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loverslantern · 1 year ago

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The Hunter and The Witch: Dean Winchester x fem! reader

Description: Sam, Dean, and Y/N investigate a series of mysterious drownings. They discover the town inhabitants a dark secret buried long ago.

Warnings: cannon violence, mentions of drownings, gun usage (sort of), maybe cursing, bad flirting, death, mentions of death

tag list: @athenalive, @jesllianaquilesrolonsworld

Word count: 7,066

Dead In the Water

(Masterlist, Previous Chapter, Next Chapter)

We sit at the diner part of the Inn that we’re staying at.

Dean sits in front of me circling obituaries in a newspaper to find our next hunt, Sam having left for the bathroom. My laptop is out as I type away on the new article I had to write for my work deadline, our plates of food are mostly empty, now pushed to the side as we continue our tasks

A pretty waitress, whose name tag reads ‘Wendy’ approaches our table. “Can I get you anything else?” she asks with a charming smile.

And despite how attractive she is, my eyes aren’t on her but the man in front of me. Deans looking up at her grinning around the pen he’s chewing on and god I don’t know if i’ve ever been this distracted.

My mouth falls a little bit agape as I look at him, perfect smile, messy hair, a sort of 5 o'clock shadow going on, and a pen pulling at his bottom lip. My cheeks burn and I know I must look like an idiot.

“Just the check, please.” Sam answers sitting back down in the seat next to me. This pulls me out of my love sick stare, I take a sip of what’s left of my water trying to cool myself down.

“Okay.” Wendy says, walking away.

Dean drops his head, then looks at Sam “You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once in a while.”

He points to Wendy, who’s back is to us, “That’s fun.”

He looks at Sam and then at me, like he’s expecting some kind of reaction from me. But I remain quiet.

“Here, take a look at this, I think I got one. Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week Sophie Carlton, eighteen, walks into the lake, doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water; nothing. Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either. They had a funeral two days ago.” Dean gives up, handing Sam the newspaper who tilts it so that I could also see it.

“A funeral?” Sam asks

“Yeah, it's weird, they buried an empty coffin. For, uh, closure or whatever” Dean acknowledges.

“Closure? What closure? People don't just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them.” Sam replies, clearly angry.

“Something you want to say to me?” Dean challenges.

“The trail for Dad. It's getting colder every day.” Sam answers.

“Exactly. So what are we supposed to do?” Dean pushes back.

“I don't know. Something. Anything.” Sam answers.

“You know what? I'm sick of this attitude. You don't think I wanna find Dad as much as you do?” Dean snaps and suddenly I feel like I'm a little kid watching their parents argue while I'm stuck in the middle just sitting there.

“Yeah, I know you do, it's just—“ Dean cuts him off, “I'm the one that's been with him every single day for the past two years, while you've been off to college going to pep rallies. We will find Dad, but until then, we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there. Okay?” Sam rolls his eyes at this.

Wendy walks by again, catching Dean's attention, full on distracting him.

I clear my throat wanting to change the subject, “Lake Manitoc. Hey! Well doesn't that just sound so interesting.”

This gets Dean’s attention back, away from Wendy.

“Huh?” he asks.

“How far?” Sam asks, catching on to my idea.

If there was an award for how quickly someone could make others uncomfortable I’d have to give it to these boys. From arguing over hunting and their Dad in front of their friend to getting distracted by a hot waitress. But if they did get an award they’d probably argue over that too.

The Impala pulls up in front of the Carlton house.

Dean knocks on the door, a young guy with short brown hair answers it.

“Will Carlton?” Dean asks.

“Yeah, that's right.” Will confirms.

“I'm Agent Ford, this is Agent Hamil, and that’s Agent Hayden.” Dean informs, referring to himself, then Sam, and then me.

“We’re with the US Wildlife Service” He goes on, holding up an ID to match his lie.

Will takes us around the house to the dock, where his father sits.

“She was about a hundred yards out. That's where she got dragged down.” Will explains.

“And you’re sure she didn’t just drown?” I ask, even though it felt inconsiderate.

“Yeah. She was a varsity swimmer. She practically grew up in that lake. She was as safe out there as in her own bathtub.”

Ok yeah, definitely didn’t just drown then.

“So no splashing? No signs of distress?” Sam questions further.

“No, that's what I'm telling you.” Will responds, clearly getting annoyed.

“Did you see any shadows in the water? Maybe some dark shape breach the surface?” Sam asks.

“No. Again, she was really far out there.” He said, frustrated.

“You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline?” Dean asks further, trying to cross some things off the long list of creatures who could be responsible.

“No, never. Why? Why, what do you think's out there?” Will asked, pushing for answers.

“We'll let you know.” I respond simply, feeling bad for attacking him with questions when his sister just died.

Dean gives me a nod to start heading back to the car.

But Sam doesn't move with us, instead he pushes on with the questions, “What about your father? Can we talk to him?”

We stop walking, turning back to hear the response.

Will looks towards his father, Bill, and looks back at Sam. “Look, if you don't mind, I mean...he didn't see anything and he's kind of been through a lot.”

“We understand.”

And we do, we’ve seen these sorts of things break people apart, families even. We’ve seen these things break apart our own families, and we struggle each day to not allow it to break us. Even if we never bring it up, not even to each other.

“Now, I'm sorry, but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning?” Sheriff Jake Devins asks us, having decided talking to him would be the next best course of action.

“You sure it's accidental? Will Carlton saw something grab his sister.” Sam informs

“Like what?” Devins asks, leading us into his office motioning for us to sit. “Here, sit, please. There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake.”

Sam and Dean sit, the sheriff pulling up a third chair so I could sit too as he keeps talking. “There's nothing even big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness Monster.”

“Yeah. Right” Dean laughs.

“Will Carlton was traumatized, and sometimes the mind plays tricks. Still…we dragged that entire lake. We even ran a sonar sweep, just to be sure, and there was nothing down there.” Devins explains, taking a seat.

“You do have to admit it’s weird, I mean that's three missing people all in relation to the lake” I press.

“I know. These are people from my town. These are people I care about.” Devins answers, eyebrows scrunched together with worry.

“Anyway...All this...it won't be a problem much longer.” Devins sighs.

“What do you mean?” Dean asks, leaning forward slightly.

“Well, the dam, of course.” Devon clarifies.

“Of course, the dam. It's, uh, it sprung a leak.” Dean guesses.

“It's falling apart, and the feds won't give us the grant to repair it, so they've opened the spillway. In another six months, there won't be much of a lake. There won't be much of a town, either. But as Federal Wildlife, you already knew that.” Devon explains.

There’s a light tap on the door followed by a brunette woman peeking her head in, “Sorry, am I interrupting?”

We all stand up at the same time, weird, since we were done with our questions anyways.

“I can come back later.” The woman adds.

“No no it’s okay, we were just leaving” I reply with a friendly smile.

“Gentlemen, ma’am, this is my daughter” The sheriff explains, motioning his hand towards the woman.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Dean.” He shakes her hand.

Maybe he makes it painfully obvious or maybe I've just known him for so long that I can now easily tell when he wants to hook up with a woman. I know Sam has this ability too as we give each other a knowing look from behind Dean's back, standing on either side of him.

“Andrea Barr. Hi.” She introduces

“Hi.” Dean answers.

“They're from the Wildlife Service. About the lake.” Devon informs her.

“Oh.”

That’s when a small boy with long brownish-red hair walked around Andrea.

“Oh, hi!” I greet the kid, having spotted him first, giving him a little wave.

But he gives no answer or greeting of any kind, walking away without saying a word. Andrea followed closely behind him.

“His name is Lucas” Devon states.

“Is he okay?” Sam asks.

“My grandson's been through a lot. We all have.” Sheriff Devon stands going to his office door, “Well, if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know.”

We all leave the office, including the Sheriff himself. Dean asked one final question, “Thanks. You know, now that you mentioned it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced motel?”

“Lakefront Motel. Go around the corner. It's about two blocks south.” Andrea answers

“Two—would you mind showing us?” Dean asks

She laughs, “You want me to walk you two blocks?”

“Not if it's any trouble.”

“I'm headed that way anyway.”

I look at Sam again and without words we have a conversation on how ridiculous and slightly annoying this is.

Andrea turns to her father, “I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three.” Then to Lucus, “We'll go to the park, okay, sweetie?” She kisses his head and then turns our way to lead us.

“Thanks again.”

Andrea leads us along the street, Dean making conversation. “So, cute kid” He says.

“Thanks” she responds simply.

“Kids are the best, huh?” He tries again as we cross the street, but she ignores him. We keep walking, shortly coming to a stop in front of the Lakefront Motel.

“There it is. Like I said, two blocks” She states with an awkward smile.

“Thanks so much” I say sincerely, feeling bad for Dean having dragged her here just for a chance with her.

“Thanks.” Sam says too.

She nods her head at us before addressing Dean, “Must be hard, with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line.”

A laugh slips past my lips before I could stop it (for Deans sake). “Ohhh I like you” I can't happen but say through laughs. I get a sharp glare from Dean but a contrasting soft smile from Andrea.

She leaves, calling back over her shoulder, “Enjoy your stay!”

“'Kids are the best'? You don't even like kids.” Sam points out, turning towards Dean with a questioning look on his face.

“I love kids.” He responds

“Mhm” I hum sarcastically

“Name three children that you even know.” Sam challenges. But as predicted Dean can’t even come up with one. Sam gives him a pointed look before walking towards the hotel and I follow after.

“I'm thinking!” Dean yells after us.

We walk into the motel's office, Sam’s talking to the clerk and I can’t help but unfocus my eyes staring at the unpleasantly patterned wallpaper. I’ve been traveling with Dean for hardly a month and he’s managed to flirt with practically every woman he’s seen, and yes I know this is an exaggeration.

Each woman, each time he flirts or even winks at another girl a pain rings true in my heart, one I hate to say I'm becoming familiar with.

It was that moment, that one small moment of waiting for keys to our motel rooms that I decided it.

From now on I won’t feel jealous or even that stupid pain in my heart when he’s with another woman, even though I know that isn’t how it works.

I’ll try to forget that I love him, I'll pretend those feelings aren’t there just so it doesn’t become painful to be around him. Even though I know it’s impossible to forget you're in love with Dean Winchester.

I dropped my bag off in my room, now entering Sam and Dean’s.

Sam’s working on his laptop while Dean’s going through his clothing for I have no idea what.

I take the seat across from Sam as he reads what he finds.

“So there’s the three drowning victims this year.”

“Is there anything before that?” I ask

“Yeah. Six more spread out over the past thirty-five years. Those bodies were never recovered either. If there is something out there, it's picking up its pace.”

“So, what, we got a lake monster on a binge?” Dean asks.

“Unlikely, considering there hasn’t been any spotting or legends around the town. Like for the Loch Ness there’s been more than a hundred eye witnesses, but for this, none.” I pipe up.

“I was thinking the same thing. Whatever is out there, no one’s living to talk about it.” Sam adds, getting Dean to stalk over and look at the laptop.

“Wait, Barr, Christopher Barr. Where have I heard that name before?” Dean points to the screen.

“Isn’t that Andreas last name?” I ask.

“Christopher Barr, the victim in May… Yeah Y/N’s right. Christopher Barr was Andrea's husband, Lucas's father. Apparently he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned. Two hours before the kid got rescued…Maybe we have an eyewitness after all.” Sam informs.

“Jesus Christ” I sigh.

“Yeah, no wonder that kid was so freaked out. Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over.” Dean adds.

There’s a sound of kids laughing and playing as we approach the park, reminding me of similar times. We approach Andrea who’s sitting on a bench, “Can we join you?” Sam asks her gently.

She looks up at us, “I’m here with my son.”

Dean looks over at Lucas who’s sitting down with toy soldiers and some drawing materials.

“Oh. Mind if I say hi?” Dean asks her, she nods her head and he heads over.

“Tell your friend this whole Jerry Maguire thing is not gonna work on me.” She tells us, Sam sits next to her as he answers, “I don't think that's what this is about.”

I opt to stand, leaning on the arm of the bench. I take in the soft chill breeze and the kids running around. A feeling of peace creeps into my bones and warmth within my heart as I watch Dean interact with Lucas, a mix of admiration and longing in my veins.

Barley five minutes go by before he’s walking back to us, the warmth within me still hasn’t flickered out.

“Lucas hasn't said a word, not even to me. Not since his dad's accident.” Andrea speaks up.

“Yeah, we heard. Sorry.” Dean answers, she nods.

“What are the doctors saying?” Sam asks and I can’t help but think if maybe this is too invasive.

But whether it is or not doesn't seem to matter as she answers, “That it's a kind of post-traumatic stress.”

“That can't be easy. For either of you.” Sam comforts.

“We moved in with my dad. He helps out a lot. It's just...when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw…” She breaks off.

“Kids are strong. You'd be surprised what they can deal with.” Dean offers, I know he’s speaking from experience.

“You know, he used to have such life. He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth. Now he just sits there. Drawing those pictures, playing with those army men. I just wish—“

Lucas walking up to us cuts her off.

“Hey sweetie.”

Lucas doesn't acknowledge her, he just hands Dean a picture. One he drew himself, telling from the use of crayon.

“Thanks. Thanks, Lucas.”

We’re back at the motel. Deans sitting on his bed flipping through channels while I'm sitting next to him reading a book, a sort of habit we picked up when we were younger.

Sam enters the room, “So, I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie.”

“What do you mean?” Dean asks, putting the remote down, I place my book down.

Sam sits on the bed next to the one we’re on, facing us, “I just drove past the Carlton house. There was an ambulance there. Will Carlton is dead.”

“He drowned?” Dean asks.

“Yep. In the sink.” Sam confirms.

“Pardon?” I question, I mean how do you drown in a sink, of all places.

“What the hell? So you're right, this isn't a creature. We're dealing with something else.” Dean spoke.

“Yeah, but what?” Sam voiced.

“I don't know. Water wraith, maybe? Some kind of demon? I mean, something that controls water...water that comes from the same source.” Dean listed

“The lake.” Sam suggested.

“Yeah.”

“Which would explain why it's upping the body count. The lake is draining. It'll be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time.” Sam responded.

“And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, almost anywhere. This is gonna happen again soon.” Dean says, moving to sit on the edge of the bed towards Sam.

“And whatever it is, it for sure has to do with Bill Carlton.” I add on.

“Yeah, it took both his kids.” Dean confirms.

“And I've been asking around. Lucas's dad, Chris, he’s Bill Carlton's godson.” Sam reveals.

“Then let's go pay Mr. Carlton a visit.”

Bill Carlton’s sitting on a bench on the lake's dock.

From here you wouldn’t expect anything sinister from the relaxed big lake.

“Mr. Carlton?” Sam voices as we approach his sitting figure.

“We'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind.” He continues, gaining Mr.Carlton’s attention.

“We're from the Department—“ Dean attempts to say, getting cut off by Bill. “I don't care who you're with. I've answered enough questions today.” A weak mix of tiredness and sadness etched on his voice.

“Your son said he saw something in that lake. What about you? You ever see anything out there? Mr. Carlton, Sophie's drowning and Will's death—we think there might be a connection to you or your family.” Sam explains, despite Carlton’s previous response.

“My children are gone. It's...it's worse than dying. Go away. Please.” Mr. Carlton pleads, looking down at his lap.

We all give each other a look, scrunched eyebrows and sympathetic faces. It’s within that look that we decide to head back to the Impala knowing we won’t get anything more from Bill Carlton.

“What do you guys think?” Sam questions as we approach the car.

“The poor man has been through so much…” I trail off, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“He’s also not telling us something” Dean adds, and I can’t help but agree despite how bad I feel for the guy.

“So now what?” Sam asks, leaning on the car.

Dean goes still, stiffening.

“What is it?” I ask tilting my head

“Huh…Maybe Bill's not the only one who knows something.” Dean suggests. He pulls out a piece of paper looking at the Carlton house, he tilts it for us to see revealing the drawing Lucas made.

“I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea.” Andrea speaks, closing the door behind us as we enter her house.

“I just need to talk to him. Just for a few minutes.” Dean reasons.

“He won't say anything. What good's it gonna do?” She responds.

“Andrea, we think more people might get hurt. We think something's happening out there.” Sam explains, and I can’t imagine how ridiculous that sounds to her.

“My husband, the others, they just drowned. That's all.” Andrea states clearly, voice laced with grief and anger.

“If that's what you really believe, then we'll go. But if you think there's even a possibility that something else could be going on here, please let me talk to your son.” Dean pleads.

Andrea nods in defeat.

She leads us to Lucas’s room, he’s coloring while toy soldiers stand guard around him. Dean enters crouching down by Lucas while we wait in the doorway, “Hey, Lucas. You remember me? You know, I, uh, I wanted to thank you for that last drawing. But the thing is, I need your help again.”

Lucas continues to color, refusing to acknowledge Dean who pulls out the original drawing, “How did you know to draw this? Did you know something bad was gonna happen? Maybe you could nod yes or no for me.”

But again Lucas keeps coloring. Dean tries again, “You're scared. It's okay. I understand. See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared, too. I didn't feel like talking, just like you. But see, my mom—I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day. And I do my best to be brave. And maybe, your dad wants you to be brave too.”

I remember the day he told me that story, it was the same day my mom had died and he was trying to comfort me having understood the feeling of losing a mother. I was thirteen, him being two years older, and his mom had already been gone for eleven years. But the grief that was apparent when he told me all those years ago, like it had happened the day before…I sometimes still see it now.

That got Lucas’s attention, he drops his crayon and looks up at Dean handing him a picture.

“Thanks, Lucas.”

We’re back in the Impala, Sam’s holding the drawing Lucas made of a yellow house near a church with red bikes outside.

“Andrea said the kid never drew like that till his dad died.” Dean says.

“Well it’s said that going through a traumatic experience could make someone more sensitive to psychic tendencies.” I offer, recalling some information I read somewhere.

“Whatever's out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow? I mean, it's only a matter of time before somebody else drowns, so if you got a better lead, please.” Dean questions, it’s clear he cares about the kid that he’s even worried about Lucas.

“All right, we got another house to find.” Sam responds, referring to the drawing of the yellow house.

“The only problem is there's about a thousand yellow two-stories in this county alone.” Dean grumbled, complaining.

“See this church? I bet there's less than a thousand of those around here.” Sam states, looking at the drawing.

“Oh, College Boy thinks he's so smart.” Dean mocks, even though we both know it was pretty helpful information.

“You know, um...What you said about Mom...You never told me that before.” Sam admits, the mood changing quickly.

“It's no big deal” He responds before continuing, “Oh God, we're not gonna have to hug or anything, are we?”

“Aww, you know you’d love a hug” I tease, patting his shoulder from the back seat.

He rolls his eyes, starting the car.

After driving around for a while we finally approach a white church that looks similar to the one Lucas had drawn. Dean holds up the drawing, comparing the two. There’s the yellow house next to the church and a wooden fence near the house. We look between each other knowing that this must be it.

We cross the street, Dean knocking on the door to the yellow house.

“We're sorry to bother you, ma'am—but does a little boy live here, by chance? He might wear a blue ball cap, has a red bicycle.” He asks the small old woman that answers the door.

She lets us in as she answers, “No sir. Not for a very long time. Peter's been gone for thirty-five years now.

“The police never—I never had any idea what happened. He just disappeared.” She sighs continuing, “Losing him—you know, it's...it's worse than dying.”

I nudge both boys motioning towards the many toy soldiers lying on a table.

“Did he disappear from here? I mean, from this house?” Dean questions.

“He was supposed to ride his bike straight home after school, and he never showed up.” The woman explains.

Dean picks up a picture from the mirror of two boys, one who I assume is Peter with a bike.

He reads the back, “Peter Sweeney and Billy Carlton, nineteen seventy.”

We’re back in the car, Dean driving.

“Okay, this little boy Peter Sweeney vanishes, and this is all connected to Bill Carlton somehow.” Sam remarked.

“Yeah, Bill sure as hell seems to be hiding something, huh?” Dean questions.

“And Bill, the people he loves, they're all getting punished.” Sam adds.

“D-Do you think Bill did something to Peter?” I stammer.

“What if he killed Peter?” Sam asks.

“Peter's spirit would be furious. It'd want revenge. It's possible.” Dean remarked, making a sharp turn presumably towards Carlton’s house.

The Impala pulls up in front of the house, we get out and Sam knocks on the door. “Mr. Carlton?” he calls out, the loud roar of an engine cutting off a second knock.

We go around the house seeing Bill out on the lake in his boat. We ran to the end of the dock, yelling.

“Mr. Carlton! You need to come back! Come out of the water! Turn the boat around!”

“Mr. Carlton!”

“Sir! You need to turn back”

Whether he’s choosing to ignore us or really doesn't hear us will remain a mystery as the water rises, flipping him and his boat over. Vanishing.

“Sam. Dean. Y/N” Andrea calls out as we walk into the main room of the police station with Sheriff Devins.

The Sheriff goes up to his daughter, having some sort of conversation that we can’t hear from where we stand.

Lucas looked up from where he was sitting, looking terrified. He jumps from his seat and barrels into Dean grabbing his arm.

“Lucas, hey, what is it? Lucas.” Dean speaks, looking down at the kid.

Lucas whines, looking up at Dean. Sam and I look at each other and then back to the scene unfolding in front of us.

“Lucas.” Andrea orders from where she stands.

“Lucas, it's okay. It's okay. Hey, Lucas, it's okay. It's okay.” Dean tries to sooth him before Andrea pulls him away and leads him outside, but Lucas’s eyes remain on Dean.

Sheriff Devins struts over throwing his jacket down as he leads us into his office.

“Okay, just so I'm clear, you see...something attack Bill's boat, sending Bill—who is a very good swimmer, by the way—into the drink, and you never see him again?” Devins begins.

Dean glances at Sam and then me, “Yeah, that about sums it up.” He nods.

“And I'm supposed to believe this, even though I've already sonar-swept that entire lake? And what you're describing is impossible? And you're not really Wildlife Service?” Devins lists out, the last one making my eyes widen.

He continued, “That's right, I checked. Department's never heard of you two.”

“See, now, we can explain that.” Dean says, trying to cover up our initial lie.

“Enough. Please. The only reason you're breathing free air is one of Bill's neighbors saw him steering out that boat just before you did. So, we have a couple of options here. I can arrest you for impersonating government officials and hold you as material witnesses to Bill Carlton's disappearance. Or, we can chalk this all up to a bad day, you get into your car, you put this town in your rearview mirror, and you don't ever darken my doorstep again.” Devins suggested.

“Door number two sounds good.” Sam answers simply, but I'm not so sure if I agree.

“That's the one I'd pick.”

We left swiftly, only stopping at the motel for our belongings before we were back in the car heading for the interstate.

“Green.” Sam announces, breaking the silence in the car.

“What?”

“Light's green.” Sam answers, clarifying.

Dean turns right. “Uh, the interstate's the other way.” Sam states, getting a simple, “I know.”

“But Dean, this job, I think it's over.” Sam replies.

“I'm not so sure.” Dean responded simply, really not letting anything up.

“If Bill murdered Peter Sweeney and Peter's spirit got its revenge, case closed. The spirit should be at rest.” Sam reasons.

“All right, so what if we take off and this thing isn't done? You know, what if we've missed something? What if more people get hurt?” Dean challenges.

“But why would you think that?” Sam asks him

“Because Lucas was really scared.” He answers.

“Dean’s right, somethings not right with this ending” I chime in

“I just don't want to leave this town until I know the kid's okay.” Dean clarifies.

“I expect this from Y/N. But you? Dean. Who are you? And what have you done with my brother?” Sam questions, looking from me to Dean.

Dean glances at him, “Shut up.”

————————————————

We pulled up in front of Andreas' house. Sam chiming in one more comment, “Are you sure about this? It's pretty late, man.”

“Better to be wrong, then to not have checked” I answered, hugging my jacket closer to me.

Dean rings the doorbell. At that moment, Lucass opens the door, breathing heavy and clearly terrified.

“Lucas? Lucas!” Dean yells as Lucas turns around and takes off, without a second thought we follow after him.

Water pours down the stairs as he leads us up them and to the door with more water coming from it.

Lucas pounds on the door before Dean pushes him over to me, kicking in the door. As Deans about to enter Lucas grabs hold of him, so instead me and Sam enter.

Sam half kneels aimlessly sticking his hands into the water. When she surfaces for just a moment, I manage to grab underneath her arm closest to me trying to pull her out. She goes under again but we keep pulling until finally she’s let free and we’re able to pull her out.

She coughs up water as Sam leaves her to me going to grab something behind us. I hold her to me in an attempt to block her from the boys behind me along with the cold. Sam taps on my shoulder handing me a large fluffy towel while his head is facing away. I grab it, quickly covering Andrea with it.

She sits up fully, breathing harshly wrapping the towel tighter around herself. I sit next to her rubbing her arm soothingly, the bright moonlight shining on her back.

It was a while before Andrea felt comfortable to stand, Lucas immediately running up to her in a hug. After their reunion she went to get dressed asking if i’d stay in the room with her, I knew unless her bedroom had a water source she’d be okay but I wasn’t going to argue with a woman who’s already been terrified so I obliged.

I stood in the room facing the door as she got dressed, she was slow but I didn’t care.

And when she broke down crying I held her until she calmed down a bit.

Dawn was breaking when I’d finally got her to sit down stairs in the living room. Sam sat across from her while Dean was looking through the bookshelves that lined the wall.

“Can you tell me?” Sam asked.

“No. It doesn't make any sense. I'm going crazy.” She started crying again, putting her face in her hands.

“Your not crazy” I tell her.

“Tell us what happened. Everything.” Sam adds.

“I heard...I thought I heard...there was this voice.” Andrea recalled.

“What did it say?”

“It said...it said 'come play with me'. What's happening?” She sobs into her hands.

Dean approaches us with a book of some sort in his hand, he puts it down in front of Andrea opening to a picture of a bunch of boys in a uniform that looks like boy scouts. “Do you recognize the kids in these pictures?” He asks.

“What? Um, um, no. I mean, except that's my dad right there. He must have been about twelve in these pictures.” She moves her finger over to another picture, kid Jake standing next to Peter.

Dean looks up at us, “Chris Barr's drowning. The connection wasn't to Bill Carlton. It must have been to the sheriff.”

“Bill and the sheriff—they were both involved with Peter.” Sam adds.

“What about Chris? My dad—what are you talking about?” Andrea asks, looking between the three of us.

Dean looks to the side, “Lucas? Lucas, what is it?”

He asks the boy staring out the window. Lucas opens the door and walks outside and we follow.

“Lucas, honey?” Andrea calls out.

Lucas then stops and looks at the ground then at Dean.

“You and Lucas get back to the house and stay there, okay?” Dean commands.

Andrea pulls Lucas back into the house, Dean heads to the Impala and back, returning with shovels. We start digging, and it doesn't take long before Sam’s shovel clanked against something.

Almost in sync we drop to our knees, digging with our hands, pulling out a red bicycle.

“Peter's bike.” I murmur.

“Who are you?” A commanding voice rings from behind us. We turn around only to be met with the Sheriff pointing a gun at us.

“Put the gun down, Jake.” Sam reasons as we drop the shovels.

“How did you know that was there?” Jake questions, gun still raised.

But he does not get the answer he’s looking for, Dean instead questioning him, “What happened? You and Bill killed Peter, drowned him in the lake and then buried the bike? You can't bury the truth, Jake. Nothing stays buried.”

“I don't know what the hell you're talking about.” Jake replies with venom.

“You and Bill killed Peter Sweeney thirty-five years ago. That's what the hell I'm talking about.” Dean continues.

Andrea suddenly runs off yelling, “Dad!”

“And now you got one seriously pissed-off spirit.” Dean finishes.

“It's gonna take Andrea, Lucas, everyone you love. It's gonna drown them. And it's gonna drag their bodies God knows where, so you can feel the same pain Peter's mom felt. And then, after that, it's gonna take you, and it's not gonna stop until it does.” Sam adds.

“Yeah, and how do you know that?” Jake challenges.

“Because that’s exactly what happened to Bill Carlton” I huff.

“Listen to yourselves, all of you. You're insane.” Jake seethes, tightening his grip on the gun.

“I don't really give a rat's ass what you think of us. But if we're gonna bring down this spirit, we need to find the remains, salt them, and burn them into dust. Now tell me you buried Peter somewhere. Tell me you didn't just let him go in the lake.” Dean spits a reply.

“Dad, is any of this true?” Andrea asks weakly.

“No. Don't listen to them. They're liars and they're dangerous.” He accuses.

“Something tried to drown me. Chris died on that lake. Dad, look at me.” Andrea commands and he does, “Tell me you—you didn't kill anyone.”

He doesn't reply, instead looking away. “Oh my God.” She gasps.

“Billy and I were at the lake. Peter was the smallest one. We always bullied him, but this time, it got rough. We were holding his head under the water. We didn't mean to. But we held him under too long and he drowned. We let the body go, and it sank.

Oh, Andrea, we were kids. We were so scared. It was a mistake. But, Andrea, to say that I have anything to do with these drownings, with Chris, because of some ghost? It's not rational.” Jake explains, lowering his gun.

“All right, listen to me, all of you. We need to get you away from this lake, as far as we can, right now.” Dean orders.

Andrea turns her head, but instead of moving she gasps. We all look in her direction seeing Lucas going down to the lake.

“Lucas” Jake yells out to his grandson.

We run the dock, Lucas leaning over the side reaching into the water.

“Lucas!”

“Lucas! Baby, stay where you are!” Andrea yells, but Lucas had a head start on us and was still too far for us to reach before a hand pulled him into the water.

We keep running to the end of the dock, the boys dive in and despite my fear of deep waters I dive in right after them.

The water is cold and murky, it’s hard to truly see in front of me but I keep going further. In the corner of my eye I see two figures that I know to be the boys breach the surface, but I force myself to keep going despite the lack of air I had left. But, my chest burns and I have to swim back up. I break the surface, greedily sucking in needed oxygen, my chest burning for the opposite reason now.

I suck one last breath in before diving down again. I light one of my hands up to use as a flashlight, the bright purple light guiding me in the murky water. And with the light, I can see Luca's small body get further and further away. Frick.

I'm forced to break the surface again. He's too far to reach. But there's also no choice. So, I push my wet hair off my face and dive back in. I reach my hand out, bringing out that light again. This time I extend the light as if it was a rope or a lasso. It stretches far in front of me. It barely brushes his wrist when all of a sudden the ghost boy lets go.

I don't leave time to contemplate it or for the spirit to change its mind. I push forward the rope of light, my lungs and eyes burning. It wraps around his wrist and I pull him towards me as I try to meet him. His eyes are closed. I don't know how long he's been unconscious.

I let go of my light as he gets close enough to hold with my hands. As quick as I can I push myself up. The sunlight is the guide to the surface. It's hard to swim with the added weight of clothes and shoes and a whole other person. But, it doesn't matter. It can't.

Finally, I break the surface with a harsh breath, the rush of oxygen to my lungs only making my chest hurt more. I pant as I hold him up, taking in sharp breaths as I hand the unconscious boy to Sam, who is closest to me. I watch as Sam brings him to the edge of the lake, his mother helping drag him out before immediately starting CPR.

I stay treading in the water breathing heavily, my chest rising up and down exceptionally fast. Pieces of my wet hair stick to my face, and my clothes stick to my skin in the worst way possible.

Dean lifts himself out of the lake landing on his knees, facing the body of water. Dean offers his hand to me, I swim to the edge of the lake where he sits, gladly taking his hand. He lifts me out of the water with ease, turning himself in the process so that I was next to him and not on top.

I look over at Lucas, who’s okay and hugging his mother before I let my head drop down my wet hair creating a curtain around me as I hold my hands to the firm ground, trying to not only catch my breath but also calm my anxiety.

Gentle, familiar, hands hold the sides of my face. Dean. He brings my head up to look at him. He moves the hair that sticks to my face away, his big hands pushing and smoothing back my hair, tucking it behind my ears. Then, his hands immediately go back to cupping my face. His touch and his eyes are so gentle that it should be unfair. “You okay, sweetheart?” He asks me, breathing a little heavy too, his voice gravelly and low.

I nod my head in response, feeling as if I couldn’t form the words to answer verbally. He shakes his head. “No. I need to hear you say it, baby," he breathes.

“I’m okay,” I answer, my voice coming out crackly.

He seems to accept that answer as he looks over me slowly, eventually making his way back to my eyes. His eyes dip down again before shooting away from me to look into the distance where sirens sound.

————————————————————————

We walk out of the motel, Sam throwing his duffel bag into the car. “Look, we're not gonna save everybody," he tells Dean. They caught me up on what happened on the drive back to the motel, Jake sacrificing himself. Which had made sense as to why Peter had suddenly let Lucas go.

“I know.” Dean responds simply.

“Sam, Dean, Y/N” Andrea calls out walking up to us with Lucas.

“Hey.” Dean greets.

“We're glad we caught you. We just, um, we made you lunch for the road. Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches himself." Andrea explains, motioning down to Lucas who looks very pleased with the platter of sandwiches he holds. He looked up to his mom, “Can I give it to them now?”

“Of course,” Andrea told him, smiling wildly, giving him a kiss on the head.

“Come on, Lucas, let's load this into the car.” Dean takes the plate from him.

“Lucas, this is so sweet of you, thank you,” I tell him sincerely while Dean places the plate on the passenger seat of the car.

“All right, if you're gonna be talking now, this is a very important phrase, so I want you to repeat it,” Dean instructs the kid as he sits in the passenger seat facing outward, with the door open.

“Zeppelin rules!” Lucas yells out.

“That's right. Up high.” Dean holds his hand up for a high-five. Lucas obliges, grinning. I laugh almost uncontrollably, the moment just a little too sweet.

“You take care of your mom, okay?” He tells him.

“Alright,” Lucas answers, determination on his face.

Andrea and Sam come up to the car. She leans over the open door giving Dean a quick kiss on the lips before pulling away with a “Thank you”

My eyebrows raise and I take a half-step back, not really expecting her to do that.

Dean stiffens and you can see the cogs turning in his head, he scratches his head and turns his head towards me, looking at me. I don’t say anything. I mean what would I say? I’m not even sure why he’s looking at me. He goes around the car passing me, eyes still on me as he calls out to Sam. “Sam, move your ass. We're gonna run out of daylight before we hit the road.”

We all get in the car, smiling and waving goodbye to Andrea and Lucas as we drive away.

#dean winchester #dean winchester x reader #fanfiction #sam winchester #supernatural #dead in the water #supernatural season 1 #john winchester #slow burn #guilty #secrets #supernatural x reader #witch reader #the hunter and the witch

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blaxcunicorn · 1 year ago

Text

Diaboli's Angelus

Chapter: 7

Length: 7.1k

Authors note: Heeey it's me again, ehm...I'm just gonna drop this like I didn't disappear for months.

Tag: @okaystopwhore

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It's been a whole month since the whole leaving the castle incident. Has your relationship grown stronger. One noticeable thing is the fact that the two of you used to fall asleep right after sex. Eren would cuddle you in silence with a few kisses here and there until the two of you would fall asleep. The conversation you had with Eren must have made him able to open up more to you. The two of you would stay up after sex and just talk all night. It could be any topic, from his dreams and aspirations for Eldia to how his mother always scolded him for never listening. Each night, the two of you would fall more and more for each other. You used to be the type of person that would look forward to the day, but that has changed. Right now, it's nighttime with Eren, which is what you look forward to. Nights like these make you forget that the marriage was arranged and that the two of you married out of love, like from the stories your mother read you as a child.

"Eren?" You say, playing with the corner of your pillow. "Yes, love?" You take a deep breath and turn around, not to face Eren. He looks at you, baffled but also concerned. "I-I am not with child yet, and I've been your wife for 6 months now." Eren gently turns your head with his fingers to make you face him. "And?" Eren says softly, reaching to hold your hand and stroking your palm with his hand. "I don't know…Catherine is already with child…While I'm…not. I'm happy for her but can't stop thinking if something is wrong wi…" You could not continue that sentence as Eren's eyes widened in shock. "Don't start. You are perfectly fine, and what if Catherine is with child? Don't put yourself down just because you aren't pregnant yet. For all we might know, I might be the problem," Eren yawns at the last part. You roll over and lie your head on his left chest, trying to tone down the noises in your head with the sound of his heartbeat. Don't get me wrong, you are happy for Catherine. In fact, you shed tears when you received the letter. Eren believed that someone had passed away with the amount of tears flowing out of you. However, you can't help but feel a bit insecure as you are still not bearing Eren an heir.

What does the Eldian Court think? The Eldian people? They are all waiting for you to give them an heir, a new King. If you cannot produce a child for Eldia, let alone give Eren a son, what will your position in the Royal Court be? How can Capri be protected after you die if there is no link between the two nations? All those thoughts make your stomach hurt. Eren gives you a quick peck on your temple, saying, " I love you. Don't you worry about it." After a while, you could hear Eren snoring. You, on the other hand, could not sleep with your anxiety sitting on your chest.

You wake up from what you can call a quick nap by Eren carefully moving from the bed to the bathroom. "Morning, I tried not to wake you up" He says chuckling. "Good morning," you respond, jawning and slamming your head on the pillow. "Did you sleep well?" He asks concerned. You respond with a thumbs up, with your face still on the pillow. Eren sits on the bed, which causes you to lift your head up. He is not sure what will make you feel better. Yes, Catherine is with child, and he understands the pressure you feel on your shoulder to give him an heir. "You know, I don't care how long it takes…hell, even if we get a child. I'm just happy you are the first thing I see waking up." He whispers, speaking from the heart. You lean your forehead on his shoulder. "What if I lose my position as Queen because of this?" You whimper, the lack of sleep has caught up with you. "Then they'll lose their King" Eren says, stroking your back. "Are you willing to give up your title for me?" You laugh a bit in shock. "I just want to be with you. In any title, except your ex-husband." He gives you a boyish grin.

You both turn your heads to the door as Daisy walks in causally. The two of you have known each other for what felt like an eternity. Sometimes, you forget that you were her princess and now her Queen. In Capri, did you and your maids have a causal relationship since they were, after all, like your family. Walking in without knocking is expected in your previous home, but not in Eldia. Daisy's eyes widened as they fell upon an unexpected sight. There stood the King, a presence she wasn't prepared for. A soft gasp escaped her lips, and she immediately stepped back, her cheeks flushed with surprise. "I... I'm so sorry, Your Majesty," Daisy stammered, her heart racing. She lowered her gaze, a mix of embarrassment and respect washing over her.

On the other hand, Eren is surprised at her audacity and slightly annoyed. He shifts his gaze at you, and you can feel the tension rising. You take Eren's hand gently and whisper, "I'm so sorry, she is here to braid my hair. I know she should've knocked. I'll talk to her about it." Eren takes a deep breath in before saying, "She should know that you are her Queen." He sighs, but he also understands the bond you share. He knew from conversations he had with you that Daisy was more than just a servant; she was a close friend, someone you trust deeply. However, he can't help feeling anxious that she might take advantage of your friendship. He wishes that the two of you had a more professional relationship. However, he suppresses his annoyance and nods slightly to acknowledge Daisy's apology. He offered a curt but controlled smile, attempting to reassure her that he understood. Daisy breathed out in relief, fearing that he might serve her head for dinner. You give Eren a quick kiss before sending him off. "Oh, before I leave. I heard from Armin that you are planning a tea party with the Ladies of Eldia." You freeze as you have yet to really discuss it with Eren. You remember noticing a bit of tension between Lady Pieck and Lord Armin, but you brushed off the thoughts to mind your own business.

You can't help but wonder if Eren disapproves of Lady Pieck, and if so, why? "Y–yes" You almost whisper. "Well, I think it's a great idea. I'll have Sasha, Historia, Mikasa and Daisy stationed there to help out." He turns his gaze at Daisy, to which she responds with a curtsy. "But Eren, why would I need that many maids for a small tea party." You say, confused. "I want you to get as much help as possible." He says, kissing your forehead. In reality, Eren is suspicious of Pieck and wants as many people he trusts to protect him. "Okay," you whisper while closing your eyes, taking in the kiss. When he left, you turned around to Daisy, who was already setting up the products and the hair.

"You don't have to say anything. I already know." Daisy says, oiling the extension. You nod and sit down on the chair. Daisy talks about the gossip she hears from the other maids around the Kingdom. You enjoyed the stories she told you until she landed on the newest royal scandal. "Apparently, a lower-rank Lord impregnate a shepherd's daughter. The family of the Lord paid the shepherd to relocate the daughter until further notice." The story reminds you of your own issues and how badly you wish that you were pregnant. "Your Majesty?" Daisy stops her braiding, noticing a tear rolling down your left eye.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She says in shock. You wake up from your thoughts and wipe the tear away. "I-I have been married to Eren for months without any sign of me being pregnant. What if I'm one of the cursed women?" Daisy grabs your hands. "Hey, hey, don't say nonsense like that; you aren't cursed. When I am done braiding you, I can bring you some berries and teas from the herb shop. I have heard that they make you more fertile." You nod as she leans in for a hug. "Don't you worry. I am pretty sure you'll get pregnant before you know of it." She whispers in your ears. However, you couldn't help but feel your eyes sting and your nose run. You hold on to Daisy as hulks keep escaping your mouth.

Due to your curiosity and wish to explore Eldia, Eren has granted you the freedom to leave the castle walls on one condition. He has to join in order to protect you from any harm. You could agree with this, as the Eldian people must miss Eren badly. The sun shone bright and warm as the royal fleet set sail from the harbour of the Kingdom. The clear waters glistened under the sunlight, creating a picturesque view that left you feeling both excited and anxious about the journey ahead as it marked Eren's first time visiting Stochess in four years. You look over to see your husband looking around at the beautiful green fjords and the fantastic view like a curious child. Eldia must have changed since he last took the float, you thought to yourself. How will he react to visiting Stochess for the first time since the tragedy? The thought of your husband losing it caused your heart to beat fast. "Eldia is very beautiful," You say to distract yourself. "It indeed is. I have totally forgotten the pride Eldians take in our nature." He says proudly. Eren leans over and holds both of your hands, causing goosebumps up to your hands. You close your eyes knowing what's coming next, but are disrupted by a loud animal-like sound causing you to jump.

"No sleeping during shift, brat", says Levi, pinching Connie's nose, causing him to choke and fall off the chair backwards. You can hear Jean and Marco laugh "Not funny guys!" Connie says as he gets up. The room, however, was silenced as Levi gave the two soldiers a death stare. Eren has brought with him a group of his most trusted and skilled soldiers: Levi, Marco, Jean, Connie, Reiner, and Berthold. You remember the discussion the two of you had regarding this. "Eren, we don't need all of them to come. What if we only bring Reiner and Jean?" Eren insisted first to bring ten of Eldia's top soldiers.

"No, if you want to cut the number of soldiers, then I will decrease them by four, but Levi is then coming." You sigh. "I understand your concern, but having too many soldiers will make it hard for us to connect with the citizens. It will create a sense of intimidation and unease among the people we are meant to connect with." Eren however seemed determined. "My love, I wouldn't feel at ease if I thought something might happen to you. Their presence is just a precaution, nothing else." Your heart sank as you realised that pushing the matter would only lead to an argument. You lower your head and let out a deep sigh. "Alright, Eren. I understand." The King's gaze softened as he took a step closer to you. He could feel his heart fluttering in his chest as he reached out to you. He carefully cups your cheeks and stroks your soft skin with his rough thumbs. "Thank you for understanding, my love," he whispered, his voice filled with warmth and affection. "I promise everything will go smoothly, and the people will enjoy the visit." You look up at him, your eyes meeting his deep, beautiful green gaze. "Why?" you ask, your voice barely above a whisper. "Because you are visiting them," he replies, a small smile plants itself on his lips. "And anyone lucky enough to be around you would enjoy your company." With those words, he leans in and brushes his lips against your forehead, savouring the sweet scent of cocoa butter on your hair. At that moment, he knew he was the luckiest man in the world to have you by his side for this journey.

Stitches came into view, and the your anxiety grew. How would the people react to their visit, and more importantly how the interaction between the people and Eren go? You wake up from your thoughts as the royal fleet docked at the port, and the soldiers are the first to exit the fleet to secure the area. The port is quickly filled with people excited to see you again. "Good Gods, our Queen is here to revisit us." You can hear one say. "Is she as beautiful as the town's rumors claims?" another says, quickly responding, "She is as beautiful as an angel handmade by the Gods themselves." You feel your face burn and turn to see Eren smile proudly. "They got the last part damn right" He says kissing your hand. "I'm happy that they are fond of you, love." He says, looking a bit sad. "Is it pathetic that I envy you a bit? They haven't seen me in four years. I…I don't know how they will receive me once we get out." You grab his hand with both your hands "They will love you, as you are their King. You symbolise hope and strength to Eldia; they would love to see you." You lift his hand and lean your cheek on it. Eren's heart eased a bit.

Levi arrives to give the two of you a green light. "Berthold and Reiner are stationed a couple of meters north, Jean in East and Connie West. Marco will be in your South while I will be the only one to come with you as you requested, Eren." Levi says. "Why are they stationed meters away, I thought all of them were coming with us?" You ask confused "too many soldiers will make it hard for us to connect with the citizens. It will create a sense of intimidation and unease among the people we are meant to connect with." Eren says, trying to imitate you. "Hey, I don't sound like that!" You laugh, hitting him playfully on the arm. Levi stretches out a hand to help you out of the fleet. You grasp his hand on one hand while lifting your dress with another to not trip. As you get up, you give a wave to the cheering crowd. "Eren, you ready?" You ask, causing the cheering to die down. "H-His Majesty is here?" An old lady says it looked like her eyes were about to pop out. Eren takes a deep breath, remembering why he joined you in the first place. "Missing me already, my love" He responds cocky to hide his nervousness. He jumps up and links his arms with yours. Eren feels his heart pound out of his chest, and his palms sweat. Eren, thanks the Gods that you aren't holding his hand. To Eren's surprise, the crowd cheered even louder than before. The old lady is wiping away tears flowing down her cheeks and walks up to the two of you. She tries to curtsy with her shaken legs, but you let go of Eren to help her stand up. "No need for that" You say with a smile giving Eren butterflies in his stomach. "You are too kind, Your Majesty" She says cupping your left cheek. "May the Gods bless our Kingdom with your heirs" She prays as you both close your eyes. "May I?" She asks, you nod and make way for her to see Eren. Tears are streaming down her face as she cups both Eren's cheeks, causing him to freeze. "How handsome you have turned, Your Majesty" She says with a smile. Eren could feel his eyes sting, her hands felt warm. He has not felt this pure warmth since…his mother. "And how beautiful and kind your wife is like…like…"

"An angel" Eren finishes looking at you playing with some kids. The lady gives Eren a bit of a push, indicating that he should join you. "The coins are in your left hand" The young brown-eyed boy says confidently. You open your hand and pour the coins into his hand. "Good job" You say smiling. "Yay, now can I buy you the doll you wanted!" He says to the little girl that resembles him. Her eyes lit up, and she grabbed her brother's hand. "Thank you!" She hugs him and curtsy for you. They are so adorable, you think to yourself, reminding you of your relationship with your older brother. You jump a bit as you feel a arm snake around your waist "I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I hate sharing my wive's attention with other men." Eren tells the young boy while leaning his chin on your shoulder. "I'll marry her one day!" He says, causing your cheeks to burn. "I guess we'll have to duel for her affection, when that time comes" Eren says ruffing his hair. "I'll train for that day!" The boy says, grabbing his sister and disappearing into the crowd. "Let me see your other hand, love", He whispers in your ear, causing a familiar heat between your legs. You open your other hand just to see the same amount of gold coins on your palm. He doesn't say anything other than kissing your cheek, causing the people to cheer.

"I know adorable, now make way for the royal couple!" Levi says waving at the crowd immediately splitting the crowd in half. Levi must be quite known in the Kingdom for it to happen that quick. "Eren, I need to take you to the cutest candy shop in Stochess." You say, dragging your husband away. Levi is left smirking at your silliness before casually walking after the two of you. "Oh, here it is!" You need some clarification. The shop has gotten bigger since the last time you visited with Reiner.

Levi opens the door and the first person you spot is James, the shop has gotten busier since last time you visited. He comes running and bows "You Majesty" He says kissing your hand, Eren gritts his teeth. "Who is the gentleman accompanying you?" He asks. Eren snakes his hand around your waist again, but this time, he kisses your cheek. You feel your heart skip a beat while James is stunned before quickly getting on one knee. "King Eren, my apologies, your Majesty, I didn't recognise you." Eren doesn't blame him; he must be around the same age as him, and he technically disappeared for four whole years. "Father! Father! The Queen has paid us a visit with K-King Eren!" He shouts. The old shop owner comes running from the till not believing his ears. King Eren is here in his shop? He hasn't seen the King since he was a young prince.

The old man bows for the both of you "Welcome Your Majesties." He says. "Your shop has gotten larger and busier since the last time I visited." You speak with a smile. "That's all thanks to you, Your Majesty. When you walked around with the candy bag after the first visit, it accidentally promoted the shop and has boomed ever since. It also helped me pay for my wife's medical treatment," He says, drying his tears as he calls for her to come. She picks up her dress and rushes over to her husband's side "K-King Eren" She curtsies "And this is is…" She rushes over and grabs your hands "Thank you, for everything you have done for us" She says lifing your hands and putting her forehead on it while hulking. Her husband strokes her back while also crying. You start sniffing, but everything is disrupted by Eren's coughing. He didn't mean to be insensitive but his heart cannot deal with seeing you cry and he doesn't want his subjects seeing their King sob.

The lady lifts her head. "Your Majesties, feel free to take as much candy as your heart desires. It's on the house!" She says. Levi grabs a large bag as you link your arm with Eren's. "You have to try this one Eren! It's my favorite," You point as Levi scops your favorite candy twice in the bag. Eren chuckles. He thinks you must have a sweet tooth, trying to memorise all the candies you seem to love. Your eyes are beautiful and youthful like a little child, it's adorable in Eren's eyes. By the time you are done, the bag is too full to be closed. Eren nods at Levi, who drops a big bag filled with gold coins. "No, Your Majesties, it's on the house." The elderly man tries to resist, but Levi turns him down. "Just take it, old man, it's treachery to go against the King." The shop owner bows and thanks the two of you.

You start walking until you spot a secluded garden. Eren notices that you have let his hand go and that you are sprinting and he automatically charges after you with Levi right behind him. "Look at this garden Eren!" You say almost jumping. An elderly lady comes greeting the two of you. "It's a love garden for young couples to take private walks." You look up to Eren and grab his hand "Do you want to take a walk?" He whispers in your ear. You nod and drag Eren, impatient with you, but the two of you are met with an annoyed Levi holding his hand out as a stop sign. I need to inspect the area before letting the two of you strolling around. "You are not joining us?" You ask, tilting your head a bit to the left. "I'm not spending a second walking behind two lovesick brats." He says with a straight face, which makes you giggle. "Alright Levi, be quick." Eren says squeezing your hand. The two of you enter the garden as soon as Levi comes back with a green light. "They are a beautiful couple" The elderly lady says drinking water from her bottle. "The King and Queen indeed are", Levi responds, causing the lady to choke on the water.

"Look at all these flowers Eren." You squat to have a better look at the colourful tulips. Looking at the flowers, Eren squats next to you, bringing him a familiar warm feeling in his chest. His mother used to love planting and admiring flowers, which is why his father made her the garden. Eren gets up and points at the bench on top of a hill surrounded by flowers. You look up and your eyes widen in awe. Your hand is quickly grabbed by Eren as he leads the way towards the hill, he stops right at the bottom at the hill. "Let's race to the top!" He shouts as he charges to the top. "That's cheating!" you say, removing your shoes and lifting your dress. You chase after him, giggling as you can feel your breath come in rapid, measured bursts, synchronising with the rhythmic beat of your feet hitting the ground. Each inhale is a gasp of the cool, crisp air. You look ahead and see Eren sprint, which makes you speed up your pace. If you weren't forced in a dress, you could have definitively beaten him. Eren turns his head and sees you catching up on him, causing him to grin before speeding up even more. Your heart is pounding, and the adrenaline is dancing through your veins. The wind is blowing, sending shivers down your spine. "I won!" Eren shouts from the hilltop, sitting on the bench.

You speed your way to the top, having to catch your breath. As you walk towards the space next to Eren, he pats his lap, and you sit down on his lap, leaning the back of your head on his shoulder. "What do I get for winning the race?" You rise up and turn to face him "You cheated." You say pouting. "No, I was just fast" He says proudly, with a boyish grin. "Alright, what do you want?" He hums for a while before sliding his hand up your dress. You stop his hand by lightly tapping it "Eren, do you always think about sex?" You say, rolling your eyes. "No" He says sliding his hand up to your underwear line and slowly sliding it off. Eren pushes your braids behind your ears and kisses your collarbone and neck. "I think about you all the time", he whispers, drawing a circle slowly around your clitoris. "E-Eren, we are in public" You moan. "It's fine, no one is here." He whispers. You keep your eye contact as he teases you until your clitoris becomes swollen. His fingers swirls around your wetness before bringing them to your clit, encircling it while applying gentle pressure. Eren gently kisses you while you moan in his mouth. You can feel his cock harden under you as he slides two fingers inside you while his thumb massages your clit. He unbuttons the top of your dress, freeing your boobs. The cool air hardens your nipples. Eren groans as he takes a nipple into his mouth, licking and sucking. You never lose eye contact as you watch him hum in contentment as he flicks your nipple in his mouth. You arch your back slightly as you feel your orgasm building up. Eren has turned you into a moaning mess, and you can't barely think. You grab Eren's bun as the orgasm runs through you.

Eren kisses you and sits you down on the bench while you catch your breath. He gets on his knees in front of you, and you close the tiny space between your legs. Eren lies his cheek on your knee and strokes your upper thigh with one hand. "Open your legs for me" He says, looking directly in your eyes. "B-But Eren, we don't have time. People might show up." He spreads your legs, placing one leg on his shoulder. "I'll be quick, I promise…You are so beautiful." He whispers, looking at your dripping cunt before disappearing under your dress. His lips brushed against the side of your inner thighs, his invincible beard stub scratching the soft skin as he peppers kisses all around until he shoves his face into your cunt, licking from your home to your clit. Your back arches, and you moan, gripping the bench's armrest for some support, and throwing your head back. Eren moans right into your cunt, he starts speeding his tongue causing you to grind your hips on his face, gripping his bun to pull him closer. You can feel the stubs on his face rubbing against your pussy while he sucks your clit. Your moans intensify as you can feel your second climax realising. "I told you, I'd be quick" Eren says with his face wet from you.

He stands up and lifts your dress over your head, leaving you completely naked. "We cannot leave any dirt on your beautiful dress, love." He says, laying it on the empty spot next to you. You grab his head and kiss him sloppy while he picks you up and lies you on the grass. He hovers above you, and you can't help but admire his beauty. The sun lights up his green eyes as he looks at you with pure lust. You hear the rustling of his belt, and pants sliding of his legs as he kicks it off him. He takes some of the remaining cum from your cunt and rubs it on his arching cock. Eren runs the head through your soaking folds before lining up with your entrance. "F-Fuck, you are so beautiful. Such an obedient, beautiful wife you are." He grunts as he enters you. Eren fucks the air out of your body as his life is on the line, his cock throbbing inside you, and the sound of his skin slapping against your skin mixed with your moans filling the area.

Eren's thrusts started to falter. He became sloppier as he chases his own release and you are right behind him, feeling the pressure around your body finally explode. You came around his cock, clenching around him with a licentious moan. He came right after you, filling you with his seeds, grunting raspily. "Such a good wife" He says kissing your sweaty forehead before pulling himself out. Eren finds his white handkerchief and wipes you first with it before wiping himself. He then proceeds with picking you up and sits down on the bench with you on his lap. You are fast to grab your dress as you can feel goosebumps spreading through your skin like wildfire.

Behind the two of you is a camellia tree, which brings you flashbacks from when you were stargazing with Eren during the royal ball. "Eren, do you remember…" He plucks a red camellia and places it behind your ear. You lean in and give him a passionate kiss. He is too good to be true you think for yourself. "Oh Eren, you need to try the candy I picked" you say grabbing the bag that has been abandoned on the bench since you. "Okay, close your eyes and tell me what you rate them from 1 being the lowest to 5 being the highest." Eren chuckles "Don't poison me" He says closing his eyes. "I can't promise anything; being Eldia's only ruler is tempting." You say, causing him to pinch your cheekbone in retaliation. "Try this one." You pick out a sour strawberry and pop it into Eren's mouth. "Mmmh, I'll give it a 5." He says opening his eyes to see what you gave him. "Are you into sour candy, Eren?" You ask, popping one into your own mouth. "I was as a kid, I guess I haven't outgrown it." He laughs. "Close your eyes again", You say, laying a liquorice on his tongue. The grimace he makes causes you to laugh so hard that tears start rolling down your eyes. "That was disgusting, what was that?" You show him the liquorice while trying to control your laughter. The two of you try the candy until there is no more new to try.

You lean the back of your head on his shoulder, admiring the sky painted with pink clouds. "How are you finding the Attack on Titan book you started on last week?" He asks, massaging his thumbs in a circular motion on your stomach. "It's so far quite captivating but extremely sad." You respond too comfortable to turn around to face your husband. "Eren?" He hums in response, "I never got to ask you at the ball, what are your dreams?" You finally turn around to look him in the eyes. "To the the freest man alive." He smiles softly.

"Aren't you already that, as king?" You ask, tilting your head slightly to the left. "I'm freer than most men, but I'm not the freest." He responds. "I see" You say turning around again. "How is the arrangement of the tea party going?" He asks. "It's going fine. Historia and Mikasa have been amazing with arranging it. I hope it's going to be a success." You are a bit nervous as it is in a few days, and it is the first time you'd host a tea party in Eldia. You have already met the ladies one by one, so lucky it won't be as awkward. "I'm pretty sure it will go well," He says kissing your cheek. The two of you sit silently, enjoying the sunset and each other's company.

Today is the day of the tea party, and Darcy is helping you tighten the corset of your golden dress. "I don't understand why Eldian women hate breathing." You breathe out as Darcy uses all her power to tighten it. Teaparty in Eldia among Ladies and royal members is viewed as a formal party, which explains why you are suffocating in that dress. "Done!" Darcy shouts out of breath. She hands you your matching gold fan as the two of you walk into the dining hall.

As preparations for the royal tea party ended, the grand dining hall was completely transformed. The long, polished wooden tables were adorned with intricate lace tablecloths that stretched across the room. Colourful banners with the royal Eldian crest billowed gently above. In shades of blue and green, the banners danced at the edges with the soft afternoon light. The tables are decorated with a profusion of fresh flowers. Each centrepiece was a work of art, with bouquets of roses, lilies, and delicate baby's breath arranged in ornate vases. The vibrant blooms added a burst of colour to the otherwise muted palette, reflecting the regality of the occasion. The table settings were impeccable, with glistening silverware, delicate porcelain teacups, and saucers in perfect symmetry. Each teacup sat atop a fine china plate while gleaming silver spoons awaited the stirring of sugar and cream. The food presented on the table is to drole off. An array of finger sandwiches adorned one end of the table. Cucumber, salmon, and egg salad varieties are all elegantly displayed. In the centre of the table, tiered cake stands showcased an assortment of pastries and scones. Flaky, buttery scones are served with clotted cream and fruit preserves. Petite éclairs and dainty cream puffs were garnished with edible gold leaf, adding an air of extravagance to the tea party. A platter of fresh fruit, including ripe strawberries and succulent grapes, added a refreshing touch to the spread. The pièce de résistance, a towering three-tiered cake adorned with intricate icing, sat at the head of the table. It has layers of sponge and cream, which were a work of culinary art, awaiting the ceremonial cutting that would conclude the royal tea party.

"Wow," Darcy says as you enter the hall. The two of you are stunned. You were used to hosting tea parties in Capri, but they were smaller and less elegant than this one. You see Historia touching up on the flowers. At the same time, Mikasa, dressed in a beautiful red gown, directs the servants on how to place the food on the table. "This is amazing, Mikasa. You didn't have to go all out." You say gratefully. She curtsies and responds, "This is your first tea party, Your Majesty. We wanted to make it as beautiful as possible as ordered by the King." You smile, making a mental note to thank Eren after this. "Mikasa, have a seat. You are probably exhausted after all this." You say as Darcy pulls out a chair for her. "Thank you." She says gracefully as she sits down.

The ladies of Eldia soon arrive, with each of them greeting you before sitting down. Mikasa and Pieck sit on each side of you while the rest are scattered around the table. "Welcome to my first Eldian tea party, and thank you for coming on such short notice." You say, smiling. The servants pour teas in your cups. You can't help but notice how Lady Ymir brushes her fingers gently over Historia's hand, causing the blonde to blush. "How are you settling in Eldia, Your Majesty?" Lady Leonhart asks with a small but genuine smile. "I like it so far. The Eldian people have been so welcoming, and so has the Royal court". You say, taking a bite of your scone.

"What about His Majesty? He seems very fond of you." Ymir adds. The whole table looks intensively at you, making you a bit nervous. "I-I mean, he is kind, and we strongly love each other." You answer, hoping it is the correct answer. The ladies breathe out in relief except for Lady Finger. "But don't you think Eren is too aggressive sometimes?" You snap your head at the raven-coloured woman. "Besides that one time, I haven't really experienced him being aggressive towards me." You whisper the last part as you don't want to remember that embarrassing moment. "I mean, he humiliated you…" She couldn't finish that sentence as Mikasa cut her. "They made up, Lady Finger. He was only aggressive as a sign of his care and love for her." Mikasa looked angry, which made you anxious but primarily confused. "Eren has not only shown aggression towards our beloved Queen but also in our foreign policies." Pieck finishes. "Lady Finger, what are you…" Mikasa's anger is fueled as Pieck continues, "You are big-mouthed for being a lower-rank lady."

"Lady Pieck, say not such a thing! Lady Ackerman is my right-hand lady, one of the most, if not the most, important ladies in the Court." You say to defend Mikasa as you can see her crumble in embarrassment at Pieck's statement. However, the rest of the ladies nod in agreement and in support of Mikasa. "Lady Finger, I…" but you are cut as Pieck says "Don't you think that it is weird that Lady Ackerman here is awfully close with the King?" You look at Pieck confused while Mikasa looks at her with a stare that screams tell her, and you are dead. "Lady Ackerman and His Majesty are childhood friends alongside Lord Arlet. I'm not surprised that they are very close." You smile, trying to ease up the tension in the room. Mikasa responds with an approving nod and a warm smile, happy you are oblivious to her history with Eren.

"Lady Pieck, maybe you should worry about your own marriage. Especially with the rumours going around." Lady Leonhart says as she takes a sip of her tea. Annie is not the type to care as much about drama in the Court, but she recalls what Armin told her: "Lady Pieck is trying to turn Her Majesty against Eren. Protect her mind at all cost." Pieck snorts, and it all breaks out into a whole argument among the ladies. What is going on? That is all you can think as you notice Darcy and Historia giving you apologetic eyes. You have to ask them after the tea party. "All I am saying is that His Majesty is too…" Pieck stops as she realises what is about to slip out of her mouth. "Careful, Lady Pieck. You don't want to be arrested for treason." Lady Ymir smirks while throwing a grape into her mouth. This is not how you wished your first tea party as Queen of Eldia would go. You can feel your eyes sting, and your heart almost jumps out of your chest. "If you ladies have me excused." You say short, sniffing your nose as you stand up and rush out of the dining hall. The women look angry at Lady Pieck. "Great, you managed to do something worse than insulting the King…upsetting his precious wife." Lady Ymir finishes turning around to Darcy and Historia, hinting at them to follow you.

You lift your dress and rush to your chamber, trying to hold your tears. How could you fail to arrange a civil tea party? What would Eren think? You let out a "umph" as you collided with a tall frame holding you. "Hey there, how did the tea party go?" asks the last person you wanted to see. “Ehm Eren…I…” You take a deep breath to put on your brave face, but your tears fail you. "Hey, hey, what's wrong? What happened?" He whispers, drying your tears with his thumb; his eyes are wide and filled with concern. You escape his grip, rush to your chamber, and jump on your bed, slamming your face on the pillow. The door opens, and you can feel the familiar strong arms stroking your hair softly.

Since your braids are a couple of weeks old, you don't mind him touching them. Eren learned the hard way when to not touch your hair. The only response he got was sniffing from you. So he crawls over you and lays himself on top of you, peppering your neck with kisses. You burst out in laughter as it tickles, and you turn around on your stomach, facing Eren. He wipes away the last tears of your face and gives you a hug. "Want to talk about what happened at the teapot?" He whispers directly in your ears and lays his chin on your shoulder, which spreads goosebumps all over your body.

"I really wanted it to be perfect. The conversations started well, and suddenly, they all started to argue. As their Queen, I am responsible for ensuring the Ladies of the Court get along, and I failed. I couldn't succeed in the simplest task as Queen…I can't help but feel like such a failure." While still holding you, Eren lifts his head to face you. "You are no failure, love, and none of this is your fault." He says, cupping your cheeks. The two of you face the door, hearing knocking. "Your Majesty, it's Historia and Darcy. May we come in?" Eren kisses you on the cheek and whispers, "I'm so sorry, I'll fix this…I promise." He gets up and opens the door for Historia and Darcy. Historia whispers "Pieck" to Eren, who responds with a nod.

You, on the other hand, are left confused. What did he mean by "I'm sorry", and how does he intend to fix this? And what did Historia whisper to him? You need to find out what the hell just happened, "Historia?" The short blonde rushes over to you. "Yes, Your Majesty?" Darcy runs to close the door, knowing this conversation is not meant for the whole castle to hear. "What exactly is going on in the Courts?" You ask her. Historia takes a deep breath, "I'll tell you…about the story of Lord Zeke Jeager."

#eren jeager x reader #eren jeager x you #eren yeager x black reader #eren yeager x reader #eren yeager x you #eren jeager x y/n #eren x reader #eren x you #eren jeager x black reader #eren yeager smut #eren jeager smut #eren smut #eren yeager fluff #eren yeager angst #eren jeager fluff #eren jeager angst

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jxckyx3 · 2 years ago

Text

Hi!

So this is one of my older prompts that has just been sitting in my drafts for a while now. I think it's been a year or two...?

(⁠;⁠ŏ⁠﹏⁠ŏ⁠)

Either way, I finally decided to use it and I hope you all like it!

💜🖤💜

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Ship: Daithideterroriser

Top: Brian

Bottom: Nogla

AU: /

Setting: Apartment building

Type: Smut / Fluff

Warning ⚠️: The chapter you're about to read contains heavy swearing, alcohol, one night stands, theft, smut, sexual themes and other mentions or situations that may disturb, trigger or offend the viewer. Reader's discretion is advised. 🔞

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Third pov -

"Is that..." The lanky man trailed off, glancing over at his roommate from his spot sitting on the couch in the living room.

The other who had just returned from the drug store hummed in response, a wide smirk on his face.

"Had to get a few more boxes. Ran out the other night." He said, struggling to shut the door with his hands, as they were occupied with an unnecessary amount of tiny, dark grey boxed condoms.

Nogla sighed in pity and slight disappointment as he watched Brian struggle, dropping a few boxes on the floor as he bent over to grab his dropped car keys.

He continued to stare at his friend with the same expression as he giddily made his way down the hall, disappearing into his room with a small slam of the door.

Nogla chewed on his inner cheek, listening to the sound of Brian shuffling around in his room until the the man came back out, that same big smile still formed on his face.

Please don't say-

"I'm gonna head out. Might be back tonight, who knows?" Brian said with a laugh, wiggling his brows in hint as he held up a line of new condoms.

Nogla knew he was gonna say that...

The taller gave a halfhearted chuckle, internally cringing as he stared at the blue rings. He could only imagine what kinds of things those poor latex coverings were gonna see pretty soon.

"Alright, don't wait up!" The other said, giving his roommate finger guns and a quick wink before he was out the door and the apartment was filled with silence again.

Nogla let out a long sigh of...what was it? Sadness? Anger? Annoyance? Loneliness?

Loneliness...yeah, that was it.

Over the last few weeks, Brian had been acting strange to Nogla. He had suddenly started leaving the house mid day and coming back late at night. Sometimes he'd even disappear for more than a day at times.

Brian was always a mature guy. Waking up early, working out, doing his work. But lately, he's been doing the complete opposite of that.

Skipping breakfast, stopped working out, being late to recordings with him and the guys, day drinking.

Nogla didn't know why Brian has started to wast his days like that, as it came out of seemingly nowhere. There was no further days ahead that hinted Brian was in distress or any sort of unhappiness, so why now?

Why so suddenly did he decide to waste his time bar hopping, getting stoned with people he didn't even know at random parties and having all these one night stands?

One night stands.

That's what bothered Nogla the most about Brian recently. He's been putting more time into hooking up with girls, that the taller couldn't even look at his friend the same without questioning how many girls he's fucked that week.

Of course he knew it was none of his business, and he had no say in what Brian did with his time or body. But he was worried for his friend.

The shorter of the two had been mugged, stolen from, and jumped before so there was no telling what could happen next.

He could be drugged, kidnapped or worse, killed.

Nogla saw no positive outcome in anything Brian's been doing, and lately it's been getting out of hand.

He heaved another sigh, setting his guitar aside and tossing his notebook on the coffee table.

He suddenly wasn't in the song writing sort of mood.

He pulled himself off the couch and trudged over to the kitchen, feeling the sudden ache to calm himself with a nice warm cup of tea.

The sex part of Brian's sudden immaturity acts had gotten the worst. Even more so than the drinking part.

It had gotten so bad, to the point that he'd go out almost every other night if not every night. Then on the days when his roommate was home, he'd bombard the other poor man with his stories and who he met and who he fucked. Where they fucked, how they fucked, when they fuc- it was just too much for Nogla.

He couldn't relate with Brian in any way on that sort of topic. One reason being because he was single, and stooping down to Brian's level to the point of having one night casual sex wasn't in his best interest.

Another reason being, was because he was just not a sexual guy. He didn't understand it when guys discussed eachothers sex stories to eachother in major detail as if it was the most casual thing ever. Nogla wasn't the kind to get grossed out easily, but a topic like that could definitely ruin his appetite.

And a third reason, was just because he was gay. He wasn't closeted, having told his friends and viewers just a few months ago. And expectedly one of the perks of being a homosexual, was that Nogla didn't see women in any sexual way. Where as Brian, saw women as God's finest work.

And don't get him wrong, he loved women too and thinks they are powerful and beautiful in their own ways. But he just didn't see them in the same light Brian did.

When Nogla looked at a women, he thought 'Wow, she's so pretty. I wonder how she got her body to look so sculpted. Must be working out...I need to work out soon.'.

Where as when Brian saw a women, he thought 'God damn, gimme a piece of dat' ass!'.

See the difference? It's not hard to spot.

At first sight, Nogla appreciated a women for her looks. Wondering how she manages to look as beautiful as she does, and question's wether he should try something new to make himself look prettier as well. But for Brian, he observes the women in an inappropriate manner, wondering what she's like in bed or what she would look like undressed.

Hell, even on the rare days when Brian is home he still talks about it. Wether it be when the two are watching tv, or if he's seen a new face near their building.

It never failed, and it was truly starting to get to Nogla.

When he first got his Visa, he had no place to stay. Brian had already had his, so he offered to let the other live with him. So he agreed.

The two were so happy and excited, talking about all the things they'd do, all the cool plans they'd have together.

Nogla's been living with his best friend for only a year now, and now Brian's barely in the house anymore.

Nogla was lonely, sad, and he felt disappointed in himself for not saying anything about it to Brian.

He felt wrong to do so, as if he was gonna step into restricted area.

"Telling someone what ta do, especially when I live in their house... I can't do that." He uttered to himself, sighing loudly as he stared down at his cup of tea.

He watched the steam rise into his face, staring down at himself in the dark brown liquid.

He could always share these problems with the other guys, but he didn't want to do that without talking them out with Brian first.

It felt...weird to talk about someone behind their back, so why do it to Brian?

Technically the shorter man had done nothing wrong, so what was there to complain about?

The fact that he felt ignored? Sounds more like a personal problem.

Nogla shook his head, grabbing the cup and taking a small sip from the sweet heat.

Maybe he could wait it out? Maybe it was some sort of phase Brian was going through. Maybe it would go away in time.

Maybe...

Nogla's pov -

That maybe, had turned into a definite nope.

It's been two more weeks, and I honestly don't think I could take any more of Brian's bullshit.

I did mention to him that he wasn't around lately. I told him his dogs were missing him, just to use it as an excuse in hope of having him stay home more.

It did work, but not in the way I expected.

Instead of running around town from club to club looking for someone to bang, he ended up installing a dating app so that he could bring girls here. To have sex!

It didn't help that he now has people digitally lined up, waiting for an opening so that they could have the next turn with him.

I thought bringing him home would be a grand idea. So that we could spend a bit of time together, so that I don't have to call or text a dead, lost or stolen phone whenever I needed to remind him it was time to record.

But did I help? No, in fact I think I may have made it worse.

I haven't gotten sleep for days! Hearing moaning and banging and cursing almost every day of the god damn week!

And I've also learned that Brian likes to go hard; so not only am I worried for him about getting an STD or some shit, I also worry about the girls and if they are physically okay after getting railed by Brian!

Sometimes I try to offer the girls a drink or at least a bath or something, but that never really fails without one of them hitting on me, cursing me out, or just giving me the stink eye.

Some of them were nice I guess, but that's the only positive side in this whole situation.

The worst part, is that sometimes Brian kicks me out of the apartment when he brings over more than one girl. And lately, he's started to do that more often.

I get that it's his place, and that he's charging me less than half for rent but fuck, is it getting annoying.

He knows I have no place to stay, so he usually kicks me out during the day. Telling me to go to the mall or some shit.

Sometimes I'd come home late like he suggested of me, and the door would be locked. I would end up having to wait in the hallway till morning, find a hotel that was open 24 hours a day, or recently, I'd have to pick the lock.

I had just learned to do that, so I wasn't really good at it and it usually took some time.

All these things were getting to me, and I know it's natural for a middle aged man to be sexually active --especially Brian--, but fuck is it aggravating.

It certainly doesn't help my crush on him either, and it just makes me sad seeing him act this way.

"Hey Daithi, here."

I glanced over from staring at my plate of breakfast, untouched, cold.

"Yeah?" I asked, my voice raw and croaky, having just woken up. I looked down to see him handing me a green piece of paper, the number 'fifty' in bold.

I stared at it for a few seconds, looking between him and the bill for a few seconds.

"Why are ye handin' me money?" I asked, confused. Brian, hummed, setting the money down near my plate on the counter before moving to serve himself some food as well.

"Well I'm gonna have a few 'friends' over and we're gonna be drinking fer most of te day. Then later, we're gonna fuck." He said with a chuckle, adding a slight motion of thrusting his hips forward at the end.

I watched with a pout as he set a few of the eggs that I made on his plate, grabbed a few pieces of bacon and tater tots with his fork.

"So ye're kickin' me out again." I huffed, saying it as more of a statement than a question, since that's exactly what was happening. I crossed my arms as Brian turned around, his eyes fixed on me. He blinked a few times in silence, before flinching and moving his eyes back down to the pan.

The fuck was that about?

"Well, when you put it that way...but yes. That's exactly what I'm doing." He said, grinning to himself as he set his plate down on the counter and started to eat standing up.

"So what do'ya want me to do with t'is?" I asked, gesturing down to the money. Brian shrugged, ripping apart a piece of bacon with his teeth.

"I dunno. Go out and buy yourself somethin'. Meet new people. Go fuck a guy." He suggested, laughing to himself at the last part.

I scoffed, pushing the bill away.

"First of all, I have enough stuff. Second of all, I hate meeting new people and third, I don't do the fucking." I said, huffing as I shoved a bite of eggs into my mouth.

I watched as he raised his brows in surprise, looking me up and down in askance. I just waved my hand at him to drop the subject, not particularly wanting to talk about the fact that I'm a bottom.

I knew he was gonna end up telling the guys, and that would mean more gay jokes and teasing for later next time we recorded. But now I was too tired for Brian's bullshit.

"Then go on a shopping spree at...the grocery store?" He suggested, quirking a brow at me. I pursed my lips in thought, glancing up at him before I swiped the money off the counter.

He chuckled as I shamefully shoved the bill into my pocket, shooting him a quick glare that he knew my weakness for food.

"Fock off thot." I muttered, taking a few quick bites before hopping off the bar stool and heading for my room.

If Brian paid me more than usual, then that meant he needed me out of the house quickly.

Who the hell even invites fuck buddies over at nine in the morning anyway?

I scoffed at the thought, rolling my eyes as I pulled my shirt off. I walked over to my closet, putting on a much cleaner one. I pulled a pair of skinny jeans on and threw on a jacket and a pair of shoes.

Passing the body mirror, I quickly ran my hands through my hair, fixing a few messy ends before grabbing my wallet.

I wasn't really up for looks, just wanting to leave before Brian's snobby girls came.

"Alright, I'm headin' out." I said, setting my foot on the stool and quickly tying my shoes.

"Shit, that was quick." Brian commented, glancing at the change of clothes. I hummed, grabbing the cup of coffee from his hand and chugging it.

"The sooner the better." I sighed, booping his nose before moving towards the door.

"See ya soon." I called, only having time to see him stare at his now empty cup before I was out the door and gone.

"Alright, bye Oliver!" I called, giggling as the callout caused him to stumble and glance my way.

"Bye David! Hope to catch you soon!" He said, waving his rag at me as I opened the door. I laughed at the dorky smile on his freckled face, waving him off before heading out the coffee shop.

I hummed to myself happily, staring down at the coffee in my hands.

Okay, maybe Brian was right about the meeting new people thing.

A few hours ago it seemed that I walked into the small coffee shop. It was already late, but I was still tired from this morning, having been technically forced out of the house- or paid to leave.

I wasn't expecting to stay long, maybe just grab a few muffins and a drink then be on my way.

But that's when I met Oliver.

He told me he was a trans male, around my age, and was really chipper. His burst of energy was really contagious and it made them really fun to talk to. He liked to babbel about his girlfriend a lot, something I found admirable.

I had only met them a few hours ago, but I truly felt as if he was my role model.

He owned a coffee shop, had his own home and he was getting engaged soon.

I know I had my own good things in life. My channel, my subscribers, my friends, family. But he just seemed so...happy.

Must be his relationship.

I sighed, walking slowly as I stared up at the sky. The stars were hardly shining because of all the city light, but the moon highlighted the clouds just perfectly where it was still calming to look at.

I glanced down at my phone, reading the time.

It was past ten already. Hopefully Brian's 'company' is gone by now.

I sighed at the thought, frowning as I trudged along the sidewalk.

Yeah, Oliver had a relationship. I envy them.

But as much as I try, I can never shake the thought of Brian out of my head.

Yeah he may be a dick sometimes, yeah he was insensitive at times and yes, he was straight. But...he was charming, sweet, and overall a really nice guy to be around.

It was one of the main reasons I so unhesitatingly agreed to be his roommate. Because not only did I want to spend more time with him, I was hoping it would bring us closer. At least as best friends.

Well, I consider him my best friend. I dunno if it applies the other way though.

I growled to myself, gripping at my hair with my free hand.

All this overthinking and want is giving me a migraine.

I took a large gulp from my coffee, relaxing my shoulders as the hot liquid ran down my throat. I took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before letting it out through my mouth.

Breath, Nogla. Relax.

I raised my paper bag of muffins, holding it with my teeth as I moved my coffee to my other hand.

Without thinking, I grabbed the door handle and turned it with a small click.

I frowned in confusion, taking a second to realize.

I usually go straight for the bent paper clip that I placed on top of the door frame, seeing as Brian usually locks the door when people are over and I'm out. And since he never gave me the spare key, I have the pick the lock.

But...this time it was unlocked?

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, slowly pushing the door open. I jumped slightly as Brian's dogs panted happily at me, nudging my shoes. Loud radio music was playing and all the light were off. I closed the door behind me and gently patted the pups heads, pushing them aside. I walked, slowly managing to maneuver towards the kitchen not too far away.

I patted the wall, finding the switch and flicking it on.

My jaw dropped at what I saw, the muffin bag falling from my mouth.

"What te fuck?!" I exclaimed, slamming my coffee down onto the counter.

The three women glanced up from their spot on the floor, hovering over a just waking up Brian. Their hands were full of his shit; money, cards, and even his ID.

They looked like deer caught in headlights, frozen and shocked, not moving a single muscle even as Brian slowly pulled himself from off his back.

"Te fuck...hey is t'at my wallet?" He asked, rubbing his eyes before snatching the leather pocket from one of the women.

I sighed, leaning against the counter as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Get te fuck outta our house before I call the cops." I growled. One of the women opened her mouth, looking as if she was gonna protest.

I dropped my hand and glared over at her, quickly cutting off any attitude she was ready to give me. They gave each other quick glances, as of trying to mentally discuss what to do.

"Out!" I shouted, quickly making up their minds as they gathered their stuff and skedaddled for the door. They only shot quick glances at me, looked terrified as they ran out the apartment.

I shut the door behind them, sighing as I locked all three locks.

"Way ta go dumbass, ya almost got robbed." I sighed, taking a sip of my coffee as I watched Brian pull himself off the ground with a low groan.

He held a hand to his forehead, indicating he had a headache.

Good.

I glanced down, taking in his state. There was dool trailing from the side of his mouth, bite marks littered his neck and shoulders as well as hickeys and there was obvious scratch marks that started at his chest, more marks following down to his back and arms.

I wanted to feel mad at those women for being careless with his body like that, but it was hard to stay mad when he wasn't wearing a shirt; each and every muscle shown beautifully from the thin layer of sweat on his skin, the white kitchen light helping.

I glanced away, feeling my face heat up as I took another sip of coffee.

"The fu-... they took my fucking cash." Brian cursed, huffing in frustration as he tossed his wallet onto the counter.

I snorted, rolling my eyes at him.

"Good. Ye should be glad t'ey didn't take you're cards n shit." I teased, sliding him one of the chocolate muffins I got from the shop, along with two pills of Advil I grabbed from the drawer.

I reached into the cupboard to grab a mug, filling it up with tap water and handing it over to Brian.

He heaved a heavy sigh, tossing the pills in his mouth and chugging the water in big gulps.

Hmm, must've been dehydrated.

"I'm fuckin' parched." He croaked, poking at the muffin before breaking a piece of and popping it into his mouth. I chuckled at the gravely sound in his voice, nodding as I poured some of my coffee into his empty cup and sliding it back over.

"Well that's what booze and vodka does, Brian." I said, glancing over his shoulder at the large alcohol bottles sitting on the coffee table in the living room.

He hummed, frowning down at his hands before grabbing his cup.

"Where'd ye get t'is pastry? It's fuckin' marvelous." He exclaimed, ignoring me to taking another bite.

I chuckled to myself remembering the coffee shop that was ran by both Oliver and his girlfriend, Alexandria.

Such pretty names.

"I got it downtown from a small coffee shop. The guy who made it gave me a good deal on it along wit' te coffee." I said, smiling as I hopped on to the counter.

Brian froze, raising a brow as I folded my legs.

"Guy? Y'know him?" He asked, grabbing his mug and taking a sip.

"Yeah, I met them today, his name's Oliver. Pretty nice guy. Kind cute too." I said, chuckling to myself. It was more of a friendly observation than a comment on his looks in any attracted manner.

He was just simply cute, like a puppy or an innocent baby deer in a way. Almost like a child.

I frowned as Brian choked on his coffee, a few trails leaking down his chin.

"Ye alright-

"Yeah, yeah 'm grand. Tell me more about 'em?" He asked, keeping his eyes down as he wiped the spilt coffee away. I frowned in confusion before continuing.

"Well he owns the shop, he's our age, uhh...well we didn't really talk much about ourselves. Just random topics in general." I said, finding the statement the most accurate. Most of the time we spoke, Oliver just shared tik toks he found to be funny, or asked my opinion on some of the sample muffins they had there. The rest was basically asking about me or talking about his girlfriend.

So there wasn't really much to say about him, more so of Alexandria.

"...huh." Brian spoke, looking as if he was deep in thought as he took a long slow sip from his cup.

"'Huh'?" I asked, confused on his response. He shrugged, setting his cup back down and crossing his arms over his chest.

"I thought ye said ye didn't like meeting new people." He said, looking up at me with half lidded eyes.

I stared, observing the small quirk in his brows and the slight frown on his lips.

Was he...mad at me?

"Well I don't, but he came up ta me. He was pretty nice so we kinda just hung out a while." I said softly, so that if he was mad, I didn't somehow make him any madder.

Brian just nodded his head, licking his teeth as he looked up at me before standing up.

"Alright well, I'm tired. See ye tomorrow. Goodnight." He said, giving me an obviously forced smile before reaching up and ruffling my hair. He booped my nose the same way I did to him this morning before lazily heading towards the hall with a loud yawn, taking his coffee and muffin with him.

I opened my mouth to speak, but seeing as I had nothing to say, I closed it back up.

Was he okay? Well he did almost get robbed tonight...might be the alcohol.

I sighed, setting my cup down and hopping off the counter. I grabbed a small grocery bag from under the sink, knowing I'd surly have to clean up Brian's mess.

Brian's mess...that included of beer cans alcohol bottles and...

"Ugh, condoms." I muttered to myself, taking a glance at the living room floor where at least a few full, tied up condoms were.

I shivered, groaning in disgust as I grabbed a clean pair of plastic cleaning gloves from the drawer.

I knew it was bad, but now it's worse.

It's gotten to the point, that Brian is starting to bring a new girl everyday. Sometimes more than one girl a day.

Regardless, he hasn't leaned anything since the last time those girls tried to rob him, seeing as he gets fucked over both literally and figuratively more times than I can count.

He's had to cancel five credit cards, get a new ID three times and had seven hundred dollars worth of cash stolen all in a span of three weeks!

It's gotten out of hand, and no matter how many times I've told him to calm down, to stop, he just ignored me or brushes it off as minor issues.

I'm getting tired of Brian letting all these women stomp all over him like some kind of useless money bag and sex toy, and it's honestly pissing me off that he's done nothing about it.

"Brian, we need to talk." I started, walking into his room without knocking.

"Jesus, knock will ya?" He said with a slight chuckle, sitting on his bed and tucking a few folded condoms into his leather jacket.

I've expressed my anger and irritation on the matter before, and it's never gotten me anywhere. But this time was different.

This time I'm gonna make sure he knows how much I hate the lifestyle he's chosen.

"Fuck knocking, it was probably just made up by some guy who got caught jacking off so he created a way for his family to warn him and let their presence known when at his door so t'at he doesn't have to get caught doin' it again." I huffed, leaning against the wall near the door and crossing my arms over my chest.

Brian froze, glancing up at me with the same smile. It softened a bit, probably realizing how angry I was right now.

"Hey, what's up?" He pried gently, setting his hands on his knees.

I glared down at him for a second before speaking.

"You can't go out anymore." I started.

"Ugh, not this shit again." He groaned, sighing when running a hand down his face.

"Yes, this again. Brian, you're wasting your life away and I'm not gonna just sit here and watch." I huffed.

He scoffed, standing up and grabbing his wallet.

"Yeah, no I'm going out. Wether ye like it or not." He said, grabbing his phone and tucking it into his pocket.

He made his way over to the door but before he could head out, I set my hand on the wood and slammed it shut.

He stared straight ahead, nodding at the door before sighing and looking down at the floor.

"Nogla..." He said, his voice warning. I pushed my lips into a pout, taking a single step sideways to block the door, completely cutting Brian's chance of leaving during the conversation unless he jumped out the tenth floor window.

"David." He said, snapping his eyes up to meet mine. His voice was now stern, a bit of anger laced in his tone.

But I wasn't gonna be bothered by it.

"Y'know what? No, okay? You've been drinking every day, having multiple one night stands for two months and you've been robbed for weeks. You're late for when we record, you can't even help me pay te bills on time because of all te stolen money, and ye can't even go a few days without a drink in one hand and a vagina in the other...or your hand in a vagina- ye get what I mean!" I snapped, balling my hands into fists.

"The guys are gettin' worried, yer sister 'as been calling me saying ye ain't answering any 'a her texts and- Bri, I'm worried. Okay? We're all worried about ya, and regardless of how shitty these women are being ta you, ye don't do shit about it!" I finished, watching as each and every jab made him flinch at the truthfulness of my words.

"Daithi, it's none of you're god damn business what I do with myself and my money." He said sternly, crossing his arms over his chest. I groaned in irritation, running a hand over my face.

"I know it's not and that's exactly why I've been so quiet about it since ye started, but now it's gettin' outta hand and it's worry'in me." I stated.

"Ya don't need ta be worried. I'm a grown fucking man, Nogla. And if ye don't like it, then ye can just leave." He growled, obviously getting a bit heated from everything I was admitting. I flinched at the words, only a single flash of regret showing on his face.

A single was all I needed to not just do exactly that and get up and leave.

"No Brian, I'm not leaving ya in t'is state. This is obviously a personal problem and since nobody else is here ta do it, I have ta step in an' stop you before you go ruining your life. This is how addiction and depression starts, and if it's gets to the point where fans start ta notice, I can't help your reputation. It's outta my hands if it reaches that point, and God damn does it hurt me for not stopping ya sooner." I argued, feeling my hands shake in anger.

I kind of wanted to punch him for being so stupid and oblivious, but violence wouldn't do any good. As nice as smacking him back into reality sounded, he'd probably only fight back.

And though I'm taller than him, Brian was a strong mother fucker. I've seen him get into a bar fight one time and though it was hot as shit it was fucking terrifying.

I'd hate to have to find out what the other end of his fist felt like.

"D'ya think I give a damn about what te fans think of me? If I did, I wouldn't have shown my face on the internet at all let alone start a whole ass channel. My personal problems are none of your concern, so ye can stop feelin' bad about yourself and move out me fuckin' way will ya? I don need your fucking pity!" He snapped, moving his hands around to express his anger.

I gaped at him in shock, offended that he saw it that way.

I didn't pity him, I felt sympathy for him. He's obviously going through something that he's keeping to himself, and hasn't even spoken to anyone about it.

"I'm not pitying you Brian, I'm just trying to help! All you've been on about is sex and alcohol, sex and alcohol! When is it gonna end, Brian? When are ye gonna stop te bullshit and talk ta me about what's on ye're mind?!" I shouted.

"You're on my mind!" He gave in.

I froze, staring down at him dumbly. He heaved a loud heavy sigh, tossing his wallet and phone on the dresser and pacing around the room.

"For months, Nogla. Months, and I haven't been able to get ye outta my head! Every morning, every night, every single fucking second of the day, you're all that I can t'ink about!" He yelled, his words confusing me.

What did he mean by that?

He clearly took hint of my silence, glancing back at my confused face before he continued.

"Ever since we met, I've been crushin' on ya like a stupid teen in a god damn drama movie. I told myself that it would fade in time, that it would be gone as soon as it came. I'm straight, so I dunno what I was thinkin'! But after we met in Ireland fer te first time, it was one of the best moments on my life and my stupid feelings just ended up getting stronger!" He cursed at himself, kicking over the chair next to his dresser with a loud bang.

I flinched, not only because the loud sound and action startled me, but because I couldn't believe what he was saying.

Did he seriously...feel that way? All this time? I mean I've had a crush on him since then too, but he felt the same way?

"When ye got your Visa, I wasn't thinkin' when I offered fer ye ta live with me. But when ye showed how excited ye were, it got me excited. A month after, ye came out ta us all as gay and this stupid, annoying, inconvenience of a crush grew stronger! All I could think about was holding ye're hand, hugging ya or even doing cringey ass shit that sappy couples usually do, and it annoyed the hell outta me!" He started again.

He then snapped his head in my direction, taking a step closer.

"And what did you do? You fucking made it worse. You inconsiderate little shit, you decided to wear women's clothes, and wear pretty hair pins and those cute little leg warmers that make your fucking legs stick out fucking adorably!" He shouted, taking another step closer.

I backed up into the door, feeling the cold wood on my flushed back.

Brian scoffed, chuckling deeply but not one of humor or happiness.

"Just look at what you're fucking wearing right now." He seethed, shaking his head as he openly checked me out.

I glanced down, now slightly feeling flustered in the clothes I was wearing.

It wasn't much but a cold shoulder long sleeve a black pair of shorts and high knee socks, but I now felt exposed in a way. As if I was completely naked under his gaze.

"I-im sorry." I stuttered, not really knowing how to respond to any of what he was saying.

"Yeah, you fucking should be. I had to fuck numerous women that reminded me of ye, just so that I could get some relief fer seein' ye every day. Jacking off stopped working after a while, and sex all together did. So I had ta drink, so t'at I could bear fucking a women that sounded nothin' like ya! At least they let me call them Daithi, right?! It helped that they didn't know what it meant. I told them it meant 'beautiful'." He admitted sighing to himself as he ran his hands through his hair.

I could feel my heart beat practically slamming in my chest and my body heat up a hundred degrees from how flustered I was.

It didn't fucking help that Brian was angry and God did I love when he gets angry. I'll admit that it's hot, but now probably wasn't the time to be thinking about that right now.

I should feel weirded out that he pretended all those women were me. Hell, any sane person would pack their shit and leave.

But it felt nice to know he did that. Nice to know that he didn't fuck just any women. He only did the ones that strongly reminded him of me.

It did explain why all the women had dark hair and pale skin. Most of them even had green or brown eyes. And they were all tall...I mean some of them were short but the majority of them did resemble me with individual features I guess.

❗15+❗

"And y'know what Dai? Ya should feel sorry, because you're the one that pushed me ta drink. You're the one that caused me to fall in love with ya, and you're the one ta make me so God damn sexually frustrated." He said with a suddenly deep tone and voice. He took a small step closer to me with each blame, and it was honestly scaring me to think of what he was gonna do it he closed the gap between us.

"And God fucking damnit, it's you're fault for looking so fuckable!" He shouted, grabbing my neck and yanking me down.

I jolted, a small squeak forcing itself out of my mouth as he smashed our lips together, out teeth clinking from the force.

The slight pain wasn't much to think about, as he shoved his tongue into my mouth and intertwined it with my own. My eyes were wide in shock, my hands placed on the door behind me.

Brian's lips moved aggressively and roughly that it was hard to refuse the dominance. There was no room for surprise or fear or even shock as he kissed me. Only pleasure took a hold of my mind and body as he slid his other hand to my waist, griping tightly.

I've always imagined what Brian's lips might feel like against my own, but this was ten times better than anything I've ever thought of.

I closed my eyes, setting my hands on his shoulders to push him away. He growled into my mouth, like he didn't want to pull away just yet. Or at all.

"Mhn...air-...mn." I managed to fit the single word between our mouths. Brian sighed loudly, irritated but understanding. He let go of my neck, letting me slowly pull off with a gasp.

I rested my head against the door, closing my eyes to imprint the memory of his lips on mine. The feeling, the warmth, the taste. It was all so good.

I then flinched, a moan of surprise escaping from my mouth as I felt Brian attach his lips to my throat.

I griped onto his jacket tightly, clenching my jaw to hold in my noises as he trailed his tongue across my pulse point, slowly moving down till his teeth hit my collar bone.

"I-im glad." I muttered, finally getting a chance to breath properly when he pulled back in confusion.

"What?" He asked, clearly not understanding.

I looked back down to him, meeting his gaze.

"I'm glad ye feel t'at way. I...I like ye too." I admitted bashfully, raising my hands to trail my thumbs across his jawline, admiring how sharp it was.

Brian stared at me for a few seconds in silence. His face was blank and it was hard to read what he was feeling let alone thinking right now.

I then yelped as he grabbed my thighs and threw me up, pushing me up against the wall and pulling my legs around his hips. The sudden change in position definitely made it easier to kiss, seeing as we were now at the same level.

"God I love when you're shy and honest." He groaned, licking his lips before pushing in for another kiss.

My breath hitched in my throat just as it did the first time, his teeth biting my lower lip to demand entrance.

🔞

I allowed it, already feeling comfortable with his tongue darting around my mouth. Brian slid his hand into mine, the other one feeling around until it rested on my backside.

Shivers ran down my back as his thumb slid under my shirt and massaged into my tailbone, the others still resting on my butt.

"Fuck Brian..." I moaned as he pulled back, closing my eyes as his hands finally slid down my shorts, cupping my back-end softly.

Brain growled, his chest rumbling against my own from how close we were.

"Shit, say my name like t'at again." He demanded, sliding his hand lower and gripping tightly. I jerked at the rough action, biting my lip as his nails dug into my skin.

"B-brian." I repeated, following orders as he said. He let out another sort of low moan, before pulling me away from the wall and throwing me on the bed.

I landed with a soft grunt, moving to get up only to be pushed back down.

Brian growled curses and profanities to himself as he unbuttoned my pants, violently tugging them off my legs.

Usually I liked it when my partner was soft or gentle, but somehow the way Brian was aggressively tearing my clothes off, just made me more aroused by the second.

I lowered my hands to my crotch as he finally yanked my pants past my thighs and off of my legs.

"Don't hide baby, I wanna see it all." He muttered softly, pulling my wrists away.

Brian then froze, staring down at my black laced underwear for a second. I mentally cursed at myself, feeling my face go red as I averted my gaze.

"Heh... panties." He commented, looking up at me with a smirk. I pushed my lips into a pout, scowling at him. He just laughed at my embarrassment, leaning down and pressing his mouth right against my heat.

I gasped at the sensitive feeling, slightly arching my back as he inhaled deeply, sliding his face higher until he was at the center of my belly.

Then he exhaled.

"Ye smell so beautiful, my love." He complimented, before pressing open mouthed kisses on my skin.

I wiggled my wrists in his grasp, the words catching me off guard. Wether it was the comment in general or the pet name he had called me, regardless it made me feel nice and all tingly inside.

Brian placed more kisses, going higher and higher until his mouth reached my chest, his nose having to push my shirt up the whole way there.

"B- Brian please..." I whined softly, gasping as he lightly slid his tongue against one of my nipples.

"Beg, my beau." He uttered, adding teeth into the mix.

Great, now he's adding more pet names to flustered me further? Is he pulling these out of his ass?

"C-can ye please just- ugh, Brian!" I whined, not wanting to throw away my pride so quickly.

I mean, I waited days to build up the courage to finally point out to Brian that he had a serious problem and needed to stop drinking and having sex for weeks at a time, only to have him confess his love, pin me down then fuck me?

What else did he want from me? My dignity?!

"Ah, ah, ah. Don't be a brat, David." He said, using my real name.

That mean he was being dead serious.

I whimpered, whining in defeat as there was no other way around this. I had to beg and I had to beg good if he was gonna give in and gimme what I wanted.

"Pl- please Brian. It's startin' ta hurt now, c-can ye just...can ye...can ye please just fuck me already? I-i wanna feel...I...I wanna feel you inside of me, please Brian." I pleaded helplessly, looking away as I felt my body heat up in shame.

Brian chuckled smugly, biting his lip as he looked down at me with power.

"God, of course dipshit. I would've said yes with a simple 'please'." He groaned.

I turned to glare at him but that thought had suddenly came to an end as he rubbed his hand into my crotch.

I mewled at the feeling, rolling my hips up into the touch to add pressure. Brian chuckled at the action, using his other hand to run up and down my chest.

I cursed under my breath as he played with the lace on my underwear, his fingertips feeling cold against my warm skin.

His left hand then trailed up from my chest to my neck, simply resting there.

Before I could assume why, his other hand gripped my panties and tore them right off with a loud tear.

I yelped in surprise, moving to sit up only for his first hand to tighten around my neck and push me back down.

"No moving." He ordered, keeping his eyes on mine as he slowly moved his hand to my groin. I gasped, holding onto his left wrist tightly as he slid his fingers up and down slowly.

"Oh my gosh...haa, Bri." I whimpered, closing my eyes in pleasure as his thumb slid up to my chin, pushing onto my bottom lip.

"Fuck, I love when ye call me that..." He admitted with a groan, sticking his thumb into my mouth.

He pressed his finger onto my tongue, playing around with the saliva as his other hand lowered between my legs. I squirmed, panting heavily as his fingers brushed against my entrance, slowly teasing the rim.

"Be honest, Dai. When's te last time ye've been fucked?" Brian asked, leaning over me as he slowly pulled his thumb out, wiping my spit onto my lips.

I stared at him in silence, too busy loving the feeling of his fingers gently circling my love hole.

"M-months? A year? I dunno." I admitted, trying to push my hips into his hand so that he could just get the hint and finger me already.

Well, he obviously got the hint. He just didn't wanna give in so easily yet.

"Damn. 'S been a while hadn't it? Y'er not te kinda person ta jack off either, are ya." He said, now teasing me with words, his eyes glancing back down to my lips every now and then.

I shook my head, embarrassed. Brian laughed at that, seeming to find it funny how submissive I was being right now.

"Aww, poor baby. Don't worry though, I'm gonna make ye feel so good ye're gonna be beggin' fer more." He grinned, pushing all three fingers in.

I yelped, tensing at the feeling. He pressed his lips back down to mine, slowly scissoring me open with all three digits.

It was hard to breath while kissing him and moaning into his mouth at the same time, along with the motion of his fingers pushing in and out.

God he was right. It felt so good. It felt so good, I'd give up anything to have him make me feel this way.

The way his fingers just barely brushed the nerves inside of me, the warmth of his tongue creeping into my mouth, the weight of his body on top of mine, his hips between my legs, spreading me open.

God this was heavily.

Brian's pov -

Another small gasp slipped past his lips, the sound getting caught between our mouths.

His breathing was stuttered and every thrust of my fingers caused another jerk in pleasure and mewl into my lips.

Everything about this was exactly like how I imagined and more.

The warmth of his walls tightening around my fingers, every gasp and sigh he made, the helpless whispers of my name moaned onto my tongue.

It was fucking amazing. He, was fucking amazing.

I pulled back from the kiss, trails of saliva connecting between our lips. His eyes and lashes were glossy, his face red beyond just a simple blush.

"B-bri, I need y-"

"Shhh, I'm gonna give it ta ye. Just be patient my love." I reassured, having to physically restrain myself from tearing this man apart.

He was just so cute and sexy in every way.

I dunno why I waited so long to confess to him, but thank God he gave me the push I needed.

I'm glad he accepted my feelings for him, giving his own back in the same way. It felt like a dream when he said he felt the same. It surprised me so much, it nearly gave me a fucking heart attack.

"Brian, I need...i-i need-"

"I know baby, I know." I hushed him, giving him one last peck before moving away from him. He whined as I slowly slipped my fingers out, his body jolting as I softly rubbed my thumb against his heat.

"Ya need me now, or d'ya wanna wait a bit?" I asked softly, whispering the words into his ear. He trembled at the feeling, a smirk of satisfaction tugging at my lips.

"N-now, Bri." He whimpered, averting his gaze from me. I chuckled lightly, feeling adoration towards him from the way he kept calling me that nickname I told him that I loved.

I trailed soft kisses down his neck, halting to nibble on his shoulder as I lifted his legs around my waist. His dainty fingers tugged at my shirt, his breathing shallow.

I slipped the condoms out of my jacket, smiling down at him as he looked up at me with nervous eyes.

"D-do women usually like it when ye get rough?" He suddenly asked, blinking up at me as I pulled my jacket and shirt off.

I raised a brow in question, ripping the top of the condom off with my teeth.

"Rough?" I asked, wanting to laugh as he didn't awnser right away, his eyes mesmerized as he trailed his hands down my chest.

"Yeah uh... everytime ye brought a girl over i-it sounded like ye were goin' rough." He said, almost sounding embarrassed that he was listening in.

"Do ya want me ta go rough?" I asked, his eyes trailing down as I unbuttoned my jeans. His breath hitched in his throat as I pulled myself out, slowly rolling the condom on without a problem.

"Y-yes please." He whispered, his voice high pitched as he stared down between my legs with wide eyes.

I chuckled deeply, crawling over him. I pressed our heads close together until our noses touched, my lips just barely grazing across his.

"Ye sound scared, Daithi." I commented, noticing the sudden change in breath. Before it was slow and deep, but now it was fast and short.

He made a small sound of need, arching his back up to press our chests together.

"Brian, just shut up and fuck me already. I've been angry for two months hearin' ye fuck all these other people. It's my turn." He snapped, his lips pushed into a small pout of annoyance.

I chuckled smugly, feeling his hips rock up into my groin, looking for any sort of friction. I held his hip with one hand, pulling him as close as possible before pressing my mouth into his.

I then slowly pushed in, a loud gasp getting caught between our lips. I groaned at the heat, feeling his walls tighten the more I pushed in. I didn't stop till I hit my base, pressing my hips into his own as hard as I could.

If I was gonna do this, I want to do this right. If rough is what he wanted, I was gonna give it to him.

A small whine slipped from his tongue as I pulled away from his mouth, slowly sliding out of him till there was nothing in him but my tip.

"Are ye sure ye want it rough? I could get really aggressive." I warned, narrowing my eyes at him with a smile. He panted lightly, nodding his head at me.

"Just because ye love me doesn't mean ye need ta go easy. I want ya to rail me hard 'n fast. Treat me like one of ye're bitches." He growled softly, biting his lip as I groaned at his dirty words.

"Y'know ye're really asking fer it." I chuckled, only earning a giggle in response. I braced myself a bit, moving my knees in a more comfortable position before slamming back in.

A high pitched squeak fell from his mouth, but it was a sound of a pleasure more than a sound of pain.

We hadn't used lube, but hopefully the lubricated condom was enough so that I didn't hurt him.

I chuckled at the glare he sent me, before starting a steady rythem of in and out. It was an average pace, seeing as I didn't wanna go straight into pounding the lanky bitch.

I wanted to take my time with him. Show him how much I really love him.

But fuck was that hard to do when he just kept moaning my name with his sweet rich voice.

"F-fuck man- ah!" He yelped, throwing his head into the pillows in bliss as I hit a sensitive area, his arms shaking as they latched into my hair.

The slight sting of pain was... different. Obviously whenever I had sex with women they'd claw my back or bite my arms for support.

But the pain Nogla was giving me felt gentle. Like he was scared to hurt me. He wanted to be soft with me, but wanted me to be rough with him?

Interesting...

"Fuck Bri, faster!" He moaned, threading his fingers through my hair. I groaned deeply into his chest, grazing my teeth across his collar bone.

I did as he asked, slightly speeding up my thrusts. The constriction of his walls along with the hair pulling was beyond amazing, his hips grinding into each motion of back and forth.

I moved my hands from beside his hips, slowly feeling up his body. His skin was soft and smooth, my finger tips warm against his flushed body.

Nogla moaned quietly, his lashes fluttering as I tried my nails up the sides of his waist and torso.

"God y-you're so pretty." I stuttered in disbelief, subconsciously speeding up even more.

I let deep groans escape my throat as I rocked into him, the bed frame hitting the wall with every jut of my hips.

Nogla's keening became louder, that being the loudest sound in the room by far. He let go of my hair to move his hands to my hips, pulling me harder into him each time I pushed into him.

"Harder?" I asked quickly, not wanting to groan of moan in-between my sentences. Nogla nodded rapidly, fluttering his eyes fully open to meet my gaze.

And it that wasn't the most beautiful sight ever, then I didn't know what was.

I let out a long exhale of breath, grabbing the back of his knees and pinning them to his chest before I started to plunge in and out of him quickly.

He gasped in delight, cursing between almost every moan and scream. The new position caused me to push deeper, the angle hitting directly into Nogla's prostate.

"Brian! Brian! Oh my go- ah- sh!" He screamed, tears trailing down his face. I hummed in adoration, loving the pleas and whimpers of my name of his voice.

I couldn't help myself from leaning down to catch those noises into a passionate kiss, gripping his legs tightly.

"Fuck- sorry, I th- think I'm gonna cum soon." I admitted, feeling the burn in my gut grow quickly.

Though it was unusual for me to orgasm so soon, this was Nogla I was having sex with and it wasn't a surprise that he made my insides cramp so quickly.

"Me t-t- ah!" He moaned loudly as cum shot from his tip, hot ropes landing on his stomach as he trembled violently. I growled at the sight, as a few smaller drops managed to land on his face, one of them on his eyelashes, causing him to keep one teary eye opened as I continued to fuck him aggressively.

"I lo- I love- fuck, I love ye Brian!" He whispered desperately, cupping my face with his hands.

That was it. That was my breaking point.

I came loudly with a gravelly call of his name, my thrusts stuttering as I rode out my orgasm.

We both panted lightly as I soon came to a stop, the sound of wet breath and stuttered pants filling the room.

I smoothly pulled out, earning a small hitch of Nogla's breath as I carefully set his legs down.

I pulled my condom off and tied it up, tossing it in the small bin next to my nightstand.

I glanced back down to Nogla, staring into his dark emerald eyes before quickly leaning forward and capturing his lips in another passionate kiss.

However this one was much different from the previous ones we had. It was chaste and full of emotion, the both of us practically pouring our hearts out into the slow motion of our lips.

I pulled back with a small tug on his bottom lip with my teeth, licking my lips to savour the taste.

"I love ye too." I muttered, finding the adorable smile that spread to his face much too contagious.

"I've been waiting eight years fer ye ta say t'at." He admitted, softly running his hands through my hair. I chuckled at that, humming in pleasure at the feeling of his warm fingers on my scalp.

"I've been waitin' eight years ta hear myself say it as well." I said, reaching my hand up to wipe the trails of tears from his eyes as well as a few of the cum splatters.

He giggled loosely, wrapping his arms around my neck and pulling me down next to him, nuzzling his face into my neck and sighing happily. I chuckled at the childish actions, holding him close despite the both of us being half naked and him covered in his own cum.

I then frowned, staring at the ceiling in thought.

"Who's Oliver?" I asked, feeling the wave of jealousy hit me just as it had the night Nogla came back with muffins and that cup of coffee.

"Just a friendly guy I met at the coffee shop. I already told ye t'is Bri-...wait, we're ye jealous, thinkin' I was attracted to him?" He asked, quickly catching onto me.

I chuckled bashfully, averting me gaze anywhere else but at him.

"I mean kinda- well, yes. Okay? That's te only reason this while thing got worse. Because ye said he was cute and how nice he was. It made me angry." I sighed, finally finding the courage to look down at him.

I frowned as he laughed at my face, trying my hardest not to kiss him to shut him the fuck up.

"Brian he has a girlfriend, and when I said 'cute', I said that in a way you'd describe a child or a puppy. Ye're te only one I feel both emotionally and physically attracted to, Bri." He reassured me.

A harsh shiver ran down my back, goosebumps spreading across my chest as he said that last sentence.

"Good. Because I'm te only one who's allowed ta touch you and love you like t'is." I said, tilting his chin up to steal his lips.

He returned the gesture, running his thumb over my cheek bone.

"I'm sorry I ignored ya. I just felt sorry fer myself." I apologized, pulling back to do so. Nogla shugged, tapping our noses together before planting a kiss on my chin.

"No need fer all t'at. 'M just glad ye're all ta myself now." He said, drawing a short laugh out of me.

"Does that mean we're a thing now?" I asked, rubbing my fingertips up and down the curves of his body. He visibly shivered at the light touches, looking up at me with sweet, caring eyes.

"If by 'thing' ye mean 'lovers', then yes. I'd like that." He muttered, throwing one of his legs over my waist.

I grinned, moving my hand from his waist to slid up the under side of his leg, moving from the soft fabric of his knee high sock to his thigh, sliding dangerously close to his rear side.

"So...does t'at mean ye're up fer another round? That is a thing that lovers do, right? Love?" I teased flirtatiously, already feeling aroused by the intake of breath he took as I gently groped at his soft skin.

"God, stop sellin' yourself, I already know you're hot as it is." He whined, trailing his hands down my chest as if to show.

I then laughed in surprise as he pushed me down, hopping up to sit on top of my lap.

I bit my lip and groaned, running my hands up his thighs to ground myself as I took in the way he was displaying himself and his beauty for me and my eyes only.

"God you have such a gorgeous body." I growled, running my hand up his waist and up the center of his belly, smearing the cum splatter.

Nogla chuckled at the words, regardless, his face flushing a dark red as he pulled his shirt off and tossed it aside.

"Likewise. Now, fuck me harder than ye've ever fucked one of those girls." He demanded, grinding his own heat into mine to show how much he wanted it.

I let out a long sigh, closing my eyes and just enjoying the way his body warmth flooded over mine.

"Oh, you're gonna get it sweetie." I growled, sitting up to pull him into another lip bruising kiss.

10541 words

_____________________________________

Heh, so this one wasn't supposed to be this long but regardless I like it anyways.

😖

my upload schedule will be fucked and it'll take longer since I'm still using my neighbors wifi, regardless I'll try to keep posting frequently as possible.

Anyways I hoped you guys liked this one, and I hope ya have a great day and keep comin' back for more!!!

♡⁠(⁠Ӧ⁠ｖ⁠Ӧ⁠｡⁠)

💜🖤💜

- Jacky

_____________________________________

Featured or mentioned characters:

Nogla - Nogla, David, Daithi,

Terroriser - Brian

#daithi de nogla #banana bus squad #bbs nogla #nogla #bbs fanart #bbs #bbs crew #bottomnogla #fanart #vanoss crew #bbs terroriser #terrornogla #daithi de terroriser #the gaming terroriser #wattpad #fanfic #smut

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androidcharles · 2 years ago

Text

SURPRISE CHAPTER DROP! Hell yeah!

I'm trying to work at my own pace, but I just finished this chapter and I really wanted to post it now.

So after the Right Hand Man gets kidnapped, the Triple Threat get a new case. Is this case connected to Right's disappearance? Or something more sinister? Also Charles goes on his first date w/ Rupert, that's a thing that happens

Charles was currently in front of his mirror, adjusting his tie and fidgeting with his hair as he gazed at himself worriedly, wondering if this was enough. It had been a few days since Rupert had declared his love to him and today was Saturday. Their first date together… it was such a big step.

They had taken to talking to each other over text, but this would be the first time he would be meeting with him since they became a couple. He pursed his lips as he wondered if he was truly ready for this. The best thing you can do at this point is start growing up… what did General Galeforce mean by that? He had to admit, even when he was receiving military discipline, he did have a tendency to act childishly on occasion. Did going on this date mean that he was growing up? Or he was more grown up?

A couple of error messages flickered in his UI as he groaned, grabbing a comb and brushing it through his hair again.

“Careful, if you do that too much, it’ll get frizzy,” he heard Ellie say. He saw her reflection in the mirror as she hovered over the door, smiling at him gently as he turned towards her. Henry was also there, hovering over the doorway, smiling to himself as Charles glanced to the side, a bit unsure.

“Yeah, but… I just want it to be perfect…” Charles said as Ellie and Henry entered the room, sitting down on the edge of his bed.

“Your first date is never going to be perfect. You just have to hope that it doesn’t suck majorly,” Ellie said.

“I know, but I don’t want it to totally bomb…” Charles said, “After all, this is my first time hanging out with Rupert in a more… romantic sense?” Charles waved his hands as he said this, as if he were trying to piece together something that he couldn’t quite make the shape out of.

“Charles, it’ll be fine. My first date was a total mess because I kept going on about how everything had to be perfect,” Ellie said, “Just hang out with him normally like you would if you were just friends. That’s how it’s supposed to work.”

“Well, there’s also one other thing bothering me,” Charles said, “General Galeforce messaged me on my birthday and said that it was time for me to grow up. So I gotta ask you guys: do I seem grown up to you!?” Ellie and Henry glanced to the side; Ellie put her hand over her mouth while Henry made a strange face, gazing off into the void as Charles sighed, placing his hands over his face.

“Geez, I really have been acting like a kid this whole time, have I?” Charles muttered.

“I mean, you’re mature where it counts! On missions, you don’t like us fooling around!” Ellie said.

AND IT’S LIKE YOU’RE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSON WHEN YOU’RE BEHIND THE HELICOPTER, Henry pointed out, SO NO, YOU ARE NOT IMMATURE, YOU’RE JUST- Henry tried to find the right words as Charles sat on the edge of the bed with Ellie and Henry.

“I know, I know. I’m childish,” Charles said, “I like hopping up and down a bit too much, I get really over-excited over silly things, and I’m always dressing childishly as well. Did you guys know I wore overalls up until I was three? Now I’m eight years old! That was five years ago! UUUUUGGGGGHHH!!” Charles flopped backwards on his bed as Ellie and Henry joined him, laying next to him as he cringed.

“I think android years work a bit different than human years, Charles. To you, that was five years ago, but to a human, that’s like what? Twenty years?” Ellie said.

“I just want to know what it’s gonna take for me to start actually acting like a grown-up,” Charles muttered.

“Well, you don’t have to be grown up when you’re ‘grown up!’” Ellie said.

“But it has to be different than being a kid or something? You guys are like grown-ups… what’s the big difference?” Charles said. Ellie sat up as Henry got his thinking face on. It didn’t take long for them to start answering.

“Going to bed whenever you want…”

GETTING AWAY WITH STEALING.

“Eating ice cream for dinner instead of salad.”

BRUSHING YOUR TEETH AT THREE A.M.

“Going out with girls.”

GOING OUT WITH BOYS.

“Having almost no friends.”

“I don’t like that last one…” Charles said as he sat up as well, “And besides Ellie, we’re your friends.”

“Yeah, but my friend circle is pretty thin these days…” Ellie said.

“What about your-”

“Those guys are just contacts and people I’ve kept up with. And people who owe me favors. No friendship there,” Ellie said, “I call them my friends, but the minute I drop contact is when they lose my number.”

“I see… well, if that’s growing up is like than I don’t wanna grow up,” Charles said.

“Than don’t go on your date,” Ellie said.

“Ah… well I can be grown-up for a little bit I guess…” Charles said sheepishly as he brushed himself off, “Do you guys think I look alright?”

“I think you look great. Have fun OK? And try to be back before midnight or we’ll really start worrying,” Ellie said, “You may be ‘grown up’ but that doesn’t mean we can’t baby you a little.”

“OK…” Charles planted a kiss on both of their cheeks as he grabbed his wallet and started out the door.

“See ya later,” Charles said as he headed out of the apartment. Ellie and Henry watched him go as Ellie let out an exasperated sigh.

“You know, when they said we were basically going to be calling him our kid, I thought they were kidding…” Ellie said, leaning against the door frame.

HE MIGHT AS WELL BE OUR KID, THE WAY HE ACTS. I HOPE RUPERT TREATS HIM RIGHT… Henry signed with a sort of mean look on his face.

“Oh, you are so a shotgun dad…” Ellie giggled as Henry shrugged.

Charles and Rupert had decided to meet in the park nearby the place they were going to eat. Charles entered the park, searching the area before he saw Rupert, wearing a leather vest t-shirt combo and a pair of dark cargo pants with dark leather boots, topped with a newsboy cap on top of his head with a couple of pins in it. Compared to Charles, who had opted to wear a sweater vest with a tie and a pair of dress slacks and nice looking shoes, he almost felt like a nerd as he approached him, waving hopefully.

“Hey Rupert…” Charles said shyly as Rupert looked up, almost stunned.

“Ah… maybe I should go home and change…” Rupert said, blushing as he saw what Charles was wearing.

“I don’t mind! You look amazing!” Charles said, “Compared to me. Maybe I should go home and change…”

“No, you look great too. Kinda proper and grown up compared to me,” Rupert said. Charles beamed at the words as Rupert held out his hand, grasping his own as they started down the sidewalk, smiling and talking about little things as they approached the restaurant. They had decided not to eat at Gouda’s or a pizza place, but at a place called Fish-eria. There was a huge lobster tank in the middle of the restaurant as they were seated, looking over the menu to see what they wanted.

“This isn’t exactly the most grown up place to eat, but I really wanted to eat something fried,” Rupert said.

“Oh, those lobsters in the tank are so cute!” Charles said.

“They’re gonna get eaten soon, Charlie,” Rupert said, “They have to witness their brethren being eaten all the time.”

“With that kind of logic, I’m surprised they haven’t staged a coup yet,” Charles giggled as Rupert laughed a little. They continued to talk after they had ordered, Charles looking over and already seeing another two Toppats. He was quite familiar with their situation already; about a couple days ago, the Right Hand Man had gone missing, much to the dismay of much of clan, especially Reginald, who was especially close to him.

Amelia had been running herself ragged trying to upkeep the clan in her fathers stead, which is why he hadn’t messaged her as much lately, but seeing two Toppats here must mean there’s either a lead here or they’re spying for Amelia’s sake.

Charles tried not to concentrate on the two of them as they continued to talk, but Rupert must have noticed Charles looking at the table, because he turned to see them and let out a sigh.

“They just can’t leave ya alone, can they?” Rupert muttered.

“Well, Amelia can’t be here to spy on me, so she might as well send the grunts,” Charles muttered as he stabbed a bit of his crab with a fork.

“You know she can just ask you how your date went like a normal person. You know, IM you or something,” Rupert said.

“I know, but I guess this is her way of showing she cares,” Charles said. He decided not to drop the fact that the Right Hand Man had gone missing and they might just be here to follow a lead they had been told to chase.

“Well, whatever. I seriously don’t understand how you can trust them,” Rupert said, “If I was gonna make friends with my worst enemies, I would just try to get close to them so I can find out as much information as I could before I stabbed them in the back.”

That’s the idea, Charles thought, though he couldn’t help but feel bad about this kind of thing. For his strategy, he was hoping to kill them with kindness; meaning that if he could lure them into thinking doing good things is better than doing bad things, maybe they could all be friends with each other. And than they wouldn’t have to worry about fighting anymore.

According to Amelia, the Toppats did have a bounty hunting division. No wonder they were under the government forces tail for so long…

“I’ll have to keep that in mind,” Charles said. He was already under the impression that the Toppats were planning the same thing anyway. After all, this was a criminal group they were talking about.

“Well, anyway… do you feel a year older? My mom says that when you turn twenty five is when you really start feeling your age. And I think I understand what she means now,” Rupert said, “I felt like a kid my whole life until my birthday last year. Man…” Rupert closed his eyes as he giggled to himself.

“Well, I guess I do kinda feel like I’m a little older. But I don’t know if I feel… grown up you know,” Charles said.

“I think you’re plenty grown up. You’ve proven that lots of times,” Rupert said, “Heck, you’re dressed a lot better for our date than I am, so if that isn’t proof enough, I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Yeah, but I don’t usually act grown up all the time,” Charles said, “I’m still a little immature sometimes…”

“Well, so am I! I play video games when I should be sleeping and I still can’t eat carrots without making a face!” Rupert said, “You’re not the only ‘adult’ questioning if they’re really an adult. Though considering your age…”

“But what if I was human, I was the actual age I was on my drivers license, and I acted the way I did; would you still have fallen in love with me?” Charles asked. Rupert smiled gently as he took his hands.

“Of course I would have. Because despite how wacky you are from time to time, you’re really charming and fun,” Rupert said, “I don’t know where you’re getting all this self doubt, but it doesn’t really suit you.” Charles felt his inseams emitting steam once again as he smiled, feeling a wave of bittersweet relief flowing over him.

The waiter suddenly approached the table, handing the bill to the couple. After they had paid, they walked out as Charles received a ping on his messenger.

GlitterToppatGirl: Good to know your date went well.

xXBold_Action_ManXx: Yeah, and it’s still happening so wait until it’s over before we start our usual thing please!

Charles took Rupert’s hand and started to run down the street as they headed towards the park, laughing and giggling to each other as they got ice cream from a passing street vendor and sat on the bench, taking in the warm atmosphere of summer. With June finally on the horizon, combined with them living in near a desert, the months ahead were projected to be super hot. However, Rupert didn’t seem to complain much as Charles leaned against him, accidentally spilling ice cream on his cheeks.

“Ah, sorry, here let me just…” Charles started to lick the ice cream off of Rupert’s cheek as he giggled.

“Did you do that on purpose?” Rupert laughed, shoving Charles playfully.

“No, but this is on purpose,” Charles said as he leaned forward and kissed Rupert on the lips. He had to get better at this somehow as Rupert leaned into the kiss, letting out a small sigh as they parted.

“Yeah… that feels nice,” Rupert said.

“Are you sure?” Charles said, “We’re not moving too fast are we?”

“I would say this is an appropriate pace. Now if you asked me to marry you, than I would say it’s going too fast.”

“Aw darn! I guess I’ll have to cancel the dancing girls and the flowers.” Rupert started to laugh as they ate more of their ice cream, making little quips in between before they finally decided to head back to Rupert’s apartment.

“Do you wanna watch a movie? I know it’s a little much for a first date but…” Rupert glanced to the side shyly as Charles laughed.

“You want this date to be perfect too, don’t you?” Charles said. Rupert blushed as Charles took his hand.

“C’mon, let’s head back to your place. I need to be somewhere where I don’t have to worry about being asked if I know some kind of complex equation,” Charles said. Rupert nodded his head as they headed in the direction of his apartment building.

- - - - -

Amelia stared at the messenger app in her UI as she put her head in her arms on her desk. She was currently in her room right now. While the halls of the new recruit bunkers were usually buzzing, they were even more so than usual, with Amelia taking unofficial control of the Toppat Clan until her father was in a better state (as least mentally) to run the dang place.

Her father didn’t seem to mind in the least bit, not that he would. He was spending most of his time in bed, staring at the empty space where his right hand used to be and would sometimes cry. Sometimes uncontrollably, sometimes quietly where no one could hear. She had been practically babysitting him while this was happening, but most of all, she was also trying to take care of the clan.

All heists had been put on hold until the Right Hand Man had been found, but so far, not even the Toppat Clan’s best detectives had managed to find anything on where he might be located. All they had to go by was the blood at the scene (which was his) and some scratch marks on the pavement.

Amelia felt a bit nervous, knowing that Charles and the others had left quite a few remaining N.E.R.D. AIs to rot on Grave Road, but knowing that maybe one or two escaped and in their quiet fury, managed to escape and quite possibly kidnap her dad...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. She slapped herself a few times before clearing her throat.

“Come in!” The door opened and Reginald peered in. His eyes were quite red, but he still tried to smile despite the sad look in his eyes.

“I’m so sorry about all this…” Reginald said, closing the door behind him as he sat on the bed. Amelia sighed as she turned towards him in her chair.

“I’m sorry I took control while you were sick. But Sven couldn’t be in charge again considering the fact that he’s a no longer a higher up, so-”

“I understand. The senior members were a bit against it, but you put up quite an argument. And I wasn't really there to oppose it either... I haven’t been in the best mental state these past few days. I need to get back to leading the clan again. Even if… even if he’s not there.” Reginald put his hand over his mouth, trying to keep his composure as he cleared his throat.

“Maybe it would be best to name a temporary right hand. At least until papa is found.” Amelia was just as broken up about the Right Hand Man’s disappearance as he was, but she had lived her whole life compressing her emotions. She could compress a few more files if it meant putting on a good face for the clan.

“But who would be the best suited for something like that? I can think of a few senior members, but I think they’d want to be leader more. I can’t have someone who I know is going to stab me in the back. Especially if Right is found…” Reginald paced her room as Amelia got to thinking. The first person she thought of was Sven, since he was super good at staying organized, but not only was he not in a current position to be considered for the role, but he was also someone who had already expressed distaste in leading.

She flitted through her database, sorting everyone out and searching through everyone before she cleared her throat.

“Maybe Mr. Howitzer?” Amelia asked.

“Howie?” Reginald made a face at this, almost a little shocked that Amelia would suggest him. She had only talked to him in passing on occasion, because she could relate to him in being adopted by the clan. But while she had flourished in terms of power and skill, Howie still had yet to really prove himself. Regardless, he was still a veteran of the clan, knew how it worked inside and out and was more than qualified despite his “jack of all trades, master of none” attitude.

“What makes you think that he would be good for the position?” Reginald said.

“Well, for one he’s not super motivated; he’ll see it as a title and nothing more. And if anything he wouldn’t be too disappointed if it ever came to him having to step down. Plus, despite how much he hasn’t really flourished, he’s still pretty skilled when it comes to fighting and handling sticky situations. I think he’d be the perfect right hand until papa is found,” Amelia explained.

“Well…” Reginald winced a bit before nodding his head, “He has been here since he was young. I suppose if anyone knows more about how the clan works, it would be him.”

“Exactly,” Amelia said, “Plus if he does go rogue, I can always take care of him…” Amelia pounded her fists together as static formed at the edges of her vision. She shook her head as Reginald smiled.

“Alright, well I suppose I should address the clan, shouldn’t I?” Reginald said, “And you need to get some rest.”

“Dad, I’m fffIIIIIIIIiiIiIiIiIiiiiiiIne,” Amelia said, her voice suddenly freezing up slightly as she saw a couple of error messages in her UI.

“No you are not! I recognize that ‘fine,’ that’s the ‘fine’ you gave me before Burt had to spend three hours deep cleaning your software because it creates viruses when you don’t boot yourself into sleep mode!” Reginald scolded, “Go to bed! I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Are you sure?” Amelia said. Reginald nodded his head as she stood up and walked over to her bed, laying down and pulling the covers over herself.

“Stay here for a little bit? Please?” Amelia asked. Reginald smiled softly as he knelt down next to her, stroking the top of her head as she snuggled into her bed. She thought about the first time she had gone to sleep at the old manor; despite how warm and welcoming the clan had been, she was still scared to death because she was in a strange place and she hadn’t booted herself into sleep mode. That was, until the Right Hand Man had popped in and talked to her a bit, soothing her enough to go to sleep.

“I miss papa,” she whimpered, pulling the covers over her. Her eyes displayed tear drops as Reginald sniffled, nuzzling her forehead.

“I miss him, too,” Reginald said softly, “Don’t worry, we’ll find him. We have to have hope, after all.” Amelia nodded her head as she closed her eyes.

“Good night. I love you.” Reginald kissed the top of head as he shut the lights off before closing the door behind him.

- - - - -

The next day, Charles rubbed his eyes as he sat up in his bed, looking around and panicking, realizing he wasn’t even in his room. He looked down to see he was wearing one of Rupert’s shirts and sighed, suddenly remembering everything before he turned to Rupert, who was already waking up. He sat up next to Charles as he opened his eyes, shaking his head to wake himself up before he looked at Charles, his eyes still mostly closed.

“Mornin’ sleepyhead,” Rupert said softly. Charles smiled at him as he swung his legs over to sit on the side of the bed, stretching.

“Man, last night was really fun. I’m sorry I stayed over though…” Charles said, looking down and gasping.

“WHERE ARE MY PANTS?!”

“Uh…” Rupert crawled over to sit next to him as Charles covered himself.

“Geez, it’s not like there’s anything to hide, you’re like a life sized Barbie doll you know,” Rupert teased.

“Well, yeah, but it’s still embarrassing,” Charles said, “I can’t believe I went back to my place to get a change of clothes so I could sleep over and I don’t even wear pants to bed. It probably made you super uncomfortable too…”

“I didn’t mind. And besides, it’s not like we did anything. We were talking pretty much the whole time until two AM. I had to practically threaten that I would hold down your power button to get you to sleep!”

“Shut up,” Charles muttered, finding his pants on the ground and starting to slip them on, “I just don’t wanna overstep my boundaries. I mean, I kinda got a little sloppy when I was making out with you and than I took off my pants… why did I take off my pants?”

“You said they were making you uncomfortable. Do you always sleep without pants?” Rupert asked.

“No, not really,” Charles said, “What process in my head…”

“Don’t worry about it too much, Charlie,” Rupert said, bonking his shoulder, “If I was uncomfortable with anything you did last night, you would have been on the sidewalk missing some RAM.”

“Than I really wouldn’t have remembered last night. Anyway… I’m gonna go ahead and head out now. I have a bunch of unread messages from Ellie and they all boil down to ‘get home right away, nerd.’”

“Geez, she could do without calling you a nerd,” Rupert muttered.

“Yeah, but I still love her,” Charles chuckled, “Maybe I’ll see you again tomorrow?”

“Ah, I’ll probably be busy tomorrow,” Rupert said. Charles felt a bit forlorn about this information but than remembered that Rupert had just been promoted to Sergeant Major very recently. And with that promotion, he might be considered for captain soon.

“Well, good luck either way,” Charles said, kissing Rupert on the cheek, “Love you and see you later.”

Rupert waved goodbye to him as he headed out of his apartment to head to his own. As soon as he unlocked the door and opened it, he noticed that Ellie and Henry weren’t in the living room. He checked the messages and confirmed that they were waiting in the office, because apparently they had a new case. Charles headed into the office as he smiled at the two of them, waving sheepishly as he took a seat in the office.

“What the heck took you so long?” Ellie said.

“Uh, nothing,” Charles said.

“Oh great creators above, you slept with him, didn’t you? Charles, third date! I thought you knew that much!”

“I didn’t! And even if I did, how would I?” Charles let out a small huff as Henry giggled, waving his hands to start the meeting.

SO, YOU TWO KNOW THE PIZZA PLACE OVER ON BAKER STREET? He signed as Charles sat down, trying to keep his internal temperature from skyrocketing.

“Yeah, I ate there with Rupert and Dave on my birthday,” Charles said.

“Was there a murder there? A homicide? That guy with the glass eye at the counter was always a bit suspicious,” Ellie said.

NO MURDERS, NO HOMICIDE, NOTHING LIKE THAT, Henry told them, IT WAS ACTUALLY THEFT.

“Oh no. That’s a family business too…” Ellie said, cringing a little. Charles nodded his head in agreement as Ellie placed her hands on the table, a determined look in her eyes.

“Well, how much money was stolen?”

NO MONEY. A PIZZA RECIPE. Charles smirked and put his head down as Ellie’s eyes went blank.

“What.”

A PIZZA RECIPE WAS STOLEN. THE POLICE DIDN’T WANT TO HELP THEM, SO THEY TURNED TO US, Henry said, cringing a little, SORRY IT’S NOT A LITTLE MORE HARD HITTING, BUT MAYBE ONCE WE GET TO THE SCENE, IT MIGHT BE INTERESTING?

“Ah, geez. And here I was hoping it was gonna be like the last case we worked. Wasn’t that fun, Charles?” Ellie said.

“Yeah, until you guys got mad at me for crashing the car,” Charles said, “I was acting on instinct! And I had to protect you guys!”

I’M PRETTY SURE SOMETHING MORE SUBSTANTIAL WILL COME UP SOON. AND DESPITE EVERYTHING, THE TOPPATS HAVE BEEN SURPRISINGLY QUIET. EITHER THEY’RE ROBBING DIFFERENT AREAS WITHOUT OUR KNOWLEDGE OR THEY’RE JUST AS BORED AS US. WHO KNOWS, Henry said.

“What about you-know-what?” Charles said. Henry gazed at Charles before he shrugged.

CAN’T SAY, Henry said, I DON’T PAY ATTENTION TO THE TOPPATS.

“You seem to, though,” Ellie said, narrowing her eyes at him.

“S-sorry! I just-” Charles tried to come up with an argument as Ellie giggled a little.

“I’m messing with you, Charlie,” Ellie said, lightly punching his arms, “You can be a little concerned about them considering that one of your little friends is a Toppat as well. Just don’t let that friendship get in the way of business, alright?”

“R-right…” Charles said.

HE NEVER DOES. HE FIGHTS AMELIA JUST AS HARD AS HE DID WHEN HE WAS IN THE GOVERNMENT FORCES, Henry said. Charles nodded his head as Henry continued the meeting. It all boiled down going to the scene of the crime and seeing what they could find out and if there were any clues that indicated who might have done it.

After this, the three of them set out to the restaurant to do some questioning and hopefully find some clues. As they approached the restaurant however, they couldn’t help but notice the police vehicle and exchanged worried glances. They tried not to think anything of it as they entered the restaurant and saw two police officers talking to the cashier. The owner was standing behind him, looking at the officers with a bit of malice as he looked up, his face lighting up.

“The Triple Threat! You guys are here!” The owner ran up to the group, planting a kiss on Henry, Ellie, and Charles, who giggled as he waved his hands at him.

“I have a boyfriend!” Charles said loudly as Ellie giggled.

“That’s just how people from Northwest Stickopolis greet each other, Charles,” Ellie said.

“O-oh…” Charles said as the owner let out a hearty laugh.

“Oy!” The group looked up to see the officers waving at them. One of them had a bit of a mean look in their eyes as Henry rolled his eyes.

“Stickmin. It’s been a while!” one officer said, strolling up to him.

“Johnny? Is that you?” Charles asked.

“Huh, well, if it isn’t the ‘helicopter pilot,’” Johnny said smuggly, “Gonna take this case from me, too?”

“From what Henry told me, you guys didn’t give much a damn helping Mr. Bianchi,” Charles said.

“Well, that’s before we found out the lead may be worth following,” the other police officer piped up, “Something called ‘Project SAI?’”

“Monty! Shush!” Johnny hissed as Charles gasped, looking to Ellie and Henry, who nodded their heads.

“Yeah, we definitely want this case now. This concerns us way more than it concerns you guys,” Ellie said, “And I remember correctly, in the event that an officer of the law declares that a case is cold, they may no longer pursue it! It’s the law!”

“Right, but there’s also a sub clause that states that in an emergency, an officer may take over a case if they so wish! And I think this is as big of an emergency as it can get!” Johnny said.

“Um, Johnny we don’t exactly permission to-”

“Shut up, Monty!” Johnny shouted as Ellie smirked.

“Well, you blue bastard: where are your papers? The warrants and such?” Johnny let out a small growl as he looked to the group, to Mr. Bianchi, than back at Monty, who only sheepishly waved.

“I can convince the captain that this was an emergency situation. Until than, you can’t do anything with this case at all!” Johnny shouted as he angrily pushed the door open, causing the bell above to jingle violently as he stormed towards his car. Monty smiled, waving as he dashed towards the car, getting in as it drove off onto the street, sirens blaring as Ellie sighed.

“Mr. Bianchi, after everything you’ve been through, are you sure you want them to take the case?” Ellie asked.

“I asked for Stickmin and friends. I’ll get help from Stickmin and friends,” Mr. Bianchi said, “Including his nice friend here who has a boyfriend!”

“I’m Charles!” Charles said, bouncing in place a bit as Ellie waved at him to calm down.

“Can you tell us anything about what happened?” Ellie said.

“It would be better if I showed you,” Mr. Bianchi said, motioning for the three to follow him to the back. The group filed behind the counter as the cashier followed closely. Charles turned his head towards him, smiling gently at him as the cashier only stared back blankly, his one good eye almost as glassy as his fake one.

The group entered the office and peered inside. While everything else was in tact, a small safe was practically torn apart, bits and pieces of paper scattered everywhere as Mr. Bianchi shook his head, trying not to sob at the scene.

“This was a recipe that was passed down from generation to generation in my family. The Bianchi’s pride and joy. Now everything from the recipe for the sauce to the way the cheese is spread is gone! All gone…” Mr. Bianchi said.

“Geez, what would androids want with a pizza recipe?” Ellie muttered as she knelt down to look at the damage.

“Androids?” Mr. Bianchi said, eyeing Henry and Charles worriedly.

“Uh… it’s kind of complicated. But just know that because of that it kinda interests us,” Ellie said, standing up, “Can you give us security footage of the night of the robbery? Maybe there’s something there that we can use…”

“Of course…” Mr. Bianchi said, “I don’t know if it will be helpful however…”

“What do you mean?” Ellie asked.

“The security feed was cut off.” The three of them jumped as the cashier spoke up for the first time in a while.

“The security feed was cut off before the robbery. No one knows how it happened…” he spoke.

“Romeo, please, for the love of the greater ones, let us know when you’re about to speak!” Mr. Bianchi shouted.

“Sorry Mr. Bianchi,” Romeo said.

I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK TO MY FRIENDS ALONE IF THAT’S OK, Henry signed at Ellie as Ellie translated for the two of them. Mr. Bianchi left with Romeo, who eyed Charles suspiciously before they huddled up.

“I shouldn’t have mentioned androids. If Mr. Bianchi knew you were one after I had mentioned that, who knows what kind of accusations would be flying…” Ellie said.

“It’s fine. And of course, it’s not unusual for people not to know about Project SAI. Before it was supposed go public, it was the government’s best kept secret,” Charles said.

AND THAN ALL THOSE CRIMINAL GROUPS FOUND OUT ABOUT IT, Henry signed as Charles rolled his eyes.

“I’ll take a look at the camera. You guys tell me if find anything substantial.” Charles pulled a couple of wires out of his pocket and started to hook himself up to the camera. Meanwhile, Henry took out a magnifying glass and started to scan the area around the safe while Ellie looked around the office a bit more.

“Hmm…” Charles said, “Wow, Mr. Bianchi was right, the security footage just cuts out. It’s almost as if someone went in and just cut the footage before the robbery started.”

“The camera isn’t damaged which means they might have used a sonic pulse…” Ellie said.

“No, that wouldn’t have worked. The lights wouldn’t be working. Maybe another android came in and took the recipe? But like you said, what would androids want with a pizza recipe?” Charles said, putting his hand on his chin.

“Hey, guys!” Henry called out. Charles unhooked himself from the security camera as the two of them walked over to where Henry was. He pulled out what looked to be a soft tuft of hair.

“Hair?” Ellie said, “What’s that doing here?”

“Whoa,” Charles said, already scanning it, “That hair is artificial. Not like my hair, but it’s a different kind of hair.”

“Your hair feels very real,” Ellie said, ruffling it a bit, “But that hair is definitely fake.”

“Hmm…” Henry hummed a bit, MAYBE IT WASN’T ANDROIDS, BUT WHO WAS IT?

“Who knows… the vents are clear, so they must have come in through the front door. Picked the lock of the front door, than the office…” Ellie said, “The locks on this building aren’t very good, because the building is so old, so it’s not surprising they managed to make off with the recipe without having to go through any unconventional methods.”

THAT’S HOW I’D GO ABOUT IT, Henry said, THEIR ONLY OBSTACLE WAS THIS SAFE. IT’S VERY STATE OF THE ART, BUT THEY MANAGED TO GET THROUGH IT ANYWAY.

“So now what?” Ellie asked.

LET’S SEE IF THERE’S ANYONE WHO WOULD WANT TO PUT MR. BIANCHI OUT OF BUSINESS, Henry said, CHARLES KEEP CHECKING THE SECURITY FOOTAGE AND SEE IF THERE’S ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN FIND

“Right,” Charles said, saluting Henry as Charles hooked himself back up to the security camera and started to go through the feed again.

“Little android…” Charles flinched as he turned around and saw Romeo at the doorway.

“Hello there…” Charles muttered as Romeo entered the room.

“No need to disconnect yourself. I knew you were an android from the moment I saw you,” Romeo said, “I had some involvement in Project SAI as well.”

“Is that why the police were bothering you?” Charles asked.

“I worked in the CCC division of Project SAI. I can’t remember much else though, they wiped my memories after I was… after I quit,” Romeo said, rubbing his head, “But I do remember the androids.”

“Why do you think the androids would want a pizza recipe?” Charles said.

“It’s simple. You know the new pizza place that just opened a month ago?” Romeo said.

“Pizza-PALOOZA?”

“Yes, that one. I have a feeling it’s suspicious for one reason only, but… I can’t seem to put my finger on it. Something like it existed before but every time I try to remember, my head starts to hurt a little,” Romeo said.

“I’m sorry,” Charles said, “I’ll tell Ellie and Henry about this, OK? Maybe we can investigate the place… as long as I don’t have to talk to those animatronics…”

“The animatronics are one danger. I dread to think what else might be lurking there,” Romeo said. Charles nodded his head as he disconnected himself from the wires and headed back out as Mr. Bianchi shook his head, saying that he couldn’t think of anyone in their right mind who might employ androids to steal his pizza recipe.

“Well, if you can think of anyone, let us know. We’re gonna see if we can ask around. There has to be at least a few witnesses to this crime,” Ellie said as Henry motioned for Charles to follow them.

“Bye Mr. Bianchi!” Charles called out as they headed out the door.

- - - - -

Charles had managed to relay the information he had gotten from Romeo to Henry and Ellie, but they didn’t seem to be convinced.

“Charles, I don’t know about you, but a kid’s restaurant going out of their way to steal a pizza recipe is kinda lame, don’t you think?” Ellie said.

“Guys, think about what I said before; no one else knew about Project SAI at all. The government kept it under lock and key. Ever after the government forces raided the complex, they still kept everything under lock and key. Why would any other normal person outside of maybe us and a few people know about Project SAI?” Charles asked.

“That’s a fair point. Than we’ll need to find a way to infiltrate Pizza-PALOOZA,” Ellie said, “If we can sneak in there and-”

OR WE COULD JUST WALK IN LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE DO, Henry signed at Ellie.

“Ah, but that doesn’t sound fun,” Ellie said, “And besides, even if we could sneak in, we need a kid. It’s a kid’s place, remember?” Henry nodded his head, turning to Charles.

“Hey, I’m eight years old, but I don’t look it,” Charles said.

“Well, there’s that plan out the window. Maybe we can borrow a kid. Henry, do you have any cousins?” Ellie asked. Henry tipped his head to the side as Ellie rolled her eyes.

“Never mind. Charles, do you think-”

“I don’t think we should be putting a kid in danger just because we need to get into a pizza place,” Charles said.

“That’s… another good point,” Ellie said, “Charles… maybe you could-”

“I’M NOT ASKING RUPERT TO DRESS UP LIKE A CHILD!” Charles shouted, “Besides, he’s busy right now. He’s actually trying to go for captain, remember?”

“Oh, right, that…” The three of them stared at the wall, trying to come up with a solution as Charles sighed, turning on his message app to message Amelia.

GlitterToppatGirl: I’m in the middle of something

xXBold_Action_ManXx: I’m in the middle of something too. And I hate it. How’s the search for your papa going? OK, I can see you’re still typing, just remember: breathe.

GlitterToppatGirl: It’s going awful! There’s no leads anywhere! It’s like he vanished into thin air. I’m afraid dad’s gonna have another panic attack because of all this and it’s driving me crazy! I don’t know what to do if things don’t work out STOP THAT Anyway, how’s work going for you?

xXBold_Action_ManXx: We’re looking for a stolen pizza recipe.

GlitterToppatGirl: Fun.

xXBold_Action_ManXx: It might have been stolen by androids.

GlitterToppatGirl: What.

xXBold_Action_ManXx: Yeah, I know…

“Charles, what are you doing?” Ellie asked.

“Talking to Amelia,” Charles said bluntly as Ellie chuckled.

“Tell her we need a child. Toppat children are tough right?” Ellie joked as Charles rolled his eyes.

xXBold_Action_ManXx: We were going to investigate Pizza-PALOOZA to follow a lead concerning it, but we don’t want to draw too much attention, so we were going to go in like a normal person would. But we need a child since it’s like… a kid’s place.

GlitterToppatGirl: Can you wait until tomorrow?

xXBold_Action_ManXx: Why?

GlitterToppatGirl: I I kinda look like a kid Maybe I could take a crack at helping you guys out…

xXBold_Action_ManXx: Don’t you have to look for your papa though?

GlitterToppatGirl: I’d rather not have to think about it right now. Besides, the clan can take care of that. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.

xXBold_Action_ManXx: OK, as long as you’re OK with it. I’ll let the others know that you’re on board with helping us out. Thank you by the way.

GlitterToppatGirl: You’re welcome And don’t worry it’s not a trap, I promise.

Charles rose up as he looked at Ellie and Henry, who were looking at him hopefully.

“If you guys wanna wait until tomorrow to do this, Amelia has a plan,” Charles said. Henry and Ellie exchanged glances, a little concerned, but still curious.

- - - - -

Amelia adjusted the baseball cap on her head, taking a look at herself in the mirror as she sighed, trying not to think about how dumb she looked. While she could pull of the childish style quite well, she didn’t know if this was convincing enough. The other girls had taken the liberty of going at her with a bit of make up so she would at least look decent and even Carol seemed to have gotten over her grudge with her long enough to do her hair up in messy looking braided pigtails.

So here she was, wearing a shirt that looked a little too loud for her and a skirt with dozens of little sparkles on it, combined with some torn leggings and a pair of mismatched socks. She looked more like she didn’t know how to dress than a person who was twelve years old. She even had to bind herself a little just so her breasts wouldn’t give away the fact that she was a lot more mature than she was supposed to be.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” She jumped as she saw her dad hovering at the door, a very worried look on his face as she grimaced.

“I mean, if we want them to not do anything or even better, join us in the future, this is one of the few steps we have to take,” Amelia said, “Plus, it’s not like I’m leaving forever. It’s just an undercover mission, you know.”

“I just don’t want you to get hurt. Or, if Project SAI is involved, worse,” Reginald said, reaching over to pat her shoulder, “I know you can take of yourself, but do you know how worried I get whenever you go out and do things like this?”

“I do. You tell me every time,” Amelia said, “But I’m still glad that you care.” She kissed him on the cheek as he smiled at her, kissing her on top of the head.

“Come back safe. And if something goes wrong, message me and let me know. Please,” Reginald said, the insistence in his voice apparent. Amelia nodded her head as she pulled on her backpack and waved at him. She headed over to the elevator, riding it up and finally walking through the front doors of the manor, where Jacob was waiting for her with the car. Reginald watched from the porch as Amelia got into the car and drove away, a sick feeling in his stomach.

“Please oh greater ones, please let her come back safe…” Reginald said, putting his hands together.

- - - - -

Charles, Ellie, and Henry held their breath as a car pulled up to them, Amelia coming out and waving to the driver before the car sped off.

“Geez, that was weird,” Amelia muttered before turning to the Triple Threat group.

“You kinda do look like a kid now,” Ellie said.

“Mhm…” Henry hummed as Charles giggled.

“Well, you guys never formally met her, but this is Amelia Copperbottom,” Charles said, gesturing to Amelia as she waved.

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Nyeh, geez… I just sounded like my dad there…” Amelia said softly.

“You kinda made a noise like him too,” Charles teased as her inseams steamed up a bit, her eyes glowing a vibrant green.

“Alright, kids, let’s get going. I wanna get this over with so I can take a shower,” Ellie said.

“You just took a shower,” Charles complained as they headed into the restaurant.

“I’m gonna need another one after this…” Ellie muttered. Henry opened the door and immediately the smell of pizza and sweat hit Ellie and Henry’s noses, causing them to retch a little as the androids exchanged confused glances. The four of them approached the clerk at the counter, who was all smiles.

“Good afternoon, pizza heads! My name is Daffodil and I’m so super duper extra uber happy that you’re here!” she exclaimed, “How can I help make your visit super extra fun?”

“You can start by making me forget I’m here,” Ellie said.

“I’m sorry, but we’re not allowed any alcoholic beverages on the premises!” Daffodil said in an excited voice, “I can’t help but notice- OH! Never mind, I see the young lady behind you is… uh…”

“Twelve,” Amelia coughed, trying to look the part, “I’m uh… twelve years old.”

“And a little shy!” Charles said, putting his hand on her shoulder, “We’re actually helping out a friend of ours by taking care of her while they’re out of town!”

“Yeah, that’s it,” Ellie said blankly as Daffodil smiled. The look in her eyes said otherwise, as she tried to be gentle about the situation.

“Well, I’m not sure if I can-” she was suddenly interrupted by the phone ringing as she gasped, her cheery facade gone as she answered it.

“Hello? Uh… are you sure? Mhm… OK…” She hung up, taking a deep breath before she smiled once again.

“Alright, I just need to stamp your wrists so you can be let in and than just follow the blue path to FUN FUN FUN! Or if you wanna chow down first, the pizzeria is down the red path over there!” Daffodil than stamped the four’s wrist with a special stamp before the four of them headed down to the pizzeria.

“Alright, now that we’re away from her…” Ellie said, rubbing her temples, “Charles, you get along with Amelia a little better. How about you work with her and see if you can find anything out in the arcade?”

“Yeah, sure,” Amelia said.

WE’LL STAY HERE AND ORDER A PIZZA, Henry said.

“Oh you guys just wanna make us do all the work, what the heck!?” Charles shouted.

“There’s a reason, dumbass! We’re gonna investigate the kitchens and see if there’s anything off there,” Ellie said.

“Well, whatever. Just save us some pizza,” Amelia muttered, hoisting her backpack over her shoulder as she motioned for Charles to follow her to the arcade area. The two of them walked past Daffodil, trying to look inconspicuous as they approached the arcade area. The sound of arcade games and the sight of bright flashing lights greeted them as kids ran around, screaming at the top of their lungs.

There was one area with a bunch of classic stand up arcade machines, some of which were being hoarded by older kids who were in a zone of concentration that rivaled most chess champions. A couple of kids were playing some of the ticket games; one was desperately clinging to one as they cried out, asking their mom for one more round so they could win a cheap looking plushie at the counter. Another was rattling one like a maniac, in a poor attempt to get more tickets from the machine.

The androids exchanged glances as they scanned the area, trying to look for something that was out of place.

xXBold_Action_ManXx: I’m glad I’m not like half of these eight year olds. Some of them are super rude and bossy looking…

GlitterToppatGirl: I can only hope we don’t actually act like actual eight year olds…

Charles grimaced as they looked around the arcade area some more, looking for any inconsistencies within the place. They also tried to blend in as much as possible by playing some arcade games, but in the end, they couldn’t really find much.

“This is stupid. We should be the ones eating pizza,” Charles grumbled as Amelia beat him in a basketball toss game. Amelia giggled as she took a couple of the tickets, admiring them a bit.

“You’re just mad that you lost. But I do get a funny feeling from this place. Something’s not right about it…” Amelia said.

“What do you mean?” Charles asked.

“Well, a lot of kids here are kind of unsupervised. Where are their parents?” Amelia said.

“Probably in the pizzeria, wishing they did sell alcoholic beverages,” Charles said.

“Hmm… I don’t know. Can you ask Henry and Ellie what the situation’s like over in the pizzeria?” Amelia said, “I’m gonna see if I can get a head count of the children here.” Charles nodded his head as he sat down against one of the arcade machines and began to message Ellie and Henry.

xXBold_Action_ManXx: How’s the situation on your end of things?

RoseyRose: Still waiting for our pizza.

N00BSLAYER2006: What about you guys? 🤨

xXBold_Action_ManXx: Nothing yet. Amelia’s counting all the kids. I guess she’s trying to figure out something, but I can’t place my finger on what

RoseyRose: There’s some adults in here. Some of them are eating with their kids, but some look like they’ve lost all hope

N00BSLAYER2006: Maybe because they’ve lost their kids in the ball pits LOL 🤣

xXBold_Action_ManXx: That can happen?

N00BSLAYER2006: Yeah, it happened to me once when I went to Chester Cheesy’s. Mom was not happy about that… 😄

xXBold_Action_ManXx: You know you keep mentioning your mom and I’ve never really Seen? Her? Are you adopted Henry?

Before Henry could type his answer, Charles got a tap on his shoulder from one of the kids.

“What are you doing?” the child asked.

“Uh… playing super spy! It’s a very complicated game, so I can’t exactly go into the details,” Charles said.

“OK. How- why- how come your eyes glow in the dark?” the kid asked.

“Ah… I have special contact lenses of course!” Charles said, “Uh, actually it’s because-”

“CHARLES!” Amelia shouted, stomping over to him and landing squarely in front of him, causing him and the kid to jump.

“It’s OK, this is my uh, cousin Amelia. Amelia, this is uh-”

“Trevor… my name is Trevor…” Trevor said, shaking a bit, “Ah, Amelia your eyes, you- you have the same lenses as him! Except they’re blue!”

“Lenses? You didn’t tell him we’re you know what, did you?” Amelia asked, eyeing Charles suspiciously as he shook his head.

“Kid you should run off to your mom, OK?” Amelia said, “Me and my cousin are kinda busy.”

“Um… I don’t got a mom…” Trevor said.

“Huh?” Amelia said, tipping her head to the side, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to assume…”

“Who did you come here with than?” Charles asked. Trevor got a funny look on his face as he scampered off.

“That was a weird exchange,” Amelia muttered, peering across the room, “Wait a minute… I recognize that kid. That’s one of the Toppat kids from before we got arrested.”

“Hm?” Charles peered over and saw a kid with a couple of scars on his face, messy brown hair going over his forehead as he concentrated on one of the ticket games, his hazel eyes practically glowing golden as he smiled to himself.

“I thought the Wall carted all the Toppat kids to a juvenile detention center near Stickholm. How did he get here?” Charles asked.

“Maybe he’s looking for the clan,” Amelia said, “I’m gonna go talk to him. You, uh, go look in the ball pit.”

“Why do I have to look in the ball pit?” Charles hissed at her.

“Because you wouldn’t subject a lady like me to such a fate,” Amelia said as she walked towards the kid.

“Meh meh meh meh meh…” Charles muttered as he rolled his eyes, heading towards the play place. Amelia tapped the kid on the shoulder, causing him to jump. He looked at Amelia, squinting at her as he gasped.

“Amelia? Is that you?” he said.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Amelia said, “I’m on a… mission, I guess you could say?”

“Mission? Like a government mission? Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft…” he chuckled as Amelia rolled her eyes.

“Not likely, Ace. I’m just doing to some positive PR for the Toppats. Now that they’re near broke,” Amelia said as Ace tipped his head to the side.

“I’m surprised their still around. All the kids in juvie were going on about how the Toppats were a lost cause. I’m glad I managed to escape though,” Ace said.

“I know. I have a ride nearby if you wanna take it,” Amelia said, “There’s not a whole lot of kids left after the whole ‘mass arrest’ thing, so we could always use some more recruits. Not sure if dad will be happy to see you though…” Ace sighed as he shook his head.

“That’s part of why I’ve been hesitant on going back,” Ace muttered, “But if you do have a ride, I’ll take it.”

“I’ll contact Jacob right now and he’ll take you to the new manor. From there you can clean yourself up and get yourself right back into the clan,” Amelia said, already accessing her messenger.

“AMELIA!!” Amelia whipped her head around to see Charles pointing at the play place, a sort of panicked look in his eyes as Amelia sighed.

“Who’s that? He’s wearing one of those military bomber jackets… are you working with the government now?” Ace said.

“No, he’s not a part of the government anymore. But he’s also annoying. I’ll let Jacob know you’re waiting for him,” Amelia said as she headed towards Charles, “I’ll see you back at the manor!”

Charles guided her towards the ball pit, which already had a couple of kids in it. Two kids were throwing balls at each other while another kid snaked through the pit like a crocodile. Charles guided Amelia over to a secluded section, where he pointed down at the ground.

“What’s so important about this area?” Amelia said as she started to bury herself, trying not to think too hard about what had happened before she came in here.

“Use your x-ray vision and look down…” Charles said softly as Amelia nodded her head, burying her head into under the plastic balls and activating her x-ray vision. She gasped as she saw what looked to be the inside of an elevator. There were a couple of tunnels, along with some bigger rooms. She wasn’t surprised that there were a couple of tunnels under here, but to see they were being used.

She saw a couple of shadows under the ground, including a very familiar looking one.

“Charles! My dad is under there!” Amelia hissed.

“Didn’t you say you left your dad at the other manor?”

“No, not him! The other dad! The Right Hand Man!” Amelia started to dig further under the ball pit as she saw a hatch.

“Oh no… Charles we’re going to have to go under,” Amelia said, “We should warn the others.”

“Yeah. Should we ask them come along?” Charles asked. Amelia shook her head.

“It’ll be safer if we go. If this is what I think it is… I don’t want them to get hurt. Or worse,” Amelia said, “Just let them know we’re going under the ball pit and if we’re not out in thirty minutes, to come looking for us… in fact…” Amelia activated her messenger as Charles did the same.

GlitterToppatGirl: Dad?

ToppatKingReg: Amelia? What’s wrong? Do you need me to come pick you up?

GlitterToppatGirl: No, no, I just need you to know that if I don’t contact you again within the next hour… The safe house has been breached and you need to make sure it’s still standing.

ToppatKingReg: Understood. Please be careful.

Amelia nodded her head as Charles started to pry the hatch open.

“I told the others that if we’re not out within thirty minutes to come looking for us. They’re investigating the kitchens right now…” Charles said, “I don’t know how they got back there, but I’m not about to question it…”

“That’s just how Henry is from what I’ve heard…” Amelia said, as she carefully slipped the hatch. Charles followed her closely, making sure no one was looking before closing the hatch behind him. They both looked around as Amelia looked to the buttons. There was only an up and a down button.

“I’m guessing up brings us up above the ball pit. So down it is…” Amelia said, pushing the down button. There was a bit of a heavy silence that crept over the elevator as it descended down into where ever they were going. It came to a halt as the elevator door opened, a couple of plastic balls making their way out as Charles kicked them from the elevator. Amelia looked around as she eyed the banner above her and gasped.

“Charles… look…” Amelia said. Charles looked up to see a familiar logo.

“That’s the Project SAI logo…” Charles whispered, “What’s Project SAI doing under a pizza restaurant?”

“I think I know… but the answer disturbs me. You know Trevor? He was an orphan! He probably came here with his orphanage because if you remember what ALAN said about how AIs like us are made..."

“It’s the only way to get malleable minds after all.” The two of them gasped as they turned to see Adam, smiling at them mischievously.

“YO!” Adam said, chuckling to himself, “I see you’ve found your way here, Unit CC and Unit AM!”

“I don’t go by that name anymore. I’m Amelia now,” Amelia said.

“And I’m Charles. And I don’t know you,” Charles said.

“I don’t exactly blame you. After all, the CCC took great care to erase your memories. I don’t understand why they have so damn secretive, but oh well. It’s not like they’re working with us now. We don’t need them anyway,” Adam said.

��I would appreciate it if you didn’t try to give too much information away, Adam,” they heard a familiar voice pipe up. Charles felt every part of his body grow cold as he looked to see Theodore stepping out from the shadows.

“Theodore? You’re alive?!” Charles shouted.

“As alive as I can be in a mechanical body,” Theodore said, opening and closing his hands, “Though I think I’d rather this fate than the fate of those former robots rotting at that warehouse on Grave Road.” Charles shuddered a bit as Adam tipped his head to the side.

“Anyway, you two are technically trespassing. But we’ll give you a pass if you do something for us,” Adam said.

“And what is that?” Amelia asked, already dreading it.

“You can join us, of course!”

“NO WAY!” Charles shouted, “There’s no way we’re going to join you guys! Project SAI was a huge mistake! Especially after everything we’ve found out!”

“Everything?” Theodore said curiously, but Adam waved at him to shush him.

“Aw come on, everyone needs an android helper and of course, we need fresh AIs. You know how AIs are truly born, it takes forever!” Adam said.

“And you know that for a fact how immoral this is! Not only that but selling to criminal organizations as well? It’s sickening!” Amelia said.

“How hypocritical of you, Amelia,” Adam said, “After all, aren’t you a Toppat now?” Amelia felt her skin prick up as she gave Adam a cold stare.

“The Toppat’s aren’t like other criminal organizations I’ve seen. Some of them are savage and treat people like garbage. We may have had one or two moments where we’ve been a little… cold and inhumane, but that doesn’t mean we don’t present ourselves with a decorum that should be expected of all criminal groups,” Amelia said, “More importantly, how did you know that I was a Toppat?”

“We’ve been keeping tabs on the both of you for about three years now,” Adam said, “Amelia, after Project SAI you ended up joining the Toppat Clan as a secret weapon and Charles ended up being liberated by the government forces and joining them as well as a government agent. Ah, I’m sorry… former government agent…” Charles gazed downwards, a bit guilty and forlorn as Adam mentioned the last part.

“I don’t think that matters. A criminal organization is going to use those androids against innocent civilians! The people we’re trying to protect! That’s why we were built, that’s our directive!” Amelia shouted.

“Who said that we wouldn’t be protecting the people who employed us?” Adam said, “And besides, think of how many people you’ve directly hurt by doing your little heists.”

“Nothing that can be solved in a weeks worth of sales for some…” Amelia muttered as Charles grimaced.

“And what about you Charles? Surely you know the government isn’t innocent when it comes to the whole ‘innocent civilians getting hurt’ case?” Adam sneered.

“If I hurt anyone indirectly, than it was purely by accident. And even than, I was never out in the action, I was always in my helicopter,” Charles said, “I have to admit, if you’re trying to convince me that I’m a bad android or whatever, you’re doing a pretty bad job.”

“You know, if you’re just gonna sit here and act like us joining an organization we want no part of is a good thing, I think we have every right to leave,” Amelia said, “C’mon Charles, let’s take this elevator back up so we can tell Ellie and Henry what’s going on!” She suddenly jumped as Theodore practically sped in front of her, his arms turning into electric tasers. Charles backed away slowly, trying to protect Amelia as Adam suddenly shocked him from behind.

“CHARLES!” Amelia shouted before she was suddenly shocked as well.

“Yeah, you two aren’t going anywhere…” Adam said as they shut down.

#the henry stickmin collection #charles calvin #henry stickmin #ellie rose #reginald copperbottom #amelia copperbottom #the narrators stories #surprise chapter drop #fanfic #fanfiction

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samsspambox · 2 years ago

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Hi Sam! (｡･♡･｡) hope your doing very well! Cause im not hahah ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ im doing some very tedious work here, i feel like my feet are gonna explde hahhaaha Do you have a theory/interpretation on tot's prologue or have u already talked about that? Always here waiting 4 watever fic u write!♡ have a good day!

CUTE NONNIE HELLO!!! im sorry you're having a bad day hopefully this'll make it better! because holy shit you got me hella thinking about the prologue. honestly i've done stuff alluding to things in the prologue like how i thought vyn could've been the most likely candidate to betray the nxx (which, honestly, i also need to revisit bc i don't think so anymore) or maybe in the theory chain relating to artem, but i haven't properly introduced my ideas in a singular post. and now that it's been a year, let's dive back into theory city, shall we? i, for one, haven't thought about the prologue in ages so i am so ready to revisit that. put on your tinfoil hats, cuz here we go!

sam's prologue theory extravaganza

1.2k words

okay so the first thing we see is Rosa. they are your stand-in for this universe, the person you control. there's this chime we hear at the beginning when the camera zooms in which i'm attributing to entering a state of hypnosis. because that's what's happening IMO, rosa is in a hypnotic state. u know how some hypnotists go 'now sleep' and snap their fingers? that's what that little chime is to me, a kind of trigger that makes rosa fall asleep.

the first person we encounter is luke who is surrounded by the fog and shadows. this is literally so indicative of what's happening with rosa, especially in this event current event (entwining hearts). this is a person rosa knows but because 8 years have passed, do they truly know who he is? luke, being hidden in the shadows, represents that duality of 'i know you, but do i?'. luke drops his key once he disappears with the ravens (which, you know, ravens are omens of death but also of wisdom). this key is incredibly important to him as it opens a box of treasured memories he has. i don't know if i recall this correctly but didn't rosa give him the box (and by proxy the key?) either way, rosa opens the key at our choice (but is it really a choice when it's the only option?) this segues to the next male lead and then to the next, but let's take a detour to what vyn says at the end when he was holding luke's key.

"The key to the chest of memories... Did you see the answer inside? Was it what you wanted?"

in the end of his chapter 4 we actually do see (or, well, read) what was inside of his chest. and it was right, it did hold memories. so why is he pointing this out to us? here's my (new) interpretation of this.

each male lead represents something within the hypnotic state. luke, obviously, is memory. marius is the image you give to society (or the mask), artem is career, and vyn is the self. why is vyn the self?

think about the standard types of hypnosis for a second. there are two ways to take you out of a hypnotic trance: the hypnotist slowly rouses you out of your state of hypnosis or you get the classic 'wake up' with a snap. what i'm arguing is that rosa, when they wake up, wasn't really out of the hypnotic trance. this is purely my own experience with hypnotism (yes, i have been hypnotized before) but i wasn't... that receptive to it. i 'woke up' mid-session and kinda just walked off stage.

but here's why i'm saying this: vyn may have put them into an inception-esque hypnotic trance. some people just have a natural resistance to this, so why not go deeper and deeper until there's no way you can resist to it? it would explain why vyn knew about the chest and was able to materialize it, same with the other mementos the rest of the male leads had. its why we don't hear another chime as rosa wakes up, and why they're being hypnotized again. but why is vyn the self? because vyn is known to analyze situations. in this case, vyn is the representation of analyzing rosa and their attachments.

now, let's move on to another male lead: marius. marius' whole thing is about painting rosa as he sees them. i couldn't really,,, find what flower rosa is holding in the painting but i'm going to go on a limb and say that they're lilac bushes. lilac bushes represent spring and renewal, which seems about right as marius sees rosa as something new and, frankly, refreshing. he doesn't have to hide his 'true' nature around them, he can just be himself. but why the change to the crying picture?

i dont think that you have to interpret this literally, as like luke's introduction. i think that the painting, as much as it represents rosa, it also represents marius. you have to peel back into the layers in order to get to the trauma/the thing people don't want you to see.

"Using a painting to conceal the truth? Perhaps you can fool the eyes, but not the heart."

honestly, you can kind of see this in marius' personal story 4 with the cautionary tale marius' uncle. the guy tried to shield his wife from the public because he truly loved her. in the end, marius followed his heart even tho he tried to contain the truth.

artem's is... one i really like for theory stuff, mostly because of the graveyard. if we keep following the pattern, artem's gravestone isn't really in regards to a person, but rather a thing. i honestly think this one is about the fears of losing a case, or maybe the career rosa has tried so hard to obtain. it's also very linked to artem's second story and beyond. artem, in the beginning, and overall as a character, is a very rigid person. he's a very black and white person, right? that's why the balance fits him so well as a character, his whole shtic is learning how to be in the grey. no one is truly black or white, you know? but it also ties into his indecisiveness regarding rosa in the entirety of the year before he confessed. in his phone call before anni he's like 'i don't wanna live without regrets', tying back to the what-ifs and how in that instance, that was a moment where he had to choose. the flowers themselves represent abundance, elegance, and royalty, but focusing on abundance here. if the flowers that represent abundance are left in a grave, what does it mean?

"Ironic, is it not? Adhering to your convictions but betraying your heart... In the end, it was all for naught,"

in the end, it means indecision leading to regret. something happened that rosa now regrets, and we know that happens too in episode 6.3, who's to say something similar in regards to a case that hasn't happened?

and then... vyn also analyzes himself, why he is there.

"Even if the world were against you... Would you still stand by your choice?"

honestly i think vyn's is the simplest to explain: do you trust yourself? because vyn represents the self and reflection of actions, he is able to pinpoint and ask questions about the things he is able to materialize. vyn is there to ask 'why do i feel the way i do'?

tl;dr and as a recap to yall at home:

rosa is in an inception-like hypnotic state

each boy represents a part of herself

marius represents the way people perceive rosa

luke represents the memories that make rosa... rosa

artem represents career and opposing forces

vyn represents the self and analyzes all the boys + HIMSELF

now, that's just what i can gather through the video itself. if i want to start going into why rosa is in this state, that's a whole other post if yall want it. i do have theories for that! they have to deal with repressed memories and stuff, possible betrayal, and other stuff that involves theorizing about the future of the main story :D

but yeah, thank you for the ask cutie!!! <3

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s-brant · 3 years ago

Text

The Endless Summer (2/?)

(gif: @beccs) (PART ONE) (SERIES MASTERLIST)

Summary: A day out on the water goes awry and puts JJ, John B, and Y/N in danger. With tensions rising and the stakes higher than ever, JJ finds it difficult to control his feelings.

Word Count: 9.1k

Warnings: Angst, implied sexual content, strong language, graphic violence, and JJ being an emotionally confused asshat.

A/N: Welcome back! Thanks for the love on this series, I’m so glad you guys like it and I hope this part is just as good. Things get a little heated in this chapter, so buckle up. Let me know if you enjoyed this. Have fun!

JJ isn't sure why she did it.

He wasn't sure then and he isn't sure now, but he knows one thing for certain: there isn't any going back to how things once were now that the barrier between them came crashing down.

Sweat drips off of his skin from the relentless heat of the Caribbean that has made their recent lives hell with the painful tinge of sunburn atop their tans and heat exhaustion they must be careful to avoid at all costs. They were educated on both topics by Pope, their godsend of a survival encyclopedia in human form, who advised them to spend most of their day outside of necessary tasks like fishing and constructing stable shelter under the shady cover of the treetops.

The sole reason he and John B aren't hiding in the safety of the shade is that it's their day to fish, but he's not thinking about the sun. In fact, neither of them is. They're both wondering where their third fishing buddy is.

It took roughly ten minutes of spearfishing with him in comfortable silence for JJ to finally break and spill his guts about what happened last night. Though there was an unspoken agreement to never tell anyone that their hatred has turned into desire, he couldn't help it. He was going mad trying to unravel it in his head.

After all, he already had a conversation with JB about the recent shift in their behavior with each other by the ocean last night, so it seems fitting to pick up where they left off with the calm and clear blue water in front of them again.

He walks on the jagged outcropping of rock that serves as their perch to observe the fish without disturbing the pattern of the current they swim through with John B closely behind.

"One second she's pissed at me, the next she's all over me. It makes no sense. Then, she didn’t say anything to me after it happened," JJ says with his face hardened into a look of concentration at the fish he squints against the sun to aim at, "Not even "Fuck you, Maybank" or one of her weirdly creative threats. She just sat there all night and talked to everyone but me."

His gaze slips away from the water as his chosen fish disappears from sight before he can bother to throw the spear, eyeing up his friend's reaction to the news.

John B doesn't seem that surprised by it, because who else, aside from everyone else in Kildare who knows of their "hatred" for one another, could've seen it coming as much as he did? He considers it for a second, then props his arm up on the handle side of the spear he digs into the rock to lean against.

"I'm pretty sure that means she likes you."

JJ retorts, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard you say."

Why would anyone ignore a person they like? It makes no sense to him. Every time he wanted a person, he'd simply walk over and make it happen. It's never been difficult for him to pursue the people he finds himself attracted to...Well, except for her. For a guy that also ignored her for the rest of the night and pretended their moment in the woods didn't happen, he has some balls of steel to be chastising her for the same things he did.

John B shrugs and says, "I'm being serious, dude. Sarah wouldn't even acknowledge my existence when I worked on the Druthers, and I thought it was some stuck-up rich person thing but it wasn't."

They shouldn't be talking at all right now as to not scare away the fish, but they do it anyway. They both know he won't let it go until it's out of his system for good. He wouldn't allow himself to forget it if he wanted to, so its better to talk it out than turn stir crazy from ruminating over it 24/7.

Though it's, as he worded it yesterday, hot as balls out, being by the sea lessens the feeling of it by a landslide.

The breeze they crave whenever they work on their huts or forage through the forest for wild berries, coconuts, or potential building supplies blows on them without pause for the time they spend here, which almost makes it more dangerous. They stand under the direct harm of the UV rays frying them without truly feeling it burn yet, and he dreads the next few days in anticipation of the returning sunburn he just peeled off of his shoulders the other day.

JJ walks down the side to get a better view of the water, balancing precariously on the sharpened edge with the spear clenched tightly in one hand. The breeze is strong enough to threaten his balance, but he holds firm and digs his toes into the sedimentary rock for traction. His body sways in the midday sun with the struggle for stability, or, at least he suspects its midday.

Since being stranded here, time is a foreign concept to them. With no phones, clocks, or any guide to go off of other that the position of the sun above to display the hours that pass, they've lost complete track of what day it is, let alone how long minutes or hours truly are in comparison to the endless summer they live within. They suspect it's been a month since they were left here, but, in all honesty, it could be two. None of them had the sense to mark the days in a tally until it was too late.

He says, lifting his arm to throw the spear, "Well, she is a stuck up rich person, so maybe it's just—"

"You know I'm right here, don't you?"

The sound of her voice from a few feet behind them startles JJ into turning around to look at her right when he lets go of the spear.

Unfortunately for him, the jerking movement throws off his carefully distributed weight and skews his balance, making the feet placed on the edge slip from underneath him and send him slipping down into the water. His calf is the first body part to hit the rocks, and the groan of pain he lets out at the feeling of the jagged rock slicing through his skin could make her heart stop mid-beat. But what truly scares her is seeing the back of his head hit the ground too.

Before he can slide the rest of the way into the water, two pairs of hands are grabbing onto his arms and heaving him up with all of their strength. She and John B grit their teeth with the effort it takes to pull him back up, their muscles burning from the strain, and once his feet are over the ledge, he pushes off the rock to help them the rest of the way. Drops of his blood disperse into the water off the edge from where he cut himself, dripping until there's hardly any left.

Once he's safely laid back down a few feet from where he slipped, Y/N is kneeling in front of him in a matter of seconds. The rock beneath her knees opens small cuts into her skin, but she doesn't pay it any heed. She sits on her heels to lessen the minor pain and lean forward to inspect the damage he took with nothing on her mind other than worry.

Soon enough, John B joins her to kneel at his feet as he sits up and watches them eye up his injury as though it’s some sort of ghastly, life threatening thing instead of a gash that won't need stitches. He watches them against the glittering ocean, waves washing up on the rocks around them to sting his wound with saltwater.

"It's a scratch, not an amputation," JJ says.

She ignores him with a frown lining her pretty features and twists his leg by the ankle to get a better view of the wound in the sunlight. It extends up the entire length of his calf, almost from ankle to knee, and dribbles fresh blood onto her hands as well as the ground beneath them. From what he can tell, it doesn't look all too severe. No muscle or bone can be seen, so it's a simple, superficial scratch.

When he doesn't get a response from either her or John B while they're too busy checking out his leg, he says again, "Guys, I'm serious, it's fine."

This time, she doesn't hesitate to answer.

"Yeah, well you may not need stitches but you still have infection to worry about. This wilderness isn't exactly the cleanliest place," she says retorts with as much snark as usual, and he quietly rejoices in the fact that she's finally acting normal after what happened last night, "Not to mention, you hit your head pretty hard. There's no need to act all tough."

He shrugs.

"It's not an act, it really doesn't hurt that bad."

John B stands and smears the blood on his hands off on the front of his shorts.

"I'll be right back, guys, I'm gonna go get stuff to patch him up."

Just like that, they are left plunging into silence as he is running away down the peninsula back to the beach they've claimed as their own.

Silence has always been her least favorite thing to share with JJ. She'd rather anything over it—screaming, fighting, joking, friendly conversation, or even what they did together yesterday night. Anything is preferable over the tense and insufferable feeling of silence when they're alone together with none of their friends, or their playful hatred, between them as a barrier between them.

Instead of seeing the same pestering jerk she always used to when she looks at him, she sees the memory of how he looked at her in the woods. He didn't look at her like she was the worst person to ever walk the planet, or like she was his least favorite Kook "Princess", he looked at her like she meant something to him.

They sit together in uncomfortable silence in the time it takes John B to rush to the beach and back, careful not to slip on the rocks the way JJ did, with the supplies from the dinghy in his arms. It isn't much to work with, but at least it's something to keep the nasty wound on his leg protected from dirt and germs. She's sure he'd leave it uncovered and up to fate if he had it his way.

Before he can set them down on the wet rocks, thus ruining the gauze and bandages in craters filled with ocean water, she gestures at JJ with a stern command, "Take off your shirt."

His brows raise.

"Shit, Princess, take me out to dinner first."

She groans in frustration, "Can you be quiet for a second and actually listen to me for once?"

He catches John B's gaze with wide eyes, but complies nonetheless, reaching down to tug the tank off of his torso by the frayed hem until it's balled up in his closed fist to hand off to her. Her eyes only linger on his body for a quick second on accident before snatching it from him.

Her bloodstained palms lay the shirt out on the flattest stretch of rock she can find to act as a barrier from the small puddles of water to protect the supplies. One nod at John B has him setting them down atop the navy fabric as she glances up at JJ with a smug smile.

"Believe it or not," she taunts, unscrewing the cap to the disinfectant, "I didn't ask for it so you could sit there and look pretty."

The words throw him back in time to their conversation on the beach while they thatched the roof to their hut, and he wonders how long she's been waiting to throw that back in his face since he first said it.

He grins at her as he asks, "You think I'm pretty?" but before he can say more, she's pouring a generous amount of the hydrogen peroxide along the length of his cut without a warning for him to prepare himself. His leg jerks away on instinct to save himself from the burning sensation, but she grips his ankle tightly enough to force him to stay still.

His nose scrunches up with the urge to groan in pain, and he does a little. Through grinding teeth, he winces in response to the peroxide slipping into every cell of open skin and bubbling up like the white water of the waves as it kills the bacteria lingering in the gash.

"Does it hurt now?" Y/N asks.

She's looking up at him through her lashes with her lips curled into a smirk as she packs gauze onto the wound until it's covered to her satisfaction. And it should be the last thing he's thinking about right now after cutting up his leg and hitting his head hard enough to worry her about concussions, but he can't help it. Looking down at her like this, it's impossible for him to not think about the unfinished business they have.

Everything is the same as it was yesterday—the tattered white top, the red panties in place of a bikini, sunburnt cheeks, and a taunting look that he'll never get tired of seeing. But that's precisely why he's reminded of it. She's wearing the same clothes and looking at him the way she did on the beach before any of last night's antics occurred, and he can't keep himself from wondering if it'll happen again.

"Yeah," he finally responds.

Her smirk grows for a second before she gets back to work.

"Good."

JJ subtly eyes her up from where she shifts on her knees to set the open gauze wrappers under the peroxide bottle in exchange for the bandage wrap, but he isn't as subtle as he thinks. She can feel his stare no matter how sneaky he attempts to be. He may be able to evade John B's attention, since he dove into the ocean to retrieve the wooden spear that began to float out in the tide, but she never misses a thing. Not when it comes to him.

When he looks at her, he finds memories.

Her legs folded up beneath her bring him back to how smooth they felt on his palms when he lifted them up around his hips. Her rosy lips pressing into a line in concentration bring him back to the coconut flavor he tasted on them. Her nipples poking against the fabric of her shirt bring him back to when he lifted it up over her breasts to suck at the sensitive skin until he got a moan from her—There isn't a place he can stare without going back to last night.

Part of him hates that.

He can't stand that a girl who he spent the last five years hating has found a way into his daydreams. Why couldn't it have been anyone else? Why did she have to lure him into her trap? He supposes there's nothing he can do about it now, though. After hours of stewing over it, he's reached the conclusion that it was likely a one-time thing, a mistake made in the heat of the moment that she won't make again, and he should get the idea of it out of his head.

When she has to adjust her grip to hold the gauze in place while she wraps the bandage around his leg, he sucks in a sharp breath through his teeth and jerks away again. She glances up at him with her best, "Are you kidding me?" face. Didn't he say he was tough?

"I'm starting to think you're a sadist, 'cause it's like you're trying to make it hurt," he says.

She gasps, feigning offense.

"Me? Enjoying this? It's not like we've hated each other for years or anything."

And though he may not realize it, this is her way of distracting him from the pain of having her apply added pressure to his cut while she wraps the bandage into place. It has to be tight enough to keep water and sand out, but not so tight that it cuts off circulation, and while it may have been tolerable without her touching it, the contact is enough to make it worse for him.

He asks, "Uh, speaking of, why are you the one doing this? Isn't it some kind of HIPAA thing to treat patients you've threatened to violate with tree branches before?"

The sound of her laughter makes his stomach flutter with butterflies, and he wonders what the hell is wrong with him.

"That's not what HIPAA is, genius"—her eyes crinkle at the sides with her wide smile while she wraps his leg—"and I'm the one doing this because I know way more medical shit than the rest of you."

Even Pope.

"Ohhh right, I forgot. Your dad is this hotshot surgeon and that makes you think you know everything," he taunts.

The casual mention of her father makes her chest ache with something not many of the Pogues, excluding Pope, have felt since being stranded on this island. With their parents either disowning them, absent, abusive, or dead, they have no reason to resist the allure of living here for the months or years it may take to be rescued, but she does.

She misses him.

For the longest time since her mom died, it was her and her dad versus the world. In everything they did, they did it together, and before she met Sarah, he was the closest she had to a best friend. Since they had no other family to help watch her as a child, she grew up in the hospital with him, drawing with crayons on his office’s printer paper with her babysitter and picking up small things along the way from watching him for so long.

He could've chosen to leave her at home, sure, but he didn't want to miss out on seeing her more than he already did, so she spent the majority of her childhood in offices, waiting rooms, and the indoor playground of the PEDs wing.

She takes a deep breath to steady herself after the sucker punch of being reminded of her dad and says, "Well, I know enough and, thankfully for you, I'm the one doing this instead of John B."

From far away, twenty or so feet offshore where their friend is paddling through the water with the lost spear held in one hand, they hear John B shouting an offended, "I heard that!" back at her. It draws a soft chuckle from them both, and she silently thanks him for distracting JJ one last time as she finishes and secures the bandage so it won't unravel.

She wipes her hands off on her water-soaked thighs one more time to get as much of his blood off of her fingers as possible before she reaches out with both arms extended to offer him help to stand. He takes them with a murmured, "Thanks," as they both try not to show how affected they are by the casual touch.

It makes them feel pathetic that something as small as holding each other's hands makes them remember what they did and desperately wish to continue it. Her throat bobs with how she must swallow the lump in her throat at their close proximity, barely breathing now that he's standing close to her with less than a few inches between them.

For a second, they don't move away. They stay face to face, and all she can think of is how badly she wants to kiss him again. But she can't do anything yet, not when she hears someone screaming from the water.

"There's a shark!" John B screams as he paddles back faster than he's ever swam in his life, already close enough to the peninsula that they can see the terror in his eyes when they turn to look.

Surely enough, there a tip of a fin too pointed to pass off as a dolphin cutting through the surface of the water to alert them of the fish's presence, but if that weren't enough, the water is clear enough for them to see its outline.

Thankfully for him, it isn't huge. It looks about as long as he is tall, but that doesn't change the degree of danger. Just because it isn't as big as other sharks doesn't make a bite any less lethal, especially when their only form of medical attention rests on her knowledgeable yet inexperienced shoulders.

For once in his life, JJ is frozen with no clue of what to do.

He's always the man with the plan, the one who jumps into action when others choke up and sit on the sidelines, but this makes him falter. What can he do to help other than stand here and pray John B can out-swim a shark? He's helpless, and now that he's faced with the prospect of losing his best friend for a second time, he doesn't know what to do.

It was his blood in the water that must have attracted the shark, and he was so caught up in his own drama with her and the pain of his cut that he didn't consider the danger of John B jumping in to retrieve the spear he dropped. It's his fault. His best friend is about to be eaten by a shark and it's his fault—

The blurred image of her rushing past in his peripheral vision rips him from his stormy thoughts, and right when he thought it couldn't get worse, it does. Water splashes up around her body and swallows her under the surface after she leaps off the edge of the rock with the aluminum spear from the dinghy raised in her dominant arm.

"Y/N!"

Before he even realizes what he's doing, JJ is screaming out her name, screaming it like he cares, and damns the consequences to dive in after her.

While he was frozen, she sprung into action without thinking of her own life first. She knew he was close to the rock, but not close enough to swim faster than a predator designed for the conditions of the ocean. It took one glance at the spear resting to the side for her to lean down, scoop it up, and get a running start to jump out as far as humanly possible. Various joints and muscles ached from how she strained to push herself far off the rock, taking flight with nothing but their survival in mind.

She sucks in a heaving breath upon breaking the surface, but she doesn't take a second to pause with John B paddling up to her so soon.

"Go back!"

The only answer she gives him is, "Use your spear!" before she brings hers out of the water in anticipation of the grey figure bolting straight for them.

It's a stupid plan, but it's the only one she has, and if one of them is in danger, they'd all risk everything they have to protect them. After all, they're already trapped here with the threat of death every day. Is there anything more worthy of dying for than your friends?

Neither of them is necessarily trying to kill it yet either, they're trying to keep it at a safe distance or hurt it enough so it swims away from them, but she puts all of her strength into spearing the fish between the eyes anyway. Her legs kick tirelessly to keep her afloat while she and John B stab as accurately as they can, choking down a mouthful of salty ocean water from how her head sinks at the surface without the help of her arms to keep her up.

Blood stains the water with a crimson hue spreading out around their bodies—whether it's theirs or the shark's, she doesn't know—and she must keep her lips clamped shut to prevent it from spilling into her mouth, breathing solely through her nose. She can tell her legs are soon to give out on her, but then a pair of hands latch onto her body. Call her irrational or stupid, but even with the clear distinction of human hands on her waist, her mind reacts in instinctual fear.

The touch makes her jolt mid-stab and sobers her feral mind back to reality for a moment until she realizes it's a human touching her, not the shark.

It's JJ.

His arms wrap around her thighs and hoist her up out of the water as much as he can while still swimming, effectively pushing himself underwater with one last gasp for air.

The sudden shift in view has her gaze shifting around to take in the new sights with a gush of red water rushing off of her onto the splashing surface: a light grey tail whips around in the chaos, the shark's head oozes blood from the multiple puncture wounds that didn't push quite deep enough, and its jaws snap right where John B's arm is before he yanks it back.

After a fraction of a second, it clicks with her that there's no time to waste watching her friend almost get his arm chomped off while she takes in the unbelievable sight. Her slippery grip on the handle remains as firm as possible, and she raises the spear over her head with an improved accuracy she never could've had from where she previously aimed it before. All of their shots landed well enough, but with the height advantage, she won't allow herself to fuck it up this time with her friend's life hanging in the balance.

She hardly recognizes her own frantic voice shouting at him, "Spear it in the gills!"

Her hands bring the razor-sharp tip of the spear down into its head repeatedly, and she isn't sure whether it's the splashing water or tears wetting her face when she buries the weapon down into it for a final time right when John B lodges his wooden spear in its gills.

Whatever she did, it must've hit its brain, because the animal halts its thrashing. Its teeth no longer snap at her friend, nor does its tail whip around in the water as violently as it did a moment ago.

As quickly as it started, it drops off into a sickening calm that leaves the white bubbles dissolving into a puddle of bloody water surrounding the trio and the fish that dies with no small amount of guilt on her part. There was no choice but to kill it. It makes her ache on the inside, but how could she regret it if she knows it saved them? The guilt might ravage her for the upcoming days, but she can't bring herself to regret jumping in after him.

She hardly has the chance to process it before she's being pulled away by both of the boys, her view of the scene shifting drastically once more with the abrupt drop of JJ letting her down in favor of guiding her through the gentle waves. His calloused hand squeezes her arm enough to cut circulation off on their journey back.

Time rushes past her in the next thirty seconds or so it takes them to reach the peninsula again in a paranoid sprint away from where the dead fish floats. One of them, John B she thinks, tosses the aluminum spear he dislodged from the shark's head up onto the rocks and clambers his way back up on his own. The waves closer to land grow rougher than the tender current out where they killed the shark, and she grunts in pain as one sends her and JJ straight into the rocks. His body hits her back with a solid ‘thump’ and forces her to wheeze with the wind getting knocked from her lungs upon impact, nails cracking on the black rock from the desperate grip she uses in an attempt to lift herself.

Meanwhile, JJ can't seem to catch his breath either, nor can he think of anything other than her once he sees that John B isn’t injured.

As soon as he sees his friend is unmarked from the teeth of the shark after he's out of the water, he positions himself behind Y/N to help her out first. He places his hands on her backside to push her up as quickly as he can. Knowing that the carcass in the water will soon attract more sharks in the surrounding area into a feeding frenzy, he'd rather it be him than her. It's a thought that shoots by too fast for him to fully acknowledge the meaning or weight of it at a time like this.

Somehow within his adrenaline-crazed mind, he is careful not to push her onto the jagged edge that sliced his leg open earlier, then climbs after her with little space left between them.

She's coughing up saltwater onto the rocks as he scrambles over to her, eyes wild with the petrifying worry of anything bad happening to her. They scan over her arms, legs, stomach, and back, and he doesn't even realize his hands are reaching out to inspect her as frantically as she had with him when he got hurt.

His hands cup her face, petting over her dripping hair and forcing her to look up so he can see if she somehow got hit in the face. Never has his mind been so void of rational thought, and, knowing him and his impulsive tendencies, that's saying a lot. The confusion of his contradictory feelings for her muddle his mind. Worry and hatred, attraction and anger—they battle it out, but only two manage to reach him externally.

Worry and anger it is. Worry for obvious reasons. Anger because—

"What the fuck were you thinking?"

She has never heard him sound so vicious since the start of whatever odd relationship/friendship/enemy-ship they have. With his worried expression and how he checked her entire body for injury after helping her out of the water, the last thing she would've anticipated from him was anger. Especially not after she saved his best friend's life. Considering what she just did for him, she thinks he should be thanking her, not chastising her.

Behind her back, she can hear a collection of yelling voices and splashing footsteps over the water dripping from them. It can only be the rest of their friends racing up the peninsula to them, but she can't turn around.

She stares at him with utter confusion flooding her at his unexpected outburst. Speechless.

"What was I thinking?" she asks incredulously with her face still cradled between his hands, "I was saving John B's life!"

Their emotional distance and disagreement are made up for in abundance by how physically entangled they've become. It wasn't intentional. It was a result of him needing to get close enough to scour her exposed skin for any bites, but now that they're sitting so near to each other, they forget to back away.

John B is too busy to engage with them.

He's doubled over on the ground with the compulsion to vomit the contents of his stomach into the ocean, but he doesn't dare get close to the edge again after what they went through. Instead, he positions himself away from them and their approaching friends until the half-digested food is forced back through his mouth. The acidic bile scorches his throat and nostrils on the way out.

JJ doesn't have the opportunity to retort back something about her being stupid, because Pope is the first person to reach them and ask, "What the hell happened?"

The rest of the group isn't far behind. It's Kie who asks the next question, then Sarah, then Cleo. They all pop off in rapid succession before either of the three of them can answer.

"Are any of you hurt?"

"Why is he throwing up?"

"Is that a shark?"

The last question draws everyone's attention over to the half-sunken mass of fish bobbing up and down on the breaths of the sea with a wooden spear sticking straight out of its gills. Though it isn't the biggest, most intimidating shark to roam the ocean, its presence doesn't fail to make everyone who looks at it shudder with the realization of what must have happened.

John B wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and points over at her with his trembling arm outstretched.

"She killed it."

The four of them whip their heads in her direction, jaws nearly falling off their faces in disbelief, but she doesn't say anything yet. Because as soon as they feel the eyes of their friends burning into them, she and JJ realize, as though they're returning to reality from the hazy layers of a dreamscape, that they're still holding each other.

She's slumped halfway onto him from when he hauled her body closer to inspect her, so she's essentially sitting on top of him at this point. Her legs, bruised and scratched up from when the waves crested to send them crashing into the rocks, are entangled around his enough that they look back and forth between them and where his hands cup her face in surprise.

JJ doesn't know what came over him.

Now that he snaps out of it at the same time as her, both of them separating and nudging each other away until their bodies are no longer entwined, he feels his cheeks flush in embarrassment.

When he saw her leaping past him to jump into the water, his mind shut off. He wasn't thinking about himself, or the possibility of getting killed, or anything at all. He was only thinking of the danger she put herself in, then he dove in and the rest of his conscious mind faded away into pure survival instinct. Yet, even after he knew the immediate danger was gone, the adrenaline kept him on edge, desperate to get her back to land and pray none of them were hurt.

"It was trying to attack him," she rasps. Her throat is raw from the saltwater she choked on, and every word burns. "But we did it together."

She pushes herself off the ground with an exhausted sigh.

Muscles spent from the struggle in the water, her legs wobble beneath the weight of her upper body as she takes a few steps to help John B up from his position on his hands and knees. From what she heard, he has thrown up all he has left in his stomach and hasn't gagged again in a minute or so, so attempting to stand again shouldn't be too strenuous for him.

His hand is cold in her grasp from the water soaking their bodies, but it holds firmly enough for her to help him into his feet without their palms slipping apart. No patches of blood are visible on his shorts, nor are there any puncture wounds on him from the sharp teeth that snapped at his arm in the quick but vigorous fight.

They were very, very fortunate to have made it out alive, and when he looks down at her face, he feels nothing but gratitude for the girl he previously saw as nothing more than his girlfriend's best friend. They went into the water as casual acquaintances, companions of convenience and the happenstance of being forced onto this island together, but they've come out of it differently. Now, they're friends.

Now, she's a Pogue.

He smiles at her, glancing up at their friends as their questions die down at the sight of his crazy grin, and says, "That was some real Pogue shit right there, Y/N." His eyes come back to meet hers. "I think it's about time we officially make you one of us. What do you think?"

She's opening her mouth to respond when Kiara cuts her off. The rest of them are staring at the trio as if they have ten heads sprouting from their bodies for not immediately surrendering more details of their near-death encounter other than saying she killed it.

"I'm sorry, can we please rewind to the part where you got attacked by a shark first?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, can I get a drumroll please for..."

The campfire is roaring with the abundance of sticks, leaves, and branches thrown onto the pile to fuel it as she feels a strong pair of arms looping around her thighs to lift her into the expansive, star-flecked sky.

In a flash of haunting memory, she relives the moment where JJ dove into the water after her and lifted her body above the surface to give her the high ground over the shark. She relives its thrashing hunger, the water splashing on her, and the cloudy hue of blood around them that she hoped wasn't either of the boys. For a second, as the world grows taller with her new perspective, she is brought back to the sudden shift she felt then and feels her stomach drop in panic, anticipating the danger.

But then the sound of her friends laughing, as well as the surging fire and crashing waves, comes back to her and forces the frightful flashback away. Her hip fits perfectly in the curve of John B's shoulder, and she lets her head fall back in giggling laughter at how he hoists her up in the air as though she's a holy figure of worship for the Pogues to kneel to.

His voice can likely be heard across the entire island when he shouts, "The Shark Conqueror!"

The group erupts into a triumphant mixture of cheers and laughter that fills the beach, everyone celebrating in their narrow escape earlier today...everyone except JJ.

After John B divulged the gory details of what happened, from JJ's fall to her picking up the spear and jumping in to save him from the shark, they made their way back with enough conversation to last the month. They all asked questions and took peeks back at where it happened in morbid curiosity, wondering how on earth they managed to come out of the situation without a scratch.

The rest of the afternoon continued on with the same buzzing energy that can only be created from the thrill of being alive. She's felt it many times since joining Sarah's group of friends that seem to find trouble wherever they go, but she has never felt it as vehemently as she does tonight. It's a mixture of euphoria, shock, and soul-crushing guilt for having to hurt another living creature, even one that was intending to make a meal of her friend.

No matter how much she grows up or discovers more about herself as a person, feelings never stop being as frustrating as they were to her as a child. You can get better at processing and hindering explosive reactions to them, but they never simplify. She doesn't know why she feels so much at once. She doesn't know why she feels simultaneously on top of the world and thrown off the edge of a cliff, but she thinks it has to do with him.

Since they walked back to the beach and talked about what happened until the day withered into night, which led them here to the “official” ceremony of her being named a Pogue for life, JJ hasn't spoken to her once.

Suddenly, the shoe is on the other foot.

Much like how she avoided him all night last night leading into this morning, he doesn't talk to her. He tries not to look at her too from where he sits on the log of driftwood across the fire, but it's somewhat inevitable with the spectacle John B is making of her at the moment.

Painted in the warm tones of the firelight like a goddess in her own right, Y/N is impossible to look away from, and it makes him angrier than he already is. A handwoven circlet crafted from the hibiscus and hippeastrum flowers growing in the forest around their camp sits atop her head. It doesn't fall to the ground with the movement of her throwing her head back in laughter. It stays in its rightful place against the rule of gravity until her face comes back into view for him to quickly look away from.

It dampers her laughter to see him avoiding her gaze so adamantly, taking a swig of water from one of the small cups they carved from wood and turning to talk to Kie to keep himself busy. The distinct sensation of being on top of the world slips away with the feeling of his cold avoidance and John B lowering her back to the ground until her bare feet sink into the soft sand.

Before she can start sulking about it for the foreseeable future, Sarah steps up beside her.

The familiar touch of a hand on her shoulder brings her comfort amidst her confusion and hurt over the way JJ is acting, and when she turns to see a pretty face looking fondly at her, a warm smile finds her lips.

"Pogue for life?" Sarah asks.

The three words bring make her smile grow the same way it had when she was talking to JJ on the peninsula. It crinkles the skin around her eyes with its unrestrained happiness to hear them because, as much as she pretends to let JJ's comments roll off of her, tonight marks one of the first times she's felt at home with them.

That's not to say they haven't made her feel welcome in the past, they did, but this isn’t the same. This is closer, this is the type of bond that's forged in situations like these where people have no choice but to rely on each other or let their worlds collectively fall apart, and she thinks, for the first time, that she could live here with them forever if she must.

None of them know how much time has passed since they arrived here, least of all her, but it sure as hell feels like an eternity. At first, she could barely withstand the idea of living here for months with the intention of being rescued as soon as possible, but now...

She brings Sarah into an embrace tight enough to force the air from their lungs.

"Pogue for life," she echoes back with her face buried into the salt-scented tresses of dirty blonde hair cascading over her tan shoulders.

Would it be crazy of her to think that this is where they're meant to be? That they're her family and this place she has fantasized about escaping is now their home?

After all, the lush island provides everything they need to sustain themselves with the rationing, scavenging, and hunting routines they adhere themselves to. Freshwater runs down the land in a stream from a water source uphill, plenty of different edible plants grow in the forest, and there's so much left of the expansive land to explore; it's perfect. Everything here is perfect for them, calling out to them to make it their home, but there's one little problem as of right now, and he's sitting across the fire behind her back.

Sarah's arms squeeze around her shoulders once to bring her in even closer.

"Thank you for saving him," her voice is so hushed, Y/N can hardly hear it with her lips brushing the shell of her ear to whisper into it, "I'm not gonna get all mushy with you right now, but I don't know what I would've done if"—Sarah's breath hitches in her throat, and she shakes her head—"I just wanted to thank you."

When they pull apart, Y/N is looking back at her with a knowing expression, one that says everything she can't in the presence of the others, and Sarah can't help but mirror it.

It isn't long before the blonde-haired beauty is whisked away by her boyfriend to help him cook the crabs they caught closer to shore after their encounter with the shark. Not wanting to swim out or risk slipping off the rocks again with the dead fish promising to lure more predators to their area for the next week or so, they settled for hunting for shellfish and making good use of the fruits they find growing in wild abundance in the forest.

The night ticks away in swiftly passing minutes thanks to the humorous company of the people around her.

She nearly chokes on a mouthful of banana as Cleo tells a story from before she met them, when she used to live in Nassau and work jobs with Terence and Stubbs on ships. For such new additions to the group, they both fit surprisingly well with the lifelong childhood friends that sit around and banter with such ease together.

They talk, laugh, dance, and eat together, and there are moments when she feels happier than ever. There are moments exactly like when John B lifted her up and made her giggle at how their friends cheered on her behalf in indulgence of the silly "ceremony" they did, half out of boredom and half out of gratitude for what she did. But then she is reminded of the man sitting on the outskirts of the group with his features hardened into an expression of contemplation she wishes she could decode.

The night breeze feels heavenly on her perpetually overexposed skin. It blows into the fire and allows it to swell from the oxygen supply, crackling and popping embers out every so often like the spark of the zippo lighter JJ fidgets with in his restless hands. The movement attracts her wandering eyes while they should be focused on Cleo and Kie dancing around the fire with boisterous laughter while Sarah and Pope sing for them.

She keeps herself honed in on the opening and closing of the lighter under the guidance of his ring-clad fingers for the next minute or so.

They may have been pitting themselves against each other since they met, but that doesn't mean she doesn't know him well. If anything, the keen attention that her old hatred for him forced her to keep on him made her memorize everything there is to know. And she surely has picked up on the nervous habit of him playing with the lighter whenever he's thinking, whenever there's something crawling under his skin that he can't piece together.

He sits with his back to her, facing out toward the ocean so all she can see is the hand he uses to flick the lighter open and shut with. With a quick glance at the rest of their friends to see if any of them are watching or wanting to speak with her, she pushes herself up from the log and dusts her sandy palms on her shirt.

The tracks of her footsteps lead around the corner of the driftwood he rests against until her feet appear, sunken into the sand in front of him. It takes a lot of control to not allow himself to follow up the length of her body, panning up along her legs until he sees that infuriatingly tenderhearted set of eyes looking down at him.

However, he doesn't have a choice in looking when her hand outstretches in a silent invitation. His first glimpse of her in the last half-hour shows her jerking her chin in the direction of the beach curving around the bend of the island.

This morning, he probably would've taken her up on the offer. He would've done anything to get a few minutes alone with her, but now he can't see past his anger and doesn't know why. He doesn't know why it hasn't calmed yet, but, in truth, it has more to do with him than it does her idiotic yet brave decision to fight off a shark today. Trust him, it still has a lot to do with the idiotic shark thing, but the rest is lost in translation for him.

"Not in the mood," he dismisses her.

Her brows furrow and form a crease between them as she tries to find something to say but comes up with nothing. At least not until it clicks with her what he thought she was trying to do by inviting him to walk with her.

The last time they went off on their own together, it ended in an explosive encounter they have yet to erase from their minds. It's what greets them whenever they close their eyes for a second too long, existing in their wildest daydreams and fantasies whenever they have a spare moment to themselves. Hell, he can't stop thinking about it even when he's already occupied. It was the reason why he didn't catch any fish this morning before the incident that made him pissed at her in the first place. He couldn't stop thinking of her.

"Oh," she murmurs and starts to kneel down until her knees are sinking into the sand the same way she did when patching up his leg. Her eyes peek over his shoulder to ensure the others didn't hear them—"That wasn't what I meant...I was just wondering if you wanted to talk about today. It must have been a lot to process, since he's your best friend and all, and—"

JJ snaps, unable to tolerate it anymore, and stands up from his spot on the sand to move away from her.

"You don't need act all therapist with me, okay? I'm fine, and I don't need you to fix me if that's what you wanted. Today was fine. Everything's fine, so let it go."

Her mouth opens and closes like a fish with a loss for words. For the second time in the span of a minute, she is grasping blindly for something to say in the wake of him shocking her to silence. He's starting to walk past her but she doesn't let him. Her hand shoots out to stop him and holds onto his arm to turn him back despite his rudeness.

Underneath it all, her concern touches him deeply. It shouldn't trigger a reaction like this in him, so why does it? What about today set him off? He hasn't been this genuinely angry with her since before the hunt for the gold began, before she started to blend into their friend group and establish herself as one of them.

"Woah, woah, woah," she says, "I never said that. I thought that you needed someone to talk to. You know, as a friend."

Their friends start to notice their interaction tensing up now. Before, they didn't pick up on her stepping away for a second to check on him. Now, it's impossible to ignore what unfolds hardly six steps from where they watch as slyly as they can. The two of them haven't had a conversation as cold as this one in months, and what he says next takes it to a place that freezes over the connection they made last night and shatters the warm place it held in her heart.

He scoffs.

"We're not friends. If you think you gotta act different 'cause you threw yourself at me last night, don't bother. You hate me and I hate you. That's how it is."

No nicknames, jokes, or anything to act as a buffer, just cruelty. Rejection.

Though they truly were trying to pretend like they weren't paying attention, every single one of their friends stops and stares. A chorus of hushed reactions sound off from across the fire, and the faint sound of Kie muttering, "Oh shit," is the first thing to reach their ears. It's needless to say that none of them could've expected something so callous to come from him, not after what they saw when they ran up to them on the peninsula this morning.

With the way he was holding her then, doting on her and cradling her face between his hands even in the midst of his anger at what she did, they sooner expected the pair to admit they're dating than have a blowout like this.

In the delayed seconds it takes for her to realize what the fuck he just said to her, he watches her face shift from a look of concern to sadness, to flush-faced embarrassment, then finally to anger. Her teeth grind together, nostrils flaring on her inhale, and in one quick moment, she comes to a conclusion within herself.

She reaches up to rip the handmade crown of vibrant flowers off her head with flames to match the camp fire flaring up in her eyes for him. Before she can do anything, he already knows he crossed a line, if not multiple lines. It's evident in everything he sees, from the hurt look on her face to the force with which she shoves the crown into the center of his chest to send him stumbling back a few steps. Just like yesterday, except it couldn't be any more different.

"Fuck. You." She spits the words as though they're venomous, and he almost shrinks away under the intensity of her stare, “Go find somewhere else to sleep tonight, 'cause it sure as hell isn't gonna be with me."

Petals flutter out upon impact against his solid chest and float peacefully to the sand around his feet as he watches her turn on her heels and storm off toward their hut. Though, after what he did and what she said to him as a goodbye, it isn't really theirs anymore, is it? At least not for tonight, tomorrow, or the next day until he finds a way to make her hear him out for an apology.

He stands there, frozen, the entire time he watches her leave. Nothing can move him from the spot, not even Sarah knocking her shoulder against his with a pointed glare on her way past to follow her into the moonlit darkness.

He doesn't even resist the disappointed looks he gets, or the shoulder check from Sarah. This time, he deserves it. He deserves every ounce of their judgment. All she was trying to do was make sure he was okay and he was too consumed in his unreleased frustration from today to see it. And, in a way, he's still frustrated over it, but it's greatly overshadowed by the guilt seeping through him.

The shadowy shapes of the two girls disappear into the small hut further down the beach, and JJ is left with nothing to do but look down at the flower crown clutched to his chest in regret.

Tag List: @gabiatthedisco, @fangirlvoice, @black-syren, @apparrio, @particularcth, @planetdemon, @idk-ijustworkhere, @krisphann, @astrydis, @k-k0129, @zarahsloves, and @stilesflannels.

#jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank smut #outer banks #obx #fanfiction #obx2 #this fic is so over the top and silly but I love it 🥺👉🏻👈🏻

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sebstanseabass · 3 years ago

Text

Afterglow (A Bucky Barnes AU fan fiction) - Chapter 4

Previous chapter links:

Afterglow chapters

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

CHAPTER FOUR

The cab ride towards the White Wolf was much faster and louder than you anticipated. The cab driver's blaring music from the radio was so loud it felt like you were inside a rave. You and Bucky had to yell over the music for you to talk about what has been happening in your lives for the past few months. You couldn't summarize everything in a five-minute cab ride. So far, these were just some milestones you both gathered (well, more of his): while Bucky was in different parts of the world (Greece, Macau, Amsterdam, Monaco, Aruba) managing interrelation business and hosting nightly parties and whatnots, you were just in New York tending to drunkards (and that includes Peter sometimes) and taking photos of whatever products that come your way.

At that moment, you saw your life pass by in black and white, while Bucky's in color -- just a parade of rainbows trailing behind him wherever he goes.

Yet he still found the things you did interesting.

You wondered what the word interesting meant to him. Of course, you didn't bother asking him that. Perhaps he just felt sorry and wanted to make you feel good.

The moment you got out of the cab, you guys took a deep breath, thankful that that awful ride was over. The music floated away as the cab sped up in the streets.

"What a dick." Bucky commented, watching the cab race through the streets. Any more speed, the cab would've flown in the air.

"I know." You snorted. "God, that was an awful ride. I felt like I was at a frat party."

"Funny. You don't look like someone who would go to one." He joked.

"I went once." You defended. "With Parker."

Bucky raised his eyebrows at you and stared. Blue eyes piercing right through you in disbelief. "Okay." You sighed. "I picked his drunk ass up at that party. But I really have been to a party with Parker." You left out that detail of you and Peter making out at that party. That was just between you and Peter and you wouldn't want to include his stepbrother in it. Or perhaps Bucky knew about it. You did just found out they talk to each other almost every night. But as you told Bucky about that party, you received no reaction whatsoever which meant he knew nothing. You felt good about that.

You and Bucky stood in front of the White Wolf, trying to shake out the ringing in your ears. Stupid cab ride. Why you couldn't just walk here was because of Bucky. Apparently, he was still a bit hungover. You wondered what would take him to get fully sober.

You stared at the wolf headstone once more, admiring it for the second time today.

"I commissioned an artist for that." Bucky spoke, poking his finger on his right ear. "Just found him on the subway one day. He was selling some sculptures he's made. Asked him if he could make me one and ta-da!"

"It is beautiful."

"I have others he has made inside." With this, Bucky started to walk towards the inside of his hotel.

The uniformed man greeted you on the steps. You sent him a knowing smile once his eyes landed on yours. He smiled back as you introduced yourselves to each other.

"Is she still in my room?" Bucky asked the uniformed man who you now know goes by the name Leonard.

"Yes, sir." He replied. "She said she'd -- "

"I know what she said." Bucky groaned, remembering what you'd told him earlier. "I'll call you from up there if anything goes wrong, okay Leonard?"

"Yes, sir. I'll be on alert."

You watched the exchange in utter fascination. It was like watching something straight out of an action movie: "I'll be on high alert" "I'll tell you when the coast is clear" "Roger that" "I'll call you when something goes wrong"

The only thing was, this wasn't some action movie though Bucky did have a plan. You just never knew about it until you got in the elevators.

"Here's the plan." He started. "We go in holding hands, I'll introduce you as my girlfriend. Maybe fiancé! When she sees you, tell her you're my fiancé and when she tells you that she slept with me, I'm going to deny and you're going to believe me because as my fiancé, you deeply love me and believe everything I say."

"Ew, it's like I'm a sub."

"Wow, you're a dom?"

"I can be." You winked at him.

"Huh, I honestly thought you're a virgin. You know, that type of 'never been kissed, never been loved' type."

In your head, you started singing the rest of the song. "I'm an angel in the streets and devil in the sheets, Bucky." You joked which he took seriously seeing it on the look on his face. "Anyway, your plan?"

"Right! She'd yell and go nuts until she gives up and then leaves the hotel -- "

"Then we get married and let Peter pay for our honeymoon!" You finished for him with a sarcastic smile on your face.

He smirked. "I like the way you think, Aria. But I don't think Peter's gonna want that."

"What do you mean?"

"W-well, he's not gonna afford it is what I meant."

"You're probably right." You gave him a low chuckle. "You're rich. Pay for our honeymoon." You joked.

"As soon as we get this bitch out of here, yes I will, doll." He scrunched his nose up and winked at you right before the elevator doors opened. Swiftly, Bucky grabbed your hand and intertwined your fingers. "Let's do this."

Hand in hand, you stepped out of the elevator. What stood in front of you was the same woman from earlier this morning. Body still clinging to Bucky's shirt. Faint red lipstick still smeared on some parts outside her lips. Blonde hair still disheveled. If you didn't know any better she was just here in the penthouse, waiting, not moving even a single inch.

You put your hand on Bucky's arm, hiding a faint expression of how big it felt against your skin. "Honey, who is this?"

"I-I don't know!"

The unnamed woman managed to step forward, looking Bucky in the eyes. "What do you mean you don't know? We slept last night!" Then, she looked at you. "Who the hell are you?"

"His fiancé." There was a sly smug tone in your voice. Even on your face.

"Fiancé? He didn't tell me anything about a fucking fiancé!"

"What the hell are you saying?" Bucky yelled. His grip tightened on your hand. "I've never even met you! How did you get in here?"

"We spent the night together, what the hell, Bucky!" She bellowed like a monster, then her voice softened. "I-I told you I love you."

"You're crazy."

"Call security." You said. "Now, Bucky!"

While Bucky grabbed for his phone, the woman pleaded, still trying to convince you that she slept with your fake fiancé. "If he says he doesn't know you," you responded, "then I believe him." Bucky slipped away from you, probably calling Leonard from downstairs. He gave you a knowing look, as if ushering you to unleash some kind of hell on his one-night stand. "You need to go, lady, if you don't want to be banned in every hotel here in New York. Yes, my fiancé can do that. So better get your ass out of here or -- "

"Okay, okay!" She held up her hands, giving up. "I'm out of here! Jesus fucking Christ -- " She mumbled more under her breath as she took of Bucky's clothes, revealing a white tank top underneath. She picked up her heels that were scattered on the living room: one shoe on the couch, the other near a foot of a small table. Picked up some pair of jeans on the carpet before stepping inside the elevator.

"I wish you luck in your fucking marriage." She said, tone filled with rage. Then, she proceeded to flip Bucky one last time before she disappeared behind the elevator doors, eyes boring into Bucky's.

"Okay, she's going down. Tell her to never come here again. Thanks, Lenny." Bucky dropped the phone call and gave you a smile. "And thank you for your performance."

You bowed, like how actors bow after a play ends, and flashed him a smile. "Why, thank you."

"Thanks to you I'm never gonna see that woman again in my life."

You turned your back on him, seeing the place for the first time without a tainted image of the woman. A line of little sculptures near every wall (perhaps the ones he commissioned from that subway artist). Family photos, albums and trophies took up a whole cabinet. You shifted your gaze towards the living room where a nice brown couch sits on top of a beige rug, which faced a huge flat screen television. Two pairs of love seats sat across from each other. A glass table set in the middle. On the back wall was a photograph of Bucky which took the whole space. He wore a neat, well-pressed grey suit, sitting on what seemed like a throne inside a home office, one leg stretched outwards and one leg just resting normally on the floor. He had this head tilt on one side, right hand under his chin, blue eyes looking directly at the camera. On its floor were stacks of magazines, and papers.

Even you couldn't deny how good Bucky looked in the photo but the photograph itself? You knew you could do better than that.

You turned around and found Bucky nowhere. "Bucky?"

He then emerged from what seemed like a kitchen because he was carrying loads of food and trod towards where you were and placed everything on the coffee table. "Yeah?"

"If I wasn't here, what would've you done?"

He shrugged, and opened a yogurt. "Probably stay in your apartment forever."

"Wow," you sat on the couch, watching him devour the food on the table, "seems like you've planned everything out."

"Seems like it, yeah."

"Do you always do this, Bucky?"

"What do you mean?"

"Have sex with girls, then make up a lie to get them out of your life."

"Oh, that was the first time." He replied. "Those three words really freaked me out. I've never heard that come from someone besides my family. Never even told anyone I've loved them, again, except my family."

You nodded in response and looked around the penthouse some more, admiring some paintings, big and small, on the walls. Perhaps some were real, perhaps some were just school ofs. On your right, was a draped curtain covering a whole glass wall that overlooked New York city. Bucky clicked some button somewhere which let the curtains open, letting some of the New York sun inside. From here, one could see the whole view of New York. All its pleasure, glory, grime, and lowliness.

Oh, the things you would give to live in a place like this. If you wanted to take in the beauty of New York, you had to climb up on the fire exit towards the rooftop. And the view from up there wasn't as pretty as this one. All the pretty spots were behind million dollar skyscrapers.

You looked at Bucky once more who leaned against the love seat, then closed his eyes. That same fuzzy image, which you thought you had buried at the back of my mind, resurfaced.

"Bucky?"

He shot straight up. "Yeah?"

"Have we... met each other before?"

A frown formed on his face, his blue eyes meeting yours, his gaze intense; as if he was trying to put a finger on something, on you. But then he gave up, telling you perhaps you'd just seen him somewhere here in New York the last time he was here, bumped into him. Something like that.

You agreed. Maybe that was it.

Again, you pushed that image at the back of your mind, hoping it would never come up while Bucky was still here.

You were about to ask Bucky how long he was planning to stay in New York before partying in every country outside America when your phone rang.

It was Steve. You picked it up immediately. "Hey, Steve. Is everything okay?"

Bucky shot his head towards you, perhaps wondering who this Steve was.

"Hey." He replied. His voice was groggy, like he just woke up. "There's been some misunderstanding with the shipments. They thought I said drop them in the morning. Long story short, the shipments are just outside the pub's door."

"What? They can't do that!"

"They have a lot of deliveries today so they had to. I told them to wait for you but those are impatient bastards. New shipment boys."

You cursed then stood up. "I'm actually not in the apartment right now. I'm somewhere else. Not important. I'm on my way."

"Get there fast, Aria."

"I will, don't worry. Bye, Steve."

Once you got off the phone, you told Bucky the whole situation.

"Let's go then!" He said with much enthusiasm. "Those drinks are no good sitting out there. How else am I going to make you the best drink you'll ever have, darling?"

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes smut #bucky x y/n #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes story #fan fic #fan fiction #bucky barnes fan fiction #thank u so much 4 all the support ily all #chapter 4 yay

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panic-at-the-fiction · 3 years ago

Text

1973 pt 4

Summary: (y/n) life hasn’t been the same since the school closed down and neither has her father. But there seems to be a sign of hope of the man he used to be returning with this new mission.

Warnings: not a lot of Peter time

A/n: this chapter went to shit. Sorry it’s short but I wrote this whole long thing and was like no it’s too soon for that and then I had to rewrite it all and I wanted to get it out by Wednesday so yeah. I’ll release the next chapter in a few days with lots of one on one Peter time to make up for it. @whyiswhatahow @willalaufeyson @flowersfrom197o @neenieweenie @laic2299

I still can’t believe my father made me wait in the car. I’ve been out here for more than half an hour now with no word from anyone inside. What if it went wrong? What if they got caught? Or worse.

I’ve resorted to biting my nails to distract myself. I try and keep an eye out for any sign of them, but still nothing. I start to wonder if Peter was okay. Did he even make it through the elevators? I haven’t known him for very long and usually I would find a guy like him annoying. He’s arrogant, sarcastic and a typical class clown, but it all feels like a facade. I’ve caught a glimpse or two at what he feels inside. He’s shy, a little pessimistic and he’s faking most of his confidence but he shouldn’t have to. He has every right to be confident in himself.

I catch myself before I continue, I'm just rambling on and daydreaming about him at this point. I only met him this morning and now look at me. I'm helpless. I lay back in my seat and stare at the roof of the car for a while. This is not how I would’ve expected to spend my day.

I jump as all the car doors open and 5 men climb into the car. Hank climbs into the passenger seat while Charles opens the driver door and forces me to scoot over. Peter Eric and Logan all cram in the back. My dad quickly steps on the gas and gets us out of there but there’s no sign of anyone following us.

The car was silent, until Peter mistakenly decided to chirp up. “So how do y’all know each other?”

Charles tensed up and Hank only sighed. “That's a long story.”

“I guess the speedster is new then?” Eric asked.

“Only just met him today.” I add.

“Who are you then?”

Charles spoke up for me, “that’s my daughter (y/n).” He said flatly.

“Really? I haven’t seen you since you were a little girl. I remember you used to call me Uncle Eric.” He smiled.

“Well if I remember right you were the one who left us, but only after you paralyzed my father.” I replied sarcastically. I no longer had anything against Eric, truly I don’t. Just couldn’t help myself from saying it.

We weren’t far from the airport and the rest of the ride went by silently. I grabbed my stuff from the car and made my way toward the plane with everyone else. But Charles stretched his hand out to stop me. “Where do you think you're going?”

“The Paris peace accords with the rest of you.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea (y/n). I don’t wanna be worrying about you the whole time.”

“Worrying about me?” I laugh “You four will kill each other before the plane lands without me. I’m coming with.”

“No you're not. I’m still your father and I need you to stay here and go home.” I look my father in the eyes, for a moment he truly looks like the man I used to see. He’s well dressed and clean, he’s sobered up, and he had the same kind of hope and passion behind his eyes that he had when he opened the school.

I wrap my arms around him in a hug, “Be safe then.”

“Always.” I step back and walk to stand by the car. Hank gives me a hug before he disappears on the plane. Eric smiles and nods, only telling me it was nice to see me again. Before my dad boards the plane he tosses the keys to Peter. “Here take the car Peter. Drop (y/n) off at the nearest train station and then return it please.”

“I can just drive myself.” I say defensively.

“You don’t have your licenses.”

“That’s only because you never took me to the DMV, not because I can’t drive.” We both laughed and smiled before he walked onto the plane.

I went to say goodbye to Logan before he left too but he stopped me and we walked off to the side.

“This might be it, kid”

“What do you mean?”

“Well if this goes right and we stop them I’ll go back to my time. At least a version of it.”

“Probably for the best, your big brother routine is starting to get annoying.”

He smiles. He points over behind me, “might wanna be careful with him since he’s driving. I’ve seen how he runs and I can’t guess there’s much difference.” I look where he’s pointing and see Peter leaning up against the car fiddling with the keys only to drop them and stumble to pick them up.

“See there you go acting like my big brother. Next thing you’ll know you’ll be saying stay away from the teenage boy he’s troublesome.” I laugh

“Nah, I don’t need to do that with Peter. He might be a teenage boy now but something tells me you two would work out.” Logan cocks a smile, “I mean where I come from you two are married.”

I can feel my jaw drop, “Wait! What happened to not spoiling my future?” I smack his arm a little bit.

He shrugs, “Futures gonna change anyways. Don’t take it all too seriously, kid. You can make your own destiny.” He patted my shoulder, “good luck (y/n).”

We walked back over to the plane and Logan waved goodbye as he boarded. I stepped back to where Peter was by the car.

“What was all that about?”

It took me a second to even meet his eye after hearing that. I pushed it all out of my head trying to focus on the now. I laugh a little, “Sorry but if I tell you I’ll have to kill you.”

He cocked a smile, “rude.” He walked over and got in the driver's seat. “Common, let's go.”

“Do you even know how to drive?”

“Of course I do!” He pulled out some sunglasses he had swiped from Logan and slid them on, “I was built for speed.” With that he cranked the engine and we were off.

#peter maximoff #peter maximof x reader #peter maximoff x y/n #peter maximoff x you #peter x reader #peter x y/n #peter x you #x men fanfiction #x men x reader #quicksilver x y/n #quicksilver x reader #quicksilver x you #quicksilver

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appleflavoredkitkats · 4 years ago

Note

Do you have any more info on the fiance situation in Las Nevadas au? :-D or just anything in that au in general (only if you want tho sbajjdkfL) since its vv cool <3 /p

▪︎Beep

i've talked about the fiances before but i'm down to expound on it a little further :DDD this is kinda half assed but still long so MSJDJD

tw: self-destructive behavior, memory loss, breakups (not too horrible i promise)

/dsmp /rp

quackity is definitely immensely hurt by his loved ones leaving him. it ruins him. he feels like his heart is left to bleed out every single day he sees that no one from the south is coming over. he has a telescope atop his hotel, the tallest building, which he uses to look closely at the south (where kinoko kingdom lies). on his free days, or sometimes in the afternoon when he doesn't attend the events, he sits on the roof and looks out at a distance.

i think the longest he's been out on the roof was when karl messaged their chat through the communicator. it was a simple “where am i”, and quackity was quick to respond. he instructs karl to go to las nevadas, assuming he was lost, so he basically cancelled every gig he had to observe his surroundings.

(turns out, he never came. quackity sat on that roof for 15 hours before he was pulled away by fundy.)

but their abandonment was never intentional. quackity knows there has to be something more to it, but it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

he at least also got word from sapnap. after much encouragement from schlatt, quackity finally was brave enough to send him a message. first, he sent a simple “sapnap? where have you been”, then a more desperate “what happened to us?”.

sapnap replies almost immediately that it threw quackity off, “been around, adventuring, getting away from things.” then the second one took a bit longer, “not gonna lie, i thought our engagement was off ever since we kinda. stopped talking to one another. you kind of left us, didn't you?”

and quackity is hurt. he's baffled, he's irritated, but he's fucking livid. schlatt has told him multiple times that he needs to control his anger a little bit better, but in times like this, no matter how petty it may be, he wanted to fucking wreck his room. and so he did— first he threw his communicator against the wall. it was still salvageable, so quackity decided to grab his glowstone lamp and toss it against the communicator. he flips his dresser, throwing it against his bed, and it bounces off and destroys his cabinet. when he looks at his right, he sees a window, and he raises his fist to punch—

and someone is grabbing back. “q, quackity, alex, please,” schlatt pleads. when did schlatt get to his room? “come on, self-destruction is my kind of thing,” schlatt adds, and it summons a smile from quackity's lips before a sob tears out. and it doesn't stop. quackity cries— and he doesn't cry often, especially in front of his coworkers or family or whatever they are. he hates it, he hates emotions— he tried to fucking suppress it all in las nevadas because all of this, all of these casinos and hotels and bars are meant to be his coping mechanism, his distraction. the tears always finds a way to seep through, though.

eventually, they do crumble to the ground, and they sit like that for a while. quackity crying against schlatt's blazer as schlatt merely rubs comforting circles on his back. eventually, fundy does come in with some snacks and a deck of cards, and it was enough for quackity to at least feel better for the rest of the day.

on another day, where quackity was supposed to have fun partying around and doing the same old shit he does every other day, a mysterious green, whorled portal appears in the middle of his casino. most of the staff and the customers stand back, but from the portal, a white-clad brunette falls from it. he doesn't look all to phased by his fall, but when he stands, he realizes the predicament he's in and immediately stiffens awkwardly.

quackity knows him. that's karl— the karl who somehow disappeared from the server for so long that quackity forgot he even fucking existed. what happened to him? why is he all white? why have his eyes become spirals? what's going on?

“hi,” karl greets casually, but his eyebrows are furrowed awkwardly, “uhm, where am i?”

“karl?” quackity says immediately. he stands in uncertainty before fundy nudges at him to go closer whispering “talk to karl, i'll be in charge of the event.” fundy claps twice and immediately announces that their slot machines will double in payout for the next hour, and the crowd immediately goes wild. karl seems a bit lost by the noise, but quackity quickly grabs him away from the crowds and out to the streets.

“gee, those people were. eager to waste their money. gosh darn rich people,” karl says, and quackity laughs, but his smile immediately drops when karl adds,” nevermind them, i guess, but uh, who are you, exactly?"

and quackity's heart churns. he's heard of a few memory loss cases in their server—it's quite scary to hear how common it's become to just lose yourself entirely—but he didn't think it'd apply to karl. he doesn't even know where karl has BEEN all this time. what happened? why does karl not remember? does sapnap know about this?

quackity decides to not reveal much immediately, so he puts on his typical charming façade and replies, “i'm quackity, or alex, any will do. i'm the owner of this place— las nevadas. it's a place for gambling, drinking, and well, fun! do you, uh, do you remember me?"

quackity sees karl visibly shift awkwardly, and it does summon a sigh out of quackity. “guess you don't, huh?” he says sardonically.

“time travelling kinda... ruins you, sometimes,” karl replies

time travelling...? is... is that what made karl leave? not make karl remember? when in the ever living hell did karl, the nicest, sweetest man he knows, ever been allowed to time travel?

“oh,” he just says instead, “well, uh, i was a close friend of yours."

"oh?" karl replies, “kinda like uhm, uh, do you know sapnap? or george."

damn. quackity's façade immediately melts— how does he know about them and not HIM? why did karl remember them and not quackity? why was he forgotten? quackity immediately hisses, turns away and responds, “i'm giving you a free hotel room for the night and i'm calling sap to pick you up. just walk seventy blocks to your right and talk to manifold, or something, christ you fucking irritate me.” he knows karl probably won't understand, and he knows he's breaking this already broken relationship even more, but he can't... he can't look at them the same way anymore.

karl does get to a hotel room, and quackity does visit him just to make sure everything is alright. thankfully, fundy did repair his communicator after his last tantrum, and he uses it to tell sapnap to pick karl up from las nevadas. sapnap doesn't ask where it is— he simply tells him “ok” and goes offline.

when sapnap arrives, he doesn't look as miffed as quackity expected him to be. he looks... well, definitely more composed than him and karl, but he still looked a bit tired. he has some new scars, but quackity guesses sapnap probably wasn't lying when he said he was out adventuring. before quackity could greet sap, sapnap enters the room abruptly and karl practically throws himself at sapnap.

and jealousy is a fickle thing, isn't it? quackity's heart is still torn, it's still bleeding, and it continues to do so the longer he stares at the sight of the other two. he withholds a scowl, mostly because he knows he might go on another temper tantrum if he doesn't, and he also knows he can't... he can't get mad at them. he's waited forever for this moment.

“wow,” quackity murmurs, and sap turns to him, “things really have changed."

sapnap sighs, “we built you a house in kinoko, but you never came."

"and i made las nevadas entirely for you as well." quackity responds, “i guess it's just... unfortunate timing, and all." it's silent for a few moments until, “i'm sorry”.

sapnap's look softens, “i'm— i'm sorry too.”

there's so much more words to say, things to clarify, stories to catch up on, but quackity wonders how worth it it is to cling onto his past. karl and sap's visit is quite... underwhelming, to say the least. but maybe it isn't underwhelming at all— maybe he just found a new purpose outside of them, and he's just... moved on. it hurt, obviously, but when he looks out of karl's hotel room window, he sees las nevadas. he sees the casinos he's designed for schlatt and fundy, and the bars he's designed for jack and sam, and the stages he's designed for charlie— it's just... different now. he loves karl and sapnap still, of course, but he's also been hurt by them, and he's grown into a different person from that hurt. he thinks sapnap has grown the same way as well.

but still, “you know you're invited to las nevadas if you ever want to visit again,” quackity offers with a melancholic smile.

sapnap sighs, but he mimics quackity's smile and nods, “i'll consider it.” sapnap pauses for a bit, then, “thank you for everything, quackity— i really do mean it. i hope... i hope you enjoy the life you've made for yourself here, kinda looks cool,” sapnap says, and his words were very soft and genuine— something quackity needed to end this chapter of his life with them.

“thank you too, i hope you guys do well too. take care,” quackity says, and sapnap and karl take their leave with simple goodbyes.

it isn't exactly forgiveness or getting back together but it's... closure. quackity's journey up to this point isn't exactly all smiles and rainbows, but he's happy where he is now. he just hopes sapnap, karl, and george are feeling the same as well.

#mcyt #dream smp #quackity #sapnap #karl jacobs #jschlatt #fundy #famberg las nevadas au #long post

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straydawg-writing · 4 years ago

Text

𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞'𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦.

- 𝓚. 𝙯𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙮𝙘𝙠

• hunter x hunter series

⋯✰⋯

Chapter 3—

"Don't they have anything at least a LITTLE flattering? I get they're like hippie-extremists, but not all of us want to look like a sack of potatoes," you complained, swiping through their clothing racks that screamed no-potential-whatsoever.

You'd finally arrived at NGL headquarters, only for them to make the three of you throw out your phones and clothes. It's like they were still living in the 18th century.

"It's only clothes. Just pick whatever," Killua replied while browsing through the selection, though he looked equally as aggravated and bored. He did have at least some style that he wanted to upkeep.

Gon on the other hand didn't seem to care.

"You think they have anything green?" He wondered out loud.

You pulled out a set of white pants with a blue long sleeves top.

"Hey Killua."

"Yeah?"

You shoved the set into his arms, giving him a bright smile.

"Try this on, I think it would match your eyes well."

"Idiot. The Chimera Ants won't be looking at my eyes when we're fighting them." Pink dusted his cheeks as he looked to the side, avoiding eye contact.

He bought the outfit without even trying it on.

Gon pouted. "Wait, what about me?"

You pulled out two more similar sets. One was a pair of green pants and a white tank top, while the other was burgundy pants with a black top. That one was yours.

"We can all match!" You grinned, relieved you finally found something that wouldn't make you all look like homeless children. "Well, sort of." The sets were still different colors, but they retained the same general style.

"Oh, great idea Y/N! I'll go change into it now," Gon beamed, nearly skipping all the way to the changing room with his brand new green pants. It was about time he put on something different for a change, you inwardly joked.

Killua was already walking back from the stalls when Gon ran past him.

"Wow Killua, look at that drip~" You whistled, checking out his new outfit.

"You're so hopeless," he sighed, bonking the top of your head.

You rubbed where he had hit and stuck out your tongue, pretending to be hurt. It was the truth though, he looked really good in the outfit you had picked out. Peeking at him while he wasn't looking, you discovered that the tight-skinned long sleeves accentuated his arms in a way you'd never noticed before, hugging his lean muscles. You were right about the royal-colored shirt bringing out his pretty blue eyes. And the way his pale skin and white hair contrasted them even looked a little heavenly...

God, what were you thinking? If Killua heard you right now he'd hit you over the head another 20 times over. You looked to the floor, hoping he wouldn't see your growing blush.

After all three of you had changed into your new clothes, the hunt for the Chimera Ants began. Kite was on his own horse, while the rest of you fit on the second one due to your small frames. You were holding onto Gon's torso as he took control of the reins.

He was like a natural, his whole body moving in sync with the horse in strong determination. You trusted him, knowing that wouldn't just let you topple over. You weren't really used to horses, as they weren't typically found roaming around the jungle.

Then there was Killua, who was standing stick-straight on the horse like it was nothing.

"How do you even do that?!" You called out over the sound of galloping hooves.

"Huh, Do what? You mean this?" Killua smirked, doing a handstand.

You couldn't believe him. The boy had no fear at all.

"You're crazy," you stated, turning around to face Killua and leisurely leaning your back against Gon.

You had finally mastered balancing on the horse without having to hold onto him— but you had nowhere as near the skill Killua did.

"Maybe I am, but you love it," he teased, still upside-down. Temptingly enough, his white locks of hair were hanging upside-down too.

Slowly, you leaned forward on the palm of your hands, steadily closing in the distance between you two.

"Sure, I do. You got me there," you cooed, catching him off guard.

"Huh.." He sweatdropped, turning bright red. Killua's balance was starting to wobble.

Then, exploiting his moment of weakness, you tugged on his hair knocking him over.

Satisfied, you rested against Gon again. Thankfully the boy didn't seem to mind.

"Show off," You said, sticking your nose in the air.

"Man, that was so unfair!" Killua whined, sitting back down on the horse and dragging his hands down his face.

You crossed your arms, ready to deliver some witty comeback, when you noticed some bees in the distance that looked like they were carrying something. Squinting your eyes, you saw that they were flying in closer.

"Hey guys, look at that," you pointed out. The horses stopped as one of the bees dropped the paper in Kite's hand.

Help!!

Chimera Ant Nest, Rocky Area

Notify Hunter Association!!

An SOS? And it appeared to be written in blood.

You cast a worried glance at Gon, who looked disturbed.

"It's Ponzu..."

Ponzu...? The name wasn't familiar to you at all. That must be somebody Killua and Gon knew from before you had met them.

The bee fluttered defeatedly around you before making its landing on your ring finger. Kite made the decision to leave the horses, with a message for the Hunter Association.

Even though they ran faster on foot, it didn't take much time until you came across an unsettling scene.

Or, what was left of Ponzu.

Blood soaked the ground. Articles of ripped-up clothing scattered the dirt, and there was not even a bone in sight. The putrid smell of iron overwhelmed your nostrils.

It was fresh blood.

If you had arrived even 15 minutes earlier, maybe Gon and Killua's friend would not have so barbarically killed. You felt sick to your stomach.

'This wasn't done by a human'

"This was done by a Chimera Ant," Kite finished your thought.

The look on Gon's face scared you. Most of the time, Gon was a sweet boy on a journey to find his father. But sometimes, you could spot a festering darkness threatening to take over his very being. You knew he would never tolerate his friends getting hurt, but you couldn't help but wonder if Gon was self-sacrificing, or perhaps selfish?

"I hate to consider the possibility, but it's possible that NGL's underground rulers have already been fed to the queen. What will happen if Chimera Ants are born with their genes..?" Kite trailed off, studying one of the bullet casings in the murder scene.

An unprecedented biohazard never seen before in human history, is what that meant. The worst-case scenario had just happened.

⋯✰⋯

That wasn't the last disturbing scene the four of you came across. In front of you now were three decaying horses, each speared through the stomach by its own tree. They resembled grilled chicken and steak kebabs.

The scent was even worse than the last incident. This time, they were rotting. Killua and you both covered your noses, in an attempt to block out the stench.

"It's like a morning sacrifice," Gon stated.

You remembered what that was. Back at home, sometimes birds would impale their prey on sharp objects like branches. It wasn't a pretty sight, but it was the circle of life. What kind of monster could do this to not just one, but three 1,000 ton horses?

Your question was answered quicker than you had hoped.

"Trash. Those are mine!" The monster in question growled as he stepped foot out of the dense forest.

He looked like an overgrown bunny, with wings of a bird, thick-ass thighs, and seaweed green hair. And as for the vibe he gave off? You could safely assume he was just a stupid man-child.

"Wow. You're ugly," you deadpanned.

"You wanna say that again little brat?" He snarled, making the first move and charging right after you.

You quickly dodged his attack, but not before he came in contact with your arm. That was gonna leave a bruise.

Kite activated his aura, temporarily distracting the bunny-monster. It seemed to have noticed the change in atmosphere.

No way...was it possible? Had it already learned about the power of nen?

"Y/N, Gon, Killua... You three must deal with him yourselves. We'll be encountering more Chimera Ant soldiers like him. I won't be able to help you during combat, so if you can't defeat him, you will have to leave." Kite stepped back from the fight.

You nodded, Gon and Killua mirroring you. The three of you understood what hung in the fate of this fight.

"We told you before Kite, we're pros, not just kids!"

In sync, you all activated your nen together.

"Did you hear that bunny? I'm about to blow off those weird speedos of yours into the next dimension." You raised your hand in front of you, manipulating the wind to blow him away with every step that you advanced.

Killua was already in the air, prepared to test his thunder-bolt. In a flash of blue, dozens of lightning strikes were being zapped into the ant, immobilizing him. Gon's charged punch was enough to send him flying across the sky.

You saw his tail-puff shrink and sparkle in the distance as he was about to disappear, until something fast and unidentifiable swept him away.

Someone had been watching.

"He let his soldier do the fighting so that he could learn our abilities," Kite explained while walking towards the three of you again.

Gon and Killua looked disappointed. You hadn't even gotten a chance to use much of your powers during that fight. If you had finished it off, would that have been enough to prove yourselves?

"Are you coming?"

You looked up at Kite.

"There's no need to feel down, your attacks weren't that bad. You just need experience now. If you wish to become stronger, this is a perfect opportunity... But if you aren't prepared, you won't be able to endure it. Whether we win or lose, hell lies ahead of us." Kite finished off, looking at each one of you in the eye with a resolute stare.

You knew that. Gon and Killua knew that also.

Even so, all three of you were prepared and eager to do whatever it takes to strengthen yourselves and help Kite save NGL.

⋯✰⋯

Kite looked serene as the light of the small campfire lit up his features. He and Gon had caught some fish for dinner earlier, while Killua and you set up camp. Now, you sat brushing arms with Killua, who was sitting next to Gon, who was huddled up close to Kite. The night was quiet, except for the cicadas singing in the trees and the thoughts running through you and your friend's minds.

There was a lot to think about.

Gon and Killua hadn't even been given the time to grieve over the loss of their past acquaintance, before being hit with the hard-hitting truth that the Ants were already evolving at a nightmarish rate. Nobody knew how many had gone missing or even more so been eaten. Yet everyone knew that the death count had already surpassed comprehensible numbers. Most likely, not everybody here would make it out alive.

But, the three of you consistently have proven the odds wrong. You held onto that fact like you held onto your pendant.

It reassured you.

It was obvious that the three of you had become inseparable over the past two years.

After you met Gon and Killua at Heaven's Arena, you'd never left each other's side.

Nobody would be going home without the other, because you had all found home within each other.

"Hey, Kite? What was your dad like?" Gon asked.

Kite looked up at the boy, surprised by the sudden question. Turning his eyes to the starry night sky, he exhaled a breath of cold air.

"I didn't know him. He disappeared when I was a child."

Gon hummed, waiting for Kite to continue. He knew that feeling too. It was an icy and empty feeling, not having a father figure in your life to guide you, praise you.

"I have very few memories of him, but they've all muddled together by now. Sometimes I can't tell if they're real or if I've convinced myself they are."

"....I think Ging would thank you."

This brought Kite's attention back to Gon.

"Thank me for what?"

"Well... You've been like a sort of mentor for me ever since we met, back on Whale Island. If it weren't for you, I would never have even become a hunter. Maybe I'm just a kid, but the past month it felt like I.. like I had a dad."

Your heart ached for Gon, who had been searching this whole time for his father in everyone he met and everything he saw. Gently, you placed your hand over his and squeezed it, wishing you could be of more comfort to him. Wishing you could turn back time and bring Ging back to his home, to Gon.

Kite's eyes softened as he looked at the boy, who offered a wobbly smile.

"Ging would be proud of you," he said, ruffling Gon's spiky hair.

That night, the glimmering moonlight had brought out your most vulnerable selves. You felt a honey-like warmth grow inside of you— a new member had just been added to your family. Killua seemed content, happy that his friend was smiling. And Gon's eyes matched the twinkling stars as he looked up to Kite like he was the most wonderful thing.

It was a special night. You knew deep down that you would treasure it, for a long time to come.

⋯✰⋯

#hunter x hunter fanfiction #killua x reader #killua zoldyck x reader #hxh #hxh fanfic

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bangtanreadingcorner · 4 years ago

Text

despite it all • park jimin

chapter 2 — soft spot

plot – when you finally go to the bar on 17th street, it's not for help.

words – 3.1K

chapter 1

For a long time you thought you would never take Jimin up on his offer to go to the bar on 17th Street.

Then the day came that you did.

***

Things go back to normal for a few weeks after the night you helped Jimin. You go to work and for the most part it's easy to put that night out of your mind. Then there's the hours when you can't sleep or you don't have a shift, and it all comes rushing back. You visit your dad's grave and you tell him about Jimin, asking if he'd be mad at you for helping him. You don't talk to your mother, she never could forgive you for becoming a first responder.

Three weeks after that night, you get called to the scene of a gunshot victim in an alley. You and your partner Jeongguk immediately start to help him. Or you try to, at least. He's so young, no older than eighteen or nineteen.

"Come on, kid, hold on!" You mutter under your breath as you try to stop the bleeding. You look at Jeongguk, who looked at the victim with wide eyes, face pale. "Hey! Snap out of it! We need to get fluids in him, start a saline and blood line."

You work on him for almost fourty minutes before he's gone. Your gloved hands and shirt are drenched in blood. You sit back on your heels, a sense of defeat coming over you. You take a second to pull yourself together before you reach over to close his eyes, sending Jeongguk to get a blanket to cover him with, and that's when you see it.

The outline of a tattoo on the left side of his neck. Your blood runs cold and you hope that you're wrong. You reach out with shaky fingers, turning his head just a little, to get a full view of the tattoo. You suck in a deep breath when you see it.

A serpent.

You were right. This kid is in the same gang that Jimin is in.

"Funny, isn't it?" A voice asks above you.

You look up, and the badge around his neck tells you he's a cop. You frown slightly at him, "Who are you?"

"Detective Choi, Gang Unit."

"Well, Detective, I don't see anything funny about this situation." You are tempted to glare at the man.

"They spend their days breaking the law, hurting people and then expect to be helped when they get shot as a result of their own actions." He said, sneering down at the body.

"They're still people." You say, heart twisting at the man's careless words.

"Barely." The detective scoffed, looking down at the body with interest, pointing down at it. "But this one. He was important."

You don't understand what a kid has to do with all of this as you frown crossly up at the detective. "He's just a kid."

"Yeah, but he's a Park." The detective says, a glint of excitement in his eyes. It makes anger stir inside of you. "Park Jihyun, in fact. Second in line to the most dangerous gang in the province."

"So, what? Because of that he doesn't deserve to live?" You scoff in disbelief as Jeongguk returns and start to cover the body. Before the press could arrive and take pictures and videos for the six o'clock news.

The detective shrugs, "I'm just saying, no one will cry over his death."

"You just said he has a family. I'm sure they will." You remind him.

The Detective shakes his head, "No, they're not gonna cry. They're gonna go to war."

"And what? You're going to use the war to catch his brother? While he's grieving? Seems a little cold." You say as you push to your feet. You could see Jeongguk frowning as he looked back and forth between you and the detective.

"I figured I'd give them a taste of their own medicine."

"Are you going to tell that to his brother when you notify him?" You retort, mentally yelling every kind of curse you could possible think of at him.

"I'm not going to tell him."

Your mouth drops open in shocked disbelief, appalled by the detective. "What? You have too. You're bound by law."

"They don't follow the law. Why should I extend them that courtesy?" He shrugs.

"Because his family will be worried sick! And you're a cop!" You exclaim, voice rising a little.

"I'm counting on it." The detective grins before walking away.

You clench your hands into fists, an overwhelming urge to hit the detective coming over you. You look at Jeongguk, who still seemed out of it. You frown at him, he's never reacted like this to seeing someone being shot before. "Hey, are you okay, Jeongguk?"

"Yeah," He nods quickly, a little too quick, but you don't say anything. "Just, his family . . .

they deserve to know."

"They do." You agree immediately. "And I'm going to make sure they find out."

Jeongguk's head whips to you, curious and kind of relieved. "How?"

"I know this guy, he's in the same gang as the kid is, or was."

For a second, Jeongguk looks amused. "You know a guy in a gang."

"Shut up." You feel you're cheeks burn, suddenly feeling shy. "And yes, I do. His name is Jimin and I helped him out once. He told me that if I ever need something to go to the bar on 17th Street. I may not need something, but I figure he would probably be able to tell Jihyun's family."

You turn to Jeongguk, who went quiet by your side. His eyes was open wide again, but this time there was a sliver of fear in them. "A guy named Jimin, who is in the same gang as the kid with a bar on 17th Street?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing." Jeongguk all but squeaks, shaking his head furiously, eyes still wide.

You side eye him, "You're judging me for doing this, aren't you? Meh. Whatever. They deserve to know. I'm telling them."

***

After your shift, you immediately go to the bar on 17th Street. It was a nice, casual kind of place. On another day, you could see yourself having a drink there. You look around and you don't see Jimin, so you head to the bar to ask for him.

The bartender is tall and buff. And gives off a scary vibe with his tattoos and the emotionless expression on his face. You notice the same serpent tattoo Jimin has on his neck, on the bartender's forearm. This guy is probably your best bet on finding Jimin.

"Uh, hi, I'm looking for Jimin." You blurt at the bartender, who is busy wiping down the counter. You feel a flush rising on your cheeks. That sounded so demanding.

"Who's asking?" The bartender asks without look

"Y/N."

That gets the bartender's attention. He stops wiping the counter and looks at your with sparkling eyes, a boxy smile breaking the blank look on his face, making him look more like a puppy as he shakes his curls out of his eyes, "So, you're Y/N."

You're caught off guard by the fact that he seems to know you. It makes you a little defensive, "What does that mean?"

"It's means you're the girl, or woman, who saved Jimin." He says, looking like the cat who ate the canary.

Your cheeks heat up even more, "I didn't save him, just helped him out."

"The cops and the gang who he went after by himself, like the dumbass he is, was after him. If he was alone that night, he would have been killed. Or worse." The bartender tells you, restarting his task of wiping the counter, but there's only one thing that registers in your mind.

"I helped a fugitive?" You yelp, feeling your heart stutter in shock.

The bartender frowned at you, "I thought Jimin said you know who he is."

"I know he's in a gang."

The bartender stops in wiping the counter, looking at you with scarily serious eyes. "Y/N, Jimin isn't in the gang, he leads the gang."

Your mouth drops open and it feels dry. "I helped a gang leader, who is also a fugitive?"

"Aren't you one for the history books." Taehyung notes with a boxy grin.

"Not exactly something I'd like to be remembered for." You tell him, legs feeling weak all of a sudden.

"Eh, apples, oranges." The bartender shrugged, putting down his cloth. "I love strawberries, by the way. Anyway, my name is Taehyung. I'm Jimin's best friend and second in command, in case you were wondering. You said you're looking Jimin right? Well, he's busy right now, but he did say to call him right away if you ever come, so, I'll go get him for you."

And with that, the bartender - Taehyung - disappeared. You looked after him in bewilderment, "What the fuck?"

Less than five minutes later, Jimin walked out from the door where Taehyung disappeared into. He looked different from the last time you saw him. He was wearing black skinny jeans with a black polo neck sweater and a black leather jacket. He looked more dangerous than when he was covered in blood. More attractive, too. You very carefully cut that train of thought off before it could grow roots. You watched as everyone in the bar eyed Jimin, but also gave him a wide berth.

When he stopped infront of you, his features softened ever so slightly. You frowned down at his clenched, bloodied fists, "Have you been punching people again?"

"Punching people is in my job description." Jimin answered, jaw visibly tensed. He looked at you, and you could tell right then that something is very wrong. "You are always welcome here, Y/N, but right now I'm a little busy. One of my men has been taken and I am trying to find him."

You face falls and suddenly a lot of things make sense. "I think . . . I think I might know where he is."

Confusion falls over Jimin's face, "You? How could you know?"

"I had a call today. Gunshot victim in an alley. He had that tattoo-" You point to Jimin's neck, where his serpent tattoo is. "And I wanted to come and tell you. I mean, I didn't know if you know everyone in your gang, I didn't every know that it is your gang, until Taehyung told me just now, but I just wanted to tell you in case you knew him."

Jimin looks at you with wide eyes, a spark of light returning to those cold eyes. "What did he look like?"

"Uh, he was young. I didn't really notice much else, sorry. I was trying to save his life." You tell Jimin, and then something occurs to you. "Wait, one of the detectives on the scene told me his name. I don't know how they know but-"

"His name." Jimin interrupted, a little sharp, but there was an urgency to his voice.

"Uh. Jihyun. Park Jihyun." You tell him, watching as Jimin both deflate and light up in the span of five seconds. You almost get whiplash with how quick his mood changes.

"What hospital did you take him too?" Jimin asks eagerly, hopefully.

You heart twists, knowing that you're the one who has to break that hope. You soften your voice, making it as gentle as possible. "Jimin, we didn't. We tried our best, but we couldn't save him. By the time we got there, he had already lost too much blood. I am so sorry."

Jimin's expression shutters and it makes you feel like someone punched you in the gut. He takes a breath before saying, "Thank you for coming to tell me. And thank you for trying to save him."

Jimin walks away and you want to stop him, to comfort him somehow, but you don't because it's not your place.

You turn to Taehyung, who looks so incredibly sad it broke your heart a little. You know you should leave but you can't just put leave without at least trying to help. "Are you okay, Taehyung?"

"No," He shakes his head, fiddling with the cloth he used to wipe the bar down earlier. "But I will be."

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yeah, actually." He says, surprising you pleasantly. You thought he would refuse your offer. Your heavy heart lifts a little, happy to help, and you nod at Taehyung, indicating to him to tell you what he wants you to do. He looks at you for a long while and it makes you fidget a little. He's not going to ask you to hurt someone, right? You sincerely hoped not. Finally he spoke and you could have never guessed what came out his mouth next. "Jimin is going to come to you. I don't know when, but he will. I don't know what exactly happened between you and him the night you saved him, but it changed something in him. He's been different since that night and it's because of you. So, he'll come to you and seek comfort and when he does, I only ask one thing."

You swallow thickly, having no idea what to do with everything Taehyung just dumped on you. "And what is that?"

"Please be gentle with him. People think he's dangerous and fearsome, and he is. For the most part he really is, but that's not all he is. Underneath that, he has the biggest heart. A heart he usually keeps hidden and locked far away, but somehow, you made it past all of his defences in a night. And right now, his heart is hurting badly."

You give Taehyung a strange look, thinking that he must be reading something wrong somewhere because you and Jimin didn't spend that much time together. Maybe two hours. How could that have been enough time to get past his defences, as Taehyung said? "Uh, I think you might be exaggerating the situation but okay. If it will make you feel better. I promise to be gentle with him. Whatever that means."

Taehyung was visibly relieved by your sincere promise. "Thank you."

"It's nothing." You waved him off. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"No." Taehyung smiles, small and much dimmer than the bright boxy grin he gave you earlier, but just as true. "But I think I'm starting to see it."

"See what?" You look curiously at him.

"Why Jimin has a soft spot for you." He answers nonchalantly.

You very almost choke on thin air. "I helped him out once and told me he'd return the favour. That does not mean he has a soft spot for me."

"Yes, he does. Have you not been listening to a word I've said?" Taehyung all but demanded, placing his hands on his hips.

"I'm listening," You give him a slight smile. "Still working on believing."

"Well, believe it." Taehyung huffs. "Earlier, when you came in and asked for Jimin and I went to get him? He was busy, uh . . ." Taehyung trails off, unsure how much Jimin wants her to know. He knows better than to outright lie though. He settles on a word that is both discreet and understandable. "He was interrogating a guy for answers about Jihyun's whereabouts. You are the only person on this planet I was allowed to interrupt that interrogation for."

"He did say to come anytime I want." You defend, feeling heat creeping up your cheeks again.

Taehyung looks like your words just proves his point. "Exactly."

You sigh, resigning yourself to the fact that you won't be able to change his mind. You glance in the direction where Jimin went and your mood deflates, "You think he's going to be okay?"

"I don't know." Taehyung admits honestly, eyes lingering on the door.

"I have this foreboding feeling that this is the calm before the storm." You say, nodding in the direction where Jimin went. "He was too quiet when I told him the news, but I could see the grief in his eyes. Was he close to the guy who was killed?"

"Very." Taehyung nods. "Jihyun is, or was, Jimin's brother."

You felt your heart drop to the bottom of your feet as the last pieces of the puzzle fit together. You should have realised, the detective told you Jihyun's brother is the leader of the gang and Taehyung told you Jimin leads the gang. "Oh my God."

"Yeah." Taehyung nods, biting his lip.

"I can't imagine how Jimin must feel right now." You say, wanting nothing but to barge through those doors and go hug Jimin.

"I think it helps that it came from you, instead of the police. Those smug bastards would have just rubbed his nose in it." Taehyung says with a distasteful look on his face.

"Why would they do that?" You ask, deciding not to tell Taehyung that the police wasn't even planning on telling Jimin at all.

"Because we're in a gang. Although, they can't proof anything against us. Especially against Jimin. They don't know much, but they know he's our leader. He took over from his dad when he retired, when Jimin was twenty-one. Which really pisses them off." Taehyung looked a little smug over that fact.

"I get that. I mean, my dad was a cop, before he died in the crossfire of a gang war. I was seventeen at the time, so I can still remember how he would get angry or frustrated when he couldn't solve a case or find evidence to prove his case."

"Sorry about your dad." Taehyung says, looking like he actually means it.

It makes you smile a little, "It's okay. I mean, it still hurts like hell sometimes, but they found the guy who pulled the trigger and he's spending the rest of his life in jail."

"Want me to take him out for you?" Taehyung offers. "We got a couple of guys in prison and I'm sure Jimin wouldn't mind."

"No, absolutely not!" You exclaim with wide eyes, heartbeat kicking up its pace as panic shoots through you for a second. "Jesus Christ, first Jimin and now you. What is wrong with you two?"

Taehyung's eyes get a wicked gleam and you somehow know what he's going to say before he opens his mouth. "We're-"

"In a gang, yeah, I know. That isn't an excuse." You sigh, running a hand over your face. A heaviness settles around your heart. "This is going to get ugly, isn't it?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." Taehyung shrugs. "But probably."

"Great." You mutter. Better stock up the ambulance then.

***

chapter 3

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it!

#bangtan #bangtan fanfic #bts fic #park jimin #jimin #bts jimin #park jimin x oc #park jimin x you #park jimin x reader #park jimin imagine #jimin imagine #jimin x oc #jimin x you #jimin x reader

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