiki explains to Izuku.

Izuku's eyes seem to shine with curiosity at this revelation. However, it isn't the same shine he gets when he sees a new hero or Quirk. No, this light in their eyes stems from the fact that they've finally met someone Quirkless like them and have the opportunity to get to know them better.

"What was your life like?" Izuku seems to instinctively ask the teen in front of him before he can fully process his own words.

When he does catch up with his words, Izuku immediately covers his mouth in embarrassment.

Shiki blinks at Izuku in surprise at Izuku's question before rubbing the back of his head.

"I guess it was pretty lonely. Grandpa and my parents pulled me out of school the second I entered middle school. So, yeah, lonely." Shiki tells Izuku awkwardly while having a thoughtful expression as he tries to think of another aspect of his life to describe.

Izuku gives Shiki a smile of pity as he remembers his childhood.

"Quirkless loser." A nasally or young male voice that doesn't belong to Izuku flashes in his mind.

"Yeah, my childhood was the same before entering high school," Izuku tells Shiki.

The two go silent as they look at each other, with different emotions flashing through their minds. Finally, something seems to click between them, and they both let out hollow, sad laughter.

"Being Quirkless sucks," Shiki tells Izuku with a sad smile.

"It's terrible. Having to listen to people putting you down for something you can't control." Izuku agrees with a sad smile of his own and tears running down his eyes at a much slower pace than usual.

"Having people say you shouldn't be a hero because you don't have a Quirk despite some heroes relying on support gear." Shiki lists.

"Or knowing that most hero schools ban you from entry because you don't have a Quirk." Both say together as they both openly cry to each other.

After a few minutes, the two calm down and look at each other with a smile. However, it didn't last long as Izuku looked at the floor with an uncertain look.

"Is it weird that we suddenly started doing this? I mean, we just met each other." Izuku asks him while looking at the ground in uncertainty.

Shiki scratches the back of his head, also unsure what to say. After a few seconds, he finally finds the words.

"I don't think so. In some cases, people who go through the same experience can suddenly burst into tears and talk about what they went through together since the other is likely to understand their feelings. That's basically what we went through right now." Shiki tells Izuku honestly before walking over to his fridge.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like anything? I usually like to have something to drink after getting emotional like that." Shiki tells Izuku as he grabs a soda from the fridge.

"No, I'm good. Thank you, though." Izuku refuses but thanks Shiki for the offer while he sits back down on the stool.

Shiki nods before opening his can and sitting back down. He then passes Izuku the manual.

"Here, just return it when you're done, though," Shiki tells Izuku as they take the manual and look it over.

Izuku nods with a smile and takes the manual.

"Well, I guess we've talked enough," Izuku says as he slowly gets off the stool again.

Shiki doesn't say anything as he can't think of anything else to talk about. So, with silence, Izuku heads towards the door.

"Have a nice day," Izuku tells Shiki, who nods back at him.

"You too," Shiki tells him with a smile.

Izuku opens the door and leaves. As he does, Shiki watches him go. Shiki waits a few seconds after Izuku closes the door before pulling out his phone and speed-dialing his grandpa. After the third dial, Fumihito picks up.

"Is there something that you need, Shiki?" Fumihito asks their grandson.

"No, I just thought I would let you know that I think I'll like working with Midoriya," Shiki tells his grandpa with a smile.

Fumihito hears his jovial tone over the phone and raises an eyebrow.

"Did something happen?" Fumihito asks his grandson.

"Nothing much, they just came over to my apartment to talk, and we ended up breaking down a bit about what it was like being Quirkless," Shiki answers honestly.

"Are you okay?" Fumihito asks their grandson in worry.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm okay, grandpa." Shiki immediately shoots his grandfather's worries down.

"Alright, I'm glad you two made a good impression on each other. That'll go a long way since you have to work together to fight against the Nomu." Fumihito tells Shiki over the phone, and Shiki can hear the happiness in his tone.

"Yeah, I'm honestly looking forward to it. Thanks again, grandpa." Shiki thanks his grandpa once again.

"Of course, Shiki. You're my precious grandson, after all." Fumihito tells his grandson in a cheerful tone before hanging up the phone.

Shiki looks at the phone with a smile for a few seconds before letting out a massive sigh of relief as he slams his head onto the counter table with a tired look.

"I'm so glad that that went well," Shiki says in a muffled voice from his face on the counter.

He then takes a sip of his soda.

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

Izuku walks back to his family's apartment with a type of pep in his step. It seems the conversation with Shiki helped him more than he expected. When he enters the apartment, his parents can see the change in his mood.

"I take it the meeting went well?" Hisashi asks his son with a smile and a raised eyebrow at his son's mood.

Izuku nods at his father's words with a bright smile.

"Yeah, I didn't know he was Quirkless like me," Izuku tells his parents.

Hisashi nods in understanding, while Inko seems to brighten when she hears that news.

"Oh, that's wonderful, Izuku," Inko tells her son.

Izuku nods before heading to his room. After his parents watch his room door close, Hisashi sighs in relief, releasing some fire from his mouth as he does so. He then sports a grin on his face.

"I'm so glad those two will be able to work together. For a minute, I was worried that I made a mistake by making that deal with Hikage." Hisashi mutters to himself as he lets his head hang backward.

"I'm glad it seems like Izuku made a new friend. Hopefully, they'll do more than work together." Inko tells her husband her worries.

"I guess we'll have to see what'll happen." Hisashi sighs.

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

The next day, Izuku was woken up by his phone going off constantly. With tired eyes, Izuku grabs his phone off of the bedside table and looks at who is texting him. When he does, all sleep leaves his eyes as he realizes the Commission is alerting him about a Nomu.

"What!" Izuku exclaims as he jumps out of his bed, adrenaline pumping.

In a panic, Izuku grabs his bag with the Hero Driver inside it and bolts out of his room in his bright green pajamas. When he gets to the door, he puts his shoes on his bare feet before running outside.

Izuku books it down the stairs, but in his rush, he doesn't see Shiki entering the stairwell in his own panic. The two collide and tumble down the stairs before stopping at the landing area. They look at each other for a second, with Shiki giving an annoyed expression.

"Seriously, again?" Shiki rhetorically asks.

Shiki is in dark blue pajamas with his Hero Driver in hand.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry." Izuku stands up to rapidly apologize to Shiki, constantly bowing as he does so.

Shiki stands up, and the two quickly rush down the stairs together before entering the parking lot. Izuku instantly runs to the Plus Striker when they get there and turns to Shiki in uncertainty.

"Do you need a ride over there?" Izuku asks Shiki, but Shiki shakes his head to signal his refusal.

"No need. I have my own way of traveling." Shiki tells Izuku as he sets the Hero Driver on his waist.

Are you ready?" The Hero Driver asks.

He pulls out the Power Coin with the sniper on it and sets it into the Hero Driver slot.

"Rifle + Quirkless, blank match." The Hero Driver exclaims before Shiki turns the key.

"READY, AIM. I'VE GOT YOU IN MY SIGHTS, SNIPER RIFLE!" The Hero Driver screams as glowing purple particles envelop Shiki, creating his armor.

"KAMEN RIDER CHAMBER!" The Hero Driver announces.

However, Chamber isn't done. He pulls out the Power Coin with the falling feathers design and inserts it into the Hero Driver before turning the key.

"Flying Power Finish!" The Hero Driver shouts as large red energy wings appear on Chamber's back and allow him to ascend off the ground.

Izuku is shocked when he sees this and watches as Chamber takes off toward where the Nomu is. Not wanting to be left behind, Izuku quickly puts his Hero Driver on and inserts the Rabbit Power Coin.

"Rabbit + Quirkless, blank match!" The Hero Driver shouts.

Izuku quickly turns the key, and the Hero Driver announces his transformation.

"JUMP, JUMP, REACH FOR THE MOON, JUMPING RABBIT!"

Green particles surround Izuku as his armor begins to form. At the same time, the Plus Striker morphs from moped mode into motorcycle mode. Once it's done, the Hero Driver announces.

"KAMEN RIDER DEKU!"

Deku isn't done either, though. He opens the Plus Striker's Power Coin holder and pulls out the Unicorn Power Coin. He then inserts it into the Plus Striker's coin slot, causing the Plus Striker to change into its hybrid form.

"Neigh!" The Plus Striker exclaims as they ride after Chamber towards where the Nomu is.

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

Clone Nomu is having quite a bit of fun as he works to lure out the Kamen Riders. He's currently dealing with the city's local heroes as they attempt to capture him.

"Everyone, be careful! These guys are dangerous! We need to keep him contained in this area until more heroes show up!" Death Arms shouts at the heroes around him, taking charge of the situation.

"Yeah, no shit!" The baseball-themed hero who fought Overdrive Nomu snaps at Deatharms as he throws a few baseballs at Clone Nomu.

The baseballs head toward Clone Nomu and glow red as they fly at him. However, they never reach their target as the shadow from a parked truck rises into a shield and intercepts them. The baseballs detonate into tiny explosions upon making contact with the wall.

"Honestly, I've gotta feel sorry for you guys. A lot of us have been showing up around here. Must make it hard to do your job." Clone Nomu tells the heroes in a slightly mocking tone before he duplicates.

Some heroes grit their teeth at Clone Nomu's mocking words before Death Arms retakes control.

"Don't let him get under your skin. It's what he wants. Let's focus on getting the civilians out of his path and keeping him here until we have better numbers." Death Arms orders the group.

The heroes on the scene include Death Arms, the baseball-themed hero, Kamui Woods, Backdraft, and a few others who haven't been up against either Swamp Nomu or Overdrive Nomu.

"You heard him!" Kamui Woods shouts as he grabs a few civilians around the scene and takes them from it towards the barricade Backdraft set up.

Two heroes dressed like ninjas follow suit by grabbing one civilian each and moving them further away from Clone Nomu.

"Huh, at least they're being smart about it by not giving me the option of having hostages if things go bad." Clone Nomu thinks to himself as he watches the heroes' moves.

The ground then rose into fists and slammed into him, thanks to a golem-like hero's Quirk.

"I got 'em!" The golem-like hero shouts victoriously as they pump their fist.

However, he quickly found himself getting grabbed by the shadows near him and dragged into an alley.

"Ahhh!" They scream as Death Arms runs towards the alley only to see the hero missing.

Death Arms grits his teeth and quickly moves away from the alley.

"Damn it, where is he taking them?" Death Arms asks himself, as this is the third time a hero on the scene has disappeared because of Clone Nomu.

The scene seemed hopeless until bullets suddenly rained down on Clone Nomu and managed to affect him. By affecting him, I mean causing him to evaporate and reveal that he was only a clone.

The heroes look into the sky to see the flying Chamber as they lower their arms, having shot the Nomu with the wrist-mounted guns. Chamber quickly lands and causes the wings on his back to disappear.

Death Arms and Kamui Woods run up to Chamber with grins as Deku and Plus Striker arrive.

"Nice job, big guy." Kamui Woods says as he pats Chamber on the back.

However, Chamber doesn't say anything and quickly looks around the area, looking for where Clone Nomu can be hiding, much to the heroes' confusion. Deku sees this and quickly gets off of Plus Striker and runs towards the group of three.

"T-that wasn't the real Nomu Mr. Death Arms, Mr. Kamui Woods." Deku quickly explains to the two, and their eyes widen in alarm at his words.

They get on guard, and Death Arms asks.

"What do you mean that wasn't the real one?" Death Arms asks the two Kamen Riders together as he cautiously looks around the area.

"The last time we confronted Clone Nomu, I thought I beat him, but it was a clone that I destroyed. They seem to be able to create clones of themselves that evaporate after they take a certain amount of damage." Chamber finally explains to the two heroes, talking in a deep, muffled voice thanks to his helmet.

The heroes quickly tense up more and Death Arms takes charge of the other heroes.

"Everyone get away from any shadowy area. We aren't done yet!" Death Arms orders the heroes in the area.

Most of the heroes quickly listen to him. However, some stragglers look around the area confusedly, not understanding why Death Arms was panicking since the villain was beaten. Unfortunately for these stragglers, that left them open, and Clone Nomu took the chance to pounce like a predator in the jungle. Shadows rose and latched onto those heroes before they found themselves getting dragged into different locations.

"Shit!" Death Arms panics as he sees the heroes get taken away.

Deku panics and bolts toward where they were taken before Death Arms wraps his arms around him and says.

"You need to calm down, kid. We can't do anything if you get captured too." Death Arms warns Deku in a calm tone as he keeps them in his arms until he feels Deku stop struggling.

It wasn't easy, though, thanks to the enhanced strength that the Kamen Rider suit gives him.

"But-" Deku starts before getting cut off.

"I get it, trust me. But listen to me on this. I can easily tell you're young and inexperienced. That'll get you killed if you're not careful. So, just trust me for now so we can figure out a plan to stop this guy and maybe save the others." Death Arms explains to Deku while keeping a firm hold on him.

"If they aren't already dead." He finishes in his mind grimly, having already seen several cases of that as a hero.

Deku listens to Death Arms' words and starts to calm down in their arms. After feeling this, Death Arms slowly lets him go.

"You ready to listen?" Death Arms asks Deku calmly with no annoyance or anger in his voice.

Deku silently nods unsteadily, and Chamber looks at Death Arms.

"So, what do you think we should do?" Chamber asks Death Arms curiously.

Death Arms gets nervous as he looks towards the alley where the golem-like hero was pulled.

"I'm not completely sure myself, to be frank with you. I haven't dealt with many Quirks like this as a hero, and the guy also has a cloning Quirk on top of it. For all we know, he could have set up fakes surrounded by shadows." Death Arms explains as he remains on guard.

"So, why don't we go in groups and check the alleys? One of them has to be real." The baseball-themed hero asks him.

"Out of the question, Slugger. We already had trouble dealing with a clone of them with our entire group. If we split up, we'll be easy targets. Unless it's those two." Death Arms says while motioning towards the Kamen Riders.

"Them?" Slugger asks in confusion, shared by some of the other heroes.

"Why them? Like you said, they're young and inexperienced." Another hero with a goat head says while pointing at the two.

"They're also the ones that have beaten a Nomu before. A basic rule of being a hero; if you can't beat the enemy, try to keep them in one place until others more capable appear to take them down. It may not get you as much recognition as you like, but it keeps civilians safe." Death Arms bluntly tells the goat hero with a slight glare.

The goat hero grumbles at that but backs down from Death Arms glare. He didn't want to mess with the large man.

"What about searching from an aerial view? I can swing across the alleys pretty quickly. So, I should be able to scour them without getting caught by this guy. And that guy over there came in by flying." Kamui Woods explains while motioning towards Chamber.

Death Arms puts a hand to his chin in thought at Kamui Woods' idea.

"That may work. Hey you-" Death Arms looks towards Chamber, who tenses slightly at being addressed by the man.

"Are you able to carry people while you're flying?" Death Arms asks the young hero in a full-body costume.

"I should be able to." Chamber nods.

"How many?" Death Arms asks him with a calculating expression on his face.

Chamber has to pause at his question to think about it.

"I may be able to use it to carry everyone if I can wield it properly," Chamber tells Death Arms.

"What do you mean if you can wield it properly? It's your Quirk. Isn't it? You should have trained it through a hero school." The goat hero asks Chamber in a snappy tone.

"It'll be explained during the Commission's announcement about the Nomu," Chamber tells the goat hero calmly, seemingly unaffected by the man's words.

Death Arms' eyes narrow at that, but he decides to write that off until later when they've finished their current problem.

"It'll have to do. See if you can lift everyone here so we can search the alleys for him in a large group." Death Arms orders Chamber.

Chamber nods. He pulls out the Power Coin with falling feathers and reinserts it into the Hero Driver.

However, this time the Hero Driver announces a different move.

"Fierce Power Wing Finish!" The Hero Driver announces as the red energy wings reappear on Chamber's back.

However, energy feathers shot out of the wings and latched onto the back of each hero's clothes under the neck. The heroes are then lifted off of the ground with Chamber.

"W-whoa?"

"H-hey!"

"Give us a warning next time!"

"Sorry." Chamber apologizes as the group is taken off the ground and into the sky to search the area.

The group looks down towards the streets, all trying to spot where Clone Nomu is. Unfortunately, none of them seem to be able to spot anything. That is until Slugger sees something moving in a parking lot surrounded by buildings near the alley where the golem-like hero was taken.

"I think I see something over there," Slugger shouts, pointing downwards toward the parking lot.

The group looks toward where he's pointing, and Death Arms' eyes narrow before looking at Chamber.

"Get us low but not too close until we're sure what it is." Death Arms orders the Kamen Rider holding them up, and Chamber nods.

"Alright," Chamber says.

He slowly lowers them towards the area but stops when they are at the height of a building's roof. When he does, the group sees a young blond woman with a bowl cut wearing a grey and blue form-fitting suit with a red scarf wrapped around her neck, seemingly tied up by the shadows. Kamui Woods recognizes the woman instantly upon getting a closer look at her.

"It's Arga. She was one of the heroes taken earlier during the fight before you two showed up." Kamui Woods explains to the Kamen Riders as Chamber has the group land on the roof.

Kamui Woods quickly extends the wood on his gauntlets towards the female hero and grabs her before bringing her onto the roof. Once there, Death Arms attempts to rip the shadows binding her off to no avail.

"Damn. I can't get these things off." Death Arms grunts as he continues to struggle with removing the shadow binds.

Deku's eyes narrow under his helmet as he looks toward the parking lot in confusion.

"Didn't you heroes as in plural? Where are the others?" Deku asks the group in confusion.

The heroes other than Chamber and Death Arms pause when they hear this question and quickly look around the area.

"Hey, they're right. If Arga is here, where are the others?" Slugger asks in confusion as he looks over the edge to scan the area.

Unfortunately, as soon as he looks over the edge, a shadow shoots up and captures him before dragging him down.

"Slugger!" One of the ninja-themed heroes shouts in alarm as they watch them get dragged off the roof.

"Shit!" Death Arms shouts as he sees this happen.

The Kamen Riders of the group run toward where Slugger was taken but see nothing. Deku starts to panic while Chamber silently does the same as his body tenses.

"What do we do?" Deku panics to his partner.

"I don't know. I thought you would since I was told you were good at analyzing Quirks." Chamber tells Deku uncertainly.

Deku is surprised when he hears Chamber's words. However, that surprise soon turns into dread at how Chamber is putting his trust in him. He looks towards the other heroes as they panic while Death Arms tries to get Arga out of her bindings.

"What do you mean you were hoping I would? I don't know what to do. I've barely had any experience being a hero compared to everyone here. You've been around heroes your whole life, haven't you? Shouldn't you know what to do?" Deku silently asks Chamber in a panicking tone as he sees team morale plummet.

Chamber shakes his head negatively.

"No, I grew up around heroes, yes. However, that doesn't mean they taught me how to handle situations like these. I was only taught the basics, like focusing on keeping civilians safe or how to spot a corrupt hero." Chamber shrugs, causing Deku to panic again.

"But, shouldn't Death Arms continue to take charge? He's been leading us this whole time." Deku tells Chamber, who shakes their head again before looking to a tired Death Arms.

"I don't think he knows what to do either. It makes sense. It's hard to punch a shadow." Chamber tells Deku, who freezes up at his words.

"It's hard to punch a shadow." Deku repeats in his mind as a plan suddenly starts to form.

"That's right. We're dealing with a Quirk that controls the darkness. If I remember correctly, most of those Quirks are weak to light." Deku thinks to himself as he pulls out the Draco-Breath Power Coin.

"Power Blade!" The Hero Driver shouts, materializing the weapon in front of them.

Deku grabs the Power Blade in the air and inserts the Draco-Breath Power Coin.

"Burning Breath Power Finish!" The Hero Driver exclaims as an orange light glows from the muzzle.

Deku then collapses the blade and walks over to the struggling Arga and the tired Death Arms.

"I'm going to try something. Please try not to move too much because this is my first time trying something like this." Deku crouches and explains to Arga, who stops struggling after hearing this.

Deku aims the Power Blade above Arga and pulls the trigger. Like a flamethrower, the Power Blade releases a stream of fire above Arga. When Arga sees this and feels the flames, her body tenses up as worry builds inside her. However, after a while, she felt the shadows wrapped around her body and covering her mouth weaken. Cautiously, she tries to break the bindings while paying attention to where the flame is above her. After a minute, Arga rips the bindings off of her. Deku sees this and stops the fires.

"Phew, thanks for that." Arga thanks Deku with a relieved smile as she sits up.

Death Arms walks up behind him and slams a hand on Deku's back with a grin.

"Nice job, kid." Death Arms compliments the young hero.

Deku rubs the back of his head awkwardly at the compliment.

"T-thank you." Deku stutters slightly.

Death Arms nods before looking at the Power Blade with a calculating expression.

"So, light weakens the guy's Quirk. That's good to know. How strong is your flame thrower?" Death Arms asks Deku seriously.

"Uh, I'm not sure," Deku tells him.

"Then test it." Death Arms orders the young hero.

Deku quickly nods and reinserts the Power Coin before firing the Power Blade into the air. When he pulls the trigger, he and the other heroes on the roof see the flame go up a few dozen meters, definitely in the higher double digits. It may even be in the triple digits.

Death Arms nods when he sees that.

"Good. That'll work if this guy's weakness is brightness." Death Arms tells him before looking towards the roof's edge.

"Check below us and fire your weapon if no one is in the area. We're going to try and force them out with your weapon." Death Arms tells Deku.

Deku follows Death Arms' orders and runs toward the roof's edge. He scans the area and sees nothing. When he sees this, he follows the procedure Death Arms laid out by firing the Power Blade at the ground below them and scans the area with it.

Nothing seems to happen as the flames comb the area for a few minutes before Chamber notices something. He sees the shadows acting weird near the corner of the lot.

"Something is off with that corner." Chamber points towards the corner.

"Don't do anything. We don't know if it's a hero or the Nomu." Death Arms warns the group of heroes when he sees a couple of the long-range ones prepare to attack, including Chamber.

The heroes stop their movements reluctantly before Chamber decides to get a closer look. He jumps off of the roof, much to his companions' shock.

"Get back here!" Death Arms shouts at Chamber as he jumps down.

Kamui Woods is about to pull Chamber back up before Deku stops him.

"Wait, he should be fine if he goes down there alone. We were made for taking down the Nomu. So, we have a better chance down there." Deku tells Kamui Woods, his words shocking the heroes surrounding him.

"You know, that's something you could have said at the beginning of all this." The goat-headed hero tells Deku as they cautiously watch Chamber move toward the strange corner of the lot.

"Sorry, I wasn't sure if I should," Deku says while rubbing the back of his head.

Chamber moves towards the corner with arms raised in case he needs to fire his wrist-mounted guns at them. As he closes in, he can hear the faint sound of muffled screams. Hearing this, Chamber starts to move towards the corner with more urgency. When he finally reaches the corner, he sees someone tied up under a blanket of shadow, explaining why they couldn't get a good view of them from above.

Chamber quickly grabs the person and pulls them towards the direction of the roof where the other heroes are perched. Kamui Woods quickly helps him by extending the wood of his gauntlets towards them and picking them up before pulling them up to the group. After they did, the group got a better look at the person with Chamber. However, their appearance wasn't that of a hero, nor was it one of the Nomu they were after. Well, at least to their knowledge, that is.

"Who is this?" One of the ninja heroes questions while the other one shrugs their shoulders.

The person they found was, in fact, Goro, the human identity of Clone Nomu.

"Alright. Now I only have to wait until they lower their guard. Then I'll snatch those Drivers and get out of here." Goro thinks to himself as he lies 'helplessly' on the ground while sneakily glancing at the Kamen Riders' Hero Drivers.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kamui Woods asks the man as he crouches towards Goro.

"Please, help me! I was suddenly pulled into an alleyway and tied up while I was walking down the street. Then this guy with a mutant Quirk and flame tattoo appeared and told me I was his hostage." Goro explains to the heroes around him in a desperate tone.

"Don't worry. You're safe now with us. We're trying to find that man and bring him to justice for his diabolical crimes." Kamui Woods explains to the man in his best attempt at a soothing tone.

"Ha, if only you knew you already had him surrounded." Goro laughs to himself as he looks at Kamui Woods.

Goro puts on his best fake relieved yet still highly alarmed expression while looking at the hero.

"Oh, thank you. Please, get this off of me." He says that while specifically looking towards Kamen Rider Deku.

Deku immediately moves to help this man but is stopped by Chamber, who puts an arm between him and Goro and aims the wrist-mounted guns on his other arm at the man.

"What are you doing?!" Death Arms shouts, alarmed at Chamber's action.

"Shi-Chamber? What do you think you're doing?" Deku asks Chamber in alarm, almost accidentally saying Chamber's real name due to the shock from Chamber's actions.

"Yeah, focus on the Nomu. Not on shooting civilians asking for help." One of the ninja heroes tells him as he and the other aim their throwing stars at Chamber in case they need to fight him.

"This is not behavior befitting a hero. You had better explain yourself before we have no choice but to take you down." Kamui Woods warns Chamber as he aims his gauntlets at the young man in a full-body suit.

Chamber doesn't seem deterred by the fact that the heroes surrounding him are preparing to attack him. The only thing he does is have Deku move back, away from the shocked Goro.

"How did you know that he was the one that could help you with your binds? You shouldn't have been able to see who was firing the flamethrower from your position." Chamber asks the man, his words causing the other heroes to freeze in shock and look toward the man in question.

Goro freezes when he says that, his mind going into overdrive.

"Shit, I got carried away with my skills, and this guy picked up on that." Goro silently chastises himself as he looks at Chamber with a frightened expression.

"W-what are you talking about? I-I just started shouting for one of you to get me out of this. W-why are you pointing a gun at me?" Goro asks in a frightened tone as he tries to squirm out of the way of Chamber's shot.

"If that's the case, you wouldn't have had to turn your attention away from Kamui Woods directly to Deku. There's no reason for you to have done that. Also, what was with the glances you took at him and me?" Chamber asks Goro.

This question causes Goro to start sweating.

"Shit! He noticed!" Goro thinks to himself as sweat begins to build across his face.

At this point, the other heroes are staring at Goro in suspicion.

"Y-your guys' costumes were just the most unique, and they caught my attention. B-besides, he's the only one holding a weapon." Goro tells him, trying to defend his words.

"But that weapon doesn't look anything like a flamethrower. It looks more like a submachine gun or pistol right now. And no one truly desperate and panicking can analyze a piece of support gear to figure out its true function if its design makes it seem like something else." Chamber tells Goro, having a confused and worried Deku back up a couple more steps while keeping his aim on Goro.

At this point, the other heroes come to Chamber's side and back away from Goro. Seeing this, Goro grits his teeth and reveals his true colors.

"Damn it, of course, one of you had to be smart." Goro grunts before the shadows tying him up fly toward the group of heroes.

Chamber quickly fires his wrist-mounted gun at the oncoming attack to intercept it and manages to destroy most of them. However, one gets through and stabs into his abdomen slightly.

"Gah!" Chamber grunts as he puts a hand to the area he'd been stabbed.

"Shik-Chamber!" Deku exclaims, barely managing to catch himself again.

The heroes are shocked at the sudden attack, and Goro takes this opportunity to morph into his Nomu form.

"I guess I'll have to do this the hard way," Goro says as he prepares to attack Chamber again.

However, he's soon hit by a wave of sound that sends him staggering back slightly. Arga is releasing a sonic scream attack with her Quirk toward the Nomu.

Clone Nomu glares at Arga for that and quickly clones himself. The separation causes him to move out of the way of the blasts with him and his clone on either side of it. One of the Clone Nomu charges at Arga while the other runs toward the Kamen Riders. Arga tries to stop the one coming towards her, but her attacks can't seem to destroy or keep them at bay. As they close in on her, they're about to swing at her before Death Arms intervenes by punching the Clone Nomu in the face.

"Not going to happen, big guy." Death Arms grunts as he slams a fist into their face.

The strength behind Death Arms' punch manages to cause the Clone Nomu to stagger back slightly. As they do, Death Arms capitalizes on the opportunity by charging at them and tackling the Clone Nomu. Death Arms wrestles them for a few seconds before managing to put the Clone Nomu in a mount position and starts unloading onto them.

At the same time, Chamber tries to fire his wrist-mounted gun at the Clone Nomu charging at him and Deku. The ninja heroes, goat hero, and Kamui Woods recover and help him by attacking the Nomu by throwing stars, firing their horns at the Nomu, and sending wooden branches at them. However, it seems like only the bullets had a damaging effect on the Nomu. The throwing stars and goat horns couldn't seem to pierce their skin, while the branches could only obstruct their movements. Chamber's shots manage to cause the Nomu to stagger back but not disappear, signaling that they're the real one and not the one Death Arms has pinned.

"This is the real one!" Deku shouts when he realizes the one in front of them is real.

He quickly moves; so Chamber isn't in front of him. He then aims the Power Blade at Clone Nomu and fires his own shots at them. Clone Nomu can't keep taking the barrage of bullets, and the branches from Kamui Woods make it difficult for him to close in on them.

"Damn it, I need to get out of here. This roof doesn't have a lot of shadow on it for me to make full use of my other Quirk." Clone Nomu thinks to himself.

He turns around and prepares to run away but isn't able to because of Kamui Woods and Deku.

"Don't let him get off this roof!" Kamui Woods urgently shouts as he makes branches to capture or cut off Clone Nomu's path.

He isn't the only one that makes a move. Deku quickly jumps into the air, and while in the air, the Hero Driver equips his hand with the Mighty Knuckle.

"Mighty Knuckle!" The Hero Driver shouts as it appears in Deku's hand, and he grips it tightly.

Deku lands in front of Clone Nomu and quickly turns his body towards them, using the momentum to slam the Mighty Knuckle into Clone Nomu's chest. However, Clone Nomu dodges it by cloning himself out of the way again. The heroes aren't done, though. Chamber quickly aims his arms toward the Clone Nomus and fires at them with an arm each. The bullets hit them both, destroying the double while injuring the real one's shoulder.

"Gah! You bastard!" Clone Nomu grunts as he holds his shoulder.

It gives Kamui Woods time to wrap his branches around Clone Nomu's body.

"Lacquered Chain Prison!" Kamui Woods shouts as the branches charge toward Kamui Woods.

The branches wrap around Clone Nomu's body up to his neck and ankles to keep him in place. At the same time, Death Arms finishes off the Clone Nomu he had pinned, causing him and Arga to move toward the captured Nomu with the rest of the heroes.

Clone Nomu grunts angrily as he tries to break the bindings and sees the heroes surround him. Seeing this, he begins to panic. While the heroes on their own are easy to handle, he also has to deal with two people with equipment specifically made to counter him with them. That makes the situation much more difficult since the heroes can get in his way when he tries to go for the Kamen Riders.

"Damn it. What do I do?" Clone Nomu questions himself as he looks at the heroes surrounding him.

"Wait, calm down. You can use the shadows to cut this off and escape." Clone Nomu tells himself before smirking and quickly following through with his plan.

Manipulating the shadow on the side of the building, Clone Nomu creates a blade of darkness and uses it to cut the back of his bindings. Deku sees this from his position near Clone Nomu, and his body seems to move on instinct. He quickly pulls out the Swamp Power Coin and inserts it into the Power Blade. When he does, the sword of the Power Blade rises back up and is surrounded by the swampy water again.

"Marsh Power Finish!" The Hero Driver exclaims as Deku slams the blade into the ground and turns part of the roof under Clone Nomu's feet to sludge to keep him trapped after they cut through Kamui Woods' bindings.

Clone Nomu quickly tries to pull himself out of it but can't. Seeing this, Chamber sees a chance to end the fight. Pulling out their Rifle Power Coin, Chamber inserts it into the Hero Driver. When he does, purple marks appear across his body before converging on the pistol barrel on his head and his wrist-mounted guns. The weapons' muzzles shine purple as Chamber aims them at Clone Nomu.

The other heroes see this and quickly back away from Clone Nomu in a panic. Clone Nomu is desperately trying to escape to avoid getting hit by the coming attack but to no avail, thanks to Deku's move keeping his feet trapped.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Clone Nomu panics as he continues to try to escape before Chamber can release the attack. Unfortunately for him, his efforts are for naught.

"POWER RIFLE FINISH!" The Hero Driver exclaims before Chamber fires.

Blasts of purple energy fire from the arm guns and head cannon in a triangle shape before swirling together in a singular blast toward the trapped Nomu. When the attack collides with Clone Nomu, it results in an explosion that, while not damaging any of the other heroes, causes a couple of the others heroes to fall backward from the force behind it. When the smoke clears, it reveals Goro in his earlier civilian form. A blank Power Coin from both Kamen Riders' holders flies out toward the beaten Nomu and scans them before returning to show the Kamen Rider their new Quirk.

Flying into Deku's hand is a Power Coin with a division symbol, while Chamber's has the design of a wavy shadow. Chamber doesn't have long to inspect it, though. This is because he feels Death Arms slam a hand into the back of his head.

"What the hell was that, kid? You could have hit one of us." Death Arms tells Chamber in anger.

Chamber rubs the back of his head slightly despite Death Arms' punch not hurting him and looks towards Death Arms.

"Sorry, I saw a chance and didn't want to let it go," Chamber tells Death Arms apologetically.

Death Arms sighs in annoyance before muttering to himself. He then looks toward Chamber with a warning glare.

"I'll let this go for now since he was trying to move somewhere where he'd be more powerful. However, next time you should watch your surroundings better before unleashing an attack like that. We don't need anyone doing friendly fire." Death Arms warns Chamber.

Chamber apologetically nods towards Death Arms and the other heroes at that.

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

In a dark alley, Samuel holds a briefcase identical to the two that came with Izuku and Shiki's Hero Drivers. He looks nervous but determined as he grasps the case in his hands.

Inside the alley with him is a woman with light purple hair, slightly tanned skin, and dark blue eyes. The woman is wearing a black uniform with a skirt that looks like something members of the Commission wear. However, her most notable feature is the scales that seem to run along her skin. In the woman's hands is a briefcase of her own.

"Here's your requested item," Samuel tells the woman as he holds up the briefcase towards her.

The woman takes the briefcase with a smirk before giving her case to Samuel. Samuel opens it to see stacks of money inside and smiles.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Abraham. This will definitely help with my goals." The woman tells him in a smooth voice as she smiles at Samuel.

Samuel nods toward her with a grim expression before saying.

"Yeah, just make sure to choose your Rider candidate carefully." Samuel gives a final warning to her before leaving the alley.

The woman continues smiling at Samuel as she watches him leave before pulling a set of papers out of her uniform.

"Oh, don't worry, I will." The woman says as she looks at the papers to reveal a file on a boy with wild explosion-like blonde hair, fair skin, and red eyes.

In the picture, the young man has an angry and aggressive expression.

So, this one was a bit longer because I didn't want the pro heroes to just fall under the same curse that police do and want to make them shine a little.

Next Chapter

[windmaedchen-oceanhorn]

Dinner for Two

After the recent loss of his family, Pierre Corbin sits alone at home, the dinner table set for two. He doesn't want to be disturbed but when he receives an unexpected visit from a certain young boy, he cannot bring himself to send him away.

Even though the table was set for two people, Pierre sat on his side alone, staring blankly over the cold and untouched food. He might have felt hungry earlier when he was cooking, but now it seemed as if there was no point to eating. He wondered why he had gone through the trouble to cook dinner again in the first place. It was the third day now and he should know better, knowing that she won’t come to join him.

It is a scary thing to love what you can lose to death. The family they always wanted – it was about to be reality, but unexpected difficulties turned this dream into a nightmare. He was thrown into this loss so harshly. While everyone and everything else kept turning with the world, he felt stuck and afraid of being left behind.

Pierre listened to his thoughts in the silence of his home. He was off duty this week to get some space. Other members of the Corbin family dealt with the funeral arrangements and for that he was very thankful. At the moment, he was glad he still knew how to dress properly. Or cook, even if he hardly ate.

Suddenly, the short sharp sound of something heavy hitting the wooden panels of the floor startled him. No mere second later, Pierre heard a faint “Oh no”, followed by some footsteps.

Surprised he turned his head towards the open door to the hallway. There shouldn’t be anyone else in the house, but since he hadn’t locked either door, anyone could enter.

Pierre braced himself against the unwanted attention and prepared to send whoever there was away as quickly as possible… but then he saw a very young man peeking into the room. He knew that face and never expected to see HIM here, of all people.

“Mesmeroth. What are you doing here, and so late?”, he asked surprised.

The boy tread in place for a moment, hesitating to approach. “Err… Mister Corbin, sir, I just came to give you this.”

Mesmeroth then quickly stepped across the room towards Pierre and placed a metal box on the table. It was an older radio model, one of Archimedes’s inventions that had found its way into all households across Arcadia.

Pierre carefully observed the radio and knowing the boy’s passion for malfunctioning robots, he expected it to start moving any second now. He wasn’t sure if he could deal with the boy’s reckless inventions right now.

Mesmeroth seemed to have noticed his suspicious stare and quickly reassured the knight. “It’s not going to do anything, because it’s not a ‘real’ robot but… it’s still my favourite… thing.” He gazed at the radio with a sad smile.

Pierre looked from radio to boy and back in confusion. Why on earth was that kid here? They knew each other to some extent, after all he had to deal with Mesmeroth’s rogue robots on occasion and he also had to drag the kid to school from time to time, as his father left the boy to his own devices most of the time. Yet, despite all of Pierre’s reprimanding and scolding, the boy was here now, standing at his dinner table, as if they were… friends.

“What is it then?”, asked Pierre carefully.

“A radio! But it’s a special one. It was broken and when I repaired it, I made it so that when you hold THIS button it can record a message and then, when you press THIS button, you can listen to it again.”

Mesmeroth became excited telling Pierre about his favourite object but when he was done he became his more timid self again.

“And … what shall I do with it?”, the knight inquired.

“Listen to it, when you’re all alone.”

Pierre moved to ask what’s on there but Mesmeroth continued to talk, gently holding the radio between his two hands.

“I know you cried, I can see it. I cried a lot, too. I missed her a lot, that’s why. Listening to this always made me feel a little better, though. I am a little too old now to still cry, I think, and … I don’t want you to be sad so that’s why I decided that you should have it.”

Pierre leaned heavily on his arm observing the boy as he realised that Mesmeroth, a kid 10 years of age, came to express his sincere condolences. He knew that the boy had lost his mother 3 years ago. Unfortunately, it was the talk of the village back then. The way the boy looked at the radio now, nearly tenderly and longingly told Pierre that he must have loved his mother very much. The fact that this neglected boy from the streets felt inclined to share a means of comfort with him, touched him deeply. A very unexpected gesture, Pierre was stunned that Mesmeroth cared about him.

He felt his throat clench and he swallowed a couple of times to reduce the tension. He didn’t know what to say.

Luck was on his side, as the change of subject came in form of an aggressive growling. Hastily Mesmeroth turned away to hide his hunger but it was too late.

Pierre raised his eye-brows and smiled gently. “Are you hungry?”

“Hmmm.” Mesmeroth didn’t seem to want to admit it. Again he moved about a bit.

“Have you not yet eaten at home?”

The boy’s gaze fell onto the food laid out on the table. “Err… well, there wasn’t anything left for me today”, he admitted embarrassed. Then he hastily continued. “Why haven’t you eaten yet? Don’t you like it?”, he asked.

Pierre’s question was stifled in his throat as he rushed to answer Mesmeroth’s questions. But his mind wondered, why was there no dinner left for the boy?

“Oh, I- haven’t felt like eating, I’m afraid.”

“And will you feel like eating it soon? Who will eat this if not?” With open, curious eyes Mesmeroth had turned back towards the knight.

“Maybe you would be interested in having a bite?” Pierre offered warmly as he gestured towards the chair on the other side.

“Oh yes, I do! I can tell you if it’s any good, too!”

“Yes, please do.”

Without another second lost, Mesmeroth took a seat and watched intently as Pierre took the serving spoon in his hand to give the boy a small serving.

“I’m afraid it’s cold already, but it should still taste just as good.”

Eagerly Mesmeroth put a full spoon into his mouth. He had not yet swallowed when he exclaimed “Shit, that’s really tasty!”

“No swear words at this table”, Pierre responded sternly. Mesmeroth quickly looked over and then, without stopping to munch simply replied “Okay, sorry, sir”.

“Why haven’t you eaten this, it’s so good!”, he continued.

“Is it really, eh? I guess I should try myself then.”

Pierre was still not exactly hungry but at least he wasn’t alone. He finally helped himself to a small portion and hesitantly took a spoonful himself. He had lost his thoughts, his feelings and his taste in the last couple of days. Yet, somehow in this strange boys presence, who was rather excited to have such a basic meal, taking in nourishment became actually bearable.

Until now Pierre hadn’t thought much of this peculiar young man. But now that Mesmeroth had… approached him on such personal level, he felt curious about him. Pierre pondered for a bit. Mesmeroth came from a poor family and his living conditions weren’t exactly the best. Unfortunately, the boy’s interest in magic and machines rubbed the villagers the wrong way and it caused minor annoyances at best but had also incited a tragic incident in which even the valuable life of a human was lost. Pierre was certain the boy didn’t act out of malice… but without guidance, he feared for the boys future. Why couldn’t his father care for him properly? Where there no friends Mesmeroth could connect and play with? Why do even children have to suffer already from the world’s trials and tribulations?

Pierre’s somewhat miserable thoughts were interrupted and uplifted by more of Mesmeroth’s fantastical praises for the food. Amidst this sorrowful time they managed to amuse Pierre and he felt glad that he had cooked after all. Mesmeroth had a big appetite and Pierre’s efforts were handsomely rewarded.

They were nearly done when Pierre decided to ask. “What do you mean, there was no food left for you today? How so?”

Mesmeroth looked up at first, then evaded Pierre’s gaze.

“I don’t really have dinners at home. Sometimes I get to have dad’s leftovers, though!”

Pierre was a little stunned by that answer, but couldn’t say he was actually surprised. It’s just not what he would have liked to hear.

“Your father is not cooking for you?”

Mesmeroth thought for a bit. “I think he did but… not anymore. I am not really allowed inside the house either. Not that I want to go there anyway, it smells.”

The boy proceeded to lick the final remnants of the dish from the cutlery. Pierre shook his head in disbelief. “Goodness Gracious. But you do get lunch at school, right?”

“Yeah. It’s not as awesome as THIS, though. Other kids often leave like half their meal so I wait till they’re gone and eat that, too! Then I am late for class but that’s okay, it’s mostly boring stuff anyway. Oh, and I do get snacks for sharing my homework!”

Pierre had never chatted to Mesmeroth so casually and he was very pleasantly surprised, despite the heavy topic, that the boy answered so frankly. “I am glad to hear that. It may not be an ideal situation but you sure know how to help yourself.”

“Hm, yeah, I suppose…” Mesmeroth sighed a little. “I’ll be fine and… I am sorry for… for making you work so hard.”

Pierre sighed as well and nodded in gratitude. “I know that you are. I know.”

Then, Mesmeroth picked up his plate and stood up. He questioningly stared at the plate and gazed over at the door to the kitchen. Pierre extended a hand and gestured him to place the plate back down.

“You don’t have to worry about that for today. I will clean it all”, responded Pierre warmly. The boy had enough to sort out and Pierre had to clean the rest anyway. Albeit he’d probably do it tomorrow.

“Oh, really? But what if I would like to have food again?”

Pierre understood the boy’s desire to eat again but what did that have to do with the dishes?

“How do you mean?”, he asked.

“I mean, what if come ever again and then, at that time you happen to have made food that you don’t feel like eating, then I would like to be allowed to eat it for you.”

Pierre looked at the boy in amused astonishment. “How nicely put. Well, let me reassure you, that if you ever came by again and I happen to have just made dinner then you are very certainly allowed to have a share.”

Mesmeroth grinned widely at him and put the plate back down. “Oh, okay. Thanks, Mr. Corbin.”

“Hmhm”. Pierre sighed and smiled at his guest, who now walked back around the table to look at the radio again. He even reached out to turn it around a little and brush over the corner with which it hit the floor earlier. Mesmeroth murmured something Pierre didn’t understand and just as he began to ask about it the young man turned to him abruptly.

“Be good, okay?”

“O-Of course, Knight’s honour!”, Pierre replied surprised, once again. Wasn’t that something he should have requested of Mesmeroth instead?

Mesmeroth showed his teeth in a large grin. “And you should eat your food, it’s super great! See you, Mr. Corbin!”

Then he sprang around and dashed towards the hallway. Pierre half-way rose from his seat as he shouted after the boy, but he was already out of sight.

“Be careful on your way home!”

“Ye-hes! Bye!”, came the answer from somewhere around the front door. And then, there was silence again.

What was going on in the boy’s head, thought Pierre. He was perplexed, but very pleasantly so. Children could be so demanding it distracts from anything else and they also manage to bring down any possible defence in seconds.

He had wanted to be alone but still, he was glad the boy had come. He had finally eaten and maybe, it dawned on him, he had allowed this boy in difficult circumstances to have a proper meal, also.

Pierre’s eyes now fixated on the radio. He was curious to find out what was recorded on there and he extended his arm to reach the button. His finger rested on there for a moment. He leaned forward and rested his chin on the other arm, then pressed the button down.

The radio first emitted a few cracks and noises of it being moved around. Two voices were audible, that of Mesmeroth and that of a woman. “Okay, I am holding it down, see? Now you can sing. Closer, right there…”

Mesmeroth gave instructions, presumably to his mother, who then sang a common but beautiful lullaby for her son. The recording ended with another short conversation between the two.

Pierre hid his face in the fabric of his sleeve and pressed the button again. He was listening to his own, lost dream: a mother singing a lullaby to her beloved child. His eyes teared up and his throat clenched. In his thoughts, his wife was walking up and down the bedroom, rocking their baby, singing this lullaby. Then the same kid came climbing into their bed at night and again, his wife sang a lullaby. More and more scenarios flooded his mind and Pierre cried for all the lost moments he had hoped to experience in the future.

When the worst was over, and his body had calmed down a bit, Pierre allowed Mesmeroth to enter his mind again. The radio was a precious item to the boy. For an instance Pierre wanted to return it but then he reminded himself of something he had learned becoming a knight: Presents are not to be made OR accepted lightly. The boy didn’t bring this important keepsake lightly. And so, Pierre would honour the gift and keep it.

In fact, there was something else he wanted to do. Tomorrow evening, he would cook again, and even though he was alone, he would cook for two. Yes, his wife wasn’t there anymore to dine with him but… a certain troubled boy might just be hungry enough.

THE END.

(or is it a beginning?)

[kimbappykidding]

Mingyu x Female Reader Part One: Imagine being shipped with Mingyu and really resisting it because you think a guy that looks like him can’t be a good person...then you meet him

Part Two Here

Before you’d even debuted you’d heard about Mingyu. There was this guy at your company that everyone gushed over for being so hot and you took an immediate dislike to him. You hadn't even met him but you hated when people got so much praise purely for their looks. They were usually conceited and shallow and you wrongly assumed the same thing about Mingyu. So when you debuted and fans started shipping you, you were horrified. He was the last person you wanted to see your name next to and so you did everything to try and avoid him but the universe just wasn’t having any of it. 

At one of the award shows you were expecting a relatively chill night but that was abruptly ruined by your manager. "Y/n you have to MC tonight" he cried rushing into the dressing room. "What!" you cried "why me?". "Jae is ill, Nari has her solo performance and Aera doesn’t speak Korean fluently so it has to be you". You sighed "but...but I don’t even have an outfit for it".” What you're wearing is fine now come on!" and you were dragged away.

Of course your MC partner was Mingyu, as if your day couldn’t get any worse. Mingyu however was oblivious and he smiled when he saw you "it’s y/n right?". There were only 4 of you in your group so you immediately took that the wrong way. "Yep and you're..." you asked feigning ignorance and Mingyu paused awkwardly "Mingyu". "Ahhh right, sorry there’s just so many of you" but Mingyu just nodded "no worries. Thanks for filling for Jae. I thought I was going to have to do it myself". You shrugged "my manager didn’t really give me a choice so I'm here". You were hoping if you were rude enough to Mingyu he’d never want to speak or look at you again but the boy didn’t rise to the bait. Mingyu just nodded "well it shouldn't be too bad, we’ve got the auto cube and we don’t have any little bits or anything. Just a few interactions between us". You nodded "cool" and grabbed your microphone “let’s get going”.

Mingyu was right and the night passed smoothly. You made it to the end and you were about to join your friends on stage when Mingyu caught you. "Hey I just wanted to say you did a really great job tonight". You nodded "thanks" and wondered how to get him to leave you alone. Mingyu seemed to sense you didn’t want to talk to him and nodded "well thanks again. See you around y/n" and he walked away. "I bet that's the first time a girl’s not swooned for him" you muttered to yourself and walked on stage feeling relieved it was over. 

You really should’ve known better.

Not a week later when you were standing outside one of the recording booths when Mingyu came around the corner. He smiled when he saw you "hey y/n". He wasn’t alone though, he was with Hoshi who you’d met once or twice. You nodded to them both and hoped he’d just leave you to wait in silence but Mingyu began to ask how your day was. You replied curtly before turning to Hoshi all smiles "I love your solo by the way! It was great". Hoshi smiled "really?". You nodded and continued to chat to Hoshi purposefully excluding Mingyu. When the coach was finally ready for you, you said goodbye, directing it to Hoshi and didn’t even look at Mingyu as you walked into the room. 

You saw Mingyu a few times around the building and every time you did the same thing, ignored him and talked to whoever he was with. Soon Mingyu got the message but he didn’t take it as you expected he would. You were waiting for a lift when Mingyu appeared and stood beside you. You prayed he’d take another one but he didn’t and followed you into the same one as you. You tried to stop him telling him you were in a hurry but he shrugged and said it’d be fine. You sighed annoyed and when the doors closed Mingyu turned to you.  "Have I done something to offend you?" he asked "just you never seem to like being with me even for 10 seconds". You rolled your eyes "so what every girl has to be happy to see you?". "No but they usually don’t seem to detest me either". You went to shoot another smart come back when you paused at Mingyu’s expression. He actually seemed sincere and kind of sad, he appeared to really care. "If I’ve done anything I'm really sorry" Mingyu said "I just want to be friends". You paused "I...there’s nothing. I'm not angry at you". Mingyu nodded "okay well I'll see you around” and he exited the lift leaving you feeling very odd.

You weren’t sure if Mingyu had been genuinely sincere or not so you decided to ask your members. You told them about your theory Mingyu was stuck up and rude to be met with silence. "You’re kidding right?' your leader asked. You shook your head "no am I wrong?". "Yes! Have you never seen their show? Mingyu usually does all the cooking and cleaning. He's very domestic and they all love tormenting him. He’s usually the butt of the joke most times but he always takes it well, he’s actually got a really good nature". You were surprised "you're joking right?". "No watch their show!" she cried. So you did and you felt so bad. Mingyu wasn't this horrible person you expected. You’d judged him completely on his appearance and got him all wrong. You felt terrible but had no how to handle it. Especially because Mingyu was kind of avoiding you now and so you had no more lift trips to tell him how sorry you were. 

So the next time you saw Mingyu was at a club after an award show. You were immediately reminded of how badly you’d treated him. You hesitated to go and apologise when you saw two girls go over to him and you sighed. Even if he wasn’t an idiot he still looked like himself so life couldn’t be too bad.

You always got bored at clubs but couldn't leave until your members wanted to so you were wandering around the upper quieter levels of the club when you heard running and came around the corner to see Scoups and Dk, two of Mingyu’s members racing down the hallway. They jumped when they saw you and then nodded to you “hey”. “Hey” you replied unsure what else to say. Luckily they didn’t seem to want to talk. Scoups spotted a fire exit and headed towards it. You watched them curiously and before they left Scoups turned to you. "If Mingyu appears don’t tell him we were here" Scoups told you "okay?". You nodded "sure but he won’t ask me". "Ow yeah cus you hate him!" Dk nodded "that’s good maybe block the way we go? Then he’ll never follow us". Scoups hit him but was also laughing at the comment "okay we’re gonna go now, bye" and they ran off.

Sure enough minutes later Mingyu appeared. He jumped as he spotted you and looked down. He tried to act casual but that was hard when you were 6 foot and had just been running. He straightened his shirt and nodded to you. You nodded back at him "you okay?". He seemed surprised you were speaking to him "me?". You bit back a sarcastic comment about how nobody else was here and nodded "yeah, you look all panicked". He paused "ow well Scoups stole my car keys and I need them because I...". "Have a party of two to show your bedroom?" you guessed. Mingyu looked down "something like that...have you seen them?". You shook your head "no sorry". Mingyu shrugged "nevermind thanks". You nodded "you know I'm sure one of the duo has a car or bedrooms". Mingyu smiled "yeah probably but I prefer my place it’s...tidier". "Really? Your worry is the cleanliness of the room?" you asked in surprise. Mingyu nodded "dirty bedding is a real turn-off". You shrugged "that's true...most guys don’t think like that though. They’d take a back seat or toilet". Mingyu trickled his nose "ewww I'd never fit in a car and a toilet is just so unhygienic". You chuckled at his response and nodded "Mingyu I just want to say...I misjudged you. I thought you were some shallow hunk who used his looks to get by but I now know that's not true. I'm sorry". Mingyu seemed shocked by your outright apology and he paused "I...thank you but you don’t need to apologise. It's easy to assume". "Still doesn’t make it right" you replied and he nodded "true...but you said sorry so no hard feelings?" he asked holding out a hand to you. You nodded and shook it "no hard feelings...now go before those girls before they think you've ditched them". Mingyu smiled "will do, thanks y/n" and he disappeared.

That interaction with Mingyu stuck in your mind and the two of you were more alike than either of you knew because the same happened to Mingyu. He couldn’t get your conversation out of his head so he went to his members to find out info on you. "Hey what do you know about y/n?" Mingyu asked the group one day in rehearsal. "Y/n from Blossom?" Joshua asked and Mingyu nodded. "Well shouldn’t you know the most considering you MCed together?". Mingyu blushed "well we didn’t really get on then so no...but I thought one of you might know her?" he asked. Scoups shrugged "she’s always been nice to me. I once tripped right in front of her and she asked if I was okay". Wonwoo nodded "yeah she seems fine, I held a door open for her once and she thanked me". Mingyu sighed, it wasn’t exactly the groundbreaking reveal he wanted. "Didn't The8 go on a show with her?' Joshua asked and Scoups nodded "ow yeah! He got paired up with her". Mingyu’s eyes lit up "really? I'll go ask him". "Wait why do you want to know?" Joshua asked. Scoups laughed "isn’t it obvious? He likes her. Our boy Mingyu is so popular he’s got to go for the girls who've shown no interest in him to keep it interesting". Mingyu rolled his eyes "I just find her intriguing that’s all" and he walked away.

Mingyu found The8 in the other practice room and not so subtly cornered him to ask him his questions. Luckily The8 knew more than you said thank you when someone held a door open for you. "She’s funny" The8 smiled "witty and got a pretty dark sense of humour. She said she doesn’t like overly dramatic or emotional people and she’s pretty chill. I liked her". Mingyu nodded, all of that made sense with what he’d found. "Do you think she’d go out with me?" he asked. The8 paused and Mingyu nodded "I know I'm not her type at all". "No you’re not. She wasn't one for popular or conventional people but maybe if you showed her you weren't really like that then yeah I don’t see why not". Mingyu nodded "great! Now I just need to find a way to do that". The8 smiled "I think the best way would be to speak with her. Casually. Just start chatting to her". Mingyu nodded he could do that.

So Mingyu kept looking for opportunities to speak to you but none arose. Your group had a comeback and were super busy which Mingyu supposed explained it. However there was an award show which Mingyu figured would be an excellent place for him to talk to you! He was pretty agitated all night looking for a chance to speak to you so when your group appeared on stage for a performance he froze...then the music started and he was frozen for a totally other reason.   

This did not go unnoticed by Mingyu’s members. "Look at Mingyu's face" Seungkwan laughed and Mingyu jumped as everyone stared at him. "Something caught your eye up there Mingyu?" Scoups asked. Mingyu blushed and Jeonghan rushed to defend him. "Hey leave him alone...we all know it’s y/n he’s drooling over so don't ask silly question". Mingyu pushed them all blushing "stop I'm trying to watch". Dk next to him smirked staring at him before realising the camera was on them “ow shit!”. Scoups frowned “this can’t be good”.

Meanwhile you were oblivious and were feeling the typical post-performance euphoria backstage. You were changing in your dressing room in a very good mood when one of your members looked at you. "Erm y/n did you happen to see the big screen when we were performing?". You shook your head "no why? Did something go wrong? Were the cameramen filming the crowd again?". "No...the idols and erm one moment’s already going viral". She pulled out her phone and showed you. It was the moment in the song where you had your dance break. You looked good, it was a little spicy but you were nailing it. Then they panned to Seventeen where Mingyu was just outright staring at you. Hoshi noticed and made a comment which made all the members look at him. The camera then panned back to you but cut back almost straight away to see Mingyu pushing his members before going back to stare at you like he did before. "Many fans are claiming Mingyu's into you and found this hot". You paused blinking and took a breath. "Well I...can see how they thought that" you said carefully. "Wait you're not mad it was Mingyu of all people?". "No" you said shaking your head and they erupted "since when have the two of you become friends?" the maknae cried. "We’re not friends we’re just more friendly than we were okay now don’t make it weird". Your members all nodded raising their hands in surrender but they couldn’t get rid of the smiles on their faces. 

Mingyu was horrified when he saw the video of himself but he knew sitting home sulking wouldn’t help so he followed his members to their regular post-show location to the club. As usual Mingyu was drawing a lot of attention mainly for his 6-foot frame butt it was starting to annoy him which wasn’t usual. All his members were enjoying the attention they’d received but he wasn't. He kept sending girls away and didn’t even realise they were staring at him. "Hey what's wrong?" Seungkwan asked and Vernon nodded "you're usually the first out of here, you’re never here this late". Mingyu shrugged "I just don't want anyone". Seungkwan smirked "well that's a lie...there’s one girl you want and she’s right over there". You'd been stood nearby all night and Seungkwan was right. Anytime someone came over Mingyu saw you and immediately didn’t want them. Mingyu nodded "yeah y/n but after that camera thing she probably hates me again ". "well there's only one way to find out" Vernon shrugged as you headed to the bar.

You’d be lying if you said the camera thing hadn't affected you. Seeing Mingyu stare at you like that was actually pretty hot but you had no idea if it was a spur of the moment thing or if he was attracted to you. Your table had been right by Seventeen's all night and even though Mingyu didn’t leave with anyone he also didn’t come over. So you were a little disappointed when you heard someone behind you at the bar. You turned to see it was Mingyu and he shot you a quick smile. You nodded back to him "hi". "Hey...you having a good night?" he asked. You nodded "yeah it’s been pretty fun, what about you?". He shrugged "it's been okay". "Saw you rejecting a ton of people, nobody caught your eye?" you asked in your typical upfront way. Mingyu wondered how to reply before he just shrugged "honestly? Nobody but you". You paused and Mingyu was scared you were angry when you laughed "wow I bet that floors girls right? You’ve probably got so many lines like that saved haven’t you?". You thought he was joking so Mingyu laughed along with pretending he had been "yeah a few...but what about you? No guys appealing to you?". You shook your head "no...but this isn’t the place I'd come to find them. I'm not the leave a club with a guy kind of girl". Mingyu nodded taking mental notes "fair enough but are your friends?". You turned to see two guys talking to your members. They seemed to be enjoying it and were flirting loudly. "Not usually and they promised me tonight would be a girls’ night so it’ll be fine! Thanks for keeping me company" and with your drink you headed back. Not 20 minutes later Mingyu saw your friends leave with the guys while you stayed behind. He actually saw one of the guys proposition you and was amused as you just waved him away. You made no move to leave and seemed to be staying to finish your drink. "You coming?" Seungkwan and Vernon asked as they started to leave but Mingyu shook his head "no it's okay" and he headed over to your table. "Can I join you?". You looked him up and down which made him blush before nodding. Mingyu took a seat beside you "so that was a good performance earlier". You smiled slightly "really? You thought so?" emphasising the “you” telling him you’d seen the footage of him staring. Mingyu blushed "hey cameras can be misleading!". You smirked "don’t worry I know that. When I debuted I got attacked by armys because they thought I was checking out Jin from BTS. I was literally just trying to see if he was wearing Levis but the camera made it look weird". Mingyu chuckled "those pesky camera crews, can I get you another drink?". You paused but shrugged "sure why not" and Mingyu grinned jumping up.

You had two more drinks together before you called it a night. On your way out you were looking for taxis and frowned seeing how few there were. "Let's split one" Mingyu told you "it’s safer and easier". You shrugged agreeing and were secretly quite happy to have Mingyu in all his 6-footness with you this late at night. It made waiting outside a lot less scary and he attracted the attention of a taxi driver a lot sooner. He got one quickly and opened the door for you as soon as it arrived. He insisted on going to yours first and made the driver stop right outside the door. "Well thanks for coming to keep me company after my friends ditched me. It was...fun". Mingyu was buzzing "yeah I had a really great time. Maybe we could do it again sometime?:. You paused and Mingyu backtracked "or not. I'm cool with whatever". You studied him for a few seconds before nodding "yeah we can be friends. Here’s my number, text me and we can meet up sometime". Mingyu nodded pretending like he didn’t know he’d just been rejected. "Great I'll text you! Have a great night". You nodded "you too" and hurried away.

Mingyu got back to his place and was feeling a little deflated. Some of the guys were still up and they called him into the living room. "Mingyu’s got a phone number!" Woozi called and Mingyu tried to hide it. "Too late we saw it! Whose is it from?". Mingyu shook his head "nobody...". "So why won't you tell us?" Seungkwan asked. Mingyu rolled his eyes "it’s y/n's but before you get excited she told me I can be her friend so it's nothing big". Everyone paused but The8 spoke first "are you kidding? That’s huge!". "What?" he asked and The8 laughed "Mingyu y/n doesn’t give her number out to just anyone...even I don’t have her number! The fact she gave it to you, the fact she said she wants to be friends with you is huge! Y/n isn’t a jump straight into dating kind of girl, she's definitely a friends to lovers type". Mingyu paused "well that is true...". "So why do you look so upset! Celebrate man!" Scoups said pushing him. Mingyu smiled and began to feel hopeful. There was nothing wrong with being a girl's friend. You didn’t have to jump into anything. Mingyu texted you when he got in his room "hey it’s Mingyu you told me to text you when i was back safe". "Good. Thanks for sharing the taxi with me and staying when my friends abandoned me" you replied back minutes later. "Hah no problem. I enjoyed it". "Me too" you replied and Mingyu smiled holding the phone close to his chest. Then he realised what he was doing and blushed. He got ready for bed trying not to think of you and was finally feeling less jittery when he saw his phone light up. “I’m going to bed now, good night” you’d texted and Mingyu smiled that you thought to say goodnight to him. He blushed all over again and sent you a goodnight text with a huge grin on his face. He was well and truly head over heels with you but who knew, maybe one day you would feel that way for him too. With that happy thought Mingyu got into bed and easily drifted off to sleep. 

__________

When I first got into Seventeen I assumed Mingyu would be really cocky and full of himself and was so surprised to discover he’s nothing like that! 

Part Two coming out next week! 

[cyberhades]

All good boys go to heaven ੈ♡˳ Eddie Munson x Fem! Reader

A/N: Hey babies! I'm a metalhead since I was around 10 but I like some random songs from other music genres, this imagine is inspired by the song "Heaven" by Julia Michaels. I met randomly one morning reading fanfics on Wattpad lol.

Warnings: smut, unprotected sex (use condoms mates), oral (both receiving), creampie, overstimulation, size kink, choking kink, orgasm control.

Eddie Munson was the famous "problem boy". Just by looking at that metalhead everyone could even smell the confusion. But you've always been the type to play with fire, and whoever plays with fire is not afraid of getting burned.

You thought a lot about what it would be like to get burned when it came to the guy you were so attracted to. And believe me, it couldn't have burned so hotly. He was adorable, an angel in everyday life and a demon in bed at night.

Your relationship had started some day at the vinyl store when he went to buy a Judas Priest record and coincidentally so did you. Fate does not fail, we always have actions and their reactions. His action was to bump into you next to that shelf with heavy metal records, the reactions would be as delicious as that bump.

Your lives have never been the same since that day. It just got better and better as the weeks went by.

Everyone always told you that "good boys go to heaven" but Eddie managed to prove that bad boys can bring heaven to you. He would always show you that his bed could be heaven, or yours could be, or the kitchen table, the bathroom counter... he was capable of taking heaven everywhere.

Love was your religion and he was your faith.

Now you were in his room, sitting on the floor looking at some records and arranging them to be in their proper places. Eddie was sitting on his bed and watching you sort the records alphabetically. He thought you were cute.

— What are you looking at?

— Seeing how stunning you look in that little dress.

You were wearing a pastel yellow dress that was a bit thin and also short, but it was summer and it was hot, you didn't care about the unwanted looks on the street, you just wanted to be comfortable and cool. Eddie couldn't stop analyzing and thinking about how he could strip you naked with nimble hands that would take that dress off your body with amazing ease.

— Want me to take it off? — you asked as you slid your finger dangerously through the thin strap.

— Feel free, my love... — he looked as if he could devour you any minute.

You then slipped your fingers through the thin straps of the dress and pulled it off until it was completely off your body. That left you in only white lace panties.

He was already salivating and it was obvious he was getting hard. Even because he wasn't small at all and you loved him, it was impossible for him to hide an erection. You didn't even waste any more time and left the records there in the corner of the room starting to crawl towards him like a sly kitten.

He was staring at you in an overwhelming way, making you aware of all the desire he felt and how crazy you drove him. It was undeniable that he wanted you more than he ever wanted anyone else.

As you approached him, you were right between his legs, and you were able to lay your head on one of his knees, making your cheek come into contact with the denim fabric. You eyes stared into that pair of brown eyes that drove you crazy.

— Be nice and I can make it up to you, kitten — he said, caressing your face with the back of his hand.

You understood well what that meant. And you thought about letting your brat impulse get the better of your, only you wanted to be rewarded for it, not punished. You unzipped his pants and removed them along with his underwear, making his erection fully apparent and he seemed to throb, already wet with pre-cum.

He already held your hair so he could help you do what you both wanted. First you took your hand to his cock, gently masturbating him and looking up could come across Eddie with his head tilted back as he moaned softly. He also bit his lower lip everytime. The way you satisfied him turned you on.

Without wasting any more time, you decided to run your tongue over his rosy glans, making him moan louder. You knew what you were doing, but you liked to be a bit of a slut when necessary. His voice even cracked softly as he felt your mouth take him all over.

— Fuck... — he cursed in a lower tone but high enough that you could clearly hear.

He controlled you a little because of the poorly made ponytail, making your head go up and down and you even slightly choke. Tears were welling up in the corners of your eyes because as said before, he was too big.

You moaned softly, which was already necessary to drive him crazy and make him want to be inside you. The erotic sucking sounds were echoing through the room along with his moans and he was even happier when you choked.

He had a choking kink.

— I'm going to come down your throat, baby... fuck you do it so well!

His horny voice sent shivers down your spine to the last hair on your head.

It didn't take long before you could feel his hot cum hitting your throat, and you swallowed everything as fast as you could. You were watering and saliva was running subtly from the corners of your lips, but it was a divine sensation indeed.

He was a little breathless, but he was very happy and more than ready to make it up to you.

He grabbed your face roughly with one hand and pulled you into a fierce kiss. A kiss that allowed him to taste his own while making you moan, it was undeniable that you were already completely soaked because of him.

Obviously you wasted no time and he pulled you into his lap. The thin fabric of your panties made contact with his cock which was wet from your saliva and his contents. But you were completely soaked.

He gripped your thighs firmly and laid you down on the bed. His kisses went down until they reached your neck, where he left a few hickeys. He loved doing it. It was always an incredible feeling to have Eddie sucking the skin off your neck roughly.

The kisses were trailing down to your breasts where he lightly bit your nipples and massaged the other breast. This alternation already made you want to cross your legs for being so horny. The kisses continued down until they reached your panties, where with just one look he seemed to ask if you'd give him permission to take it out of your body.

He took her off your body and threw on a part of the bed, it wasn't that important now. He also threw on the traditional Hellfire Club shirt he always wore. Seeing how much your pussy needed him he smirked.

— I still can't believe this is all mine... — lust was personified in his voice.

He bent down and started kissing your belly, moving to your inner thighs. Sometimes he liked to alternate with licks and get to the main point by snapping without warning. It always made you sigh and be surprised even if it wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last either.

His tongue was too busy venturing inside your pussy while his nose was in contact with your swollen clit, stimulating as he rubbed against it. He liked to eat you slowly and make you push your hips against his face begging for more contact and pleasure.

His soft lips were doing an amazing job together with his tongue. You moaned and squeezed that messy hair, instigating him and believe me when I say that it made him hard. You moaned his name and whimpered with pleasure as you felt him having some fun your sensitive spot.

— I'm gonna cum, I'm gonna cum! — you announced, already rolling your eyes and screaming desperately to reach the apex.

Your hips were being pushed against his face and when you were on the edge of orgasm he made you stop. Placing his hands firmly on your hips, pinning you to the bed.

Deep down you knew what was coming next and it was going to be amazing but first there had to be a little teasing from him, it was almost essential.

— You'll only come when I let you, kitten — he kissed your clit softly. He really knew how to be a traitor when he wanted to.

Now he had changed the pace, and he was doing it as slowly as possible. It was practically torture because you felt like you were close to orgasm and he wouldn't let you get there, that bed turned to hell when he wanted to.

He would suck you as gently as possible, making a low popping sound. It was even comforting to him — if we can put it that way — to see you squirming and trying to move.

Until he abruptly changes his pace, doing it faster and moving his face quickly against your pussy, rubbing there aggressively as his tongue darts back and forth inside you. You felt your orgasm coming hard this time and you finally got there screaming like a desperate slut.

Your legs trembled slightly and you took a deep breath as you felt those incredible emotions hitting you as you bit your bottom lip. He was luxuriating down there too, licking up all of your essence that oozed through your slit.

— What do you want now? — he asked in a seductive voice.

— I want to feel you inside of me, please — you said in a thorough tone of voice while you were still panting and sensitive from your recent orgasm.

— I don't think I heard you right, princess — he was really good at what he did. He liked to hear you speak loud and clear and in a good tone.

— I want to feel you inside of me, Eddie! — you said in a desperate tone, as if your life depended on it. — Please.

— I love the way you get desperate for my cock — he cupped your chin and placed a tender kiss on your lips.

Eddie in one swift movement brought you onto his lap, lying down on the bed and gripping your thighs tightly. Having Eddie like that down didn't mean you were in dominance, in fact he was the one who always was and that left you baffled.

You were a little weak in the legs from the orgasm but still had enough strength to ride. And riding him was the best possible feeling even if at first it hurt for the size, but it was worth it.

You adjusted yourself on his lap to position yourself and that was simply the most erotic scene he had ever seen in his life. He was finally inside you, but the way you had got down looking him straight in the eye with your lips parted as you moaned was beautiful.

Munson might just come with that, you were the most perfect woman he'd ever met.

— Always so hot, always so tight... — he groaned as he gripped your waist tightly.

You braced your hands back on the mattress, leaning your body a little, leaving your chest more exposed to him. He could clearly see your pussy and he could also control the movements by holding your waist helping you to come and go.

You both moaned together and the room was filled with the sound of your hips hitting his hips. The way your breasts bounced as you ride him was driving him crazy. You always drove him crazy.

— Choke me... please — you begged, totally thirsty for the touch of his warm hands with heavy, cold rings around your neck, squeezing.

He smiled mischievously and removed one of the hands that were on your hip, taking it to your neck, squeezing it with desire while you still ride him. You rolled your eyes and leaned your head back, crying out in pleasure.

— You're such a slut, kitten — he said in a rapturous tone that sent waves of pleasure through your entire body.

You felt the air missing from your lungs in a way that didn't suffocate you to the point of death but ideally, while feeling his cock inside you and moving in a satisfying pace. He brought his hand closer to your face making you suck his thumb with your eyes closed. That made him practically growl.

You felt your orgasm approaching and warned him:

— E-Eddie... I'm gonna cum!

— Not so fast, kitten — he said smiling victoriously as he shifted position.

Now you were under him and he was right between your legs, heading back to where he should never have left. You squeezed him with your thighs and crossed your legs around his hips.

He liked to look at your face while you were in that position, but he liked even more to kiss your chest or your neck. And so he was doing, alternating and taking a few bites and leaving some hickeys.

— I-I... wanna cum... please — you asked while moaning sly, feeling the knot in your belly almost burst.

— You'll only come when I come, hold on kitten, I know you can — he said in a hallucinating tone of voice as he lightly bit your lower lip.

You were taking as long as you could. He always liked to control your orgasms and at the same time you suffered, he felt like it was delicious. It was amazing, sex with him was always amazing.

He grabbed your wrists and pinned them above your head to the bed, squeezing hard so you wouldn't let go as he continued at a ferocious pace. The sound of your skins slapping against each other made him go crazy.

— Holy shit! This is heaven! — you screamed in a voice inebriated with pleasure.

— I always told you I'd bring you heaven, didn't I?

You continued at that pace for a while longer and it was being incredibly difficult to control yourself as orgasm was already knocking at the door, only you could because you really wanted this explosion of sensations.

— Come on kitten, come with me... — he gently bit your neck as he intensified the pace.

The knot in your belly was hanging by a thread, you were going to come hard.

— Thank you, thank you! I'm cumming, I'm cumming... oh fuck! Oh my God!

A silent scream of orgasm got in the way of your speech but you came, came hard. It seems like the longer he made you hold your orgasm, the harder it hits you afterwards. He also came hard and went in pure sync.

The way he moaned as he climaxed was so loud, hearing him screaming your name and cursing was rewarding.

At the same time the knot in your belly snapped, you felt his hot cum fill you, making you feel complete and satisfied. The two were in a state of ecstasy.

— Did you like it? — he questioned giving you a kiss on the forehead.

You were lying on your back, hugging each other. Your leg was around his hip and he was holding on, while his other hand rested on your arm and your head rested on his chest.

— I loved — you smiled in a lovely way. — You always bring me heaven.

— You deserve this and more baby — he placed a tender, passionate kiss on your lips.

[...]

[viktorstittytank]

POLY SILCO AND SEVIKA headcanons

No one I know of has written any poly Silco and Sevika so here y’a go. Y’all are being starved of quality content 👁👃🏾👁 you’re welcome.

Warnings: It IS smutty so 18+

_____________________________

.originally you were with Silco

.powerful man gets pretty princess doll face baby cakes as a toy and goes full “she gets what she wants mode”

.does he find you annoying? Yes. But you’re HIS annoying pet and his pet will get spoiled.

.No seriously you can get whatever you want

. Why? Because he recognizes that if he spoils you you’ll never wanna leave

. When he realizes Sevika is something you want he goes and talks to her while you’re not around

.he doesn’t have to do a lot of convincing cus Sevika daydreams about choking you out

.the two of them gang up on you constantly

.if Silco says you’re not going on a mission you best believe Sevika will be right behind him ignoring those big puppy dog eyes of yours

.you get flustered? They’re both on you instantly

.”I’m sorry doll could you repeat yourself?” “Did princess just call Silco handsome ?”

.they’re literally the worst.

.If Silco scolds you and you run off to Sevika she’ll hold you in her lap while you calm down but she won’t voice her opinion because she still considers him the real authority in the relationship.

.They’ll hold your hands in public and no one dares to stare cus that’s a death sentence

.if you go out with Sevika while she’s gambling and sit in her lap you best believe Silco will drop by pulling up a chair and play with you over her shoulder during the game

.it’s a bit odd seeing the crime boss sitting backwards in a chair stroking your cheek and chin while his work associate bounces you on her leg but onlookers won’t ask questions

.If you smoke there will be stashes of expensive cigars everywhere.

.if you don’t smoke there will still be stashes of expensive cigars everywhere you just won’t know the spots, so once they start smoking it’ll seem like they pulled them out of thin air.

.them blowing their smoke on you just cus it’s hot

.everytime you get extra dressed up you won’t be out for long with the two of them

.going to a party in a low cut dress with these two? You’re also going home two hours earlier than expected.

.you cannot mingle with them glaring at whoever you try to talk to it just won’t work

.it’s very embarrassing catching them both staring at your chest in public so you do yourself a solid and go home like a champ 💪

NSFW

. They will overstimulate the life out of you

.Sevika will be hitting it and Silco will just be relaxing by your head with your wrists all tied up in his tie smirking down and cooing nasty dirty things at you

.getting demeaned ALL THE TIME. If Sevika slaps you Silco spits in your mouth. The two of them work as a team constantly even if they’re just humiliating their precious y/n

.Silco likes to watch Sevika with you. He never touches himself while it’s happening but it is always mentally stored for later

.he will hold a vibrator to your clit and laugh while you cry cus Sevika’s strap is filling you up and hitting all the right places.

.if one person’s hand goes up your shirt then the other persons gonna have a hand up your shirt in record time

.you have two holes for a reason and they will use them

.In the middle of the day Silco will be giving you that pipe and out of nowhere you’ll open your eyes to find Sevika has found her way in the room leaning on her knees with her hands clasped smirking at the scene infront of her

.If Silco cums and it leaks out Sevika stuffs it back in immediately. Bonus points for using her metal hand cus it’s cold and she enjoys how shocked you seem.

.She loves to squeeze your face and make you look her in the eye while Silco’s hands are all over you. She knows her eyes are intimidating

.Sevika’s a grunter. If she likes something you’ll get that nice low grunt.

.Silco is pretty much silent except on extremely rare occasions where a breathy quiet moan will be pulled from his chest

.They both really enjoy hearing you whimper and whine and will do whatever it takes to hear it again and again and again

.They've made a competition out of pocketing your panties before. At one point they’ll start walking in during random hours of the day just to steal them. Eventually you catch on and confront the two of them but Silco just laughs and Sevika shrugs because the woman has no shame

.Silco will take you shopping for more cus you’re not getting those back they earned them

_____

<3

[its-a-gold-song]

hey yall here are my headcanons for pranks the marauders pulled during their times at Hogwarts :D (some of these are inspired by other folks on the internet so credit where credit is due and all that)

feel free to add if you want, i’d love more ideas :))

well first off I am 100% convinced that they had an annual prank war that started after fourth year. there’s a huge betting pool about who’s going to win and it’s a great time for everyone

sirius releases 100 dogs that look exactly like him in the castle and followed james around in the invisibility cloak

Permanent sticking charm on the slytherin benches in the Great Hall so that when they sit down they can’t get back up

there’s a spell that makes ducks when you try to cast a spell, and it’s not utilized in fanfics nearly enough so i propose a mega version on the teachers

swapping all of the slytherin robes with muggle prom dresses

clogging all of the toilets except moaning myrtle’s

pepper in all of the other house’s food (the food can’t be refilled without even more pepper being added)

the day before easter, filling the entire slytherin common room with eggs balanced so that they would all break as soon as someone walked in

conjuring slugs all over during Slughorn’s Christmas party

charming the giant squid to break into song at random intervals during the day

all of the doorknobs, quills, forks, serving spoons, and candy in the castle was somehow turned into a portkey that would bring you to a random spot somewhere else in the castle

all of the beverages being spiked with polyjuice potion with snape’s hair

casting duro on snape’s bag when he goes to pick it up (turning it to stone)

sticking all of lily’s school supplies to the quidditch goalposts

at christmastime: charming all the portraits to sing ‘Santa Baby’ nonstop and only get louder when someone casts Silencio

turning the entire great hall into an ice skating rink

they charm everything around snape to be slightly louder than normal and all the other students are instructed to act like everything is normal and they slowly increase the volume of everything every few days until snape announces he’s going to go see madam pomfrey about it and get his head checked, and then they reverse the charm just as he enters the hospital wing and snape looses his mind when pomfrey says that everything seems normal

hexes snape to say ‘minerva mcgonagall is my muse and my idol’ over and over and they doesn’t let up for weeks

giant cushioning charm on the courtyard/fields: giant trampoline!!

beating the record for earliest detention by charming the Sorting Hat to speak only in Gobbledegook

doing nothing all April Fools and everyone is so on edge and eventually they go to sleep only to be woken up at 11:59pm to fireworks and explosions

a game called Dungbomb Detonator where they have a dungbomb set to go off at a certain time, and they sneakily try to put it in each others bags and whoever has it when it detonates is stinky for the rest of the day and has to buy the other marauders candy from honeydukes.