#a little circle of possession goin on or whatever

[a-most-beloved-fool]

y'know, a lot of people like to write possessive Spock in spirk fics, where he claims Jim as his own, but I kinda feel like he's less likely to say that Jim is his, and more likely to say that he is Jim's.

[spidermans-l-o-v-e-r]

Red Rose

Pairing: Eddie Diaz x reader

Word count: 2k

Notes: imma be real… I am not a period sex kind of person. And then I was on my period while writing this and-

Eddie peeks through the front door and comes in slowly.

“Baby? You around?” 

He sets his bag down and walks into the house. The lights are off, and the kitchen is clean. He’s not sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t this. He sets the takeout bag on the kitchen counter and looks around. There’s no note, nothing. 

He wanders over to the bedroom, where he finally finds you. You seem to be pacing back and forth, wringing your hands nervously. He immediately comes over, stopping you in your tracks, his hands resting on your arms.

“Hey… hey what’s going on?” His tone is apprehensive and you already feel guilty for making him feel that way. 

“Can you um-“You push at his chest a little and he frowns. 

“Can you go lay on the bed for me? Please?” 

He looks at you weirdly but complies anyway, kissing your forehead before going to lie on the bed. He puts his hand behind his head and crosses his ankles.

“This good for you?” 

You bite your lip, your eyes zeroing in on the soft skin of his tummy as his shirt rides up a bit.

“Mhm, it’s perfect” 

You come over to the bed and climb up on top of him, and his eyes widen. He looks back and forth for a second for a hidden camera, and you roll your eyes playfully. 

“Uhhh you okay?” 

You lean forward, nuzzling your nose against his, and smile. 

“Mhm, peachy” 

“What’s goin’ on? Not that I’m complaining…” He grabs your hips, rubbing them in slow circles with his thumbs and you hum appreciatively.

“I uh- I-“ You freeze up a little and he tilts his head, smirking up at you.

“Don’t get all shy on me now sugar, tell me what you need” 

“Can we take a shower together?” You ask quietly and he toys with the drawstrings of your shorts because now he finally gets what’s going on and he’s already working things out in his mind. 

“We can do anything you want… you sure you’re cool with this? I know that you don’t necessarily like-“

“I know what I don’t like, you know what I don’t like, but if I don’t get what I need I’m going to rip someone’s face off” you interrupt him.

“Shower time it is!” 

Eddie tells you to go to the bathroom first and do whatever makes you feel comfortable before calling him in when you’re ready. While he waits, he takes off his shirt and tosses it aside before looking down at his pants… yeah why not? He gets up and shucks those off too before flopping back on the bed. 

He reaches down and pokes at his cock, like he’s trying to get its attention “I hope you’re ready for this, we need to have it under control alright? Total gentleman mode, anything she wants, she gets, you got that?” 

He strokes himself slowly and sighs, his eyes fluttering closed. 

“Don’t back sass me” he scoffs “Is this making me feel absolutely wild? Yes. Do I feel an undeniably animalistic urge to fuck her as hard as I possibly can? Also yes. But we can’t buddy, you know she’s kinda fragile right now…” 

“Eddie?” He hears your sweet voice from the bathroom and he’s off the bed in a flash, he takes a breath before opening the bathroom door and walks in. The steamy atmosphere already has his senses on high, you’re in the shower, holding onto the glass door, your cheeks are flushed pink and he can’t tell if that’s from the steam or embarrassment but he can’t seem to care, not with the way you stare at him. 

He knows that look, his cock bumps against his thigh with each slow step he takes toward you. He stands tall and confident as he steps into the shower, he reaches out and cups your cheeks, his other hand coming to rest on your hip.

“If you decide you don’t want to do this anymore we can stop okay? Any time you want” 

You nod and turn away, your cheeks flushing deeply and he grins. 

He turns your face towards him, capturing your lips in a deep, passionate kiss. His tongue dips into your mouth, claiming you fully as his hands roam your curves possessively. He pours all his love and lust into the kiss, determined to show you just how much he wants you, no matter what.

“Can I touch you, sweet girl?”

“I-I don’t know…” you blush and he pins you to the wall, his knee separating your legs. 

“You know this is completely natural right? I’m a firefighter baby, a little blood isn’t gonna scare me off” He rubs your clit in tight circles and you reach down, grabbing his wrist. He keeps his fingers going as you moan, your body melting easily on him. 

“Eddie!” You squirm as he works his fingers in and out of you slowly now, the wet sounds of your pussy echoing around the shower walls and you brace yourself against them, your eyes rolling back in your head.

“Hmm?” He can’t get enough of the little noises you’re making, the steam making things hot and heavy as you pant in his ear. He’s losing himself in you already, he can’t imagine why you’d be so ashamed when you feel so good. 

“S-stop that’s- you’re making such a mess please Eddie st-“ 

He kisses along your neck, to your jaw before pulling away and staring into your eyes. His voice drops impossibly low, it’s dark and raw with need. 

“Why deny me the pleasure of knowing your body… inside-“ His fingers are stained red as he trails them up your body, his tongue darts out to lick them clean and your mouth drops open “and out” 

He has to catch your head before it slams back into the tiles as he sheaths himself inside you fully, he doesn’t give you any time to be worried about the mess anymore as his hips piston in and out of you, giving you everything you’ve been craving all day. 

“There’s my sweet baby, so sexy, so perfect” 

Eddie fully loses himself in the feeling of you finally, the slick slide of your body against his, the way you moan and writhe in his arms. 

“That's it, baby, take it," he grunts, angling his hips to hit that spot deep inside you that makes you see stars. "You're mine, baby girl, all mine. Gonna fuck you so good, make you forget your own name." 

He’s fucking you relentlessly, your toes curling, your nails scratching at his shoulders as he fucks you up the wall. He stops for a moment and you finally have the chance to breathe. 

“Don’t get too comfy” He warns you as he walks you over to the bench and puts you on all fours. 

“That’s my girl, look at you, perfectly presented for me” He coos over you, rubbing the soft globe of your ass. He jiggles it in his hands and you arch your back.

“Goddamn” He mumbles, smacking your ass hard a couple of times. With one smooth thrust, he buries himself back inside you, holding your hips steady as he lets you adjust to his size in this position. 

"So fucking tight. I'm gonna ruin you for anyone else." 

“E-Eddie” you cry out, putting your hands up to keep him from fucking you through the wall.

“You can take it baby I know you can” he encourages, his hand sliding around to rub your clit in time with his thrusts. "Gonna fuck you so deep, so hard, make you come all over my cock. You want that, don't you? Want me to fill you up until you're overflowing?"

“I want it, please, please I want it so badly” 

Eddie leans down to bite at your shoulder, marking you as his own. His movements are growing more erratic, his breath coming in harsh pants as he chases his release, he’s willing himself not to cum until you do, his only focus is making you feel good. 

Each rough thrust punches a little high-pitched noise out of you, driving the both of you crazy. His fingers work your clit over and you can feel that red hot coil in the pit of your stomach burning brighter and brighter before it finally snaps.

Your head falls against the bench as you cum, crying into the cold, stone tiles. You sob his name over and over as he fucks into you harder, holding your hips to him so tightly your knees barely brush the bench. He loves to fuck you like a rag doll and you love to be handled like that.

Eddie's hips stutter as he feels you tighten around him, your inner walls fluttering and clenching as you come undone. He pulls you up and buries his face in your neck, breathing in the scent of you as he continues to thrust shallowly while wrapping his hand around your throat, drawing out your pleasure. He grins wickedly listening to the way you babble and moan, incoherent and absolutely delirious for him. 

His other hand grips your hip bruisingly tight as he slams into you one last time, burying himself to the hilt as his orgasm crashes over him.

"Jesus Christ Y/N" Eddie cries out, his voice raw with passion as he spills himself deep inside you. His cock pulses and throbs, painting your walls with his seed, marking you as his own, something you both love when he does. He’d taught you to love a good breeding kink almost as much as he did.

He falls forward on top of you and you both crash down onto the little bench. He maneuvers himself to give you a little breathing room but stays squished against you. 

“You okay, baby? I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asks softly, concern lacing his voice and you shake your head, trying to catch your breath. He knows how sensitive you are around this time, he nuzzles his face into your shoulder and you smile weakly.

“No, you didn’t, I-I’m okay” 

“You feelin' any better?” He pulls your body into him, letting the hot water spray over you and relax your muscles. You snuggle into him and he smiles, kissing your cheek.

“You think you can fall asleep?” 

“Are you kidding me?” You scoff, your voice already trailing off “I could sleep on a log”

“I don’t- I don’t think that’s the correct-“ 

 Before he can even finish his sentence you’re out like a light, his cock pulses inside you and you sigh happily. 

“That’s my favorite girl” He purrs softly in your ear. 

You wake up buried in a soft little nest, there are pain meds a bottle of water on the nightstand and a heating pad plugged in and ready for you to turn on. You get out of bed slowly and after waddling to the bathroom and assessing the situation, you head into the kitchen. 

Eddie is standing in front of the stove, his hips moving in sync with the song playing over the speakers. You lean against the wall watching the way his hips rotate in circles, his pants are hung low on his hips almost threatening to slip off, you bite your lip when you’re sure he’s definitely not wearing underwear.

He’s humming along to the song when he goes to spin around, he screams and nearly drops his pan, making you scream and clutch the wall. 

“Jesus fucking-“ 

“Why did you scream?!” 

“Why did you scream?!” 

“Because you scared me!!” You gesture wildly and he slams the pan on the counter 

“You scared me!!” 

“Well sorry!!” 

“I mean-“ He shuts off the music and narrows his eyes at you playfully 

“I guess I forgive you… how are you feeling?” He comes over and wraps his arms around you, hugging you closely and you nuzzle into his chest, before wrapping your arms around his slutty waist. 

“Really good…” you purr quietly and you can feel him shift as you press your tits into him.

“Oh?” His voice wavers, and you grin wickedly before kissing his chest. He cups your face gently and looks into your eyes.

“I just made you dinner…but I can definitely keep it warm” 

“You went to so much trouble, I can wait” You bat your eyelashes sweetly, fully ready for dinner but he scoffs, turning you around and patting your butt 

“Maybe you can but I sure as fuck can’t. Let me put this back in the oven while you go get on your hands and knees for me, I wanna eat that pussy first”

“Eddie!”

[raccoonfallsharder]

a mistletoe avoidance⋆♡❅༄⋆⁺ preview [EST DEC 19]

borealis: year two | navigation | fanfiction masterlist spice | no use of y/n | gn reader | oneshot | word count: pending.

rocket's getting sick of all these #@$%ing kisses. ⋆♡❅༄⋆⁺ see context and warnings below.

“You’re makin’ fun of me.” You pause, then set your braided greenery aside and suck thoughtfully on the peppermint stick before pulling it from your mouth with a pop. Rocket’s eyes track the candy like it’s a blinking beacon, but if his gaze heats up a little at the edges, you don't notice.  “Sorry,” you apologize at last. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have.”

He clicks his tongue, but his eyes still follow the peppermint stick. “Traitor.” He sighs and hoists himself onto your bunk, shoulders drooping morosely as he pokes at your cup of cocoa. “Earther -garbage. You shoulda gotten the eggnog. At least it’s got booze in it.” You snort, turning back to your greenery. “I was saving it for you.” His ears twitch forward. “Really?” Your smile flickers warmly. He acts like a snarky, smirking, shit-eating smart-ass, but he’s really such a soft-touch — easy to flatter and praise. Of course, wanting to make him feel good is no hardship for you. “Yeah,” you tell him lightly, tugging the ends of the braid into a circle, then frowning and unwinding it to plait more onto the end of the chain. Your brow creases as you weave in more stems. “I think they’re trying to figure out how to make something like it for the party tonight at Skottie’s.” His head tilts — intrigued. “An eggnog cocktail?” You nod with a dry grin. “Yeah, but you know Skottie’s. It’ll probably be five-thousand-times stronger than anything I can drink.” You sway sideways and elbow him gently. “You should try one though. On me.” He licks his lips, then shakes his head regretfully. “Ain’t goin’. Not with all the d’ast mistletoe around.” His lip curls. You study him sideways, chewing your lip for a moment and then admitting, “I am surprised you’re not lapping this up. I mean, it’s clear you’ve only gotten more popular on this planet since the last time you were here—“ “You mean when they tried to arrest me?” he drawls, his voice withering. He slants flat red eyes at you. “Even though I told ‘em it wasn’t me that time, and that I was reformed or whatever? A card-carrying member of the flarkin’ Guardians of the Galaxy?” He shakes his head. “It was manageable before,” he grumbles. “Good amount of perks, being a Guardian. Reliable number of interested parties, I mean.” He narrows his eyes and looks around your little bunk like he’s seeing right through the shelves and walls, past the spaceship’s hull — out into the crowded streets of Nivlent’s capitol city, all decked with little lights and holiday sparkle for the Longest Night. Rocket’s stare scans an imaginary crowd. “I slept around too much here,” he mourns. “Too many locals got a taste of the tail. That, combined with bein’ an exonerated fugitive — basically a folk hero — it’s too much for any one guy to handle. Too many babes.” He shakes his head forlornly. “M’ a wanted man all over again.”

CONTEXT: comics-rocket (skottie-young-style).

WARNINGS: just... a lot of peppermint-sweet kissing. canon-typical violence. pet names. rocket uses the term "space princess" to refer to people of varied genders, including reader. reader wears a floral crown, and rocket's just a touch possessive. ♡

coming to ⋆⊰∙∘⋆❆borealis: year two ❆⋆∘∙⊱⋆ on december 19! borealis: year one | winter headcanons | navigation | fanfiction m.list

winter greenery dividers by @/thecutestgrotto | support banner by @/cafekitsune | kiss divider by @/saradika-graphics

[sugawarassoulmate]

too far away to hold me

Anon asked: bully!samu twisted hurt/comfort,,, where other guys on campus see y/n as easy pickings and try to bully her n somehow the bullying is worse w these strangers ;-(( bc y/n has gotten used to osamu actually

samu doesn't find out until after a while (maybe bc he doesn't ask what's goin on in y/n's life much or she kept it from him) n he's just like 😡😡😡 y/n is MY bully target!!!

you can read all about bully!osamu here if you want context on his relationship with the reader!

this was long-overdue 🥺 i'm finally back in nyc and i'm hoping to update more!!! 🖤

words: 3.3k

cw: fem!reader, bullying, name-calling, physical violence, college au, hair pulling, jealously, possessiveness, toxic relationship, slight dacryphilia, unprotected sex, minors dni

Osamu was getting annoyed.

Noticing that you had been stressed out lately, Osamu decided he’d be nice for once in his life and treat his little cry baby to a night out after class. He waited outside the room for you to come out but you never did. One by one, all your classmates left, and eventually so did your professor. Already growing frustrated, Osamu was about to barge into the room when he heard your voice.

“I told you no, Daishou,” you mumbled softly, grabbing your books. The boy Osamu doesn’t recognize stops you, grip strong on your wrist and that’s when he slams the door open, startling both of you. “Samu—”

Osamu pulls you to his side, barely giving the other boy any attention before getting you out of the room. He doesn’t say a word as he drags you down the hall to his car. Osamu when he’s red in the face and screaming at you was easy to deal with but when he's quiet like this, you’re a bit more worried. “Samu, I told him no—” Osamu turns the car on, interrupting whatever excuse you had ready on the tip of your tongue.

He’s not an idiot, he knows you were trying to push this Daishou kid away. But you were either too nice or too stupid to get the job done. “Who was that?” he asks. Part of him wants to take you back to his place and pound you into the mattress but he figures that could wait, choosing to take you out like he originally planned.

“He’s just some guy in my class,” you explain, twiddling your thumbs, too nervous to look over at him. “I think he wants to go out or something, but I keep telling him I’m not interested.” This gets his attention. Osamu never labeled himself as your boyfriend—you two definitely weren’t dating—but he always felt entitled to you, so hearing that some punk kid trying to come on to you pissed him off.

“Is that all?” Osamu figures you’re hiding something from the way you won’t meet his eyes. Usually, Osamu can’t get you to stop talking about something but you’re keeping your answers short with him today. You let out a small “mmhm…” and Osamu knows there’s more but he decides not to press you.

By the time you two got back to his place later that day, you were exhausted. You were shocked that Osamu bothered to take you out tonight, it’s very rare that he’s so nice —at least, in his way. You could handle the teasing comments made at your expense, it wasn’t anything you weren’t used to. He even seemed to be softer than normal.

The front door slams behind you and strong arms circle your waist. “Samu…” you whine, feeling his along your jawline, thick fingers slipping past your jeans. This also wasn’t a surprise, you were wondering when he was gonna get his hands on you. Osamu had a habit of getting jealous anytime someone else got in your personal space. It wasn’t going to take him long to stake his “claim” on you.

“Been wantin’ to do this all day,” he says against your skin, sighing when he feels the slick folds of your cunt against his fingers. “Keep actin’ like a dumb little girl and someone might steal ya away from me.” You can feel his hardening cock pressed against your ass, timidly palming him from behind which forces a growl from his chest.

You two don’t make it to the bed, Osamu bends you over the kitchen counter and tugs your bottoms off. His lips don’t leave your neck, sucking deep purple bruises into the skin and, knowing him, he won’t let you cover them up tomorrow. His thick cock stretches your pretty cunt, ramming into you over and over. You can’t help the tears that fall from your eyes, running down your cheeks. It brings a sick smile to Osamu’s face.

“There’s my fuckin’ cry baby,” he croons condescendingly, pulling your bra down to get at your breasts. The way you sob as he pulls on your nipples will never fail to get him hard. He could tell you like it too with how your cunt choked his cock whenever he manhandled you. “Dirty bitch, bet you’d let anyone use you, hm?”

You’re gripping the counter, trying not to fall over with how harshly Osamu’s movements are. “Just you,” you keen, pain turning into pleasure just like it always does.

Oh? You’re not always receptive like this, giving into Osamu’s possessive nature. Honestly, he wished you’d fight him more often but Osamu can’t ignore the rush of pleasure coursing through his body upon hearing those words come from your lips. “What was that, stupid? Can’t hear ya when yer fuckin’ mumbling like that.”

His fingers tangle in your hair, pulling your head up. “Just you, Samu!” you cry, tears properly flooding from your eyes now. Your gasps of pain contradict the way you’re clamping down on him with your walls. He groans in your ear, hips moving faster as his cock kisses your cervix. Osamu never warns you when about to cum, not when you make that dumb little look of shock every time he does it. But you always have a tell, your thighs start to shake and you grip the nearest surface for purchase.

Fucked ya dumb already? He thinks as he brings his free hand down to fondle your clit. Osamu’s name falls from your mouth over and over while you cream around his cock, almost falling over yourself if it weren’t for his grip on your hair.

Osamu cums inside you, filling you deep with his thick seed. You let out a whine of discomfort, but Osamu slaps your thigh to get you to shut up. He pulls out, leaving you a trembling, pathetic little thing clinging to the countertop as he watches his cum run down your leg. Just to be mean, he collects some of his spunk on his fingers and fucks it back into your cunt, laughing when you cry from sensitivity.

He helps you off the counter before leading you into the bathroom. He starts a bath for you, grumbling the entire time that you were too dumb to do it yourself. But he’s so gentle helping you into the tub, undressing and settling in behind you. “Kiss me?” you ask quietly. Osamu rolls his eyes, grabbing your face and pressing soft kisses against your lips.

You wish Osamu didn’t make you tag along to these things. It wasn’t that you didn’t like his friends, Kita and Aran were sweet and Suna always had a funny meme on his phone to share, but you’d much rather be at home, trying to convince Osamu to cuddle with you on the couch.

But Osamu didn’t ask you to do things. “Can’t you just go without me?” you had complained, not really wanting to put in the effort of changing out of your sweats.

“The boys want to see ya and last time they bitched the entire time when ya stayed home,” Osamu explained, steam still coming off of him from the shower he just took after getting home from the gym. Osamu wasn’t a huge fan of parties either but his friends invited him out and they wouldn’t leave him alone until he promised to bring you.

You were still whining about not wanting to go when Osamu had grabbed you, pressing you close to his still-naked body. “Don’t get all bitchy with me tonight,” he growled in your ear, rubbing his cock against you. "Be a good little dummy and you’ll get this fat cock.” He humps against your ass, forcing a sigh of pleasure from your lips before he releases you, laughing at how easy it was to rile you up.

Which is how you ended up in some rando’s house, sitting on Osamu’s lap while Suna showed you his favorite TikToks. His old teammates seemed to be the only boys Osamu didn’t mind you getting chummy with. Maybe because they’ve known you two (and his brother) for so many years. They were aware how weirdly possessive Osamu got when you were out of his sight for too long—they had seen it firsthand with how he acted when you were with Atsumu. They knew not to pry about the relationship you two had. Maybe they just knew not to poke a sleeping bear.

The party wasn’t too bad. You chatted up some of your classmates and Osamu even loosened up for once, laughing with his buddies and taking a few shots every once in a while. When Osamu had a bit of alcohol in his system, he was sweeter than usual. He pressed a few kisses to the side of your head, whispering how good you looked in your dress. Suna teased you for blushing and you elbowed him, mumbling “it’s not like that”

“Who’re you trying to convince?” Suna said back, you opened your mouth to tease him when you heard someone calling your name.

“Is that my favorite classmate?” you grimaced once you recognized him, sleazy green eyes meeting yours. Daishou slithered his way from the other side of the room, standing in front of where you were sitting with the boys. “Didn’t think I’d find you here.”

Osamu must have felt your body tense because his arms tightened around your waist, steel eyes glaring at Daishou. “Don’t push yer fuckin’ luck, kid,” he says, alcohol heavy on his breath. Daishou falters for a second but his sniveling smirk is back on his face almost immediately, taking a step as if he’s about to reach for you but Osamu is quick to stop him. “Walk away from her now. I won’t be askin’ again.”

You could tell Daishou wasn’t ready to give up just yet, but his chances against Osamu and three of his teammates weren’t looking great. He gave you a quick wink before heading back into the crowd of faceless people. Osamu was still stewing, grip on you never wavering. Kita and Aran initiate conversation while Suna grabs him another drink. But it’s your hand on top of his that calms him down.

After a while, things are back to normal. You take a few glances at the other party go-oers and can’t find Daishou anymore. For once, you feel relieved and even a bit adventurous. You grab Osamu’s hand, getting his attention. “Dance with me,” His eyebrow quirks.

“That desperate to get me close to ya, dummy?” he slurs, eyes growing heavy. His words hold no venom, it’s second nature at this point to call you that. Osamu doesn’t put up much of a fight when you pull him to the center of the room, holding him close as you sway to the music blaring from the speakers. You’re bound to get an earful tomorrow when he sobers up. He’ll probably take you from behind, taunting you for acting like such a “needy whore” tonight. The thought sends surges of pleasure through your body.

Osamu grinds into you chuckling deeply in your ear while you wrap your arms around his neck. Most people are probably confused when they see you two—Osamu’s mocking you one minute and kissing you the next. The whole time you’re in his shadow, never too far away. You figured out a long time ago that it’s really nobody’s business what you two do at this point, somehow it’s managed to work all these years.

You two danced for a bit more before you pulled away from his side and, almost immediately, his arms reached out for you, a stern look on his face. “I just need to pee,” you tell him and he, reluctantly, lets go of you. He grumbles something about not making him wait before you walk away.

The bathroom downstairs was occupied so you headed upstairs and, thankfully, it was empty. You washed your hands when you were done, thinking about stopping to get another drink in the kitchen before going back to Osamu. You probably shouldn’t make him wait too long but he’s having a good time tonight, so he might just go a bit easy on you today.

You step out of the bathroom, ready to head back downstairs when you feel someone snatch your wrist. For a second, you assume it’s Osamu but the body you’re pulled into feels unfamiliar. You feel your skin crawl when someone whispers into your ear.

“Finally got you separated from your little bodyguard,” Daishou says, crowding your personal space until he has you backed into a wall. You’re quick to open your mouth, ready to tell him that you’re not interested in anything he wants. But Daishou leans in close as if he’s about to kiss you. “Don’t get a fucking bratty with me, I just want to talk.” You want to push him away but you’re frozen, unsure of what to do. Osamu will come to look for you if he notices you’ve been gone too long, right? But he’s been drinking so much tonight, you’re not sure if it slipped his mind.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” you say, hand on his chest to try to place some distance between you, but Daishou grabs it, nails digging into your skin.

“Why? Your fucking boyfriend gonna get mad or something?” the way he says the word makes you cringe, which he notices right away. “Not your boyfriend? Then why were you dancing with him like a slut out there?” You pluck enough courage to shove him away, trying to race down the stairs back to your friends when you feel Daishou’s fingers in your hair, tugging you back to him. “Stop being such a fucking bit—”

It happens pretty quickly after that. One second you’re in near tears as Daishou’s pulling your hair at the root, the next Daishou’s on the floor holding his jaw. You look up and Osamu has you in his arms, eyes practically bulging out of his head in anger. He doesn’t say a word while he snatches your hand, forcing you down the stairs and past his teammates who’re dumbstruck. Too drunk to drive, Osamu decides to walk the couple of blocks to his house, dragging you along with him.

“You’re hurting—” but Osamu keeps yanking your arm anyway, not letting you stray too far away. It’s hard to keep up with his pace, every so often you’ll end up nearly tripping on yourself.

“He’s done that before, hasn’t he?” Osamu asks, reaching for his keys with his free hand as you two near the house.

“Never that rough,” you admit, shrugging your shoulders. “Usually he’ll just say mean things to me, never shoves me around like that.” Osamu opens the front door, gestures you inside first before locking it behind him. He’s pissed, angry in a way you’ve never seen him.

He reaches over and grabs you by the jaw. “Why the fuck did ya not tell me?”

It’s hard to look him in the eye but Osamu tightens his grip, forcing you to meet his gaze. “I didn’t think it was a big deal. I mean... you do the same thing.” His hold suddenly loosens, eyes boring into your soul as his brain registers what you told him. “You do the same thing” Now Osamu’s wondering if Daishou’s the only one who’s treated you like this when he’s not around. He wonders how much you’re not telling him.

“Excuse me?”

You furrow your brows at him as if he asked a stupid question. “Oh, come on, Samu. Like you never pulled my hair before? Or spilled beer all over me at a party?” you cross your arms. “Or flipped my skirt up to look underneath?” You must not notice the way Osamu tenses up. Was someone else touching you like he did?

“Who else?” he takes a step close to you, eyes widening as all the thoughts start playing in his head. Has someone else been picking on you? Fucking you? Dumb little y/n that’s always been his to torment? “It’s not just Daishou, who else has it been?”

You wonder what has Osamu so upset but you tell him anyway. You tell him that Daishou’s the only one who’s gone as far as putting his hands on you but that doesn’t stop other people from teasing you. There’s Matsukawa in your chem class who slaps books out of your hands every other day. Konoha who forces you to let him cheat off your exams in calculus. Futakuchi who makes comments about your ass on days you wear a skirt. “They see how we are and they think I’m easy pickings…” You can’t believe Osamu’s never noticed—maybe it’s because people only dare to do it when he’s not around.

Osamu says nothing the whole way back to his house, doesn’t even bother slamming you against the wall and having his way with you like he normally would when he’s pissed off. Little do you know, Osamu is stewing. Your words keep replaying in his mind along with the names of everyone you mentioned.

He’s got some work to do.

The next few days are... weird to say the least. Daishou turns up to class with a busted lip and actively avoids you. No more comments under his breath or trying to grab at you when the professor isn’t looking. You weren’t surprised by that with the way Osamu leveled him to the ground. Daishou definitely isn’t looking for a rematch and you would be lying if you said you weren’t enjoying how he cowered every time he walked past you.

You gripped your books before heading to chem a few days later, knowing Matsukawa would snatch them out of your hands once he got the chance. But as you round the corner, you notice that one of his hands is wrapped up with tape as if he sprained it or something. Instead of tripping you or slapping your books away, Matsukawa pulls your chair out for you and says he’ll carry your books to your next class. Still, you don’t think much of it.

It starts getting really weird when Konoha is offering to do your homework for you. Apologizing for all those times he’s cheated off of you, even asking if he could study with you sometime before taking back his invitation, eyes looking everywhere but at you. But it’s when Futakuchi Kenji walks into class that you’re truly puzzled.

It was a hot day and you groaned when you remembered you had class with Futakuchi today. Whenever you wore a skirt or a pair of shorts to alleviate the heat, you could feel his eyes leering at you. He’d sit next to you and lightly brush the material against his skin. Mumbling an “oops” under his breath he’d grab at your thighs, raking his fingers down them.

But today Futakuchi shows up with a black eye and keeps his hands to himself, not even sparing you one single glance. When you call him out on it, he doesn’t say anything—just looks down at his hand like he’s scared. The few times you two end up brushing against each other, he’s quick to apologize and scoot as far away from you as possible. When class ends, you try to make conversation—to try to understand what’s his damage. But Futakuchi books it once the professor dismisses you all.

Strange.

Little did you know, Osamu’s been keeping himself busy. Tracking down all those boys who think they can lay a claim on you—who thought you would be their little punching bag. Those fucking losers didn’t know who they were messing with. Osamu’s had you in his clutches since the playground. Of course, they didn’t listen at first when Osamu told them to stay the fuck away, but he’s always been good at persuasion.

And now that he has you laid out on his bed babbling about how “fucking good” his cock feels, Osamu can rest easy knowing that nobody will try to mess with you anymore.

You belonged to him and him only.

©sugawarassoulmate 2021 all rights reserved - please do not repost/translate my work on other platforms!

[whumperooni]

two in the morning and i’m all yours

Pairing: Dabi x Reader

Tags/Warnings: tw toxic relationship, public fingering, drinking and drug mention, degradation, possessive behavior, daddy kink, fingers in moufs, reader is kind of a bimbo, mentions of punishment/trained behavior, drool, slight puking mention (just briefly, nothing graphic and not described in any detail- it’s all in the past)

Word count: 2.1k

A/N: I, uh, have never ridden a train before. But I’ve ridden the subway! So I’m just going to slightly modify the request to subway rather than train;;;; And I skimped out on fucking, but hopefully this is tasty enough to make up for it ♡

✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤

Two in the morning and all is quiet.

It’s quiet as Dabi yanks you into the station and it’s quiet as he makes you hop the gate. His snicker when your clumsy, drunken feet stumble over one another is quiet and your whine against his chest is quiet, too.

The terminal is a ghost town as he hauls you through it- empty, dingy, washed over in a sickly green light that makes you feel so disconnected from the world above. It’s like a horror movie, almost, but you couldn’t ever be really scared of a vaguely spooky subway station- you face actual horrors in your life every day; you’ve got crooks for friends, bloodthirsty debtors haunting your every step, ravenous heroes looking to snatch you up just to get to the League, and a monster for a boyfriend.

All that is much, much scarier than any silly subway station.

And Dabi is the scariest of it all- thrilling, frightening, vicious, nasty.

A hum slips from you- dazed and faint- and you twine your fingers through Dabi’s, smile sleepily when his hand holds yours tight.

You like the way he holds your hand as if he’s terrified you’ll try to run away from him. You like how he crushes your palm and squishes your fingers together until they’re aching for a good few hours after. It feels like you’re precious somehow- though you know it’s a twisted way to be treated.

He just wants to keep you his is all. He just wants to make sure you won’t- can’t- ever leave him.

Not that you want to. Not that the thought of doing so could ever enter your giddy, empty head.

Dabi pulls you into a car and you giggle when he yanks you to sit down on his lap, curl your fingers into shirt and peer around curiously. It’s empty in here- just like the station- and your fuzzy mind can’t help but wonder if you really did happen to stumble upon a ghost town.

Ghost town? Ghost station? Ghost subway? Ghost...

Oh, whatever.

Another giggle as Dabi grips your waist and you smile up at him- eyes so heavy and cheeks flushed, your lashes fluttering as he digs his thumbs into deep circles along your hips.

“Are we goin’ back to the hideout?”

Slurred, a little whiny- Dabi huffs at the question and his grip on you tightens as he pulls you closer. You can’t help a small shiver when his hands wander lower and you pout when he huffs again, when he moves a hand away to take his cigarettes from his jacket pocket.

“Where the fuck else would we be goin’?”

You don’t know- a hotel? Another party? Some isolated little house to break into and sleep the night away?

A shrug from you and Dabi clicks his tongue, snaps his fingers and lights his cigarette with a pretty blue flame. He takes a draw and breathes smoke out into your face and he laughs when you whine, when you squirm on his lap.

"Dabi, you're so mean."

"Oh, I'm mean now? You didn't think I was so mean earlier when I was bashin' in that fucker's face for ya."

Your cheeks flare at the memory and Dabi sneers whenever you bite your lip- gloating, smug, undeniably arrogant over the way your muddy eyes get just that much more hazy at the recollection.

It was some perv- some handsy guy with too much coke up his nose, too much whiskey in his system. He had cornered you when Dabi had went to the bathroom, had grabbed onto you and laughed at your stuttered panic, had tried to run his hands up your skirt. He’d been dumb enough not to keep an eye out for Dabi and god when Dabi had come to find you, he had melted that jerk’s face with a flaming punch.

You can still smell the stink of burning skin. You can still feel the ache in your wrist when Dabi had squeezed onto it tight with a snarl.

A shiver runs through you and you squirm on Dabi’s lap, swallow and dig your teeth deeper into your lip when he runs those piercing eyes of his over you.

“You know, princess,” he drawls, “you never thanked me for that.”

You didn’t? You could have sworn you had...

“I- I’m sorry, Dabi,” you mumble- meek, genuinely apologetic and genuinely upset that you weren’t a good little girl that had thanked him like you should have. “Thank you, Dabi. Thank you for savin’ me.”

A snort, something smug in his eyes, and Dabi takes a draw of his cigarette, blows the smoke out through his nose. You’d almost giggle at it if it weren’t for the way his fingers dig deep enough into your skin that you’re left whimpering instead.

“You’re losin’ those good manners of yours, sweetheart,” he huffs. “Am I gonna have to teach you a lesson?”

A- a lesson? Oh, no no no- not a lesson.

Dabi’s lessons are so cruel. Making you kneel on concrete with a bar of soap jammed in your mouth until you’re sobbing and gagging, puking up bile. Spanking you with a flaming hand until you can’t sit down for a good month. Fucking you in the bar right in front of the League, making you cry out your sins while they watch him scorch his palm prints into your waist.

They’re so cruel.

But you never forget your lessons. You’re always so good after them- so well behaved for him.

Another whimper and you shake your head quickly, get your drunken mind spinning from the desperation. You press up against him and you curl your fingers tight into his shirt, try and fail to keep your lips from wobbling and your eyes from glistening.

“N- no, daddy, please,” you whine, plead. “I- I’m a good girl. I’m sorry- I promise!”

Dabi scoffs, cigarette bobbing in his mouth, and he runs his hand down to your thigh, pushes it up until he can poke his spindly fingers against your panties.

“Yeah? Then why the fuck are you so wet?”

Wet? You’re...are you really wet?

Your eyes widen and you’re left gasping whenever he nudges your panties to the side, when a skinny digit runs along your slit.

“Fuckin’ soaked,” he sneers. “What kinda good girl is this fuckin’ drenched on the subway?”

“D- Daddy-”

Fingers plunge into your mouth and your words get cut off in a gurgle, a garbled whine slips from you as they push down on your tongue, as his rings scrape against the roof of your mouth, as you taste yourself.

Oh- oh you really are wet.

A whimper trembles out around his digits and Dabi’s sneer grows as he plunges his fingers deeper into your mouth.

“Such a little slut,” he mocks. “A bad little girl with a sopping little cunt.”

No! No! You’re not bad! You’re not!

Tears well up in your eyes and drench your lashes faster than they usually do- how can they not when you’re drunk and ashamed? How can they not when Dabi’s fingers jam down so deep in your throat that his knuckles are past your teeth?

You gag- still trying to plead even as you do- and Dabi takes a draw from his cigarette, stabs it out on the empty seat next to him without even looking.

“Oh, baby, you’re just so fuckin’ hopeless, aren’t ya?” he taunts- so sickly fake with his sympathy, with the hollow sweetness in his voice. “You can’t help it, huh? Can’t help being wet for daddy.”

No, you can’t help it. You really, really can’t. Not with the way he’s practically trained you to need him. Not with the way he has you so tightly wrapped around his finger.

You whimper, again, as you try to shake your head and you make yourself gag even harder as you do, make yourself drip tears all down your cheeks and onto your lap.

“Da- Da- Daddy...”

It’s so garbled and pathetic, so hopelessly pitiful. Dabi’s eyes go half-shut as you try to gurgle out your drunken apologies and he clicks his tongue as drool drips down his wrist.

“Messy little skank,” he huffs- this time truly fond in his own rough way. That makes it better, a little, and you sniffle whenever he pulls his fingers from your mouth, cough and spill spit all over you as you try to catch your breath.

Dabi dips his drool drenched fingers under your skirt and you gasp, mewl as they plunge into your cunt, moan so loud it echoes through the empty car whenever he curls his digits deep inside of you.

“Daddy, please!”

A snort, a scoff- Dabi’s lips twist into a smirk right as his wrist does and you collapse against his chest, tremble with a little sob.

“Oh, angel,” he hums, “are you begging me to fuck ya right here? On the subway? Where anyone could get on and see you creaming on my cock?”

Yes? No? You don’t know.

It’s so hard to think with the liquor in your veins. It’s so hard to think with the way his fingers brush against your sweet spot with each curl, each pump he gives them.

It’s so hard to think when Dabi’s disciplined you to go absolutely dumb at just the simplest of touches.

You whimper and a hot huff of air brushes against your cheek, his free hand reaches until he can grab you by the hair, yank your head back until you’re forced to look at him through your bleary eyes.

“I asked you a question, princess,” he drawls- words sharp with a threat, eyes narrowing as you whimper once more.

“I- I- Daddy, I’m sorry...”

Slurred, stupid- at least it has his face flickering into something amused. His fingers still curl tighter in your hair, though, and you sniffle as your cunt clenches around him, as your hips try to stutter against his hand.

“Daddy, please! I want- I want it...”

Dabi snorts and you whine as his fingers slip from you, as he brings them up to his lips and gives them a lick. They’re so shiny even in the dingy light of the subway and seeing those glossy digits has your pussy throbbing, your cheeks flaring, a whimpering mewl crawling out from your throat.

“‘Course you want it,” he drawls, swiping his fingers down your shirt. “But you ain’t going to get it.”

What? But that’s not fair!

Your mouth flies open and tears drip down your cheeks as you try to protest, but Dabi grabs onto your jaw before you can speak so much as a word and he squeezes your face tight, sneers at the squeak that leaves you.

“Maybe at the hideout,” he taunts. “Maybe if you’re a good little girl and show me how thankful you are that I didn’t let that asshole fuck your dumb ass.”

He would have- he wouldn’t have...would he?

A sob from you and Dabi huffs, something softens in his expressions as you warble out a “no, please, ‘m yours” to him in a drunken, pleading whimper. A click of his tongue and his grip on your face loosens before he gives your cheek a wet little smack, before he rolls his eyes at you.

“Oh, shut up,” he grumbles. “As if I’d let anyone fuck my girl.”

His girl...his girl. That’s right- you’re his girl.

You sniffle, still tangled up in your upset, and Dabi clicks his tongue again before shaking his head.

“So pathetic,” he snorts. “Fuckin’ dumb, pretty thing.”

This time when you whimper it’s misty eyed and pleased, full of undying need and accompanied by trembling lips, a rock of your hips. Dabi scoffs, softly, and his hands grip your waist, force you to stillness.

“Be good for daddy,” he tells you- orders you. “Or you won’t get fuckin’ nothin’ but a whuppin’ when we get home.”

You don’t- you don’t want a whuppin’. You can be good.

Sniffling once more, you nod and rest yourself against his chest, nuzzle into his neck with a shuddering little mewl.

“I’ll be good, daddy,” you promise- soft, sincere, words just whiny enough to make him huff. “I promise.”

“That’s my girl.”

A snap of fingers, a deep inhale, the scent of a freshly lit cigarette. You melt into Dabi as he smokes and you close your eyes, let yourself be rocked into something content and almost peaceful by the gentle swaying of the subway car- a smile on your lips and tears drying on your cheeks, your cunt throbbing with more and more need with each passing stop.

[anathtsurugi]

So, Star Wars buddies, y’all remember how I wrote that soulmate AU a couple years back...

Well, When You Pry it From My Cold, Dead Chest is finally getting a continuation. The new story will be posted in about a month as part of @kalluzebminibang‘s mini bang event, but the first chapter is available right now on my Patreon. So if you still remember my odd little story, if it touched your life in some way and you’ve maaaaaybe got a few spare dollars lying around for a rainy day, you can hop on over and be one of the first to see the start of the new fic.

But for now, if you haven’t got the spare change but are still excited for the new story, here’s a little sneak peek at the upcoming You Can Take My heart, You Can Take My Breath.

~*~

 Ever since returning from Mandalore, Kanan had been working with him to try and figure out a way to regain his soulmark. Nothing they'd tried had come anywhere close to succeeding. Zeb still possessed amber in his field of vision, and would occasionally report other flashes of color flickering in and out. So it seemed the problem lay not with him, but with Kallus himself.

 These last few days, he had gone out early in the morning to meet with the Jedi, before he had to be on shift and before Kanan would meet up with Ezra for their own regular training. But this was even earlier than he normally woke. He doubted Kanan would even be awake yet. Even so, he would head out, maybe take a little extra time to get into the necessary head space...

 "I know you're not goin' out at this un-Ashla hour," Zeb grumbled from the bunk just as he finished dressing. "Y'should come back to bed."

 Kallus gave a fond sigh as he crossed the few steps back to the bed, dropping to one knee beside it. "I will do no one any good lying here unable to sleep," he said, leaning down to press a kiss to his partner's lips. "Go back to sleep, my love. I'll return in an hour or so."

 "Mm, there's other things we can do if you can't sleep, y'know," Zeb mumbled, voice thick with sleep.

 "Be reasonable, Garazeb," he started with a small laugh. "We can't have sex every time I can't sleep."

 "We could. It's an option. You're just choosing not to."

 Again Alex laughed, placating his lover with one last kiss. "Maybe so, but you at least require sleep, and if you're a good boy and get enough rest, I promise you can kriff me up against the wall when I get back."

 "Promise?" the Lasat grumbled peevishly as he rolled away from him.

 "Promise."

 "Fine. But I'm holdin' you to that. I don't care how late we are for morning shift."

 "Fair enough," Kallus conceded as he got back to his feet.

 "L'ashkerrir an," Zeb mumbled, barely awake.

 Kallus stopped in the doorway at the sound of those words, feeling that same flutter of unbound joy in his heart as he had the very first time Zeb had spoken them. He hoped it never stopped.

 "And I you...my dearest Zeb," he said softly, adoringly, before allowing the door to slide closed behind him.

 Kallus took no weapons with him when he departed the Ghost, despite every instinct he had always begging him to. The very first time they'd gone out into the jungle, Kanan had insisted he wouldn't need any weapons.

 "Are you crazy?" he'd asked, certain the knight hadn't yet been informed about the local fauna. "Do you have any idea what's out there?"

 Kanan had simply given him a shit-eating grin and offered up cryptically, "Only what you take with you."

 Whatever that meant. Still, Kallus had obeyed, and he had not found cause to doubt Kanan yet. This particular morning was no different, if not a touch earlier than even he rose. The sky had barely begun to lighten as he moved through the dense jungle. He'd likely have had trouble finding his way if he didn't already know where he was going. However, much to his surprise, their usual clearing was not deserted when he arrived.

 "Couldn't sleep?" Kanan asked as Kallus stepped into the circle, clearly having been sitting in meditation for some time already. As had been the case on all the mornings prior, he was not wearing his typical mask.

 "I don't know that I've slept properly since Atollon," he admitted, tired of his own stoic front. He had learned quickly that the knight could read him like a holobook. "Though neither, it seems, could you."

 "Call it a hunch," the Jedi said, nodding to indicate he ought to sit down beside him. "Feel up to contemplating your innermost self this fine morning?"

 "As much as one ever is 'up' for such a task," he conceded as he came to sit beside the man he had previously hunted. "Though Zeb did try to argue that it isn't even properly morning yet."

 "And he was right. Unfortunately for those of us with normal biorhythms, the Force says 'jump' when and where it wants to, so we mortals must abide. Let me see your arm," he said, holding out his hand.

 "See, Kanan?" he joked half-heartedly as he rolled up the sleeve of his jacket, resting his forearm in the Jedi's outstretched hand.

 "I can see better than you can right now," Kanan returned in a similar tone, caught somewhere between joking and serious. Exhaling, he brought his other hand up to run his fingers over the skin where the soulmark had once been, and when he winced at whatever it was he was feeling, Kallus was once again grateful not to be able to feel it.

 "Close your eyes," the Jedi told him.

 Kallus did as he was bid, easily quieting the skeptical voice in his mind that had grown smaller and smaller since he'd watched the inquisitor burn away a piece of his soul.

 "Quiet your mind," Kanan coached him.

 Kallus knew the Jedi had not found it easy to convince him to let go of the tight patterns of control Imperial conditioning had worked him into. He still didn't find it easy to just...let go. To give up control of his mind and his thoughts and allow himself to just...be. The closest he came was his state of mind when engaged in a particularly fierce fight ― the sort where he had gone beyond gauging his opponent and plotting his own moves and had simply become lost in the rhythm of the moment...the dance of it. He couldn't say how much time had passed when he became aware of Kanan's voice again.

 "When you first realized Zeb was your soulmate...what did you feel?"

 "Relief," he answered without having to think about it. "Even though I had tried- to give it up...I had feared that my partner had died soon after Lasan. There was something...freeing...in finally hearing those words spoken aloud."

 "But...?"

 "That relief was immediately followed by anger."

 "Because he was your enemy?"

 "Because I was his."

 "What do you mean?"

 "I think I had always known...from the moment I was able to understand the words on my arm...that there would be enmity between my partner and I. The older I became, the more I was prepared to hate myself...for all of it. When the moment finally came...all I had left was anger...hatred...for him, myself...for the galaxy and everyone in it. I tried to tell myself I'd done the only thing I could do..."

 "But you knew different."

 "Deep down...I suppose...yes. I didn't begin to consider the implications of any of it until after Bahryn...and then everything was happening so quickly...and Zeb was forgiving me everything...even if he shouldn't have done. I loved him...so fiercely in those days. I clung to it when I was weak...in my darkest moments..."

 "And then you were captured."

 Kallus gasped, any response he might've had slipping away from him as the memories pierced his awareness, sharp and unforgiving.

 Thrawn's red eyes...his cruel sneer...

 The inquisitor's chilling voice...her molten, scorching touch as she-

 "NO!" he cries out in anguish, struggling to pull back, to turn away from the horror of it.

 "No. Don't run from this. Stand your ground, Fulcrum," the Jedi's voice comes to him again, firm but not unkind, guiding him in the darkness. "We're so close now."

 So Alex let the memory play out, trembling, but not looking away as he relived his worst moment.

 "It- broke me...when that bond was cut," he recounted, his voice unsteady. "I had bled for it...killed for it...in a way, I had died for it...and they took it from me. As easy as peeling off a glove...they stole a part of my heart from me...the part that was good...that was true and worth saving...the part that Zeb loved. They stole it from me," he hissed, feeling the sting of tears as they pushed their way through his closed eyelids.

 "Do you really believe that?" he heard Kanan asking him. "That the part of you that's worth saving is lost?"

 "Yes," he answered, voice still unsteady, but certain. "I don't- doubt his love...but why should someone as wonderful as Garazeb Orrelios...be bound to such a broken creature as this?" He had taken comfort in Zeb's promises...after Atollon...but did he believe himself worthy of them?

 No.

 "That's it, then."

 Inhaling sharply, Kallus suddenly found himself blinking his eyes open in the grey pre-dawn light to find Kanan now sitting in front of him, unseeing eyes gazing rather pointedly into his. Kallus had to resist the urge to pull back from him.

 "I...what?"

 "That's why you haven't been able to regain your soulmark. It's because you aren't certain you deserve to have it...that you don't want Zeb to be tied to you when, in your view, he has the chance to be free."

 "It- would seem so. Yes," he said quietly, achingly, as he let his gaze drop to the small patch of dirt that separated them.

 "Then there isn't anything I can do to help you," Kanan told him, reaching a hand up to grip his shoulder. "Until you know what it is that the two of you share, that bond won't return."

 Kallus inhaled slowly before giving a long sigh and looking up at the Jedi. "I understand. Thank you for everything you've done."

 "Don't give it up for lost yet, Kallus," Kanan scolded him mildly as he climbed to his feet. "Zeb's a stubborn one. He'll help you scrub out that Imperial mindset. You just need to give him a chance to prove himself. Go back to him. You two can probably get in a little extra time before the day gets going."

 "Right. I'll...catch up with you," he said, voice still little more than a whisper. Not watching Kanan go, the only indication he had that the younger man had done so was the quiet sound of his footfalls.

~*~

Interested yet? Wanna see some more? Come check out the full chapter over on Patreon.

[tloujm]

Part XII: Jackson Manor

Author’s Notes: Here’s my attempt at horror that I promised! Its roughly a week until Halloween, so just in time I guess! MY GOD, DOES TIME FLY. It was just the beginning of October a minute ago, wasn’t it? It’s a long one, just under 9k words, so grab a snack. It features some continuity on the main plot, but really its a stand alone chapter. Because there are multiple other characters mentioned, there is less focus on you and Joel as a couple, but there’s definitely some fluff and angst (grumpy Joel) hidden in there. I know I’m no James Wan or Stephen King, but bear with me. I only did it as a seasonal thing. The next chapter will go back to focusing on you and Joel’s relationship. 

Genre: Cheesy Horror

Summary: Maria puts together a specially curated group for the next patrol outing that includes you and Joel. The group of five are sent on a mysterious treasure hunt of sorts. The “treasure” is inside of a creepy, abandoned house that plays tricks on the group, fueling into the already existing tensions. 

Ship: Joel x Reader

Joel watched on with tired eyes as you sat with the newcomer at the daycare. You got up early so you could talk to her. So far, the girl remained silent, but her body language was responsive. Joel just stood there, unsure of when a good time to interrupt and steal you away would be. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait too long as you finally caught his gaze. After a moment, you excused yourself and walked over to him standing in the doorway. 

“Maria has us scheduled to patrol today.” He said.

“Us? Together? Well, that’s a treat. You usually do the tougher routes. Am I going on one of those with you, or are you doing an easy one with me?”

He shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not quite sure. Maria didn’t say much after she told me to come fetch you.”

“Maybe they think I’m ready for something more challenging.”

“I think so, but what’s strange is that she’s got us goin’ out with a couple other people who I don’t think are.” Joel said, scratching his beard.

“Who’s all going?” You asked.

“Tim, Rhonda and uh, Jesse.” He replied. He was less than enthused with the last name that exited his mouth. While he was civil with Jesse, he still couldn’t help but feel like he had a thing for you, whether you acknowledged it or not.

“Jesse’s a veteran, but Tim?” You made a face. “And Rhonda?” You made a slightly more exaggerated face. “Did Maria say why she chose all of us to go together?”

“Didn’t get the chance to ask. We’re meant to meet her at the stables. That’s where she’s debriefing us.”

*****

“Thank you all for meeting me for this patrol on such short notice. I know this is everyone’s day off.” Maria began. You and the others were seated on bales of hay as she paced in front of the stable doors. “I hand picked each of you to work together and complete the task at hand. I drew up copies of a special map that came into my possession a little while ago.” She handed them out. “Outside the city of Jackson, there is a little village...smaller than that really, that is not located on any published map. I want you guys to check it out and report back on it. Note everything. More specifically, I want this team to sweep through a large house over that way. You’ll know it when you see it. According to the original map, ‘the exterior is dark, almost black, three stories high and overshadowed by a massive pine tree’. I was tipped off that the house was used as a supply cache for the Jackson Frontier Faction, a recently extinct group of survivors. Bring back anything you can. Leave what you can’t and we’ll come back for it. Update the map if need be during your journey. Any questions?”

“How long do you think this mission will take?” Jesse asked.

“I don’t want you to spend too much time out there, but I estimate no more than three days. That’s including the time to get there and back on the horses. If you are not back by then, I will send a search and rescue team.” Maria responded confidently.

“No offense, but why did you pick us? We’ve never worked together as a group before.” Joel spoke up.

“True, I do not have the advantage of seeing your group dynamic, but there is method behind my way of thinking. Each of you have a specific skill set that I believe would simultaneously compliment each other as well as make the group superior to our previous patrols. Joel, you are an excellent shot and an exceptional tracker. Jesse, as well as your combat skills, you have a great sense of direction, even in the most foreign of environments, and you think outside the box. (Y/N), I know you have trained under both Joel and Tommy and I have seen your melee combat in person. I trust that you are ready for a more difficult route such as this. I also appreciate your level headedness. Keeping calm during dangerous situations can be the difference between life and death. Now as for Tim and Rhonda. I know the two of you have never been on patrol before, so I especially thank you for agreeing to this. I wish I could have introduced you to this job with a more novice route. Tim is our medic in training and has been Dr. Carson’s right hand and apprentice for over a year now. He will be there to aid in any medical relief.” She turns her attention to Tim. “If you ever need any assistance, (Y/N) is trained in first aid.” He looks at you for a long moment. You return the gaze, realizing that you’d never formally met him before. “Rhonda, you are great at your job taking inventory at the pantry. Now, you are the group’s official scribe and your job is to take inventory of the things collected. I’ve also seen how good you draw. I would like you to note the environment and work with Jesse in drawing up a new map. Also, I want you to record things of interest through writing and drawing.” Maria gives her a journal. “I would have had you all wait until the first sign of spring, but we are in desperate need of certain supplies. To be honest, this is an experiment, having all of you in a group together, but I still have high expectations. Please, do not disappoint me. We are all counting on you. Have a safe trip.” Maria left to tend to some business at the main gate.

“I think we should go over this map she gave us so we can all be on the same page.” Jesse suggested.

Joel grunted in agreement. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.” You began to push the bales to form a circle. The others followed suit and Jesse placed his map in the middle. Before you could take a seat, you felt a tap on your shoulder.

“Hi, I’m Tim.” He began to laugh nervously. “I’m sure you know that because of Maria, but I wanted to introduce myself. I didn’t want my asking you to apply pressure on somebody’s wound be the first time I talk to you.”

“Nice to meet you, Tim. (Y/N).” You shook his hand.

“I’ve heard a lot about you actually.” He responded.

“Oh?” You questioned genuinely.

“Yeah. Everyone knows about that bloater you and Joel ran into. And I was there helping Dr. Carson handle the bodies when the two of you found Sid and Adam. I just want to let you know, I think you’re very brave.”

A grin slowly grew on your face. “Thank you. I’m sure you are too, having to deal with blood and whatever gory things you see in the infirmary.”

He brushed past the compliment. “No more gory than what you guys see on patrol when you run into clickers and bloaters. The way the Cordycep fungus disfigures the body is something from a nightmare.” You nodded in agreement. Joel watched on from his seat as the two of you conversated. Eventually, he cleared his throat, causing you to turn and see that everyone else was seated and ready to go over the map. Tim’s cheeks turned red as he gave you a small smile before sitting.

“Nice of you to join us.” Joel whispered after you sat next to him. You nudged him in the shoulder and focused on Jesse’s words. 

After agreeing on a specific route in accordance to the weather conditions, the group picked up their respective horses and headed to the main gate. Maria and Bill from weaponry passed out a plethora of guns and knives. Joel and Jesse led the way out into the open with a couple clicks of their tongues. Everybody's horses galloped behind. It was cold and the snow was fairly high, but light enough to dredge through. 

Tim gently kicked his horse in the rear to gallop faster and catch up with you. “So how do you think Maria found out about this place?”

“I don’t know. Must have been one of the merchants who passed through a few weeks ago. If this place was discovered by someone inside Jackson, all of the patrol groups would have known by now. For Maria to be the only one who knew and had a map?”

“Do you think it actually exists?” He asked.

“The house?”

“The whole village.” He confirmed. “Maybe a merchant made up the location with the hopes of convincing someone of a known cache supply, like a treasure map, and had the intentions of charging a high price for it.”

“Maria is smart. She wouldn’t have let anyone get over on her, especially a merchant.” You defended her. 

“I’m sure you’re right. What do you think is going to be in there?” Tim asked casually. 

You shrugged. “Food. Hopefully not molded or eaten through by rats. Medical supplies. Seeds for the spring. Could be anything.”

“So long as it’s worth it.”

“She wouldn’t have sent us if it wasn’t.” Things fell silent between the two of you. You thought about riding off to the front next to Joel, but figured it was rude to just leave him.

“You and Joel,” He began before clearing his throat. “You guys patrol a lot together?”

“We used to. Not so much anymore. Matter of fact, this is the first time we’ve been assigned to the same group in about a year.”

“Why is that?” Tim questioned.

“It was this whole thing.” You explained it away, not wanting to get into detail. He kept looking at you as if he was waiting for you to expand on the response. “We just got busy doing different things. I help out at the daycare too, you know.”

“Yeah? I know Wendy. She brings the kids by the infirmary from time to time for check ups. I traded for a pack of stickers a while back. I give them out to help put a smile on the kids’ faces when they come in. You know, a lot of them get nervous around doctors. My stickers don’t stand a chance against Joel's wooden toys though.”

“You know about those?”

“Of course. They come in holding the little horses or race cars kind of like a blankie. So...speaking of Joel, you two are together, right?”

“Yes, we are.”

He nodded. “He’s more than lucky, I’d say.” He waited until you turned and held his gaze before bidding you a goodbye. He slowed down his horse to ride alongside Rhonda. After a moment, you rode up next to Joel. You offered him a small smile, to which he returned the same.

“What did he want?” Joel nodded his head back in Tim’s direction.

“He was talking about Maria and this mission. He seems skeptical about the whole thing.”

“I don’t blame him, but I trust Maria. What else did he say?” Joel inquired.

“We were just getting to know each other. Small talk really.” You responded. You seldom saw Joel jealous, but you didn’t want him to get into a funky mood when there was a mysterious task at hand to focus on.

“The winds picking up, you feel that?” Jesse chimed. The two of you nodded.

“Yeah. I hope we find this place soon.” You shouted over the howling winds.

“According to the map, there's still a ways to go. Let’s just hope the weather doesn’t get any worse than this.”

Unfortunately for the group, not only did the winds pick up, but it got cloudier, blocking the sun’s warmth. It was hard to tell whether it was snowing or if the wind was just blowing around what had already fallen. Either way, the visibility got progressively lower by the second. At one point, you had become separated from Joel. The only people you could see were Tim and Rhonda. Joel was alone; nothing but white around him. He shouted your name over and over, but the frigid air entering his lungs began to hurt. His horse started to slow down as it became harder for her to gallop through it. Joel had been separated from the group for so long that he thought he was going crazy when he heard crunching in the snow from behind. He heard his name, but it wasn’t from your voice. Jesse came up from behind him. Despite the cold air whipping his face, he seemed happy to see Joel.

“Where are we?” Joel shouted.

“I don’t know, but we have to find somewhere soon. These horses won’t make it.” Jesse replied.

“Did you see (Y/N)?” Joel asked.

“I don’t know where anybody is.” Jesse pulled his hood back over his head. “The storm’s getting worse. Should we turn back?”

“No!” He shouted over the winds. “We came as a group, we leave as a group.”

“What if they already turned back? They’re probably assuming that we’re going to too.” Jesse pleaded.

“I’m not leaving without (Y/N).” Joel retorted. “We just need to find cover to wait out the storm and go on from there.” Jesse quietly followed his lead. There seemed to be no shelter in sight. If there were, they were masked by the white wall of snow directly in front of them. Joel was contemplating pulling out his map and risking it against the wind to estimate how far they rode from their last known point. Just as he began to pull it out,  a big dark building came into view.

“That must be it!” Jesse exclaimed.

“This way!” Joel noticed a large opening on the side of the house. As he galloped closer, he realized it was the opened door of an attached shed. The men ducked their heads as the horses walked them inside.

“Joel!” You exclaimed, voice laced in relief. He immediately looked your way and his heart skipped a beat. He was so worried. You approached his horse and waited for him to dismount before you attacked him with a tight hug. “You’re so cold.” All you wanted to do was strip him down and warm him up.

“Well, it is cold outside.” He responded sarcastically. You lightly slapped him on the arm before moving onto Jesse. You gave him a quick hug and helped tie down both of the horses.

“We’re glad you’re back.” Rhonda announced as she entered the shed. Tim followed close behind her.

“Good. The gang’s all here.” Jesse said.

“We wouldn’t have been if we hadn’t convinced (Y/N) to stay.” Tim began. “She insisted on going back out for you guys when we saw that you weren’t here. We told her that it was too dangerous, but she insisted. Practically had to hold her back.” He chuckled.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t.” Joel said flatly to Tim.

Breaking up the tension, Jesse spoke up. “Did you guys clear the house?”

“Only the first floor. There’s two more floors, not including the basement.” Rhonda responded.

“Alright, Jesse, Rhonda and Tim. Y’all sweep the top floors for Clickers. Me and (Y/N) will board up them windows over there.” Joel points to the wind entering through the broken glass. Jesse nodded and pulled out his gun. The others did the same.

“Y’all know how to use those things?” Jesse questioned them. Joel didn’t see or hear their answer as he was focused on you.

“Are you okay?” You asked him.

“I’m fine, darlin’. What about you?” He asked with a soft tone.

“I’m good now.” You smiled. He tilted your chin up with his still gloved hand and kissed you. He let his forehead rest on yours for a moment before straightening back up.

“Alright, let’s find some wood or somethin’.” Joel’s body was weary, but he didn’t want to rest until the house was secured. You couldn’t find any tools to board the windows up with, so the two of you settled on barricading them with large furniture. It wasn’t until you were done, did you realize how big the house was. 

“This isn’t just some house, it’s like a manor.” You commented. “Almost reminds me of that hotel.” The last part you said almost in a whisper.

“This ain’t gonna be like the hotel.” Joel tried to comfort you.

“How do you know?” You furrowed your brows.

“Well, how about this, I’ll make you breakfast in bed the morning after we get back if there are zero bloaters in this house...I’m sorry, manor.”

“Well aren’t you naughty, implying that I’ll stay the night when we get back.” You teased, changing the mood of the conversation.

“I’m implying that you’ll consider moving back in.” He gazed at you, all playfulness left behind.

“If you still agree to make me that breakfast in bed, I will.” You replied coyly.

“It’s settled then.” Joel smirked. 

The two lovebirds had just begun to feel each other up when the rest of the group came back downstairs. They would have been caught if it weren’t for Jesse’s heavy footsteps. He gave the all clear but claimed he saw something of interest upstairs and wanted Joel’s opinion. Rhonda, wanting to take note of whatever it was, tagged along with them as they went up to the third floor. With just you and Tim left alone, the two of you agreed to scavenge the second floor.

“Oh wow, look at this!” You walked up to a bookcase in one of the bedrooms. It was tightly stocked with classical literature with matching book spines. 

“Lord of the Flies, The Secret Garden, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy…”  Tim followed your voice into the room and read some of the titles from over your shoulder. “Quite the eclectic collection.”

“Oh look! One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” You pointed out.

“Ah, Nurse Ratched. She creeped me out. Almost didn’t finish it because of her.”

“You read it?” You asked.

“Don’t sound so surprised.” He chuckled. “I’m a well read man. It's funny, I’ve read more after the outbreak than before.”

Turning back to the bookshelf, you crouched down and ran your finger across the spines. “Look how dusty these are. They look like they haven’t been touched in years. That Jackson Frontier Faction, or whatever Maria said they were called, probably never even touched these.” You continued to read the titles before eventually picking up a book that peaked your interest. “Charlotte Bronte.” You breathed out her name as you flipped the cold, leather book in your hands. “Jane Eyre is one of my favorites. I never wanted to like all that mushy, gushy romantic stuff, but in the end, it appealed to me. You know, sometimes I think of Joel as kind of like my Mr. Rochester because he can be so grumpy at times. Don’t tell him I said that, though.” You chuckled as you turned to face Tim, but he was no longer there. 

The large bedroom was empty and you began to notice just how eerily still the air was. You calling out to him was the only sound. You waited for an answer to no prevail. Turning back to the bookshelf, you placed Jane Eyre back in its slot. With a light, barely there click, the door behind you closed. Slowly, you turned to face it. A sense of dread washed down your body as you got up and walked to the door. Your eyes cautiously bounced around as you did, looking for anything abnormal. It was wide open when the two of you walked into the room. Your hand reached out for the door knob and, barely touching it, the round thing of metal fell onto the floor and rolled around your feet. 

“Hey.” You exclaimed as you banged on the door. “Tim, the doorknob broke off. Let me out.” Your brain allowed you to think that it was all just a prank masterminded by Tim. “You got me, but it’s not funny anymore.” You began to bang louder. You heard the echoes of your fist against the wooden door, but again, he did not respond. “Tim?” You banged harder. “Help!”

“(Y/N), step away from the door.” You heard Joel’s voice on the other side. He gave you a few seconds before kicking the door in. It only took him one try before the door swung in and you were revealed to him. He pulled you into a tight hug. “You alright?” He kissed the top of your head. “How did you get locked in?”

“I’m ok---” 

As soon as he heard that you were fine, he began to bombard you with questions. “You sure? Weren’t you with Tim? Where is he?”

“Yeah, Tim was there for a moment. Look, it was probably just a draft that closed the door on me.” You wanted to believe that. 

“That still don’t change that he should’ve been with you.” Joel sternly said. Jesse watched and waited in the hallway until Joel took your hand and led you out the room. “Tim!” He called out as he sped down the stairs.

“Hey, we’ve been waiting on you guys.” Tim casually stated.

“Well, guess who’s been waitin’ on you.” Joel retorted. He glanced at you before glaring back at him.

“Wait, I don’t get it.” Tim said, confused.

“(Y/N) was locked in a room upstairs. A room both of you were meant to be in.” Joel’s voice became more aggressive.

“I don’t know how she got locked in. I didn’t do it, I swear, if that’s what you’re saying. I left it open when I walked out.” He shifted his gaze to you. “I thought you were right behind me, (Y/N). I heard Rhonda call out from downstairs and---”

“Yeah that’s true,” Rhonda began as she leaned back on an end table. “I went downstairs to look for my pencil sharpener because my tip broke and I called you guys down to keep me company. I don’t know if it’s just me, but this place kinda creeps me out. I didn’t want to be down here by myself and I know Joel and Jesse were busy upstairs so...”

“I’m sorry, (Y/N). I swear I thought you heard her too and were following me.”

“She was up there for God knows how long. You didn’t notice when you got downstairs that she wasn’t behind you? Did you even tell her that you were leaving the room?” Joel questioned him.

“Well, I mean no,” Tim began to stammer. “But that was because I thought she heard her too! I didn’t notice that she wasn’t behind me until about a minute after I got downstairs. She was having a good time looking at those books in the room, I figured maybe she ignored Rhonda and kept looking or maybe went upstairs with you guys. Look, she’s an adult! I assumed she made the decision herself not to come down. It’s not like she’s some lost child that I have to look out for!”

“She may not be a child, but we look out for each other beyond them gates. You may not be used to how patrollin’ works, but they put us in groups for a reason. Anythin’ can happen out here!” Joel explained.

“Ok, let's take a breather.” Jesse spoke up to relieve the tension. “(Y/N) is fine and that’s all that matters.” Jesse was not immune from Joel’s heated glares either. 

“You didn’t hear me calling for you?” You asked Tim in a low tone.

“No.” He simply said in an apologetic tone. You didn’t know what else to say. It was probably really all just a harmless mistake. You concluded that you didn’t hear Rhonda over your own voice when you were rambling on about Jane Eyre.

“Let’s just make sure we communicate better next time, huh?” Jesse suggested, focusing in on Tim.

A sudden, blood curdling shriek cut through the air. It belonged to Rhonda. She flailed about the living room, shaking tiny black dots off of her hand. It was hard to see as she moved quickly, but the black dots were crawling up her arm. Jesse stepped in and began swatting her with a blanket off of the couch. Her feet hopped up and down from the floor like a choreographed dance. Even after Jesse asked her to stand still to inspect her, she kept moving. Joel stepped in to gently hold her still. She whined in protest, claiming that they were still crawling on her. Tim took the time to thoroughly look over her body for anything that moved. He even raked his fingers through her hair. Jesse walked over to the end table that she was leaning against and investigated.

“There’s a sac of spider eggs directly behind one of the table’s legs. You probably broke them when you leaned against it, releasing all those baby spiders.” Jesse explained calmly.

“They could have crawled anywhere! Why did they have to go for my hand?” Rhonda asked rhetorically.

Still Jesse answered. “Maybe they were crawling toward the scent of their mother.”

“Are you saying they thought I was their mother?”

“I’m saying that the mother must still be around here close by.”

“God! I hate spiders!” Rhonda exclaimed. “I told you this house gives me the creeps. I can’t be the only one who thinks this.”

“Spiders are everywhere, Rhonda. I didn’t see any bites, so you should be alright.” Tim chimed in. 

“What were you guys checking out on the third floor?” You asked Jesse and Joel as a way to change the subject. 

“It ended up bein’ nothing.” Joel said curtly. He saw your dissatisfaction with his answer and sighed. “It turned out to be a couple of dead rats. They were frozen.”

“We haven’t gone down to the basement yet. I think we should make sure it’s clear before we start really scavenging.” Jesse made notice of the oversight. “It’s really cold in here. Can’t we make a fire first?” Tim spoke up.

“I’ll stay and make one here.” Jesse volunteered. “Tim, since you want one so bad, you can stay back and help me with it.” He turned to Joel. “Y’all can go ahead. Let us know if you run into trouble.” Joel nodded and led you and Rhonda down the basement stairs. The temperature dropped almost immediately after making it to the sub level. 

The three of you pulled your respective weapons out and cautiously walked across the cold cement floor. The large basement was divided by metal shelving units. There was no space left on any of them. It seemed like whoever owned the house before the outbreak was a hoarder. The snow blocked out any light from peering through the narrow windows. The only thing guiding the three of you were your flashlights. 

“What’s that?” Rhonda spoke up. It fell silent, but everyone heard it. It was a drawn out creaking followed by a deep rumble that sounded as if it moved across the whole basement.”

“It’s just the house settling.” Joel simply said.

“That’s what they all say. Feeling a draft when there’s no wind. Hearing doors slam in the next room. Oh, but it’s just the house settling.” Rhonda responded.

“Well, did you hear a door slam or feel a draft?” Joel inquired, almost wishing he hadn’t.

“No, but now that you mention it, it’s colder down here than upstairs. This is probably one big cold spot.”

“It’s always colder in basements.” You tried to reason.

The creaking sound occurred again. “Look,” Joel flashed his light up toward the ceiling and moved it along the direction of the pipes. “Whatever water is left in the pipes from when they were last used is freezing which means it’s expanding. As the ice grows, it’s pushing against the walls of the metal pipes.”

Rhonda looked up at the frost covering the illuminated pipes. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Come look at this.” You beckoned them over. You had found a table covered in a sheet and after whispering some encouraging words to yourself, you pulled it off.

“What is it?” Joel asked.

“It’s an orrery.” You breathed out. Despite your amazement, he was no closer to knowing what it was. As a matter of fact he was more confused. Rhonda took out her notebook and began to draw it.

“Its a mechanical model of the solar system.” You explained. To Joel, it just looked like different sized spheres positioned in a circle.

“They don’t look like planets to me.” He said.

“This isn’t the most extravagant one I’ve ever seen, but it’s something.” You walked around the table, studying the spheres. “See, right here, this one is the sun,” You pointed. “Which makes this one Earth.”

“Really makes you feel small, don’t it.” Joel chimed. 

“I know we won’t be able to take this now, but this would be great for school. The kids would love this. Teach them about how space works.” You said.

Joel studied it a little bit longer before moving on to see what were on the shelves. As soon as Rhonda was done drawing, she did the same. You threw the sheet back over the model before continuing on as well. Most of the items were either junk or rotted with mold. On one of the lower shelves, you found a small hand mirror. The base was ornate in design, but the glass itself was dull and cracked. You held it up to your face, angling it in your hands. Something moved in the corner near the crack. You didn’t pay the occurrence much mind until it happened again. You saw something in your peripheral vision that couldn’t be explained away by the house settling. Turning around, you inspected the area of interest in the dark. Everything was still. Whatever it was that moved, maybe it knew that you were watching it, so it stopped. You stood still, hoping to blend into the darkness as well. Maybe you could catch it moving before your very eyes if you just waited long enough. Your heart thumped in your chest as you began to fiddle with the switch on your flashlight. Quickly, you illuminated the space in front of you only to reveal nothing but boxes stacked up against the wall and another item covered in a sheet. Carefully, you approached the cloaked object and ripped the fabric off. You jumped out of your skin at the sight before you. 

A shaky breath escaped your lips as you turned around. “You scared the shit outta me!” You told Joel. He was standing behind you when you pulled the sheet off of a standing mirror. Your light reflecting off the glass masked some of his features and for a moment, you didn’t know exactly who was standing behind you.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, darlin’.” He said. This time it was your turn to glare at him. You knew it wasn’t his fault, but your heart was still beating out your chest. “I just came up to check on you. I saw you wandering around in the dark.”

“I’m fine. I just...I thought I----” You stammered through your explanation before being cut off by a loud thump. It went eerily silent. “Rhonda?” 

“Rhonda.” Joel called out as well. There was no response. The two of you searched up and down the makeshift aisles that the shelving units created. You called out for her again. 

“She has to still be down here.” You mentioned.

“Think she pulled a Tim?” Joel suggested.

“No, she wouldn’t do that. God, how is this basement so huge?” He led you to a tunnel-like portion of the room. “Rhonda!” Your light shone on her unmoving form on the ground. You and Joel kneeled beside her. Upon closer inspection, you found blood slowly dripping out from the back of her head. The back of her hair was matted in a mixture of gravelly dirt and the dark red liquid. Joel got back up and flashed his light around the narrow space to see what could have happened.

“Looks like she hit her head on this.” Joel commented. You followed the direction of his light and saw a stack of cement blocks against the wall. The top block had fresh blood painted on the side of it.

“Go get Tim. He needs to help her!” You were scared for her. The blood wasn’t coming out at an excessive rate, but there was still a lot more than you wanted to see on the ground underneath her head. 

Joel began to leave in a hurry, but stopped in his tracks. “Be careful, (Y/N). This is what she must have slipped on.” He said as he shone his light on a patch of black ice on the ground. He moved the light higher and inspected the pipes directly above his head. A frozen over droplet formed around a tiny crack in the cylindrical piece of metal. 

You were scared as you sat alone with her in the basement. Her lips were turning blue and you couldn’t tell if it was because she was dying or because it was really cold down there. You wanted to believe the latter. Either way, she needed to be moved. After what felt like five long minutes, Tim came rushing into the narrow section where you waited. You screamed for him to be careful around the ice. He hopped over the patch and knelt down by Rhonda’s side to assess her head injury. He managed to wake her back up, though she was slipping in and out of consciousness. Tim gently picked her up and walked her upstairs to where the fire was going. Jesse laid a blanket down on the floor in preparation for her. 

There, in the middle of the living room floor, Tim treated Rhonda. He diagnosed her as having obtained a severe concussion. He elevated her bandaged head and gave her a pain killer to swallow. He practically swaddled her in the extra blankets to discourage sudden movement. 

“I’m going to help her eat so her medicine can digest properly. After that, I’m going to ask her a set of basic questions just to see where her brain and motor functions are. Nothing major; her brain definitely needs some time to heal. Despite falling unconscious, the blunt force trauma doesn’t seem to have caused any swelling or permanent brain damage, but like I said, I still have to evaluate her and see where she’s at.” Tim explained. The four of you were huddled together on the other side of the living room to make sure she was out of ear shot.

“If you’re gonna look after her, I reckon the rest of us should finish scavenging. The faster we do this, the faster we can get back home where she can better rest.” Joel stated.

“Given the storm ends soon.” Jesse spoke up.

While the three went up the stairs, Tim went over to his backpack to review his medical supplies. As he rummaged, a drawn out creak sounded from the kitchen. He glanced in the direction of the room despite not being able to see inside. A few moments of silence was followed by a loud bang. Tim glanced back toward the kitchen again. This time, he moved closer to the fire, giving him a better view into the room. His heartbeat quickened as he peaked around the corner. From his angle, nothing suspicious could be seen. He exchanged a worried glance with Rhonda before looking at the staircase. He wanted to see if anybody upstairs had heard. If not coming down to investigate, he figured they would at least shout out to them and ask if they were ok, but there was nothing. 

“I’m going to go see what that was.” Tim said to Rhonda.

“Please don’t.” She replied weakly.

“It’ll be fine, I promise.” 

“No, no, no.” She profusely shook her head. Tim read her face, he knew that she was sincerely frightened, but if there was an impending danger, he needed to know where it was. I would only be gone for a moment, he told her in his head. He pulled his gaze from her and turned the corner. The kitchen appeared completely normal. He was confused. The sound was so close; it had to have come from the kitchen. As a precaution, Tim went into the laundry room located right off the kitchen. 

“(Y/N)? Come here. Wait with me.” Rhonda spoke up, barely above a whisper. She didn’t hear you come down the stairs, but you were in the living room nonetheless. It was good timing as she was too scared to be by herself. “Please?” You hadn’t so much as looked in Rhonda’s direction. You just walked from one end of the room and down the hallway, disappearing from her view. “(Y/N)?”

Rhonda waited for you to come back down the hall. This time you’d be facing her and surely she’d be able to get your attention. Despite calling out again, you never did. Left to her own devices, Rhonda began to think about what you wore when the group left Jackson. She couldn’t completely remember, but the more she thought on it, the more she realized what you wore just a moment ago was different from what you wore earlier today. She never did get a good look at that woman’s face, but she thought it was you by the color of your hair and the height. She wanted it to be you. A wave of shivers ran down her spine as the realization sat in. 

You, Jesse and Joel split up the rooms upstairs to cover more ground, but decided to stay on the same floor to avoid a repeat of what happened earlier. As soon as you were done searching your room, you moved on to the next only to find Jesse. He called you over from the doorway but shushed you as you walked in. You noticed that it was a grand bedroom, similar to the one you were locked in on the second floor. You walked past the four post bed and stood next to him. His ear was to the wall.

“Tell me if it’s coming from here.” Jesse whispered. You heard a faint scratching sound, but it could have been from anything inside the old house. Standing next to him, you mirrored his position and let your ear rest against the cold wall. The scratching sound became more clear as it mingled with a slow, yet distinct clicking sound. The two of you stared at each other. You silently expressed to him that you did in fact hear what he was hearing. You read the question in his eyes, unsure of how to answer: what was behind these walls? This was the last room in the hallway, so there wasn’t much space for anything else. You began to walk backwards with your ear sliding against the wall to follow the sound. Jesse followed your footsteps. When you stopped, there was no more than a half foot distance between you two.

“It’s right here. Right on the other side.” You whispered. Jessed nodded. Subconsciously, you held your breath and stayed like that for a few moments. Suddenly, you jumped at a new sound echoing through the room. It was Joel clearing his throat as he glared between you and Jesse from the doorway.

“What’s this?” Joel asked in a less than impressed tone. His arms were crossed as he walked in further. You hadn’t realized how the proximity in which you stood to Jesse looked from another view point. You knew Joel wasn’t the happiest camper around Jesse, but you also knew that you hadn’t done anything wrong. Quietly, you placed a finger to your lips and pleaded for his silence with your eyes. As he walked closer, you could tell by the curiosity in his face that he heard it too. He made a move to stand in between the two of you, prompting the other man to walk away from the wall. “It’s probably termites or rats. This house is old and falling apart. There’s no tellin’ how many little openings there are.”

“With all due respect, I don’t think it’s rats this time.” Jesse disagreed. “I think we should investigate.”

“What good would that do? There’s nothing beyond these walls! You’ve seen it; there's nothing but the outside. If it ain’t rats, then what is it? We ain’t here to play ghost hunter, alright? We’re meant to be lookin’ for them supplies.” Joel argued. His attention was geared at Jesse, but when there was no rebuttal, he turned to look at you only to find a hint of disappointment in your face.

“Who knows how long we’re gonna be stuck in this house. We may as well while we’re here.” You said. Much to Joel’s dislike, you sided with Jesse. With an exasperated sigh, he agreed under the condition that it wouldn’t take long.

The three of you walked around the room, looking for clues such as holes in the walls for rodents to scurry through. It didn’t take long for you to find a draft coming from behind the armoire. It was as if the large piece of furniture was blocking an opening. The two men moved it out the way to find that it was blocking a crawl space. With the opening exposed, the scratching and clicking became clearer. The three of you were hesitant, knowing that whatever it was making that sound, it was through that small, dark space. You glanced between the two men before volunteering to go in first. You were the smallest, you argued, and could best fit through. Crouching down, you saw that the large hole in the wall was like a tunnel to something deeper in the house but that it also passed the interior of the wall. You let out a deep breath and began to crawl with a knife in your right hand.

With your body only 3/4ths of the way in, you came face to face with the origin of those sounds. You removed your flashlight from your waist and shined it on the clicker. It was so disfigured that you concluded that it had turned many years ago. Remaining completely still, you watched as it slowly clawed at the wall. The scene before you was so abnormal. Never had you seen a clicker move so slow. You eyed the way it was positioned between the walls. It could have found its way out easily if it wanted to. Living for years after the outbreak, you observed how the fungal parasite used its host cleverly to spread its disease. It had probably been there for so long, blocked by the armoire, that its blood lust fell dormant. You continued to watch as its mouth slowly opened to release a few clicking sounds before closing again. You were afraid that as soon as any sudden movements were made, a switch would flip in whatever was left of the  clicker’s brain and it would begin attacking you. While silently weighing your choices, Joel and Jesse noticed that you hadn’t moved for minutes and asked if you were ok at the same time. He gave the younger man a glare before refocusing on your well being. Your eyes immediately went back to the clicker to see if it was disturbed by the sudden sound. Normally, all it took was the tiniest sound of a human voice to activate their savage nature. You watched and waited, but nothing different happened. You let out a deep breath and told the guys you were ok. Despite the thing being closer than you would have liked, it was an easy kill. You told them what had happened before carrying on through the crawl space. The tunnel spilled out into a secret room. It was as big as a walk-in pantry closet or a janitor room. Before you stood up, you shouted behind you for them to follow. It was a tight squeeze, but they did it.

The group had already scavenged valuable odds and ends throughout the house, but this was the jackpot. The walls were lined with nonperishable foods and cases of bottled water stacked up as tall as Joel. Jesse broke the lock on a heavy duty trunk to find it full of weapons and ammunition. There was another trunk with other survival tools like batteries, matches and medical supplies raided from a hospital. The three of you donned huge smiles at the amount of supplies that was discovered. With Rhonda injured, you pulled out your own notebook and marked everything that was inside the room while the other two filled their bags up to the brim to take what they could.

Downstairs in the laundry room, Tim found nothing out of the ordinary. It made no sense to him. Was it all a prank; something the rest of the group was doing to initiate him into the patrol job? Or was it all in his head? He knew it wasn’t that; he wasn’t crazy. Just as he turned to walk back into the kitchen, he heard the loud bang again. It came from the same place he investigated just moments ago.

“Rhonda, did you hear…” He shouted out as he walked into the kitchen. He stopped mid sentence when he saw the disarray before him. All the drawers were pulled out and all the cabinet doors were opened. His body froze in fear. The only thing that moved were his eyes as he watched a mouse scurry between the cupboards. For no good reason at all, he was overcome with a feeling to not look behind him as if there was something there waiting to reveal itself in the laundry room.

“Tim!” Joel shouted from the living room. He was still scared, but hearing his voice snapped him out of that debilitating fear. Quickly, he made his way out the kitchen. Without warning Joel pushed him against the living room wall and held his arm against Tim’s throat to keep him in place. “Where the hell were you?” Joel asked aggressively. “We come down here to find Rhonda crying and bleeding through her bandages.” Tim’s eyes, bulged out, danced across the room before landing on the wounded woman. You were holding her in your arms.

“C’mon. Ease up. He gets it.” Jesse gently rested his hand on Joel’s shoulder.

“No, I don’t think he does.” He replied over his shoulder before looking back at Tim. “When you said you were gonna look after her, I figured you meant it. I thought we’d been over this, Tim.” He glared daggers into the medic’s eyes, but he was only met back with fear. Assuming that he was the cause, Joel finally let go. Tim scurried to another corner of the living room to gather himself. 

“I saw her...it...whatever that thing was!” Rhonda spoke up raspily. “I called out to her, thinking it was you. I thought you’d left me, but then she came back. Not once did she look at me, but she paced the living room and each time she walked back, she got closer to me. I told her to stay away, but she didn’t listen; she kept coming closer. I tried to crawl away, but I got dizzy and my vision got blurry.” She began to weep again. “So I closed my eyes and counted to ten, like my Nana taught me when I was little. Then I heard you guys come down the stairs. When I opened my eyes, all I saw was you. The real you. She was gone. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Rhonda.” Tim hoarsely apologized. “I...I was gone because there was this sound. A huge bang. You guys didn’t hear that?” Joel only offered a blank glare while you and Jesse shook your heads. “It had come from the kitchen. It was only right there, so I figured it was close enough for me to see what it was. Just in and out.”

“Well, it wasn’t in and out was it?” Joel questioned.

“That’s the thing. When I went into the kitchen, I couldn’t find anything out of place; nothing to have made such a noise.”

“I told you not to go in there.” Rhonda said in a low tone.

“I saw that there was another room right off of the kitchen. I decided to investigate that while I was in there. I meant to be quick.” Tim explained, meeting no one’s eyes in particular. “I...I...I swear to you, my back was to the kitchen, and when I turned back around, the whole thing was a mess.” You continued to hold Rhonda as she shivered while Jesse and Joel rounded the corner into the kitchen. Things were a mess, yes, but in the way a house this dilapidated would be.

“I don’t get it.” Jesse whispered to Joel.

“I know you couldn’t have expected this place to be immaculate.” Joel said to Tim. The medic followed them into the kitchen and looked around with his mouth agape.

“It wasn’t like this. The...the cabinet doors were open! All of them! And the drawers. All pulled out! I mean what could have done that all at once in the matter of seconds?”

“Your mind maybe.” Jesse answered. 

Tim shook his head. “I saw it with my own eyes.” He whispered. 

“Whatever it was, it’s gone now.” Joel concluded.

“Yeah, I vote we call it a night and settle around the fire. Tomorrow morning, we will collect as much as we can upstairs and prepare to leave.” Jesse suggested.

“Right, we meant to tell you guys, we found the cache!” You began excitedly. “You should have seen it. It wasn’t as extravagant as when the kids found the pirate ship in The Goonies, but it was just as special. Everything in there is everything we need.”

Rhonda’s weeping quieted down into whimpers as she was comforted by the idea that they would get to leave soon. Tim acknowledged your words with only a nod. His mind was still on the house and all the tricks it's played since the group arrived. Was the woman that Rhonda spoke about all in her head. He was quick to think so on account of her head injury. For her it was easy to explain away, but what about himself? He wasn’t a doctor of psychology, but he was familiar with the idea. He felt fine and had no idea how he could have made something up that played with more than one of his senses. 

Tim volunteered to take the first shift of keeping watch, determined to catch whatever was messing with him. His plan was to wake the others up as soon as something happened so they could see what he had saw. The exhaustion he felt, however, played against him and he dozed off. When he came to, the living room was shrouded in darkness. The makeshift pit in the middle of the living room floor was nothing but ash. His mind raced as his thoughts went back to that elusive woman Rhonda was haunted by. He was so engulfed with fear that he couldn’t tell if what he was hearing was the whistling wind seeping through the cracks of the barricaded windows or the whispers of a woman. He looked at all the sleeping forms and wanted so badly to wake someone up to keep watch with him, but selflessly chose against it. Sitting there, his eyes flickered to every corner of the room, waiting for something to happen. He waited for so long that he forgot to wake Jesse up for his shift to keep watch. It wasn’t until the little rays of sunshine poked through did Tim realize how long he’d stayed awake for. There was something about the light that comforted him. He mustered enough courage to get up and stretch his legs before waking up the rest of the group. 

Joel peaked behind one of the barricades and saw that the blizzard had finally passed. Despite that, there was a significant amount of snow left on the ground. The group wasted no time in doing as they agreed last night. The bad feeling that each of them got coupled with Rhonda’s injury, quickened their pace. After packing what they could carry, the group grabbed their horses and made a slow trek through the snow back to Jackson, leaving the dark manor in their wake. 

[mydearsaddiary]

Chapter 5- All’s fair in love and war PART 2

Trigger warning: mention of drug use and sexual harassment, +16

(Link to part 1: https://mydearsaddiary.tumblr.com/post/619859528811495424/neil-season-3-part-5-trigger-warning-16-this)

The Mayor’s reaction to my presence wasn’t of shock or even surprise. I felt the quick motion of his eyes down and up my body that made me feel dirty, and then he locked his dark eyes in mine- Oh, what do we have here?- He said and I almost choked. It’s never good when they say that, is it?

-Mayor Adler…!-I looked at door that was just a few feet away from me, but now so far away with the tall figure in front of it- I am a friend of Vera’s. She invited me over for tea but had to leave in a hurry, so she said I could let myself out-I started to make my way around him- So you caught me going home, if you don’t mind…

As I reached for the liberty of the outside world, his hand forcefully shut the door. I couldn’t explain it, but this fear crawled into my body. My heart started racing and my breathing heavy- H-Huh…-I was planning to say something but I didn’t know what to say

-I know who you are, Miss Granger-His eyes looked into mine again, although they wandered to places I didn’t want them to- My wife kindly informed me you were coming. After all I have to keep a woman like Vera in a pretty tight leash. Women like her and you think they can act like men, do whatever they want- He put his hand on my neck grabbing it, by impulse my hands were on his hand, trying to pull it away. He wasn’t pressing hard, but it wasn’t a gentle hand either. Of course that didn’t matter because it was unwelcome- All you’re missing is a strong, conventional man to teach you your place. In the end that’s what you women have to do, whatever a man who possesses you desire

Adler was like a colonizer. Whatever he put his hands on he assumed he owned it and could do with it as he desired. Those hands were on me. I was never the quiet or submissive girl, I praised myself for being modern. However I couldn’t do much against a man so much stronger than me. I thought about my gun in my holster, but my arms shook so much he would overpower me either way. It was dangerous to let him know I was armed- Please, let me go- It was all I could say

-I love it when people say please to me. It means they’re afraid. Are you scared of me, Miss Granger?

I didn’t say anything this time, my mind was racing, and my body was on fire due to adrenaline. He let go of my throat and I coughed a little, reaching for the door again.

But for the second time my heart leaped when he grabbed my upper arm pulling myself towards him- I wasn’t done with you, yet. I wanted to talk still- This time he pushed my body against the wall, his hand on my back. He had a funny way of wanting to talk. His firm hands told me he was used to getting what he wanted, by cooperation or by force- You know I must be aware of everything you do, including your uncle’s illegal activities and how he put you to manage his little gang

I breathed slowly. I knew he knew, but I had to calm myself and think if I was going to get out of this situation- Are you threatening me of something?- I snarled

-On the contrary. I didn’t marry Vera because I love her, but because she’s of use to me- I didn’t care much for Vera being used, since I knew she was using the Mayor for his title. They deserved each other- But you, Miss Granger. You’re made of sterner stuff- I felt the chills when he said that close to my ear so I could feel this breath- You would be a perfect wife. How does it sound? MC Adler

-Keep dreaming, Mayor- I tried to get free, but soon froze when his other hand that wasn’t holding me travelled south on my body squeezing an inappropriate place. First I felt like screaming, then the fact that he was pulling my dress up and I could feel his hand under my clothing woke in me a fire I didn’t know I had. I wanted to scream, cry, run… All at once. However my experience in the past didn’t allow me to just freeze. I was armed, for god’s sake, I had to do something! I’ll be damned before I let him go through with this.

I kicked him in the shin as strongly as I could and he backed away wincing in pain. I took the opportunity to open the door and run out, not allowing myself to glance back. I just saw the car and kept running. However I heard the door open again. This time I heard a shot, pain and then I was on the floor

I needed only a couple of seconds to look back and realize my calf bled out of a bullet hole in it. My eyes darted to Mayor Adler walking towards me with a gun in his hand. I got up, even if my leg hurt the adrenaline in me was so big I ran to the Studebaker. I was lucky enough he missed the other shots. Once I was in the car he still shot in my direction but the car was armored. I drove away as fast I could, trying to convince myself this wasn’t just a bad dream

I parked at the Ice Box and limped inside my safe haven. I pulled at chair from one of the tables and let myself fall on it. I breathed loudly for some seconds. I could feel my throat hurting, the pain on my left calf. But what hurt more was still feeling the unwelcome touch of the Mayor on my throat, arm, back, under my dress on my thighs and rear.

I closed my eyes and as the adrenaline left my body, everything that had happened settled in. The waterworks started and they didn’t seem to stop. I was thankful for having the whole place for myself. I wanted to go get a drink but when I tried to get up my leg hurt too much. So I just stayed still and allowed myself to cry without anyone seeing. It was at least half an hour before I stopped. My nose was stuffed and my head hurt

But eventually I stopped. After some more minutes my face was only slightly red when Vince and Cliff came barging in laughing and got serious as they took the view. I realized I must’ve looked awful. My clothes were dirty and ripped at the seam where Mayor Adler had forced his way in, I had bruises on my arm and neck and my left leg stood straight out while my calf bled on the floor

-Doll!- Vince said loudly coming to me- What the hell happened?- He said as Cliff went to the phone, calling Neil

-I went to Vera’s house for tea.- My voice had that roughness in it after you cry- Snooped around when Donovan gave her the call. Everything was going according to plan until Mayor Adler showed up himself-I said angrily looking at him- The snake is worse than Vera. He caught me in the house and was kind enough to say some threats and…

-He did this to you?- He pointed at my calf then up to the bruises. He got up and formed fists with his hands going for his gun- Now I’m goin’ to crack a few skulls- He said in a low, almost haunting voice

-V-Vince!-I yelled and Cliff, already off the phone, grabbed him- You can’t kill the mayor!

-I’m tired of the pacifism, MC!-He looked at me- We can’t just stand here and hope to solve everything without violence! It’s bootlegging, it’s the gangster business! You can’t always keep your hands clean

-You’re right!- I yelled and he seemed surprised- We are gonna have to get our hands dirty this time. Still, we can’t just be careless! We can’t just go in guns blazing and all that. We still need to outsmart them, even if we have to resort to violence.

He nodded, breathing more calmly now- Alright.

And then Neil barged in the door. His eyes went straight to me. I expected to see anger in them, but even in all its seriousness I could just see worry as he grabbed his bag from behind the bar and started to clean my leg

-Neil…-I started

-Don’t think you’re off the hook here-His stern voice said- We’ll talk about this later. Now, what did you find out?

I told them everything that had happened, skipping the part where Mayor Adler invaded my dignity in ways that made me wish I could cut off the skin he touched.

-I know where the documents that incriminate The Broiler are. The Mayor has documents incriminating all of Chicago. I didn’t have the chance to get to them thought because…-I took papers, now all crumpled up, and showed them- Because I only had time to get these instead. Documents on the Ice Box and everyone involved in it

Neil sighed looking at me- At least you know where they are

-Which means I’m gonna have to go back there again

-It’s out of the question, MC-Neil said, I winced softly when he stitched the wound on my leg and finished caring for it

-I’m the only one who could have access to that place, Neil. I get that it is dangerous but we have to do what we have to stop th-

-IT IS… OUT. OF THE QUESTION!- He yelled. A tone of voice I had never heard before. Me, Vince and Cliff looked stunned at him because of it. I don’t think anybody had ever heard him yell. No one said anything for a while and the silence even became uncomfortable

After a while he got up and announced the both of us were going home and asked Cliff to handle the Ice Box that night. Before I could protest he picked me up bridal style and carried me out

Not long after we were in Neil’s living room. He sat me down on his couch and poured a drink for himself, and then another, and another…

-Are you going to get drunk, now?- I asked- Or maybe you could yell again-

-I’m sorry- It was what he said instead- I’m sorry I yelled- He looked at me- But I walk in and you have bruises all over you, you’ve been shot and you… You…-He recomposed himself before he continued- I could see on your face you were crying! What are you going to do next, get yourself a knife between the ribs?

I thought back to when I first told him I was infiltrating John Bailey and Louis Tibbs’ circle.

“I’ll be alright” He said “As long as we work this stunt so you don’t get hurt”

“Haven’t you figured out I’m tough as nails now?” I replied cocky

“I know you think you are, but I don’t want to put that to the test. Can’t risk it, now that I know I’m in love with you”

Neil loves me. I love him. I felt guilt now, more than anything. I came back wounded this time, of course he had a hard time taking it. The guilt grew inside me as I realized I was putting myself in harm’s way, thinking I’d be protecting Neil and everyone this way. However I realized what it’d do to him if the worst had happened. I lowered myself letting me cry again

Why was I crying so much these days? I hated it! I felt so sensitive. Soon he was beside me, holding me in his arms

-I’m sorry too, Neil. I know I haven’t been really careful and I’m sorry- I hugged him tightly

He kissed my forehead, then he put his finger on my chin gently pulling it up, kissing me so gently, as if I was the most precious thing he ever held.

That was a welcoming touch, one I wished for the rest of my life. It wasn’t just physical, it was spiritual. He touched me in a way nobody else could, in all the ways you could touch someone.

I kissed him back, longingly. Nothing made me feel better and safer than to be with him

-I know there’s something you’re not telling me- He said, almost in a whisper- You told me once that anything I needed to say I could, that you wouldn’t judge. It’s the same for me. So, please tell me

I breathed heavily, looking into his eyes- Mayor Adler, he…- I struggled

-It doesn’t seem like Vera to cause bruises or shooting. He did this, didn’t he?-He said lowly, but his tone indicated immense concealed anger- Your arms and throat, he hurt you.

-He did…- I said in a weak voice- But that wasn’t all of it- I looked down pulling my dress up my thighs, revealing my bruised skin under my dress, in places only Neil had touched before. Realization dawned in his face as he put two and two together and understood his touch on me wasn’t just to hurt

I felt him shiver and almost grow, like an angry bear, ready to kill. Neil didn’t get this angry and as a doctor he wasn’t a threat to anybody’s life. But if looks could kill, Mayor Adler would be having a stroke right now wherever he was- That bastard- He held me tightly again. Almost possessively- I’m not leaving you alone anymore, do you understand? Everything we do, we do together. Until Vera and Mayor Adler are done with, I cannot risk anything else happening to you

-Okay- I didn’t hesitate. He looked at me surprised. He probably expected me to fight back or say something like “I don’t need to be watched over”, but that wasn’t what I was thinking- I’m going to be your wife, and you’ll be my husband. If you’re my partner in life, it means… We’re also partners in crime aren’t we?- I held his hand tightly- I’m sorry I’ve been putting on a brave face in front of you. I need your help. Will you help me beat Hurricane Vera and Adler together?

He looked at me for a few seconds before saying something- Of course, MC. You didn’t even have to ask. That’s why it’s called a gang, you know? You don’t have to do everything on your own, but you never listen to anyone with that cracked skull

I smiled, kissing him again- I could take a break from all of it though. How about…- I picked up a magazine I knew I left on the side table and opened it up- Picking the flowers for the wedding?

He looked at me, about to say some snappy remark about how he’d rather stab himself than pick roses or lilies, but he caught himself and opened a smile- Alright, yes. Flowers sound good

1917

Somewhere in the Atlantic, in a long slow ship to France

-Are you nervous?- Alton said, pulling me out of my thoughts. I had honestly lost count of how many days, or maybe months, we had been in this ship. I was nervous about certain things. It was my first time out of the U.S. Gosh, it was my first time out of Massachusetts. I knew where I was going and why, but I knew I was ready for it. I knew me and Alton were going to be okay because we had experience. In that sense I wasn’t scared.

However when you’re taking part in something as grand as the Great War itself, you start pondering. Here I was, sitting in uniform, a medic badge on my arm, surrounded by many other soldiers. All of us, making our way across the Atlantic. Away from the safe haven that was America and into the dangers of Europe. I didn’t know what came over me and I knew it was childish, but I was excited.

-Neil!- Alton said again- Stop daydreaming and answer my question!-My best friend said. He was tall and pale just as me, but the dark of his eyes and hair contrasted my appearance otherwise

-I guess not. I’m not nervous, I’m just tired of waiting this long-I played around with a knife in my hands

-You can’t way to get home and get married to Lillie, can you? You’ll start making babies as soon as you’re back

I laughed at him- Hey, why don’t you worry about your own girl?

-Huuuh… Because I don’t have one-He sat by me- So I’ll just have to be nosy about your life instead

-I heard French girls are friendly enough-I said, this time lighting up a cigarette- And I heard they love soldiers

-Yeah, that’s just stuff the other people say- He dismissed it with his hand- Can I ask you something?- I looked at him with interest- Why did you propose to Lillie?

-There’s a couple of reasons. My family was always talking about her, I knew they approved of her. We have known each other for years and she’s friendly. We could get along well. Then she is also very attractive which is a bonus- I hesitated for a few seconds- Then I guess I rushed it a little bit because I was leaving, and I thought if I had a motivation, a girl to come back home to… That’d make things easier- I looked at him- I do plan to take care of her when I get back and if I have to marry within the high society, Lillie is as good as they come. I think we could build a good life together and raise good children

-And of course you didn’t want anybody taking her while you were away- He teased and I laughed, then he continued- Do you love her?

The question surprised me, it took me a few minutes to recompose myself- I… I guess so, yeah. When she asked I did say I loved her…

-That didn’t ring very sincere-He said it in a low tone- But I’m not judging, really.

I thought about it for a few seconds- I guess I’m not in love with her, but I know I can learn to. She’s a good person. Besides, who in high society marries for love, Alton? It’s all a transaction, something to appear in the papers and build reputation and pass the name along. Hopefully, you find somebody who you can work with and learn to love.

-I guess so, but… You may call me an idiot-He smiled shyly- But when I’m home from the war, I want to marry for love. She can be the poorest girl you’ve ever seen, a small town girl who grew up in a small town house in the middle of nowhere and her parents could have five bucks in their pockets…-He was smiling now- As long as she makes me happy, why does it matter all that jazz about she having to be perfect for my family?

-You were always more courageous than I ever was. - I said, admired by my best friend yet again

-I always did know that. Besides, your parents would probably throw a fit if you ever brought a low-class girl and said you were going to marry her - He laughed with me, but then got serious to continue talking- But… I do wish the same for you, you know. If you are sure Lillie will make you happy… Then go for it. But I-

-Hey, don’t worry Alton. You know Lillie, she’s great. We’ll work it out, I’m sure-I smiled to reassure him

-Alright, I just worry about your thick head sometimes. Especially whether you’ll be happy after you go back

-After we go back! Besides, somebody needs to be there when you bring a poor girl to meet your parents, to keep them from sawing your head off

He laughed again- I don’t who she’ll be yet. But even if you already made up your mind. I’m sure there’s a girl out there who would make you crazy about her, I’m telling you. You could drink all the bourbon in the world and she’d still be there- He tapped his own head- That’s the kind of girl I’m talking about

I sighed shaking my head- Not me, Alton. What are you expecting?-I teased now- That there’s the perfect girl somewhere, waiting for me?

-Yes, she’ll be everything but high-society!- He started to joke- She’ll not just be low-class and come from the middle of nowhere-He pointed a finger at me- She’ll be the boss of ya- I laughed as he continued on- She’ll talk back to everything you say, she’ll take none of your sass! She’ll be a modern one, talking loud and everything, giving out orders, she’ll even have a job outside the house. No housewife business, she’ll stand up to you and be on your level too

-Even if my parents would ever allow that- I crossed my arms- What makes you think I’d marry such girl?

-That’s it, dear friend, you won’t want to. But she’ll be so stuck in your head, you’d have to drink yourself to a coma to forget her. Even so, she’d be in your dreams. And she’ll be the hottest dame you’ve ever seen. She’ll even dare to show her ankles around- He laughed and then sat by me again- Well, that’s the kind of girl I’m hoping for

I laughed at him- Well, you’re expectations are so low- I joked- Or so high, I’m not sure. Either way, if that was the case, she’d be the complete opposite of Lillie.

-A girl like Lillie ain’t for me. To be honest I didn’t even consider her for you-He stared at me- But you’ve decided to keep the tradition going. The conventional, beautiful, quiet and feminine dame. She’ll take you places in the high-society… She’ll be the perfect wife and you’ll always have your peace and quiet

-Peace and quiet will always win for me-I offered him a cigarette this time and he took it

-Whatever you say, buddy, whatever you say-He said shaking his head

Same year, somewhere in… Columbus, Ohio

-Well, that’ll teach him to never yell at me again- I said- My name is MC Granger and don’t you forget that!-I yelled before starting to walk home

-What are you doing, MC? Scaring the boys off ya again?- Edith said. Her and Hazel soon joined me as we walked home from school

-Tomorrow is finally my tenth birthday-I yelled excited- I’m gonna be a big girl, and Joe Dixon was laughing at me just because he’s eleven! And then there’s Millicent who just has to have thrown the best party, now who’s gonna want to come to mine?!

-MC, there’s a war going on in Europe and people are dying! And you’re worrying about your stupid birthday party- Edith started

-War this, war that, I’m finally gonna be a big girl!-I crossed my arms- It’s time for me to start looking for my husband

-You don’t become a woman until you-She lowered her voice to a whisper this time-Bleed.

-Ew, Edith! Just because you did last month doesn’t mean I will!

-Well, if you want to find a husband and become a big girl, you need that to happen first

I looked at her, this time my eyes went wide- Really?!

-It’ll happen for you soon!

-Well, until them I can at least imagine! Like I already know I’m gonna marry a rich man. Momma said so

-According to Momma we’ll all marry rich men-Edith replied

-You guys worry too much about boys- Hazel said-They’re just plain mean and gross!

-We’re talking about older boys, Hazel-I said- Like, when they’re ten or eleven. They’re basically men then! I already know I’m gonna marry a rich men and he’ll buy me everything I want

-That’s all you care about?-Edith said- What about how he’ll treat ya?

-Of course he’s gonna treat me well!- I replied

-Well, what if he doesn’t? They’re all mean-Hazel repeated herself

-If he doesn’t treat me nice,-I turned my hands into fists and started punching the air- He’ll wish he never messed with MC Granger!

____

Author’s notes: Thank you so much for reading this chapter! Coming up, the gang discovers that the pacifism of past season is really over. We’ll be seeing a lot more fights and action when it comes to Mayor Adler. He and Vera are our main villain duo! Neil’s mother and Lucille (and her husband) will be coming to Chicago, so we’ll be seeing a lot of wedding planning!

Thank you!!

Candy, My Dear Diary (06/02/2020)

[randomfandomfamily]

Prompt: Since little cato is still so small Gary and Avocato walk around the bridge holding him when he gets horrible nightmares, maybe they take turns on a really bad night

---

You know, sometimes ya just gotta be held like a bappy.

A knock on the door pulled Gary from his sleep. He sat up blearily and rubbed his eyes to clear his vision. Another quiet knock snapped him out of his sleepy trance, he knew there was only one person who would be knocking on his door this late at night.

He kicked off his blanket and got up. “Hold on, I’m coming.” The door opened to reveal a shivering Little Cato, just what he was afraid of. “Hey, little buddy. What’s going on?”

Little Cato’s mouth opened to reply, but no sound came out. Gary could see the tears shining in his eyes. After about ten seconds of struggling to speak, Little Cato resorted to throwing his arms around Gary.

“Nightmare?” Gary asked. Little Cato was still unresponsive, so he wrapped his arms around the teenager’s shoulders. And as soon as Gary pulled Little Cato in for a hug, he started crying silently into Gary’s shirt. “Alright, alright. Shhh... you’re okay, Spider-Cat, I’ve got you.”

The worst ones were always when Little Cato couldn’t talk to him. Judging by how hard Little Cato was shaking, he could tell it was going to take a while for the kid to calm down enough to tell him what happened.

Luckily, Gary knew something that might help with that. “Let’s go for a walk, huh? We’re gonna go walk around the bridge.” He scooped up Little Cato easily. The kid was always lighter than he expected, much lighter than a fourteen year old should be.

But his small frame made him easy to carry, which is exactly what Gary did. He carried Little Cato all the way to the bridge, where he started pacing back and forth slowly, trying not to jostle him too much.

Gary shifted Little Cato to hold him with one hand, letting the other run through soft blue hair, messy with restlessness. He could feel Little Cato’s paw digging into his shirt, right over his heart. That nightmare must have been something awful.

“Gary?” He turned to see his co-father in the doorway. “What’s goin’ on ? Why are you up?” The Ventrexian’s gaze found Little Cato in Gary’s arms. “Is he...?”

“Nightmare,” Gary said. “It’s usually not this bad, but sometimes he just needs a little walk around the bridge.”

Avocato frowned. “It’s not usually this bad?”

Gary sighed. “We really gotta get you caught up at some point.” He walked over to Avocato and tapped Little Cato on the shoulder. “Hey bud, Dad’s here. Wanna walk with him for a bit?”

Little Cato’s hand unclenched from Gary’s shirt just slightly, which he took as a yes. So Gary looked up at Avocato expectantly, but all he received was a blank stare in return.

“I... what?”

“You just hold him, you idiot.”

“What if I drop him?” Avocato asked worriedly. “I haven’t carried him in forever and he’s shakin’ like a leaf.”

“Oh for crap’s sake, he’s fourteen, not an infant.” He gently pried Little Cato off of him and passed him over to Avocato. It had been a while since Avocato had carried his son around like this, so it took him a moment to readjust. “There, see? That’s not so hard.”

Little Cato buried his face in Avocato’s shoulder, his paw reaching up to hold Avocato’s shirt just like he had with Gary’s. “What’s he doing?”

Gary motioned for Avocato to walk with him. “Heartbeat. It’s just a confirmation to him that you’re, you know, alive. Helps him relax. Don’t worry, he does it to me all the time.”

They paced back and forth for a while, Avocato rubbing small circles into Little Cato’s back as they walked.

After about ten minutes of this, Gary noticed Little Cato starting to unbury his head from the crook of Avocato’s neck. “Hey there, Spider-Cat.”

Avocato stopped walking and glanced down at Little Cato. “You okay?”

Little Cato nodded.

Gary frowned and looked at Avocato, who mirrored his expression. They knew their son too well for this. “Try again, little bud.” He held out his arms. “Avocato, let me take him for a second.”

The transfer was much smoother this time, Avocato getting better at adjusting Little Cato’s weight. Once Gary had Little Cato settled in his arms, he and Avocato started walking again, trying to keep Little Cato has calm as possible.

“I know you don’t like asking for help,” Gary said, “And I know talking about it is hard. But it helps. Neither one of us mind listening, I promise.”

“He’s right,” Avocato agreed. “Whatever it is, you can talk about it.”

Little Cato took a steadying breath. “It was… I-I shot…”

Gary’s quickly darted to Avocato. His friend stared back at him in confusion. Sometimes Gary forgot that Avocato didn’t exactly remember his time possessed by Invictus.

A tremor ran through Little Cato’s body. “I’m so sorry,” he cried, “I didn’t want… I didn’t mean to-”

“Okay, my turn,” Avocato said. Gary passed Little Cato over to him, trying to figure out how the hell he was going to explain this. Meanwhile Little Cato bawled into Avocato’s shirt, leaving the older Ventrexian speechless and visibly worried. “Little Cato? Come on, son, talk to me.”

Gary put a hand on his shoulder. “Give him a minute. This one… this is a tough one.”

Little Cato struggled to calm down again, but Gary and Avocato just kept their steady pace. Eventually it worked, Little Cato scrubbing at his ace to wipe away the stray tears. “Okay… I-I think I’m good to talk.” He pushed away from Avocato slightly. “You can put me down now.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” Little Cato said, “I need to uh… I need to be standing for this one.”

Gary knew exactly what was about to happen, and he knew it needed to happen, but that didn’t make him any less worried for his boy.

Little Cato stood in front of Avocato, looking like a little kid you just got into trouble. “Um… I know you don’t remember a lot about what happened while you were possessed.”

“Something else I need to be caught up on,” Avocato muttered.

“Right, well, I’m about to catch you up on some of it,” Little Cato said nervously. “See the first thing you did was um… well, you shot Gary.”

Avocato’s eyes widened. “What? I did?”.

“Yeah,” Gary confirmed, “Twice, actually.”

“Twice?”

Little Cato cleared his throat. “Yeah, twice. You didn’t kill him but you were uh… you were giving it your best shot.” He shifted uncomfortably. “I tried stopping you. But you didn’t exactly listen. I got in your way and you said that um… that Gary had turned me against you and… that you would never father something so weak.”

Avocato blanked. “I said what?”

“Yeah. It was… it felt pretty crappy,” Little Cato admitted, “But I know it wasn’t really you talking, so…”

“Son, don’t downplay that,” Avocato told him. “Possessed or not, that’s a horrible thing to do. I get why you’d be upset.”

Little Cato laughed. “It’s not as bad as what I did next.”

Gary stepped forward. “Little Cato-”

“You wouldn’t stop,” Little Cato said, ignoring Gary’s attempt to intervene. “No matter what I said, you just kept moving towards Gary. And I couldn’t let you just… I didn’t know what else to do, so I…” He closed his eyes tightly, fists clenched at his sides. “Dad, I shot you.”

Avocato stared at him. It wasn’t a confused stare, or even a surprised one, he just kept his gaze trained on Little Cato.

Little Cato crossed his arms and stared back. “Well? Say something.” When he didn’t get a response, he grew anxious. “Dad, did you even hear what I said? I said I shot you.”

“I heard what you said,” Avocato said in a soft voice.

“So say something!” Little Cato exclaimed. “W-why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Avocato, hold on a minute,” Gary interrupted. “Spider-Cat, I think you need to take a breather.”

Little Cato took a step back. “Are you mad? Because I’d understand if you are, i-it was… it was bad. I-I didn’t wanna do it, but I still did it. I didn’t know what else to do a-and that’s not an excuse but…”

Gary moved to calm Little Cato, but Avocato was faster. He picked up their son easily and held the trembling teen tightly. Little Cato stared wide-eyed at nothing for a moment, looking momentarily terrified, then confused.

Once it was clear that his father wasn’t angry with him, Little Cato slowly returned the hug. Gary struggled to find something to say but he realized that, in this moment, words weren’t exactly necessary.

Avocato spoke volumes through action, but he wasn’t much for words. And Little Cato had a tough time talking things out, even with Gary. And though Gary was all for talking out feelings, maybe pacing around the bridge with him and Avocato was a quiet alternative when Little Cato couldn’t find his words.

Where Avocato failed with words, Gary succeeded, and where Gary failed trying to figure out the right thing to do, Avocato was a step ahead of him. It made the hard nights of parenting a lot easier, and hopefully the hard nights easier for Little Cato, too.

It was all about understanding. And how they communicated that understanding, with words or without, didn’t really matter. So long as Little Cato knew he safe, that was all that mattered to the two fathers pacing on the bridge.

[colleenmurphy]

Snippets & Bobs: Changes

@writervega a blurb for you and Hel & Bobby. Because feelings. <3

There were many sides to his wife that David Sullivan, has become acquainted with over the far reaching span of their relationship.  There was day to day Colly who would give anyone the shirt off of her back. There was drunk Colly, even more affectionate than normal and ready to dance a jig no matter where she found herself. He had seen her in every way shape and form over the course of their years together except like this.  She was currently sprawled out in the middle of their living room floor with a cool damp cloth over her forehead and a basin just within reach in case she needed it. An open sleeve of saltines and a can of flat 7 Up sat on the coffee table as the overhead ceiling fan circled lazily. Sully was beginning to worry, he’s never seen someone throw up that much that forcefully in his entire life. Until now.

Do I ask her if she needs anything? Do I call 911? Do I call Helene since Eileen is out of town on that bingo trip? What the hell do I do?

A curtain of long dark hair flew up as his girl friend found the strength within herself to sit straight up, grab the basin and heave violently into it. It was like watching a car crash, he just couldn’t look away. 

“Hey...uh...Colly. I..I’m uh gonna..”

A groan could be heard from the confines the bucket she clutched as she brought her head up to look at him. Normally sparkling green eyes were red rimmed and her long dark hair was haphazardly pulled up into a bun on the top of her head. 

“I need you to do a favor for me, Sully. Please.”

Call Doctor Hastings? Drive you to the Emergency room? Go and pick your mother up from that god forsaken bingo parlor over on Shore ave? Anything, just name it and I’ll do it.

“I need you to pick up a test for me from Mercer’s drugstore. I can’t go like this I’ll never make it in once piece and I have a feeling that this isn’t food poisoning.”

The cogs in his mind ground to a dead halt. He was sure he was hearing either television static or the ocean in his own head. Had he heard her correctly?

Drug store. Test. Not food poisoning. 

Anything except that. 

“Oh don’t freak out on me now, Dave. Just go and get it and we’ll know. It shouldn’t even take five minutes. It’ll take longer to get there than anything else.”

“Can I phone a friend?”

“You can take the entire street and my mother with you if it helps. Just go and get the test, please.”

Two minutes, one bedraggled Bobby Shatford and a ten minute drive a town over and David Sullivan was still near flipping his lid. 

“Remind me again just why you had to bring me with you?”

“Moral support, dude.”

“You woke me up from a perfectly good nap for this? Dude just pick up.”

“But which one?”

“I don’t know! Just go with whatever you think Col’d buy or somethin’. 

Five more agonizing minutes pass and the wall of pastel pinks and blues overwhelms him. Somewhere over the next aisle he hears a fussy baby let out a wail that rivaled any air horn he’d ever heard. Plus signs and smiley faces and every conceivable ( he snorts at his own turn of phrase there ) all but overwhelm him. Before he knows what comes over him he’s snatched not one or two but six tests and yanks bobby up towards the check out counter. Fifty bucks lighter in the wallet and nearing critical breakdown point Sully sits behind the wheel of his car, his most prized possession next to the girl that captured his heart and his record collection and he fumbles for the keys. How the hell could he manage to fit a baby seat in the back of this car? This car, his bright orange beauty a work of true art is the ‘70 Plymouth that he lovingly restored and painted himself is not a family car. It’s a fun couples car. There was barely room anything in the backseat, well, there was that one time he and Colly had gotten creative parked up on the point overlooking Good Harbor beach but that was besides the point.

Probably how you got her in trouble in the first place, Sullivan.

That snide little voice of reason sniped from the back of his mind. 

“But Squier was on the radio and we’d had like two drinks down at the Nest and my god she was wearing that shirt that hugged her in all the right places...the one with the leopard print...”

“Dude! What the fuck is goin’ through that head a yours? Just take me home!”

Sully actually forgot that Bobby was still sitting shotgun and staring at him like he’d grown another head. 

“Did I say that out loud?”

“Yes! It’s bad enough you basically kidnap me I don’t need to know what happens in the backseat of your car, Jesus!”

“It was actually the front seat, Bobby.”

A look of total bewilderment and shock crossed his best friend’s face. For a split second he thought for sure Bobby might even cry. Nope, he simply let out a disgruntled squawk and clutched his hands to his chest. The visions his mind was conjuring were not pleasant ones that he wanted of the couple he considered very very dear friend, family even. 

“Cripes Dave! Jesus!”

Sully fumbled for the keys once more before threw them at his best friend. 

“For the first time in my life I’m going to allow someone else to drive my car. Bobby. You do it, I can’t. I feel like I’m gonna faint.”

“You feel like you’re going to faint? I’m sittin’ in the spot my godchild was probably conceived, Dave! Move over.” 

A well placed shoved a fumble before the car roared to life and hey were parked out behind the Crow’s Nest preparing to go back to respective apartments down the street. 

“It’ll be okay, man. Kids are what makes the world go around, right?”

“Then why don’t you and Hel have a gaggle by now?”

“We’re pacin’ ourselves.”

“So were we.”

“Well, obviously you missed a sharp turn back there, Sull.”

“You know you’re about as funny as a busted rubber, Shatford?”

“So I’ve been told. Good luck, man. Lemme know if. you want a good price on a minivan, alright?”

“Get out of my car, Robert.”

“Jeesh, looks like David can’t take a joke today. But seriously I’ve got a cousin out in Annisquam that can hook you up.”

“Out.”

“See ya later, bud.”

Grabbing the flimsy pharmacy bag Sully ducked out and sprinted for the door of the tiny apartment that he and Colly called home. He noticed that she had moved herself into a sitting position on the couch and was now surrounded by empty water bottles and looking like she was going to burst. 

“Thank god you’re back!”

Tossing the bag into awaiting eager hands Sully started to pace. 

“How...all I needed was one. What’d you do buy’em out?”

“Nope, went to Ipswich and they’ve got a bigger selection. Go. I’ll time you.”

An hour and six tests later he stood staring at the assortment of tests spread out on the bathroom counter. 

“I can’t look. What do they say?”

“They’re all positive. A few very odd choices for positive results but all signs point to yes.”

A war whoop erupted from his wife as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in for the tightest hug he’d ever had in his life. 

The walls being as thin as they were they heard a yell from the direction of Helene and Bobby’s place. 

“Sweet mother of Christ the world just ain’t ready for a baby Sullivan! Helene! You’re not gonna believe this!”

[queen-scribbles]

Tension

Oh boy, full-on, tropey goodness sparring fic for Ris ft one (1) snarky scoundrel. 

                                                                  ---

Kayris ran out of things to do before Telos was a full day behind them. She still tried; fixed what she could on the Ebon Hawk without getting in Bao Dur’s way, tinkered some with T3, lost several games of pazaak to Atton... It wasn’t until her absolutely abysmal attempt at meditating with Kreia she finally conceded it wasn’t so much she was out of things to do as it was out of things she could focus on. Apparently, her irritation at the recording T3 had found in Atris’ archive ran deeper than she’d realized.

She needed to hit something. Now. Before they got to Nar Shaddaa, even. It was the only thing that had a prayer of working out this stress. Even droid tinkering--her favorite hobby and usually a sure bet--couldn’t completely calm her jangling nerves, and she almost fried T3′s motivator in her distraction.

“Sorry, buddy,” she said soothingly as she corrected her mistake and closed the access panel. “Clearly I need to do something else. Shame the blasted ship doesn’t have a sparring room...”

T3 chirped a response to her musing and Kayris smiled. 

“I know it’s a smuggler’s ship not a warship,” she said, pushing to her feet and patting the droid on the head. “You’d still think they’d wanna keep their skills sharp.”

T3 boop-beeped something and started rolling toward the cargo bay.

“Really?” Kayris raised an eyebrow as she followed. “How’d I miss that before?” Aside from the ship only being in my possession a grand total of, what, two days...

A low whistle and cascade of beeps answered, echoing off the walls. T3 trundled into the cargo bay and up to one of them far end wall panels. His articulator arm extended, engaged with a port she couldn’t see, and a well-concealed compartment slid open. Inside rested rolled up floor mats and a pair of deactivated training remotes.

Kayris grinned. Wouldn’t be the same as fighting a person, but still gave her something to do. “Very nice. Thanks, T3, this is perfect.”

T3 whistled happily and rolled out of the cargo hold.

It didn’t take long for her to convert the space to a makeshift training room and retrieve her double-bladed sword. “I need the challenge,” she muttered to herself, and activated both remotes on an intermediate level.

They did prove to be a challenge, and she felt their sting several times. More than she should’ve; she wasn’t that rusty. Even the rhythm of combat was proving elusive.

“Good form,” a voice drawled from the doorway as she paused to catch her breath.

Kayris turned and half-smiled at Atton, weapon hanging loose in one hand as she wiped sweat off her face with the other. “Thanks.”

“Y’know,” he began, pushing away from the wall to saunter a couple steps into the room, “if you’re looking to work out tension, an intelligent life form might make a better partner than kriffin’ droids.”

She smirked. “Sounds good. Let me know if you see one.”

Atton narrowed his eyes, expression unsure if she was joking. “You’re in a mood today.”

She grimaced. “Sorry. That was intended as a joke. Especially if you’re offering to help...?”

He nodded, posture relaxing at her confirmation. “Why not? Ship’s on autopilot, not like there’s much else for me to do.”

“Alright, then, tough guy.” Kayris raised a teasing brow. “What were you thinking we’d do?” She shot a significant look at the blaster strapped to his hip.

Atton shook his head and grinned. “Live fire shipboard’s a bad idea, and stun blasts wouldn’t be any fun. I was thinking more melee, anyway. Hitting things, well, me, should help get out all that pent-up tension.”

“No offense, but are you any good at melee?” Kayris asked. She’d only seen him use blasters so far in their brief acquaintance.

“If the point of this is to let you beat the living hell outta something, does it matter if I’m any good?” Atton countered. He smirked. “‘Sides, even if I’m not, it’d be good for you to beat me at something.”

She glowered at him. “I will win a game of pazaak against you someday.”

His eyes gleamed mischievously as he shrugged off his jacket. “Win a set first, Ris. Then you can start talking about winning a game.”

Her glower deepened and Kayris flipped her sword flush with her arm to level one blade at him. “You’re goin’ down now, Rand.”

“Really? Right now?” Atton baited, holding up empty hands. “Thought you Jedi types frowned on attacking unarmed opponents.”

Rather than point out that he wasn’t, technically unarmed with that blaster on his hip, she instead scooped up the force pike she’d left leaning against the wall and tossed it to him. “There. Armed.”

Atton grinned at the clear challenge underlying the words as he caught it. “Show me what you’ve got.”

Kayris made note of several things as they circled; the reflexes behind how easily he’d caught the pike, his comfortable grip on it that spoke to at least some martial experience, the wariness in his stance as he stalked out their path. The Handmaiden’s words about his having Echani training floated through her mind, and she could see elements of that style in his movements.

They couldn’t circle like this forever, and she was curious about a few things, so Kayris gave it a few more steps and then made the first move--an overhand swing Atton blocked easily.

“You open with that a lot,” he said dryly, tone just neutral enough to hide if it was a judgment or an observation, as he pushed back until her blade slid free and then cranked his around toward her shoulder.

“Yes, and?” she countered, twitching her right blade high enough to deflect the blow. “You’ve seen me fight how much?”

“Enough to see the pattern,” Atton grunted, side stepping her next strike and swinging a low slash at her shins.

Kayris backpedaled, then brought her blade around toward his unguarded neck. “Don’t think we’ve left anyone alive to exploit that little quirk.” She gritted her teeth as Atton swiftly brought the pike up to shove her sword away. “Not that it would work if they tried”--she bulled forward, forcing him to sidestep so he didn’t lose his balance--”I’m very good.”

“Oh, really?” The teasing words had barely left his lips when Atton backed into a wall and one blade of Kayris’ sword came to a halt not even two inches from his jaw, only held at bay by whatever instinct had brought the force pike up as he stepped back.

“Yes, really,” Kayris grinned, breathing hard.

Atton rotated the pike slightly and pushed back, his angle forcing her to give ground. “Should I feel sorry for these Jedi Masters when we find them?”

She gave up several steps in rapid succession and saw him teeter for just a moment, but he caught himself before she could exploit his unbalance, and they were back to circling. “Depends on what they have to say. Would you feel sorry for them, even if you should?”

Atton snorted and made a small, experimental strike toward her ribs, backing off quickly when she blocked it. “Does it matter what I think? I’m not the one the exiled for following her conscience.”

“There was more to it than that,” Kayris protested. She tripped over the edge of a mat and rolled out of the way from Atton’s opportunistic jab.

“Like what?” he said skeptically.

“Yes, we needed to do something, and no, I don’t regret following Revan,” she began, swiping at him with each blade in turn even as she regained her feet. “But some of the things we, I, did needed accounting for, and protecting the innocent”--she kicked at his legs, then swung her elbow into his shoulder when he jumped to avoid it--”was only part of my reason for going.”

Atton hit the ground shoulders first and was rolling out of the way before she brought her blade down in follow-through. “Everyone does things for more than one reason,” he countered. He rolled up on one knee and grabbed the lower blade of her sword near the hilt, ignored it digging into his fingers so he could yank her off-balance. “Doesn’t change that at least part of why you got kicked out was for making them look bad, sitting in their ivory tower while the galaxy went to hell around them.” His elbow hit in between her shoulder blades, pushing her toward the floor. “Jedi hate looking bad.”

Kayris turned the momentum into a somersault, biting her lip literally and figuratively in the process. She rolled into the wall and instinctively threw up an elbow. It didn’t connect with anything, but hanging back in anticipation of her reaction kept Atton at bay long enough for her to find her feet.

She’d barely done so, however, before he was in her space, pike held horizontally to pin her against the wall. Sh got her sword in between just in time, the pike’s grip clipping her knuckles in the process. 

“You could have mentioned you knew how tricky doublehilts are from experience,” she panted, meeting his gaze with a smirk. Her hunch had been right.

Atton chuckled, breath rushing warm against her cheek. “And show all my cards at the start?” He matched her smirk, eyes locked on hers with a look that made something in her twist. “Even you know that’s not how you play the game Especially if you want to win.”

“Speaking of winning...” Kayris hooked one foot behind his ankle and twisted her sword to make him stumble back. “You really should be sure you have before you let your guard down to gloat.”

She pressed her advantage, and within seconds Atton had hit the floor again, this time with her blade flicked to his throat before he could roll away. He tensed for a heartbeat, clearly contemplating something risky, but relaxed and let go of the force pike.

“You win,” he laughed breathlessly. “Good fight.”

“Not too shabby yourself,” Kayris returned as she lowered her blade. “And it definitely helped.”

“Good to hear.” Atton pushed himself up on his elbows to grin at her. “Always happy to help you relieve tension however I can.”

She rolled her eyes and offered him a hand up. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

It took only slightly more bracing than she’d expecting when he accepted, still grinning. “You do that.” Despite the words, he released her hand very quickly, shaking his as if it stung.

Kayris shot a meaningful look at the blood staining his fingers. “You should probably take care of that.”

Atton shrugged. “Eh, it’s not that bad.  And you’re one to talk with this.” He titled her chin up and brushed his thumb over where she’d bitten her lip.

She flicked her gaze up to meet his for a moment before hastily stepping back, self-consciously feeling the swollen skin as she parroted, “It’s not that bad.”

He cocked his head and studied her for a long-frozen second. “So, are you gonna tell me those other reasons you went to fight?”

Kayris smirked coyly. “And show all my cards at the start?”

Atton snorted, which turned into another laugh. “Guess I had that coming.”

She just shrugged in quasi-innocence and held her smirk as they locked eyes, panting breath and the underlying hum of engines the only sound.

And then the Ebon Hawk yawed hard, tossing Atton into the wall and Kayris into him. The only reason they didn’t crack heads was Atton got his hands up in time to catch her biceps and steady her a few inches away.

“Sorry...” she mumbled in tandem with his wry, “You alright?” and suddenly their eyes were locked from much closer together.

“I, um,” he cleared his throat and started to ease out of the space between her and the wall. “I should see what that was.”

“Right,” Kayris nodded, scrambling backwards. “I can, ah, check the hyperdrive.” She crossed her arms tight as he let go.

Atton didn’t look at her as he shrugged his jacket back on. “Good idea. Thing’s finicky enough as it is.” He darted toward the cockpit, and she busied herself cleaning up the sparring mats until his footsteps faded.

When she did head for he hyperdrive as promised, she was stiff with an entirely different kind of tension.

[brandstonethings]

Getting Nowhere

Following...

It was time. Joe followed Mary and her mentor, Wyatt, through the Slaughtered Lamb to the back room and down the steps... The dark, cold crypt made Joe’s hairs stand on edge. It was strange, being in the very place where he had been told not to go alone during his service as a city guard. It was probably a very stupid idea, now that he thought about it. One man, armed only with a knife, following two warlocks possessing who knows what sort of magic along with demons at their command, stepping down into what seemed like the abyss of no return. Very stupid, indeed.

Yet, for some reason he trusted Wyatt. He looked into his eyes and thought him an honest man. He seemed to care well enough for Joe’s safety with all of his warnings. He was a teacher to Mary and from the way he spoke, seemed intelligent, although not too intelligent to the point Joe could not keep up. Joe didn’t take him for a man who favored trickery, unlike some he knew...

Joe stood in a corner, facing the wall, as instructed while Mary drew out a wide circle of glyphs with chalk. Wyatt summoned a demon of his own, a silly looking thing that was not too unlike a floating ugly potato if it weren’t for the fact that it was purple, had tentacles, seven eyes and a big toothy smile. It was the stuff of dreams. Wyatt explained that it would eat up any charms that happened to come Joe’s way.

He listened to the sound of the chalk on the cold stone floor, still facing the wall. Behind him, Mary placed her hand at one of the circle. As the chalk began to glow green, there was a sudden pop and the smell of sulfur filled the air as Elerva was ripped through the nether. She yawned, as if testing out her jaw after Mary had removed whatever spell had been used to bind it.

Joe cleared his throat, “Elerva, that’s yer name. Is that right, succubus?” The demon took a moment to look around and test the edge of the binding circle with her hoof. “Again with this place?” She flatly ignored Joe.

He scratched at his brow at being ignored. “I asked you a question...” By the gods, he felt dumb and awkward talking to a wall. The succubus let out an exasperated sigh, “Yes, I’m Elerva. Who is this?”

“You don’t know me?” She took a tentative step forward, her voice low and throaty, “I can’t see your face, darling. Come closer; let’s have a look.”

“Your stayin’ right there... Both of ya,” warned Wyatt. Joe knew, he was perhaps stupid but wasn’t that stupid. “Sorry, yer jus’ goin’ to have to go off of my voice. My name is Joseph Brandstone. Do you know me?” He asked again.

“Elerva gasped, “Oh, the dreamcatcher boy!” Her voice took on a dramatic tone. “You poor, poor dear. It was nightmares, wasn’t it? What did you dream of?” Joe ignored her question, frankly, he didn’t want to think about what he had dreamed of now. “So you do know ‘bout the dreamcatcher... ‘bout me bein’ cursed.”

“Of course I do, darling. You poor, sweet thing. Are you able to sleep better now? I could help you relax.” He heard her hiss at another warning from Wyatt. “I’m sleepin’ just fine now, thanks... Are you capable of puttin’ curses on people, Elerva?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, sweet thing. My only desire is to help.” Joe rubbed the back of his neck, grumbling. Her voice annoyed him to no end, but he tried to continue calmly. “How do you know me, Elerva? Have you been followin’ me around?” She scowled at Mary, “This wretched bitch doesn’t let me go anywhere.”

“...So how do you know me?” He asked again. She cooed, “I know all about you, sweet thing. That awful man’s mentioned you by name so often. Oh, poor Elerva! He’s cruel to me, Joey. Did you know that?” Of course, she was talking about Haleth, who tortured her. It made him hate the man even more, even if she was a demon who had probably done plenty of evil deeds. He took a deep breath to calm himself. “I know what it’s like to be burned... I’ve been tortured too. Maybe not in the same way you have, but I’ve had rods of hot iron pressed ‘gainst me like I was a big juicy steak. So we’ve got that in common. I think we can help each other if you tell me the truth of this...”

She bared her teeth at Mary, “What truth? Are you helping this little wretch? This worthless, awful whore of a woman? Are you going to bring that paladin back here too?” Joe was slightly confused. “No. No, I just want to know who cursed me Elerva. And I believe you can help since you knew about it and about the dreamcatcher. The dreamcatcher is what was used to curse me, weren’t it?”

For a few moments, Elerva got distracted by whatever bickering was going on in the back. Joe couldn’t tell what exactly was going on. “Hm? What dr-- oh yes! The dreamcatcher, yes. Wood and teeth and bone from something else.”

“Well, I jus’ so happen to have the dreamcatcher now. Mary gave it to me but it’s all burnt. I was thinkin’ whoever burned it did it to try to get rid of evidence... But Mary here tells me that you were toyin’ with it, that it belonged to her... and that she burned it as a standard procedure fer dealin’ with cursed items because you were accused of cursin’ me. Who was it that cursed me Elerva?”

She pointed an accusatory finger at Mary. “SHE did!” That didn’t surprise him. That was two accusations pointed at Mary now. Although he had to take Elerva’s with a grain of salt. “Haleth weren’t involved at all, Elerva?”

There was a momentary silence before Joe heard a response. “Oh! Yes, yes, Haleth! He orchestrated the whole thing! He threatened to put his felguard’s axe through my skull again if I didn’t do it!” Joe lofted a brow at that. As much as he wanted to believe that, it sounded off. “So you helped him curse me?” 

Mary rubbed her forehead, mumbling. “...So stupid.”

“--And Mary!-” Elerva added before Joe had cut her off, “You were lyin’ earlier then?” Wyatt then cut in, “Who says she isn’t now?!”

“The-- no! No, I haven’t lied to you, Joey.” The whole ordeal was getting quite ridiculous now... “You said Haleth threatened you if you didn’t do it.”

“Yes, yes he did! He’s a terrible man, Joey, you know this. Awful man. He said he wants you dead!”

“I know he wants me dead. But yer soundin’ pretty nervous right now...” Joe began spewing out questions faster. “What did he want you to do? How come you know so much ‘bout the curse on me? You were part of it, weren’t you!” The succubus crouched slightly, “They MADE me do it! That horrible woman will do whatever he says!”

The interrogation continued on for several more minutes, mostly digging up nothing of real importance. Joe had revealed to Elerva the true reason behind her summoning here was to banish her, which only made the situation more heated. It was frustrating now with all the bickering between her, Mary, and Wyatt. Joe had even lost his temper a few times, exploding in anger and shouting at the demon who wouldn't give him any straight answers.

The end result was disappointing. Joe had hoped that Elerva would reveal something new for him to sniff at. The only new information that she had provided was that the dreamcatcher already had magic in it, though it was something he could have guessed. Mary and Wyatt began the banishing ritual and soon the succubus would be dragged into a large portal, thrashing around and denying her guilt to the very end. A final, shrill cry echoed off the walls of the crypt as the portal closed.

This was all turning out to be a massive headache that Joe didn’t need. He was getting nowhere. Perhaps it was time to drop the case. As the saying goes...

The juice just wasn’t worth the squeeze.

@foxglovethings @wrahaleth (mention)

[amwritesstuff]

Forget Me Not 2: Coping (Bakugou/Reader)

Part 1

Part 3

Bakugou was home, Kirishima was sure of it. The ill-tempered man had, had the same routine for nearly three months now, there was no way he was going to stop suddenly.

Unless something changed.

He knocked again with a little more force. He pulled his phone out to find none of his messages had been responded to. Though, that wasn’t all too surprising. Bakugou had never been one to respond to texts unless he needed to, and when he did it was to the point. Still, Kirishima couldn’t help but worry over his friend.

His phone pinged. “Doors open”

There was something jarring about stepping through into the apartment. The outside world was filled with overlapping sounds, colors, and the motion of life being lived. The sudden silence that followed the door clicking shut was deafening. Everything just felt so… faded.

It was strange. Kirishima knew that aesthetically nothing had changed in the home, but the colors of the walls and furniture seemed dulled, almost grey. Part of that could be chalked up to the thin layer of dust that covered stuff that wasn’t used every day. His friend really wasn’t faring well if he was neglecting taking care of things he would normally be so on top of. Though, he couldn’t really blame him for it. Most of the decorative possessions belonged to his wife, and he couldn’t imagine how hard it must be to be reminded of someone that couldn’t even remember he existed.

Moving farther into the apartment he found Bakugou on his couch, hunched over with his head in his hands. Right where he usually ended up on his off days, though there was a single beer can on the coffee table. A vast improvement compared to the times he’d come in to find far more. However, Kirishima knew he still needed to tread carefully given the very raw, delicate subject matter.

“Hey, man,” he sat beside him. He didn't get a reply, though he wasn't expecting one. He was there to simply provide quiet support and comfort since he didn't think Bakugou should be alone on these days.

Bakugou had been given leave from heroing for a time after you had been hospitalized. When he couldn't stay away from work any longer, he was by your side on his off days, beating himself up for not being with you when you needed him.

Kirishima had tried to be with him when he could on those days, trying to keep him from spiraling. He even got their group from high school together to help keep his mind busy. It worked better down the line, when it was announced that you would be making a full recovery. It was after you woke that everything shot back to square one. In some cases, you waking had made things worse.

Bakugou had been no less than ecstatic to hear you were up and about, so much so that he hadn't processed what your doctor was trying to tell him.

Kirishima had been there. He had taken in what was being said. He watched helplessly when you expressed confusion, almost fear, when Bakugou went to embrace you after two weeks of you being unconscious. He witnessed realization dawning on his friend as you questioned who he was. You had no clue you were even a Hero. You had been concerned with how much of class you had missed, convinced you were still in high school. You had asked him several times if he was there about your internship, seeming to forget what was going on every few minutes or so.

To say Bakugou hadn't handled it well was an understatement. After his initial bewilderment wore off, he started rapid firing information on your life in hopes that something would jar your memory. He became increasingly desperate the longer you blankly stared at him. Kirishima had to drag him out before security was called.

The doctors had mentioned head trauma and a possibility of memory loss, but nothing too major due to that particular injury being relatively minor. It wasn't until tests were run did they find the damage was quirk related. They honestly couldn't say if it was just a case of amnesia or if something more permanent that they couldn't see had been done. They had said to be prepared for you not to improve.

Things had only gotten worse from there. Being a quirk related injury, they weren’t sure if there would be any side effects. Turns out, whatever nerves corresponded to your quirk started to deteriorate and they didn't know how to stop it. You were admitted to a care center for those with Alzheimer's shortly after.

Bakugou had poured himself into work after, looking for leads on the guy that had done this. He absolutely refused to do anything else, no matter how much his friends and colleagues tried to reason. Though, it was all for naught. Less than two weeks of relentless searching, he found the man responsible for your condition, dead from a drug overdose. And any hope of finding if his quirk was reversible was gone with him.

Bakugou hadn't been to his home during this. He claimed that there wasn't a point to being there since he had to catch your attacker. Which Kirishima felt was partially true, though he had a feeling Bakugou probably couldn't handle being alone in his apartment while you were in some assisted living.

He just didn't know the extent of how much he was hurting until he escorted him home for the first time in weeks. Bakugou had stood in the entrance for a moment, shoulders starting to shake and breathing becoming heavy. Kirishima caught him just as he dropped into a sobbing mess.

He had fallen into a routine since then. He pulled double shifts, often sleeping at the agency, even going out to bars when invited after hours, which he normally didn't do. Anything to keep himself busy. Though, even when in the company of friends it was clear that his mind was elsewhere more often than not.

His off days he spent with you, from when visiting hours started to when they ended. These days he'd sleep in his own bed after downing a few beers.

Him being around you so much seemed to help at first. There were times that you would act like his co-worker, before forgetting him entirely again. The cycle would circle back multiple times in one visit, but it never went beyond that. And it was killing him.

Kirishima had stopped by one day to find Bakugou in a drunken stupor, ranting that you had played out a conversation the two of you had, had years ago, four times that visit. He couldn't take it, so he cut his visit short. After that, Kirishima made sure his off days lined up with his. He'd be damned if he allowed his friend to plummet without doing what he could.

“Hm?” Kirishima glanced over. Bakugou had made some kind of sound that might have been words, but he wasn’t too sure. “You say something?” Another quiet, garbled noise. There were words in there, he just couldn’t make them out.

Bakugou raised his head, hands running along his face to cradle his chin. He stared straight ahead with glossy eyes. The longer Kirishima watched him, the more he started to realize that this was a different look then what he normally saw.

Grief and anger were usually etched into Bakugous’ features on these days, made more prominent with alcohol. However, this… this was different. His eyes were unfocused, but they were aware. He looked as though he had been crying, though not recently.

“She…” He took a shaky breath. “She knew me…”

If Bakugou were acting any other way, Kirishima would’ve taken this comment as a sign that Bakugou was slipping. Instead, he sat straight, giving his full attention. “Knew you, like… Not just a coworker?”

Bakugou huffed a strained laugh. “No. She recognized me…” His head fell, covering his eyes. “She started yelling like she was in pain. I don’t know what triggered it, but when she’d calmed down she…” He seemed to be trying to hold it together.

“Damnit!” His head shot up, falling back onto the couch. His eyes were clenched shut, just holding on to tears gathering in the corner. “She knew me! She fucking saw me! She said my name, for fucks sake!” His voice started to soften as the tears started to fall, his voice cracking.

“I had her back, Kirishima! I had her in my arms… And then,” he sniffled. “And then, she was gone again… Didn’t know who the fuck I was. Asked me if I was alright. Me! I’m just-I’m…”

Kirishima watched as Bakugou worked to get himself under control. He put a comforting hand on his shoulder, giving a light squeeze. He was hesitant about saying anything. He just needed the right words.

“Bakugou… I know this is difficult for you, seeing her like this and everything… But, you can’t stop seeing her now.” Bakugou lifted his gaze to the redhead, looking very much confused. “This is tearing you apart, hell it’s tearing me apart to watch all this happen! But, you’ve gotta man up and see it through if she’s showing progress!”

Bakugou stared for a second. Blinked. His face contorted. “What the hell are you goin’ on about? Of course I’m gonna fucking see this through! What? Do you honestly think that I was gonna just stop seeing her?! Especially after today?! Me, of all people?! When the hell have you ever known me to fucking give up on anything! Of fucking course I’m going back! Hell, I’m thinking about taking time off again!” He whacked Kirishima with a paperback that had been left on the side table. “Dumbass!”

Kirishima rubbed at his head as he watched the blond storm into the kitchen, a soft smile spreading across his face. There was no doubt in his mind that Bakugou wouldn’t continue visiting you, he had simply wanted to keep the fact that you seemed to be doing better at the forefront. His friend had been suffering through this for too long to push that aside for wallowing in you forgetting again. That outburst had been more like the Bakugou that he knew and it spoke volumes on how he was taking this development. Hopefully, a little more time was all that was needed.

As he heard Bakugou grumble amidst the clanging of cookware, Kirishima couldn’t help but think it was all going to turn out alright.

[superfreakerz]

Heightened

This is a request from @millennial-star-gazer :) Sorry it took me so long to finish this! And I might've changed it a bit because I'm not really confident in my skills of writing E.N.D. lol. Hope you like it anyways! :D

"Heightened"

Rated M for smut.

Summary: After eating a potion-infused chip he bought from some sketchy clerk, Natsu is thrown into Dragon Force. Lucy quickly finds that it isn't just his appearance that is affected. With heightened senses, the boy is possessive and territorial over her.

Heightened

"Sir, could you perhaps be a dragon slayer?"

Natsu's ears perked at the question. He and Happy had been traveling home from one of the jobs that they went on together. Even though they loved the rest of Team Natsu, the two still chose to do some jobs alone to spend some time together.

Natsu nodded at the man behind the counter. They were currently in a magic shop, looking for any keys that they could bring back to Lucy.

"Yeah, I am. Why?" he asked.

"I have something that you might like," the man answered. "But first, do you have a partner?"

"Partner?" Natsu immediately pictured Lucy. "Yeah, I do. Why?"

"Because I can only sell it to you if you have one."

"Oh. Well what is it?"

The man bent down and pulled an item from behind the counter. Inside of a small bag was a sole potato chip.

Natsu quirked a brow, crossing his arms. "A chip? You're selling me a chip?"

"It's not just any kind of chip," the clerk said. "It's one that will make things more fun between you and your partner."

"More fun? How?"

"You'll have to see for yourself." The man's lips curled into a small smile, his cheeks tinted pink.

Natsu stared at the chip skeptically. It was a hefty price to pay for just a chip, but the guy did say it'd make things more fun. That was worth it, right? And since the shop didn't sell any celestial keys, they could use the money they saved for that on this instead.

"Alright, I'll take it!" Natsu exclaimed with an eager grin.

The man mirrored his expression, accepting the money and offering him the chip.

Little did Natsu know at the time that the kind of fun the man meant was something totally different.

Arriving at the guild, Natsu's eyes immediately searched for a head of golden hair while Happy flew towards Charle. Finding the blonde sitting at the bar with Cana and Mira, the boy decided to sneak up on her. Right behind her, he squeezed her sides and shouted, eliciting a scream from the girl.

Lucy turned around, glaring at Natsu. "Natsu! Don't do that, you jerk!"

The boy cackled. "It's too funny, Luce!"

"It's not funny!"

"Yeah it is!"

"It kinda is," Cana agreed.

"Yep!" Mira chimed in.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Whatever." Turning towards her partner, she smiled at him. "How did the job go?"

"Piece of cake!" Natsu answered with a wide grin.

"That's good. I was actually going to go back to my place to write on my novel."

"Oh, I'll go with you."

"Okay, but you need to be quiet since I need to concentrate on my story! Are you going to bring Happy?"

"Nah, he's been talkin' this whole time about winning Charle's heart the moment we got back so I'm gonna let him do his thing."

With that, they were saying their goodbyes to everyone in the guild before heading back to Lucy's apartment. Natsu walked a step behind Lucy as she walked on the edge of the canal. He was on his toes to make sure that she wouldn't fall in- though, that'd be a pretty funny sight. He told her all about their job, all the while watching Lucy.

The sunlight reflected off of Lucy's golden hair, making her look like an angel. His eyes glazed over her curves, his fingers itching to feel them. He shook his head, forcing his gaze onto the pavement.

He and Lucy weren't like that. At least, not yet. Ever since the battle with Zeref and Acnologia, the two were in a weird stalemate. Natsu had a feeling that she had a thing for him, just as he did for her, but neither of them chose to really act on it. Maybe they were waiting for each other to make a move. Natsu wasn't sure. But he didn't want to do anything that Lucy wasn't ready for.

Reaching the girl's apartment, Lucy immediately went to her desk while Natsu situated himself on her bed. They were in a content silence as Lucy worked on her novel and Natsu played with his fire.

Still, Natsu could only keep himself entertained for so long. After half an hour passed of them sitting in silence, he was starting to feel fidgety. No longer interested in playing with fire, he shoved his hands in his pockets, his brows quirking as he felt a plastic bag in one of them. He had forgotten all about the chip.

"Lucy!" he suddenly called out, causing the girl to jump in her seat.

With a hand over her chest to calm her startled heart, she turned to face him. "What, Natsu? Don't just scream my name like that! You scared me!"

He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry, sorry! But I just remembered something I bought for us!"

This piqued the blonde's interest. In seconds, she was getting up from her chair and sitting by him on the bed.

"What is it?" she asked, a wide smile stretched over her face. Reaching into his pocket, Natsu pulled out the plastic bag, showing it off. Lucy peered curiously at it, blanching when she saw what was inside. "A chip? You got us a chip? Not even a full bag, but just one single chip?"

"Yeah! The guy said that it would make things fun!" Natsu replied.

"How?"

"He said I'd have to see for myself."

Lucy placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Natsu, but you totally got ripped off. The guy just put a potato chip in the bag and said some nonsense about it so some idiot would buy it."

"Oi! I'm not an idiot!"

"You just bought a single potato chip."

"For us," Natsu said, nudging the girl. "I don't think he was lying!"

"What makes you say that?" Lucy asked.

"Because he knew I was a dragon slayer! So this only works for dragon slayers. And he said he could only sell it to me if I have a partner."

"Partner?"

"Yeah. Like you and Happy."

Lucy sighed. "Well, I'll let you have it."

Natsu inspected the chip. It did look like an ordinary chip… He shook his head. He refused to believe that he was played!

So, without a second thought, he plopped the chip into his mouth and began to chew. It tasted like any other chip. Swallowing, he waited for anything to happen.

"Well?" Lucy asked, staring at the boy. "Anything happen?"

The boy crossed his arms with a pout. "Not yet. But just give it some time! I'm sure it'll-!"

Natsu's eyes widened, his jaw slacking. His breaths began to stagger and his heart felt like it was beating a mile per second. He clutched his chest, the world around him starting to spin.

"Natsu?" Lucy called out. "Natsu, what's wrong?"

The boy couldn't even hear her. A strange, foreign heat traveled through his body. Being a fire dragon slayer who ate fire on a daily basis, his body always felt warm. But this was different. This was painful.

Natsu inhaled sharply, fisting his hair as the heat got worse. It felt like it was bundling up, about to explode within him.

Lucy was getting worried. Was the chip poisoned? Was that why he was acting like this? Looping an arm underneath Natsu, she began to lead him towards the door.

"I'm going to take you to the guild!" she told him, unsure if he could even hear her. He didn't react at all, so she doubted he could. "Maybe Wendy or Master can do something about this!"

It was a long, hard walk to the guild. Carrying Natsu the entire way was a struggle. It didn't help that the townspeople were staring at them, and it especially didn't help when Natsu would start to thrash around in pain.

But finally, they reached the guild. Kicking open the door, everyone in the guild turned their attention towards them.

"Someone help me!" Lucy shouted. Carrying Natsu the entire way had taken its toll on her body and she was exhausted. Falling to her knees, she was relieved when Gray and Erza came to help.

"What's wrong?" Gray asked, lifting Natsu and sitting him down at the nearest table. Everyone in the guild circled around them, concerned for the dragon slayer.

"I-I don't know!" Lucy answered, standing right beside the ice-make mage. "He bought some chip from someone saying that it would make things fun or something and next thing I knew he was like this! Wendy, can you help him?"

The girl frowned, shaking her head. "I'm not really sure what the problem is."

"It isn't poison?"

"No. If it were, I could heal him."

"I know where the shop is!" Happy chimed in. "Maybe we should go see the guy that sold it to us!"

"That's a good idea," Erza replied. "It doesn't help that none of us knows what's happening. We need to get some answers."

Lucy frowned, gnawing on her lower lip as she watched Natsu writhe in agony. She hated seeing him hurt. Suddenly, a cold hand landed on her shoulder. Gray smiled at her.

"Don't worry, Lucy," he said. "We'll figure it out. Flame Brains will be back to his annoying, idiotic self in no time."

Lucy nodded, forcing a smile to her face. "You're right. Thank you, Gr-!"

A low growl had interrupted her. Whipping her head towards Natsu, Lucy's eyes grew wide as her jaw dropped on its hinges. Natsu's pupils had turned to slits as he glared at Gray. Anger gleamed in his eyes. Suddenly, scales started to grow out of some parts of his face.

"Dragon Force?" Gajeel asked. "Why the hell is he goin' into Dragon Force?"

Before anyone could say anything else, Natsu leapt from his spot, tackling Gray down to the ground.

"Oi! What the hell, Natsu!" Gray shouted, trying to get him off.

Natsu ignored him, baring his sharp teeth. Another low growl resonated in his throat.

"Don't. Touch. Her," he ground out.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Wait, is he talking about Lucy?" Erza asked.

"I only put my hand on her shoulder!" Gray said.

This only caused Natsu to get angrier. His nails turned to sharp claws, which he held dangerously close to Gray's face.

"Don't touch her!" he repeated. His voice was lower than normal, scratchy and hoarse.

Erza went to get Natsu off of Gray when the boy threatened to slash at her instead. Lucy swallowed thickly, taking a step towards him. She didn't want to set him off, but she needed to get him away from Gray.

"Natsu," she called out. This gained the boy's attention. "Come here."

He got up and went by the girl's side. Gray scoffed, glaring at him.

"I think I know what the problem is," Levy said, gaining everyone's attention. "Natsu wasn't poisoned. But he was definitely given something."

"What is it?" Lucy asked.

Levy blushed and chuckled awkwardly. "Well, it's going to sound crazy…"

"Just tell us!"

"I think the chip might've been infused with a potion that makes someone possessive and territorial. And since Natsu's a dragon slayer, that side of him is worse than most people's. His senses will be heightened."

"The guy did say that it was meant for dragon slayers," Happy informed her. "And that he could only sell it if Natsu had a partner."

"Partner? Well, that only proves my point. He meant partner as in significant other, not a partner you go on jobs with."

Lucy flushed from head to toe. "Wait… So you're saying that Natsu is possessive of… me?"

"Yep," Levy answered with a nod.

"But-But we aren't even- What!?"

"Oh please," Gray said, crossing his arms. "Everyone knows how you guys feel about each other. And I guess this means that Ash for Brains does too."

Lucy's cheeks were set ablaze. She did not come here to have her feelings towards Natsu talked about amongst the whole guild.

"Don't worry, Lucy," Levy said. "The effect will wear off eventually. For now, just endure it."

"You should probably take him home," Erza suggested. "We don't want him hurting anyone."

Lucy nodded, her heart thumping within her chest. Take Natsu home? While he was like this?

"Okay," she said. "Let's go, Natsu. Happy." That seemed to trigger the dragon slayer as he glared at Happy with a growl. "Seriously? You're getting jealous over Happy too?"

The exceed frowned. "It's okay, Lucy. I'll just go home. You can take Natsu to your apartment."

Lucy smiled apologetically towards the cat, knowing that his feelings were probably hurt. "Alright. Bye, everyone."

The guild wished her luck, and with that, she was out the door.

Even though carrying Natsu to the guild was tough, this was worse. Every time someone so much as looked at her, Natsu was charging them and getting in their faces. The same happened if someone was just walking close to her.

"Stop it already!" Lucy demanded, dragging Natsu by the scarf into her apartment. Once she closed the door behind her, she leaned against it with a sigh of relief, glad to be back home. Since they were alone, there was nobody Natsu could get angry at.

"Well, Natsu?" Lucy started, opening her eyes to glance at him. "What do you want to do-!"

The words died in her throat as she saw the way Natsu was looking at her. She was no fool. She was not blind to the hunger and desire that filled his onyx orbs.

A blush crawled up her face. "Umm, what do you want to do?"

Natsu ignored her and continued to stare at her. Her eyes trailed over the scales that protruded his skin. The dark look in his eyes paired with those scales…

Heat erupted within the girl like a volcano as the area between her thighs began to tingle in excitement. Lucy wanted to bash her own head in the wall. What was she getting turned on for? It wasn't like she could actually do anything!

Still, Lucy blushed from the intense look Natsu was giving her. This was her first time seeing him in Dragon Force. She'd seen him angry many times, but this was different. Though he was angry at everyone else, he never looked angry when he gazed at her.

Lucy was drawn from her thoughts as she saw Natsu walking towards her. With a tiny squeal, she pushed herself against the door. Natsu stopped right in front of her, his eyes boring into hers.

"N-Natsu?" she called out.

Before she could even register what was happening, Lucy found herself caged between Natsu's arms.

"Lucy…" he said, his voice low and alluring. The girl couldn't help but shudder from his voice.

"W-What are you doing?"

Natsu slowly started to lean his face towards hers. Lucy got the hint immediately, squirming in her spot with flared cheeks. Was this really happening? Was this going to be her first kiss?

With a frown, Lucy stopped him.

She wanted to kiss him, she really did. She had wanted to for a long time, actually. After all, she was madly in love with Natsu. But this was different. Natsu wasn't in control of himself and she didn't want to take advantage of him like that.

"I can't," she whispered.

"Why not?" he asked, gently grabbing her wrist.

"Because you may want this now, but I don't want you to regret it when the effects of that potion wear off."

Natsu tugged on her wrist, pulling her against him. "I won't regret it. I'm still me, Luce." With that, he began his descent towards her lips once again.

Lucy's breaths were shaky as he got closer and closer. Her brain was short-circuiting, her thoughts a jumbled mess. She could feel his breath fanning against her face. She closed her eyes, anticipating what was to come. And finally, their lips met.

At first, the kiss was soft, as if their lips were barely even touching. Fire shot through Lucy's body, coursing through her veins. Then, Natsu began to push harder against her, molding his lips with her own.

It was sloppy at first, but they soon got the hang of it, their lips washing over each other's like waves. Lucy, unsure of what to do with her arms, snaked them around Natsu's neck, bringing herself against him. She could faintly hear another one of his low growls, which she took as a sign that he liked it.

Everything was happening so fast. Not even an hour ago, the two were dancing around their feelings. And now, they were sharing passionate kisses.

Lucy couldn't complain about that.

Natsu began to tug on Lucy's lip with his sharpened teeth, gently enough so that it wouldn't hurt her. The sensation was odd, but Lucy found herself liking it as she began to tug on his hair. This spurred the boy to advance further, his tongue darting into Lucy's mouth and sliding against her own.

Lucy's eyes opened as she squealed, unfamiliar with such a feeling. Well, she was unfamiliar with all of this, but that caught her off guard.

Natsu smirked at her, making her fidget in her spot. The way his eyes bore into hers, the teasing smirk…

Natsu leaned towards her again, planting his lips against hers. As if warming her up to it, he switched between licking her lower lip and tugging it with his teeth. Then, he slowly pushed his tongue into her mouth.

Lucy leaned into the kiss, enjoying the odd sensation of brushing tongues with Natsu. His hands landed on her hips, tugging at her flesh that was revealed by her crop top. She could feel his fingers dipping underneath the hem of her shirt. The tingling sensation between her legs grew to a dull ache.

Natsu pulled away from their kiss and stared into Lucy's eyes as he paused his advances, silently asking for permission. Lucy was glad that even under the effects of the potion, he still had to control to make sure she was okay with it. With blushing cheeks, Lucy grabbed Natsu's hand and trailed it upwards, giving him the answer he was looking for.

Natsu crashed his lips over hers once again, his hand slowly moving up her side and under her shirt. His other hand was kept on her lower back, pushing her against him.

As Lucy felt Natsu's hand getting closer and closer to her breast, she couldn't help but squirm in anticipation. He'd touched them before, but this time would be different. She could tell he was teasing her by how slowly he was moving. His touches were driving her crazy.

Finally, his hand grazed her breast, causing her to inhale sharply. Natsu continued his pursuit until his thumb was right next to her hardened nub. He pushed his tongue into her mouth again as his thumb rolled over her peak, eliciting a whimper from the girl.

In seconds, Lucy found herself pushed against the door, moaning as Natsu continued to fondle her breast. To think that she'd been missing out on such pleasure! She could tell that her moans were having an affect on Natsu with the way he started to get rougher with his kisses.'

Not that she'd minded.

Natsu growled again as Lucy's fingers raked his back. His lips left hers in pursuit of her neck instead. He ravaged the skin, sucking it roughly and smoothing his tongue over it, leaving red marks in his wake.

Lucy whimpered again as Natsu's thumb rolled over her nipple. The ache between her legs was growing harder and harder to ignore. She needed to relieve herself. Her body acted on its own as she rolled her hips against Natsu, feeling something hard against her thigh. With flushed cheeks, Lucy glanced down to find something bulging under Natsu's pants.

Natsu growled at Lucy, his body reacting to the way she rolled against him. He suddenly picked her up, all the while sucking on her neck. Her legs wrapped around his torso until she was dropped onto the bed.

Natsu grabbed the hem of her skirt before meeting Lucy's gaze again. She nodded quickly, watching as he tore her skirt off. At this point, she was fine with him doing anything to her as long as he'd relieve her of the ache between her legs. Natsu then ripped her shirt off, literally. Lucy couldn't care less at the moment though. Now she was left in only her red, lacy underwear.

Lucy wriggled in anticipation, waiting for Natsu to touch her again. Instead, she watched as Natsu went to her desk, grabbing one of her ribbons. With an arched brow, she watched Natsu approach her again.

Natsu settled himself over her, crashing her lips against hers. Her hands fisted his hair, but not for long before he grabbed her wrists and held her arms above her head. In seconds, she found her arms tied above her head to the pillars of the bed.

"N-Natsu?" she called out breathily.

The boy ignored her, tracing his fingers over her chest, circling her breasts. Lucy wriggled from the touch and rolled her hips towards him as he grazed her hardened peaks. Natsu smirked, amused with the reaction. And now Lucy had figured out why he had tied her up.

To torture her.

Instead of finishing her like she had hoped he would do, Natsu took his time teasing her. His lips traveled from her own lips towards her neck, then towards her chest. She swallowed thickly as he left butterfly kisses over her collarbone and down to the crease of her breasts. He circled the area around her sensitive nubs before slowly grazing his tongue over them.

This elicited a loud moan from Lucy, rolling her hips in need of being relieved. Natsu pulled the nub into his mouth, sucking and licking it. Lucy felt like she was walking on air, like she was on ecstasy. She'd never felt anything so pleasurable before, it was driving her crazy.

"N-Natsu…" she breathed out, her face flushed and dotted with sweat.

"Not yet," he replied, moving his face to her other breast and repeating the process. Lucy wasn't sure how much longer she could hold up.

Soon enough, Natsu's hand slid up her thigh, towards her underwear. His fingers danced along the hem, teasing her by sometimes slipping a finger underneath.

"Natsu," Lucy said, glaring at him.

"Beg for it," Natsu demanded.

"I'm not going to beg!"

Natsu's finger grazed over her underwear, feeling her juices soak through the fabric. His fingers delved closer and closer to her entrance, making her moan. Finally, she was going to be relieved of this suffering!

Then Natsu pulled his hand back, smirking at her.

"Beg," he said.

"F-Fine!" Lucy shouted, no longer able to control herself. "Please, Natsu. Please, for the love of god, finish what you started."

Natsu grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. Instead of using his fingers, which was what Lucy expected him to use, Natsu left kisses starting from her breasts, trailing down her stomach and over her underwear. Using his teeth, he tore the underwear apart, reveling in the flesh that he'd never seen up close like this before.

"N-Natsu?" Lucy called out. "What are you doing?"

He ignored her as spread her legs farther apart and began kissing her inner thigh. He slowly moved upwards to her folds.

Lucy's eyes widened as she realized what he was going to do. She squirmed, unable to hold still as his lips worked their way up to her region. Finally, he hovered over her folds, his hot breath fanning her entrance. Then, he began to suck on her lips, causing Lucy to moan.

He flicked his tongue over her clitoris, amused with the reaction as Lucy arched her back and screamed his name. He did it again and again, teasing her before he slid his tongue past her folds and circled her entrance. He could feel Lucy's legs wrap around his head, but he grabbed them and pushed her legs as far apart as he could, keeping them in place no matter how much she wriggled around.

And once his tongue slowly entered her, she began to thrash around.

"Natsu!" she cried, unable to help herself. The area was so sensitive, she needed to wrap her legs around his head, but he wouldn't let her. No, instead, he kept going deeper inside of her, exploring her edges with his tongue.

Lucy could feel her toes curling as she was on the brink of release. Once Natsu quickened his pace, her legs buckled and she shattered against him, calling out his name. It was like she was on a high, her body trembling as pleasure washed over her. Moans continuously slipped past her lips as he continued to circle his tongue inside of her even though she already climaxed. She rolled her hips against his face, trying to get his tongue even deeper inside of her.

Once the waves of pleasure began to die down, Lucy's legs went limp and Natsu finally pulled his tongue out of her. His eyes trailed over her naked body, dark and hungry still.

"Want to untie me now so I can finish you?" Lucy asked between pants.

Natsu smirked, shaking his head.

"Nah, I'm gonna keep you tied up."

"How am I supposed to finish you then?"

Natsu brought a finger to her mouth, answering her question with the action. Lucy's blush deepened as she nodded her head. She couldn't help but agree to whatever Natsu wanted. Honestly, she wanted to do it too.

So, she watched as Natsu pulled down his pants, his hardened member finally being set free. He caged Lucy between his legs as he brought his cock up to her mouth. Lucy opened her mouth, allowing Natsu to push his shaft inside.

Lucy was a little embarrassed to be in such a position, but at the same time it was exhilarating. Now she knew how Natsu had felt while pleasuring her. She enjoyed being able to pleasure Natsu.

He slowly pushed deeper inside, as far as he could before Lucy's gag reflex would be triggered. Once he knew how far he could go, he picked up speed, thrusting in and out of her mouth. The warmth of her mouth over his length had him seeing stars.

It didn't take long for him to feel like he was about to finish, not when Lucy tightened her lips around his shaft so that it tugged at it every time he thrusted. He could tell she was feeling adventurous herself.

Natsu's legs buckled and he moaned softly as he pulled out immediately, white liquid spurting out and landing on Lucy's face. His breaths were staggered as he leaned over her, watching the liquid drip down the side of her face.

Lucy's eyes widened, feeling a warm liquid slide down her face. She knew what it was, and honestly she was a little thrown off for a second. She'd heard Cana share stories of guys finishing on her face, but it never sounded appealing to her. But now, watching Natsu's eyes glaze over the trail of cum on her face in satisfaction, she began to understand why some girls liked it.

Natsu tore the ribbon that he had used to keep Lucy tied up. Her arms fell limply at her sides, numb. The two of them laid side by side, silent, save for their panting.

"How was it?" Lucy finally asked.

Natsu smirked at her. "Let me put it this way, you better relax while you can before we go for another round. And don't even bother putting on clothes unless you want me to rip those off too."

Lucy grinned, a blush spreading over her face. Suddenly, Natsu's words from before replayed in her head.

"The guy said that it would make things fun!" Natsu had said while explaining why he bought the chip.

Well, the guy wasn't wrong.

That was definitely fun.

[jojotier]

"Where do I obtain a wedgie board? Do I have to make my own wedgie or can I buy one from a witch or vegan?" - Arataka Reigen

(You’re right!)

“Mmmm… Mobbbbb…” Reigen slurred, glancing off to the side. “W-where do I… get a wedgie board? Huh? Do I make my own, wedgie or can I buy one from an esper or…” He wracked his brains for a moment, trying to think of the word. He stared first at the shot of whiskey in his hand, and then to his other hand, because maybe he’d written it down there. Except, wait. He didn’t, because he was a fully functional adult that owned paper. Paper and writing software. Reigen was set. He checked his other hand before remembering that he didn’t have another hand, because he only had two of them.

God. What was he thinking about? “… vegan.” He finished for some reason but didn’t really know why.

On his other side, a voice said, “You sent him home like three hours ago, you brain-melted dumbass.”

Reigen turned his head towards the voice and squinted, watching the floating ball of mean green (mother, from outer space,) idly hover nearby. Kind of like the idle animation on a video game. Man… Reigen should get a video game. It’d been years since he played…

Ekubo manifested a scrawny arm from his weird plasma snot flesh and pointed an extremely uncanny human finger towards Reigen. “Hey! Listen up!! Don’t just go staring off into space, you creep!”

“I did send Mob home. Oh yeah.” Reigen mused, body slowly curling forwards to rest his cheek against his desk. And now here he was. Drinking on the job. Or well, not on the job- the office had been closed for hours now, and Mob needed a night off to spend with his parents. Man, sometimes, with all the shenanigans that Reigen had done where he and Mob got into super magical special ~psychic adventures~, he forgot that he had those. He guessed you just got used to being a de facto father figure. The side father. The one Mob was cheating on his real father with. God… did that make Reigen a homewrecker?

Blinking quickly, he told himself he wouldn’t cry, but- dammit, he didn’t want to be one!

Ekubo seemed to be saying something, and it occurred to Reigen that he was probably tuning the spirit out. He could feel somewhat bad about that, and he was just about to, when he remembered that Ekubo was kind of an asshole. But then again, assholishness notwithstanding, Reigen wanted to extend spirits the courtesy of a living person… but wait.

“Do you have a butthole?” Reigen slurred out, interrupting whatever Ekubo was in the middle of saying. He was just musing out loud, really. Didn’t really wanna think about his earlier thoughts… they’d probably make him cry. Ekubo made a face, but because his face just so happened to be slathered all over the surface of his weird blob body, he just kind of looked like putty stretching inward on itself. Which was, objectively, pretty hilarious. Reigen giggled a bit, bringing his hand to his mouth to cover the kind of undignified sound before realizing, oh wait, this was the whiskey hand. He could drink more of that!

“I fucking despise that I know you,” Ekubo groused, huffing out a breath after he got done throwing his tiny spinny tantrum. “God, you’re such a drunkard- why do you even need a ouija board? You can just have Mob see everything for you!”

“Well yeaaaaaaaaaa,” Reigen drawled, sitting up a bit more and downing the last of his drink. Finally, he was free to gesture as much as he wanted, and he did so with relish, tossing the arm with the empty shot glass towards the side and waving his hand up and down to help visualize his point, “but I still need one! It’s for the good of my- my customers, see? Every psychic has t’, have one!”

“No, they really don’t. Those things don’t even work.” Ekubo said flatly. Then two arms appeared and he laid them both across his face, “Wait- this is more scam shit. You don’t really believe that load of garbage, do you?”

“What!” Reigen exclaimed, utterly offended. His not-glass hand went over his heart, clutching the fabric of his suit as the other jabbed the air in an uncoordinated mess of gesticulating. “How- how dare you, you weird smile slime? In my own office? You’re gonna just accuse me, in my own psychic office, of scheming.”

“Scamming, more like. You’re too stupid to scheme anything really meaningful!” Ekubo shot back, and Reigen figured that the spirit no doubt was thinking about. Whatever dastardly booger based Saturday morning cartoony reformed evil spirits thought about now.

“‘M not scamming, not really,” Okay that sounded a little fake, even to him. “Th-the feelings, Ekubo- the feelings my clients come in and leave with? Those are real,”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Ekubo groaned, but Reigen wasn’t done yet.

“They come in here, desperate and destitute- most of them not even knowing what they really need if anything!” Reigen gestured more, and his grip on the glass tightened. “Some of them aren’t ready to face that they’re the cause of their own stuff- so if they wanna, wanna blame it on spirits ‘n such, tha’s on them, y’know? I’m just here to help!”

“And take their money,”

“But mostly to help-!”

And just like that, there was the sound of glass shattering. Reigen blearily glanced down at the floor beside the desk chair and calmly regarded the remnants of the shot glass that had been in his hands mere moments before. Ekubo also looked on, completely unimpressed.

Reigen blinked. “Man. I’m really drunk.”

“No shit,” Ekubo rudely said, hovering back on his desk with the other shot glasses that were still there. It was only just now getting to be really late- but then again, if Reigen stayed at the office and set a timer on his cell, he could just wake up and clean this mess up while sober, before the workday started. Which hey, it still gave him time for another round, if he really wanted to knock himself out good for the night…

Reigen got up and was about to say something when everything suddenly started tipping around him. Quickly catching himself on the edge of his desk, he tried to blink the dizziness from his eyes as he tried to regain his bearings. Damn… it’d felt fine when he was sitting! It wasn’t like he’d had that many drinks… Mostly because it was all from one bottle that he had the great idea to separate into different cups for extra fanciness about two drinks in, but still- he was totally fine. Just had to… steady it.

“You’re fucking hopeless,” Ekubo huffed, slowly floating backward. “Now hold still.”

“Eh?” Reigen muttered intelligently, squinting at Ekubo. “Wh-what d’ya need me to-”

Then Ekubo rushed him and it felt like a cold wind had swept straight into Reigen’s body. The feeling settled somewhere on the right side, where his heart would have been if he looked in a mirror, and then slowly spread to every inch of him. At first, it was cold- then it got warmer, and then, just plain numb. Reigen’s body straightened up on its own and Reigen heard, in the back of his head, God, you’re such a fucking lightweight!

“Ekubo, what the hell?!” Reigen said out loud, and god, he was happy at least that was still fine. His legs started moving, but Reigen didn’t feel himself moving- he just felt the phantom imprints of feeling in his limbs, swaying gently under the spirit’s influence, and felt blood pool in his cheeks. “I never authorized you to start fuckin… fuck… piloting me like an EVA!”

I’m not piloting you, idiot, I’m possessing you. Ekubo huffed, and despite himself, Reigen felt a wide smile creep over his face. ‘Sides, it’s not like I can do much- even when you’re out of it like this, I can’t exert any full-time control.

“Oh, well! That’s re-a-surrring,” Reigen got a glimpse of himself in a mirror as he passed by and was only annoyed that he couldn’t grimace. God, he looked like some kind of weird zombie, shambling forwards and swaying; cheeks branded with red circles like a goddamn cartoon. With great effort, Reigen found that he could kind of exert some control over himself- though it took… a lot more concentration than he was willing to think on. His nerves jumped under the skin of his arm like a bunch of spiders as he brought a hand up to smack himself on the cheek, stopping short of the door.

Hey! Come on, don’t try pushing me out-

“Well, well tell me where we’re goin’, firs’-!” Knees suddenly buckling, he leaned against the wall, vision swimming. “Y’ can’t just, take on someone’s body liike that without sayin’ what you want-”

Alright, alright, Ekubo said, and even if he wasn’t visible (being inside of Reigen in a totally nonsexual way) Reigen could just tell the little shit was rolling his eyes. I’m getting you back to your house and bed because you’re drunk off your ass! Otherwise, you’re gonna smell like shit in the morning and then you’re gonna complain when all your idiot customers get scared away by your reek.

“I don’t stink!” Reigen shot back, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.

You will, if you don’t have the chance to take a shower- and then you’re gonna bitch at me about having a slow day! Ekubo complained, slowly exerting control back over Reigen’s legs. Now come on- you’re a real god damn lightweight.

“But the- the glas,” Reigen whined, glancing back with some effort towards his desk. “Mob’ll be, worried if he sess.”

He doesn’t get here until the afternoon, dumbass!

Reigen thought this over. “… Oh yea. I g… guuess, I sh’ld, go h-” And as Reigen tried to step forward on his own, his knees suddenly buckled, and he sprawled out on the floor. For a moment, he just laid there, face down because damn. This must have looked pitiful. Biting his lip, he tried not to cry- except that wasn’t his own doing. He guessed that was just Ekubo’s. “Maybe I nnneed… hel’p, gettin’ back.”

Wow, what gave you that idea, genius? Ekubo snarked from inside his head as Reigen retracted control again. The numbness spread back into his limbs, and his body heaved itself up, now much more balanced. Stop being such a damn crybaby. You’re a grown ass man- at this point, it’s just pathetic.

“Oh, piss off,” Reigen mumbled as his body finally shuffled out onto the streets.

The feeling of being possessed was… weirdly restful. Which sounded all kinds of wrong when one was possessed by a spirit who used to have a penchant for weird cult shit, but it was still restful nonetheless. It didn’t feel as if Reigen himself was really exerting any energy, with his limbs roving on their own. Plus, with the slow going, it wasn’t too bad- the streets had quieted down, and Reigen’s eyes were allowed to wonder around his surroundings. Lots of lights everywhere, shops closing down… And then there was the feeling of kind of being rocked inside his own body, mind relaxing back while the rest of him was on autopilot.

“I shouln’t do this too offen,” Reigen slurred sleepily, eyes blinking hard against an onslaught of exhaustion, “or else you’ll prob’ly get the wrong idea.”

You’re the one who can’t even keep your own eyes open! Ekubo huffed. But I guess I have to deal with that, huh. Just like I have to deal with all this shit around here.

“Mm.” Reigen hummed back, but even with the visual stimuli still coming towards him, he was starting to slip into unconsciousness. He tried to think on what else he could have even said to that, but the mix of alcohol and exhaustion from another eventful day of dealing with powers far beyond his reach, he began to fall asleep.

Reigen’s body straightened up immediately, movements becoming much more fluid. His arms stretched up, back popping slightly before he settled a hand on his chin, a smirk on his face. “Damn. The idiot actually lost consciousness! I could really take this body out for a spin…” The possessed man looked at the row of shops lining the entrance to the subway, a slow grin spreading.

Then, it dropped, and he sighed. “Ah, no. Shigeo will have my head on a platter…” That was his excuse, anyway. He was plenty strong as was, but… he’d rather not chance these sorts of things, when it came to Mob and his esteemed bastard of a mentor.

Ekubo continued to steer Reigen’s body back to his apartment, dealing with the conman’s snores in the back of his mind all the while.

[lunarowena]

The Harvester

For @pillarspromptsweekly #0063: Spooky.

Cross posted at AO3.

The first time I played through Deadfire I wound up with Xoti's bad ending. A lot of the companions had not so great endings, really. There's a reason I don't write about Watcher Talia much.

Warnings for spoilers for Deadfire endings and bad ending Xoti.

3 Fonauton, 2830

At sea, en route to Port Maje

High Priestess Saewyn,

It is likely my letters shall reach you all in one go as I shall have no means to mail them before we arrive in Port Maje. If we make it to Port Maje. The sailors here are a superstitious lot who claim the island is haunted ever since the the leadership of the island was assassinated and the Vailians were driven out by Queen Onekaza. Haunted by a Harvester of Guan, can you believe it? Or at least that’s what I’ve deduced from their wild tales of a ghostly figure wielding a lantern and sickle that stalks the island. Of course there are Harvesters of Guan, said I, Her Majesty allowed the Children of the Dawnstars to settle in the region after expelling the Vailians. It is worrying, however, that we’ve had no word from the settlement these last few months…

I suspect it’s merely distraction from a bad harvest, or perhaps no ships willing to visit the region due to these wild stories! Ha! If so, we must fix the situation before the settlement winds up completely cut off from the outside world. It does not give us credit to have our brothers and sisters abandoned.

The new settlers, the Gjyrsc family, Beren and Marani and their children Charim and Aelse, are doing well. The girl worries from the tales of the sailors, but the boy runs around swinging an imaginary sword at imaginary ghosts. They should inject some life into the mission settlement.

Yours Faithfully,

Dernsc Cracgyn

8 Fonauton, 2830

Maje Island

High Priestess Saewyn,

I write to you in the most unfortunate circumstances. This letter will not likely reach you for some time and I hope our party will be in a better situation by the time I am able to mail this. We have been shipwrecked! A violent storm fell upon us and broke our poor ship upon the rocks as we rounded the island. The Gjyrsc family and I are unharmed, but our Captain Durnmar has been left with a broken arm and a broken head and two-thirds of the crew are dead.

We have dragged what little possessions and provisions we could find unspoiled out of the wreckage and set up a makeshift camp on the beach to protect ourselves from the elements. The Captain has ordered everyone to stay put and wait for rescue, but what rescue will we find? Ships have been avoiding the island. We must pray that our missive to the settlement at Port Maje was delivered and someone comes looking for us.

Of the family, the mother and daughter are bearing it as best they can, but I don’t think we can stay camped here much longer. The boy Charim views it all as a grand adventure, right out of a mass published novel. I shall try to take some inspiration from his enthusiasm, but I am worried about our amount of supplies.

Yours Faithfully,

Dernsc Cracgyn

11 Fonauton, 2830

Maje Island

High Priestess Saewyn,

It is with a heavy hand I write. Captain Durnmar is dead. Fever took him, and indeed is taking many of those injured in the wreck. It is not much longer that we can stay here. Our supplies and manpower grow short. While we have not waited long, I fear no one is coming. I believe our best course of action is to set off across the island to find Port Maje. It should not be that long of a journey and we no longer need to worry about… the injured.

The superstitious sailors of course fight me on this. And with the only sensible man of the lot dead, there is not much I can do to budge them. It may just be myself and the Gjyrsc family. Beren Gjyrsc agrees with me that there’s no hope in remaining here. We are making preparations to set out tomorrow.

Yours Faithfully,

Dernsc Cracgyn

13 Fonauton, 2830

Maje Island

High Priestess Saewyn,

The strangest series of events has occurred. Do you know a young woman named Xoti? She claims to be a friend of yours. She seems a bit unorthodox, but I suspect she will be our deliverance. I should start from the beginning.

We set off into the island yesterday; myself, the Gjyrsc family, and one off the sailors called Dunnur. Dunnur had been to the island before and agreed to serve, albeit reluctantly, as our guide. You would think I’d be used to the climate of the Deadfire by now having lived here these past seven years, but I do admit I was a tad overwhelmed by the humidity and the insectoid wildlife as we began our trek. Regardless, we seemed to make good progress our first day.

However, this morning, disaster struck! Dunnur went to collect water and while we waited a little over an hour, he never returned. Assuming he deserted us and headed back toward the beach camp, I was furious, but Gjyrsc convinced me to set off toward the stream to look for him. I was shocked at what we found. Dunnur, dead! Cut to pieces! His shocked, sightless eyes staring up at the sky as the blood dripped from his savaged chest, flayed strips of skin peeling loose. Whatever beast attacked him must have had claws like knives. I covered my nose as Gjyrsc made the sign of Eothas.

I, of course, performed the funeral rites for poor Dunnur as Gjyrsc went back to check on his family. I wish we could have given him more of a proper burial, but it was not a suitable sight for the women and Gjyrsc and I agreed that our party needed to stick together and move along. Whatever savage beast attacked Dunnur could come for us next!

Morale was low, having lost our guide and in such a shocking way. We still endeavored to try to continue onward in the same general direction, hoping we would stay on track and eventually hit the outskirts of Port Maje.

Morale was lower still as the sun began to sink in the sky and we came to the realization we were hopelessly lost. Possibly going in circles if Mrs. Gjyrsc is to be believed. I was beginning to lose all hope, visions of beasts with razor sharp claws dancing through my head, when we came upon a small clearing.

Perched on a stump in the middle of the clearing sat a young woman dressed in green, a sickle and glowing lantern hanging at her belt. A Harvester of Guan! My heart leapt, as we must be nearing the settlement after all!

She held the skull of some animal in one hand and appeared to be in deep conversation with it. “Now I know what you’re gonna say, Watcher. That I shouldn’t’a done it. But I need to… I need to keep reapin’…”

“Ho there!” I called. “Are we nearing Port Maje?”

She looked up and broke into a wide grin as she saw up approaching. She hopped to her feat, tucking her skull in her bag. “If it’s Port Maje you’re lookin’ for, you’ve still got a long ways to go. We’re basically on the other side of the island. How’d you get so lost?”

I recounted our shipwreck as she nodded along sympathetically.

“Ain’t that a shame. I can get you over to Port Maje if that’s where you want to be goin’. New settlers? I love new settlers.”

I explained my mission from the temple to re-establish contact with the settlement and her face brightened.

“Saewyn and I go way back. I’m Xoti, by the way. You’ll have to fill me in on what’s been goin’ on back there.”

We’re setting up camp with our new party addition as I write. Gjyrsc is giving her a wide berth still. I suspect it was the skull. Harvesters can be a bit eccentric so I won’t hold it against her. Xoti has made fast friends with young Aelse by offering to do her hair.

Xoti says we should reach Port Maje in a few days. Circumstances are looking up.

Yours Faithfully,

Dernsc Cracgyn

15 Fonauton, 2830

Maje Island

High Priestess Saewyn,

Circumstances are poor. Young Aelse insisted on accompanying Xoti on a scouting expedition this morning and slipped and fell down a ravine. Xoti was not able to recover the body, although she says she was able to recover her soul. Mrs. Gjyrsc is beside herself and even Charim’s sense of adventure has been stifled by the loss of his sister.

---

Further tragedy has struck! In the night, the grief stricken Marani Gjyrsc went back to look for her daughter and ran afoul of some creatures. Xoti found the body. Poor Mrs. Gjyrsc was ripped apart in the same manner of the unfortunate Dunnur. With how dangerous this island seems to be, I hope that we shall find Port Maje all in one piece.

Yours Faithfully,

Dernsc Cracgyn

16 Fonauton, 2830

Maje Island

High Priestess Saewyn,

We make slow progress. I hardly know where we’re going anymore, as we are too deep into the jungle to make sense of the shoreline and the canopy blocks out the stars. Our party is subdued. Gjyrsc will barely look at Xoti, blaming her unfairly for the loss of his wife and daughter.

While my spirits are bolstered by her vivacity, forgive me, I know she is your friend, but there is something a bit… off about her. Occasionally talking to people or referencing things that aren’t there. However, overall she seems harmless enough.

I asked her at the fire this evening about her work as a Harvester of Guan.

She patted the lantern on her belt. “Oh, I’ve been doin’ it before the rest of the church started. Got called a heretic more than once. But I take the job seriously. I’ve been traveling around the islands reaping lost souls. Someone’s gotta do it.”

I remarked that by the glow of her lantern, she must almost have a full batch to take over to Ukaizo.

She nodded and grinned. “Almost full. I’m looking forward to it. It’s been too long.”

I will forgive her for her eccentricity for her devotion to the cause.

Yours Faithfully,

Dernsc Cracgyn

18 Fonauton, 2830

Maje Island

High Priestess Saewyn,

I have deeply misjudged this situation. I fear these letters will never reach you and I continue to write out of only desperation. I fear I will not live long enough to finish this one.

Last night, terrible night, wretched night! I awoke to Charim’s scream. Scrambling out of my bedroll, I struggled to light a lantern, then realized it was unnecessary. The light of Xoti’s lantern illuminated our camp well enough. Illuminated her standing over Charim’s bloody body, her sickle dripping with his blood! In her other hand she held aloft his heart, ripped from his chest!

She took a bite from the heart, blood trickling down her chin. “I’m tryin’ this new thing, Watcher. See if it helps with the soul absorption. Can you feel it? I feel it, the prickling under my skin.” She licked the blood off of her sickle, her eyes unhinged, staring at me, but not at me!

With a cry, Beren Gjyrsc threw himself at her. She sidestepped him and swung him around, her sickle at his throat. “What’re you doing, Edér?” she cooed. “You know I’d never hurt you.” Her sickle traced a bloody line across his jaw. Gjyrsc tried to elbow her in the gut, and the sickle slashed across his neck. He crumpled to the ground.

I cowered back as she turned to look at me. “Look what he made me do, Watcher. Don’t make me do the same to you.” Dropping the chewed heart on the ground, she pulled her lantern from her belt and circled it in the air. Her laugh was the most unholy sound I’ve ever heard. “I think it’s ready, Watcher. Watch me again!”

Xoti pried the door of the lantern open and held it up to her chest. Her hair whipped around in non-existent wind as her eyes started to glow. She screamed, a scream I’ve never heard the likes of before as her skin cracked open, bloody, along her veins. The lantern pulsed as she threw her head back in pain and exhilaration.

Suddenly, the light of her lantern flickered out and she laughed her unholy laugh again. “Damnation, that always hurts worse than playing ball with a beehive.”

“What are you?” I managed to stutter.

“Me?” Her boots squelched in the puddles of blood. “I am The Harvester. The original. Shepherd of souls. Guide to the lost. I keep them safe. Keep them in me. Even if they don’t see it yet, I make them see. You, see, right Watcher? You see them all.”

In the dark, I scrambled to my feet and ran blindly into the night.

Alas, Xoti had not been leading us wrongly and I stumbled into the town of Port Maje. What was left of it!  Broken buildings, broken bodies! We have heard no word because there is no one left alive to send word!

I hide in this broken down barn as I hear her out in the street, lantern jangling at her waist. “I feel so, good, Watcher. So good. How can I make you understand?” Her footsteps grow louder. “Won’t you join me? We can be together forever.” She’s getting closer. Eothas save my soul-__.__.

[Here the letter trails off in a spattering of ink and blood.]