#am I chill or panicking make up my mind dammit

[friendfromdsmp]

Okay so I’m having some kind of freak out on a mild scale and I’ve been trying to practice mindfulness and all that stuff but it’s lasted like half an hour now and I’ve switched from wanting to scream and hit things to holding back sobs to pacing the room very very slowly to carefully count each step because that might make it better to now just violent full-body stimming laying down like my mind is chill my thoughts seem completely normal (or not out of the ordinary for me at least) and idk what the hell is going on but I really don’t like it so what is this I’m assuming it’s the ‘tism since everything always seems to link back to that but I could be wrong it feels like fuck I don’t know how it feels I can’t identify feelings it’s just Not Good™️ and my whole body feels something bad I don’t know what it is like it’s not painful but it’s Wrong™️ and it’s making me want to smash my skull open so if anyone has any clue what might help please feel free to share cause my mind is chilling but also I’m in hell

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 297: We’re Bustin’ Outta This Joint

Previously on BnHA: Horikoshi did his best to undo all of the good vibes from the Girl Power arc by killing off Midnight. It sucks and I still don’t like it, but it is what it is. Unfortunately, Not Killing Off Your One Female Teacher Character With Any Character Development was worth 30% of his grade for the semester, so it brought his average down all the way to a C-, and so he and his report card will just have to live with that. Meanwhile Ochako did some rescuing, and the other U.A. kids lay around unconscious and/or traumatized. The chapter ended with an abrupt cut to Tartarus, where AFO is apparently just chilling and waiting for the Nearly High Ends to come bust him free. What kind of a cliffhanger is that to leave your fans hanging on for three whole weeks. Who’s suffering more here, the characters or the readers.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “okay I know you all want to know what happens to Deku and Shouto and the rest, but have you considered finding out what happens to Overhaul and Muscular and Moonfish and New Girl Character instead?” Fandom is all, “you had us at New Girl Character.” Seiji’s dad is all, “I’m just going to say a bunch of stuff to help make sure none of the readers feel conflicted about cheering on a bunch of mass murderers escaping from prison.” Tomura is all, “dammit AFO why are you still here.” AFO is all, “shhh, Tomura, go back to sleep.” Tomura is all, “wtf but you’re literally hijacking my body and continuing to shred it to bits while we break into BnHA Alcatraz to recruit your own personal Suicide Squad.” AFO is all, “:).” Real!AFO is all, “HERE I AM, EVERYONE, SORRY TO KEEP YOU WAITING.” And then the chapter ends. Geez.

oh shit lol it’s a whole big fucking page all about Tartarus

my very first thought was “that’s a long-ass fucking bridge”, and then I went to go google “longest bridges”, and Wikipedia was all “son there are literally a hundred and fifty bridges in the real world longer than 5km, and the longest one is actually 165km”, and I was all “oh shit I really don’t know jack shit about bridges.” then I looked at the list for a few more minutes and realized that the super-long bridges were all built over land, and that the longest bridge over water is only 38km. which is way more reasonable, but also still really fucking long though?? ngl I would freak the fuck out on that bridge. what does any of this have to do with Tartarus you ask?? absolutely nothing, I literally forgot I was reading a chapter for a sec lol uh

anyway, my parting thought on the bridge is that it kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a giant island fortress prison, but whatever. moving on

and the six levels thing is straight out of One Piece lol. something tells me BnHA’s prison break arc isn’t going to be quite as fun. hmm

so now we’re cutting to “the Bronze Gate”, which is the main entrance off of the bridge, and some goat-looking motherfucker is out here trying to become my new favorite character. bro

SON OF A BITCH WHAT’S WITH THE BULLETS FLYING IN THE BACKGROUND. DON’T TELL ME THEY’RE SHOOTING AT GYGES. THEY CAN’T KILL OFF MY FRESHEST HOMIE GYGES. SURELY THEY WOULDN’T

ooh and now, giant robots!

giant robots with machine guns. “I’m very sorry I killed off Midnight, makeste” you know what, fuck you Horikoshi. thinking you can buy my affections back so easily

does Gyges have six arms??? look how fucking calm he is announcing the code red security lockdown, holy shit. GYGES

NOOOO

NO NOT BRIAREUS. THIS DAY EXACTS A HEAVY TOLL

YO, WHAT

he came there himself?? so much for making the Noumus do his dirty work. and based on the speech bubble shape and font, this is still AFO talking

uh oh what’s happening

is he using Decay or is his arm just sort of crumbling to pieces because he hasn’t had time to heal up yet? if it’s the former this prison break is going to set a record for shortest arc yet isn’t it

now we’re cutting to B10 which is apparently the lowest level. but do they mean lowest as in the least security, or lowest as in the deepest underground, a.k.a. the most security? idk it’s confusing and I think they should be more specific. is it B like in basement?? are there six levels or ten?? stupid Tartarus

anyway so the guards are talking about how Gigantomachia is scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning. heh. will there even be a Tartarus tomorrow morning

(ETA: WELL, UH.)

wow they’re talking about just killing him outright. damn

I kinda feel like “prison guard” is one of those jobs that just sort of naturally attracts shitty people. anyways yeah, Seiji your dad is a real piece of work

and he’s even doubling down on it after the other guy repeatedly keeps trying to hush him up. dude we get it, you’re an asshole

ooh and now we’re getting an interesting look at the various prisoners, some of whom look suspiciously familiar!

for starters, that’s definitely Moonfish in the upper left corner, I’m like 99% sure. not quite clear who that is across from him in the upper right, but it’s been a hot minute since we saw Muscular, so maybe?

and could that be Overhaul in the panel beneath him?? they’re not showing his face so I assume it’s someone we’d recognize, and he’s the only currently-incarcerated villain with that haircut as far as I can recall. though it seems weird that he’s not restrained more given his quirk. I thought Horikoshi mentioned in Ultra Analysis that he’d gotten it back somehow. eh well we will wait for answers

I don’t recognize the person to his left either (though she has an oddly familiar look to her?). but the person on the bottom right, next to Kurogiri... is it Stain?? the hair and body language are sure giving off Stain vibes. if someone had told the me from two years ago that I’d actually be excited to see Stain again I would have said you were full of shit. and yet here we are. these sure are interesting times

anyway so now the Code Red intruder alarm is blaring. and I gotta say, that one scene sure was effective at killing any sympathy I might have been inclined to feel for these guards lol. bring on the imminent massacre

“what horrible timing” lol yes. it’s almost as if they planned it that way

uh oh

is he omae wa shindeiruing. watch your six, Mr. Prison Guard

oh shit

WHAT DID I SAY. WHAT DID I FUCKING SAY. but nooo, you all were all, “but a bridge is more convenient!” VERY WELL THEN, LIE IN THE BED THAT YOU HAVE MADE

anyway so it’s the High Ends lol. I mean we already knew it was them. let’s just get on with it

omfg Tomura ARE YOU RIDING ONE

WHAT ARE YOU, A NAZGUL. WHY IS THIS MY FAVORITE THING

and it looks like it actually is Tomura again, too (as opposed to AFOmura)

-- is he using Decay on himself?? is that what it is?? or no wait, is this just more of the weird side effect shit that’s been happening since he Awakened. actually yeah never mind that’s clearly what it is

y’all this man is out here having a full blown argument with himself

so this is equal parts compelling and hilarious to me right now lol. like I feel so bad for Tomura, but I also lowkey want to see how far this escalates. like do you think he’d go as far as to punch himself in the face. where will this journey lead us

fucking look at this shit

other people have already mentioned this, but with this scene especially it makes me really curious how they’re going to show this in the anime. will it be AFO’s voice coming out of Tomura’s mouth? or Tomura’s voice using AFO’s speech patterns? more importantly, will it be cool and dramatic, or will it actually wind up being hilarious? or both?? never count out both

also he’s looking pretty good there in that bottom panel with his one eye just barely visible. that doesn’t have anything to do with anything, but here I am, pointing it out

also also, lol at Tomura being all, “the fuck do you mean, ‘rest’, you’re the one that dragged my body out here to raid a fucking prison,” and AFO being all, “oh yeah, lol, true true, but I meant rest after that.” yes, this man clearly has nothing but the purest intentions, Tomura. trustworthy af

this fucking guy. Tomura is your bullshit radar finally operational yet?? can you see yet that it was always his intention to use you right from the very start?? oh man I am starting to get fidgety now listening to this

so Tomura’s saying he doesn’t just want to be used as a chess piece. and AFO is all, “well okay but what if it’s a VERY NICE AND IMPORTANT chess piece.” bro DID HE STUTTER

-- AHH BUT NEVER MIND THAT, HERE IT IS, THIS IS WHERE THE FUN STARTS OMG

GO ON AND ACQUIRE THEM THEN! omg. why am I so fucking excited. it seriously makes no sense. like seriously, ‘hooray, our old buddies, Overhaul and Stain!!’ -- come again now?? who is this person that I have become

meanwhile AFO is making all this fuss and I really don’t understand it though

why would you need to plow directly through the building. why can’t you just use doors like a normal person. it’s not like they can lock you out, like hello, you can literally turn anything you touch into dust, what’s with all the melodrama

anyway so he’s apparently hitting the prison with some sort of EMP attack now and shutting down all their systems

omg the suspense is killing me. this is going to be so badass once it’s animated, but right now all I keep thinking is “YES, GREAT, CAN WE PLEASE JUST MOVE IT ALONG”

the doors are opening ahhhhhhh come on come on come on let’s go let’s get to the excitement already

now the guards are running over to try and regain control. but, like

yeah that’s pretty much how I’m expecting the rest of this to go basically

so now they’re shooting at the dust cloud lol. well if there’s one thing movies have taught me, it’s that bad guys who wait inside clouds of dust while panicked cops blindly rain bullets at them until they run out of ammo are basically invincible lol. soooooo

OHHHHH SHIT

AHAHAHAHAHAHA. THEY ARE SO FUCKED LOL, SHIT

YEP, AND HERE’S ANOTHER ONE

is this the first time we’ve seen Moonfish’s face? I feel like we might have caught a glimpse of it before on an omake page or something. either way, it wasn’t anything I actually needed to see again. thanks...?? I guess??

okay but seriously, are we supposed to actually know who this badass lady is?? like I don’t know her but I feel like I know her, you feel?

(ETA: lol there are already like 60 different theories about how she’s related to every single character in the series. will be interesting to see if anything comes of this. although we did just get three “this villain was secretly related to [insert character(s) here] all along” reveals just in the last arc, so idk, it might be better if we pass on it this time lol.)

girl who are you. please stick around. for the love of god don’t let this man kill you off too

????

wait so is this Overhaul? boy sure has seen better days huh. but the floppy sleeves... yeah, it’s gotta be him

anyway so then the only ones missing are Stain and Kurogiri, yes?? omg. and one page left to go

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO CONVINCE ME HE COULDN’T HAVE DONE THIS SHIT RIGHT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. FUCKING TIME-BIDING DRAMA QUEEN

AND HE’S JUST FLOATING HIS LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM ALONG BEHIND HIM SOB. THIS FUCKING GUY

AND IS HE JUST ABSENTMINDEDLY DRAGGING SOME POOR SCHLUB’S CORPSE ALONG BESIDE HIM LIKE A SLEEPY TODDLER CARRYING THEIR TEDDY BEAR. I FUCKING CAN’T. REST IN PEACE, FRIEND. GIVE MY REGARDS TO GOOD OLD BRIAREUS

so that’s it! and we still don’t have any idea what AFO is actually planning to do now, after all of that. are they going to merge bodies?? or is he going to try to switch with him?? either way Tomura’s body has to be part of the plan somehow since he keeps making so much of a fuss over it. flkhglkhlk. dammit I need answers lol

[zuffer-weird-girl]

Back to the old days

He groaned at only feeling empty and cold sheets beneath his hand when it went it seatch for another body that was suppose to be cuddling with him... man doesn't even have a break on this life and now his songbird couldn't even stay in bed with him...

Stretching his arms up, he hummed at the pooping sound his neck and arms did when he was stretching. Today was the start of the heavenly one week of vacation the hero comission offered for him to take it. And he brabbed the chance with a smirk and almost broke the window of his agency due to how fast he wanted to get home. Get to you.

He looked at a little sticky note you had left, warning him you had to get out for groceries but would soon be back and promissing to bring some chicken even.

"What a angel I have ladies and gemtlemans..." he sighed before plopping back face down on the bed.

But he sadly couldn't fall back asleep so he had to push his lazy ass out of his bed and walk to the kicthen to at least have the decenty to drink the rest of the carton of milk.

Funny thing that the more he walked, his place was getting bigger and bigger for some reason. He shrugged off as being his slowly mind still processing and went to the fridge...

Only to see that he had to stood on his tip toes to get to open it.

"Huh?" He hummed and gasped at childish sound it came instead of his normal voice. Cupping his mouth in the process.

He slowly took off his hands from his mouth and brought to his vision to not see his normal hands, the ones whose carried scars from his battles and feel co cois about it before you washed them off.

No no. It was baby hands right there. BABY HANDS, NOT GROW ASS MAN HANDS.

"He.. hehe... " he giggled desperate before slapping his own face before wincing.

That was not a dream....

He started to shake just a bit but got the strenght enough to open his wings and fly until a neat mirror of his two-story apartment just to confirm this was a nightmare or not.

.

.

.

You hummed a song while carrying the bags, stopping in front of the door to get your keys until a high pitched scream left you to wince and drop your groceries.

You opened the door and found a blond little boy looking in horror at the mirror. Vermillion wings wide open as the golden eyed kid grasped on his looks and pushed just slightly... wait. He was way too much familiar.

"K-...K-Keigo?" You sluttered and the boy gasped when he noticed you entered. Groceries forgotten and dropped on the ground.

"N-No.. dont look at me. Dont!" He went to fly and stood at the heigh of the ceiling as you entered and look up at the blond boy covering half of his face.

"What happened?!" You exclaimed and soon guards of the hero comission entered your flat.

"NO! GET OUT! BOTH OF YOH GET OUT!" He shouted in ager as the two body guards mistaken him with a normal child and went to get to him.

"Is Hawks!" You grasped onto one of the bodyguards shoulders as they widened their eyes beneath their sunglasses.

"Hawks sir?! What happened?!"

"G-Get out now!" Tears started to form on his eyes as he rubbed them "I DONT WANT TO SEE ANYONE OF THE HERO COMISSION ENTERING HERE!" he shouted and flew to the room, banging the door loudly as you blinked in shock.

"Please. I will text you guys when to come back, but while that, please serach for a cure or something for him." You spoke gently as one bodyguard grabbed your groceries and you went upright calling your boyfriend, now in a body of a child, name.

"Keigo?" You knocked softly to be met with silence "Handsome they are gone already, talk to me? Please?" You forced a pout as you heard his voice muffled.

"Spare yourself dove. I dont want you seing me... like this."

"But is the man I love there." You said softly and desperate for him to open up "No matter what, Keigo I dont mind and you shouldn't mind either. Maybe it was a quirk from yesterday you were hit and it will be gone in one or two days... please let me in? Werent we suppose to stick together this whole week?" You smiled when you heard the door clicking and Takami hesitantly, yet with eyes to the floor as he opened the door to reveal his childish form, clothes hanging on which fir into adult Hawks into perfection.

"You do have a way with words, don't you love?" He mumbled as you kneeled fo be on a decent eye level with him.

"Had to learn since I have a snarky boyfriend." You giggled and he let out a chuckle, still not looking at you until you cupped his cheeks on your hands.

"We're going to figure it out Keigo, and we will enjoy the week like you told me okay?"

You swore you almost went to a panick attack when you saw the sign of tears on your boyfriend's eyes despite them being wide open.

"K-keigo I'm sorry! I didn't meant for you to cry!"

"Is not me! IS THSI BODY DAMMIT!" he sobbed before succumbing to crying as he searched for a hug as you only could gulp and hug your boyfriend back.

.

.

.

"The viĺlain you thought yesterday maybe was the cause Hawks." The man spoke nonchantly as you nibbled on your bottom lip as Hawks glared at them. "Since searching for a cure will leave you on a state to not work, we discovered it will cure by itself on a matter of one week."

You didn't like it one bit the way Keigo clenched hsi hands on the couch beside you as his feathers ruffled.

"Better for us even to say that it wont even cost your reputation. Imagine this, "the second pro hero turned into a child". It will hit Negatively on Hawks agency."

"Precisely."

The two man in tuxedo discussed before Keigo got uo and you called his name worriedly before he only clapped his hands with a smirk. One anyone would buy that he was chill... but you knew him better.

He was furious.

"Well, lucky that I got this weekend eh? Too bad I can't take my girlfriend out but anyway glad to see ya! But is time for all of you to get the fuck out of my apartment." He showed the door to the males as you and them widened your eyes at him cursing and the threatening tone he uses it even with a childish voice.

"Hawks, language and-"

"Listen here." Hawks's smiled creepily as one vein almost popped "I am cleary not having a good day so I would LOVE for you fuckers to get out."

They signed and gave you a expecting look. One that made you grimace like they were dealing with a animal and thing which you had to control it for them. Hawks was not the only one who felt trapped. When they discovered you two were dating, it was their mission to make Hawks's life a living hell... until they saw how well the public had take your guys relationship and decide sto remain on that.

Hawks gave a also fake smile before slamming the door shut. Slumping and having his two arms to support him as he hinged his head low.

"Keigo..." you cooes before coming close to him as he only breathed in and out slowly before speaking in a teary voice.

"I just wanted to make you happy... have time with you but this had to happen and they cant e-even h-he-" a sob escaped and he made a effort to gulp it down until he felt your arms around him before he turned around to bury his face on the crook of your neck.

"Its okay. Keigo you already make me soo happy. Corny jokes, you being a lovable jerk and all... we can still have fun." You spoke softly as he breathed in and out and clenched on your shirt as his feathers form his wings slowly ease down as you petted both his hair and them.

"How...?"

"We can still do a bunch of things." He mumbled something in your neck before you pulled back "What was that?"

"Not one thing we can do that we both were looking forward to it."

"Eh?" Your boyfriend only deadpanned at you before mumbling back what you two were thinking with a faint blush.

"We can't be... intimate."

"We can still cuddle Kei and also-"

"In bed (Y/n)." He gave you a knowing look and realization hitted you finally.

"Out of all things you were throwing a fuss becaus eof that?!" You yelped in utter embarrassing as Keigo opened his arms wide open.

"YOU ASKED FOR IT!"

.

.

.

"Why you're so grumpy baby?" You giggled at the loom of his face when he climbed the bed and stared at you laying down as well.

"Why? Because you will take aadvantage of this and not let me be the big spoon."

"You guessed right my handsome." You blinked at him and he cuffed cutely before you opened your arms to him "Cmon~ you cant deny that you always liked to sleep with your head on my chest."

"Is different." He mumbled but still hot into your embrace, sighing heavenly when he met your warmth as he nuzzled on you.

"Comfy?" You yawned as he nodded, smilling you closed your eyes and fell asleep while petting his hair.

.

.

.

On the other day you woke up before Keigo and went to make some breakfast until you heard footsteps and whinning.

"Babe..." he whined, still sleepy as you try your best to not have am overload of cuteness at seing child Keigo with morning hair and yawning cutely.

"Hey birdbrain. Good morning." You returned your attention to the eggs and soon felt a little press on your forehead and more whining as he tried to hug you. "What now you big baby?"

He looked at you with the most adorable pout and made grabby hands at you.

"I cant hug you like usually! I cant even surprise you with neck kisses!" He whined more and hitted his head on your hip while you shook your head.

"Fine fine..." you crouched down and hugged him tightly with a kiss on his cheek "Better now?"

"No.. didn't got my kiss." You giggled as he smirked before feeling extremely betrayed when you kissed him on the forehead. "Dove I meant on the lips yeah?"

"Not until you are like this baby! Now come on eat something."

You swore you could hear Hawks saying he was sit on the corner, due to all the sad he got just because of a kiss.

.

.

.

Which movie honey?"

"A scary one I guess?" Keigo's winds flapped as he closed the microwave after taking the bow of popcorn.

"Kids can even watch this?" You joked and he flashed dyou a smirk.

"Well, yeah after all you watch sometimes."

"Excuse me Takami Keigo?"

"What? Did I say anything? I didn't say anything." He chuckled at your irritated face as he took some popcorn and munched as you sitted down with a huff.

"You're lucky you're in this state or else I would have put you to sleep on the couch."

"You wouldn't." You giggled at the henuily scared tone of his childish voice speak before the movie started.

.

.

.

Apparently you were a scary cat, and since Keigi didn't have that glorious delicious chest to hide your face, Takami agreed to watch another movie.

Although not even it reached the half of it and you felt Hawks's head falling your lap... asleep. Cuddling on your leg as if his life depended on it.

"Keigo? Honey?" You whispered while brushing his golden looks out of his face as he only hummed "If your fired than go to sleep sweety, I wont mind."

"No... you.. like... then not... sleeping... just resting eyes..." he mumbled as you softened your gaze and petted his hair.

It must be due to how his childhood body reacted because no way Keigo would be sleeping at 8 p.m. Especially being acustomized to work work work work and ocassionaly take five minutes of rest.

This was actually a pretty good way for him to relax. Keigo himself wouldn't let him relax mostly on his breaks. So this was really good for him.

Although you miss the actual body and face of your boyfriend, you couldn't help but to give another kiss on him, but instead on his nose as soft snores and breaths come out of him.

.

.

.

He got down the few stairs and stared at you opening a box of cake and tilted his head at your actions.

"Can I ask what my little dove is doing?" You looked at him and showing him a ate of a already piece of the cake.

"Tjought on a little dessert to give some more sugar to your life!" You giggled as he sighed.

"All the sugar I need is so close yet so far." He sighed as you rolled your eyes and offered a spoonful of the spongy cake for him.

He blushed crinsom red before looking away.

"I can feed myself (Y/n)..."

"I know bit I thought it would be cute!" You pouted at him as he only looked at you in unpleasant bit with a smirk coming back to life. "Pleaseeee? Honey???"

"Fine..." he rolled his eyes with a smile before parting his lips enough to receive the spoon. "You're enjoying this arent you?"

"For all the teasing you made me when through. Karma is a bktch isn't it? Here comes the airplanes~"

"You do know that I wont stop teasing you after this right?" He smirked at your defeated look before taking the spoonful on his mouth.

"... KEIGO GET BACK HERE YOU-" you ran after the winged hero as he laughed at your distress.

.

.

.

"Hey... dovey?" He mumbled one night as you grunted "... thank you."

You furrowed your eyebrows and looked at him as he held the tears back.

"Is just... my life was marked by loneliness, you know? Before you it was all just an act but ... just looking at you was necessary for me to fall in love. Fall hard you"

you heard in awestruck and with tears of happiness to hear him talking about something so beautiful.

"basically." he laughed before finally looking at you properly "You filled all that emptiness of my childhood in just five days. In that time it was enough to fill the life of the street kid caught by the heroes commission ... with love. So once again-" he cupped your cheek in his much smaller hands with a smile "Thank you (Y/n), my love, for staying and loving the real Takami Keigo."

It was silent for a while until you burried your face on his little chest as he chuckled.

"You're crying babe?"

"N-no.. is just something on my eye." You sniffled as he petted your head.

"Right, so what is in your eye?"

"TEARS YOU JERK! OKAY?! HAPPY?!" you laughed when he laughed at your response.

.

.

.

Hee groaned, but this time he rubbed his hand on your thigh with his hand.. sighing in bliss at your warmth until he forced his eyes open.

The sun lights were bothering you on your sleep and in a common act and without thinking he covered you with his gigantic red wing and returned to bury his face on your head.

... WAIT A SECOND-!

He sitted up with wide eyes, staring at his hands. Which returned back to normal with scars and all as he chucked. Suck that hero commision, it took FIVE DAYS not seven.

You grumbled and asked him on your sleepy state to him what was happening as he crawled on top of you and kissed you passionate, ignoring your yelps of shock and surprise. He needed that kiss let him have the kiss

"Keigo!" You breathed out in shock amd glee at seing him back as he chuckled and pressed more than one hundred kissed on your lips, cheeks and neck. You both panted as Keigo looked down at you with adoration as you cupped his cheek, lovingly how he nuzzled on it searching for your touch even more.

"We so we have two days still on your break birdbrain? What you want to do?" He hummed with eyes closed before going down to kiss your neck and gently suck on your earlobe.

"Maybe catch up on what we planned on the start?" He rotted his hips against yours as you gasped at feeling he was well awake in more ways than one.

"Horny bird.." you whispered teasingly to him as he got up on his elbows to look at you, giving a simple gentle kiss as your hands went into his head to welcome his tongue to twirl against your own.

"Your horny bird." He mumbled between the kisses as you nodded eargly "and you are my baby bird. Mine and mine alone."

[phinksimp]

Baby~

Phinksx!Fem Reader

"Y/N!"

You turned around to see a towel flying straight at you. You smirked as you caught it just in time, moving it to the side to wink at the person who had thrown it.

Phinks chuckled as he walked towards you, dressed in his usual green tracksuit while holding a plain black umbrella over his head. He sighed, noticing how wet your clothes were. He then blushed when he saw how tightly your dress now hugged your body. The brute cleared his throat. "Don't tell me you believed the weather man again?! How many times do I have to tell yo--"

You kicked him slightly on the shin as you dried your hair with the towel. "I'm fine! Besides, I can always count on you for an umbrella and a nice dry towel, right?"

The blonde rolled his eyes, holding himself back from berating you more. He watched as you laughed, a sinking feeling slowly taking over his chest.

You stopped laughing and stared at the unusually quiet man. "Phinks?"

He snapped out of his trance, replacing his blank stare with a smile. "You said you wanted sushi, right? Let's go."

You had made it a tradition for you and Phinks to go out for dinner every year on the first day of Spring. As much as he'd complain about it, he never missed the day.

You and Phinks had been friends since Junior High. You were managing the basketball team he was on when he had suffered a torn ACL. You had helped him on his road to recovery, not knowing that the time spent with the boisterous and overly confident jock would result in such a close friendship.

Phinks began to run into trouble with the law as the both of you grew older. This resulted in you having to bail him out of jail, almost as often as he had to bail you out of bad dates.

You knew you could always count on him, and you would be there for him at the drop of a hat.

"Ah!" You stretched your arms over your head as you both exited the restaurant, your stomach having reached its limit. "Thank you for dinner, Phinks! You really didn't have to."

Phinks stayed quiet, simply replying with a nod.

The Gucci clad man pointed towards the water. "You okay if we stand over there for a bit?"

There was something Phinks wanted to tell you, but he was having trouble figuring out exactly what it was...

You leaned over the wooden railing, smiling as you took in the view of the moon slowly lowering over the water. "It's finally spring." Your mouth formed into a smile. It was your favorite season.

Phinks nodded, his eyes focused on the river.

You stared at Phinks as he thought. There was something that you had been meaning to ask him for so long now.

Maybe it was when he smiled at you from the podium, thanking you for helping him recover and making it to the championships. Maybe it was when he held you as you cried when you had finally broken up with your abusive ex-boyfriend. Maybe it was when the two of you had first met that first Spring.

But somewhere between then and now-- you had fallen in love with Phinks.

There were quiet moments when you noticed your glances becoming stares, your hugs lasting longer than usual, and a faint blush across his cheeks when you had secretly caught him staring at you.

You had stopped yourself from telling him for so long, scared it'd ruin your friendship. You didn't want to lose him.

You continued to stare. You took in his broad shoulders, how the moon illuminated his already golden eyes, and his hands that you wanted to hold onto. Forever.

"Phinks--"

"Y/N."

You chuckled waving your hands, unaware of how red your face now was. "Sorry, you go first!"

Flustered, Phinks shook his head. "No, you go. Don't even bother trying to argue with me!"

You stood there dumbfounded, looking at the ground as if the answer to what you should say would magically appear.

"Y/N?"

You took a deep breath. It was too late to back out now.

"Phinks...what...am I to you?"

Phinks raised his brow bone. "Huh? You're...human?"

You rolled your eyes, aware of how oblivious he could be at times. "No, dummy...I mean...what am I to you?" You clenched your jaw, the sound of blood rushing filling your ears.

Phinks repeated the question in his head, trying to decipher what you were asking him.

Several minutes passed, sending your anxiety through the roof. There was no other way to do it-- you just had to say it.

"Dammit, Phinks! I'm asking what I am to you because...I..."

Phinks tilted his head, still confused. "You what?"

You bit your lip. He was such an idiot sometimes.

Why are you making this so much harder than it needs to be?!

Phinks' heart dropped, finally realizing what you were about to tell him.

"Phinks, I think I lo--"

He panicked, his face turning a deep red.

NO WAY! IS SHE?!

He looked around frantically before disappearing into thin air.

You stood there dumbfounded. You had spent the whole time guessing what he was going to say, that you never expected him to not say anything at all.

"Well, I guess that answers that..."

You took a deep breath as you held in your tears, too proud to cry. If anything-- you could tell Phinks you were joking the next time you saw him.

I'm such an idiot.

You tossed in bed, unable to shake the feelings of hurt, embarrassment and rejection that seemed to take over every aspect of your being.

Angrily, you threw the covers off before throwing a jacket over your night gown.

I need to get my mind off of this...

You walked to the docks by your house, sighing as you sat at the very end of the wooden pier. You cringed as you replayed the moment in your head again.

"Phinks..."

"Yeah?"

You screamed as your turned around startled, nearly falling into the water.

Phinks caught you by the waist, keeping his hand on you as he pulled you up.

"You never listen to what I tell you. You're always whining about something or crying. Not to mention you're always hungry."

You blushed, unsure of what he was trying to say.

Before you could speak, you felt a chill rush down your spine as Phinks lifted his hand up to your face.

"You're hopeless on your own...but I know that I'd give my whole life up for you in a heartbeat."

You stood there in shock, wondering if this was just a dream.

Phinks smiled as he moved his face closer towards you, stroking your cheek with his thumb.

"What you are to me...well...you're my baby."

LOL. Sorry I don't know what the hell that was. I just saw this picture and it reminded me of Phinks. I didn't know what to write, so I just typed whatever came to mind first. Might write something again if a better idea comes along. Hope you enjoyed reading it (even just a little).

[energyanon]

ITS TIME FOR:

THE SEBASTIAN STAN MEGAMIX:

Don’t you dare go through the rest of the reading without getting yourself hyped with the link first cause I spent OVER TWO HOURS ON THIS READING AND YOU WILL DO WHAT I ASK DAMMIT.

* https://youtu.be/nendMLrpI-s*

ALSO: no one kill me, there is a very unpopular opinion that unfolded. I just feel the energy, don’t avada kadavra the messenger. It’s not my fault if it doesn’t match your ideal, man.

I’ve put Seb down first - just on his own.

I know I’ve said he seems like a sad bitch, and this might be because it was his birthday like.. what yesterday? And maybe I’m in his current energy (I’ll check on a different timeline) but…

Fans are gonna say it’s fake - he’s happy.

He’s really content. He’s swaying a bit which is why I feel like there’s like a tiny bit of drunk-ness hence why I feel like I’m in his CURRENT energy, but there’s 0 fault. He is so peaceful and happy and content. There’s nothing else to it.

So I closed that off, switched him over to “2021 energy” just to see how he’s been going for the most part rather than right now. And there was an immediate change, specifically to the middle of my head, a sort of pressure there. Heavy eyes, not as happy and starting to get hot. Specifically in shoulders and arms and hands. Hands is usually anxiety, shoulders and arms… I don’t usually get. The happiness is there but the smiles are fleeting. Otherwise it’s not sad it’s just… floating through, getting by. Pressure in my head is getting worse though and now my back is itchy. With energy letting me know that, I can only assume there needs to be a placement of something behind him.

Ok, placement behind him whatever it is, is DRAGGING him down. Mood changed entirely. And he’s being pulled BACK to this thing almost like he wants to fall into it. He’s really focused on in front of him, not quite scared, but eyes wide. Panicked. He does NOT want to look behind him.

The feeling now is.. almost a depression; tired. And he’s looking on the ground now. That almost always means that he’s looking at someone who has died.

Guys? Any death around him recently??

YOOO OK THATS FUCKED AS SOON AS I WROTE THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING IN MY ROOM THAT MOVED ITSELF WITH A GIANT CLANK 👀 I AM NOT DOING A SEANCE TONIGHT FOLKS I AM OUTTIE.

CLOSING THAT ONE OFF REAL FUCKING FAST JOLY SHIT. Gimme a sec to get whatever the fuck that is outta here.

Ok no that’s a lie. Why does it feel like Grandparent Stan.

Guys, has one of the grandparent Stan’s died? It’s not a bad energy, but to him it feels like depression. I’m taking a moment just to speak to them cause they clearly wanted my attention. I tried to end it there cause I don’t fuck with spirits, but as soon as I tried to close my apps it said “no” really sweetly, so…

Ok so I just spent about half an hour doing a mini constellation for them. When it comes to grief and also the ~spirit~ letting itself be known I knew they were gonna stay around until I helped. It was pretty personal, but I got them through it. Felt a lot like a grandma from one of the sides I’m not sure who. Gave me some very cute images of her and little Seb playing in a park and cooking 🥺 Seb cried alot, but was also VERY happy to see her. They said their bits, he knows she’s a support. She’s agreed to be there for the rest of the reading however he needs her. They’re currently holding hands in letting him keep her there.

Let’s move on.

Didnt think I would cry in this one but here I am.

Ok I’ve got him in his previous position, Grandma?Stan is behind him, we’re moving on.

He feels A lot better now that the grief has been sorted through. Feels fresh.

Career/fans came up in that mini constellation so I will put that down next.

The only thing he brought up about the fans was he feels like they’re ripping him apart. He feels like everyone wants a piece of him and he can’t give them that.

I put career down. Career is in front of him facing him to his left. The fans, surprise surprise, wanted to be right on top of him. And he is CHOKING with that being the case. Throat clamping up, airways are BLOCKED. I’m moving them off.

Even then, the fans are too close, Seb has taken two steps back.

Even then they’re still too close. He’s moved to behind career, so career is blocking the view of him and the fans.

Here in this position he’s standing like a statue, he feels like he’s successfully hidden and it’s here he’s gonna stay.

Moving to career:

Career is super confused at where he went and also feels like fans are a bit close. also feels like it is better than the fans. Kind of giving them a look of disgust. Career seems to understand that the fans are gonna be stuck close to them but they think of them a bit like they’re looking at something a bit dirty.. like career doesn’t want to get their hands on them. Career wants to turn to Seb.

Career is bigger than Seb by quite a bit. Not as overbearing as Chris’s career was though, and seems to be on good terms with him. It doesn’t have any feelings of animosity towards Seb, it’s just looking at him like “you good?” And then looking back at the fans and being like “cause of THEM? Really? Lol ok”

But career feels fine to block him off from fans, that’s ok it doesn’t mind. Career doesn’t want Seb to take his eyes off it though. Eyes on career. Keep your eyes on career.

Don’t look anywhere else. Eyes on career.

Back to Seb:

Seb agrees, eyes on career. He’s very obedient to that.

There’s nothing else for me to do with these two so I went to see if he wanted to look past career at fans. He didn’t. Eyes on career.

(What have you guys done to him, i followed him back in CA:WS and he wasn’t like this at ALL. Damn guys.)

I went back to fans and they just kept making the same movement, they wanted to be on top of him. Close wasn’t close enough. I’m not moving them back there though cause then it will just go in circles and we want MOVEMENT.

I’m leaving fans there.

I am adding GF

Ale? Is that what people call her?

Ale has placed herself behind career. She is currently fully in the fans view, but she’s facing career and seb, career has back to her, seb is facing her way.

She seems to know that career is most important and she’s ok with that. She’s kind of expectantly trying to get his attention though. Like the feeling of waiting for someone to get off work and waiting for them at the door. She’s just waiting. She looks at fans like they’re beneath her though. Doesn’t like them. Not dislike, but they’re beneath her, she doesn’t need to interact.

No other movement from her besides the fact that she wants seb to move over to her so he can be by her side.

I went to the fans and they’re just all BORING their eyes into her. No need to even look at seb it’s ALE. No movement from them otherwise.

Moving back to seb:

Eyes on career. Eyes on career, except ale is more interesting now and he wants to shuffle over her way, but also career? But also ale.

He doesn’t want to go the obvious way, he kind of wants to sneak past career.

I’m gonna sneak him past career.

He’s doing it sheepishly and very slowly. Like a little boy shuffle.

Ok seb is now in front of ale, career is behind him, backs faced to each other.

Ale is taller to him. (Usually means he thinks highly of her OR that she’s in a more powerful position in the relationship but it doesn’t feel like that he’s acting like a simp)

So weird this is such simp behaviour, I moved ale back a little cause they were practically on top of each other but he was like “noooooo” and moved himself closer again.

Like dude you’re practically breathing in her organs. Chill.

It’s weird though Hes not feeling like He wants to cuddle her or be anything other than just close to her. He seems to be completely mesmerised by her. Short breaths though, he’s not relaxed. But he cannot take his eyes off her.

Moving to Ale:

She doesn’t really take her eyes off him either but she’s much more easily distracted.

She’s very fond of him though. She feels very content. She likes him, she’s happy there.

No more movement from either of them so let’s ask questions.

I asked both parties if they loved each other. Ale said yes, seb said I don’t know.

It’s also not “I don’t know” in a 😬 way it’s.. a curious and nice “I don’t know” kind of like.. “I’ve never felt like THIS before.. is THIS love?”

He does feel a bit blocked though, like he’s not admitting to himself 100% but it’s so bizzare his feelings and his words aren’t matching up cause I feel so fond of this woman so why is he saying I DONT KNOW?!

Ok I see the problem now. I just said one word:

Q:

Marriage? Ale said “yes please :)”

And sebs immediate reaction was 😳 😬

Ya boy. Has commitment issues. He’s making sense now. I swear to god if he has Gemini in his chart.. I swear.

Q: ale, why did you get with seb?

He seemed nice 😊 (also an image of a yacht on the water popped up?)

Q: do you have pure intentions towards him

She… didn’t know how to answer that, it was a very hesitant yes.

Q: are you with him for the money?

The answer was a pretty clear yes but she tried to cover her tracks with “it’s nice 😊”

Q: If Sebastian lost everything would you still love him?

No hesitation it was still yes.

So what I’m getting here is she does like the money, she does like him, money is a main factor but… she genuinely likes him I don’t know what to tell you guys.

Q: seb do you like ale?

Yes

Q: why did you start dating her?

She’s hot! (He laughed at that) and then said she’s funny, she’s cute, she’s sweet… great body

Q: do you think you’ll spend your life with her?

Same reaction as the marriage question it was a very hesitant “I’m not sureeeeee….”

The energy is drifting a bit now so I’m ending it here:

Q: is there anything else you want to say.

I wish they would leave her alone

Q: do you want them to leave you alone?

No, I can handle it. They can do what they want, I just want them to leave her alone.

That’s it!

That’s all I got.

I didn’t get any bad vibes from Ale at all.

She seems to like him. I don’t know why everyone is so mad?

Seb also seems to like her. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t have Gemini in the big three or Venus, cause that’s exactly like me, ive got Leo Venus, cancer sun that makes me all lovey physically but in my gemini moon and merc make my head like MMmmmMmmMmM BUT DO I ACTUALLY LIKE THEM THOUGH? Haha.

Someone look up his chart for me pls.

Edit: I did just realise I didn’t even ask if it was PR. Sorry, my bad. Assess the above how you will.

That also didn’t go how I thought it would at all. I know you guys thought he was super sad and making all the wrong decisions, but he really only seemed dragged down from something else entirely. That being said I didn’t add the agency you guys warned me about but it also didn’t pop up at all. Maybe in the next one. I did make a couple of mistakes here in terms of probably not asking the right things that will make the entire situation clearer. Sorry guys when I’m in it I’m only thinking of what pops up and going where the energy leads me. 😶

Peace ✌🏼

[mtherhino]

One Side, Two lives

Chapter seven

YOU WHAT?!

First Previous Next

Warnings: cursing, suggestive comments, Remus

Remus was freaking out. He liked the fucking nerd of all people! The stupid tie wearing stick up his ass nerd! But he is smart, and he’s willing to explore the undiscovered weirdness of the world. Remus blushed slightly at his own thoughts.

“Dam you Logan Sanders, I did not need this today but apparently emotions say otherwise.” Remus grumbled to himself. He was currently sitting upside down on his bed in his room. Everything in his room had been hit by his mace at least once, so there were scratches on the bed post and a thousand holes in the fabrics of, well, everything.

           The duke grumbled and threw a dagger across the room at a target that was barely hanging on. The dagger struck the middle, just like all the others he had thrown that day. The duke sighed heavily.

Remus wasn’t one who really knew how to deal with emotions. He understood them pretty well, a nice thing about being intrusive thoughts is that he could understand situations and people pretty well since his mind never stoped for one second.

           So, taking that into consideration, the only way he knew how to deal with emotions was by destroying things, but he knew that wasn’t going to work this time, no matter how freaking frustrating that was for him. Its not like he can destroy his feelings or kill Logan. Though that would be easier, Remus grumbled in his mind.

           “Gah, stupid fucking feelings.” Remus groaned as he slipped of the bed, hitting his head on the floor. He laid there on the floor trying to figure out how to deal with this. He knew that Deceit wouldnt be any hep in this situation, he would probably just tell him to get over his feeling or that there was nothing to gain from these feelings. So that only left one option on who to talk to. Remus flipped over easily, and walked to his door, having to jump over the many random items on his floor.

           He waked though the door that led to the light sides corridor and went to Roman’s door, seeing Virgil along the way.

Well, might as well screw with someone while I’m here, Remus thought with a smirk. He snuck up behind the other side who was looking at Tumbler on his phone. Remus was pretty good at being quiet when he wanted to, so he was able to get right next to the shorter of the two without him knowing.

“What are you looking at emo?”Virgil jumped a foot in the air and screeched when he heard him. Remus fell on the ground laughing as Virgil turned to him, still looking like he’d seen a ghost or something. Once he recognized the threat as the duke, his startled expression turned into a scowl.

           “Really Remus?” The anxious side said. Remus was still dying of laughter on the ground.

“Dude what was that?! I literally just asked you a question and you practically flew into the air! HAHAHA!” Remus said, its been a while since he’s scared someone that badly.

           The smaller rolled his eyes, he didn’t find it very funny to scare people.

“What are you even doing here? I swear if you are here to give Thomas more nightmares-!” He didn’t get to finish as he jumped back as Remus jumped up, already holding his hands up in a surrendering manner.

“Chill Virge, I just came here to cause a little bit of chaos.” Remus gave a shrug, trying to sell the lie. “What can I say, I got bored bothering Deceit so I decided to come here and bother all of you.”  He smirked at the end of his sentence and Virgil narrowed his eyes at him.

           “You can’t honestly think I’ll let you get away with that.” Virgil said, trying to look intimidating, though it was pretty hard when the other person was a head taller than you. Remus grinned, coming up with an impromptu plan.

“Fine emo, if you can find me in the next 15 minutes, then I’ll leave. Ready? Go!” As Remus yelled the last word he popped out of the hallway and into Roman’s room, startling his brother half to death.

“Re?! What the hell are you doing here?!” Remus was about to answer him when Roman interrupted. “You know what, I don’t even care, I need to talk to you” Roman said, getting off of his bed. He had been panicking the entire day on what to do about his feelings and was actually planning on leaving his room to find Remus before he showed up.

           “Ok in a minute, my matter is more important!” Remus said. Roman completely understood, but all logical thinking was thrown out the window as soon as he had woken up that morning.

“Remus! I’m having a crisis right now!”

“Well so am I asshole! I’m having a gay crisis and I don’t know how to freaking handle it!” Remus said, now pacing around the room, his hands buried in his hair.

“Well I guess that puts us in the same boat since I’m also having a gay crisis!” Roman said, throwing his arms in the air. It took a minute for the words to sink in for both brothers, but once they did they turned to each other with incredulous looked on their faces.

“YOU WHAT?!”

“My brother, who thinks love is stupid and will gag at any romantic scene has a crush?!?!” Roman said disbelief evident in his voice.

“Um, my brother who barely leaves his room? Liking someone?! Why was I not informed of this immediately?!”

“What did you think I wanted to talk about? But that can wait, who do you have a crush on!” Roman said, his eyes practically shining because he got the chance to play matchmaker.

           Remus blushed, he hadn’t told anyone about his feelings, hell he had never even referred to his feeling for Logan as a crush until now. He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“Um well, uh.” Dammit why am I nervous talking about this! I can literally talk about any freaking topic but this!The duke covered his face with his hands, now feeling like he had a hundred eyes on him, when in reality it was just one pair of eyes. He looked and saw his brother, practically jumping up and down.

           Remus sighed heavily, knowing that he had to actually tell Roman who his crush is if he wanted his help.

“It’s uh, its Logan” Remus mumbled the last part, nearly making it impossible for anyone to hear, but somehow the prince heard. To say he was surprised would be an understatement.

“Come again?” He asked his brother.

“It’s Logan!” Remus nearly shouted, his cheeks just ever so slightly pink. Roman thought this over for a second.

“Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting, but now that I think about it it kinda makes sense.” Roman said, his hand under his chin as he tried to figure out why he didn’t try to set the two up earlier.

           Remus on the other hand was kinda taken back.

“What?! How does it make sense?! I can’t even figure out why I like that dam nerd!” Remus said, wanting some kind of explanation. Roman looked over at his brother with a bit of a smile, figured that he wouldn’t be able to figure out why he would like someone. That was just Remus being, well, Remus.

“Well you both have this bit of,” Roman gestured to his brother, “weirdness to you.” After he finished his sentence Remus summoned a green pillow and nocked his brother in the face so that he fell on the bed.

           “What? It true you know, your both fascinated by the strange and disturbing.” Roman shrugged. Although it may have sounded like an insult, neither brother had ever had anything against the others interest, so Remus knew that Roman meant it as a joke.

           The green side sighed loudly, though he couldn’t really refute Roman’s point.

“Still, I didn’t even know I could feel,” Remus gestured widely in an amusing manner, making Roman snort, “feelings.” Remus was disgruntled and sat on Roman’s bed, a small scowl on his face. Roman noticed, it wasn’t like his brother to get upset about, well, anything. To be honest, he wasn’t sure on how to handle this, he usually wasn’t the one people came to for advice.

           Roman hummed slightly, as he sat up on the bed, grabbing one of the pillow to hold and lean his head on.

“How do you feel about, liking him” he asked his brother, carefully wording his question, though it still sounded stupid to him. Remus’s thought for a moment, he wasn’t sure how he felt.

“Confused. I’ve never liked someone before Ro, so this is kinda just confusing and I don’t know how to make sense of it.” The prince nodded, and although it wasn’t shown in any way, Remus knew he was telling him to continue. What could he say, they do have a tiny bit of that twin telepathy bullshit.

“Well I can see why I like Logan, he’s great! He likes learning about everything, and he’s able to keep up with my random stream of thoughts.” Although he didn’t know it, Remus had a soft smile on his face while he thought about Logan. “Like you said, he’s, weird.” The duke finished, thinking about how he and Logan had discussed what aliens would look like and why they would evolve to be that way. Almost everyone would have said that it didn’t matter to think of all the what ifs of the universe, but Logan seemed to disagree. Meanwhile, Roman was so very happy for his brother. He had never heard Re talk like that, there was clear admiration in his eyes and fondness in his voice.

“Ok, I never thought that I would say this, but you are adorable.” Roman said. Remus turned red from embarrassment and anger.

“Hey! No I’m not! I’m the scariest thing you will ever meet! I am in no way adorable!” Remus said, well, more like shouted. He pounded his fist onto the bed, making Roman go into a fit of laughter.

“You, you look like, hahaha! You look like a little kid that didn’t get a popsicle! Hahaha!” Roman said in between fits of laughter.

           Remus pouted a little bit and summoned a popsicle from the light sides fridge just to mess with Roman. Did it take a good bit of energy and make him kinda tired? Yes. Was it worth it to see the annoyed face of his brother? Also yes. Without a doubt. He smirked and chomped into the popsicle, smirking when he saw Roman’s horrified face.

           “How the hell did you just bite into literal ice!” Roman yelled, looking almost disgusted. Remus shrugged.

“You can create glitter whenever you want, I can bite into ice with no consequences.” Roman shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

“Where getting off track, back onto the subject of you and Logan’s love life.” Remus was so startled by how his brother had phrased that that he fell of the bed.  However he quickly jumped back his feet.

“Why must you phrase it like that!” Roman shrugged.

“I’m just speaking the truth dear brother.” Remus groaned and threw himself back onto the bad.

           “This still doesn’t help my problem.” Remus said, his voice slightly muffled by the pillow. He turned his head to face his brother. “What do I do with these feelings” Roman took a minute to think. Although Roman was the romantic side, that didn’t mean he was actually good with how to get a significant other. That being said, he did have a small idea of what people naturally like and their emotions, especially when it involved the other sides.

           “Well, are you trying to get him to eventually go on a date with you?” Roman asked, it was an important thing to know if he was going to help. Remus blushed a little and rubbed the back of his neck. He hated not feeling like his usual cocky and invincible self.

“I mean, I’m not against the idea in any way.” He said. Roman smiled, completely understanding his brother. They where both clueless morons when it came to expressing feelings, so over the years they learned how to read each other better so that words weren’t the only way they could communicate.

“In that case, I would try to take it slow, maybe leave a lot of hints so that Logan can figure out that you like him on his own. I mean it’s clear how much that man likes puzzles so I think that might be the best way to go about it.” The red side said. “On the other hand, you could be direct about it. Logan, as smart as he is, doesn’t easily understand feelings. If you wanted to, you could try to do a bit of both.” Roman suggested, wanting to help. Remus had helped him out more times in the past than he could count, (although the prince had helped the duke many times as well) and he wanted to pay back that debt.

Remus considered all of this, trying to think off a plan.

“So I should try to show Logan how I feel about him, but tell him my feelings sooner rather than latter because, as you put it, he can be an idiot when it comes to feelings?” Roman laughed a bit, imagining his friends reaction if he knew that they had said he wasn’t the all knowing being that he thought he was.

“Pretty much, I just think that could work, but of course you don’t have to if you don’t think it will work.”  The duke shook his head.

“No I think that is the best plan. It better than the one I came up with anyways.” Roman raised an eyebrow at that.

“What was your plan?”            The dark side shrugged.

“To throw sharp objects and run out of the room whenever I see him.” Roman looked like he had seen a book that told a story by smell instead of actual words

“I can’t even tell if your being serious or not.” Remus smiles at that.

“Isn’t that the best thing about me”. Roman was about to give a retort when they both heard footsteps running towards Roman’s room. Remus quickly hid under the bed in case the whoever it was didn’t want to have a dark side around. Just as he was hidden form view the princes’s door flew open, the anxious side standing in the doorway.

           “Roman! Have you seen Remus! I lost a bet and now I can’t find him anywhere! Who knows what chaos he could be causing!” The purple side shouted frantically. Well that’s rather rude, Remus thought, I haven’t even caused an ounce of chaos since I’ve been here!  Roman got off the bed and walked over to Virgil, feigning  concern. It wasn’t that he wasn’t worried for the smaller side, its just that he knew for a fact that Remus hadn’t done anything so there was no real reason to be scared.

“Woah Virgil calm down.” Roman said as he put a hand on the hooded sides shoulders, easing the anxiety in Virgil just a little bit. “What kind of bet did you make?” Roman asked, wondering what Remus must have done.

“He said that if I could find him in 15 minutes then he would leave, but I don’t even know how long its been since then and I’ve searched the entire light sides area and I cant find a trace of him!” Virgil said, putting his hands in his hair. He was clearly frustrated that he couldn’t find the other creative side and stop whatever mayhem that he could cause. Remus chuckled in his mind, it was kinda funny that Virgil had search nearly everywhere looking for him when he was barely even hiding.

           Roman grumbled in his head and quickly formed a plan, smiling a bit when he thought of one.

“Um, couldn’t he have just gone back to the dark side and left you searching for no reason? That just seems like something Remus would do is all.” Roman said with a shrug. A look of realization hit Virgil’s face before he face palmed and groaned.

“God dang it he probably did. It seems just up his alley to make me worried and anxious for no reason. He probably can’t even cause a lot of damage if I called for Logan.” Roman laughed a bit, thinking about his brother under the bed being thoroughly offended that someone thought he couldn’t cause trouble for everyone.

“Yah, Logan is pretty good at handling Remus.” Roman said. Virgil nodded.

“Sorry for disturbing you Princy, thanks for the help.” Virgil said before giving the prince a warm smile. Roman was caught off guard and blushed as he laughed a bit awkwardly.

“No problem Virgil! I’m, uh, I’m glad I could help.” Roman said, returning the smile. Virgil waved and walked away, the creative side not seeing his bright red ears.

           As Roman closed the door and faced the bed he saw his brother with a smug grin on his face.

“Soooo~” Remus said in an almost mocking manner. “Virgil’s the one you have crush on. I didn’t take you for the type that likes angsty and emo guys.” Remus smile only grew when his brothers face lit up red.

“Well, um, yes Virgil is who I have a crush on but one annoying word and you’ll wish you had never been born.” Roman said while glaring at his brother. The creative side raised his hands in a form of surrender.

“Fine fine, but its still surprising. Didn’t you used to hate him or something?” Remus said, raising an eyebrow.

           Roman grumbled lightly and crossed his arms.

“I never hated him, I just used to find him annoying since he always shot down my ideas, but now..” Roman wasn’t sure how to finish. His brother raised an eyebrow, clearly wanting some sort of explanation.

“I don’t know, he’s just a lot more open and kinder now. He’s really considerate and overall just a good person.” Roman said.

“Bleh! Your so sappy Ro.” Remus said, pretending to gag.

“Oh don’t you even go there Mr. ‘I think Logan is amazing and the greatest person in the universe’.” Roman said. Remus threw a pillow at him.

“I didn’t say any of that!”

“But you we’re thinking it.” Roman said with a smirk.

“Careful there Roman, you know I’m more creative than you when it comes to teasing, especially with relationships.”Remus said, a sinister smile on his face. “I could easily just make you think about you and Virgil-“ he was quickly interrupted by Roman smacking him in the face with a pillow and smothering the rest of the sentence.

“Nope! One word out of you about Virgil and I will cover your room with so much glitter you will go blind.” Roman threatened.

“Alright alright I won’t say anything just get off me.” Roman gave his brother a glare before he got off him, punching him in the arm one time for good measure. Remus got up and dusted himself for no reason.

“Well, I should probably head back, its lunchtime and there’s some meat that just expired two weeks ago that I’ve been meaning to eat.” The prince gave the duke a disgusted look and shook his head.

“How in the world are you able to eat stuff like that?!” Roman asked, Remus gave a very helpful shrug. Remus walked out the door, his brother behind him.

“Well, see yah brother.” Remus said as he started down the hallway. “Good luck with your BOYFRIEND!” before he disappeared he saw his brother turn bright red and start to scream but he got away before his eardrums busted.

Remus chuckled to himself as he walked down the hallway back to his room. As he opened his door only for something heavy to fall on his head.

“What the fuck!?” The duke lifted the item off his head. A bucket?! He thought to himself. He looked down at at his outfit and saw that it was covered in. Hot. Pink. Glitter. He looked at the rest of his room and saw that it was in the same state. There wasn’t one thing that wasn’t pink at this point.

“Oh that fucking bartered is so dead.”

I’m so sorry this took so long! I have had a lot of testing lately and a big project to deal with. I still have a few test to finish but I’m going to try and get the next chapter out earlier. Thank you for reading this, have a good day humans, bye!

Tag list

@lovelivingmydreams

[returnn-of-the-mac]

One thing that really irked me about Fallout 4 was the lack of illnesses. Our bodies evolve alongside diseases, gaining immunity through exposure, which is then passed to the next generation. Then you have the Sole Survivor, who has effectively time-traveled to the future, and subsequently has none of this immunity. They should be very vulnerable to infection. How would the companions react to Sole getting horribly sick from what is the equivalent of a mild cough for the rest of the wasteland?

Ayy, so this is another combined react! I felt like even though these two aren’t directly related, they could work together. So thanks for the rq’s @conspiracysnail and @doodledust2017! Please enjoy!😊

FO4 (❤️+ Nick & Deacon) Companions React: Sole Catching a Deadly Disease, Slipping Into a Coma & Waking Up

What was supposed to be a quick trip to the Kendall hospital to gather some supplies quickly turned into a night-long ordeal when Sole and their lover unexpectedly encountered an abnormally aggressive deathclaw. After a long and grueling battle, Sole and their partner emerged victorius.

Now the pair was trudging along a beaten dirt road when Sole suddenly felt ill. Very ill. Like nothing they had ever experienced in their 200+ years of living. Nevertheless, they continued to carry on.

MacCready:

“Um, hey. Maybe we should stop for a minute,” MacCready suggested, “You’re looking kinda...grey.”

Sole wiped some sweat from their forehead, assuring MacCready that they hadn’t slept well the night before. He seemed didn’t seem to buy it, but didn’t bother arguing.

Moments later, the urge to vomit suddenly overtook Sole. They desperately fished through their bag for something to suppress it—maybe a purified water?

“What’re you looking for?” MacCready asked, concerned, “Gun? Ammo? Gumdrops?”

Just as Sole opened their mouth to ask for a purified water, they fell onto their hands and knees and began vomiting.

“Eww,” MacCready grimaced and backed up a few steps, “You get food poisoning?”

Sole continued unleashing a seemingly endless stream of puke and their companion grew concerned.

“You...you gonna be okay? You must be running out of stuff to throw up,” MacCready warily approached, “[Name]? Can you still breathe?”

The vomit stream did not cease, and Sole felt themself losing consciousness. The last thing they remembered was being shoved to the side moments before fainting, narrowly avoiding the vile puddle in front of them.

Curie:

“[Madame/Monsieur], you look unwell,” Curie noted.

Sole denied feeling ill and pressed on.

“Zis is zerious, my love!” The synth said firmly, grabbing Sole’s hand to get their attention. It was cold and clammy.

Sole was taken aback by their friend’s unusually stern tone, and Curie’s eyebrows furrowed.

“I apologize for raising my voice, [Madame/Monsieur], but I am zincerely worried,” she explained, “I knew exploring ze ‘ospital was a risk because you ‘ave not been exposed to many Post-War diseases. You’re immune zystem...it will ztruggle.”

Sole let out a long, rattly cough and Curie frowned

“Oh non...zis ees not good,” Curie fished through her supplies to see if she could find anything to treat Sole. She walked over to her companion and gently rubbed their back, hoping to soothe their respiratory tract. They coughed again— this time much harder.

“[Madam/Monsieur]! You’re pupils are constricting!” the synth observed, tenderly squeezing Sole’s hand, “Ztay with me, mon amie, please!”

Sole experienced tunnel vision as their lover’s pleas got fainter and fainter. Then, everything went black.

Piper:

“Blue, you’re not looking too hot right now,” Piper commented, “Are you alright?”

Sole denied their illness and insisted on pressing forward. After about 5 more minutes of walking, Sole started to see black dots materialize around them. They began to sweat and shake their head frantically, trying to clear their vision.

“[Name]?” Piper stated. Her voice sounded comically deep, as if in slow motion “Arreeee yooooouu oookkkayyy?”

Sole giggled at the sound of their friend’s voice before the black dots completely overtook their sight. They felt their knees give way as the world went black.

Gage:

“An’ so I told em: how old do ya think we are? Ten? A rubber chicken ain’t cuttin it. Neither is a whoopie cushion. That shit ain’t hard— uh...boss?” Gage paused, “Are ya still listenin’ to my story? It’s pretty damn funny.”

Sole weakly nodded, and Gage stared at them.

“You’re fulla shit, boss,” Gage chuckled, “Now, what’s on your mind? Ya look...spacey.”

Sole swallowed and took a seat on the ground, the world spinning.

Gage frowned.

“What’s wrong, babe?”

He took a seat beside them and noticed their ashen skin.

“You look like shit. Tell me what’s goin on.”

Sole suddenly felt chills and their skin went clammy. They shot their companion a panicked look before they felt their vision go blurry.

“Hey!” Gage yelled, grabbing his lover by the shoulders, “Hey! Talk to me! Fucking speak!”

Sole collapsed into the Raider’s arms and blacked out.

Hancock:

“You feelin alright?” Hancock asked, frowning, “You haven’t said a word since we left the hospital. That ain’t like you.”

Sole shook their head and continued moving forward. They wanted to answer, but they couldn’t. They were too nauseous.

“Hey,” the ghoul pressed, approaching a flat boulder. He sat down and patted an open spot ned to him, “Come here, gorgeous.”

Sole sat down beside their lover and immediately curled up next to him. Hancock put his arm around them, but now knew without a doubt that something was going on.

“No shame in needin to take a break,” Hancock murmured, kissing the top of Sole’s head, “If ya need an off day, we can just take the day off. No harm in that, doll. The Commonwealth can survive a single day without ya.”

Sole smiled and opened their mouth to say thank you. Before they could get the words out, however, they began to projectile vomit.

Hancock jumped in surprise, but immediately composed himself. He climbed behind Sole and [held back their hair/rubbed their back] as they continued to puke.

“Easy, easy…” Hancock cooed— more so trying to keep himself calm than Sole.

After a few minutes of non-stop vomiting, the ghoul felt his lover falling forward. He roughly tugged them back to prevent them from falling.

Sole now lay face up on the rock, eyes closed. The force of the puking and the dehydration had caused them to black out.

Danse:

“Taffington Boathouse is just over the horizon,” Danse announced, “It would probably make for a safe place to spend the night— assuming the settlers have kept the bloodbug population under control.”

When Sole didn’t answer, the former Paladin turned around to check on them. He noticed his lover straggling behind.

“Soldier? How are you holding up? Do you need to take a break?”

Sole nodded and plopped down on a rock, curling up immediately.

A concerned Danse approached them, and put the back of his hand to their forehead.

“[Name], you’re burning up. Are you sure you’re alright?”

Sole closed their eyes.

Danse frowned and sat beside them. “Soldier, are you going to make it across the river? We could just camp out here for the—”

It was then that Sole went completely limp and began to roll off the rock. Danse sprung into action and caught them just before they hit the ground.

“[Name]! Talk to me, [name],” Danse demanded, holding Sole and grabbing their hand, “If you are unable to speak, squeeze my hand.”

Nothing happened, and Danse noticed how cold and numb Sole’s fingertips were.

“Oh. God. Dammit!”

Although Sole could neither move nor speak, they could still hear the commotion. They made one final attempt to communicate with their panic-stricken lover before they blacked out.

Preston:

“Hey,” Preston began, slowing his pace, “I need to ask— we need to talk.”

An exhausted Sole mustered all of their energy to focus on their concerned companion.

“I feel like you haven’t been taking care of yourself lately. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard,” the Colonel explained, approaching his lover, “I hate to say this to you— and please don’t take this the wrong way— but you look horrible, babe.”

The words hurt Sole, but they knew Preston was right. They did feel terrible. Their entire body ached from head to toe, their lungs hurt, and they felt nauseous.

“You should rest,” Preston suggested, “Since we’re still pretty far from Taffington Boathouse, we can camp out here. I’ll gather some firewood. In the meantime, you should eat something.”

Preston handed Sole a noodle cup.

“It’s cold, but at least it’s packed with nutrients.”

Sole tried to pop open the lid, but their hands fumbled around clumsily.

“Are you okay? You’re shaking like a leaf, babe.”

Just then, Sole’s vision went blurry. The last thing they remembered was Preston shouting their name before they blacked out.

Cait:

“Hold up, [handsome/gorgeous],” Cait began, “Ye ain’t lookin to hot. You’ve gotta take a break.”

Sole ignored the redhead and pressed onward, but the redhead roughly grabbed their arm and pulled them back.

“Oh no, ye don’t! We are stoppin here and campin out. I’m not gonna have ye pass out on me in the middle of a firefight. Got it?”

Sole tried to wiggle out of their lover’s grasp, but they were far too weak.

“Yer a stubborn one, ain’t ye. I’m not surprised. But ye can’t even shake free from my grasp and I’m not even tryin that hard. Now what if I were an enemy, darlin? Ye’d be good as dead.”

Sole sighed and sat down on a rock. Their head was pounding and their stomach was churning. The nausea was becoming unbearable.

“Hey,” Cait began, crouching next to them, “Yer lookin a bit...green. Do you need—” before she could finish, Sole began to vomit violently.

“Shite!” Cait shrieked, falling over backwards. She was covered in pink chunks. Despite being thrown up on, she shot back up and scrambled to her lover’s aid.

“See if ye can chug some water down or somethin,” the redhead suggested. Unfortunately, Sole’s stream of vomit failed to cease.

“Bloody hell! Are ye ever gonna stop!?”

Sole tried to regain control of their stomach contents, but they were unable to. After a solid two minutes of vomiting, Sole blacked out.

Nick:

“Stop,” Nick demanded. Sole turned around, shocked by the detective’s uncharacteristically stern tone.

Nick sighed and approached his lover.

“You work so damn hard to ensure everyone is taken care of, but sometimes, you just need to take care of yourself, dear,” Nick explained, “You look exhausted. Still beautiful as alway, but jaded.”

Sole hated to admit it, but they knew Nick was right. They were wearing themself out. After leaving Kendall Hospital and coming in contact with hundreds— if not thousands— of foreign disease strands, they were feeling it now more than ever.

“Honey,” the detective began, placing his hand on Sole’s forehead, “You’re definitely running a fever. Please, just rest for tonight. You deserve it.”

Sole took a seat on a nearby rock as the detective searched his inventory for a blanket and food. As Sole watched their lover, they began to feel dizzy.

“[Name]?” Nick called, looking over his shoulder, “Are you alright?”

Before Sole could answer, their vision went blurry. They felt themself losing their balance on the rock.

“[Name]!” Nick cried.

That was the last thing Sole remembered before everything went black.

Deacon:

“Hey hotshot, you ain’t lookin too hot,” Deacon teased, “You actually look kinda cold. I see goose bumps on your arms!”

Sole tried to crack a smile, but they just couldn’t muster the energy.

“Baaaabe, you good? Do you need water or something? Oh! Maybe a teddy bear! I’ve got a ton of those!”

An exhausted Sole curled up on the ground, and their lover could sense that something was wrong.

“[Name], tell me what’s up,” Deacon pressed, “You look...horrible, actually. Are you sick or something? Did you contract some kinda disease at the hospital?”

Before Sole could answer, they started seeing stars.

“[Name]?” Deacon asked, worried, “Hey...you hanging in there? You look all cross-eyed. [Name]?”

Everything went black.

…

Sole groaned and opened their eyes slowly. The light was blinding and their entire body was numb. They could make out some shapes— some settlers and...a person sitting right beside them? They must be at a clinic in one of the settlements.

Before Sole could even finish processing the environment, there was a sudden commotion in the room.

MacCready

“[Name]!” The mercenary cried, throwing his arms around Sole “You’re alive!”

Sole could barely breathe with how tight their lover was hugging them. In fact, they were surprised he even had this much strength. Sole tapped MacCready on the back a few times before he got the hint and pulled away.

“Heh, sorry,” he apologized sheepishly, “You were in a coma for two weeks. I...I thought I’d lost you.”

MacCready’s eyes started to glisten, and Sole mustered a small smile.

“I’m not crying,” he defended, “It’s dusty in here!”

His lover let out a laugh, and the mercenary lightened up a bit. He pulled Sole into another hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay. I love you so much, [name].”

Curie:

“MON CHERIE!” Curie shrieked, sobbing into Sole’s shoulder, “Oh, I zought you were gone!”

Sole pet their lover’s hair as they continued to bawl.

“You ‘ad a zerious virus. You caught it from ze ‘ospital. Ze Kendall one,” the synth explained, “I tried to ‘elp you as much as I could, but I zimply did not ‘ave the proper equipment.”

Sole continued to comfort their distraught companion. When Curie had finally stopped crying, she stared lovingly into Sole’s eyes.

“I don’t know zwat I would do wizout you, my love,” Curie breathed, “You mean ze world to me.”

Piper

“Blue, Blue, Blue, oh my god!” Piper squeeled, clinging onto Sole’s arm, “You’re alive! I thought that afternoon two weeks ago would be the last time I’d ever get to speak to you again!”

Sole smiled as their lover babbled on.

“I love you so, so, so, so much! To the moon and back! More than every last grain of sand on the beach! More than all of the dust in the Commonwealth!”

Piper planted a warm kiss on Sole’s cheek, and then pursed her lips.

“Don’t you dare go scaring me like that again, you goober!”

Gage:

“Are ya— ” He stared at Sole, “Alive?”

Sole nodded and Gage grinned.

“I knew ya’d pull through it, babe! You’re the roughest, toughest [girl/guy] I know!”

Gage punched Sole’s arm— much to the annoyance of the onlooking settlers— and gave them a rough kiss on the forehead.

“Ain’t no germs gonna mess with us.”

Hancock:

“Hey, how’re ya doin, sweetheart?” Hancock asked, brushing loose strands of Sole’s hair to the side, “I’m so glad to see you’re doin okay. I love ya, doll.”

Sole smiled, and Hancock wrapped his arms around his lover.

“You sure had me spooked. And I’m not scared of anything,” Hancock laughed, tilting his head toward a mountain of used jet puffers.

Sole rolled their eyes and the ghoul chuckled.

“I know ya hate when I do that but...I just couldn’t fathom spending the rest of my life without ya. I love you so much, and I care about ya more than I’ve cared about, well, anything honestly.”

Danse:

“There you are,” Danse sighed, squeezing Sole’s hand, “I’m glad to see you’re alright.”

“And now you can finally stop pestering me about [his/her] condition,” an annoyed settler— seemingly the doctor— remarked.

“Affirmative, civilian,” Danse growled, “Now if you would please give us some privacy. All of you.”

All of the settlers left the room, and Danse looked back at Sole.

“I was...scared, admittedly,” Danse confessed, “If I lost you, I honestly don’t know what I’d do.”

Sole smiled at Danse, and the former Paladin pulled his lover into a tight embrace.

The two sat in silence for a moment, Danse holding his lover close, before finally breaking the silence.

“I love you, [name],” Danse murmured, “So much.”

Preston:

“Babe?” Preston whispered, “Oh my god. You’re awake!”

The Colonel beamed and pulled Sole into a tight hug. The settlers clapped.

“I really thought we’d lost you, General,” Preston explained, “You mean so much to me. You stuck by my side when I was at my worst, and for that I am truly grateful.”

Sole smiled and Preston gave them a kiss on the cheek before pulling them into another tight hug.

“Thank you for staying strong and surviving,” he whispered, voice wavering, “Being together with you is truly amazing, and I just couldn’t imagine— I don’t even want to think about it. I love you, babe.”

Cait:

“Good mornin, sunshine,” Cait giggled, “How was yer slumber?”

Sole raised an eyebrow and Cait ruffled their hair. She was unusually giddy.

“Ah, I knew a few germs wouldn’t take down the tank! I knew ye would be survivin,” the redhead chirped, “Didn’t worry a smidge.”

Sole studied Cait’s face and observed her puffy red eyes, the dark bags that framed them, and her hollow cheeks. She looked like she had been to hell and back. Was she back on psycho? Sole hoped not.

Sole furrowed their eyebrows and looked deep into their lover’s eyes.

“W-What?” Cait cracked. Her lip was quivering, “Quit lookin at me like that!”

After a few moments of silence, the redhead finally broke down. She threw her head down on the pillow beside Sole and began to sob violently. Sole rubbed her back as she struggled to breathe.

When Cait had finally cried herself out, she stared at Sole, wiping away a string of snot with her arm.

“Yeah, yeah I’m disgustin,” Cait mumbled, “And no, I’m not back on psycho. I know that’s probably what yer thinkin. I’ve just been worried sick.”

Sole smiled and Cait hugged her lover.

“I’d never undo my sobriety. You sacrificed so much for me. I can’t thank ye enough for that, darlin. I hate to sound cheesy, but yer the light of me life.”

Nick:

“My god,” Nick breathed, immediately pulling Sole into a tight embrace, “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

Nick looked at the young doctor in the room and nodded.

“Thank you,” he began, peering over Sole’s shoulder, “You are truly a talented young man. [He/she] wouldn’t be here without your hard work.”

The doctor smiled and left the room, leaving the couple in peace.

The detective held Sole and rocked them back and forth for a few moments before gazing into their eyes.

“Darling...I truly didn’t expect you to ever wake up from that coma. You were out for two weeks,” Nick explained, “By the time I got you here, you were in rough shape. I’m eternally grateful to everyone who came together to help you. And I’m so relieved that you’re alive and well.”

He planted a passionate kiss on Sole’s lips before pulling away and smiling.

“Get some rest, dear. You need it,” he stated, pulling the thin sheet up to Sole’s chin and fluffing their pillow, “I love you.”

Deacon:

“Well hello there!” Deacon laughed, his eyes brimming with tears, “Long time no see, babe!”

He playfully wiggled Soles hand around a bit before pulling them into his arms.

“I missed you so much,” he stated, wiping is eyes, “I really thought I’d lost you.”

He pulled back, forcing a small grin.

Sole raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t think you can escape me that easily,” he teased, “I plan on sticking around to annoy you for at least another few decades!”

[a-jynx]

A Family’s Matter |Part 1: Another Paradise

They fell in love, they moved away to California, they got hitched and had a shotgun wedding. A surrogate was kind enough to give them their daughter, Maxine. Billy got his dream job, along with signing up to take over his own mechanic garage... Their lives seemed perfect - well, almost perfect. 

Pairing| Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington 

Warnings| Cursing, mentions of abuse, small amounts of drinking, smoking, physical fighting, blood {chapter will have warnings appropriate it!}

Taglist is opened and people can be added or removed! Just let me know! 

Please, enjoy it! Feedback is the glue to my writing! 💕

----

Have you ever found paradise? Not THE paradise, but… the paradise that belongs to -  you? That holds you tightly in the middle of the night after a nightmare? Makes your coffee the way you like? Or, perhaps gives you a life that you believed you would never live? 

Because Steve James Harrington did. 

The cold winds and bone-chilling pasts that lived back in Hawkins, Indiana still haunted the back of his mind - scratching at his brain and thoughts as if trying to claw it’s way back into his mainframe. However, he escaped that. He escaped that cage that was made of homophobes and tall trees, the small town sitting pretty in the middle of fuck-ton nowhere. But, here he was. The California sky bright and blue, the practically white sun glaring down and easily - quickly - warming the Harrington-Hargrove apartment. Steve could live with a smile, a genuine one, almost all the time. He lived happily with his Billy Boy by his side… He couldn’t be happier. 

“Steve! Have you seen my button-up?!” Billy called from their bedroom, the sound of his boots stomping around on the soft carpet made Steve smile to himself. 

“Babe, it’s in the bathroom on the back of the door... Y’know? Where you hung it after you took your shower?” Steve couldn’t help but laugh to himself while waiting for the coffee to finish before turning to be greeted by the sight of his husband sautering in. He looked good - better than he had back in that hellhole. Billy Hargrove’s signature mullet had been chopped when they first arrived home, the long lush curls now sitting on top of his head while the sides and back were shaved. The greased white tanktop, the baby blue button-up that flashed his name stitched on. Then the dark denim jeans that hung around Billy’s hips loosely while his work boots squeaked against the small tiled kitchen. 

“Find it?” 

“Obviously,” Billy grinned as Steve took a step forward, meeting him halfway as their lips clashed sweetly. It wasn’t rushed, secretive… It was sweet, caring, and chaste. A squeak escaped Steve’s throat as Billy gripped his ass, his lips peeling into a shit-eating grin before Steve reached up, smacking his shoulder. 

“Hurry up and get to work! I’m sure Andy and Matthew are already there and waiting for you,” 

“Let them wait,” he mumbled against Steve’s shoulder, nuzzling his face into his throat with a gentle, opened-mouth kiss. 

“Oh, yeah, that’s a good way to run your business,” Steve snorted, shouldering away his husband, who merely whined at the lost before standing back up. “I’ll swing by at lunch, okay? Hell, I’ll even make your favorite and bring it by.” 

Billy hummed, grinning almost wolfishly before swooping in to gather another kiss before slowly moving towards the front door. He stopped short of the door, scooting around the pack n’ play, bending down and pressing a kiss to his daughters’ thick chocolate curls while swiping his rough thumb across her soft cheek, already feeling the warmth practically leaking from her skin. 

“I’ll see you later, Max-a-million.” He whispered softly, careful to not wake the sleeping infant. 

Steve moved towards the loves of his life, carefully stepping to stand next to Billy before pecking his cheek and gently tugging him towards the front door. “Y’ know if you keep staring at her, or kissing me, you’ll never make it to work,” he grinned as Billy snatched his backpack from the coatrack before pressing another kiss to Steve’s temple. 

“This is very true, that’s why I usually leave earlier,” he smirked as Steve gently shoved at his back, grinning as he leaned against the doorframe with a smile. He stepped backward, closing the door with a soft thud, however… Maxine began to sniffle and squirm against the soft pad beneath her. 

“Oh, my little, Maxi! I know, I know, I miss him already too,” he paused, lifting the squirming infant with a little shush, tapping his palm against her bottom as he held her close. “We’ll see him later, but you gotta be a good girl, okay?” Steve grinned to himself as the sour face that had covered his daughters’ face quickly subdued as he tottered from side-to-side, holding her against his heart. 

----

Hours pass, Maxine was asleep in her pack ‘n play again after finishing her early lunch, Steve was cooking away in the kitchen to get Billy and his lunch finished before having to pack up the Camaro to head towards the garage. Humming softly along to ‘Juice’ by Lizzo before a loud, frantic knocking came from the front door. 

Peaking his head from the kitchen, he wiped at his hands before glancing towards Maxine, who was sleeping peacefully still. Swallowing at the lump building in his throat, gently tossing the hand towel onto his shoulder, before taking a few careful steps towards the door. He shouldn’t be afraid to open their front door for Christ's sake... Billy had made sure - a million times - that they were going to live in a good neighborhood where they could see the beach, walk to the garage, and raise their child… But that doesn’t mean nothing bad could slither into the happy home they’ve set up. 

Gently opening the door and fitting himself against the frame and edge of the white door, Steve glanced up to meet the frantic and almost wild-looking eyes of a young woman. The thick waves of hair on her head were a little greasy and matted looking, the AC/DC shirt she wore was torn while the shorts around her thin legs seemed to almost fall off. He blinked before his vision settled on her face - Jesus - her left eye swelled black and blue while a bit of blood ushered from the corner. Taking a mental note of that… 

“Can I help you?” His voice wavered as she audibly swallowed, licking her lips before shooting him a sheepish grin. 

“Hi, uh… This is probably very, very strange but… This is the Harrington-Hargrove residence, right?” Her voice came out faint but rushed almost panicked sounding. Steve frowned, before sliding himself further into the little hole, blocking any way to see his sleeping daughter. 

“Yes. Is there something you needed?” 

“Oh, oh thank God! Uh, first off, hello, I’m actually your neighbor from apartment 12? My name is Y/N and I… I understand you’re married to Billy, the mechanic, right?” Her brows furrowed in worry as Steve blinked. Sure, he was used to people showing up to their door asking about Billy, but they usually could find the shop no problem… 

“Yes… He’s working as we speak, I’m sorry but is there a reason you’re here or… Or do I need to call the police?” Steve’s voice wavered, but he held it as the woman’s - Y/N’s - eyes grew wide. 

“No! No, please, you don’t need to do that, I just… Dammit, I’m terribly sorry, but I need some help. My car shit on me last week and I… My job is threatening to cut me loose if I can’t show up on time,” Steve’s eyes narrowed, searching the woman’s face for any sign of lying or fibs. 

“I’ll pay! I’ll… I’ll pay whatever you want, hell, even the last couple bills I have to my name, just, please… I - I need to keep this job. I need the money.” She whispered the last part, her brows furrowed as Steve swallowed, flicking his tongue over his bottom lip before sighing. 

“I’ll… I’ll have a talk with him later tonight, though, I can’t promise anything…” 

“Yes! Of course, thank - thank you, really. I… I can’t show you how grateful I am for you even ask. As I mentioned, I live in apartment 12, my names Y/N L/N and I…” She paused, making Steve cock a brow as she stood straight, grinning gently. “I hope to hear from you two soon. Have a good afternoon, Mr. Harrington-Hargrove.” And just as quickly as she appeared, she was gone. The only sound being the small smacking steps from her bare feet hitting the pavement. 

Gently closing the door, Steve leaned against it with his arms crossed over his chest. Blinking, he glanced at the clock and grew wide-eyed, he needed to hurry and pack everything for lunch - now. Quickly moving back into the small kitchen, he began to pack up small tuber wares of chicken alfredo with a bit of extra sauce in Billy’s because that’s how he likes his pasta - extra saucy. 

Packing them away into his own bag, he gathered up a few extra things for Maxine to play with before gathering her into his arms and moving outside, locking the front door and moving downstairs with her snuggled against his hammering heart. His steps only faltered for a moment as he passed the apartment 12… It was eerily quiet. Like the forest back in Hawkins, the eery feel that surrounded his hometown somehow had wiggled its way into his paradise. Shaking his head, he quickly moved to where the Camaro was parked, sitting Maxine into her car seat before putting the food bag in the floorboard underneath her. Climbing into the old girl, he paused for a mere second, breathing in the leathery, smokey, and sweet scent that filtered throughout the muscle car. It smelt heavily of his husband and he was in another small paradise. 

“Alright, Max-a-million, let’s go see papa!” Steve grinned as little grumbles came from the small car seat, making his grin grow wider as he put the car in reverse and took a steady stroll towards the shop. On the way, Steve tapped his fingers along to the radio, the salty scent from the ocean soaking into his nasal cavity, mixing with the imprinted scent of Billy - he felt almost dizzy. He felt good. Happy. But, his mind kept warping back to that girl, the creepy vibes that followed her to his homes’ door. It felt like the Upside Down all over again… 

Shaking his head, he pulled into his usual parking spot, climbing out and only to be greeted by the other workers and customers he’s come to know and love. Gathering the food and his little girl, he quickly wandered inside, looking for his husband in hopes he could help keep his mind at ease… And the eery thoughts in the back of his mind.

----

Ooo, part one of the Mechanic!Billy prompt I’ve come up with! I hope this makes sense and turns out as good as I hope/plan! <3 

Taglists:  @transbillyhargrove @trashmouth-hargrove @stranger-h @harrington-s @awickedplacethisis @may-the-moon-love-me-back @harringrovetrashh @supermegapauselouca @hargrove-billy @hargrovesharrington @harringhoe @greyspilot @flippyspoon @bakausagiwithwings @your-pretty-bambi @strangerfictions @myboyfriendsteve @marythemudblood @memes-saved-me​

[drethanramslay]

Epilogue: Bloom

Pairing: Aurora x MC (Iris Everette)

Word count: 3.2 K words

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Warning: smut in the first half and I'm not saying anything else

Taglist: @miyakokurono @vampiregirlsblog @agent-breakdance @trappedinfandoms @openheart12 @sekizincimektup @lilyofchoices (let me know if you want to be added or removed from the list)

Songs: Two of us by Louis Tomlinson and Lover by Taylor Swift

Please forgive me for any mistakes

One year later.

The Boston sky seemed like an abstract painting. The sun was setting, and the entire sky was a mix of different hues of pink, purple and blue. There was an occassional singing of an nightingale, otherwise it's pretty quiet.

Almost hauntingly quiet.

Iris stood, basking in the rays of the dying Sun. She slowly bent down and placed the bouquet of forget me nots and a single sunflower near the cold headstone.

"Hey..." She softly spoke, as she made herself comfortable in the ground. After a cold, hard winter, the trees were slowly growing back the green leaves. After months of suffering, they finally bloom in spring, showing that time heals things.

"I know it's been a long time since I spoke to you. It was just hard to come here...makes it so much more real that you are not here in this world.." iris sighed, as she hugged her knees.

"Everything is great. I am not being sarcastic or anything. Seriously everything is so perfect that sometimes it feels like a dream. Ethan has given me a promotion to co-lead the diagnostic team, which I always wanted. I have even started going back to therapy. Because I know that if I didn't fix my mental state, you would haunt me in my dreams." Iris chuckled.

Picking at the grass near her, she spoke quietly. "Everything is perfect but you are not here... I think you would he happy to hear that Grayson is dead now. A month ago he was hanged for murder, assault and battery. I held such a huge party in celebration of it. I know, I know...what a sadistic bitch, but hey I think you can cut me some slack."

Tears welled up her eyes.

God I was hoping I could make it through without crying...

"I miss you so much. Oh! how much I wish that I could hold you one last time... It hurts but I am slowly making my peace with it. It's tough and challenging getting over not having you around but, I know you are in a happier place, playing healer for all the souls entering heaven."

She sat there for a long time, lost in her thoughts, as the sun set. When it started to get dark, she knew she had to make a move.

"Alright, I am going to go... My roommate will kill me if I don't make it in time for dinner." She pressed her fingertips to her lips and pressed it on the cool headstone. A lone tear rolled down her cheek. "I love you...I will never stop loving you."

She stood up, dusted herself and walked towards the exit, where her bike was parked. Clicking her helmet in place she revved the beast and zipped through the streets, towards her apartment.

She climbed up the steps and took her keys out to unlock the door. The moment she unlocked the door, she heard excited footsteps running towards her. She had hardly walked through the threshold when the huge golden retriever jumped on her.

"Hey Milo!! How's my boy doing? Hmm?" She bent down and hugged the dog. He was just a year old. "Who has been a good boy, huh?" She booped his nose and scratched the behind of his ears.

The pup just barked and ran in crazy circles around Iris. Iris let out a short laugh before standing up. "Where is mama, Milo?" She asked as she took her shoes off and hung her coat on the coat rack. Her girlfriend was very particular about these things.

Milo scurried towards the closed bedroom door and pawed the door. "That a boy.” She gave a last scratch behind his ear before entering the room and closing it behind her. She could see the bathroom door ajar and steam wafted out of the thin crack.

Iris stripped to get underwear and headed towards the bathroom.

"Hey baby." The voice called out, from behind the

"Hi." Iris opened the glass door and stepped in. She placed her hands on her waist and turned her around.

"EEE! What the hell Adara?!"

"What? Just saving water by taking a shower with you." She gave a sly smile as her hand reached down and grabbed a handful of her ass.

"You are incorrigible Adara."

"No I am in love with you, Rory. Get your facts straight!!"

Aurora pressed her lips to Iris'. "How are you? How was meeting your mom?" She took the shower gel and put it on the washcloth.

"It was nice... And peaceful. Will you come with me next time? I want you to meet her."

"Anything for you, my love." She lathered the soap and turned her around. Before she put soap on her back, she kissed the deep scar on her back. Iris just smiled into her shoulder.

"So... What do your parents think of me? I really couldn't get a read on them when we met the in NYC last week."

"Well, they definitely love you. My mom talked my ear off of how well behaved you are and loved your fashion sense. My dad went on and on that you were 200 times any man he had met. He was in awe of how you are co-leading one of the most prestigious diagnostics team and that you were perfect for me."

"Wow I am so honoured." Iris spoke as she turned around.

*******************************

Aurora started lathering the soap on her chest. Iris took a sharp intake of air when she felt the texture of the washcloth on her breasts along with the circular motion of Rory's hands. Iris was getting wetter with every movement on her breasts and her clenching stomach. He slow hands finally reached the place where she wanted her the most.

She brushed the sensitive folds and Iris let out a low moan. Aurora continued her slow circular motions, enjoying the way Iris was losing control and was completely at her mercy.

Oh this was gonna be so fun. Aurora thought wickedly.

She continued the torture for a very long time. Iris desperately wanted to climax. "Now, that's clean enough." Aurora said innocently as she moved her hand away. Iris' forest green eyes snapped open.

"Rory..."

Aurora didn't respond as she just gave an innocent smile and reached for the detachable shower head. She switched it on and started washing the suds of her body. She roamed her hand all around, touching everywhere, teasing her.

"Kiss me dammit." Iris said as she surged forward and kissed her, hard. Aurora let out a yelp but kissed back with equal fervour. She pushed Iris against the wall of the huge shower place. She pinned her hand against the wall and slid her thigh between Iris' legs.

"I like you like this. Wet." Rory said cheekily as she moved Iris' hair, so that she could kiss her collarbone.

"Stop fucking around. Fuck me Rory."

"And your wish is granted." Aurora spun her around and pushed her chest against the wall. Holding her hands above her head with one one hand, Aurora let her other hand wander around.

Her lips attached to the side of her neck, sucking and lapping the stray water droplets while her hand pinched Iris' nipples. She let out a hum of appreciation.

Sliding her hand down Iris' toned stomach, after an eternity, she finally reached her heat. Her long fingers circled her clit, applying just the right amount of pressure which made Iris moan.

She slipped her fingers into her her pussy and started fingering her. The heel of her palm continued to massage the sensitive nub of nerves. Iris shuddered from the over stimulation and let out a cry when her fingers brushed her sweet spot.

"Just like that Adara. There is a reason we got an apartment for ourselves. Scream my name."

Aurora curled her fingers and Iris was climaxing. She soared and fell simultaneously and her entire body shook with pleasure. Her knees felt weak and she leaned against the wall, not able to hold herself up.

*********************

Aurora took out two towels. She wiped the water droplets accumulated on her porcelain skin. After she was done, she wrapped her with the towel and kissed her nose.

"There. All clean now.'

Iris smiled as she saw Rory wipe herself. She was just reaching for her pyjamas when Iris stopped her.

"What are you doing Rory?"

"Wearing clothes?"

"Babe... Did you forget about our 'no clothes in bed' policy?"

Rory raised an eyebrow.

Iris rolled her eyes and threw her over her shoulder and headed to bed. "I'm not done with you Rory!"

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

It was 7 in the evening and Aurora's shift was over. She was exhausted. Being a senior resident was no joke. Managing her case load along with the residents and interns reporting to her was taxing. But she loved it. She enjoyed saving lives and shaping the future generations of doctors.

Aurora trudged to the locker room and changed into a pair of skinny jeans and a t-shirt with the 'Guns N' Roses' logo on it. She was wearing her shoes when an blue envelope fell out of her locker. Confused, she picked it up and opened it to see a short poem.

"Take me to the place we first met, Both partnered up, with eyes full of hate, But I would be lying to your face, If I didn't say that I wanted to be your babe." ~A

She realised it was Iris' handwriting. Place we first met...? AH! The foyer area.

Aurora picked up her satchel and headed towards the foyer area. She went to the softboard where they used to attach the intern list. Surely, there was another blue envelope pinned to the board. And next to it, Elijah was waiting.

"What's up Aurora?!" Elijah squeaked.

"I'm good but what's up with you?" She asked as she unpinned the envelope.

"Chilling. And waiting for Sothy..Needed to talk to him.. Y'know the usual drill." Elijah gave out a nervous laugh. Aurora narrowed her eyes but decided to not give it any mind. Opening the letter carefully, she found another poem-

"Take me to the place where we had each other's back, Complementing each other, which other people lack, You panicked and didn't know what to do with your hands, And then I came and told you to take a deep breath and relax."

This was definitely regarding the triage they had performed during the subway accident. That was the only time Aurora had frozen. Even then, Iris was such a sweetheart. She quickly walked down to the ER.

She reached the nurses' station and Sienna was standing there, in her casual clothes signing her charts. "Hey Sienna." Aurora said as she subtly looked around, trying to find a blue envelope.

"Hey Aurora! Looking for something?"

"Huh? Yeah kinda..."

"Well, I think this might help you." She slid a blue envelope towards her. Aurora took it. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"I don't know Aurora. Iris just gave this to me." Sienna shrugged.

Tearing open the envelope, she found a amethyst stone necklace. It was her birthstone. It gleamed under the white lights of the ER. Holding it in one hand, she proceeded to read another poem-

"Take me to the place we lay face to face, Where the pain in my head left me in a daze, You made an exception for my case, And secured in my heart, your own place."

The hospital room! "Gotta go. Bye Sienna." Sienna just waved back.

Pocketing the necklace, she rushed to the emergency staircase. She took two steps at a time and reached the second floor. She ran to room no. 203, where she had stitched up Iris and slept by her side. Surely, there was a blue envelope sitting on the bed.

"Take me to the place where we first kissed, You were hurting and pissed, In the dark, your soul you bared, And I knew, in my future, you would always be there."

Wait a second...this was regarding the ED Case she had.

She hauled ass to the on call room on the third floor. She opened the door and tiptoed in. Jackie was lying on one of the beds, solving a crossword. "You took your time I guess." Jackie yawned.

"And you are as bright as a ray of sunshine." Aurora responded sarcastically, as she started moving pillows to search for another letter.

"Aha! Victory." Aurora said as she blew the hair which had fallen on her face. She eagerly opened it-

"Take me to the place where you said you loved me, I shared my burden and felt free, My heart was bursting and fell the tears of ecstacy, It was always you and me, Adara and Rory."

She walked fast towards the elevator bank. She was getting frantic. This scavenger hunt was fun but it made her impatient. She just wanted to hold Adara.

Reaching the elevators, she saw Ethan standing there, typing on his phone.

"Hey Dr. Ramsey."

"Hello Dr. Emery."

"Are you...texting?"

"Apparently."

"Umm...but didn't you tell me that you hated it?"

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Emery, it's my wish if I want to use this godforsaken mobile. I can't even type without autocorrect making it into a different word. Lord, the end is near."

Aurora chuckled and one of the elevators near Ethan dinged. She was about to enter it when Ethan stepped in front of it, blocking the entrance.

"Oops. Looks like it's full. Go in the next one."

Aurora just gave him a weird look and stepped into the other elevator and what she saw, blew her damn mind. The elevator was illuminated by strings of blue fairy lights. She stepped in and marvelled at the sight. Sound of rain pattering on the pavement sounded through the speakers. She saw a Polaroid collage of their pictures, encased in a glass frame, on one of the walls of the elevator and laughed.

So typical. Iris and her Polaroid camera... The girl had an obsession.

To the glass frame, a blue note was attached.

"Take me to the place where it all started, The fairytale story which we tell children in bed, Long gazes, happy memories shared over cheap appetizers, The beginning to our happily ever after."

The lift dinged and she stepped out with the collage and the letter. She stumbled under the weight where Bryce stepped forward and balanced her.

"Woah! Watch out Big A. Don't want you falling for me now, do we?" Bryce smirked and Aurora rolled her eyes.

"God you are so annoying, Queen B."

Bryce just chuckled and held his hand forward. "C'mon give me that. I will hold it for you."

"If you drop it, I will kick you in your family jewels so hard, that your grandchildren will feel it." She threatened.

Bryce shuddered. "Hehehe. No need to bring my testicles into this situation. And don't worry, people say I have good hands."

She handed the frame to him. She then slipped the necklace around her neck. "C'mon Lahela. We are going to Donahue's."

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

The moment she stepped into the small pub, all the patrons stopped talking. Everybody's eyes were on her and she felt awkward.

What the fuck is going on here? Iris, what are you playing at?

"Hey Dr. Emery. These are for you." Reggie handed her a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers. Aurora smelled them and blushed. In midst of the flowers she found a small blue note.

"You are so close babe. Come to me. I am waiting for you, in the beer garden."

Aurora walked towards the back door opening into the beer garden. People just parted, like the Red sea, giving her place to go. When she opened the door, her jaw were on the floor.

Rose petals lined the path towards the stage where live bands usually performed. The gentle strumming of a guitar played in the background. She walked slowly, through the tables and what she saw made her halt in her tracks.

Iris stood there, with a soft smile on her face. She was wearing a midnight blue romper dress which ended in shorts. It was sleeveless and it was clinched at her waist. Her guitar was slung around her shoulder and she continued to strum the strings.

"This one's for you babe. Thank you for coming." She spoke into the mic and started singing in an angelic voice.

Salt on your skin and stars in your eyes

You close in the darkness and I'm all out of lies

Taking my heart, and made it your own

You are everything that I've ever known

I tried to, resist you

I tried to keep my distance

I tried to play it cool

I'm no match for your persistence

And oh, you lift me up

When the fog rolls in, you lift me

When the cold sets in, you give me

The strength to take on anything, oh anything

I see by the light you bring

You lift me up, you lift me up

I see by the light you bring, you lift me up, you lift me up

Aurora was hypnotised by her beautiful voice. Iris took of her guitar and handed it to a person, you continued to strum it. She slowly stepped down from the stage and headed towards Aurora.

She grasped her hands and squeezed. "Rory, you are the best thing that has ever happened in my life. When you walked into my life, love walked in. It was a magical moment that I will always cherish and treasure. They say that love is many a splendoured thing, constantly changing and evolving. My love for you will be ever changing like a chimera and ever growing like a verdant valley."

"You are my guide to love, my every wish, and the person I want to grow old with." Iris spoke with so much conviction that Aurora fell in love with her all over again.

She got down on one knee and tears streamed down Aurora's face as she held a hand to her mouth.

Iris pulled out a diamond ring, which glimmered under the fairy lights of the beer garden.

"Aurora Lucille Emery, will you do me the honour of being my partner in crime and my wife for the rest of our lives?"

"YES Iris Adara Everette. Hell fucking yeah!!" Iris got up and slipped the ring on her ring finger.

Iris was so giddy with joy that she picked up Aurora and twirled her. Aurora laughed and everyone was either clapping, hooting or crying. She set her down and grabbed her face and kissed her.

"I am not dreaming, am I??" Iris asked as she held Aurora tightly, forehead to forehead.

"No dum dum. We’re getting married. Guess you are stuck with me, huh?"

“And I wouldn't have it any other way.”

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

That was one of the most joyous night of their lives. They danced, sang and partied till the early hours. The wedding took place the following summer near the docks. It was a small ceremony, but everybody enjoyed it.

Sienna and Jackie were made the maids of honor while Ethan, Bryce and Elijah were made the best men. Ethan walked iris down the aisle while Naveen officiated the ceremony. 

The reception was a blast which took place on a boat. Jackie and Sienna managed to make everyone drunk and forced them to dance. Even Harper Emery and the Chief. Bryce almost started strip dancing and Ethan was doing the running man. Elijah did wheelies on his wheelchair. It was unforgettable.

Everything was perfect at last. Rory and Adara finally got their happy ending which they always dreamed of. They were happy, content and proud moms of twin baby boys. They continued to push boundaries in the medical field and became the dynamic duo of diagnostics medicine.

They both lived happily ever after.

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

THE END.

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

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

And here is the end of Rory and Adara’s tale. Thank you for reading this mini series through its ups and downs, laughter and tears

It was so much fun writing this and I so, so grateful to all of the comments you guys left under each chapter. It motivated me to deliver. So thank you.

Once again, I am grateful to every single person who gave this fanfic a chance and believed in my writing.

like, comment and reblog :)

[keichanz]

Another Day in Hell || Ch. 3

I am so freaking inspired for this story you don’t even understand I had to break down this chapter into 3 separate chapters because it ended up being 32 pages long lmaooo

So I know I’ve said it before, but I’m gonna say it again: this is not based on the show The Walking Dead. Obviously there will be some elements from it, and some ideas that I liked enough that I’m probably going to borrow, but it’s definitely not going to be as plot-heavy as that series. I’m going for a more humorous feel for this story and while yeah, there will be some drama and death, it won’t be any of the main characters - c’mon, you know me; like i could ever kill one of them off lol - and it definitely won’t be as angsty. GOD that show has made me cry so much already and i’m only on season 7 a;sfjailfhf

Oh and I guess i should mention that supplies in this story aren't as scarce as they are in TWD. It’s not about surviving with minimal resources anyway; it’s about sticking together in hard times, finding happiness in a place riddled with hate and death, and keeping hope alive long enough to last Another Day in Hell. lololol see what i did there a;djfiaofj *gets bricked*

Anyway, a big thanks to those of you sticking around for this story! It’s not as popular as some of my others but I’m still having a blast writing it and I’m glad there are others who are enjoying it just as much! :D 

Read on AO3.

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 || Ch. 3

When Kagome opened her eyes from what was probably the deepest sleep she’d had in over a month, her body’s reaction was instantaneous: her breathing quickened, her pulse skyrocketed, and she started shaking, full body tremors that made her extremely aware of the throbbing, burning agony in her left shoulder that was arcs of stinging pain down her arm.

Her eyes darted around frantically but all she could see was dark, shadows closing in around her; there was no light, crushing, cold blackness that burrowed beneath her skin and took chilling residence in her bones. Her mouth opened on a scream, but no sound came out; her throat was dry, tight with panic with chapped lips and a heavy tongue. Her ears buzzed, so loud, head pounding, she couldn’t hear, couldn’t see, she was alone, isolated, not safe.

It was cold; so cold, consuming, ice replacing the blood in her veins and taking root in her heart, deadening the issue, her flesh, killing her from the inside. She was bit; her shoulder was on fire, throbbing and pulling and rotting and it was her fault, she shouldn’t have fallen asleep, oh god, why did she sleep, where was she, it wasn’t safe, she was going to die, no no no it wasn’t fair, she’d tried so hard to survive, why—

Hands, burning hot, sharp points pricking into her skin, seized her arms and Kagome thrashed, she struggled, she screamed. No, it was one of them, it was going to tear into her flesh, finish what the other had started at her shoulder.

“—ome!”

It hurt; her shoulder, her throat, her chest, she couldn’t breathe, it was so hard, why couldn’t she breathe? Her fingers clawed, scratched, dug into the flesh that sought to rip into her, tear her apart, kill her—

“—sha! It’s me! You’re safe!”

She heard a hissing sound, heard a growled curse and she gasped when her hands were suddenly restrained, warm shackles circling her wrists and she sobbed, cried, no please, she didn’t want to die, hadn’t she suffered enough already, it was her fault, Houjo didn’t deserve—

“Kagome! It’s me! Dammit, Kagome, open your eyes!”

With a deep, shuttering gasp, Kagome’s eyes flew open and she found herself staring into twin pools of glowing amber. Her body jerked and her mouth opened on another hoarse scream, the tears hot on her cold skin—

“You’re safe,” a voice told her, low, urgent, and Kagome stilled. “You’re safe Kagome, it’s okay, calm down. Hey, c’mon, look at me. Look at me Kagome, you’re safe.”

A whimper escaped her and her vision blurred with more tears as finally, finally her heart calmed in her chest, the buzzing in her ears stopped, and she could breathe.

She was...she was safe. Inuyasha. Inuyasha had saved her, he was here, and he’d treated her shoulder—gunshot wound. She’d been shot, not bitten, she wasn’t going to die.

She was safe. She was safe. She was safe.

“Inu—” she choked out, her throat tight, dry. “I—”

“Hey, hey, you’re okay,” he rumbled and released her hands, reaching out to tuck a damp strand of ebony hair behind her ear. “You’re alright. You’re safe.”

Dragging in deep breaths of air, eyes wide and staring into concerned honeyed eyes, Kagome swallowed thickly and finally managed to jerky nod, closing her eyes briefly as she attempted to steady her breathing. Her hands found the solid strength of his arms and hung on, the reassuring warmth of his skin helping to ground her, remind her where she was, that she was safe, she didn’t have to be afraid anymore.

When she opened her eyes again Inuyasha was still staring down at her, the concern writ large on his face, and Kagome took a moment to take everything in, belatedly realizing it wasn’t dark anymore. He must have turned on the light at some point when he realized she couldn’t see anything. He was kneeling above her, shirtless, jeans unfastened and hanging low on his hips, and idly she wondered if he’d been in the middle of dressing when she’d started panicking.

Kagome blinked. “Hi.” Her voice was rough, wispy, and she winced when it scratched her throat.

His frown didn’t lessen any, but he looked relieved. “Hey,” Inuyasha rumbled back and brushed her bangs away from her eyes. “You alright? You started screaming and scared the shit outta me.”

She managed a trembling smile and gave another shaky nod. “Yes,” she breathed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. It...was dark and it took me a minute to remember where I was and what happened.” Her shoulder twinged and she grimaced. “And for a moment I thought the pain in my shoulder meant that...”

She couldn’t finish, dropping her gaze to stare at his chest, riddled with scars and old wounds. With a guilty flush she spotted three red scratches on his left pectoral, remembering his the sound of his pained hiss. 

He must have noticed where she was looking and quickly shook his head. 

“S’okay,” he muttered and brushed her cheek with a finger before drawing back. “Don’t worry about it.”

Inuyasha studied her quietly for another minute, making sure she was truly okay before leaning back and offering a hand. Sucking in a breath, Kagome placed her smaller hand in his and allowed him to carefully pull her up, grateful when he reached around with his arm to catch her around the waist in an attempt to stabilize her shoulder. It throbbed with the movement and she gritted her teeth as pain lanced down her arm to the very tips of her fingers.

Inuyasha made sure she was steady before abruptly shifting around with a soft grunt until he was settled behind her. With one leg hanging off the bed and the other stretched out beside her, he snagged her around the waist and carefully dragged her between his legs so he could take a look at her shoulder.

“Can you lift your arm?”  

Claws lightly grazed the small of her back as he started pushing up her shirt with the intent to inspect her shoulder and an involuntary shudder crawled along the length of her spine. Flushing darkly and praying he hadn’t noticed, Kagome gave a jerky nod and sucked in a breath, holding it as she slowly raised her arm.

She bit down hard on her lip to stifle the whimper of pain that threatened to escape. She was grateful when Inuyasha acted quickly, stretching the wide sleeve over enough to pull off her arm before lifting the shirt up and over, exposing the red-stained bandage covering the back of her shoulder.

“You good?” Inuyasha asked as she lowered her arm back down the second she was able to, ears flicking when her breath left her lungs in a heavy whoosh of air.

“Fine,” she replied a little breathlessly, gritting her teeth.

He paused at the strain in her voice and stared at the back of her head, listening as she attempted to breathe through the pain. She was tense and he could hear the rapid beat of her heart.

“You don’t sound fine,” he stated conversationally and started carefully cutting off the bandage wrapped around her torso with a single talon.

“What, should I be laughing?” Kagome muttered bitterly, tensing as another twinge of pain stabbed at her shoulder.

Inuyasha frowned that time and bit back a retort that was sure to sour her mood more than it already was. He didn’t know if it was because she’d just woken up or if it was something else on her mind, but he figured that his lack of tact would not help the situation, either.

The bandage fell around her waist and carefully he peeled away the red-stained gauze pad covering the injury. Puffy, discolored, and the sutures predictably an angry red, at least it looked like he’d managed to treat it before the infection really set it and he was relieve that was one less thing they had to worry about.

“Looks good,” he told her and brushed his thumb across his handiwork in a feather light touch. “A little swollen and you got a nasty bruise going on, but looks like we caught the infection before it had a chance to set in. Another two weeks or so and you’ll have a wicked battle scar to tell your grandkids about.”

Moving from behind her, being careful not to jostle her shoulder too much, Inuyasha stood up to retrieve fresh bandages, antibacterial ointment, painkillers, and a bottle of water. Kagome grunted and still didn’t look too pleased, a slight pout of her face as she glared at the floor, and Inuyasha shot her a look as he offered the water and Ibuprofen.

“It could be worse,” he reminded and settled behind her again. “Shot could’ve nicked an artery and you woulda bled out before finding help. The asshole coulda aimed at your head and you’d be dead. Lotta possibilities and you lucked out with a non life-threatening one.”

Inuyasha paused and his brows dipped down into a slight frown. Come to think it of, Kagome actually had been extremely lucky she’d only gotten hit in her shoulder and not anywhere else, and suddenly he was wondering if the shot to the shoulder had been intentional. The wound was small and neat, suggesting the gun had been held by a steady hand. Inuyasha was beginning to suspect the gunman had wanted to slow her down, not kill her, and the ball of dread that landed in his stomach, leaden and uncomfortable, chilled him to the bone.

Kagome made an inarticulate noise, grumbled, and then released a sigh and closed her eyes.

“Sorry,” she muttered, feeling guilty for snapping at him and a little foolish for acting like a child. “You’re right. I just...I guess I’m just not made for this kind of thing.”

Warm fingers spread something oily and cold across her shoulder and she hissed, tensing slightly before relaxing.

To her surprise Inuyasha snorted and wiped the excess ointment off on his jeans before grabbing a fresh gauze pad and carefully pressing it to her shoulder.

“I don’t think anybody is made for this kind of thing,” he remarked and started wrapping up her shoulder again. “Out of anything we could have gotten stuck with, it had to be motherfucking zombies. Christ.”

Kagome had to smile at his less than pleased tone. “You seem like you’re doing alright for yourself,” she opined, sweeping her eyes over her surroundings.

He grunted. “That’s mostly because I’m a stubborn asshole and I refuse to let a fucking corpse get the best of me.” 

He eyed her shoulder and gave a satisfied nod before tugging the shirt back down and helping her slip her arm through the sleeve again.

Kagome actually laughed softly that time and feeling accomplished, Inuyasha stood to put away the medical supplies and toss the bloodied bandages. After that he finally took the opportunity to finish dressing, fastening his jeans and digging around for a clean t-shirt.

His ear flicked at the whisper soft sound of disappointment that came from behind him and he had to fight the smirk that threatened to spread across his face as he pulled it over his head.

“Thank you,” she murmured and he glanced over to find her staring at him with a soft smile on her face, a becoming shade of light pink coloring her cheeks. “I know I said it already, but...really. You didn’t have to help me, but you did, especially since it’s not uncommon for someone to only be concerned with number one and be reluctant to share their resources.”

Inuyasha crossed his arms and studied her for a moment, amber gold searching chocolate brown, before he tipped her a fangy grin.

“Well, lookie that,” he murmured, cocking a brow. “You’re on a roll with this luck thing you got going for you. If the world hadn’t gone to hell I’d ask you for the winning lotto numbers.”

“Five, twelve, twenty, twenty-one, forty-seven, and one.”

He stared at her. “Cute.”

Kagome grinned.

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Inuyasha turned to rifle through the “pantry” for some breakfast and found some Poptarts stashed behind a box of no doubt stale Frosted Flakes. He had no idea how old it was, but grabbed it anyway. There were only two food items that were predicted to last through the end of the fucking world, and those were Poptarts and Twinkies.  

He gave one to Kagome, snagged the other one for himself, and tossed the empty box toward the trash bin. He missed, heard Kagome’s badly stifled snort, and tossed a mock glare her way. She blinked and smiled innocently at him before tearing open her breakfast and taking a tentative bite, no doubt having the same concerns as himself.

Plopping down in his comfy armchair with a grunt, Inuyasha sliced open his Poptart and they lapsed into silence as they indulged in the dry and slightly chewy breakfast pastry. Unsurprisingly Inuyasha finished his first, however when Kagome discovered that her stomach was not going to rebel she wasn’t far behind. Despite it only being the run of the mill Poptart that had probably passed its expiration date a while ago, for being the first substantial thing she’d eaten in days, it was the most delicious thing in the world right then.

Still, even though she wanted to cram the rest of it in her mouth, she forced herself to slow down and eat the second part a little slower. Knowing her luck, her weakened body would reject the sudden abundance of nourishment and she’d end up embarrassing herself by getting sick everywhere. She definitely wanted to avoid that and not waste the food Inuyasha was generously sharing with her.

She knew what the world had been subjected to now. It was kill or be killed, look out for number one, and it was rare to find someone willing to help a perfect stranger. Inuyasha had more than likely saved her life, and Kagome would be forever grateful for that.

Swallowing her last bit of Poptart, Kagome started down at the foil wrapper in her hands, worrying her bottom lip as she mulled over her thoughts. She flicked a glance to her half-demon host and wasn’t very surprised to find him already staring at her, head propped in his hand with his foot resting on his opposite knee, looking utterly at ease.

She blinked and offered smile. Inuyasha’s brows dipped into a small frown and she sighed, looking back down at her lap.

“Listen, Inuyasha...” she began, brow wrinkling as she attempted to put thoughts into words. When she looked back up again Inuyasha had both booted feet on the ground and he was leaning forward, giving her his full attention with elbows propped on his knees and golden stare directed at her.

Her expression gentled into another small smile and she continued, the words suddenly coming so easily to her now, “If it hadn’t been for you...if you hadn’t followed me, killed off those rotters, and brought me here, I’d probably be—” Her voice cracked and she swallowed thickly, brown eyes huge and earnest as she gazed at him.

“You saved my life, Inuyasha,” she said roughly. “And I don’t know how I’ll ever begin to repay you for that. So if there’s something...anything I can do repay you, please tell me. I mean, I admit I...I can’t do much, especially in my current condition.” She looked a mite sheepish as she shrugged apologetically. “But I promise I’ll do my best. If you let me stick around, I’ll do whatever it takes to earn my keep. I can learn, I can—I can adapt, just please...”

Sucking in a shaky breath, Kagome briefly closed her eyes, steeled herself, and then looked directly into amber eyes regarding her intensely.

“Please don’t send me back out there. “

Staring into those gorgeous pools of dark brown, so open and pleading and impossibly wide, something in Inuyasha’s chest tightened and his hands clenched into tight fists. The urge to protect surged within him so strongly his entire body tensed, as if preparing for a fight, ready to defend this vulnerable woman with his life if he needed to. Which was absolutely fucking bizarre since he’d just met her, but at the same time, he supposed it made sense.

The others always liked to tease and badger that he had a soft spot for those smaller and weaker than him and looking at her now, heart on her sleeve and practically begging him to not feed her to the wolves – or in this case the undead – Inuyasha had known from the second he’d seen her, curled up, bloody, and terrified, that he’d never be able to send her off on her own again.

She was under his protection now, and he’d be damned if she was going to get hurt again under his watch.

Kagome was starting to get anxious from his continued silence, squirming on her seat and biting down on her lip in uncertainty as she dropped her gaze. He could smell her trepidation as she feared for the worst, hear her heart speed up a bit in her chest, and Inuyasha acted quickly, hating the smell of her fear.

“I’m not gonna send you back out there, Kagome,” he assured her, his voice firm, and was gratified when she snapped her gaze back to his, twin pools of dark brown glinting with barely concealed hope. “And there might be something you can do for me, but first I need you to tell me something.”

Her brow furrowed slightly in confusion but she nodded, curious.

Inuyasha studied her for a moment, golden eyes assessing, revealing nothing, before entreating quietly, “Tell me what happened. Where were you before I found you? Do you a place to get back to? Your family? Friends?”

For just a split second, and something he probably wouldn’t have even noticed had he not been paying such close attention, a deep, soul-crushing sorrow flashed across Kagome’s face and eyes but it was gone as quick as it had arrived before she averted her gaze.

For just that second a hidden agony had been so palpable Inuyasha had felt it like a physical blow to his gut and the shocked breath he sucked in was completely involuntary. Jesus...what had this woman been through to portray such deep pain, even for just an instant? Inuyasha opened his mouth to tell her she didn’t have to tell him, that he would still take her in anyway, but her quiet voice quickly shut him up and his ears strained forward to hear her soft words.

“We got separated,” she began, an audible strain in her voice and still avoiding his gaze. “M-my family and I, just moments after the outbreak started. We were all inside our house, minding our own business, when someone who had been praying at the shrine suddenly came crashing through the door, bleeding from the neck and screaming about the dead coming back to life, before falling to the floor, dead. He’d...he’d been bitten.”

Kagome took a calming breath and closed her eyes, recalling with clarity what had happened next. Her voice was cracked and unsteady as she continued, “We...we didn’t know what to do. We were all standing around, stunned as the man bled all over the floor, when more of them came through the windows and door. Hungry, starved for human flesh, they came after us and we did what any normal person would do.

“We ran. Gramps tried to stay and fend them off, but Mama managed to drag him away and toward the basement where we could go downstairs and out the cellar door. I remember hearing Souta screaming – he was crying...scared – and Mama trying to tell him it was going to be okay as I ran after them, scared out of my mind. But something caught my leg, and I fell. The man on the floor, the one that’d been bitten, had turned and grabbed my leg. I managed to shake him off and go downstairs after them. Mama was waiting for me and she grabbed my hand and when we got outside to the street...”

Her voice caught and she shuddered, wrapping her good arm around herself as if to preserve heat. Inuyasha dug his claws into his palms, resisting the urge to go over and protect her even from the chill of the basement. He’d suspected her story was something like this, but still, hearing it first hand was tougher than he’d thought it would be. Fuck, he hated the thought of Kagome going through this, being subjected to such terror and horror.

“It was...it was chaos,” Kagome went on, voice rough, and he brought his attention back to her. “People dead everywhere, b-blood...everywhere...groups of undead feasting on dead bodies, hordes of them chasing after fleeing people. Screaming, cries for help, children sobbing for their parents...g-god, it was—”

She put a hand over her mouth as her eyes fluttered close, holding back a sob.

“Kagome, you don’t have to—”

Hastily she shook her head. “It’s okay,” she rasped. “I’m okay. Just...give me a minute.”

Frowning deeply and looking like he wanted to disagree, Inuyasha nonetheless clenched his jaw and nodded, waiting for her to continue.

Taking several deep breaths, Kagome managed to compose herself after another minute and went on, her voice a bit steadier.

“We ran. Gramps found a still running car and herded us toward it. I was holding Souta’s hand, half-dragging him and Mama was in front of me. One of them caught Souta’s arm and jerked him back. I...I screamed and just started punching and kicking it, yanking him back to me, and when it finally let go I shoved him toward Mama who got him into the car then herself. I was going to follow but escaping people ran in front of me and cut me off, knocking me over in their haste to get away. I heard Mama screaming my name, Souta crying, and then I heard nothing but gunshots and the sound of a car driving away.”

Inuyasha’s stomach plummeted to somewhere the same region as his feet. His expression was a mix of pain and outrage while the hard lump in his throat was making it hard to breathe. Did her family just leave her there to die?!

Kagome stoke a peek at him and accurately guessed what he was thinking. Her smile was wan and trembling. 

“They didn’t leave me,” she told him and Inuyasha’s growl abruptly cut off—he hadn’t even been aware he was making it. “The people who knocked me over got into the car with my family and drove away, forcing them to leave me behind. I don’t fault them for that.”

Grimacing, Inuyasha dragged a hand down his face and nodded, feeling slightly ill. “What happened next?” he asked, his voice rough and he cleared his throat.

Sighing, Kagome wiped at her eyes, at the unshed tears brimming them, and explained, “I escaped from the rotters trying to eat me and started running. I didn’t have a destination in mind, just...anywhere safe, I guess. Somebody must have been looking out for me because my friend H-Houjo—” Her voice cracked again and she sucked in a breath.

“Houjo found me and took me to his family’s house. They had a bomb shelter with food and water and that’s where I’ve been staying since it all started. Well...until recently.”

The look Inuyasha gave her was equal parts skeptical and incredulous. “Your friend has a bomb shelter in this day and age?”

Her answer smile was small but genuine and something eased in his chest. “Houjo’s father was a bit eccentric, but it turned out to be a good thing. The shelter was underground and fortified with layers of thick sheet metal, cement, and brick. It saved our lives, along with a few others Houjo’s family took in. They were good people, generous and kind, and Houjo...he was among one of the most kindest, genuine people I knew.”

Inuyasha stiffened and his jaw tightened as he sat up a little straighter. Ice entered his veins, chilling him to the bone, and he swallowed once, twice. His voice was thick when he could speak again.

“Kagome...what happened to Houjo.”

She’d used was. Past tense.

Kagome’s eyes connected with his and those deep pools were haunted as she breathed, “We were running out of food. I volunteered to go on a run to find some because I wanted to do something to repay them for taking me in, but Houjo wouldn’t let me ago alone. He had a gun—it didn’t have a full round and he didn’t know how to use it, but it was better than nothing and he wanted to make sure I was protected. So together we left and managed to evade the roamers long enough to get inside his house to see if anything was left. It was a mess inside, of course, full of dead...uh, undead, and not much was salvageable, but we looked anyway.

“I was in the kitchen looking through the pantry and didn’t notice the one coming up behind me. Houjo did.”

Inuyasha paled. Oh...shit.

“He shot it at and missed. He drew its attention so I was able to get away and he just kept...shooting at it until he was firing blanks. I grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed it in the neck, trying to slice the head off, but all I did was get its attention back on me, and I was frozen, terrified, unable to move and Houjo, he...”

Kagome stopped to let out a sob and cover her mouth again, squeezing her eyes shut tight as she forced out through gritted teeth, “He shoved me away and took the bite meant for me. He—I remember his scream as he took the knife lodged in its neck, yanked it upward, and tore the head off until the only thing connecting it was skin. By then the noise we were making drew more of them inside and suddenly we were surrounded. Houjo, he—he told me to run. He sacrificed himself so I could get away and I—I—”

Unable to bear it any longer, Kagome broke down, hiding her face in her hands as she emitted gut-wrenching sobs and Inuyasha reacted without thinking.

Standing up with a curse, he crossed the distance between them and sank down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and tugging her into his side. Kagome gasped and clung to him, hands fisting in the back of his shirt as she buried her face in his neck and cried. Her arm protested the movement but the pain in her heart trumped the pain in her shoulder so it was easily ignored as she wept for her friend, wept for the kind-hearted boy she’d known since child-hood and his untimely, grisly death.

Ears pinned flat against his head, Inuyasha closed his eyes and sought to comfort her in any way he could, running his hand through her hair while the other massaged her back, rumbling in his chest as he let her cry against him for however long she needed. He wanted to apologize, tell her everything was going to be okay, but he couldn’t find the words. His throat was tight, his chest hurt, and he gave his silent commendations to the boy that had sacrificed himself to save her.

He wanted to do more for her – he wanted to track down every undead, rotting son of a bitch responsible for her agony, wanted to bring her friend back to life, find her family, introduce the assholes that had separated her from them to Tessaiga. But he couldn’t, so he did the only thing he could do: he held her tight and bore her pain with her, every sob cutting him to the quick, every whimper driving the knife deeper into his heart. And as the warmth of her tears soaked his neck and dampened the collar of his shirt, Inuyasha cradled the back of her head and vowed she would never have to go through something like that ever again.

Maybe it was a foolish vow, especially when death was unavoidable during these trying times, but that didn’t matter. He was going to do his damnedest to protect her, physically and emotionally, no matter what it took.

He didn’t know how long they sat there but Inuyasha didn’t care, content to let her lean against him as her sobs gradually died down to sniffles and shaky sighs. When she finally leaned away from him, rubbing at her eyes and nose, she was much more composed and the smile she tipped him, though wavering, suggested she’d needed that release badly. It wouldn’t have surprised him if she hadn’t had the time to mourn properly before now. Running for your life tended to take up your full concentration, no matter the circumstances of your inner turmoil.

Inuyasha tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before retrieving her water bottle that had fallen to the floor and handing it over. She mumbled her thanks and uncapped it, taking a few delicate sips and then a few mouthfuls.

“Okay?” he murmured and unthinkingly put a hand on her back, massaging the muscles in an absentminded gesture of comfort. Kagome sighed and relaxed into his touch.

“Yes,” she breathed in a voice slightly hoarse. “Thank you. For...letting me do that.” She aimed another smile at him, dark eyes shining with her gratitude. It felt good to tell somebody and let it all go.

His ear flicked as a slight frown marred his features. “You didn’t tell his family?”

Kagome winced and immediately he regretted it. “Shit, sorry, I—”

“No, it’s fine,” she insisted, shaking her head, and he was glad to find she wasn’t about to start crying again. “After...it happened, I did what he told me to do and ran. I thought about going back to the shelter, but I...I couldn’t. It’s my fault he’s dead. I couldn’t bring myself to face them. The guilt was too much and like a damned coward I fled. It’s my fault, if I hadn’t insisted on going—”

“No,” Inuyasha interrupted her and gabbed her chin, turning her face and locking gazes with her. Kagome’s eyes widened and a soft gasp escaped her lips at the intensity in his eyes.

“I’m gonna stop you right there,” he said firmly. “It’s not your fault, Kagome. Your friend died protecting you. He knew what he was doing when he shoved you away. Hell, I’m sure he knew what was going to happen, but he did it anyway. You can’t blame yourself for the actions of others, Kagome. You can’t. It’s too much to carry and the guilt would crush you.”

He clenched his jaw, swallowed thickly, and with Kagome’s wide eyes gazing up at him, dark and brimming with more tears, he said gruffly, “Trust me. I’ve tried. So instead of burdening yourself with fault that’s not yours, honor your friend’s sacrifice, be grateful, and keep moving. He died so you could live, Kagome, and you need to honor that. And if you let me, I can help you do that.”

Bottom lip trembling, Kagome took a shaky breath and let it out slowly, digesting his words and mulling them over. She would always feel a small measure of guilt, but she couldn’t let it amount to more than that. He was right; Houjo had died saving her, died so she could continuing living, and she would do her best to honor his sacrifice because what other choice did she have? She didn’t want to die and since she didn’t want to die...well.

She’d just have to keep living, wouldn’t she? If not out of spite or fear of the monsters wreaking havoc on the earth, then for Houjo, and for her family that she refused to believe was dead as well.

With a hardened resolve, and feeling better than she had since this whole shitshow started, Kagome stared into his eyes and nodded.

“How?” she whispered and Inuyasha knew what she was asking.

Gratified to see resolve in her eyes, the spark of life bringing color back to her cheeks, Inuyasha had to refrain from grinning as he said, “I can teach you how to survive. Show you how to fire a gun, take it apart, clean it, put it back together and reload it. I can teach you how to fight and how to defend yourself. I can do all of that, but you have to want it, Kagome. You have to want to become stronger and be willing to put your life at risk sometimes. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it; you’re gonna have to kill if you wanna survive, Kagome, and I’m not just talking about the undead fuckers out there. There are gonna be people who wanna kill you because you have what they don’t, assholes that wanna kill you just for the hell of it, but you already knew that. And it’s gonna be hard; I won’t lie about that. But I swear to you now that I’ll do my best to prepare you for this world gone to shit and I’ll teach you everything I know to survive.”

Inuyasha watched some of the color leech from her face and she winced, looking like she was about to taste that Poptart she’d eaten for a second time in a not so pleasant way. He didn’t take it back though, didn’t tell her he’d protect her from that if he could. Because she would have to kill if she wanted to survive. It was the way of the world now and nobody could avoid it. It was either that, or be killed yourself, and he hoped to God she realized that, because he wouldn’t sway her. Kagome had to make this decision for herself, she had to choose to fight, no matter how hard it was going to be.

She had to choose to survive for herself, to keep fighting, no matter how bad Inuyasha wanted to protect her from it.

Kagome took in Inuyasha’s features with wide brown eyes, the set jaw, lips tightening into a thin line, and eyes the color of whiskey burning into her own with an intensity that made her breath catch. His words resounded in her head, loud, serious, laced with an urgency that had every hair on her body standing on end. But there was something else, something that he wasn’t telling her, but Kagome picked up on it nonetheless. She saw it in his eyes, felt in the way his hand gripped her arm, firm, but not enough to hurt.

Inuyasha was asking her to trust him far more than what she already had, because if she said yes, if she agreed, she had so much more to lose than her health. He was essentially asking her to put her life in his hands so he could teach her how to protect it and that should have given her pause, should have made her take a proverbial step back and seriously consider what he was offering.

But she didn't because Kagome already instinctively knew she could trust him. He’d already patched up her shoulder, given her food, water, a place to sleep and regain her strength. Hell, he’d trusted her first, bringing her into his shelter and putting at risk his own health and safety. Granted, he was much stronger than she and he probably hadn’t been at all worried about her trying to overtake him, but it was the principle of the matter.  

So of course Kagome already knew what her answer was because she did want to be stronger. She didn’t want to be a burden on him or anybody, she didn’t want to have to rely on other people to take care of her and get her food or whatever. She wanted to be able to take care of herself, defend herself and protect others who were in the same predicament as she’d been.

And when she finally saw her family again, she wanted to protect them as well and make sure nothing ever happened to them. She swore what happened to Houjo would never happen to any of them. Not while she was alive.

“Yes,” Kagome finally answered, staring directly into his eyes, and the relief that swept through him was powerful. She smiled, no doubt seeing it reflected on his face, and she nodded. “I want you to teach me, Inuyasha. I want to become stronger and defend myself so when I find my family, and I protect them, too.”

A corner of his lips quirked up into a half-grin. He had to admire her determination; it was definitely a good trait to have, especially for what she was about to endure in the coming weeks.

“Good,” he rumbled, giving a nod himself as he squeezed her arm. “I’m glad you don’t wanna die just yet. I’d be pissed if I wasted my medical supplies and food on a lost cause.”

Kagome had to laugh. He was right, so she wasn’t offended.

“I do have one question, though,” she admitted and he cocked a brow. “You said that you might have something I can do for you before I explained what happened to me. What is it?”

He shrugged. “You just agreed to it.”

Kagome blinked. “What?”

“You agreed to let me teach you how to fight and protect yourself,” he answered as he stood up and wandered over to the table to belt on his holster and gun. “So you already did it.”

She shook her head, confused. “But how would you teaching me how to fight benefit you in any way? You already know how to fight and all that stuff. I’m more of a liability than an asset.”

Inuyasha glanced at her as he clipped the radio to his belt. Then to her surprise he grinned and crossed his arms as he turned to face her.

“There are others back at the dojo I own. Twelve altogether, including me, and now it’s thirteen since you’re officially part of it now. Me teaching you benefits us all because it means there’s another person defending our shelter and the people who live in it. It’s another person looking for food, supplies, water, weapons, anything that would help us better survive. There are strength in numbers, Kagome, and while others think that too many people means more mouths to feed and clothe and protect, we see it as an opportunity to save more lives, kill more monsters, and make the world just the smallest bit safer. So basically, the glass is half full, not empty.”

Kagome stared at him with wide eyes, mouth parted slightly in astonishment. She liked that theory and liked even more that there were others like Inuyasha. She wouldn’t have to be alone again and it was all because of this magnificent, strong man who she’d been fortunate enough to find. Or rather, fortunate enough for him to find her.

Ridiculously feeling like crying again, Kagome gave him a trembling but genuine smile as she sniffled and dashed a hand over her eyes. At his panicked look a watery laugh bubbled up and she shook her head, managing to stave off the tears and taking a calming breath.

“Sorry,” she muttered. “I’m okay. It’s just...I’m relieved and...glad I don’t have to be alone again.” Kagome lifted her face and her next smile was truly brilliant, dark eyes glittering with her gratitude, and absurdly Inuyasha’s heart skipped a beat in his chest.

“Thank you, Inuyasha. You’ve already done so much for me in such a short amount of time, and I just...” She sighed and nodded determinedly, eye flashing with resolve. “I won’t let you down.”

Inuyasha watched her silently for a moment, golden eyes searching her face, her eyes, before a smirk spread across his face and he nodded once.

“Good. I’m counting on it.”

Ch. 4

buy me a coffee? :)

[craftyshipper]

Those Bad Days

He had good days.

When his classmates forcibly pulled him from his room on their days off to binge-watch Disney movies in the common room despite Bakugo swearing he wasn't going to watch because it was for kids.

When Momo would make him some of his favorite tea and they'd cuddle up on the couch because a boyfriend and girlfriend should be cuddling, right? Besides he loved feeling her soft form pressed against his side, the comfort from that alone helped him to relax.

When Midoriya openly shared his interests and pulled him along to go watch one of the new hero movies. Partly able to engage Shouto in a hero debate to the surprise of others.

Yeah, he had some pretty good days.

But unfortunately, those also came with the bad ones. And today...well today was just one of the worst.

_________

"Hey, has anyone seen Shouto?" Momo asked as she stepped in from outside, her brows creased upwards in worry.

“Wasn’t he visiting his mom today?” Midoriya asked as he turned to the creation hero.

“Yeah, but that was this morning,” Momo responded, her heart doing flips in her chest as she thought about the possibilities of what could have happened to him, “He texted me that he was going back home after the visit before he came back but I haven’t heard anything from him since.”

Shoji and Ojiro looked up from the table they were seated at before the martial arts hero spoke up. “Yeah, he was supposed to join us and Kaminari to play video games but he never showed up.”

“Guys I’m really starting to get worried,” Momo held her hands to her chest as Jirou came over to place a comforting hand on her back.

“I’m sure he’s fine, this is Todoroki we’re talking about,” Jirou said with a small smile.

“I’m going to call his sister,” The raven-haired beauty stepped away and pulled her phone from the pocket of her dark blue shorts.

When the phone just kept ringing, Momo was about to hang up when a soft feminine voice came over the line.

“Hello?”

“Hey Fuyumi,” She greeted.

“Hi Momo,” The female Todoroki greeted, but Momo felt something off about the way she spoke. She is usually so cheerful when they spoke to each other over the phone.

“Um, is everything okay?” The creation hero couldn’t help but ask, fearing the worst.

A sigh came over the phone. “No.”

“Did something happen to Shouto?!” She panicked causing the white-haired woman to speak loudly to calm her down.

“Momo!” Fuyumi shouted into the receiver, forcing the young hero to instantly become silent.

"Shouto is fine...for the most part," The way she said it sent a chill up Momo's spine, forcing her to visibly shiver.

"What happened?"

"Our mother had an episode today and she lashed at him," Fuyumi's voice broke at the end, "its been so long since I've seen Shouto look so broken Momo."

Tears began to blur her vision as she hastily wiped them away, the concerned look from her friends didn't help either.

"Do...um, do you know where he is?"

"He said he was heading back to UA, but obviously he isn't there with you," Fuyumi took a shaky breath, "at this point, I'm not sure where he'd be."

"I'll find him," Momo promised, "I might have an idea of where he is, but I could be wrong."

"Give him hugs for me."

"I will."

Once Momo hung up the phone, she was bombarded with questions from her peers, each of them worried about their friend. If only Shouto could see how they worry and care about him, maybe he wouldn't be so quick to hide away when something is bothering him.

"Shouto's visit with his mother didn't go well," Momo smiled sadly.

While it wasn't a secret anymore about the Todoroki family since Shouto had shared his childhood horrors with his classmates, one by one as he opened up a bit more. Including the origin of the scar that marred his left eye.

"Want us to help?" Uraraka offered.

"No, I'd like to talk to him alone if that's okay," Momo stated, "I don't want to overwhelm him with too many people at once."

"How are you going to find him ponytail?" Bakugo raised a brow in her direction as he crossed his arms.

"By looking in the usual spot he goes when he's upset."

Momo stepped outside the dorms, the cold air of the incoming night blowing over her, tussling her ponytail gently. What she found was the remains of what was probably ice on the side of the building, the once-frozen water now melted leaving a thin water trail down the building and into the grass.

"On the roof?" Midoriya questioned.

Nodding, Momo spoke,” I’ll be right back.”

__________

He heard the door to the roof open but made no move to greet the newcomer. He had a feeling he already knew who it is, but he still didn’t bother to acknowledge her presence too caught up in his own mind after all that had happened today.

Part of him wished she'd leave him alone, but another part wanted her to wrap her arms around him, holding him and telling him it would be okay. That everything that happened was normal.

But his life was far from normal. Despite getting to know his siblings more over the last few months, they still weren't as close as he'd like to be. His father is barely making up for what he had done in the past and Shouto is still unsure whether or not he should forgive the man. And his mother, she was trapped in a hospital for mental reasons. Today was a perfect example that she isn't ready to leave that place. And what hurts the most was how his mother-

"Shouto?"

He blinked out of his trance and finally turned his head towards Momo. Her dark gaze watching him with worry as she took a seat next to him. He didn't greet her as he normally would have done, and he felt like a jerk before he looked back out into the darkness of the night. But Momo, being the saint she is, didn't scold him for it, or get angry with him, because she knew. She knew the darkness that surrounded him and yet she stayed.

Momo exhaled softly, if he didn't want to talk right away, then she would, hoping it would encourage him to open up. "I talked to Fuyumi a few minutes ago."

The creation hero didn't miss the way his hands clenched the fabric of his pants, his arms wrapping tightly around his legs. She noticed him bite his lip as he visibly gulped.

"What did she tell you?" He finally spoke.

"That your visit didn't go well."

"I told her not to say anything." He wanted to be mad at his sister, but he knew he couldn't, she only wanted to help and telling Momo was probably the smart thing to do. His girlfriend could always keep him grounded most of the time, stopping him from getting lost in his thoughts.

"She is worried," Momo smiled sadly, "and so am I."

"Sorry," Shouto murmured and pressed his face into his arms as they came to rest on top of his bent knees.

"Want to talk about it?"

It took a couple of minutes before he spoke. The sadness and hurt in his tone being painfully obvious.

"My mom had an episode today," he began as he sat up "she," he sighed shakily, "she lashed out and tried to attack me."

Momo wanted to speak but he continued before she could. Her heart ached at the sight of a single tear slip down his cheek.

"The doctor said it was probably because of my red hair," he swallowed, "I thought she was getting better, but this relapse might force her to stay at the hospital even longer now."

“Shouto-”

“I don’t even know what I can say to her,” he whispered, “the next time I see her she’ll break down in tears and apologize but will anything really be okay?”

Momo had to fight back her own tears as he spoke and she desperately wanted to reach out and pull him into a hug. Stroke his hair and tell him everything would be alright. But at this moment, she didn’t think he’d believe her.

“I could never be mad at her for any of the things she’s done,” he finally looked at her, his dual-colored eyes meeting hers, tears slowly escaping his eyes, one by one, “but dammit Momo, it fucking hurts, she looked at me like I wasn’t even her son.”

Shaking her head, Momo launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and holding his head to her chest as he shook. His quiet sobs making her cry alongside him, forcing her to squeeze him even tighter.

“Shouto, you are her son and she knows that, you’ve both have had a hard life,” Momo choked out, “but your mother loves you and that’s what matters.”

Momo’s chest clenched when Shouto wrapped his arms around her waist to hug her back. 

“I know,” he nodded against her, “thank you.”

__________

Not one person of class 1-A said a word about the their red eyes when Momo and Shouto came down to the common room. Instead, quickly inviting their friends to join them for a movie. Even Bakugo, who normally objected to these things, stuck around for moral support. They all knew he cared, he and Todoroki had been through a lot together during their extra training for their provisional licenses.

Iida and Midoriya quickly put on a Disney movie after a small argument about which one would be better suited for them. Momo led Shouto to one of the couches and sat down next to him, pulling a blanket from the back of the couch to wrap around them.

When the lights were shut off, Shouto leaned his head on Momo’s shoulder, a small shaky sigh escaping him.

Sometimes he had bad days.

But moments like these turned them into good ones.

[unbrckenwallsxinspo]

Trigger // SELF PARA

When: April 1st, after midnight

Where: Devon and Alyssa’s House

Summary: Kinsley Maxwell decides to play an April Fools prank on Devon, but it goes horribly wrong.

Trigger Warnings: Guns, mentions of death, murder, suicide, and drugs

Mentions: Devon, Ryan, Tavin, Alex, Kinsley 

@thewiildthings​

🖂 Incoming message! From: ronimaxwell@gmail.com To:devprescott88@gmail.com I found some old pics of Jade that I thought you might like to have.

A few years had passed since Jade's murder. Devon was now only a couple weeks away from his 25th birth, he was raising their daughter as a single parent, and still lived in the two story cabin home that his in-laws had helped them purchase.  He wished he could say that life was good, but deep down, there was still pain that just wouldn't disappear no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. No matter what he did, he still lived with the memory of watching Jade take her last breath.

It was after midnight in Nashville. He should've been asleep, but instead he was on his laptop, looking at the email that his mother-in-law had sent. Four pics of Jade that he'd never seen before. The first one being when she was only about four months pregnant with Alyssa and went to a late night diner with friends. The second being her with friends at a hotel about a month before she and Devon got married. The third was her wit friends atsome electronics store in a town they didn't recognize. The fourth was one that Devon had taken of her while on a lunch date after their wedding. So many good memories. No more to be made.

A year after she died, Devon tried to take his own life. Months of therapy followed until he finally stopped going. In his mind, he no longer needed the help. For a few years, that mindset worked. Until recently. Lately he'd begun to sink back into a depression, suicidal thoughts and all. Alyssa was the only reason he hadn't ended his life. She was his reason for living. Still, he was haunted by nightmares of Jade's death. He blamed himself for it happening. After all, he shouldn't have tried to escape, then the robber wouldn't have felt the need to fire his weapon. So it had to be Devon's fault, right?

"Daddy?"

He clicked out of his email and closed his laptop as soon as he saw the seven-year-old in the doorway, clinging to her teddy bear and rubbing her tired blue eyes. "Hey, love, can't sleep?"

Alyssa shook her head and climbed onto the bed, nuzzling her face against Devon's shoulder. She knew how to make him feel safer without even trying. Wrapping his arms around his little girl, he laid back against the pillows, a heavy sigh leaving his lips as he looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was 12:30 AM. He'd surely be awake until it was alright daylight out. That was often how his nights turned out.  Good thing he had tomorrow off from work.

"Daddy?"

"What's up, kiddo?" He ran his fingers through her hair, forcing himself to smile as he lovingly kissed her head. 

"Do you think I'll ever see my mommy again?"

The question was anything but simple. He believed they would see Jade in the afterlife, but he knew what Alyssa really meant, and he couldn't give her the answer she wanted. That broke his heart.

"Someday, baby." He gulped, rubbing her back. He was kind of relieved when she didn't push the issue farther. Normally she had a lot of questions about pretty much anything and everything, but he preferred that she not ask too many questions about her mom. He never had the right answers.

Their brief conversation was interrupted by something outside. Something that Devon didn't recognize. He supposed that it could have been the wind or a trashcan falling over or a bird or something, but it sounded like none of those things. So Devon's fight or flight response was quick to kick in. 

"Stay here. Try to get some sleep." He murmured as he got up from the bed. A few months after Jade died, he purchased a pistol without telling anyone. He kept it in a safe in his closet and only he knew the combination. Maybe right now he didn't need the gun, maybe there was a logical explanation, but that knocking...it didn't sound good, so of course his first reaction was self defense.

"Dad--"

"Stay here!" He whispered before he walked into the door, shutting the door behind him. He was about to head downstairs when he heard the familiar ring of his phone, which was coming from Alyssa's room. Huh. He must have left it there when he was putting her to bed earlier. 

He hurried into her room and grabbed the phone, answering with urgency. 

"Hello?!"

"Hello, friend. Remember me?"

"Who is this?!" Devon snapped as he pointed the gun in front of him, inching slowly out of the room and towards the stairs. 

"You mean you don't remember me? From the Flash Mart?"

Chills went down Devon's spine. The Flash Mart was where Jade was killed. But her killer was in prison! He couldn't possibly be calling. This had to be a joke. A sick, evil joke. 

"Come on, Devon. I met you and that lovely wife of yours for a few minutes. Lovely couple, you two were."

"Whoever you are, you better leave me alone or I'm calling the police!" He yelled before promptly hanging up. He choked back sobs as his shaking hand clutched the gun tighter, walking slowly down the stairs. To his horror, his front door was wide open, wind blowing leaves across the floor. And in the doorway was a tall, hooded figure wearing a hockey mask and holding what appeared to be a machete. A bloody machete.

BANG!

Devon didn't notice that the man had practically jumped back through the doorway in fear, as a bullet struck the floor and another at the wall. His mind was spinning, but he was focused enough to fight back against the perceived enemy. This was not happening. This was NOT happening.

"BRENDON, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE JASON VOORHEES OR SOMETHING, NOT MY SISTER'S KILLER, YOU MORONIC ASSHOLE! Tavin, seriously, get over here now. Devon's got a gun! Shit shit shit...No, I'm hiding behind the car!"

Devon paused at the sound of Kinsley's voice. He knew this was some kind of prank that she'd come up with, but his mind was racing and his muscles were so tense that somehow he still felt like there was danger. So the gun never left his hands and his finger never left the trigger as he searched the surrounding area for Kinsley's "friend."

"Devon, it was a prank!"

Devon no longer heard a word Kinsley was screaming at him. He was focused entirely on finding the asshole she'd used for said prank. The scary thing was that he wasn't even thinking of the potential consequences of his actions. He didn't think about the possibility that he might hurt or even kill someone. He was definitely not himself in that moment.

"W-where are you..." He murmured, panicked tears in his eyes. The flashbacks were playing over and over in his head, and he felt nothing except a desperate desire to protect himself and his daughter. In that moment, he wasn't at his home. He was back at that convenience store and he was fighting for his life.

He was so deeply trapped in his own mind that he didn't hear the slam of the car door a few feet away. He heard someone call his name and he cried out softly as he whipped around, pointing the gun in the direction of the voices. Then, all of a sudden, he felt a pair of arms grab him from behind, the gun falling from his hand.

"Ryan, did you just forget that he has PTSD?! You don't sneak up behind someone who--" Was that Alex or Tavin speaking? Devon had no idea. He was too busy crying and trying to get out of Ryan's grasp, panicked breaths escaping him. 

"Well, did you want him to shoot someone? Because I don't know about you, but I like liv-Thank you, Devon, for your knee making contact with Ryan Jr." Ryan groaned as he let Devon go, gripping his crotch as if that would relieve the pain Devon just inflicted upon him.

Devon was spiraling. Heavy breathing, sweat dripping down his face, barely holding back sobs as he combed his fingers through his hair. He was going insane, he was sure of it. Maybe he was even dying. At this point, he didn't mind that possibility too much. He just wanted the pain to stop. He didn't want to live in fear anymore and if dying would relieve that fear, then so be it.

"Okay, I got pot, coke, or molly. Take your pick." Dammit, Alex. No one gives a shit about your stupid drugs.

Suddenly, Devon's mood changed from fear and panick to pure anger. "Alex, I don't want your drugs. I want to take that pistol and put an end to me misery, that's what. I'm sure you can relate, right? Besides, we all know that you'd rather keep that shit for yourself."

Alex had a stricken expression on his face now and if Devon were in his right mind, he'd feel guilty. But he didn't. He didn't care if Alex got his feelings hurt. He had just as many problems as Devon did, if not more, and it was time someone called him out on it.

"Dude, that wasn't cool and you know it. Let's just...go inside, okay?" He felt Tavin's hands on his biceps and he relaxed only slightly, shaking with panic and anger as he was ushered into the house. He was close to breaking down again, but whatever. Tavin had seen him break before. In fact, he was the one person that Devon felt comfortable being vulnerable in front of. 

"I'm gonna use the restroom." He gulped, shaking off his friend's hands and hurrying into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him. He took the time to look at his reflection. Messy hair that he hadn't washed in days or really maintained at all, heavy bags under his eyes, pale skin that was currently sparkling with sweat, obvious weight loss...clearly life had been kicking him in the ass and he hadn't done a damn thing to make it any better. He didn't see the point.

Momentarily, he saw Jade standing behind him, then he saw a dark, hooded figure drag her away. He sobbed as he threw a punch at the mirror, watching the glass shatter. What followed was a few knocks on the door and Tavin calling his name. Devon figured if he stayed quiet long enough, maybe he'd be left alone. But of course not. Within a few minutes, the door somehow opened. Ryan had picked the lock. Lovely.

"Dude, what the--" Tavin grabbed his hand and said something to Ryan about getting the first aid kit from the kitchen. Then he felt Tavin's arms around him and he finally broke completely, tears soaking his friend's shirt.

[dspsposts]

tidal waves ➼ i i

Genre : fluff Pairings : Yeonjun x Reader x Soobin Words : 3.7k+

{ y e o n j u n }

"Wait, what?!"

Yeonjun was stunned, he was not expecting that would be the first thing he hear when entering the room.

"Shh, Yeonjun, don't be so loud!" Mr. Lee said as he gestured for Yeonjun to come over.

"You can go now, Y/N," he looked over at the girl.

She bowed to Mr. Lee, before walking towards the door, which she had to walk past Yeonjun first.

As she got closer to him, her facial expression was showing that she was probably worried. They shared a brief glance before she walked out of the door and left.

Yeonjun walked over to Mr. Lee, frowning with confusion, "What is this about?"

"Yeonjun," Mr. Lee sighed. "I don't wanna beat around the bush, so I'm going to just let you know."

"Your grades has been slipping ever since you've been busy with that basketball thing," Mr. Lee started to explain as he rummaged through the files on his desk, trying to find something he wanted to show to Yeonjun.

When he finally found a particular file, he quickly showed it to Yeonjun for him to see.

Yeonjun reached out to it and examined it for a few seconds before his eyes went wide and looked over to Mr. Lee in a slight panic.

"That's why I want Y/N to be your tutor, I've been observing her for awhile..." Yeonjun wanted to escape right there and then but had no choice and listen to Mr. Lee's almost-make-no-sense speech, "...she will be your perfect tutor, Yeonjun, please cooperate with her."

"But why her?" Yeonjun asked, still didn't get why she was appointed as his tutor or something.

"I told you already! She will be your perfect tutor! How many times do I have to repeat that?!"

"But--"

"No buts! She had already agree to it when I said I will also destroy her perfect grades if your grades doesn't improve enough!"

"What?! You can't be seriou--"

"Shh! Now get out and study!" Mr. Lee shooed Yeonjun.

Yeonjun tried to argue more, but Mr. Lee continued to sulk and refused talking to him. Yeonjun sighed exasperatedly before walking away.

Yeonjun could easily come to the girl and said that she doesn't need to teach him or whatever and let her just ignore Mr. Lee's strange request.

But it would put her grades at risk.

Maybe he should just cooperate.

But no.

He doesn't want to.

God dammit.

Mr. Lee has always been a strange teacher, a very strange at that one. Once he wanted something, he would do whatever it takes to get it. Oh lord!

(▰˘◡˘▰)

"What?!"

"Kai! You're so loud, keep it down!" Yeonjun hissed.

"I knew you guys were a match made in heaven! This is fate, Yeonjun, and this is your chance!" Kai exaggerated, making Yeonjun cringed.

"It's not like that, you know--"

Yeonjun then was cut off when a girl stopped in front of them--

Oh it's...

"Y/N!!" Kai suddenly shrieked. He was grinning like a mad man before he looked over to Yeonjun and smirked.

Kai walked closer to the girl and put his arm around her shoulder, making her startled. "I will leave you two here alone, alright, have fun studying!"

Kai ran away.

"Kai!" Yeonjun tried to stop him, but he was too tired to run after him and looked over to the girl instead.

It was silent for a moment and the awkwardness was thick around them.

She suddenly remembered their encounter the day before...

Yeonjun and the girl both apologized before awkwardly stared at each other for a few seconds. She noticed that he was sweaty that it was visible, his shirt was almost see-through. She almost blushed but she managed to look away before he could notice.

"Damn, Why am I remembering that out of all things?!" she thought inside her head.

She mentally slapped herself before she decided to talk first.

"Hey--"

"What's up--"

They both talked at the same time.

Yeonjun fought off the smile that was threatening to show up on his lips. He didn't even know why he wanted to smile at the first place, but probably because of the startled expression on her face.

"You first," Yeonjun said.

"Oh! O-okay, yeah, uhh," she trailed off as she rummaged through her bag.

She pulled out a stack of notebooks that were marked with so many of those little sticky notes sticking out of the books.

"I know that you probably don't want me to teach or tutor you, but I still want to help and you know, my grades probably will fall if y-yours too, you know, so I figured that if you don't want us to, like, study together, here's my notes, please take it and study them--"

"Woah, woah, woah, slow down!" he couldn't help but chuckled from amusement, when she looked at him grinning instead of frowning, she visibly relaxed and smiled.

He realized he had blown his cover of acting cooly, he knew it was too late, but she was just so damn cute. He probably wouldn't mind to study with her, but still, it was all too sudden, he needed to think about it first.

He faked a cough and furrowed his eyebrow, trying to regain the his cool self from before. He took her notes from her grip, they were heavier than he thought they would be. "Thanks, I guess."

He put them in his bag and they stood facing each other, awkwardly, again.

"Do you want my number?" she asked but then panicked when she realized it sounded weird. "I mean, you can contact me if you have problems with your studies, you know!"

"Sure," he answered curtly as he took out his phone and let her put her number in his contacts.

"See you around!" she smiled before walking the opposite direction.

Yeonjun automatically turned around to her and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from walking any further.

He wanted to slap himself for doing such thing, but he agreed with himself when he thought that her wrist perfectly fit in his hand, and it was so soft and--

The hell, Yeonjun, wake up!

"D-do you want to, uhh, like, walk home together?" he asked.

He just wanted to disappear when she didn't answer and looked like she didn't know how to respond.

Her wrist was still in his grasp and he didn't want to let the oppoturnity of holding her hand go. He didn't want to let her hand go.

"Sorry, I'm heading to where Soobin is right now, I always walk home with him," she then answered with a smile.

"Oh, okay," he let go of her wrist and felt a pang of disappointment.

"See you around, Y/N.." he said, voice lowering into a whisper.

He felt her name rolled off his tongue so smoothly that he couldn't help but say her name again.

And damn, did it feel nice.

[s o o b i n]

After talking to Yeonjun earlier, she went straight to where Soobin told her he was going to be at.

However, when she finally got to the place, she didn't see him around. She asked a few people around if they saw Soobin anywhere.

After doing some searching she finally found Soobin sitting down on one of school's benches, he looked like he was pretty occupied.

She grinned and came running towards him.

"Soobin!"

His face turned from distressed to shocked into a shocked one before he smiles, at her sight and voice, in a matter of seconds.

She sat down on near him, carefully not messing up the pile of papers that he put on the benches, unexamined.

He continued looking through them and eventually ignoring her, completely lost the track of time and forgetting he was supposed to walk home with her like he usually does.

"Soobin..."

"Hmm?"

"Not to bother you.. but.. when are we going home?" she carefully asked, worried that she might interrupt him.

Then he looked at his wrist-watch, frowning. He gathered up the messy pile of papers and put them together and made sure none of them were missing.

"Damn, I lost the track of time! Sorry," he fumbled through his words.

"Damn, Soobin, chill," she chuckled, watching as he putting the papers into his bag.

"Let's go," he said, almost too quickly, making her startled and grinned.

They stopped by the playground they visited the day before and sat on the both of the swings, next to each other, enjoying the evening breeze with ease.

"You've been busy lately, huh?" she asked without looking at him.

"H-huh? Yeah, I mean, you too, right?" he responded after he hesitated for a second. He looked over to her and wondered what was going on inside her mind when her face looked so peaceful and her stare radiated warmness he wanted himself to bask into.

They locked eyes when she looked over to him. He quickly turned his head around so she wouldn't see his flustered face.

They both continued to sit in a comfortable silence before his phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

The person on the other side of the phone started talking and Soobin sighed as he put his phone back into his pocket.

"I'm sorry, I gotta go back to school, Y/N."

"O-oh..." she responded, not sure what to say beside nodding. But he seemed hesitant to leave. "What are you doing? Go ahead, you busy bee!"

He was relieved after he thought she would be sad but then she gave him that killer smile that had been always successful in melting his poor heart.

"Soobin!" she shouted, before he walked away. "What about a movie night?"

Again, with that adorable smile on her face, she was asking him, how could he say no to her?

He nodded before running away and yelling a "Yup!"

She shook her head and chuckled fondly, "That busy bee! I swear he will make it up to me!"

{ y e o n j u n }

"You don't need to be so hard on Yeonjun, you know, I'm sure he's doing his best--"

"Now this is why his grades are getting worse day by day, it's because you're too soft around him!" Yeonjun's dad protested.

"I know--"

"No you don't--"

After a few seconds of arguing with each other, Yeonjun became completely fed up with their fight. He turned around and walked away to the front door.

Just as he was reaching for the door knob, his dad's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Where are you going?" his dad asked sternly.

"I'm going out to clear my mind," he answered curtly.

"What--"

His dad didn't get the chance to say what he wanted to say after Yeonjun slammed the door in his face.

Yeonjun looked back to see if his dad or mom would follow after him, but they didn't. He sighed as he refused to bawl out his mixed emotion; sadness, disappointment, rage.

He walked in the chilly night with his white t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants on. They didn't help him one bit from the cold air.

"Seriously?! They're fighting again?! And now it's because of my grades? How ridiculous!"

He found himself standing outside a convenience store near his house. He reached to his pockets to see if he had some money in there. Although it's stupid but maybe he could find some out of luck.

He grinned in victory when he found a few wons in them. He entered the store without knowing what to buy.

He remembered he didn't even eat yet since this morning, that's crazy, but yeah. He walked to the food section and found what he was looking for; instant ramen.

The smell was so goddamn irresistible and he needed to wait for, like, three minutes for it to soften up. He couldn't wait for it to finally--

"Yeonjun!" someone called him.

"Oh, Y/N," he replied when he looked at the person who had called his name. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you lived around here."

"I don't know, just taking a stroll, I guess?" she smiled before walking towards the food section, "be right back!"

She later came back with a cup of instant ramen just like his', when he was already eating his own's.

She sat down next to him without saying any word and waited for her cup ramen to soften up.

Later they both ate together but she was done eating first. He blinked in confusion when she slurped the one last noodle. He was almost done, but not yet.

She waited for him as he awkwardly continued to eat.

"So..." he tried to muster up a conversation, "Aren't you going home?"

"Nah, I want to stay a bit longer," she answered, "You?"

"Me neither."

They both sat in silence, both not knowing what was inside each other's mind that had been bugging the both of them.

"Do you... want to talk?" he asked.

"About what?"

"I don't know, things?"

"What things?"

"I don't know, you tell me," he was frustrated, it was visible and his annoyed face was the evident of it.

"Sorry, sorry!" she bursted out in laughters.

Then she started to tell him how Soobin ditched her on their movie night, although she didn't mind, but she was bored out of her mind and couldn't help but feel lonely.

And then he responded to her with his own story and the event that had happened earlier in his house. It's a personal problem, he shouldn't even be talking about it. But he couldn't stop talking because he felt so much better after letting his vent out.

"I'm sorry that that happened," she sighed.

He shrugged it off like nothing.

"I should not be talking about this," Yeonjun sighed, immediately regretting his decision to talk about his parents.

"It's okay, Yeonjun," she smiled. "Maybe it's our way to get know about each other better? I know it's a terrible excuse, but I can see you look more relieved than before."

He wanted to say something, but the words stuck on his tongue. He couldn't say it out loud.

She stood up but Yeonjun grabbed her wrist, stopping her from leaving.

"Do you wanna walk home together?"

And this time, she didn't refuse.

"Sure!"

{ y e o n j u n }

Yeonjun was stressed by this particular math homework, but Kai refused to help him.

"Why don't you just call your tutor, or should I say, your crush?"

Yeonjun threw a pencil at Kai when Kai started laughing like a maniac, "so it's true that you're crushing on her!"

"My prediction turns out was right from the beginning, that you'd fall for her--"

"Shut up, Kai," Yeonjun groaned as he threw another pencil at him.

Kai jumped onto his bed as he watched Yeonjun who was panicking, in amusement, "Seriously tho? Why don't you just call her?"

"She must be studying right now, okay? I can't just be an obstacle--"

"Oho, you already know that much? I guess you probably don't need me as your wingman," Kai half-huffed but half-laughing at the same time.

Yeonjun looked back at the notes that she had given him from the first day she became his 'tutor'.

"I can't let her down!" Yeonjun thought in his mind.

"That dude, I never knew he could be this ambitious when he's in love," Kai muttered but it was loud enough for Yeonjun to kinda hear it.

"What did you say?!"

Kai was startled and looked at Yeonjun as if he was a stranger.

"And he is crazy now..."

(▰˘◡˘▰)

She was solving a bunch of math problems in her seat, waiting for Soobin to come and study with her, in the middle of noisy class.

Not until the class had become significantly silent, although not completely, she didn't notice it anyway.

A stack of notebooks were suddenly on her desk, she looked up to who the person was, "Yeonjun."

The class soon filled with mumbles of the girls in the class.

"I want to return these," he muttered, looking away from her to outside the window.

"Oh, thanks!"

She was craning her neck up to stare at him as he finally looked at her back before looking away, blushing. But she was oblivious though.

"C-can you help me with these?"

"What?"

"You heard me," he finally looked at her once more with slightly furrowed eyebrows and a hint of desperation of wanting to be out of there quickly. "Meet me in the cafeteria, later."

"Yeonjun-" but then he left.

"But.. he didn't say when," she mumbled.

She went back to studying, not realizing that Yeonjun was sneaking glances at her when he walked back and forth outside her class in the hallway, like an idiot.

An idiot that was in love.

{ y j & s b }

"Y/N, I can't walk you home again today, I'm sorry, is it okay?"

"Soobin, I'm not a baby! You don't need to walk me home every single day!"

"But--"

"Shhh! Now go back and continue whatever you were doing, you busy bee," she laughed.

He let it slide before waving his hand and turned around to let her go to home alone.

She was startled when suddenly she saw Yeonjun just a few inches away from her body, "you startled me!"

Yeonjun blinked a few times before realizing why she was so startled. He laughed lightly at her expression.

"Where's Kai?"

"Why are you asking about him?"

"I don't know? He's always with you," she shrugged.

They stood there for a moment, not even looking at each other.

"So aren't you going home?" he asked.

"Yeah? Of course I am?" she replied, sounding a little confused.

"I was waiting for a certain someone..." Yeonjun spoke, trailing off at the end of his words.

"Oh, good luck!"

"Good luck what?"

Now it was his turn to be confused.

"I don't know? Waiting?"

Yeonjun half-scoffed, half-chuckling.

"I was waiting for you, dummy!"

"Dummy? Don't call me that-- wait what? You were waiting for me?"

"Y-yeah, now let's go," without giving her any time to respond, he reached out to her palm now instead of her wrist. Keeping her and his hands intertwined while dragging her as they walk.

Yeonjun's steps finally slowed down a little bit when they got to the front gate. There were only a few people left at the school, so he didn't bother to let her hand go.

Yeonjun looked everywhere but at her. If Kai saw this, he would probably tease Yeonjun to death.

As they continued walking, Yeonjun began to feel queasy, he felt like he shouldnt've done this. They've only known each other's name for two days.

"Yeonjun! Wait up!" someone called from the distance.

Yeonjun quickly let go of her hand and put his owns in his pocket. Heat made its way up to his face, flushing him red with embarrassment.

But then he realized it was her voice...

Then...

Whose hand he was holding?

He looked over to his side as he slowly loosen his grip. He jumped back when he saw a familiar girl, he didn't know her name, blushing under his gaze.

"Yeonjun! You walk so damn fast!"

"Y-Y/N! I-I thought--"

"It must be tough to be his girlfriend, huh?" she asked the other girl who was standing next to Yeonjun.

"No, no! She's not my--"

"Alright! I'll just leave you two together, I don't want to interrupt a lovely couple," she smirked as she walked. She leaned closer to the girl and whispered, "although I kinda ruined the moment just a few seconds earlier, sorry!"

With that, she ran away, not after she flashed her wide smile to Yeonjun, making him flabbergasted by the way she moved. It felt like a slow-motion--

He almost forgot the poor girl standing by his side this whole time, witnessing the horror of the situation—although it turned out that it was not the case.

"Y-Yeonjun," the girl called, her voice low, lower than a whisper, he almost didn't hear it at all.

"Sorry! I wasn't looking earlier, and I--"

"I like you, Yeonjun, please be my boyfriend!" she came closer, tip toe-ing, craning her neck so that their faces would come closer.

She was closing her eyes as if she wanted to kiss him. Well, that 'as if' turned out to be true when she puckered up her lips into a pout.

"She's crazy," he let out a croaked voice filled with misery.

He ran away from there, not even sparing a second glance.

He finally caught up to her after running as fast as he could.

"Oh, Yeonjun! Where is.." she trailed off, "..your girlfriend?"

"She is not my girlfriend!"

He denied, almost too desperately. She was startled at the tone of his voice.

"Then why were you holding hands?"

He didn't expect that, he had to think for an answer when his mind filled with nothing but the craving of holding her hand.

"I wanted to hold hands with y--"

"Y/N!" someone called, cutting Yeonjun off.

They turned around and see Soobin was walking towards them.

"Soobin!" she grinned.

Yeonjun felt a pang of jealousy in his chest started to mess up with his mind. He wanted to say something but he couldn't and didn't even know what to say.

"Yeonjun," Soobin greeted. Yeonjun smiled awkwardly, slightly feeling out of place. "I heard that Y/N is now your tutor, right?"

"Soobin, how did you know?!" she gasped, it looked like her eyes were sparkling at the sight of Soobin, but Yeonjun was probably only imagining it. Probably.

"Everyone's already know! Why didn't you tell me first?"

"Eh? That's not..."

They continued their squabbling while Yeonjun was standing near them, witnessing this unusual phenomenon he had never seen before, not really.

At one point, she playfully slapped Soobin's shoulder. Yeonjun stared at them in silence, hoping for them to eventually stop soon.

"Alright, alright, let's just go home, alright?" she mumbled, loud enough for them to hear, sulking.

"Yeah--"

"Great idea--"

Yeonjun and Soobin both grabbed her hands at the same time. Now they were all occupied, she couldn't help but feel like she was going to be kidnapped. She tried to get out of their grips, but they were busy having a stare-down contest thing.

"H-hello? Guys, can you let go both of my hands?"

But her statement was go unheard by the two of them.

They continued glaring at each other, and God knew what they were thinking at that time.

.(▰˘◡˘▰)

[darkmindsthinktwistedthoughts]

His Songbird

Hey guys! I am alive... kinda.... mostly. Well, I'm present enough to have written this little short for you all. I started writing in the fandom for IkeSen with my Moblords and Devil’s Own Luck. I had no idea how much it would be liked and I was over the moon when I wrote the sequel and had even more people enjoy it. I am lucky enough to share my birthday month with the Devil King so decided to create this tale. I hope you like it - Aerion x

A new layer has been added to the mob lord world and The Devil King of the Upper East Side himself will be showing it to us. What kind of relationship does our arrogant and always enigmatic Nobu have to an Italian performer in a "reputable" cabaret?

Warnings: Strong language, suggestive/leading romance (prelude to smut), 1 Devil King and 1 Songbird.

Masterlist

---

His Songbird

There was a lingering fresh smell in the air. The cleansing effect of the recent shower of rain that washed over the area was still hampering the toxic fumes of the city traffic. Street vendors selling mouth-wateringly tempting snacks had temporarily closed during the downpour and were now busying themselves with the returning crowds as they clamoured around looking to fill their stomachs.

A familiar and comforting weight at his side reminded him of his firearm, sitting in its holster, as he removed himself from his car and took to the streets. It had been a hellish week that had taken him to the different quarters of the city travelling for meetings with the minor factions within his empire. The crisis with Esshu Industries had left more than a few of his loyal followers with a bitter taste in their mouths. Questions still dogged him as he moved from location to location wondering if what had happened would repeat again.

He had given them all that cocky, self-assured smile and arrogant flamboyance he was known for as he sweet talked his way around the issue. The offending company had yet to dissolve or collapse after the fall of its CEO. Would this happen again? Honestly, he had no idea what the future held. In the world he lived in, not knowing the future variables would render most men virtually useless, as they stumbled in the dark grasping at straws. He was not most men.

The rhythmic clack of his highly polished custom-made shoes moving over the smooth paving stones in the street felt like they were grounding him to the present, mercifully preventing his mind from wandering along the avenues that threatened to derail his cool and collected facade.

---

“Dammit, Mitsuhide I’m asking you where he is!” Hideyoshi’s voice growled out in Mitsuhide’s office as he became increasingly more frustrated with the man and bashed a clenched fist on the desk.

“And I have already told you I couldn’t possibly say.” Mitsuhide replied without even glancing at his angry visitor. His fingers working their way over the keyboard of his computer as if playing a concerto on a piano, even as the coffee cup he had placed next to him rattled on his disturbed desk.

“Can’t or won’t?” Hideyoshi was far from calm, whenever anything happened to Nobunaga he was always first to jump into action on the boss’s behalf. And right now, Hideyoshi could feel that tell-tale panicked feeling creeping up his back like ice water.

“You’ve become very good at phrasing.” Chuckling Mitsuhide stopped typing finally looking Hideyoshi in the eye and grinning. “The answer is both.”

Mitsuhide’s face was a perfect mask of amusement whilst also giving nothing away of his own thoughts. He looked just as impertinent as he always did and that was just as irritating as it was impressive given that Hideyoshi seemed to be in full “mummy bear” mode.

“Excuse me?”

“I can’t tell you and I also won’t be. He has just as much right as everyone else to go and seek enjoyment without being mothered to death.” Mitsuhide picked up his coffee smiling into his drink as he took a sip. Those sharp almost luminous yellow eyes never once leaving the soft brown ones of Hideyoshi. If someone was going the break this staring competition and the battle of wills with the worrywart it would not be him.

Mitsuhide’s answer gave Hideyoshi more questions than it really answered, but he bit his lip and didn’t ask any of them. Mitsuhide clearly knew something he didn’t. That annoyed him but it was also such a common thing that it was as much a part of his life as breathing at this point. Hideyoshi just had to trust that although the boss was unreachable that he was safe. After all, Mitsuhide wouldn’t ignore a dangerous situation when it came to the boss’s safety right?

---

The side streets were less crowded as he took a hard-right turn through the swirling tide of pedestrians and made his way to a familiar building. The ground beneath his feet had changed to a combination of smooth tarmac and smaller more uneven cobblestones. This was where the older parts of the city began to merge with the newer ones, the pathways were well maintained but not suited to high levels of commuters travelling to and from work.

It was a pick and mix of small shops that almost seemed to spring out of the walls in this area. They all catered for a time when modernisation never happened. The storefronts were clad in wooden skins, with fabric and paper decorations adorning the outside of them in places making it look like a festival had just finished.

The faded colours and ink were advertising items for sale and blessings from the heavens. Nobunaga smiled wryly to himself as he looked at them in passing. To think someone believed in such things to get jobs done? Luck was not something bestowed on you from the heavens it was something you made for yourself. That was what he believed and he had not once seen anything that made him believe otherwise. The brickwork was darker here, it was less pristine looking and felt like it carried the weight of history in it as he continued on to the building he was looking for.

A heavy wooden door that had thick cast iron stud work on it and scarlet paint called to him like a beacon in the darkness. There was no sign here, only a single slightly rusted ornate birdcage hanging on a hook next to the door with a large electric light bulb inside it. He raised his hand and gave three firm knocks to the sliding panel. The faint sound of someone coughing drawing nearer on the other side announced the arrival of the doorman before the panel even moved.

“Yes?” The low gruff voice called out as two eyes full of suspicion leered at him from behind the door.

“Lovely night for a song.”

There was a weighted metallic clunk and the door creaked on its hinges creating a large enough gap for him to enter. The light inside the entryway was dim. Frosted glass shell shaped sconce lights cast only enough illumination to allow the guests to avoid injury as they moved without announcing to the world their identities.

The air smelt of a comforting combination of a lightly spiced incense and something familiar but intangible. The doorman moved back to his small desk taking a seat, ignoring the world around him again as he picked up a tabloid and began reading whatever article he had started before the door interrupted him. Nobunaga smiled at the sight. Here he was treated exactly like everyone else. It didn’t matter who or what you were when you stepped foot inside the door of The Birdcage you were all given the same greeting.

Walking confidently past the desk Nobunaga paced his hand on the heavy draped fabric covering a section of wall, dragging back a curtain of thick crushed velvet to access the door hidden behind it. The heart of the building was much larger than you might expect given the rather modest entrance. Several of the joining buildings on either side and directly behind the establishment had been combined to create this magical venue.

It was a bolt hole for the rich, wealthy and impossibly famous. Whether you operated in the light or the dark, you came here to escape and relax. It was in a way a protected environment that gave the illusion of being open and free. There had never been what you might call a prohibition on much in the city. Anything was fair game if you could handle the price. Still, places like this tucked away from direct view existed. A little entertainment and safe neutral ground to talk, trade and conduct business awaited you just the other side of the curtain in The Birdcage.

Soft melodies carried in the air through the room as he made his way towards the crescent moon shaped bar to place his drink order. Soft backlighting lit up the impressive array of bar optics and other bottles of fine liqueurs sitting neatly on the glass shelves.

“Dry Martini”

“Sure thing.” The young bartender gave a friendly smile and elegantly began blending the vermouth and gin together in a shaker.

A few minutes later, perfectly prepared chilled drink in hand. Nobunaga had located the private booth he usually frequented and was settling in to enjoy his small moment of escapism. It had been far too long since he had visited here of late and he could feel the anticipation building within him as he sipped on the cocktail and glanced around.

There were open tables dotted around the floor with flickering candles placed at their centres. Deep burgundy coloured booths lined the walls with uninterrupted views of the stage. The soft leather seating sighed faintly under his weight as he adjusted himself awaiting the main act of the night.

Tempo shifted from the grand piano on stage along with the lighting as a single spotlight was cast down to the vintage microphone silently announcing the singer. There was a swish of emerald green fabric as the exotic olive-skinned woman stepped into the light and seductively gripped the cold metal in front of her, tilting it to an optimum position with her impeccably manicured hand.

When she opened her cherry red lips the sound of her voice ran through him like an electrical current. It jolting through his very bones and he allowed the world to melt away around him as he watched the performer. She had always had this effect on him. The sultry lilt of her voice carried him in raptures, filling his mind with nothing but a pleasant numbness that otherwise was a maniacal hum of chaotic thoughts.

Her warm honey coloured eyes seemed to be staring right at him. The smokey eyeshadow she had chosen for tonight made her gaze look more intense than usual. Nobunaga drained his glass and caught a passing waitress’s attention for a refill.

Song after song flowed from the lips of the enchantress on stage. The piano accompaniment next to her combined its notes with her voice effortlessly. Some songs were sad, some were happy but each one held a spell of its own and chased out the thoughts from his mind as if she were shining a light directly into his soul. As the last note faded the singer bowed slightly and left the stage, her waist-length brown hair that was cascading down her back like a waterfall danced behind her. Nobunaga’s eyes followed the sensual sway of her body as she vanished from sight backstage and gathered himself to follow.

---

Her dressing room was the same as ever. Elegant and expensive gowns on hangers decorating the walls as if they were silk prints. Her dressing table was a neat arrangement with stage make up on one side and lighter everyday make up to the other side in front of a large white rococo mirror. A jewellery stand in the shape of a tree glittered at the corner of the table dripping with the elegant pieces she used to bring more glamour to her already polished performances.

A black lacquered screen decorated in gold and pink flowers stood proudly in the corner of the space and provided a little modesty to allow her to change. Silk stockings were draped over the top of the screen and the back of an ornate sofa like discarded snake skins. After gaining access to the room he tried to ignore that little stab he felt in his chest as he looked at the newer items in the room.

Basic furniture had been supplied when she started working here but a lot of what was in the room including the dresses were items gifted to her from happy customers, all too willing to support such beguiling talent. Was it jealousy? Of course it was. He knew that all too well and had spent many years at this point frustrated with how weak it made him feel. But he was damned if he was going to admit that.

Nobunaga took a seat on the sofa without invitation. A sight that made the woman smile as she looked at his reflected image in the mirror and removed some of the foundation from her face. The appearance of the faint lines on her skin reminded him of the years that had passed sending a warmth trickling through his chest warming him.

Her rich chocolate brown hair seemed to have more blonde highlights in it than the last time he saw her. He knew it was her subtle way of masking the growing numbers of grey hairs that had begun to streak her head like tails of falling comets in the night sky. Nobunaga couldn’t help but think that some women age terribly and then there are others like the one sitting in front of him that just seem to improve like a fine wine.

“It’s been a while. I was not expecting to see you today.” She gave him a happy smile, the excitement in her voice appearing unhidden as those almond shaped eyes looked at him with soft warmth through the mirror.

“I found myself with some free time.” He unbuttoned his jacket and removed it, tossing it in the direction of a chair by the wall. Revealing his pinstriped waistcoat and dress shirt. His tie had long been forgotten and balled up into one of his jacket pockets. His holster was the next to be removed but he made sure to keep the weapon close at hand. You could never be too cautious.  

“Is that so? Well, I am at least glad to see il mio uomo preferito. [1]” Her slip into her native language always made him smile. She knew just how to remove the small doubts and fears he never spoke of and draw him closer to her. That’s right. You are mine and no one else can have you as I do. No one else shall ever make you feel the way I can.

“Come here Songbird.” Nobunaga patted his thigh an alluring smirk spreading across his face. Carana stood from her dressing table and was moving to join him when there was a knock at the door. Irritation surged through him barely masked in his face as the smile on his lips vanished and the warmth he felt was replaced with a cold hard weight in his stomach. “You were expecting someone else?” He had meant it as a simple question but it had escaped his mouth in something more akin to an accusation.

“I ordered some drinks. I saw you in the audience and thought you might pay me a visit.” Her scent enveloped him as she changed her trajectory and went to answer her door. A member of the club’s bar staff was standing there a small tray balanced in their hands. So, she really was looking at me.

“And if I hadn’t?”

“Then I would have had two drinks to myself.” Carana shrugged her shoulders the chain of her necklace glimmered in the light it caught around her swan-like neck as it flexed on her bare skin with the motion.

This relationship was little more than a silent agreement without definition. Still, it remained a mutual understanding that he wished never to see the end of. Battling his own inner demons which seemed to be more active since the last attack on his company he tried to ignore a desire to risk it all and do something stupid. She returned from the door after a brief exchange carrying two glasses, a dry martini for him and a bright yellow concoction in a small tumbler. A ball of ice that almost filled the container with a spiral of lemon peel rested in the yellow liquid. Gold Rush? She remembered. Carana took a perch at his side which made the small frown to his face deepen slightly.

“Something wrong?” He didn’t miss the teasing tone she had. Only She would dare do this to him right now.

“You know exactly what is wrong. Are you trying to torment me?” Nobunaga took the glasses from her hands a little forcefully. Placing them on the table nearest them and dragged her body onto his lap. “There much better.”

“You are a terrible man.” Carana giggled and playfully slapped his arm.

“You love it.” He tightened his grip around her waist drawing her closer to him, a knowing smile creeping over his face as he watched her willingly submit to him and bury her head in his shoulder.

“Perhaps…” Her breath on his collar was reigniting that feeling he had as he watched her on stage. “So, what did you want? I have no information to sell.” Carana asked. Her smokey grey French tipped nails were drawing circles on his chest through his shirt, tracing the line of his waistcoat seductively. She knows what I am here for. The woman is just a damn tease. God’s help me if I haven’t already succumbed to her siren song long ago.

“Sing for me.” Nobunaga commanded brushing his lips to her temple allowing her the ability to move in his arms.

“What song?” Carana inclined her head. Nobunaga only usually asked for her to sing when he was feeling particularly pressured. She had learnt that small fact over the years and sometimes wondered if it was a piece of information only she knew. Something shared just between the two of them, joining them in some way. Secretly hoping that to be the case she allowed herself to cherish that small flutter in her chest knowing she could not speak a word of how she truly felt.

“Anything, just sing for me and only me for a time.” Nobunaga brushed some of her loose hair behind her ear. His red eyes looking at her, pleading with her.

At his insistence, Carana started to sing. The melody began softly, just slightly above a hum. As the lyrics began, he could feel her diaphragm expand and contract against the arm he still had around her waist as she balanced her breathing with vocalisation in the song. He was not focusing on the words as he melted into the sensuous rhythm of her voice.

Unlike when she was performing on the stage she was now within his reach. The emotions she was stirring in him, the sense of time he felt evaporating in those beautifully crisp notes. All of that was literally within his arms right now. He had everything he wanted in this one small fraction of time. Something completely selfish, that was of no benefit to anyone but himself. This was the dream woven in melody he allowed her to cast on him. The delicious poison of her voice seeping into his body that he willingly accepted. Who would have thought the Devil King’s weakness would be held in a single song?

Nobunaga leant forward gently teasing his teeth against her ear lobe. Small nips into that soft tanned skin, trailing his lips to the pulse point in her neck taking an exaggerated breath to fill his lungs with the smell of her. That Rose scented shampoo she always used reminding him of that garden he wanted to take her back to but had somehow never found the time. The more she sang the more things it stirred inside him. His hands were moving, his palms were brushing along the contours of her body as he felt the warmth of her against him.

“I can’t sing if you do that Nobunaga.” Carana half-heartedly protested eliciting a deep raspy chuckle from him.

“Oh? I think I can still hear a song.” Nobunaga’s eyes flashed with mischief as he pulled on the shoulder strap of her green silk dress drawing the edge of his tongue alone her exposed collar bone, nipping the very edge of it near the pendant on her neck.

“Il Diavolo! [2]” She cried out swivelling on his lap to face him. Her hands planted on his shoulders giving just enough force to push him back slightly but providing such little resistance against him that he couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m not hearing any objections il mio uccellino. [3]” Nobunaga walked his fingers up her back tracing each of her vertebrae, relishing the twitch of her body against his hand. You know you want this as much as I do Carana. All you have to do is feel me. Be mine.

“And you never will. At least not from me.”

---

[1] My Favourite Man [2] You Devil! [3] My Little Bird

Artwork by me. Please don’t copy without permission. 

[absurdtamsin]

On the road again

The promised short ghost story! Keep in mind that I am translating this from french, and it’s set in New-Brunswick, Canada (because Canada does not feature enough in fiction for my tastes...) and is told from the first person perspective. Which is unusual for me, but here goes!

What do you do when life throws something absurd at you? Something that stretches your brain’s ability to understand so far that you can only either forget... or obsess over?

Something like deja vu, or an apparition?

What am I supposed to do with this? Forget or obsess?

You want to know what happened...? Fine, I’ll tell you. Maybe telling it will help me forget. Because, at the end of the day, I don’t want to be someone who obsesses. And if I don’t obsess, I can only forget...

It happened last fall, and lasted for a week...

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

I was driving to... I can’t remember where, just some small coastal town in New-Brunswick. Woodsy area, kinda mountainous... typical eastern Canada terrain. I remember wanting to be on the coast, to sea the ocean. My trucker job gave me the chance to see a lot of the country, but it was almost always in landlocked places at the center of the continent, away from the coasts. So for my vacation I wanted to see the waters. Endless water as far as the eye could see...

Ha ha, yes, the irony, hmmm? A trucker, perpetually in motion, taking a holiday by...driving to the middle of nowhere. Relaxing? What’s that? Stay at home doing nothing? Do you mean sleep? Not for me!

So here I am, on the road in the middle of the night, almost at my rented hotel room and ready for some shut eye when suddenly...

Ahead of me, in the middle of the street, a slim, maybe feminine figure, is walking very slowly. I slow down myself, and the closer I get, the more details I can make out.

Or, rather, very specific details. The rest is still a blur.

Definitely a woman, dressed rather lightly for a nighttime stroll. A thin dress, and of s style I don’t recognize. She was walking to the coast I was coming back from for the night, facing towards me. More striking than that though, was the color of her dress...

Red. Brilliant, vivid...

Bloody.

I get close enough to stop near her...but not too close. I ain’t no horror movie idiot.

And yet...“Excuse me, are you doing okay?” I ask in french.

She stops and stares at me, but does not answer.

So I try in english : “Are you okay ma’m? Do you need a lift?”

You know, I still can’t remember much else about her? Not her face or eyes... just that red dress. A kind of red that, I would think later, seemed far too visible at night...

Eventually, she answers me by pointing towards the coast. I hesitate, suddenly unsure, because I still can’t make out much about her despite how close she was. But she makes the decision for me by slowly, slowly, coming into my pick-up truck. She says nothing. She waits, staring ahead.

The temperature almost instantly drops in my truck when she enters. Was the night even colder than I had anticipated?

Doesn’t matter. Work had taken me to the far North before, and nothing could compare to that polar cold.

But the cold of my new passenger, her silence and hazy appearance still, gives me entirely different chills. It came with a tension that felt like being near a large animal that could tear you apart if you bother it just a bit too much.

So I distract myself from her, and the chill of her, by making a U-turn towards the coast behind me and concentrating on the road. Safety first and all that.

Not a word out of her. Or me, for that matter. Her cold and silence feels oppressive, and don’t dare say a word. I just drive towards the coast. Nothing else.

Almost there, the truck’s cabin warms a little, and so the the mood inside. So I risk it and decide to tell her were close...

I turn to look at her. She is not there.

Listen, I ain’t no scaredy-cat, not at all, but I panicked a little while my eyes darted around for her. Nothing.

My truck has only 2 seats. There is only one door she could have gone out of.

She’s gone.

After pulling over and looking around for her, without any luck, I start heading back towards my small-town hotel. I don’t see her again on the way back, not even where I had picked her up. There was simply no sign of her.

Back in town, the people who are still up so late look like they want to ask me something. Maybe I look troubled by what happened? 

But no-one actually asks anything, so I head off to my room to sleep away what little of the night is left.

I sleep neither well, nor very long.

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

Same thing in the morning. People looking at me strange, but say nothing. My fatigue almost has me convinced that nothing happened last night. That I had just been very tired. It was a dream. Nothing more.

Almost.

After breakfast, I decide to go back. To prove it to myself : nothing happened. And I was going that same day.

Off to the coast I go, and I tell myself that I could take pictures of the sunset on the ocean, trying to keep things normal. The one from yesterday had been quite spectacular after all...

The night comes and there I was again. The same woodsy road. At the same hour. I did the smart thing and dressed for colder weather in case the same chill came. My brain is buzzing with anticipation as I arrive at the same stretch of road I had first seen her.

And she’s right there again. My god, she’s right there. Dressed in red, walking slowly towards the coast, again. Walking in the middle of the street, again.

And again, uncertainty grips me as I get close. As I ask her the same questions I had before. As she again answers and enters my truck slowly, slowly, slowly.

The moment she sits still, the same tense, oppressive silence and cold sets in. My desire to talk to her this time, to ask her questions, evaporates instantaneously. And again, that same sense of a dangerous animal being near.

I drive towards the coast, and just like the night before, and despite dividing my attention between her and the road, she once again vanishes without my noticing. The tension and cold goes with her, and as it does I recall what I had wanted to doe this time. But I hadn’t.

It bothers me the rest of the night as I, once again, look for her after stopping. It continues to bother me as I go back to my room and go to bed. I am frustrated, tired and out of sort. Why hadn’t I asked her questions? Why had I done the exact same things?

I tell myself I would do things differently the next night. That I would talk to her, that I would ask her things...anything but do the same things.

But before falling asleep, I remember : I had locked the doors after she’d gotten in...

On the third night, I go back to the same woodsy area, that same stretch road, at the same hour.

There she is again. That same slow walk. The same vivid red.

She gets in my truck. And again, the cold, the silence, the animal tension. And just like the last time, my determination to do things differently starts to vanish, but not before I lock the doors again. And tonight, I manage to keep my head enough to take a detour, even if I’m still heading towards the coast.

She doesn’t say a word, but eventually she seems to move. I turn to look at her.

Gone again.

The cold is gone too, and the silence gives way to the sound of my motor. The tension is gone.

I feel relieved and frustrated at the same time. Why do I always close off like a clam every time I do this? Aaaaarrgghhhh.

Back in town and the night crowd is still looking at me worriedly as I park. But this time I notice that my passenger seat is wet. Why hadn’t I noticed before? Dammit!

My frustration must show on my face because the owner of my hotel notices my mood and rudely asks me : “What bit your ass?”

What bit my ass?

“A ghost.” I say in the same tone as her.

She seems immediately troubled, but says nothing else. Her reaction bothers me as I enter my room, though I can’t place why. I don’t sleep well again, despite my growing exhaustion from poor sleep. But I decide, once again, to go back.

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

Fourth night back, and I’m once again determined to do something, anything, to provoke a reaction out of her. Things just could not go on like this.

The woods. The road. That spot.

Red.

And this damn cold, this absurd silence, presses onto me once more. I can feel myself closing up and into myself again, intimidated by that animal feeling again.

No, not this time. I hit the brakes, hoping to get her to do something. This time. Right now.

We skid to a halt and I turn to confront her...

Her eyes, my god, her eyes. She is already staring into mine and hers are endless, like looking into the darkest depths of the ocean, the infinite black of space without stars, the silence is the kind that swallows all sound and a cold that promises a death that was slow, slow, slow but absolutely certain...

I wake up. I have no other word for what happened after looking at..that. I only know that I am still in my truck, that I am so, so cold, and so very tired...

And it’s the morning. The light of dawn is warm and brilliant and full of color, but I am too tired, too exhausted, to appreciate it.

Where has the rest of the night gone? Vanished. Just like her...

Back in town. Hotel. I meet the hotel owner again, but this time she seems relieved to see me. And she insists on making me breakfast. She just about drowns me in coffee. 

“Don’t go back” she says suddenly from where she sits, starring at me. “We’ve all tried to take her to the coast. Nothing works.”

 I am frozen on the spot, not just by her words but by the momentary return of a memory.

Those bottomless eyes. That endless cold. The deadly silence.

Those hours after, they are gone for good. I will never remember them.

After eating she leads me to my room and tells me to sleep for as long as I need. Later, when I feel better, but not truly rested, she brings me more coffee.

I drink it happily, but the exhaustion is too deep for it to keep me awake for long. Just long enough for me to ask her...

“No, no one here remembers her name. We only know what happened to her. She was from somewhere else, but came here long ago. Heavily pregnant and looking to escape the father. Never married. Had a daughter : big girl, strong, a good swimmer. She grew up among the fishermen. After a series of storms killed too many of them at sea, they needed the help. So off fishing she went.”

She paused only long enough to drink from her cup.

“One day, the daughter did not return from fishing. Lost at sea. She was suspicious of one particular fisherman, a man who had propositioned her daughter for marriage repeatedly, and was known for a violent temper. They were on the same boat when the daughter was ‘lost’. She was ill at the time she was told the sad news about her daughter, but it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. So when her well-wishers were distracted, she grabbed her best knife and sought him out to kill him in revenge...”

She seemed tired as she told me this, older even than her gray hair gave away. This was an old sadness for an old tragedy.

The end of this story could be easily guessed, but morbid curiosity made me ask anyway :” Did she get him? The fisherman?”

“Of course. The daughter had inherited her size and strength from her mother, not the absent father. Her best knife was a fish knife. He never saw her coming, believing she was too ill to do anything...after the incident, they found her dead and her white dress drenched in both their blood, when he tried to defend himself...”

A brilliant, vivid, bloody red dress...

“Don’t go back.”

Those were her last words to me. I had decided, after a whole afternoon in bed,  to leave that same night. I couldn’t stay there. Talk about a vacation!

Despite that, I felt sound of mind enough to go back one last time. To close the door on this for good.

So I did.

Same woods. Same road. Same time.

Cold. Silence. Tension.

I spot her from a distance. Still walking slowly. But this time I stop farther away from her and get out of my truck.

I approach her slowly and she stops in front of me, still staring into the distance. Is she ignoring me? I don’t know. But tonight I’m too tired to care or be afraid. Besides, I had already stared into that face and survived. So I jumped head first into it and told her, in french and in english, that her daughter was gone, her daughter was dead, and she wasn’t waiting for her at sea...

For a second something seemed to register with her, but it was gone just as fast. She walked right passed me.

Her silence was too loud, she could not hear anything. Her eyes were too empty, and she could see nothing but her obsession. She had nothing else to live for, so she acted like it in death...

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

And then? I left! Staying and becoming obsessed with her myself was out of the question. As much as I would like to help her, some people are just beyond reach. They become obsessed and fixated, forgetting that the world around them just kept on going, even without them...

Not for me, thanks. I prefer being on the move. You know, trucker’s life and all that... 

[shewhowantsmouseears]

mermaid/siren duck au

listen i’ve spent the last 3 days thinking about this nonsense so i’m sharing it. also i know i’m combining mermaids and sirens but it’s my AU so I’m going to have fun, dammit.

enjoy some donald/daisy, magicstone, drake/morgana and other couples.

it got ridiculously long, so, under a cut.

it opens with Donald having been stuck on a pirate ship for about a month now. He was snatched off the streets with the pirates having no idea who he was, more like “free slave, whoo!” and donald hasn’t told them either - he doesn’t want his family to get hurt, nor does he think rich uncle Scrooge will pay a penny for any ransom. So he’s been forced to help work and steal for them, which is where our story begins. After the latest pillage, Donald has to take the last rowboat back to the ship with a treasure chest. He grumbles, this rowboat is old and rickety, with plenty of splinters. All the other pirates are far ahead, so he’s by his lonesome as he rows. That’s when he hears...

~*~

“My jolly sailor bold....”

Donald blinked, blinked twice, blinked three times, and sure enough he heard a woman singing. By all logic that shouldn't be happening, as he was so far away from shore he couldn't even see the beach. So where was that music coming from? He then laughed to himself, and it sounded more nervous than he meant it to be. “Maybe it's a mermaid.” As if mermaids existed! And even if they did, surely they wouldn't come for a scrawny loser like himself, no sir! So, of course, there was no mermaid near him!

“My heart is pieced by Cupid...”

… So where the hell was that coming from?! Donald gripped the oars tightly, trying to row faster because, dammit it all, he was not going to drown by something that existed in fairy tales!!! He couldn't be too far from the ship, right? As long as he kept rowing, everything would be fine, and he wouldn't have to listen to this music! This... nice... soft... music...

“I disdain all glittering gold...”

All the tense muscles inside of Donald began to relax, and his panicked rowing began to slow down. For something that was surely made-up and absolutely didn't exist, it was rather... soothing... would it really be so bad, to listen for a minute more...? His head felt heavy, and he tilted to his left, a blissful smile crawling along his beak. Getting back to the ship didn't seem so important now. In fact, nothing seemed important anymore. Nothing mattered but hearing that lovely music... Which was now far closer than it had been a moment ago.

“There is nothing can console me...” He didn't hear the sound of moving water behind him. “But my jolly sailor bold.”

But boy oh boy did he feel a pair of wet warms tenderly wrapping around his chest from behind. It momentarily snapped him out of his stupor, and OH GOD OH NO OH NOOOOOOOOOOOO – he stuck a hand in his mouth to keep the scream out, because if he was going to die, he wasn't going to die screaming like a little girl! But he could shiver and tremble like a little girl, he had no issues with that.

The delightfully feminine voice giggled, her slightly webbed fingers over his racing heart. “What is my darling sailor doing out here all by his lonesome?”

“Aside from having so many regrets in his life?” Donald replied, mostly to himself. From his childhood, he could recall two legends of mermaids. One was the nice version, where she pined for a prince and couldn't win his love so she turned into foam. The other was the not-so-nice version, where they lured sailors to their death. He had a feeling this wasn't the nice version. “If, uh, if you don't mind, I have someplace I need to be...” Preferably alive.

“Why are you so eager to go?” She whispered kindly to his ear, the cold air sending a chill down his spine. She hummed a few bars, and he could feel his mind starting to slip again. “My darling sailor, come with me, I'll make you so happy. Let me take a look at you.” His body was easy to move, and she turned him around – to find his eyes shut tightly. She raised her eyebrows, surprised. “... What are you doing?”

“Oh-ho-ho, I know how this works!” Donald hoped his voice sounded confident when he was scared out of his mind. “If you're as beautiful as your voice is, then the minute I look at you, I'm a goner. I am not  falling for that!” Sure, beauty was in the eye of the beholder, but whoever heard of an ugly mermaid?!

The woman paused for a second, and then she giggled again, amused. “Such a clever one, my darling sailor. But I want so much to see your pretty eyes. And... you want to see my face, don't you?” She hummed again, her breath on his ear, and he knew if he opened his eyes now he'd be gazing directly into hers. “You want to see me, don't you, my pretty one?”

Oh, oh yes, he wanted so much to see her, more than anything – NO, NO – Now that he was aware of what she was doing to his head, he could at least try to resist, but every passing second made that more difficult. She didn't relent, whispering sweet love to him, and oh yessss he wanted to see her, wanted to do anything she asked of him, wanted to be with her, wanted to love her, oh yes, such honey and warmth and -

BONK!

And when you don't have control of your oars, they have a tendency to smack you in the head, especially when your luck was as bad as Donald's. “OW! Why you rotten little, why I oughta...” Unfortunately, much like most people do when they encounter pain, his eyes opened.

And she was gorgeous. Slim and alluring, short white hair that brushed over her shoulders, violet scales  running down in lines on her arms, and worst, worst, worst of all were those damning lavender eyes. “Oh, crud,” he muttered. “Of course she's a knock-out.”

The woman smiled, her fingers finding Donald's shoulders, her long nails lightly pressing into his tattered clothes. “There you are,” she said teasingly, “And such lovely eyes you have, my darling sailor. Yes, they're the most beautiful ones I've seen in ages... so pure and full of sweetness. You're going to be a delicious treat, I can tell.”

This should have scared Donald to high heaven, but her eyes had a stronger effect than her voice. He couldn't look away, and just as important, he didn't want to look away. “A-huh,” he mumbled numbly, feeling himself being pulled closer to her and the water. “I'll be... I'll be anything you want me to be...” He'd do anything for her, as long as he could looking at her, looking at those eyes, it was if he was born only to look at her, existed solely for her...

“You want to come with me now, don't you?” She cooed, and he nodded. “Come with me, we'll be together forever.”

“Together... forever...” And that would have been paradise, and he moved his foot onto... a giant splinter. “OWWWW, WHY, WHY, WHY AGAIN?!” He howled, hopping up and down on the ship while holding his injured foot. “I HATE THIS BOAT, WHY DO THEY ALWAYS GOTTA GIVE ME THE CRUDDY BOAT?!” But once he yanked the painful splinter out of his foot, he remembered the dangerous position he was in. He glanced over, seeing the rather peeved mermaid tapping her nails on the ship's edge.

“I'm getting rather impatient, darling sailor.” She warned, one eyebrow raised.

Donald knew any second now she would use her combo of voice and eyes to trap him again, and he backed up, feeling the treasure chest – an idea struck him! “Waitwaitwait!” He flailed one arm, using the other to point to the chest. “How about, instead of eating me, I gave you this treasure? We just robbed a noblewoman, there's lots of jewelry and gold and stuff in here!” He shoved the top off, revealing the glittering booty. “Take whatever you want, take all of it!” Sure, the captain would be mad enough to kill him, but...

… Well. This was one of those “stuck between a rock and a hard situation” deals, wasn't it?

The mermaid paused, contemplating the offer. She mulled this over, strumming her fingers on the boat. After a moment or two, she made a decision. “Very well. Let's make a deal. You'll choose one gift for me, and if I like it, I'll leave you be.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” Donald leaned on the edge of the boat, grateful that for once in his life, he'd caught a break.

“However...” Now she was instantly in front of him once more, her soft hands on his cheeks, yanking him in hard so he got a good eyeful of her. “If you chose wrong... you'll come with me, and be mine forever. Understand?”

In seconds he was mush again, chuckling stupidly, wanting to go with her right that second. “Yours, forever, and ever, and ev-TREASURE YES!” He managed to break free for a second, but it was all he needed, slamming his body into the treasure chest and digging frantically through it. How was he supposed to know which item would be perfect for her? If he did his best and got it wrong, he was fish food! And he had so much to live for! Like... uh... “This is a fine time to learn my life has no meaning.” He slapped himself and resumed searching. As he dug, it all seemed hopeless, until one piece caught his eye, and with it, an idea. “A-ha! Got it!”

Donald cupped the life-saving trinket in his palm and knelt down in the boat to offer it to the woman. “At first, I was thinking a ring, but that wouldn't work with webbed fingers, right?” he explained as he looked at her – and no longer saw that urge to jump over and do her bidding. He pondered if she could make her eyes turn off or on whenever she pleased. “But this necklace will work perfectly!” He turned it around for her to see, an amethyst stone smoothed down into a flat circle. “See, the chain is small enough so it won't strain your neck, and this material won't rust in the water! And the stone is heavy enough so it won't bob up and down in the water. And the colors match you, see, purple and white, just like you!” He babbled on about the advantages of such a trinket for a mermaid, oblivious to her shocked face.

Once he was satisfied with what he said, he reached to gently tie the necklace around her throat, and then pulled back, waiting for her approval. “All right, so, uh, what do you think?”

The mermaid said nothing right away, rubbing her thumb over the stone. Eventually she lifted her head, and this smile was less predatory. “I accept it. You've made a very good choice, pretty one.”

“Thaaat's a relief!” Donald slumped forward, his arms and head hanging over the side of the boat. Maybe now his heart would stop pounding so hard. “Thank you for... not eating me.”

“It is a pity.” She sighed, letting the stone rest on her body. “You would have been so delicious.” She then lifted her eyes. “What is your name, darling sailor?”

Donald was surprised to hear her ask, and even pointed at himself, just to be sure. “Huh?” Well, he supposed a mermaid learning his real identity would do little harm. “Name's Donald, Donald Duck.”

“Well, then, Donald, thank you for this gift.” But before Donald could say he was welcome, her lips found his cheek, and after a kiss that seemed sweet and sugar, she purred, “Be careful, darling sailor... for if I see you again, I will definitely make you mine. That's a promise.” Her nails playfully scratched the underside of his beak, and then she splashed into the water, vanishing.

Donald slowly sat back into the boat, trying to understand what the hell happened in those last five minutes. No one on the ship would believe him. Shoot, did he even believe it?

~*~

Donald manages to return to the boat without anymore mishaps, and tells the pirates what happened, but no one believes him... except the wicked captain. Who needs gold when they can capture a priceless mermaid? He decides to use Donald as bait, but Donald refuses – too bad Donald doesn't have much of a choice. The next night he's tied up and sent back out on the same rowboat, with Donald telling himself that surely the mermaid won't come back for him since there's other handsome guys out there for – jolly sailor bold – OH COME ON!!! Yep, it's her again, but when she tries to get up, Donald violently shoves her out of the way, telling her that the pirates are after her!

Indeed, the captain's been watching and sends his men out to their boats to capture her, his gun aimed at donald from the master ship. He's more than willing to shoot Donald dead if he doesn't cooperate, but Donald refuses, trying to urge the girl to leave. She silently looks at the ropes holding him, then at the pirates, and simply says “I'll take care of this.” She dives under... and then...  MASSIVE KRAKEN BREAKS THE MASTER SHIP IN TWO goodbye pirates. Donald's jaw drops, and when the girl pops up again he says WHY THE HELL DON'T YOU JUST DO THAT ALL THE TIME??? Because that's no fun, she replies as she unties him.

He thanks her for saving him – and with those pirates gone, he can try to sail home! But... he has no treasure this time, crap, what can he give her her??? She smiles and tells him her name, Daisy, and gives him a kiss – and also places a spell on him, without him knowing. She has him promise to come to her again, and then swims off, much to his confusion. Oh well, time to go home! His family lives (and technically owns) an island, where he's reunited with the family. Everyone's happy to see him, and he's happy to see everyone... until he hugs his twin sister Della, and he gets a nasty electric shock. Turns out the spell was to hurt Donald every time he touches another woman. GODDAMMIT DAISY -

Donald begs and pleads with Scrooge to give him a piece of treasure so he can convince Daisy to undo the spell, but naturally the miser won't hear of it (until Della yells I HAVE NOT SEEN MY BROTHER IN OVER A MONTH AND NOW I CAN'T HUG HIM YOU GIVE HIM WHATEVER HE NEEDS YOU SON OF A BITCH) and so off Donald goes to the water again. Yes, Daisy appears, and he demands the spell be taken off. She says she didn't think he'd come back to her otherwise, but Donald says a sailor always keeps his promises, and he will definitely see her again SO KNOCK THIS SHIT OFF. Daisy undoes the spell.

Days later, the family is having a “welcome back” party for Donald, but not many people believe Donald's story, save for Scrooge and Della. Della says he should try living it up now, since he had a second chance at live – like, hey! That beautiful girl is giving you 'the eyes', go say hi! Donald, stunned that any beautiful woman would want him, turns to see and DAISY HAS LEGS?! Wait, wait, maybe it's just a coincidence... Donald approaches... “Hello, darling sailor~” OH FUCK ME IT IS HER. Donald stares, and then panics, scooping her up into his arms and running out to the gardens with her.  (Della: ALL RIGHT, BRO, GO FOR IT!!!)

Turns out Donald panicked because he thought Daisy was in extreme pain – like, in the fairy tale??? The little mermaid's feet hurt like cut glass whenever she walks???  Are you okay??? But Daisy laughs it off, she's totally okay. In fact, any mermaid can turn into a 'human' whenever they want, but their magic decreases considerably. But she wanted to see him again, and Donald still doesn't really get why, but, hey, if it makes her happy. And so, she lives with him, and they live happily ever after HA YOU THOUGHT SO, BUT NOT!!!

Cousin Gladstone, extra smarmy and slimy in this verse, is APPALLED that Donald get this babe out of nowhere. Even worse, when Gladstone tries to make a move on Daisy, she calmly grabs him by the face, inspects him, and then lets him go. “You'd taste disgusting.” HE IS OFFENDED AND CONFUSED. Scrooge is also having issues – his business ships have been attacked by kraken, the gold on them being stolen! Suspicion immediately falls on Daisy, but Donald defends her, knowing she has no reason to do it! And Daisy admits that she relinquished control of the kraken when she became human.

Donald asks if Daisy could try to control it again to stop what's going on, and she agrees, because he's her darling sailor~ So Scrooge, Daisy, Donald, Della all head out to sea... and Gladstone is dragged along as well because he needs to learn how to work, dammit. But Gladstone throws a hissy fit and locks himself in his room on the ship. And at sea, they are indeed attacked by the kraken! Daisy hangs onto the railing, trying to command it to stop, but whoever has it now has more power than she does. It's another mermaid, this one by the name of Magica De Spell! Daisy demands she stop, but Magica wants the gold for her magic spells. Why should Daisy care? “Because my darling sailor wants it.” Magica scoffs – Daisy doesn't think they're actually in love, does she??? Humans are food, end of story, any “love” they have is fabricated by their spells. Why, she could steal him away easily with her song!

~*~

It occurred to Donald then he had never seen Daisy angry, actually angry, until now. And boy howdy was she angry – her veins seemed to pop up in her skin, her fangs glistened in the moonlight, and the wave of magic that surrounded her crackled like hot electricity. “You... you would dare...” Her voice snarled, primal and threatening, her fingers bending the steel railing beneath her. “You would dare... try to take... MY DARLING SAILOR?!”

“I think she likes you,” Della quipped.

“Kind of getting that idea, yes.” Donald replied. Any further sarcasm would have to wait, because he knew what was coming. “Everyone, plug your ears, as tightly as you can!” Della and Scrooge immediately clamped their hands over their ears, Scrooge's flintlock pistol dropping to the floor. As expected, the woman in the water began to sing, her voice darker and more sinister than Daisy's, but still beautiful and captivating. Della fell to one knee, and Scrooge shook harshly, but Donald – strangely, Donald didn't feel anything. Was it because he heard Daisy's song before? He had no clue. The ship was then rocked again, the kraken slapping it hard with one of its many tentacles, trying to make the crew listen to his mistress. Daisy held her hand out, trying to will the kraken to her.

Inside the small cabin room, Gladstone fell onto the floor, although he was on his feet in seconds. “All right, who keeps interrupting my beauty sleep?!” He stomped to his door and slammed it open. “Excuse me, SOME of us are trying to...”

Come here, my sweet one, come here to me, for I am everything that you want in the sea...

… Ooooh. That was... niiice...

Donald dropped his hands, still confused as to why he wasn't affected, but he certainly wasn't complaining. But if he was free, then maybe he could help! “We've got this!” He said with pride... until he saw his cousin speeding past him as fast as his little legs could take him. “... We don't got this.” He chased after Gladstone, trying to grab him. “What are you doing?!”

“She's calling for me!” Gladstone yelled, his voice giddy and hysteric, aiming for the ship's railing. “She wants me! I have to go to her, I have to!” Oh gods, was there anything as wonderful as this? He'd never been filled with such desire before! It was destiny, a call from a goddess! He grabbed the railing, trying to jump over.

Donald jacked his arms under Gladstone's armpits, trying to drag him back. “Don't be stupid, it's a spell! Gladstone, listen to me! It's a trick!” Oh, sure, now Gladstone believed mermaids were real! Were was this idiot's good luck?!

“SHE'S CALLING ME!” Gladstone refused to hear otherwise, barely acknowledging Donald's presence, only seeing him as some force preventing him from getting to HER!!! He needed her, needed her now, needed her more than air and life! He'd give her everything she wanted, so long as he could be with her!

“Gladstone, will you just-” But the kraken struck again, and this time the force on the ship was so hard Donald was sent falling backwards – he heard a splash, and saw that his arms were empty. “... I need to emphasize that was not my fault.”

Magica, meanwhile, only paused in her own singing to gloat at Daisy's failure. “Your magic's nowhere near enough to beat me!” She failed to hear the very speedy swimming headed her way. “I'll have the kraen destroy all of you! There's nothing that can get in my way-”

“I LOVE YOU!” Gladstone interrupted extremely nosily, tackling Magica in the water. “I love you I love you I love youuuuuu!”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Magica snapped, trying to push Gladstone off as he clawed eagerly for her. “Get off me, you fool!” Magica's voice was very powerful, powerful enough to keep a man captured even when she had stopped – including when she wanted him to get away. “Knock it off! I'm trying to do an evil monologue here!” But no matter how hard she smacked him, he refused to let her go, eyes delirious and mouth rambling about how much he loved her.

Donald rejoined his family as they watched over the railing. “If that was anyone else, I'd find this kinda funny.”

“It's a little funny now.” Della conceded.

“Well, yeah, but I didn't wanna be rude.”

Scrooge didn't find this as enjoyable. “Gladstone! Get off that woman and get back here this instant!”

Daisy's eyes widened as she came to a sudden realization, and she grabbed a fistful of Scrooge's sleeve. “Wait, stop!”

But Scrooge didn't stop. “I said get back here, nephew!”

Magica froze, hearing that special word. She slowly turned her head to the family, and a devious smirk graced her lips. “Nephew?” She repeated, her own fangs showing. “So this little fool is yours?”

“Uh-oh.” Scrooge, Della, and Donald gulped at the same time.

Uh-oh was right. Magica reared her head back and let out a nasty laugh, snapping her fingers. The kraken obeyed, using one of its tentacles to raise its mistress and Gladstone up like a raised seat, so now everyone could see them perfectly. Now that she could sit, Magica stroked Gladstone's hair, letting out a pleased sigh. “Well now... that certainly changes things, now doesn't it?”

Things were going from bad to worse. “Let him go, Magica!” Donald barked, amazed he could be so afraid for his annoying cousin's safety. “He's got nothing to do with this!”

“Oh, on the contrary. I'd say now he has plenty to do with our... conversation.” Once she made herself comfortable, Magica pulled Gladstone into her arms, letting him gaze into her dark, hypnotic eyes. “You're going to be a good fool and listen to whatever I say.”

“Yes...” Gladstone agreed happily, nuzzling his beak to hers in bliss. “I'll listen to everything you say... I want to listen to you...”

“Good boy.” She nestled his head to her chest, letting him kiss her arm and shoulder. “Let's make this simple for everyone. Either you hand over all the treasure you have on that ship, or...” She cupped Gladstone's cheeks. “I'll take my little fool with me to the sea, forever.”

“Yes, take me, take me forever,” Gladstone merrily moaned, pressing his forehead to hers.

Scrooge ground his teeth, his blood boiling. “How do I know you won't hurt him even if I do give you the gold? For all I know, you could keep him around and take all my ships!”

“STOP GIVING HER IDEAS!” Donald had to be restrained by Della so he wouldn't smack his uncle. What were they going to do? There was no way Gladstone would break out of the spell by his own free will. Donald had only managed to snap out on his own by pain – his eyes widened, and he saw the fallen pistol. He jumped out of his sister's arms and snatched the weapon up. “We're not done yet!”

Della stared, aghast. “What do you think you're doing?!”

“I know two things in this world!” Donald announced, holding up the pistol with both hands. “Uncle Scrooge never cleans this thing-”

“Costs too much!” Scrooge insisted.

“-And I've got really lousy aim!”

~*~

And Donald fires, missing Gladstone and Magica and hitting the kranken instead – but the unclean gun makes the gunpower blow, burning Gladstone's hand hard, breaking him out of the spell. Magica tries to force him back under, but with her distracted, Daisy finally regains enough control of the kraken to make it obey one command – leave all of Scrooge's ships alone! But that drains a lot of her magic, making her faint. The kraken leaves, dumping Magica and Gladstone. Magica swims off, swearing revenge, and Gladstone is left wondering the fuck just happened.

The group returns home, and Scrooge does have to explain what happened. He gives a bare-bones version... which Gladstone takes over, making himself the hero, much to Donald's aggravation. As for Daisy, when she wakes up, Donald is at her side, having been worried. Awww. Maybe a happily – NOPE STILL NO. Weeks later, Scrooge discovers someone has been stealing from his vault, but no one knows who. Again, he blames Daisy, and again, Donald defends her. As everyone tries to puzzle it out, Gladstone's been looking more exhausted every day...

… As it turns out, Magica still has her hooks in him. By day, he can ignore her, but at night, she completely takes control, making him steal. He even tries to handcuff himself to his bedpost to prevent it, but she makes him unlock it, her voice stuck in his head even when they're miles away. Every night he takes what he can and sneaks out to the shore where Magica is waiting for him. He begs her to let him go, but she laughs – why let go of such a loyal servant? She also points out that her spell wouldn't be so strong if a part of him didn't want to obey her.

Turns out Gladdy's got some serious self-loathing issues, believing everyone hates him and no one trusts him. But he knows Magica trusts him, as sick as it is, and so the spell works twice as hard. But she promises once she's eventually done with him, she'll take him into the water as a sweet, delicious meal, so he can belong to her forever. One night as he's out to meet her, he's assaulted by robbers who have caught on that he's been stealing from Scrooge, though they don't know why. As Magica watches from the water, it's clear Gladstone could use her as a distraction and get away... but doesn't do so.  He refuses to hand over the treasure, and gets stabbed deeply as a result.

Magica still has some control over the kraken, which beats the shit out of the robbers for daring to hurt her little fool. She holds him, asking why he didn't point her out, and he replies that he just didn't want her to hate him like everyone else does. Magica reluctantly uses her magic to heal him, at the cost of her power over him. Gladstone is sent home, and he blames all the stolen stuff on the robbers. As he heads out, he sees MAGICA WITH LEGS. She still plans to rob Scrooge blind, and it turns out she still has some hold over Gladstone, albeit much weaker than before. Gladstone, amused, scoffs that maybe she has a spell on him, but if she made that much effort and gave up so much power to come on land, then he's certainly put a spell on her.

Jump to a month, with cousin Fethry home to see his family after traveling for a while. Boy, his cousins have some strange girlfriends, but they seem happy enough. As he mills about in the martketplace, oh no, that wagon's gone loose, and it's gunna hit that girl! He manages to push her out of the way, although his arm gets cut in the process, ew blood. The girl's a blonde beauty with big glasses named Gloria, with a timid voice and a shy gaze. She's shocked that he got hurt but to him it's no biggie. She's new to the island, and gosh, he'd love to give her a tour! She's kind, she's nice, she loves plants and animals he's pretty much a smitten kitten. The following day he asks Donald and Gladstone, gee, how did you get your girlfriends to like you?

… DO WE TELL HIM THEY'RE ACTUALLY MERMAIDS THAT TRIED TO EAT US? Noooo we do not tell him that!!! As they bicker over what to do, Fethry just up and asks Daisy what she likes about Donald, and she replies his eyes were pure and gentle, and she knew he was the one. Fethry takes that to mean to just be himself! Thanks, miss! He meets up with Gloria again, but when she trips and falls, her glasses come off. He picks them up, she shrieks for him “not to look”, but of course when someone says that you're gunna look, and he does, at her. He's suddenly entranced, and feels an intense desire to kiss her, until he hears one of his cousins calling for him. Gloria snatches her glasses and runs away sobbing.

Fethry blinks... WHAT WAS I JUST ABOUT TO DO??? He has no idea he was placed under a spell and just puts it under stupid male hormones, blaming himself for making Gloria upset. But it turns out she wasn't upset at him – she's actually being threatened by a “higher power” to infiltrate the Duck family and get Scrooge's treasure. Her voice has no power, but her eyes make up for it, hence the glasses. She can't turn away the “higher power” or else she'll be harmed, and thus, 'makes up' with Fethry so she can invited to the big household. Once inside, she separates in a crowd, locating Scrooge. She tries to seduce him with her eyes, but ultimately can't go through with it because she loves Fethry too much. She breaks down sobbing, admitting what's going on, and the “higher power” tries to take control over her body to kill her.

Daisy and Magica arrive on the scene to help (Daisy for her darling sailor, and Magica just because this is a pain in the butt), using what's left of their magic to help her break free, and Fethry's true love nonsense finally undoing it. Yay! But Scrooge has had enough of these goddamn shenanigans!!! One mermaid, he could believe, but three??? That's not a coincidence, someone is after his family! Daisy says no, but Magica and Gloria admit that the all-powerful Mermaid Queen sent them. The Mermaid Queen is the supreme ruler of the mermaids, and is probably after Scrooge's treasure because gold/silver/the like can be used to increase the power of magic spells. She's so strong she can even affect Gloria, Magica and Daisy, and if she wants to, she can come after any of them! There is only one man who has ever known to have faced the Mermaid Queen and lived... Darkwing Dubloon!

Scrooge sends an invitation to the King and Queen, as rumors say that whenever they're around, DD is sure to follow. Indeed, Drake Mallard, humble servant, and his daughter, less than humble Gosalyn, arrive as well. The local children (huey, dewey, louie, webby, lena) love Gosalyn's stories about the famous DD, but Lenna is consistently annoyed that Gosalyn takes up all of Webby's attention. Not only that, Lena's been getting some weird headaches lately...

DD meets up with Scrooge and the others, and admits that... he actually doesn't exactly remember the fight with the Mermaid Queen. Once during a bad storm he fell overboard, and after that, he only has the vaguest details – he knows he was with the Mermaid Queen, but for the life of him he has no idea what she looks/sounds like or how he even managed to get away. All he knows is that he thinks he snatched away a blue pendant that he now wears around his neck, and he assumes it belonged to her. Also, at one point, his ship vanished while he and his crew were off it. Weird!

The mermaids inspect the pendant, and suspect that it's a powerful magical artifact that will give any mermaid untold power. Maybe if they return it to the Mermaid Queen, she'll leave Scrooge alone? But how do they find her? They decide to hold a strategy meeting on DD's latest ship ( they=DD, Don, Daisy, Glad, Magica, Scrooge, Della, and the kids stowing away because this is so cool???) But as they plot, the ship is attacked by, you guessed, it, kraken! Magica swears it wasn't her – to become human, she had to give it up, remember? They go outside, and there is the queen herself , Morgana McCawber, walking onto the ship – she's so powerful that it doesn't matter what form she takes! She demands for them to give her “that which I desire most”, and even sends out deadly sea monsters to take “it” back! Time for a fight!

Now they're worried – if they give her the pendant, will she become even stronger and cause more havoc? Things get worse as she begins to sing, and Donald tries to stop DD from hearing it, but...? While Donald, Gladstone and Fethry turned into love-slaves before, DD just goes still??? Gosayln, having enough of this, whips out her bow and arrow and shoots the pendant off her dad. Donald catches it, and then throws it to Morgana, demanding she leave them alone!

Morgana glances at the pendant... then tosses it away. “You think I came here for some little trinket? I will not leave until I have my desire!” Well the fuck is that??? DD doesn't have anything else on him! … Unless...?

Della suddenly understands everything – this was never about Scrooge's treasure, but his power and influence. Only someone as wealthy as Scrooge could invite the King and Queen personally, thus bringing DD here – and he needed a reason to bring them here, hence Magica and Gloria! Morgana doesn't want the pendant – she wants Darkwing Dubloon! And DD finally remembers what happened! FUCK ME SIDEWAYS, I GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE! He grabs his daughter and runs, with everyone realizing there's no way they can defeat the Mermaid Queen right now. After a few choice distractions, they manage to get away and return to land. So, DD, the hell happened?

As it turns out, on that stormy night, as he was drowning, he saw a shadowy figure in the water and begged them to save his life, saying he'd give what he values most. The figure saved him, taking her to her lair, and of course it's Morgana. Turns out he injured his leg while he fell, so he's forced to stay several days, but as he does he weaves his tales of heroism on the seas, managing to delay Morgana trying to eat him. When his leg is fully healed, he remembers what he promised. So, what does he value most. His daughter – UH, NO, I MEAN, MY SHIP! Take the ship, it's full of treasure! Morgana agreed, and so she would return him to the surface. On the next full moon, he would take his ship out for her to take. She gave him the pendant so she could keep track of him and make sure he kept his promise, because if he doesn't... well, you know the spiel by now – she'd take him down below forever and ever~

So DD returned to land, reassuring his crew everything was fine without telling them what happened. On the next full moon, he sails off alone, promising Gosalyn he'd return, sans a ship. Morgana is a little surprised he kept his promise, but DD's a man of his word! She also expected there to be some kind of trap waiting for her on the ship, but nope, he's not like that. So, a deal's a deal. “Yes, I'll take the ship... and you.” Of course Morgana's decided to keep her precious captain, and on went the hypno-voice/eyes combo. DD was almost lured in, until he remembered the promise he made to his daughter, and jumped ship. He just barely managed to escape with his life... then something grabbed him and dragged him underwater. Now whatever happened THERE, he doesn't remember, but he woke up fine on the shore, unable to remember anything at all.

Daisy explains that mermaids A) don't handle rejection well, at all, and B) they also don't understand familial relationships. When a baby mermaid is born, they're tossed aside. So Morgana genuinely can't grasp the concept of a father loving his daughter, and she's going to keep coming after them until she gets what she wants. What to do? Gloria has an idea – truthfully, Morgana hasn't fully become the Queen yet – the former Mermaid Queen is still alive, and Morgana is her apprentice. The former queen is the most powerful mermaid in the world, and keeps herself secluded in an island. Only she has the power to strip Morgana of her strength. So the gang decides to sail there and and beg for help – but DD is perplexed. Yeah, Morgana's got issues, but she seems way worse than last time. What happened? The kids sneak aboard as well – although this time, Lena is a bit more reluctant.

Turns out Lena is a mermaid, but even she didn't know it! Most baby mermaids are abandoned in the sea, but she was left on land, and thus she assumed she was a normal person her whole life. But now Morgana can manipulate her into being her mole, watching the group, and trying to use her jealousy about Gosayln and Webby's friendship to kill Gosalyn. Thankfully Daisy catches wind of this and takes Lena under her wing (so to speak) to help her fight off Morgana's power. At the island, they are attacked by Morgana, thanks to Lena helping her find out where they were going. Just when things couldn't get any worse... pirates!

Not just any pirates – the pirates who kidnapped Donald, AND Darkwing Dubloon's arch-nemesis, Captain Negaduck! He's been giving Morgana gold to increase her spell power... but also poisoned the gold to drive her insane. An epic showdown ensues until one very old, annoyed voice WILL YOU ALL KNOCK IT OFF, I AM TRYING TO SLEEP – it's the original mermaid queen... Goldie O'Glit! She's goddamn sick of this nonsense, and has a solution to make sure it all stops... erasing everyone's memories! In fact, she was the one who erased DD's memories to try and keep things peaceful, but, welp, guess now she has to make EVERYONE FORGET EVERYONE. Naturally NOBODY WANTS THIS except nega who's a dick and surprise surprise, she and Scrooge have a history.

Long ago his ship crashed and he lived on an abandoned island with Goldie. He lived with her happily, but he assumed that as a queen, she must have greater responsibilities. He lied about having a fiance, assuming she'd just leave heartbroken and they'd both move on. Nnnnope, she tried to kill him, and then willfully erased her own memories to try and forget him. Scrooge managed to escape, and hence he's been bitter about mermaids ever since. But, uh... I guess they make up, and... yeah the imagination died around this part, so happily ever after I guess, or make your own ending XD I even debated about a sidestory with Panchito and Jose, if anyone's interested.

So, I hope you liked all that weirdness, and maybe someday I'll write out more scenes. I dunno, man, I just really liked hypno-stuff I HAVE ADDRESSED MY PROBLEM