#a small miracle he didn’t strangle him with his bare hands

[amemoryofwot]

Lan finds twelve dead Whitecloaks in the town square and he’s like “for FUCKS sake Perrin”

[riordanness]

nightmare dressed like a daydream — [w.wonka]

wordcount: 1.1K

warnings: nightmares and reader has ptsd

requested: no (but feel free to <3)

As usual, the nightmares hit as soon as I close my eyes.

Memories of the life I used to live, the people who used to control my every waking minute. The ache of my bones, the pounding of my head, the intense loneliness that would try to consume me.

Will had been the light shining through the darkness of my life, but in my dreams, he never came back for me.

I was left stranded in Mrs Scrubbit’s chicken coop, or left to scrub and scrub the dirt from a pile of clothes that never ended.

I would often wake in a cold sweat, or screaming, or crying, or sometimes all of them at once. My hands would be clenched so tightly around the sheets that my knuckles would be white. My breathing would be heavy, and I’d be near impossible to calm down.

Except for when Willy Wonka was there. Because that boy was a miracle.

Just his touch, and a few gentle words would slow my heart rate. My breathing would calm, and I would focus on reality again.

Reality was being safe. It was being with Willy, helping him make his astounding chocolates. Reality was being happy every day. Being free everyday. Reality was falling in love with Willy Wonka.

Tonight, my dreams were much the same. I was small, and alone, and the darkness and freezing cold of the chicken coop were smothering me. The awful smell filled my nose, I was chilled to the bone, and I had almost given up.

But just at the moment when Willy was supposed to show up and rescue me, whisk me away to safety and to freedom, he didn’t come. He didn’t show up at all.

He left me there to be trapped forever.

I wake with a start, a strangled cry choking out of me. Tears are still fresh on my cheeks, and my chest heaves with sobs.

Barely a moment passes before my bedroom door opens. Willy rushes through, and drops to his knees on the floor beside my bed.

“Hey, hey,” he says quietly. “It’s okay. I’m here. You’re okay.”

He reaches for me, pulling me close to his chest. I cry into his shirt, fists clutching at the material.

“You… I was… alone,” I cry, utterly distraught. You’d think, after having the same nightmare every night for weeks now, that I’d be a little less sensitive to it, but it was so painful every time. Painful in a way I just couldn’t describe properly.

The thought of not having Willy in my life, this boy who now meant the entire world to me, this boy who had rescued me from my terrible life and set me free, that realisation of him leaving me there hurt like nothing else.

Waking up to realise it was just a dream, and that Willy would never do that, was so relieving I just cried even more.

But here, wrapped in his arms, I knew I was safe. I knew I didn’t need to worry about being alone anymore. Because I wasn’t. I had Willy Wonka by my side, and I probably always will.

“I would never leave you,” Willy whispers into my hair, as his fingers play with a strand of it.

I wonder if maybe he can read my thoughts. He always seems to know the exact right thing to say to make me feel better, to ease my worries and anxieties and to calm me right down.

“You never need to worry about being alone again.”

His words are like a sip of hot chocolate, warm and comforting, spreading that happy feeling all over me.

“Hey,” Willy says in a hushed voice. “Can you let me go for a second, sweetheart?”

I realise how tightly I’m clutching onto him, and I quickly let him go. “Sorry,” I say, brushing my tears away with the back of my hand. “I’m sorry.”

Willy shakes his head. “No you don’t need to be sorry. It’s not your fault you had to experience all of that. It’s perfectly natural to have nightmares about it.”

He gets to his feet. “I’m going to just grab my suitcase, and I’m going to make you something.”

I ease myself back onto my pillows, trying to hold onto the feeling of relaxation I feel while in Willy’s arms a little longer. “Okay.”

He disappears, and quickly returns with his case, which he sets on my desk. He sits down, rummages for a while, and soon enough, comes back over to me with two items. A mug, and a small piece of chocolate.

Willy sits gingerly on the edge of my bed. “Hot chocolate,” he says, handing me the mug, “for obvious reasons.”

“Hot chocolate is the world's best beverage invention,” I quote him, a small smile playing around my mouth.

Willy nods, and grins, and holds out his palm. On it lies a little circular chocolate, silvery blue in colour. Right in the middle is a little symbol of a… snake? No, two snakes, intertwined around a little stick.

A caduceus, I think. The ancient Greek symbol of medicine.

I pick up the chocolate, holding it carefully between my fingers. “What is it?”

Willy shrugs. “Try it and see.”

I pop it into my mouth, chewing slowly. Instantly, I feel a strange but delicious feeling crawling all over me,

I swallow, and the warm feeling only spreads further. Everything inside of me seems to relax, like melted chocolate and a smile has been injected into all my muscles and nerves.

“What is this?” I ask, looking up at him. For the first time since he came in, I really notice how tired he looks. His eyes are slightly glazed-over, his curls are unkempt and messily splayed across his forehead. His shirt is rumpled, but his smile is still as bright as it always is.

“It’s… uh, just something I made for you.” He looks away as he answers.

I laugh lightly. “Well, of course. But what is it?”

My best friend glances back at me. “Love,” he says, voice barely above a whisper. “It’s love.”

I have no idea why or how, but just his words fill me with more warmth and joy than any amount of chocolate ever could.

“I love you,” Willy says.

“I love you too,” I admit slowly, my eyes suddenly too shy to look at him. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

He smiles, and I’m sure it’s brighter than the sun itself. “I’m glad.” He leans forward and presses his mouth to mine, and I swear, sugary sweets couldn’t compare at all.

[viva-la-whump]

Febuwhump Day 10

@febuwhump

A random Eli appears!!

KILLING IN SELF DEFENSE

“Eli! Behind you!”

The young corporal heard the warning of his comrade over the din of battle, but the words didn’t sink in until he heard a shout from behind him from a voice filled with anger and bloodlust. Turning around, Eli Vanto saw a huge man from the Separatist Army almost upon him.

He froze, eyes wide as fear seeped to his very core, making him incapable of doing anything other than think “I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead…” But by some miracle, he brought up his rifle, just barely, bayonet glinting in the sunlight. He couldn’t get his finger to find the trigger, but the brute barreled towards him, eyes wild with murderous intention, and didn’t seem to heed the blade pointing straight at his gut. 

The impact drove Eli to the ground, all the wind knocked out of his lungs in a mighty whoosh. His head connected with the ground and sparks danced in his eyes, his vision blurring so he only saw a vague form looming above him, a large red spot oozing more red to the ground. How was he still alive? How could someone possibly get up after a wound like that, let alone continue to fight?

These thoughts swirled in Eli’s mind and he was barely aware of more shouting from a familiar voice. That snapped him out of his stupor and he rolled to the side just as the goliath swung something down right where he’d been. It was his own gun! He must have thought it wasn’t loaded and was now using it as a club.

Survival instincts finally kicked in and Eli scrambled to his feet. He was small, certainly smaller than his opponent, but he was also faster. He dodged another swing of his gun and danced behind the man, sending a kick to the back of his knee that made his leg give out. With a grown of annoyance and pain, the man tried to swing his makeshift club around, but once again, Eli was faster, perhaps in part due to the blood loss that was finally seeming to have an effect on the behemoth.

Eli grabbed the knife that was at his belt and stabbed    the man high in his back. There was a strangled cry, almost more like a gasp, and the man dropped Eli’s rifle. His arms, seeming to have grown heavier, waved about uselessly, both trying to reach the knife still in his back and to hit Eli. But soon his efforts grew slower and weaker until he fell forward onto ground and moved no more.

For his part, Eli just stood there, numb, looking at what he’d just done. He could hardly believe it. He knew this was part of war, knew he’d have to take a life at some point. But he’d never…he didn’t think… His hands were shaking and the world grew blurry again, but this time it wasn’t because of the hit to his head (though that was still pounding painfully throughout his skull). No. This time it was due to the tears that were welling up in his eyes. His knees gave out then and he was powerless to try and stay upright, so he just let his body fall. Except he didn’t. Something stopped him from hitting the ground, something with arms that wrapped around him. Something that had a face with so much concern written on it that it drew a sob deep from within Eli’s chest.

It became too much for Eli - the shock, the pain, the sudden exhaustion he felt sapping all the strength from his body, and the boiling mass of emotions churning inside him. He allowed himself to be held by those arms, trusting that face to look after him as he closed his eyes against this hellish battle and sank into the sweet oblivion that welcomed him.

[mandos-mind-trick]

Instinct - Part 6

Summary: Omegas were rare. Some even thought them extinct. So when Boba contacts Din saying he has a gift Din can’t refuse, the last thing he expects to find is an omega in need of an alpha. Din has to make the hard decision, but what else was he really doing anyways? But naturally, there’s more to this omega than meets the eye.

Pairing: Din Djarin x female!reader

Warnings: Mentions of abuse, torture, and trafficking; ABO dynamics, PTSD, Din has a breakdown, anxiety, a small injury and a quick mention of blood, also talks about murder, oh and ANGST. So much angst. I’m so sorry. 

A/N: I fought with myself for so long on how to do this chapter. I had so many versions in my head of how things could play out. I don’t know if I’m happy with the way I chose, but it’s what I’m going with. (I really wanted to use the gif of the Armorer smacking Din in the head with her hammer cause that’s how I felt writing this chapter.) 

< Previous | Next > | MASTERLIST | OC Version

Boba gives you a day. It’s a miracle really, that he didn’t kick in the door to make sure you were alright as soon as the droid came down to the kitchen. He was ready to strangle Din if he hurt you, unafraid to face the alpha in defense of his adopted omega. 

Maybe you were right. Maybe there was a bit of instinct in him. 

Boba and Fennec were getting ready to leave for Mos Espa. The others were already there, already monitoring the streets. There had been small activity while you were busy, thankfully keeping the others busy and out of the palace. Boba and Fennec were going to join them in Mos Espa, but Boba needed to ensure you were alright before he left. 

He’s shocked when Din answers the door. It wasn’t so much that Din was answering the door, more that he was helmetless. Helmetless, and armorless. He doesn’t seem surprised to see Boba there, in fact he looked rather relaxed. 

“We knew you’d be coming!” 

A ghost of a smile crosses Boba’s face at the words yelled from inside the room. He’s more surprised, though, to be staring at Din’s face. He really hadn’t thought much of what the Mandalorian would look like under his helmet. He had always just associated him with the unpainted helmet. 

A lot had apparently happened in the last few days if Din Djarin was greeting him without a helmet. What kind of magic had you worked? 

“I came to check on her before we left.” He finally says, trying to cool his obvious surprise. 

“I figured you would.” Din says, moving out of the doorway so he can enter. 

“Where are you going?” You ask, mouth full of berries. 

You look good, more relaxed than he’d ever seen you. You’re seated on the bed, bare legs visible from the slits in the front of your dress. There weren’t any bruises he could see there, but he knew there had to be others elsewhere. The mark on your shoulder stands out, still red and inflamed but starting to scab a bit. 

Boba steps up to you, running a hand over your head. “We’re going to Mos Espa. There was some activity there while you were...occupied.” 

“Do you need help?” Din asks, ready to step in and help his aliit if he needed to. 

Boba shakes his head. “No. We’ve got it. But if things go South, I’ll comm you.” He turns back to you. “How do you feel?” 

“Good.” You swallow the mouthful of berries. “Sore, but good.” 

“He behaved himself?” 

You grin. “Yeah. He was a perfect gentleman.” 

“Good.” Boba glances sideways at Din. “I don’t have to kill him.” 

You laugh, a genuine laugh that lights up your whole face. “I wouldn’t let you.” 

Boba chucks you under the chin before approaching Din. “I was fully prepared to kill you as soon as I stepped in here, but she’s happy.” He glances back at you. “Saves me messy clean up. The palace will be mostly empty today. We should be back by dark. Take whatever you want from the kitchens. You know there’s plenty.” 

Din nods. “Thank you for not killing me.” 

Boba smiles. “I trust you with her. You’re a good man. But if you ever hurt my ad’ika, I will hunt you down.” He slips on his helmet, passing another glance at you before taking his leave. 

Din sinks down on the bed once the door is shut, taking the offered berry from you. 

“He’s not kidding, you know.” You say.  

“I know.” 

You lounge back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Where are we gonna go? You know, when we leave?” 

Din is quiet. He had been thinking about that for a while. When he first agreed to this, he had planned to leave soon after your heat was over. Head back out to continue hunting, continue trying to forget the gaping hole left by Grogu’s absence. 

He hadn’t thought he would care this much. 

Boba had given him an option. There would always be work to do on Tatooine. Boba could pay him well, provide him with steady work. You wouldn’t have to leave your family. The first family you’d had in a long time. His family. 

It felt strange to think of them as his family, but they were. Family was everything to Mandalorians, everything to omegas. It felt wrong to want to leave now. 

Where would they go? 

Nevarro? Sorgan? Mandalore? They could go a lot of places. Or they could stay on Tatooine. 

“Din?” Your voice pulls him from his thoughts. You’re sitting up, looking at him. Your brow is furrowed a bit, shoulders slouched in a submissive posture. “You don’t have to decide right now. I mean, I knew from the start we weren’t gonna stay long after my heat. Boba said you don’t like to stay in one place very long. I know you probably wanna get back to hunting and-” 

“I don’t know yet.” He answers, cutting you off. 

“Okay, so talk to me.” You shift your position so you’re more comfortable, and so you can see him better. “Tell me about our options.” 

This was becoming a lot very quickly for him. He knows he should talk to you. It was your right to know as his omega. He had told himself he wouldn’t be one of those alphas that expected total submission and acceptance from his omega no matter what. The kind of alpha he had been raised as. But the idea of opening himself to someone, having someone else there making decisions with him...it was a lot. 

He was panicking. 

He rises from the bed, moving to his pile of armor. 

“Din!” You shout after him. “You need to talk to me! We’re supposed to be partners, remember? ‘We are one, we share all.’” 

He’s already got his boots on, forgoing most of his armor in favor of just getting out. He can hear you moving, the slight hitch to your breath as you rise from the bed. He needs to turn around, he needs to go to you but he can’t. 

“Does that mean nothing to you?” 

He’s shaking, grip almost slipping on his helmet as he grabs it. He can only think of escape, of getting out. Space. He needs space. You were too close. 

The broken call of his name as he closes the door is like a stab to his chest. He feels sick, too constricted, too naked. He needs to get out, he needs to think. 

You stare at the door in disbelief. He had just walked out on you. Just like that. You had only been curious. You had only wanted to help. 

Was that not allowed? 

You had obviously done something wrong. Crossed some line you hadn’t known about. You had always been told omegas were equal to their alphas. They were supposed to make decisions together, for the good of their pack. For the good of their clan, their aliit. You had just wanted to help him when he was obviously struggling. 

He had walked out on you. 

It could have been worse. 

You try to push the thought away. 

He’s different. He promised he wasn’t going to treat you the same. 

A sob tears its way from your throat. You pick up one of the pauldrons sitting on the table, throwing it as hard as you can at the wall. The beskar bounces off the stone with a clang, the metal not dented, dinged, or even scratched. 

You weren’t like the beskar. You were damaged. Dented. Broken. You were brittle, like rusty metal. Maybe he had finally recognized that fact. Decided he didn’t want an omega so broken, so used. 

You wish Boba or Fennec were still in the palace. You wish someone was there. Anyone. 

****

Maker, he was a kriffing idiot. 

He smacks his helmet into the stone in front of him once more, letting the beskar ring in his ears for a moment. He had made some dumb decisions in his lifetime, but this perhaps was the dumbest. 

Boba was gonna kill him. 

He can practically feel the ex-bounty hunter’s hands around his throat, choking the life out of him slowly. He wouldn’t fight. He deserved it. 

The suns are starting to set, painting this side of the palace a deep blood red. It was fitting, given how he was feeling. How he was sure You were feeling. Kriff, he was so stupid. 

He ascends the rest of the stairs, debating on knocking before just deciding to open the door. 

The room is a mess. His armor is spread across the floor, intermixed with bits of food like it had all been thrown around. The sheets are in a pile at the end of the bed, all but one pillow still on the mattress. Various items have been thrown around the room, and there’s a pile of glass near the ‘fresher door. 

The scent is what hits him hard. Despite the open window, the scent of your distress is heavy in the air. It makes the hair on the back of his neck stand up, a tingle racing down his spine. It’s heavy with warning. 

Do not come any closer. 

He was doing well making bad decisions so he ignores the warning, pushing past the instinct to turn tail and back off. His steps are quiet as he maneuvers his way through the mess. He follows his nose, finding you curled up in his cloak in the far corner next to her closet. You’re an unidentifiable lump under it, completely covered by the fabric. 

Your scent is nearly assaulting him by the time he reaches you, filtered only slightly by his helmet. He’s scared to remove it, knowing very well he had left weapons in this room and you could be waiting to shoot him. He knew how good of a shot you were. How competent you were with a weapon. He was scared to be vulnerable, scared of the possibility of you attacking him. 

He shoves down the fear, lifting his helmet with shaky hands. If you shot him, then it was what he deserved. 

Your scent hits him like a wall without the helmet. It almost sends him reeling back but he forces himself to stay put. The pain in your scent cuts through him like a jagged edge, ripping through built up walls and all the fear he felt. His omega needed him, and he had failed you. You were hurting because of him. He had done this. 

He feels as if he’s made a mistake, trusting himself to be able to care for an omega. You didn’t deserve this, but you were his now. Your mark proved it. You were his from the first moment he’d laid eyes on you. He had a duty to you, to care for you and provide for you. You were supposed to be equals. Your promise solidified that. 

He reaches out slowly, whispering your name. His fingers ghost the edge of the blanket and what feels to be your shoulder. 

You flinch from his touch, a whimper slicing through the silence of the room. 

He reels back like he's been struck, holding his breath to keep his own scent controlled, to keep his own emotions from breaching your sanctuary. Just a day ago you had been locked together, sharing soft words and soft touches. Things had been perfect. 

Now things had completely flipped on their head. You were hurting. Because of him.

He sits back against the end of the bed, moving the pile of sheets aside. To think just over a day ago you had been tangled together in them, rutting away happily like animals. “Tell me what you need.” He says quietly, trying to swallow the building lump in his throat. 

The lump under the sheets shifts just slightly, another pained whimper sounding. It’s like another knife to his chest, tears brimming in his eyes. His omega was hurting and he couldn’t do anything. 

He tangles a hand in his hair, tugging at the strands in anger at himself. He had let his own fear, his own insecurities get the better of him. “I’m so sorry.” He whispers, the words hanging heavy in the silence. “I’m so kriffing stupid, leaving like that. I was scared.” He lets out a long breath. “I’ve never had anyone else. Even with Grogu, I was the one making the decisions for him. The thought of having someone else as my equal, someone else making decisions with me...it terrified me. Having someone that involved in my life...I know that’s what mating is. I know that’s what the words mean. But I let my fear get the best of me. I made myself no better than those men who used you.” 

The lump shifts again and he catches sight of a foot as his cloak shifts over you. It’s only a glance, but it reminds him you really are under there. That you really were hiding from him. 

“What do you need?” He asks, all of his instincts going haywire from the thick scent of your distress in the room. He knows what he wants to do. He also knows that’s not the best course of action right now. “Do you want me to get Boba? He’ll beat my ass for this. Or Fennec? She’d also kick my ass. Not that I don’t deserve it.” 

Slowly, very slowly, the lump starts to move. Fingers appear, closing around the edge of the cloak. You pull it back slowly, several scents hitting him as you reveal herself. Anger, fear, pain, distress. 

Blood. 

Had you hurt yourself when you tore the room apart? It was very likely. He thinks back to the glass next to the ‘fresher door. He wants nothing more than to crawl over, search you until he finds the wound and then fix it. He knows that won’t go over well, though. It could have the opposite effect. 

Your gaze is hard as you stare at him, eyes puffy and red from crying. It’s another knife to his chest as he looks at you, how broken you seem. Your left hand is red, rivulets of blood trailing your arm and fingers. You must have cut yourself somehow. He calms his alpha a bit. It wasn’t serious. 

“Kill them.” 

Your words shock him a bit. He hadn’t expected you to speak, much less words like that. “What?” 

There’s no hint of the carefree omega he had been with just a few hours ago left in your face. You seemed to be fighting between a hard indifference, and the broken omega underneath. “Kill them.” You repeat. “You asked what I wanted. All those men, hunt them down and kill them.”

Taglist: 

@donttamethebeasts​, @unicorntrooper​, @spacecluster​, @hugmedin​

[bowiebond]

Across The Dirt Road - Chapter 1

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/39774222/chapters/99579741

Relationships: Billy Hargrove & Max Mayfield, Eddie Munson/Billy Hargrove.

Summary: They found Billy in the Upside Down. Now the dust has cleared and Billy has returned to their small town of Hawkins, ready to finally make things right with his sister. The only concern he hasn’t rolled around his head a million times while in that hellscape is the one where he just can’t seem to figure out what his new neighbor from across the dirt road’s deal was.

CW: Discussion of past abuse, suicidal idealization, angst

None of them expected to see him again. Nobody expected those grimy blond curls or torn wife beater, his chipped axe narrowly avoiding Max’s shoe as he sliced a swarming tentacle aimed for her. But there’s a hope in those eyes when he looks up at her, rising to his full height and cupped her cheek. He looks dirty and exhausted but he smiles at her despite his brimming eyes.

“Max.”

The town doesn’t bombard them with questions on why he’s back even though they buried him the year before. It’s a miracle after all the loss they had, and they thank God, a few prayers sent up above for their own losses to be returned to them.

The first thing Billy does when Max brings him to the trailer - because their home is gone and Billy finds he doesn’t miss it all, only really mourning his long ago donated belongings - is take a shower. He washed the past year off his skin and scrubbed it from his hair until it’s almost as soft as he remembered it being. Then he cries. He sits in that shower and sobs his heart out until there’s a headache raging through his skull, beyond dehydrated. How he survived so long, he has no idea. He thinks he might have blacked out for most of it, running on pure adrenaline and the renewed desire to live.

It feels good to cry without fear that something will hear him, track him down and claw at his flesh. His body has become a myriad of scars, but he can be glad he didn’t lose an eye or two down there, even if he had a scar running down the right of his bottom lip and a three pointer across his left cheek, just below his eye. Goodbye his future modelling career.

When Billy stepped out of the shower, towel around his waist, he was surprised to see Eddie in the trailer. He was leaning against the couch that Max sat on, shifting the bundle of black from hand to hand as they spoke, but they went quiet when he came out. He stared at Eddie, gaze sliding over to Max who gave a small smile.

“Hey, man, sorry to intrude.” Eddie had cleaned up as well, hair still wet and dampening his Black Sabbath shirt. He wasn’t even wearing any shoes, sweatpants a little too long on his legs. Billy said nothing, staring until Eddie cleared his throat, uncomfortable. Billy’s eyes were intense, his face giving away nothing.

“I, uh-” Eddie stepped forward and offered the bundle of clothes to him. “I realised Max and Ms Mayfield probably didn’t have much left over considering you were...well, dead.” His lips pulled into a thin line. “So I thought I’d bring you something to wear. Just until you can grab something more your own style.”

Billy looked down at his hands, bare of rings and black nail polish chipped to all hell. He doesn’t remember this guy from before he got stuck in the Upside Down, but he does remembers Henderson screaming out his name as Eddie fended off Vecna’s tendrils with his guitar, sacrificing his prized possession to give Steve the extra moment to grab Dustin and flee. Billy could respect his dedication to the kids.

He could see Eddie favoring his left leg as he took the clothes from his hands.

“Thanks.” His voice was rough, throat still tender from Vecna’s attempt at strangling him when he got in his way to Lucas. Billy might not like that the kid was special to Max, but he wouldn’t let Max grieve the little shit. Lucas seemed to feel the same considering he used Billy’s own axe to cut him free and dragged him to follow.

He unfurled the shirt, eyebrows bouncing up. Metallica. God, he had missed music most of all down there, along with his Camaro. He remembered humming the verses of Trapped Under Ice, shivering through every word until he realised he could raid the closets of the homes in the distance if he was careful venturing that far ahead. It was one of the few things that kept him sane down there.

“You know, they actually just dropped a new album.”

“What?” Billy looked up, caught off guard as he was dragged from his memories.

“Master of Puppets. It got released maybe...” Eddie gave it a thought. “A month or so ago? I drove all the way to the city just to get a copy the moment it hit the shelves.” He admitted with a small grin. “Super busy, man.”

“Huh...I sure have missed a bit.” Billy’s jaw flexed and he held the clothes in one hand. “Thanks.”

“It’s not a problem. I never really knew you, since you were only around for such a short time before you disappeared, but Max said you’re a good guy and Max is a mean but good kid, so I’ll take her word for it. Dustin vouched for her.” He tucked his hands into his pockets with a shrug, sending small teasing grin over his shoulder at Max.

“Don’t take her words for it. She’s blind.” Billy huffed, smiling faintly as he turned back to the bathroom. “I’ll get Max to send them back your way when I’m done with them.”

“Oh, dude, I’m literally across from you.” Eddie pointed out the window to the trailer with the beat up van. “You ever need anything, my uncle and I are happy to help.” Billy squinted and he could see an older man rocking on the small porch, obviously the uncle Eddie spoke of.

“I’m good.” He gave Eddie a tight smile and closed the door behind him. He peered over at the tiny mirror and clenched his jaw as he took in the bags under his eyes, the divot in his sternum that spread out in jagged white lines. His entire stomach was a mix of pink and white scarring, stark against his tanned skin (though he had definitely gotten paler without the sunlight). The longer he looked at it, the more he wanted to scream, so he pulled the shirt over his head and swallowed it back down. When he came back out, Eddie was gone.

“He let himself out?” He asked Max who nodded, looking out of the window at Eddie who was sitting on the arm of his uncles chair. “How’d he end up in this mess?”

“Vecna killed his friend. In his living room.” Max sighed softly. “He got blamed for it. Hopper was able to clear his name thankfully. Case is closed.” She shrugged, turning back to Billy. Her impassive face slowly fell away as her lips trembled. “I’m glad your home.”

“...Me too, kid.” Billy stepped forward, opening his arms and allowed Max to make the decision to accept. She rushed into his arms and held him tight, head tucked under his chin and cheek pressed against his chest.

“I’m sorry, Billy. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, kid.” Billy rubbed her shoulder gently. “When do they get back?” He stared at the wall, at the picture of Susan and Max that hung there. He had seen the beer cans. He can only assume...

“Who?” Max pulled back a little, confused. Her face always got so red and blotchy when she cried. It was ugly, but Billy didn’t care. He brushed them away with his knuckles and clarified.

“Dad and Susan.” Max’s eyes went wide, lips parted like she had realised something big and was speechless.

“Dad...Neil’s gone, Billy.” Billy’s eyes fell to hers, narrowed in confusion. “He left after you died. Said he was grieving and just...up and left. Sold the house, left the divorce papers on the table already signed...Why do you think we live here now?” Max gestured to the trailer around them, scoffing at what her life had become.

“Grieving?” Billy repeated, confusing ebbing away into betrayal and concluding with fury. “Grieving?” A humorless huff of laughter escaped his lips, dragging his tongue along his lower lip, focusing on the ridge of his scar. “That asshole wasn’t grieving, he was taking his chance to fucking start fresh.” He bit out.

Neil always did this when something big happened. He fucking ran and started fresh with something new. He had despised that Billy was old, that his mother hadn’t just taken him with her too so he could have a whole new family to start over with like it would erase all the horrible shit he did in his past.

He wanted to break something.

“Who cares?” Max huffed, looking away and creating space between them. “He’s gone now. I’m glad. Mom is working her ass off, but it was better than staying in that house with him.” She clenched her fists and Billy felt old, bitter resentment towards her anger.

“It’s not he really bothered you.” It’s acidic on his tongue and he loathes himself when Max snaps her head his way, hurt.

“You think I wanted to live with him?” Max shook her head and scoffed. “He might not have hit me, Billy, but he wasn’t nice. Not to me or mom.”

“...I know.” Billy stared right past her. “I wasn’t nice either. Don’t think I ever will be.” He admitted softly, thinking of all the times he yelled at her, taking out his bottled frustrations out on an easy target. Spitting acid in her face and convincing himself that she deserved it.

“Please.” Max rolled her eyes. “We were as bad as each other.” She looked up at him, vivid blue eyes conveying her understanding. “We were just kids, Billy. We didn’t know any better, and we were angry. All the time.”

Billy swallowed around the lump in his throat as Max gave a thin-lipped smile, her eyes gaining a shine of tears.

“I forgive you.” She said, hush. “I forgave you that night, and then you took your last breath...” Her voice gained a wobble. “And all I could I think was that you’d never know. But I did.” Max sniffed loudly and wiped her nose with her sleeve.

“All I ever wanted was an apology, Billy. To know you didn’t really hate me.”

“I don’t hate you.” Billy whispered. “I never hated you.”

“It felt like you did.” Max’s smile was bitter as she wiped her eyes. “And I don’t blame you.”

“You should.” Billy said through clenched teeth. “You should blame me, Max.”

“I blame him.” Max licked her dry lips and looked down. “I blame Neil. And I wanna blame mom for marrying him. I wanna blame them both for putting us through all of this. For making you hate me, and making me hate you.”

Max’s hurt was turning into frustration now, kicking the couch. She sniffed, gross and wet, before her face scrunched up and she kicked the couch again, harder.

“I hate him.” She kicked it again. “And I wanna hate her. I wanna hate everyone that put us through the best and worst years of my life!” She turned and kicked the coffee table, knocking a few empty cans onto the floor. “I wanna hate this stupid town!” A can hit the coffee table leg. “And all it’s monsters!” Another flew into the wall. “And bullshit!” It bounced on the couch cushion.

“I want to hate everything that made me believing dying would be easier!”

Billy wrapped his arms around her tightly, crushing her arms to her chest as she collapsed against him with a gut-wrenching sob. He’s chin wobbled as he rested his cheek upon her head, a single tear escaping his eye.

“I just wanted you to come home.” Max choked out, tears streaming down freckled cheeks. “I wanted to make things right. I wanted a second chance. I wanted to stop feeling so guilty for wanting you to die for so long.”

Billy bit his tongue as she hiccuped and shook in his embrace, leaning her head back against his chest and closing her bloodshot eyes.

“I wanted the big brother I was promised.” It’s so quiet he almost misses it.

“I know.” Billy knocked his head against hers. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“I know.” Max sucked her lower lip and bit it hard to try and stop crying. “I’m sorry I always used to cause you trouble.”

“You were the perfect amount of trouble, Max.” Billy pushed the loose red strands from her face with one hand and brushed his lips against her temple. “I was just...lost. And then I actually got lost and I realised...I was spending every day, counting the hours until summer ended and I could leave this whole life behind. And every time, I would come back to you, the little sister I got saddled with. Maxine’s Keeper.” He scoffed at his own youthful arrogance.

“And I remember the day I got my license, and how you begged me to take you to the skate park because Dad and Susan didn’t think it was lady-like to be scraping up your knees with all the boys. And you did. You skidded your fuckin’ knee and refused to cry but I could tell you wanted to. I made fun of you for it, said I told you so...and then I punched a kid in the face because he laughed at you.” Billy laughed weakly, tonguing his cheek.

“I didn’t want to admit you were my sister, because I thought that meant I’d have to give up my Mom. That I’d be betraying her but letting Susan take her place. But you were still mine. You were mine to bully and laugh at, but like hell I’d let someone else lay a fucking finger on you, kid. Not then, not now, and not ever.” He squeezed her. “You were my responsibility.”

“I was a bitch.” Max laughed wetly.

“Yeah. But you were mine.” Billy smiled softly. “When I finally broke out of that...things hold, I thought about mom. About you. About your freaky little friend, El. I was so done being controlled, being kept in the dark and hiding away...I wanted to fight back so bad, and I did. I didn’t freeze up, I didn’t bite my tongue, I let it all out. Fuck, it hurt, kid. Dying hurts. But then I woke up and I was alone, in hell, and all I could think was that I deserved to be there because of every shitty things I ever did to you, to everyone. It wasn’t until I saw Harrington and Wheeler with their two lackeys did I even think I might have a way back. A second chance.”

“And now you’re home.”

“And Dad is gone.”

“For good.” Max promised. Billy sighed softly against her hair, looking up at the few photos of Max on the wall, some with Susan. He paused on one of him, all of them posed for a family photo. Neil had been cut from the photo, leaving Susan, Max and him.

“Yeah...” Billy breathed. “For good.”

Billy had no idea what he would do with his second chance at life. He just hoped he’d allow himself to do what actually made him happy this time.

[myherowritings]

Three in the Morning

— You’ve missed your best friend after not seeing him for over a week. To fix that problem, you show up at his window at three in the morning to fill the Iwaizumi-shaped void in your heart.

pairing: iwaizumi hajime x reader word count: 2.9k genre: college/university au, fluff warnings: intoxication (reader is tipsy hghfjsd), jealous reader at one point, cuddling in bed, tooth-rotting fluff

a/n: written for bnha sanctuary one prompt haikyuu collab! :D a bunch of writers wrote their take on the same prompt “it’s 3am why are you outside my window” and this is the fic i came up with based on it! check out the other amazing fics here u won’t regret it ;) xx sof

「 hq masterlist 」

Walking around in the middle of the night just the slightest bit tipsy wasn’t the smartest thing you’ve done in your whole college career, but you could safely say it wasn’t the dumbest— Not that it was something you should be proud of.

You and your roommates had just gotten home from a party and, for some odd reason, you had the sudden urge to see one of your best friends, Iwaizumi Hajime, right at that very moment. He had been studying for midterms all week and you weren’t able to hang out with each other like you normally did, causing a Iwaizumi-shaped void that you wanted to fill. (In a strictly platonic way, of course.) 

And when you were half-sleep deprived, half-inebriated, it wasn’t uncommon for you to be rather...impulsive. From ordering too much takeout from any “open 24-hour” restaurant within a five mile radius, to uploading a video of you trying to come up with the perfect pasta recipe, you’ve done a handful of bizarre things during the ungodly hours of the night. But even you weren’t sure what was going on through your mind that convinced you sneaking out of your apartment and heading to Iwaizumi’s nearby was the best course of action while still slightly intoxicated. 

The clock on your phone read that it was only a quarter ‘til three and you quickly shrugged on a jacket and sent Iwaizumi a sloppy “i’m omw iwaaaachann” text before stepping foot outside your door, making sure to shut it silently as to not awaken your roommates who had just fallen asleep. 

As you made your way through your apartment complex, the thought briefly crossed your mind that Iwaizumi might be sleeping at the moment, especially since he had just finished his midterm exams, but you shrugged it off. You would cross that hurdle when you got there. 

And so, when you finally—through some miracle from above—arrived at Iwaizumi’s in one piece, you weren’t sure what else to do other then stare at his half cracked open window. Since he lived on the second floor, it wasn't uncommon for him to leave a window open for air to come through during the hot seasons. 

“Iwaizumi!” you yelled in a quiet whisper, hoping the wind would carry your words into his apartment for you. 

When you received no reply, you pulled our your phone and began to message him. Although Iwaizumi liked to pretend he was an unsentimental guy who didn’t have time to deal with others’ bullshit, it was obvious that was false. He cared a lot about everyone, especially his friends. Maybe even too much. And one of the ways he showed he secretly cared was always having his phone on full ringer in case anyone needed help in the middle of the night— Something that was surprisingly quite common when you were friends with the chaos that was Oikawa.

Would it be mean to use that knowledge to your own advantage and spam Iwaizumi until he replied? 

Maybe. 

But in your defense, you were practically having an emergency only he could help with. You desperately needed your Iwaizumi fix after not having seen him in over a week and there was no one better to help you that problem than Iwaizumi himself. 

Besides, texting him until he wakes up would be better than Romeo-and-Julieting this and climbing in through his window. Trying to scale a building while tipsy was too idiotic, even for you.

Y/N: are u awakeee?

Y/N: wakey wakey 

Y/N: i miss u :(

Y/N: i’m outside ur window wink wonk

Y/N: iwaaa >.>

There was a cacophonous sound of loud text chimes ringing one after the other followed by a deep grunt and stretching sound. You pictured Iwaizumi blearily getting out of bed and checking his phone that he kept across the room (to minimize at-night screen time, he claimed) with a heavy-lidded look on his face. 

After a few seconds of unidentifiable shuffles, you heard a strangled cry of, “What the—?!” before you saw the shadow of his head through the window screen. 

“Y/N?” he asked incredulously, voice still rough and scratchy from having just been awakened. 

You waved, beaming wildly. “Iwaizumi!” 

There was a deep sigh as he cracked the glass open even wider. “It’s three in the morning— Why are you outside my window?” He peered down at you almost stumbling on the spot. “And are you drunk?”

“Barely,” you assured, though you still felt a slight buzz in your fingertips. “I missed you so I came here.” 

“I— What? I mean— Huh?” he demanded, visible confusion in his tone. He rubbed his forehead before correcting himself. “I mean I miss you too. But it’s three in the morning! You couldn’t wait to miss me in a few hours instead?” 

You didn’t know whether to pout because he didn’t grow some Rapunzel hair and let you climb it up to the window and fall into his open arms like you’d imagined, or cheer because he said he missed you too. Blissfully, you chose the latter. “You miss me?” 

“Is that really all you heard?” said Iwaizumi with a snort before shaking his head in defeat. “Come up here. I’ll unlock the door for you.” 

Your face lit up instantly as you nodded, bounding up the stairs of his apartment building and meeting with him face-to-face at his doorstep. 

He had his arms folded over his chest as he waited for you at the entrance and, though he had tired circles under his eyes and still seemed half-asleep, was looking as attractive as ever. Not even the white polka dots on his pajama shorts could talk away from that fact. If anything, it made him all the more adorable. 

“Iwa-chan!” you greeted excitedly, but still careful as to make sure you weren’t loud enough to wake up his roommate. You opened your arms out and he begrudgingly accepted your embrace. (Well, he tried to seem begrudging at least. But you saw his hidden smile as you nestled your chin on his shoulder.) “I missed you.”

“You said that already, dumbass,” he said with a tsk. He patted the top of your head before pulling away from your hug promptly. “You’re cold. Have you been standing outside for long?” 

Pursing your lips, you looked up at him in confusion. “I don’t feel cold.” 

“Because you’re too drunk to register it, probably.” With his warm hand on the small of your back, Iwaizumi ushered you inside and shut the door behind you. “Let’s go to my room so we don’t wake up my roommate, yeah?”

“‘Kay.”

Having visited his place so many times before, you knew it like it was your own apartment— Disregard the fact that your apartments had almost the same exact layout since you lived in the same complex. After sliding off your shoes at the entrance, you led the way to his room with Iwaizumi following closely behind you. 

“Did you go to a party tonight?” he asked, eyes trailing down your body that was clad in an oversized t-shirt and fuzzy socks. Iwaizumi took a seat on his bed and patted the spot next to him for you to join. 

Laughing at his puzzled expression, you nodded. “Yeah, but I went to my place to change and get ready for bed,” you explained. “Tried sleeping but I missed you too much and wanted to see your face.”

You climbed onto the mattress with him and wiggled around until you found a comfy spot. The comfy spot happened to be side-by-side with Iwazumi, your back against the wall and cold thigh pressed against his warm one. You rested your head on his shoulder and he lazily drew circles onto your knee with the pad of his thumb. 

Intimacy like this wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for the two of you— That’s just how things were. He was warm and comfy and good at cuddling, and you liked that. 

It could maybe be considered just normal friendship things you two did with everyone if it weren’t for the fact that Iwaizumi wasn’t typically comfortable with physical touch from anyone other than you. And maybe if you also ignored that you weren’t too keen on the thought of him one day being this close to anyone else. If truth be told, you didn’t like the thought of that at all. 

With a small huff, you hooked your left arm with Iwaizumi’s right, hugging his bicep to you in an almost clingy manner. 

“You good?” he asked, lightly chuckling as he looked down at you gripping onto his side. “Or something troubling you?”

You hummed unsure how to answer. There wasn’t enough alcohol in your system for you to completely spill your guts with know remorse, though being tipsy did greatly increase your likelihood of being loose-lipped. “I’m just thinking about someone else being with you like this.” 

Iwaizumi stiffened, shoulders tensing ever so slightly before he quickly relaxed his muscles again. He prompted gruffly, throat so tight it came out as a murmur, “And?” 

“I don’t like it.” 

He let out a sharp chuckle. “I see.” 

Out of the corner of your eye you saw a smile on his face and you continued on. “You’ve been studying a lot with Sasaki-san lately.”

“Hmm. Have I?” 

You nodded. “You have your biomechanics class with her, right?” 

“Yeah. I guess we studied for the exam together for a few nights.” 

There was a funny feeling in your stomach at the thought of him spending his nights studying with someone that then spiraled to you picturing them being compatible and falling in love and spending the rest of their lives together. You winced, trying to shake it off. You were one of his best friends; it’s not like you had the right to feel that way.

“She’s really pretty,” you said, hoping it would prompt him to talk more about her. Even if you had no right, you still wanted to know—

By now, the laughter Iwaizumi was struggling to hold in bubbled out of his mouth, cutting you off mid-thought. His shoulders bounced up and down and you reluctantly sat up from your position resting on top of him to give him a look of confusion.

“Why are you laughing at me?” you pouted. Your eyebrows were furrowed and the corners of your lips were quirked down, cheeks slightly puffed. 

He nudged your side gently with his elbow. You nudged him back, but moved away before he could retaliate and start a nudge war. “Because you sound jealous and it’s funny.”

“I didn’t say I was jealous.”

“I didn’t say you said that.” 

“I’m not jealous,” you corrected.

“Now that’s debatable.” 

Your cheeks flooded with heat, grabbing a pillow off the head of Iwaizumi’s bed to hide the embarrassed look on your face, seconds away from throwing it at him if he started to laugh any louder. You huffed. You were not jealous. There was no way. You just didn’t like imagining one of your best friends with another person doing coupley things that you only wanted him to do with you. But that definitely wasn’t jealousy. 

(Okay, fine. You were jealous. But you couldn’t admit that to Iwaizumi.)

“That’s just your lack of sleep talking,” you sulked, lying down on his bed with a pillow still over your face. “Go to sleep now.” 

“I was asleep. Until someone showed up at my window unannounced and woke me up.” 

“They sound annoying.” 

He barked out a laughter and you felt the weight on the bed shift. The compressed springs near your feet where Iwaizumi sat released its tension before you felt a dip beside you. You held your breath, the warmth from Iwaizumi’s body radiating onto yours.

While sleeping in the same bed together wasn’t as common as just cuddling, it wasn’t something that was exactly rare. There were times when you came over to watch movies or a television series with him until you both passed out on his bed. And other times when he was feeling stressed or you were feeling sad and neither of you wanted to sleep alone. You knew if you called, he would invite you in. And it was the same if he came to you. 

But that didn’t make your heart beat any less rapidly as you waited in anticipation for Iwaizumi to get under the sheets with you. No matter how many times you fell asleep together, that didn’t stop the rush of nerves and tense air of awkwardness from flooding the room. However, it took just one touch to break the ice and before you knew it, you were snuggling up next to him in complete contentment.

“They’re not annoying,” he said firmly, large hand resting on the curve of your hip. “Actually, I’m glad they showed up even though it was three in the morning and I was running on two hours of sleep from the previous day.” You winced at his words, the alcohol gone from your system by now and you realized the insensitivity of your actions. Still, your stomach fluttered when he said he was glad to see you. “Because I missed them too.” 

You blinked slowly. “You’re talking about me right?”

Through the moonlight from the window, you saw him roll his eyes with a grin. “Is there anyone else you think I’d let into my bed at this hour?” 

“Oikawa.” 

He considered it. “Well, maybe. But it wouldn’t so much be me letting him than him weaseling his way in.” 

You nodded solemnly, as if it made perfect sense. Because it did. “Fair enough. He’s the only other person I’d let into my bed like this too,” you admitted, earning a laugh out of the both of you. “Well, besides Oikawa then, there’s no one else you’d sleep with like this?”

“There hasn’t been since we started college. I doubt there would be anyone to change that. Nor would I want anyone to.” 

For the second time tonight, you felt heat rise to your cheeks and had the sudden urge to turn the other way and stare at the wall instead of Iwaizumi. But he held you tight by the waist so you couldn’t wiggle your way out of his grasp— Which did not, at all, help with the flaming face situation. 

He only wanted you? There was a euphoric feeling in your chest when you realized he felt that way, and you felt the same. 

“Someone’s bold tonight,” you managed to choke out, softly pressing your shaky fingers to the center of Iwaizumi’s chest. You felt the outlines of his toned pectorals beneath your palm and you had to remind yourself to keep on breathing.

“It’s from the lack of sleep. Sorry.” He didn’t sound apologetic. In fact, he seemed the opposite of apologetic when he brought you almost imperceptibly closer to him. If you weren’t so aware of the spatial distance (or lack thereof) between the two of you, there was no way you would have noticed. But you did. And you didn’t mind it. “I don’t have my usual filter.”

“Maybe I like you like this,” you said without missing a beat. Your initial reaction was to be embarrassed about the words that just left your mouth, but when you saw his growing smile, you felt a rush of assurance coursing through you. “I always like you, I suppose.”

“Like me?” he prompted, almost teasingly. “In what way?”

You gulped. Was this Iwaizumi being flirty? 

Sure, it wasn’t uncommon for him to compliment you and occasionally play around— But if you thought your heart would ever be ready for him to actually flirt, you certainly thought wrong. You weren’t ready at all.

“L-Lots of ways,” you stammered out. “But in particular, the ‘I think you’re cute and I maybe want to date you’ way.” 

“Funny.” His voice was a low whisper that rasped in your ear. “I think I like you in that way too.”

“You think?”

“I know.” 

“Huh. Well, if we both like each other in that way…maybe we should…” you trailed off, feelings of timidness suddenly overcoming you. “You know…” 

“Date?” he supplied with a knowing grin. You nodded bashfully. “Tomorrow.” There was an air of promise and sincerity in his tone. “Let’s get some sleep and then when we wake up we can go on our first date.” 

Tranquility spread through your veins as you let out a happy sigh, your muscles growing lax at your calmed state. Although your heart was beating out of your chest at the prospect of actually dating Iwaizumi, his comforting embrace was enough to lull you into sleep. Your senses were flooded with him—his touch, his smell, the quiet sound of his steady breathing—and you realized there was no other place you’d rather be. 

“Are you sure you won’t be too tired from exams?” you said before sleep overtook the both of you. “And from me waking you up in the middle of the night? Which…sorry for that again, by the way.”

“Don’t apologize. It was worth it,” he mumbled, lips brushing against your forehead as your eyelids fluttered shut. “I’ll always be here when you need me. Even if it’s at three in the morning.” 

[lavendereyedassassin]

This was supposed to be a one-shot for the SasuHina Month Day 2 prompt “Basorexia.” However, it turned out to be much longer than I expected, and I had less time to dedicate than I’d like, so this will turn into a multi-chapter short fic. I hope to post a chapter each week with a different prompt for SH Month 2022. It is unbeta’d and rated T, please enjoy...

Cursed Kisses By: Lavender Eyed Assassin (Rated T)

Chapter 1: The Curse

~~~

Basorexia: An unbearable urge to kiss

SH Month Day 2 Prompt

~~~

Why did I agree to this?

“Sasuke!” The loud squeal coming from under a bubblegum pink bob served to exacerbate his growing headache.

I hate parties.

Sasuke silently watched from the doorstep as Sakura excitedly rushed forward to embrace her old teammate in greeting. With a well-timed step back, he simultaneously avoided her touch and conveyed his distaste for physical contact.

Sakura, being astute as she was, quickly understood the action and stopped herself from reaching for him. The war was over. Sasuke had been on a journey of redemption for years, and she had finally learned to move on.  

Dispelling the awkward moment, she gave a tight-lipped smile with an almost pitying expression that Sasuke couldn’t help but loath. Sakura turned her head away and yelled, “Naruto! Guess who’s back?”

From the depths of Sakura’s small house came a familiar, gruff roar, “SASUKEEE!!!””

Now in their early twenties, the Konoha Twelve were no longer young shinobi. Neji was gone, Tenten moved to Suna, and the rest, while living in Konoha, hardly had time to see each other. By some miracle, Tenten and Sasuke’s return visits coincided, and the group, led by Ino and Sakura, decided to host a get-together at Sakura’s newly purchased home.

“Come on inside! Everyone’s here already.” Sakura waved at the dark and imposing figure to follow her. Removing his travel worn boots and leaving them by the door, Sasuke barely took two steps into the hallway before a large, orange bundle of energy pounced on him.

“Teme! I almost didn’t expect you to show up, ‘ya know?” Naruto offered a happy smile that forced his eyes to squint into tiny crescents. With a one-armed hug that could pass as strangling, his other hand attempted to ruffle Sasuke’s already messy and overgrown hair. Their female counterpart tittered at the display of manly affection.

As ill-disposed and aloof as the ex-avenger came across, he had more patience for Naruto’s antics than most people. Like a practiced routine, he simply removed Naruto’s overly eager hand from inflicting more damage.

“I said I would be here. I am here.” The cold indifference in his voice was completely ignored by Team Seven’s alumni. It had come to be expected.

“Damn right you are!” Naruto exclaimed happily.

The space boasted a modern layout with the kitchen, dining room and living room being in a single open area, unhindered by walls. Immediately, Sasuke’s fight or flight drive kicked in as he took in the shoulder-to-shoulder atmosphere. Not only were the remaining Konoha 12 there, but there were spouses and other unfamiliar guests crowding the already cramped space.

Twenty minutes, and then I’ll leave, he assured himself.

After the escape plan hatched in his mind, he eyed a dark corner he was compelled to occupy. To his dismay, as soon as he began to slink off to that unclaimed and safe location, he felt a harsh tug on the collar of his sable cloak.

“No way! You just got here. You’re staying right where I can see you,” Naruto playfully reprimanded; a heavy arm casually, but securely, slinging around the shoulders of the touch-averse shinobi.

Receiving a scowl in response, Naruto laughed heartily and began to do what he did best- talk. Without letting go of Sasuke, the tall young blond dragged him to another pair of excited blondes. Sasuke felt his mood drop even further.

Females…

“Shion, this is Sasuke- my BEST friend from the academy! Sasuke, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Shion, and her friend Ririka. Funny story, they both work at the temple, but people think Ririka is a witch! HA!”

Sasuke offered a silent nod in acknowledgment while Naruto belly laughed hard enough to form tears. Uninterested in continuing the discussion, while deciding it wasn’t worthwhile to escape Naruto’s side, his attention started to wander. He perused the basic layout of the structure, memorized the exits, and studied the crowd.

Tenten was sitting on a bench, excitedly chatting with Lee. Gaara sat on her other side, a subdued longing gaze directed at the unsuspecting brunette.

Sasuke scoffed internally at the interplay and moved to the next group. Next to Gaara stood Temari, with a babbling infant on her hip, and Shikamaru. To Sasuke’s surprise, the class genius was in deep conversation with Shino. He didn’t know much about Team Eight. He never cared to know and wasn’t about to start.

So, he decided to move on.

There were some unknown, and uninteresting, faces. Girl’s flirting with guys, guys bragging with guys, and girls giving him suggestive stares that he proceeded to ignore.

Boring.

His focus landed on Choji who was happily filling his plate with the savory dishes on the table. No surprise there.

Ino, who was placing fresh addition from the kitchen, slapped his hand and lightly scolded, “At least wait until I put it down!”

Breaking him from his people watching, Sakura spoke to Sasuke in a hushed murmur while Naruto continued to gab. “I’ll come back to check on you guys later. I’m so glad you made it, Sasuke.”

He nodded blankly.

She smiled warmly at him and went off to play host, and make her rounds with the other attendees. After she stopped chasing him, and began to focus on herself more, it became easy for Sakura to make new friends. Ino also lost interest in the Uchiha since she only wanted his attention because she knew Sakura did. They became closer than ever.

As he trailed Sakura’s departure from their group, his eyes landed on a quiet pair socializing on the back porch. He couldn’t hear the conversation through the shut glass door, but he could clearly see everything from his vantage point. With their backs to him he could not easily identify the couple, but he was curiously drawn to the scene.

The tall, muscularly built man had unkempt, shoulder-length brown hair and was fairly familiar. The woman next to him, however, was an enigma.

It wasn’t her silky long strands of blue-black hair that he noticed first. Neither was it the milky smooth complexion of her bare arms that glistened naturally in the sun as they mindlessly ruffled through the thick, white pelt of a docile beast. Nor was it the heaven’s blessed curves and sinewy lines of her feminine build.

Although he wasn’t ignorant to her physical appeal, the first thing that he noticed was the way she moved.

She was the most graceful creature he’d ever laid eyes on.

His throat suddenly felt dry, forcing him to swallow to quench his growing thirst. There was a slight but deep uptick of his heart’s rhythmic beating. He drew in a breath to fill his desperate lungs and cool his warm core.

Who is she?

Drawing his dark brows together he unconsciously activated his sharingan in devout concentration. His pupils expanding to take in as much of her as he could. Wildly spinning pinwheels analyzing every shift of her head, each inhalation, and the smooth motion of her hands.

“Ummm… earth to Sasuke?”

A large, calloused palm waved inches from his face, effectively obstructing his perfect view of the mystery goddess. Annoyed, he glared at the nine-tails jinchuriki darkly and seethed, “What?”

As the hand fell, it was replaced by expressively wide blue eyes perched under raised brows. The perpetrator was a little too close for comfort causing Sasuke to instinctively lean away.

Taking in the Uchiha’s reddened face and dark expression, Naruto cut his stare over his shoulder to seek out exactly what had captured his friend’s attention so raptly. The Uzumaki’s confusion quickly morphed into a mischievous satisfaction, and he turned back to his friend with a smirk. Tilting towards Sasuke’s ear, he spoke under his breath. “Hinata’s hot right? She confessed to me once, ‘ya know?”

Hinata?

“I would’ve said yes, but Shion and I had already started dating, so I kinda ignored her. I just felt bad about rejecting a nice girl who’s done so much for me. And then after the Toneri thing happened, she stopped talking to me,” he began to ramble.

“WHAT?” Feeling appalled by Naruto’s lack of judgment and oddly concerned about Toneri, ‘the moon terrorist,’ Sasuke could not keep the rising anger from his voice. What was this feeling? Was he feeling jealous? Protective? He was definitely frustrated.

Backing away, the Uzumaki scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. “Ehhh… let’s talk about it later. It’s not really that important. Right now, what’s important is we were just talking about going on a double date!” Beaming ear-to-ear like a Cheshire cat, he proposed, “Me and Shion, and you and Ririka. Saturday night. Great idea, am I right?!”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hinata walk in with… right, Team Eight’s Kiba and their mascot horse dog- whatever his name was. The new spectators did not quell his heightened nerves. Instead, Hinata’s beautifully innocent, and blissfully unaware eyes seemed to light a fire in him.

Channeling his rage into his usual trigger point, he loudly exclaimed, “What is wrong with you?”

Squinting his perplexed stare, Naruto repeated, “What is wrong with me? What d’ya mean what is wrong with me? What is wrong with you! I’m trying to set you up with a girl, you moron!”

Equally matched in both talent and stature, Naruto bumped his chest against Sasuke’s, standing toe-to-toe and nose-to-nose in challenge.

Witnessing the rising hostility, the rest of the crowd began to press in with anticipation.

This only served to infuriate Sasuke further. With a maliciously calm tone, he muttered, “Some friend you are. You don’t know the first thing about me. When have you ever seen me go on a date with anyone? Why the hell would I want to go on a date with her.”

Before the village hero could voice his intent to help, the woman in question intruded with her hands on her hips and a defensive snarl, “And what exactly is wrong with me? You think you’re so cool because you’re the last Uchiha and girls fawn all over you? Well, let me tell you hot stuff- I can read you like an open book! You’re just a scared little boy. Scared of anyone getting close. Scared of any sort of physical interaction that doesn’t involve violence. At this rate, your clan is going to stay dead, and you’ll be alone forever!”

The room was so silent, you could hear the whistle of the air as it blew through the small gaps of the crevices in the house. Even Naruto was speechless, gawking his wide blue eyes at the bold and shameless female.

Sasuke’s face remained apathetic but under it all, his blood was steaming. “Thank you.” That caught everyone off guard. His voice was smooth and even, but everyone could feel the dangerous undercurrent skimming the surface. “Not only have you displayed precisely what is wrong with you, but you’ve also reminded me of why I choose not to be intimate with anyone. I have no doubt that whoever chooses you for a bride would rather wish he hadn’t.”

The sting of his words lingered in the air, but not for long. Ririka, face puffy and eyes red with tears welling at the corners, summoned all her anger and will and directed it towards the cold Uchiha with a sneer. “How dare you! I curse you, Uchiha Sasuke! You who are so afraid of intimacy, are cursed with days unnumbered of exactly that which you loath the most!”

She squealed in delight and boisterously laughed. The crowd murmured amongst themselves. Uncomfortable with the strained conditions, some chose to depart- including Team Eight, leaving him forlorn.

Turning his attention to Naruto, who looked like he just watched his frog wallet speak a different language, Sasuke informed as politely as possible, “I’m leaving.” Then he turned his back on the blond trio, his cloak floating behind him with the motion, and leveraged his long legs to expedite his exit without breaking into a run.

Snapping out of his trance, Naruto went after him. “Hey, Sasuke- Wait!”

When he reached the brooding male, he grabbed his shoulder from behind in an attempt to stop him.

As Sasuke spun to face the aspiring Hokage, Naruto clumsily tripped on his own large feet. He was sent hurtling towards the unprepared Uchiha, whose special eyes noted the ‘oh shit’ he mouthed as their distance closed.

Sasuke’s eyes widened in horror, realizing at this range it was already too late. His lips twisted into a grimace as they were met with Naruto’s sloppy open mouth. It slid down his chin, leaving a trail of saliva as they fell. Naruto knocked his friend to the ground with him, and landed between his legs. His spiky blond head resting on Sasuke’s solid chest.

“Get OFF of me!” Sasuke demanded.

While Naruto scrambled away from the deadly shinobi emitting a faint warning aura, Ririka’s laugh bounced off the walls in a perverse cacophony. “And so it begins!” She bellowed maniacally, hands gripping her stomach, filling the room with her mirth.

Sasuke quickly rose to his feet and departed with more haste than necessary. This time, Naruto did not follow.

A strange feeling began to form in the pit of his stomach. His growing unease a biproduct of her words.

That had to be a coincidence. Right?

Turning his focus back towards the house from where Ririka’s howls pursued him, and mind entrenched in recent memory, he did not see the ball arcing towards his head.

Subconsciously, he was aware of someone frantically yelling, “Watch out!”

Snapping his attention back to his path, his sight flashed white. A moment of dizzying pain and he was flat on his back with a throbbing lump on his skull.

“Ow,” he mumbled to himself, bringing his hand up to rub the sore spot.

Soon thereafter, his face was once again coated in saliva. This time dog saliva. A giant canine had licked from chin to forehead in a contrite act.

Sasuke froze. Eyes blinking rapidly in dawning recognition of what had happened.

Face filled with disgust, he propped himself up to a sitting position and wiped the slobber on his sleeve as he did so. He winced his eyes shut to bear the pain, and haphazardly registered the set of feet pounding against the pavement towards him.

“I am so sorry,” Kiba emphatically apologized while he tugged the back of Akamaru’s neck fur, attempting give the Uchiha some much needed space. Looking at his furry companion, the Inuzuka admonished, “You were supposed to catch that, Akamaru! What happened?”

The large white dog whined and placed a paw over his nose.

“A-are you okay?” A softly maternal voice twinkled, capturing Sasuke’s attention.

His onyx gaze lazily lifted to find the owner staring back at him with concern. Her eyes were even prettier up close, he realized. Though the Hyuga had white eyes, there was so much more to them than a flat canvas. There was visual depth and complexity. Though pupilless, there was a distinction between the sclera and iris, which was gemlike and reflected a light purple hue.

After he was silent for too long, dumbly observing the female without acknowledgement, Hinata kneeled in front of him with worry, and stated mostly to her teammates, “He might have a concussion. I think I should check.”

Grasping the fact that he was acting out of character, he was about to refuse her services and let her know he was fine when his name was called out from some distance away.

And again.

“Sasukeeee!”

It was Sakura.

She was lightly jogging towards him, her face morphed with concern, and he began panicking.

What if the curse was real?

What if some other accident befell him which resulted in another lip locking scene? In the past five minutes, he’d already been kissed twice. He could not, would not, suffer another unwanted second of intimacy.

If he was going to be cursed by some annoying witch, by sheer force of will he would grab fate by the horns and force it bend to him. Starting now.

At a few feet away Sakura slowed her stride and started to speak, but stopped abruptly when she witnessed a most unexpected event. In a harried rush, Sasuke placed his palm on the back of Hinata’s head, looked her straight in the eye, and before he could lose his muster, placed his lips against hers.

He could feel the heat form under his hands, and he did not know if it was coming from her cheeks or if his palms were sweating. It was intended to be a chaste kiss. Something quick and effective- like him. He expected it to be like the other kisses he’d experienced in his life, with Naruto, but this was different.

His lips lingered against hers as he took in their softness. His firm mouth lost the edge of tension they started with. The quickening in his pulse matched his sudden need for air. His eyelids closed of their own accord, and he found himself gasping and securing her lips again.

His fingers began to tangle in her hair and her rigid body went soft, pliable. He took this as a good sign, until he realized there was added weight to her as well.

At that moment, he felt himself being roughly pulled away from the object of his exploration.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Kiba groused.

Sasuke watched silently as Shino gently picked Hinata up in his arms in a bridal style carry. She had passed out.

Sakura stood idly with her jaw hanging wide, with no attempt to hide her shock. Although her mouth was open, for once, she was quiet.

“Let’s go, Kiba,” Shino coolly instructed.

“Tch! You better watch yourself buddy. I might not be able to kill you, but I can and will hurt you if you pull another stunt like that,” Kiba threatened, releasing the back of Sasuke’s shirt.

Kiba’s threat did not pierce the haze of euphoria in his mind. He sat there motionless staring after Hinata’s limp form. Long after her teammates had taken her away. Past the moment when Sakura mumbled her goodbyes.

He sat…

… and he thought…

… about a certain pearl eyed Hyuga, who might have just escaped with a tiny piece of him.

~~~ To Be Continued ~~~

[dourpeep]

The previous Xiao pov angst was sad so I ended up writing a whole fluff fic from Xiao's pov. This is somewhat reminiscent of Morning Musings (reader's pov of a similar situation).

Memorandum

Summary: In the early hours of morning, he lies awake with his thoughts and the two of you snuggled close to his chest.

Contains: Kazuha x Xiao x gn!Reader, modern au, fluff, sweet, established relationship, polyamorous relationship

It’s unbelievable. Entirely unfair. Ridiculous, even.

Laid between two warm, warm bodies, Xiao settles. A leg lays splayed over his hip, an arm thrown carelessly and draped across his shoulders. Your face is shoved strangely against his shoulder down into his pillow and Kazuha’s breath fans against his neck.

Both of you, tired from yesterday, are fast asleep. Yet he’s laying flat on his back and wide awake as he usually does. Not that he minds much.

In your sleep, you mumble his name and your hand searches for his. The soft pads of fingers skim up along the blanket settled over him, patting down now and then as if his hand would suddenly appear beneath.

When your fingers finally intertwine—Xiao having to do most of the work for you to prevent you from accidentally slapping him—your voice silences away to soft breathing.

It melds in to the comfortable quiet of night, mingling with the dim darkness that casts shadows up along the wall and finally settles in his bones. An inhale, an exhale, in, and out—he follows each breath you take with his inner monologue. In his, your grasp is loose but still very much there.

A tug grabs his attention.

The blanket pulls towards his right, and Kazuha manages to shift and turn on his other side, arm slipping from between your and Xiao’s clasped hands and Xiao’s chest to tuck beneath a head of cream-colored hair.

For a moment, Xiao’s brows furrow. He misses the comfort of the other tucked against his neck and side.

But at a fluttery sigh, he finds that his heart fills with warmth. What could he be dreaming of? Was a smile gracing his lips?

There’s only so many questions he can ask unanswered.

So, Xiao lets his eyes close for the time being.

Sleep still seems to elude him.

By now, it must be early morning, perhaps around 2am. Yet surrounded by the loves of his life, he can’t help but feel as if he can get up any moment and start his day. Of course he wouldn’t dare to. Not with the two of you sleeping so soundly.

Once more, he lets his mind wander.

What was it that you three did yesterday? Bitter black coffee and over-sweet tea, tugging on shoes and locking the door behind with a click.

Right, a short visit to grandma down the hall with a tin of fresh-baked cookies.

Sweet and crisp with little bits of almond and toffee. Kazuha’s been practicing baking this past week and insisted that he hand out the excess to friends.

“You can’t eat all of it, Xiao.” He said, shaking his head. Xiao simply took another, too fast for Kazuha to stop him, and popped it into his mouth. Even though he didn’t favor sweets, he thought that these cookies were delicious.

But Kazuha was right. He made way too many cookies.

All the while, you were busy fiddling with something. A paper, perhaps for school?

You worried at your lip with your teeth, concentrating so hard your laptop. Honestly, Xiao was almost certain that you’d been staring at the same word for at least fifteen minutes.

He remembers how he had to confiscate the cold tea set to your side. What kind of boyfriend would he be if he let one of his loves drink tea cold? The scandalized gasp that flew from you when he dumped the remaining drink down the drain in favor of brewing a fresh cup.

Xiao smiles and gives your hand a small squeeze. It took an apology, three kisses, and tea brewed in half the time it usually would take for you to finally forgive him.

The three of you headed out to the café after that.

It was nice outside, after all, and Kazuha was adamant that the three of you go out and get some sunshine and fresh air.

By some strange miracle, they weren’t out of the sweet pudding Xiao loves. Archons knows that it’s entirely worth the extra dollar it costs to add it to his boba tea.

Though, arguably, he did regret the decision just a bit when he choked after a joke that he really shouldn’t have found funny. In a panic, Kazuha slapped his back a few times while you doubled over in laughter. With tears pricking at the corners of his eyes and lungs burning, Xiao wheezed and weakly flicked your forehead.

“You’re going to send me to an early death.”

“Hu Tao would appreciate the business.”

Needless to say, it wasn’t long until Xiao’s glower dropped. How could he when he found your little quips and comments humorous?

Sunlight filters through the little gap in the curtains, glaringly bright, and for a brief moment Xiao considers fighting the beam that lands just barely below your eyes. The audacity.

Minutes pass and the light hits just over your lashes. Before he can provide a shield from the offending glow, you stir. When your eyes open, squinting through the haze of sleep, they meet two gold ones.

“What time is it?” You rasp, and he hopes that you’ll speak again so that he can hear your voice. Unfortunately, he can’t check the clock.

“Around 6.”

With a groan, you turn until your face is shoved back in your pillow, releasing Xiao’s hand from yours. His fingers twitch at the loss.

“Mmm too early…”

And he agrees. Or he would if he hadn’t already been awake for the past three hours.

The bed shifts with your tossing and turning, a strangled whine leaving your lips. Xiao’s own twitch up in a smile when you peek back up at him with a pout. “I’m too awake to go back to sleep.”

He wraps his arm around you, pulling you close and pressing a kiss to your lips.

“Good morning, then.”

Luckily, you’re easily appeased.

A muffled groan comes from behind Xiao, and he feels Kazuha’s lips press to his shoulder through the thick fabric of his sweater. A murmur vibrates, though he doesn’t understand.

Turning his body, Xiao shifts just enough so that he can scoop his arm beneath his other love, pulling him to rest his head on his chest. With a messy mop of soft, light hair obstructing his vision, he can finally hear what Kazuha’s trying to say.

“What do you want for breakfast?”

The words tumble out clumsily, half slurred with the fact that he only just woke up. Cute.

Kazuha presses his cheek against Xiao’s chest, red eyes half open and gazing up at him and waiting for an answer. Instead, he’s met with a kiss.

“Mm, I’m full.”

You snort at the implication and Kazuha blinks owlishly with pink cheeks.

“Then no breakfast for you.”

“I don’t eat breakfast.”

Like always, the three of you stay snuggled in bed, relishing in the ease of each other’s presence.

With both you and Kazuha in his arms, resting against his chest, he finds it unfair.

How unfair it is to the moon and sun that pale in comparison to the way that you, his loves, light up his long since dimmed life. Not even all the stars in the skies combined could dare equal the warmth that burns bright in his chest.

For the two of you, he’d do anything to see a smile upon your lips and to provide any comfort that you could possibly wish for.

Before you, Xiao has never known love like this.

Watching as Kazuha drags himself out of bed, rubbing his arms at the chill of the morning air, and feeling the way you hug him closer and burrow in the blankets for a few more moments of rest, Xiao feels a peace settle over him.

Though he really should be getting up as well, he closes his eyes and falls into a gentle sleep.

[shydragonrider]

Torn - Part 1

Summary: Strife had always been untouchable, arrogant, and ruthless. A vicious Supervillian. It took more than Pandora, or Glory, as she was called in public, knew she had in her to bring him down. But this sets in motion events that Hero could never have imagined.

Warnings: Detailed death threat, swearing, name calling, vomit,  extremely violent whump, vivisection, smug whumpee breaking, infection, graphic infection, fever, delirium, panic, scared whumpee, sick whumpee, begging, crying, restraints, violent torture.

Tagging @whumpwillow, because I saw the idea on her blog, and @equestrianwritingsstuff, who encouraged me to write this.

Update, changed their names

“I’ll kill you for this, you little bitch.” Strife snarled, as he was dragged towards the prison transport. “When I get my hands on you, I will break you, body and spirit.”

You already have. Pandora thought, as he was dragged into the truck. She was breathing hard, her heart racing, her body bruised and battered from the fight. She could barely stand up, and she had come so close to dying in that fight. forty-five minutes of being thrown around by that brute. She wanted to cry. She’d been so scared the whole time, so scared that one of his custom made knives would find one of her vital organs, and tear the life out of her.

“And then I’ll fucking strangle you.” Strife shouted, even as the doors slammed shut.

Pandora groaned, closing her eyes. She felt sick, and she knew she had at least three broken ribs.

But I finally beat you, you monster. She thought, clinging to the miracle that was her victory. They’ll lock you away, and I’ll never see you again.

It brought a little comfort when she thought of it that way. He’d never menace her again, never injure her again. The whole city was safe from him.

Pandora made her way home, limping down the rainy streets and back alleys, avoiding people as best she could. No one knew her real identity, and she didn’t want that to change.

When she got inside, it took all of her effort not to faint right there in the front hall. Shivering, she climbed the steps, and made it into the bathroom. She staggered over to the sink, and threw up. Exhausted, she rinsed the sink, and climbed into the shower, watching as blood from various cuts washed down the drain.

*********

Damian growled, tugging against the restraints on his arms. If that little brat Glory hadn’t stuck her nose in where it didn’t belong, then he wouldn’t be in this situation.

Insufferable little twit. She’ll pay for this. He thought, watching as his jailer picked up one of his knives.

“Be careful, they’re sharp.” Damian sneered, feeling only the faintest flicker of alarm as the man walked towards him, and placed the tip of the blade at his solar plexus.

“Oh, I’m aware.” The man replied, pressing ever so slightly.

Damian hissed as blood began to run out of the small cut. “If this is meant to scare me-”

“It’s not meant to scare you. It’s meant to break you.” His captor smiled, and dug the knife in deeper, before tugging it down. Damian gasped, trying to squirm away. The restraints made it impossible. As the knife continued its downward path, Damian screamed, again trying to thrash around. By the time his captor drew back, the cut extended from his solar plexus to below his naval.

The man walked over to a table with various metal tools, and selected something that looked like it came from a medieval torture chamber. Unfortunately, Damian could guess its purpose; to hold the wound open.

“N-no.” He stammered, overwhelmed by the terror and pain. “No, p-plea...please. Y-you c-can’t do this.”

“You don’t seem to be in any position to stop me.” The man noted, and got back to his work.

**********

1 week later

********

The phone rang at three in the morning. Groaning, Pandora answered it.

“Mmmmf?” She mumbled, still half asleep. Had she not been, she would have realized that this was the untraceable phone the police sometimes called her from. That sank in the moment a quiet voice spoke.

“Glory? Is this Glory?

Pandora sighed. “Yes, this is Glory.”

“You have to get Strife out of the prison.”

Oh great, a crank call.

“Why would I do that?” She asked in a low voice, the one she used in public.

“They’re torturing him. They... Glory please, they vivisected him.”

All the edges of sleep vanished, and Pandora bolted up.

“They. Did. What?” She asked.

“Vivisected him. I saw it happen.”

“Who are you?”

“A prison nurse.” Came the hushed voice. “Please, he’s unguarded. You could get in through the window. Cell 10. Isolation. Oh, please come.”

With that, the line went dead.

Hero frowned. It could be a trap, but if it wasn’t she couldn’t leave Strife to be tortured, no matter how much she hated him.

After setting fire to an empty wing of the ward to create a distraction, she did end up climbing in the window, which, thankfully, was on the first floor, and sneaking down the hall of the isolation ward until she came to cell ten.

Carefully, she wired the code box on the door, and it slid open. As she entered the dimly lit room, she carefully covered the camera with her jacket.

Her heart dropped into her stomach as she took in the sight of the supervillain.

He was lying on his back, very thoroughly restrained. His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, his trembling body drenched in sweat. His eyes were open, staring at nothing.

“Shit.” Pandora breathed, and crept closer, feeling nausea rise in her throat as she saw the crudely stitched wound on Strife’s abdomen. It was oozing both blood and pus.

“Hey.” Pandora murmured, gently placing her hand on his wrist.

The man whimpered, trying to pull away.

“No.” He whined, drawing the word out until it was more of a whimper.

“Ssssshhhh. Sssssshhhh, it’s alright.” Pandora soothed, and began undoing the restraints.

“Saving your nemesis dear?” A voice asked. Pandora whipped around, drawing her gun.

The man facing her looked ordinary enough, except for his eyes. They were soulless, empty.

“Saving someone who needs my help.”

“He’s a menace.”

“And you cut him open. Tore him apart.” Pandora snarled. At the words, Strife began to sob, begging incoherently.

“And you’re next.” The man said, picking up a scalpel.

“Think so?” Pandora asked sweetly, and squeezed the trigger of the tranquilizer gun. The bolt hit the man square in the neck, and he staggered backwards. Taking advantage of his shock, Pandora used the butt of the gun to hit him over the head. He fell to the floor, unconscious, and Pandora quickly returned to the delirious supervillain’s side.

Senseless with fever, he moaned and begged incoherently as she freed him from the leather straps.

Carefully, she wheeled the stretcher he was lying on over to the door, and down the empty hall. It seemed that most of the guards were still occupied with her distraction, and Pandora was able to sneak out the emergency exit with Strife.

Finally, she carefully got him into her car, and laid him on the back seat, careful not to aggravate the massive wound on his stomach any more than it was already.

With a heavy heart, she drove home.

Parking in the garage, she carefully hauled Strife inside, and tried to carry him up the stairs, in the end, she had to drag him, though his squeaks of pain made her stomach twist.

Finally, she hauled him into the guest bed, and examined his mutilated stomach.

“Plea...se.” Strife moaned. “No... more...”

“Sssshhh. It’s alright now. I’m going to fix... this.”

[arcadejohn127-9]

How the brothers would pull a belphie chapter 16 with MC:

AU: brothers take belphies place as the human hating demon

Warning: gore, blood, angst, violence, death, dark themes, murder

Lucifer:

You first found him in a secret passage way, when you first stumbled upon Satan finding it he ordered you to never go near it

But you were drawn to it; either out of pure curiosity or the voice that called for you

There's were you met him; Lucifer, he was annoyed when he told you his story - how Satan locked him up, how he mourned as Satan was like a son to him not just a brother

You felt awful! So you agreed to help and get him out

it was finally the moment! Lucifer was free, he could finally escape this damn study. He looked at you with a proud smile, gesturing for you to come closer.

He was sitting in his office chair; it looked as if he was struggling to finally leave the room. You could only assume due to being in there for so long he's grown attached to his condiment; you offered him a knowing smile.

"Would you mind letting me have a moment on indulgence? Before I finally face them - I wish to just hold you, it's been so long since I've had anyone around me."

You were surprised to see his demon form for the first time. Marveling at how beautiful it looked. it fit him perfectly.

you happily agreed but became bashful when he patted his lap. You hesitantly sat on his lap and he adjusted the both of you, he wrapped his arms around you. You gave him a gentle pat on his head, unsure what to do.

Your back Slightly curved when his hand trailed up to behind your neck.

"so easy, you're not the brightest human, are you?"

You didn't even get time to process his words; your head suddenly yanked back. You hissed as it smacked on the desk behind you.

"I'm ashamed this is what Diavolo comes up with when I'm not around but you were helpful to me in some parts - I'll atleast thank you for that."

you whimpered as his hand wrapped around your throat. Tears building up in your eyes as you tried to squirm. But your awkward position and banging headache was blurring your hopes; your head felt warm. It felt wet.

Just from that one attack alone you were already bleeding. Your heart was racing as he squeezed harder. You choked on air as you frantically moved, trying to pry his fingers away but it was to no use.

He hummed, displeased. He slammed your head back down on his desk giving you a moment to breathe but the air was knocked out of you as soon as it came back. Only a squeak of pain left your throat. Your eyes rolling back as pain consumed you.

His hand returned to strangling you and finally, your vision went black.

Mammon:

He was locked away in the garage at the back of the dorm

You didn't even know there was actually a back until you saw Lucifer go there

Your first impression on the demon wasn't exactly great - he was tooting his own horn abit too much for a guy locked up

But turns out, he was desperate to be let out and finally just be with his brothers again - he asked about Levithan alot

He looked so.... broken

You wanted to help him as much as you could and agreed to his plan

You squealed with excitement as the door opened. You rushed towards mammon, thrilled to finally be able to come properly face to face with him. The demon was grinning ear to ear as he whisked you off your feet, thanking you.

"you're a real one! I couldn't of done it without ya, human."

He finally put you down, you were laughing. Your eyes closing for a moment as you felt slightly dizzy from his excited spinning.

"That's why I feel somewhat bad for what I'm about to do to you."

Huh? You opened your eyes to give him a questioning look but it was too late. You didn't have time to realize he was now in his demon form.

You were booted to the floor, his foot slamming down on your chest. You let out a yelp of pain as you gasped in shock. He crouched down, balancing his arm on his knee. Looking down at you with a tilted head, his shades rolling down his noses just slightly.

"I'll be nice to ya, you were kind to me afterall, Its time I repay my debt."

you screamed; hoping someone would hear you but he just covered your mouth with his hand. His nails digging into your cheek and jaw, squeezing it tighter the more you panicked. Soon it turned into screams of pain as he just watched you thrash, still grinning.

Your jaw crunched under the sheer power of his hand. Blood shooting out as your jaw unhinged. Tears falling down as you lost consciousness; it was a miracle you still had that drop of life still in you. But that inch of life faded as he stood back up; slamming down his chest as hard as he could down on your heart.

Levithan:

He was downstairs, locked away in this giant indoor pool area

No comfy bed to sleep in....nothing to do

He kept calling Everyone, including you, Normies and seemed to not even want to be around people

But then you kept visiting, learning he just wanted to play video games with his brothers again and be able to see performances with fellow otakus

He was just alone in that room

It was a no brain-er that you agreed to help him escape

Finally! It was open! He was free!

He leaned on the floor above the pool, shock on his face as the door finally opened. You grinned as you jogged over to him. thankfully, he was wearing some swim shorts and a shirt.

You were so happy to finally be able to meet levithan properly. You sat down just Infront of him.

"you opened it-! You actually did it! You've unlocked the dungeon and ready to face the final boss."

You laughed, questioning the 'final boss'. Unsure who he could be referring to. He sprung at you, revealing his demon form and yanked you into the pool.

As soon as your head went under the water you tried to get back up but he grabbed your head, forcing it to stay under. You kicked and threw your arms but nothing was working. Your brain was burning up from all the questions and screaming it was doing.

Your neck was straining from how much it tried to lift upwards. Desperate to get above the water but he held your head down. It was too late, before you knew it you body moved out of pure instinct. It gasped for air.

You screamed as water filled your lungs, thrashing more desperately as your tears mixed with the water. Your eyes burning as he grumbled.

"didn't you learn anything? Don't trust demons."

That was the last thing you heard before your body stopped moving.

Satan:

Locked away upstairs in a mini library, an old sofa as his only bed

His snap from "please help me" to pure rage scared you - all because you brought up Lucifer

But you're dumb with curiosity and went to see him again, he apologized for his behaviour and told you his story

He sadly had a constant rage due to his sin like his brothers and for it, they locked him up like some dangerous beast

He was so miserable and ashamed of himself - so guilty for something he couldn't even control or get rid of

He was nice to you and was shown to care about others, why wouldn't you help him?

When the door opened it was a surprise to you both. Satan put down his book, keeping it in his grasp. You smiled at him and he returned it. He was happy to finally be free, being the first to move and give you a hug.

"It's almost pitiful how you lack a sense of danger, you've let yourself be in the arms of a beast."

You wanted to say something, to deny such a claim as you trusted him but it was all discarded as you let out a loud yelp. You pushed yourself away from his crushing hug, nervously looking at him as you backed away.

"ah, so you do notice me as a threat but it's abit late for that now, isn't it? You're already in here with me."

Satan threw his book, it hit you square in his face. You hissed in pain before screaming, he yanked you by the head to be further inside the room. Angered by your stupidity and begging; he thrusted his knee into your gut, repeatedly.

You coughed up blood as you sobbed. He threw your body to the floor, climbing ontop of you. You kept begging him to stop, unable to get away.

He clawed and punched your face, never stopping even when his arms ached. His anger blinding him as he tore at your body, slamming his bloodied fists down on your chest and grabbed at your head.

You were barely breathing when he slammed your head into the floor. A wheeze of breath leaving you after every blow. Your blood covered his torn knuckles, pooling around your head and running down your chin. Your ribs were broken and so was your nose. Your jaw felt like it was barely hanging on to itself.

He only stopped minutes after you stopped breathing.

Asmodeus:

He was hidden away in the greenhouse, unable to escape

When you met him he was so anxious to even show his face, telling you to look away to his ugliness

You learn he's very obsessive about his looks and being unable to properly care for his skin was eating at him BADLY

he was so desperate

Though he seemed surprised you didn't seem effected when you looked into his eyes

He told you he wanted to see his brother Satan the most, he raised the little demon himself when Lucifer couldn't

You felt like you had to help him, this wasn't a man who deserved to be locked up - so you agreed to his plan

He sprung up in surprise, standing besides the small mirror in his cell. You cheered out his name and he ran towards you.

Nuzzling your cheek with his own as he hugged you tightly. Peppering your cheek with kisses as he repeatedly thanked you.

"ah~! My knight in shining armour! But, sadly this is where your heroism ends."

You gasped as slammed you to the wall, gently shushing you as you trembled. His hand was on your chest, over your heart, his eyes scanning your face down to where his hand was.

"humans are all so ugly....but I bet your heart is beautiful, don't cry - it's bad for your skin, just let me see how beautiful you can be."

He wiped your tears, adjusting you so he could keep you pinned to the wall. Licking his lips as he grew fidgety. You were hoping for a chance of mercy; squeaking out a weak plea for him to stop. Begging for his compassion, demanding for a reason for his betrayal. You were going through the stages of grief in mere seconds. He watched you with delight as he giggled.

He caressed your cheek, giving it one last nuzzle, his demon form appearing before you before plunging his hand into your chest. You gurgled on your blood as you trembled - your body going into shock as he marveled at the feeling of your heart. Still not taking his hand out, he cooed at how soft you felt.

Your body slumped not long after but he still went through with it, yanking out your heart and watched it beat for a few mere seconds.

Beezlebub:

Locked away in the in the indoor gym, downstairs

How Lucifer hid his monstrous appitete from everyone was magic itself

He immediately asked you about his twin, belphegor - was he sleeping okay? Was he holding up well?

He seemed so cold but as soon as he started talking about his twin you saw just soft he could be

He told you Lucifer locked him up here due to his gluttony, teaching him restraint

He told you how hungry he was, he was starving

Whenever you visited you'd bring him food - the door itself you were able to touch so it was just being careful when passing it through

You felt bad for him, his stomach always growling and he always wanted updates on his brothers well being

You weren't going to let him just sit there and starve! You agreed to help him escape

It was finally time. He looked up at you, a pout on his grumpy face and a hand on his stomach. His eyes immediately scanned any sign of food but you were empty handed; he looked at your face as you stared at him in shock.

He walked over to you, a smile stretching out on his face before pulling you into a hug. You cried out with joy as you immediately hugged him back, nuzzling into his chest. He lowered his head, hiding it in your shoulder and gave your neck a few sniffs. You stiffened at his actions but tried to not think too much of it.

"I'm so hungry....you smell delicious....you should of known this would of happened."

You let out a noise of confusion and shock. Pushing yourself away from him but his hold on you was too tight. You hastily tried ducking under his arms but he only squeezed you tighter. His tongue running up your neck as if to taste you. You whimpered and shivered as your body shook, begging him not to hurt you.

"it's because of humans I failed Someone I love, if it weren't for you - she wouldn't be dead! Stop squirming, it'll make it less painful."

You screamed as his teeth sunk into the space between your shoulder and neck, ripping at the flesh. Blood spraying everywhere as he finally ripped the chunk off. Your watery eyes began to roll back; the last thing you could see clearly was his usual grumpy face. That stoic cold expression staring at you as your blood covered half of his face, he chewed on your flesh before offering his puppy like smile.

He kept going back to take bites, wanting to finally fulfill his long lasting starvation; you were already long gone and unable to cry for help.

[like-rain-or-confetti]

A Last Goodbye (Athenodora & Caius Volturi x child!Reader)

The only time the permanent guards, the wives and the leaders all were in the same room meant that something had happened and it just so happened that every time it did occur it was because something very bad had happened. Athenodora was practically glued to Caius' side by his throne. Sulpicia stood by Athenodora, Aro stood before his throne in silence for what could only be described as in deep thought. 

"Do you know what has happened?" Athenodora quietly asked Caius who shook his head but grabbed her hand that rested on her shoulder. "Dear ones, I have...I have news that I find so important that I must gather you all so that you hear it first hand." Aro finally said. Caius stood up and Athenodora immediately coiled her arms around his arm. "What is this about Aro?" Caius asked, taken aback by his brothers behaviour. "I regret to inform you all, that our dear (Y/N) has passed away."  Gasps filled the room. 

You were Caius and Athenodora's child. You were gifted with the ability to time travel and now that you were older, you were able to control it. With that, you were given permission to travel. As you had promised your parents you were never gone longer than a couple of days. You were also told that with any sign of danger you had to come home. Being adopted by them made you their miracle child that they could never have and for that they were very protective of you. 

Athenodora's heart shattered, she was sure of it. She felt the pieces crumble down to the pit of her stomach. She couldn't find words, she could only stare at Aro and wait for him to clarify. That her baby wasn't dead.  Caius also stared at Aro. He too was unable to find the words. Aro continued. "I collected every fragment of information I could." "Not my baby..." Everyone looked to Athenodora who was slowly shaking her head. "Not my baby." She said again. "Athenodora-" Aro began. "You're wrong!" Athenodora cried out. "Where are they!? Where is my child!?" "Let me explain." Aro said calmly. Caius' hold tightened on Athenodora as he looked like he was about to explode, trying desperately to cling to any composure he had. "Demetri hasn't been able to track them since they left." Aro said gently. "This was left at out door step." Aro held out an article of bloodied clothing that was all to familiar. 

Athenodora sucked in a gasp before nearly falling to her knees. Caius' eyes widening as his heart ripped in half within his chest. They knew it was yours, it still smelled like you with a different scent that was very familiar. Blood stains coated the shirt. Within seconds, Athenodora fell to her knees. Caius not far behind her. "The Romanians..." Athenodora's voice quivered, her voice low. "...killed my baby." Aro looked at her with dread but slowly nodded. Caius' grip on Athenodora's upper arms was tight, his head against the back of hers as his rage, grief and pain steadily built, the shock wearing off whilst scraping every ounce of his ability to keep calm for his broken wife. Caius then stepped forward, taking the clothing out of Aro's hands. He stared down at it, willing it to be different, for it to not be the shirt you had left in. However, without mistake, it was. A strangled noise escaped him, looking at the large blood stains. 

Even hours later, Caius wouldn't put it down, he could take his eyes from it for even a moment in case he missed one tiny detail that didn't make it a match. Athenodora had since isolated herself in the tower in complete silence. "They won't find death easily, brother." Aro promised from behind him, referring to the Romanians. "That we can assure you." Caius said nothing, finally giving the clothing to Marcus.  Suddenly he threw the table across the room with a pained cry fully of rage, destroying everything in his path. Nearly destroying half the room before anyone could stop him. 

Caius finally returned to Athenodora, silently, but calmer than he previously had been. He had to be strong for her. That he knew but he wasn't to fall apart as he found his wife on the floor, wailing in agony of a broken heart. Tears wouldn't fall yet in her state, they weren't needed to show her pain. He saw her eyes, matching his own in a shade of charcoal black.  Gently he took her into his arms as she cried. "I know." He said lowly. "I know." "They were my whole world...and now they're gone." Athenodora sobbed, curling into herself. 

Two nights had past. Much like the days, they had become longer. The castle more quiet, most in mourning of your passing or avoiding everyone as the tension grew more and more. The third night was no different. Caius decided to take Athenodora a walk around the castle in attempt to get her out of the tower, more necessary now than it ever had been. He almost had to pull her along, an emptiness behind her black eyes. after a couple of steps into the throne room, the two suddenly stopped at the sight in front of them. 

The child's back was towards them but they knew. They knew who the child was immediately. They could recognise that beautiful hair anywhere. "(Y/N)?" Athenodora called out shakily. You turned with a smile. "Hi mum!" "Hi sweetie." Athenodora could barely manage the words out. You looked to be eight years old. Both she and Caius remembered that time well. You were struggling with your gift. Struggling to control it and there was often times you travelled accidentally. Painfully, they could also remember you telling them of this meeting after being gone for a period of time that had them worried. 

"I saw you!" You explained looking between Caius and Athenodora. "You did?" Caius asked pulling you into his side, looking down at you. "Yes! You were from the future! You told me that I was all grown up! Fifteen years old!" "Oh my." Athenodora smiled down at you. Your face suddenly faltered. "You looked really sad." You admitted quietly. "We did?" Athenodora tilted her head. "Yes, I told them to tell me- the older me! That the older me would cheer them up!" Athenodora hummed in amusement. "That's a wonderful idea, my love. I have no doubt that will have worked." Caius lifted you onto his hip. "I agree, you always help us feel better when you put your mind to it, don't you?" 

"It's so wonderful to see you again." Athenodora wore a broken and pained smile as she kneeled down to your level. "Where was I before?" You looked at her in confusion and Caius was quick to respond. "What we mean to say is that it's been a very long time since we've seen you at this age. You're fifteen years old for us." Caius said softly, he too kneeling beside Athenodora. "Oh! I'm in the future!? Wow! You know, I went to bed like you told me to! I promise I did! But then I just...got here." Athenodora nodded, stroking your soft cheek. "I'm sure you did. We remember you finding it difficult to stay with us at times." She offered you a small smile. "Does it get better? When I grow up, am I able to stay?" You asked, strangely solemn. Caius nods. "Yes. You get very good at it. Just be patient, little one." He responded. 

You looked between your parents. "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" Athenodora looked at you. "What is it, sweetheart?" "You both look...sad. your eyes are black." You pointed to one of Athenodora's eyes. "Did I do something bad?" Athenodora and Caius quickly shook their heads. "No, of course not." The two quickly answered, out of time but making sure you understood. "Come here, sweetheart." Athenodora said with a smile and outstretching her arms. You moved into her hold immediately. Athenodora ran her fingers through your hair, holding you tightly and feeling your warmth. She inhaled, taking in the scent knowing it was likely this meeting would be the last. Regardless it was a gift, because she'd get to hold you one last time. "You need to tell the bigger me to make you happy okay? I don't like it when your sad." "You make us happy every day, little one." Caius responded softly. Athenodora broke away allowing Caius to tug you into his own hug. You nuzzled into his neck, just as you always had when you were younger. He had missed it, your childish dependency and ever lasting love for him. So much so, that he wasn't sure he could let you go now that he had you in his arms. Now that he knew, what would happen to you merely a few years later. He could do nothing but close his eyes as he held you, clenching his jaw holding back tears that would never fall. Eventually he found the strength to release you, if he hadn't then you'd have known something was very wrong and you'd be scared. That was the last thing he wanted. He wanted his final moments to be with you happy and as you are. 

Athenodora pulled you into to one last hug. "I think it's time to go back, sweetheart. Don't you?" You nodded with a hum. Within seconds you were gone and Athenodora fell forward, arms now wrapped around nothing. Caius caught her. He always did. Caius was quick to pull her into his arms, staring at the space that your younger self had previously stood before them.

[themaribatpit]

Saturday Challenge: Continue a Fic You Wrote for Jasonette July

Written by: The Maribat Pit  @jasonette-july-event Prompt: Continue a fic you wrote for Jasonette July Rated: M (for violence and strong language)

Then Perish : Part 2

Marinette tossed the helmet aside, she glanced over at the desk and grabbed a letter opener.  She tried to take several swipes at him, all of which he evaded with ease before grabbing her by the wrist.  Marinette tried to drop the letter opener into her other hand but he caught it before she did.  “Nice try, mind telling me why you’re so desperate to kill me?” he asked, Marinette could just about hear him smirking under the mask.  Up close, she noticed that, in addition to his dark hair,  there was a white streak of hair framing his face.  His eyes were still covered by the domino mask as they looked down at her.  “You killed my parents,” she growled. “So is that what this is all about…tell me, what makes you so sure that I did it?” he asked. “I saw you, I saw people begging for their lives just before you killed them.” she recalled, “I saw you standing over their dead bodies.” He pushed her back with very little effort, but before she could charge at him again, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun.  He tossed it to her and she caught it, the cold metal felt heavy in her small hands. “If you are so certain that I’m the one who did it,” he said, “then let the punishment fit the crime.” Marinette looked down at the gun in her hands, she knew exactly what he was asking her to do.  She took aim with the gun, her hands shook as she pointed it at the Red Hood. Her eyes were wide, her hands were shaking, she tried to steel herself.  She tried to ignore the voice in her head telling her that something wasn’t right.  It couldn’t be this easy, there had to be a catch, a struggle, something.  She brought her other hand to the gun, trying to hold it steady. She hoped he couldn’t hear her heart hammering in her chest, she tried not to think about how frightened or nervous she was at that moment.  Meanwhile the Red Hood remained calm, beckoning her to shoot him. “Come on I’m right, here, need me to draw a bullseye?” he taunted. Marinette squeezed her eyes shut and pulled the trigger, she heard a loud BANG, followed by silence.  She slowly cracked open an eye to see her target. “You missed.” Red Hood remarked. Marinette tried to make another shot, but the gun went CLICK, it was empty.  She looked down at the empty gun in her hand, before glaring up at the Red Hood. 

“Look kid, you’re after the wrong guy. I’m not the one who killed your parents.” he explained.

Marinette eyed him suspiciously “More lies.” she scoffed as she glared at him.

“Fine, but the camera doesn't lie,” he walked over to the laptop on his desk and pushed a button. A projector screen appeared and began playing footage from a camera during that fateful shootout. Red Hood continued typing away, until he found the right camera to see the events unfold. “There, camera 5.” he finished typing and turned to watch the footage with her. 

Marinette stared at the footage, her eyes widening in shock. She saw their final moments and it made her heart ache. She watched them go looking for her while she was helping other people as Ladybug. She wondered if she had left those people to die in Park Row, would her parents still be alive and well? She watched her parents run into some mobster with a gun, he tried to mug them. Her father tried using his large size to threaten the mobster, but he had a gun and her father didn't. Tom Dupain was then shot in the head, Sabine held his dead body begging for the mobster to spare her. 

Upon hearing her mother’s cries of mercy, Marinette dropped the gun and fell to her knees.  Her hands were balled into fists, trying to latch onto the carpeted floor beneath her.  There were tears dripping down to her cheeks and clouding her vision. Even so, she could not bring herself to look away, she had to know who this man was. The man then shot Sabine in the head. He ran away, just as the Red Hood showed up on camera to inspect the unfortunate couple who walked past Park Row. 

Marinette wailed as the video footage ended, “No more, please no more,” she cried. “<Mom, Dad, I’m so sorry.>” she cried to herself in French. 

Jason watched the girl cry her heart out after watching her parents get murdered. He couldn’t blame her, no one could. He sat on his desk, as she continued crying. He brought up zoomed camera footage and a mugshot up on screen. Once he was done he stepped in front of her.

The Red Hood standing right in front of Marinette was enough to stop her from crying, she looked up. “You want the man who killed your parents?” he asked. Marinette could only nod. “Luca Angelo, known associate of the Falcone Crime Family.” he stepped aside and pointed to the mugshot. “Last spotted in the Falcone Slaughterhouse.” 

“You want him? We’ll go together at sunrise.” he told her. Marinette stood up and nodded, wiping her tears on her sleeve. “All right Suzie’ll bring you back to your room, they’ll pick you up again later.” Marinette then left the room, escorted by Suzie Su.  

Jason looked over at his window viewing the Gotham Skyline. “I know you’re there Batman, come on in, it's unlocked.” Batman emerged from the shadows. 

"Isn't she the French girl that was in GCPD a few weeks ago?" Asked Batman, staring straight at Jason.

"Yup" said Red Hood, "Sent back to Paris, if I remember correctly. Came back to Gotham thinking I was the one to kill her parents." Red Hood shrugged and sat on his chair, feet resting on his desk.

“She could have killed you.” Batman pointed out. “It’s nice to know you care, Bruce.” Jason said sarcastically, “You saw what happened there, she couldn’t even get a scratch on me.” he explained. “Not without her powers anyway,” he thought.  “She could have killed me...just like how I could have killed the Penguin.” Jason told him.  Batman sighed, remembering how Jason explained that the Penguin didn’t really die the night that he shot him.  One of these days, Jason was going to give him a heart attack with all the elaborate stunts that he pulled. 

"Why are you two going to the Falcone Slaughterhouse?" Batman asked, as Jason poured himself a drink. 

"Closure." Jason told him,  "You and Dick should know how important closure is when you lose your parents." 

"Luca Angelo is dead." Batman stated, "That gang war was unsanctioned by the Falcones, they killed him to appease you and the Maronis."

"You're right, but she'll need to learn that herself.” Jason nodded in agreement, taking a sip of his drink.  “At that moment she’ll have to make a choice, whether or not she wants to find peace or let her vengeance spiral out of control?” “That’s quite a risk to take,” Batman pointed out, “what makes you so sure she won’t choose the latter?”  His eyes fell on the helmet that lay discarded on the floor. “Call it a calculated risk,” he said “sometimes you just have to give people a chance.”  Batman narrowed his eyes, Jason looked back at him over the rim of his glass as he took another sip.

"Fine," Batman relented. "but I'll be there to watch you two." “Say hi to Yo-Yo Girl for me, next time you see her.” Jason said nonchalantly, “She was a huge help getting people to safety that night.” “Yo-Yo Girl?” Batman asked, Jason looked up and cocked an eyebrow. “Sorry, thought she was one of yours,” he said, before finishing the last of his drink.  Batman decided not to ask anything more about it, before he crept back into the shadows and vanished. That morning, Marinette opened the Miracle box and took out Tikki’s earrings.  Tikki gave her a sad look, “Are you sure about this, Marinette?” she asked in a soft voice. “I saw the man who really killed my parents,” Marinette told her, “if I let him walk free, all this would have been for nothing.”  Tikki sighed but had no choice but to comply.  “Spots on” she said, she transformed into Ladybug, ready to face the real culprit. When she stepped out onto the rooftop, Red Hood was waiting for her.  He turned to see the Yo-Yo Girl who was getting civilians to safety that night, it explained how she managed to avoid meeting her parents’ fate that night.  Still, this should be interesting. “So you got a name or is it really just ‘Yo-Yo Girl’?” he asked. “Ladybug,” she told him, “let's get this over with.” she said.  Red Hood grappled away and Ladybug followed with a very creative use of her yo-yo.  

Later, Red Hood and Ladybug snuck into Falcone Slaughterhouse.  The pungent smell of blood gave Ladybug the sinking feeling that livestock wasn’t the only meat that was cut up here.  They quietly knocked out the guards as they made their way in. Red Hood pointed to the door with a sign above the said "Foreman". He then kicked the door down, and they quickly subdued the two guards in the room.

"What the fuck?!" cried the foreman as Ladybug ran up and bashed his head with an ashtray.

She wrapped the string of her yo-yo around the foreman's neck. "Where is Luca Angelo?!" she yelled.

"Rat-faced Luca? Motherfucker's already minced meat by now!" the foreman laughed.

"W-what?" Ladybug stuttered, “No, you’re lying!” she yelled.  This had to be a trick, he was probably hiding somewhere, relishing in the memory of making her parents feel helpless.  She would not be so easily defeated.

"Are ya deaf? He's dead." The foreman drew a gun from his pocket and pointed it at Ladybug. A shuriken then hit the gun, knocking it away from his hand.

Ladybug tightened her grip on the wire. As she was strangling the man her hands shook as rage consumed her. The man gasped and struggled for air, but she held it tight. “Please” he croaked, “have mercy.” 

“Why should I show you any? My parents were shown none!” Ladybug growled, baring her teeth. She pulled the string tighter, as if she was garroting the man. She pictured how her parents had suffered, her mother’s cries for mercy echoed in her mind. 

“Please...I..have..a..daughter.” The foreman barely managed to speak, he tried to paw at the wire with his hands but it wouldn’t budge.  Ladybug paused, she looked at her reflection in the window. She had seen what she had become. 

Shame and guilt filled her as the man became limp. She let go of her yo-yo, and released the man.  She brought her hands to her mouth as she stumbled back in fear and guilt. What would Tikki, Alya and her parents feel if they knew she had blood on her hands? Her breathing became more rapid as panic set in. 

Red Hood calmly walked over, placed two fingers on his neck. “He ain’t dead.” he commented. Ladybug ran, tears streaking down her cheeks. Red Hood didn’t follow, he knew she needed time alone to think. He hoped what she saw was enough to give her closure. He tried to be optimistic that Ladybug would not walk the path of vengeance, but he wasn’t known for his optimism.  Roy would have known what to say to her, but thinking of Roy at all made his heart sink. 

Ladybug ran, she had no clue where she was or where she was going, she just needed to be alone. She didn’t know how long or how far she had traveled, she just found a secluded rooftop. “Spots off” she muttered, Tikki didn’t say a word as she looked up at her.  They sat on the edge of the roof, watching Gotham at night. They both sat in absolute silence, as Marinette came to terms with the tempest of thoughts, guilt and anger that stirred in her mind.  She wondered if she could bring herself to use the Ladybug Miraculous again? If she could trust herself not to lash out at innocent people? A part of her began to question if she was even fit to be Guardian of the Miraculous?

“I almost killed an innocent man,” Marinette croaked, tears welled up in her eyes. “I don't know what to do Tikki, the man who killed Maman and Papa is already dead. It still hurts.” she cried harder. 

Tikkie floated in front of Marinette’s face. Marinette didn’t even try to look at her through the sheen of tears in her eyes, “Marinette, I know, everyone needs time to grieve and move on.” Tikki told her, trying her best to comfort her.

“How, how can I move on? What should I do now? Go to Shanghai and live there?”  Marinette asked.

“Maybe I can help,” came a voice from behind. Tikki zoomed straight to Marinette’s pocket and hid in there. The figure walked up to her and took a seat beside her on the edge of the roof. 

The man wore a leather jacket, looked like he was a few years older than her, and he held a takeaway bag with him. She was about to ask who he was until she recognised that distinctive white streak of hair. Her eyes widened as he handed her the bag. 

“Go on, dig in,” he said, pushing the bag towards her. She apprehensively took the bag from him until the scent of freshly baked bread hit her nose. “I had a friend make those for you, he’s an amazing chef and baker.” he told her, “Don’t eat his waffles though, they taste like paste.”

Marinette gave a small chuckle at his joke, “Thank you” she quietly said. She opened and tearfully ate the baked goods. They were just as good as her father’s baking. 

“There’s not much left for you in Paris, and I know you don’t want to go to Shanghai. Why don’t you stay here in Gotham?” He asked. 

Marinette paused to think, she had no plans on what to do after she had her revenge. She had just spiraled into obsession. He was right, she had nothing left in Paris, and Shanghai would be a struggle to start all over. 

“I know you’re underage, why don’t I be your Guardian until you’re 18?” He suggested, “Then you can swing away and do whatever you want.”  Jason thought she could do a lot worse for a Guardian, besides, Batman and Catwoman weren’t the only ones who were allowed to take orphans under their wing.  

Marinette stayed quiet, thinking of her options. It was either Shanghai or Gotham. After a few minutes of contemplation, she nodded her head. 

“Name’s Jason, Jason Todd.” He held out his hand. 

Marinette shook his hand, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, but I guess you already knew that.” 

“You don't have to call me ‘Daddy’ unless you want to,” Jason Joked. Marinette wrinkled her nose and playfully shoved him away. For the first time since her parents died, she actually smiled. “I’m already a Guardian myself” she said, “but I always wanted an older brother.” “I have one, trust me it’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” he said. They sat in silence for a long moment, “so what’s the story with you and Ladybug?” he asked. “I helped one old guy across the street, and he decided that was a good enough reason to make me a superhero.” she explained, “I had to fight against a villain who was using people’s negative emotions to control them.” “Well, good thing he hasn’t found his way here, plenty of those going around in a city like this.” he said, trying to make her feel better. “How about you?” she asked, “Were you always this big bad crime lord?” She said the last part as if it was merely a facade or the stuff of legend.  “My dad was sent to jail when I was a kid, my mom didn’t last that long after that,” he told her, “so I spent a few years living on the streets of Gotham.” “Was it always like this?” she asked, her childhood in Paris was already looking rosier by comparison. “Gotham? Almost certainly.” Jason told her, “When I was 13, I thought I’d be joining my old man in prison sooner or later, before I met the Bat himself.”  Marinette’s eyes widened, she remembered hearing Alya gush about Batman and his various sidekicks over the years.  “I thought he’d just beat me up for trying to steal the wheels off of the Batmobile, instead he gave me a hot meal and a place to call home.” he told her.  “You’re looking at the second Robin,” he said. Judging by the sad smile he had on his face, Marinette could tell this story didn’t have a happy ending.  “So, what happened?” she asked cautiously, he took a deep breath as he tried to find the words.  On the one hand, the last thing he wanted, the last thing anyone needed, was this girl making the same stupid mistakes that he did.  On the other hand, she had been through enough, it would have to be a story for another time. “That’s a story for another day,” he decided “but I promise you, one day I’ll tell it.” Marinette looked down at the city streets before her, it was a far cry from Paris, but maybe one day she would come to see it as home. Batman watched the two of them from a distance and smiled slightly.  Maybe this girl would keep Jason from going too far down the treacherous path he was on, much like Tim had done all those years ago after he lost Jason.  Only time will tell if that proved to be true, but for now he was pleased to see the two of them getting along.  He grappled away, leaving the two of them to talk, laugh and joke with each other.

[whitexwingedxdoves]

the other side  |  part 1   [request]

Pairing: Negan x Reader Pronouns: She/Her Warnings: Language, Death, Unrequited Love Summary: After being saved, you devoted your time to becoming the best saviour you could be until Eugene lets you in on a secret. A/N: Requested by @jinxeee​ im excited about the next couple of parts. ITS A FUN ONE I PROMISE. - I hope you like it <3  Click to read the next chapter

Covered in a thick paste made up of blood and mud you laid against a stone, staring up into the clouds. Surrounding you were piles of the fallen dead, some newly executed, some days old. You couldn’t remember how many days you had been there, fighting for your life but it had been long enough for the hunger to start eating away at you and the thirst to turn your throat into sand.

“Holy shit!” a voice echoed through the empty field and left you feeling even more vulnerable, which you had once thought was impossible. Using every bit of energy you had, you pushed yourself into a sitting position looking for the source. Your eyes met with a rather tall man, wearing a leather jacket and what seemed to be a bat hung from his shoulder. Behind the man were two others, though they didn’t quite hold the same confidence that the man in front did. You watched as he approached you, kicking a few of the dead out of his way, he levelled with you now crouching in front of you using the bat as some sort of crutch. “You’re one badass bitch” a smirk creased his features as he stared at you, you were too dazed to fight anymore you accepted your fate with these men as you laid back down on the rock to find peace in the clouds allowing your eyes to flutter shut.

-

Once your eyes opened again you started to panic, not feeling the liberating breeze that you allowed yourself to fall asleep too. You felt much more rested, fitter to fight again. Your eyes darted around the room you now laid in, taking in the medical equipment and the grey concrete walls, you had never seen this place before and though it felt like a miracle that somewhere like this existed in this world you still remained sceptical. You pulled the needles from your hand that connected to a drip bag and pushed yourself out of the bed, taking light quiet steps as you came closer to the door. You grabbed one of the tools from the medical bench, a scalpel, just in case and turned the knob on the door slowly, peering out of the crack you made. It seemed safe enough to leave having not seen or heard anyone in the corridor. 

You stood against the wall in the hallway, the tip of your toes holding you weight. “Hey!” your head snapped behind you as you saw a man run towards you, you held the scalpel close to you, your grip tightening the closer he got. Once he was close enough you jammed the tool into his forearm, sending your knee into his delicates. Your plan was to run but before you could even turn you felt arms wrap around you, holding you in place. Thrashing as much as you could to be released from their grip only caused them to hold you tighter.

“Well fuck!” you recognised the voice that ran through the hallway, it was the voice of the man back at the field. You stopped trying to free yourself when your eyes met with his. “I was right, you ARE a badass!” his laughter filled the silent halls as he stepped over an injured man to come face to face with you. “I like you” he whispered into your ear.

You were escorted back to the medical room by a woman and the man, a doctor who seemed to be waiting for your arrival as you sat back down on the bed. “Who are you?” you whispered as the doctor checked your vitals, not baring to look up at any of them.

“We’re Negan!” the woman spoke, your brow cocked at her words. “We save people… Negan saves people” she finished, your eyes now darted to the man in the leather jacket. You’d never let the way he smirked leave your mind, it was infectious. He seemed to be full of pride as the woman bragged about his work here. Your eyes welling at the sound of it all, she made him sound like such a saint. “He saved you” she added causing the tears to fall down your cheek, his eyes now met yours.

“Thank you” almost choking on your words, you allowed yourself to relax a little more.

After the doctor cleared you to leave, the woman you’d now learned was named Laura took you to your new room, though it was to be shared with her. That night you spent a lot of time thinking about Negan and how incredibly lucky you were that he found you. Your heart seemed to swell when you thought of him and the way his leather jacket fit snug to his body, the stubble on his jawline and the way it highlighted his smirk. You were ready to be one hundred percent devoted to him.

-

It had been a while since Negan saved you and you had spent every second of your time since then trying to prove your loyalty to him. He placed you with Laura for a reason, to teach you about the way things worked and to teach you the ropes on how to be the best saviour you could possibly be and you were, one of the best. You did everything Negan asked you to without even batting an eyelash, you would never deny him anything. Your love for him grew stronger every day, it hurt sometimes that you couldn’t call him yours but at least you could be by his side and protect him.

Today your job was to watch over Dr Eugene, make sure he was getting everything he needed and to keep him safe. You didn’t mind this job so much, Eugene never really spoke too much to you, he only ever told you things that you had no interest in knowing but he was easy to block out most of the time. Today he seemed different, a little off from his usual self, he paced his room and seemed a lot more jumpy. You really didn’t like it, it was like he was up to something he shouldn’t be. “What’s going on smarty pants?” Eugene even jumped at your question causing you to smirk a little. He shook his head and insisted nothing was the matter. “Sure doesn’t seem like nothing! Come on, spill the beans otherwise I’ll have to get Simon in here and he doesn’t play quite as nice as I do” you teased tapping your foot on the floor awaiting his explanation but when he responded with silence you turned on your heel and headed for the door. “Fair enough, SIM-“ the man cut you off mid sentence, clearly scared for his life.

“No… no need.” Turning back around you took a seat on the armchair and gave him a smile. “The wives…” he started, almost second guessing his choice to tell you about what had happened.  

You sat in complete silence as Eugene told you all about the wives plans to kill Negan with some sort of pill and how they made them before fully thinking it through. He held the two tablets in a zip lock bag in front of you, you took them from him with force, your cheeks turning red at the story he just told you couldn’t say you didn’t believe it or that you didn’t see this coming, you saw how his wives acted around him and heard what they would say when he wasn’t there. Ungrateful bitches. You pushed yourself onto your feet and gave the fragile southerner a warning look and he took a couple of steps away from you and out of your reach. “You ever try this shit again, I’ll have your head on a pike.” You whispered in his direction before leaving the room. You shouted to the guards on his door to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn’t leave his room as you stormed towards the wives bedrooms.

Fuelled only by anger you ripped one of the doors open, the zip lock back still in your hold. The girls looked over at you, like deer in headlights noticing the pills in your hand and as the door shut one of the girls took her chance at wrestling you for the poison in your hand. When the others realised what was happening and that she couldn’t fight you on her own, the rest joined in piling on top of you scratching and pulling at your hair, pushing you down to the floor as you tried to scream and fight your way out of them. Without even thinking you pulled out your handgun and started shooting rounds into the women who hovered over you. It felt like a curse being such a good shot as you watched each wife drop, a few falling on top of you. You laid there for a moment, like you did in the field, completely speechless, your body now covered in their blood. You heard the door swing open but you didn’t dare look to see who it was. You just laid there, allowing the blood to soak into your clothes.

You recognised the next set of footsteps that came through the door, you knew for a fact it was Negan. Swallowing the lump in your throat you pushed the girls off you and sat up right, your eyes following Negan as he made his way across the room. Your eyes filling with tears as he witnessed the massacre. “I'm sorry” you croaked but you didn’t seem to grab his attention as he looked down at his fallen wives in pure disbelief. “I had no choice” the guilt had crept up now, strangling you with every breath you took. That’s when he looked at you, a look you could never forget. He looked so confused yet angry at the same time as he took in the sight of you, bathed in his late wife's blood, he didn’t talk, he just looked in the direction of the door before turning his back to you.

“Put her away” he spoke softly, not allowing his emotions to better his judgement. You shook your head as you stood up to your feet, attempting to avoid the other saviours.

“No, you don’t understand. Please let me explain! They were trying to kill you, they had pills. You have to believe me.” you cried but it was no use.

-

You had been in the small box room for a while now, still covered in blood, you sat in the corner of the dark room, holding onto your knees as tightly as you could replaying the last couple of years in your head. You never felt so much shame before after everything he did for you, you go and kill his wives. Why you didn’t tell him before you went in there all Rambo you’ll never understand. The anger got too much for you to process. The sound of the door unlocking broke your concentration. You looked up hoping and praying they would let you out now. The light stung your eyes a little, causing your arm to act as a barricade as they adjusted to the new light. “We didn’t find any pills” the voice that once made you melt like butter now only causes you tears, you looked at the man in disbelief, though all you could see was his silhouette.

“No, no… you have to look again. Ask Eugene, he made them. Please Negan you have to believe me” you pleaded as he leant down to your eye level… similar to the way he did when he first found you.

“He doesn’t know what you’re talking about” his tone was soft which only made you more anxious. You shook your head vigorously, why would Eugene lie like that

“No, please. I would never lie to you, Negan. Please.” Your tears seemed to clean your bloody face as you reached forward to place your hands on his but he pulled away. “Please, I love you. I would never try to hurt you like this” you almost skipped passing, admitting your feelings for the man as you sat there pleading but the butterflies swam in your stomach as you heard his breathing getting heavier.

“So you did all this… all this because your a jealous fuck?” he screamed at you, you could hear the sound of your heart breaking. “You’re pathetic.” He finished before turning on his heels and shut the door behind him. You heard the lock on the door turn once more but you bolted towards it anyway, slamming your fists into the door attempting to speak under your cries but to no avail. You sat back in your corner, attempting to catch just one breath but you couldn’t… all you could do was rock back and forth… hoping one day he would see sense and free you from this cage.

[mandos-mind-trick]

Instinct - Part 6

Summary: Omegas were rare. Some even thought them extinct. So when Boba contacts Din saying he has a gift Din can’t refuse, the last thing he expects to find is an omega in need of an alpha. Din has to make the hard decision, but what else was he really doing anyways? But naturally, there’s more to this omega than meets the eye.

Pairing: Din Djarin x OC

Warnings: Mentions of abuse, torture, and trafficking; ABO dynamics, PTSD, Din has a breakdown, anxiety, a small injury and a quick mention of blood, also talks about murder, oh and ANGST. So much angst. I’m so sorry. 

A/N: I fought with myself for so long on how to do this chapter. I had so many versions in my head of how things could play out. I don’t know if I’m happy with the way I chose, but it’s what I’m going with. (I really wanted to use the gif of the Armorer smacking Din in the head with her hammer cause that’s how I felt writing this chapter.) 

< Previous | Next > | MASTERLIST | Reader Version

Boba gives them a day. It’s a miracle really, that he didn’t kick in the door to make sure Kai was alright as soon as the droid came down to the kitchen. He was ready to strangle Din if he hurt her, unafraid to face the alpha in defense of his adopted omega. 

Maybe Kai had been right. Maybe there was a bit of instinct in him. 

He and Fennec were getting ready to leave for Mos Espa. The others are already there, already monitoring the streets. There had been small activity while the mates were busy, thankfully keeping the others busy and out of the palace. Boba and Fennec were going to join them in Mos Espa, but Boba needed to ensure Kai was alright before he left. 

He’s shocked when Din answers the door. It wasn’t so much that Din was answering the door, more that he was helmetless. Helmetless, and armorless. He doesn’t seem surprised to see Boba there, in fact he looked rather relaxed. 

“We knew you’d be coming!” 

A ghost of a smile crosses Boba’s face at the words yelled from inside the room. He’s more surprised, though, to be staring at Din’s face. He really hadn’t thought much of what the Mandalorian would look like under his helmet. He had always just associated him with the unpainted helmet. 

A lot had apparently happened in the last few days if Din Djarin was greeting him without a helmet. What kind of magic had Kai worked? 

“I came to check on her before we left.” He finally says, trying to cool his obvious surprise. 

“I figured you would.” Din says, moving out of the doorway so he can enter. 

“Where are you going?” Kai asks, mouth full of berries. 

She looks good, more relaxed than he’d ever seen her. She’s seated on the bed, bare legs visible from the slits in the front of her dress. There weren’t any bruises he could see there, but he knew there had to be others elsewhere. The mark on her shoulder stands out, still red and inflamed but starting to scab a bit. 

Boba steps up to her, running a hand over her head. “We’re going to Mos Espa. There was some activity there while you were...occupied.” 

“Do you need help?” Din asks, ready to step in and help his aliit if he needed to. 

Boba shakes his head. “No. We’ve got it. But if things go South, I’ll comm you.” He turns back to Kai. “How do you feel?” 

“Good.” She swallows the mouthful of berries. “Sore, but good.” 

“He behaved himself?” 

She grins. “Yeah. He was a perfect gentleman.” 

“Good.” Boba glances sideways at Din. “I don’t have to kill him.” 

Kai laughs, a genuine laugh that lights up her whole face. “I wouldn’t let you.” 

Boba chucks her under the chin before approaching Din. “I was fully prepared to kill you as soon as I stepped in here, but she’s happy.” He glances back at Kai. “Saves me messy clean up. The palace will be mostly empty today. We should be back by dark. Take whatever you want from the kitchens. You know there’s plenty.” 

Din nods. “Thank you for not killing me.” 

Boba smiles. “I trust you with her. You’re a good man. But if you ever hurt my ad’ika, I will hunt you down.” He slips on his helmet, passing another glance at Kai before taking his leave. 

Din sinks down on the bed once the door is shut, taking the offered berry from Kai. 

“He’s not kidding, you know.” She says.  

“I know.” 

Kai lounges back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Where are we gonna go? You know, when we leave?” 

Din is quiet. He had been thinking about that for a while. When he first agreed to this, he had planned to leave soon after her heat was over. Head back out to continue hunting, continue trying to forget the gaping hole left by Grogu’s absence. 

He hadn’t thought he would care this much. 

Boba had given him an option. There would always be work to do on Tatooine. Boba could pay him well, provide him with steady work. Kai wouldn’t have to leave her family. The first family she’d had in a long time. His family. 

It felt strange to think of them as his family, but they were. Family was everything to Mandalorians, everything to omegas. It felt wrong to want to leave now. 

Where would they go? 

Nevarro? Sorgan? Mandalore? They could go a lot of places. Or they could stay on Tatooine. 

“Din?” Kai’s voice pulls him from his thoughts. She’s sitting up, looking at him. Her brow is furrowed a bit, shoulders slouched in a submissive posture. “You don’t have to decide right now. I mean, I knew from the start we weren’t gonna stay long after my heat. Boba said you don’t like to stay in one place very long. I know you probably wanna get back to hunting and-” 

“I don’t know yet.” He answers, cutting her off. 

“Okay, so talk to me.” She shifts her position so she’s more comfortable, and so she can see him better. “Tell me about our options.” 

This was becoming a lot very quickly for him. He knows he should talk to her. It was her right to know as his omega. He had told himself he wouldn’t be one of those alphas that expected total submission and acceptance from his omega no matter what. The kind of alpha he had been raised as. But the idea of opening himself to someone, having someone else there making decisions with him...it was a lot. 

He was panicking. 

He rises from the bed, moving to his pile of armor. 

“Din!” She shouts after him. “You need to talk to me! We’re supposed to be partners, remember? ‘We are one, we share all.’” 

He’s already got his boots on, forgoing most of his armor in favor of just getting out. He can hear her moving, the slight hitch to her breath as she rises from the bed. He needs to turn around, he needs to go to her but he can’t. 

“Does that mean nothing to you?” 

He’s shaking, grip almost slipping on his helmet as he grabs it. He can only think of escape, of getting out. Space. He needs space. She was too close. 

The broken call of his name as he closes the door is like a stab to his chest. He feels sick, too constricted, too naked. He needs to get out, he needs to think. 

Kai stares at the door in disbelief. He had just walked out on her. Just like that. She had only been curious. She had only wanted to help. 

Was that not allowed? 

She had obviously done something wrong. Crossed some line she hadn’t known about. She had always been told omegas were equal to their alphas. They were supposed to make decisions together, for the good of their pack. For the good of their clan, their aliit. She had just wanted to help him when he was obviously struggling. 

He had walked out on her. 

It could have been worse. 

She tries to push the thought away. 

He’s different. He promised he wasn’t going to treat you the same. 

A sob tears its way from her throat. She picks up one of the pauldrons sitting on the table, throwing it as hard as she can at the wall. The beskar bounces off the stone with a clang, the metal not dented, dinged, or even scratched. 

She wasn’t like the beskar. She was damaged. Dented. Broken. She was brittle, like rusty metal. Maybe he had finally recognized that fact. Decided he didn’t want an omega so broken, so used. 

She wished Boba or Fennec were still in the palace. She wished someone was there. Anyone. 

****

Maker, he was a kriffing idiot. 

He smacks his helmet into the stone in front of him once more, letting the beskar ring in his ears for a moment. He had made some dumb decisions in his lifetime, but this perhaps was the dumbest. 

Boba was gonna kill him. 

He can practically feel the ex-bounty hunter’s hands around his throat, choking the life out of him slowly. He wouldn’t fight. He deserved it. 

The suns are starting to set, painting this side of the palace a deep blood red. It was fitting, given how he was feeling. How he was sure Kai was feeling. Kriff, he was so stupid. 

He ascends the rest of the stairs, debating on knocking before just deciding to open the door. 

The room is a mess. His armor is spread across the floor, intermixed with bits of food like it had all been thrown around. The sheets are in a pile at the end of the bed, all but one pillow still on the mattress. Various items have been thrown around the room, and there’s a pile of glass near the ‘fresher door. 

The scent is what hits him hard. Despite the open window, the scent of her distress is heavy in the air. It makes the hair on the back of his neck stand up, a tingle racing down his spine. It’s heavy with warning. 

Do not come any closer. 

He was doing well making bad decisions so he ignores the warning, pushing past the instinct to turn tail and back off. His steps are quiet as he maneuvers his way through the mess. He follows his nose, finding her curled up in his cloak in the far corner next to her closet. She’s an unidentifiable lump under it, completely covered by the fabric. 

Her scent is nearly assaulting him by the time he reaches her, filtered only slightly by his helmet. He’s scared to remove it, knowing very well he had left weapons in this room and she could be waiting to shoot him. He knew how good of a shot she was. How competent she was with a weapon. He was scared to be vulnerable, scared of the possibility of her attacking him. 

He shoves down the fear, lifting his helmet with shaky hands. If she shot him, then it was what he deserved. 

Her scent hits him like a wall without the helmet. It almost sends him reeling back but he forces himself to stay put. The pain in her scent cuts through him like a jagged edge, ripping through built up walls and all the fear he felt. His omega needed him, and he had failed her. She was hurting because of him. He had done this. 

He feels as if he’s made a mistake, trusting himself to be able to care for an omega. She didn’t deserve this, but she was his now. Her mark proved it. She was his from the first moment he’d laid eyes on her. . He had a duty to her, to care for her and provide for her. They were supposed to be equals. Their promise solidified that. 

He reaches out slowly, whispering her name. His fingers ghost the edge of the blanket and what feels to be her shoulder. 

She flinches from his touch, a whimper slicing through the silence of the room. 

He reels back like he's been struck, holding his breath to keep his own scent controlled, to keep his own emotions from breaching her sanctuary. Just a day ago they had been locked together, sharing soft words and soft touches. Things had been perfect. 

Now things had completely flipped on their head. She was hurting. Because of him.

He sits back against the end of the bed, moving the pile of sheets aside. To think just over a day ago they had been tangled together in them, rutting away happily like animals. “Tell me what you need.” He says quietly, trying to swallow the building lump in his throat. 

The lump under the sheets shifts just slightly, another pained whimper sounding. It’s like another knife to his chest, tears brimming in his eyes. His omega was hurting and he couldn’t do anything. 

He tangles a hand in his hair, tugging at the strands in anger at himself. He had let his own fear, his own insecurities get the better of him. “I’m so sorry.” He whispers, the words hanging heavy in the silence. “I’m so kriffing stupid, leaving like that. I was scared.” He lets out a long breath. “I’ve never had anyone else. Even with Grogu, I was the one making the decisions for him. The thought of having someone else as my equal, someone else making decisions with me...it terrified me. Having someone that involved in my life...I know that’s what mating is. I know that’s what the words mean. But I let my fear get the best of me. I made myself no better than those men who used you.” 

The lump shifts again and he catches sight of a foot as his cloak shifts over her. It’s only a second, but it reminds him she really is under there. That she really was hiding from him. 

“What do you need?” He asks, all of his instincts going haywire from the thick scent of her distress in the room. He knows what he wants to do. He also knows that’s not the best course of action right now. “Do you want me to get Boba? He’ll beat my ass for this. Or Fennec? She’d also kick my ass. Not that I don’t deserve it.” 

Slowly, very slowly, the lump starts to move. Fingers appear, closing around the edge of the cloak. She pulls it back slowly, several scents hitting him as she reveals herself. Anger, fear, pain, distress. 

Blood. 

Had she hurt herself when she tore her room apart? It was very likely. He thinks back to the glass next to the ‘fresher door. He wants nothing more than to crawl over, search her until he finds the wound and then fix it. He knows that won’t go over well, though. It could have the opposite effect. 

Her gaze is hard as she stares at him, eyes puffy and red from crying. It’s another knife to his chest as he looks at her, how broken she seems. Her left hand is red, rivulets of blood trailing her arm and fingers. She must have cut herself somehow. He calms his alpha a bit. It wasn’t serious. 

“Kill them.” 

Her words shock him a bit. He hadn’t expected her to speak, much less words like that. “What?” 

There’s no hint of the carefree omega he had been with just a few hours ago left in her face. She seemed to be fighting between a hard indifference, and the broken omega underneath. “Kill them.” She repeats. “You asked what I wanted. All those men, hunt them down and kill them.”

[pinkoptics]

Cherik ‘Fallen Angel’ Fic

Part 2 (of Chapter 1)

Find Part 1 (of Chapter 1) here.

Charles is an angel. He loves Erik. He saves Erik. God takes issue with that. Hilarity and adorableness (with a smidge of angst) ensues. In this part, protective!Erik makes an appearance at the hospital.

*

“I don’t know what his last name is!” Erik growled at the nurse, just barely managing to hold back the ‘fucks’ he wanted to pepper the sentence with. “I wasn’t exactly trying to get all of his info while he was bleeding to death on me.”

Erik released them in his mind— Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. She’s just doing her job. She’s just doing her job. Don’t strangle her with metal.

“I told you,” Erik gritted his teeth and repeated a variation of the same combination of sentences he had already uttered twice. “I was crossing the street. The car barrelled through the red light. He jumped in and saved my life. I tried to return the favour. His name is Charles. He’s cute. I promised to take him to dinner. That’s all I know and that’s as far as we got before he passed out.”

How was Charles? Was he okay?

It didn’t seem like he could be. It had looked like so much fucking blood. The utterly insane things the man had said (“You should know you’re beautiful. Before I leave this mortal realm, I want you to know that”). Those spectacularly bright blue eyes fading to a frightening dullness. Not that Erik knew anything about anything medical, but none of that had seemed promising. So, not only was this nurse annoying as all fuck, she was stonewalling him. They wouldn’t tell him a goddamned thing because he wasn’t Charles’ next of kin. No one, in fact, knew if he had any next of kin in New York because he didn’t have a wallet, ID or phone on him. This was why the nurse was presently grilling him for information he did. not. have. They hadn’t let him ride in the ambulance, so he’d taken a cab and prayed that the ambulance had made a hell of a lot better time than he had. The only reason they were talking to him at all was because he had been there, had a name, a first name, and that was it.

The swinging doors opened and a woman in scrubs emerged. Erik nearly lunged.

“Are you Erik?”

“Yes.”

“He’s asking for you. I don’t want to let you in at all, but I don’t think we’re going to be able to start anything beyond emergency treatment until he talks to you.”

Asking meant conscious. Living. Thank fuck. The relief was powerful and nearly knocked him on his ass. Later, when he wasn’t teeming with barely contained frustration, and desperately trying to ascertain just how okay Charles was or wasn’t, he might spare a moment to think about how unexpected it was to be so powerfully moved by a stranger (a cute stranger who’d saved his life, granted), but not now.

“How is he?”

“He lost some blood, will need stitches on his arm and he has a few fractured ribs, but he’s stable. He’s going to be fine. After he stops trying to get out of bed to talk to you, we might actually be able to treat those things with something other than bandages.”

If Erik had thought the first wave of relief was powerful, he was not prepared at all for the second.

She sighed deeply and gestured to the double doors from which she had emerged. “This way.”

He followed her a short way down the hall, nearly stepping on her heels each step of the way. She stopped so abruptly before they entered the room that Erik nearly ran straight into her back.

“I should warn you that he’s... well, you’ve both been through a trauma. The mind processes such things in all sorts of ways. If he doesn’t seem... ‘all there’ don’t be overly concerned. Play along, don’t distress him further.”

Charles certainly hadn’t been ‘all there’ at the scene of the accident. His bizarre last words kept spinning through Erik’s head at random intervals— you are so loved. On their own, they were strange enough, but the reverence of Charles’ tone had sunk the words into Erik’s bones like a telepath projecting the emotion behind what they were saying. He hadn’t heard the words, he’d felt the words. Even if Charles was a telepath, it didn’t make them make anymore sense. More forthcoming then... he nodded at the doctor.

“You’re here!” Charles beamed at him from his sitting position on the hospital bed, looking much happier than anyone had any right to be in his situation. “And, you look well. Are you well?”

Charles did too, relatively speaking. He was a little pale, a little bruised but nowhere close to as bad as Erik had expected. Though the car had clipped him as he’d tackled Erik out of the way, it seemed to have been a case of looking much worse than it was at the scene. Small miracles.

“I’m fine.” Fine enough, at any rate. Like Charles, he was understandably bruised, and it was probably going to hurt more in the morning, but his suit had taken the harder beating. Between contact with the pavement and Charles’ blood, there would be no saving it, not that that mattered in the slightest. “You’re the one who was bleeding out all over me. How are you?”

Erik was sitting at his bedside now, the doctor presumably hovering in the background for all Erik’s attention was on Charles. The man in question blinked, cocking his head slightly to the side and giving Erik’s question a more thorough consideration than Erik would have thought necessary.

“I really don’t know,” he finally answered. Charles stretched his injured arm out in front of him, now bandaged (if not stitched) and looked at it with a plainly perplexed expression. “I’ve never been hurt before you know. It’s curious... interesting, but I don’t at all recommend it.”

“You were hit by a car.” Erik couldn’t help but be amused. Perplexed Charles was endearing. “Not something that happens to a person every day.”

“Quite.” Charles conceded the point. He went from staring at his arm to deliberately poking his own rib cage, and subsequently wincing. “You’re all very fragile, you know. So much could kill you every single minute of your life and yet so many of you manage to survive until old age. How do you do it? I’ve only just arrived and I’ve already nearly died.”

He turned his focus from his ribs to Erik and genuinely looked as though he were waiting for a response. Erik opened his mouth and then closed it. Despite the doctor’s suggestion to ‘play along’ he didn’t have one. Erik decided to change course.

“The hospital needs your personal information— last name, address, insurance.”

“Oh, well, that’s easy enough. I don’t have a last name. Just Charles. Or an address for that matter. I feel it’s unlikely my former profession came with any benefits.” Charles suddenly laughed. “That’s not true. It absolutely had many benefits, but certainly not State Farm. Besides, I’m no longer working for Him.”

The emphasis on the last word was... odd. Was Erik supposed to know who he was?

“I was... goodness. I was fired I suppose. Fired. That means I’m—I’m unemployed. For the first time in a millennia, I’m... on the pogey!” He laughed a little harder, the edge of hysteria he’d had at the scene worming its way back in. “Wait, no, you don’t say that anymore, do you?”

Pogey?

“Oh you look so confused. I apologize. It’s a Canadian phrase come to think. Or it used to be, a century ago.”

Shit.

Had Charles hit his head? Was this some kind of bizarre amnesia? The doctor hadn’t mentioned either possibility but... Erik side-stepped again.“How about family? Is there someone I can call and let them know you’re here? Maybe they can provide your information?”

The shift in Charles’ expression and demeanour was so abrupt and dramatic that Erik’s gut clenched. The stunning blue eyes that had stared up at him with such naked concern and relief, took on an unmistakable sheen. The wetness made them impossibly bluer, an unnatural colour that was as striking as it was otherworldly. The tears did not fall, yet Erik somehow knew that Charles would cry beautifully if they did. Erik somehow also knew what the response was going to be before he uttered it.

“No. There is no one. Not anymore.”

Erik surprised himself by doing something he would normally never do, under any circumstance, even with someone he knew well, let alone someone he had just met. He reached out and took Charles’ hand, squeezing it gently. His was a pain Erik was all too familiar with.

“It’s all right. We’ll... we’ll figure this out. You’re Charles. You saved my life. You have me. That’s all we need to know right now. Don’t worry about the insurance or anything else.”

Charles stopped staring out into the middle-distance and focused on Erik. “Truly, you don’t owe me anything.”

Erik snorted. “The hell I don’t. Besides, we’ve got to get you healed up. I can’t take you to the diner in this state. We’ve got date, remember? So there you are. Here you think I’m indebted, but really my reasons are purely selfish. You’re hot and I want to date you. Humour me.”

The wetness retreated and that red mouth quirked up into a small smile.

“As long as you’re being self-centred.”

“Oh, trust me, I am.”

Somewhere behind them, someone cleared their throat. Erik turned. Oh, right, the doctor. “As much as I would love to watch the two of you keep flirting, we need to take care of those injuries.”

She was right, so Erik reluctantly stood and even more reluctantly released Charles’ hand.

“I’ll be back later, so stop trying to leave and let them take care of you, all right?”

Charles nodded. “If you insist.”

“I do.”

Erik forced himself to turn and exit the room. Only after he’d left it, did he truly exhale. Charles was okay. Charles was okay. Charles was flirting even... well, possibly. They were still on for that date. Erik took a few much needed breaths and strode more determinedly, and much less frantically, back toward the nurses’ desk. He would take care of this.

He would take care of Charles.

*

Thanks for reading 😊. I really hope inspiration continues to strike because I’ve had a lot of fun with this thus far.

On to chapter 2 part 1

[capesandshapes]

Let's Be Alone Together (Marichat)

Summary:

Marinette deals with the aftermath of Truth when an unexpected visitor appears.

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It didn’t look right. Actually, nothing she’d drawn recently had looked right. Nothing had looked perfect; nothing had flown from her hand with ease and made her feel whole again.

It was just another thing that was wrong, another thing that all of this has taken away from her. The trust of her friends, the hope of a new relationship, and now her designing abilities. Of course, that’s how it worked, she wasn’t Marinette anymore—she hadn’t been Marinette for a while.

“Maybe if you take a break,” Tikki said, ignoring the fact that breaks add up and she’d had more than enough that past week.

The other Kwamis were locked in the miracle box, she had to do it because she couldn’t even hear herself think anymore—

“Maybe if you transform into Ladybug—”

“I don’t want to be Ladybug, Tikki,” Marinette said, and her voice was clipped and far too rough. She immediately wanted to apologize, to tell Tikki that she didn’t mean it. But that would be lying, and god, she’s so tired of lying.

She pushed back from her desk, her eyes just barely taking in the Kwami’s concerned expression before looking anywhere else—wincing at the minuscule damage she’d done. Tikki would forgive her, she was understanding, but Marinette wouldn’t forgive herself, not for the constant sludge of awfulness that seemed to escape her lips. “I think I just need to go to the roof and be alone for a bit, Tikki,” she said and immediately felt the constriction in her chest when the Kwami only nodded.

Her hands gathered up her sketchbook and at first reached for her sketching set, but then she changed her mind at the last moment. Instead, she grabbed her oil pastels, knowing that it’d be a messy, shapeless blob. She wasn’t going to draw, she knew that, but the blend of colors on the page might have soothed her.

Lungs constricting and then forcefully retracting, she made her way to the roof, Tikki laying on her bed and watching her with wary eyes.

She supposed this was the reason they didn’t give Miraculous to children most of the time. An adult would have dealt with it all much better, but Marinette?

The second that nighttime air hit her and the door latched again, she felt the tears bubbled up.

All of Paris looked back at her, the streetlights like the gleam of a night sky. Pinks, oranges, yellows, and blues all blended before her. She could hear the life in it all, focus in on the sounds of footsteps against the pavement from a mile or so below. The city in action, thriving because of her. The city she grew up, the only home she’d ever known—the place she lived for.

Once the city of love, now the city of responsibility and hard lessons.

“Pretty girls shouldn’t be crying on rooftops all alone,” a voice said from behind her, and she could have laughed. Because of course it was him, of course he was watching her. He was likely waiting for an akumatization to take place.

Chat Noir, the other hero of Paris. Calm, cool, collected. He wasn’t affected by it all.

A part of her felt bitter about that, but she couldn’t bring herself to dislike him for it. She could never bring herself to dislike Chat.

She hadn’t realized that she’d sunken down to her knees until she felt his arms around her waist, his head over her shoulder. That touch brought her back, made the lights of the city seem less bold. “Hey,” his voice was soft, his arms loose around her as if she might pull away. “Are you okay, Marinette?”

No, a thousand times no, but he knew that. But she didn’t need to respond, merely turn in his arms and cling to his neck, burying her face in his chest.

His hands gently stroked her back, a single finger trailing down her spine. “You’re going to be okay, Marinette,” he said. She wasn’t sure if he was saying it for her benefit or his. “Things like this, they happen. Heartbreak is normal… trust me,” he said, and she only held on tighter. “I know better than anyone else.”

He couldn’t predict that his words would only make it worse.

Deep, heavy sobs shook her, and the urge to be closer reign supreme. She sat on his folded legs without realizing, her hands still tucked around him and not ready to let go. Every strangled cry moved them both, but he said nothing.

He weathered her storm and did not turn away. He always did, even if he didn’t know it. When she was in costume and out, he was the only person who could make her feel normal again.

It would have been so easy to fall for that, to live in that. Easier than Luka, easier than guitar sounds hitting the air rather than feelings. But it was too late for that. Marinette was always too late.

Still, his hands on her waist brought her down again, back to reality, back to him and soft whimpers instead of roaring misery.

“Have you ever sat atop the Grand Palais at night?” He asked once her breathing steadied, his chest moving in the same rhythmic pattern as his.

She had, she’d laid atop the glass roof with him as Ladybug. “No.”

“All the lights reflect off of it, and the cold glass makes you feel like you’re sitting among the stars,” he said, and there was more than a hint of humor to his voice. There was an invitation, unsaid but explicitly addressed to her.

“I came up here to be alone,” she said, her voice small but her body making no move to get off of him.

“Then let’s be alone together,” he smiled and despite herself, despite the dozens of kwamis waiting for her in her room, despite the discarded sketchbook sitting on her room, and despite the responsibility that was crushing her bones…

She smiled too.