#always lookin exhausted gang

[vagueiish]

yknow, part of the reason i dont wanna share selfies anywhere online is bc you could fit a couple of bowling balls in the bags under my eyes

[d1xonss]

Desert Rose

Chapter 23 ~ Broken

✧ Pairing : Daryl Dixon x Rose

✧ Era : Season 2

✧ Word Count : 5.2k

In this chapter ~ In the midst of everything, Rick and Shane weren't able to leave the stranger behind like they had planned. It all led up to a pretty ugly discussion about how they would take care of him, fighting for whatever humanity they could hold onto. But they quickly come to realize they can't prevent the inevitable forever.

It was a silent morning, quieter than usual as we waited for Daryl to come out of the shed with the dreaded news.

Rick and Shane came back late that night still with Randall attached on a leash, claiming they couldn't just leave him in the middle of nowhere, leading to a pretty ugly disagreement. Apparently, part of it was because Randall knew of Maggie from around the small town and knew where the farm was, so they were left with a tough decision. In the end they decided to play it a bit more safely and bring him back, and Daryl offered to "have a chat" with him this morning to get the information we needed out of him.

But as we all stood there waiting, my mind was elsewhere.

Yesterday was a rollercoaster of emotions for not only me, but the Greene family. After Daryl talked to me, I did feel a little better but also couldn't hide the embarrassment I felt after what he watched me go through. Practically the five stages of grief in two minutes. But after our talk I soon fell asleep, emotionally exhausted from everything that had happened that day. Then this morning I woke up and he was already gone, so I haven't gotten the chance to talk to him about everything he did for me last night. Though I would eventually, I didn't really know where to start.

I didn't know if he fully realized how much he had truly helped me. How much he proved that he was always there for me for the good, the bad, and the ugly just by simply comforting me in a time of need. It made my heart swell, and I wanted to thank him for all of it.

The shed doors opening and closing with a slam is what brought me out of my thoughts, seeing Daryl coming out only seconds later looking pissed. He made his way over to us quickly and stood close by while informing the group about what he got out of the man.

"Boy there has a gang, thirty men, got heavy artillery and ain't lookin to make friends. They roll through here our boys are dead and our women...they're gonna wish they were." he said.

"What did you do?" Carol asked him cautiously with her arms crossed, looking at how bloody his hands were.

He shrugged, "Had a little chat." he said simply.

Once Carol had brought attention to his beat up knuckles, I couldn't help but stare as well in slight concern. I then mindlessly took his hand in mine and raised it up to my face, examining the blood and cuts he had gotten. I felt his gaze on me while I did so, yet everyone else around us seemed to pay it no mind as they stewed over Randall's words.

"No one goes near this guy. We don't have a choice, he's a threat. We have to eliminate the threat." Rick stated.

Dale's ears perked up at that, "You're just going to kill him?"

"It's settled, we'll do it today." Rick announced before stalking off in the other direction.

My eyes followed his figure, along with Dale's whom was following close behind, thinking back to Rick's sudden decision. I didn't feel one hundred percent comfortable with killing him, but I also didn't want his group to show up in the one place we felt safe. There was no limit to the possibilities on what these people could do, Daryl only proved that further when he told us everything he said. So when it comes down to it, I think killing him is our best option.

But Dale was clearly quick to argue, chasing after the man as he began to talk his ear off for no doubt a better option. But clearly there wasn't. With the way we've gone over this a thousand times already before, we had already talked it out for far longer than we should've. And I for one didn't want to go through that endless loop again. No amount of time or patience would prepare me for another similar discussion.

My eyes then connected with Daryl's momentarily and I nodded my head towards our tent and he nodded back, quickly slipping away from the group. As we made it back to the small space we shared, I wanted to grab some things to help clean the fresh gashes on his hands.

"Sit down here, I'll be right back." I said briefly.

"Yes ma'am." he said with a knowing smirk as he sat himself down on the log I pointed to.

I fixed him with a glare as I felt the familiar heat creep to my cheeks before turning around and going into the tent to get a first aid kit out of my bag. Once my fingers grazed over it, I pulled it out and made my way back outside and sat down beside him, taking his hand again to help clean everything up.

Taking some water first, I gently poured the cool liquid onto his knuckles, trying to wash them as best as I could from the dirt that lingered there. I then took some cotton balls and rubbing alcohol, warning him before I began to gently graze it back and forth. He flinched a little at first but then slowly got used to the stinging, relaxing a bit more as I continued.

It was silent between us as I focused, but I could tell he had a lot on his mind with the talk he just had with Randall. It was a lot I will admit, but I could tell he was overthinking about it far too much. So I decided to break the silence.

"Stop thinking about it. Everything will be okay." I muttered quietly, my eyes still focused on his hands.

He huffed quietly, "What you can read my mind now?" he asked playfully.

My gaze lifted then with a little smile, "No, your thoughts are just too loud, they're hard to ignore you know."

He only smiled in return, nodding to himself like I had a point. I then finally finished wrapping up his hands in white bandages a bit tightly, before dropping them back into his lap, prepared to take the silence as an opportunity. It started off almost awkward as I didn't know quite how to put it, but I felt that I had to bring it up sometime.

"I uh...never got a chance to say thank you by the way, for yesterday. All the shit that went down. So, thank you. You have no idea how much that meant to me." I said honestly.

He scoffed and shook his head, "Ya don't gotta thank me darlin, I'll always be here when ya need me."

My heart jumped the smallest bit once I heard the nickname he had never used before, fall effortlessly off his tongue. But he had a much different reaction than I, pressing his lips together tightly and closing his eyes as if he regretted saying it at all. And just like that his thoughts were running wild once again, stuttering as he tried to apologize and find the right words for the slip up.

"Shit...sorry, it just- kinda...slipped out."

I gently grabbed his hand again, getting him to actually look me in the eye, "It's okay," I assured, "I think it's sweet."

He was quiet for a moment as he stared a me, before muttering, "Ya don't hate it?"

"I love it." I responded.

He smiled a bit shyly, before cupping my cheek and bringing me towards him to place his lips on mine. It was a soft and loving kiss that I never wanted to pull away from. Looking at Daryl you would assume he would be rougher with this kind of thing, but he truly was the gentlest person I had ever met. He treated every touch like he was nervous he would completely break me somehow, like I was glass.

But that alone only made me crave it more.

I leaned in further to him, deepening the kiss as his hand slowly moved down my back to inch me impossibly closer. But then my mind wandered a bit, completely forgetting about the vest I had gotten him, but never had a chance to show him. So I reluctantly pulled back before my head could get any further in the clouds, sighing almost at the loss of contact.

"What's wrong?" he asked, tucking some hair behind my ear.

I shook my head, "Nothing. I just completely forgot I have something for you."

He raised a single eyebrow at me, "What is it?" he asked, almost dreading the thing I could put in his hands. His tone sounding like he assumed the worst.

"Well shit, don't sound too excited." I joked, "It's nothing bad, just wait here for a second." I said as I quickly got back up to my feet, heading back towards the tent momentarily.

My hands fished around through my bag where I had kept it hidden since I got it, finally feeling the leather material amongst everything else and pulled it out. I gave it one last glance before putting it behind my back, exiting the tent and looking towards him expectantly.

"Okay, close your eyes." I said.

He looked at me suspiciously for a moment or two, before his eyes fluttered closed anyway, trusting me blindly. My feet moved further towards him, standing right in front of him and bringing out the item to hold it out so he could see the back of it first.

"Open them."

He slowly peaked one eye open, both of them then getting wide once he saw what I was holding. I then handed it over to him so he could actually get a better look at it, but he was only wearing an expression that I couldn't read as he sat there quietly.

"I found it on a run yesterday with Glenn...I don't know, I just thought of you when I saw it. Plus, I never got you anything in return when you got me my sketchbook, so I thought this was perfect...do you like it?" I asked, his silence only make me grow uneasy.

He then finally met my eyes, not wasting another second before he picked me up in his arms, spinning me around in the air as he hugged me tight. I yelped in surprise, before I was laughing at the enthusiasm I had never seen from him before, wrapping my arms around his shoulders in return.

"I love it." he said seriously, placing me back down on my feet before turning it around and throwing it on over his long sleeve button up, "How does it look?" he asked, turning around to show me the back as well.

I nodded to myself as my eyes roamed over his figure, "Great." I confirmed as he turned back around to face me, "You look good in leather."

He cocked an eyebrow at me, "Yeah?" he asked to which I simply nodded my head, "Then I'll wear it till the damn thing falls apart."

A genuine smile made its way back onto my face at that, getting close enough to pull him back in from the new collar of his vest. He sighed deeply, his hands falling in place at either side of my waist as he showed me how much he truly loved the gift. But like always, the moment didn't last nearly as long as either one of us would've liked, him pulling back after only a few seconds.

He rested his forehead against mine with a sigh, "We should probably head back." he muttered, clear disappointment lacing his voice.

I groaned, "Why can't we just stay? I'm a lot happier here, without all their negative bullshit."

He only laughed, "I know, but don't ya think they're gonna start wonderin where we are?"

I let out a heavy breath before fully pulling away, "Yeah, alright." I muttered.

He smiled and pulled me back into him for one more quick kiss before we headed back towards the house, dreading what the rest of today would bring.

For the majority of the day, everyone was going back and forth about what to do with Randall who continued to make himself comfortable in the shed. Just like I dreaded. Another pointless conversation that would leave us all yelling and pointing at each other while nothing would get settled.

Dale was making his way around to anyone in the group he could sink his teeth into, asking if they truly thought killing him was the right thing to do. He was basically a walking survey for the entire day, but a really annoying survey that doesn't respect your opinion and wants you on his side. When he asked me my thoughts, I just told him that I didn't want him to die, but I didn't want him to live either. I had to let him down saying I wouldn't stand with him when it came time to make a decision, and I could tell he was disappointed in me, but quickly picked himself back up and moved onto the next person.

He left me alone after one last disapproving look that I couldn't get out of my head while I continued to sharpen my knives. I didn't want it to be this way and he knew that, no one did, but this is what it's come to in the end and we just had to deal with it. The world clearly wasn't the same as it once was, and though it was something that would take a while to get used to, we all at some point had to accept it.

Glenn eventually made his way over to the same spot we sat in yesterday, plopping down on his ass right next to me as I stopped my movements mometarily to see what he needed.

"We have to stop meeting like this." I joked.

He sighed heavily, "Do you think it's the right thing to do?" he asked, ignoring my comment and looking out towards Dale's retreating figure.

I followed his gaze before placing my weapons down with a huff, "I don't know, not really. But I also don't trust him enough to let him go. And we can't keep him locked up here forever."

He nodded his head, "Yeah, I know. But it still feels wrong."

"It is." I said bluntly, "But I don't want anything bad to happen to anyone here because of him. Especially you." I winked.

That caused him to let out a small laugh, and I moved closer so I could rest my head on his shoulder, in hopes of feeling some comfort at a stressful time like this.

"I don't want anything to happen to you either." he continued, "Or Maggie... or anyone. That's why I'm not trying to stop this." he said.

"I know," I whispered, "You're too good for this world, Glenn."

He scoffed at my comment, but didn't make any attempts to argue. In my mind I assumed he didn't say anything else because he knew it was true, though he didn't want to believe it, he was too good of a person. A people pleaser on steroids. Just simply wanting the best for everyone around him.

There was a long and comfortable silence that followed after my last words, soaking up the air around us before he suddenly opened his mouth again.

"So, what's going on between you and Daryl?" he asked casually.

I preferred the silence.

My eyes widened at the sudden question I wasn't expecting, my mouth becoming very dry at the thought. I couldn't tell him, not now at least. I wanted to respect Daryl's privacy and also I kind of liked the idea of nobody knowing about us. It was nice to not have watchful and knowing eyes constantly glued on us, and if I told him about the big secret, that would surely change. In fact, I would never hear the end of it.

I slowly lifted my head to look at him casually, "What do you mean?" I asked.

He gave me a pointed look, "Come on, I've seen the way you two have been acting lately. Leaving at the same time, stealing glances at each other, the way he looks at you now is like... even more intense than it used to be."

I scoffed at his words, brushing them off as if they meant nothing, "I don't know what you're talking about, we're just friends."

"Uh huh, okay, sure." he muttered, "You can lie all you want but just remember, I'm your best friend and I know everything. So, whenever you decide to tell me the truth, I want details." he stated.

"Is this really what you think about to help you sleep at night? That Daryl and I are together?" I asked him playfully.

He shrugged, "No, not necessarily, but I think you two are good for each other."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever you say."

"So, it is true?" he asked with wide eyes and a hopeful smile.

"No." I deadpanned.

He sighed but dropped the topic completely upon hearing my tone, and our conversation continued like normal. That is until we were called into the house to finally have the discussion on what to do about Randall. It was like a reality check slapped me across the face and believe me when I say, it stung. I didn't want to fight about this, not anymore. But clearly there was no way out of it now.

The two of us made our way back up to the house and into the living room, finding a place to stand as we waited for everyone else to fill the empty space. I found myself leaning up against the wall while Glenn sat down on the couch in front of me, watching the group slowly pile in with anxious looks on their faces.

Daryl was one of the last ones to come in the room and I watched him out of the corner of my eye.  He seemed to be scanning the room before his eyes landed directly onto me, making his way towards my direction only a second later. His frame leaned up against the wall right beside me, bumping his shoulder with mine as we both stood with our arms crossed in front of our chests silently.

I glanced over at him and gave him a small smile before turning back to face in front of me again, my eyes finding Glenn's amongst the crowd of people. His gaze was already on me, looking back and forth between Daryl and I as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. My eyes narrowed as I gave him a pointed look that seemed to shut him up fast, now looking everywhere but me as he awkwardly started the conversation.

"So...how do we do this? Just take a vote?" he asked.

The room was silent for a moment as everyone thought before Andrea piped in, "Does it have to be unanimous?"

"How about majority rules?" Lori suggested.

Rick sighed and shook his head, "Let's just see where everyone stands, then we'll talk through the options."

"Well, the way I see it, there's only one way to move forward." Shane spoke up.

"Killing him. Right?" Dale asked without missing a beat, "I mean why even bother taking a vote? It's clear which way the wind is blowing."

"Well if people think we should spare him, I want to know." Rick spoke.

Dale nodded a little to himself, clear disappointment in his eyes as he scanned around the room, "Well, I can tell you it's a small group, maybe just me and Glenn."

My gaze then snapped back towards Glenn in utter confusion, not even five minutes ago he was telling me the opposite, that we were on the same page. But then I saw the guilty look in his eye when he looked back at Dale and I knew he hadn't told him he changed his mind.

He kept his eyes down as he spoke quietly, "Look I-" he took a breath, "I think you're pretty much right about everything all the time but this-"

"They've got you scared!" Dale exclaimed.

"He's not one of us," Glenn said calmly, "And we've lost too many people already."

There was a painful silence that followed, the older man looking everywhere to try and confide in someone else, before gesturing to Maggie, "How about you? Do you agree with this?" he asked.

She stayed silent, biting her lip subtly in thought before she turned to Rick, "Couldn't we continue keeping him prisoner?"

"Just another mouth to feed." Daryl spoke lowly.

"It may be a lean winter." Hershel pointed out.

"Well, he could be an asset, give him a chance to prove himself." Dale pleaded.

I shook my head, "No way in hell we're just letting him walk around freely." I spoke.

"We could put an escort on him?" Maggie suggested.

Shane scoffed with a nod of his head, "Yeah, and who wants to volunteer for that duty?"

"I will!" Dale said as he raised his hand in the air.

"I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy, okay?" Rick said.

"Look," Shane started, "Let's say we let him join us. Maybe he's helpful, maybe he's nice. We let our guard down, maybe he runs off and brings back his thirty men."

Daryl tensed up the slightest bit from beside me, enough so that I was able to catch it just out of the corner of my eye. Without looking over, I subtly found his hand beside me and intertwined our fingers together, giving it a squeeze in reassurance.

"So, the answer is to kill him to prevent a crime he may never even attempt?" Dale snapped, "If we do this, we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law is dead, there is no civilization."

"Oh my God." Shane suddenly muttered as he ran a hand over his shaved head.

I didn't know what possessed me to do this, truly I didn't. The whole situation was stressful enough as it was without his little negative comments, so when I heard him mutter something even slightly, I didn't hesitate to pick up one of the apples in a bowl next to me and chuck it at him. As soon as it bounced off of his head, his eyes snapped towards me almost instantly in silent anger, clearly just as fed up with my shit as I was with his.

"Shut up." I slightly snapped before crossing my arms back over my chest.

Glenn immediately covered his mouth as he tried to hide his laugh that threatened to escape, while something else brushed up against my arm to get my attention. It was Daryl holding out his hand for a subtle high five which I gladly accepted, looking up after to see his lips pressed together trying to suppress a smile.

There were a few seconds of silence, everyone left shocked and somewhat speechless before Hershel cleared his throat, "Anyway... could you drive him further out? Leave him like you planned?"

"You... barely came back last time. There are walkers, you could break down, you could get lost." Lori stressed.

"Or get ambushed." Daryl said.

"...Maybe we shouldn't put our own people at risk." Glenn said.

Patricia then stepped up with a worried look on her face, "If you do go through with it... how would you do it?"

"We could hang him, just snap his neck." Shane suggested, glaring back at me every chance he got.

I was tempted to get another apple, wanting to get it through his skull that not everything was about him and his own opinion, but I refrained. Even though it would be just as hilarious the second time as it was the first.

"I thought about that, shooting him may be more humane." Rick stated.

"Well, what about the body?" T-Dog asked, "Do we bury him?"

Dale then stepped forward again with widened eyes, "Woah, woah, hold on you're talking about this like it's already been decided."

"We've been talking about this all day and then some." I said, "Going around in circles, you just want to go around in circles again?"

"This is a young man's life!" he snapped, "And it is worth more than a five minute conversation...Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him? You saved him!" he pointed towards Rick, "Now look, he's been tortured, he's going to be executed. How are we better than those people we're so afraid of?"

That's what made everyone stop and think for a moment. I could see Dale's point on some things, but I wasn't planning on changing my mind, nor was anyone else here it seemed like. We didn't know him or his group and when Daryl came back from talking to him earlier, I could just tell that this guy couldn't be trusted. Not when his people were so proud of doing those horrible things.

"We're better because we don't kidnap children. We don't torture women. That right there is just the tip of the iceberg of what his people have done. So yeah, I'd say we're a little bit better than them. He can't be trusted, and you know it, not after everything he spilled about his group." I spoke.

"So, what is the solution?" Andrea suddenly asked, "I mean we haven't come up with a single valuable option yet. I wish we could-"

"So, let's work on it!" Dale interrupted.

"Stop it! Just stop it." Carol suddenly cried, "I'm sick of everyone arguing and fighting. I didn't ask for this, I didn't ask for us to decide something like this. Please decide, either of you, both of you. But leave me out of it."

Dale then pointed a finger at her, "Not speaking out, or killing him yourself, there's no difference."

"Hey!" I snapped, "You don't get to put all of this on her just because she doesn't want to be a part of this fucked up decision."

"That's enough!" Rick yelled before I could continue, though I saw Carol smiling towards me gratefully. "Anybody who wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance now." he concluded.

There was just silence. Nobody wanted to talk about this anymore. Nobody wanted to think about it anymore. We all just wished for something to happen, something that would cause us just to move on from this.

Dale then couldn't take the silence, "You once said we don't kill the living." he said to Rick.

"Yeah, that was before the living tried to kill us." he said.

"But don't you see if we do this, the people we were, the world that we knew is dead... and this new world is ugly, it's harsh, it's survival of the fittest! And that's a world I don't want to live in. And I don't believe that any of you do, I can't. Please... let's just do what's right." he begged, tears now flooding in his eyes.

I assumed the room would stay silent, finally sealing in the realistic decision to eliminate the threat. But Andrea stepped forward, almost hesitantly, but yet sure that this is what she wanted to do.

"He's right." she muttered, "We should try to find another way."

Rick only nodded, "Anybody else?" he asked.

Everyone now sat perfectly still, avoiding Dale's gaze as much as they could with him now looking towards everyone pleadingly.

He nodded his head with a scoff at the silence, "Are you gonna watch too?" he asked, "Nah you'll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we're slaughtering a human being. I won't be a part of it." he mumbled before heading towards the door to walk out of the room.

His head was hung low as he made his way past everyone, briefly stopping to glance at Daryl and placed a hand on his shoulder, "This group is broken." he said quietly before making his way towards the front door, leaving with a slam.

Processing everything all at once, including Dale's exit, I was the next one to leave after that. I didn't want to think about it anymore than I had to, and the decision was already made. That was it.

I walked until I felt like I couldn't anymore, out onto one of the many fields to watch the sun go down in front of me. I always loved this part of the day, where the sky was filled with the most beautiful shades of color I've ever seen. It made me feel calmer, it made me somehow forget everything just for a while. Even back when life was normal, I would always watch the sunset to just clear my head from the things that were bothering me the most. And right now I felt I needed the quiet more than ever.

I never thought life would come to this. Truly I didn't. Pushing us to a point where we would kill a man just because we didn't trust him. It was all fucked up seeing what the current world had come too after the dead began to rise. But in the back of my mind, I silently knew all of this could've been prevented.

If Rick hadn't helped him, brought him back here in the first place, we wouldn't have had to deal with this at all. Deal with something that was clearly tearing this group apart. I by all means wasn't blaming him for just trying to do the right thing, but you bet your ass if I had a time machine right now I would use it.

Though it wasn't long before I wasn't alone anymore, Daryl's heavy footsteps slowly came up behind me, taking a seat close to my left as he followed my gaze. Neither one of us said anything for a while, just simply enjoying the view in front of us along with each other's presence. It only lasted a few minutes before he finally spoke up.

"Ya okay?" he hesitantly asked.

I turned my head towards him once I heard his voice, "Yeah." I nodded, "I'm just thinking."

He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, "Bout Dale?"

I shrugged, "About everything." I muttered vaguely before tilting my head at him in question, "Do you think he's right?" I suddenly asked.

I was surprised how quiet the question came out of my mouth, but Daryl heard it nonetheless, "Nah, we gotta keep everyone safe. We can't do that if we have him here. Can't trust him."

I nodded, though a part of me was still unsure. The last thing I wanted was to put someone down, saying that their opinion wasn't important or didn't matter, and I assumed that's exactly how Dale felt. But another part of me was sure that the decision we came to was the right one, even if the older man didn't agree with us right away, maybe someday he would thank us.

Although Daryl sensed I was thinking too much, tilting my chin up so I would look him in the eye again, "If it makes ya feel better, Shane's got a big ol red mark on his forehead from where ya hit him." he said, starting to chuckle halfway through.

I found myself laughing right along with him as the memory played back in my head, "You know what, that does make me feel better. Thank you."

He shrugged almost bashfully, "Anytime."

I found myself staring at him with such admiration without even meaning to, the sunset making him look more perfect if that was even possible. As I looked into his eyes, I felt a wave of comfort and happiness wash over me. He made me feel safer than I had ever felt before and I knew I could count on this man for anything. Though I didn't know what the future held for us, I somehow had a feeling we would be in it together.

~ Thanks for reading!

[silent-raven13]

NO, HOBIE!

(AU: Ya'll ever read No, David? That lil fuckin' cholo silver teeth lookin ass brat? I just had a thought 😂)

Miguel shouting at the punker, who's wobbling to the edge of building, "NO, BROWN! I swear to GOD if you jump in that fucking pool of possessed Spider-people, I will kill you myself!" The last thing they needed was this ridiculous punker joining in on the chaos of all of this!

Hobie grinning widely under his mask being very tempted, and hated being told what to do. The gang were in a world where Dr. Oct created a dangerous serum that got Spider-people to do his bidding, and leaking out green salvia with their mouths morphed into Spider mouth. Seems like this Dr. Oct found a way to copy Shathra being similar to her Spider Wasp beings.

Luckily Lyla was working on a cure, while Miguel is trying to keep the gang from changing and stopping the mad-villain. However, Hobie saw the opportunity to fuck shit up as always! Why is it when Miguel always say no, there's always trouble from Spider-punk?

"Is that a threat?" Spider-Punk innocently asked with his goofy Spider-Punk mask beaming at Spider-man 2099.

Peni in her Sp//dr suit letting out a low groan, "Hobie, NO! Come on, this is serious!"

Miguel growling through his teeth. Pavtri had his hands out, "You know, Miguel doesn't mean it. Hobie, come on, my dude!"

"Brown, I am warning you!" The older Spider-man growls in anger.

"Mmm, I'm hearing a yes?" The Spider-Punk stick his long lanky leg out pretending to fall.

"NO, HOBIE! Bad! I'ma tell on Miles!" Peni shouted.

Spider-Punk quickly stood back hearing his Sunflower's name. Then, the massive urge to jump to the pile of infected people with Ace monstrous features got him pump. Those intrusive thoughts winning especially when Miguel commanded, "It's an order, Brown. Get over here, now!"

"Okay. Okay, no need to get your trousers in a mix." Hobie happily walks away at the edge hearing relief sighs, then he quickly turns back to jump down, "PSYCH! You thought!"

They all had their mouth dropped when their punker friend literally got infected all because his intrusive thoughts were in the way!

"HIJO DE SU PUTA MADRE!" Miguel cursing out loud enrage by his fellow Spider-Punk, ruining another mission just to fuck with him. The rest of the Spider-heroes saw their friend already turned into a freaky humanoid Spider causing ruckus.

"ALL FOR ANARCHY! I LOVE IT!" He shouted before he made odd growls.

"Ugh, and we needed him, too." Peni groans.

Pavtri rolled his eyes, "So what do we do now?"

"Hey guys, Miles was able to knock out Dr. Oct! How's your part of the plan going?" Gwen asked as she speaks through the intercom.

Miguel already raging at the side having to curse out in Spanish. Peni and Pavtri stood on top of the building with no luck of achieving their goal, "Yeah, about that..." Peni began.

Gwen let out a low groan, "Don't tell me... Hobie?"

"Yeah." The two sounded so bum about this outcome and exhausted.

"And Miguel?" She asked.

Pavtri answered, "He's uhhh..." Seeing his leader still ranting out loud in anger, "might need a drink later..."

"Oh god!" Gwen growls.

Then Miles' voice appeared, "What? What happened? Did the mission failed?" He had tied up the Dr. Oct variant up with metal bars. Then stood with his friend being confused.

"Guess." She sighs being exhausted.

"What did Hobie do this time?" Miles' voice already sounded drained knowing full well this was his boyfriend's doings. "Gawd, please tell he didn't jump in the infected?"

"He jumped in the infected." They all said with tiredness in their voice a bit annoyed at that.

"UGHHH! Let me go get him!" Miles groans, "Gwen, you have to go over there and help them. I'll be here and bring back Hobie since he's acting like a damn two year old!"

"Okay, be careful. Hobie might be a monster and hurt you." Gwen pointed out then chuckles, "Ha, that sounded stupid when I said that out loud."

"Then, I'll whack the shit out of him for being dumb!" Miles huffs already headed out to search for his man. Gwen went over to the other group to help them out with their goal in breaking in the building to let Lyla have control.

Meanwhile, Miles spotted his boyfriend causing a mess. "NO, HOBIE! PUT THAT DOWN!" He jump behind his boyfriend being a few inches away.

Possessed Hobie made sounds out of his mouth, this was Shathra all over again! Miles crosses his arms, "Hobie, you are in big trouble! Why did you turned into this?"

"Grr... hissssss, SsSSUNFLOWER!" His Spider-Punk happily rushes over to give him a hug knowing a familiar scent and face. His Sunflower being present had brought back his memories and focus on being his Spider-Punk self.

"Bae, you're infected! Stay put." Miles took a step back.

"NNNOOOO, Sunflower! Huuuggg meee!" He follows his boyfriend wanting affection.

Miles was able to lead his boyfriend away from the rest of the infected into the building where Dr. Oct was capture. His Spider-Punk fighting off any infected trying to get close to him, which was a good thing that infection isn't madding the punker.

Hobie snuggle his Sunflower when having the chance, "Sunflower!"

"Hobie, if you bite me, I will give you the Silent treatment." His Sunflower warned him as he types into the computer to have the building where his friends are opened up.

"Nooooooo!" He buries his face into his shoulder wanting cuddles. "Pay attention to me!"

"Okay, guys. I got it." He said through the intercom as his boyfriend became super needy.

"Alright, we're in!" Gwen answered.

After all that, the mission became a success. Lyla was able to make a cure, and had everyone turned back to normal. Miles grab his boyfriend's shirt giving him a full blown lecture, "Next time, you decided to let your intrusive thoughts get in your way, I will personally punish you, Hobie! No means No! I know, damn well you only did it to piss off Miguel."

Hobie stupidly stand with his legs a few inches apart to be on his boyfriend's level, his Spider-Punk mask being so bug eyed. "You're going to punish me, luv? Kinky."

"Oh shut up!" Miles keeping his serious attitude, "Next time, your not gonna be in a mission with me."

"Nooo, luv! Don't be so cruel!" His punker whines, seeing how much he upsetter his boyfriend. "Don't ignore me."

Miles gave him the silent treatment. Gwen slurp her slushie, "So... you think it was worth it?" She looks at Hobie.

Peni and Pavtri chuckles seeing the punker being dragged by holding on Miles' ankles. Good that what's he gets.

[mydetheturk]

i wanna post this fic i should post this fic

fuck it im gonna post it here on tumblr because i think ao3's still down

Warnings: Dick's concussed/injured through the whole thing; there's a few mentions of vomit, and a brief scuffle, and the whole thing just permeates grief.

Bruce is dead, Damian's a baby, and Dick isn't handling it well. What's next, his dead little brother comes back from the dead? (His dead little brother comes back from the dead)

1400 words of Dick not having a good night and it's surprisingly not related to Febuwhump

~~

Dick shouldn’t be out in costume with a concussion. He shouldn’t. He knows he shouldn’t. He just – he can’t stay at the manor right this minute. It’s nothing to do with the staff – they’re lovely, they’ve always been lovely, Dick still has more in common with them than any of his wealthy-born peers.

He just can’t stay there with Bruce gone.

Dick would be staying in the penthouse if it weren’t for one thing.

Damian al Ghul-Wayne.

Damian is ten months old, soft and pudgy with baby fat, and Dick can’t leave an infant in the penthouse while he’s out being Batman. So he’s been staying at the manor, where Damian has more room to get up and go. Damian’s safer at the manor too, with its better security and larger staff. Alfred would be at Dick’s side no matter where he was staying, and Dick wanted Damian to know the manor as home.

As much as it hurts Dick to be there without Bruce.

Which brings him to being out in the Batman suit with a concussion. It’s a terrible decision and the look Alfred gave Dick after Dick managed to get Damian to sleep promised retribution when Dick makes it back to the manor. Unfortunately, Dick needs to do some recon, and with Tim unavailable, looking for the man who murdered Bruce, Dick has to do it himself.

Dick’s been hearing about a new gang boss, one going by Red Hood. He and Oracle have been trying to pin down an identity. Most of what they’ve found is that Red Hood is operating out of Crime Alley.

Dick doesn’t need a fucked up Joker-wannabe making trouble in Gotham. The real one is bad enough.

(If Dick ever gets his hands on the Joker, Gotham will be down one clown. Bruce may have had hope, but the Joker hurt Dick’s best friend and killed his little brother. Dick’s exhausted enough and at the end of his rope, so if the Joker really wants to tango, Dick will make him work for it.)

Dick takes a short breath and hisses it out before shaking his head.

Rookie mistake, really.

The world swims; Dick barely catches the wall before he drops. The unyielding brick scrapes under his glove.

He really, really shouldn’t have come out here with a concussion.

A whistle has Dick stilling.

“Damn, Bats, lookin’ rough.”

Dick doesn’t know that voice. Dick doesn’t care to know that voice.

He grits his teeth and turns, standing tall and channeling Bruce.

The person is taller than Dick, broader too, wearing a short leather jacket and a red helmet.

“Red Hood, I presume,” Dick rumbles.

“Got it in one, Bats.” Red Hood sounds amused, almost pleased that Dick found out his identity so quickly.

Dick wants to go back to the manor and check in on Damian and go to sleep.

“What do you want?” Dick asks instead.

“What do I want? What do I want?” Red Hood invades Dick’s space, muscling in. “I want the Joker fucking dead, and I want you to have done it.”

That’s… surprisingly personal. Dick wants it too, not that he can say it.

“Anything else?” Dick holds his ground while Red Hood circles him.

“The gangs and the Families out of Gotham, for a start,” Red Hood says when he gets behind Dick. “Stay out of my territory and we’ll be fine, Bats.”

Dick recognizes the tell-tale buzzing of a vocalizer. Red Hood’s hiding something. Dick waits until Red Hood is in front of him again before he lunges, ignoring the way the streetlights leave smears in his vision. Their scuffle is short – Dick can’t afford for it to be anything longer. Not that it particularly matters; Red Hood gets in a lucky elbow strike to Dick’s head and his vision whites out briefly.

When Dick can see again, Red Hood has retreated well out of grabbing distance.

“You’re injured,” Red Hood accuses.

Dick grits his teeth. He doesn’t need this right now.

“Got a problem with that?”

“Not really. Less fun to fight you like this though.”

Asshole. Dick’s orthodontist is going to be thrilled to be doing more work, with how hard Red Hood has Dick gritting his teeth in anger. Dick swings, going for a punch and gets a fist to his carotid artery for his trouble. Dick’s vision doubles. Alfred is going to kill him.

Dick drops.

Red Hood yelps and backs up, startled. Dick can hear the gravel crunch beneath Red Hood’s boots, but his head is swimming too much to care.

Hands are at the edges of the mask, flicking the release catches in the correct order. Other than Dick, there are two people alive who should know how to do that. Neither of them are with Dick right now. The mask comes off and Dick just holds his eyes closed so he doesn’t lose what little he’d managed to stomach for dinner.

“Dick?” Dick hears movement and rolls onto his back on the ground. Opening his eyes reveals that Red Hood has taken off the helmet.

Dick squints, blinking a few times to be sure. “Jay?” The freckles look right, the slight hook to his nose, scar across his eyebrow from an accident from when he was a kid. There’s a few other scars that look wrong, a white streak to his hair that’s new. It’s Jason though, as old as he should be. As old as he would be.

Dick rolls over and loses his dinner.

He breathes through it, eventually coughing up bile.

When he’s done, Red Hood is looking at Dick with unabashed curiosity. And its. It’s definitely Jason.

“You’re hurt,” Jason accuses. “Where’s the Batmobile.” The words aren’t a question and Jason hauls Dick to his feet.

The world swirls again, and Dick shuts his eyes. “Alfred will want to see you,” Dick says instead. “Stuff happened.”

“Stuff happened. Stuff happened, Jesus Christ.” Jason mutters; he drags Dick’s cowl back into place and slams his helmet back on with a snarl. “Fucking shit, Dick. Batmobile. Now.”

Dick shakily gives Jason directions to the Batmobile, lets Jason drag him to the car. He puts up a token protest but Jason nearly bodily throws Dick into the Batmobile’s passenger seat. The whole car reverberates with how hard Jason slams the passenger door shut.

While Jason recklessly drives them back to the manor, he makes a quick call. Dick catches the word bike and promptly decides he doesn’t care.

Closing his eyes is the only way Dick makes it back to the manor without hurling again. Not that there’s anything left, nor was there much to begin with.

The Batmobile jerks to a stop and when Dick shoots forward to try to get out, he gets an arm slammed into his chest for his trouble. “Stay fucking there,” Jason growls.

“Alfred’s not going to like that,” Dick slurs.

“You’re not getting out of this car without help, so stay the fuck there.” Jason grumbles as he gets out of the Batmobile. He swings around and pulls Dick out, throwing Dick’s arm over his shoulders. “Alfred!” he shouts. The name reverberates through Dick’s skull. “Alfred! We’ve got injured!”

Dick lets Jason drag him further into the Cave, where Alfred is running from the computer to the garage.

Alfred skids to a stop, looking far more unsettled than Dick’s ever seen him.

“Helmet off. Now,” Alfred demands.

“It’s hard with one hand so give me a second.” Jason sounds almost cowed; as if this is finally real and he’s actually here in the Bat Cave. He does get it off though, and Dick’s arm is barely in the way.

“Master Jason?” Alfred whispers. Jason nods, tiny and insecure.

Dick slides off his shoulders, just a little. Everything’s been getting progressively wobblier. Jason yelps his name and makes him more secure. He and Alfred hustle Dick over to the tiny medical area of the Cave, get him situated in the bed. They talk about something, but Dick is a little too out of it to care.

He might be bleeding again, might have pulled some stitches. Dick stares up at the ceiling of the Cave, up into the darkness. His little brother is home. If Damian wasn’t safe, Alfred would have said something. Dick closes his eyes. Everything else can be dealt with in the morning.

[wndrbcy]

closed starter for @fairynuit | based on the first one here ft. kole's a little shit

♡ "This is a pretty shitty lookin' lair..." Stripped of her daggers, and hands bound behind her back, Kole's feeling a little bit snippy. Though, it serves her right for being so goddamn nosy—just her luck that a mostly innocent tailing would put her in the right moment to witness some shit. 'Rival gangs' always sounded so exhausting.. How was she supposed to know that this run-of-the-mill drug deal tiptoed off the Red Jennies' terf? "I know I look pretty stupid, but I've actually got a LOT riding on me bein' somewhere. Are you killing me or not?"

[ladyswillmart]

Serpent Isle Companion #2: Petra Base Stats:

Strength: 20

Dexterity: 15

Intelligence: 20

Combat: 7

Default Combat Style: Nearest

Carrying (02/40 Stones): Pot x1

❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧✤☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙

Robot or not, that barmaid’s smile could light up any room. Many a satisfied patron of the Blue Boar Inn commented to that effect in the guestbook anyway. Depending on the time of day it could be true in a very real and literal sense; the building was designed with an eastern exposure and large picture windows for revealing it, no doubt to ensure that the dining area would always be suitably bright and warm for the lunchtime rush. Unlike Mosh and her rats or the local gang of alley cats or Frigidazzi’s cherished bichon—who only needed a mere two and a half minutes after busting out of the confines of her manor to work out where the good sausages are—the sunlight was always allowed to stay in the tavern as long as it liked, without paying.

But back to the subject of our automaton barmaid and her apparently illuminating figure—say, a chromed chassis that cannot help but reflect the truth of everything that touches it, including light.

Say now. Say the tail end of the shepherd’s crook of dawn, say 8-ish. Breakfast time and there was Petra making her rounds, walking to and fro, from the kitchen to the dining area, to the dining area from the kitchen and blasting the room with the heady funk of frying something-or-other with every battering flap of the door. With the rhythmic swing of her mirror-polished limbs she splattered the splendor of a Little Island summer morning all across the room like specks of sunflower oil escaping the skillet.

No wonder why Rocco’s so stubborn about keeping the moggies out, a cat would go mad in here, Giselle thought as she watched so many bits of sunlight bounce off the walls and fixtures. At her right hand moped her fellow lag, apparently planning on enjoying his newfound freedom by settling his chin into his hand in a magnificent slouch and staring into space.

However a single stray glint was enough to catch Stefano’s eye; he snapped out of his exhausted stupor, even managing a lopsided grin as the waitress approached.

“Well hey there, good lookin’,” he greeted her. “What’cha been cookin’?”

Petra’s blue eyes blinked, off then on, only once. “Hashed potatoes,” she replied, voice flat before dipping into pure pity. “Oh no, Stefano... Is that the new line?”

“Afraid so,” said Giselle. “He must’ve rehearsed it on me a dozen times while we were in Freedom.”

“Giselle!” Petra approximated a gasp, so surprised she nearly dropped the one-handled pot she was holding. “Oh, I’m ever so glad to see you escaped! Safe and sound, yes? Goodness, you must be starving!”

“What about me...?”

“You too, Stefano.” But Petra’s eyes darkened slightly. “But if that pick-up line was the best one you could come up with, I think you might need a little more time in the pit.”

It was now evident that, alas, there would be no swooning this morning (much less a comped breakfast). Stefano sputtered sheepishness into a hearty guffaw. “More time in the pit! Hah! What’d I tell you, eh? Our Petra’s a terrific kidder. Oh, I am glad to be out of that place, let me tell you. And this lady!” Stefano pointed out Giselle with all the pride of a gentleman who just discovered that his new valet can juggle dinner rolls. “She’s the bee’s knees, a real darb. Couldn’t have busted out without her. Literally.”

“He means literally literally too,” she added. “There was some ridiculous trap in there where we both had to hit a switch at the same time—”

“—it was a lever, Giselle. Don’t you remember me practically bending a knot into my back as I tried to pull the blasted thing?” Stefano wiggled his eyebrows. “Nothing a good sternal rub couldn’t fix, eh?”

At least one person at the table knew where the sternum was, and Giselle knew who it wasn’t. “A lever, right,” she said. “And then there was this dragon—”

A loud-ish whizz-POP from the kitchen transformed Petra’s grin into a grimace.

“—oh dear, you two’ll have to tell me about it a little later!” she huffed. “No time to stay and chat at the moment, but I’ll take your orders if you’ve got something in mind. I’d recommend the hashed potatoes but something tells me you might be a bit late to that party...”

❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧✤☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙☙

Side Notes: Petra joins your party somewhat late in the game, normally for a specific side quest that involves a body-swap mechanic. I’m not sure if she comes with any equipment at all during this time. She starts the game equipped with a single pot, but no doubt this item gets swapped around as she goes about her business as the Blue Boar Inn’s barmaid.

She is unusual in that she is an Ophidian automaton, a humanoid robot created by the Order forces with the express purpose of transcending Emotion (a Chaotic principle). However, for whatever reason, Petra can experience a full range of emotions. My personal theory runs something like this (headcanon ahead!):

Petra is, in fact, the Order Mage (First Rank) Elissa, whom you meet in Silver Seed. Towards the end of the Ophidian War, she finally achieved her goal of becoming one of the elite Lords of Discipline—the first ever woman to do so. She had a custom body created and successfully underwent the mind-body transfer process. However, by the time she became an automaton, the war was basically over, with the forces of Chaos so thoroughly routed as to be functionally extinct. Order Hierophant Calithiss was already organizing an escape for her people via the Wall of Lights. Unfortunately, these plans did not account for the thousands of automated soldiers and servants in Order’s employ.

As Calithiss led her people into the Void and (hopefully) a new world, their automatons, including the much-vaunted Lords of Discipline, were simply abandoned, left to their own devices in empty cities. Some could maintain their programmed patrols for years and years while others—like Elissa—came to a full stop where their internal gizmos and geegaws ticked their last.

Centuries later her body would be discovered by Torrissio, who would restore to full operational capacity... with unfortunately vile intentions. However, her internal processing core suffered some damage at some indeterminable point (meaning, it is unknown if this happened due to Torrissio’s meddling or simply from prolonged exposure to the elements). In any case, while her memories of “Elissa” are very vague and inconsistent, she now possesses the ability to sense and display emotion, as if some repressed part of her own sapience has leaked into her processing core...

Also I find it kinda funny that Petra suffers hunger like the rest of your party. Not sure what she would eat. Maybe she needs some kind of fuel or oil though?

[berberriescorner]

Gang Friend and a Gentleman

Characters: Rio x Black!Reader x Black!OC (older woman of color).

Summary: Not even gon’ hold you, this is random AF. That’s what happens when my imagination runs wild and free. It’s cute, fluffy, and funny. Hope you all enjoy it. Reblogs and feedback would be greatly appreciated💖.

Warnings: Tiny bit of expletives. I’m trying to be a better me, but I just can’t stop cursing 😆. Y’all knew that was coming 😂. Oh, also, if you are a “Karen” please don’t take it personally, it’s just a damn story. That’s about it for the warnings.

Word Count: 1,400+.

Nights like this sometimes made Rio wish he worked a regular 9 to 5. Some stuff went down at the start of his day, which slowed things down with production. It didn’t help that Beth and her ditzy crew were ducking and dodging him. After all this time you would think they’d know to never play with his money. To say Rio was on edge was an understatement.

Now, here he was in the wee hours of the morning sluggishly sifting through the snack aisle of the grocery store. He was exhausted and in a terrible mood given that everyone had been messing things up all day. It also didn’t help that working late put him in the dog house with you. For the fourth night in a row, the left side of the bed was cold as you drifted off to sleep alone.

As if he wasn’t already irritated enough, Rio noticed a group of soccer moms gawking at him. It also didn’t help that he overheard them gossiping about all his tattoos and how he was probably some gang member. They continued to whisper about how it was annoying that he was so attractive. That all his good looks were going to waste.

He contemplated on whether he should mess with them by making them nervous, but before he could decide an older woman of color stepped in, “excuse me Karen one, two, and three! Would you mind getting your items and moving along? This young man would like to shop in peace. I swear, nobody’s ever checking for you pesky women. Yet you’re always up in somebody’s face minding everybody’s business but your own. Get your groceries and stop harassing him, please.”

Huffing and puffing the women grabbed a few things, tossed them into their cart, and moved on. The whole scene that just took place warmed Rio’s heart. Growing up, he had always wanted someone to nurture and look out for him just as this nice lady did.

“Thank you, ma’am. You didn’t have to do that. I'm used to it, so it doesn’t bother me. People gon’ talk regardless. I do appreciate that though. Please, let me pay for your groceries,” he offered as she gave him a warm smile while waving him off.

“Oh, sweetheart, you don’t have to do that. It was a pleasure giving those judgemental women a piece of my mind. We can never just be can we, honey? Do our best to stay to ourselves and that still isn’t enough,” she responded as she struggled to get something off a shelf.

Rio sprung into action, “here let me grab that for you.” He retrieved the items she needed and gently placed them in her cart. “Can I help you with anything else? I really would appreciate it if you would let me pay for your items,” he offered once more.

“No, that’s quite alright, sugar. My husband is working the third shift at his job. I just wanted to pick out a few of his favorite snacks. Gonna take them to him during his lunch break.”

“Oh, so you a real one. I see you holding your man down,” Rio praised her.

“High school sweethearts and married twenty years. Sure do hold him down. Got me a good man,” she boasted.

“Okay, I see you! Let me at least help you load them in your trunk,” he made a counteroffer.

“Now honey, you don’t owe me a thing. Anybody decent and kind would’ve done the same thing. I’ll tell you what you can do for me. Let me get all up in your business for a moment. Mind if I ask a nosey question,” she asked with a bright smile.

“Go right ahead, Mrs?”

“Mrs. Jensen.”

“Ask me anything you’d like, Mrs. Jensen.”

“Now baby, I’m married, but I ain’t blind. Also noticed that wedding ring. What is a good lookin’ young man such as yourself doing out at this time of night? Where is wifey? Being out at these hours with that handsome face ain’t gon’ do nothing, but get you in trouble,” she teased.

“Thank you for the compliment. You have a point. I just got off work, and to be honest, I’m already in trouble. I’ve been coming home late for the last couple of nights, wifey not too happy about that. I run a business. The kind that keeps me out late.”

Rio was trying to hint at his lifestyle without giving away too much information. Ms. Jensen leaned in, “You ain’t gotta explain it to me, baby. Make that money and get it how ya live,” she winked. He couldn’t help but think to himself, who’s dope ass auntie is this? Rio was taken aback and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Well let me stop holding you up. I’m sure you need to get your stuff so you can get home. You’re in enough trouble as it is. Baby, you should’ve gone home and had your groceries delivered tomorrow,” she joked.

“Naw, I need this stuff tonight. I was hoping I could find all my baby’s favorites. Distract her with food so she won’t be in too much of a hurry to curse me out for being late again.”

“She’s up waiting for you? Babyyy, she gon’ get you. Not you distracting her with late-night snacks.”

“More than likely she’s been sleeping for a little bit and now she’s up trying to satisfy a craving.”

“She’s pregnant? That’s wonderful! Is it your first?”

“No ma’am.”

“Your second?”

“It’s baby number three for us,” he boasted like a proud father.

“Boy, get them snacks and get on home. Those snacks may not be enough to save you. Then again, y’all on ya third baby so she must be a forgiving woman.”

Rio was about to agree with her as his phone signaled a FaceTime call. You were up hungry, cranky, and very irritated by the fact that he still wasn’t home. He politely paused the conversation to answer your call. All Rio managed to get out was, “Hey mama,” before you started in on him.

“ Bro, am I a single mother now and you just ain’t tell me?”

“What I tell you about that bro shit? Mama, don’t start this nonsense.”

“Start what? I’m just saying. It’s like you don’t live here anymore.”

“Stop being dramatic, ma. You know I work late. Why do we keep having this argument? I’m tired, you’re tired, and we’ve both had a long day. I’ll be home shortly. I stopped to pick you up some food. I knew you’d be hungry by the time I got to the house.”

“Awww baby you stopped to get me food? Well, now I feel like a bitch.”

“What I tell you about calling yourself that? It’s just your hormones, I ain’t gonna take it personally, mama. You want me to stop and get you chicken nuggets and a milkshake too?”

“Yes, and a large fry. Please and thank you, daddy.”

“I got you, sweetheart. Give me ‘bout a half hour. I’ll finish shopping, and help this kind lady carry her groceries to the car. Then I’ll get your food and be headed your way, baby.”

“That’s sweet of you to help with her bags, such a sweet baby daddy. Can’t wait to see you and those bomb-ass chicken nuggets,” you responded now twerking for the camera.

“You can twerk for nuggets but when I ask it’s a problem,” he teased ending the call.

“I see you are not going to give up with these groceries. Let’s hurry and finish so you can feed that pretty lady and that growing baby.

Not only did Rio help Mrs. Jensen to her car, but he also managed to distract her at checkout. By the time she finished asking the store clerk for a price check, Rio had already paid for her groceries.

He would bump into Mrs. Jensen a few more times in the future. They would go on to become like family. Meeting each other’s families with them all merging as one.

I know this was random, but I just had to write it. Hope you liked it my lovelies💕. Don't forget to leave a comment and reblogs are greatly appreciated🥰.

Divider credit: @firefly-graphics

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[dailyadventureprompts]

Hi! (: I absolutely adore your work, reading it always seems to be a good way of finding some inspiration!

That being said, I’m looking to run one or two oneshots set in a world inspired by old western movies. I was curious what ideas you might have for factions or villains in that kind of setting

I love your work, and I hope you have a lovely day! (:

Adventure: Can't Play Dead/Wrong Side of the Tracks

There's two types of outlaws: the quick, and the dead, pray you never meet one who's both.

Setup: Joseph "Bloodletter" Blake, notorious outlaw, is at large again. This is a problem because Blake was caught and given a very public gallows trial some years ago, only to show up, murder both the magistrate and the hangman in full view of witnesses, then ride out of town before anyone can stop him.

Following rumors of other rampages, the party has headed out to the frontier town of Palisade (or Pale-Sadie as the locals call it), looking to track down the infamous outlaw and put him back in his grave. They're not alone in their task, bountyhunters of all stripes have been drawn to Palisade hoping to collect on the dead man's bounty, only to find their hunt cut short by the BlackDog gang, a ruthless bunch of desperados and Blake's old companions.

Adventure Hooks:

For the oneshot runner: The party is made up of those Blake wronged in a former life, giving them all a reason to gather together into a posse and go after him once he’s resurrected. During character creation, ask everyone to think about how the Bloodletter’s violence impacted their life, and how they’ve moved on (or not) in the past few years. This will give you plenty of emotional strings to tug on during the following adventure. 

The party arrives in town shortly before the Blackdog gang does, letting them do a bit of investigation while tussling with rival hunters, having themselves a shootout or a brawl brawl or two before the desperados descend on the town and begin a violent search of their own. 

It seems The Dogs seem to have a bone to pick with their former leader: Apparently before he was caught, Blake led the members of his gang in some grand robbery, stealing enough treasure to set them up for life, only for Blake to get killed shortly before they were supposed to meet up and split the loot, leaving the gang in a lurch. Since Palisade was nearby where he was caught, the dogs figure the bloodletter stashed the loot somewhere around the town and are willing to do anything to find it. The party will still need to continue hunting for clues, but this time under the violent scrutiny and risk of overwhelming reprisal if they tip the dogs off.  

One of the bountyhunters stands out from the test, mainly in that she carries a haunted skull in addition to her sixshooters and is backed up by a number of gunslingers the party have already killed in their manhunt. Sheila Mourn is a necromancer, one who learned of Blake’s purloined loot and decided to ask the bloodletter himself where to find it. Her summoning of Blake’s spirit failed however, unleashing him back upon the world of the living. If the party is willing to cut her in on the payoff, she’s willing to use her thralls and her magic to give the party an edge in the upcoming confrontation, perhaps even leading them in the direction of Blake’s hiding place should their clue gathering have failed. 

Blake is holed up in an old tin mine (one his parents used to work in before it was exhausted and where he subsequently hid the treasure), planning his next move. Half bound by sheila’s binding and disoriented from a patchwork resurrection job, he’s put a number of traps and a number of monstrous cave dwellers between him and the outside world, hoping to buy time to get his head right. Just as the players are about to subdue him, he’ll fire off ne last shot, igniting a cache of dynamite and bringing the whole mine down on them.

Rocks fall, everyone dies, and the party wake up aboard a train. It doesn’t take longer than looking out a window to see the ash choked abyss beyond to realize something isn’t right. Through a combination of ire, wild necromancy and high explosives, their quarry has managed to literally blow them to hell, leaving the party to find their way back to the mortal plane before the great engine makes its final stop.

Setup pt 2: The party has found themselves aboard a colossal train known as “The Revelator”, which goes screaming through the lightless reaches of hell accumulating the souls of recently departed sinners. Blake ended up here after his first death, and the weight of his departed soul once again descending into the pit has created a wake that has pulled the party with him. The train is full of wicked souls in varying states of maddened undeath, and is overseen by a crew of devils who run the train as a sort of combination prison and hotel, playing the part of conductors, porters, engineers, bellhops, and waitstaff with a malicious glee. Time doesn’t pass on the Reveleator, and opinions among the mortal passengers vary between their ride being an eternal punishment, or whether the train will one day pull in at some hellish station in the iron city of Dis. 

This adventure is best run as a prisonbreak, where the party has access to a birds eye view of their options and should construct a plan to escape. There are multiple avenues off the train, including some the party won’t regognize till they’re well under way.   It should also be noted that while the devils don’t allow fights on the train, passengers “board” with whatever weapons or abilities they possessed in life, and the same suseptability to bodily harm. Any fight causes an alarm to sound, causing the devils will arrive in 1d4+2 rounds to break it up, meaning of the party is quick they may be able to get some punches in. It is also important to note that being damned, there’s no risk of them dying, but injuries linger and must heal naturally over time. 

Here’s a list of potential cars, and the opportunities they contain: 

Passenger Cars: Though the train itself seems to be infinite, passing through from one passenger platform to another seems to lead the party into a limited number of potential spaces, each one populated by a different cast of souls. Upon traveling through any door on the train, the party may always choose to have it open onto their original passenger car. The souls here are a rowdy, fearful lot, and know a little of what’s going on in the other cars. 

Tender: A prison within a prison, the tender is where souls too rowdy or dangerous to quietly wait in their seats are locked up, waiting their turn to be fed to the train’s great engine and burned for all eternity. The souls here know the train’s deepest secrets, but sneaking in to see them is likely to end up with the party thrown into a cell alongside. 

The Locomotive: Fortress cathedral of the hellish train, assaulting the locomotive is likely to be suicide, but fighting their way to the end will allow them to set the train’s destination (the mortal world) and blow the whistle signaling it to stop. 

Gaming Car: a casino on wheels, where the devils take their breaks to gamble with the most desperate of passengers. Bets here are made in “quarters”, which pertain not to mortal currency, but units of mercy that the sinners might expect upon reaching their final punishment. The games are rigged in the house’s favor, but the payouts can be in secrets, infernal power, or devilish trinkets the party might use to earn their way out.

Dining Car: a massive feast hall filled with “first class” passengers, meaning those denizens of the lower planes that chose the revelator as a vacation spot and means of conveyance. Passage to the dining car must be earned through either the gaming hall or helping one of the tender prisoners escape, but will allow the party to hobknob with fiends not directly set on their capture. One (who the party first encounters in the gaming car) wants something stolen from the baggage car, and is willing to offer to smuggle the party back to the mortal plane in her extensive luggage if they’ll pinch it for her.  

Baggage: A grand vault of suitcases crates and other containers, Baggage can only be accessed by taking the long way through the stock cars, or by pinching a key from one of the porters. 

Stock cars: Rough and industrial, these cars are not covered by the Revelator’s provision against violence and so are home to a hierarchy of violent spirits which occasionally raid the rest of the train. Blake has found himself here again, and waits for the party with a team of other cutthroats

Cattle Car: One of the devils of the dining car is DESPERATE for a steak, no matter how much the serving staff denies him and is willing to front the party a small fortune in Quarter if they’ll go back to the cattlecar and get him a slab of cowflesh. Only once they’re in the cattle car do they realize that these cars contain a single very large, fire breathing fiendish bull that’s been driven mad by repeated butchering's. The party will need to defeat it, or deal a critical hit with a slashing weapon if they want their bloody prize. 

Wheel Wells: The secret passage throughout all the train, the wheel wells can only be discovered by pinching a key from an engineer in the gaming car, or by falling off the train, to be snatched out of the air by a much put-upon working class devil (named Hammerthumb) that really couldn’t give two figs about punishing sinners as he’s been chained to the machines he’s forced to maintain. Humid and full of lurking souls gone feral over centuries of suffering, Hammerthumb is willing to lead the party through the wheel wells beneath the different cars ( allowing stealthy entry to the baggage, tender, and locomotive) if only they’ll free him. 

Further Adventures:  If the party chooses to continue their adventures upon returning to the mortal world, they’ll find that Sheila has departed with most of the treasure, having used her skeleton crew to dig out the collapsed mine. Blake’s body is mangled, but still recognizable, meaning they might be able to collect on the bounty, provided they can sneak it past the Blackdogs.  finally they’ll have to worry about one of the Revelator’s most dogged conductors, Scratch, who notes their souls absence in his ledger as a personal failing. Scratch considers the party’s tickets already punched, and will haunt them through future adventures looking to drag them back, even if he has to unleash a few other wicked souls to do his dirtywork. 

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[chaostheoryy]

Take Good Care [Cobb Vanth X GN!Reader]

Summary: When Freetown’s beloved sheriff comes home after another long day of work, you welcome him back with a smile and warm lap to rest his head. Of course, what starts as an innocent head massage can sometimes become something far more intimate.

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Sexual content including handjobs, orgasms, implied oral sex, and other extremely horny life choices that involve the consumption of certain viscous bodily fluids

Word Count: 2.8K

A/N: This one started out as a response to an anon’s innocent request for post-work comfort and cuddles but my mind apparently had other plans. Apologies to anyone looking solely for delicate fluff; this ain’t it. I don’t know what slutty spirit possessed me because I stayed up past 2:00 to write this and have zero regrets. Again, no beta. We die like dumb, horny men.

Being the sheriff of a sun-baked town in the middle of the deserts of Tatooine has never been easy for Cobb. Ever since he swore an oath to protect the people of Mos Pelgo (or Freetown as it has come to be called) he’s spent majority of his time chasing off unwanted trouble. Whether that trouble be a gang of shifty spice runners or a massive krayt dragon, Cobb Vanth is the man to go to.

It’s an exhausting life, one that has placed him in deadly situations more often than any one man should experience. But to have the trust of the people and the comfort of knowing he will always be the town’s first line of defense has made every sleepless night and broken bone worth it. Nothing brings a big ol’ smile to his face like seeing Freetown prosper.

Well, except maybe you.

The moment you blew into town, he knew you were something special. You’d been through hell. He could see the toll the desert had taken on your body when you walked into the cantina. Your clothes were tattered, your skin dry and dirty. You didn’t have a single credit to your name or even a spare shawl to wrap around your head. And yet there was an unexplainable gleam in your eye. Despite your struggles, despite all of your loss and loneliness, you had hope. You were an oasis among the dunes and, Maker, did he want to know what it felt like to drink its waters.

He welcomed you personally to Freetown that day, showing you around and introducing you to some of its people. You appreciated the gesture, thanking him before you told him that you weren’t even sure you would stay longer than a day or two. With a grin so casual you could have sworn you’d known each other for years, he simply replied, “Well, no matter what you decide to do, you’ll always have a friend in Freetown should you need me.” It was just the kind of sentiment a lone wanderer needed to hear so you elected to stay. Just for a few days, you had told yourself. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and all the while, Cobb Vanth wormed his way into your heart.

Now, half a year after stumbling into town for the first time, you have no intention of going anywhere.

“Y’know, I’m not sure I’m ever gonna get used to this.”

Pausing your patchwork on one of Cobb’s shirts, you look up to find him leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed and a crooked smile on his face.

You raise your brow. “Used to what?”

His smile grows impossibly wider despite the exhaustion in his eyes. Hell, if it weren’t for the dark circles underneath them, you’d probably never even notice just how worn out he is.

“Oh y’know,” he says as he pries himself from the doorway, “Stumblin’ back home to find myself starin’ down the most heavenly person I’ve ever seen. I could do this every day for the rest of my life and feel like I’m lookin’ at you for the very first time.”

You can’t help but chuckle as he strides across the room toward your resting place on the sofa. “You been writing poetry between rounds or something? I’ve never heard a guy say something so lovey-dovey.”

“What can I say? You make a fella want to dote.”

“Well don’t get carried away. We don’t need everyone in Freetown thinking that the sheriff’s gone soft,” you tease.

Cobb feigns offense. “You suggesting I can’t do my job, darlin’?”

“Mmm…Not necessarily. But I am suggesting you kick off those boots and lay down before your knees buckle.” You place the shirt on the table beside the sofa and pat the empty space next to you. “C’mon.”

There’s the briefest moment of hesitation on his end, almost as if he’s debating whether he wants to keep up the tough sheriff routine. But just as quickly as the thought reaches his mind, it bolts for the hills and he finds himself tossing his dusty boots into the corner of the room. Then, with a low groan, he collapses onto the sofa.

Like clockwork, his head falls onto your lap and your fingers immediately find their way between those beautiful silver locks. To this day it amazes you just how soft each strand is. He spends hours upon hours out in the sun and blowing sand and yet he has a head of hair so perfect it would make any man jealous.

“How’s the new deputy?”

Cobb lets out a sigh, rolling his eyes at the mention of his hot-headed subordinate. “Still alive,” he scoffs, “But that’s about all the good I have to speak of.”

“That disappointing, huh?”

“Until he learns to keep his mouth shut and his finger off the trigger, I don’t think there’s anything I can do to reel ‘em in. It’s an attitude problem. If you wanna do the job for any reason other than helping the town, then you’re not gonna get very far.”

“Give him time. We all have our adjustment periods,” you say with a reassuring smile.

“Somethin’ tells me his is gonna take a whole hell of a lot longer than I’d like.”

“Then it’s a good thing he has the best sheriff on Tatooine to show him the ropes. If anybody has the means to keep him in check, it’s you.”

Cobb tilts his head back a bit, looking up at you with a cheeky grin. “Well you sure know how to charm a guy. You always been this smooth?”

“Only when I want to be. And only for unbearably hot lawmen with red scarves.”

“Thank the Maker I never got rid of this ratty ol’ thing then,” he muses as he flattens the end of his scarf against his chest.

“Honestly, count your blessings. I would have hit the road as soon as you started flirting with me if you didn’t have it wrapped around your neck when I met you.”

The two of you exchange smiles, his laughter rumbling in his throat as he gazes up at you. His eyes are so soft, so full of love an adoration that you want to lose yourself in them.

While one hand continues to massage his scalp, you bring the other one up to cup his cheek. As soon as it makes contact, the fine hairs of his beard begin to gently scratch and tickle your skin. Some days the feeling drove you up the wall and made you consider taking a razor to his jaw while he was sleeping at night. Right now, however, it’s perfect.

Cobb’s fingers wrapped around your wrist, pulling your hand to his lips so he could kiss the butt of your palm in reverence. You let out a gentle sigh of happiness. These were the moments you treasured most: the little acts of intimacy that reminded you just how lucky were to have stumbled into his life. If you had to cross the dunes on foot a hundred times over just to have him like this another day, you’d do it.

“Alright, enough with the puppy eyes,” he says after a long moment of pleasant silence, pausing only to press another kiss to your knuckles, “Let’s fix this whole get up.”

He sits up with another quiet groan. One knee remains propped up on the sofa while the other leg stretches out to hold him upright. Now towering over you, he grabs your calves one by one and hoists them up onto the cushions between his open legs so that he has you laying flat beneath him with your head propped up on the arm of the sofa. Then, taking great care not to place the entire weight of his body on top of you, he finagles his way down to rest at your side, one leg bent to drape over your thighs and one elbow digging into the sofa to keep his upper body lingering above you.

The warmth and weight of his figure pressing against yours is an absolute delight. With your hip wedged against his groin and his breath tickling your cheek, you feel a very familiar twist of excitement in your stomach.

“Got a problem with me taking care of you, sheriff?”

The corner of his mouth curls upward into another crooked smirk. “Oh, trust me, sweetheart, you’ll still be takin’ care of me,” he replied with a subtle roll of the hips, “I just prefer the view from up here.”

You crumple his scarf between your fingers and pull him down to steal a kiss, that familiar tickle of his beard against your skin sending a jolt of electricity to your gut. When he pulls back, he lets out a long, pleased sigh that coaxes a small rush of hot air over your lips. It takes an immeasurable amount of self-control not to whimper and seek out the satisfaction of another kiss. Instead you settle for a counter move and shift your leg to rub your thigh against his groin.

Swallowing a groan of pleasure, he pushes himself forward just enough to pin your body to the sofa. “Easy now, baby. We don’t want this to end too fast.”

You tighten your grip around the fabric of his scarf and jut your chin skyward in a small gesture of stubborn defiance. When you offered your lap as a resting place for his weary head, the last thing you expected was to find yourself on your back with the heat of arousal burning inside of you. Yet here you are, heart pounding in your chest and the ghost of his lips lingering on your mouth.

“You better kiss me good,” you murmur lowly, “Or I swear on every last one of my ancestors’ graves that I will walk out of this room and leave you to take care of yourself.”

Apparently a threat is exactly what was needed because the words flip an unseen switch in his brain and his eyes darken. His lips come crashing into yours with the hunger of massiff that hasn’t had a lick of meat in days. You release the scarf from your grasp and wrap both arms around his neck. Your fingers find their way back to his head, burying themselves in his hair. Curling a few locks between your digits, you give an experimental tug. The sound that it draws from his throat is so guttural and uninhibited that you nearly lose control.

He tilts his head, nose scrunching up against your cheek as he drives his tongue between your lips. You welcome him eagerly with a quiet moan. Teeth clank together and breaths hitch as you kiss one another with reckless abandon. It doesn’t take long before you’re ripping the scarf from around his neck and blindly fumbling for the buckle of his belt.

“Off,” you whisper against his mouth, fingers helplessly tugging at the waistband of his pants.

He immediately obliges, slipping the belt from around his hips and hastily undoing his pants so you can have your way with him. You shove your hand inside the newfound access point and give his cock a single squeeze through his underwear. The kissing comes to a screeching halt as Cobb’s jaw goes slack with a breathless moan.

“Keep going…Please…”

There’s definitely no need to ask twice. Using both hands, you push his pants down past his hip and dig his cock free from its cotton restraint. As if his head has become far too heavy for his neck to hold, Cobb’s forehead presses firmly against yours. Keeping one hand at his groin, you bring the other up to cradle his cheek. He’s putty in your hands now and, Maker, are you living for it.

Fingers wrapping delicately around the base of his cock, you begin to drag your palm along its length. The movements are slow at first, your focus mainly directed at easing him toward release. But when you swipe your thumb across the tip and feel the familiar warmth of pre-cum coat the tip of your finger, you know you won’t be able to drag out the work for very long.

On the next pull of your hand, you tighten your grip on his cock. The extra pressure hits the perfect nerve and makes his hips instinctively buck forward.

“Ohhhh, baby, just like that,” he murmurs before biting back a deep groan in response to yet another squeeze of your hand.

You pump your hand some more, careful not to put too much pressure into your grip. There’s an air of desperation surrounding him but you know you can’t bring him to edge just yet or you risk watching him crumble before he really gets worked up.

The hand at his cheek gently pushes at his jaw, guiding his mouth back to yours. He accepts the wordless invitation and pries his lips apart to welcome your eager kiss. With his mouth locked against yours once again, you adjust your grip and slide your hand along his length at a new angle that forces the head of his cock to drag across your wrist with every stroke.

Cobb moans into your mouth at the new sensation. He doesn’t say anything but the way his hips jerk forward makes it perfectly clear that he approves. And if the faltering of his kisses says anything else, it’s that he’s getting very, very close.

“Go ahead, darling,” you coo against his lips, “Let go…”

With a tiny nod, he shifts his body slightly, angling his hips just enough to allow himself to move freely. Practically straddling your thigh at this point, he starts snapping his hips and shamelessly fucking your hand.

Watching him give in to his instincts like this is satisfying beyond words, especially when he starts to lose control. This desperation, this fervent need for release is something only you get to see. To everyone else in Freetown, Cobb Vanth is a charming yet ruthless gunslinger that can take down an entire gang of criminals with one blaster. But here, in the hallowed walls of his home, he’s yours to hold and to ravish.

As his movements gain speed and his breathing gets too heavy to stifle, he ducks his head into the cove of your neck. The obscene sound of his pre-cum slicked cock sliding between your fingers is just loud enough to be heard beneath the groans seeping from his throat. With his climax fast approaching, his breathing quickens and what once was deep, guttural moans has now become something akin to helpless whimpers.

Knowing fully well that one little thing could set him off, you use your thumb to push against the sensitive flesh just beneath the tip of his cock. A choked moan crawls out from deep within his chest and his hips jerk forward violently as he cums. You do your best to contain the mess, catching most of the fluids with your outstretched hand. A few erratic bucks of hips, however, cause his cock to slip through your grasp and paint a strip of cum from the bottom of your jaw down to your collarbone. You almost gasp at the sensation of hot, viscous fluid hitting your skin. It’s not an unwelcome feeling by any means, but it catches you off guard nonetheless.

With a few gentle pumps, Cobb rides out his orgasm and trembles above you. He leans a bit heavier on your side but manages to keep himself from collapsing entirely. A few labored breaths and he pries his head from the comfort of your neck. His eyes immediately trace the line of cum along the other side of your jaw and throat. Unable to hide his pleasure at seeing you like this, he mutters a breathless curse.

“You truly are the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen,” he whispers, “And, Maker, do you know how to tear me apart…”

To your surprise, he doesn’t get up to find a rag or wipe the fluid with his thumb. Instead he leans over and drags his tongue across your skin, following the trail of cum from beginning to end. It’s something so incredibly obscene that you find yourself speechless and shuddering with arousal.

Before he can swallow, you yank him into a hungry kiss and claim your share. With the taste of him on your tongue and the mind-boggling realization that he’s tasting it too, it’s impossible not to moan into his mouth. You had convinced yourself a while back that it was impossible for him to get any hotter. Now you have no choice but to thank the stars that you were wrong.

Cobb’s signature smirk finds it’s way back to his lips when he pulls back to find you gazing at him with pupils blown wide and lips red and swollen. “Oh I know that look,” he purrs as his thumb rubs at your jawline, “Don’t you worry, sweetheart, I’m gonna take good care of you…”

When you find yourself completely naked with his head between your thighs not long after he utters those words, you have no doubt that the sheriff is going to make good on his promise.

[weebswrites]

Heyy! I recently came across your blog and a absolutely love your writing! 🥰

Would it be possible to request an angst hc with the Obey me brothers? So maybe the bros were having a bad day and they lash out at the MC. The MC leaves them alone and the brothers don’t hear from them for hours and think MC just doesn’t want to talk to them but in reality MC got attacked and is barely alive. And maybe MC summons the brother with what little strength they have left so the brother is met with an MC laying in front of them almost dead.

Ah I’m sorry I know this is a lot so feel free to ignore this if it’s too much! Have a good day :D

A/N: YES YES YES I LOVE THIS THANK YOU ANON

The Demon Bros Saving Your Life (this will have swear words and light descriptions of violence so if that makes you uncomfortable read at your own discretion pls I love u guys)

Lucifer

“MC, please just leave me alone” he spat, trying to stay calm but losing his patience quickly

“Lucifer, I’m not letting you shove me away. You can do that to your brothers, but not to me” you insist, remembering your conversation where he said to ignore him when he tried to push you away

“I’ll do what I want to you, human, don’t forget your place” he boomed, so loud your eyes reactively filled with tears

“Fine, do what you want” you mutter at him before storming out, slamming the door behind you

He knew he fucked up, but wasn’t in the headspace to chase after you, so he stayed in his office and worked. He’d apologize later

You ran out of the HoL, just wanting to be out of Lucifer’s reach for a bit. You decide to go to Purgatory Hall to visit Simeon, your best friend outside of the HoL, but take the scenic route there to clear your head a bit and calm down. Before you know it the sun is setting, and figure you should get to Simeon’s sooner rather than later.

“Hey, aren’t you Lucifer’s bitch” you hear from an alleyway, and suddenly you’re just as annoyed as before. But you know better than to engage with any demons that are egging you on like that, so you keep walking

Then you’re grabbed from behind and slammed against a brick wall, hitting your head roughly against the surface

“Fuck” you exhale, vision already blurring

“Think you can ignore me, human? You’re weak here, nothing” the demon drove a fist into your stomach, causing you to cough

“I’ll show you not to come back to the Devildom ever again, filthy human”

By the time he was done you were a bloody mess crumpled on the ground, in the fetal position to protect your vital organs as much as you could, but you felt yourself losing consciousness

The demon spat on you before leaving, laughing as he walked away. Your body was in so much pain, and you felt yourself losing your grip on reality

You could felt your lips moving as your vision turned to black, and your last coherent thought before blacking out was realizing you were summoning Lucifer

“I...summon the Avatar of Pride...” you inhaled as much as you could, but his name came out a whisper, “Lucifer”

You saw his legs appear before you lost consciousness, thankful you were actually able to summon him

“What the fuck” was his first comment, as he didn’t see you at his feet, but as soon as he did he felt his heart shatter

“MC! Fuck, MC. MC?” he shook you very lightly, and when you didn’t respond he went into overdrive. He picked you up gently in his arms after examining where you were most badly injured, as to not make anything worse

He was in demon form from the moment he saw you, wanting as much of his strength at his disposal as he could have. He flew you to the nearest hospital (idk if there’s a hospital in the devildom but there is now) and demanded you be placed in the best care possible, and also made it very clear that he wasn’t going to leave your side

He watched as doctors sewed your wounds closed and put an IV in your arm, unable to take his eyes off their every move. After a few hours, the doctor turned to Lucifer

“They should wake up within a few hours,” the doctor said before leaving

“Thank you. Please mail the bill to Lord Diavolo and I’ll take care of it” he said, figuring that was easier than having to fill out the HoL on paperwork

He was then alone with you, and he scooted his chair next to your bed and took your hand in his, holding it gently

“I’m so sorry, MC” he whispered and pressed his lips to the top of your hand as he tried not to cry

He sat there for what felt like hours, but just twenty minutes passed before he felt you move slightly

Your eyes fluttered open, and you took a moment to adjust to the lights

You felt warmth around your hand, and recognized it instantly, looking to your side and locking eyes with Lucifer

“Luci” you whisper, voice hoarse from not having used it for hours

“MC, I’m so sorry” his voice was soft and you could tell how distraught he was, “I never should have snapped at you, it was out of place and rude and I’m sorry” he rambled on like this for a minute, and you just appreciated his genuine care for you as you listened to him speak

“Lucifer” you cut him off, “Thank you for taking care of me. I forgive you”

Mammon

“Just get a job! Then your brothers won’t shit on you all the time” you suggested. Mammon had come to you venting about how some of his brothers had ganged up on him again and demanded that they pay him back. You were more understanding than you probably should have been with him, but wanted him to be proactive and get himself out of this on his own

“It isn’t that easy! Damnit MC, I thought you understood me!” he snapped, and you decided you should just let him cool down

“Look, Mammon. I’m always here for you with this, but you can’t keep complaining about this and not doing anything about it when there’s an easy solution. I have to go study with Satan for a test we have, so I’m going to go meet him. Text me when you’ve calmed down”

You meant it to be caring, but his mind was clouded, and he took it as you pitying him and running away - his greatest fear

“Fine!” he huffed, turning his back to you

You were saddened by this, but genuinely had to go, so you turned and left, thankful for the bit of time that you knew Mammon needed alone to clear his head

You were walking to the library, in the middle of a text to Satan when you accidentally bumped into another demon

“Shit, my bad” you apologize, but the demon had no intention of letting you get away with that

“A human, eh?” he grabbed your shirt collar and instantly drove a fist to your jaw

“What the fuck” you tried to say, but couldn’t really speak

The demon punched you a few more times, and you thought that they had the strength of Beel with how much it hurt

Your body was tossed to the ground and kicked before being abandoned, and you wished you didn’t take the back way to the library

“I summon the Avatar of Greed, Mammon” you whispered, hoping your words were enunciated enough for the summoning to work

“MC!” he noticed you instantly, crouching down and putting a hand on your arm, “MC what happened. Wait don’t talk, can you stand?”

You began to sit up, which he took as a yes, and he wrapped his arm around you to help you stand

He studied your injured face as you stood, and wished he had the power to heal you instantly

“Come on MC, the hospital is close”

“T-Text Satan I’m not coming” you handed him your phone, not wanting Satan to think that you ditched him

Mammon exhaled a laugh through his nose, “You’re always thinking of others, MC” he commented, “We really don’t deserve you”

You just shook your head, feeling like you didn’t deserve the joy the demons brought you

Mammon stayed by your side until you were completely healed, which took a few weeks. He even signed up for a job with Akuzon DC. It was the most selfless you’d ever seen him, and you thanked him for his kindness once you were healed with a gift card to his favorite store

Leviathan

“Just stop! I get it, you have other friends, I don’t care. Go have fun with them” he snapped. Levi hadn’t slept in about 48 hours and you could tell

“Levi, please sleep. I’ll be back in a few hours” you try to comfort him, but he isn’t hearing it

“Whatever, MC”

You’re hurt by his attitude, but know he’s just exhausted. You turn to leave and plan to head back to him a bit sooner to spend extra time with him (quality time love language lookin demon) (also the avatar of envy but that’s not as funny of a joke so)

You were planning to meet with some classmates to study, but you ran into a demon on your way that had been bullying you for being human for the whole semester

You hadn’t told any of the brothers because you didn’t want to make a big deal about it, but you were worried suddenly what the demon would do to you outside of the school grounds

“Hey, it’s the human” she snarled, stepping in front of you to stop your path

“Sorry, I’m busy” you tried to walk around her, but she had no intention of letting you go unscathed

“Not so fast” she stomped her foot over yours to stop you and shoved you back against a light pole nearby

You felt the cold metal slam against your spine and grunted in discomfort

“Can’t take a little pain? That’s too bad” she said, taking you by your shirt and  throwing your body on the road

She kicked your body for what felt like minutes while spitting insults at you, before leaving your weakened body on the ground

You tried to get up once she was gone but screamed in pain, not able to move a muscle

“I summon the Avatar of Envy, Leviathan,” you said, tears starting to run down your face at his name

“Levi, Levi please, help me” you whispered as he appeared

“MC, I’m here” he kneeled down beside you and inspected your body, “I’m here, don’t worry”

“Levi” your hand tightened around his jacket, “Help”

He picked you up, maintaining your position in his arms, and took you to the hospital as fast as he could while keeping you comfortable

He stayed by your side as much as he was legally allowed to while the doctors cared for your torso and x-rayed your foot. After a day or so you were allowed home, and he insisted that he stayed by your side until you were completely healed

Satan

“MC, I’ve asked you eight times to leave me alone, I’m clearly trying to read, can’t you take the hint?” he sighed exasperatedly and waited for you to leave, not intending his words to be so harsh but he figured you’d be fine

You were not fine! What the fuck Satan.

“Fine, screw you then” you retorted and left, slamming the door behind you

He realized that you weren’t fine, but wanted to finish his book. Then he’d apologize. But when we went to your room later that night to talk, you didn’t answer.

“MC, come on, open up. I’m sorry for earlier, can we just talk?”

Beelzebub was walking by, “I haven’t seen them since this morning, they left the house crying” he said awfully casually, “I never saw them come back”

Satan felt the blood drain from his face and he ran out of the HoL, ignoring Beel’s “I’m sure they’re fine now!” from behind him

He barely made it out of the doors before he was summoned, and he was confused before he realized the only way he could be summoned was by you

As soon as he was there he saw you, thrown against a dumpster, barely able to hold yourself up

“Satan” you called, voice weak, and he was at your side in less than a second

He stood in front of you and you got on his back, wrapping your arms over his neck

“Tell me what happened. Who did this” his voice was firm and you could almost feel the anger radiating off him

You muttered a name under your breath before resting your head on his shoulder, trying everything you could to not pass out

“Satan, talk to me. I can’t stay awake”

That scared him, so he walked to the hospital a bit faster, but gently still as to not cause you any extra pain

He started telling you about his book since that was all he did that day, but it ended up turning into a long apology for pushing you away and raising his voice earlier. You would have cut him off but you didn’t have the strength to, so you just listened to his words, noticing the thought he had clearly put into them throughout the day

“Satan-” you started, and he instantly stopped to listen, “I forgive you”

He was silent, a sense of relief and appreciation for you washing over him and he thanked you for your understanding of his anger as you arrived at the hospital

Similar to Lucifer, he demanded you to be seen by the best doctor there was on staff, price be damned. He watched intensely as the doctor checked you out, eyeing them up and down to make sure they were good enough and treating you with the same care he would

Once you were released he had Diavolo send a car to drive the two of you back to the HoL, where Satan had had your room prepared with new pillows (the kind you mentioned liking from his room, as well as new ones of the ones you had), freshly washed sheets and duvet, and a cup of your favorite drink waiting for you (he definitely didn’t bribe his brothers to get your room ready, not that it took much bribing)

In addition, each of the brothers had pitched in to get you flowers and a stuffed animal that you’d mentioned wanting, a few weeks ago. The sight of it all made you tear up, and you wrapped Satan in the tightest hug he’d ever gotten

Asmodeus

“I appreciate you trying to cheer me up, MC, but I just need some time by myself,” he said, and you could tell he was losing his patience

“Are you sure?” you offer one last time before leaving, wanting to make sure he really wanted to be alone

“Yes! I am!” he snapped, and you felt bad for pushing

“Sorry, Asmo. Feel better” you leave and take care to close the door as quietly as you can on your way out

You were having a bit of a bad day yourself, so you decide to go walk around the devildom and let the fresh air clear your head

Which ended up being a bad idea, as you ran into one of the demons that always hit on you in one of your classes.

“Hey, MC, you finally aren’t with any of those idiot brothers” he approached you and tried to touch your arm, but you pushed it away

“Oh, they’re fiesty. I’ll have to teach you a lesson” he spat on the ground next to you and before you knew it he pushed you against a wall and was punching you senseless

It felt like he’d never stop, but eventually it did, and he left you to bleed on the road. You tried to stand up, not thinking your injuries would be that servere, but you couldn’t move. You sighed and closed your eyes, exhaustion suddenly washing over you

You knew you probably had a concussion and some broken ribs, and that you shouldn’t lose consciousness, so you did the only thing you could think to do. You summoned Asmo.

“I summon the Avatar of Lust, Asmodeus” you spoke, and there he was

“MC! Babes, what happened? Where are you hurt” he knelt in front of you and looked over your body

“Ribs...and my head...” you whined, leaning forward for him to take you in his arm

Asmodeus was stronger than you realized, and he picked you up easily and started walking you back to the HoL. “Let’s get you laying down and I’ll call a doctor” he said gently, “Then Satan and I will take care of the idiot who did this”

Until you were healed he was by your side, bringing you anything you even thought of wanting and getting the classwork you missed from your classes

Beelzebub

“Hey Beel, what’s up!” you walked into the kitchen and greeted your favorite demon cheerily

He grunted, usually a sign that he should be left alone, but you wanted some Beel time and figured you’d just be cautious and give him his space

“How was your day” you asked innocently

“Not now, MC. I’m not in the mood” his voice was firm, and you took the message

“Got it, I’ll leave” you said apologetically, and left the kitchen. You were a bit upset by him pushing you away, but knew he just needed space. You decided to walk to get takeout for dinner, and made your way to the restaurant on your own.

That was a mistake. You weren’t even halfway there when you figured later you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time

“Is that a human? Here?” you heard from across the road, and sighed, hoping to get off easy

“Hey, human!” the demons walked over to you and you stopped, deciding to at least acknowledge them so they’d think they could insult you and move along

“Wow, I’ve never met a human in real life before” one of them smirked, “I wonder just how weak they really are”

“I wouldn’t test it, just because I’m a human doesn’t mean I don’t know some demons who would make your lives miserable if you hurt me”

The other demon scoffed, “You’re lying. What demon would befriend a human”

You were getting irritated at the attitude being thrown at you, so you decided to fight back with a little sass of your own, “Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub, and Lord Diavolo, to name a few” you smirked and crossed your arms

“Bullshit” one of the two demons got in your face, “there’s no way a demon like that would look twice at you”, and before you could begin to think of a comeback you felt a sharp pain in your side

You looked down to see a gash in your side, thankfully seeming to not have hit an organ, but it was still bleeding pretty badly. You didn’t know what to do, but didn’t really have the chance to do much because a few strong punches were delivered to your core immediately after

“Fuck” you mumbled as you crumpled to the ground, and heard the demons laughing as they walked away. You felt yourself bleeding pretty heavily, and knew you wouldn’t be able to make it back to the HoL

“I summon the Avatar of Gluttony. Beelzebub” you said, hoping you remembered how to use your pact correctly

He appeared before you and you let out a sigh of relief, then wincing in pain at your own action

“MC!” he instantly took off his grey hoodie and pressed it to your wound, “There’s an underground hospital close, is it safe for me to lift you or can you walk”

“I think I can walk, but can you keep an arm around me” you ask, and he obviously does

You get to the hospital and are instantly checked in and brought to a care room. Beel holds your hand and lets you squeeze it as tightly as you need as your wound is sewn up, and then the nurses give you pain medication for the next few weeks

You didn’t know the names of the demons who hurt you, but Lucifer found out easily with his many connections, and he and the rest of his siblings, along with Lord Diavolo, made sure that the two demons never so much as thought about you ever again

Belphegor

“Belphie, please let me in” you knocked on his door again, not knowing what had caused him to storm off in the first place

The door opened, but before you could say anything Belphie was talking

“MC, I’m fucking pissed right now, and the last person I want to be around is you” his voice was sharp, and you almost teared up at how genuine his words seemed

“Fine, okay, I’m sorry for trying to help” you responded before turning and running down the stairs from his room in the attic, wanting to give him space but also run away from him

You were going to try not to cry, but as soon as you stepped outside the HoL you couldn’t hold back anymore. Sniffling, you walked to the park nearby to sit at a bench and think. You pulled out your D.D.D. to text Beelzebub and ask him to check up on Belphie, but didn’t even unlock it before someone sat down next to you

You didn’t recognize who it was, and you wiped under your eyes as the demon began to speak

But they didn’t say anything near what you expected. Well, you didn’t know what you were expecting, but it wasn’t to be called a filthy human by a stranger

The demon proceeded to call you names, but you were too mentally exhausted to fight back, so you just sat and listened as they tried to get a reaction from you

“What, aren’t you listening to me? Stupid human” and the demon started punching you. Hard.

You tried to fight back at first, but compared to the strength of a demon you couldn’t really do much. Once you started losing consciousness the other demon left you to sit, laughing at your wounds

You didn’t know what to do, you didn’t want to bother Belphie if he was still in a bad mood, but you needed help. You pulled out your D.D.D. and saw a text from him, reading: ‘MC, I’m sorry. Please come back, give me a chance to explain’

As you couldn’t move, you realized your only option was to summon him, so that’s exactly what you did

“I summon the Avatar of Sloth, Belphegor” you suddenly got nervous, unsure why since you and Belphie were so close, but you knew he’d help you no matter what

“MC? MC holy shit” he sat next to you on the bench and you instantly leaned into him and started sobbing

“MC I’m so sorry, this never should have happen” he had an arm around you

You sniffled, “It isn’t your fault, I was just clearing my head” you reassured him, still hurt by his previous words but not at all blaming him for the other demon’s attack

He brought you back to the HoL and gave you ice packs for the bruises that were starting to surface, making sure you had everything you needed for the next many days until you were healed

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

A/N: This took me longer than I thought it would to write but I also kept taking breaks and had three classes today lol. But here it is !!! I love writing angst hehe so this was really fun

[ichigopanhpff]

Mitsuya x Fem!Reader: Begin Again Ch. 3

Editing: every writer's nightmare. Thanks again for the support on this small story. Recently, I read "Happiest Year" by @bxnten and it's really well written. Please give them some love!

[Previous Chapter] -- [Masterlist] -- [Next Chapter]

---

Arriving at (Y/N)’s place without troubles, the two settled in the living area, sitting cross legged from one another with the low table beside them.

“You remember Yuzuha and Hakkai, right?” Mitsuya began.

“Yeah… they’re Taiju’s younger siblings,” she recalled. “Hakkun came by your place pretty often.”

“Well…” The lilac haired boy filled her in on the current situation, starting with Takemichi, the newly appointed first division captain getting beaten up in front of the Shiba residence. Taiju is the current leader of Black Dragons, but Hakkai's apart of Toman, leading to the other captains to think he’s a spy. To make matters worse, he himself was under the impression Yuzuha was doing something dangerous on the side for Taiju; turns out he was right: she was collecting money from his wealthy clients in exchange for his military power.

Mitsuya had two choices: Either give Hakkai back to the Black Dragons to free Yuzuha and form a truce or keep Hakkai, leaving his sister in harm’s way and Toman would have an all out war on their hands.

His thoughts and heart then wandered to what Mikey said to him after meeting with Yuzuha: “We’re down to half now.”

Only three of the founding members of Toman are left: Mikey, Draken and himself.

With Pah and Kazutora still serving out their sentences in jail, only now did he realize how heavy Baji’s death weighed in Mikey’s heart and mind.

He even told him to leave the Black Dragons alone out of fear of losing him too. And that was the last thing he wanted to do to his friend.

It was a devil’s deal, but a necessary one for the sake of peace.

“(Y/N)… Do you think I made the right choice?” he asked with knitted brows, doubting his decision. His eyes looked much more exhausted than usual. “Lookin’ back on it now, the truce happened way too easily.” Mitsuya’s face showed worry. “Am I just overthinking it?”

“Your concern’s valid, given your close relationship with Hakkun and Yuzu-chan…” she sympathized. “Were there any objections to your decision within the captains?”

He searched his thoughts for a moment and responded “… For some reason, Takemitchy was very against it. I’m not sure what his reasoning is, but he’s still new as a division captain…”

“Do you think he knows something you don’t?”

“Who knows? He’s always been very… eccentric and stubborn, to say the least. His heart’s in the right place. I just hope he and his vice captain aren’t planning on doing anything stupid.”

“See, now that you said it out loud, the chances of that happening are very high,” his friend remarked as a matter of factly.

“Oh, goddamnit,” groaned Mitsuya and lightly face palmed.

“Hey, Mi-tan…” This time, it was (Y/N)’s tone that came off as worrisome, catching his attention. “Do you think Taiju’ll keep his word? Given what I heard ‘bout his personality as kids…”

“That’s what I think too,” he concurred and loosely clasped his hands with his elbows resting on the low table. “Yuzuha’s definitely hiding somethin’ and I can’t shake this uneasy feeling.”

“What will you do?”

“What can I do?” He sighed heavily and laid down on the tatami with his arms sprawled out. His eyes were fixated on the aged ceiling. “The truce is made, so neither gang can touch each other. Our hands are tied.”

She flopped down beside Mitsuya and placed her hands behind her head.

“But you’re stubborn,” she lightheartedly jabbed. “And you’ll find a way, even if you feel like you’re spinning your wheels.”

“I hate you know me like that,” her childhood friend noted with a light groan and closed his eyes. “It’s almost to the point of annoyance.”

“At least it’s ‘almost’ and not ‘fully’,” she replied back with a chuckle and a grin.

A comfortable silence settled between the two for a short beat.

“(Y/N)… Thanks for listening.”

“Of course…” She closed her eyes and relished in the peace. “And here I thought you were avoiding me.”

“There were a lotta movin’ parts and everythin’ went down fast,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to make you feel like that.” “You didn’t do it on purpose. It happens,” she brushed off. “Also, this is nice… Reminds me of when I used to do this with Hisa-nii whenever we talked about stuff.”

That’s right. Her half-brother.

“If you don’t mind my asking…” Mitsuya hesitantly brought up and turned his head to face his friend. “How did he… you know.”

Ever since she came back, this topic felt like the obstacle he's been trying to break, despite only learning of this less than a week ago. He personally doesn't like prying into people's lives, but this was (Y/N) here; she's one of his best friends, his confidante, his... person.

She knew for a fact he'd be the first person to be present if anything happened. That was the kind of person he is.

She stayed silent for a short moment, deciding how much to share.

“I-I mean,” he hastily cut in. “Only if you’re up for sharing.”

“… He was in Tokyo when it happened around March two years ago,” she revealed. “Hisa-nii was visiting colleges around the area that focused on computer science and anything tech related. He was always tinkering, be it a camera or some kinda computer part,” she reminisced with a small smile on her lips. “As he was heading back to his friend’s place for the night, he saw a girl getting harassed… by members of Black Dragons.”

Mitsuya’s breath audibly hitched in his throat as his lavender gaze widened and listened on.

“And him, being the righteous guy that he was, loved a good fight. So he dove in headstrong to save her.” (Y/N) paused for a moment to gather herself before continuing. “From what I remember reading in the police report, he managed to knock out most of them… Until one came up from behind and stabbed him with a knife.”

Her arms shifted from behind her head to the front, hiding her face from him when her eyes started feeling hot.

“Those assholes ran off like the cowards they were. The girl he saved stayed with him until the ambulance came…” she continued on while fighting the dark, seething rage bubbling inside her. “But by the time help got there, he already lost too much blood. Autopsy report said the knife hit a major vessel nearby his kidney and they couldn’t stop the bleeding in time.”

(Y/N) inhaled through her nose deeply as an attempt to calm down before talking.

“Dad n’ I…” she choked out with a low, quivering voice. “We’ve been grievin’ our own way after the funeral… He uses work to numb himself and I…” The emotional wall she built up these past two years crumbled away piece by piece in the form of tears. Her shoulders uncontrollably shook as she gradually broke into a full sob.

This was the first time she said all this out loud.

All these feelings she packed away exploded into the purest form of grief in tears and cries. There were so many things she wished she could’ve said to him, like how much she grew to love him as family, how thankful she was for him, and how grateful she was of all the nuggets of knowledge he passed down to her.

Those words and feelings were lost in the endless void he left in her heart.

While humans are on borrowed time, no one ever thinks of how short it is when spending it with another. And no matter how much time you perceived to have spent together, it only feels like a drop in the bucket in the grander scheme of things.

All Mitsuya could do was hold his friend in a tight hug as she let out her pain and stroked the back of her head as a form of comfort.

She’d been fighting all by herself. Suffering all by herself.

What could he do for her right now other than this? The two year radio silence made sense now.

Her hesitancy in giving him a direct answer about the Black Dragons and her sudden urge to want to be involved…

“(Y/N)… I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

That was all he could say.

Had he known, he would’ve been on the first bullet train to Sendai to be with her.

Mitsuya continued consoling her with the faint muffled sounds of her sobs and hiccups vibrating on his chest until she was able to calm down. Slowly pushing herself off, (Y/N) hastily wiped off any remaining tears streaming down her cheeks before sitting upright again.

“Sorry…” she noisily sniffled and continued to wipe stray tears away with her sleeve. “I didn’t expect it to hit that hard saying it out like that…”

“No one should’ve gone through what you did.” His mind briefly went to Mikey when they all found out about Shinichiro’s accidental death at the hands of Kazutora.

“I think you two would’ve gotten on well,” she said with a small smile through glistened eyes. “He may have looked mean, but had the kindest heart.”

“Would you take me to meet him one day?”

She silently nodded as confirmation. “I think… it’d make him happy. Or angry. Either or,” she finished with a dry chuckle.

Gradually regaining composure after opening her emotional Pandora’s Box, (Y/N) went to the kitchen for a glass of water. All the bawling dehydrated her.

“(Y/N)… I actually have something to tell you…” he hesitated before continuing. “And it involves your half-brother’s death.”

She immediately turned her head with a perplexed expression. Mitsuya took a breath to steady himself, not knowing how this information would mentally affect her, but he felt she deserved some closure. She came back to the living room area and sat down with her full attention on him.

“Toman actually defeated the Black Dragons when we first formed…” he told her. “It was the ninth generation.”

Her body suddenly jolted and froze, her breath hitched in her throat. Her fists clenched on top of her lap tightly.

“Wh-Wh-What do you mean?” she asked in confusion between hiccups. “Generation? Black Dragons right now isn’t the same one?”

Mitsuya went on to explain a gang’s generation structure. As with all gangs, the passing of the torch to the younger members create the generation that represented the group as a whole. The current 10th generation was the worst by far in regards to violence.

“We started Toman ‘cus one of our friends was fighting them alone,” he continued. “And it just so happened after your brother’s unfortunate passing was at the hands of the same generation we took down.”

(Y/N) huffed in disbelief and breathlessly laughed.

“What kinda fucked up intertwining of fates is this?” she bitterly remarked and covered her eyes with her left hand, still digesting the turn of events. “Here I was, hesitating in pulling the trigger for revenge… When you already did that for me indirectly.”

Suddenly sitting up straight and placing both her knuckles onto the tatami, she bowed her head at Mitsuya like a yakuza member.

“(Y-Y/N)?!” The lilac haired boy suddenly jumped up from the floor, taken aback by his friend’s gesture. “What’re you doin’?”

“You have my thanks, Mi-tan. No, Tokyo Manji Gang’s Second Division Captain, Mitsuya Takashi.”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s fine. Just lift your head up already!” he hurriedly spoke in one breath with a sense of panic.

“I am now indebted to the Tokyo Manji Gang,” (Y/N) firmly continued, her head still bowed down. “Should you ever need anything from me…”

“(Y/N), stop,” her friend pleaded and firmly grabbed her shoulders. “Listen, this all happened by chance. You don’t owe us anything! Now please lift your head.”

“Not until you accept my plea.” She carried on where she left off. “Should you ever need anything from me, I, (Y/FN), shall be an ally to Tokyo Manji Gang to lend my strength where it’s necessary. No matter what.”

The lilac haired boy clicked his tongue in annoyance at the stubbornness of his friend and scratched the back of his head in discomfort.

“I get it. Fine, fine," Mitsuya sighed out loud and conceded. "I accept your damn plea on behalf of Toman. Now lift your friggin’ head up, idiot. N’ stop being so formal. It’s weird.”

She finally did as he requested, flashing a toothy grin and said, “But it worked, didn’t it?”

“Dummy, you got snot all over your face,” her friend chuckled and reached for the tissue from the box at the far end of the room and threw it at her face. (Y/N) scrunched her face at the soft item slowly floating down to the floor and grabbed it before it hit.

---

The last sighs of autumn gave way to the rush of winter’s cold winds. Mitsuya’s friend gave an audible shiver and sneezed, followed with a sniffle.

“Don’t catch a cold now,” he commented. The two were walking home from the train after club activities.

“Oh, please,” she scoffed and tucked her face further into her thick scarf. “Sendai’s twice as cold as this. Someone’s probably talking about me.”

“If you say so. Forecast said we may get snow this year.”

“In Tokyo?” she replied with a tone of shock and looked up at the sun setting sky. “My God. Is the end of days near?”

“I hope not.”

The two teens walked in silence, relishing in the peace in the streets. It’s been about 3 weeks since the truce with Black Dragons happened and there hasn’t been a single sighting of a gang member. Since they last talked, the two have felt closer than before, as if the invisible wall built between them shattered.

Mitsuya still couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling in his stomach. Part of him was glad the truce is holding up, but his instincts were screaming at something behind the scenes was afoot; he just didn’t know what and all he can do is wait.

“You doin’ anything for Christmas?” the lilac haired boy asked to distract his brain.

“Alone for the holidays,” (Y/N) drawled out dramatically with a hand loosely splayed atop her forehead. “Dad’s still away due to his job.”

“Wanna spend it with my sisters and me?” he asked all of a sudden.

“Sure. We can do nabe*,” she replied with a sing-songy tone at the end and wiggled her eyebrows. “One of the aunties next door gave me a portable gas burner the other day since they got a new one.”

“Damn, that actually sounds really good… I feel bad not spending time with my sisters lately.”

“Mi-tan, food forgives all,” she firmly stated and clapped her hand on his shoulder. “’Specially with kids.”

---

Christmas Day came in the blink of an eye. (Y/N) made a quick stop at the supermarket and grabbed two prepackaged nabe food sets, extra ingredients and an extra gas canister before heading over to Mitsuya's. After a short walk, she finally reached his place and knocked on the door. The entryway opened to reveal her friend wearing wearing a Santa hat.

“Merry Christmas,” he greeted with his signature grin, with her responding with the same greeting.

Entering the warm apartment, the two younger siblings greeted her in the form of a running hug. The amount of force from the two girls nearly knocked her over.

“Slow down, speed racers,” (Y/N) replied with a chuckle. “Or else you won’t get your presents.”

“Presents?!” the two girls both said simultaneously.

“Luna, Mana, at least let our guest come in first,” a new voice called from the living room. It was their mom. “It’s been a while, (Y/N)-chan. You’ve grown up so lovely,” she greeted with a warm smile.

“A-Ah, it’s been a while indeed,” she politely greeted and bowed, not expecting his mom to have gotten the day off. “I’ve been in Mi-tan’s care since I’ve been back. Oh, I brought some ingredients for nabe today.”

“Yay! Nabe! Nabe! Nabe!” Luna and Mana chanted gleefully and danced around in circles.

“I’ll take the bag from you.” Mitsuya took it off of her shoulder and peeked at the contents. “Whoa, you bought a lot…”

“It’s fine. You’ll have leftovers,” she replied while removing her boots, followed by her scarf and jacket at the doorway. She stood up and reached inside the bag to take out the wrapped presents to place in the small pile in the corner of the living room area.

Mitsuya’s mom spent some time catching up with (Y/N) while Takashi prepped snacks for everyone. The two teenagers then got to preparing the ingredients for dinner. Not long after, everything was ready to be stewed over the portable fire. They decided to exchange presents while waiting for the food to cook.

The two girls opened their big brother’s presents first, which were stuffed animals from his home ec club; they both tackle hugged their big brother to the point of throwing him off balance. It was then time to open (Y/N)’s presents, which were a pair of hand knitted white and pink mittens and headband set. Mrs. Mitsuya opened hers and placed a hand knit cream coloured beret on her head.

“Here,” she handed a wrapped item to Takashi as well.

“You didn’t have to… I didn’t get you anything.”

“Since when did we start counting presents?” she disregarded with a smile. “Open it.”

Takashi untied the ribbon of his present and revealed a navy blue scarf with hand embroidered initials of his first and last name in English letters with orange thread. He knew firsthand how hard it was to do this kind of detailing without a machine and was touched by the effort she put into this. His gaze wandered over to her and noticed the bandages on her left index and middle fingers.

“So? Does it meet your design standards, Mr. Future Designer?” his childhood friend quipped.

“Yes, it does,” he softly replied with a matching smile and traced his fingers on top of the hand embroidery. “Thank you. I’ll take good care of this.”

The scent of simmering nabe engulfed the apartment, indicating it was time to eat. With a lift of the lid by (Y/N), steam rose up from the pot, revealing the cooked contents. Takashi assisted her with dividing out the food portions for everyone and slowly dug in. These rare peaceful days were a blessing, he thought to himself. He watched his friend give Mana a portion of the simmered tofu and helped her cut it up into smaller pieces for ease of eating.

Ever since she came back into his life, it felt like their conversation was naturally picked back up like they never stopped talking. She was always kind and thoughtful to his sisters and always helped without him ever asking. Since when did he start to notice how big of a presence she’s had in his life? In his family? He smiled to himself while watching her place the knitted headband on top of Mana’s head.

With the snow accumulating on the ground, the five decided to go outside to make little snow people for a bit. Not long after the family of snow were made, they huddled back inside to warm up. Night time soon fell and the two girls started drifting off to sleep; Takashi prompted both of them to wash up before turning in. The two teenagers stayed outside, watching the snow fall lightening up.

“Thanks for coming today,” he said with a grateful smile. “My sisters and mom were really happy you were able to.”

“You don’t have to thank me. It’s better than spending it alone.”

“I’ll take you home on my bike,” the silver purple haired boy proposed. “It’s gonna be a pain to walk in this snow.”

“I won’t complain ‘bout that.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the buzzing and ringing of Mitsuya’s phone in his pocket.

The caller ID showed Chifuyu’s name.

--

*Nabe or nabemono is "hot pot." You can make things like sukiyaki (thinly sliced beef, tofu, vegetables and starch noodles stewed in sweetened soy sauce and eaten with a raw egg dip), shabu shabu (cooking thinly sliced meat and veggies in a hot soup base), and chankonabe (very protein heavy with cabbage and udon. Mostly eaten by sumo wrestlers to put on weight) in it. Nabe dishes vary by the region of Japan you're in and is very good winter comfort food.

Taglist: @netzukochannn and @toobsessedsstuff

[myblueeyedbuggers]

My Boys

Chapter 14

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13

Pairings: Steve Rogers X Reader (Best Friend) Bucky Barnes X Reader

Word Count: 1620

Warnings:  Swearing, bit of violence if you looking very closely

Summary: After being abandoned by her parents in Brooklyn in 1929, y/n makes a living for herself by working for the Црни лабуд gang until she meets two boys in a back alley and her life slowing begins to change.

So Hi again everyone! one more chapter to go then we're on the first Avenger, I just wanna say thank you to each and everyone of you all for taking the time to sit down and read this, it means the absolute world to me! Anyways I'll shut up, enjoy chapter 14 everyone <3

Now don’t ask me how they did it, but somehow my idiots managed to open my front door without a key, if I wasn’t so pissed at them for getting into a fight for the 5th night in a row, I’d be tearing them a new one for that alone. Completely and uttered annoyed with the pair of em, I may of opened my door with a bit more force than necessary and twatted the back of it on the coat rack, not my best moment but at least nothing broke. I was fully prepared to lose my shit with both of em, but one look of them both sat at the table, covered head to toe in bruises and cuts made all my anger disappear, I can’t be mad at them when they both look absolutely exhausted.

Wordlessly I crossed the landing into the bathroom, grabbing the first aid kit and spare clothes I kept for the boys, setting em down on the dresser just outside my room before heading off to change into my satin pyjamas. It’s times like this that make me so frustrated with them both, I know why they do what they do, they’re trying to make the world a better place in their own way, but I just wished that they wouldn’t do it in a way that put them in danger. Coming back out into the kitchen was almost like walking into a morgue, neither of them said a thing to each other whilst I was gone, the looks their faces absolutely shattered my small, minuscule heart to pieces.

It was pretty easy to see from the slumped shoulders and the way they both avoided eye contact that they were ashamed of what happened tonight, and that made me feel like the biggest piece of shit ever, I trusted these boys with my life, and I know that they would never start a fight if they didn’t have a reason for it. Hell, I didn’t care about the reason why anymore. Without saying a word to them, I went over to the sink and filled a bowl with warm water, I knew that one of em would have got the rags out already, more than likely Buck cause Steve’s short ass can’t reach the cabinet…I’m joking I love him really, but he’s soooo fucking short it’s unreal..

I’d barely had time to put the bowl on the table before Steve started to speak.

“We’re sorry Y/n…Those guys were erm..saying some pretty messed up things about you and I couldn’t help it, I saw red and lost my temper. Be angry with me, not a Buck he was just lookin’ out for me”.

The sigh that left my body couldn’t be helped, as much as I love Steve he couldn’t lie to save his life, though normally I wouldn’t put it past him to start a fight over me, the way Buck reacted made it pretty clear that the hot-headed love of my life started this one, the sharp look he gave for Steve was about as subtle as a sneeze in a silent library. The sudden ache that settled over my chest wasn’t foreign to me one bit, it happened every time I looked at Bucky, as much as I wanted to tell him how I felt I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea, he loves me like a sister and I should be happy with that, I’d rather have that than nothing at all…

“Steve…it’s not that, it’s the fact that you guys would start a fight over something so silly, I love you both to the moon and back, but I don’t care about what people say about me, I’m upset that you put yourselves in danger over me. I’m not worth the trouble it would cause and after the shit I’ve done, it’s not like I don’t deserve it.”

Bucky was silent the whole time, at times he looked like he wanted to disagree but a look from Steve shut it down, we all fell into a comfortable silence after that, which for the 3 of us is pretty fucking weird considering Steve and I are normally annoying the hell outta Bucky, what can I say me, and Steve have amazing singing voices. I stole a quick look at the pair of them, considering they both looked like shit it was actually a very difficult choice about which idiot I should clean up first, then I remembered that Steve has the immune system of an asthmatic grandma, so I dunked his cut-up hands in the warm water a little bit harder than I meant to, but I’d be lying if I said the squeal he let out wasn’t funny.

It really didn’t take me long to get him cleaned up at all, then again I do this like 8 times a week with the moron, you’d think after about 10 split lips the kid would learn his lesson, but apparently not cause he’ll be back at it in the morning. I need to start charging him for medical supplies, I’m practically a hospital at this point. As Steve stood up to leave, he paused and looked towards me with his sad puppy eyes, and I’m no monster so of course I gave him a hug, thank god he’s not as short as when were kids or his face would be right in my chest region, I don’t think an accidental motorboat is on his list of top 10 things to do. With one final look from Buck, Stevie boy took his clothes and went into the spare room, leaving us both to talk which could take a while cause we’re both stubborn asses. Que the awkward silence….

“I am sorry Doll…I just couldn’t stand back and hear those assholes talk about you like that. I love ya too much for that…”

Okay ouch, the sister zoning wasn’t necessary Barnaby.

I knew in my heart I meant every single word he said, Bucky was never the one to start the fights unless it was over his family and I understand that I do, if I were in the same position I’d do the sae for them. The dejected sigh that left me wasn’t missed by him, I chose to ignore his reaction to it and moved closer to him, the cuts on his hands were a little deeper than Steve’s, not that it stopped me from slamming his hands into the hot water as a tiny bit of revenge. Because I’m such a nice person, I chose to ignore the hiss of pain and glare directed at me from my good ol’ Bucky boy, plus I was focusing on cleaning his cuts.

“Buck…I don’t need you to say sorry, I understand why you did it, I just hate that you can be so careless about your own safety, what if you get into a fight whilst I’m working, and something happens? I’d never be able to forgive myself that I wasn’t there for you when you needed me most, I love you and Steve so so much, but it hurts me to see you do this to yourselves….”.

The time we spent sat together was lost to me, Bucky didn’t say anything after that and left me to clean his hands whilst he got lost in his thoughts, not that I minded. It’s the times like these that help me realise just how much pressure he puts on himself, it’s like he has to be the one to hold up the weight of the world, but he doesn’t realise he doesn’t have to do it by himself and it breaks my heart. But I wished that he didn’t tilt his head down when he’s feeling sombre and sad because I can’t see his fucking face, it kinda makes cleaning his cuts a bit hard ya know ? Reluctantly I stood up and went back to the sink, the rag I used to clean his hands was beyond filthy at this point and I don’t really fancy wiping ouch juice all over his face, by the time I’d turned back around Buck had his head in his hands.

You know it’s bad when he’s like this, Buck never lets anyone see just how much stress he’s under, the only other person that’s ever seen him in this state is Steve, I moved back over to him and placed the rag back down on the table, my main focus now being cheering up my Bucky. As it turns I didn’t have to do much, once he saw my shadow in front of him, his head lifted automatically as his eyes searched mine, the level of exhaustion in his eyes was almost enough to make me cry, I couldn’t help the hand that reached out to cup his cheek, nor the other hand that began to run through his hair. It was almost like I put him under a spell, Buck’s eyes closed in relief as his head fell forward to rest on my upper stomach, at some point his looped his arms around my waist to pull me closer to him, I couldn’t help but pepper the top of his head in small kisses to try and cheer him up.

This is the part of him I love the most, the moments where he isn’t afraid to let his guard down and for once let someone help him, to take the burden off his shoulders and relax for a while, even if he doesn’t love me the way I love him, I still wouldn’t trade it for the world.

He has and always will be my home….nothing can or will change that.

And that's Number 14 done and dusted, let me know what you all think, thank you for reading!

All My Love,

Rose xxx

@purelydarling

[mageicalwishes]

Day 1, Found Family - New Traditions

The Gang start a new Festive tradition filled with love, laughter, music, food & fun.

Day 2, Distance - Say I Love You When You’re Not Listening

Baz reflects on the events of Wayward Son, and the hopelessness he feels. "A trip to try and save him - To save us. A last ditch effort to put some of the sunshine back in to his soul. Rammed together in economy, the press of his knee firm against mine, but his mind miles away. His eyes ever averted. Touching yet so far apart. I just wish I knew where I went wrong."

Day 3, Retellings - Changing History

The Mage's publicized documents reveal a myriad of painful truths about the loss of Natasha Grimm-Pitch and the origins of Simon Snow.

Day 4, Side Characters - Thawing Of A Heart

Malcolm & Daphne. “I’d always known that I would remarry eventually. It was my duty for the good of the family. Basil needed a mother. And I needed … someone. It was a simple, logical decision - To find a woman of good breeding, and give her the Grimm name. To carry on. But, through all my planning and preparation, I had never anticipated that I would fall in love. Never anticipated her."

Day 5, Sleepless - Tonight He Is Mine

"I can’t sleep. I can never sleep these days, not how I want to anyway - It's always either that I’m knocked out for 15 hours, waking up disoriented and heavy, or that I can barely catch a moment's rest. But today is different. My body is tired, and my mind is too. If I let myself, I’d be gone. But I won’t. I can’t. Tonight is my last night with Baz, and I don’t want to miss a minute of it."

Day 6, WLW - To Her, I Taste Of Nothing At All

Fiona & Ebb. "But then, before I even knew what was happening, she was kissing me back. And Crowley, I swear I melted. She tasted of cigarette smoke and spiced rum - Like fire personified."

Day 7, Animal(s) - Family Dog

My interpretation of ‘I was a 15-year-old closet case whose parents pretended they didn’t notice when the family dog disappeared’. “A shallow grave. So much less than she deserves. But … I can’t breathe. I can’t even think. I’m running on autopilot and adrenaline alone. Everything is just - I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how I got here. I'm losing control. I can't - I can't even look at her. She's still wrapped in my sheets. I can see her bleeding. I still want it. I still want more."

Day 8, Rain - From Across The Courtyard

"When I first met him, it was hammering it down. I was rushing to the main door in a desperate attempt to rescue my suede shoes, umbrella snagging against the wind, when I heard it - An impolite 'Oi! Are you new?'"

Day 9, Kids/Childhood - At The Top Of A Tower

Simon reflects on the few happy memories he made with Baz at Watford.

Day 10, Crossover - I’ll Give You The Stars

A loose crossover between Carry On and parts of I'll Give You The Sun. “He’s haloed under the streetlights, and I’m trying not to stare. But, it’s hard. His face is celestial - The sunshine of his soul peeking through his features. I want to say more, just so that he doesn’t leave. Our houses are right there but, I feel so ... multicoloured."

Day 11, Fluff - Keeping Warm

Simon & Baz spend a tentative first night together after the events of the forest fire. “He’s sighing against me, and sliding a hand up towards to my neck to hold me closer against him, and - Fuck. He’s freezing. I jolt backwards without meaning to. Staring down at him in awe - His pupils blown wide, and a faint (But definitely present) blush spread across his cheeks."

Day 12, Wings - The Guests Can Wait

"Weddings are even more exhausting than I had imagined. What with the panicked last minute search for Simon’s vows (Which ended up being in the mini-fridge of all places), and having to parade ourselves around all of our well-wishing friends and family. All I want to do was get him alone. To tell him, without the presence of a hundred witnesses, how much he means to me - How much the fact that we’re here, together, after everything, means to me."

Day 13, Below the Surface - Below The Surface

"Las Vegas is a sham of a city. Outside it’s all bright lights and glitzy shows - Normal magicians and celebrity chefs. But, beneath its shiny exterior, it’s nothing more than a grim desert, filled with counterfeit culture, and people burning through money they don’t really have. The Katherine is no exception."

Day 14, Constellation(s) - Mirror, Mirror

Simon struggles with his body image Post-Carry On. “Sometimes I just … get so mad at them (At myself, really). I wish that they’d just grow up and tell me like it is. Tell me how much I’ve disappointed them. Tell me that they no longer want me."

Day 15, Hurt/Comfort - First Aid

Simon cares for Baz's Buckshot wounds. Less angsty re-write of the scene in Wayward Son. “I glare at him - At his blackened under eyes, and matted hair. The slight hunch of his back. It does hurt. I know it does. Liar. I move my face closer to his, and breathe in his air. I want to hug him. To kiss him. To cheer him up, somehow. Make him better. But I can’t. I don’t know how. So, instead I step away. My hands dropping limply, to my sides."

Day 16, Meme/Crack - Baby, You Can Pick Me Up Any Day

Oovoo Javer? Oovoo Javer. AKA: Baz is Simon's slightly dickhead-ish Uber driver. “I kept trying to talk to him - Asking about his night, and whether he always listens to Classical music, or if it was just for show - but he ignored me. Staring unamusedly at me in the mirror, eyebrow raised and lips tilted downwards. He got 2 stars for that trip."

Day 17, Blanket Fort - Torch The Night-Filled Fort

Baz surprises Simon with a living room blanket fort transformation. “I turn to him, beaming. ‘Baz, what? What is this?’ He hums against me. ‘Blanket fort. You’re terribly inobservant, Snow.’ ‘Yeah, but … I mean, why?’ ‘Well, it’s been a year now since we left for America, and we’ve come a long way since then. Thought it was worth celebrating,’ he confesses, smiling shyly down at the floor.”

Day 18, Side Ships - You Got A Boyfriend?

Shepard & Penny. Shepard asks Penny a very important question (Well, in his mind, anyway).

Day 19, Misunderstanding - Wrong Bottle, Moron

Simon makes a VERY stupid mistake while showering. Cue, Baz coming to his rescue.

Day 20, Technology - Screenless

Baz and Simon have been chatting online for a year. It's finally time to meet IRL and take their relationship into HD reality.

Day 21, Warmth - Out In The Cold

Fangirl era. Simon and Baz get stuck in a snowstorm, and have to find a way to stay warm.

Day 22, Unlikely Friends - You’re My Bro

Shepard comes over to hang out with his bro ... Baz?

Day 23, Cooking/Baking - What’s Cookin’ Good Lookin’?

Simon is making dinner. Baz is soft.

Day 24, Song - He Made It Easy, Darlin’

Simon & Baz struggle with trying to take the next step in their relationship. Inspired by Easy by Troye Sivan

Day 25, Parallel Universe - Parallelt Univers

Simon and Baz spend the day recovering in bed, after their first kiss. Inspired by the 'Parallel Universes' talk from Skam.

Day 26, Break - I Think We Should Break Up

Simon is trying to do what's right for Baz. Baz disagrees.

Day 27, Snowstorm - Searching In The Snow

Simon has lost his cat. So the only obvious choice is to hammer on his neighbour's door at 2AM ... And Baz is not impressed.

Day 28, Party - Festivities, Food, and Family. Chapter 1

"I’m over the bloody moon. After everything that happened after we left Watford, I wasn’t sure that I’d ever get to see this Snow - a truly joyful Snow - again. And it broke my heart. Yet, here we are, spending our fifth anniversary together, surrounded by friends and family in our own little London flat."

Day 29, Secret Santa/Gift Giving - Festivities, Food, and Family. Chapter 2

Day 30, Any Way the Wind Blows - Worst Road Trip ... Ever!

Shepard is NOT enjoying his trip back to England with the Gang. "I feel like a kid again, sat in the back of my mothers pick-up, hyped up on sugar, but belted down to the seat. Unable to run. Constantly being shushed."

Also huge thanks and praise goes to everyone involved in running the @carryon-countdown Countdown this year!!! I really enjoyed taking part :)

[dopescotlandwarrior]

Beauty Chooses II-Chapter 7

                           All my thanks to @statell​ for your unending help

Previous chapters on AO3 Ch-1  Ch-2  Ch-3  Ch-4  Ch-5  Ch-6

Chapter Seven- Culloden Moor 

I thought Murtagh had gone to bed, but here he was again kneeling in front of me. I saw a fear in his eyes I had never seen before. He took my hand and my tears poured down my face not wanting to hear what he came to tell me. No! He will be home any minute, I screamed in my head.

“Lass, it’s time to discuss a probable explanation for Jamie’s absence. Ye need to be strong like never before, ye ken?”

I saw him through watery eyes and shook my head side to side. In my head, I was screaming at him to shut his mouth, but I knew I could not stop this insanity, whatever it was.

“It’s likely Jamie has been press-ganged into service for Prince Charles. They will secure his service with threats against you and Faith. He will be convinced he must serve and lead men into battle or ye and Faith will be killed.”

I couldn’t breathe suddenly, and my hands flew to my back reaching for my corset laces. I was panicked and feeling the dizziness of oxygen depletion. Murtagh pulled my jacket off and quickly pulled my laces enough for a deep breath. I held my skirts to my face and sobbed like I would die from this broken heart. When I could steady myself, I looked up at Murtagh.

”If Jamie fights on Culloden Moore he will be killed, and we will be next.”

“I believe Jamie will find a way to escape and we have to be ready to disappear with him. We can hide out until a ship will have us. Don’t lose faith in Jamie lass, he will find his way back, and alive.”

Murtagh went to bed and I stayed in the parlor all night, waiting for Jamie to return, waiting for my heart to start again, waiting for an inkling of hope all was not lost. I did not see my bedroom for three days because I was waiting for Jamie. I didn’t eat or speak to anyone other than Faith. On the third day, my lack of sleep drove my sanity away. I saw Jamie out the windows, working or feeding horses. I jumped up and down, so happy to see him safe. Running outside I would not be able to find him, and my despair would return. During dinner the third night, I saw Jamie walk down the hall and screamed with joy running after him. When he couldn’t be found I crumpled into the wall and fell to the floor. I remember nothing after that except Faith nursing at my breast and then darkness.

I woke up terribly stiff during the night and was shocked to see Murtagh in the corner chair, elbows on knees, staring at the ground. He looked so sad.

“Murtagh?”

“Thank Christ, yer awake lass. I need to ask ye, please find yer strength. Yer family needs ye desperately now, please don’t go back into yer long sleep.”

“How long have I slept?”

“two days Claire.”

“Dear God, what’s happened in those two days? Murtagh, I’m so sorry I left you holding down the house. Are the animals okay? Misses Crook and Glavia?”

He nodded yes to all my questions and filled me in on the news of several skirmishes with the British that the Jacobites had won. The Scottish troops were assembled for training and preparation of the coming battle. British troops were massing for the one-sided battle that would bring Scotland to her knees.

“Claire. Do we stay or do we go?”

I looked at him wide-eyed like I had not considered leaving Jamie behind. I couldn’t speak because this reality was outside my ability to endure. Leave him behind. Take his daughter and run away from him.

“I cannot.”

Murtagh told me to think about a plan, we needed a plan, or we would all be killed when the red coats came to wipe-out the families of the traitors. Murtagh left my room and I walked hunched over looking at the ground. I wanted to lay on the floor and just wait for Jamie to come home. But I had to move and save my daughter and two dear friends who trusted me to lead them to safety.

My days were filled with chores and fear. The British had requisitioned a great many resources in Scotland to be used to murder Scottish men fighting for our freedom. They had seized most of the ships that we would need to find passage to America, and the chance to get away became slim to non-existent. On April first I hung my head and cried for Jamie to come home. Seventeen days to escape my love, it’s time to find a way.

Murtagh and I were exhausted trying to fill Jamie’s shoes; when I could no longer stand it, I climbed the hill and found my tree. I sat on the ground and ran my hand over the place I would wake up day after day and Jamie’s smiling face filled my mind. It was transporting. I closed my eyes and let those memories drift through my mind, making me forget he was gone. The dipping temperature woke me hours later and I staggered to my feet feeling my breasts achingly full trying to remember the last time I had nursed Faith. I was running and misjudged the hill, running straight off the edge, and flying through the air before tumbling to the bottom.

“Claire!” Murtagh pulled me up. “I’ve been lookin everywhere for ye lass, are ye alright?”

All I could think of was Faith as I ran to the house and up to the nursery. I came in wide-eyed to see Glavia hold a cup to Faith encouraging her to sip the milk. Misses Crook was behind her with a big encouraging smile.

“What are you doing?”

“Teaching the little beauty to drink from a cup and look at her!”

I felt betrayed and suddenly left out. I had hardly seen my daughter except to nurse her in the past three weeks, and here she was learning to drink without me. Glavia was nothing short of a miracle since the day she delivered my baby. I loved her and knew she meant only the best for Faith, so I kept quiet.

When Faith saw me, she reached out calling, “mama up. ” Glavia held her hands while she took bold steps toward me and I sank down to the floor to witness this miracle. Faith was breathing hard and smiling as she came to me. I held out my hands and caught the second love of my life holding her to me and wishing Jamie was here to see this.

On April 13th, Murtagh again went to the docks and returned with nothing. He was starting to pester me about the plan. It was time to go and I knew it. I couldn’t think with the battle on our heels; I would rather sit in a corner and pray for Jamie’s safety.

On April 17, 1745 I sat on my bed and watched the sun come up through bloodshot eyes. It was almost over and the greatest man I had ever known would raise his sword against the muskets, carbines, pistols, cannons, and 35-inch swords of the British army who will outnumber the Highlanders four to one. I sobbed and hugged Jamie in my head. Trying to say everything I thought I had a lifetime to say. Please hear me Jamie. I love you, until the end of time, wait for me in heaven, feel my love.

Jamie was in battle uniform in the quiet of the sunrise. He knew the battle would be lost today and his worry over Claire and Faith nearly crippled him. He had tried to escape twice and paid dire consequences at the wrong end of the whip. He pulled Claire into his mind and when he saw her wide golden eyes and beautiful face, it broke him. He walked the field they were camped in trying to stay ahead of the guards posted to him day and night. He just wanted to be alone with the Sassenach and Faith one last time.

In his mind, he touched her cheek. I hope yer on a fast ship to America my love, far away from the devastation to come. I hope ye remember me always. The man who loved ye like ye were the sunrise itself. It has been this lad’s honor to love ye and I humbly thank ye lass.

All day, Murtagh and I carried supplies high into the hills where we would hide in a secret cave barely big enough for one person. On my third climb, I fought my skirts and strangulating corset, finally throwing my armload to the ground I walked back to the house.

“Misses Crook! Kindly assist me with this hateful corset.”

I climbed into the attic with Misses Crook looking like I was the worst sinner she had ever seen. To be walking around the house without my corset was just not done. I was pleasantly surprised I was not panting for air from my efforts and set about looking for clothing I could wear. When I emerged, I wore breeks, a linen shirt, boots and a hat with my hair stuffed neatly inside. The next ten trips up to the cave that day were far easier.

I had a steady stream of tears on my cheeks throughout the day. I was so tired I could not move anymore. The battle was over and Jamie was dead, my dreams were dead, my world was dead, and this century was dead to me. We hunkered down in the cave and slept fitfully all night wondering if Lallybroch was being raided and if we would ever see it again.

The next day I passed out salted fish and jerky to everyone except Faith who was nursed as always. I told everyone we were leaving this place, today. Gone were my refined manners and speech, I addressed them like a New Yorker, and I was taking them home to my century. One way or another.

I crept into the barn after hiding to watch the house for ten minutes. I saddled Brimstone quickly with shaking hands and held my breath. I led her quickly out into the long grass and then mounted and galloped into the woods. I told her how sorry I was, but we needed speed and urged her to keep running. When I tied her to a tree at the bottom of the gorge, I heard thunder above my head and a second later, rain. It came down in buckets soaking me through. I held my ears from the loud claps of thunder and sat on a large rock to wait the storm out, never so defeated in my life.

I stared at the rocks, as far as my eyes could see. Normal, round, ugly rocks that held no magic to get us to safety. I continued to stare at them and saw the pounding rain hit them with force. Pieces of sand and dirt were knocked away and slowly the outer crust of dirt melted away by the pounding rain to reveal a beautiful, brilliant blue! I screamed and jumped up to lift the rock into my sack, smiling ear to ear.

There were more and more pieces revealed by this miracle rain and I gathered them all into my sack and tied it my saddle. If the magic was still there, we would escape sure death today. I galloped home with renewed hope slowing to a quiet gate as I approached the estate. The rain continued and the house was crawling with redcoats.

I pulled the tack off Brimstone and told her to go home, then I ran for the big hill to join my family and get us to a safer time. I saw several redcoats in the hills above Lallybroch and luckily avoided being seen. As I approached the cave my heart nearly stopped when I saw Murtagh, Misses Crook, Glavia, and my darling Faith, being pushed out of the cave, the swords of two British soldiers were at their backs.

I was breathing so hard I thought I might pass out, so I sat low behind a tree and calmed my breathing. I prayed for the strength to do this and prayed to Jamie to help me know when to run to my family. The minutes were like hours as I watched the sadistic soldiers torture Murtagh and leer at Glavia. She was so scared and my heart broke for her. There was nowhere for the group to run as the soldiers were in front of the path that led down the hill, they were captives awaiting execution.

When the soldiers huddled to discuss the murder and rape of Glavia, I made a run for my “family” holding my finger to my lips to shush them all. I held out my hands instructing us all to join hands tightly, and not to let go under any circumstance. I didn’t bother with whispering anymore. I reached into the sack and pulled out the biggest blue stone yelling at them not to let go!

Two muskets were raised and aimed at my head and the balls were fired into thin air, we had vanished leaving the soldiers staring ahead, mute with shock. I clung to Glavia and Murtagh and felt the whole group jettison away from this time. I concentrated on modern Scotland and Lallybroch, envisioning how it was when I left.

When I became aware of the others again, we were standing in front of Lallybroch on a warm sunny day. I pulled Faith into my arms and kissed her awake. My smile was so big it hurt until I saw the terrified faces of Murtagh, Glavia, and Misses Crook. The women were crying uncontrollably and clinging to each other. I put my arms around them and told them we were alright.

“We made it! I’m sure of it. Please trust me, it was the only way to save all of you. We are at Lallybroch, two-hundred and fifty years in the future. I am a time traveler, and this is my time. I know it’s a lot to take in, but we would have died horrible deaths at the hands of those soldiers. This was the only way. I’m sorry it was such a shock. I am not happy about being here, but you are all alive and hopefully, I’ll get you back to your time, when it’s safer.”

The house looked incredible as we walked toward it. It shined with new windows and paint, fences repaired and whitewashed, and a garden! I wondered if I brought us to the wrong time and we were about to walk into someone’s home. My poor startled friends were huddled together, scared shitless, and looking suspiciously at me.

“I’m so sorry, please forgive me for not telling you before we made the jump. There just wasn’t time. Please, don’t be afraid. This is safest place you could hope to be. I don’t remember the house looking this way so I’m going in first to make sure it’s empty. I gave the estate to my best friend before I went through the stones to stay in your century with Jamie.” Blank, fearful faces looked at me. “It’s a very long story and I will tell you everything in due time.”

I knocked on the kitchen door and said hello! Nothing. The door was locked so I walked around the house counting to the third window. I reached high and felt a key. Thank you Joe, I thought, for always being consistent.

I returned to the group huddled at the front of the door and held them back as I unlocked the door, telling them I would check the house and then let them in. The kitchen was completely updated and smelled like fresh paint. It was so lovely. I crept through the room and noticed the fire pit and cauldron had been replaced with a contemporary stove. When I looked up, I stopped dead in my tracks.

On the counter was a cell phone plugged into the wall for a continuous charge. I picked it up with shaking hands and pushed buttons until it lit up. The phone app was on and a phone number had been punched in. I hit the call button and held my breath. I knew the line connected to someone and my heart pounded waiting for a hello.

“Pet.”

When I heard his voice the last two months of worry and loneliness crashed down on my head and I held on to a cabinet to keep from falling.

“Joe!” I wept, uncontrollably. The millions of minutes I held back my emotion for the good of the group came bursting forward like a damn broke and I sobbed his name over and over again.

“I am close, and I am coming pet. Please be there. Please.”

The line went dead and I staggered to the door to let everyone in. I was holding a paper towel under my nose as Misses Crook pinched it trying to understand what it was. I took Faith from Glavia and we walked through the house that had been repaired, retrofitted for electricity and plumbing, and furnished. Each bedroom had a bed, dresser, lights, and other assorted furniture. I avoided Jamie’s room knowing I would lose it completely, wanting to spare Faith that scary sight. Joe had thought of everything including a crib for Faith and an extra bed in the nursery for Glavia. When I left him almost four-million dollars it was intended for his education not restoring Lallybroch. Right now, I couldn't be happier.

It was overwhelming to us all and we gathered in the kitchen so I could show them some of the benefits of the twentieth century. I could see they were starting to withdraw from the shock of being transported to another time where their house still existed. Wait for a plane to fly overhead, I thought.

“I’m sorry you all got the fright of your life, truly sorry.” I looked at Murtagh who was white-faced and quiet. “We are safe here. Many years in the future. No wars, no clans, and … no Lairds. I lost my control at that point and my tears flowed for several minutes.

“But! Here are some nice things you can enjoy while you are at this Lallybroch..” I opened the door to the refrigerator; it was well stocked with drinks in cans, including beer, but no food. The freezer was stuffed with dinners, side dishes, minute meals, and everything else Joe could get into it. I pulled Misses Crooks hand to the frig and put her hand on the cold cans. She gasped and pulled her hand away holding it close to her body with wide eyes. I turned on one of the burners and held Glavia's hand above it until she snatched it back feeling the heat with no fire.

I pulled a beer out for Murtagh and watched his eyes light up when he drank it down. I pulled juice out for Misses Crook and Glavia and watched their surprise when they tasted the liquid. I tipped a juice to Faith’s lips and she took a tentative taste scrunching up her face at the bold flavor. Her little arms reached for the can every time she swallowed and the laughter from that was our first relief from the stressful shock.

The next modern marvel was the bathroom and the updates were stunning. The house had four bathrooms that I could see and figured another would have been built into the master bedroom making five total. I took a tumbler from a kitchen cabinet and led them all into the downstairs bathroom. First I flushed the toilet causing them all to jump back and gasp. I turned the faucet on and blew them away with the column of water that poured out on my command. Next, I filled the glass to the brim and poured it into the toilet, wadding up some toilet paper and dropping it in before flushing it away.

The confusion on all their faces suggested I oversimplified this particular room. I thought for a minute and announced “the chamber pot” creating nodding heads and affirmative oohs and ahs. They were hustling out of the bathroom when I pulled them back to see one more miracle. I pushed the shower curtain open and turned on the shower with hot water. I pulled Glavia’s hand to the water and she nearly screamed with her shock as the water came out hot. After each person had felt the water, I decided it was time to rest.

Murtagh vanished and I led Glavia and Faith to the nursery where I nursed my daughter and soothed Glavia’s nerves. Faith was out like a light and I kissed Glavia’s hands promising her we would be alright and she would return to her own time. I begged her to lay down while Faith slept and then left her. I walked through the lower level appreciating everything Joe had done to the house. It was spectacular. I threw logs into the fireplace in the parlor and then ran for the ringing phone.

“Joe?”

“So it’s true. You’ve come back. Thank God you’re safe.”

“Baritone!” Are you coming? Please say you’re coming!”

“I am pulling up to the parking garage at the airport as we speak trying to overcome my shock at hearing your voice. Are you alright Claire?”

My chin was quivering so hard I grabbed it to hold it steady. “I lost…and then they were…I found the stones… red coats drew their weapons….found our cave…Jamie died today.” I gripped my stomach and bent over to endure the sobs that came. Baritone kept talking to me about things that were non- threatening. He kept up a steady stream of chatter that finally calmed me down.

The voice changed and it was Joe talking to me in his soothing big brother voice. They were boarding a plane in London for a one and a half hour flight. I gripped the phone like a lifeline and whined myself back into sobbing when Joe had to hang up. The plane was taking off for Scotland. I put the phone on the counter and stared at it. The popping fireplace sounded like home and it calmed me, so I just stood in the kitchen and listened. I realized that this was the hardest day of my life and I was not in my right mind. I walked into the parlor and sat on the couch staring at the fire feeling the tears roll down my cheeks.

Someone was calling my name. Two voices calling me and my eyes flew open looking for Jamie. I ran into the kitchen and right into Joe’s chest feeling his arms come around me and hold me possessively. He didn’t let me go but walked me back to the couch and gently pushed me down. I looked at him and felt my heart in my throat. My friend, my dearest friend was here, holding my hands and smiling.

Baritone kissed my cheek making me look up at his beautiful face. He was even more breathtaking than before and he looked at me with such compassion. My brain must have shut down because all I could do is look from one to the other. When I finally said something it was ridiculous.

“These are lad’s clothes because I had to climb to the cave over and over this morning and my corset was about to kill me.”

Joe nodded his head like he understood completely. “You found the rock pet.”

“In the pouring rain, it melted the dirt and sand from the rocks, and they were bright blue, so I took them all and begged Brimstone to gallop for all she was worth.” Remembering the scene when I arrived at the cave stole my voice again and made my heart pound.

Joe rubbed my arm and spoke in an upbeat tone. “And when you got back you pulled everyone to your own time?”

“I had one chance to get to them and I was so scared. I started a couple of times and then went back behind the tree. The soldiers were going to make Murtagh watch and then kill him too. I just ran for them when the soldiers were distracted. I shouted for everyone to hold hands tightly and not to let go. I saw the rifles pointed at my head and then heard the wind in my ears as we were pulled away.”

“Jesus Pet. That just happened today and look at you holding the world up for your group. You are amazing.”

I looked at Joe and thought, really? I’m amazing even though I feel shattered and small at the moment? Baritone fetched a whiskey bottle and glasses and we all had two shots in front of the fire. Joe never let go of my hands and Baritone did not leave my back. As the whisky warmed me on the insides I started to relax until I heard Faith cry. I ran to the stairs and found Glavia making her way down. Faith held her arms out to me and I hugged her close.

Glavia stood ramrod still when she saw Joe and Baritone. They both stood while I introduced them and urged Glavia to join us for a whisky and talk. The next one to show himself was Murtagh and I was so happy to see him, pouring his drink and introducing everyone. Joe and Baritone were very nice to everyone, but they could not take their eyes off Faith. She was well-rested and full of happy energy when she stood up in my lap. She looked closely at Joe and babbled at him quite insistently pointing her finger at him. We laughed at her antics until she lunged herself at Joe. He caught her easily and let her sit in his lap. It was obvious Joe was not doing what she wanted so she pressed her head against his chest sitting very still.

I watched my darling girl and wondered if she was looking for a voice she knew from some other time. I asked Joe to talk continuously for a few minutes and nodded to Faith. He launched into everything that happened since I walked through the stones. Faith kept her little head pressed to his chest, eyes drooping as she listened. When she was sound asleep Joe just held her sleeping form, and I was loving him for it. Baritone asked if she normally goes to all new people. I explained my theory, she was looking for the voice she heard daily as she grew in my womb. “That must be what he sounded like when we would cuddle in the morning.”

“This is the first time I haven’t been totally pissed off hearing about that because it’s so fascinating.”

Baritone showed bigger changes than Joe. Maybe because I knew him less in the beginning, but he had definitely changed. Confidence had replaced the confused Brainiac, and his body had filled out quite nicely. They were both stunningly handsome, confident in their own skin, and radiated love for each other. I felt the bottom of my stomach fall and my tears gush as I dropped my head and looked at my lap. I cried openly and Joe squeezed my hand encouraging me to let it out.

“Jamie’s dead. They took him a month ago and pressed him to service. He led his men into battle today, at Culloden Moore and he’s bleeding out on the field right now and doesn’t know how much I love him.”

It was the horrifying image in my head, all day, and I spoke of it before I knew what I was doing. I saw Joe reach into his pocket for a small bottle of pills while Baritone filled my glass with a shot of whisky. I picked my glass up, only to have Joe press it back to the table.

“Not so fast pet, we all need a glass so we can toast.”

Joe put something back in his pocket and filled the glasses, then we toasted to our safe landing while the tears continued to run down my cheeks. I noticed Murtagh was watching me and I tried to smile through my watery vision. I looked at him and saw Jamie right next to him smiling at me. He said, “I love ye, I need ye, please help me Sassenach.”

I gasped and shot up from the couch feeling my legs give way and strong arms pulling me up. I was in the dark feeling peaceful when I heard his beautiful voice. He was calling to me, asking for help, saying he didn’t want to leave me. I was face to face with Jamie in the blackness. He told me I was heroic today and he was never so proud. Then he told me that Donus and Brimstone would starve. He asked if I could take them to the new world. “Please Sassenach.” I promised I would. He told me to never return in the light of day, they were waiting for me, but it was safe at night. He touched my face.

“I will hang on until I know yer safe mo chridhe, save the horses.”

I fell into the black velvet and Jamie held my hand for a long time. "Wake Sassenach!" I sat upright on my bed blinking my eyes in the dark. I smelled Jamie and knew he was with me. I felt my way to the bag of stones thinking I would walk over hot coals to save the horses. When I felt two shards, I put them in my palms and closed my eyes concentrating on Lallybroch in 1745.

The wind lifted me and carried me far away very fast setting me down in the field near the house. I stayed low and worked my way to a tree behind the barn, watching. When I started to move to the barn, I heard Jamie’s voice say “wait!” I froze and dropped to the ground. A red coat came out of the house and pulled his horse that was tied in the dooryard. He mounted and rode away. I let out the breath I was holding and continued to watch. My fear was taking over and I shook with it. “Don’t be afraid, take the horses mo chridhe.”

I ran to the barn panting with the effort. I threw their tack on, saddles, pads, and bridles tying the reins in a knot. Then I attached leads to both, pulling them out of their stalls to stand in front of me. I placed a shard in each palm and pressed them against each horse's chest, concentrating on Lallybroch in 2019. I had wrapped the leads around my waist so they would not separate from me and quickly pulled the ropes away and led them to the barn. We were back and it was daylight. I carried buckets to an outside spigot and hauled the water back for them looking around for some stored food, finding none.

“I know you guys are hungry and I promise to get you food right away.” I hugged them both and left the barn, looking around the estate for the first time. The fields were planted! As far as the eye could see rows were plowed into the dirt in preparation for the spring seeding. Joe was a marvel with all he had done which included leasing the fields for planting. It was time to wake him up to find some food for the horses and people now in my charge.

I looked at the jeep parked on the side of the house, probably there to avoid shocking someone who wandered outside for some air. I smiled, which felt so foreign to my face. I was still high on Jamie helping me and looked up at the sky like I would see him looking down. I started to cry and forced myself to walk back to the house.

Murtagh was sitting in the kitchen with a beer and fruit juice opened in front of him. He startled when I walked in and his face looked so sad. He got up and hugged me for a long time. I knew both of our hearts were breaking and I hugged him back.

“The horses are here, in the barn. Jamie woke me up and said they were starving so I went and got them.”

Murtagh looked shocked and then stern. “No more of that lassie, home must be crawlin with red coats and what would we all do if you get yerself killed?”

“I am going to teach you what to do, just in case. Someone besides me needs to know the way back. Besides, I was safe with Jamie last night.”

Murtagh looked at her with sympathy and shook his head wondering why the stones allowed her passage when Jamie would be killed in less than two short years. He would choke the life out of the witch when he returned. “I’m goin out to check on the horses, lass.”

I felt Murtagh move away from me but didn’t hear where he was going. I built a fire to add some normalcy to the morning as people came downstairs after a night’s sleep. Misses Crook practically ran downstairs with a look of fear. She had slept right through the afternoon and evening and must have been startled in this strange place. I hugged her and begged her to relax and trust me. She walked into the kitchen and called me a few minutes later.

“I found no cauldren and where do I make the fire?”

“Well, they never make fires in the kitchen in this time.” I bent down to pull out the biggest pot in the cabinet and placed it on a burner. I opened all the cabinets looking for dried goods and soups. When I found the container of oatmeal, I read the directions, poured hot water into the pan and sprinkled a quarter of the oatmeal into the boiling water. Finding hot pads, I moved the pan to a cold burner and stirred the oatmeal. The whole operation took ten minutes.

Misses Crook watched everything I did and then looked into the pot and gasped. “What is this, magic? I’ll no be cavortin with the devil to make breakfast, ye can be sure of that.”

I stopped her gently and explained it was simply advanced technology and food science and had nothing to do with the devil. I filled a bowl for her and encouraged her to eat it. She was so overwhelmed, and I saw her eyes, red-rimmed, for the first time since our meeting a year ago. She was so scared and my heart broke for her.

“Let me show you how to make coffee. It’s fun and fast.”

I told her what to pull out, how to measure, and fill the pot with water, then pour it into the machine and turn it on. She seemed to do better when she was put to a task. I would have to remember that.

“Misses Crook, I brought the horses here last night and they are starving. I would bet a paycheck someone grew alfalfa in one of those fields last year.”

“What is a paycheck. What is alfalfa?”

“It’s horse food actually. When they harvest it, some people turn it into cubes with a large machine called a combine.”

I knew it was hopeless to make her understand such a leap in technology, so I grabbed her hand and pulled her outside. It was warm enough to go without cloaks, so I nudged her toward the field and started looking for the cubed food leftover from last year. I knew there was a lot of spillage and it would have been frozen through the winter. We might get lucky and find a field with leftovers from last year’s harvest. We hunted, crossing two fields before Misses Crook yelled for me. She held a perfect Alfalfa cube in her hand, and I let out a whoop with a smile.

It was on. Like an Easter egg hunt, we searched the field for more cubes. Murtagh came to ask what was lost and we filled him in. Misses Crook’s cheeks were pink from the cool morning and her excitement. Glavia waved her hand from the kitchen door and I ran for my daughter.

“What is happening in the field?”

“We discovered horse food cubes and the horses are starving.”

She watched Murtagh lift a cube in the air with a rare smile on his face. I sat on the stairs to the kitchen and laid Faith at my breast.

"Glavia, we could use your sharp eye to find more."

She was smiling with excitement and took off running for the field. As Faith filled her little belly, I watched the three of them get lost in this game with smiles and laughter making them forget for a little while.

“Morning Pet, how is my girl today, good?”

So like Joe to provide the only answer that was acceptable. He looked out at the field and three people dancing around holding something up in the air. He blinked several times and asked me what they were doing.

“I brought two starving horses back last night and they are finding food for them. It was a great thing you did, leasing out the fields for growing. You are brilliant Joe.”

He looked me in the eye for a long minute. “Are there two horses in that barn now?”

When I nodded yes, he took a deep breath. “Where did they come from?”

“I went back and got them because they would have died.”

Joe put up his hand to stop me and then put his hand around mine. “Pet, did you go back to 1745 last night to bring these horses back.”

“Yes.”

His eyes were closed for almost a minute as he wrapped his head around my truth. I realized he had believed everything I had told him so far. At least I thought he did.

“Take me, please.”

“I cannot during the day. There are many red coats waiting for me so we can only go at night. I will take you Joe.”

I felt a tear slide down my cheek and then another. My heart ached to kiss Jamie good morning and the pain that pressed on me, knowing I never would again, crushed me to my tears. I asked Joe to help in the field, looking for cubes. I needed to lay Faith down in her bed and then sob into a pillow.

Joe ran for the field and I carried Faith to her bed before laying in Jamie’s room where I let it go. My body shook with my sobbing and I felt a warm hand on my back that was so comforting and so familiar.

"Jamie! Jaaamiiiieee! I can’t bear this pain, I want to go with you! Please God let me die with him.”

I felt him pull me down and his warmth wrap around me. I could hear his breathing in my ear until I fell asleep, a dreamless, healing sleep that lasted for hours.

“Help me Sassenach.” I heard his voice in my dream and panicked myself awake. I sat up on the bed and noticed the room was darker with the late afternoon. I stumbled downstairs and blinked at everyone sitting in the kitchen together while Faith entertained. When she saw me her arms were raised. “ma-ma-ma-uppy”

I pulled her to my breast, wishing I could feel Jamie now, so he would know I was taking care of his daughter. Instead, I just blinked at everyone while Baritone filled the kitchen with the delicious smells of lasagna and garlic bread. I figured someone had gone shopping and wondered how the jeep was received.

“The horses,” I said as my memory of searching for food came back.

Misses Crook beamed and announced they had found enough cubes to last several days.

“I ordered from the feed store in Edinburgh Pet. It will be here tomorrow. I didn’t know what to get so I asked for grain, and hay.”

He was watching Faith nurse and I kissed his hand. “Thank you.”

A plate was set in front of me and I put a forkful in my mouth. It was so delicious I closed my eyes and I chewed while my mind filled with images of Jamie on the battlefield. My eyes slammed open and I shot out of my chair. How could I eat and enjoy food when Jamie never would again?

Faith was out for the night, so I made my way to Jamie’s bed, holding the pillow in front of me, clinging to it. I knew then I could not bear this pain for long. It would kill me and that would be a relief. Somewhere far away I heard the word “NO” whispered on the wind. I laid in the dark and prayed that Jamie would feel my love.

I was dreaming of teaching Faith to count hay cubes when I heard him, “Sassenach, wake up.”

I could not see the hand in front of my face it was so dark. My feet touched the floor and I felt him calling me back to Lallybroch. “Jamie, are you alive?” A whispered “help” was what I heard. I jumped off the bed and grabbed my bag stopping suddenly when Joe’s request came back to me. I searched the house for him finally finding the basement room that he converted into a bedroom. I approached the bed and touched Joe. He gasped and turned to see me.

“Pet.”

“I am going back tonight. Do you want to go?”

He was pulling his clothes on within seconds, feeling around for his shoes. He said nothing. He stayed very close, and when I told him to cling to me, he did.

The same rushing in my ears and feeling jettisoned away while I held tight to Joe’s arms. We landed in the field outside Lallybroch and I pushed Joe to the ground. He was hyperventilating and I whispered, “breathe slowly Joe.” I waited until his breathing normalized and felt him grip me in the pitch dark.

“Did we go back in time Pet?”

I had scanned the property looking for red coats and barely heard him. I could tell it was much later in the night when this land is devoid of movement or sounds from a human. My eye caught something new in the dooryard and I squinted to make the shape out.

“Help”

I took off running as fast as I could. Not looking for red coats, not caring if I was shot in the next minute. Jamie was in that shape, a wagon, asking me for help. I ran up on the wagon, left in the front of the house. I jumped inside and fell on his back, listening for breath. I knew there would be red coats laying in wait around the property, so I was silent. Joe was next to me somehow, he flipped Jamie over and felt his neck. He whispered in my ear, “take us all back right now Pet.”

I pulled Jamie onto my outstretched legs and linked my arm in Joe’s as the shard was pulled from my pocket and my eyes closed to the image of modern Lallybroch. As we were pulled away at warp speed I clung to Jamie and Joe, praying we found him in time.

In the yard of 2019 Lallybroch, Joe went to work on Jamie. He grabbed my hand and begged me to get Baritone and then go to my room. I took off for the lower bedroom bursting in to find Baritone sitting on the edge of the bed. I pointed, “Joe needs you, please.”

Baritone passed me in a streak and I stood there, panting, wanting to go to Jamie but Joe made me promise to stay away. He was already a doctor and I had to put my absolute trust in him. I waited until I heard them bring him in. It sounded like they were in the kitchen. My ears strained to hear each word and nuance and the tears came down.

“Jamie, can you hear me? Are you with me? Jamie!”

“I am fighting.”

I grabbed the wall as I spun to the floor. I heard Murtagh’s voice, yelling at Jamie and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I ran to the kitchen and saw all the men around Jamie. Baritone was doing chest compression while Joe was breathing for Jamie.

“Oh dear God,” I ran to the table where they had laid Jamie. On the other side of Joe, I put my mouth next to his ear and told him how proud I was that he survived and came back to me. I poured my love into his ear and did not let myself speak any negative, just encouragement to fight, for me, for Faith, for our promises. I did not notice all that Joe was doing and how Baritone and Murtagh were helping. I was alone with my husband speaking my love and my faith in him, feeling drunk on the hope he would take a breath on his own.

“Jamie?”

“My love.” Was but a whisper.

“Fill your lungs with air, RIGHT NOW!”

Jamie made a strangulated sound as his chest rose and he breathed deeply. Joe was overjoyed and pressed a stethoscope to his chest and pressed a finger to his neck.

I had pressed Jamie’s head against mine, like I wouldn’t allow him to leave me. With the jubilation in the kitchen, Jamie and I held each other in the blissful quiet of a secret place in my mind. His hands held me close, shaking at first, then gradually feeling stronger, possessive. He gripped me to him and whispered, “my beauty.”

[tiredcowpoke]

TITLE: Wedded Woes [9 / Final] PAIRING: Arthur Morgan/Fem!Reader REQUEST: Unprompted. BLURB: Trelawny talked up a big game at a scenic boardinghouse and, playing some newly weds, you and Arthur are paying the price for it. WARNINGS: Some violence and shooting in this one, but nothing overly gore-y. NOTE: Aaand there we have it, the final chapter in this little series. I struggled with this, I had it planned and knew where I wanted it to go but I always have issues ending things so hopefully it’s good for all of those who have been following this fic! Thank you call for the positive reactions this has gotten, it’s meant a lot to me. c:

The ride back to the town outside of camp was almost an echo of the one you took out of it with the silence and tension. 

You had a poor sleep the night before, the thoughts of kissing Arthur in the hallway playing over in your head as you tried to pick it apart bit by bit. There was hatred that it happened the way it did, and after not exactly the best or bonding experience. Yet, there had been reminances of the feelings you felt. Someone solidly there, the touches to the back of your shoulders and arms around your waist. You birated yourself over the fact that it was all part of a role, you both were playing a role. You gave Arthur similar touches and leans and you doubted that he was as torn up about it as you were. At least, that’s what the bitter voice in your head had been saying. He had kissed you that first time, but he had admitted to it being out of confusion and anxiety about having more suspicion on the two of you. He had kissed you back somewhat with the second, but you knew better than to take that uncertainty you felt in it as anything but a sign that you shouldn’t have done it. 

It had complicated, too, with the thought that you had been starting to get used to sharing a bed with someone. 

Needless to say, the sleep you got wasn’t great but you got up easily enough in the morning. You figured you would have time to address it eventually, but at Arthur’s silence and his avoidance of your gaze, you started to just really want to get back to camp. However, you were anxious about that in a way, too. If you had known you would feel so complicated about the whole thing once it was done, you would have put up more of a fight with Dutch. Still, you couldn’t take back what was done and the take was a good one. They’d be happy with that. Thankfully, you were closer to a stateline, the carriage ride being a little shorter than the one you took up there, but it would still be a ride. 

One where you couldn’t even look at the man beside you without feeling some sense of frustration and embarrassment. You wanted to apologize, and you knew a time would come where Trelawny didn’t have to witness every moment of it, but as it remained it almost made it worse going back than it was leaving. 

At least back then you had some idea on what Arthur was thinking, now you just had questions. Had you overstepped? Was he angry? Was he as conflicted as you were? Would he even want to pursue anything if you admitted to feeling something? They were hard questions to bring up, and certainly not something you wanted to share around anybody but him. 

So, you kept silent for the most part, almost scared you’d say something to make the whole thing worse. 

“So, where’re you goin’ next? Gonna up and disappear on us again since this whole thing’s done?” Arthur asked Trelawny, causing you to glance at him out of the corner of your eye but you found your gaze moving back to the passing scenery again. 

“Oh, I always come back, Arthur,” Trelawny replied around a chuckle, “One can’t expect to find the leads I do while just sitting around camp.” 

“Ain’t nobody knows where you come up with them leads, so I’ll believe that…” Arthur returned with a short huff. 

“Well, I’m sure Dutch will have you back to your usual brand of fun soon enough.” 

You could only hope. 

“Yeah, then you’ll slither off to wherever it is you go until you come waltzin’ back in here with another job in a couple months.” 

“Hm. Well, I’ll be sure to suggest leaving you two out of anything that involves anything more than a simple pickpocket.” 

“Were we really that terrible?” you asked, despite yourself, as you turned your head slightly to glance toward Trelawny. He tilted his head slightly, rubbing at his mustache for a moment. 

“Well, I’m afraid I can’t say you two were the perfect fit for the job, but we have what we came for so I suppose it’s unfair to say you were completely terrible.” 

“I’ll be sure to let Dutch know you think that,” Arthur replied, his tone still light but you could sense something there. You weren’t going to look too deeply into it. 

You let the silence fall after that, turning your focus back toward the road again. Eventually, the previous night started to catch up with you, letting yourself fall asleep off and on throughout the journey if only to keep yourself from overthinking yourself into a problem. There was some lightness that came with the short conversation, much as it wasn’t as relaxed and celebratory you had thought it would have been a couple days ago. Which you knew was through your own actions, but...well, it happened. It was a kiss, or two you supposed, it could have been worse if you had pushed beyond that. If Arthur would have even let you. 

With another sigh through your nose, you shoved the thoughts aside as you tried to wake up a little more as the scenery started to become a little more familiar after a few hours of travel. 

It was early evening by the time you reached camp, gone only for a couple days but the exhaustion you felt made it seem more than that. 

You almost wanted to keep going, honestly, if only partly to avoid what waited within. Perhaps without the extra company of Arthur and Trelawny on their own horses, but you had almost missed riding in the open. You made a mental note to just go out for a bit the following day by yourself, but continued to keep pace behind the two men up ahead. Finally, you turned into some trees and down a path into a clearing with the familiar tents and wagons up ahead, Arthur calling out a greeting to the guard on duty. Sounded like John. 

Steering your horse off toward a free hitching post, you allowed yourself a minute to pat your horse on the neck as you noticed a familiar figure stepping out of the central tent. 

“Our own little wedding party! You are back…” Dutch called, jovial as he raised his arms up toward Trelawny and Arthur at the far hitching post. “All the more richer in spirit and money, I should hope.” 

“Indeed! Quite the reward, I believe,” Trelawny returned, pulling the extra saddle bag off his horse that he had tucked the money into once you had all arrived at the nearest town to camp. He passed that on to the gang leader, Dutch weighing it in his hands a moment before he took at glance at them and then towards you. 

“Well done!” he stated, “All of you! I think some celebrations are in order for your return and what you’ve brought us.” 

Great. 

You heard some cheers of agreement from camp, your hands coming up to rub at your eyes a moment but you couldn’t help the small grin that touched your face. Any excuse for a party these days, it seemed. You had only been to a few since you had joined, usually over successful scores or the camp in general just felt like it. It usually involved a lot of singing and a lot of drinking, two things you weren’t too sure you were up for in the moment but you figured you would get pulled into it one way or another. 

Though, seeing Karen making her way toward you as you got out of the saddle told you that would be sooner rather than later. 

“That was quick,” she commented once she was close enough, “I was thinkin’ y’all would be gone for a couple’a days at least.” 

“Things lined up, I supposed,” you said, offering her a small but tired smile. 

“Well come on, then!” she exclaimed, “Throwin’ a party in your honor and you’re lookin’ ‘bout as thrilled as you did when you left!” 

“It’s been a long couple days, but I could use a drink and a good song so…” 

The party had picked up shortly after you had relented to having a little fun before going to sleep and hopefully leaving this whole thing behind. Of course, a familiar unpleasant feeling grew at the thought, but you didn’t even want to address it anymore at the moment. Last thing you needed was alcohol and that at the forefront of your mind. Music and singing had closely followed behind as you sat yourself around a fire, Javier with his guitar as Dutch, Hosea, and Arthur seemed to be talking about something at a table. 

However, you didn’t dwell on that. Not really. The night went on fairly easily outside of a couple scenes pushed forth by alcohol, some amusing, some not so much. You had grown used to them in a way, you supposed, not that they didn’t catch a couple looks but living with a group of outlaws wasn’t exactly smooth sailing most days. Dutch kept them together but personalities clashing was inevitable. Karen had started to get her fill, pulled off by Sean somewhere that left you being pulled off by Mary-Beth toward one of the wagons where it was more quiet. 

It was surprisingly something you found yourself needing, and perhaps she had picked up on that but you couldn’t tell. 

“So what was the most interestin’ thing about it?” she asked after a few minutes, bright eyed and interested, making you glance toward her with a raised eyebrow. “I mean, a big fancy house, rich people, the romantic intention despite it being fake on your ends…there had to be somethin’.”

“You know, I had been thinking you would have been better suited for it,” you replied with a small chuckle, “I found the whole experience to be strange and uncomfortable.” 

Conflicting and confusing as hell, too. 

“Nothin’ happened?”

“...Between what?” you asked, a sinking feeling in your gut about her rather pointed question. It was vague enough but you knew she probably didn’t want the details to the robbery in a situation like that. 

“Well, we weren’t expectin’, but...with Dutch putting you together on that, I thought maybe it was a bit of fate that…”

“I...I can’t lie and say that those old feelings didn’t make the whole thing worse for me, but...I don’t know, it’s...it’s something I’ll talk about later when it’s not so fresh.” 

“I understand,” Mary-Beth said with a small nod, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t tryin’ to get you to gossip about it. I just thought...well, you seem a little odd tonight.” 

“It’s fine, it’s just…” 

Speak of the devil. Mary-Beth had glanced up as you glanced down, trying to collect your thoughts a bit as you debated on telling her anything. However, she knocked her hand subtly against your arm, causing you to glance up to see Arthur making his way over. He didn’t seem all that hesitant, but he wasn’t exactly overflowing with confidence. Still, you let the words die on your tongue as he indeed decided to walk toward you both. 

“Mary-Beth,” he greeted with a nod before glancing toward you, “I don’t wanna pull you away from what you was doin’ but I wanted to talk with you a minute.” 

“Sure…” you started, glancing up as Mary-Beth stood from where she was sitting on the box next to yours. 

“I should see how Karen and Tilly are holdin’ up,” she explained, giving you a quick grin before she turned and walked off. You had a feeling this would only add to her questions later. 

You glanced back toward Arthur as he came to sit down on the box Mary-Beth had left, hands resting on his knees as he tilted his head down in thought. Nervousness came back tenfold from last night, keeping back any questions you may have asked to start this conversation but Arthur had approached. You figured he should start and you could get an idea on what type of conversation this would be. 

“I ain’t all that good with words, least ones I can’t write down,” he admitted, glancing up and stared off into the fire lit darkness that had surrounded camp. “I just...want to know what the hell happened last night.” 

“I...this whole thing got me confused, and not exactly for the reasons I told you about before,” you said, rubbing a hand across your chin. Come out with it. There’s no other time than now. “I thought it wouldn’t get in the way, but…I’m fond of you, Arthur.” 

“Me?” he asked, almost sounding disbelieving, “This because we pretended to be married?”

“No, well…” you started before letting out a sigh, covering the lower half of your face with your hands. 

“I know you know the reasons for why...why I kissed you that first time, but...last night, did that mean anythin’?” 

“...Yes,” you stated after taking in a breath, heart pounding, “I just...your reaction. I have no idea if I stepped over a line or you just…” 

“...I mean, look at me,” he stated, “I thought you was just confused by everythin’, just some...old ugly--”

“I’ve liked you since I first saw you,” you blurted out, taking a small breath in, “You’re not old, you’re not ugly. Not to me. That’s been there since before this whole mess of a job. I’d just...I buried it down because...I’d just met you and there was that distance, then some of the other women picked up on it and I was lead to believe it wouldn’t happen from what they’d said. Nothing bad, just that...well, there was that distance.” 

“Christ…” he muttered, making you glance over at him as he seemed to be weighing his words. 

“I just...I need to know,” you continued, trying to keep your gaze on his as he turned to look at you, “Is there...is there even a chance that we could...well, be something?” 

There was a heavy pause after, Arthur dropping his gaze as he stared into the grass at his feet for a few moments. You could feel your stomach twisting, making it hard to sit still and not just stand up and pace around. Nervousness bloomed into anxiety that had you wanting to take all the words back the more silence situated. Yet, this was it. This was the moment to really know if it was really time to bury those thoughts and feelings.

“I was gonna ask you the same damn thing,” he stated after a few moments, shaking his head with a bitter huff, “Kissin’ you, you kissin’ me, hell I...I don’t know. I been beatin’ myself up all day ‘bout not bein’ able to say anythin’.” 

“Me, too,” you admitted with a sigh, his words filling you with a lightness you couldn’t describe while pulling you back down harshly, “If we’re asking the same question, I’m sure you already know how I’d answer, but…” 

“I ain’t an easy man to be with,” Arthur replied, “I’m a stubborn bastard, no good…” 

“You…” there was a hitch to your voice, causing you to shake your head slightly before continuing, “You really come over here to talk me out of this?” 

“...No. No, but I mean…”

“I’m not asking you to actually marry me, you know that right?” you asked, your chuckle a touch tense but it caused Arthur’s expression to soften somewhat, “If you want to try, I’d...I’d be more than willing.” 

“You wanna try?” he repeated, looking over your face. 

“Yeah, I’d like to,” you replied with a nod, “If you’re willing.” 

Arthur glanced away for a moment, almost searching before he nodded lightly, glancing back toward you. 

“Alright...I’d like that, too.” 

The relief that settled into you at that was something else, the small grin that touched your face threatening to spread into a wider one. Still, you just found yourself nodding again, bowing your head a moment before giving him an actual smile. 

“Okay, then we’ll do that.” 

Arthur rose after that, causing you to follow with him. You were preparing for him to leave to return back into the camp’s little party, and for a moment it seemed like he was about to do just that. Really, you couldn’t say you felt like you could expect much other than what he had told you and agreed to, you weren’t too sure what speed he actually wanted to take with everything. However, instead of walking off, he paused to glance back toward you with some visible debate in his expression before it seemed to fade into something softer. 

You stepped toward him when you noticed him closing the space between you both, bringing his hands up to cup your face before pressing a kiss to your lips. There was something much different about it, less sudden and uncertain, and it had you melting a bit into the feeling as you brought your hands up to grip onto the front of his jacket. You pressed back into it with the same intensity, something short and sweet but it had that hint of promise that you had been missing from the others. It had you lingering close once the kiss was eventually broke, smoothing your hands against the fabric of his jacket that you had been gripping, exhaling softly through your nose. 

“I can almost hear the mocking now once they’ve figured this out…” you commented around a chuckle, Arthur returning it himself lightly. 

“Yeah, well, ain’t their business and we ain’t gotta say anythin’ yet,” he stated, dropping his hands away from your face as you smiled softly at him. 

“That’s true…” 

The both of you had finally parted after that, you deciding to linger back for a few moments before returning to the party as you let everything settle in your mind. Really, you were surprised at how composed you had remained throughout that whole thing, though you figured you had already acted boldly enough the previous night anyway. Really, the whole thing had you pressing your hand to your mouth a moment to hide the wide grin that broke out, knowing this wasn’t the end of it and there was some uncertainty on how it would all play out in the end, but it wasn’t the end. That was enough. 

However, you didn’t get to dwell on that thought for too long as you heard some rustling of grass behind you, along with a chuckle. 

“Here I was thinkin’ I was gonna have to awkwardly step in, if only for my own sake.” 

The voice was familiar, but it put a jump to your heart as you turned around to see Hosea stepping out from around a wagon. You gaped at him a moment as he regarded you with an amused grin, tilting his head. 

“I noticed you missin’, considerin’ it’s your party, thought I’d find you out here but…” he started, “You two really fall for each other pretendin’ to love each other?” 

“That’s a...strong question, Hosea,” you said with a soft chuckle. He gave you a knowing look, but didn’t comment any further, giving you a pat on the shoulder before he started to walk ahead toward the camp again. 

“Well, come on. Dutch’ll least wanna thank you for your work before you disappear for the night. Now I’m thinkin’ he’s not the only one who’ll miss you ‘round there tonight.”

[bookstryingtostealyourheart]

I Love You, You Dork

A/N: Hi everyone! I have quite a few requests coming in for stuff, keep it coming! I just got back from my vacation to the beach for a week and it was an exhausting trip. Hopefully you’ll get a couple imagines tonight into tomorrow. I love love love writing for Richie for some reason. He’s just so precious. So enjoy this! I am trying to do them in order, so if you aren’t seeing yours, it should be coming soon. Sending out my love <3 ALSO IM SORRY THIS IS SO SHORT I DIDN’T WANT IT TO BECOME BORING

Pairing: Richie Tozier x Reader 

Request: “I see that you write for Richie Tozier!! I was wondering I could request a richie x reader where reader also gets glasses and it makes him flustered and he loves them and maybe a member of the Bowers Gang takes them from her and Richie /tries/ to defend her. Thank you for your consideration!” @savethehoneeybees 

Pushing the unfamiliar accessory up the bridge of your nose, you enter school. Getting glasses over the summer was not the makeover you had in mind, but it was the one you received. They weren’t the big thick square ones that Richie sported and made look amazing effortlessly...Yours were thinner, more simple, yet you still hated them. There weren’t many choices, so you chose the first pair that didn’t make you gag when you tried them on...but walking into the school, you have never wanted to hide more. “y-y-y/n, like the glasses.” Bill pipes up from beside you, making you come out of your trance. He was alone, probably looking for the others. You thought you’d join him, wanting nothing more than to be in the comforts of the losers club, Richie especially. Bill was the one who was always nothing but incredibly nice to you. Richie, you had to warm up to along with Eddie and Stan. But Bill and Ben were the easiest to grow to love. They are both love bugs whole-heartedly. 

“Thanks Bill, I’m still not used to them yet-” You admit, before being cut off by none other than the goofy loud mouth you’ve been waiting to see for the past few days. Summer had been a long journey of the boys taking you to the quarry, riding around on the back of Richie’s bike, and much more of the same old same old. The past few days, you’d stayed home, wanting to get used to the change. You were honestly scared of people seeing the glasses. Now you have no choice. 

“Not used to what? By the way, welcome back to hell everybody.” Richie asks, nosy as always, taking his place by your side and cleaning his glasses before putting them back on and giving you a good look. Immediately, his dark chocolate eyes widen and a giant grin makes its way onto his face. “Well damn Y/N, when I think I’m the cool attractive one, you have to come show me what you’re made of. Lookin’ good. See guys, I can get a hot girl.” He says waving Stan and Eddie over, and successfully making you blush. He had no limits, which was not new. He said things like this all the time, always lightheartedly, but you knew Richie was the softest little teddy bear when it came to you. When his friends aren’t there, which is rare but occasional, he is very lovable. 

“Yea, Y/N, you look great. You rock dorky.” Eddie agrees, which all the compliments are making your heart feel like it is swelling in your chest. 

“Alright guys, you can stare at my girl later, we have the first day to conquer. See you guys at lunch?” Richie asks and everyone nods, splitting up and going to their classes, Richie motioning for you to follow him to his locker. The halls were crowded as usual, so you caught some strange looks from the girls in the hall. Some of the girls here are rotten, so you know you’ll get a bit of crap for the glasses later. “I didn’t know you needed glasses.” Richie thought out loud, putting his books into his locker. He wasn’t the easiest to read, but you could see curiosity in his face as he said it. He wondered what else he didn’t know about you. You shrugged, stuffing your hands into your jean pockets, shuffling your feet across the tile. 

“I didn’t either, quite honestly. I’ve always had the same vision, from what I can remember. But now I can see so clear, it’s so...nice.” You explain with a far away look. The little things make life so different. If you needed to wear these big clunky glasses, you’re happy to. The only people whose opinions matter also expressed how much they love them. What else could you ask for? 

“We’re definitely the goofiest looking couple in school now, thanks to you.” Richie pointed out, ruffling your hair slightly before he closed his locker and threw his bag over his shoulder. 

“Um excuse me, you’re definitely more goofy than me.” You shot back, raising an eyebrow at him. The deafening bell rang out through the school, and Richie pressed a kiss to your forehead. 

“I’ll let you believe that, and I will see you at lunch. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He demands jokingly and you roll your eyes, turning in the opposite direction as him, heading for the staircase. Before you could get to the stairs though, your glasses were ripped off your head. 

“Hey!-” 

“Hey is right. Guys look, Richie’s girlfriend is even trying to look like him now. Isn’t it cute? I’m gonna have to keep these.” Henry says to his friends, waving your glasses in the air above you. You sigh, reaching up to no avail. 

“Give them back! Please Henry...” You don't bother saying mean things to him, as it would result in something worse. Him and his friends are the perfect example of mob mentality. They do things without thinking, with no understanding of other peoples feelings or consequences. It made you uneasy not knowing his limits. 

“Hear her guys? awww, give em back. Should I give them back?” Henry asks his friends, and they all chuckle, shaking their heads no. You let your shoulders fall in defeat. 

“Hey! Leave her alone.” Richie screams from down the hallway, making not just you, but all the guys glance in his general vicinity. You bite your lip, hoping that this ends smoothly. You love Richie to death, but he is not one to take on Henry and all of his goons. 

“And what are you going to do if I don’t? Hit me? I’m shaking.” Henry taunts, waving your glasses around, above his head. 

“Why, you know this is not fair Henry, because it would not be me against you...it would be me against you and thing one, two and three.” Richie says rolling his eyes. Henry’s eyes light up at the actual offer of a fight. 

“Richie it is fine-” 

“No Y/N, Richie wants to be the big bad boyfriend and stand up for you. Let him. Come get her glasses big boy.” Henry says, motioning for his friends to stay where they are. Richie gives you a look and lets out a breath he seemed to have been holding for a little while. You felt your chest twist and ache. You knew that this was not a good idea. You did not want to kill Richie’s ego, but he had to do this himself now that he got into the position. He hesitates, looking over at Henry’s friends, but figures he needs to get your glasses back. He steps forward and takes a deep breath. The actions following made you gasp...Richie was so lovely to you, so seeing him act maliciously was so unlike him. He talked big, but was always the goofy/nerdy kid. Richie socked Henry right in the stomach, making him hunch over. He then peeled the glasses out of his hands and handed them to you. “Get him boys.” Henry said in a croaky voice from the floor. The three other idiots got excited, which is when you tried to get in-between Richie and the morons. But the blonde one grabbed you and held you back as the others went for Richie. “Richie! Leave him alone.” You say thrashing at the blonde kid holding you back. For a scrawny guy, he was surprisingly strong. You watched as the two guys pushed Richie onto the ground over and over and held him down as Henry got up and kicked him a few times. Richie was not reacting as much as you thought he would, as he didn’t yelp or make any noise as he was hit. You continued to yell at the boys until teachers started to exit their rooms and get in between the fight. You were finally dropped, running over to Richie who had a split lip. He gave you a sad smile, which had to sting from the blood exiting his lip. 

“I’m sorry that they took your glasses...and that I couldn’t beat their asses for you.” Richie said with a frown as the other boys were being reprimanded. You shrugged, sitting down against the locker with him and grabbing his hand. 

“You punched Henry Bowers in the stomach to get me my glasses back, Richie. That was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.” You giggle and he nods proudly. He never thought he would have punched Henry Bowers in the stomach, and not die minutes after. He would of course tell people he has, but he actually did...no fiction involved. 

“I did do that...didn’t I? Wow I’m a badass. If the guys ask, I won that fight.” Richie says matter-of-factly, making you grin. Of course he will tell the guys that, but it is not like they will believe him. But if that is what he wants, you’ll stand by that. He did win that fight, because he got your glasses back, and made you smile. For him that was winning. No matter if he had a split lip and a bit of a bruise starting to form on his abdominal area. You helped him up, pressing a kiss to his forehead as he let out a low groan. 

“I love you, you dork.” You say starry-eyed, pushing up his glasses back to where they’re supposed to be. He snorts, giving you that look that you know all too well from Richie. 

“You’re whipped.” Was all you needed as your ‘I love you too’. But were you the one who was really whipped?