#a minute and a half of teaser and I’m already upset!!!!!

[barebevil]

New arcane trailer. I’m upset!

[stargaze-issei]

Stoner Hawks being on patrol with him and maybe having a fire quirk (Dabi’s sis blue flames but you know Endevor don’t know that maybe she knows Dabi is her brother and knew that he ran away and never told her dad about it and how often she sees him but n e way she’s a hero did the whole UA thing) and being on patrol on top a building Keigo rolls a joint and moves on in readers direction like “can you spark it?🥺” maybe just smoking maybe some smut

this made me sO soft, like yes stoner hawks being the cutest 🥺 i got a little carried away with it, and somehow it ended up being 2.1k long ( ´◡‿ゝ◡`) thank u sm for requesting, i loved it.

stoner!takami with a todoroki!reader.

summary; in the request.

genre; fluff, smut.

warnings; daddy kink, praise kink, breeding kink, oral (receiving-giving), curse words, idk fucking(? smut in general.

word count; 2.1k

author's note; don't judge me it's my first time writing smut ):

 your phone rang in the pocket of your hero costume, the id showing a smiley keigo. despite knowing what was about to happen, you couldn't avoid your own smile. as you answered, the first thing you heard was wind on his side of the line, you sighed, he was probably calling while flying, again.

"one of this days, you're going to crash against a plane" his melodic laugh reached through the speaker. damn, how could you stay mad when he's laughing like that?

"i'm going to assume you're already at our spot, gorgeous" this time you laughed, nervously, takami hated waiting more than anything, and there you were, thirty minutes away from your meeting point. "send me your location, i'm picking you up" and just as fast, he hung up. flying with him was a better idea than running through the city by yourself, therefore, you did as he said.

a giggle escaped your mouth, he had that effect on you, despite of knowing each other for that long. it didn't matter how many times he called you pretty, gorgeous, angel, your face instantly heated up. and he loved it, it gave you a fake innocence, that he sure knew was oly a facade. in less than five minutes, his mighty figure covered the sun above you, looking like that, he could easily be confused by an angel send from heaven.

"i know i'm hot, but you're drooling a bit" takami, the endless teaser.

"let's just go" he picked you up, bridal style, gaining a few curious glares.

your relationship, if you could call it that, had always been a subject of gossip. not you nor him had either confirmed it or deny the rumors about it, truth be told, not even you knew what you were. it was more than friendship, but not as committed as an actual couple. you were used to kiss him, sleep with him, get high with him, and that was enough. there were feelings between, from both parts, but this was the best way. two heroes, in the peak of their careers, had no time for anything else. the ride to your usual vigilance spot was short, hawks flying at a dangerous speed, despite your complete trust in him, you still wondered if he could drop you.

"what took you so long?" he asked, once you were sitting in the edge of the tall building. you sighed, to keep that secret from him was exhausting, at least.

"my brother called".

an awkward silence grew, takami knew you were endeavor's oldest daughter, his pride and joy, wether you liked it or not. obviously he knew your brother had to be endeavor's lost son, touya. what you had kept to yourself was he went now by the name dabi, a faithful follower of the hero killer's ideals.

"is he okay?"

"mhm, he needed money".

keigo wasn't going to tell you this, but every time you said you brother called because he needed something, his blood boiled in his veins. ignoring the fact that he had to stay hidden, for some reason you wouldn't say, to hawks it seemed like he only reached out to you out of material need, meanwhile you were always preocuppied with his well. takami's hand found its way to yours, even wtih gloves you could feel his warmness. 

"oh, right, i-i've been saving this for us" he took a small plastic bag out of his pocket, letting you see those green herbs. by the looks, it had to be more expensive than usual. you gasped, in a really cute way, hawks thought. no words were needed, he grindered the pot before rolling a joint. his tongue appeared to seal it, looking straight into your eyes while licking it. he knew exactly what he was doing. "may you do the honors, angel face" a small blue flame igniciate in the tip of your index finger, just as he inhale for the first time.

takami, covered in a cloud of smoke, holding a blunt on his hand, adding that chilled look in his face. was certainly a sight to see.

unspokenly, he handed it over to you. with a smile on you face, you hit it for the first time. for a while, non of you talked, just enjoying each other's company, in fact, those moments with keigo were you favorite, you didn't have to worry for anything besides him. and he thought the same, there, he could stop being hawks, he could be just keigo, your long term friend, leaving all the responsabilities of being a hero in the ground. with you, he felt like flying.

by pure coincidence, he caught you looking at his profile. the moonlight made you have a different kind of glow, like a fairy, he thought. almost withouth realizing, he leaned over to you, his lips seeking yours rather desperately. his hand wondered to your hair, finding its place in the back of your neck, pulling you closer and making sure you weren't escaping. his experimented tongue made its way into your mouth, going through every place he already knew like it was the first time. he tasted like smoke. once he knew you were on the same page, he pushed you back on solid ground, laying on top of you. a moan left your lips, drowned by his own mouth, when his still dressed hips impacted against you. 

every touch was being enhanced by the effect of the pot. he pulled away, breaking the moment. he needed to look at you, your lust filled eyes, your half opened mouth. it was enough to get him hard in his pants. with a quick movement, he took out his gloves, fastly moving to take off your complicated hero costume. maybe it was because he was blown out of his mind, or he was just to eager to see your naked body, but he had a serious struggle doing it, making a soft giggle leave your throat. 

"you could help me instead of laughing at me" he whined, jokingly upset.

"and miss the hawks having troubles with a bra? i don't think so" that seemed to made him even more anxious, you knew he was done when a small "finally" was whispered.

between laughs, giggles and smirks, he got back on top of yours. he liked to feel you naked underneath him, having you to his complete disposal, and not losing a single item of his clothes. you weren't letting him enjoy the moment to much, a girl has her need, and touching his work out abs was certainly a need. you removed his shirt, smiling at his messy hair. 

he started to leave a trace of kisses from your lips to you r collarbone, licking, biting, leaving small dark marks on your skin. just at that, you became a moaning mess, there was something so dirty about takami marking your body.

"babygirl, i haven't even started" with that, you closed your eyes, giving into pleasure as his kisses got lower and lower. when he got to your breast, your nipples were already hard, expecting to feel his wet mouth any moment now. but that wasn't all that happened, almost at the same time, you felt a hand opening its way to your drenched cunt. "look at that, you're already so wet from my mouth only".

his tongue circle you nip at a killing pace, while two fingers found their way inside you without any warning. so thight, he said, his mind already thinking on how well you could take his cock. with his thumb in the perfect position, he started massaging your swollen clit. all you could do was melt in his touch. his free hand reached to the last bit of the blunt, which rested at a safe distance. he got up, leaving you kneeled in front of him.

"open your mouth, princess" despite his loving tone, he wasn't asking, so you did as you were told and watched him hit the last of the joint, keeping as much smoke as he could beofre leaning towards you. with a kiss, he shared it with you, entangling your tongues. he licked your lips, getting back up, his hand resting on the waist of his pants. "you're gonna be a good girl, aren't you, princess?" he got his hips so close to your face that your mouth watered.

"yes, daddy" you knew calling him that was a trigger. he took out his fat dick outside his pants, so hard that it was starting to hurt. his hand placed on the back of your head, guiding you to your objective. 

as soon as your lips wrapped around the tip of his cock, he let out a unsually deep growl. takami never lasted that long, and being under the inffluence of weed wasn't helping. he couldn't even look down at you, the sight of your angel face, looking so fucking pretty while sucking him off, he was barely controlling himself from your noises. you struggled, gagging every once in a while, but never stopped, he loved to see the tears in your eyes. when he felt close, his dick twitch in your mouth, you tasted the precum coming out of him. before doing it, he pulled your hair back, avoiding it.

"my baby, you do it so good, do you think you deserve a reward?" to those words, you couldn't help but moan. his hand held your chin, making you look straight into his eyes.  

"please, daddy, please eat me out" he felt like losing his mind hearing you begging like that, who was him to deny it. a kiss left in your lips, before kneeling down facing your wet, juicy, cunt. thanks for the meal, he thought.

his tongue worked wonders. the second he met your needy clit, you were actually watching the stars. the ability he had, going between your folds, sucking just in the right spot, fucking you with his tongue. he had you a screaming and drooling mess in a minute.

"daddy! oh god, yes! there, keep going, please! fuck me, yes!" he loved hearing you going crazy because of him, he loved being able to do as he pleased with you. he could hear your moans forever. 

he knew you too well, instantly he could tell you were close to cum, he wasn't going to let that happen, he wanted you to cum in his dick, breaking your back, leaving you so fucked up you wouldn't be able to walk afterwards. feeling him leave you on the edge was torture. 

"are you so desperate for me, little bird?" he crawled to you, placing his hips on top of yours. you weren't even thinking when he kissed you, loving the thought of you tasting yourself. you wrapped your hands around his neck, reaching his back, if there was something he liked was you scratching his back until it bleed.

with a slow, gentle hursh, he deepend inside you, admiring the image of you closing your eyes at the pain. even prepared and lubed, he was just too big for you. as he felt you adptaing, his pace got faster and harder, his hands grabbed tightly into your hips, probably leaving bruises afterwards. in less than a minute, he already had a constant pace inside you, hitting your spot with every thurst. you whimpers and his groans mixed in the air. one of his hands travelled to your neck, applying a little pressure on it while his thumb fitted in your mouth. that was the view he wanted to see for his whole life. 

"you're such a slut, baby girl, but you're my slut, right?" you sucked his thumb, your mind couldn't form coherent words and his finger didn't let you speak. "oh yes, cum with me, princess, cum for daddy" his words were like music to your ears. 

the orgasm you repressed for a while felt so close, when you finally reached it, your walls clenched around his dick even harder than before, a scream of pleasure filling the atmosphere. not long after, you felt his warm cum exploding inside you, his grab hardened and a moan left his lips. he stayed there for a while, retaking his breath.his wings served as a wall for the cold wind running. finally, he retired from you, laying at your side while hugging you with one of his arms.

you looked at him, despite not being your actuall boyfriend, he loved you as much as you loved him. though tired, the fuzzy feeling inside you didn't stop, you wondered if it was just you being still high as a rocket, or if that's what love felt like.

[krreader]

TXT reacting to their girlfriend finally debuting.

pairing: txt x idol!reader fandom: txt ; bts warnings: / genre: fluff ; hints of angst word count: 1.3k+

a/n: heeey beautiful, thanks for the request and I hope you like it ♥

choi yeonjun

Yeonjun knew how big of a deal this would be, having you debut in a KPOP group with your background. And well, BigHit thought so too.

You were the secret card they wanted to use to draw everyone in and because it was BigHit we are talking about, they got a thirty seconds teaser for their new girl group at an award show and while the first 25 seconds were showing your other members and reeling in cheer after cheer, the last five minutes were dedicated to you.

And the moment you turned around and smirked into the camera, the audience lost their shit.

BTS was thankfully cheering their ass off, so Yeonjun could do so too without it looking suspicious.

Of course, BTS were simply cheering for their new colleagues, whereas Yeonjun was cheering for his girlfriend of two years, ever since you joined the company.

choi soobin

Soobin's eyes scanned the room as he was about to sit down, smiling at you when he finally spotted you sitting somewhere in the back with your two trainee colleagues.

You and him have been dating for almost half a year now, but not even the company knew. They probably wouldn't contest to it, since you were keeping it under wraps well and were under the same company, after all, but you wanted to keep it a secret as long as you possibly could.

“Sit down, they'll suspect something,” Taehyun pulled him down by his sleeve, “Besides, it's starting.”

This was BigHit's annual conference in regards to plans for the next year. That included already existing groups, such as TXT and then again, groups that would be formed.

“Now, let's get to the part that a lot of you have been waiting for,” Bang PD looked up into the crowd of trainee's, idols and staff members, “The new groups debuting next year.”

Soobin instantly crossed his fingers and made the other members do it too.

You had worked so hard the last year, you deserved to be on that list.

And.. well..

“We thought a lot about what we want to do. Debuting multiple girl groups this year isn't a good idea, we need to take it one step at a time. So for now, we'll focus on only one group,” Bang PD pressed a button for the next slide of his powerpoint. On that slide, there were six pictures.

And your face was on one.

Everyone cheered and Soobin was one of the first to get up and clap proudly, wishing he could go over to you and hug you so tightly, but he'd do that later tonight. For now, he was content just watching you hug your best friends with tears running down your cheeks.

He was so proud.

choi beomgyu

You were so nervous, after all, this was your first performance after you made your debut two days ago.

But as if the producers of this show had known, the MC for this broadcast was none other than your boyfriend.

Choi Beomgyu from TXT.

He obviously had to be professional when the camera was rolling, but his presence in the room alone was enough for you to feel more at ease.

And as soon as the cameras were off, he pulled you behind his and your members to get a bit of privacy and kissed your cheek, “You'll do great, okay?”

"Are you sure?” you shifted from one foot to the other, “Everyone’s counting on me.”

“Listen to me,” he cupped your face, “You worked your butt off for this. You’ll do great, you just have to believe in yourself like I believe in you.”

The longer you looked into his determined eyes, the more you started to believe him until you finally began to smile.

“Okay...”

kang taehyun

Your company knew what the audience liked to see when it came down to a new girl group. They needed the fans – which would mostly be men – to be interested in you. You could go at this two ways, the cutesy way or the sexy way. But your company was like, why choose one when you could have both?

And so your debut song was one that YouTube nowadays liked to call “Plot Twist Songs”, with your group showing a sexy and cute side in one video. And as Taehyun was watching the video for the first time, he knew that this would do incredibly well with his gender.

“So? What do you think?” you asked with an excited grin, taking your phone out of his hand, “Pretty cool, huh?”

“Yeah.. you're going to have so many fans by tomorrow,” but then why did that sound.. upset? Isn’t that something to be excited about?

Your smile slowly faltered, then your shoulders dropped, “You disapprove.”

“No, I don't, it's just,” he raised his eyebrows as he tried to defend himself, but the moment he looked into your eyes, he let out a sigh, “I'm just worried, (Y/N). Our fans aren't like that, because we focus on our soft side. But with those outfits and lines..-”

“You think your fans don't thirst over you just because you release songs that are on the softer side?” you let out a snort and got up, “Forget it.”

“No, wait!” your boyfriend ran after you when you wanted to leave his bedroom.

It's not that he didn't like it, of course he did, you were in that video, that alone made him love it! He just had to come to terms that by this time tomorrow, he'd have to share you with millions.

Of course, he forgot that you had been doing that for a year now already.

kai huening

You had been a trainee as long as Kai had. He had made his debut at this point, but you were still just a trainee.

He tried to give you hope that it would happen soon, but by now, you were starting to believe that you'd never make your debut. That BigHit was simply keeping you around because they were trying to find the right time to let you go.

Kai was currently going upstairs because he needed to talk to his manager and passed by Bang PD's office on his way there. The door was slightly ajar, not enough for him to see who he was talking to, but enough to hear what they were talking about.

“I thought about this for a long time. (Y/N) isn't good for a group.”

Kai froze at that, a rush of nausea hitting him.

“I understand, sir. It's just.. she'll be surprised to hear about this now after she trained for this for so long.”

“Yes, I know. Prepare her well for it.”

Your boyfriend managed to run away before he'd be spotted eavesdropping.

How could they do this to you? How dare they? After all you had sacrificed for this company, they’d just throw you away without even giving you a chance?

And what was he supposed to do? Tell you in advance so you wouldn't be too surprised or heartbroken? As his boyfriend, that seemed to be his duty.

And so he texted you and found out that you were actually still in the building. He found you scribbling something down on your iPad, smiling at him when he came into view.

But Kai wasn't smiling.

“What's wrong?” you furrowed your eyebrows in worry.

And just as he was about to say it, someone approached the two of you and the moment he spoke, Kai realized what was about to happen, because he recognized the voice. He sat down next to you and put his hand on your back, beginning to gently brush it up and down to let you know he was here.

“Can we talk, (Y/N)? Alone?”

“Ah, it's okay,” you smiled and pointed at the seat in front of you. The manager knew that you two were dating, so he allowed it.

“I just talked to the CEO. He revealed his plans for you to me and..-” the moment of silence was enough for your heart to skip multiple beats, “..- he decided that you don't fit into a girl group.”

It was almost like Kai could feel your heart break right there and then.

And when you spoke, he could tell that you were trying to hold back tears, but still be strong, “I see..”

“He wants you to debut solo.”

The manager should have recorded your faces when you both looked back at him with eyes so wide, that it looked like they were about to pop out.

“Congratulations,” he grinned happily.

[kippykasey]

Revelations - Chapter 1: Wolf Moon

Teen Wolf x SPN AU crossover

Word Count: 9745

A/N: Totally occurred to me that I wrote the teaser like they're in summer but its actually like winter in Beacon Hills so ignore that totally time confusion.

The Smith family just wanted normal, yet the new semester is bringing a new student, secrets in the woods, and secrets even in their own home?

Revelations Masterlist | Masterlist

“Guy’s your going to be-” Dean started to call from the kitchen but Mick ran in dragging his twin sister behind him with one hand his other hand gripped around his lacrosse stick. “Morning pops!” Mick calls as he awkwardly holds the lacrosse stick while still tossing Stevie the keys to her 93 Subaru Loyale. “Bye pops!” Mick waves the hand that he has holding onto Stevie so in a way both of them were waving to their father. Dean just shook his head as the twins exited the house.

“Okay. Slow your roll bro-tater. What’s going on with you this morning? Did you drink the rest of dad’s coffee or something?” Stevie questioned pulling her arm out of her brother’s grasp. “You missed out on something last night and you have to know. Like now. It could be life or death for our dear Scott.” Mick was slightly exaggerating, sure but that’s just how he could get when he was excited. The twins put their things in the back seat and got in.

As Stevie drove the two to the school her brother told her what he had gone through the night before. The blonde teen girl parked her car and shut it off. Her mind was wheeling as it processed what she just heard. “Okay let me get this straight. Stiles climbed into my bedroom where you were playing video games on my tv, which by the way ask next time! Then he dragged you and Scott out into the woods of the preserve to look for half of a dead body?! Which given its Stiles, I would do it too but.. His dad showed up and he just left you two there? In the freaking woods where a dead body was found?! What if you got hurt??” Stevie started to repeat what she heard, getting nods of confirmation from her twin.

“Scott did get hurt, Stevie. A wol-”

“Not possible.” She shook her head and got out of the car as she saw Scott ride past on his bike. By the time the twins reached the bike rack Stiles was already standing next to his best friend. “Okay let’s see this thing,” they both heard Stiles say as they stopped next to him. Scott let out a grunt as he lifted his shirt up enough to reveal the bandaged area on his abdominal. There was a brownish-red spot from where the blood had tried bleeding through. Stiles reached his hand out like he was about to touch it but Stevie slapped his hand away.

“Mick fill you in?” Scott asked, letting his shirt fall back down so he could pick up his backpack. Stevie nods her head, shoving her hands into her pockets. “Kinda upset that I missed the excitement.”

“Well it was pretty dark but I think we agreed that it was a wolf.” Scott looked between Stiles and Stevie. Stevie shakes her head, “Just like I told Mick, not possible.” Stiles snapped his fingers pointing at the girl and nodded in agreement. “But we heard a wolf howling.” Mick points out as he and his sister split to walk into school with Scott and Stiles in the middle, Mick on Scott’s side. “No you didn’t.” Stiles disagreed with the other two.

“What do you mean, no I didn’t? How do you know what Mick or I heard?” Scott asked not understanding why Stiles and Stevie didn’t believe them. Stevie sighed softly pushing her wavy blond hair out of her face. “Look guys, California hasn’t had wolves in like 60 years, right Stiles?”

“Yeah exactly. So there are no wolves for you to hear.” Stiles points as he turns to stand in front of the other two Stevie just a foot ahead of them, looking over her shoulder at the three males. “All right, well, if you don’t believe us about the wolf then you definitely won’t believe me when I tell you I found the body.” Scott almost looked proud that he found the dead body. Stevie’s eyes met her twin brother’s and Mick almost looked sick as he nodded at her. Stevie stepped close as the four huddled together. “You.. are you kidding me?” Stiles inquired in disbelief and excitement.

“I wish he were. I think we’re going to have nightmares from seeing it.” Mick told Stiles, glancing at Scott to see if they were on the same page. Stiles looked at Stevie whose blue-green eyes were shining with curiosity. “Oh, god, that is freakin’ awesome. That has got to be the best thing that’s happened to this town since...” Stiles lifted up onto his toes to clearly see over the blonde next to him at the strawberry blonde walking by, “since the birth of Lydia Martin.” Stiles fumbled as he tried to turn but bumped into his friend, knocking her into Scott’s side. “Hey, Lydia.. You look.. like you’re going to ignore me.”

Scott helped steady Stevie at his side while watching Stiles attempt and fail to talk to Lydia for the nth time. “You know what. I’m going to get to my locker and make sure it’s not surrounded by idiots.” Stevie tells them although she’s pretty sure Stiles didn’t hear a thing. “Want me to come?” Mick offered but Stevie just shook her head with a smile and hurried into the school.

Stevie moved through the halls towards her locker for the year, or what was supposed to be her locker. Stopping nearly 500 feet away from her locker she noticed who was either side of her and let out a groan. On one side was Jackson Whittemore, someone who Stevie just could not stand due to his ego. Then on the other was Matt Daehler, her middle school boyfriend who thought she was cheating on him with Stiles. Stevie turned around and nearly ran right into Lydia Martin in her haste.

“Stephanie Smith,” Lydia greeted, eyes scanning over the outfit Stevie wore-- black ripped tights, black combat boots, a black skirt and tank top, and an oversized green flannel (it was technically Stiles’ shirt). “Hmm, you know if you lost the flannel and wore a nice scarf you might actually look nice today.” Lydia states flipping her hair over her shoulder before walking away. Stevie was baffled at the backwards compliment from Lydia as she slowly walked towards class now out of time to stuff her things in one of the guy’s lockers.

Stevie slid into the seat next to Scott in front of Stiles, since her brother was already behind Stiles, Michael always sat in the back corner of whatever class he was in and usually the farthest from the door (a habit he got from Dean). Michael leaned over towards his twin confused by her confused face. “What’s up with you? Didn’t you go to your locker?” Stevie turned to her brother, face now back to normal. “Huh? Oh right uh. I’m sharing my locker with you this year. Get this, Lydia-” Stevie was cut off by the bell and then the teacher who was writing on the black board started to talk right away.

“As you all know, there indeed was a body found in the woods last night,” Scott looked over his shoulder towards Stiles who gave him a dramatic wink, “and I am sure your eager little minds are coming up with various macabre scenarios as to what happened. But I am here to tell you that the police have a suspect in custody,” three of his friends turned to Stiles who looked just as stunned and confused at the teacher as they all did. “Which means you can give your undivided attention to the syllabus which is on your desk outlining the semester, Ms. Smith please turn all the way around.” Stevie rolled her eyes and turned back around.

Next to Stevie, who never looked over the syllabus until she got home, Scott was looking around for something. His searching stopped as he looked out the window and his eyes seemed locked onto something as his head turned. “Gimme your pen.” Scott whispered, holding his hand out to Stevie knowing she had more in her bag. “What?” The girl asked her friend, confused. “Just give me it.” Scott’s fingers wiggled as he waited for her to hand it over which she did moments before the classroom door opened. The principal entered with a girl the same height as him who could pass as a live action Snow White.

“Class, this is our new student, Allison Argent. Please do your best to make her feel welcome.” Allison gave the class a tight lip awkward smile before walking back towards the only open seat behind Scott. Scott turned in his seat holding out the pen he just got from Stevie to Allison. Next to them the Smith twins and Stiles are exchanging glances at each other. It was then that the teacher began his lesson.

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When the bell finally rang dismissing everyone from the last class Stevie followed her twin to his locker, which was next to Scott’s. The dark haired teen was looking down the hall at the new girl, she caught him looking and smiled at him. Stevie waited for her brother to open his locker, leaning her chin awkwardly on Scott’s shoulder. “Hmm Lydia is already snatching her up.” The blonde’s mumble nearly pulled Scott’s eyes off the girl. The teen leaning on his shoulder moved, turning to her brother. “Lydia Martin talked to me earlier. Like actually kind of gave me a compliment.” Stiles popped up like the mention of Lydia summoned him.

“What about Lydia?” Stiles inquired looking between three of his friends. Mick shrugs his shoulders with a sigh looking over at Lydia along with the other three. “I just want to know how the new girl is here all of five minutes and she’s already hanging out with Lydia’s clique?” Stiles' response of “Because she’s hot” made the only girl in the group roll her eyes. Seeing the annoyed expression on his female best friend’s face Stiles quickly stumbled over his words to correct himself slightly. “Well, what I mean is.. I mean beautiful people herd together.” The female Smith twin crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Stiles. “What are you saying I’m not beautiful Stiles?” Stevie scoffed. The buzzed head boy opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water.

“Stephanie!” The blonde turned her head down the hall towards the strawberry blonde that just called her name. “Go. Get over there.” Mick lightly pushed his sister towards the popular girl while leaning as casually as he could next to his other two friends. Stevie stumbled over her feet from the push but quickly caught herself and moved over towards Lydia, Jackson, and Allison. “Hi,” Stevie smiles at Allison before turning her head towards Lydia pointedly ignoring Jackson.

“So this weekend there’s this party,” Lydia starts looking at both Stevie and Allison. As soon as she heard the word ‘party’ Stevie wanted to run. “A party?” Allison looked at the couple then over at Stevie who gave a clueless look towards the girl next to her. “Yeah. Friday night. You two should come.” Jackson's suggestion made Stevie school her reaction from letting her jaw drop in amazement at the direct invite. “Uh, I can’t. It’s family night this Friday. Thanks for asking.” Allison excused herself. “Are you sure? Everyone is going after the scrimmage.” Jackson double checked.

Stevie glanced over towards her brother and friends, the only one looking towards her still was Scott. Stiles and Mick seemed to be in a very intense conversation over something, or someone. The blonde girl looked over at Allison. “You mean like football?” Allison clearly was new to the school and Stevie opened her mouth to politely correct her but Jackson beat her to it. “Football’s a joke in Beacon. The sport here is lacrosse.”

“The team has won the state championship for the last three years.” Stevie told Allison before Jackson got the chance to brag about it. Lydia reached up to fix Jackson’s hair as she proudly commented, “Because of a certain team captain.” Allison looked at Stevie almost as if asking if Lydia was being serious, given that Jackson wasn’t even playing for one of those years. Stevie tilts her head with a smile that Allison returned. “Well, we have practice in a few minutes. That is if you don’t have anywhere else--” Jackson was cut off from inviting Allison to watch their practice by Allison herself, “Well, I was going to--” Allison was then cut off by Lydia. “Perfect, you’re coming. Even Stephanie here is going to be there.” Jackson turned leading the way as Lydia grabbed both Allison and Stevie’s hands to make sure they went with. Stevie and Allison turned their heads nearly insync to look over towards Scott.

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Stiles jogged to keep up with Scott as Mick followed them. All three of them were in their lacrosse gear prepared for practice. “Wait, if you’re going to play, who am I going to talk to on the bench?” Stiles pants looking at Scott who was serious about playing this year. Scott looks over his shoulder at Mick who waved at Stiles nonverbally saying ‘uh me?’. “Look, I don’t want to sit on the sidelines anymore. This is the season I make first line.” Scott tells the two friends as Mick looks to the stands spotting his twin arriving with Lydia and Allison. She had left her jacket at home like usual so she was hugging her arms around herself. Mick sat his stuff down and lifted his hoodie pointing at it when Stevie looked at her twin. She shook her head turning down his offer of taking the hoodie as she turned back towards Allison who was smiling at Scott.

Stevie leaned over towards Allison who was in between her and Lydia, her voice soft as she whispered to the dark haired girl, “Just so you know, coach is a bit.. Eccentric. He can also sometimes be harsh but he’s good.” Allison gave a small nod. We watched as Scott took a different stick and put his helmet on before moving towards the goal post. Allison’s eyes never left him even as she asked Lydia, “Who is that?” Lydia pressed her lips together before looking at Scott, “Him? I’m not sure who he is. Why?” Scott turned towards the girls in the stand, his head tilting to the side like a puppy with his ears perking up. “He’s in my English class.” Allison shook her head as if it was no big deal. Stevie smiled at how smitten Allison and Scott seemed towards each other as she leaned forward placing her elbows on her knees and resting her head on her hands. “That ladies is Scott McCall, sophomore. He’s one of my best friends, although he is a bit closer to my twin.”

The assistant coach blew his whistle and McCall clutched at the helmet on his head like he was trying to cover his ears from the pain. Stevie’s eyebrows furrowed at the action. Due to the distraction Scott received a ball to his face making Allison and Stevie wince. Coach and other players laughed. “Hey, way to catch with your face, McCall!” One of the players called. Stiles dropped his head in a groan when Scott looked at the benches while Mick gave him a supportive thumbs up.

Scott stood back up physically shaking off the first fail. The second ball was thrown and Scott almost seemed shocked to see the ball in the net of his goalie stick. In fact most of the team looked shocked. Stiles was repeatedly slapping at Mick’s shoulder pad next to him. By the third block Stiles was cheering from the bench cheering. Stevie’s eyes drifted from Scott, who was killing it blocking, to the goofy guy ruffling her brother’s hair. Her attention did turn back to Scott until she heard Allison comment on how good he was. “Yeah, very good.” Lydia agreed. Stevie smiled, “He’s been practicing all summer with my brother from what I heard.”

Jackson moved up the line cutting in front. The moment was so intense that if it was filmed it would be in slow motion. The way Jackson ran forward, bringing back his stick to launch the ball towards the goal. The captain leaped into the air as he swung the stick forward sending the ball flying towards the net. Scott swiftly twisted at the waist bringing his stick up to block the ball from hitting the net. Stiles and Mick jumped up from the bench cheering for their friend. Both teens were shouting “That’s my friend!” Lydia stood from her seat cheering, making Jackson turn to face his girlfriend with a jealous gleam in his eyes.

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The girls sat together until practice was over before going their separate ways. Stevie headed towards her car to wait for her brother and the other two troublemakers. After practice the four headed over to the preserve to look for Scott’s inhaler that he dropped. Stiles and Mick held a hand out for Stevie to hold onto as she balanced on a fallen over tree to cross the small creek that the boys basically just walked through or easily stepped over.

“I don’t know what it was. It was like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball.” Scott was talking about practice. That’s not the only weird thing either. I can.. hear stuff I shouldn’t be able to hear.” McCall ducked under a branch, Stiles who walked around it looked back to make sure Stevie was okay but she had taken the easy way out and hopped onto her brother’s back. “Smell things.” Scott added making Stiles look back at his best friend. “Smell things?” Like what?” The Stilinski boy looked amused by what he was hearing. Yet Scott was serious as he took a moment smelling the air before looking back at the three teens behind him. “Like the mint mojito gum in your pocket. Or Stevie’s coconut shampoo.” Stiles instantly searched his pocket to prove him wrong, “I don’t even have any mint mojito--” Stiles stopped talking a half piece of gum from his pocket. Mick looked up at his sister. “I thought you were using a green apple shampoo?” Stevie shook her head, “Changed it up when I was in South Dakota.”

Scott turned and began to walk again with the others following. “So all this started with a bite?” Stiles was looking for clarification so he could piece it all together. “What if it’s like an infection, like my body’s flooding with adrenaline before I go into shock or something?” Scott worried looking back at his friends every once in a while. Stiles glanced back at Stevie and Mick who were behind him. “You know what? I actually think I’ve heard of this,” Stevie knew that tone Stiles was using and she smiled tapping her brother’s shoulder to get down so she could move to Stiles’ side, �� It’s a specific kind of infection.” Scott looked back at Stiles, his eyes wide with worry. “Are you serious?” Stevie nods her head solemnly. “Sadly, yes. I know the infection he’s talking about.” She joined in, “What’s it called again?” Stiles looked at the girl next to him then to Scott, “I think it's called lycanthropy.”

Stevie snapped her fingers and turned to Scott, “That’s the one.”

“What is that?” Mick asked, followed up with Scott’s question, “Is that bad?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s the worst.” Stiles responds completely seriously. “But only once a month.” Stevie adds placing a hand on Stiles’ arm. Scott looks at the two confused, “Once a month?” Stiles nods his head, “Mhm, on the night of the full moon.” Together both Stiles and Stevie made soft howling sounds. Scott pushed Stiles into Stevie muttering something about them being the worst. Stiles wrapped his arm around the girl’s shoulders to make sure she didn’t fall as he quickly caught himself. “Hey, you’re the one who heard a wolf howling.” Stiles let out a soft chuckle as he teased the dark haired teen. “I heard it too, ya know.” Mick walked over to Scott showing that he was on his side in this. “There could be something seriously wrong with me.” Scott huffed annoyed at Stiles joking about this. “I know you’re a werewolf!” Stiles imitated a fake growl as he lifted his hands up like claws. Stevie giggled, bumping her hip into Stiles. “Okay, we’re obviously kidding. But if you see us in shop class trying to melt all the silver I can find, it’s ‘cause Friday’s a full moon.” Stevie told Scott as he finally slowed to a stop.

“No, I-I could have sworn this was it. Mick and I saw the body, the deer came running. I dropped my inhaler.” The McCall boy bent down to ruffle through the leaves to see if the missing item was underneath them. “Maybe the killer moved the body?” Stiles suggested as Mick was shifting leaves around with his foot. “If he did I hope he left my inhaler. Those things are like 80 bucks.”

Stevie looked up from Scott and her eyes locked onto a man in all black causing her to jump back into the tree behind her as she let out a yelp in fear, where the hell had he come from and why didn’t they hear him? Stiles and Mick looked up hearing the noise from Stevie. Mick quickly made his way to his sister’s side sliding himself slightly in front of her. Stiles hits Scott’s shoulder to get his attention. Scott stood and turned towards the figure, now making it harder for Stevie to see the man. The man stalked over to us a brooding look on his face

“What are you doing here? This is private property.” The intense gaze from the man on top of how close he now was made Stevie subconsciously grabbing at her shoulder. “Uh, sorry man, we didn’t know.” Stiles apologized looking like a caught kid sneaking a cookie. “Yeah, we were just looking for something, but..” Scott explained but there was a slight pause in which the man in front of them just looked at them. “Forget it.” Then the man shocked us all by pulling Scott’s inhaler from his pocket and tossing it over. He turned and began to walk away when Stevie stepped forward and called after him, “Thanks terminator!” Mick grabbed his sister’s arm and pulled her back but the man never turned around.

“Are you insane?” Mick looked at his sister like she was in fact crazy. “Don’t be such a bitch,” She muttered, turning towards Stiles and Scott. “Sorry for caring about you, jerk.” Mick huffed as Stiles turned towards them. “Come on guys, I got to get to work.” Scott sighs, turning to go but Stiles stops him. “Dude, that was Derek Hale. You remember right? He’s only a few years older than us.” Stiles looked back to where Derek, the creepy Terminator man, disappeared into the woods. “Remember what exactly?” Mick asked just as confused as Scott looked. “His family all burned to death in a fire like ten years ago.” Mick gasped pointing over at his twin. “That was the first emergency response dad went on.” Scott looks between the three faces before stopping at Stiles, “I wonder what he’s doing back.”

Stiles let out a scoff before the four of them headed back to where they left their vehicles. Stiles and Scott pulled out first leaving the twins. Stevie tossed her keys over to her brother. “I think I hit my shoulder on something on our way back, you drive.” Mick nods and moves to the driver’s side of the car while Stevie takes a moment to scan her eyes over the woods. She stopped for a moment when her eyes landed on Derek Hale. He was a few yards away watching them, or more specifically her. “Come on Stephanie, we gotta get home before pops questions where we’ve been.” She finally pulled her eyes away from Derek and got into the car.

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The twins parted ways when they got home. Stephanie settled into her room to go through her meticulous notes and organization. Mick never really understood the teachers so he usually studied with his sister to understand things the day before the test. Not to mention that since she always had the notes the boys always came to her for them, even if they were based on the book and not necessarily what the teacher said or did.

There was a light rap at the door before it opened wider than the few inches she kept it at. Dean leaned in the doorway, his hands stuffed into his jean pockets. The teen girl looked over at him from where she was color coordinating her notes. “Hey pops.” Dean looked over his shoulder towards Michael’s closed bedroom door before walking over to his daughter. “Mick, said your shoulder was bothering you. Which one was it?” Dean inquired as the girl closed her eyes. “Stevie,” Dean warned her for not answering him right away. “It’s nothing. Mickey is probably just over reacting. You know how worried he gets when it comes to me.”

“We all do kid. Finish up, we’re having ‘Smith Surprise’ for dinner.” Stevie dramatically laid back on the floor where she was sitting and let out a groan. “I swear that is not what it's supposed to be called, old man.” Dean was already turning towards the door to leave her room. “Yes it is. Call your uncle Sammy if you don’t believe me, baby doll.”

In a matter of minutes later the Smith family was gathered around the kitchen table, or close to seeing as James was getting ready for work. “So dad, pops..” Stevie started pushing her food around on her plate. Both of the parents in the house looked at their daughter who seemed hesitant about whatever it was she would ask or say. “What is it?” James glanced at Mick for any clues but the boy was too busy stuffing his mouth with food. “There’s this party Friday night after the scrimmage-” Stevie began to explain but was cut off by Dean, “No.” James hit his husband’s shoulder. “What about this party?”

“I was invited to go by Lydia Martin.” Mick’s fork clattered onto his plate from the shock of his sister’s statement causing him to drop his fork. “Widdia Marhim?” He tried to say Lydia Martin with a full mouth which earned him a light smack on the back of the head from Dean in scolding. “Whose all going?” James asked, leaning on the counter between where Dean was sitting and where his daughter was. “The lacrosse team and a couple others. No offense to the boys and all but...maybe it's time for me to have some girlfriends?” The last part changed the looks in all three of the male’s eyes. None of them have ever known Stevie to have a female friend to hang out with. Her sleepovers were usually at Stiles’ or at their own house with her brother and best friends. “I think it’s a good idea. Just no underaged drinking.” James pointed at his daughter as he pushed off the counter and headed towards the door to leave the house. “You really got invited by Lydia?” Mick asked, still shocked over her interaction with Lydia. Between Stiles and Mick it was hard not to hear about the girl. Stevie rolled her eyes and just ate her meal.

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Scott was at his locker the following day. His head is a mess between the vanished bite mark, going on a date with Allison, and the strange sleepwalking. He reached back to close his locker when it was slammed closed for him by Jackson. Both were dressed in their lacrosse training gear. “Alright little man, how ‘bout you tell me where you’re getting your juice.” Jackson states bluntly looking a tad intimidating the way he stood in front of Scott. It took Scot a moment for him to focus on what was just instructed on. “What?”

“Where are you getting your juice?” Jackson repeated speaking slower and enunciating every word more clearly for Scott to understand him. Scott clearly wasn’t understanding what Jackson was getting at. Or at least not fully. The teen was thoroughly confused as he replied, “My mom does all the grocery shopping but Stevie sometimes gives me some of her fruit smoothie.” Jackson was slightly baffled by how Scott just wasn’t understanding him. “Now, listen, McCall.. You are going to tell me exactly what it is and who you’re buying it from, because there’s no way in hell you’re out there kicking ass on the field like that without some kind of chemical boost.” It was at that moment that everything clicked in Scott’s head. “Oh, you mean steroids.” Scott lowered his head a new wave of confusion setting in. “Are you on steroids?”

Jackson grabbed onto Scott’s practice jersey before shoving him into the lockers, “What the hell is going on with you, McCall?” Scott was looking right into Jackson’s eyes as he replied, “What’s going on with me? You really wanna know?” Jackson let go of Scott thinking he was about to get the answer he wanted. “Well, so would I! Because I can see, hear, and smell things that I shouldn’t be able to. I do things that should be impossible, I’m sleepwalking three miles into the middle of the woods, and I’m pretty much convinced that I’m totally out of my freaking mind!” McCall’s rant ended with a heavy sigh.

Whittemore chuckled thinking he was joking. “You think you’re funny.. Don’t you McCall? I know you’re hiding something. I’m going to find out what it is. I don’t care how long it takes.” The captain’s hand banged against the lockers for emphasis and intimidation before he walked away leaving a frustrated and confused Scott behind.

Scott kicked his foot back against the locker before heading to the lacrosse field for practice. Stevie was leaning against the bench where her brother was sitting with Scott across from them when Stiles comically came running towards them flailing his arms. “Scott! Scott, wait up.” Stevie ducked behind her brother whenever Coach looked towards them so she wasn’t kicked off the field towards the bleachers. “Stiles I’m playing the first elimination man, can it wait?” Stiles had one hand on McCall’s shoulder and the other moved from a stop motion to his side along with the other, “Just hold on okay? I overheard my dad on the phone.” Stiles grabbed Scott to make him look at him, “The fiber analysis came back from the lab in LA they found animal hairs on the body from the woods.” Scott finally got away from Stiles trying to hold him in place. “I gotta go.” McCall ran out onto the field leaving Stiles there with Mick and Stevie. Stevie put her hand on Stiles’ arm. “What was the result?” Stiles turned towards the twins. “It was a wolf. The animal was a wolf.”

Stevie moved to the bleachers to sit with Allison and Lydia when they arrived. Stiles and Mick heading out to the field. Coach was giving his yearly explanation of ‘make the cut you play the rest of you losers sit on the bench’ or at least that’s how Mick always took it. Stevie bumped her shoulder into Allison’s as she sat the two exchanging a smile. The three girls watched the mock game played by the team. “Your brother doesn’t mind sitting on the bench does he?” Allison asked as they watched Mick jump away from another player. “Mick is a bit of a softy. Sometimes I think he plays just to stay close to Stiles and Scott.” The teasing smile on the blonde’s face made the fair skinned girl laugh. Both let out a small gasp as Jackson knocked Scott to the ground.

Yet when Scott got up and the new round began. McCall to the ball right from the start. None of his friends had seen him maneuver around the other players like he currently was. Stiles and Mick exchanged a look from the bench where Stiles waited for his chance to play and Mick just came off the field. Cheers erupted throughout the watching crowd as Scott scored a point. Lydia pulled at Allison’s arm playfully as the girls stood up with the other students. Another standing ovation was given seconds later as everyone overheard Coach announce that Scott made first line.

Mick went over to Scott’s after school, the two were going to do some homework together using the notes they borrowed from Stevie. Stevie herself decided to go with Stiles leaving Mick the keys to the car. The blonde climbed into the blue jeep along with her best friend. “Okay Watson, we have a mystery to solve.” Stiles begins as he pulls out of the school parking lot driving towards his house. “Mystery of what happened to Scott McCall?” Stevie inquired looking over at Stiles who nodded his head, fingers drumming against the steering wheel. “There has to be a reason for what’s going on and we’re going to figure it out.”

Stilinski hit the brakes as he slowed for a stop light, his right hand left the steering wheel as his arm reached across the passenger side of the jeep. Stevie rolled her eyes and smiled. Stiles Stilinski always soccer moms her in his jeep. She called him out on it once but he just said he didn’t trust her seatbelt. Scott and Mick teased him about it since she was the only one he did it for. Stevie sent a text to her parents letting them know where she and Michael were, since her twin probably forgot to check in. Arriving at the Stilinski house she and Stiles greeted his dad who was in the kitchen. “Hey dad.” / “Hi Sheriff Stilinski.” The sheriff waved at the both watching the teens run back towards Stiles’ room.

The two discussed for three hours what it could be before they came to one conclusion. “Hey Steph, I’m heading back to the station if you need a ride.” The Sheriff offered, leaning half way into his son’s room. The blonde smiled up at him from where she sat on the floor, her hair partly braided. “Actually Sheriff, I’ll probably just stay here with Stiles a bit longer. Thanks though.” The sheriff smiled at her, “Make sure to call your parents and let them know.” The sheriff waved before leaving.

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Stevie was laying on Stiles’ bed reading some of the printed out pages from their research. After realizing they probably had as much information on werewolves as they were currently going to get they moved on to other things like silver and wolfsbane. Stiles closed his laptop at the sound of a knock on the door. Stephanie laughed softly as she looked around the floor of his room which was littered with printed out pages. Stiles opened the door seeing Scott and Michael standing there waiting.

“Oo door was closed with a girl over. Glad pops doesn’t know about this.” Michael teased looking at his sister. The shorter girl grabbed a balled up piece of paper and threw it at her brother. Stiles let out a sigh and stepped back. “Get in.” Both teen males joined Stiles and Stevie in the room before the door was swiftly closed behind them to avoid the sheriff meddling into their research. “You gotta see this thing. Steph and I have been up all night reading; websites, books. All this information.”

“How much Adderall have you had today?” Scott inquired looking at his best friend before glancing at the tired girl on the bed. “A lot.” She answered, pushing herself up into a sitting position. “Doesn’t matter. Okay, just listen.” Stiles grabs a few of the papers off his desk, spinning to face the three other teens. Scott tossed his backpack onto the bed next to Steph, “Oh, is this about the body?” Then sat down in front of the girl who leaned forward to rest her head on his back. “No, they’re still questioning people, even Derek Hale.”

“The guy from the woods? Terminator dude?” Mick asked, sitting down next to Scott while reaching back to hand his sister a can of coffee he bought for her. Stevie’s eyes sparkled in excitement before she opened the can and took a sip. “Yeah! Yes. But that’s not it, okay?” Stiles looked over at Stevie who was too lost in her coffee to explain so he continued. “Remember the joke from the other day? Not a joke anymore.” The change of Stiles’ tone made the other two males in the room focus on him. “The wolf-- the bite in the woods. We,” Stiles wiped around his mouth before gesturing between Stevie and himself, “started to do this research and reading.” Stiles stands up from his seat as his voice changes again, “Do you even know why a wolf howls?”

“Should we?” Michael asked a bit slowly, his eyebrows furrowing with confusion.

“It’s a signal. When a wolf is alone it howls to signal its location to the rest of the pack.” Stevie finally speaks up more awake than she was half a can of coffee ago. “Exactly, so if you heard a wolf howling, that means others could have been nearby. Maybe even a whole pack of ‘em.” Stiles was definitely hyper fixated as he even stumbled over his words in his rush to get them out. “A whole pack of wolves?” Scott’s question was quickly shot down by Stiles, “No.. Werewolves.”

Scott stood from the bed, suddenly making both Smith twins look towards him. “Are you seriously wasting my time with this?” McCall was in disbelief at how his friends could be so serious about this. Stevie got up from the bed and grabbed his bag to stop him. “You know I’m picking up Allison in an hour.” Stiles reached out to also stop Scott. “We saw you on the field today, Scott. Okay, what you did wasn’t just amazing alright? It was impossible.”

“Yeah so I made a good shot.” Scott gave an extra little tug making Stevie let go as he walked towards the door. Stiles put his hand on his friend’s chest. “No, you made an incredible shot. I mean the way you moved, your speed, your reflexes. People can’t just suddenly do that overnight.” Stevie couldn’t tell if Stiles was getting emotional or was simply that passionate about what he was talking about. “And there’s the vision and the senses and don’t even think that we haven’t noticed that you don’t need your inhaler anymore.” Stevie adds on as she walks around Scott to stand with Stiles. “Okay! Guys, I can’t think about this now. We’ll talk tomorrow.” Scott snapped at them, making Mick slowly rise to his feet feeling like a fight might break out.

“Tomorrow?!”

“Have you lost your marbles?!”

Stiles and Stevie both objected at the same time. Stiles glanced at the girl next to him for a brief moment. “The full moon’s tonight. Don’t you get it?” Stiles points out. Michael stepped closer to his sister feeling more protective the louder the conversation got. “What are you trying to do? I-I just made first line. I got a date with a girl who I can’t believe wants to go out with me, and everything in my life is somehow perfect. Why are you trying to ruin it?” Scott literally ended up talking down at Stiles as he sat back down on his computer chair. “We’re trying to help.” Stevie scoffs annoyed with how Scott’s acting. “You’re cursed Scott. You know, and it's not just the moon will cause you to physically change. It also just so happens to be when your bloodlust will be at its peak.” Stiles really was worried about his friend, the softer tone he lowered to proving that he didn’t want to argue or fight.

“His bloodlust?” Mick asked, speaking up, bringing Scott to glance over at the twins. “Yeah, his urge to kill.” Scott’s blank face turned to the two confronting him. “I’m already starting to feel an urge to kill.” At Scott’s admission Mick stepped closer holding his hands up. “Whoa, let's bring it down a few notches.” Stiles reached for one of the books ignoring Mick, “You got to hear this. ‘Change can be caused by anger or anything that raises your pulse.’ All right?” Stiles looks at Scott pointedly closing the book he just quoted from a bit loudly. “We haven't seen anyone raise your pulse like Allison does. You gotta cancel this date.” Stiles side steps Scott and reaches for his bag to grab the boy’s cell phone. “I’m going to call her right now.”

“What are you doing?” Mick looked at Stiles with wide eyes. “He’s canceling the date.” Stevie answered for him. “No, give it to me!” Scott ordered in anger, slamming Stiles up against the wall. Mick grabbed his sister’s arm pulling her next to him before moving himself to be in front of her. Stevie gasped in fear grabbing onto the back of Mick’s jacket as she peered over his shoulder at Scott who had his arm pulled back ready to punch his best friend. Instead of hitting Stiles, McCall shoved over the computer chair and released a yell of rage. The heavy panting breaths Scott took to calm himself were all that were heard as the other three watched him. “I’m sorry. I-I gotta go get ready for that party.” Scott stepped away from Stiles and to the bed where his bag was. When he passed the twins Mick stood the slightest bit straighter as if he could hide his sister from view. No one moved otherwise as Scott made his way out stopping one more time at the door to apologize to Stiles.

Stiles banged his head gently back against the wall in frustration that Scott wouldn’t listen to them. “You okay, dude?” Mick stepped towards Stiles, his sister right behind him. “Yeah, I’m good.” Stiles moved to pick back up his computer chair. “But I don’t think he is.” The twins looked down to what Stiles was looking at. Carved through the material on the back of his computer chair, right where Scott’s hand touched to shove it, where three marks eerily similar to claw marks. “Well I hope everyone is up for a party.” Stevie sighs as she runs the tips of her fingers over the torn fabric.

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“Stevie, let's go, you're taking forever.” Mick called up the stairs. He had washed up, changed and talked to Stiles who was driving them there. “Stiles is literally going to be here any minute.” Steph huffed as she walked halfway down the stairs. “Is this something Lydia would approve of?” Steph asked her brother as Dean walked in from the kitchen with a large slice of pie. “Why are you so dressed up?” He asked, looking at his daughter. Mick looked from Dean to his sister. “She might hate the shoes.” Mick told his sister who groaned and turned going to change out of the converse. “That party Stevie mentioned.” He told Dean who narrowed his eyes and pointed the fork at him.

“Now if I remember correctly, your sister got invited, not the whole Scooby gang.” Dean takes a bite of pie. “Don’t get caught doing something bad. No underaged drinking. Watch out for your sister.” Dean started to lecture with his mouth full as Stevie clunked down the stairs having exchanged the converse for chunky heeled boots. Stiles beeped out front and Steph leaned up to kiss her dad’s cheek. “Bye see you later pops.”

Upon arrival at Lydia’s house Stevie was pulled away from her twin and Stiles. Both males instantly went to find Scott in the crowd of teenagers dancing. Lydia, who was pulling the blonde girl behind her, walked back over to Jackson and a few of the other lacrosse players. Stevie was introduced and seconds later Lydia and Jackson disappeared to dance leaving Stevie with three of the lacrosse players. Danny was the only one she knew by name given they had been hanging out since last year doing study sessions together. Danny patted her arm and gestured to her to follow him.

“I take it Lydia is trying to set you up with a guy from the team?” Danny asked over the music making Stevie laugh with a shake of her head. “I actually don’t know. Kinda looked that way though.” Danny hands her a cup of punch before he wrapped an arm around her so he didn’t lose her in the crowd. “Good thing I know you better.” Danny leaned down to whispers as they approached a teen sitting secluded in the quietest corner of the back yard. He was tall, curly blonde hair, and he was wearing a grey cardigan like sweater over a t-shirt. “Isaac, I want to introduce you to someone. Stephanie Smith this is Isaac Lahey. Isaac works the graveyard shift at the cemetery. Isaac, Steph here is into the spooky stuff. I have a date to get back to. Mingle.” Danny pointed at the two teens he just introduced to each other before walking away.

Steph drops her head and sighs before rolling it to the side and looking up at the teen who was nearly the same height as her uncle. “Hi. Hope you don’t mind the company.” She took a small step closer to the half wall he was leaning against before tossing the contents of the cup into the bush behind it. “Not a fan of the punch?” His voice was low and with a gentle tone that made her smile slightly at him. “It’s spiked. Don’t want to go home after drinking.” Isaac nods his head. “Michael’s your brother right?”

“Yeah. What number are you?” Steph pushed herself up onto the half wall. “Uh fourteen.” Steph snaps her fingers and points at him. “You were amazing at the scrimmage. That toss to McCall. Golden. Sorry you got tackled so hard for it though. Is your neck okay?” Isaac nods his head slowly. “Yeah. My neck’s fine. I’m.. I’m a bit clumsy so I’m used to it.” He tugged at his sweater sleeves and Stevie looked around the party catching sight of Derek Hale stalking around. “Just so you know. The nurse might leave before practice but my dad is an EMT and he always makes me keep a fully stocked first aid kit in the car. If things get too bad I can always patch you up. I’ve done it for Danny before when he skinned his shin. Not to mention growing up with the Three Stooges.” Steph looked over to where Stiles and her brother were awkwardly standing around talking while watching Scott with Allison.

“I’ll keep that in mind. I uh, I have to get to work at the cemetery. My dad doesn’t know I’m here so I still have to get to work. See you at school?” Isaac looked down at Stevie as he stood up. “Sure thing. Be safe.” She smiled and waved before moving back towards the party to join her brother and Stiles. On her way over to them Danny stepped in front of her. “How did it go?” He asked with a smile, making her roll her eyes. “It’s good he seems sweet. We’ll talk more at school. Hey, have you seen any of my usual group?” Danny looked around for a moment. “Stiles and your brother went inside and Scott was just with Allison.” Danny pointed towards the girl left standing outside so Stevie walked over to her quickly.

“Al, is everything okay?” The blonde asked her and Allison grabbed her friend’s hand hurrying inside. Ahead of them Stevie could see Stiles and Mick hurrying outside together. “Something’s wrong with Scott.” Allison said over her shoulder as they hurried towards the entrance. They just made it down the stairs when Scott peeled out of there like a bat out of hell followed closely behind by Stiles and Mick in Roscoe.

“Allison,” A smooth voice called from behind the two teen girls making both turn around. Of course standing there looking out of place at a high school party was Derek Hale. Stevie looped her arm through Allison’s making it clear that she wasn’t leaving the other girl. “I’m a friend of Scott’s. My name’s Derek. I actually know Stevie here too.” Allison looked over to the blonde who was looking at Derek trying to figure out what his motive was. “Maybe I can give you two a ride home?” Hearing Derek’s offer instantly made Stevie wish she could physically snarl at the man, or maybe it’s all the werewolf talk getting to her.

“Uh, yeah that would be great. Let me grab my jacket.” Allison went back inside to grab her jacket leaving Stevie alone with Derek. “I don’t like you. Something about you is just off and I don’t like it but if you hurt Allison I will do everything in my power to make sure Sheriff Stilinski and Scott knows it was you. Got it Zuko?” Stevie poked his leather clad chest as she looked up at him trying to be as threatening as she could. Derek huffed out what was almost a laugh before pushing her hand away. “You’re something else..” Before Steph could ask what he meant Allison was back and both girls were getting in Derek’s Camaro.

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When Stiles and Mick left Lydia's, their focus was solely on Scott who was clearly under the influence of something. Neither noticed that they forgot Steph until they were pulling up at Scott’s where they followed him to. Mick turned to tell his sister to wait in the jeep but she simply wasn’t there. “Shit pop is going to kill me later.” Mick mumbled as they both hopped out of the jeep running inside the house.

Stiles persistently knocked at Scott’s bedroom door. “Go away.” The weak reply from Scott came from inside. “Scott it’s me and Mick.” Scott came to open the door just enough that Stiles could probably fit his head in. “Come on, let me in. Scott, I can help.” Scott rested his head on the wooden door right above the sliding lock. “No! Listen, you gotta find Allison.” Stiles looked at Mick who was looking at his phone. Mick held the phone up for Stiles to see the text from Stevie. “She’s fine, Stevie’s with her, all right? They were getting a ride from the party. Stevie’s got her.”

“No, I think I know who it is.” Scott said still not opening the door enough to let his two male best friends in. “Just let us in Scotty, we can try--”

“It’s Derek.” Scott cut Mick off, “Derek Hale is the werewolf. He’s the one that bit me. He’s the one that killed the girl in the woods. Mick’s face paled at what Scott was claiming. He took a slightly staggered step back to lean against the wall. “Scott.. Derek’s the one who drove the girls from the party.” Stiles told him, realizing what this could mean. The bedroom door closed leaving Stiles to bang on it. “Scott!” Scott was ignoring his best friend, leaping from the window, the only thought on his mind was Allison, protecting Allison.

“Stiles, Stevie’s phone is going straight to voicemail.” Mick’s worried voice told the sheriff’s son as they tried looking for Scott as they hurried to Allison’s. “It probably just died. You know how she is with that thing.” Stiles tried to reassure his best friend. Mick jumped out of the jeep before Stiles even had it in park and was up at the house ringing the doorbell. When Stiles got to the door he rang the doorbell yet again. Not getting a response fast enough for either of them they both knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal one annoyed woman.

“Um.. Hi Mrs. Argent. You don’t know us but we’re friends of your daughter’s.” Stiles began to ramble. The woman turned towards the kitchen, “Allison it’s for you!” Allison just steps out of the kitchen with a confused look on her face. “Stiles, Mick...what are you doing here? I just got back from taking Stevie home.” Mick released a sigh of relief knowing his sister was home safe and so was Allison. “Sorry Allison, my sister’s phone died and I kind of panicked.” Mick rubbed the back of his head giving an apologetic smile to her and her mother. “We should go. Sorry for that.”

“Don’t worry. She did seem a bit upset though. Just warning you guys.” Allison nods her head as she sees them both out of her house. Mick called Dean, who didn’t answer so he called his dad’s cell and was thankful to get an answer to let his dad know he would be with Stiles tonight. Which his dad was okay with as usual.

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Neither of them knew the argument taking place at home between Dean and Stevie. Dean was in the garage doing some late night work on his car when Allison and Stevie pulled into the driveway. Dean wiped his hands out and came to greet the two girls. “You’re home early and without your brother.” Dean comments looking at his daughter. “Mick mentioned something about going to Stiles’. I wanted to head out early so I got a ride. Pops this is Allison Argent, Allison this is my pops, Dean. You’ll have to meet my dad another time.

Allison agreed to go along with my lie on the way over which I was very thankful. Despite being upset that Stiles and Mick left I understood. Allison smiled at my dad as they shook hands. “Argent, huh? Nice to meet you Allison. Thanks for giving my daughter a ride. You better head home before it gets too late.” Allison nods and waved goodbye before getting in the car and leaving.

Dean followed his daughter into the house. He stood in the living room where she stopped to take off her shoes. “I don’t want you to hang out with Allison, Stevie.” The request took Stevie by utter shock as she snapped her head over to him. “What do you mean you don’t want me to hang out with her?” Stevie gaped as her pops shrugs with his hands in his pockets, “Exactly what I said. I don’t want you to hang out with her.”

“No. You can’t do this. I finally made a female friend and you say I can’t hang out with her? Why?” Stevie stands to face him, her arms crossed in front of her chest. “Because I said so now just do as I say.” Dean raised his voice as he gave her an order. “No! That’s not fair!” She objected, throwing her arms down to her sides. “Stephanie, I have my reasons and I am not going to explain them to you now. Just listen to me or I will ground you and you won’t be hanging out with any of your friends.” Stevie took a step back, her jaw locked in anger. Dean rarely ever called her by her first name, he was the one who gave her the nickname ‘Stevie’. So sure he was serious but to her it was still unfair. Grabbing her boots she stomped up the stairs to her room where she stayed for the rest of the night.

When James got home early the next morning Dean was sitting at the kitchen table picking at the label on an empty bottle of beer. He moved to sit next to his husband concerned for why he was still awake. “What’s on your mind?” James’ voice cut through Dean’s thoughts causing the man to grunt and push the bottle away. “I got to meet one of Stevie’s new girl friends today. She’s an Argent. Stevie and I got into a fight because I told her she couldn’t see her friend.”

“Why would you do that?” James began setting up the coffee pot as he looked over at his husband. “I know Argents James. If Argents are here in Beacon Hills that means something is going on.” Dean tapped on the table sitting forward on his chair. “Or they just want a safe place to raise their daughter like we did.” James walked over to pet Dean’s hair and soothe him. “You don’t get it. The Argents, they aren’t like me and Sam or even Bobby. They live their life for the job, it is their job from the moment they agree till death.” Dean stood from the table to pace. “Son of a bitch, I just wanted to raise our kids in peace.”

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It was dawn by the time Stiles and Mick found Scott walking down the road without a shirt or shoes. While Stiles slowed to a stop to pick him up Mick climbed into the back of the jeep. “You know what worries me the most?” Scott spoke aloud drawing attention from the other two males in the jeep. “If you say Allison I’m going to punch you in the head.” Stiles comments glancing over at his best friend.

“She probably hates me now.” Stiles sighed in disgust over how love sick his best friend was. “I mean if it means anything I’m pretty sure Stevie hates everyone right now.” Mick muttered from behind them. He got a text about an hour ago from his sister telling him the story she used to cover for him and then some slightly angrier texts about being left alone, pops not liking Allison for no reason, and being grounded. “Guess we all need some pretty amazing apologies.”

“Stiles patted Scott’s shoulder, “We’ll get through this. Come on, if I have to I’ll chain you up myself on full moons and feed you live mice. I had a boa once.” Stiles was slightly joking, making Mick snort, “Pretty sure Stevie fed that thing more than you did. “We got this chill.” Stiles smiles at his friends.

Taglist:

@all-alone-he-turns-to-stone

[clearlynotjanus]

Loceit Week Day 7 Teaser: Anniversary

This one got really long & admittedly I still need to give it one more pass through before I can be really happy with it, but for all intents & purposes, this one's complete enough to be put here! I found myself really disappointed with how this fic unfurled over the last two months of writing it & I came to the conclusion that Loceit is just a ship that isn't well portrayed through the same kind of big conversational moments that Moceit shined in. That being said, I'm still proud of the writing & hope people enjoy it anyway!

Anyway enjoy this teaser! & as always, if you’d like to be on my tag list to be @’d in works like this as well as my fic related stuff, give this linked post a like or send me a message. If you have any questions or suggestions, my ask box is always open! If you would like to get the rest of this fic early access, please consider subscribing to my Patreon. If you’d just like to support my work or request a writing commission, please consider donating to my Ko-Fi. Thanks so much for being an awesome audience 💛

CW: Anxiety, crying Word Count: 5960 (Teaser: 1223) Genre: Hurt/Comfort Rating: Teen Ships: Loceit

@sanderssidesangsttrash​ @catalinaacosta​ @whatishappeningrightnow​ @anxiousbean4404​ @vexelore​ @the-dead-and-the-decaying​ @serpentinesomebody​ @poptartsaysurloved​ @robertdownerjr​ @dangitsbrightinhere​ @iamuncomffy​ @sanderdarksides​ @evertriedsoywithyourpopcorn​ @dragonfander @virgilstarantula​ @a-rudethude @indubitably-emo @gay-artist-626​ @cosplayhanna​ @edupunkn00b​ @wouldntyou-liketoknow​ @awesomerandomgirl1​​​

“What happened that day?” He asked in a hushed tone, respecting the intimacy of the topic.

“Remus never told you?” Logan replied, finding that hard to believe.

“He did. He told me how it went for him. Patton told me his experience as well.”

“So you already know.”

“I don’t know your experience,” Janus insisted and Logan’s brows furrowed.

“Are you implying that my experience differed from everyone else’s?” Defensiveness crept into his voice despite himself. Janus shook his head.

“Everyone’s experience differs every day,” He paused and Logan rolled his eyes at the ambiguity. “You were the youngest,” Janus conceded, spelling out what he meant. “Of course your experience was different.”

Logan sighed and pushed down his guard. Janus was right. It made sense that his perception of that day might contrast greatly with the others’, as much as he didn’t like to think it did. Logan stared at the floor, his eyes becoming distant as the scene of that day played out. 

The voices in the hall had woken him up. Logic blinked at his clock; it was just after seven, which was fine enough. The alarm would’ve woken him up in half an hour anyway. It was mostly Creativity’s voice he could hear, though nonspecifically. If someone was responding, Logic couldn’t make it out. “I woke up to Remus’ voice in the hall at seven-thirteen that morning,'' Trying to tune into the words echoing from outside his door, he sat up and felt his stomach lurch oddly. A sense of foreboding filled him. “I got out of bed and went into the hall.”

“You didn’t change first or brush your teeth?”

“No,” Logan blinked at the interruption, his tone suddenly tinged with offense.

“Why not?”

“I don’t know,” He rushed in frustration. “Why?” He flipped the question with venom.

“It’s just,” Janus shifted against the couch, his tone thoughtful. “You always insisted on doing that, every morning. Before you did anything else,” Janus chuckled at the memory. “You’d come out of your room, already dressed, and head right to the bathroom, no matter what was going on.” Logan’s forehead creased deeply; did he used to do that? It sounded very much like him, but the way Janus described it almost felt foreign. “So I’m just wondering,” his voice and expression gained an edge as he reached his point. “Why did you skip that on this particular morning?”

Logan debated the question. The answer that immediately came to mind was because he heard Remus’ voice and he had sounded angry, but Logan could tell there was a deeper response Janus was asking for. He attempted to recall the exact sensations of the morning; mild annoyance at being woken up, a stomach ache that crept up on him as the minutes ticked by, a slightly quickened heartbeat ...

“I was worried,” Logan realized in a whisper at the floor. He pulled in a quick breath as he met Janus’ eyes again. “Something felt...wrong, and I wanted to know what was happening first.” Janus gave a small smile and nodded deeply.

“Continue.”

Logan licked his lips and turned away again.

Remus stood over Morality, who was disheveled on the floor with strips of what appeared to be paper in his hands. Roman seemed to be half heartedly holding Remus back with a loose grip on his shoulder. The scene wasn’t incredibly new; Creativity and Morality rarely got along, though usually it was Self Preservation that intervened. Logic wondered sleepily where the older Side was, figuring it’d be wise to intervene in the meantime regardless. “I saw Remus, Roman, and Patton in the hall, outside where your door used to be.”

“Did you notice it was missing instantly?”

“No,” Logan whispered, shaking his head. “Creativity, what are you doing to Morality?” The tensions remained high as he approached with caution. Not even Morality looked up.

“Nothin’,” Remus continued to glare down at the crumpled teen. Confusion crossed Logic’s expression; clearly something was going on. Context clues provided enough evidence that it was Remus who instigated it, but Logic didn’t want to believe that. As brash as Creativity was, he wasn’t mean usually. If he was hurting Morality, there was probably a reason. “But you should ask him what he did with Pwezzi.”

“Self Preservation?” Logic looked at the empty wall finally, realizing chunks of the wallpaper were missing where his door usually stood. The drywall stared back at him solemnly. “Ah,” He said, deflating all the air in his lungs. Logic’s heart sank as he suddenly understood, feeling very stupid for not having noticed the glaring inconsistency sooner. “His door is missing?” 

“It...wasn’t until I had asked Remus what he was doing to Patton that I understood.” “Yupp,” Remus’ tone was caustic and impatient. Logic frowned. Why was he blaming Morality for this? Were they not equally upset?

“He blamed Patton,” Janus continued the scene from what he knew from the other points of view. “Did you?”

“No,” He answered automatically. “Well, there’s no need to hurt Morality for that,” Logic rushed, “I bet he has an explanation, you just haven’t given him time to say it,” At least Logic wanted to believe that Morality had an explanation. He wasn’t the greatest at explaining himself or anything in general really, but if he were the first to realize Self Preservation had gone missing, then surely he had something useful to say. “Morality?” Logic pressed, feeling his own impatience rise. He leaned to the side to meet Patton’s eyes, goading, or perhaps begging him to please, for once speak clearly. “Care to explain what’s going on?”

“I mean, yes, in a way and for the most part after a while, but,” Logan’s voice abruptly cut off. The words on his tongue tasted bitter like bile; like his insides were forcibly regurgitating a truth that had settled deep in his stomach lining, forming a heavy pit for the last fifteen years. Logan’s eyes burned again as he looked down at his white-knuckled hands. His lips quivered with restraint. Suddenly the room felt far too hot.

“Who did you blame at first?” Janus whispered and Logan exhaled a sob as his head fell.

Patton didn’t have anything to say that morning, or any morning as the days trudged on. In Logic’s young mind, the memory never made much sense, and no recount of the event was ever given. Days turned into weeks into months; mild misunderstandings with Morality turned into arguments into fights. Months morphed into years and adolescence had nothing good to offer for Logic who began equating emotions with childishness. He shoved his down and forced a neutral expression. The world was splitting; serious or silly, repressed or emotive. Though deep down Logic knew better, he lacked the nuance it took to convince Morality otherwise. A nuance that existed in another Side, one that was now gone. One that had, in all of Logic’s conceivable and unexplained perception of reality, left. The one that had left Logic alone to fend for himself against the wolves of black and white thinking. Doomed him to inadequacy. 

“You,” The word spilled out in a pitchy tone that Logan didn’t identify with as tears quickly fogged his glasses. Disdainfully he discarded them and in the same motion, Janus reached to place a reassuring hand between Logan’s shoulder blades.

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[themuselesswriter]

Moved In - Chapter five: Family Tree

Characters: Oscar Spooky Diaz, Original Characters, Cesar Diaz

Summary: Cesar has a school assignment that required information about his relatives and families, the only problem is that he knows nothing about it. He asks Oscar about it who gets upset because it brought back so many unwanted memories.

Word count: 1700+

Warnings: family issues

A/N: none

Credits: viking - polarr filter by me, photos from Pinterest

—————————————Teaser——————————-

You’ve been sitting at the table with Cesar for the last two hours, the paper in front of you is still considered empty, the boy was beyond frustrated, only five names were written, his, yours, their dad’s, their mom’s and Oscar’s, he frowned “Mijo just write down anything” you complained, he shook his head “I can’t, I know we have relatives but I don’t know how is everyone related to us, I don’t know what they do for work or who they’re married to!” He mumbled, you sighed “can you at least finish the rest of your homework and we can ask Oscar about it when he returns home?” He replied negatively again “I’ve already done my homework, this is the last one”

You waited for about an hour before Oscar came to the rescue, his white shirt on as well as his knee-length shorts, he raised an eyebrow at the two of you “hola famillia” he greeted you both with a kiss on the forehead “do we have anything to eat?” He asked but didn’t wait for an answer, he went to the fridge and grabbed himself a plate of leftovers then joined you on the table, both looking at him “what? Was I supposed to share?” He said with his mouth half full, you shook your head “then what is it?” You looked at the paper titled family tree, he did too and laughed “they’re still milking that?” Cesar nodded “I need your help, I don’t know who to put there” the youngest said with a pleading tone.

Oscar put down the food and wiped his hands clean with his dirty shorts then picked up the paper and read it, he put it down after a moment “Yeah, that’s about it” he said approvingly “this is not about it Oscar I’m going to fail, I need more information and more family members!” He whined, his brother rolled his eyes “what else could you possibly need?”, “full names, birthdates, favourite thing in the world, professions, who are our ancestors, whose married to whom, whose family to whom” the boy explained “well, mom and dad are married to each other, one’s a junkie and dead, the other is in prison, we are Mexicans, and that’s about it”

You opened your mouth to disagree about the amount of information he gave, but you knew better, you understood that Oscar and the past aren’t quite friends, especially if it’s related to their family, so you kept it quiet “Oscar! Come on! This isn’t helpful at all, all of my friends will talk about their families! All but me!” the boy pouted “we are the only family you need to know of, we and the Santos” the older one said stubbornly, you rolled your eyes, as if a child can ever speak of a gang and call them family in a school assignment no matter how good they are to him.

The brothers quibbled for half an hour before Spooky shouted that it was enough and left the table, leaving Cesar barely holding back his tears, you comforted him or tried to, but ended up sending him to his room, he needed space to be vulnerable and alone, while you talk to your idiot of a man, you grabbed two bottles of Corona and headed to the porch where he was sitting, he was just done with smoking his cigarette, you sat down on the staircase next to him and handed him an open bottle which he took gratefully yet kept a suspicious eye on you.

“Say it” he said after minutes of awkward silence, you acted clueless “just say it, you are here to give me shit about what just happened so let’s get it over with it” he grumbled then took a sip of his beer “look, I know talking about your family is hard for you but you were a dick, Cesar never asked about any of them, not your mom, not your dad, not even your weird cousins, he just wanted to know few things that would help with his school assignment! Couldn’t you throw in fake names and fake information just to make him happy? It's not like they would check!” you spoke, he raised an eyebrow at you, shaking his head in disbelief “I expected you to understand of all people”

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[inkedtae]

rupture; rapture ⇾ kth. [M] | teaser

𝓅𝒶𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 ⇾ ex-boyfriend!taehyung x curvy!reader (f.)

𝑔𝑒𝓃𝓇𝑒/𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 ⇾  angst, smut, f2l(?), e2l(?), ex lovers au, rekindled lovers(?), sculputor au, 18+

𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎 ⇾  responding to a late night call for help forces you to revisit truths you so skillfully ignored. was it always meant to fall apart to fall back into place?

𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉 ⇾ full: 20k | teaser; 1.2k

𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 ⇾ slight upsetting themes, mentions of a new relationship, mention of infidelity (tae thinks reader used him to cheat on her date), mention and consumption of alcohol, switch!Taehyung, mullet!taehyung, sub!reader, [redacted] [redacted]!reader, unprotected sex (wrap it to tap it), clay/paint/art sex(?), rough sex, hate-love sex(?), [redacted] sex (?), [redacted] kink, [redacted] (f. receiving), multiple [redacted] (f.), [redacted], overstimulation, a lil [redacted]-[redacted]ing, [redacted] worshipping, [redacted] worshipping, a lil [redacted] biting, [redacted]ing, [redacted]ing, [redacted]ing, begging, teasing, swearing

anon asked: taehyung19angst asghjkll. U have a prompt list ? So for that. Maybe. If u want to. WOW. Ur awesome. The bestest. Okay. Bye. Love. Me.

#19 ⇝ “You said you knew how to do this.”

𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇'𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝑒 ⇾  i decided to share an unedited teaser of what i’m currently working on

☾ banner by ⇾ @editingverse​ (thank you so so so much dear~ please go give her all your love!! this banner is beautiful!!)

☾ anticipated post date ⇾ 15 AUGUST 2020

☾ le playlist (coming soon...)

☾ tag list ⇾ open (leave a comment and/or send an ask to be added)

◖send me a prompt from dabble drabble. i will try to get to it as soon as i can. please note that i have the right to refuse any request i find uncomfortable.◗

Navigating to the chipped yellow door is second nature. Four months of distance does not change how easy it is for you to find your way to his place from across town. Your most haunting regret, however, is accepting his call. You sat around your apartment for months, fantasizing about how powerful you’d feel when your phone rings and you see his name flash only to decline the call. You told yourself that is how you will regain your dignity, how you will reclaim your life. He’s been a big part of it since freshman year. Best friends instantly, lovers only a year down the line. Clicking that red button, rejecting his apologies is how you believed you’d be able to move on and fully erase him from your life for good. 

But, when he does call, and you do not refuse. You don’t even think about declining at all. And then you hear his voice, and he sounds so unsure, so nervous. 

The shame creeps upon you, condescendingly soothing your ego. Where’s your dignity now? It’s as nonexistent as when you stormed out of this very door and swore never to return. You can hear the fates snickering now, watching your pathetic self stand outside of the door. Shaking out a shiver, you gather up the broken pieces of your courage and knock on the door. 

The screech of metal on metal echoes as he unlocks the door. The sound is more comforting than you expected it to be. You can’t remember the amount of times you’ve nagged him to replace the damned thing. It’s old, rusted, and the scratches of the metal made you cringe as though your bones are rotting. It used to make your jaw ache, now it only shudders your courage. Little things already undress your confidence. What will seeing him again do? What emotions will it beckon?

Misery leaks from your bones and into your bloodstream. The door opens to a vision of grace. In his clay-smeared jumpsuit, the sleeves wrapped around his waist and his bare chest exposed, he stares back at you. Though frozen from the winter air, you feel your face grow hot. Eyes shaking, you don’t know where to look. You’re not even sure if you can meet his gaze. It intensifies with every ticking second and his long bangs fall over his lashes. He let it grow out? You’ve begged him to do so for months and once you’re apart he finally gives in? You knew he’d look good, maybe even better than his shorter cut. 

The sight only confirms that you’ll never understand him. But, you suppose, you don’t have to. He’s not yours to understand anymore, not even as a friend. That statement should give you a sense of relief, but it only resurfaces the loneliness you’ve been ignoring for months. 

Shakily sighing, you plaster a polite smile and greet, “Hey Tae.”

Taehyung parts his lips, but his voice catches. He stares back at you, gaze dancing up and down your frame. He drinks in the way your black dress pants hug your curves, and how you dare to wear a tube-top under your coat in the freezing weather. Gulping, Taehyung flashes you a kind, tight lipped smile and moves aside to welcome you in. 

Each step back into his apartment fogs your mind with memories of joy and despair alike. Sometimes, those emotions rose in tandem during the same memory, within the same five minute time span. But other times, those memories are saturated with one emotion or the other. You two could never find that balance; not as lovers anyway, not as you thought.

“Make yourself at hom-” he cuts himself off just as the door shuts. 

You turn to face him, raising a brow at his slip up. Funny how things circle back no matter how much either of you try to suppress them. This place has always felt like home to you. In fact, revisiting it proves that it still does. He just never let you make it official. 

The gloom of four months ago has followed you back in here as well, it would seem. You gulp down the little scratch in your throat and try your best to flash a kind smile. His brows raise at the gesture. You assume a teeth braced wince paints your features instead. 

Clearing his throat, Taehyung corrects himself, “Comfortable. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll grab you a hot drink to warm you up.” His gaze shifts to the slanted window over his little studio sectioned in the corner of his apartment. “It’s really coming down out there.” 

Setting your clutch down on his work table, you nod. He glares at your action before looking back at you. You are fully aware of his distaste for you to dump your things on his work table, even if it happens to be your own sculpting supplies. However, he distrubed your date tonight and that little slip up of his recalls more anger than you care to accept right now. Playing into his pet peeves is the very least you can do to show him that you’re not here for anything else but fixing his sculpture. 

With a pleasant smile plastered on your lips, you peel your jacket off and set it down on the table as well. Taehyung sarcastically smirks then makes his way to the kitchen. You know you shouldn’t but you let your eyes linger on his frame and follow him around the kitchen while he prepares something for you. His shoulder blades flex as he reaches for a mug from the top shelf - a detail you always found makes you anxious because the cups can easily slip out of his hand from such a height and break. 

He must feel your gaze as he glances up at you. “You must be freezing,” he comments. 

Glancing down at your half top, you shrug. “Not really. That’s what a jacket is for.” You shouldn’t sass. It always gets on his nerves. But, with the way he regards you with such tamed hostility and smirks all knowingly, you cannot hold yourself back. He cannot expect to call you over here in the dead of night for help only to glare and sneer at you. 

Out of sheer spite, you sit on one of the stools by the table and bend down to untie your thick heeled boots. He absolutely hates this. Sloppy and messy, is what he tells you when you come into the apartment with your shoes on and take them off near his studio. Taehyung stirs the contents of your mug, tossing daggers at you in his stares. 

It is only now, in the thick silence, do you hear the soft voice of Sinatra through the vinyl player. Glancing over at the source, you recognize the album cover immediately. It’s the same one you gifted him for his birthday last year. His next one is in a couple of weeks. The realization unexpectedly twinges your heart with guilt. You feel as though you should have already bought his gift, planned his party. It is not your responsibility to do that anymore, but you want to and that’s enough for your tongue to coat with disgust and remorse. 

note; please do not leave hate towards me or any other readers. please do not copy, repost, or translate any of my work without my permission.

[watchtower-feed]

Waynesitter and Favorites

Notes: Oh hey an actual fic this time. I’ve been feeling under the weather for the past few days and DDWP part 11 is heavy on the heart so I can’t do it in one sitting. Is that a spoiler or a teaser? Anyway, here’s something light for now. Words: 2,085

     “Okay, but who’s your favorite?”

     They've been asking you this for a long time now. You’ve been expertly dodging their questions but even Damian has started to be persistent that you’re finding it harder and harder to just say, “I hate all of you, let’s start there.”

     “Jason.”

     Cass answers suddenly which catches the attention of the whole room. Jason stares at her as a growing blush slowly covers his whole face.

     “Wait.” Dick is visibly flabbergasted but more upset. He points a finger at Cass, “Is that Y/N’s answer or-“

     “Mine,” she answers with a smile.

     “Why?” Tim asks, sounding skeptical and a little outraged.

     Cass places a finger below her lips and looks up, listing things in her head for a moment. Jason is the easy choice for her. She knows that when death comes knocking for one of them, he won’t bat an eyelid to kill the harbinger. Cass needs that. She needs someone to do what she can’t do.

     There are other reasons, too, smaller ones. Like how Jason is a brute but he’s tender when he’s applying first aid on her wounds. How he quotes books she’s never read. How he sings while he cooks.

     “Because he’s the most handsome,” she teases and you’re already hating her for the chaos that ensues.

     If you think Dick was offended before, now he looks like Cass just stepped on his grave. “Lies,” he hisses.

     Cass snickers which eggs him even more. Tim’s frowning when looks to you, “I always thought I was her favorite…” he says trying to sound nonchalant but failing.

     “Tim,” you look at him with a straight gaze, “If I had a daughter, you’re the only one I would introduce her to.” Tim practically straightens his body in joy. You point your finger at him and wink, “So you better make sure you get her into an Ivy League.”

     Tim rolls his eyes and groans. 

     You chuckle. You weren’t lying though. Tim is the most dependable and responsible out of everyone in the manor. He’s not great at taking care of himself, God knows he goes days without sleeping and won’t notice until he passes out, but whenever he sees someone injured or just plain exhausted, he goes into full big brother mode.

     “I knew it! You just want me for my brains.”

     “At least you get Y/N’s daughter! Cass won’t even acknowledge that I’m the most fun and loving brother!” Dick quickly turns to Jason with the distaste of a childhood rival, “You’ve been quiet. You must feel so smug right now.”

     Jason pretends to inspect his cuticles, “What was that? I can’t hear you over all the handsomeness I’m emitting.”

     Someone tugs on your sleeve and you see Damian sitting next to you now. He half covers his mouth to whisper something to you, “I know I’m your favorite.”

     You twitch a little, “Really? How so?”

     “You always see me last before you leave.”

     Half true. Damian is the only one living at the manor full time so you always see him. He’s also still a child so you always have to check on him before you leave, making sure he’s still on the property and not out of the country without Bruce’s knowledge like that one time—

     “I also overheard you talking to Alfred.”

     Okay. Guilty. Whenever Alfred comes back early, he asks you how you are and you would always go into these rants about everything they did. You love them as much as you hate them but ever since you first met Damian, you’ve always had a soft spot for him, so everything he does is almost endearing to you.

     He was in the garden with the dog when Lucius first dropped you off at the manor. You watched this stern little kid try to talk the dog into sitting down, gesturing the proper movement for the action, and staring Titus down like a boarding school principal.

     But Titus did sit down and the wide and bright smile on Damian was too precious. He was beaming so hard that for a second there he lost his composure. You knew right then and there that this kid deserves more love than he can handle.

     You place your finger on your lips and whisper, “Don’t tell them.”

     “What’s this?” Jason calls out loudly, “Damian and Y/N are conspiring with each other.”

     “It’s none of your business, Todd.”

     “You’re bribing her, aren’t you?”

     “Jason, you already have Cass. Stop being so greedy,” Dick replies, obviously still wounded. 

     “Who’s your favorite?” Cass suddenly asks him. You almost want to hug her. Of course, the best way to nurse an emotionally hurting Dick Grayson is by giving him the upperhand.

     Dick is already grinning as his eyes sweep around the room. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

     “That’s why she asked, Dick,” Tim answers, almost bored of this topic.

     “We don’t wanna know,” Jason adds.

     “No. No. I’ll tell you.” He looks around, taking in the suspense that was slowly building. “It’s…” Dick takes his time looking at all of you.

     “Any day, Richard,” you mock.

     “You know what?” Dick crosses his arms and pretends to be hurt but the grin on his face is giving him away. “I don’t want to tell you.”

     Jason groans and Tim just rests his head on the back of the sofa. You and Cass smile because it’s such a typical Dick thing to do, and it finally got everyone off your back.

     “Have you all gone deaf?” Alfred pokes his head under the living room doorway. “I’ve been calling the lot of you for dinner for 5 minutes. Even master Bruce is already at the table.”

     “Bruce!” everyone simultaneously yells out. Cass and the boys leap over the couch to get to the dining room, surprising and angering Alfred as they pass him.

     “Goodness-- It’s like living with wild animals.”

     “I’ve been telling you that since my first day!” you whine as you walk to the dining room.

     Alfred grins at you, “We both know you’ve grown fond of them.”

     As you get closer, their riotous goating of Bruce got louder.

     “Come on, Bruce! You can’t not have a favorite!”

     “The moment you tell us it’s not Dick, then we’ll be happy.”

     “Stuff you, Jason. Just because you’re definitely not in the running doesn’t mean you can drag me down.”

     “You’re all wasting your breath. Of course, I’m his favorite. I’m his real son.”

     The room suddenly goes quiet. This was the worst time to enter. Cass, Tim, Jason, and Dick are staring at Damian, and then they roll their eyes and fill the room with a collective ‘oooh’.

     “Look at me! I’m Damian! I’m his son!” Jason sways his hips as he mocks.

     “Look, I have my father’s eyebrows,” teases Dick.

     “Being his son means he’s obligated to love you, you know.”

     “Shut up, Drake!”

     Bruce turns to you and you’ve never seen so many worry lines on the cool and collected millionaire until this moment. He’s practically begging you to help him. “Um,” you say out loud, trying to drown their voices, “Cass is definitely the best girl here!”

     They all turn to you. Alfred leaves you to sit at the table with the rest of them. Traitor you almost want to mutter. He gives you a look saying good luck because you’re digging your own grave.

     “I mean, isn’t she though?” You walk over to Cass and hug her from behind. “If you guys ever got caught, like really caught, and I mean like you can’t fight your way out, or your talk your way out, who would you call first?”

     The boys look at each other and think for a moment. Some of them nod and purse their lips. Cass holds onto your arms and turns to her side to kiss you on the cheek. You immediately smile and feel giddy that you lean your cheeks against each other. That was enough to calm everyone down because if anyone would dare ruin the moment none of them would be leaving the table alive.

     Dinner lasted longer than usual. You yawn as you walk to the door with Dick.

     “Want me to drop you off on my way to Bludhaven?”

     You nod quickly, “You’re an angel.” He chuckles but you quickly remember something. “One sec.”

     As soon as you go back into the house, Damian’s standing there. “You almost forgot me.”

     “I could never.” You lift Damian in your arms and carry him off to his room, an extraordinary milestone that took you a month to reach. 

     “You tired, Dami?” He’s nodding off against your shoulders but still manages to suppress a yawn. You enter his room and lay him down on his bed. “What are you doing tomorrow?” You always ask him. When Damian thinks about his plans for the next day, it seems to put him to sleep faster.

     He finally yawns, “I’m patrolling with father.”

     “And during the day?”

     “Training Goliath.”

     You flinch. You’ve seen Goliath and you vow to yourself to never go exploring in the caves again. “H-how fun…” you mutter. You brush his hair until he closes his eyes. “I’ll be back in two days, okay? Tell me about it then?”

     Damian lazily nods with his brows and turns to his side. You tuck in his blanket before you leave and head home.

     Eerily, the drive back to your apartment is quiet. You sneak a look at Dick and see a more serious expression on his face. You nudge him.

     “Hey! Driving here--”

     “Wanna know who Bruce’s favorite is?” you tease with half-lidded eyes.

     “Who is it?” you don’t answer so he takes a quick look at you and finds you raising your brows and smiling. He laughs, “No way!” then he stops, “Yes way? Are you serious?” You just smile at him and nod once. “I don’t believe you. How could you obtain such valuable information?”

     “When you take your suits off, you guys are a lot easier to read than you think.”

     “Gosh, Y/N. If you ever become a villain, you might just take over this town.”

     You shake your head at such a ridiculous notion. You hate crime-fighting and you hate crime even more. You suddenly punch Dick in the shoulder.

     “Ow!”

     “You better not tell your brothers!”

     He rubs his shoulders and looks at you, “Why would I? Is it true? Am I really Bruce’s favorite?” His grip on the wheels suddenly tightens and he looks like he’s ready to speed into the distance, “Jason is going to be so mad!” You shake your head and wonder how many hours you have to wait before you’re bombarded with group messages about this.

     “Oh hey, Y/N,” Dick pulls over outside your apartment building. “Guess who’s Alfred’s favorite?”

     Your attention is definitely piqued, “Who?”

     “I said guess.”

     “It’s not you, is it?” you narrow your eyes, suddenly feeling like this is just a narcissistic trap Dick has set up.

     He chuckles, “It used to be. But have you noticed how you get called to the manor even when he’s there?”

     You roll your eyes, “Have you met you? You guys are a serious handful!”

     Dick shakes his head, “No no. Listen. Alfred can handle us. He can handle us better than Bruce, let me tell you--” Dick pauses a little, “Alfred actually saw you at the office. You were scolding Lucius and when Bruce came to check on him as a backup, you scolded him, too.” Dick laughs.

     “Wait. What? What’s this? I don’t remember that. Come on, Dick. Stop laughing and tell the story properly!”

     “I don’t know,” he’s still laughing, “I forgot what it was about but Alfred was just impressed by how immune you were to their charms and how scared you made Bruce in a matter of seconds. Not an easy feat and you know that.”

     You narrow your eyes at Dick, “You’re the worst storyteller.” You unclasp your seatbelt and step out of the car. After walking around, you knock on the driver’s window and wait until he rolls down the window. “Thanks for the ride by the way.” 

     He salutes you. “Want me to pick you up in two days?”

     “No, I’m okay.”

     “Okay. I’ll pick you up.”

     Dick drives off before you can add another word. You glare at his sports car before you walk up to your building door. Before you even get the chance to slip your keys in, your phone vibrates in your pocket. “That little-”

✧ Watchtower Masterlist ✧

[brianamorganbooks]

The Tricker-Treater

This is a teaser of the titular story from my upcoming horror collection. You can learn more about the project and help me bring it to life here!

Moira kicked spilled candy corn off her front step. The remnants of another weeknight massacre. This time, all in the name of a holiday.

She’d stopped keeping track of the holidays.

They meant nothing, after all. Just another day full of shit, another day without Norman in it. What was the point?

She looked over at the garden gnome that Norman had polished every St. Patrick’s Day. The ghost of an old conversation floated back to her as she picked it up from where the kids had knocked it over.

Moira closed her eyes and savored the memory.

“It’s a gnome, Norm. Not a leprechaun. It’s not his holiday.”

“I know that! But don’t you think what matters is doing it?”

In the present, Moira sighed. This St. Patrick’s Day, she’d grab a rag and polish the years of grime away. So far, she hadn’t had the strength.

It was the day before Halloween. She’d picked up trash all week, and if those damn kids tried their tricks tonight, she’d give them more than treats.

Movement on the sidewalk at the mailbox caught her eye. Riley stood there, all tousled blonde hair and sleepy brown eyes. His hand-me-down sweatshirt needed elbow patches. She’d see to that soon.

“Don’t stand there gawking at me. C’mon.” She waved him forward, but he looked at his shoes. She put her hands on her hips. “What’s the matter with you?”

“He’s coming here tonight to get you,” he said.

She squinted in the morning sun. “Who’s coming to get me?”

“The Tricker-Treater,” Riley said. “He’s coming here tonight. I made a deal with him.”

“What?” Riley never spoke in riddles. He wasn’t one to loiter at the end of her driveway either. “Peanut butter cookies inside. Tell me later.”

“No, he’ll be here later. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

Moira frowned. “Stop listening to your brother. Come inside and have some cookies with me and we’ll go from there.”

Without waiting to see if he’d follow, Moira headed back into the house. She went straight to the kitchen. The storm door slammed shut not too long after, and Riley pulled up a chair at the kitchen table.

Moira carried the plate of cookies over to him. Up close, he looked like the same old Riley as always. All she saw was the haunted glint in his eyes he got from spending time with Taylor. Now school was back in, all he had was Taylor until their mother got home from work. Retail was hell, Moira remembered. When Riley’s mother got home, the last thing she’d want to do was scold Taylor for tormenting his little brother.

Norman would have scared Taylor shitless, given the chance. He would have protected Riley.

Norman had always been better with kids.

“Lots of trick-or-treaters coming here tomorrow,” Moira said. “So what makes yours so special? Why’s he coming here tonight?”

Riley froze with his hand halfway to a cookie. “Not trick-or-treater. Tricker-Treater.”

Moira shook her head. “I said that.”

“No, like… hang on.” He scooted the chair back from the table and dashed across the room to where the landline rested. There was a small pad of paper beside it. He snatched up the paper and a pen and ran back to the table. His brow furrowed in concentration. Sticking out his tongue, he leaned over the paper and spelled out the difference for her:

T-R-I-C-K-E-R

T-R-E-A-T-E-R

He set down the pen and waited for her to read his writing. Moira shook her head again. He didn’t know how to spell it.

“No ‘or,’” he said. “Tricker-Treater. He’s both.”

Something icy pricked the back of Moira’s neck. She brushed her fingers over the spot and found nothing. Her gaze drifted back to the paper.

“He’s both?”

“Mmhm.” Riley grabbed a cookie and took a bite. He devoured it, careful not to make eye contact with Moira. It was a sophisticated strategy for a seven-year-old.

Moira leaned on the table and stared at him. “Riley.”

He scooted his chair away. “I gotta use the potty.”

“Do you, or do you not want to talk to me?” she asked.

He stuffed another cookie in his mouth, and when he spoke, he sprayed crumbs everywhere. “I don’t want to talk about him.”

“You mean the Tricker-Treater?”

“Yeah.” He choked on the cookie and coughed. Moira grabbed a glass and filled it with water from the sink. She patted him on the back and slid the glass to him.

Riley chugged the water and still couldn’t stop coughing. Moira took the plate of cookies from him, because no way in hell was he going to choke to death on her watch. Not if she could help it.

“You’d better head on home,” Moira said. “You’ll worry your mother sick.”

Riley scooted back from the table again. “Don’t call her. She doesn’t know.”

“She doesn’t know you’re here? Did you stay home from school, or did you skip?”

“I...”

His eyes darted to look over her shoulder. Moira spun around. Nothing there. When she turned back to him, he was heading for the front door.

“Riley!”

“I messed up, I messed up!”

She lunged for his sleeve and missed. He was through the front door and across the yard before she had time to try again. Damn it. What was wrong with that boy? He’d been in no hurry minutes before with a plate of cookies in front of him. The minute she’d mentioned his mother though…

Moira sighed and leaned against the door frame. Something was off with Riley, and she wasn’t going to let him out of her sight until she got to the bottom of it.

When he returned a few minutes later, Moira stood between him and the front door. “Riley, please. Tell me what’s going on.”

He chewed his bottom lip. “I don’t wanna. I’m scared. It never goes well.”

“What do you mean, ‘it never goes well’?”

“Every time I tell you, it… I messed up,” he repeated.

Moira sighed. She was getting nowhere fast. Whatever he had on his mind, it upset him so much he wasn’t making sense. If she couldn’t get him to focus, she would never figure out what was going on. And, seeing as how it involved her…

“Riley.” Moira grabbed his shoulders and held him there, stooping to look into his eyes. “Whatever you think is going to happen, I can face it better if you tell me about it, okay?”

His lower lip quivered. “Even if it’s bad?”

“Even if it’s bad.”

Riley gulped. “The Tricker-Treater is gonna stop by your house tonight. You gotta meet with him and do what he says, or else.”

Moira quirked an eyebrow at him. “Or else?”

He hesitated. “Like I said, I’ve told you about him before, and he… he always makes sure to catch you. Even if you run away, he finds you and he…” Riley’s voice trailed off into a sob. Shiny, fat tears bubbled over his lashes and rolled down his face. Moira pulled him against her and wrapped her arms around him.

Shit, she hadn’t meant to make him cry. Jesus Christ, that was the last thing she wanted.

Moira’s chest tightened. “It’ll be okay, Riley. We’ll figure it out together, all right?”

Riley pulled away from her. He shook his head. “I dunno.”

“I’m older and wiser. Humor me, huh?”

He sniffed and wiped his nose. Moira debated getting a tissue for him, but it was too late—he was already rubbing the snot with his sleeve. As perceptive as the kid could be, he was still a kid, and he was gross.

Sometimes she wondered what it would have been like to have children. Sometimes she watched Riley and was glad that time had passed her.

“You should run home now,” Moira said again. “Even if you did skip school, your mom won’t be angry as long as you’re safe.”

His gaze jumped over her shoulder again. She waited for him to refocus. He’d come there in such a hurry, and now he kept drifting away. The urgency had waned. That was good.

“Are you feeling all right?”

Riley nodded. “I’m… a little better now.”

“No more getting upset over the Tricker-Treater, okay?”

Hesitation, then another nod. A slow exhale. “Okay.”

“You want a few cookies to take home? You can share them with Tyler.”

Riley wrinkled his nose at the mention of his brother. “He doesn’t deserve cookies.”

“I suppose he doesn’t.”

Moira patted him on the head and went back into the kitchen. She eyed the half-empty glass in a pool of condensation, the cookie crumbs Riley had sprayed on the table. She looked back at Riley, still standing where she’d left him, and her chest ached. She flattened a hand against her collarbone.

She and Norman could’ve tried a little longer.

“Riley?”

His head jerked up. “Huh?”

“You still want those cookies?”

“Um… no thanks.” He wiped his nose with the sleeve of his sweater again. “I’ve never stayed this late before. I don’t wanna see him.”

The poor kid was talking in circles again. Better send him off to someone much more qualified.

Moira propped a hand on her hip. “Go on, get outta here before I call your mom. And be careful tomorrow.”

Riley cast a long look at her before putting his hand on the doorknob. That was all it took? No fight? No begging her for cookies, saying he had changed his mind?

She should have insisted he take some.

If he’d still demanded some, that would have been proof things were normal.

Instead, Moira frowned at the back of his head as he walked out and left the door open.

* * *

Moira tossed popcorn into her mouth and watched Bill Murray fail to woo Andie MacDowell. There was no reason for the network to broadcast Groundhog Day on October 30, but she wasn’t complaining. It had been one of Norman’s favorite movies. They’d gone to see it in theaters the day it came out, which seemed so long ago now.

Without Norman, time dragged on. How had it only been a year since his death?

Watching a movie she’d seen more than a dozen times soothed her ragged nerves. That the movie was itself a perpetual, familiar cycle was not lost on her. In fact, that was a large part of Groundhog Day’s charm—especially tonight, when there was so much on her mind.

Riley’s behavior had left her shaken and confused. Sure, he was a kid, but he’d always been perceptive, and she trusted what he said. He usually meant what he said. At that age, it was rare for children to have ulterior motives. Whatever Riley thought was going to happen to her, it was worth considering.

The Tricker-Treater was coming to get her tonight.

Moira’s gaze jumped to the glow of the streetlight that permeated her closed blinds. Outside, the air was cold and crisp. Inside, she was cozy.

She drew the knitted afghan tighter around her midsection. Andie had slapped Bill. Normally, the moment made Moira laugh. Normally, she wasn’t wound up like a coiled snake.

The chiming of her doorbell made her jump out of her skin. She jostled the bowl in her lap, spilling popcorn everywhere.

Why was she so jumpy? It was likely Riley and his mother, coming to check on her after their talk. Riley’s mom Adriane was nice—she apologized for Riley with baked goods and wine. When she wasn’t working, she tried to come over for tea and pour out her soul to Moira.

In another life, they could have been mother and daughter.

In another life, Norman might still be alive.

Another ache struck Moira’s chest. The doorbell chimed again, demanding her attention.

She set the bowl aside and stood. Whoever it was, they were insistent. She doubted they’d go away if she ignored them.

Probably some damn kids, anyway. God willing, they wouldn’t egg her when she opened the door—for their sakes as well as hers.

She didn’t feel forgiving.

Moira crept over to the door and pulled back the curtain on the window beside the door. She had to see who had come knocking.

There was no one there.

Puzzled, she let the curtain drop and stood on tiptoe to look through the peephole.

No one.

Moira stepped back. She flattened a hand against her chest.

The doorbell chimed again.

Icy dread stuck its fingers down the back of Moira’s shirt. Her hand settled on the cold metal doorknob. After a breath, she twisted it and pulled the front door open.

And gasped.

The man—if the thing could even be called a man—stood at least seven or eight feet tall. It had to double over to fit under the awning of her porch. Pale red skin stretched tight over pointed features, most notably a bear skull. At least, she thought it was a bear skull. Norman would have known for sure. Norman always—

Coal-black eyes glittered at her as the thing bared its teeth—razor-sharp—in some semblance of a smile.

It wore nothing but a top hat, which it tipped before it spoke.

“I hope you were expecting me.”

His voice was low and smooth, like a jazz singer’s, and she shivered. Moira supposed she should have fainted or had a heart attack by then, but once he spoke, all her fear disappeared. It was like he had swallowed it up with his words.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Riley didn’t tell you? I’m the Tricker-Treater. Would you mind if I came in?”

Moira froze with her hand still on the doorknob. What was she supposed to do? The Tricker-Treater offered the illusion of a choice. Was it merely that—an illusion—or would he let her decide how the evening would progress?

Moira let her gaze wander over the creature’s form again. He had the gaunt, emaciated look of a feral dog, and the tightness in her chest only tightened even further.

Nothing about him made her think he’d give her any choice.

“C-come in,” Moira said.

The Tricker-Treater kept his eyes locked on her as he stepped over the threshold and into the house. Moira swore he brought the smell of decay inside with him, but a moment later, it was gone.

Rotting pumpkins, she thought. That was the smell.

Moira gestured for him to sit on the couch. Eldritch horror or not, he was a guest.

The Tricker-Treater sat, bones creaking and popping as he did so. Moira tried her damnedest not to wince at the noises.

She sat in Norman’s favorite armchair and waited for the Tricker-Treater to speak.

“Has Riley… told you all about me?” he asked.

Moira paused. “How do you know Riley?”

“We made a deal. He’s a special child, isn’t he? Perceptive. Tenacious.” The Tricker-Treater flashed her another chilling smile. “Fragile.”

The blood dropped out of Moira’s face. “What are you getting at?”

The Tricker-Treater steepled his long, bony fingers. “It would be a shame if any danger were to befall Riley. If you could prevent such a tragedy, wouldn’t you want to, no matter what the cost?”

Moira rubbed the goosebumps on her arms. “Don’t you dare hurt him.”

“We made a deal,” the Tricker-Treater repeated. “He asked for money so his mother could be around more often. I told him I could give him anything he wanted—such as money—for a price.”

The Tricker-Treater’s eyes made Moira’s head swim. She broke eye contact. “So that’s why you’re here. You’re going to kill me.”

She should have known this was how she would die. Norman, with all his superstitions and wonder of the paranormal, had died of a stroke in the kitchen. A nice, normal death. Meanwhile, here she was, whisked away by a monster for the sake of a child’s wish.

“Not quite,” the Tricker-Treater said. “Well, only if I must.”

Moira’s head snapped up, and she met his gaze again, even though it dizzied her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

The Tricker-Treater tapped his claws against the coffee table. Click, click, click. “If you play by the rules, everything will be all right.”

The sinking feeling in Moira’s gut returned. “What rules?”

The Tricker-Treater’s unnerving smile returned too. “Every game has rules, Moira. Do you want to play?”

Her stomach had dropped to her ass, and she didn’t think it would resurface anytime soon. Whoever this man—or creature—was, he wasn’t going anywhere until he got what he wanted from her.

“What happens if I don’t want to play the game?” she asked.

“You lose.”

“And what happens if I lose?”

“Then Taylor wins.” The Tricker-Treater’s smile tore across his face. “And I take you away forever.”

Moira’s throat constricted. So he did want to kill her. Even if he acted like she had a choice, she didn’t.

Riley had already chosen for her. He had sealed her fate.

But what did Taylor have to do with it?

“Taylor?” she asked.

“To fulfill Riley’s deal, I must receive a sacrifice. He had to present me with someone he loves and someone he hates to play the game. I balance the scales. The loser dies.”

Jesus Christ, she thought, what had Riley done?

“He’s too young to make a deal like that,” she said. “You’re taking advantage of him.”

“I don’t discriminate,” he said. “A wish is a wish, and I must grant it. You must play the game, or die. These are my conditions.”

“What if Taylor and I both refuse? You only need to kill one of us, right? And you seem reasonable. You wouldn’t kill us to prove a point.”

“No.” The Tricker-Treater’s smile twisted into something darker, more feral. Moira wanted to scream, but panic kept her gaze fixed on his face. “In the case of two refusals, I take the wish-maker instead.”

Moira gulped. “You’d kill Riley.”

“Kill is such a boring word for what I do, but yes. Riley would become the sacrifice.” He steepled his fingers again. “But of course, you always have a choice.”

Did he think she’d let Riley die? She must have been Riley’s “someone he loves,” which meant the Tricker-Treater had to know she loved him too. She couldn’t damn him.

Only one thing to do.

“I’ll play,” Moira said.

“Wonderful. Let’s go.”

The Tricker-Treater snapped his fingers, Moira felt a tug, and the whole world went dark.

* * *

The reek of iron pulled Moira from unconsciousness. Her eyelids snapped open, pupils unfocused as they sought the light. Only a spare bulb hung overhead, struggling through the shadows. A familiar teenage form swam into view, fastened to a chair by ropes.

Taylor.

A shadow skulked off to Taylor’s left, and Moira’s gaze floated over to it. A long, lanky figure broke from the blackness and formed a solid shape. Sharp teeth glittered in the light as the creature grinned.

The Tricker-Treater.

He snapped his fingers again, and the lightbulb shattered. Moira went to shield her face from the exploding glass, but ropes restrained her. The Tricker-Treater had tied her down too.

A brilliant light enveloped the room, blinding Moira for a minute. The light faded to a ball that hovered over the Tricker-Treater’s head. It was small, but somehow bright enough for her to make out everything in the room, including Taylor.

She looked back at the boy. Blood dripped from ragged scratches in his cheek and stained the front of his shirt. That must have been the source of the iron smell—Taylor’s blood.

Moira looked to the Tricker-Treater for an explanation.

“He struggled,” he said, “so I had to be rough. But he’s learned his lesson. Haven’t you, Taylor?”

Taylor groaned and twisted against the ropes. The Tricker-Treater clicked his tongue and wagged a finger at Taylor. He froze.

“Think it’s time for me to explain the rules of the game to you both,” the Tricker-Treater said. “But no cheating. Is that understood?”

Moira still didn’t know what was going on, but she nodded nonetheless. Whatever game he had in mind, she had to win, for Riley’s sake.

She didn’t know what would happen to Taylor, except that he might die. She’d cross that bridge when she came to it.

Across the room, Taylor grunted.

The Tricker-Treater gave a wet, hacking cough. Moira watched it rattle his prominent ribcage. Had he not been so frightening, she might have worried for him. As it was, she wished the cough had been worse.

The Tricker-Treater pulled another chair away from the table. It scraped across the floor with a sound that bit Moira’s eardrums. She flinched.

He lowered his long body into the chair and removed his hat, exposing his shiny, red baldness.

“I will now explain the rules, and I will not repeat myself. You both must pay attention if you want to win.”

“I don’t give a shit about winning,” said Taylor. “I don’t even want to play. I don’t give a shit about Riley.”

A muscle jerked in Moira’s jaw. What an asshole. Did this kid understand what he was saying?

“That’s not what you said to me earlier,” the Tricker-Treater said. “You agreed to play the game because you wanted him to live.”

Moira almost didn’t believe it, but the Tricker-Treater had no motive to lie.

The Tricker-Treater stretched a hand toward Taylor, and Taylor’s eyes widened. The Tricker-Treater’s razor claws glittered in the light.

“You’ll play,” he said, “or Riley dies.”

Taylor shut his eyes. “Okay, okay, but please don’t hurt me.”

“It isn’t me you should worry about.”

Moira swallowed a curse. As much as she hated to cooperate with this… thing, it seemed like they had no choice. If she didn’t play the Tricker-Treater’s game, Riley would die. She wouldn’t let that happen.

"What do I have to do?" she asked.

The Tricker-Treater's smile widened. Moira withheld a shiver. Taylor flattened himself against the back of the chair, trying to get as far away as possible.

"Once I untie you both," the Tricker-Treater said, putting his hat back on, "you'll have fifteen minutes to choose a weapon and determine the sacrifice."

Moira frowned. "Kill each other?"

"So vulgar," he replied.

"I don't want to kill an old lady," Taylor said.

Like he even could if he wanted to, Moira thought. In her own way, she agreed—she didn't want to kill him, and she didn't want to die.

Riley couldn't die, either. She'd do what she could, whatever she had to. It wasn't a choice.

"Where are the weapons?" Moira asked.

Taylor gaped at her. "We don't have to do this!"

“I detest idle chatter,” the Tricker-Treater said. “Such a waste of precious time.”

Moira stiffened at his words. Did that mean they’d started? Were they supposed to get going? Why was she still tied up, then? The Tricker-Treater had said—

A click of his fingers and her bindings dissolved. Fuck, she had to get moving. She liked the word fuck, although Norman never had, and the way his face used to scrunch up when she said it to him—

“Moira,” the Tricker-Treater warned. “You don’t have time for reminiscing.”

She chose not to dwell on the discomfort of having him inside her mind in favor of finding a weapon.

But where the fuck were they?

Taylor was squealing something she didn’t care to listen to because she didn’t care more than for any other reason. She didn’t want to kill him but they would soon be out of time, and if she didn’t do anything—whether he killed her or not—Riley was in danger.

Moira dragged herself out of the chair and looked around the room. It was still difficult to see, with the only lighting coming from the flames conjured by the Tricker-Treater, but they were surrounded by several different boxes of all shapes and sizes.

Taylor leaped up from his chair and dove headfirst into the box behind him, digging like a dumpster-diver in search of castoff treasures. Shit, she had to get a move on or he’d kill her with whatever he found.

Moira started with a box on her left, plain cardboard on the outside, unassuming enough. As she dug through a pile of moth-eaten clothes, the sharp edge of something bit the palm of her hand. She cried out. Upon further, much more hesitant, inspection, she discovered the source of the wound—a Japanese samurai sword.

That’s a katana, Norm corrected in her head.

Moira didn’t have time to smile. She wrapped her fingers around the base of the sword and pulled—

Right as Taylor came sprinting toward her with a hatchet in his hands. The metal glinted as he brought it down, right as Moria darted out of the way.

“Jesus, Taylor!”

“Stand still!”

He lifted the hatchet and swung it down again, with Moira only narrowly dodging it this time. She was close enough to hear the whoosh of the blade as it came down past her face. As she ducked to the side, so did Taylor. His third hit struck her shoulder. White-hot flames lit Moria’s muscle fibers and leaked pain down her arm. Warm blood dripped off her elbow.

Jesus fuck, that hurt.

Movement caught the corner of her eye and she whirled around, still clutching her injured shoulder. Taylor had raised the hatchet again. She had to get out of his way.

Still carrying the sword, Moira feinted left. Taylor took the bait and swung. She moved right, raised the sword, hesitated—

The light went out. Moira couldn’t see one inch in front of her face. Distantly, the Tricker-Treater’s claws clicked against a hard surface. Dragged against it, more like.

Moira shivered.

Mooooiiiiraaaaaaaaa…

She jabbed with the sword, wincing as the blade bounced off the wall. She was almost relieved that she hadn't hit Taylor.

Something rough brushed her calf. She jerked back, swallowing a cry. Something metal clattered to the ground, and Taylor yelped.

"Don't move, Taylor."

"Are w-we out of time?" As brave and seemingly bloodthirsty as he'd been moments before, there was no denying the way his voice shook. Hatchet or not, he was only a kid. He had his whole life ahead of him.

And she'd tried to kill him.

Moira let go of the katana. It, too, clattered to the floor. "What's up with turning the lights off, huh? Not fucked up enough as it is?"

"I assumed it would be easier for you to kill him with the lights off," the Tricker-Treater said. "That way, you wouldn't have to see him."

"Whose side are you on?" Taylor countered. His voice had an edge to it that scared her, sharpened by fear into pointed rage. It made him sound dangerous.

She didn't think he had the strength to kill her, but fear could drive someone to do the unthinkable.

And she'd let go of her weapon.

"I believe in leveling the playing field," the Tricker-Treater said. "Moira is, shall we say, more experienced in life, and Taylor has more energy. We correct this discrepancy with darkness."

Moira swallowed. In theory, everything he was saying made sense. But all she could think about was that there must be something she’d overlooked—something the Tricker-Treater had overlooked. In other words, a loophole.

Some way to save Riley without having to kill his brother.

She had to pick up the katana again. Without it, she was powerless. And, there was still a chance that Taylor would rediscover his bravado, would run toward her again with the hatchet raised, would bring it down and—

The Tricker-Treater chuckled in the gloom, and Moira knew he’d been inside her head again. Shit, that was… inconvenient, to say the least. How could she try to find a loophole if he was listening in on everything she thought?

Get the fuck out of my head, she thought.

Again, the Tricker-Treater chuckled. “Manners, Moira. But… I would be remiss not to heed your request, as vulgar as it might have been phrased. All you had to do was ask.”

Moira gaped at him in the darkness—or, at least, she gaped in what she assumed was his direction. It was still impossible to see anything, and though the Tricker-Treater had claimed he was just leveling the playing field, Moira couldn’t understand how this was supposed to help her.

Distantly, Taylor whimpered. Could he be afraid of the dark?

“Please,” he said. “Turn on the lights.”

The Tricker-Treater’s claws clicked together as he contemplated Taylor’s request. “Moira, what do you think?”

What did she think? She thought this whole twisted game was a goddamn mess. She thought it was ludicrous that this… demon expected her to kill a child, or the child to kill her. She thought she would do almost anything to save Riley because she loved him, but she wasn’t sure she could do this.

Most of all, Moira thought she had already lost. She had to change her mind somehow, or else she really would. Find the loophole, she reminded herself. There had to be an angle she hadn’t yet considered.

Moira shuffled her feet. The point of the katana bit into her shin and she fought the urge to cry out. Warm liquid seeped from the wound—not too much, but not too little to escape her notice. The darkness heightened everything. Tentatively, she bent over and fumbled around for the handle, praying her fingers wouldn’t graze the blade. At last, they closed around fabric—the binding on the handle—and she pulled it up with both hands as she rose to a standing position.

“Moira,” the Tricker-Treater prompted again. And… the idea came to her.

If she could kill the Tricker-Treater, she could end the game. She’d win, without killing Taylor, and Riley would be safe.

Of course, she knew next to nothing about the Tricker-Treater’s fortitude, although he seemed like a formidable foe. She had to give it a shot. Anything was better than plunging the blade into Taylor.

“Turn on the lights,” Moira answered.

She tightened her grip on the blade and widened her stance to give her more stability. Sweat trickled down the side of her neck. Her heart beat so loudly it threatened to deafen her, but she stayed grounded. She didn’t have a choice.

The Tricker-Treater snapped his fingers, and the lights flickered on again. Moira coordinated her attack with the fluorescent flash. She ran full speed, katana thrust forward like a jousting lance. Taylor gasped, eyes widening in horror—until Moira jabbed the sword into the Tricker-Treater’s gut.

“Shit!” Taylor yelled.

The Tricker-Treater didn’t flinch. He didn’t scream, nor did he give any other indication that he had been struck. Instead, he wrapped his clawed fingers around the blade and looked right at Moira. The twisted grin he produced was the worst thing she’d ever seen.

“Well, now. Isn’t this exciting?”

Moira trembled, but she didn’t let go of the handle. If she did, she was afraid he’d find a way to turn the blade on her. Taylor crept closer to the scene, face ashen. He was trembling, too, even as he reached out to take the sword from Moira.

She shook her head vehemently. “You’re not responsible for this. Taylor, if anything happens—”

“It isn’t polite to speak about others as though they aren’t there,” the Tricker-Treater chimed in. He was still holding onto the blade, still the picture of tranquility even as the sword stuck out of his stomach and black blood dripped from the wound onto the floor. “I wonder if you two have forgotten your manners.”

“Fuck you,” Taylor spat.

Moira had to agree, though she couldn’t find the words. All she could focus on was the blood, the way it poured from the Tricker-Treater’s stomach even though the wound was technically still sealed up, and—

The Tricker-Treater flexed his claws, and his grin widened. The blade slipped out of Moira’s hands.

“Taylor!” Moira shouted.

The blade shot backward out of the Tricker-Treater’s stomach and whirled around to point at Taylor. He reacted a second too late. Moira stared in horror as the black-bloodstained tip pushed into Taylor’s chest. He stiffened, limbs flying out, mouth open, eyes the size of galaxies—

And then, his body dropped. It made a sick thwack as it landed.

Moira turned her head and puked. When she turned back, the Tricker-Treater was hunched over, holding his hat in his hands. He had the decency not to grin.

“Oh, dear,” he said. “This is… less than ideal.”

If she weren’t so afraid, she would have smacked him. “‘Less than ideal’? A child is dead! You fucking killed him, you son of a bitch.”

“If I hadn’t, you would have.”

“I wouldn’t have,” she insisted. “You’ve been inside my head. You must have known I wouldn’t.”

“Hmph.” The Tricker-Treater twisted his hat in his hands. He was having trouble looking Moira in the eye. “Well, this does present a challenge.”

She wrangled the urge to strangle him. “What are you talking about?”

“The rules of the game were clear. To save Riley, there must be a sacrifice.” He paused, as though waiting for her to remember the rules. “One of you must kill the other.”

“But we can’t now. Taylor’s dead.” Realization dawned on Moira, eclipsing the fear. “You killed him. That’s the loophole.”

“So it would seem.” If he was upset about Moira’s admission of looking for a loophole, it didn’t show. If anything, he was so lost in contemplation he paid her no mind. She could have attacked him then. Taylor’s hatchet lay on the floor not far from his body. If she leaned forward a little—

But what would happen to Riley? If she killed the Tricker-Treater, would she forfeit the game? She couldn’t wager Riley’s life on a spur-of-the-moment choice.

Instead, she had to bide her time and see what the creature decided.

“Unfortunately,” he said. “Riley must perish.”

All the blood drained from Moira’s face. Like hell he must, she thought. “What are you talking about? I played your stupid game. Taylor… well, that means I won. Those were your rules, remember?”

“Alas, Moira, that isn’t the case.” The Tricker-Treater clicked his tongue. “Neither of you did as I asked, as was required of you, so there is no winner. And, as there’s no winner, Riley’s life is forfeit. I’m afraid those are the rules.”

Moira’s stomach roiled. There had to be another way. She had to save Riley somehow, otherwise, Taylor had died for nothing. She refused to lose Riley, refused to let his mother bury both her sons.

“Take me instead,” she pleaded.

The Tricker-Treater hesitated. “That wasn’t part of the deal. Your life is only forfeit should the other participant take it. As the other participant is dead, there is no reason for your life to end.”

His logic and politeness made her want to tear her hair out. “Taylor shouldn’t have died. I didn’t kill him. Doesn’t that change up your shitty rules somehow?”

Again, he hesitated. His face twisted up as though he were in pain. “I concede that Taylor’s departure was unnecessary, given the game’s objective. Reckless, even. However… there must be some punishment for you.” The Tricker-Treater looked pointedly at the hole in his gut. “You also broke the rules.”

“You never said I couldn’t attack you,” she argued.

His mouth twitched. “Fair enough. Hm… let’s do this. What do you think I should do to you, Moira? What sort of fate would be equitable?”

Moira’s tongue sat like lead in her mouth. How was she supposed to make such a strange decision? The question wasn’t one she’d planned for. He wasn’t in her head anymore, so she wondered if she could just throw something out there, something far from “fair,” in terms of extremity. Or, perhaps he already knew what he would do to her, and he was just playing another sick game?

“Tick-tock,” said the Tricker-Treater.

Moira swallowed. Hard. If Norm were here, he’d have the perfect idea. He was always so wise, her Norm, even when he was being silly. The last time they’d watched Groundhog Day together, he’d said—

Groundhog Day. Yes, that was the answer. It was the only way for her to atone, while still paying homage to her husband. And, it was the only way to make sure Riley’s mother got her son back—and got to keep Riley, too.

It wasn’t a fate Moira looked forward to, but it was a fate she accepted.

She gave the Tricker-Treater a watery smile. “Have you seen any Bill Murray movies?”

* * *

When Moira came to, she was covered in sweat. Sunlight streamed through the blinds, and birds chirped outside. Jesus. She felt like she’d been run over by a train.

Out of habit, even after a year, she rolled over to look at Norm’s side of the bed. She smoothed a hand over the blankets and sighed. “Miss you more than ever, hon.”

Outside, the distant hum of a mower pierced the air. She must have slept in much later than usual. A glance at the clock on her nightstand confirmed her suspicions, and she groaned. That would teach her to go through a whole bottle of wine by herself.

A weird pain flared in Moira’s shoulder. When she reached for it, the feeling vanished. She checked under her shirt. Nothing.

Must just be part of getting old, she thought.

It seemed like it was going to be a nice day, what with the birds chirping and sunlight and all. Maybe she’d crawl out of bed and do something fun for a change, bake some cookies to give to the neighbor kid, Riley. Maybe he’d share with his overworked mother. The poor dear was working more than she was home, and Moira knew she was exhausted.

An hour later saw Moira dressed and pulling fresh cookies from the oven, the smell filling the house like a bug bomb—albeit a delicious one. While she waited for the cookies to cool, she slipped on her shoes and went outside to fetch the paper.

Moira kicked spilled candy corn off her front step. The remnants of another weeknight massacre. This time, all in the name of a holiday.

She’d stopped keeping track of the holidays.

tag list: @bauliya, @howdy-writes

[melindafanfics]

Little Brother | JJK

"Jungkook had always been an affectionate brother, used to be very close to me, giving me hugs or kisses whenever is possible. But, for some reason, I never got used to all the exaggerated displays of affection from my little brother, simply because, Jungkook, must of the times, was way too much!"

| “The Seven Clichés” Sequel 01/07 |

♥ pairing: younger!jungkook x noona!reader

♥ genre: Romance, Fluffy

♥ contains: the bigest spoiled and cutest little bro you could imagine, and be careful: that could be too much sugar and caramel for you to handle, and maybe a spicy chocolate too

♥ words: 2k

a/n: I didn’t really plan to publish this sequel here, but i’ll try anyways. This is the first one and... I hope you all enjoy, please, excuse my english and let me know any potential mistake. 

The mattress was so soft, and the sheets that covered me so comfortable, that if it wasn't for the weight that had suddenly fallen on me, I probably wouldn't have gotten out of bed before noon on a Saturday morning.

I hear the rustle of the curtains opening and I felt the light beating directly against my eyes, that beinging uncomfortable enough to open them. I would be annoyed at anyone whose disturb my sleep at no matter what time of the morning was, if I hadn’t encountered a smile as lively as Jeongguk's as soon as my vision was no longer as just a blur. He was the one who woke me up pretty much every time I came to visit the city  on weekends, but, I would never get used to being awakened in this way, especially since Jeongguk was a very affectionate boy - and I, for some unfortunately reason, am not the type of person comfortable with as much demonstration of physical affection as Jeongguk usually offers me.

It must be something natural among siblings, I am aware of this, however, even though we are sibling, sometimes I felt something close to discomfort when gguk gave me caresses touches - holding my waist inadvertently, stroking his fingers over my neck, passing the back of his hands on my face, and, without mention the fact that I almost hyperventilates when he begins to distribute kisses. Not that I think this is necessarily bad, but, as my brother knows how inept I am about his habit, it's pretty obvious that his insistence on doing so it's to teaser me. Probably for that reason, he was pretty successful at wake me up, 'cause it was just a few things that make me more startled than a six feet tall muscle man scrambling over me.

" Don't even start with a 'more five minutes' story, 'cause you won't fool me again." He spoke with a smile on his face, showing that he wouldn't come off of me so easily. " You haven't come to visit us for weeks! Don't even think I'll set you free anytime soon... Even now, that we have all day just for us."

" Hm?" I concentrate on pushing the blankets aside and force my arms a little to push Jeongguk off the bed until he stands up. "And where are our parents going?"

" So ..." He spoke as he helped me fettle the bed as soon as I got up. "You spent so much time without giving notice of visit that Mom and Dad decided to schedule a trip to the capital, - that, by the way, they leave in an hour, but don't worry, I told them that I would stay at home to not leave you all alone, of course. "He said as he was taking one of my cheeks and squeezing it lightly, as if he was talking to a child, even though I was the oldest of us.

I took his hand away without bothering to complain, as I became more worried about made gguk, because of my sudden visit, to give up about the trip he would had with our parents.

"Sorry," I said as I folded one of the blankets on the bed, and knowing how much he enjoyed traveling, I was afraid he might be upset because of me.

"Oh, don't worry about it." He smacked my shoulder, beening mockery. "No big deal, and, how long have we had time just for us? Like, since you started college? And look, it's been more than two years since you graduated. "

I knew that kind of tone, Jeongguk might have a smile on his face, but I still could see how annoyed he was about any subject related to my leaving. Because when I moved, gguk was at the time the main creator of arguments against my leaving. I feel bad for remembering how hurt he seems to be when I had to say goodbye to him.

"Or, are you just pretending to get one more excuse to have one-a-one with me?" It would be best to flinch, before the conversation gets too melancholic, like every time Jeongguk starts talking about it. "Don't think I'll make easy for you just because you got some muscles, and don't even try to flatter me to let you win like the last time!" I threw some pillow toward his face and ran out of the room before he attacked. "Better I go say goodbye to our mother before she comes up here complaining about it." I turned my face in time to see a cushion being thrown against the side of the door.

It was almost evening when we got to rest. The day could be resume as: helping our parents with the luggage, because, of course, that wouldn't be our mother if she didn't decide to pack more suitcases, with things that she said to be extremely necessary, right on time to go the trip. It had taken practically the whole morning for mother to be satisfied again, but it took a few more hours for us to get new tickets for them.

When we returned home, Jeongguk and I decided that in the afternoon we would go play a basketball game that I ended up inciting this morning. I won't admit it out loud, but, those muscles really helped gguk with the match this afternoon. If it weren't for his improvement in the play, I would say that it was his suggesting movements he did over me that made me distracted more often. I really don't remember him being that good since the last time we played. The time I was away was long enough that I didn't notice the gradation of his progress. Moreover, all his resourcefulness in the game had a tremendous result: result of having me almost dead of exhaustion at the end of the game.

When I get in the living room I just sprawled on the couch - in the most comfortable position I could find so far - and I don't plan to leave here until I can breathe normally again. And, as I checked how sweaty my bra was, I saw gguk coming out of the kitchen and coming toward the sofa, holding out a bottle of water.

"What did you think of the game this time?" He asked as he suspended my legs to sit on the corner of the couch, then lay them on his lap.

"This time you broke me up," I replied with a blowing smile after taking a sip of water. "I even think you'll have to carry me into the bedroom," I teased. "I haven't been practicing for a long time, so I'm just a frazzle right now, but next time, I won't make it that easy for you."

"What a bad loser." He spoke and then I noticed gguk running his hands lightly on my legs, I couldn't help but feeling my muscles a little tense in consequence, until I felt the subtle massage on them. "You always say that when you see I'm getting better than you."

"What?!" That’s nosense! This kid got very, very bold to me, and of course that was a big lie. I lift my back to reach him and tap his back for the provocation. "Don't even come with this, that’s such a lie! You’re talking like you're good at everything. "I saw him start laughing. "But it's seems you're very good to sweat like a damn dog, that's for real? I put my hand on you and got all wet. Go take a shower already, before you soak all that couch! Go! Come on! "I stand up a little my position and start to push him off the couch and without complaining he goes toward the stairs still in laughter." And look, be careful to not muddy the whole bathroom, I want to go soon after." I spoke louder so he can hear me from the stairs.

"Lord, what did I do to get a sister like that?!" I can hear him shouting back.

"You were very, very lucky! And don't even dare complain about me in my presence! "

After a shower, which made me regret every minute I spent playing without proper warm-up, and a small snack - that Jeongguk did, of course, ‘cause I wasn't willing enough to get off that sofa so soon - I spent the rest of the night trying to watch telly, since there was nothing better to do that involved lying around without moving.

Jeongguk was watching a sport channel for I don't know how much long, because barely a half hour had passed and I was already dozing off - ‘cause I was so tired and the TV volume was so low and gguk just decided to stop talking for a minute, that I ended up relaxed enough to fall asleep.

I woke feeling a tightness around my waist. I directed my eyes down and saw that I was wrapped in a blanket as I also realized that the extension of the sofa was extended and I was lying on it, by the silence I noticed that the television was already turned off, and when I finally look toward the grip I see Jeongguk's hands on my waist, lying right on my back.

"Did I wake you?" He whispered as he felt myself turning my face toward him. "Sorry, I was just fixing your position," he said, seeming to be a bit uneasy, squeezing a little more of one of his hands that was persistently just above my hip.

"How long have I been asleep?" The first thing I thought to speak, in a way to try to ignore the uncomfortable sensation that his hands caressing me caused.

"Since the first few minutes of the first hound of the game," he replied, snuggling closer to my back, one of his hands on my waist slipping almost imperceptibly in front of my belly. "Do you want to go to bed?" I felt his words blow close to my ear, in a tone of voice I didn't recognize, perhaps an odd concern.

"I don't wanna get up now," I whispered back. 'Cause there is no way I will climb all those steps that are on the way to my room. "I'll keep sleeping here Jeongguk," I replied slowly, barely opening my lips, feeling the inertia of sleepiness, and wasn't sure if I really answered audibly. The lethargy was so strong that ended up leaving me indifferent of the superficial impulses that I felt next to my hip, but perhaps, it was only the ventilation that came against the blanket.

"Then I'll stay, too." I could still hear his whisper far away, but I had no urge to reply, just shrugging for his answer, muttering some inaudible monosyllable.

In spite of being inert, for some reason my sleep didn't return quietly, as if something outside bothered me to rest, and at one point I still remember the sensation of rest, which should have been in a smooth warm, started to be in a sudden and unusual heat which I could not recognize. However when I woke up the next morning everything was quiet again.

The fan was still on, sending cool air against my face, Jeongguk was still asleep beside me, hugging me awkwardly, with his legs around mine, while his arms kept close to my hips in modest support.

I tried to pull away his hands, but felt them hold me tighter, and when I turned my face, I saw gguk smiling at me, the time I felt his feet scraped on my heel as he sagged. However, in the moment I would open my mouth to speak, I could see his face in reflex approach next to me again, until I felt him inhaled deeply the air as he put his face between the curve of my neck.

"I slept like an angel..." I heard him exclaim as he stood up and allowed me to lie more comfortably on the couch, but I couldn’t help but wonder how cold was where he lay in comparison to mine. "Do you want some coffee?" In a blink I saw him reassuring me again, and I wondered how he could get so close in such short time, actually, close enough that in a short stretch I could put a kiss on my forehead . A little affection. And I truly  don’t know if one day I’ll be able to adapt to all this affection that Jeongguk persists in attributing to me.

[snkpolls]

SnK S3E13 Poll Results (Manga Reader Version)

The poll closed with 539 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results of the manga reader poll. Anime only watchers are suggested not to read if you do not wish to be spoiled about certain events! Anime only viewers, click here to view your poll results!

RATE THE EPISODE 534 Responses

WIT kicked off the arc fantastically according to the viewers! This episode got overall positive reviews, with 95% of respondents giving it a 4 or 5 rating.

An ideal opening episode in my opinion!

Incredible start for possible the best season yet ♥

Awesome opening episode to set the stage for the arc to come. Pacing was just right, imo.

HYPE MY SOLDIERS

I think it was a great ep and did pretty well with the chapters it adapted. The dialogue was there and so were the scenes, the ending hyped what is coming so much so I'm already in love!

Lack of creavity when it come to the OP and ED visuals, but the ep overall was good.

The soundtrack slaps, voice acting is on point, and the animation proves to be very promising. Overall, it's a great episode to start off the second cour!

Awesome episode with awesome soundtrack.

One of the best episodes of the whole series, which was surprising.

RATE THE OP 533 Responses

Overall respondents liked the new Linked Horizon opening, which was a great summary of the current arc, but overall it fell flat as a song that most would be willing to label as their favorite.

OP depicts the upcoming battle well!

Great adaptation, just wish the opening was a little more original

It is the worst OP of all. The song is disappointing; it sounds like typical, boring song from random shonen series.

The opening definitely had some parts to it that felt recycled from previous openings, but I guess it's just Linked Horizon's way of linking them all together.

SPACE OPERATION RAINBOW!!!

To me it looks like they ran out of time to make an OP so they slapped a green filter on what they had done already.

RATE THE ED 530 Responses

The 104th-centered still-frame ED has some mixed reviews with most of the fandom sitting somewhere in the middle between loving and hating it. Respondents overall are leaning more toward the positive, however.

ED is perfect with the time skip just over the horizon

WE GOT A FEW NEW SAWANO TRACKS. HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT THEM? 530 Responses

Well over half the fandom are already pumped for new music from the series’ composer Sawano Hiroyuki! A whopping 76% already feel that he’s killing it. 22% need more time to decide how they feel. A small sliver of respondents don’t really care for the OST. Who hurt you?

ost perfect as usual

It was good but at this point everything sounds like it's been reused a bunch of times. Hopefully we get some new great tracks later on..

Hyeh

The bassline in the new rendition of "Attack on Titan" (or however Sawano spells it) is amazing. I cannot wait for the S3 soundtrack to be released.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT? 532 Responses

The scene with the Beast Titan appearing with his army of titans took 30% of the vote, with Levi attacking Reiner as a close second with 22% of the vote. 10% overall liked the entire episode, and 7% favorited the cliffhanger staredown. We can all agree the battle to come has us all hyped!

I repeated the scene where Reiner appears until the end of the episode tons of times already

Did they really had to skip Levi's frustrated expression after he failed to kill Reiner? It was my favorite moment…

Levi attacking Reiner and everything after that has become one of my favorite scenes in the series. Damn!

Nice Erwin Screentime, nice Levi nyooming behind Eren

Best girl makes her appearance

the last three minutes of the episode where the warriors show up was fucking amazing

ON SCALE OF ARMIN TO ERWIN, HOW GOOD ARE YOU AT GIVING ORDERS? 526 Responses

The majority of respondents relate to Armin’s timid nature a bit more when it comes to overall confidence in giving orders. Just a small 6.3% of you guys feel you have the charismatic swag that Erwin brings to the table.

I loved Armin giving orders politely.

How was Armin overcoming social anxiety a billion times cooler then eren flying over a 60m wall, becoming a titan and basically saving humanity.

ON A SCALE OF 1-5, HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO GO HORSEBACK SURFING? 528 Responses

This was in no way a serious question. But at an almost even split, 35.8% of voters would totally try their hand at horseback surfing, while 35.2% would never risk their life doing such a dangerous activity!

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ANIMATION QUALITY IN PART TWO SO FAR? 529 Responses

Overall respondents are pleased with the animation in the first episode of the RtS arc, with 54% stating that it’s the best animation they’ve seen from the series yet. 42% feel it could be better, but is also not the worst. A small percentage don’t find the animation all that impressive.

I can’t believe how clean all of the animation is looking. SUPER impressed with the difference in art-style compared to season 1 as well.

The animation is on the highest level.

i miss the thick lines the show used to have

i really love the colour palette of this season and the op especially.

IMO the color tones on this episode could've been handled better, it was too gloomy on some scenes :(

The animation & art style was almost as good as season 2’s (which is one of my favorite pieces of animation of all time) but still lacked in some areas.

Looks like they went all out with budget on this season and I'm loving it

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE CG COLOSSAL TITAN IN THE OPENING? 532 Responses

57% of respondents aren’t too upset about the GCI Colossal Titan in the opening and say they don’t mind either way. 35% aren’t happy at all with the decision to make the Colossal CGI, while a few actually find the effect super cool.

ON A SCALE OF 1-5, HOW EXCITED ARE YOU TO FINALLY SEE THIS ARC ANIMATED? 533 Responses

The overwhelming majority are extremely excited to see this arc animated after all these years. With its high levels of action and drama, it’s no surprise to us to see that the fandom is looking forward to getting this arc in an animated form!

IVE WAITED MORE THAN 2 YEARS FOR THIS IM NEVER BEEN SO FUCKING HYPED IN MY WHOLE LIFE

I've waited so many years that I'm satisfied and ready to pass now that my favorite arc is being animated

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ADAPTATION OF RTS SO FAR? 532 Responses

67% of respondents are feeling very satisfied with the way the arc is unraveling in the anime, finding that it’s a very close adaptation of the original source material. 23% feel that it’s still too early to judge the adaptation properly, and a few less feel that the adaptation so far is somewhere between good and bad.

Fantastic adaptation.

Good pacing jumping right into the action, while staying faithful to the manga.

Overall very good, but could be a TAD better

I think the adaptation so far has been great, but I need to see how the action is handled before I say for sure whether it's well adapted or not.

It was ok.

It was very well-adapted! All the important details were there and nothing important seemed to be missing, which was something I was sad about in the last arc. It seems like everything I want will get covered.

How do we come back from there without breaking my heart?

PART 2 IS SLATED FOR 10 EPISODES. DO YOU THINK THIS WILL BE ENOUGH TO ADAPT THE ARC WELL? 531 Responses

Voters are confident that WIT knows what they’re doing by shortening the amount of episodes that will air for this action-heavy arc, with only ¼ of respondents feeling that they haven’t given themselves enough screen time to cover every last detail. 10% don’t want to say either way.

i was disappointed in knowing it was a 10 episode arc, but seeing the quality and taking into account that this is an action-heavy arc, i'm bouncing off of the walls to see what wit has underneath their sleeve. hopefully they don't ruin the best arc

one advantage of the short season is that they cant draw out the serum bowl for too long. God, that was a painful wait when the manga was dropping those chapters.

Really well done, the pacing in particular was great. After seeing it I was convinced 10 episodes was perfect for this arc. A 6-4 split is perfect.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE VERY SPOILERY OPENING? 532 Responses

61% of respondents agree that the opening, while spoilery, is a great summary and teaser of what is to come for those who only watch the anime. Without context, they can’t know what every last symbolic image in the opening means, after all! 23% of voters expressed distaste at how much WIT is spoiling the viewers, however. 9% aren’t even concerned about it.

The whole opening was just one big “fuck you” to people who don’t read the manga.

it only becomes obvious b/c manga readers keep pointing stuff out. Yes, the intros have always hinted at things but it goes so fast that I don’t think every person will know exactly what something means if they’re anime only.

The Opening is good representation of this phase of the story ending.

I don't get why people are making a big deal over the "spoilers" in the opening when they're not even anime-onlies themselves in the first place.

Man, it only seems spoilery for those of us who know what's coming. Anime onlies don't understand the context of the images, so they can't recognise them as spoilers unless it's directly identified as such! We gotta stop judging this stuff from the perspective of someone who already knows what's coming.

It's definitely not holding back on the indications that'll happen in the arc

HOW DID THE NEW ED MAKE YOU FEEL? 527 Responses

61% of manga readers felt nostalgic seeing the images of the 104th during their trainee days coupled with a somber song. 20% felt sad about the ending, and 15% were just disappointed with the entire thing.

Lazy ending.

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE RED EYES ON THE TITANS? 533 Responses

Just over half of the fandom feel that the red-eyed pure titans was a cool aesthetic to add to show that they are under some form of control by a shifter. 33% feel it’s a cool addition, but not really necessary. 11% don’t care.

I was on board with the red eyes until the cart titan also had them. No longer made any sense.

I don't get why Pieck's eyes are red when she's not a mindless being controlled by Zeke…

Like the red eyes but why does Pieck have them too.

WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 530 Responses

Perhaps unsurprisingly, over half of the fandom is most hyped to see the Eren vs. Reiner showdown in Shiganshina. Although not far behind, 28% of respondents are excited about Erwin’s badass unhooding moment as he challenges Reiner.

THUNDER SPEARS FOR NEXT CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!!

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

Even though I totally know what will happen, the episode is written and directed in a way I still get goosebumps and forget I actually know what will happen. And the music, oh god. That's amazing. These two together have a really good effect.

I need the next one RIGHT NOW.

AAAAAHH!!!!

It was an introduction episode, so imo, it's just there to put the basis for the rest of the season. There was a good balance between the "emotionally charged" scenes and the more quiet ones, all this accompanied with an increasing tension in the background.

I wish theyd reanimated the scene of armin talking to eren about the opening instead of just reusing the animation from season 1.

that Zeke smile is like : hey there, i am here to euthanize you all. Love it !

I'm buying tickets into denial islaaand, bye, bye!

Airpipes. AIRPIPES. p.s. cracking soundtrack

Reiner has been enjoying himself some Marley protein, he extra swole now.

Armin was the MVP

PIECK!!!

I don't like the fact that WiT decided to spoil a lot. Some anime onlies already have guessed that Armin is going to be burned and then will become the next CT. So the serumbowl won't be as emotional and exciting for them anymore. I don't understand why WiT decided to do such thing. Don't they want anime-onlies to enjoy the show?

Exactly as expected you'll find a strange titan next to the beasty

I love Mikasa’s improved design and hope they show more of her working in a team like the manga. Focusing on the mission ect without pandering

RIP nameless soldier killed by Reiner.

Very happy to get a glimpse at best girl Pieck

Really no questions about our exactly right girl in this poll ? I am dissapointed :/

Watching this episode is bringing back all the suspense and awe I felt when I read this part in the manga. What a treat to be able to relive it!

They did a great job at keeping the tension and the "well shit everything's about to go wrong" from chapters 73 and 74, and managed to make the explosion at the end worth it, despite the fact I still think Reiner's continued survival throughout the arc is stupid and wish the anime had changed it so it'd be more believable, but here we are.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 514 Responses

Thank you to everyone who participated! We’ll see you again in a few days!

[eeriegrove]

Okay, feel free to take liberty with this prompt. Katsuki has been super stressed out because of work and his sex life with Izuku is suffering the consequences. So Izuku does a bunch of enticing things trying to subtly seduce Katsuki throughout the work day until the final act causes Katsuki to snap and really passionate stress relief sex ensues. (Semi public is fine or private is fine too, up to you!)

Ah, thank you so much for the ask! I got a bit carried away, so it’s a bit longer than expected! I hope you like it! Office sex is the best sex, right? ;)

KatsuDeku - Stressed Out

    Bakugou Katsuki was stressed out.

    It didn’t take an idiot to tell that the blond was suffering through the work day. Ever since the villain attack at headquarters, he’d been burying himself in the paperwork and meetings that came along with it. Katsuki would never admit it, but when it came to his work, he was passionate. He didn’t want other people to be swamped with the papers, especially when he blamed himself for the attack.

    Which it wasn’t, Izuku grumbled to himself, but he can’t get that in his thick head. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, the first time being when he accidentally blew up the eastern ward when a villain amplified his quirk. He was so upset over that, he refused to talk to Izuku for days.

    “Hey, Kacchan?” he called out, peeking his head through the door of Katsuki’s office. As he expected, he was flipping through documents with a determined gaze. Izuku’s heart clenched in worry, but he kept it hidden. “I’m heading out to lunch. You want to come with me?”

    Katsuki didn’t even look up at him. “I’m a bit busy over here, Deku. You know how it is.”

    Izuku bit back a groan at how stubborn his boyfriend was. The incident was two days ago, and he hadn’t grabbed lunch with him for two days. Life around the office was getting lonely without his other half. “But I’ll be awfully lonely without you.” he trailed off, closing the door behind him. Izuku wandered over to the other side of the desk, resting his hand on his shoulder.

    The one thing that really bothered Izuku wasn’t just the fact that his boyfriend was overworking himself. It was that his sex life was dwindling. Before the attack, they were on each other nearly 24/7: doing it at the office, bedroom, anywhere as long as they wouldn’t get caught. Katsuki loved to mark up Izuku, but now their nights were tense and had no passion behind it. It bothered Izuku to no end.

    He leaned over and pecked Katsuki on the cheek before nuzzling into his neck, breathing in his scent. At least he smelt the same. “Izuku, cut it out. I’m busy.” he said, lightly pushing Izuku away. “If you’re lonely, go and take Round-Face with you.”

    This time, Izuku didn’t hide his disappointment. “But she’s not you.” he whined, sitting on the edge of the desk where there weren’t any papers. “Can’t you take a break, Kacchan? C’mon, eat with me.”

    Katsuki looked up, an exasperated glance sent his way. “Not right now. I’ll come home early, I promise.” He gave him a tired smile and went right back to reading. That’s a lie. You said that you’d come home early for me last night, but you got home around midnight! But he wasn’t looking for an argument.

    With a sigh, he stood and walked towards the door. “I’ll grab you something to eat on my way out.” he said, dejected. Katsuki shooed him away.

    “Don’t worry about that. Go on, have fun.” He didn’t look up from his paper that time either, and Izuku shut the door quickly in anger. If Katsuki was going to act like this, Izuku would have to try even harder to relieve his stress and burden. He’d just need to know how…

***

    “I’d seduce the hell out of him.” Uraraka offered bluntly, taking a sip from her drink. Izuku nearly choked on his burger, swallowing it down with some water to avoid dying. She laughed at his reaction, but sobered quickly. “But seriously, if it’s affecting you like this, I’d take initiative. I mean, no sex in two days? That’s too long for you guys.”

    Izuku flushed red, but didn’t object. It was true that they were well-known as the most  sexually active couple among their friends, yet it was still embarrassing every time he heard about it. “What should I do, though? He keeps pushing me away if I get too affectionate.”

    Uraraka hummed in thought. “Try doing it subtly, then. Make Bakugou come to you.” She gnawed on a fry.

    Izuku contemplated the idea, smiling to himself. He’d have to pull a few stunts, but it might just work. “Thanks, Uraraka. I’d be losing my mind without you.” he breathed out, resting his head on his arms. He was exhausted too, having spent some nights awake thinking about Katsuki’s health and wellbeing. Izuku was worried, that was for sure. 

    She patted his head gently. “I wish you luck, Deku! Let me know if you need help with anything.”

    Izuku nodded, getting to his feet. “Will do! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a boyfriend to seduce!” he exclaimed, grabbing his things before rushing out the door. Behind him, Uraraka laughed.

    His mind was already set in motion, thinking of the many things that got Katsuki riled up. Izuku was smiling widely as the plans began to set themselves up. Oh, just you wait, Katsuki! I’ll have you back to normal in no time!

***

    The first plan would be exposed skin. Katsuki absolutely lost his shit when Izuku showed his shoulders and collarbones, and it was sure to work against stubborn old Katsuki. He walked back up to Katsuki’s office, not even bothering to knock as he already knew that he would be in the same spot. He slipped in, closing the door softly behind him.

    “How was lunch?” came Katsuki’s monotone question. Izuku rolled his eyes and crept forward, beginning to unbutton the top button to his shirt. It wouldn’t be a strip tease, but it would be enough to trigger some kind of response from the working man. Izuku walked behind his chair and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, leaning forward to pretend that he was reading the papers. It put his collarbone in perfect sight, if Katsuki was willing to look.

    “What are you doing, Deku?” he sighed, lifting his hand to swat him away. Izuku stayed latched on his shoulders, swirling him around on his chair until he was nearly in the man’s lap. Katsuki’s red eyes immediately noticed the hem of Izuku’s shirt, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he gulped. He definitely looked tempted, but would he hook on the line?

    “Like what you see, Kacchan?” Izuku purred, cupping his boyfriend’s cheek. In response, the man leaned forward and pecked him on the lips. Izuku’s hopes were raising, excitement thrumming through his veins.

    “Not in the mood, Deku.” he said instead, gently pushing him away and turning back to the desk. Disbelief turned into frustration as Izuku was left standing there. Seriously?

    “Right.” he said, sounding dejected.

    Katsuki sighed, but didn’t look back. “Maybe later, Deku. When I’m not so busy.” he offered, but even Izuku knew that wasn’t going to happen. When he wasn’t busy, he was sleeping. There was no time in between.

    Izuku left without a word in response, fixing his collar on the way out. That was only the first try! He’ll surely get him with the next one.

***

    The next plan was dinner. He would have to make it quickly, since he got off work later than Katsuki (thankfully, Katsuki always left work later anyway) and he’d have to get dressed for the occasion. Last time Izuku wore a tux, Katsuki immediately took it right off of him and they had the best sex imaginable. If he could do that again…

    He sent a text to Katsuki, letting him know that he’d be waiting for him. Izuku even sent him a teaser picture of what he was wearing, not exposing too much. The dinner that he made was spicy curry, just for Katsuki, and by the taste of it, it was damn good. Katsuki would love it. Alongside the dinner, he set the table and lit a few candles, setting the atmosphere to a warm, candle-light dinner. Izuku was excited to see his reaction.

    So he waited. And waited. Thirty minutes turned into an hour, and an hour turned to two as he waited for Bakugou to show. After three hours passed, Izuku finally threw in the towel. He blew out the candles and put the curry in the fridge, too upset to even eat as he peeled off his suit and hung it back up. Izuku nestled into the covers and wiped away a frustrated tear.

    Of course he wouldn’t show. I doubt he even saw the text. Izuku hiccuped and covered his face in his hands.

    Why does this hurt so much?

***

    It was Izuku’s last attempt at seducing his boyfriend and freeing him from work. If Katsuki didn’t fall for that one, then he’d finally relent and confront his boyfriend head on about how much this was bothering him.

    He didn’t knock this time either, walking right into his office. Only, there was a new sight to greet him. Gone were the papers scattered across his desk, instead all that was on it was a laptop. Katsuki was talking to someone on there, his professional voice in place. Oh crap, Katsuki’s having a meeting right now!

    He nearly backed out when a sudden idea hit him. What if…?

    Izuku smirked and approached the desk, keeping quiet and out of sight as he snuck under the desk. He rested his hand on Katsuki’s thigh, startling him out of his conversation. He gawked down at him before having to focus on the video call once more, his face taking on a pinkish hue. Gotcha.

    He unzipped his pants slowly, palming his boxers to see what kind of response he’d get. The small noise in the back of Katsuki’s throat was all he needed to hear before he pulled down his pants and boxers, freeing his cock. It wasn’t nearly as hard as it could be, so Izuku got to work, lowering his lips to the tip. He used his hand to pump his shaft as he swirled his tongue over the head, humming softly to further stimulate him.

    Katsuki grabbed his hair, the grip rough as he tried to get him to stop. However, Izuku’s hands were glued to his thighs and he refused to let up. Soon, Katsuki was trying to keep a straight face while he kept a conversation, Izuku sucking his dick under the desk. He moved his hand and moved his head lower, swallowing down Katsuki’s cock while willing his throat not to seize up.

    He bobbed his head, flattening his tongue on the underside of his cock. Katsuki’s hand stayed in his hair, but he made no move to protest. Izuku had finally hooked him.

    Suddenly, Katsuki thrusted his hips up, promptly gagging Izuku. Katsuki masked the sound with a cough, confidently smiling back at the camera. “Oh, that was nothing. I believe I may be coming down with something, however. Maybe we should reschedule this call? I’d hate to interrupt, but I’m not feeling so well.”

    His grip in Izuku’s hair tightened as he shallowly thrusted, but Izuku had adapted by now. It wasn’t the first time Katsuki had used his throat roughly, so he got used to it real quick. Speaking of, Katsuki was wrapping up the call, politely bowing his head before shutting the laptop. Immediately, he glared down at Izuku, pulling Izuku off of his cock.

    “You’re fucking ballsy, I’ll give you that.” he breathed out, his face red. Katsuki pulled Izuku up and nearly threw him on the desk, roughly grabbing at his clothes. Soon, they were both stripped naked as they took turns kissing and biting. They weren’t playing nice anymore. The stress of their own issues were driving them at that point.

    Izuku moaned as Katsuki began to finger him, wrapping his arms around his shoulders to stabilize himself. “More, Katsuki!” he stuttered, yanking him down to kiss him, his tongue battling with his. They were messy, always had been, when it came to sex. And now that Izuku was getting what he wanted, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

    Katsuki pushed Izuku down until he was flush against the desk, his legs sprawled on either side of the blond’s hips as he panted. Katsuki was already pushing inside him, having prepared him enough, and was thrusting. There was no foreplay, no sweet talk. This was pure stress relief.

    Izuku found support by grabbing the edge of the desk, muffling his moans by biting his lip. Katsuki was doing the same, pounding Izuku into the desk with frantic whines as he grabbed Izuku’s hips to keep him in place. It felt so good, the feeling of Katsuki’s cock sliding in and out of his ass while he was powerless to do anything about it.

    “Fuck, Izuku.” Katsuki broke the silence. “Feels so good.”

    Izuku could hardly respond, instead drooling as Katsuki hit his prostate. Realizing where he thrusted, Katsuki angled his hips better and pistoned inside him, hitting that spot over and over. Izuku was having a field day, crying profusely as he neared his release.

    Katsuki’s pace only got rougher as he neared his release too, holding Izuku down as he came with a cry. Izuku followed soon after, the sensation of Katsuki’s cum spurting inside of him was too much for his body to handle. They stayed still after that, breathing heavily as they came down from their high.

    “Feeling better?” Izuku teased after he caught his breath, wiping his sweat from his brow.

    “Shut up.” Katsuki responded, smiling as he bent down and kissed his boyfriend again. “Sorry for getting so overwhelmed.”

    Izuku thought about it for a second. “Well, if it means that we can have sex like that more often, I’d say you’re forgiven.”

    “You’re ridiculous.”

[hypeathon]

RWBY - Volume 6, Chapter 4 Production Analysis

Vol 6, Ch 1 Production Analysis

Vol 6, Ch 2 Production Analysis

Vol 6, Ch 3 Production Analysis

Last chapter dropped what is essentially the hydrogen bomb of backstory episodes with the overwhelming amount of blood, sweat and tears from every department in the CRWBY to back it up. Considering that it was only the third of this 14-episode volume, it should come as no surprise that the next episode to follow would be much smaller in scale in terms of production values.

That being said, some fans have still expressed some disappointment that chapter 4 would only be a mere 13-in-a-half minutes. Whether this is considered obvious or not, animation as a professional medium with multiple stages involves quite a bit of scheduling and management, especially for a serialized series. What I’m about to say had already been touched on in the last production analysis, but to reiterate, chapter 3 was one of the most difficult episodes to make thus far, through the script and every other department according to Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross. It was the longest episode to date (excluding ending credits), meaning that there were likely more cuts in storyboards than the average one. Roughly 30 different character models were created which had to be rigged and animated, over a dozen environment models were built, all to present the passage of time for this one episode. This is not even counting the quantity of visual effects utilized, including 2-D effects from Myke Chapman which were new to RWBY.

Having one episode with that amount of time and skill poured in would naturally follow a more conservative episode in some regard. This can be seen all the time in anime TV series depending on their production scheduling. Bleach’s 166th episode was considered a spectacle in its animation through the destructive fight between the characters Ichigo and Grimmjow only for episode 167 to follow with a cool down. Any episode of Naruto, Naruto Shippuden and Boruto that featured extraordinary animation and storyboards throughout like are almost always going to have an episode following with a more standard, run-of-the-mill staff. Even My Hero Academia, despite having various memorably-presented moments such as episode 11 of season 3 will follow with whole episodes lacking in action before picking things back up at a much later one. While this practice may not necessarily be ideal to anime fans, this is how productions of long-running anime are usually kept from falling apart which is especially important in an industry where the amount of anime projects being green-lit increase each year.

Though unlike most anime that are bound to a weekly, 30-minute run-time, RWBY at Rooster Teeth Animation has a bit of a weird advantage as web series by sometimes (though not always) using minute-length to help manage how ambitious or conservative an episode can be. Though narrative beats always play a big factor, this chapter of volume 6 is a classic example of needing to take a breather though its length being roughly half of chapter 3. Pretty much everyone fans know take up screen time this episode, meaning there aren’t new models aside from probably Tyrian with a modified tail. In terms of set pieces, only two new environments were fully designed, one being the trail to Brunswick Farms while the other was the hanging bay outside of Salem’s palace.

One fascinating bit of observation was comparing certain footage this episode to the volume 6 trailer. With one clip so far having not been shown as of the time this analysis will first be posted, every other teaser footage had been in the episodes proper. However, the moments in chapter 4 are the most different. In the moment with Emerald and Tyrian, the setting itself and the lighting changed whereas in the snow trail scene, certain characters are not previously seen carrying their luggage in the trailer. And then there’s Salem delivering the same line with lip-syncing being precise but the camera shots are very different. It’s possible that by the time the trailer needed to be made to show to be publicly available on October 16th, they were not one-hundred percent done with the episode and needed to adjust things in post. which would make sense considering the overwhelming scale of chapter 3′s production. That or they were done and simply omitted moments such as the Grimm arms binding Hazel to avoid teasing too much. Either theory is likely honestly and the latter wouldn’t be the first time Rooster Teeth has done this with RWBY trailers if one were to think back to the second and third volumes. 

Moving on, let’s touch on a bit of something that admittedly has not been highlighted that much in the past couple of posts: the animation. When checking the ending credits, you won’t see the usual names that have been prominent up until now. Whether this is due to them working on later episodes or juggling between working on Gray Haddock’s mecha show, Gen:Lock at around the time this chapter was in production, animators like Asha Bishi, John Yang, Matt Drury or Will Sherburne are not credited here. This is not to raise a concern or to scare fans so much as it is to provide an opportunity for newer names that may not have had a chance to show a bit of what they can do. Luckily, Kaitlin Petras is one such name, who confirmed to have done animations for some of the antagonists, including Tyrian. Combined with animation director, Joel Mann returning to do motion capture for the lovable psychopath who had not done so since chapter 11 of volume 4, fans get to see some delightful character acting. If it hasn’t been clear in previous scenes that Tyrian is the kind of character that tries to earn brownie points from Salem at other’s expenses, his moments here should cement that. The way his eyes and mouth read that he hates to see his leader displeased but loves to watch others get in trouble just emphasizes his rather childish nature. It’s too soon to fully say which sequences in particular were done by Kaitlin, but considering every second of Tyrian was pleasing to watch, her name is worth bearing in mind.

That being said, other characters were given great character acting according how they also channeled fear. Emerald has been put in a difficult state without having Cinder immediately besides her, providing an opportunity for her to feel frightened through her body language and the way the pupils in her eyes shift. There’s even a shot where she feels submissive through the way she slouches but subtly clenches her fist after she and Salem briefly face each other. Hazel was also another character to display fear but channeled it through the need to be stoic, humble and even protective. Even when pinned down, his facial expressions suggest he’s reluctantly willing to accept being punished. And then there’s Salem herself who subdues her anger and channels it into discipline by the way her teeth stay clenched. Though more of a secondary highlight, the animation on the protagonists’ scenes were also done well with Qrow and Ozpin/Oscar in particular expressing vulnerability, bitter anger, shame and helplessness.

Moving on, the storyboards and camera layout were once again a good highlight in both the protagonist and antagonists’ scenes. Although there’s no confirmation and no clear way to tell who did what, the various choices of composition are still noteworthy. In scenes with the antagonists, there were some great establishing and wide angle shots to help fully present the spacial aspect of Salem’s palace and the area surrounding it. The scene also helped to highlight how much Salem’s authority and wrath puts everyone in an inferior and frightened position, despite her not even being on screen in certain shots. This includes Hazel, who is often framed as small in one shot or being towered by her in another. Staying on the subject of Salem’s palace for a second, it’s nice to see how despite being in the Maya and 3DS max animation softwares for a third volume now, it’s fascinating how the meeting room alone has gone through multiple tweaks through the lighting and compositing. Switching gears back to storyboards with the protagonists this time, shots of Ozpin and Oscar are the highlight, with the former being isolated and towered by those opposing him and the latter feeling isolated due to a responsibility placed on him without a choice. Ruby of course is the only one to attempt to comfort Oscar by walking past the one tree that figuratively separates them.

As much praise as there has been given, the last bit to talk about with this episode is unfortunately critical and relates to a debate that has stood out among fans since this episode first premiered. For the record, I’m not the kind of viewer whose ability to enjoy a story is determined by how likable or unlikable characters come off. Moments where characters are in an unusually negative state are welcoming in my eyes so as long as the narrative beats warrant it. Presentation can either add to making bitter sides between characters more understandable and sympathetic or it can hinder all of that. It all ultimately depends on execution. This brings me to the way the main cast responded to Ozpin in the beginning of the episode. When taking not just the events of chapters 1 & 2 of this volume into account, but also select episodes in volume 5, it’s not impossible to see the train of thought behind the collective cast. Everyone at varied points expressed doubt and frustration with Ozpin’s roundabout way of having others involved in his agenda. Yang getting annoyed over promises broken in front of her would naturally lash out the most, with Weiss sharing similar sentiments in a more subdued manner. Blake would be upset but also much more quiet. Ruby firmly asks about the task ahead as her way of keeping her chin up and Oscar is deeply anxious and depressed.

On some level, the reactions in this episode make sense. But the reactions seem to result exclusively in the period in the sentence last episode, being that Salem can’t be killed (or that Ozpin can’t be killed or whatever potential loophole there could be, but this is not the place to debate about that) and not how Ozpin was burdened with the task he was given. The responses could have benefited from being slightly more varied when taking that to account while still expressing anger and anxiety, depending on the character. Speaking of which, Qrow was probably the biggest issue with the execution of the reactions. Never-minding for a moment that a grown man punched a 14 year-old in a manner that kept reminding me of the way Junior got clocked in the Yellow trailer, the behavior itself felt too abrupt. Up until this point, the audience was mostly oblivious to how Qrow was taking all of this in. There was one brief moment where Qrow saw Ozma for the first time in the last chapter and Qrow shaking his head in disbelief in the chapter before that. But otherwise, his anger and resentment, while very sensible in regards to his overall character story as he expressed through dialogue, lacked the proper set-up and leans a bit too heavily as being shocking.

An extra bit of the scene indirectly presenting Qrow’s psyche before and maybe even after he punches Ozpin can go a long way. If say, as he walks towards Ozpin, cuts to still arts in the form of memories of Qrow and Ozpin’s interactions such as a small tease of how they met and what was the turning point that made Qrow be so dedicated can help better sell his anger. This is the kind of thing seen in anime adaptations of popular, long-running Shonen manga and as much as the idea of cutting to flashback clips are subject to ridicule and criticism, there is a valid rhyme and reason for why those techniques are applied in visual direction. It’s also important to time tension or a particular character being emotionally charged through some sort of build-up in a scene. An example that can help illustrate my point would be a scene in One Piece:

  What may seem like a straight-forward argument seen out-of-context is actually considered a fan-favorite moment in the One Piece anime. A big reason for this has to do with the contextual set-up between the straw hat captain, Luffy and injured marksman, Usopp. The latter fought tooth and nail to get the earned money stolen from him to fix the ship he and his crew ridden on until now, only to fail to do so, hence why he’s injured. Meanwhile, at a slightly earlier point, Luffy is told by the shipwrights he consulted with that their ship won’t last another voyage. Luffy initially refused to accept that, but then reluctantly comes to terms with the reality. However, Usopp doesn’t realize that Luffy reacted as strongly as he did and instead sees Luffy casually talking about getting new ships through a catalog and then acts sternly as a captain about getting a new ship. This only comes off as insensitive to Usopp after the trouble he went through to get the stolen money back. All of this results in the scene seen in the above video. And yet even with all of this set-up, the scene doesn’t start immediately with things getting physical. Usopp and Luffy’s argument escalates before it reaches that point and it’s made clear through the choice of music, lighting, and framing. While a one-sided punch is not exactly the same as an argument, the sense of anger built between Qrow and Usopp’s characters are similar enough to draw comparison to and it’s how both characters’ negative emotions are fueled and lashed out through execution. Whether or not this was something considered or doable during the production of this episode is unclear and honestly a whole other can of worms that can be speculated on at another time.

That marks the end of chapter 4′s production analysis which did admittedly bring things down somewhat with the bit of criticism at the end. But that shouldn’t take away from an otherwise well executed transitional episode. When looking at things that way, the events here did what they needed to do and the presentation and production mostly helped to present that to the best of their abilities. As for what is in store next episode, the relatively small credits among the animation team make hint at bigger things to come somewhere down the line. We’ll just have to wait and see.

[emjenenla]

I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known [A Dark Artifices Fanfic]

(Don't know where it goes, but it's only me, and I walk alone.) When she learned her brother’s secrets, Livvy made herself a promise; she wasn’t going to let Julian do everything on his own anymore. Or that LoS AU where no one dies, but things are still messed up anyway.

Title: I walk a lonely road the only one that I have ever known

Author: Emjen Enla (Fanfiction)/emjenenla (Tumblr)

Teaser: (Don't know where it goes, but it's only me, and I walk alone.) When she learned her brother’s secrets, Livvy made herself a promise; she wasn’t going to let Julian do everything on his own anymore. Or that LoS AU where no one dies, but things are still messed up anyway.

Rating: PG-13/T

Canon/Timeline: Bookverse AU; set after Lord of Shadows sans all the major deaths

Dominant Characters: Livia Blackthorn, Julian Blackthorn, Tiberius Blackthorn, appearances by Drusilla Blackthorn, Kit Herondale, Octavian Blackthorn, Paige Ashdown, Mrs. Ashdown (who I named), mentions of Emma Carstairs, Mark Blackthorn, Cristina Rosales, Keiran, Helen Blackthorn, Aline Penhallow, Arthur Blackthorn, and others.

Pairings: Blackstairs (Emma/Julian), implications of Kitty (Kit/Ty), Mark/Cristina/Kieran and Helen/Aline

Warnings: honestly, I’m not sure if there’s much of anything. Angst, I guess.

Disclaimer: I don’t own the Shadowhunters universe or the song “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day.

--

When Livia Blackthorn learned that everything she thought was being taken care of by her Uncle Arthur was actually taken care of by her older brother, Julian, she made herself one promise:

No more.

No more would Julian be left to take care of everything all on his own while his siblings lived the carefree lives of dumb kids. Livvy would be right there with him, helping as much as she possibly could.

She carried this promise etched into her soul as the Blackthorn siblings returned to LA where Uncle Arthur and their secrets awaited them, safe from the meddling of Zara Dearborn. Helen and Aline were re-banished to Wrangel Island, which meant that things were basically back to normal. Livvy tried to ignore how almost pathetically relieved Julian was.

Perhaps it was best if he was relieved instead of anything else, because things were only going mosty back to normal. The biggest difference was that Emma wasn’t returning to LA, and in Livvy and Ty’s opinions there was not a good explanation for why. Emma said that she was going to go on a tour of the different Institutes, but she wasn’t eighteen yet. Not to mention, when Shadowhunters went on their tours, they usually went with their parabatai. Emma was not taking Jules, she was taking Cristina, Mark and (though no one outright stated it) Kieran. It wasn’t right. When Ty had pointed this out to Jules he had just told him to leave it.

All this meant that not only were they back to their pre-return of Mark days, and Jules didn’t even have Emma to keep him grounded. Livvy was determined to pick up as much of the slack as she could.

The trouble lay in attempting to redraw the caretaker/cared-for lines that Julian had drawn after the deaths of their parents.

They had been back at the Institute for a couple days the morning that Livvy woke rather early to get a shower in before everyone else was up (at least in theory because she heard Ty and Kit talking quietly when she walked by Kit’s room to get a towel). While she showered she contemplated her game plan for the day. Firstly, would be to check in on how Tavvy was feeling. Dru and Tavvy had come down with the flu directly after returning to the Institute. Perhaps that wasn’t really surprising, Ty had said something about none of them having much immune system since they all pretty much hung out with each other and no one else. Everyone else seemed to be feeling fine, though, so far at least.

She climbed out of the shower and dressed before leaving her room. She ran across Dru on the way back to her room. The younger girl was looking slightly annoyed.

“What’s wrong?” Livvy asked.

“Tavvy was crying all night,” Dru grumbled. “It was so annoying.”

“He was crying?” Livvy asked. “Why didn’t you wake me? You can’t just let him cry!”

Dru’s face took on a look of afront. “For the record, I didn’t just ‘let him cry;’ I woke Jules.”

Of course, she had. Old habits die hard. “Dru…” Livvy groaned. “I thought we’d agreed not to bother Jules so much anymore.”

“You would have had to wake him anyway!” Dru argued, hands fisted on her hips. “Tavvy was really upset and only Jules can calm him down when he’s like that!”

Livvy wanted to keep arguing, but she really couldn’t. She’d asked Dru to start coming to her for stuff she normally would have gone to Julian for, but she hadn’t told her little sister about Uncle Arthur and who was really running the Institute. Livvy had wanted to, but she figured Dru had enough to deal with without having to handle all that stuff. The problem was that meant that Dru had no idea exactly how much Jules already had on his plate and didn’t see what was wrong with piling on one more little thing.

Not to mention, Dru probably had a point about Livvy not being able to calm Tavvy down…

“Where’s Jules now?” she asked instead of saying something she might regret.

Dru shrugged. “I dunno. I was trying to sleep,” and headed for the bathroom.

“Okay,” Livvy said, then remembered what she should have asked at the beginning of the conversation. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better,” Dru said. “I’m going to shower now.” and she was gone.

Livvy winced. This parent stuff was much harder than Julian made it look.

She crossed the hall and peaked into Tavvy’s room. The little boy was curled up in his blankets, fast asleep. Jules was nowhere in sight. She checked his room in the hopes that maybe he’d just gone back to bed, but that was empty too, though she was starting to realize that of course that was too much to hope for. She headed down the stairs towards the next most likely place to her find her big brother at this time of day: the kitchen.

As expected, Julian was there getting things ready to make breakfast. Livvy paused in the doorway for a moment to study him. He was moving slowly, and his shoulders were slumped. He looked tired. Livvy wondered if she’d have noticed that even a month ago and had to admit that she probably wouldn’t have.

“You know you didn’t have to stay up all night with Tavvy,” she said. “I could have done it.”

Jules jumped and whirled to face her. His face looked even more tired than his body language did. “Livvy!” he gasped. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Just a minute,” Livvy assured him.

“Do you need something?” Julian asked. She couldn’t tell if he’d forgotten what she’d said about Tavvy or if he was ignoring it. She wondered if the latter was something Jules would actually do. It didn’t seem like him, but she was realizing there were a lot of things Jules would do that she wouldn’t have expected.

“Dru said Tavvy was crying all night,” she said. “You didn’t need to stay up with him; I could have done that.”

“You couldn’t have calmed him down, Livs,” Jules said, not condescending, just stating the truth. “Not like he was last night.”

Livvy was a little insulted. Just because Julian wasn’t deliberately trying to put her down didn’t mean that he wasn’t inadvertently managing it. “Then at least go lie down now,” she half-snapped. “I can make breakfast.”

“It’s pancake day,” Julian said, raising an eyebrow.

Livvy felt her face fall. They made pancakes from scratch because Ty didn’t like the taste of the ones made from boxed mix. Livvy might have managed making boxed pancakes, but the homemade ones were something only Jules could do.

Jules turned back to the counter, no doubt assuming he’d gotten rid of her. Frustration boiled in Livvy’s stomach. Why couldn’t Julian realize that things were going to be different now that she and Ty knew the truth? Why did he seem to think that everything was going to go right back to the way it had been? Why did he think that Livvy would be content to let him care for her now that she knew he needed help? Why did he seem to think that her attempts to help would be easy to brush aside?

“Teach me then,” she said with perhaps a bit more force than would usually be used when asking to be taught to make pancakes.

Julian paused and looked back at her. “What?”

“Teach me how to make pancakes,” Livvy said as clearly as possible. “Then next time I can make them myself and you can rest. It doesn’t make sense for just one of us to know how to cook anyway.”

Jules stared at her, his face slightly slack with surprise. “You really want to learn?”

“Do you not want to teach me?” Livvy asked, putting her hands on her hips. She figured that if he wanted to argue he would back down in the face of such an accusation.

“I’ll teach you,” Jules said. “I’m just surprised. You’ve never mentioned wanting to learn to cook before.”

That’s because I didn’t realize that every single adult thing in this place was done by my seventeen-year-old brother before. Livvy thought, but what she said was, “Well, it’s time I learned.”

“Okay,” Julian raised a hand and bit on the corner of one of his nails. Livvy noticed blood welling up as he ripped part of the nail away from the quick. Her chest tightened. She’d always known Jules bit his nails (it was impossible to miss), but she’d never really noticed it before, and never really thought about how painful it must be.

“You should wash your hands,” Julian said, then he looked down and realized he was bleeding. “And I probably should too.”

So, they washed their hands. Livvy pretended not to notice Julian wince when soapy water got into the tiny wounds on his fingers. She wanted to say something but wasn’t sure what.

“Alright,” Jules said, oblivious to her dilemma. He crossed back to the counter, wrapping his still-bleeding finger in a napkin. “First we start with the dry ingredients.”

Jules helped her measure the dry ingredients and then the wet ones. Neither of them said anything that wasn’t related to pancakes until they were beginning to ladle the batter into the skillet.

“You know,” Livvy said, deciding it was time to reopen the previous conversation. “There’s really no reason why I couldn’t calm Tavvy when he cries. After all, you’re Tavvy’s brother not his dad, and I’m his sister.”

Julian paused and stood there a moment, his hands braced on the countertop, shoulders hunched, staring down at the granite.

“Jules?” Livvy asked after the silence had dragged on long enough to be uncomfortable.

The silence went on for a while longer, before Julian shifted and reached for the spatula without looking at her.

“Tavvy doesn’t remember Mom and Dad,” he said.

“What?” Livvy wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly. “What do you mean, he doesn’t remember them?”

“It’s not really that surprising,” Julian said flipping one of the pancakes to reveal a perfectly cooked, golden side. “He was basically a newborn when Mom died, and he was so little during the war.”

Jules sighed and drummed the handle of the spatula against the counter, staring up at the ceiling. “People are always saying that I’m Tavvy’s brother not his father, but they never seem to realize that I was the one who changed his diapers and bathed him and read him stories and cleaned his scraped knees. I’m the one he screams for when he wakes up in the middle of the night convinced the monsters are going to come back and get him too.”

Julian sighed and looked back down at the counter. “My relationship with Tavvy is different than my relationships with you, Ty and Dru. I do all sorts of parent stuff for you three, but you all remember Mom and Dad and know that this family dynamic is abnormal. I don’t think Tavvy does. To Tavvy, this is normal; this is how family is supposed to work,” he paused and brought his thumb up to his mouth, gripping the stubby nail between his teeth. “When Tavvy’s says ‘Jules,’ he’s literally saying ‘Daddy.’”

Livvy just stared at him. Every time she thought she’d finally grasped exactly how messed up her family was, she was bombarded with more. How much longer would this go on?

They lapsed into silence until footsteps sounded in the hall and came to a stop in the kitchen doorway.

“What are you doing?” Ty asked.

Livvy latched onto the distraction like a life raft. “Jules is teaching me to make pancakes,” she said turning to face her twin.

Ty’s face lit up. “Cool! Can I flip some, Jules?”

Julian’s face creased in a gentle smile that Livvy had always thought of as a big brother’s smile, but she now realized was probably actually a parent’s smile. “Sure,” he said. “Come over here, Ty.”

Livvy stood back and used the time Julian’s attention was focused on Ty to think of something to say.

“Jules,” she said after several minutes. “Maybe we should tell the Clave about Uncle Arthur.”

Julian’s shoulders tensed, but he didn’t look at her. “We can’t do that, Livs.”

“Why can’t we?” Ty asked, his gaze focused on the pancakes. “If the Clave puts someone else in charge, then you won’t have to do so much.”

“That would only make our situation worse,” Julian said.

“How could that possible make our situation worse?” Livvy asked, able to hear the growing frustration in her voice.

“The only reason we’re allowed to live here together is because the Clave is under the impression that Arthur is in charge and raising us,” Julian said, he still wouldn’t look at either of them. “If they figure out that he hasn’t been, they’ll take the Institute away from him and split us up.”

“Why would they do that?” Ty asked, flipping a pancake very precisely out of the pan and onto a serving plate.

“If no one wanted us after the Dark War, there’s no reason to think anyone would want us now,” Julian said, he sounded bitter.

“What about Great-Aunt Marjorie?” Ty asked, which showed exactly how desperate he was; he hated Great-Aunt Marjorie.

“She likes it when we visit every once and awhile, so she can pretend to be a doting aunt,” Julian said. “She doesn’t want us living with her.” He went to ladle more batter into the pan, but Livvy took the measuring cup from him and did it herself.

“That’s really frustrating,” she said. “It’s not like she’d need to do much for us.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Jules said. He gone to sit down at the table and it looked like he was fighting the urge to put his head down on the tabletop. For the first time, Livvy noticed that he was a bit too pale on top of the tiredness.

“But we can’t keep this up forever,” she said. “Someone’s going to find out eventually.”

“She’s right,” Ty said. “Now that Malcom can’t make that potion, it’s only a matter of time before someone needs to see Uncle Arthur and we can’t provide him.”

“We don’t have to hold out forever,” Julian said. He didn’t look up, though he might have been studying the grain of the table. “Just until next year.”

“What happens next year?” Ty asked.

“I turn eighteen,” Jules said. “Once that happens I’ll be able to formally apply to become head of the Institute. The Clave gave Clary and Jace the New York Institute at nineteen, and I’m sure I can make a convincing case. Then I can openly run this place and become you four’s official guardian.”

Livvy imagined most seventeen-year-olds would sound excited at the idea of being head of an Institute, but Jules just sounded resigned and exhausted.

“Are you okay, Jules?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said, watching vacantly as Ty flipped the pancakes.

“You’re sure?”

“Just tired,” Jules said. He rubbed his eyes and then pinched the bridge of his nose. “And I think I might be coming down with Tavvy and Dru’s flu.”

“Do you need to lie down?” Livvy asked even though she was pretty sure Jules wouldn’t admit to needing to rest even if he did.

“It’s really just a headache,” Julian said, meeting expectations. “I’m fine.”

“Jules…” Livvy said trying to figure out what to say to have the right affect.

“I’ll take a nap after breakfast,” Jules said with a small smile meant to comfort her. “Which reminds me; I’d better go make sure Dru and Tavvy are up. Where’s Kit, Ty?”

“Shower,” Ty said, studying Julian out of the corners of his eyes.

“Alright,” Jules said. “I’ll be back, then.” He heaved himself to his feet and left the room.

Livvy and Ty watched him go. “He’s not okay, is he?” Ty asked.

“If he’s getting that flu he won’t be in a couple hours,” Livvy said.

Ty nodded, biting his lip, but didn’t say anything.

~~~~

They had finished making the last of pancakes by the time Julian came back with Dru and Tavvy. Kit trailed in after a couple minutes, no doubt not wanting to seem like he was coming to breakfast when he was told. Sometimes Livvy found his attitude a little tiring, and she could only imagine how Jules felt about it because all his attempts at being caretaker rubbed all Kit’s authority issues the wrong way.

They all settled down at the table and dug into their food. They were part way through their breakfast when the doorbell rang. Jules, who’d been picking at his food and looking vaguely nauseous, lifted his head, eyes wide.

“Who’s that?” Dru asked.

“Can’t be anything good,” Livvy said. “Is there anyone we would actually like to see who would ring the bell?”

“No one who’s likely to show up anytime soon,” Julian said pushing his chair back from the table. “It’s probably someone here for Arthur.”

“Should I go get him?” Dru asked, so earnest and completely blind to the real situation.

“No, you, Tavvy and Kit finish eating,” Jules levered himself slowly to his feet and massaged his temples. “Livvy, Ty, can you come with me for a minute?”

Livvy and Ty followed him out into the hall. Julian didn’t say anything until they were out of earshot of the kitchen, then he stopped and turned back to them, “Can you two go up and wait by the attic stairs?” he asked. “I don’t think Uncle Arthur will come down--he never has before--but he’s been in a weird mood since the Cohort was here. Can you two just make sure he stays upstairs where he can’t contradict anything I say?”

“Sure,” Ty said.

“Good,” Julian said. His face had lost a lot of its color and he was actually looking sick. Dru and Tavvy hadn’t declined this fast and Livvy wondered if Jules had lied about how long he’d been feeling bad when they’d talked about it earlier. The thought that he might lie about something like that hurt, but she no longer thought it was something he wouldn’t do.

“What are you going to do?” Livvy asked.

“I’ll tell them that Arthur Blackthorn is out on business or something,” Julian said, he sounded so shockingly casual about the idea that Livvy couldn’t quite wrap her mind around it. “Then I’ll hope that whatever they need done ‘Arthur Blackthorn’ can do by mail,” he made air quotes when he said, “Arthur Blackthorn.” Then the bell rang again, and he hurried off towards the door without another word.

Livvy and Ty stood side by side for a moment. “Can you handle Uncle Arthur alone?” she asked.

He nodded. “Sure, go with Jules.”

Livvy nodded and darted off down the hall. She caught up with her older brother just as he reached the front door. Julian looked at her in surprise. “Ty’s keeping an eye on Uncle Arthur,” she said before he could speak.

He nodded and opened the door just as the bell rang again.

Linnett Ashdown was standing on the porch with her daughter, Paige. Mrs. Ashdown gave them a friendly smile, but Paige looked like she was judging them. Livvy was suddenly acutely aware that she was wearing a tee-shirt with Captain America’s shield on it, even though Shadowhunters weren’t supposed to know who that was, and Jules was wearing an old navy-blue hoodie that looked like it probably needed to be washed. Livvy clenched her fists and her teeth. She’d never really like Paige Ashdown, but after her horrible prank on Ty, Livvy hated her.

“Hello,” Julian said with a friendly smile. If he was thinking about how Paige had treated Ty, there was no way to see it on his face. “What can we do for you?”

“I’d like to speak to Arthur,” Mrs. Ashdown said. “I know it’s early, but Francis and I have patrol later and I wanted to get this done first. Is your uncle available?”

Livvy’s stomach clenched even though the list reasons someone could be here that didn’t involve Uncle Arthur were slim. Julian’s pale face morphed into the perfect expression of guiltless apology. “He’s out of town right now on Clave business,” he said. “Is there something we could help you with instead?”

“I’m afraid not,” Mrs. Ashdown said with a kind smile, she was so different from Paige who looked like the news of Uncle Arthur’s “business” was a personal slight. “I wanted to ask Arthur if Paige could shadow him in his work running the Institute. She’s interested in the management side of Shadowhunter life and we thought that Arthur might be able to help her get some experience.

That was something that Julian couldn’t do. If Paige came to in the Institute, there would be no way to hide Uncle Arthur’s condition from her. The Clave would find out.

She glanced at Jules. He was chalky pale aside from a splotch of red on each cheek. Fever. He had definitely been sicker than “just a headache” when they’d been cooking earlier. He coughed into the sleeve of his hoodie before he replied.

“I’m not sure how Uncle Arthur will feel about that,” he said. Perhaps his smile was slightly strained but Livvy didn’t think either of the Ashdowns would notice. “He’s very particular about how things are run. He doesn’t even let us watch him work most of the time. I’ll ask him, though, maybe he’ll change his mind.”

Paige sniffed and opened her mouth as if she meant to say something, but Mrs. Ashdown stopped her with a hand on her arm. “It would be great if you could ask him, Julian,” she said. “When will he be home?”

“Tomorrow, maybe the day after depending on how things go,” Julian said so smoothly that Livvy almost didn’t believe he was lying. “I’ll be sure to ask him as soon as he gets back.”

“Oh, don’t rush him,” Mrs. Ashdown said. “Tell him to get back to us whenever is convenient.”

“Okay,” Julian said. “Thank you, Mrs. Ashdown.”

“You’re welcome,” she said then reached out and lay a hand on Julian’s cheek. Julian stiffened visibly. “You’re running a temperature,” Mrs. Ashdown told him. “You should rest. Do you have someone here watching you all?”

“Our tutor, Diana,” Julian said. Another lie. Diana was off wherever she was when she wasn’t with them, but Mrs. Ashdown didn’t know that.

“Alright,” she said with a gentle smile. “Tell her that I said you should take it easy today.”

“I’m fine,” Julian said.

“Don’t be stubborn,” she said with a smile. “Go to bed and we’ll stop darkening your doorstep.”

The Ashdowns said their goodbyes and left. Julian closed the door and leaned against it, his head thrown back, breathing quietly through parted lips. He looked exhausted. Livvy took his arm, Mrs. Ashdown was right about the fever; she could feel his heat through his shirt sleeve. “Come on, Jules. Why don’t you take that nap now?”

Julian’s eyelids were fluttering closed and he looked like he was seconds away from sinking to the floor. “I need to clean up the kitchen.”

Livvy adjusted her grip on his arm and coaxed him into a fully standing position. “The rest of us can handle that. You should rest before you pass out.”

Julian sighed but let her lead him up the Institute’s stairs. When they reached the floor with their bedrooms they met Ty coming back from the attic. “Are they gone?” he asked. “Who was there. What did they want?”

“Ashdowns,” Julian was rubbing at his temples again. “They want Paige to shadow Uncle Arthur.”

“She can’t do that,” Ty said. “She’ll find out.”

“I know,” Jules said. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it.” He coughed into the crook of his elbow again. Livvy felt him sway and tightened her grip on his arm.

“Jules is going to lie down for a while,” she told Ty. “When everyone’s done with breakfast can you start on the dishes? Make Kit, Dru and Tavs help you. I’ll be down in a couple minutes.”

“Okay,” Ty said and headed for the stairs.

Livvy helped Julian to his bedroom and found a pair of pajama pants for him. She didn’t bother trying to convince him to take the hoodie off because he was shivering like he was cold even though he quite obviously wasn’t.

After he’d changed, Jules sunk down onto his bed. For once his face showed exactly what he was feeling, and he looked so incredibly thankful to lie down it brought tears to Livvy’s eyes. She looked away before he could notice and found herself looking at the mural he’d painted on the wall. She’d looked at it hundreds of times before, but she’d never noticed how sad it was. She turned pointedly away; she did not need to learn even more painful information about her older brother, at least not right now.

She pulled the blankets over Julian only to realize that he was watching her with a slightly perplexed look. “What?” she asked.

“Why are you suddenly so into the idea of helping me take care of everyone?” he asked. “It used to be like pulling teeth to get you to even keep an eye on Tavvy for an hour or two.”

Livvy felt her face heat up. She was ashamed of all the times she’d complained about something Julian had asked her to do, now that she realized that all she’d been doing was piling more work onto her overworked older brother.

“I know what’s actually going on now,” she said trying to sound as grown-up as possible. “It seems wrong to just let you do everything now that you don’t actually have to hide anything from me anymore. Besides, you don’t even have Emma anymore; you can’t be completely alone.”

Julian’s face tightened into a complicated expression that Livvy couldn’t define. “Yeah,” he said.

“Why did she leave?” Livvy asked. “You two are parabatai, you’re supposed to go on tour together. Why didn’t she wait until you were both eighteen? I know it wasn’t because of her break-up Mark, because he went with her.”

Julian sighed. He wasn’t looking at her, but that strange expression was still on his face. “It wouldn’t matter how long she waited,” he said. “I wouldn’t be able to go. I have an Institute to run and I will for probably the next thirty or forty years.” He really, really didn’t sound enthusiastic at the idea of running the Institute. Livvy wondered what he would rather do instead.

“So that’s why she went gallivanting around the world with Cristina, Mark and Kieran and left you here to hold down the fort?” Livvy asked. She didn’t want to be mad at Emma, but she found that thought filled her with some resentment anyway.

“Not…” Julian pulled a face. “Entirely.”

“Then why else?” Livvy asked.

Julian fiddled with the edge of one of blankets, chewing on the fingers of the other hand. He was obviously debating something. How much of the truth to tell her, probably. She knew he was contemplating telling the truth, because if he was lying he wouldn’t have spent so much time planning what he was going to say. Jules lied effortlessly.

Just when Livvy was beginning to think that he wasn’t going to say anything at all, he cleared his throat and said, “Emma and I…” he took a sharp breath and then mumbled so quietly that she could barely hear him. “Emma and I love each other.”

Livvy wasn’t sure why that was something to get so worked up about. “Of course, you do,” she said. “You’re parabatai.”

“Not like that,” Jules was still staring fixedly at the blanket. He would not even glance at her. “Emma and I are in love with each other.”

It took a second to sink in. “Oh,” Livvy said. Everything she’d ever assumed about Jules and Emma’s relationship reordered itself in her mind. They had always been close, even for parabatai, and Jules had never liked Emma’s boyfriends, even the nice ones. Even when Livvy had thought about setting Jules up with Cristina, the match hadn’t felt quite right. Now she realized that it was because on some level, she’d known that Emma was the perfect girl for Jules. “Oh,” she repeated.

Jules still hadn’t looked up, she was pretty sure she saw tears in his eyes. She hadn’t seen Jules cry since before their father had died. “I’m sorry, Livvy,” he said. “You must be so ashamed of me.”

“What?” Livvy asked. “No! Of course not. Why would I be ashamed of you? You’re Julian!”

“I’m in love with my parabatai,” Jules looked up at her now. There really were tears in his eyes. It was terrifying. “How could you not be disgusted by that?”

“Why should I be?” Livvy said. “You’re my brother. I love you. You and Emma would be perfect for each other.”

“‘Would be,’” Julian repeated, sounding a little bitter. “Becoming Emma’s parabatai was the biggest mistake of my life, and I knew it was a mistake when I was making it. Emma doesn’t know that, but it’s true. I never really wanted to be her parabatai--I think even back then I knew on some level that my feelings for her weren’t platonic--but it was right after the Dark War, and we were a bunch of orphans. The Clave was going to separate us, and we needed each other. Becoming parabatai was the only way to make sure Emma could stay with us.”

He spoke so quickly the words tripped over each, like he’d been waiting a lifetime to get the words out, to explain. Livvy tried to choke back a sob but failed. Before Jules could react, she grabbed him by the hoodie, dragged him into a sitting position and hugged him with all her strength.

After a moment, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged back. She could feel the heat of his fever radiating into her; his face burned like fire where it touched her neck. Still, this embrace was still something special, because for the first time in her life, she was holding Julian not the other way around.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered into his hair. “I’m so, so sorry.” She wasn’t even sure what she was apologizing for. She had realized in the last few weeks that Julian’s life was a fallout zone of mistakes and wrongs and injuries that most people didn’t even see through his facade enough to notice. She wanted to make things better for him, but she didn’t know how.

Eventually, they pulled apart. Livvy had a million more questions, but Jules was obviously exhausted. He was sick and needed rest more than anything else. They could deal with Livvy’s myriad questions at a later date. She eased him back onto his pillows and tucked the blankets around him. Then she went to the bathroom and got a wet cloth for his forehead.

Neither of them said another word, but Livvy sat with him until she was sure he was asleep. When he was deeply asleep, she let herself quietly out of his room and did what she always did when she was upset or needed to think.

She went to find Ty.

~~~~

Ty and Kit were sitting on Ty’s bed. Ty had a book open on his lap and was rambling about something with a content smile on his face. Kit looked up when she opened the door and his face pinched with annoyance. “There you are!” he said. “You could have helped us with all those dishes.”

“I was talking to Jules,” Livvy said. “He’s not feeling well.”

“You know that means the three of us are eventually going to get that flu too,” Ty said turning a page of his book.

Kit threw himself violently back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. “Great,” he said. “Just what I need.”

“That’s what happens when you have a lot of siblings,” Livvy said. “If one of us gets sick, eventually we all do.”

She thought she was doing a decent job of sounding like nothing was on her mind, but Kit pushed himself up on his elbows, one eyebrow raised. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

Ty lifted his head. “Livvy?”

“It’s a long story,” Livvy said. “Don’t worry about it, Kit.” She didn’t say anything to Ty. She would tell him about Jules and Emma, she couldn’t not, but Jules had taken her into confidence by telling her his secret. He’d no doubt assumed she’d tell her twin when he’d decided to trust her, but he probably hadn’t assumed she’d tell Kit. Kit was extremely nice and Livvy trusted him in most things, but he was still an outsider and there was no reason for him to know Julian’s secrets. She would get Ty alone later and fill him in.

Kit was still looking at her skeptically, his lips pulled to the side as he studied her. She needed to change the subject.

“What were you two talking about?” she asked.

Ty explained the conversation and Kit eventually got into it as well, though he was obviously trying to make it seem like he wasn’t actually interested in whatever they had been talking about. Livvy wasn’t sure why he bothered and at that moment, didn’t particularly care. She’d figured that she’d just wait to get Ty alone and then tell him, but now she knew she couldn’t. The new information about Emma and Jules was eating a hole in her stomach. She needed to talk to Ty now; she needed to get Kit to leave.

“Kit,” she said. “I think I hear Tavvy calling. Can you go see what he wants?”

Kit looked affronted. “Why me? Why can’t you do it?”

“You’re not interested in this anyway,” Livvy said. “I am. Why should I be the one to go?”

Kit’s mouth opened and closed as he grasped how his feigned nonchalance had backfired on him. Livvy watched him try to decide which was worse; going to check on Tavvy or admitting that he’d only been pretending not to be interested. After a minute, pride won out and he got to his feet. “Fine,” he sighed dramatically. “I’ll be back.”

He left the room. Livvy climbed to her feet, crossed to the door and locked it behind him. There, he was gone.

She turned back to find Ty looking at her in confusion. “I didn’t hear Tavvy calling,” he said.

“He’s not,” Livvy admitted.

“Then why did you say he was?”

“I need to talk to you about something. Without Kit.”

Ty bit his lip, looking uncomfortable. “Did Kit really think that what I was talking about was boring?”

“No,” Livvy reassured him. “He’s really interested, but ashamed to admit it because he thinks it will ruin tough guy reputation. I just needed to get rid of him for a while.”

“Okay,” Ty said slowly. “Why?”

Livvy went back to the bed. She sat down across from him and sighed. “Jules and I were talking about some pretty heavy stuff,” she said quietly. “He told me something really important about him and Emma…”

[imagine-lcorp]

Knife Fight (One Shot)

Request

Can I request a Lena x reader where R is a vigilanty and Lena doesn't know because R wants to keep her safe so when she gets hurt one night R goes to Alex for help cause she's her best friend and Lena some how finds out and confronts R about it?

A/N: Hello beautiful people! Not much to say really just leaving this request here. Kudos to the dear anon that sent this one and I hope you like iiit!! <3<3<3

Lena Luthor x Vigilante Fem R//Word Count: 1,195

"(Y/N), what the hell?" Alex had to catch you mid fall after she opened her apartment door.

"A bit of help, please." Even with the distorted voice coming from your helmet, Alex could hear you breathing hard.

She put you on your feet again to take a look at you. The gears in her mind turning to agent mode as she saw blood coming from your left upper arm and your right side. Whoever managed to do that to you must have used something extremely sharp to inflict long cuts. You let Alex help you walk towards the sofa, you flopped there with a thud. You took your helmet off leaving it to drop and roll on the floor, too tired to care about it.

"Did you get into a knife fight?" She asked you frantically as she examined your face and head, looking for any other sign of injury.

"Kind of." You half groaned trying to remove your body armor.

"Hold on. I'll bring the medical kit." She came back a moment later, ready to patch you up. You had to yelp when she started cleaning the wound on your side, the alcohol making it burn and sting. "It could be much worse."

"Yeah, that's why I came to the best doc I know."

"You know I'm not that kind of doctor and flattery won't save you from paying the cleanup." She said and you chuckled faintly at that. Her eyes were focused on your injuries but you still could see the concern in them. "What happened? You never get involved in fights if you can help it."

"Abduction attempt." You tried not to move while she stitched you up.

"A child?" She inquired, knowing sometimes you got extra feisty when kids were involved.

"A Luthor." You muttered and that was all the explanation Alex needed.

Becoming a vigilante wasn't something Alex ever approved of. She wasn't happy when Kara came out as Supergirl, not happy when she found out James was Guardian, and of course she was not happy when her best friend told her she was another vigilant. However, Alex knew you had the intelligence, the strength, and the guts to not let anyone stop you from doing it. And just like it happened with Kara and James, she came around it.

Sometime after, every one of the Superfriends found out too, except for one person. You had wanted to tell Lena, even before you had wanted to tell Alex, but you couldn't. It didn't help that she was your girlfriend and that some nasty criminals were already pissed off about you, and were doing everything to get to you. You couldn't risk involving Lena, so you kept it from her. Until tonight, when her name almost slip from your mouth while you tried to fight.

You had been doing one of your patrols, everything indicated a quiet night so you decided to do a brief visit to L-Corp. You watched from a distance, Lena was saying goodbye to the guard in the lobby and walking outside to her car. She was looking for her keys when two black cars pulled in front of her. In a second, three men pulled her inside one of those cars and they were on the road before you even started the motor of your bike.

Three minutes into the chase and you were able to left one of those cars behind. You kept the route after the other, zigzagging your way from rounds of bullets. Minutes later, and being unable to lose you, they grew tired of you. They stopped the car abruptly in the middle of the street, ready to finish you with their own hands. You took down of them until the third and fourth of the group appeared, one holding a knife to Lena's throat. That's when you almost screamed her name.

The fight after that got a bit complicated. Guy number three seemed to be the expert with knives and had no trouble finding some of the weak spots in your suit. When you were done with him you ended with two big scratches in your body, worrying a bit about how to take down guy number four. Fortunately, Lena seemed to have that one handled. A teaser in her hand and the guy on the floor told you it was over.  

You had wanted to take her somewhere else where she could be safe but you had to attend your wounds. So you secured the men and convinced her of leaving immediately. You noticed you were near Alex's place and decided to head with her so she could patch you up as quickly as possible. If you needed something else, you were sure she would help you. However, you weren't the only one with that idea.

Alex and you heard five furious knocks on her apartment door after she finished stitching your wounds. Both looked at each other with a hint of nervousness before Alex went to open the door.

"You stay here, don't move, don't even breathe." She said and you nodded.

"Alex!" You heard Lena's voice and all color drained from your face. "Thank god, you're here."

"Lena?" Alex sounded surprised too.

"Sorry to drop unannounced but I need some help and I-" She started to explain until something else caught her attention. "I recognize that."

Alex turned to see your helmet, resting on her floor with small stains of blood on it.

"Is she here?" Lena asked hopeful.

"Lena, I don't know what you mean." Alex had wanted to come up with a plan to send Lena away but both of you knew it was of no use.

Nothing stopped her from coming inside and when she saw you there, on Alex's sofa with blood and stitches on you, she froze.

"You're her." She breathed.

"Lena, maybe this is not the best moment." Said Alex.

"You knew?" Lena turned to see Alex and then back at you.

You grunted as you pulled yourself straighter in the sofa. "I can explain." You tried to sound stronger than you felt.

"Are you crazy?" Her face contorted with horror. "You could have been killed tonight!"

"So could have you." You replied.

"How long?" She asked crossing her arms. "How long have you been doing this?"

"Lena, Lena." Alex stepped in front of her, placing her arms on her shoulders and making Lena focus on her. "I promise you, (Y/N) and you will talk about this but, right now, she needs to rest and recover."

The shock and the events of the night had upset her enough to almost forget about your injuries but looking at you made her frown with worry. It was true, you needed time to heal if you were to have this conversation.

She nodded in agreement. "Okay but you will have to tell me the truth...and don't tell me you kept this from me to keep me safe."

Alex turned her head to look at you. Her expression telling you to better think about something to say later.

"I will." You promised, thinking about how to explain Lena you had done this precisely for that reason.

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